First
Additional Protocol to the General Regulations of the Universal
Postal Union
Table of contents
Article |
|
|
I. |
(art. 103 amended) |
Functions of Congress |
II. |
(art. 106 amended) |
Composition and functioning of the CA |
III. |
(art. 112 amended) |
Composition and functioning of the
POC |
IV. |
(art. 113 amended) |
Functions of the POC |
V. |
(art. 119 amended) |
Composition of the CC |
VI. |
(art. 127 amended) |
Duties of the Director General |
VII. |
(art. 130 amended) |
Preparation and distribution of documents
of the Union bodies |
VIII. |
(art. 138 amended) |
Procedure for submitting proposals to
Congress |
IX. |
(art. 138bis added) |
Procedure for amending proposals
submitted in accordance with article 138 |
X. |
(art. 140 amended) |
Consideration of proposals amending the
Convention or the Agreements between Congresses |
XI. |
(art. 142 amended) |
Amendment of the Regulations by the Postal
Operations Council |
XII. |
(art. 145 amended) |
Fixing of the expenditure of the
Union |
XIII. |
(art. 146 amended) |
Regulation of member countries'
contributions |
XIV. |
(art. 149 amended) |
Automatic sanctions |
XV. |
|
Entry into force and duration of the
Additional Protocol to the General Regulations |
First Additional
Protocol to the General Regulations of the Universal Postal
Union
The plenipotentiaries of the governments of the member
countries of the Universal Postal Union, having met in Congress
at Istanbul, Turkey, in view of article 22.2 of the Constitution
concluded at Vienna on 10 July 1964, have, by common consent and
subject to article 25.4 of the Constitution, adopted the
following amendments to the General Regulations
Article I
(Art. 103 amended)
Functions of Congress
1 On the basis of proposals by member countries, the Council
of Administration and the Postal Operations Council, Congress
shall:
1.1 determine the general principles for achieving the object
and purpose of the Union set out in the Preamble and article 1 of
the Constitution;
1.2 consider and adopt, where appropriate, proposals for
amendments to the Constitution, General Regulations, Convention
and Agreements submitted by member countries and the Councils, in
accordance with article 29 of the Constitution and article 138 of
the General Regulations;
1.3 set the date for the entry into force of the Acts;
1.4 adopt its Rules of Procedure and the amendments to those
Rules;
1.5 consider the comprehensive reports on the work of the
Council of Administration, the Postal Operations Council and the
Consultative Committee, covering the period from the previous
Congress, presented by these respective bodies in accordance with
articles 111, 117 and 125 of the General Regulations;
1.6 adopt the Union's strategy;
1.6 bis approve the draft
quadrennial UPU business plan;
1.7 fix the maximum amount of the Union's expenditure, in
accordance with article 21 of the Constitution;
1.8 elect the member countries to sit on the Council of
Administration and the Postal Operations Council;
1.9 elect the Director General and Deputy Director
General;
1.10 set in a Congress resolution the ceiling of the costs to
be borne by the Union for the production of documents in Chinese,
German, Portuguese and Russian.
2 Congress, as the supreme body of the Union, shall deal with
such other questions concerning postal services.
Article II
(Art. 106 amended)
Composition and functioning of the CA (Const. 17)
1 The Council of Administration shall consist of forty-one
members who shall exercise their functions during the period
between two successive Congresses.
2 The chairmanship shall devolve by right on the host member
country of Congress. If that member country waives this right, it
shall become a de jure member and, as a result, the geographical
group to which it belongs shall have at its disposal an
additional seat, to which the restrictive provisions of paragraph
3 shall not apply. In that case, the Council of Administration
shall elect to the chairmanship one of the members belonging to
the geographical group of the host member country.
3 The forty other members of the Council of Administration
shall be elected by Congress on the basis of an equitable
geographical distribution. At least a half of the membership is
renewed at each Congress; no member country may be chosen by
three successive Congresses.
4 Each member of the Council of Administration shall appoint
its representative. The members of the Council of
Administration shall take an active part in its work.
5 The office of member of the Council of Administration shall
be unpaid. The operational expenses of this Council shall be
borne by the Union.
Article III
(Art. 112 amended)
Composition and functioning of the POC
1 The Postal Operations Council shall consist of forty members
who shall exercise their functions during the period between
successive Congresses.
