First Additional Protocol to the General Regulations of the Universal Postal Union

Contents

Article

I. (art. 101bis new) Functions of Congress

II. (art. 102 amended) Composition, functioning and meetings of the Council of Administration

III. (art. 103 amended) Information on the activities of the Council of Administration

IV. (art. 104 amended) Composition, functioning and meetings of the Postal Operations Council

V. (art. 105 amended) Information on the activities of the Postal Operations Council

VI. (art. 106 amended) Composition, functioning and meetings of the Consultative Committee

VII. (art. 107 amended) Information on the activities of the Consultative Committee

VIII. (art. 110 amended) Languages used for documentation, for debates and for official correspondence

IX. (art. 112 amended) Duties of the Director General

X. (art. 114 amended) Secretariat of the Union's bodies

XI. (art. 116 amended) Information. Opinions. Requests for interpretation and amendment of the Acts. Inquiries. Role in the settlement of accounts

XII. (art. 118 amended) Forms supplied by the International Bureau

XIII. (art. 119 amended) Acts of Restricted Unions and Special Agreements

XIV. (art. 121 amended) Biennial report on the work of the Union

XV. (art. 122 amended) Procedure for submitting proposals to Congress

XVI. (art. 123 amended) Procedure for submitting proposals to the Postal Operations Council concerning the preparation of new Regulations in the light of decisions taken by Congress

XVII. (art. 124 amended) Procedure for submitting proposals between Congresses

XVIII.(art. 125 amended) Consideration of proposals between Congresses

XIX. (art. 126 amended) Notification of decisions adopted between Congresses

XX. (art. 128 amended) Fixing and regulation of the expenditure of the Union

XXI. (art. 130 amended) Contribution classes

XXII. (art. 131 amended) Payment for supplies from the International Bureau

XXIII.(art. 132 amended) Arbitration procedure

XXIV.(art. 135 amended) Amendment, entry into force and duration of the General Regulations

XXV. Accession to the Additional Protocol

XXVI. 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, met in Congress at Geneva, 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
(Article 101bis)
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 policies 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 122 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 103, 105 and 107 of the General Regulations;

1.6 adopt the Union's strategy;

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 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
(Article 102 amended)
Composition, functioning and meetings of the Council of Administration (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 member countries 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 shall be renewed at each Congress; no member may be chosen by three successive Congresses.

4 Each member of the Council of Administration shall appoint its representative, who shall be competent in postal matters.

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.

6 The Council of Administration shall have the following functions:

6.1 to supervise the activities of the Union between Congresses, ensuring compliance with the decisions of Congress, studying questions with respect to governmental policies on postal issues, and taking account of international regulatory developments such as those relating to trade in services and to competition;

6.2 to consider and approve, within the framework of its competence, any action considered necessary to safeguard and enhance the quality of and to modernize the international postal service;

6.3 to promote, coordinate and supervise all forms of postal technical assistance within the framework of international technical cooperation;

6.4 to consider and approve the biennial Programme and Budget and the accounts of the Union;

6.5 to authorize the ceiling of expenditure to be exceeded, if circumstances so require, in accordance with article 128.3 to 5;

6.6 to lay down the Financial Regulations of the Union;

6.7 to lay down the rules governing the Reserve Fund;

6.8 to lay down the rules governing the Special Fund;

6.9 to lay down the rules governing the Special Activities Fund;

6.10 to lay down the rules governing the Voluntary Fund;

6.11 to provide control over the activities of the International Bureau;

6.12 to authorize election of a lower contribution class, if it is so requested, in accordance with the conditions set out in article 130.6;

6.13 to authorize a change of geographical group if it is so requested by a member country, taking into account the views expressed by the member countries which are members of the geographical groups concerned;

6.14 to lay down the Staff Regulations and the conditions of service of the elected officials;

6.15 to create or abolish International Bureau posts taking into account the restrictions imposed by the expenditure ceiling fixed;

6.16 to lay down the Regulations of the Social Fund;

6.17 to approve the biennial report on the work of the Union and the biennial Financial Operating Reports prepared by the International Bureau and where appropriate to furnish observations on them;

6.18 to decide on the contacts to be established with member countries in order to carry out its functions;

6.19 after consulting the Postal Operations Council, to decide on the contacts to be estab­lished with the organizations which are not de jure observers, to consider and approve the reports by the International Bureau on UPU relations with other international bodies and to take the decisions which it considers appropriate on the conduct of such relations and the action to be taken on them; to designate in due course, after consulting the Postal Operations Council and the Secretary General, the international organizations, associations, enterprises and qualified persons to be invited to be represented at specific meetings of Congress and its Committees when this is in the interest of the Union or the work of Congress and to instruct the Director General to issue the necessary invitations;

