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[Federal Register Volume 65, Number 216 (Tuesday, November 7, 2000)]
[Notices]
[Pages 66799-66800]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 00-28645]

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DEPARTMENT OF STATE

[Public Notice No. 3450]

Proposed Protocol on Rail Equipment to the Draft Convention 
Sponsored by UNIDROIT on International Mobile Equipment Finance; 
Meeting Notice

AGENCY: Department of State.

ACTION: The International Finance Study Group of the State Department's 
Advisory Committee on Private International Law will meet to review a 
proposed protocol on rail equipment to the draft UNIDROIT convention on 
equipment finance, and its effect on cross-border financing and trade 
involving the railway industry. The meeting will be held in Washington, 
D.C. on Tuesday, November 14, 2000 at the Association of American 
Railroads Conference Center (4th floor).

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Agenda

    The meeting will cover the purpose and concepts of the proposed 
UNIDROIT Convention on international interests in mobile equipment; the 
application of asset-based financing to railway equipment; the recent 
meeting of the ICAO Legal Committee at Montreal on the proposed 
Convention in relation to aircraft and the draft Aircraft Equipment 
Protocol, and other international developments relevant to rail 
finance.
    Comments will be requested on draft provisions of the proposed Rail 
Equipment Protocol. The intersection with recent revisions to the 
Uniform Commercial Code in the United States will be examined, along 
with personal property laws of Canada, Mexico and other countries as 
time permits, as well as related draft conventions and model national 
laws on secured financing, including work underway at UNCITRAL (the 
United Nations Commission on International Trade Law) on receivables 
financing and the OAS (Organization of American States) on a model 
Inter-American national law on secured financing.

Background

    The United States has been an active participant in negotiations on 
a proposed multilateral convention (UNIDROIT Convention) to provide for 
the creation and enforceability of

[[Page 66800]]

international secured finance interests in mobile equipment, including, 
at this stage, aircraft, to be followed by rail equipment and space and 
satellite equipment. A Rail Working Group authorized by UNIDROIT has 
undertaken work on the current draft protocol on provisions specific to 
rail equipment financing. Provision may be made at a future date for 
protocols on other categories of equipment, such as containers, 
construction and agricultural equipment, certain types of vessels, etc. 
Other international bodies participate as appropriate. Completion of 
the basic Convention and aircraft protocol is expected by mid-2001. 
Completion of the protocol on rail equipment is expected to follow.
    The proposed Convention and equipment specific protocols together 
are intended to provide comprehensive international rules on financing 
interests in such equipment and could thus stimulate the development of 
these industries in many countries as well as increase the capacity of 
many countries to finance such equipment through private sector capital 
markets. This can enhance infrastructure growth, as well as reduce 
reliance on direct government funding or use of sovereign debt, which 
in turn would facilitate privatization and market development.
    Key features of the draft Convention include the creation of 
internationally enforceable interests pursuant to the Convention; 
providing for regional or international computer-based registry systems 
for notice of finance interests; provisions on assignments of such 
interests; priorities based on filing; and optional provisions on key 
finance issues such as default remedies, insolvency, etc. Proposed new 
registration systems for rail finance authorized under the protocol are 
intended to facilitate processes, equivalent to that utilized in North 
America, to support asset-based finance in other regions, and may 
provide for linkage between registration systems to facilitate cross-
border finance and the export of such equipment.

Attendance

    The meeting will be held on Tuesday, November 14, 2000, from 10 
a.m. to 3 p.m. at the offices of the Association of American Railroads 
(AAR), Conference Center (4th floor) 50 ``F'' Street, NW, Washington, 
D.C. 20001. The meeting is open to the public. Persons wishing to 
attend should contact Peter Bloch, Department of Transportation, Office 
of General Counsel, (202) 366-9183, fax 366-9188; Louis P. Warchot at 
AAR at 202-639-2500, fax 639-2868; or Harold Burman, Department of 
State, Office of Legal Adviser (L/PIL), at 202-776-8421, fax 776-8482, 
email [email protected], not later than Friday, November 10.

Documents

    Basic Convention drafts on mobile equipment and the aircraft 
protocol are available at www.UNIDROIT.org, scroll to ``news''. Revised 
versions will be available shortly which reflect recent changes; the 
changes do not affect the basic structure or the purpose of the 
operative provisions. The draft Rail Equipment Protocol is available 
from the AAR or the Office of Legal Adviser, or may be provided to 
attendees by fax on request.

Harold S. Burman,
Executive Director, Secretary of State's Advisory Committee on Private 
International Law, United States Department of State.
[FR Doc. 00-28645 Filed 11-3-00; 1:21 pm]
BILLING CODE 4710-08-P
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