[Federal Register: April 20, 1998 (Volume 63, Number 75)]
[Notices]               
[Page 19556]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr20ap98-132]

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DEPARTMENT OF STATE

[Public Notice No. 2783]

 
Advisory Committee on Private International Law (ACPIL) Study 
Group on Electronic Commerce; Meeting Notice

    The Study Group on Electronic Commerce of the Advisory Committee on 
Private International Law (ACPIL) will hold its next meeting from 9:30 
to 4:00 on Thursday, April 16 in Washington, DC. The purpose of the 
meeting will be to review international proposals for rules on 
electronic signature systems.
    The meeting will consider authentication, message integrity, sender 
and user rights and obligations, and the evolving roles of third party 
system designers and service providers, as well as differing standards 
that may be appropriate for commercial and governmental applications. 
Both international and domestic developments will be reviewed, given 
the close connection between them in an era of globalization of 
commerce, information, and borderless connections through data 
networks. The status of ongoing projects at various international 
bodies, both intergovernmental and private sector, including UNCITRAL, 
OECD, the ICC and others will be reviewed. The meeting will focus on 
revised draft rules on electronic signatures prepared by the 
Secretariat of the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law 
(UNCITRAL), which will be discussed at an upcoming UNCITRAL Working 
Group meeting at the U.N. in June 1998. Included in that discussion 
will be a U.S. proposal for a multilateral treaty (convention) that 
could include provisions of the 1996 UNCITRAL Model Law on Electronic 
Commerce, and possibly other provisions.
    Also on the agenda will be a review, as appropriate, of the latest 
developments in state legislatures within the U.S.; draft uniform state 
laws under preparation, including the proposed new Uniform Commercial 
Code Article 2B and Electronic Transactions Act; developments in other 
national legal systems; and electronic commerce initiatives of the 
Department of Commerce and others.
    Proposals on electronic commerce infrastructure, including access 
to markets, message integrity, and privacy issues that are expected to 
be discussed at the OECD in October will also be reviewed as 
appropriate. Suggestions on possible legal standards for determining 
applicable law and jurisdiction in a cross-border setting may be 
considered.
    The meeting of the Advisory Committee Study Group is open to the 
public up to the capacity of the meeting room. Members of the public 
who cannot attend are welcome to comment, including any recommendations 
for possible U.S. positions on these matters. The meeting will take 
place at the International Law Institute (ILI), 1615 New Hampshire 
Avenue, NW, Washington, DC. Persons who expect to attend should advise 
either the Office of the Legal Adviser (L/PIL) at Suite 357, South 
Building, 2430 E Street, NW, Washington, DC 20037-2800, fax (202) 776-
8482, or Stuart Kerr at ILI, (202) 483-3036, fax 483-3029. The Office 
of the Legal Adviser will provide copies of, or e-mail and other 
sources for, UN, NCCUSL and related documents for the meeting. For 
further information, please contact Harold Burman, Advisory Committee 
Executive Director, at (202) 776-8421.
    The meeting will take place immediately prior to meeting in 
Washington, DC on April 17-19 of the National Conference of 
Commissioners Drafting Group on Uniform State Laws (NCCUSL) on the 
proposed Uniform Electronic Transactions Act (UETA). Attendees at the 
Study Group meeting or others who may be interested in the UETA meeting 
should contact Patricia Fry at the Stetson University College of Law, 
(813) 562-7893, fax 813-347-3738, or D. Benjamin Beard at the 
University of Idaho Law School, 208-885-6423, fax 885-7609.
Harold S. Burman,
Advisory Committee, Executive Director.
[FR Doc. 98-10324 Filed 4-17-98; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4710-08-M