30550 Federal Register / Vol. 63, No. 107 /Thursday, June 4, 1998 / Notices

DEPARTMENT OF STATE

[Public Notice No. 2929]

Secretary of State’s Advisory

Committee on Private International

Law (ACPIL) Study Group on

Electronic Commerce Meeting Notice

and Request for Public Comments

The Department of State’s Advisory

Committee Study Group on Electronic

Commerce will hold a meeting Friday,

June 19 in Washington, D.C. from 9:30

a.m. to 4:30 p.m. The meeting will

review international and national

developments concerning computerbased authentication, signature and

message integrity systems, and consider

possible approaches to international

rules and related domestic concerns.

The discussion will include

developments at the United Nations

Commission on International Trade Law

(UNCITRAL); the OECD; proposed new

uniform state laws in the U.S., including

Uniform Commercial Code Article 2B

and the Uniform Electronic

Transactions Act; and other state and

federal laws and regulations proposed

or adopted. The Advisory Committee

will also consider developments at the

European Commission, the Science and

Technology, Business, and International

Law Sections of the American Bar

Association, the National Conference of

Commissioners on Uniform State Laws,

the American Law Institute, and other

organizations as appropriate.

In particular, two documents will be

reviewed which will then be considered

by UNCITRAL at the next meeting of its

Working Group on Electronic Commerce

in July 1998. These include (1) the

recently revised ‘‘Draft Uniform Rules

on Electronic Signatures’’ issued by the

Secretariat, and (2) a proposal by the

United States on a ‘‘Draft International

Convention on Electronic Transactions’’

(U.N. Docs.A/CN.9/WG.IV/WP.76 and

77, dated 25 May, 1998).

Issues that may be reviewed by the

Advisory Committee may include, but

are not limited to, prior U.S. views

urging international bodies to examine

the various electronic authentication

systems now available or emerging, to

allow both technological and market

developments to form the basis of any

rules, in order to avoid unnecessary

impediments to electronic commerce.

Included will be a consideration of rules

which can encompass both unregulated

private sector systems, as well as

governmentally regulated or licensed

systems; whether rules for

authentication or signature systems

should distinguish between commercial

and consumer transactions; possible

rules on risk allocation, attribution and

reliance; whether third party assurance

providers, such as certifying authorities,

should have to meet minimum levels of

assurance; what role information

security standards should play in this

process; whether rules are needed on

incorporation by reference; what types

of rules for cross-certification between

different countries are feasible; and

other related issues. Jurisdictional

issues will also be discussed as

appropriate.

Participants may also wish to review

the recently completed UNCITRAL

Model Law on Electronic Commerce,

which covers the legal effect and

validity of computer messages in

commercial transactions; functional

equivalents of signatures, writings, etc.;

attribution of messages; time and place

where communications are deemed to

have taken place; electronic bills of

lading; and other matters.

The meeting is open to the public up

to the capacity of the meeting room, and

members of the public may participate

subject to rulings of the Chair. The

meeting will be held in Washington at

the International Law Institute (ILI), at

1615 New Hampshire Avenue, N.W.

Participants should register in advance

since space may be limited. Please

advise either the Office of Legal Adviser

(L/PIL) at the State Department by

calling Rosie Gonzales at (202) 776–

8420, by fax at 776–8482, or by email to:

pildb@his.com., or call Stuart Kerr, ILI

Executive Director, at (202) 483–3036,

or by fax at 483–3029.

Participants will receive the abovereferenced documents by providing Ms.

Gonzales with their email address, or

alternatively by requesting paper copies.

The office mailing address is: Office of

the Legal Adviser (L/PIL), Suite 355,

South Building, 2430 E Street NW,

Washington, DC 20037–2800. Members

of the public who cannot attend are

welcome to request the documents and

to comment on this topic.

Harold S. Burman,

Executive Director, Secretary of State’s

Advisory Committee on Private International

Law.

[FR Doc. 98–14855 Filed 6–3–98; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4710–08–M

DEPARTMENT OF STATE

[Public Notice 2831]

Bureau of Oceans and International

Environmental and Scientific Affairs;

Certifications Pursuant to Section 609

of Pub. L. 101–162

May 19, 1998.

