Advanced Search

Law Approving The Following International Acts: 1 ° The Sixth Additional Protocol To The Constitution Of The Postal Union Universal, 2 ° The General Regulations Of The Universal Postal Union, 3 ° The Universal Postal Convention And The Protocol

Original Language Title: Loi portant assentiment aux actes internationaux suivants : 1° le Sixième Protocole additionnel à la Constitution de l'Union postale universelle, 2° le Règlement général de l'Union postale universelle, 3° la Convention postale universelle et le Protocole

Subscribe to a Global-Regulation Premium Membership Today!

Key Benefits:

Subscribe Now for only USD$40 per month.

21 SEPTEMBER 2004. - An Act to enact the following international acts: 1° the Sixth Protocol to the Constitution of the Universal Postal Union, 2° the General Regulations of the Universal Postal Union, 3° the Universal Postal Convention and the Final Protocol and 4° the Agreement concerning the Payment Services of La Poste, made in Beijing on 15 September 1999 (2)



ALBERT II, King of the Belgians,
To all, present and to come, Hi.
The Chambers adopted and We sanction the following:
Article 1er. This Act regulates a matter referred to in Article 77 of the Constitution.
Art. 2. The following international acts:
1st the Sixth Protocol to the Constitution of the Universal Postal Union,
2° the General Regulation of the Universal Postal Union,
3° the Universal Postal Convention and the Final Protocol, and
4° the Arrangement concerning the payment services of La Poste, made in Beijing on 15 September 1999, will come out their full effect.
Promulgate this law, order that it be clothed with the seal of the State and published by the Belgian Monitor.
Given in Brussels on 21 September 2004.
ALBERT
By the King:
Minister of Public Enterprises,
J. VANDE LANOTTE
Minister of Foreign Affairs,
K. DE GUCHT
Seal of the state seal:
The Minister of Justice,
Ms. L. ONKELINX
____
Note
(1) Session 2003-2004.
Senate.
Parliamentary documents. - Bill, tabled on 8 April 2004, No. 3-627/1. - Report, number 3-627/2.
Annales parliamentarians. - Discussion and voting. Session of May 27, 2004.
House of Representatives.
Parliamentary documents. - Project transmitted by the Senate, No. 51-1181/1. - Text adopted in plenary and subject to Royal Assent, No. 51-1181/2.
Annales parliamentarians. - Discussion and voting. Session of June 24, 2004.
(2) The deposit of the instrument of ratification of Belgium was registered on 12 October 2004.

Sixth Protocol to the Constitution of the Universal Postal Union
The Plenipotentiaries of the Governments of the Member States of the Universal Postal Union gathered in Beijing, in view of Article 30, paragraph 2, of the Constitution of the Universal Postal Union concluded in Vienna on 10 July 1964, adopted, subject to ratification, the following amendments to the Constitution.
Article Ier
(Article 22 amended)
Union Acts
1. The Constitution is the fundamental act of the Union. It contains the organic rules of the Union.
2. The General Rules include provisions for the application of the Constitution and the operation of the Union. It is mandatory for all Member Countries.
3. The Universal Postal Convention, the Postal Post Regulations and the Postal Package Regulations contain the common rules applicable to international postal service as well as the provisions concerning the services of mail to letters and postal parcels. These acts are mandatory for all Member Countries.
4. The Union Arrangements and their Regulations regulate services other than those of the mail to letters and postal parcels between the Member Countries that are parties to it. They are only mandatory for these countries.
5. The Regulations, which contain the necessary enforcement measures for the implementation of the Convention and the Arrangements, are decided by the Postal Operations Council, taking into account the decisions taken by the Congress.
6. The potential final protocols annexed to the Acts of the Union referred to in paragraphs 3, 4 and 5 contain reservations to these Acts.
Article II
(Article 25, amended)
Signature, authentication, ratification and other methods of approval of Union Acts
1. The Union Acts of the Congress are signed by the Plenipotentiaries of the Member Countries.
2. The Regulations are authenticated by the President and the Secretary-General of the Postal Operations Council.
3. The Constitution is ratified as soon as possible by the signatory countries.
4. The approval of the Union Acts other than the Constitution is regulated by the constitutional rules of each signatory country.
5. When a country does not ratify or approve the other Acts signed by it, the Constitution and other Acts are equally valid for countries that have ratified or approved them.
Article III
(Article 29 amended)
Presentation of proposals
1. The postal administration of a Member Country has the right to present, either at the Congress or between two Congresses, proposals concerning the Acts of the Union to which his country is a party.
2. However, proposals for the Constitution and the General Rules can only be submitted to Congress.
3. In addition, the proposals for the Regulations are submitted directly to the Postal Operations Council, but they must be forwarded beforehand by the International Bureau to all the postal administrations of the Member Countries.
Article IV
Accession to the Additional Protocol and other Union Acts
1. Member Countries that have not signed this protocol may adhere to it at any time.
2. The Member Countries that are parties to the Acts renewed by the Congress but have not signed them are required to accede to them as soon as possible.
3. The instruments of accession relating to the cases referred to in paragraphs 1er and 2 should be addressed to the Director-General of the International Bureau. The Committee shall notify the Governments of the Member Countries of this deposit.
Article V
Implementation and duration of the Additional Protocol
the Constitution of the Universal Postal Union
This Additional Protocol will be implemented on 1er January 2001 and will remain in force for an indefinite period.
In faith, the Plenipotentiaries of the Governments of the Member Countries have drawn up this Additional Protocol, which will have the same strength and value as if its provisions were inserted in the very text of the Constitution, and have signed it in a copy which is deposited with the Director General of the International Bureau. A copy will be given to each Party by the Government of the country headquarters of the Congress.
Done at Beijing on 15 September 1999.
The Protocol was signed by the following States:
Thailand, United States of America, United States of America

General Regulation of the Universal Postal Union
CONTENTS
CHAPTER Ier. - Functioning of Union bodies
Articles
101. Organization and Meeting of Extraordinary Congresses and Congresses
102. Composition, functioning and meetings of the Board of Directors
103. Documentation on the activities of the Board of Directors
104. Composition, operation and meetings of the Postal Operations Council
105. Documentation on the activities of the Postal Operations Council
106. Rules of procedure of the Congress
107. Working languages of the International Bureau
108. Languages used for documentation, deliberations and service correspondence
CHAPTER II. - International Bureau
109. Election of the Director-General and Vice-Director-General of the International Bureau
110. Functions of the Director-General
111. Functions of the Deputy Director General
112. Secretariat of Union bodies
113. List of Member Countries
114. Information. Notice. Requests for interpretation and modification of Acts. Investigations. Action in the liquidation of accounts
115. Technical cooperation
116. Forms provided by the International Bureau
117. Restricted Union Acts and special arrangements
118. Union Review
119. Annual report on the activities of the Union
CHAPTER III. - Procedure for the introduction and review of proposals
120. Procedure for submission of proposals to the Congress
121. Procedure for submission of proposals between two Congresses
122. Consideration of proposals between two Congresses
123. Notification of decisions between two Congresses
124. Implementation of the Regulations and other decisions adopted between two Congresses
CHAPTER IV. - Finance
125. Setting and regulating EU expenditures
126. Automatic sanctions
127. Contribution categories
128. Payment of supplies by the International Bureau
CHAPTER V. - Arbitration
129. Arbitration procedure
CHAPTER VI. - Final provisions
130. Conditions for approval of proposals for the General Regulations
131. Proposals for the Agreements with the United Nations
132. Implementation and duration of the General Regulations

General Regulation of the Universal Postal Union
The undersigned, Plenipotentiaries of the Governments of the Member Countries of the Union, in accordance with Article 22, paragraph 2, of the Constitution of the Universal Postal Union concluded in Vienna on 10 July 1964, have, by mutual agreement and subject to Article 25, paragraph 4, of the said Constitution, decreed in this General Regulation, the following provisions ensuring the application of the Constitution and the operation of the Union.
CHAPTER Ier. - Functioning of Union bodies
Rule 101
Organization and Meeting of Extraordinary Congresses and Congresses
1. Representatives of the Member Countries shall meet in Congress no later than five years after the date of implementation of the Acts of the previous Congress.
2. Each Member Country shall be represented in Congress by one or more Plenipotentiaries, with the necessary powers by their Government. He may, if necessary, be represented by the delegation of another Member Country. However, it is understood that a delegation can only represent one Member Country other than its own.
3. In the deliberations, each Member Country shall have one vote, subject to the sanctions provided for in Article 126.
4. In principle, each Congress designates the country in which the next Congress will take place. If this designation is unenforceable, the Board of Directors is authorized to designate the country where the Congress will hold its seats, after agreement with the latter country.
5. After agreement with the International Bureau, the inviting Government sets the final date and exact location of the Congress. A year, in principle, before that date, the inviting Government sends an invitation to the Government of each Member State. This invitation may be addressed either directly or through another Government or through the Director General of the International Bureau.
6. When a Congress is to be convened without an inviting Government, the International Bureau, with the agreement of the Board of Directors and after agreement with the Government of the Swiss Confederation, shall make the necessary arrangements to convene and organize the Congress in the country headquarters of the Union. In this case, the International Bureau shall serve as the inviting Government.
7. The meeting place of an Extraordinary Congress is set, after agreement with the International Bureau, by the Member Countries that took the initiative of this Congress.
8. Paragraphs 2 to 6 are applicable by analogy to the Extraordinary Congress.
Rule 102
Composition, functioning and meetings of the Board of Directors
1. The Board of Directors consists of forty-one members who perform their duties during the period between two successive Congresses.
2. The presidency is the right-hand delegate to the host country of the Congress. If this country denies itself, it becomes a member of law and, therefore, the geographical group to which it belongs has an additional seat to which the restrictions of paragraph 3 are not applicable. In this case, the Board of Directors shall elect to the presidency one of the members of the geographical group of the host country.
3. The other forty members of the Board of Directors are elected by the Congress on the basis of equitable geographical distribution. At least half of the members are renewed at each Congress; no Member country can be chosen successively by three Congresses.
4. Each member of the Board of Directors shall designate his or her representative, who shall be competent in the postal domain.
5. The membership of the Board of Directors is free of charge. The operating costs of this Council are borne by the Union.
6. The Board of Directors has the following powers:
6.1. overseeing all activities of the Union in the Congress, taking into account the decisions of the Congress, examining issues relating to government postal policies and taking into account international regulatory policies such as those relating to trade in services and competition;
6.2. review and approve, within its competence, any action deemed necessary to safeguard and strengthen the quality and modernization of the international postal service;
6.3. promote, coordinate and supervise all forms of post technical assistance within the framework of international technical cooperation;
6.4. review and approve the Union's annual budget and accounts;
6.5. authorize, if the circumstances so require, the excess of the spending cap in accordance with section 125, paragraphs 3, 4 and 5;
6.6. Stop the UPU Financial Regulations;
6.7. Establish the rules governing the Reserve Fund;
6.8. Establish the rules governing the Special Fund;
6.9. establish rules governing the Special Activities Fund;
6.10. establish rules governing the Voluntary Fund;
6.11. overseeing the work of the International Bureau;
6.12. authorize, if requested, the choice of a lower class of contribution in accordance with the conditions set out in section 127, paragraph 6;
6.13. permit the change of geographical group, if requested by a country, taking into account the views expressed by countries that are members of the geographical groups concerned;
6.14. to establish the Staff Regulations and the conditions of service of elected officials;
6.15. establish or abolish the International Bureau ' s workstations, taking into account the limitations on the fixed expenditure ceiling;
6.16. Decide on the rules of the Social Fund;
6.17. approving the annual reports prepared by the International Bureau on the activities of the Union and on financial management and, where appropriate, making comments thereon;
6.18. decide on contact with Postal Administrations to perform its functions;
6.19. after consultation with the Postal Operations Council, decide on contacts to be made with organizations that are not legal observers, review and approve the reports of the International Bureau on UPU relations with other international organizations, make the decisions it deems appropriate on the conduct of these relations and the follow-up to them; designate, in a timely manner, international intergovernmental and non-governmental organizations to be invited to represent themselves at a Congress and to entrust the Director General of the International Bureau with the necessary invitations;
6.20. to decide, in the event that it deems it useful, the principles to be taken into account by the Postal Operations Council when considering matters with significant financial implications (taxes, terminal fees, transit charges, base rate of mail air transport and foreign mail shipments), to closely follow up the study of these issues and to examine and approve, in order to ensure compliance with the above principles, the Commission's proposals to
6.21. study, at the request of Congress, the Postal Operations Council or Postal Administrations, administrative, legislative and legal issues affecting the Union or the international postal service; it is up to the Board of Directors to decide, in the above-mentioned areas, whether or not it is appropriate to undertake the studies requested by the Postal Administrations during the Congress period;
6.22. make proposals that will be submitted to either Congress or Postal Administrations in accordance with Article 122;
6.23. approve, within the framework of its competence, the recommendations of the Postal Operations Council concerning the adoption, if necessary, of a regulation or new practice pending the decision of the Congress on this matter;
6.24. review the annual report prepared by the Postal Operations Council and, where appropriate, the proposals submitted by the Postal Operations Council;
6.25. subject to review by the Postal Operations Council in accordance with Article 104, paragraph 9.16;
6.26. designate the country of the next Congress as provided for in Article 101, paragraph 4;
6.27. to determine, in a timely manner and after consultation with the Postal Operations Council, the number of Commissions required to carry out the work of the Congress and to determine its functions;
6.28. designate, after consultation with the Postal Operations Council and subject to the approval of the Congress, Member Countries that may:
- to assume the Vice-Presidents of the Congress as well as the Chairmen and Vice-Chairmen of the Commissions, taking into account as much as possible the equitable geographical distribution of the Member Countries;
- to be part of the restricted committees of the Congress;
6.29 Review and approve the draft strategic plan to be submitted to Congress and prepared by the Postal Operations Council with the assistance of the International Bureau; review and approve the annual revisions to the plan agreed by the Congress on the basis of the recommendations of the Postal Operations Council and work in consultation with the Postal Operations Council in the preparation and annual update of the plan.