6.20 to establish principles, as may be considered necessary, for the Postal Operations Council to take into account in its study of questions with major financial repercussions (charges, terminal dues, transit charges, basic airmail conveyance rates and the posting abroad of letter-post items), to follow closely the study of these questions, and to review and approve, for conformity with the aforementioned principles, Postal Operations Council proposals relating to these questions;

6.21 to study, at the request of Congress, the Postal Operations Council or member countries, administrative, legislative and legal problems concerning the Union or the international postal service; it shall be for the Council of Administration to decide, in the above-mentioned fields, whether it is expedient to undertake the studies requested by member countries between Congresses;

6.22 to formulate proposals which shall be submitted for the approval either of Congress or of member countries in accordance with article 125;

6.23 to approve, within the framework of its competence, the recommendations of the Postal Operations Council for the adoption, if necessary, of regulations or of a new procedure until such time as Congress takes a decision in the matter;

6.24 to consider the annual report prepared by the Postal Operations Council and any proposals submitted by the Council;

6.25 to submit subjects for study to the Postal Operations Council for examination in accordance with article 104.9.16;

6.26 to designate the member country where the next Congress is to be held in the case provided for in article 101.4;

6.27 to determine in due course and after consulting the Postal Operations Council, the number of Committees required to carry out the work of Congress and to specify their functions;

6.28 to designate, after consulting the Postal Operations Council and subject to the approval of Congress, the member countries prepared:

- to assume the vice-chairmanships of Congress and the chairman-ships and vice-chairmanships of the Committees, taking as much account as possible of the equitable geographical distribution of the member countries; and

-  to sit on the restricted Committees of Congress;

6.29 to review and approve, in consultation with the Postal Operations Council, the draft Strategy for presentation to Congress;

6.30 to approve the four-yearly report, prepared by the International Bureau in consultation with the POC, on the performance of member countries in respect of the execution of the Union Strategy approved by the preceding Congress, for submission to the following Congress;

6.31 to establish the framework for the organization of the Consultative Committee and concur in the organization of the Consultative Committee in accordance with the provi­sions of article 106;

6.32 to establish criteria for membership of the Consultative Committee and to approve or reject applications for membership in accordance with those criteria, ensuring that action on the applications is accomplished through an expedited process between meetings of the Council of Administration;

6.33 to designate those of its members that will serve as members of the Consultative Committee;

6.34 to receive and discuss reports and recommendations from the Consultative Committee and to consider recommendations from the Consultative Committee for submission to Congress.

7 At its first meeting, which shall be convened by the Chairman of Congress, the Council of Administration shall elect four Vice-Chairmen from among its members and draw up its Rules of Procedure.

8 On convocation by its Chairman, the Council of Administration shall meet in principle once a year, at Union headquarters.

9 The Chairman, the Vice-Chairmen and the Committee Chairmen of the Council of Administration shall form the Management Committee. This Committee shall prepare and direct the work of each session of the Council of Administration. It shall approve, on behalf of the Council of Administration, the biennial report prepared by the International Bureau on the work of the Union and it shall take on any other task which the Council of Administration decides to assign to it or the need for which arises in the course of the strategic planning process.

10 The travel expenses of the representative of each of the members of the Council of Administration participating in its meetings shall be borne by his member country. However, the representative of each of the member countries classified as developing or least developed countries according to the lists established by the United Nations shall, except for meetings which take place during Congress, be entitled to reimbursement of the cost of either an economy class return air ticket or first class return rail ticket, or expenses incurred for travel by any other means, subject to the condition that the amount does not exceed the price of the economy class return air ticket. The same entitlement shall be granted to each member of its Committees, Working Parties or other bodies when these meet outside Congress and the sessions of the Council.

11 The Chairman of the Postal Operations Council shall represent that body at meetings of the Council of Administration on the agenda of which there are questions of interest to the body which he directs.

12 The Chairman of the Consultative Committee shall represent it at meetings of the Council of Administration when the agenda contains questions of interest to the Consultative Committee.

13 To ensure effective liaison between the work of the two bodies, the Postal Operations Council may designate representatives to attend Council of Administration meetings as observers.

14 The member country in which the Council of Administration meets shall be invited to take part in the meetings in the capacity of observer, if it is not a member of the Council of Administration.

15 The Council of Administration may invite any international body, any representative of an association or enterprise, or any qualified person whom it wishes to associate with its work to its meetings, without the right to vote. It may also invite, under the same conditions, one or more member countries concerned with questions on its agenda.

16 If they so request, the following observers may participate in the plenary sessions and Committee meetings of the Council of Administration, without the right to vote:

16.1 members of the Postal Operations Council;

16.2 members of the Consultative Committee;

16.3 intergovernmental organizations interested in the work of the Council of Administration;

16.4 other member countries of the Union.

17 For logistical reasons, the Council of Administration may limit the number of attendees per observer participating. It may also limit their right to speak during the debates.