2 The members of the Postal Operations Council shall be
elected by Congress on the basis of qualified geographical
distribution. Twenty-four seats shall be reserved for developing
member countries and sixteen seats for developed member
countries. At least one third of the members shall be renewed at
each Congress.
3 Each member of the Postal Operations Council shall appoint
its representative. The members of the Postal Operations
Council shall take an active part in its work.
4 The operational expenses of the Postal Operations Council
shall be borne by the Union. Its members shall not receive any
payment.
Article IV
(Art. 113 amended)
Functions of the POC
1 The Postal Operations Council shall have the following
functions:
1.1 Coordinates practical measures for the development and
improvement of international postal services.
1.2 Takes, subject to Council of Administration approval
within the framework of the latter's competence, any action
considered necessary to safeguard and enhance the quality of and
to modernize the international postal service.
1.3 Decides on the contacts to be established with member
countries and their designated operators in order to carry out
its functions.
1.4 Takes the necessary steps to study and publicize the
experiments and progress made by certain member countries and
their designated operators in the technical, operational,
economic and vocational training fields of interest to other
member countries and their designated operators.
1.5 Takes, in consultation with the Council of Administration,
appropriate steps in the sphere of technical cooperation with all
member countries of the Union and their designated operators and
in particular with the new and developing countries and their
designated operators.
1.6 Examines any other questions submitted to it by a member
of the Postal Operations Council, by the Council of
Administration or by any member country or designated
operator.
1.7 Receives and discusses reports as well as recommendations
from the Consultative Committee and, when matters of interest to
the Postal Operations Council are involved, to examines and
comments on recommendations from the Consultative Committee for
submission to Congress.
1.8 Designates those of its members that will serve as members
of the Consultative Committee.
1.9 Conducts the study of the most important operational,
commercial, technical, economic and technical cooperation
problems which are of interest to all member countries or their
designated operators, including questions with major financial
repercussions (charges, terminal dues, transit charges, airmail
conveyance rates, parcel-post rates, and the posting abroad of
letter-post items), and prepares information, opinions and
recommendations for action on them.
1.10 Provides input to the Council of Administration for the
development of the draft Union Strategy and draft
quadrennial business plan to be submitted to Congress.
1.11 Studies teaching and vocational training problems of
interest to member countries and their designated operators, as
well as to the new and developing countries.
1.12 Studies the present position and needs of the new
and developing countries and prepares appropriate recommendations
on ways and means of improving their postal
services.
1.13 Revises the Regulations of the Union within six months
following the end of the Congress unless the latter decides
otherwise; the Postal Operations Council may also amend
the said Regulations at other sessions; in both cases, the Postal
Operations Council shall be subject to Council of Administration
guidance on matters of fundamental policy and principle.
1.14 Formulates proposals which shall be submitted for the
approval either of Congress or of member countries in accordance
with article 140; the approval of the Council of Administration
is required when these proposals concern questions within the
latter's competence.
1.15 Examines, at the request of a member country, any
proposal which that member country forwards to the International
Bureau under article 139, prepares observations on it and
instructs the International Bureau to annex these observations to
the proposal before submitting it for approval to the member
countries.
1.16 Recommends, if necessary, and where appropriate after
approval by the Council of Administration and consultation of all
the member countries, the adoption of regulations or of a new
procedure until such time as Congress takes a decision in the
matter.
1.17 Prepares and issues, in the form of recommendations to
member countries and designated operators, standards for
technological, operational and other processes within its
competence where uniformity of practice is essential; it shall
similarly issue, as required, amendments to standards it has
already set.
1.18 Establishes the framework for the organization of
user-funded subsidiary bodies and concurs in the organization of
these bodies in accordance with the provisions of article
152.
1.19 Receives and discusses reports from the user-funded
subsidiary bodies on an annual basis.
Article V
(Art. 119 amended)
Composition of the CC
1 The Consultative Committee shall consist of:
1.1 non-governmental organizations representing customers,
delivery service providers, organizations of workers, suppliers
of goods and services to the postal services sector and like
organizations of individuals and companies which have an interest
in supporting the mission and objectives of the Union;
1.1bis high-level figures from the
postal sector recommended by member countries or the bodies of
the Union concerned, including the Consultative Committee;
1.1ter civil society organizations:
regional and non-governmental international postal organizations,
as well as standardization, financial and development
organizations, not provided for under 1.1;
1.2 members designated by the Council of Administration from
among its members;
1.3 members designated by the Postal Operations Council from
among its members.