7. At its first meeting, convened by the President of the Congress, the Board of Directors shall elect, among its members, four Vice-Presidents and shall determine its rules of procedure.
8. Upon the convocation of its President, the Board of Directors meets, in principle once a year, at the headquarters of the Union.
9. The Chair, the Vice-Chairs, the Chairs of the Board of Directors Commissions and the Chair of the Strategic Planning Group form the Management Committee. This Committee prepares and directs the work of each session of the Board of Directors. It approves, on behalf of the Board of Directors, the annual report prepared by the International Bureau on the activities of the Union and assumes any other task that the Board of Directors decides to entrust to it or whose necessity appears during the strategic planning process.
10. The representative of each of the members of the Board of Directors participating in the sessions of that body, with the exception of the meetings that took place during the Congress, is entitled to the reimbursement either of the price of a flight ticket and return to the economic class or of a railway ticket in the first class, or of the cost of travel by any other means, provided that this amount does not exceed the price of the flight ticket and return to the economic class. The same right shall be accorded to the representative of each member of its Commissions, Working Groups or other bodies when they meet outside the Congress and the sessions of the Council.
11. The President of the Postal Operations Council represents the latter at the sessions of the Board of Directors on the agenda of which matters relating to the organ he directs.
12. In order to ensure an effective link between the work of the two bodies, the Postal Operations Council may designate representatives to attend meetings of the Board of Directors as observers.
13. The Postal Administration of the country where the Board of Directors meets is invited to attend meetings as an observer, if this country is not a member of the Board of Directors.
14. The Board of Directors may invite to its meetings, without the right to vote, any international organization, any representative of association or company or any qualified person that it wishes to associate with its work. It may also invite, under the same conditions, one or more Postal Administrations of the Member Countries concerned to questions on its agenda.
15. The members of the Board of Directors actually participate in its activities. Member Countries that do not belong to the Board of Directors may, upon their request, collaborate with the studies undertaken, respecting the conditions that the Board may establish to ensure the performance and effectiveness of its work. They may also be asked to chair Working Groups when their knowledge or experience warrant it. The participation of Member Countries that do not belong to the Board of Directors is carried out at no additional cost to the Union.
Rule 103
Documentation on the activities of the Board of Directors
1. After each session, the Board of Directors shall inform the Member Countries of the Union and the Unions restricted on its activities, including an executive summary record and its resolutions and decisions.
2. The Board of Directors shall report to the Congress on all its activities and forward it to the Postal Administrations at least two months before the opening of the Congress.
Rule 104
Composition, operation
and meetings of the Postal Operations Council
1. The Postal Operations Council consists of forty members who perform their duties during the period between two successive Congresses.
2. The members of the Postal Operations Council are elected by the Congress according to a specified geographical distribution. Twenty-four seats are reserved for developing countries and sixteen seats are reserved for developed countries. At least one third of the members is renewed at each Congress.
3. The representative of each member of the Postal Operations Council is appointed by the Postal Administration of his country. This representative must be a qualified officer of the Postal Administration.
4. The operating costs of the Postal Operations Council are borne by the Union. Its members do not receive any remuneration. The travel and stay expenses of the representatives of the Postal Administrations participating in the Postal Operations Council are borne by them. However, the representative of each of the countries considered to be disadvantaged according to the lists established by the United Nations shall be entitled, except for meetings held during the Congress, to the reimbursement either of the price of a flight ticket and return to the economic class or a railway ticket in the first class, or of the cost of travel by any other means, provided that this amount does not exceed the price of the flight ticket and return to the economic class.
5. At its first meeting, which is convened and opened by the President of the Congress, the Postal Operations Council selects, among its members, a Chair, a Vice-Chair, the Chairs of the Commissions and the Chairman of the Strategic Planning Group.
6. The Postal Operations Council shall determine its rules of procedure.
7. In principle, the Postal Operations Council meets annually at the headquarters of the Union. The date and venue of the meeting shall be determined by its President, after agreement with the President of the Board of Directors and the Director General of the International Bureau.
8. The Chair, the Vice-Chair, the Chairs of the Boards of Operations and the Chair of the Strategic Planning Group form the Management Committee. This Committee prepares and directs the work of each session of the Postal Operations Council and assumes all the tasks that the Board decides to entrust to it or whose necessity appears during the strategic planning process.
9. The powers of the Postal Operations Council are as follows:
9.1. conduct the study of the most important operational, commercial, technical, economic and technical cooperation issues of interest to the Postal Administrations of all Member Countries of the Union, including issues with significant financial implications (taxes, terminal fees, transit costs, basic rates of mail air transport, quotas of postal parcels and foreign mailings of mail to letters),
9.2. conduct the revision of the Union Regulations within six months after the closure of the Congress, unless the Congress decides otherwise; in the event of an urgent need, the Postal Operations Council may also amend these Regulations to other sessions; in both cases, the Board of Operations remains subordinate to the Board of Directors' directives with respect to fundamental policies and principles;
9.3. coordinating practical measures for the development and improvement of international postal services;
9.4. undertake, subject to the approval of the Board of Directors within the framework of the competence of the Board, any action deemed necessary to safeguard and enhance the quality and modernization of the international postal service;
9.5. make proposals that will be submitted to either Congress or Postal Administrations in accordance with Article 122; approval of the Board of Directors is required when these proposals relate to matters within the Board's jurisdiction;
9.6. review, at the request of the Postal Administration of a Member State, any proposal that this Postal Administration transmits to the International Bureau under section 121, prepare its comments and entrust the Bureau to the proposal before submitting it to the Postal Administrations of the Member Countries;
9.7. recommend, if necessary, and possibly after approval by the Board of Directors and consultation with all Postal Administrations, the adoption of a new regulation or practice pending the decision of the Congress on this matter;
9.8. develop and present, in the form of recommendations to the Postal Administrations, technical, operational and other areas of its jurisdiction where uniform practice is essential; Similarly, if necessary, it shall make changes to standards that it has already established;
9.9. examine, in consultation with the Board of Directors and with its approval, the draft UPU Strategic Plan, prepared by the International Bureau and submitted to Congress; review annually the plan approved by the Congress with the support of the Strategic Planning Group and the International Bureau, as well as with the approval of the Board of Directors;
9.10. approve the annual report prepared by the International Bureau on the activities of the Union in its parties relating to the responsibilities and functions of the Postal Operations Council;
9.11. decide on contact with Postal Administrations to perform its functions;
9.12. study of educational and vocational training problems Interesting new and developing countries;
9.13. take the necessary measures to study and disseminate the experiences and progress made by some countries in the fields of technology, exploitation, economy and vocational training relevant to postal services;
9.14. study the current situation and needs of postal services in new and developing countries and develop appropriate recommendations on ways and means to improve postal services in these countries;
9.15. take, after agreement with the Governing Council, appropriate measures in the field of technical cooperation with all Member Countries of the Union, in particular with new and developing countries;
9.16. consider any other matters submitted to it by a member of the Postal Operations Council, the Board of Directors or any Postal Administration of a Member Country.
10. The members of the Postal Operations Council actually participate in its activities. The Postal Administrations of Member Countries not a member of the Postal Operations Council may, upon their request, cooperate with the studies undertaken, respecting the conditions that the Council may establish to ensure the performance and effectiveness of its work. They may also be asked to chair Working Groups when their knowledge or experience warrant it.
11. On the basis of the UPU's strategic plan adopted by the Congress and, in particular, the Union's part of the strategies of the permanent bodies, the Postal Operations Council shall, at its session following the Congress, establish a basic programme of work containing a number of tactics aimed at achieving the strategies. This basic program, including a limited number of work on topical and common issues, is reviewed annually based on new realities and priorities as well as changes to the strategic plan.
12. In order to ensure an effective link between the work of the two bodies, the Board of Directors may designate representatives to attend the meetings of the Postal Operations Council as observers.
13. The Postal Operations Council may invite its meetings, without the right to vote:
13.1. any international organization or qualified person that he wishes to associate with his work;
13.2. Postal Administrations of Member Countries not belonging to the Postal Operations Council;
13.3. any association or business that it wishes to consult on matters relating to its activities.
Rule 105
Documentation on the activities of the Postal Operations Council
1. After each session, the Postal Operations Council shall inform the Postal Administrations of the Member Countries and the Unions limited on its activities, including an executive summary record and its resolutions and decisions.
2. The Postal Operations Council shall prepare an annual report for the Board of Directors on its activities.
3. The Postal Operations Council shall, for the purposes of the Congress, prepare a report on all its activities and transmit it to the Postal Administrations of the Member Countries at least two months before the opening of the Congress.
Rule 106
Rules of procedure of the Congress
1. For the organization of its work and the conduct of its deliberations, the Congress applies the Rules of Procedure of Congress.
2. Each Congress may amend this Regulation under the conditions set out in the Rules of Procedure itself.
Rule 107
Working languages of the International Bureau
The working languages of the International Bureau are English and French.
Rule 108
Languages used for documentation, deliberations
and Service Correspondence
1. For the documentation of the Union, French, English, Arabic and Spanish are used. German, Chinese, Portuguese and Russian languages are also used, provided production in these latter languages is limited to the most important basic documentation. Other languages are also used, provided that the Member Countries that make the request bear all costs.
2. The member(s) that requested a language other than the official language is a linguistic group.
3. The documentation is published by the International Bureau in the official language and languages of constituted language groups, either directly or through the regional offices of these groups, in accordance with the terms agreed with the International Bureau. The publication in the different languages is made according to the same model.
4. The documentation published directly by the International Bureau is, to the extent possible, distributed simultaneously in the various languages requested.
5. Correspondence between the Postal Administrations and the International Bureau and between the latter and third parties may be exchanged in any language for which the International Bureau has a translation service.
6. Translation fees to any language, including those resulting from the application of paragraph 5, are borne by the language group that requested that language. The Member Countries using the official language shall, as part of the translation of the non-official documents, make a lump sum contribution equal to that provided by the Member Countries using the other working language of the International Bureau. All other costs related to the provision of documents are borne by the Union. The ceiling of costs to be borne by the Union for the production of documents in German, Chinese, Portuguese and Russian is fixed by a resolution of the Congress.
7. The costs to be borne by a linguistic group are distributed among the members of this group proportionally to their contribution to the expenses of the Union. These fees may be apportioned among the members of the linguistic group according to another distribution key, provided that they agree and notify the International Bureau of their decision through the Group's spokesperson.
8. The International Bureau follows on any change in language requested by a Member State after a period not exceeding two years.
9. For the deliberations of the meetings of the bodies of the Union, the French, English, Spanish and Russian languages are allowed, with an interpretation system with or without electronic equipment whose choice is left to the appreciation of the organizers of the meeting after consultation with the Director General of the International Bureau and interested Member Countries.
10. Other languages are also allowed for the deliberations and meetings indicated in paragraph 9.
11. Delegations that use other languages shall ensure simultaneous interpretation in one of the languages referred to in paragraph 9, either by the system indicated in the same paragraph, where necessary technical changes may be made, or by particular interpreters.
12. The costs of interpretation services are apportioned among Member Countries using the same language in the proportion of their contribution to the expenses of the Union. However, technical equipment installation and maintenance costs are borne by the Union.
13. Postal Administrations can agree on the language to be used for service correspondence in their mutual relationships. In the absence of such an agreement, the language to be used is French.
CHAPTER II. - Bureau International
Rule 109
Election of the Director-General
and Deputy Director-General of the International Bureau
1. The Director-General and Vice-Director-General of the International Bureau are elected by the Congress for the period between two successive Congresses, the minimum duration of their term being five years. Their mandate is renewable once. Unless otherwise decided by the Congress, the date of their appointment shall be 1er January of the year following the Congress.
2. At least seven months before the opening of the Congress, the Director-General of the International Bureau shall send a note to the Governments of the Member Countries inviting them to apply for the positions of Director-General and Vice-Director-General and at the same time indicating whether the Director-General or Vice-Director-General in office are interested in the possible renewal of their initial terms of office. Nominations, accompanied by a curriculum vitae, must be submitted to the International Bureau at least two months before the opening of the Congress. Applicants must be nationals of the Member Countries who present them. The International Bureau prepares the necessary documentation for the Congress. The election of the Director General and that of the Vice-Director General shall be held by secret ballot, the first election for the post of Director General.
3. In the event of the vacancy of Director-General, the Vice-Director-General shall serve as Director-General until the end of his term of office; he is eligible for this position and is admitted as an ex officio candidate, provided that his initial term as Deputy Director General has not already been renewed once by the previous Congress and that he declares his interest to be considered as a candidate for the position of Director General.
4. In the event of simultaneous vacancy of the positions of Director General and Vice-Director General, the Board of Directors shall elect, on the basis of nominations received following a competitive examination, a Vice-Director General for the period up to the next Congress. For nominations, subsection 2 applies by analogy.