18 The members of the Council of Administration shall take an active part in its work. Observers may, at their request, be allowed to cooperate in the studies undertaken, subject to such conditions as the Council may establish to ensure the efficiency and effectiveness of its work. They may also be invited to chair Working Parties and Project Teams when their experience or expertise justifies it. The participation of observers shall be carried out without additional expense for the Union.

19 In exceptional circumstances, observers may be excluded from a meeting or a portion of a meeting or may have their right to receive documents restricted if the confidentiality of the subject of the meeting or document so requires. This restriction may be decided on a case-by-case basis by any body concerned or its Chair. The case-by-case situations shall be reported to the Council of Administration and to the Postal Operations Council when matters of interest to the Postal Operations Council are concerned. If it considers this necessary, the Council of Administration may subsequently review restrictions, in consultation with the Postal Operations Council where appropriate.

Article III
(Article 103 amended)
Information on the activities of the Council of Administration

1  After each session, the Council of Administration shall inform the member countries, their designated operators, the Restricted Unions and the members of the Consultative Committee about its activities by sending them, inter alia, a summary record and its resolutions and decisions.

2  The Council of Administration shall make to Congress a comprehensive report on its
work and send it to the member countries, their designated operators and the members of the
Consultative Committee at least two months before the opening of Congress.

Article IV
(Article 104 amended)
Composition, functioning and meetings of the Postal Operations Council (Const 18)

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, who shall have responsibilities for delivering services mentioned in the Acts of the Union.

4 The operational expenses of the Postal Operations Council shall be borne by the Union. Its members shall not receive any payment. Travelling and living expenses incurred by representatives of member countries participating in the Postal Operations Council shall be borne by these member countries. However, the representative of each of the member countries considered to be disadvantaged according to the lists established by the United Nations shall, except for meetings which take place during Congress, be entitled to reimbursement of the price of an economy class return air ticket or first class return rail ticket, or expenses incurred for travel by any other means, subject to the condition that the amount does not exceed the price of the economy class return air ticket.

5 At its first meeting, which shall be convened and opened by the Chairman of Congress, the Postal Operations Council shall choose from among its members a Chairman, a Vice-Chairman, and the Committee Chairmen.

6 The Postal Operations Council shall draw up its Rules of Procedure.

7 In principle, the Postal Operations Council shall meet every year at Union headquarters. The date and place of the meeting shall be fixed by its Chairman in agreement with the Chairman of the Council of Administration and the Director General of the International Bureau.

8 The Chairman, the Vice-Chairman and the Committee Chairmen of the Postal Operations Council shall form the Management Committee. This Committee shall prepare and direct the work of each meeting of the Postal Operations Council and take on all the tasks which the latter decides to assign to it or the need for which arises in the course of the strategic planning process.

9 The functions of the Postal Operations Council shall be the following:

9.1 to conduct 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 to prepare information, opinions and recommendations for action on them;

9.2 to revise the Regulations of the Union within six months following the end of the Congress unless the latter decides otherwise; in case of urgent necessity, the Postal Operations Council may also amend the said Regulations at other sessions; in both cases, the Operations Council shall be subject to Council of Administration guidance on matters of fundamental policy and principle;

9.3 to coordinate practical measures for the development and improvement of international postal services;

9.4 to take, 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;

9.5 to formulate proposals which shall be submitted for the approval either of Congress or of member countries in accordance with article 125; the approval of the Council of Administration is required when these proposals concern questions within the latter's competence;

9.6 to examine, at the request of a member country, any proposal which that member country forwards to the International Bureau under article 124, to prepare observations on it and to instruct the International Bureau to annex these observations to the proposal before submitting it for approval to the member countries;

9.7 to recommend, 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;

9.8 to prepare and issue, in the form of recommendations to member countries and their 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;

9.9 to provide input to the Council of Administration for the development of the draft Strategy to be submitted to Congress;

9.10 to approve those parts of the biennial report on the work of the Union prepared by the International Bureau which concern the responsibilities and functions of the Postal Operations Council;

9.11 to decide on the contacts to be established with member countries and their designated operators in order to carry out its functions;

9.12 to study teaching and vocational training problems of interest to member countries and their designated operators as well as to the new and developing countries;

9.13 to take 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 the postal services;

9.14 to study the present position and needs of the postal services in the new and developing countries and to prepare appropriate recommendations on ways and means of improving the postal services in those countries;

9.15 to take, 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;

9.16 to examine 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;

9.17 to receive and discuss reports as well as recommendations from the Consultative Committee and, when matters of interest to the Postal Operations Council are involved, to examine and comment on recommendations from the Consultative Committee for submission to Congress;

9.18 to designate those of its members that will serve as members of the Consultative Committee.

10 On the basis of the Union Strategy adopted by Congress and, in particular the part relating to the strategies of the Permanent Bodies of the Union, the Postal Operations Council shall, at its first session after Congress, prepare a draft basic work programme, containing a number of tactics aimed at implementing strategies. This basic work programme, which shall include a limited number of projects on topical subjects of common interest, shall be revised annually in the light of new realities and priorities.

