Ninth Additional Protocol to the
Constitution of the Universal Postal Union
Table of contents
Article
I.
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(Art. 1 amended)
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Scope and objectives of the Union
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II.
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(Art. 1bis amended)
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Definitions
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III.
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(Art. 22 amended)
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Acts of the Union
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IV.
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Coming into operation and duration of the Additional
Protocol to the Constitution of the Universal Postal
Union
|
Ninth Additional Protocol to the
Constitution of the Universal Postal Union
The plenipotentiaries of the governments of the member
countries of the Universal Postal Union, met in Congress at
Istanbul, in view of article 30.2 of the Constitution of the
Universal Postal Union concluded at Vienna on 10 July 1964, have
adopted, subject to ratification, the following amendments to
that Constitution.
Article I
(Art. 1 amended)
Scope and objectives of the Union
1 The countries adopting this Constitution shall comprise,
under the title of the Universal Postal Union, a single postal
territory for the reciprocal exchange of postal items.
Freedom of transit shall be guaranteed throughout the entire
territory of the Union, subject to the conditions specified in
the Acts of the Union.
2 The aim of the Union shall be to secure the organization and
improvement of the postal services and to promote in this sphere
the development of international collaboration.
3 The Union shall take part, as far as possible, in postal
technical assistance sought by its member countries.
Article II
(Art. 1bis amended)
Definitions
1 For the purpose of the Acts of the Universal Postal Union,
the following terms shall have the meanings defined below:
1.1 Postal service: all international postal services
whose scope is determined and regulated by the Acts of the
Union. The main obligations of postal services are to satisfy
certain social and economic objectives of member countries, by
ensuring the collection, processing, transmission and
delivery of postal items.
1.2 Member country: a country that fulfils the conditions of
article 2 of the Constitution.
1.3 Single postal territory (one and the same postal
territory): the obligation upon the contracting parties to the
Acts of the Union to provide for the reciprocal exchange of
postal items, including freedom of transit, and to treat
postal items in transit from other countries like their own
postal items, without discrimination, subject to the
conditions specified in the Acts of the Union.
1.4 Freedom of transit: obligation for an intermediate member
country to ensure the transport of postal items passed on to it
in transit for another member country, providing similar
treatment to that given to domestic items, subject to the
conditions specified in the Acts of the Union.
1.5 Letter-post item: items described in the Convention.
1.6 (Deleted.)
1.6bis Postal item: generic term
referring to anything dispatched by the designated operator of a
member country (letter post, parcel post, money orders, etc.), as
described in the Universal Postal Convention, the Postal Payment
Services Agreement and their respective Regulations.
1.7 Designated operator: any governmental or non-governmental
entity officially designated by the member country to operate
postal services and to fulfil the related obligations arising out
of the Acts of the Union on its territory.
1.8 Reservation: an exemption clause whereby a member country
purports to exclude or to modify the legal effect of a clause of
an Act, other than the Constitution and the General Regulations,
in its application to that member country. Any reservation shall
be compatible with the object and purpose of Union as defined in
the preamble and article 1 of the Constitution. It must be duly
justified and approved by the majority required for approval of
the Act concerned, and inserted in the Final Protocol
thereto.
Article III
(Art. 22 amended)
Acts of the Union
1 The Constitution shall be the basic Act of the Union. It
shall contain the organic rules of the Union and shall not be
subject to reservations.
2 The General Regulations shall embody those provisions which
ensure the application of the Constitution and the working of the
Union. They shall be binding on all member countries and shall
not be subject to reservations.
3 The Universal Postal Convention and its Regulations
shall embody the rules applicable throughout the international
postal service and the provisions concerning the letter-post and
postal parcels services. These Acts shall be binding on all
member countries. Member countries shall ensure that their
designated operators fulfil the obligations arising from the
Convention and its Regulations.
4 The Agreements of the Union, and their Regulations, shall
regulate the services other than those of the letter post and
postal parcels between those member countries which are parties
to them. They shall be binding on those member countries only.
Signatory member countries shall ensure that their designated
operators fulfil the obligations arising from the Agreements and
their Regulations.
5 The Regulations, which shall contain the rules of
application necessary for the implementation of the Convention
and of the Agreements, shall be drawn up by the Postal Operations
Council, bearing in mind the decisions taken by Congress.
6 The Final Protocols annexed to the Acts of the Union
referred to in paragraphs 3, 4 and 5 shall contain the
reservations to those Acts.
Article IV
Coming into operation and duration of the Additional Protocol
to the Constitution of the Universal Postal Union
1 This Additional Protocol shall come into operation 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 Constitution 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