SUMMARY: On May 1, 1998, the

Department of State certified, pursuant

to Section 609 of Pub. L. 101–162

(‘‘Section 609’’), that 16 nations have

adopted programs to reduce the

incidental capture of sea turtles in their

shrimp fisheries comparable to the

program in effect in the United States.

The Department also certified that the

fishing environments in 23 other

countries do not pose a threat of the

incidental taking of sea turtles protected

under Section 609. Shrimp imports from

any nation not certified were prohibited

effective May 1, 1998 pursuant to

Section 609.

EFFECTIVE DATE: June 4, 1998.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Hollis Summers, Office of Marine

Conservation, Bureau of Oceans and

International Environmental and

Scientific Affairs, Department of State,

Washington, DC 20520–7818; telephone:

(202) 647–2337.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Section

609 of Pub. L. 101–162 prohibits

imports of certain categories of shrimp

unless the President certifies to the

Congress not later than May 1 of each

year either: (1) That the harvesting

nation has adopted a program governing

the incidental capture of sea turtles in

its commercial shrimp fishery

comparable to the program in effect in

the United States and has an incidental

take rate comparable to that of the

United States; or (2) that the fishing

environment in the harvesting nation

does not pose a threat of the incidental

taking of sea turtles. The President has

delegated the authority to make this

certification to the Department of State.

Revised State Department guidelines for

making the required certifications were

published in the Federal Register on

April 19, 1996 (61 FR 17342).

On May 1, 1998, the Department

certified 16 nations on this basis: Belize,

China, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador,

El Salvador, Guatemala, Guyana,

Honduras, Indonesia, Mexico,

Nicaragua, Panama, Suriname,

Thailand, and Trinidad and Tobago.

Brazil and Nigeria, certified on these

grounds in 1997, did not retain their

certifications. Brazil and Venezuela

failed to demonstrate their regulations

requiring the use of sea turtle excluder

devices (TEDs) were being adequately

enforced; Nigeria did not respond to

requests that a U.S. team be allowed to

visit its shrimp fleet.

The Department also certified 23

shrimp harvesting nations as having

fishing environments that do not pose a

danger to sea turtles. Sixteen nations

have shrimping grounds only in cold

waters where the risk of taking sea

turtles is negligible. They are:

Argentina, Belgium, Canada, Chile,
Federal Register / Vol. 63, No. 107 /Thursday, June 4, 1998 / Notices 30551

Denmark, Finland, Germany, Iceland,

Ireland, the Netherlands, New Zealand,

Norway, Russia, Sweden, the United

Kingdom, and Uruguay. Seven nations

only harvest shrimp using small boats

with crews of less than five that use

manual rather than mechanical means

to retrieve nets, or catch shrimp in using

other methods that do not threaten sea

turtles. Use of such small-scale

technology does not adversely affect sea

turtles. The seven nations are: the

Dominican Republic, Fiji, Haiti,

Jamaica, Oman, Peru and Sri Lanka. The

Bahamas and Brunei, certified on these

grounds in 1997, were not certified this

year after it was established that

Bahamian waters do not have enough

shrimp to support a commercial shrimp

fishery and that Brunei’s commercial

fishery harvests appreciable quantities

of shrimp using methods that could

threaten sea turtles. Last year neither

exported shrimp to the United States,

Any shipment of shrimp harvested in

Brazil, Venezuela, Nigeria, the Bahamas

or Brunei with a date of export

therefrom prior to May 1, 1998 will be

allowed entry into the United States

regardless of date of importation into

the United States. That is, shipments of

shrimp harvested in these countries in

transit prior to the effective date of the

ban are not barred from entry.

The Department of State

communicated the certifications under

section 609 to the Office of Trade

Operations of the United States Customs

Service in a letter transmitted on May 1,

1998. The letter noted that the

Department has informed U.S. importers

and foreign nations that after May 1,

1997, the Exporter’s/Importer’s

Declaration required to be submitted

with all shrimp imports must be the

latest version (OMB Approval No. 140–

0095, expiration date 9–31–99). In

addition, the United States Customs

Service and foreign and domestic users

of the DSP–121 form have been notified

that, in accordance with a U.S. Court of

International Trade order of October 8,

1996, shrimp harvested with TEDs in

uncertified nations may not be imported

into the United States and that

exemption 7.2 on the DSP 121 is not

valid until further notice.

Dated: May 19, 1998.