1bis If any organizations are
registered, they must be registered in a Union member
country.
2 The operational costs of the Consultative Committee shall be
shared by the Union and members of the Committee as determined by
the Council of Administration.
3 The members of the Consultative Committee shall not receive
remuneration or any other compensation.
Article VI
(Art. 127 amended)
Duties of the Director General
1 The Director General shall organize, administer and direct
the International Bureau, of which he is the legal
representative.
2 Regarding the classification of posts, appointments and
promotions:
2.1 the Director General shall be empowered to classify posts
in grades G 1 to D 2 and to appoint and promote officials in
those grades.
2.2 for appointments in grades P 1 to D 2, he shall consider
the professional qualifications of the candidates recommended by
the member countries of which the candidates are nationals or in
which they exercise their professional activities, taking into
account equitable geographical distribution with respect to
continents and languages. D 2 posts shall as far as possible be
filled by candidates from different regions and from regions
other than those from which the Director General and Deputy
Director General originate, bearing in mind the paramount
consideration of the efficiency of the International Bureau. In
the case of posts requiring special qualifications, the Director
General may seek applications from outside;
2.3 he shall also consider, for the appointment of a new
official, that, in principle, persons occupying grade D 2, D 1
and P 5 posts must be nationals of different member countries of
the Union;
2.4 for the promotion of an official of the International
Bureau to grades D 2, D 1 and P 5, he shall not be bound to apply
the same principle as under 2.3;
2.5 the requirements of equitable geographical and language
distribution shall rank behind merit in the recruitment
process;
2.6 the Director General shall inform the Council of
Administration once a year of appointments and promotions in
grades P 4 to D 2.
3 Furthermore, the Director General shall have the following
duties:
3.1 acts as depositary of the Acts of the Union and as
intermediary in the procedure of accession and admission to and
withdrawal from the Union;
3.2 notifies the decisions taken by Congress to all the
Governments of member countries;
3.3 notifies all member countries and their designated
operators of the Regulations drawn up or revised by the Postal
Operations Council;
3.4 prepares the draft annual budget of the Union at the
lowest possible level consistent with the requirements of the
Union and submits it in due course to the Council of
Administration for consideration; communicates the budget to the
member countries of the Union after approval by the Council of
Administration and executes it;
3.5 executes the specific activities requested by the bodies
of the Union and those assigned to him by the Acts;
3.6 takes action to achieve the objectives set by the bodies
of the Union, within the framework of the established policy and
the funds available;
3.7 submits suggestions and proposals to the Council of
Administration or to the Postal Operations Council;
3.8 following the close of Congress, submits proposals to the
Postal Operations Council concerning changes to the Regulations
required as a result of Congress decisions, in accordance with
the Rules of Procedure of the Postal Operations Council;
3.9 prepares, for the Council of Administration and on the
basis of directives issued by the Councils, the draft Union
Strategy and draft quadrennial UPU business plan to be
submitted to Congress;
3.10 prepares, for approval by the Council of Administration,
a four-yearly report on the member countries' performance in
respect of the Union Strategy approved by the preceding Congress,
which will be submitted to the following Congress;
3.11 ensures the representation of the Union;
3.12 acts as an intermediary in relations between:
3.12.1 the UPU and the Restricted Unions;
3.12.2 the UPU and the United Nations;
3.12.3 the UPU and the international organizations whose
activities are of interest to the Union;
3.12.4 the UPU and the international organizations or the
associations or enterprises that the bodies of the Union wish to
consult or associate with their work;
3.13 assumes the duties of Secretary General of the bodies of
the Union and supervises in this capacity, taking into account
the special provisions of these General Regulations, in
particular:
3.13.1 the preparation and organization of the work of the
Union's bodies;
3.13.2 the preparation, production and distribution of
documents, reports and minutes;
3.13.3 the functioning of the secretariat at meetings of the
Union's bodies;
3.14 attends the meetings of the bodies of the Union and takes
part in the discussions without the right to vote, with the
possibility of being represented.
Article VII
(Art. 130 amended)
Preparation and distribution of documents of the Union
bodies
1 The International Bureau shall prepare and make available
through the UPU website all the documents published, in the
language versions specified in article 155, at least two months
before each session. The International Bureau shall also
indicate new e-document publications on the UPU website by means
of an efficient web-signalling system.
2 Furthermore, the International
Bureau shall physically distribute Union publications, such as
International Bureau circulars and CA and POC Summary Records,
only at the request of an individual member country.