11 In order to ensure effective liaison between the work of the two bodies, the Council of Administration may designate representatives to attend Postal Operations Council meetings as observers.

12 If they so request, the following observers may participate in the plenary sessions and Committee meetings of the Postal Operations Council, without the right to vote:

12.1 members of the Council of Administration;

12.2 members of the Consultative Committee;

12.3 intergovernmental organizations interested in the work of the Postal Operations Council;

12.4 other member countries of the Union.

13 For logistical reasons, the Postal Operations Council may limit the number of attendees per observer participating. It may also limit their right to speak during the debates.

14 The members of the Postal Operations Council shall take an active part in its work. Observers may, at their request, be allowed to cooperate in the studies undertaken, subject to such conditions as the Council may establish to ensure the efficiency and effectiveness of its work. They may also be invited to chair Working Parties and Project Teams when their experience or expertise justifies it. The participation of observers shall be carried out without additional expense for the Union.

15 In exceptional circumstances observers may be excluded from a meeting or a portion of a meeting or may have their right to receive documents restricted if the confidentiality of the subject of the meeting or document so requires. This restriction may be decided on a case-by-case basis by any body concerned or its Chair. The case-by-case situations shall be reported to the Council of Administration and to the Postal Operations Council. If it considers this necessary, the Council of Administration may, in consultation with the Postal Operations Council, subsequently review restrictions where appropriate.

16 The Chairman of the Consultative Committee shall represent that organization at meetings of the Postal Operations Council when the agenda contains questions of interest to the Consultative Committee.

17 The Postal Operations Council may invite the following to take part in its meetings without the right to vote:

17.1 any international body or any qualified person whom it wishes to associate with its work;

17.2 any member country not belonging to the Postal Operations Council;

17.3 any association or enterprise that it wishes to consult with respect to its work.

Article V
(Article 105 amended)
Information on the activities of the Postal Operations Council

1 After each session, the Postal Operations Council shall inform the member countries, their designated operators, the Restricted Unions and the members of the Consultative Committee about its activities by sending them, inter alia, a summary record and its resolutions and decisions.

2 The Postal Operations Council shall prepare for the Council of Administration an annual report on its work.

3 The Postal Operations Council shall make to Congress a comprehensive report on its work and send it to the member countries, their designated operators and the members of the Consultative Committee at least two months before the opening of Congress.

Article VI
(Article 106 amended)
Composition, functioning and meetings of the Consultative Committee

1  The aim of the Consultative Committee shall be to represent the interests of the wider international postal sector, and to provide a framework for effective dialogue between stakeholders. It shall consist of 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. Where such organizations are registered, they must be registered in a member country of the Union. The Council of Administration and the Postal Operations council shall designate the members of their respective Councils as members of the Consultative Committee. Apart from members designated by the Council of Administration and the Postal Operation Council, membership in the Consultative Committee shall be determined through a process of application and acceptance established by the Council of Administration, carried out in accordance with article 102.6.32.

2 Each member of the Consultative Committee shall appoint its own representative.

3 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.

4 The members of the Consultative Committee shall not receive remuneration or any other compensation.

5 The Consultative Committee shall reorganize itself after each Congress in accordance with the framework established by the Council of Administration. The Chairman of the Council of Administration shall preside at the organizational meeting of the Consultative Committee, which shall elect its Chairman at that meeting.

6 The Consultative Committee shall determine its internal organization and shall draw up its own rules of procedure, taking into account the general principles of the Union and subject to the concurrence of the Council of Administration after having consulted the Postal Operations Council.

7 The Consultative Committee shall meet twice annually. In principle, the meetings will be held at Union headquarters at the same time as meetings of the Council of Administration and the Postal Operations Council. The date and location of each meeting shall be fixed by the Chairman of the Consultative Committee in agreement with the Chairmen of the Council of Administration and the Postal Operations Council and the Director General of the International Bureau.

8 The Consultative Committee shall establish its own programme within the framework of the following functions:

8.1 to examine documents and reports of the Council of Administration and the Postal Operations Council. In exceptional circumstances, the right to receive certain texts and documents may be restricted if the confidentiality of the subject of the meeting or document so requires. This restriction may be decided on a case-by-case basis by any body concerned or its Chairman. The case-by-case situations shall be reported to the Council of Administration, and to the Postal Operations Council when matters of interest to the Postal Operations Council are concerned. If it considers this necessary, the Council of Administration may subsequently review restrictions, in consultation with the Postal Operations Council, where appropriate;

8.2 to conduct studies of and debate issues of importance to the Consultative Committee's members;

8.3 to consider issues affecting the postal services sector and issue reports on such issues;

8.4 to provide input to the work of the Council of Administration and the Postal Operations Council, including submitting reports and recommendations and giving opinions at the request of the two Councils;

8.5 to make recommendations to Congress, subject to the approval of the Council of Administration and, when matters of interest to the Postal Operations Council are involved, subject to examination and comment by the Postal Operations Council.