5. In the event of the vacancy of Vice-Director General, the Governing Council shall, on the proposal of the Director General, appoint one of the Assistant Directors General to the International Bureau to serve as Vice-Director General until the next Congress.
Rule 110
Functions of the Director-General
1. The Director General organizes, administers and directs the International Bureau, of which he is the legal representative. It is competent to classify the positions of grades G 1 to D 2 and to appoint and promote civil servants in these grades. For appointments in grades P 1 to D 2, he must consider the professional qualifications of the candidates recommended by the Postal Administrations of the Member Countries of which they are a national, or in which they exercise their professional activity, taking into account a fair continental geographical distribution and languages. The positions of Assistant Director-General must, to the extent possible, be filled by candidates from different regions and other regions other than those from which the Director-General and Vice-Director-General are from, given the dominant consideration of the effectiveness of the International Bureau. In the case of special qualifications, the Director General may apply to the outside. It also takes into account, in the appointment of a new official, that in principle persons occupying the positions of grades D 2, D 1 and P 5 must be nationals of different Member Countries of the Union. During the promotion of an officer of the International Bureau at grades D 2, D 1 and P 5, he is not required to apply the same principle. In addition, the requirements for equitable geographical distribution and languages go beyond merit in the recruitment process. The Director General shall inform the Board of Directors once a year of appointments and promotions at grades P 4 to D 2.
2. The Director-General has the following responsibilities:
2.1. perform the functions of depositary of the Acts of the Union and of intermediary in the procedure of accession and admission to the Union and of its exit;
2.2. notify the decisions taken by the Congress to all the Governments of the Member Countries;
2.3. notify all Postal Administrations of the Regulations issued or revised by the Postal Operations Council;
2.4. prepare the draft annual budget of the Union at the lowest possible level consistent with the needs of the Union and submit it in a timely manner to the review of the Board of Directors; communicate the budget to the Member Countries of the Union after the approval of the Board of Directors and execute it;
2.5. carry out the specific activities requested by the bodies of the Union and those assigned to it by the Acts;
2.6. take initiatives to achieve the objectives set by the EU bodies, within the framework of established policy and available funds;
2.7. submit suggestions and proposals to the Board of Directors or the Postal Operations Council;
2.8. prepare the draft strategic plan to be submitted to the Congress and the draft annual revision for consideration by the Postal Operations Council on the basis of the guidance provided by the Postal Operations Council;
2.9. ensure the representation of the Union;
2.10. serve as an intermediary in relations between:
- UPU and restricted Unions;
- the UPU and the United Nations;
- UPU and international organizations whose activities are of interest to the Union;
- the UPU and international organizations, associations or companies that the EU bodies wish to consult or associate with their work;
2.11. assume the role of Secretary-General of the organs of the Union and, in this capacity, taking into account the special provisions of this Regulation, including:
- the preparation and organization of the work of the bodies of the Union;
- the development, production and distribution of documents, reports and minutes;
- the functioning of the secretariat during meetings of EU bodies;
2.12. attend the meetings of the bodies of the Union and take part in the deliberations without the right to vote, with the possibility of being represented.
Rule 111
Functions of the Deputy Director General
1. The Deputy Director-General assists the Director-General and is accountable to him.
2. In the event of absence or impediment of the Director General, the Vice-Director General shall exercise the powers of the Director General. The same applies to the vacancy of the post of Director-General referred to in section 109, paragraph 3.
Article 112
Secretariat of Union bodies
The secretariat of the bodies of the Union is provided by the International Bureau under the responsibility of the Director General. It addresses all documents published on the occasion of each session to the Postal Administrations of Organ Members, to the Postal Administrations of the countries that, without being members of the organ, collaborate in the studies undertaken, the restricted Unions and other Postal Administrations of the Member Countries that apply.
Article 113
List of Member Countries
The International Bureau prepares and maintains the list of Member Countries of the Union, indicating their class of contribution, their geographical group and their status with respect to the Acts of the Union.
Article 114
Information. - Reviews. - Application for interpretation and modification of Acts. Investigations. Action in the liquidation of accounts
1. The International Bureau is at all times available to the Board of Directors, the Postal Operations Council and Postal Administrations to provide any useful information on service matters.
2. It is responsible, inter alia, for gathering, coordinating, publishing and distributing information of any nature that is relevant to international postal service; to issue, at the request of the parties involved, an opinion on contentious issues; to follow up on the requests for interpretation and modification of the Union Acts and, in general, to carry out the studies and drafting or documentation that the said Acts assign to it or to which it would be seized in the interest of the Union.
3. It also conducts the investigations that are requested by the Postal Administrations to determine the views of the other Postal Administrations on a specific issue. The result of an investigation does not have the character of a vote and does not formally bind.
4. It may intervene, as a clearing house, in the liquidation of accounts of any kind relating to postal service.
Rule 115
Technical cooperation
The International Bureau is responsible, within the framework of international technical cooperation, for developing technical assistance in all its forms.
Article 116
Forms provided by the International Bureau
The International Bureau is responsible for making international coupons-response and, at the cost of return, providing the Postal Administrations upon request.
Article 117
Restricted Union Acts and special arrangements
1. Two copies of the Acts of the Restricted Unions and special arrangements made pursuant to Article 8 of the Constitution shall be transmitted to the International Bureau by the offices of those Unions or, if not, by one of the Contracting Parties.
2. The International Bureau ensures that the Acts of the restricted Unions and special arrangements do not provide for less favourable conditions for the public than those provided for in the Acts of the Union and informs the Postal Administrations of the existence of the aforementioned Unions and arrangements. The Board shall notify the Board of any irregularity found under this provision.
Article 118
Union Review
The International Bureau draws, using the documents that are available to it, a review in German, English, Arabic, Chinese, Spanish, French and Russian languages.
Rule 119
Annual report on the activities of the Union
The International Bureau shall, on the activities of the Union, make an annual report which shall be communicated, after approval by the Board of Directors, to the Postal Administrations, to the Small Unions and to the United Nations.
CHAPTER III. - Procedure for the introduction and review of proposals
Rule 120
Procedure for submission of proposals to the Congress
1. Subject to the exceptions set out in paragraphs 2 and 5, the following procedure regulates the introduction of proposals of any kind to be submitted to Congress by the Member Postal Administrations:
(a) the proposals to be submitted to the International Bureau at least six months before the date fixed for the Congress;
(b) no editorial proposal shall be admitted during the six-month period preceding the date fixed for the Congress;
(c) the substantive proposals that reach the International Bureau within the period between six and four months before the date fixed for the Congress shall be admitted only if they are supported by at least two Postal Administrations;
(d) substantive proposals to the International Bureau in the range between four and two months prior to the date fixed for the Congress shall be accepted only if they are supported by at least eight Postal Administrations; proposals which subsequently reach are no longer accepted;
(e) statements of support must be submitted to the International Bureau within the same time limit as the proposals they relate to.
2. Proposals concerning the Constitution or the General Rules must be submitted to the International Bureau at least six months before the opening of the Congress; those who succeed after that date but before the opening of the Congress can only be taken into consideration if the Congress so decides by a two-thirds majority of the countries represented in the Congress and if the conditions set out in paragraph 1 are met.
3. Each proposal must have in principle only one objective and contain only the modifications justified by this objective.
4. The editorial proposals are in the lead with the reference "Proposal of editorial order" by the Postal Administrations which present them and published by the International Bureau under a number followed by the letter R. Proposals that are not included but which, in the opinion of the International Bureau, only affect the drafting are published with an appropriate annotation; the International Bureau draws up a list of these proposals for Congress.
5. The procedure prescribed in paragraphs 1er and 4 does not apply to proposals concerning the Rules of Procedure of Congress or to amendments to proposals already made.
Rule 121
Procedure for submission of proposals between two Congresses
1. To be taken into account, each proposal for the Convention or Arrangements and introduced by a Postal Administration between two Congresses must be supported by at least two other Postal Administrations. These proposals remain without action when the International Bureau does not receive the necessary supporting statements at the same time.
2. These proposals are addressed to other Postal Administrations through the International Bureau.
3. Proposals for the Regulations do not require support but are only considered by the Postal Operations Council if it approves the urgent need.
Article 122
Consideration of proposals between two Congresses
1. Any proposal concerning the Convention, the Arrangements and their Final Protocols shall be submitted to the following procedure: a two-month period shall be left to the Postal Administrations of the Member Countries to consider the proposal notified by the International Bureau circular and, where appropriate, to forward their comments to the Bureau. The amendments are not allowed. Responses are collected through the International Bureau and are communicated to the Postal Administrations with invitation to take action on or against the proposal. Those who did not send their votes within two months are considered abstaining. The above-mentioned deadlines are based on the date of the International Bureau circulars.
2. Proposed amendments to the Regulations are addressed by the Postal Operations Council.
3. If the proposal relates to an Arrangement or its Final Protocol, only the Member Postal Administrations that are parties to this Arrangement may take part in the operations specified in paragraph 1er.
Article 123
Notification of decisions between two Congresses
1. The amendments to the Convention, the Arrangements and the Final Protocols of these Acts are made by a notification from the Director-General of the International Bureau to the Governments of the Member Countries.
2. The changes made by the Postal Operations Council to the Regulations and their Final Protocols are notified to the Postal Administrations by the International Bureau. The same is true of the interpretations referred to in Article 64.3.3.2 of the Convention and the corresponding provisions of the Arrangements.
Rule 124
Implementation of Regulations and Other Decisions
between two Congresses
1. The Regulations come into force on the same date and have the same duration as the Congress Acts.
2. Subject to paragraph 1er, the decisions to amend the Union Acts that are adopted between two Congresses are enforceable only three months, at least, after their notification.
CHAPTER IV. - Finance
Rule 125
Setting and regulating EU expenditures
1. Subject to paragraphs 2 to 6, annual expenditures for the activities of the Union bodies shall not exceed the following amounts for the 2000s and subsequent years:
- 33,680,816 Swiss francs for the year 2000;
- 37,000 000 Swiss francs for the years 2001 to 2004.
The baseline for the year 2004 also applies to subsequent years in the event of a postponement of the Congress scheduled for 2004.
2. The expenses for the meeting of the next Congress (replacement of the secretariat, transportation costs, technical installation costs of simultaneous interpretation, reproduction costs of documents during the Congress, etc.) should not exceed the limit of Swiss francs 2,948,000.
3. The Board of Directors is authorized to exceed limits 1er Paragraphs 1 and 2 to take into account increases in salary scales, pension contributions or allowances, including post allowances, authorized by the United Nations to be applied to their staff in Geneva.
4. The Board of Directors is also authorized to adjust the amount of non-staff expenditures per year based on the Swiss Consumer Price Index.
5. Derogation from paragraph 1er, the Governing Council, or in the event of extreme urgency the Director-General, may authorize an excess of the limits established to deal with the significant and unforeseen repairs of the International Bureau building, but the amount of the overtaking may exceed 125,000 Swiss francs per year.
6. If the requirements of paragraphs 1er and 2 are insufficient to ensure the proper functioning of the Union, these limits can only be exceeded with the approval of the majority of the Member Countries of the Union. Any consultation must include a full statement of the facts justifying such a request.
7. Countries that join the Union or are admitted as members of the Union as well as those coming out of the Union must pay their dues for the whole year in which their admission or exit becomes effective.
8. Member Countries pay in advance their share in the annual expenses of the Union, on the basis of the budget decided by the Board of Directors. These contributors must be paid no later than the first day of the fiscal year to which the budget relates. After this term, the sums due are productive of interest to the Union, at a rate of 3 per cent per year in the first six months and 6 per cent per year from the seventh month.
9. When arrears of mandatory non-interest contributions due to the Union by a Member Country are equal to or greater than the sum of the contributions of that Member Country for the previous two financial years, that Member Country may irrevocably yield to the Union all or part of its claims on other Member Countries, in accordance with the terms set by the Board of Directors. The terms and conditions for the assignment of receivables are to be defined according to an agreement between the Member Country, its debtors/creators and the Union.
10. Members who, for legal or other reasons, are unable to make such an assignment undertake to conclude a plan to depreciate their arrears.
11. Except in exceptional circumstances, the recovery of arrears of mandatory contributions due to the Union will not extend to more than ten years.
12. In exceptional circumstances, the Board of Directors may release a Member Country from all or part of the interest due if it has paid, in capital, all its arrears.
13. A Member Country may also be released, as part of a plan to depreciate its outstanding accounts approved by the Board of Directors, from all or part of the accrued interest or to run; release is, however, conditional on the complete and timely execution of the damping plan within an agreed maximum of ten years.
14. In order to address the Union's shortcomings in the field, a Reserve Fund is established by the Board of Directors. The Fund is primarily funded by budgetary surpluses. It can also be used to balance the budget or to reduce the amount of contributions from Member Countries.
15. With regard to the short-term short-term short-term short-term short-term short-term short-term short-term short-term advances that are to be agreed upon. The Government shall monitor without charge the maintenance of the financial accounts and the accounting of the International Bureau within the limits of the appropriations established by the Congress.
Rule 126
Automatic sanctions
1. Since any Member Country is unable to make the assignment referred to in paragraph 9 of Article 125 and does not agree to submit to a depreciation plan proposed by the International Bureau in accordance with Article 125, paragraph 10, or does not respect it automatically loses its right to vote in Congress and in meetings of the Board of Directors and the Board of Postal Operations and is no longer eligible for these two Councils.