Article VIII
(Art. 138 amended)
Procedure for submitting proposals to Congress (Const. 29)
1 Subject to the exceptions provided for in paragraphs 2 and
5, the following procedure shall govern the submission of
proposals of all kinds to Congress by member countries:
1.1 proposals which reach the International Bureau at least
six months before the date fixed for Congress shall be
accepted;
1.2 no drafting proposal shall be accepted during the period
of six months preceding the date fixed for Congress;
1.3 proposals of substance which reach the International
Bureau in the interval between six and four months before the
date fixed for Congress shall not be accepted unless they are
supported by at least two member countries;
1.4 proposals of substance which reach the International
Bureau in the interval between four and two months preceding the
date fixed for Congress shall not be accepted unless they are
supported by at least eight member countries; proposals which
arrive after that time shall no longer be accepted;
1.5 declarations of support must reach the International
Bureau within the same period of time as the proposals to which
they refer.
2 Proposals concerning the Constitution or the General
Regulations shall reach the International Bureau not later than
six months before the opening of Congress; any received after
that date but before the opening of Congress shall not be
considered unless Congress so decides by a majority of two thirds
of the member countries represented at Congress and unless the
conditions laid down in paragraph 1 are fulfilled.
3 Every proposal must, as a rule, have only one aim and
contain only the changes justified by that aim. Similarly, each
proposal liable to lead to significant costs for the Union shall
be accompanied by an indication of its financial impact, prepared
by the member country submitting the proposal, in consultation
with the International Bureau, so that the financial resources
needed for its implementation can be determined.
4 Drafting proposals shall be headed "Drafting
proposal" by the member countries which submit them and
shall be published by the International Bureau under a number
followed by the letter R. Proposals which do not bear this
indication but which, in the opinion of the International Bureau,
deal only with drafting points shall be published with an
appropriate annotation; the International Bureau shall draw up a
list of these proposals for Congress.
5 The procedure prescribed in paragraphs 1 and 4 shall not
apply to proposals concerning the Rules of Procedure of
Congresses.
Article IX
(Art. 138bis added)
Procedure for amending proposals
submitted in accordance with article 138
1 Amendments to proposals already
made, excluding those submitted by the Council of Administration
or the Postal Operations Council, may continue to be presented to
the International Bureau in accordance with the provisions of the
Rules of Procedure of Congresses.
2 Amendments to proposals submitted
by the Council of Administration or the Postal Operations Council
shall be received by the International Bureau at least two months
before the opening of Congress. Beyond this point, member
countries may present their amendments at Congress sessions.
Article X
(Art. 140 amended)
Consideration of proposals amending the Convention or the
Agreements between Congresses
1 Every proposal concerning the Convention, the Agreements and
their Final Protocols shall be subject to the following
procedure: where a member country has sent a proposal to the
International Bureau, the latter shall forward it to all member
countries for examination. They shall be allowed a period of
45 days in which to examine the proposal and forward any
observations to the International Bureau. Amendments shall not be
admissible. Once these 45 days have elapsed, the
International Bureau shall forward to member countries all the
observations it has received and invite each member country to
vote for or against the proposal.
Member countries that have not sent in their vote within a
period of 45 days shall be considered to have abstained.
The aforementioned periods shall be reckoned from the dates of
the International Bureau circulars.
2 If the proposal relates to an Agreement or its Final
Protocol, only the member countries which are parties to that
Agreement may take part in the procedure described in paragraph
1.
Article XI
(Art. 142 amended)
Amendment of the Regulations by the Postal Operations
Council
1 Proposals for amending the Regulations shall be dealt with
by the Postal Operations Council.
2 The support of at least one member country shall be
required for submitting any proposal to amend the
Regulations.
3 (Deleted.)
Article XII
(Art.145 amended)
Fixing of the expenditure of the Union
1 Subject to the provisions of paragraphs 2 to 6, the annual
expenditure relating to the activities of bodies of the Union may
not exceed 37,235,000 Swiss francs for the years 2017 to 2020.
In the event that the Congress planned for 2020 is postponed, the
same ceilings shall also apply to the post-2020 period.
2 The expenditure relating to the convening of the next
Congress (travelling expenses of the secretariat, transport
charges, cost of installing simultaneous interpretation
equipment, cost of reproducing documents during the Congress,
etc.) shall not exceed the limit of 2,900,000 Swiss francs.
