AG/RES. 1393 (XXVI-O/96)

CONVOCATION OF THE SIXTH INTER-AMERICAN SPECIALIZED CONFERENCE ON PRIVATE INTERNATIONAL LAW

(Resolution adopted at the eighth plenary session, held on June 7, 1996)

THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY,

CONSIDERING:

That, at the request of the Secretary General of the Organization of American States, the Preparatory Committee of the General Assembly recommended including the item "Convocation of the Sixth Inter-American Specialized Conference on Private International Law (CIDIP-VI)" on the agenda for its twenty-sixth regular session (AG/doc.3349/96);

That the First, Second, Third, Fourth, and Fifth Inter-American Specialized Conferences on Private International Law adopted important conventions and made significant progress in enhancing private international law relevant to inter-American relations;

That, in the preamble of CIDIP-V/RES. 8 (94), the member states therein represented reiterated "the necessity of continued, in-depth study of various specific topics, with a view to the approval of the texts of conventions as part of the process of codification and progressive development of private international law";

That, in this same resolution, CIDIP-V resolved to request the General Assembly to convene the Sixth Inter-American Specialized Conference on Private International Law (CIDIP-VI) and to recommend that the following items be included on the agenda: power of attorney and commercial representation; conflict of laws on extracontractual liability (limited to a specifically defined scope); standardized commercial documentation for free trade; international bankruptcy; problems in private international law regarding private international loan contracts; civil international liability for crossboundary pollution (aspects of private international law); international protection of children in private international law (authority over children, custody, visitation rights, status); and uniformity and harmonization of secured transactions law;

That the member states requested that the respective preparatory studies be conducted by specialists and that the meetings of experts be held duly in advance of the Conference itself;

That, in the document "The Law in a New Inter-American Order," the Secretary General stressed the importance to the region of the development of private international law in the framework of CIDIP;

That the Charter of the Organization of American States provides that Specialized Conferences shall be held whenever the General Assembly so decides and that the agenda and rules of procedure shall be prepared by the corresponding councils and submitted to the governments of the member states for consideration; and

That, in light of the foregoing, it is considered necessary to convene CIDIP-VI and to continue the process of development and codification of private international law which started in Panama (CIDIP-I, 1975) and continued in Montevideo (CIDIP-II, 1979), La Paz (CIDIP-III, 1984), Montevideo (CIDIP-IV, 1989), and Mexico City (CIDIP-V, 1994),

RESOLVES:

1. To convene the Sixth Inter-American Specialized Conference on Private International Law (CIDIP-VI), to be held on a date and at a place to be determined by the Permanent Council.

2. To instruct the Permanent Council to approve the draft rules of procedure and agenda for CIDIP-VI, to submit them to the governments of the member states for approval, and to consider including, inter alia, the following items:

a. Power of attorney and commercial representation;

b. Conflict of laws on extracontractual liability (limited to a specifically defined scope);

c. Standardized commercial documentation for free trade;

d. International bankruptcy;

e. Problems in private international law regarding private international loan contracts;

f. Civil international liability for crossboundary pollution (aspects of private international law);

g. International protection of children in private international law (authority over children, custody, visitation rights, status); and

h. Uniformity and harmonization of secured transactions law.

3. To instruct the Inter-American Juridical Committee to prepare the reports, draft conventions, and respective statements of reasons on the items approved by the Permanent Council for CIDIP-VI, and to consider any conclusions and opinions submitted by the meetings of experts convened by the Organization for those purposes.

4. To instruct the General Secretariat to prepare, as for previous Specialized Conferences on private international law, the technical documents and information considered necessary for facilitating CIDIP-VI, as well as any other document that the Permanent Council may deem appropriate.

5. To request the General Secretariat to carry out all necessary activities related to the preparatory phase of CIDIP-VI, including the coordination of the meetings of experts and the exchange of information and documents, and to provide technical assistance and administrative services when CIDIP-VI is held.

6. To request the General Secretariat to include in due course such items as are required in the proposed program-budget of the Organization, within available resources, to hold the Sixth Inter-American Specialized Conference on Private International Law and to carry out the preparatory work required for CIDIP-VI, including any meetings of experts that may be called.