to providing for an extension of the Commission's initial termination date. By the Act of September 16, 1959 (Public Law 86-287), the Congress extended the life of the Commission and Advisory Committee for two years. The date of termination in the Act of September 2, 1958 (P. L. 85-906) was changed from December 31, 1959 to December 31, 1961. However, the Congress refused to make any further appropriation of funds. Thereafter, the Chairman reported at the Seventh Meeting of the Commission held on May 18, 1960 that he had been informed in a letter of November 2, 1959 that the President saw no objection to the proposal that a private foundation finance the work of the Commission in view of the fact that Congress had decided not to appropriate necessary funds. On April 21, 1960, the Chairman reported by letter to the President that the Carnegie Corporation. and the Columbia Law School had agreed upon an arrangement whereby funds would be made available through a research project of the Columbia Law School to finance the work of the Commission. In a note of May 3, 1960, the President expressed to the Chairman his pleasure that funds were to be available to continue the work of the Commission.

The Present Plan of Operation

Under the terms of the plan of operation the Commission is assisted by the newly created Columbia Law School Project on International Procedure. The following principles were agreed upon in establishing the relationship of the two organizations: (1) The Director and staff of the Commission are to be employed by Columbia University as consultants to the Project on International Procedure; (2) the Project will make available to the Commission the fruits of its research and study of existing practices of judicial assistance; (3) the manner in which research conducted for the benefit of the Commission shall be undertaken is to be a matter of cooperation between the Director of the Commission, the Chairman of the Executive Committee of the Project, the Director of the Project, and the Chairman of the Advisory Committee of the Commission; (4) no financial obligations are to be incurred by the Commission; and (5) the appropriate members of the Congress will be informed of the plan of operation.

The Columbia University School of Law selected Professor Willis L. M. Reese as Chairman of the Executive Committee of the Project on International Procedure and Professor Hans Smit as Director of the Proj

ect.

At a meeting of the Commission held on September 1, 1960, it was decided that the staffs of both the Commission and the Columbia Project should undertake on a priority basis a study of desirable changes in the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure and in Federal statutes. This study would be directed toward the preparation of concrete proposals for submission to the committee of the Judicial Conference, appointed by Chief Justice Warren, engaged in general revision of the Federal Rules of Civil and Criminal Procedure. Since Judge Albert Maris is chairman of said committee and at the same time a member of the Advisory Committee of the Commission, primary consideration was to be given to the remedying of existing defects in domestic procedures dealing with judicial assistance at the same time that the bench and bar are engaged in a general revision of rules in the federal courts.

In July of 1960, the Director of the Commission, Mr. Harry LeRoy Jones, completed an extensive questionnaire on existing international judicial practices.

At the time of the meeting, the Director of the Project was engaged in the task of making personal contact with foreign government officials and practitioners, particularly in European countries, who would be willing to cooperate in the combined work of the Commission and Proj

ect.