2. The automatic sanctions are waived ex officio and with immediate effect as soon as the Member country concerned has paid its arrears of mandatory contributions due to the Union, in capital and interest, or agrees to submit to a plan of depreciation of its arrears.
Article 127
Contribution categories
1. Member Countries contribute to the coverage of EU expenditures according to the class of contribution to which they belong. These classes are:
class of 50 units;
40 units;
35 units;
25 units;
class of 20 units;
15 units;
10 units;
5 units;
class of 3 units;
1 unit class;
Class of 0.5 unit, reserved for the least developed countries listed by the United Nations and other countries designated by the Governing Council.
2. In addition to the contribution classes listed in paragraph 1er, any Member Country may choose to pay a number of contribution units greater than 50 units.
3. The Member Countries are placed in one of the above-mentioned contribution classes at the time of their admission or accession to the Union, according to the procedure referred to in Article 21, paragraph 4, of the Constitution.
4. Member Countries may subsequently change their contribution class, provided that this change is notified to the International Bureau two months before the opening of the Congress. This notification, which is brought to the attention of the Congress, takes effect on the date of the implementation of the financial provisions of the Congress. The Member Countries that have not made known their wish to change their contribution class within the prescribed deadlines are maintained in the contribution class to which they belonged so far.
5. Member Countries may not require declassification of more than one class at a time.
6. However, in exceptional circumstances such as natural disasters requiring international assistance programmes, the Board of Directors may authorize a temporary decommissioning of a class, once between two Congresses, at the request of a Member Country if the Member State demonstrates that it cannot continue its contribution according to the class initially chosen. Under the same circumstances, the Board of Directors may also authorize the temporary decommissioning of the Member Countries that do not belong to the category of the least developed and already ranked in the class of 1 unit by placing them in the class of 0.5 unit.
7. Pursuant to paragraph 6, temporary decommissioning may be authorized by the Board of Directors for a maximum period of two years or up to the next Congress, if the latter occurs before the end of that period. Upon expiry of the fixed period, the country concerned automatically reintegrates its initial class.
8. By derogation from paragraphs 4 and 5, upgrades are not subject to any restrictions.
Rule 128
Payment of supplies by the International Bureau
Supplies that the International Bureau delivers in an expensive manner to the Postal Administrations must be paid as soon as possible, and no later than six months from the first day of the month following that of sending the account by that Office. After this period, the sums due are productive of interest to the Union, at a rate of 5% per year, beginning on the day of the expiry of that period.
CHAPTER V. - Arbitration
Rule 128
Arbitration procedure
1. In the event of a dispute to be settled by arbitral award, each of the Postal Administrations in question chooses a Postal Administration of a Member Country that is not directly interested in the dispute. When several Postal Administrations make a common cause, they count for the purposes of this provision only for one.
2. In the event that one of the Postal Administrations in question does not respond to an arbitration proposal within the six-month period, the International Bureau, if requested, in turn causes the appointment of an arbitrator by the Failing Postal Administration or designates an arbitrator by its own office.
3. The parties involved may agree to designate a single arbitrator, which may be the International Bureau.
4. The decision of the arbitrators shall be taken by a majority vote.
5. In the event of a vote-sharing, the arbitrators choose, to settle the dispute, another Postal Administration also disinterested in the dispute. In the absence of an election agreement, this Postal Administration is designated by the International Bureau as one of the Postal Administrations not proposed by the arbitrators.
6. If this is a dispute over one of the Arrangements, arbitrators may not be designated outside the Postal Administrations that participate in this Arrangement.
CHAPTER VI. - Final provisions
Rule 130
Conditions for approval of proposals
General Regulation
To become enforceable, proposals submitted to Congress and related to these General Rules must be approved by the majority of Member Countries represented in Congress. At least two thirds of the Member Countries of the Union must be present at the time of the vote.
Article 131
Proposals for the Agreements
with the United Nations
The conditions of approval referred to in Article 130 also apply to proposals to amend the Agreements between the Universal Postal Union and the United Nations to the extent that these Agreements do not provide for the conditions for amending the provisions they contain.
Rule 132
Implementation and duration of the General Regulations
This General Regulation shall be implemented on 1er January 2001 and will remain in force until the implementation of the Acts of the next Congress.
Done at Beijing on 15 September 1999.

Universal Postal Convention
CONTENTS
PART I. - Common rules applicable to international postal service
UNIC CHAPTER. - General provisions
Articles
1. Universal Postal Service
2. Freedom of transit
3. Appearance of mail
4. Creation of a new service
5. Monetary unit
6. Post Stamps
7. Taxes
8. Postal Franchise
9. Postal security
Part two. - Rules applicable to posting of letters and postal parcels
CHAPTER 1er. - Provision of benefits
10. Basic services
11. Air taxes and air surtaxes
12. Special taxes
13. Recommended shipments
14. Certified delivery
15. Payments with declared value
16. Payments against reimbursement
17. On-going shipments
18. Notice of receipt
19. Clean handover
20. Tax and fees
21. International Response Trade Correspondence Service
22. International coupons-response
23. Fragile collars. Colis encombrants
24. Consignment Grouping Service
25. Unsubmitted. Prohibitions
26. Radioactive material
27. Shipping
28. Undistributable shipments
29. Withdrew. Modification or correction of address to sender's request
30. Claims
31. Customs inspection
32. Customs clearance fee
33. Customs and other duties
CHAPTER 2. - Accountability
34. Responsibility of postal administrations. Compensation
35. Non-responsibility of postal administrations
36. Disclaimer of shipper
37. Payment of compensation
38. Possible recovery of compensation on the sender or recipient
39. Exchange of consignments
40. Exchange of closed dispatches with military units
41. Determination of liability between postal administrations
CHAPTER 3. - Special provisions for mail to letters
42. Quality of service objectives
43. Absence of mail to letters
44. Eligible biological substances
45. Electronic mail
46. Transit costs
47. Terminal fees. General provisions
48. Terminal fees. Provisions applicable to trade between industrialized countries
49. Terminal fees. Provisions for mail flows from developing countries to industrialized countries
50. Terminal fees. Provisions for mail flows from industrialized countries to developing countries
51. Terminal fees. Provisions applicable to trade between developing countries
52. Exemption from transit and terminal costs
53. Air transportation
54. Base rate and calculation of air transportation costs
CHAPTER 4. - Specific provisions for postal packages
55. Quality of service objectives
56. territorial share of arrival
57. Territorial share of transit
58. Sea share
59. Air transportation
60. Exemption from assessed contributions
CHAPTER 5. - EMS Service
61. Service EMS
Part three. - Transitional and final provisions
62. Obligation to provide service to postal parcels
63. Commitments on criminal measures
64. Conditions for approval of proposals for the Convention and Regulations
65. Implementation and duration of the Convention
FINAL PROTOCOL OF THE UNIVERSAL POST CONVENTION
Articles
I. Appearance of mail
II. Taxes
III. Exception to the post office franchise in favour of the Ecograms
IV. Basic services
V. Small packages
VI. Printed. Maximum weight
VII. Postal package service
VIII. Colis. Maximum weight
IX. Maximum limits for shipments with declared value
X. Notice of receipt
XI. International Response Trade Correspondence Service
XII. Prohibitions (post to letters)
XIII. Prohibitions (postal)
XIV. Objects subject to customs duties
XV. Withdrew. Change or correction of address
XVI. Claims
XVII. Customs presentation fee
XVIII. Responsibility of postal administrations
XIX. Compensation
XX. Exceptions to the principle of liability
XXI. Non-responsibility of postal administrations
XXII. Payment of compensation
XXIII. Absence of mail to letters
XXIV. Terminal costs
XXV. Inland air transport
XXVI. Territorial quotas of exceptional arrival
XXVII. Special rates

Universal Postal Convention
The undersigned, Plenipotentiaries of the Governments of the Member Countries of the Union, in accordance with Article 22, paragraph 3, of the Constitution of the Universal Postal Union concluded in Vienna on 10 July 1964, have, by mutual agreement and subject to Article 25, paragraph 4, of the said Constitution, decreed in this Convention, the rules applicable to international postal service.
PART I. - Applicable common rules
International Postal Service
UNIC CHAPTER. - General provisions
Article 1er
Universal Postal Service
1. To strengthen the concept of the uniqueness of the Union's postal territory, the Member Countries ensure that all users/customers enjoy the right to a universal postal service that corresponds to a quality basic postal service offering, permanently provided in any part of their territory, at affordable prices.
2. To this end, the Member Countries establish, within the framework of their national postal legislation or other usual means, the scope of the postal services concerned and the conditions of quality and affordable prices, taking into account both the needs of the population and their national conditions.
3. Member Countries ensure that postal service offers and quality standards are met by the operators responsible for ensuring universal postal service.
Article 2
Freedom of transit
1. The principle of freedom of transit is set out in Article 1 of the Constitution. It entails the obligation, for each post office, to always carry the fastest routes and the safest means it employs for its own shipments the closed dispatches and mail shipments to uncovered letters delivered to it by another post office.
2. Member countries that do not participate in the exchange of letters containing perishable biological materials or radioactive materials may not admit these shipments to the uncovered transit through their territory. The same is true for mailings to letters, other than letters, postcards and cecograms, in respect of which it has not been satisfied with the legal provisions that regulate the conditions of their publication or circulation in the crossed country.
3. The freedom of transit of postal parcels to be transported by land and sea is limited to the territory of the countries participating in this service.
4. The freedom of transit of aircraft parcels is guaranteed throughout the Union. However, Member Countries that do not participate in the service of postal parcels may not be required to ensure the delivery, by surface, of aircraft packages.
5. If a Member Country does not observe the provisions concerning freedom of transit, other Member Countries have the right to abolish postal service with that country.
Article 3
Appearance of mail
1. Any postal shipment belongs to the sender as long as it has not been issued to the entitled person, unless the said shipment has been seized under the laws of the country of destination.
Article 4
Creation of a new service
1. Postal administrations may, in common agreement, create a new service not expressly provided for in the Union Acts. Fees for the new service are set by each interested administration, taking into account the operating costs of the service.
Article 5
Monetary unit
1. The monetary unit provided for in Article 7 of the Constitution and used in the Convention and the other Acts of the Union is the Special Drawing Right (SDR).
Article 6
Post Stamps
1. Only postal administrations issue postage stamps certifying the payment of postage according to the Union Acts. Postal markings, fingerprints and prints to the printing press or other printing or timbrage processes in accordance with the terms of the Post to Letter Regulations can only be used on the authorization of the postal administration.
2. Subjects and motifs of postage stamps must conform to the spirit of the preamble of the UPU Constitution and the decisions taken by the EU bodies.
Article 7
Taxes
1. Taxes for different international and special postal services are set by postal administrations in accordance with the principles set out in the Convention and the Regulations. They should in principle be related to the costs of providing these services.
2. The taxes applied, including those referred to in the Acts, must be at least equal to those applied to domestic shipments with the same characteristics (category, quantity, processing time, etc.).
3. Postal administrations are authorized to exceed all taxes in the Acts, including those not mentioned for information purposes:
3.1. if the taxes they apply for the same services in their domestic regime are higher than those fixed;
3.2. if necessary to cover the operating costs of their services or for any other reasonable reason.
4. Above the minimum limit of taxes set under 2, postal administrations have the ability to concede reduced taxes based on their domestic legislation for mail shipments to letters filed in their country. These include the possibility of granting preferential rates to their customers with significant postal traffic.
5. It is forbidden to charge postal taxes on customers of any kind other than those provided in the Acts.
6. Except as provided in the Acts, each postal administration shall keep the taxes it has collected.
Article 8
Postal Franchise
1. Principle
1.1. Postal franchise cases are expressly provided for in the Convention.
2. Postal service
2.1. Shipments of the post to the postal service letters sent by the postal administrations or by their offices, either by air, by surface or by surface and by air (SAL) are exempt from all postal taxes.
2.2. Exempt from all postal taxes, excluding air surtaxes, mail shipments to postal service letters:
2.2.1. exchanged between the organs of the Universal Postal Union and the organs of the restricted Unions;
2.2.2. exchanged between the bodies of these Unions;
2.2.3. sent by these bodies to postal administrations or their offices.
2.3. Postal duties are exempted from all postal taxes the parcels relating to the postal service exchanged between:
2.3.1. Postal administrations;
2.3.2. Postal administrations and the International Bureau;
2.3.3. Member country offices;
2.3.4. post offices and post offices.
2.4. The aircraft packages, with the exception of those emanating from the International Bureau, do not carry the air surtaxes.
3. Prisoners of war and civil internees
3.1. Exempt from all postal taxes, excluding air surtaxes, mail-to-letter shipments, postal parcels and post-post financial services to prisoners of war or sent by them either directly or through the offices referred to in the Post-to-letter Regulations. The belligerents collected and interned in a neutral country are assimilated to the prisoners of war themselves with regard to the application of the above provisions.
3.2. The provisions set out in 3.1 also apply to mail shipments to letters, postal parcels and mailings from other countries, addressed to, or dispatched by, the civil persons subject to the Geneva Convention of 12 August 1949 relating to the protection of civilians in wartime, either directly or through the offices referred to in the Post Regulations.
3.3. The offices referred to in the Mail to Letters Regulations also benefit from the mailing duty for mailings to letters, postal parcels and mailings of postal financial services for persons referred to in 3.1 and 3.2 that they ship or receive, either directly or as an intermediary.