R. Tucker Scully,

Acting Deputy Assistant Secretary For

Oceans.

[FR Doc. 98–14787 Filed 6–3–98; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4710–09–M

TENNESSEE VALLEY AUTHORITY

Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, as

Amended by Public Law 104–13;

Submission for OMB Review;

Comment Request

AGENCY: Tennessee Valley Authority.

ACTION: Submission for OMB review;

comment request.

SUMMARY: The proposed information

collection described below will be

submitted to the Office of Management

and Budget (OMB) for review, as

required by the Paperwork Reduction

Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. Chapter 35, as

amended). The Tennessee Valley

Authority is soliciting public comments

on this proposed collection as provided

by 5 CFR 1320.8(d)(1). Requests for

information, including copies of the

information collection proposed and

supporting documentation, should be

directed to the Agency Clearance

Officer: Wilma H. McCauley, Tennessee

Valley Authority, 1101 Market Street

(WR 4Q), Chattanooga, Tennessee

37402–2801; (423) 751–2523.

Comments should be sent to OMB

Office of Information and Regulatory

Affairs, Attention: Desk Officer for

Tennessee Valley Authority no later

than July 6, 1998.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Type of Request: Regular submission,

proposal to extend without revision a

currently approved collection of

information (OMB control number

3316–0096).

Title of Information Collection:

Customer Input Card for TVA

Recreation Areas.

Frequency of Use: On occasion.

Type of Affected Public: Individuals

or households.

Small Business or Organizations

Affected: No.

Federal Budget Functional Category

Code: 452.

Estimated Number of Annual

Responses: 1,000.

Estimated Total Annual Burden

Hours: 50.

Estimated Average Burden Hours Per

Response: .05.

Need For and Use of Information:

This information collection asks visitors

to selected TVA public use areas to

provide feedback on the condition of the

facilities they used and the services they

received. The information collected will

be used to evaluate current

maintenance, facility, and service

practices and policies and to identify

new opportunities for improvements.

William S. Moore,

Senior Manager, Administrative Services.

[FR Doc. 98–14862 Filed 6–3–98; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 8120–08–P

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Aviation Administration

RTCA Program Management

Committee (PMC)

Pursuant to section 10(a) (2) of the

Federal Advisory Committee Act (Pub.

L. 92–463, 5 U.S.C., Appendix 2), notice

is hereby given for the RTCA Program

Management Committee (PMC) meeting

to be held June 8, 1998, starting at 9:00

a.m. The meeting will be held at RTCA,

Inc., 1140 Connecticut Avenue, NW.,

Suite 1020, Washington DC 20036.

The agenda will include: (1) Welcome

and Introductions; (2) Review and

Approval of Summary of the Previous

Meeting; (3) Consider/Approve: a. Final

Draft, DO–229A, Minimum Operational

Performance Standards for Global

Positioning System/Wide Area

Augmentation System Airborne

Equipment, RTCA Paper No. 094–98/

PMC–009, prepared by Special

Committee (SC)–159; b. Final Draft,

Government/Industry Guidelines and

Concept for National Airspace Analysis

and Redesign, RTCA Paper No. 095–98/

PMC–010, prepared by SC–192; c. Final

Draft, Change 1, DO–215A, Guidance on

Aeronautical Mobile Satellite Service

(AMSS) End-to-End System

Performance, RTCA Paper No. 096–98/

PMC–011, prepared by SC–165; d.

Nominations for a new chairman for

SC–135, Environmental Testing; (4)

Special Committee Issues: a. PMC

Action Item 98–06, Chairman, SC–193,

Terrain and Airport Data Bases (Update

status of Terms of Reference; update

status of whether the committee will be

joint with EUROCAE Working Group

(WG)–44; recommend whether to

develop further the Ground Collision

Avoidance System work done by

EUROCAE WG–44); b. PMC Action Item

98–07, Chairman, SC–181, Navigation

Standards (Provide PMC with a work

plan and updated Terms of Reference to

incorporate development of standards

for Navigation Data Information on

Moving Maps); c. PMC Action Item 98–

14, Secretary, SC–165, Aeronautical

Mobile Satellite Services (Request to

task SC–165 with development of a

minimum Aviation System Performance

Standard for End-to-End Satellite Voice

Services, RTCA Paper No. 092–98/