ASSIGNMENTS OF RECEIVABLES IN CROSS-BORDER TRANSACTIONS
U.S. CONSIDERS RATIFICATION OF UN CONVENTION
SAVE THE DATE: OCTOBER 16, 2006
The United Nations General Assembly approved the United Nations Convention on the Assignment of Receivables in International Trade several years ago. The United States has signed but has not yet ratified the Convention. Both Canada and Mexico have expressed strong interest in adopting the Convention, especially if the United States does so. Once five countries have adopted the Convention, it will enter into force.
<The Convention would generally provide uniform legal rules for the assignment (whether as security or by sale) of contractual rights to payment arising out of commercial and loan transactions if the assignment or the receivable is international. The rules include substantive rules dealing with bulk assignments, assignments of future receivables, anti-assignment clauses, the rights of obligors on the receivables and choice of law rules for perfection and priority. >A number of organizations which have been active in the development of the Convention at the United Nations are organizing a meeting to be held on the afternoon of October 16, 2006, in New York City to consider whether the United States should move forward on the ratification process and whether, either alternatively or concurrently with the ratification process, related amendments should be made to the Uniform Commercial Code. Presentations will be made, and materials will be available, concentrating on the transactions that would be benefited, primarily cross-border asset-based lending, factoring, securitization, project finance and debt trading.
The meeting will afford an<a unqiue> opportunity for those active in transactions that would be affected by the Convention <- primarily asset-based lending, factoring, securitization, project finance and debt trading - >to learn more about the Convention, to explore its possible impacts, and to exchange their views< and share them with representatives of the U.S. Department of State. Presentations will be made by individuals who participated in the development of the Convention, and written materials will be available>.
Further details of the meeting will be distributed in the next few weeks. There will be no charge for those attending. It is hoped that the meeting will attract a wide variety of affected groups and organizations. Please save the date.
The Convention may be found at www.uncitral.org under “UNCITRAL Texts and Statutes” and then “International Payments”. An Executive Summary of the Convention of the attached. Inquiries may be made to [****************]<Jake D. Sullivan at (617) 951-8613 or Jake.Sullivan@Bingham.com>.
<Partial List of >Organizations Sponsoring the Meeting: [American Bar Association (Business Law Section)],[American College of Commercial Finance Lawyers], [American Law Institute], Commercial Finance Association, National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State Laws, New York City Bar Association, U.S. Department of State (Legal Advisor’s Office for Private International Law).