9 The Chairman of the Council of Administration and the Chairman of the Postal Operations Council shall represent those bodies at meetings of the Consultative Committee when the agenda of such meetings contains questions of interest to those bodies.

10 In order to ensure effective liaison with the bodies of the Union, the Consultative Committee may designate representatives to attend meetings of Congress, the Council of Administration, and the Postal Operations Council, and their respective Committees, as observers without the right to vote.

11 If they so request, members of the Consultative Committee may attend plenary sessions and Committee meetings of the Council of Administration and the Postal Operations Council in accordance with articles 102.16 and 104.12. They may also participate in the work of project teams and working groups under terms established under articles 102.18 and 104.14. Members of the Consultative Committee may attend Congress as observers without the right to vote.

12 If they so request, the following observers may participate in the sessions of the Consultative Committee, without the right to vote:

12.1 members of the Postal Operations Council and the Council of Administration;

12.2 intergovernmental organizations interested in the work of the Consultative Committee;

12.3 Restricted Unions;

12.4 other member countries of the Union.

13 For logistical reasons, the Consultative Committee may limit the number of attendees per observer participating. It may also limit their right to speak during the debates.

14 In exceptional circumstances observers may be excluded from a meeting or a portion of a meeting or may have their right to receive documents restricted if the confidentiality of the subject of the meeting or document so requires. This restriction may be decided on a case-by-case basis by any body concerned or its Chair. The case-by-case situations shall be reported to the Council of Administration and to the Postal Operations Council when matters of interest to the Postal Operations Council are concerned. If it considers this necessary, the Council of Administration may subsequently review restrictions, in consultation with the Postal Operations Council where appropriate.

15 The International Bureau, under the responsibility of the Director General, shall provide the secretariat for the Consultative Committee.

Article VII
(Article 107 amended)
Information on the activities of the Consultative Committee

1 After each session, the Consultative Committee shall inform the Council of Administration and the Postal Operations Council of its activities by sending to the Chairmen of those bodies, inter alia, a summary record of its meetings and its recommendations and views.

2 The Consultative Committee shall make to the Council of Administration an annual activity report, with a copy to the Postal Operations Council. This report shall be included in the documentation of the Council of Administration that is provided to Union member countries, to their designated operators and to the Restricted Unions, in accordance with article 103.

3 The Consultative Committee shall make to Congress a comprehensive report on its work and send it to the member countries and their designated operators at least two months before the opening of Congress.

Article VIII
(Article 110 amended)
Languages used for documentation, for debates and for official correspondence

1 For the documentation of the Union, the French, English, Arabic and Spanish languages shall be used. The Chinese, German, Portuguese and Russian languages shall also be used provided that only the most important basic documentation is produced in these languages. Other languages may also be used on condition that the member countries which have made the request shall bear all of the costs involved.

2 The member country or countries which have requested a language other than the official language constitute a language group.

3 Documentation shall be published by the International Bureau in the official language and in the languages of the duly constituted language groups, either directly or through the intermediary of the regional offices of those groups in conformity with the procedures agreed with the International Bureau. Publication in the different languages shall be effected in accordance with a common standard.

4 Documentation published directly by the International Bureau shall, as far as possible, be distributed simultaneously in the different languages requested.

5 Correspondence between the member countries or their designated operators and the International Bureau and between the latter and outside entities may be exchanged in any language for which the International Bureau has available a translation service.

6 The costs of translation into any language, including those resulting from the application of paragraph 5, shall be borne by the language group which has asked for that language. The member countries using the official language shall pay, in respect of the translation of non-official documents, a lump-sum contribution, the amount of which per contribution unit shall be the same as that borne by the member countries using the other International Bureau working language. All other costs involved in the supply of documents shall be borne by the Union. The ceiling of the costs to be borne by the Union for the production of documents in Chinese, German, Portuguese and Russian shall be fixed by a Congress resolution.

7 The costs to be borne by a language group shall be divided among the members of that group in proportion to their contributions to the expenses of the Union. These costs may be divided among the members of the language group according to another system, provided that themember countries concerned agree to it and inform the International Bureau of their decision through the intermediary of the spokesman of the group.

8 The International Bureau shall give effect to any change in the choice of language requested by a member country after a period which shall not exceed two years.

9 For the discussions at meetings of the Union's bodies, the French, English, Spanish and Russian languages shall be admissible, by means of a system of interpretation - with or without electronic equipment - the choice being left to the judgment of the organizers of the meeting after consultation with the Director General of the International Bureau and the member countries concerned.

