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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
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