11626 Federal Register / Vol. 66, No. 38 / Monday, February 26, 2001 / Notices

organizing activities prior to and after

BiH general elections. Throughout

BiH.

9/28/00. $5,000,000. 180–0004.

Municipal Infrastructure and

Services. Fund contract extension

with Parsons Delaware Inc. to

implement the MIS program.

Throughout BiH.

9/28/00. $1,500,000. 180–0005.

Privatization & Enterprise

Restructuring. Develop

comprehensive accounting and

auditing regime for BiH.

USAID: Serbia

8/1/00. $1,500,000. 180–0021. Political

and Social Process. Political party

development. Economic program

development; for use in opposition

election campaigns and to guide

polices once the political opposition

is elected to office.

8/10/00. $999,775. 180–0019.

Democratic Governance. TA to

improve local government

capabilities.

8/16/00. $604,319. 180–0019.

Democratic Governance. TA to

improve delivery of constituent

services.

8/25/00. $529,792. 180–0032. NGO

Development. TA to improve civil

society advocacy capabilities.

9/18/00. $1,499,351. 180–0019.

Democratic Governance. Targeted

municipalities: humanitarian

assistance.

9/15/00. $127,684. 180–0021. Political

and Social Process. Trade Union getout-the-vote activities.

9/18/00. $327,984. 180–0032. NGO

Development. Improve capabilities of

women’s groups and other civil

society advocates.

9/29/00. $100,009. 180–0021. Political

and Social Process. Political party

development.

9/29/00. $135,635. 180–0021. Political

and Social Process. Election

monitoring.

9/29/00. $192,887. 180–0032. NGO

Development. Improve capabilities of

civil society advocates.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Office of the SEED Coordinator,

Department of State, 2101 C St NW.,

Washington, DC 20521, 202–647–0853.

Dated: January 10, 2001.

Larry C. Napper,

Coordinator for East European Assistance,

U.S. Department of State.

[FR Doc. 01–4668 Filed 2–23–01; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4710–23–P

DEPARTMENT OF STATE

[Public Notice No. 3544]

Proposed Protocol on Rail Equipment

to the Draft Convention Sponsored by

UNIDROIT on International Mobile

Equipment Finance; Meeting Notice

ACTION: International rail finance—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 Friday,

March 2, 2001.

AGENDA: The meeting will cover

developments relating to cross-border

financing of rail equipment; the purpose

of the proposed UNIDROIT Convention

on international interests in mobile

equipment; recent revisions to the

proposed rail equipment protocol to that

convention; and positions that may be

adopted for the forthcoming UNIDROIT

meeting on the rail protocol in March

2001.

Issues relevant to various

organizations will be considered,

including international transportation

policies of DOT, the Surface

Transportation Board (STB), and the

Association of American Railroads

(AAR).

Comments will be requested on draft

provisions of the proposed Railway

rolling stock protocol, including the

intersection with revisions to Uniform

Commercial Code Art.9 in the United

States, relevant provisions of Title 49 of

the U.S. Code, commercial finance laws

of Canada, Mexico and other countries,

and related international projects 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 is a

member state of UNIDROIT,

headquartered in Rome, Italy, which

seeks to unify private law, often in the

economic and commercial law area. The

U.S. has been an active participant in

negotiations on a multilateral

convention (UNIDROIT Convention) to

provide for enforceability of

international secured finance interests

in mobile equipment, together with a

protocol on aircraft finance, with

provisions for rail equipment and space

and satellite equipment to be

subsequently considered. The basic

convention and aircraft protocol are

expected to be finalized in 2001.

A Rail Working Group (RWG)

authorized by UNIDROIT has

undertaken work on the current draft

protocol on provisions specific to rail

equipment financing, which will be

considered at an international meeting

in March 2001 sponsored by UNIDROIT

and the Intergovernmental Organization

for International Carriage by Rail (OTIF).

The proposed Convention and rail

equipment protocol is intended to

benefit rail industry exports and

increase the capacity of many countries

to finance such equipment through

private sector capital markets. Key

features of the draft Convention as it

would be amended by the rail protocol

are expected to include: rules on

secured financing priorities recognized

by the convention; assignments;

recognition of existing regional rail

registries and possible cross-links

between them, and provision for new

registry systems or for states to utilize

existing systems in other countries for

implementation of the convention.

Certain key provisions are likely to be

optional, such as enhanced and

expedited remedies upon default and

treatment of insolvency rights.

Attendance: The meeting will be held

on Friday, March 2, 2001, from 10:00

a.m. to 4:00 p.m. at the Association of

American Railroads (AAR), 50 ‘‘F’’

Street, NW, Washington, D.C. 20001, in

the 4th floor conference center. The

meeting is open to the public, up to the

capacity of the meeting room and

subject to rulings of the chair. Persons

wishing to attend should contact Peter

Bloch, Department of Transportation,

Office of General Counsel, (202) 366–

9183, fax 366–9188, or Louis P. Warchot

at AAR at 202–639–2500, fax 639–2868,

not later than Thursday, March 1, 2001.

Documents: The Preliminary Draft

Protocol on railway rolling stock,

UNIDROIT Doc.4, Study LXXIIH,

December 2000 (also available as OTIF

Doc. JGR/2, December 2000) is available

prior to the meeting by express mail or

fax from the Office of Legal Adviser at

the above numbers. The position of the

AAR concerning the rail protocol can be

obtained from the AAR at the above

number. The draft UNIDROIT

convention as well as the draft aircraft

protocol are available at

Federal Register / Vol. 66, No. 38 / Monday, February 26, 2001 / Notices 11627

www.UNIDROIT.org/ ‘‘International

interests in mobile equipment’’.