10 Other languages shall likewise be admissible for the discussions and meetings mentioned in paragraph 9.

11 Delegations using other languages shall arrange for simultaneous interpretation into one of the languages mentioned in paragraph 9, either by the system indicated in the same paragraph, when the necessary technical modifications can be made, or by individual interpreters.

12 The costs of the interpretation services shall be shared among the member countries using the same language in proportion to their contributions to the expenses of the Union. However, the costs of installing and maintaining the technical equipment shall be borne by the Union.

13 Member countries and/or their designated operators may come to an understanding about the language to be used for official correspondence in their relations with one another. In the absence of such an understanding the language to be used shall be French

Article IX
(Article 112 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. He shall be empowered to classify posts in grades G 1 to D 2 and to appoint and promote officials in those grades. 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. 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. 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 that principle. Moreover, the requirements of equitable geographical and language distribution shall rank behind merit in the recruitment process. The Director General shall inform the Council of Administration once a year of appointments and promotions in grades P 4 to D 2.

2 The Director General shall have the following duties:

2.1 to act as depositary of the Acts of the Union and as intermediary in the procedure of accession and admission to and withdrawal from the Union;

2.2 to notify the decisions taken by Congress to all the Governments of member countries;

2.3 to notify all member countries and their designated operators of the Regulations drawn up or revised by the Postal Operations Council;

2.4 to prepare the draft annual budget of the Union at the lowest possible level consistent with the requirements of the Union and to submit it in due course to the Council of Administration for consideration; to communicate the budget to the member countries of the Union after approval by the Council of Administration and to execute it;

2.5 to execute the specific activities requested by the bodies of the Union and those assigned to him by the Acts;

2.6 to take action to achieve the objectives set by the bodies of the Union, within the framework of the established policy and the funds available;

2.7 to submit suggestions and proposals to the Council of Administration or to the Postal Operations Council;

2.8 following the close of Congress, to submit 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;

2.9 to prepare, for the Council of Administration and on the basis of directives issued by the Councils, the draft Strategy to be submitted to Congress;

2.10 to prepare, 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;

2.11 to ensure the representation of the Union;

2.12 to act as an intermediary in relations between: -  the UPU and the Restricted Unions;

-  the UPU and the United Nations;

-  the UPU and the international organizations whose activities are of interest to the Union;

-  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;

2.13  to assume the duties of Secretary General of the bodies of the Union and supervise in
this capacity and taking into account the special provisions of these General Regulations,
in particular:

-  the preparation and organization of the work of the Union's bodies;

-  the preparation, production and distribution of documents, reports and minutes;

-  the functioning of the secretariat at meetings of the Union's bodies;

2.14  to attend the meetings of the bodies of the Union and take part in the discussions
without the right to vote, with the possibility of being represented.

Article X
(Article 114 amended)
Secretariat of the Union's bodies (Const 14, 15, 17, 18)

The secretariat of the Union's bodies shall be provided by the International Bureau under the responsibility of the Director General. It shall send all the documents published on the occasion of each session to the member countries of the body and their designated operators, to member countries and their designated operators which, while not members of the body, cooperate in the studies undertaken, to the Restricted Unions and to other member countries and their designated operators which ask for them.

Article XI
(Article 116 amended)
Information. Opinions. Requests for interpretation and amendment of the Acts. Inquiries. Role in the settlement of accounts (Const 20; Gen Regs 124, 125, 126)

1 The International Bureau shall be at all times at the disposal of the Council of Administration, the Postal Operations Council and member countries and their designated operators for the purpose of supplying them with any necessary information on questions relating to the service.

2 In particular it shall collect, collate, publish and distribute all kinds of information of interest to the international postal service, give an opinion, at the request of the parties involved, on questions in dispute, act on requests for interpretation and amendment of the Acts of the Union and, in general, carry out such studies and editorial or documentary work as are assigned to it by those Acts or as may be referred to it in the interest of the Union.

3 It shall also conduct inquiries requested by member countries and their designated operators to obtain the views of other member countries and their designated operators on a particular question. The result of an inquiry shall not have the status of a vote and shall not be formally binding.

4 It may act as a clearing house in the settlement of accounts of all kinds relating to the postal service.

Article XII
(Article 118 amended)
Forms supplied by the International Bureau (Const 20)

The International Bureau shall be responsible for arranging the manufacture of international reply coupons and for supplying them, at cost, to member countries or their designated operators ordering them.

Article XIII
(Article 119 amended)
Acts of Restricted Unions and Special Agreements (Const 8)

1 Two copies of the Acts of Restricted Unions and of Special Agreements concluded under article 8 of the Constitution shall be sent to the International Bureau by the offices of such Unions, or failing that, by one of the contracting parties.

2 The International Bureau shall see that the Acts of Restricted Unions and Special Agreements do not include conditions less favourable to the public than those which are provided for in the Acts of the Union and shall inform member countries and their designated operators of the existence of such Unions and Agreements. The International Bureau shall notify the Council of Administration of any irregularity discovered through applying this provision.