3.4. Packages are allowed at a postage duty up to a weight of 5 kilograms. The weight limit is increased to 10 kilograms for consignments whose content is indivisible and for those sent to a camp or to its trusted men to be distributed to prisoners.
4. Ecograms
4.1. Ecograms are exempt from all postal taxes, excluding air surtaxes.
Article 9
Postal security
1. Postal administrations adopt and implement a security action strategy at all levels of postal operations in order to maintain and increase customer confidence in postal services and thus achieve a competitive advantage in the marketplace.
2. This strategy must focus on:
2.1. improve the quality of service of operation as a whole;
2.2. making employees more aware of the importance of security;
2.3. establish or strengthen security services;
2.4. ensure the timely dissemination of information related to the operation, security and investigations;
2.5. encourage the proposal to legislators of specific laws, regulations and measures to improve the quality and security of postal services worldwide.
PART 2. - Rules applicable to the post of letters
and Postal Packages
CHAPTER 1er. - Provision of benefits
Article 10
Basic services
1. Postal administrations ensure the admission, processing, transportation and distribution of mail to letters. They also provide the same benefits for postal parcels either by following the provisions of the Convention or, in the case of starting packages and after bilateral agreement, using any other more advantageous means for their customers.
2. Shipments of mail to letters are classified according to one of the following two systems. Each postal administration is free to choose the system it applies to its outgoing traffic.
3. The first system is based on the speed of shipment processing. The latter are then divided into:
3.1. Priority shipments: shipments transported by the fastest (aircraft or surface) route with priority; weight limits: 2 kilograms in general, but 5 kilograms in relations between jurisdictions admitting shipments of this category, 5 kilograms for consignments containing books and brochures (optional service), 7 kilograms for cecograms;
3.2. non-priority shipments: consignments for which the consignor has chosen a lower rate that implies a longer distribution period; weight limits: identical to those under 3.1.
4. The second system is based on the contents of the consignments. The latter are then divided into:
4.1. letters and postcards, collectively referred to as "LC"; weight limit: 2 kilograms, but 5 kilograms in the relationship between jurisdictions admitting shipments of this category;
4.2. printed, ecograms and small packages, collectively referred to as "AO"; weight limits: 2 kilograms for small packages, but 5 kilograms in the relations between administrations admitting from their customers shipments of this category, 5 kilograms for prints, 7 kilograms for cecograms.
5. Special bags containing prints (days, periodical writings, books and others), at the address of the same recipient and the same destination, are in both systems called "M bags"; weight limit: 30 kilograms.
6. The exchange of packages with a unit weight exceeding 20 kilograms is optional, with a maximum unit weight not exceeding 50 kilograms.
7. In general, parcels are delivered to the consignees as soon as possible and in accordance with the provisions in force in the country of destination. When the parcels are not delivered to the home, the consignees must, unless impossible, be notified without delay of their arrival.
8. Any country whose postal administration is not responsible for the transport of parcels has the ability to enforce the provisions of the Convention by transport companies. At the same time, it may limit this service to parcels from or to localities served by these companies. The postal administration remains responsible for the implementation of the Convention and the Postal Package Regulations.
Article 11
Air taxes and air surtaxes
1. The original administration sets the exemption fees for the transport of mail to letters in the entire scope of the Union. Disbursement fees include the delivery of shipments to the recipient's home, provided that the distribution service is organized in the destination countries for shipments.
2. Fees for priority mail shipments include the potential additional costs of rapid transmission.
3. Administrations that apply the system based on the contents of the mail to letters are authorized to:
3.1 to collect surtaxes for flight mail consignments;
3.2. for surface shipments carried by airway with reduced priority "SAL" of surtaxes below the ones they receive for aircraft consignments;
3.3. establish combined taxes for air consignments and SAL consignments, taking into account the cost of their postal services and the costs to be paid for air transportation.
4. Administrations establish surtaxes for aircraft packages.
5. Surtaxes must be in relation to air transportation costs and be uniform for at least the entire territory of each destination country, regardless of the route used; for the calculation of the surtax applicable to an aeroplane consignment from the mail to the letters, the administrations are allowed to take into account the weight of the formulas for the use of the public if attached.
6. The original administration has the ability to concede, for mailings to letters containing:
6.1. periodic newspapers and writings published in his country, a reduction which in principle cannot exceed 50% of the tariff applicable to the class of shipments used;
6.2. books and brochures, music scores and geographical maps that contain no advertisements or claims other than that on the cover or custody pages of these objects, the same reduction as that provided for in 6.1.
7. The original administration has the power to apply different taxes to unstandardized shipments from those applicable to standardized shipments defined in the Post to Letter Regulations.
8. Tax reductions according to 6 also apply to consignments carried by air, but no reduction is granted on the portion of the tax intended to cover the costs of that transportation.
Article 12
Special taxes
1. No discount tax can be collected on the recipient for small packages of a weight less than 500 grams. When small packages of more than 500 grams are struck by a domestic rebate tax, the same tax may be collected for small packages from abroad.
2. Postal administrations are authorized to collect, in the cases mentioned below, the same taxes as in the domestic regime.
2.1. Final deposit fee for a mail-to-letter shipment, collected on the shipper.
2.2. Deposit fee outside normal hours of opening of the windows, collected on the shipper.
2.3. Removal tax at the shipper's home, collected on the shipper.
2.4. Tax for withdrawal from mail to letters outside the normal hours of opening of the windows, collected on the recipient.
2.5. Remaining post tax, collected on the recipient; in the event that a parcel is returned to the sender or reshipment, the amount of the recovery may not exceed the amount determined by the Postal Package Regulations.
2.6. Shop fee for any mail shipment in letters exceeding 500 grams and for any parcel that the recipient has not delivered within the prescribed time. This tax does not apply to cecograms. For parcels, it is collected by the administration that delivers, for the benefit of the administrations in which the parcel has been kept beyond the time allowed; in the event that the parcel is returned to the shipper or reshipment, the amount of the recovery may not exceed the amount determined by the Postal Packages Regulations.
3. Where a package is normally delivered to the recipient's home, no delivery tax may be collected on the recipient's home. When delivery to the recipient's home is normally not insured, the package's arrival notice must be given free of charge. In this case, if delivery to the recipient's home is offered on an optional basis in response to the notice of arrival, a delivery tax may be collected on the recipient. This tax must be the same as that applied to domestic service.
4. Postal administrations willing to take charge of the risks that may result from force majeure are allowed to collect a force majeure risk tax, the maximum amount determined by the Regulations.
Article 13
Recommended shipments
1. Shipments of mail to letters may be sent under recommendation.
2. The recommended shipment tax must be paid in advance. It consists of the security tax and a fixed recommendation tax, the maximum amount of which is determined by the Post to Letter Regulations.
3. In cases where exceptional security measures are necessary, postal administrations may collect on shippers or on consignees, in addition to the tax mentioned under 2, the special taxes provided by their domestic legislation.
Article 14
Certified delivery
1. Shipments of mail to letters may be sent by the delivery service attested to in the relations between the departments responsible for this service.
2. The tax of certified delivery shipments must be paid in advance. It consists of the security tax and a delivery tax certified by the original administration. This tax must be less than the recommendation fee.
Article 15
Payments with declared value
1. Priority and non-priority shipments and letters containing paper values, documents or valuables as well as packages may be exchanged with content assurance for the value declared by the sender. This exchange is limited to the relations between the postal administrations that have agreed to accept these shipments, either in their mutual relations or in a single sense.
2. The value declaration is in principle unlimited. Each administration has the power to limit the declaration of value to an amount that cannot be less than that set out in the Regulations. However, the declared value limit adopted in the domestic service is only applicable if it is equal to or greater than the amount of compensation set for the loss of a recommended shipment or a package weighing 1 kilogram. The maximum amount is notified in SDR to the Member Countries of the Union.
3. The tax for shipments with declared value must be paid in advance. It consists of:
3.1. for consignments of mail to letters, deferral tax, fixed recommendation tax under section 13.2 and an insurance tax;
3.2. for parcels, the main tax, an optional shipping fee and an ordinary insurance tax; air surtaxes and special service taxes may be added to the main tax; the shipping fee must not exceed the recommendation fee for mail shipments to letters.
4. Instead of the fixed recommendation fee, postal administrations are entitled to collect the corresponding tax of their domestic service or, exceptionally, a tax with the maximum amount determined by the Post to Letters Regulations.
5. The maximum amount of the insurance tax is determined by the Regulations.
5.1. For the mail to letters, this tax is applicable regardless of the country of destination, even in countries that bear the risks that may result from a force majeure case.
5.2. For packages, the potential force majeure risk tax will be set so that the total amount formed by this tax and the ordinary insurance tax does not exceed the maximum amount of the insurance tax.
6. In cases where exceptional security measures are necessary, administrations may collect on shippers or consignees, in addition to the taxes mentioned in 3, 4 and 5, the special taxes provided by their domestic legislation.
7. Postal administrations have the right to provide their customers with a declared value shipment service corresponding to specifications other than those defined in this section.
Article 16
Payments against reimbursement
Some mail shipments and parcels may be shipped for refund. The exchange of shipments for refund requires the prior agreement of the authorities of origin and destination.
Article 17
On-going shipments
1. At the request of shippers and to countries whose administrations are responsible for this service, consignments are delivered at home by special carrier as soon as possible after their arrival at the distribution office. Any administration has the right to limit this service to priority shipments, aircraft consignments or, if this is the only route used between two jurisdictions, to surface LC consignments.
2. Administrations that have several lines of mail transmission from the mail to the letters must pass the shipments on purpose by the fastest internal transmission line, upon arrival of the mail mail exchange office, and then process these shipments as quickly as possible.
3. Expanded shipments are subject, in addition to the exemption tax, to a tax of at least the amount of the exemption from a regular priority/non-priority shipment, as the case may be, or a regular simple port letter, and to the maximum amount determined by the Regulations. This tax must be paid in full advance. For parcels, it is due even if the package cannot be distributed on purpose, but only the notice of arrival.
4. When the express surrender results in special hardships, a supplementary tax may be collected according to the provisions relating to consignments of the same nature of the domestic regime. For packages, this additional fee remains payable even if the parcel is returned to the shipper or returned; in such cases, however, the amount of the recovery may not exceed the maximum established by the Postal Packages Regulations.
5. If the regulation of the destination administration allows it, the recipients may request the distribution office to express delivery on arrival of the shipments to them. In this case, the destination administration is authorized to collect, at the time of distribution, the tax applicable in its domestic service.
Article 18
Notice of receipt
1. A consignor of a registered consignment, a certified consignment, a parcel or a consignment with declared value may request a notice of receipt at the time of filing by paying a tax whose maximum amount is fixed by the Regulations. The notice of receipt is returned to the sender by the fastest (aircraft or surface).
2. However, for parcels, administrations may limit this service to packages with declared value if this limitation is provided in their domestic regime.
Article 19
Clean handover
1. At the request of the shipper and in the relations between the postal administrations that have given their consent, the recommended shipments, the certified delivery shipments and the shipments with declared value are hand-delivered. Administrations may agree to admit this faculty only for shipments of the species accompanied by a notice of receipt. In all cases, the sender pays a clean hand-over fee, the maximum amount of which is fixed by the Post to Letters Regulations.
Rule 20
Tax and fees
1. In the relations between the postal administrations which have declared agreement in this regard, the shippers may take charge of them, with a prior declaration to the office of origin, of all the taxes and duties of which the mail to letters and postal parcels are encumbered upon delivery. As long as a mailing has not been delivered to the recipient, the sender may, after the filing, request that the mailing be given free of taxes and duties.
2. The shipper must commit to paying the amounts that could be claimed by the destination office. If applicable, the person must make a provisional payment.
3. The original administration shall collect a tax on the shipper whose maximum amount is fixed by the Regulations and that it shall be paid for the services provided in the country of origin.
4. In the event of a request made after the filing of a mail to the letters, the original administration shall also receive an additional fee, the maximum amount determined by the Regulations.
5. The destination administration is authorized to collect a commission fee whose maximum amount is determined by the Regulations. This tax is independent of the submission fee at the customs. It is seen on the sender for the benefit of the destination administration.
6. Any postal administration shall have the right to limit the service of the free shipments of taxes and duties to the consignments of the post to the letters recommended and with declared value.
Article 21
Commercial Correspondence Service - International Response
1. Postal administrations may agree to participate in an optional "commercial correspondence - international response" (CCRI). But all jurisdictions are obliged to ensure the return service of CCRI shipments.
Article 22
International coupons-response
1. Postal administrations have the ability to sell international coupons-responses issued by the International Bureau and to limit their sale in accordance with their domestic legislation.
2. The value of the coupon-response is set by the Post to Letter Rules. The selling price fixed by the interested postal administrations cannot be less than that value.
3. The coupons-responses are exchangeable in any Member country against postage stamps and, if the domestic legislation of the exchange country does not hinder it, also against postal integers or against postage marks or prints representing the minimal affiliation of an ordinary priority consignment of the post to letters or an ordinary letter-aircraft sent abroad.
4. The postal administration of a Member Country has, moreover, the ability to demand the simultaneous filing of coupons-responses and consignments to be released in exchange for these coupons-responses.
Article 23
Fragile collars. Colis encombrants
1. Any package containing objects that can easily be broken and that must be handled with special care is referred to as "fragile package".