3 The Council of Administration shall be authorized to exceed
the limits laid down in paragraphs 1 and 2 to take account of
increases in salary scales, pension contributions or allowances,
including post adjustments, approved by the United Nations for
application to its staff working in Geneva.
4 The Council of Administration shall also be authorized to
adjust, each year, the amount of expenditure other than that
relating to staff on the basis of the Swiss consumer price
index.
5 Notwithstanding paragraph 1, the Council of Administration,
or in case of extreme urgency, the Director General, may
authorize the prescribed limits to be exceeded to meet the cost
of major and unforeseen repairs to the International Bureau
building, provided however that the amount of the increase does
not exceed 125,000 Swiss francs per annum.
6 If the credits authorized in paragraphs 1 and 2 prove
inadequate to ensure the smooth running of the Union, these
limits may only be exceeded with the approval of the majority of
the member countries of the Union. Any consultation shall include
a complete description of the facts justifying such a
request.
Article XIII
(Art. 146 amended)
Regulation of member countries' contributions
1 Countries which accede to the Union or are admitted to the
status of members of the Union as well as those which leave the
Union shall pay their contributions for the whole of the year
during which their admission or withdrawal becomes effective.
2 Member countries shall pay their contributions to the
Union's annual expenditure in advance on the basis of the
budget laid down by the Council of Administration. These
contributions shall be paid not later than the first day of the
financial year to which the budget refers. After that date, the
sums due shall be chargeable with interest in favour of the Union
at the rate of 6% per annum from the fourth month.
3 Where the arrears of mandatory contributions, not including
interest, owed to the Union by a member country are equal to or
more than the amount of the contributions of that member country
for the preceding two financial years, such member country may
irrevocably assign to the Union all or part of the credits owed
it by other member countries, in accordance with the arrangements
laid down by the Council of Administration. The conditions of
this assignment of credit shall be determined by agreement
reached between the member country, its debtors/ creditors and
the Union.
4 A member country which, for legal or other reasons, cannot
make such an assignment must undertake to conclude a schedule for
the amortization of its arrears.
5 Other than in exceptional circumstances, recovery of arrears
of mandatory contributions owed to the Union may not extend over
more than ten years.
6 In exceptional circumstances, the Council of Administration
may release a member country from all or part of the interest
owed if that country has paid the full capital amount of its
debts in arrears.
7 A member country may also be released, within the framework
of an amortization schedule approved by the Council of
Administration for its accounts in arrears, from all or part of
the interest accumulated or to accrue; such release shall,
however, be subject to the full and punctual execution of the
amortization schedule within an agreed period of ten years at
most.
8 The provisions under paragraphs 3 to 7 apply by analogy to
the translation costs billed by the International Bureau to
member countries belonging to the language groups.
9 The International Bureau shall
send bills to member countries at least three months before their
due date. The original bills shall be sent to the correct address
provided by the member country concerned. Electronic copies of
the bills shall be sent via e-mail as pre-advice or alerts.
10 Furthermore, the International
Bureau shall provide member countries with clear information each
time it charges them interest on overdue payment of particular
bills, so that member countries can easily verify to which bills
the interest corresponds.
Article XIV
(Art. 149 amended)
Automatic sanctions
1 Any member country unable to make the assignment provided
for in article 146.3 and which does not agree to submit to an
amortization schedule proposed by the International Bureau in
accordance with article 146.4, or which does not comply with such
a schedule shall automatically lose its right to vote at Congress
and at meetings of the Council of Administration and the Postal
Operations Council and shall no longer be eligible for membership
of these two Councils.
2 Automatic sanctions shall be lifted as a matter of course
and with immediate effect as soon as the member country concerned
has paid its arrears of mandatory contributions owed to the
Union, in capital and interest, or has agreed with the
Union to submit to a schedule for the amortization of the
arrears.
Article XV
Entry into force and duration of the Additional Protocol to
the General Regulations
1 This Additional Protocol shall come into force on 1
January 2018 and shall remain in force for an indefinite
period.
In witness whereof, the plenipotentiaries of the governments
of the member countries have drawn up this Additional Protocol,
which shall have the same force and the same validity as if its
provisions were inserted in the text of the General Regulations
itself, and they have signed it in a single original which shall
be deposited with the Director General of the International
Bureau. A copy thereof shall be delivered to each party by the
International Bureau of the Universal Postal Union.
Done at Istanbul, 6 October 2016