The Gazette 1974

Statute will displace other national companies formed under the individual laws of the member States but only that, in appropriate places, the Statute can be an alternative to the domestic laws. The Statute would be available at first only for large companies. Convention on Jurisdiction and the enforcement of Judgements in Civil and Commercial Matters 11.13. This Convention was drawn up by the original member States in pursuance of the provision in Article 220 of the EEC Treaty requiring member States to enter into negotiations with each other with a view to securing for the benefit of their nationals the simpli- fication of formalities governing the reciprocal recogni- tion and enforcement of judgments of Courts or Tri- bunals. It provides rules for the assumption of juris- diction by the Courts of Member States in civil and commercial matters generally (subject to certain speci- fied exceptions, i.e., matters of status and arbitration) and provides for the recognition and enforcement by each member State of the judgments of the courts of the other member States. The general object of the Convention is the free circulation of civil and com- mercial judgments throughout the Community. It came into force between the Six on 1 February 1973. Under the terms of the Accession Treaty the new member States undertook to accede to the Convention and to the Protocol on its interpretation by the Euro- pean Court of Justice subject to any necessary adjust- ments to be negotiated. A working group, representa- tive of all member States of the enlarged Community, is now engaged in the examination of the problems of adaptation of the Convention to meet the requirements of the new member States. When the adjustments are finally agreed they will be incorporated in a formal Protocol. Ratification of the Convention, as adjusted, by each of the new mem- ber States will then follow, as soon as each has enacted the necessary implementing legislation. Arrangements and analogous proceedings 11.14. This draft convention is the outcome of ap- proximately seven years work by eminent jurists from the original Member States meeting at intervals in a working group. It deals with the Bankruptcy of indi- viduals, the Winding Up of Companies and the admin- istration of insolvent estates of deceased persons. Pro- ceedings in respect of insurance undertakings, and cer- tain other undertakings (such as building societies) to be designated by the Contracting States, are to be ex- cluded. The underlying principle is that there shall be one bankruptcy or winding up in the Community which shall be recognised and effective (with some exceptions) in all the member States. The draft convention also provides for the adoption by member States of a uniform law in respect of certain matters; on other matters existing national law will continue to apply. A second draft of the convention is now being considered by the member States. 11.12. The work of the committee has now moved for- ward to the preparation of draft articles on rules of Private International law applicable to Property Rights and other real rights in corporeal objects : preliminary draft articles were prepared at the June meeting already referred to but doubt was expressed by some delegations as to the possibility of drawing up rules of conflict, which would be universal in scope, relating to the Draft Convention on Bankruptcy, Winding Up

recognition of securities in movables without dis- possession and providing for retention of ownership upon the sale of movables. The Commission has now circulated a draft directive with a view to arriving at a solution to this problem within the nine member States only. A sub-committee was appointed at the June meeting. This sub-committee met in Brussels in September and formulated proposals in regard to draft rules of Private International Law relating to movable property. These proposals will be examined in Brussels towards the end of November. Draft Directive on Guarantees 11.13. A committee of experts drawn from the six original member States of the Community was esta- blished in 1971 to study the question of the harmonisa- , tion of national laws relating to guarantees. This com- mittee prepared a preliminary draft directive which was considered by an enlarged committee with representa- tives from all nine member States at a meeting held in Brussels from 1 to 3 October 1973. The purpose of the draft directive is to achieve rules in regard to con- tracts of guarantee which would apply throughout the whole Community in order to facilitate the free move- ment of capital which is envisaged in Article 67 of the EEC Treaty. A further meeting of the committee of experts will be held in the first half of 1974. Harmonisation of Penal Law Economic Penal Law 11.14. Experts from the Nine discussed this question further at a meeting in Brussels on 17-19 September 1973. They agreed to add industrial products and transport to the earlier list of priority areas (see para- graph 11.16 of First Report). Draft Convention on Private International Law 11.15. A committee of experts, consisting of dele- gates from the various member States, has been con- sidering the possibility of harmonising the rules of Private International Law particularly in relation to : (a) the law applicable to contractual and non-con- tractual obligations (b) the form of legal instruments and evidence (c) the law applicable to corporeal and incorporeal property and (d) general questions on such matters as renvoi, public policy and classification. The group of experts drawn from the original mem- ber States submitted a preliminary draft of a uniform law on contractual and non-contractual obligations in 1972. This draft is now being considered by experts 11.16. Economic Penal Law : The question has arisen whether the inequality of penalties imposed in different member States for breaches of Community provisions would tend to hinder the full implementation of these provisions throughout the Community. The Council decided in June 1971 to study actively the problems posed in relation to the prevention and punishment of breaches of Community Regulations, Directives and Decisions. It was further decided that in this study priority would be given to the fiscal, customs, agri- culture and food products fields. Experts from the Nine discussed this question in Brussels in November 1972. This meeting considered a draft of common rules on the prevention and prosecution of offences in the fields in question. 16 from all the member States. Harmonisation of Penal Law