[Hague-jur-commercial-law] Story and question

[Manon Ress]

Here's a story on the Convention diplomatic conference moved to June 2005.
Anyone knows if and when there'll be a EU hearing on the topic?  I had 
heard Jan 25 but cannot get any confirmation...
Manon

International Roundup: Wednesday, January 5, 2005
Expediting Global E-Commerce Talks
by William New

      The decade-old negotiation of an international treaty on the 
jurisdiction over and enforcement of cross-border contracts has received 
expedited status in 2005, according to a new report of the body 
negotiating the pact.
      The talks are being conducted under the Hague Conference on 
Private International Law in The Hague, Netherlands. Talks have been 
conducted for years at a working-group level but now will move to a 
full-fledged negotiation known as a "diplomatic conference." The 
secretariat posted a report last month noting that the diplomatic 
session initially scheduled for September has been moved up to June 
14-30 in The Hague. The change was made at the request of the United 
States, the report said, but it does not give a reason for the request.
      The treaty would cover contract clauses specifying what country's 
courts have jurisdiction in online commerce between businesses. Last 
year, the treaty scope was narrowed significantly to trim more 
intractable areas such as business-to-consumer transactions, all of 
which could be revisited in the future.
      The draft convention is just 14 pages but has generated hours of 
debate and discussion in recent months. In December, the secretariat 
issued a 60-page report -- with hundreds of footnotes -- revealing the 
detailed legal give-and-take by national delegations and the apparent 
remaining disagreement on some issues.
      According to the report, areas to be resolved include clarifying 
when choice-of-court clauses are valid and what exceptions are allowed 
to contractual agreements, establishing coverage of intellectual 
property rights, and determining the place of residence of the 
contracted companies.
      Informal exchanges and national-level discussions will continue 
leading up to the June session, a participant said this week.
-- 
Manon Anne Ress
manon.ress@cptech.org,
www.cptech.org

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