Ninth Additional Protocol to the Constitution of the Universal Postal Union

Table of contents

Article

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