Novedades  News from the National Law Center for Inter-American Free Trade

Volume 5, Number 3 March 1998

A recent meeting of top international bankers has brought the international banking community one step closer to standardizing standby letter of credit practice.

Four years after their first meeting, members of the Select Advisory Group on the Rules and Commentary on Standby Letters of  Credit and of the International Standby Practices Steering Committee have endorsed a version of the International Standby Practices (ISP) for submission to the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) Banking Commission.

The agreement is significant in that it could considerably improve the way international banking practitioners use standby letters of credit worldwide.

The meeting to endorse the final draft was held Jan. 26-29 in New York City. Representing the Center were Dr. Boris Kozolchyk, the Center’s director and president and a member of the ISP Steering Committee; and Dustin C. Jones, a research assistant at the Center and second-year law student at the University of Arizona. The ISP steering committee, comprised of lawyers and high-ranking bank officials from prominent financial institutions, includes representatives from Citibank, Chase Manhattan Bank, and Baker & McKenzie.

Standby letters of credit are frequently used as a form of payment guarantee or as payment enhancement in the case of nonperformance under a contractual obligation. Their importance is reflected in their yearly volume, estimated in excess of 300 billion worldwide.

The prolific use of letters of credit in recent decades has led international bankers to formulate a separate set of rules to govern their use. Those rules were modeled on the Uniform Customs and Practices for Documentary Credits (UCP), a document used for commercial letters of credit.

A final draft of the ISP document was completed last fall after an arduous process. Steering committee members met over a four-year period in 11 cities in eight different countries, and issued 78 interim drafts resulting in 16 formal drafts. Implementation of the rules, however, was postponed in November 1997 at the request of the ICC Commission on Banking Technique and Practice in order to permit further discussions regarding potential ramifications for the international banking community.

The ISP document will be presented in April to the ICC Banking Commission for its approval and will then be submitted to the ICC Executive Board in June. A date for implementing the ISP document has not been set.
—with reporting from Dustin Jones in New York City

For a copy of the ISP document, contact the Institute of International Banking Law & Practice, Inc., 20405 Ryecroft Court, Post Office Box 2235, Gaithersburg, Maryland 20879; tel: 301/ 869-9840; fax: 301/ 926-1265; Internet: www.iiblp.org.

The first drafting of  ISP rules session took place May 28-30, 1992 at the Center. A transcript of this session was published in the Arizona Journal of International and Comparative Law, Vol.9, No.2, and is available from the Center.

The Center’s work on Mexican secured transaction law caught wide attention during a major meeting of Latin American notaries. More than 900 notaries representing many countries attended the event, which was hosted by the Mexican Notarial Association in Veracruz, Feb. 4-7. The meeting’s importance was highlighted by the attendance of President Ernesto Zedillo, who presided at the opening.

“The participants’ reaction to the work of the Mexican notaries, SECOFI (the Mexican Department of Commerce and Industrial Development), and the Center was extraordinarily positive,” reported Dr. Kozolchyk, an invited speaker. “Virtually every Latin American delegation expressed an interest in adopting the Mexican model law.”

Mexico is considering revising its antiquated secured financing system, which hinders economic growth in Mexico. The Center has been assisting the Mexican government to this end since 1993. In 1995 the Center released a disparity study on secured transaction law and practice in the NAFTA region. The publication drew special attention to the situation in Mexico.
 

The Center, in cooperation with the U.S.-Mexico Conflict Resolution Center, will hold a seminar on judicial cooperation along the U.S.-Mexico border. The seminar will be conducted March 26-27 in Albuquerque, N.M. The seminar will provide participants with an overview of environmental regulatory systems in place between the two countries, and will highlight issues likely to generate litigation in the border region in the coming years.
The seminar is divided into three sessions. The first session will address the history of U.S.-Mexico environmental cooperation. Speakers for this session include Mark Spalding, an international environmental policy expert, law consultant and attorney; and Sanford Gaines, a law professor at the University of Houston Law Center.
The second session will focus on the jurisdictional changes of U.S. federal agencies, and U.S. and Mexico cooperation relating to environmental evidence. Amy Mignella, the Center’s environment project director, will share her views on the future role of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Bruce Zagaris, an attorney specializing in international law, will discuss evidentiary cooperation between the two countries.
Finally, Nancy Oretskin, a lawyer and an associate professor at New Mexico State University and the U.S. program director of the U.S.-Mexico Conflict Resolution Center, will talk about facilitating resolutions of cross-border disputes.
Participation in the seminar is limited to judges only. The registration fee is $95 before March 4. After that date, the fee will be $120. To register, please contact Monty Vance, at 520/622-1200; e-mail: vance@u.arizona.edu.

