2014-05831. U.S. Department of State Advisory Committee on Private International Law (ACPIL): Notice of Public Meeting of the Study Group on Choice of Law in International Commercial Contracts

The Office of the Assistant Legal Adviser for Private International Law, Department of State, hereby gives notice of a public meeting of the Study Group on Choice of Law in International Commercial Contracts. This is not a meeting of the full Advisory Committee.

A working group of experts from various countries was established by the Hague Conference on Private International Law to develop non-binding principles relevant to the choice of law in international commercial contracts. The draft principles prepared by that group were considered at a Special Commission of the Hague Conference held November 12-16, 2012. Subsequently the working group of experts prepared a detailed draft commentary to accompany the draft principles.

In April, the Hague General Affairs Council is expected to either give its final endorsement of the complete package of the Principles and the Commentary, or it may submit the package to the Special Commission.

The Draft Hague Principles as approved by the November 2012 Special Commission meeting on choice of law in international contracts, and the draft commentary can be found at the following link: http://www.hcch.net/​upload/​wop/​gap2014pd06_​en.pdf.

The purpose of this public meeting is to obtain the views of concerned stakeholders in advance of the Council meeting in April.

Time and Place: The meeting of the ACPIL Study Group will take place on March 20, 2014 from 10:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. EDT at 2430 E Street NW., South Building (SA 4) (Navy Hill), Room 356. Participants should arrive at the Navy Hill gate at the corner of 23rd Street NW. and D Street NW. before 10:00 a.m. for visitor screening. Participants will be met at the Navy Hill gate at 23rd and D Streets NW., and will be escorted to the South Building. Persons arriving later will need to make arrangements for entry using the contact information provided below. If you are unable to attend the public meeting and would like to participate from a remote location, teleconferencing will be available.

Public Participation: This meeting is open to the public, subject to the capacity of the meeting room. Access to Navy Hill is strictly controlled. For pre-clearance purposes, those planning to attend in person are requested to email at [e-mail] providing full name, address, date of birth, citizenship, driver's license or passport number, affiliation, and email address. This will greatly facilitate entry.

A member of the public needing reasonable accommodation should provide an email requesting such accommodation to [e-mail] as soon as possible. If you would like to participate by telephone, please email [e-mail] to obtain the call-in number and other information.

The Data from the public is requested pursuant to Public Law 99-399 (Omnibus Diplomatic Security and Antiterrorism Act of 1986), as amended; Public Law 107-56 (USA PATRIOT Act); and Executive Order 13356. The purpose of the collection is to validate the identity of individuals who enter Department facilities. For further information please contact Tricia Smeltzer at [e-mail] or 202-776-8423. The data will be entered into the Visitor Access Control System (VACS-D) database. Please see the Security Records System of Records Notice (State-36) at http://www.state.gov/​documents/​organization/​103419.pdf for additional information.

Dated: March 6, 2014.

Michael Dennis,

Attorney-Adviser, Office of Private International Law, Office of the Legal Adviser, Department of State.