Welcome to the Private International Law site, maintained by the Office of the Assistant Legal Adviser for Private International Law (L/PIL) at the U.S. Department of State. L/PIL is responsible for the negotiation and conclusion of international conventions, model laws and rules, legislative guides, and other instruments governing private transactions that cross international borders. For Current Developments, see below.
This website is intended to provide a convenient location to find information regarding private international law in areas such as trade, finance and banking; judicial assistance; arbitration and judgments; matters involving families and children; and wills, trusts and estates.
The database accessible on this page is organized into the following categories:
Commercial Law
Judicial Assistance
Arbitration and Judgments
Family Law
Wills, Trusts and Estates
General Resources
The categories (other than General Resources) generally contain the following subheadings:
PIL conventions to which the U.S. is a party
PIL conventions for which U.S. ratification/accession is under consideration
Other PIL conventions (illustrative only – not meant to be comprehensive)
Other PIL instruments (e.g., model laws, legislative guides, etc.)
Work in progress
For links to specific conventions or other instruments, please refer to the listings under General Resources for the relevant intergovernmental organizations concerned with the unification and development of private international law: the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL); the Hague Conference on Private International Law (HCOPIL); the International Institute for the Unification of Private Law (UNIDROIT); and the Organization of American States (OAS).
In addition, the “Current Developments” section below, which is updated quarterly, provides information on current negotiations and projects, the U.S. Government position on certain matters, and upcoming events.
Persons or organizations wishing to comment on this website or to otherwise contact L/PIL are invited to do so by email, fax or letter to the following:
Keith Loken
Assistant Legal Adviser for Private International Law
Suite 357, South Building
2430 E Street, N.W.
Washington, D.C. 20037-2851
Fax: (202) 776-8482
Email: smeltzertk@state.gov attn: Trish Smeltzer
Current Developments (updated 7-1-12)
Save the date! The annual meeting of the State Department’s Advisory Committee on Private International Law (ACPIL) will be held October 11-12, 2012 at George Washington University Law School. Details will follow during the summer.
Recent events:
At the annual Council on General Affairs and Policy of the Hague Conference on Private International Law, held in The Hague April 17-20, the participants, inter alia:
- Approved the holding of two Special Commissions in November, on the practical operation of the Apostille Convention and on the development of principles on choice of law in international commercial contracts;
- Established a working group to develop a new part to the Guide to Good Practice on Application of the Child Abduction Convention on the issue of the interpretation and application of Article 13(b) of the Convention, which concerns non-return because of a grave risk that return will expose the child to physical or psychological harm or otherwise place the child in an intolerable situation;
- Established an experts’ group to explore the question of cross-border recognition and enforcement of agreements reached in the course of international child disputes, including through mediation;
- Established a working group to develop an instrument on the recognition and enforcement of judgments, while a separate experts’ group will consider the desirability and feasibility of including in the judgments project issues of direct jurisdiction;
- Agreed that a working group will reconvene to develop a strategic framework for the Conference’s technical assistance activities;
- Endorsed the establishment of an Asia Pacific Regional Office for the Hague Conference in Hong Kong; and
- Agreed on a process to select a successor to Conference Secretary General Han van Loon, who will retire in 2013.
At its May 7-9 meeting in Rome, the Governing Council of the International Institute for the Unification of Private Law (UNIDROIT), inter alia:
- Endorsed the proposal to convene a meeting of governmental experts (to be held in October) to consider draft principles on the netting of financial instruments;
- Authorized the Secretariat to establish a study group to develop, in coordination with FAO , IFAD and other organizations, a legal guide on contract farming;
- Authorized the Secretariat to pursue, resources permitting, other work relating to land investment contracts, land tenure, and agricultural financing;
- Authorized the Secretariat to take the steps necessary to promote the early entry into force of the Cape Town Protocol on Space Assets (concluded on March 9); and
- Approved the nomination of Professor Anna Veneziano as Deputy Secretary-General of UNIDROIT.
Several working groups of the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL) met in New York recently:
- Working Group I (Procurement) met April 16-20 to review the draft Guide to Enactment that is being developed to accompany the 2011 Model Law on Public Procurement. It is hoped that the Guide will be ready for consideration by the Commission at its annual meeting.
- Working Group V (Insolvency) continued its work April 30-May 4 on development of guidance on the concept of a debtor’s center of main interests. That text should be ready for adoption by the Commission in 2013. Work is also progressing in the area of the responsibility, authority and liability of directors of an enterprise in the period approaching insolvency.
- Additional work was done May 14-18 by Working Group VI (Security Interests) on development of secured transaction registry guidelines. That work is expected to continue in the fall.
- Significant progress was made by Working Group III (Online Dispute Resolution) at its May 21-25 meeting in preparing generic ODR Rules. After completion of the Rules, work is expected on substantive legal principles for deciding cases, guidelines for approval of ODR providers and arbitrators, and a cross-border enforcement mechanism.
Looking ahead:
- The annual Commission meeting, UNCITRAL’s plenary session, will take place in New York June 25 – July 6.