Article XIV
(Article 121 amended)
Biennial report on the work of the Union (Const 20; Gen Regs 102.6.17)

The International Bureau shall make a biennial report on the work of the Union, which shall be sent, after approval by the Council of Administration, to member countries and their designated operators, the Restricted Unions and the United Nations.

Article XV
(Article 122 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:

a proposals which reach the International Bureau at least six months before the date fixed for Congress shall be accepted;

b no drafting proposal shall be accepted during the period of six months preceding the date fixed for Congress;

c 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;

d 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;

e declarations of support shall reach the International Bureau within the same period 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 countries represented at Congress and unless the conditions laid down in paragraph 1 are fulfilled.

3 Every proposal shall, 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 either to proposals concerning the Rules of Procedure of Congresses or to amendments to proposals already made.

Article XVI
(Article 123 amended)
Procedure for submitting proposals to the Postal Operations Council concerning the preparation of new Regulations in the light of decisions taken by Congress

1 The Regulations of the Universal Postal Convention and the Postal Payment Services Agreement shall be drawn up by the Postal Operations Council in the light of the decisions taken by Congress.

2 Proposals that are consequential on proposed amendments to the Convention or Postal Payment Services Agreement shall be submitted to the International Bureau simultaneously with the Congress proposals to which they relate. They may be submitted by a single member country without the support of other member countries. Such proposals shall be distributed to all member countries no later than one month prior to Congress.

3 Other proposals concerning the Regulations for consideration by the Postal Operations Council in its preparation of the new Regulations within the six months following Congress shall be submitted to the International Bureau at least two months prior to Congress.

4 Proposals concerning changes to the Regulations required as a result of Congress decisions that are submitted by member countries must reach the International Bureau no later than two months before the opening of the Postal Operations Council. Such proposals shall be distributed to all member countries and their designated operators no later than one month prior to the opening of the Postal Operations Council.

Article XVII
(Article 124 amended)
Procedure for submitting proposals between Congresses (Const 29; Gen Regs 116)

1 To be eligible for consideration every proposal concerning the Convention or the Agreements submitted by a member country between Congresses shall be supported by at least two other member countries. Such proposals shall lapse if the International Bureau does not receive, at the same time, the necessary number of declarations of support.

2 These proposals shall be sent to other member countries through the intermediary of the International Bureau.

3 Proposals concerning the Regulations shall not require support but shall not be considered by the Postal Operations Council unless the latter agrees to the urgent necessity.

Article XVIII
(Article 125 amended)
Consideration of proposals between Congresses (Const 29; Gen Regs 116, 124)

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 two months in which to examine the proposal and forward any observations to the International Bureau. Amendments shall not be admissible. Once these two months 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 two months shall be considered to have abstained. The aforementioned periods shall be reckoned from the dates of the International Bureau circulars.

2 Proposals for amending the Regulations shall be dealt with by the Postal Operations Council.

3 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 XIX
(Article 126 amended)
Notification of decisions adopted between Congresses (Const 29; Gen Regs 124, 125)

1 Amendments made to the Convention, the Agreements and the Final Protocols to those Acts shall be sanctioned by notification thereof to the governments of member countries by the Director General of the International Bureau.

2 Amendments made to the Regulations and their Final Protocols by the Postal Operations Council shall be communicated to member countries and their designated operators by the International Bureau. The same shall apply to the interpretations referred to in article 35.3.2 of the Convention and in the corresponding provisions of the Agreements.

Article XX
(Article 128 amended)
Fixing and regulation of the expenditure of the Union (Const 21)

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 the following sums for 2009 and subsequent years: 37,000,000 Swiss francs for the years 2009 and 2010, and 37,235,000 Swiss francs for the years 2011 and 2012. The basic limit for 2012 shall also apply to the following years in case the Congress scheduled for 2012 is postponed.

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.

7 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.

8 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.

9 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.

10 A member country which, for legal or other reasons, cannot make such assignment shall undertake to conclude a schedule for the amortization of its arrears.

11 Other than in exceptional circumstances, recovery of arrears of mandatory contributions owed to the Union may not extend over more than ten years.

12 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.

13 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.

14 To cover shortfalls in Union financing, a Reserve Fund shall be established the amount of which shall be fixed by the Council of Administration. This Fund shall be maintained primarily from budget surpluses. It may also be used to balance the budget or to reduce the amount of member countries' contributions.

15 As regards temporary financing shortfalls, the Government of the Swiss Confederation shall make the necessary short-term advances, on conditions which are to be fixed by mutual agreement. That Government shall supervise, without charge, book-keeping and accounting of the International Bureau within the limits of the credits fixed by Congress.

16 The provisions under paragraphs 9, 10, 11, 12 and 13 apply by analogy to the translation costs billed by the International Bureau to member countries belonging to the language groups.