2. Is referred to as "in bulky package" any package:
2.1. the dimensions of which exceed the limits set out in the Postal Packages Regulations or those which the administrations may determine between them;
2.2. which, by its form or structure, is not easily ready for loading with other packages or which requires special precautions.
3. Fragile parcels and bulky packages are subject to an additional fee, the maximum amount of which is set out in the Postal Packages Regulations. If the package is fragile and bulky, the additional tax is only collected once. However, air surtaxes for these packages are not subject to any increase.
4. The exchange of fragile parcels and bulky parcels is limited to relations between the administrations that accept these shipments.
Article 24
Consignment Grouping Service
1. Postal administrations may agree between them to participate in an optional grouping service called "Consignment" for bundled shipments of a single shipper intended abroad.
2. To the extent possible, this service is identified by the logo defined in the Postal Packages Regulations.
3. Details of this service are fixed bilaterally between the original and destination administration on the basis of the provisions defined by the Postal Operations Council.
Rule 25
Unsubmitted. Prohibitions
1. Shipments that do not meet the requirements of the Convention and Regulations are not allowed.
2. Except as set out in the Regulations, the insertion of the following items is prohibited in all shipment categories:
2.1. narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances;
2.2. explosive, flammable or other dangerous substances and radioactive materials;
2.2.1. do not fall under this prohibition:
2.2.1.1. biological materials shipped in mail shipments to letters referred to in section 44;
2.2.1.2. radioactive material shipped in mail shipments to letters and post parcels referred to in section 26;
2.3. obscene or immoral objects;
2.4. living animals, except for exceptions under 3;
2.5. objects whose importation or traffic is prohibited in the country of destination;
2.6. objects that, by their nature or packaging, may pose a danger to agents, salt or damage other shipments or postal equipment;
2.7. documents having the current and personal correspondence between persons other than the sender and the recipient or persons living with them.
3. However:
3.1. in consignments of the post to letters other than consignments with declared value:
3.1.1. bees, leeches and silkworms;
3.1.2. pests and noxious insect destroyers for the control of these insects and exchanged between officially recognized institutions;
3.2. in the packages, live animals whose mail transport is authorized by the postal regulations of the countries concerned.
4. The insertion of the following objects is prohibited in the postal packages:
4.1. documents having the current and personal correspondence between the sender and the recipient or persons living with them;
4.2. correspondence of any kind exchanged between persons other than the sender and the recipient or persons living with them.
5. It is forbidden to insert coins, bank notes, currency notes or any value to the bearer, travel checks, platinum, gold or silver, manufactured or not, stoneware, jewellery and other valuable items:
5.1. in unreported mail; However, if the domestic legislation of the countries of origin and destination permits, such items may be shipped under closed envelope as recommended shipments;
5.2. in unreported packages exchanged between two countries that admit the declaration of value; in addition, each administration has the power to prohibit the insertion of gold ingots in shipments with or without declared value from or to its territory or transmitted in transit through its territory; it may limit the actual value of these shipments.
6. Prints and charts:
6.1. cannot bear any annotation or contain any document having the present and personal correspondence character;
6.2. cannot contain any postage stamps, any postage formula, obliterated or non-representative paper of a value.
7. The processing of wrongly admitted consignments appears in the Regulations. However, consignments that contain the objects referred to in 2.1, 2.2 and 2.3 are not in any case forwarded to the destination, delivered to the consignees, or returned to the origin.
Rule 26
Radioactive material
1. The admission of conditioned and packaged radioactive material in accordance with the respective provisions of the Regulations is limited to relations between the postal administrations that have agreed to admit such shipments either in their mutual relations or in a single sense.
2. When they are sent to mail shipments to letters, they are subject to the priority shipment tariff or to the letter tariff and recommendation.
3. Radioactive material contained in mail shipments to letters or postal parcels shall be routed by the fastest route, normally by air, subject to the completion of the corresponding air surtaxes.
4. Radioactive material may only be deposited by duly authorized shippers.
Rule 27
Shipping
1. In the event of a change of address of the consignee, the consignments shall be dispatched immediately to the conditions set out in the Regulations.
2. However, consignments are not resented:
2.1. if the consignor forbade the reshipment by an annotation in a language known in the country of destination;
2.2. if they bear, in addition to the addressee's address, the mention "or the occupant of the place".
3. Postal administrations that receive a tax for re-shipment requests in their domestic service are authorized to collect the same tax in the international service.
4. No tax surcharge is collected for mail shipments to letters sent back from countries to countries, except for the exceptions set out in the Regulations. However, jurisdictions that receive a re-shipment tax in their domestic service are authorized to collect the same tax for mail shipments to the letters of the international regime re-shipd in their own service.
Rule 28
Undistributable shipments
1. Postal administrations ensure the removal of shipments that could not be delivered to the recipients for any cause.
2. The time limit for shipments is set by the Regulations.
3. Any parcels that cannot be delivered to the consignee or that is held ex officio shall be processed according to the instructions given by the consignor within the limits set by the Postal Packages Regulations.
4. If the sender has abandoned a package that could not be delivered to the consignee, this package is processed by the destination administration according to its own legislation. Neither the consignor nor other postal authorities are required to pay postal taxes, customs duties or other duties for which the parcel may be liable.
5. Objects contained in a package and whose subsequent deterioration or corruption are to be feared may only be sold immediately, without prior notice and without judicial formality. The sale takes place for the benefit of who, even on the way, to go and return. If the sale is impossible, deteriorated or corrupt objects are destroyed.
6. No tax supplement is collected for non-distributable mail shipments to letters returned to the country of origin, except for the exceptions set out in the Regulations. However, jurisdictions that receive a transfer tax in their domestic service are authorized to collect the same tax for shipments of the international regime that are returned to them.
7. Notwithstanding the provisions in 6, where an administration receives, for return to the shipper, shipments filed abroad by customers residing in its territory, it is authorized to collect a processing fee by consignment from the shipper(s) that does not exceed the security tax that would have been collected if the shipment had been filed with the administration in question.
7.1 For the purposes of the provisions under 7, the shipper(s) agrees as individuals or entities whose name is on the address or address(s) of return.
Rule 29
Withdrew. Change or correction of address
at the request of the shipper
1. The sender of a mail to the letters may remove it from the service or cause it to be modified or corrected under the conditions prescribed in the Regulations.
2. Each postal administration is required to accept requests for withdrawal, modification or correction of address in respect of any shipment of the mail to the letters filed in the service of another administration, if its legislation permits.
3. The consignor must pay, for each application, a special fee whose maximum amount is fixed by the Regulations.
4. The sender of a parcel may request the return or make the address change. It must guarantee the payment of amounts due for any new transmission.
5. However, jurisdictions may not accept applications under 4 when they do not accept them in their domestic regime.
Rule 30
Claims
1. Claims are allowed within six months of the day after the day on which a shipment is filed.
2. Each postal administration is required to accept claims for any shipment filed in the service of another administration.
3. Common packages and packages with declared value must be subject to separate claims.
4. Claim processing is free of charge. However, if the EMS service is requested, the additional costs are in principle borne by the applicant.
Rule 31
Customs inspection
1. The postal administration of the country of origin and that of the country of destination are allowed to subject the shipments to customs control, according to the laws of these countries.
2. Consignments subject to customs control may be subject to a customs presentation fee for postal purposes, the maximum amount determined by the Regulations. This tax is collected only for the purposes of the customs presentation and customs clearance of shipments that have been subject to customs duties or any other similar duty.
Rule 32
Customs clearance fee
1. Postal administrations that have obtained authorization to operate the customs clearance on behalf of customers are authorized to collect a tax on customers based on the actual costs of the transaction.
Rule 33
Customs and other duties
1. Postal administrations are authorized to collect on shippers or consignees of consignments, as the case may be, customs duties and any other duties.
CHAPTER 2. - Accountability
Rule 34
Responsibility of postal administrations. Compensation
1. General
1.1. Except as provided for in section 35, the postal authorities shall reply:
1.1.1. the loss, spoliation or agrarian of recommended shipments, ordinary packages and shipments with declared value;
1.1.2. loss of certified delivery.
1.2. Where the loss, total segregation or total avagance of a recommended consignment, ordinary parcel or declared consignment is the result of a force majeure case that is not compensable, the consignor is entitled to the restitution of the taxes paid, with the exception of the insurance tax.
2. Recommended shipments
2.1. In the event of loss, total spoliation or total avagance of a recommended consignment, the consignor shall be entitled to compensation as set out in the Post to Letter Regulations. If the sender claims an amount less than the amount set out in the Post to Letters Regulations, the authorities are entitled to pay the lesser amount and to be reimbursed on that basis by other jurisdictions, if any.
2.2. In the event of partial spoliation or partial avagance of a recommended consignment, the consignor is entitled to an indemnity that in principle corresponds to the actual amount of the spoliation or agrarian. However, it cannot in any case exceed the amount set out in the Post to Letter Regulations in the event of total loss, spoliation or avagance. Indirect damage or unrealized benefits are not considered.
3. Certified delivery
3.1. In the event of loss, total spoliation or total avagance of a certified delivery consignor, the consignor is entitled to return the paid taxes.
4. Regular
4.1. In the event of loss, total spoliation or total avagance of an ordinary package, the shipper is entitled to compensation set out in the Postal Packages Regulations.
4.2. In the event of partial spoliation or partial agrarian of an ordinary parcel, the consignor is entitled to compensation that is, in principle, the actual amount of spoliation or agrarian. However, it cannot in any case exceed the amount set out in the Postal Packages Regulations in the event of total loss, spoliation or avagance. Indirect damage or unrealized benefits are not considered.
4.3. Postal administrations may agree to apply in their reciprocal relations the amount per package set out in the Postal Packages Regulations, regardless of the weight of the package.
5. Payments with declared value
5.1. In the event of loss, total spoliation or total avagance of a consignment with declared value, the consignor is entitled to an indemnity that in principle corresponds to the amount in SDR of the declared value.
5.2. In the event of partial spoliation or partial agrarian of a consignment with declared value, the consignor shall be entitled to an indemnity that in principle corresponds to the actual amount of spoliation or agrarian. However, it cannot in any case exceed the amount in SDR of the declared value. Indirect damage or unrealized benefits are not considered.
6. In the cases referred to in 4 and 5, the allowance is calculated according to the current price, converted to SDRs, objects or goods of the same nature, at the place and at the time the shipment was accepted for carriage. In the absence of a common price, the allowance is calculated on the basis of the ordinary value of the objects or goods assessed on the same basis.
7. Where an allowance is payable for the loss, total segregation or total avagance of a recommended consignment, ordinary parcel or a consignment with declared value, the consignor or, as the case may be, the consignee shall be entitled, in addition, to the restitution of taxes and duties paid, with the exception of the recommendation or insurance tax. The same is true of recommended shipments, ordinary parcels or shipments with declared value refused by the recipients because of their poor condition, if it is attributable to the postal service and is responsible.
8. By derogation from the provisions of 2, 4 and 5, the consignee is entitled to compensation after having taken delivery of a recommended consignment, a regular package or a consignment with a declared spoliated or damaged value.
9. The original administration has the power to pay to shippers in its country the allowances provided for in its domestic legislation for recommended shipments and unreported parcels, provided that they are not less than those set out in 2.1 and 4.1. The same applies to the destination administration when the allowance is paid to the recipient. However, the amounts set out in 2.1 and 4.1 remain applicable:
9.1. in case of appeal against the responsible administration;
9.2. if the sender disclaims his rights in favour of the recipient or vice versa.
Rule 35
Non-responsibility of postal administrations
1. Postal administrations cease to be responsible for the recommended shipments, certified delivery shipments, parcels and shipments with declared value, which they have delivered under the conditions prescribed by their regulations for shipments of the same nature. However, liability is maintained:
1.1. where a spoliation or damage is found either before delivery or when the shipment is delivered;
1.2. where, the internal regulations permitting, the consignee, if any, the consignor if the consignor is referred to the origin, shall make reservations by taking delivery of a consigned or damaged consignment;
1.3. where, the domestic regulations permitting, the recommended shipment was distributed in a mailbox and the recipient declares that it was not received during the complaint procedure;
1.4. where the consignee or, in the event of return to the origin, the consignor of a parcel or consignment with declared value, notwithstanding a given discharge regularly, shall declare without delay to the administration which has delivered the consignment that has found a damage; it must administer evidence that the spoliation or avariation did not occur after delivery.
2. Postal administrations are not responsible:
2.1. in case of force majeure, subject to Article 12.4;
2.2. where, as proof of their liability has not been otherwise administered, they cannot account for shipments as a result of the destruction of service documents resulting from a force majeure case;
2.3. where the damage has been caused by the fault or negligence of the shipper or by the nature of the content;
2.4. where such shipments fall under the prohibitions provided for in Article 25, and provided that such shipments have been confiscated or destroyed by the competent authority for their content;
2.5. in the event of seizure, under the law of the country of destination, according to notification of the administration of that country;
2.6. in the case of shipments with declared value having been the subject of a fraudulent declaration of value greater than the actual value of the content;
2.7. where the shipper did not make any claim within six months of the day after the day on which the shipment was filed;
2.8. when it comes to packages of prisoners of war and civil internees.
3. Postal administrations do not assume any responsibility for the Chief of Customs declarations, in any form they are made, and decisions taken by the customs services during the verification of shipments subject to customs control.
Rule 36
Disclaimer of shipper
1. The consignor of a consignment shall be liable for all damage caused to other postal consignments as a result of the shipment of objects not admitted to carriage or non-observance of the conditions of admission.