Harold S. Burman,

Executive Director, Secretary of State’s

Advisory Committee on Private International

Law, United States Department of State.

[FR Doc. 01–4665 Filed 2–23–01; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4710–08–P

DEPARTMENT OF STATE

[Public Notice No. 3545]

Advisory Committee Meeting on Law

Applicable to Securities

Intermediaries; Meeting Notice

The Study Group on Securities

Transactions of the State Department’s

Advisory Committee on Private

International Law will hold a meeting

on Monday, March 5, 2001, at the

Federal Reserve Bank of New York on

proposed treaty rules on law applicable

to securities intermediaries, and in

particular the law applicable to

dispositions of securities held through

an indirect holding system.

The meeting will provide an

opportunity for public comment and

will facilitate preparation of United

States positions in connection with draft

rules in preparation at the Hague

Conference on Private International Law

on law applicable to intermediaries.

Agenda: The meeting will review

initial draft rules considered by states,

organizations and industry

representatives invited by the Hague

Conference at its first meeting on this

subject, that took place January 2001

together with proposed amendments

thereto and additional provisions that

may be suggested by study group

participants.

Subject to availability of time, the

meeting will review developments

involving direct and indirect holders of

securities, transfers of interest,

dematerialization and immobilization of

securities, the systemic role of multiple

indirect holding systems, and whether

harmonization by international treaty is

feasible. Among other issues, an

applicable law regime might address

what law governs transfers of securities

held through custodial accounts and

financial intermediaries; the rights to

securities in custodial accounts; the

rights of owners of securities as well as

entities secured thereby; the relation to

third party creditors; and the legal

nature of interests in securities held by

such intermediaries or through central

clearing systems.

Time permitting, the desirability of

additional efforts to prepare substantive

rules on securities intermediaries by

other international bodies, such as the

United Nations Commission on

International Trade Law (UNCITRAL),

UNIDROIT and the OAS will be

discussed.

Documentation: The basic study by

the Permanent Bureau of the Hague

Conference, ‘‘Law applicable to

disposition of securities held through

indirect holding systems’’, is obtainable

at www.hcch.net. Draft articles and

proposed revisions thereto are set out in

Doc. WP–16 dated February 6 and

annexes A–C on the same site.

Commentators unable to retrieve these

documents may request them from the

Office of the Legal Adviser (L/PIL) by

contacting Rosie Gonzales at 202–776–

8420, by fax 202–776–8482, or by email

at pildb@his.com.

Attendance: The public is invited to

attend up to the capacity of the meeting

room and may participate subject to the

rulings of the chair. The meeting will

take place at 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. at

the New York Federal Reserve Bank, 33

Liberty Street, NYC in the 10th Floor

Board Room. Since access to the

building is controlled, persons wishing

to attend should, prior to c.o.b.

Wednesday, March 2, notify Joyce

Hansen, Sr. Vice President, New York

Federal Reserve, at 212–720–5024, fax

212–720–1756 or contact Harold

Burman, Office of the Legal Adviser,

202–776–8421; fax: 202–776–8482.

Harold S. Burman,

Executive Director, Secretary of State’s

Advisory Committee on Private International

Law, U.S. Department of State.

[FR Doc. 01–4666 Filed 2–23–01; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4710–08–P

DEPARTMENT OF STATE

[Public Notice No. 3546]

Proposed Convention Sponsored by

UNIDROIT on International Equipment

Finance and Draft Protocol on Space

Equipment; Meeting Notice

ACTION: The Space Finance Study Group

of the State Department’s Advisory

Committee on Private International Law

will meet in Washington, DC on

Thursday, March 8 from 10:00 a.m. to

4:00 p.m. The Study Group will review

and comment on a draft protocol on

space equipment which would amend

provisions of a proposed UNIDROIT

convention on international secured

financing for high-value mobile

equipment, with a particular focus on

the space equipment industry and

implications for the provision of spacebased services.

Agenda

The meeting will cover the status and

purposes of the proposed (UNIDROIT)

Convention on international interests in

mobile equipment; the application of

asset-based financing to space

equipment; the revised draft protocol on

space equipment; the revised draft

protocol on aircraft; the upcoming

meeting on the space protocol and the

relationship to the outer space treaty

system at the Legal Subcommittee of the

United Nations Committee on the

Peaceful Uses of Outer Space

(UNCOPUOS); and related

developments in the space industry.

The intersection with the Uniform

Commercial Code in the United States

and secured finance laws in other

countries will be considered, as well as

related developments on international

secured financing at UNCITRAL (the

United Nations Commission on

International Trade Law) and the OAS

(Organization of American States).

The relationship between the

proposed Space Equipment Protocol

and the outer space treaty system will

be reviewed, with particular attention to

provisions on control and liability. In

addition, options for establishment of an

international computer-based registry of

financial interests as contemplated by

the new treaty system, and its

relationship, if any, to the existing

registration of space objects at

UNCOPUOS, will be examined.

Background

The United States is a member of

UNIDROIT (The International Institute

for the Unification of Private Law) and

has been an active participant in

negotiations on a proposed multilateral

convention (UNIDROIT Convention) to

provide for the creation and

enforceability of international secured

finance interests in mobile equipment,

specifically including at this stage

aircraft, to be followed by space and

satellite equipment, and railway rolling

stock. A Space Working Group (SWG)

authorized by UNIDROIT has prepared

the current draft protocol on provisions

specific to space equipment financing.

Completion of the basic Convention and

Aircraft Protocol is expected by the fall

of 2001.

Completion of protocols on space and

rail equipment is expected to follow.

The proposed Convention and

equipment specific protocols can

enhance the development of equipment

industries, as well as the capacity of

many countries to finance such

equipment and related services, through

private sector capital markets.

Key features of the draft Convention

include the creation of internationally