Article XXI
(Article 130 amended)
Contribution classes (Const 21; Gen Regs 115, 128)

1  Member countries shall contribute to defraying Union expenses according to the contribution class to which they belong. These classes shall be the following:

class of 50 units;

class of 45 units;

class of 40 units;

class of 35 units;

class of 30 units;

class of 25 units;

class of 20 units;

class of 15 units;

class of 10 units;

class of 5 units;

class of 3 units;

class of 1 unit;

class of 0.5 unit, reserved for the least advanced countries as listed by the United Nations and for other countries designated by the Council of Administration.

2 Notwithstanding the contribution classes listed in paragraph 1, any member country may elect to contribute a higher number of units than that corresponding to the contribution class to which it belongs, for a minimum term equivalent to the period between Congresses. The announcement of a change shall be made at the latest at Congress. At the end of the period between Congresses, the member country shall return automatically to its original number of contribution units unless it decides to maintain its contribution of a higher number of units. The payment of additional contributions shall increase the expenditure accordingly.

3 Member countries shall be included in one of the above-mentioned contribution classes upon their admission or accession to the Union in accordance with the procedure laid down in article 21.4 of the Constitution.

4 Member countries may subsequently be placed in a lower contribution class, on condition that the change request is sent to the International Bureau at least two months before the opening of Congress. Congress shall give a non-binding opinion on these requests for a change in contribution class. The member country shall be free to decide whether to follow the opinion of Congress. The final decision of the member country shall be transmitted to the International Bureau Secretariat before the end of Congress. This change request shall take effect on the date of the entry into force of the financial provisions drawn up by Congress. Member countries that have not made known their wish to change contribution class within the required time shall remain in the class to which they belonged up to that time.

5 Member countries may not insist on being lowered more than one class at a time.

6 Nevertheless, in exceptional circumstances such as natural disasters necessitating international aid programmes, the Council of Administration may authorize a temporary reduc­tion in contribution class once between two Congresses when so requested by a member country if the said member establishes that it can no longer maintain its contribution at the class originally chosen. In the same circumstances, the Council of Administration may also authorize a temporary reduction for the non-least developed countries already in the class of 1 unit by placing them in the class of 0.5 unit.

7 The temporary reduction in contribution class in application of paragraph 6 may be authorized by the Council of Administration for a maximum period of two years or up to the next Congress, whichever is earlier. On expiry of the specified period, the country concerned shall automatically revert to its original contribution class.

8 Notwithstanding paragraphs 4 and 5, changes to a higher class shall not be subject to any restriction.

Article XXII
(Article 131 amended)
Payment for supplies from the International Bureau (Gen Regs 118)

Supplies provided by the International Bureau to member countries and their designated operators against payment shall be paid for in the shortest possible time and at the latest within six months from the first day of the month following that in which the account is sent by the Bureau. After that period the sums due shall be chargeable with interest in favour of the Union at the rate of 5% per annum reckoned from the date of expiry of that period.

Article XXIII
(Article 132 amended)
Arbitration procedure (Const 32)

1 If a dispute has to be settled by arbitration, each of the member countries party to the case shall select a member country not directly involved in the dispute. When several member countries make common cause, they shall count only as a single member country for the purposes of this provision.

2 If one of the member countries party to the case does not act on a proposal for arbitration within a period of six months from the date of its sending, the International Bureau, if so requested, shall itself call upon the defaulting member country to appoint an arbitrator or shall itself appoint one ex officio.

3 The parties to the case may agree to appoint a single arbitrator which may be the International Bureau.

4 The decision of the arbitrators shall be taken by a majority of votes.

5 In the event of a tie the arbitrators shall select another member country, not involved in the dispute either, to settle the matter. Should they fail to agree on the choice, this member country shall be appointed by the International Bureau from among member countries not proposed by the arbitrators.

6 If the dispute concerns one of the Agreements, the arbitrators may be appointed only from among the member countries that are parties to that Agreement.

7 If a dispute has to be settled by arbitration between designated operators, the operators concerned shall ask their member countries to act in accordance with the procedure provided for in paragraphs 1 to 6.

Article XXIV
(Article 135 amended)
Amendment, entry into force and duration of the General Regulations

The amendments adopted by a Congress shall be the subject of an additional protocol and, unless that Congress decides otherwise, shall come into effect at the same time as the other Acts renewed in the course of the same Congress.

These General Regulations shall come into force on 1 January 2006 and shall remain in force for an indefinite period.

Article XXV
Accession to the Additional Protocol

Member countries which have not signed the present Protocol may accede to it at any time. The relevant instruments of accession shall be deposited with the Director General of the International Bureau, who shall notify the governments of the member countries of their deposit.

Article XXVI
Entry into force and duration of the Additional Protocol to the General Regulations

This Additional Protocol shall come into force on 1 January 2010 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 Geneva, 12 August 2008.