2. The sender is responsible within the same limits as the postal administrations.
3. The shipper remains responsible even if the depository office accepts such a shipment.
4. On the other hand, the shipper is not responsible if there has been a fault or negligence of postal administrations or carriers.
Rule 37
Payment of compensation
1. Subject to the right of appeal against the responsible administration, the obligation to pay compensation and to return taxes and duties is, as the case may be, the original administration or the administration of destination.
2. The consignor has the power to resist his rights to compensation in favour of the consignee. Conversely, the recipient has the ability to resist his rights in favour of the shipper. The sender or recipient may authorize a third person to receive compensation if the domestic legislation permits.
3. The administration of origin or destination, as the case may be, is authorized to disinterest the person entitled on behalf of the administration who, having participated in the transportation and regularly seized, has left for two months and, if the case has been reported by fax or by any other electronic means to confirm receipt of the claim, thirty days without giving a final solution to the case or without having reported:
3.1. that the damage appeared to be due to a case of force majeure;
3.2. that the shipment was retained, confiscated or destroyed by the competent authority because of its content or seized under the laws of the country of destination.
4. The administration of origin or destination, as the case may be, is also authorized to disinterest the right person in the event that the claim form is insufficiently completed and must have been returned for additional information, resulting in the overtaking of the period under 3.
5. With respect to a claim for a refund, the original administration is authorized to disinterest the person who is entitled to the amount of the refund on behalf of the destination administration who, regularly seized, has left for two months without giving a final solution to the case.
Rule 38
Possible recovery of compensation on the sender
or on the recipient
1. If, after payment of compensation, a recommended consignment, a parcel or a consignment with declared value or a portion of the previously considered lost content is found, the consignor or consignee, as the case may be, is notified that the consignment is kept at its disposal for a period of three months, for reimbursement of the amount of the compensation paid. He is asked, at the same time, to whom the shipment must be delivered. In the event of refusal or non-response within the specified time limit, the same procedure shall be carried out with the consignee or sender, as the case may be.
2. If the consignor and the consignee give up the delivery of the consignment, the consignor becomes the property of the administration or, if any, of the administrations that have borne the damage.
3. In the event of a subsequent discovery of a shipment with declared value whose content is recognized as less than the amount of the compensation paid, the shipper or recipient, as the case may be, must refund the amount of that allowance against delivery, without prejudice to the consequences arising from the fraudulent declaration of value.
Rule 39
Exchange of consignments
1. Administrations may send each other through one or more of them, both closed dispatches and uncovered shipments, on the basis of the provisions of the Regulations.
2. Where extraordinary circumstances require a postal administration to temporarily and in a general or partial manner suspend the performance of services, it must immediately inform the interested administrations.
3. When the transit of mail through a country takes place without the participation of the postal administration of that country, the latter must be informed in advance. This form of transit is not responsible for the postal administration of the transit country.
4. Authorities have the ability to ship by air, with reduced priority, surface dispatches, subject to the agreement of the administrations that receive these dispatches at the airports of their country.
Rule 40
Exchange of closed dispatches with military units
1. Letter mail closures may be exchanged through territorial, marine or air services in other countries:
1.1. between the post offices of one of the Member Countries and the commanders of the military units made available to the United Nations;
1.2. between the commanders of these military units;
1.3. between the post offices of one of the Member Countries and commanders of naval or aerial divisions, warships or military aircraft of that same country station abroad;
1.4. between commanders of naval or air divisions, warships or military aircraft of the same country.
2. Shipments of the mail to the letters included in the dispatches referred to in 1 shall be exclusively at the address or from members of the military units or staff and crews of ships or aircraft of destination or dispatchers of the dispatches. The rates and conditions of shipment applicable to them are determined, according to its regulations, by the postal administration of the country that has made available the military unit or to which ships or aircraft belong.
3. Except as a special agreement, the postal administration of the country that has made available the military unit or that is owned by the warships or military aircraft shall be liable to the relevant administrations for the transit costs of dispatches, terminal costs and air transportation costs.
Rule 41
Determination of liability between postal administrations
1. Until proof of the contrary, the responsibility rests with the postal administration which, having received the shipment without making any observation and having all the regulatory means of investigation, cannot establish or surrender to the recipient or, where appropriate, the regular transmission to another administration.
2. If the loss, spoliation or agrarian occurred in the course of transport without the possibility of establishing in the territory or in the service of which country the fact occurred, the jurisdictions in question bear the damage equally. However, in the case of an ordinary package and that the amount of the allowance does not exceed the amount calculated under section 34.4.1 for a 1-kilometre package, that amount is borne equally by the jurisdictions of origin and destination, other than the intermediary administrations.
3. With respect to shipments with declared value, the responsibility of an administration with respect to other jurisdictions is in no way incurred beyond the maximum declaration of value it has adopted.
4. Postal administrations that do not service shipments with declared value assume, for such shipments carried in closed dispatches, the liability for recommended shipments, respectively for ordinary packages. This provision also applies where postal administrations do not accept the responsibility of the values for transport carried on board the ships or aircraft they use.
5. If the loss, spoliation or agrarian of a shipment with declared value occurred in the territory or in the service of an intermediate administration that does not provide service for shipments with declared value, the original administration shall bear the damage not covered by the intermediate administration. The same rule shall apply if the amount of damage is greater than the maximum value declared adopted by the intermediate administration.
6. Customs and other duties whose cancellation could not be obtained are borne by the authorities responsible for the loss, spoliation or greed.
7. The administration that has made the payment of the allowance shall be subrogated, up to the amount of that allowance, in the rights of the person who has received it for any appeal against the consignee or against the shipper or against third parties.
CHAPTER 3. - Special provisions for mail to letters
Rule 42
Quality of service objectives
1. Administrations must set a time limit for the processing of priority and air shipments and for non-priority and surface shipments to or from their country. This period should not be less favourable than that applied to comparable shipments of their domestic service.
2. The authorities of origin must publish the quality of service objectives for priority shipments and aircraft consignments to the foreign country by taking as a benchmark the deadlines set by the authorities of origin and destination and including the transport time.
3. Postal administrations undertake to periodically verify compliance with the deadlines established either as part of investigations conducted by the International Bureau or by the restricted Unions, or on the basis of bilateral agreements.
4. It is also desirable that postal administrations periodically monitor compliance with time limits established by other monitoring systems, including external controls.
5. As far as possible, administrations apply quality of service control systems for international mail dispatches (both arriving and leaving); This is an assessment made, to the extent possible, from the repository to the distribution (from end to end).
6. All Member Countries provide the International Bureau with up-to-date information on the time limits of arrival of the conveyance (LTAT) that are used as a reference in the operation of their international postal service. They advise the International Bureau of any changes as soon as they are planned to allow it to communicate these changes to postal administrations prior to their application.
7. As far as possible, information should be provided separately for priority and non-priority mail flows.
Rule 43
Absence of mail to letters
1. No Member Countries are required to send or distribute to the recipients any mail shipments to the letters that shippers residing in their territory file or file in a foreign country, with a view to benefiting from the more favourable tariff conditions applied therein.
2. The provisions under 1 shall apply without distinction either to the consignments of the post prepared in the country of residence of the consignor and then transported across the border, or to the consignments of the post made in a foreign country.
3. The destination administration has the right to require the sender and, if not, the deposit administration to pay the domestic rates. If neither the consignor nor the depository administration agrees to pay these rates within a time limit set by the destination administration, it may either return the consignments to the deposit administration by having the right to be refunded from the transfer fees or treat them in accordance with its own legislation.
4. No Member country is required to send or distribute to the recipients the mail shipments to the letters that shippers have filed or filed in large quantities in a country other than the country where they reside if the amount of the terminal fees to be charged is less than the amount that would have been collected if the shipments had been deposited in the country of residence of the shippers. The destination authorities have the right to require the deposit administration to pay in respect of the costs incurred, which cannot exceed the highest amount of the following two formulae: 80% of the domestic tariff applicable to equivalent consignments, or 0.14 SDRs per consignment plus 1 SDR per kilogram. If the deposit administration does not agree to pay the amount claimed within a time limit set by the destination administration, the deposit administration may either return the shipments to the deposit administration by having the right to be refunded from the return fee or process them in accordance with its own legislation.
Rule 44
Eligible biological substances
1. Perishable biological materials, infectious substances and solid carbon dioxide (carbon snow), when used to refrigerate infectious substances, can only be delivered through mail through exchanges between officially recognized qualified laboratories. These dangerous goods may be accepted in the mail for their air transport, provided that national legislation, the existing technical instructions of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) and the IATA regulations concerning dangerous goods permit.
2. Perishable biological materials and infectious substances conditioned and packaged according to the respective provisions of the Regulations are subject to the tariff of priority consignments or to the tariff of recommended letters. Postal processing of these shipments may be subject to a surtax.
2.1. The admission of perishable biological materials and infectious substances is limited to Member countries whose postal administrations have agreed to accept these shipments either in their mutual relations or in a single sense.
2.2. These substances or materials are transported by the fastest route, normally by air, subject to the acquittal of the corresponding air surtaxes, and are given priority to delivery.
Rule 45
Electronic mail
1. Postal administrations may agree to participate in e-mail services.
2. Electronic mail is a postal service that uses the telecommunications route to transmit, in accordance with the original and in seconds, messages received from the sender in physical or electronic form and that must be delivered to the recipient in physical or electronic form. In the case of physical fitness, the information is usually transmitted electronically on the widest possible distance and reproduced in physical form as close to the recipient as possible. The messages in physical form are delivered in fold to the recipient as mailing to the letters.
3. E-mail tariffs are set by governments to consider market costs and requirements.
Rule 46
Transit costs
1. Subject to section 52, closed dispatches exchanged between two administrations or between two offices of the same country by means of services of one or more other administrations (third party services) shall be subject to payment of transit costs. These are a reward for services related to territorial transit, maritime transit and air transit.
2. Uncovered shipments may also be subject to transit costs.
3. The terms and conditions of application and scales are set out in the Post to Letter Regulations.
Rule 47
Terminal fees. - General provisions
1. Subject to section 52, each administration that receives mail to letters from another administration shall have the right to receive compensation from the sender administration for expenses incurred by the international mail received.
2. For the purposes of the provisions on payment of terminal fees, postal administrations are classified as "industrialized countries" or "developing countries", in accordance with the list prepared for this purpose by the Congress.
3. The provisions of this Convention concerning the payment of terminal fees are transitional measures leading to the adoption of a payment system taking into account elements specific to each country.
4. Access to the internal regime
4.1. Each administration shall make available to other jurisdictions all of the rates, terms and conditions it offers in its domestic system, under identical conditions, to its national customers.
4.2. A shipper administration may, under comparable conditions, request the administration of an industrialized country of destination to benefit from the same conditions that it has planned with its national customers for equivalent shipments.
4.3. Governments in developing countries should indicate whether they allow access to the conditions referred to in 4.1.
4.3.1. When an administration of a developing country declares that it authorizes access to the conditions offered in its domestic regime, this authorization applies to all EU administrations in a non-discriminatory manner.
4.4. It is up to the destination administration to decide whether the conditions of access to its internal system are met by the original administration.
5. Rates of the number of mail terminal fees should not exceed the most favourable rates applied by the destination administration under bilateral or multilateral arrangements for terminal costs. It is for the destination administration to judge whether or not the original administration has met the access conditions.
6. The Postal Operations Council is authorized to amend the remuneration referred to in sections 48 to 51 in the interval between two Congresses. The revision that could be made should be based on reliable and representative economic and financial data and take into account all provisions on the terminal costs of the Convention and the Post to Letter Regulations. The possible change that may be decided will come into force on a date fixed by the Postal Operations Council.
7. Any administration may fully or partially waive the remuneration under 1.
8. Interested jurisdictions may, by bilateral or multilateral agreement, apply other pay systems for the settlement of accounts for terminal costs.
Rule 48
Terminal costs
Provisions applicable to trade between industrialized countries
1. Compensation for mail shipments to letters, including mail in numbers, excluding M bags is based on the application of rates per shipment and per kilogram reflecting processing costs in the country of destination; these costs must be in relation to domestic rates. The calculation of the rates is based on the conditions specified in the Post to Letter Regulations.
2. For the years 2001 to 2003, rates per consignment and per kilogram may not exceed those calculated from 60% of the tax of a letter of 20 grams of the domestic regime, nor exceed the following rates:
2.1. for the year 2001, 0.158 SDRs per consignment and 1.684 SDRs per kilogram;
2.2. for the year 2002, 0.172 SDRs per consignment and 1.684 SDRs per kilogram;
2.3. for the year 2003, 0.215 SDR per shipment and 1.684 SDR per kilogram.
3. For the years 2004 and 2005, the Postal Operations Council will determine the final percentage of tariffs appropriate to each industrialized country based on the relationship between costs and prices of each country.
4. For the period 2001 to 2005, the rates to be applied may not be less than 0.147 SDRs per shipment and 1.491 SDRs per kilogram.
5. For M bags the rate to be applied is 0.653 DTS per kilogram.
5.1. M bags of less than 5 kilograms are considered to weigh 5 kilograms for payment of terminal expenses.
6. The destination administration has the right to receive an additional pay of 0.5 SDRs per consignment for the distribution of recommended consignments and 1 SDR per consignment for the distribution of consignments with declared value.