David Gantz, Center’s assistant director, will join a group of U.S. and Japanese law professors participating in a symposium sponsored by the University of Tokyo and the University of Georgia. The symposium will be held in Tokyo March 23-25. The subject is “Prevention and Settlement of Economic Disputes Between Japan and the United States.”

“Law Center Harmonizes Transport Regulations in North America,” Modern Bulk Transporter, January 1998, pp.44-45. The article reports on a presentation by Gary Doyle,  Center’s transportation and customs project director, at the semiannual conference of the Hazardous Materials Advisory Council held Nov. 5-7 in New Mexico.

“National Law Center Update,” The Arizona-Mexico Journal, Winter 1997, p.17. The article reviews the project submitted by Dr. Boris Kozolchyk to Arizona and Sonora’s governors to facilitate the securitization of real estate mortgage assets in Mexico.

“Boris Kozolchyk,” Document Credit World, Editorial Board Snapshot, January 1998, pp. 34-36. The article profiles Dr. Kozolchyk and reviews his work in the area of letters of credit law.

MARCH 23-25, LAREDO, TEX.
Western Hemispheric Economies in the 21st Century
Texas A&M International University and the Center for the Study of Western Hemispheric Trade will be sponsoring their fifth conference on the economic situation in the Western Hemisphere. Conference participants will include several senior government officials from the U.S. and the rest of the hemisphere. Contact: Khosrow Fatemi, tel: 956/ 326-2480; fax: 956/ 326-2479; e-mail: fatemi@tamiu.edu.

MARCH 26-27, ALBUQUERQUE, N.M.
Judicial Cooperation Along the U.S.-Mexico Border
The seminar will provide participants with an overview of environmental regulations in place between the two countries and highlight issues likely to arise. Participation limited to judges only. Contact: Amy Mignella, Center environmental project coordinator, 520/623-3389; fax: 520/388-9095; e-mail: amynafta@natlaw.com.

JUNE 15-JULY 17, WASHINGTON D.C.
Second Annual International
Executive Training Program
Participants will gain an understanding of the principal legal, policy and institutional issues related to international investment, finance, trade, tax, and oil and gas transactions. Contact: Washington College of Law, American University, tel: 202/ 274-4003; http://www.wcl.american.edu/workshop.

JUNE 23-25, NEW YORK CITY
First Annual Banking and Secured Lending Conference of the Americas
The conference will focus on issues pertaining to secured financing and international banking practices throughout the Americas. Representatives of major financial institutions and law firms will attend. Contact: Constantino Flores, conference coordinator, 520/623-3389; fax: 520/388-9095;e-mail: cflores@natlaw.com.

NEW JUDICIAL INFORMATION ACQUIRED FOR PERU AND BRAZIL
The Center has acquired subscriptions to CD collections pertaining to the judicial information systems of Peru (Sistema Peruano de Informática Jurídica, or SPIJ) and Brazil (Legislação Informatizada Saraiva, or LIS). These comprehensive CD collections contain complete legislation and codes for both countries. Updated monthly, the CD collections will provide InterAmSM subscribers with current materials and serve as a valuable resource for researchers.

ARGENTINA
(www.natlaw.com/argentina/argentin.htm)
•Commercial Code of Argentina, last revised January 1996.
•Bills of Exchange Law. 19-VII-1963.
•Law of Commercial Companies.  20-III-1989.
•Law regulating the Financing of Housing and Construction. 09-I-1995.
•Law of Negotiable Instruments. 01-VIII-1991.
•Law on Checks. 22-II-1995.
•Law of Free Zones. 17-VI-1994.
•Assets Tax Law. 18-XII-1989.
•Amendment of Tax on Personal Property. 23-III-1995.
•Decree concerning Assets Tax Law. 26-VIII-1993.
•Resolution amending Profits Tax Law. 08-V-1992.

BRAZIL
(www.natlaw.com/brazil/brazil.htm)
•Decreto 22.626 Dispõe sobre os Juros nos Contratos e dá outras Providências.07-IV-1933.
•Medida Provisória No 1.531-11 Altera dispositivos das Leis nos 8.666, de 21 de junho 1993, 8.987, de13 de fevereiro de 1995, 9.074, de 7 de julho de 1995, 9.427, de 26 de dezembro de 1996, autoriza o Poder Executivo a promover a reestruturação da Centrais Elétricas Brasileiras S.A. ELETROBRÁS e de suas subsidiárias, e dá outras providências. 18-X-1997.
•Legislative Decree 100 Approves the Text of the Rectification Proceedings of the Additional Protocol Concerning Navigation and Security to the Agreement of Fluvial Transportation Through the Waterway Hidrovia Paraguay-Parana (Porto de Caceres - Porto de Nova Palmira), executed on June 23, 1993 in Montevideo. 07-III-1995.