- The Government of the Czech Republic is hosting an Online Dispute Resolution (ODR) Forum in Prague June 27-29.
- July 13-19, the Uniform Law Commission will hold its annual meeting in Nashville.
- The Institute of the Americas and various governmental bodies and private sector entities are sponsoring a conference on asset-based lending in the Americas July 16-17 in Atlanta.
- The ABA annual meeting will be held in Chicago August 2-7.
Recent ACPIL meetings:
1) Public meeting on (a) jurisdiction and the recognition and enforcement of judgments and (b) choice of law in international commercial contracts – April 3, 2012
A public meeting was held, under the auspices of the State Department’s Advisory Committee on Private International Law, on April 3, 2012, at the Department of State, Harry S Truman Building, 2201 C Street, NW, Washington DC. The meeting was chaired by the Legal Adviser and, in his absence, by the Assistant Legal Adviser for Private International Law.
The public meeting was convened to discuss two topics on the agenda for the April 17-20 General Affairs and Policy Council of the Hague Conference on Private International Law: (1) jurisdiction and the recognition and enforcement of judgments, and (2) choice of law in international commercial contracts.
The Hague Conference is considering whether to resume the broader judgments project that proved unsuccessful a decade ago, leading to the more limited but still valuable Convention on Choice of Court Agreements. A meeting in The Hague of a small group of experts was scheduled in advance of the Council meeting to consider the desirability and feasibility of relaunching the broader project. Participants at the public meeting provided their views on those issues and the prospects for success if the initiative moves forward.
Also for consideration by the Council are draft principles on choice of law in international commercial contracts that have been developed by a working group of legal experts. The principles are intended to be non-binding. Discussion in the public meeting centered on the purpose of the draft principles, their content, and the process in the Hague Conference for their consideration and adoption.
No matter was resolved. No report was approved.
2) Public meeting of the Study Group on Online Dispute Resolution – May 4, 2012
A public meeting of the Study Group on Online Dispute Resolution was held under the auspices of the Advisory Committee on Private International Law on May 4, 2012, at the main State Department building (Harry S Truman Building), 2201 C Street, NW, Washington, D.C. 20520.
The meeting was convened to discuss the continuing work in UNCITRAL on the development of online dispute resolution (ODR) legal instruments for resolving both business to business (B2B) and business to consumer (B2C) cross-border e-commerce disputes, in anticipation of a fourth meeting of the UNCITRAL working group on online dispute resolution scheduled to take place in New York, May 21-25. The working group was established by the Commission in July 2010 pursuant to a U.S. proposal. The group is preparing generic ODR procedural rules applicable to low-value, high-volume cross-border e-commerce transactions as well as separate legal annexes on guidelines and minimum requirements for ODR providers and arbitrators, substantive legal principles for resolving disputes, and a cross-border enforcement mechanism.
The Study Group reviewed the current draft of the proposed UNCITRAL ODR generic procedural rules (WP 112) and the addendum thereto (WP112, add1), including the comments to both documents generated through the informal intersessional discussions with other delegations regarding the draft rules. The discussion centered on: a proposal for a new provision, modeled on Article 1(3) of the UNCITRAL 2010 Arbitration Rules, providing that where a provision of the ODR rules conflicts with a provision of the law applicable to the arbitration from which the parties cannot derogate, that provision should prevail; standards for resolving disputes including use of equitable principles; and an enforcement mechanism, including the need for arbitral decisions to be final and binding and enforceable under the Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards.
No matter was resolved. No report was approved. Another meeting of the Study Group is scheduled for June 15.
3) Public meeting of the Study Group on Online Dispute Resolution – June 15, 2012
A public meeting of the Study Group on Online Dispute Resolution was held under the auspices of the Advisory Committee on Private International Law on June 15, 2012, at the main State Department building (Harry S Truman Building), 2201 C Street, NW, Washington, D.C. 20520.
The meeting was convened to discuss the fourth meeting of the UNCITRAL working group on online dispute resolution which took place in New York May 21-25. The Study Group reviewed the results of that session, including the addition to the draft Rules of a new provision, modeled on Article 1(3) of the UNCITRAL 2010 Arbitration Rules, providing that where the ODR Rules conflict with a provision of the law applicable to the arbitration from which the parties cannot derogate, that provision should prevail. The Study Group also discussed the working group’s modification of the references in Article 1 to "informed consent" to instead require "express consent" to any ODR agreement, as well as the reasons why ODR arbitral decisions need to be final and binding.
The public meeting specifically addressed security issues relating to use of the ODR Rules, including measures to address the risk of fraud involving vendor claims against consumers. The Study Group reviewed the basis for the earlier decisions of the Working Group (May and November 2011) that both buyers and vendors should be permitted to bring claims. It also reviewed the measures to address the risk of fraud that have been included in the draft Rules and measures that are expected to be implemented privately by ODR platforms and providers.
No matter was resolved. No report was approved. Another meeting of the Study Group is expected to be scheduled in advance of the next session of the working group in the fall of 2012.