COLOMBIA
(www.natlaw.com/colombia/colombia.htm)
•Ley núm. 50 de 28 de diciembre de 1990, por la que se introducen reformas al Código Sustantivo de Trabajo y se dictan otras disposiciones. 01-I-1991.

COSTA RICA
(www.natlaw.com/cr/cr.htm)
•Ley 4755 Código de Normas y Procedimientos Tributarios de Costa Rica. 29-IV-1971.

DOMINICAN REPUBLIC
(www.natlaw.com/domrep/domrep.htm)
•Decreto 25893 Reglamento de aplicación del Código de Trabajo. 15-X-1993.

ECUADOR
(www.natlaw.com/ecuador/ecuador.htm)
•Codificación de la Ley sobre el Banco Ecuatoriano de la Vivienda y Asociaciones Mutualistas de Ahorro y Crédito para la Vivienda. 14-V-1975.
•Decreto-Ley 02 de Régimen Monetario y Banco del Estado. Date unknown.
•Decreto-Ley 04 Ley Orgánica de Aduanas. 10-III-1994.

PARAGUAY
(www.natlaw.com/paraguay/paraguay.htm)
•Ley 805 Que Modifica Varios Artículos Del Capítulo XXVI, Título II, Libro III, Del Código Civil y Crea La Figura Del Cheque Bancario De Pago Diferido, Deroga La Ley 941/64 y Despeñaliza El Cheque Con Fecha Adelantada. 16-I-1996.

EL SALVADOR
(www.natlaw.com/elsav/elsalv.htm)
•Decreto 859 por el que se dictan reformas al Código del Trabajo. 12-V-1994.

MEXICO
(www.natlaw.com/mexico.htm)
•Ley que modifica al Código Fiscal de la Federación y a las leyes del Impuesto sobre la Renta, Impuesto al Valor Agregado, Impuesto Especial sobre Producción y Servicios, Impuesto sobre Tenencia o Uso de Vehículos, Federal del Impuesto sobre Automóviles Nuevos y Federal de Derechos.  29-XII-1997.
•Decreto por el que se adiciona y reforma la Ley de Coordinación Fiscal.  29-XII-1997.
•Decreto por el que se reforma, adiciona y deroga diversas disposiciones del Código Civil para el Distrito Federal en Materia Común y para toda la República en Materia Federal; del Código de Procedimientos Civiles para el Distrito Federal; del Código Penal para el Distrito Federal en Materia de Fuero Común y para toda la República en Materia de Fuero Federal, y del Código de Procedimientos Penales para el Distrito Federal.  30-XII-1997.
•Acuerdo que autoriza el ajuste y modificación de las tarifas para suministro y venta de energía eléctrica.  30-XII-1997.
•Decreto por el que se crean, aumentan, disminuyen y suprimen diversos aranceles de la Tarifa de la Ley del Impuesto General de Importación.  31-XII-1997.
•Ley de Ingresos del Distrito Federal para el Ejercicio Fiscal 1998.  05-I-1998.
•Lista de unidades de verificación de información comercial acreditadas y aprobadas para las normas NOM-015/2-SCFI-1994, NOM-004-SCFI-1994, NOM-024-SCFI-1994 y NOM-051-SCFI-1994, ante esta dependencia. 06-I-1998.

HEMISPHERIC
•“Harmonizing Hemispheric Transportation: Political Forces Pose Road Blocks,” by Gary Doyle.

PANAMA
•“New Banking Law Proposed,” by Eduardo E. Morgan.

COLOMBIA
•“Public Debt Securities Issuances,” by Carlos A. Riveros.

•CONGRESSIONAL HIGHLIGHTS

•FROM THE EDITOR

• Summaries of recent developments in banking, environment, transportation, intellectual property, labor and more.

NOVEDADES
VOL. 5, NO.3

EDITOR
Virginie Drujon-Kippelen
CONTRIBUTING EDITOR
Lisa Button

NOVEDADES is published monthly by the National Law Center for Inter-American Free Trade, a non-profit research and educational corporation whose purpose is to facilitate trade and investment in the Western Hemisphere.

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