7. The provisions between industrialized countries shall apply to any developing country that declares that it wishes to comply with them and wishes to be considered an industrialized country for the effects of the provisions of sections 48 to 50 and those of the Post Regulations to the letters thereto.
Rule 49
Terminal fees. Provisions for mail flows from developing countries to industrialized countries
1. Remuneration
1.1. Compensation for mail-to-letter mail, excluding M-bags, is 3.427 SDRs per kilogram.
1.2. For M bags the rate to be applied is 0.653 DTS per kilogram.
1.2.1. M bags of less than 5 kilograms are considered to weigh 5 kilograms for payment of terminal expenses.
1.3. The destination administration has the right to receive an additional pay of 0.5 SDRs per consignment for the distribution of recommended consignments and 1 SDR per consignment for the distribution of consignments with declared value.
2. Review mechanism
2.1. A forwarding administration of a mail flow of more than 150 tonnes per year may obtain a revision of the rate indicated in 1.1 when, in a given relationship, it finds that the average number of shipments in a kilogram of mail shipped is less than 14.
2.2. A receiving administration of a mail flow of more than 150 tonnes per year may obtain a revision of the rate indicated in 1.1. where, in a given relationship, it finds that the average number of shipments contained in a kilogram of mail received is greater than 21.
2.3. The revision shall be made under the conditions specified in the Post to Letters Regulations.
3. Systems harmonization mechanism
3.1. Where an administration receiving a mail flow of more than 50 tonnes per year finds that the annual weight of this flow exceeds the threshold calculated under the conditions specified in the Post to Letter Regulations, it may apply to mail exceeding this threshold the compensation system provided for in section 48, provided that it has not applied the revision mechanism.
4. Number
4.1. Number pay is based on the application of the rates per consignment and per kilogram provided for in section 48.1.
Rule 50
Terminal fees. - Provisions applicable to mail flows
to developing countries
1. Remuneration
1.1. Compensation for mail-to-letter mail, excluding M-bags, is 3.427 SDRs per kilogram.
1.1.1. Terminal fees resulting from the application of the rate indicated in 1.1 are increased by 7.5 per cent under a funding fund for the improvement of service quality in developing countries.
1.2. For M bags the rate to be applied is 0.653 DTS per kilogram.
1.2.1. M bags of less than 5 kilograms are considered to weigh 5 kilograms for payment of terminal expenses.
1.3. The destination administration has the right to receive an additional pay of 0.5 SDRs per consignment for the distribution of recommended consignments and 1 SDR per consignment for the distribution of consignments with declared value.
2. Review mechanism
2.1. A receiving administration of a mail flow of more than 150 tonnes per year may obtain a revision of the rate when, in a given relationship, it finds that the average number of mails contained in a kilogram of mail received is greater than 21.
2.2. The revision shall be made under the conditions specified in the Post to Letters Regulations.
3. Number
3.1. Administrations that do not allow access to the conditions offered in the domestic regime may apply, for the number received, a fee of 0.14 SDRs per shipment and 1 SDR per kilogram.
3.2. Administrations that allow access to the conditions offered in the domestic regime may apply to the numbered mail received a compensation corresponding to the domestic tariffs, increased by 9%, offered to national customers for shipments of the species, without being able to exceed the rates set out in section 48.2.
Rule 51
Terminal costs
Provisions applicable to trade between developing countries
1. Remuneration
1.1. Compensation for mail-to-letter mail, excluding M-bags, is 3.427 SDRs per kilogram.
1.2. For M bags the rate to be applied is 0.653 DTS per kilogram.
1.2.1. M bags of less than 5 kilograms are considered to weigh 5 kilograms for payment of terminal expenses.
1.3. The destination administration has the right to receive an additional pay of 0.5 SDRs per consignment for the distribution of recommended consignments and 1 SDR per consignment for the distribution of consignments with declared value.
2. Review mechanism
2.1. A receiving administration of a mail flow of more than 150 tonnes per year may obtain a revision of the rate when, in a given relationship, it finds that the average number of mails contained in a kilogram of mail received is greater than 21.
2.2. The revision shall be made under the conditions specified in the Post to Letters Regulations.
3. Number
3.1. Administrations that do not allow access to the conditions offered in the domestic regime may apply, for the number received, a fee of 0.14 SDRs per shipment and 1 SDR per kilogram.
3.2. Administrations that allow access to the conditions offered in the domestic regime may apply to the numbered mail received a compensation corresponding to the domestic tariffs, increased by 9%, offered to national customers for shipments of the species, without being able to exceed the rates set out in section 48.2.
Rule 52
Exemption from transit and terminal costs
1. Exempt from territorial or maritime transit costs and terminal charges the mail shipments to the postal service letters referred to in 8.2.2 and the non-distributed postal shipments originally returned to closed dispatches. Shipments of empty containers are exempt from terminal fees, but not from transit costs to be paid by the owner of the container postal administration.
Rule 53
Air transportation
1. The transportation costs for the entire air route are:
1.1. when it comes to closed dispatches, at the expense of the administration of the country of origin;
1.2. in the case of priority shipments and uncovered transit flights, including those that are not transported, to the responsibility of the administration that delivers shipments to another administration.
2. These same rules apply to shipments that are exempt from territorial and maritime transit charges, under section 52, if they are airborne.
3. Each destination administration that provides air transportation of international mail within its country is entitled to reimbursement of the additional costs incurred by this transport, provided that the weighted average distance of the routes carried out exceeds 300 kilometres. Unless free of charge is granted, the fees must be uniform for all priority dispatches and aircraft dispatches from abroad, whether or not they are re-routed by air.
4. However, where compensation for terminal costs received by the destination administration is based specifically on domestic costs or rates, no additional reimbursement for domestic air transportation costs is made.
5. The destination administration excludes, with a view to calculating the weighted average distance, the weight of all dispatches for which the calculation of the offset of terminal costs is specifically based on the costs or the internal rates of the destination administration.
6. Except as a special agreement between the jurisdictions concerned, the transit fee schedules set out in the Regulations apply to air carriers for their territorial or maritime routes. However, there is no payment of territorial transit costs:
6.1. the trans-shipment of flight dispatches between two airports serving the same city;
6.2. the transport of these dispatches between an airport serving a city and a warehouse located in that same city and the return of these dispatches for their rerouting.
Rule 54
Base rate and calculation of air transportation costs
1. The basic rate to be applied to the regulation of air transport accounts between administrations is approved by the Postal Operations Council. It is calculated by the International Bureau based on the formula specified in the Post to Letters Regulations.
2. The calculation of air transportation costs for closed dispatches, priority consignments and uncovered transit consignments, as well as related debits, is based on the Post Regulations to the letters.
CHAPTER 4. - Specific provisions for postal packages
Rule 55
Quality of service objectives
1. Destination authorities must set a time limit for the processing of aircraft packages to their country. This period, which is increased in the normal time required for clearance, must not be less favourable than that applied to comparable shipments of their domestic service.
2. As far as possible, destination administrations must also set a time limit for the processing of surface packages to their country.
3. The authorities of origin set quality targets for aircraft parcels and surface parcels to foreign countries, taking as a benchmark the deadlines set by the destination administrations.
4. Administrations check the actual results against their service quality objectives.
Rule 56
territorial share of arrival
1. Packages exchanged between two postal administrations are subject to the territorial quotas of arrival for each country and for each package, calculated by combining the indicative rate per package and the indicative rate per kilogram set by the Regulation.
2. Taking into account the above indicative rates, the authorities set their territorial arrival quotas in order to ensure that they relate to the costs of their service.
3. The quotas referred to in 1 and 2 shall be borne by the administration of the country of origin, unless this Convention provides for exemptions from this principle.
4. The territorial quotas for arrival must be uniform for the entire territory of each country.
Rule 57
Territorial share of transit
1. Packages exchanged between two jurisdictions or between two offices of the same country by means of the land services of one or more other jurisdictions are subject, for the benefit of the countries whose services participate in the territorial transport, to the territorial quotas of transit fixed by the Regulations at the distance level.
2. For uncovered transit packages, intermediary administrations are allowed to claim the lump-sum rate per consignment fixed by the Regulations.
3. The quotas referred to in 1 and 2 shall be borne by the administration of the country of origin, unless this Convention provides for exemptions from this principle.
4. The Postal Operations Council is authorized to revise and amend the territorial transit quotas between two Congresses. The revision, which can be done through a methodology that ensures fair remuneration for transit authorities, will need to rely on reliable and representative economic and financial data. The possible change that may be decided will come into force on a date fixed by the Postal Operations Council.
5. No territorial transit quota is payable for:
5.1. the trans-shipment of flight dispatches between two airports serving the same city;
5.2. the transport of these dispatches between an airport serving a city and a warehouse located in that same city and the return of these same dispatches for their rerouting.
Rule 58
Sea share
1. Each country whose services participate in the shipping of parcels is authorized to claim the maritime quotas referred to in 2. Such quotas shall be borne by the administration of the country of origin, unless the present Convention provides for exemptions to this principle.
2. For each borrowed marine service, the maritime quota is set out in the Postal Package Regulations at the distance level.
3. Postal administrations have the capacity to increase the maritime quota calculated in accordance with section 58.2 by up to 50%. On the other hand, they can reduce it at their will.
4. The Postal Operations Council is authorized to revise and amend the maritime quotas in the interval between two Congresses. The revision, which can be done through a methodology that ensures fair remuneration for transit authorities, will need to rely on reliable and representative economic and financial data. The possible change that may be decided will come into force on a date fixed by the Postal Operations Council.
Rule 59
Air transportation
1. The basic rate to be applied to the regulation of air transport accounts between administrations is approved by the Postal Operations Council. It is calculated by the International Bureau based on the formula specified in the Post to Letters Regulations.
2. The calculation of the air transportation costs of closed and uncovered transit cargoes is set out in the Postal Package Regulations.
3. On-road trans-shipment at the same airport, aircraft parcels that successively borrow several separate air services are being carried out without pay.
Rule 60
Exemption from assessed contributions
1. Packages of service and packages of prisoners of war and civilian internees do not give rise to any quota, except for air transportation charges applicable to aircraft packages.
CHAPTER 5. - EMS Service
Rule 61
Service EMS
1. The EMS service is the fastest postal services by physical means and, in the exchanges between jurisdictions that have decided to provide this service, it has priority over other postal shipments. It consists of collecting, transmitting and distributing correspondence, documents or goods within a very short period of time.
2. The EMS service is regulated on the basis of bilateral agreements. The aspects that are not expressly governed by the latter are subject to the appropriate provisions of the Union Acts.
3. This service is, to the extent possible, identified by a logotype of the following model, consisting of:
- an orange wing;
- EMS letters in blue;
- three orange horizontal strips.
The logotype can be supplemented by the name of the national service.
4. The service's inherent rates are set by the original administration based on market costs and requirements.
Part three. - Transitional and final provisions
Rule 62
Obligation to provide service to postal parcels
1. By derogation from Article 10.1, countries that, prior to the entry into force of this Convention, were not parties to the Postal Package Arrangement are not required to provide service to postal parcels.
Rule 63
Commitments on criminal measures
1. The governments of the Member Countries undertake to take, or propose to the legislative powers of their country, the necessary measures:
1.1. to punish the counterfeiting of postage stamps, even removed from circulation, and international coupons-response;
1.2. to punish use or release:
1.2.1. counterfeit postage stamps (even removed from the traffic) or having already served, as well as counterfeit prints or have already served as a flawless machine or printing presses;
1.2.2. international counterfeit coupons-response;
1.3. to prohibit and suppress any fraudulent operation of the manufacture and circulation of thumbnails and stamps in use in the postal service, counterfeit or imitation in such a way that they could be confused with the thumbnails and stamps issued by the postal administration of one of the Member Countries;
1.4. to prevent and, where appropriate, punish the insertion of narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances, as well as explosive, flammable or other dangerous substances, in postal shipments for which such insertion would not be expressly authorized by the Convention;
1.5. to prevent and punish the insertion of child pornography and child pornography in the postage.
Rule 64
Conditions for approval of proposals
Convention and Regulations
1. To become enforceable, proposals submitted to Congress and related to this Convention must be approved by the majority of Member Countries present and voting. At least half of the Member Countries represented at the Congress must be present at the time of the vote.
2. To become enforceable, proposals for the Postal Post Regulations and the Postal Package Regulations must be approved by a majority of the members of the Postal Operations Council.
3. In order to become enforceable, the proposals introduced between two Congresses relating to this Convention and its Final Protocol shall include:
3.1. two thirds of the vote, at least half of the Member Countries of the Union having responded to the consultation, if any amendments are made;
3.2. the majority of votes if this is the interpretation of the provisions.
4. Notwithstanding the provisions laid down in 3.1, any Member country whose national legislation is still incompatible with the proposed amendment has the power to make a written statement to the Director General of the International Bureau stating that it is not possible to accept this amendment within ninety days from the date of notification of the amendment.
Rule 65
Implementation and duration of the Convention
1. This Convention will be implemented on 1er January 2001 and will remain in force until the implementation of the Acts of the next Congress.
In faith, the Plenipotentiaries of the Governments of the Member Countries signed this Convention in a copy which is deposited with the Director General of the International Bureau. A copy will be given to each Party by the Government of the country headquarters of the Congress.
Done at Beijing on 15 September 1999.
Final Protocol of the Universal Postal Convention
At the time of signature of the Universal Postal Convention concluded at the date of this day, the undersigned Plenipotentiaries agreed as follows:
Article Ier
Appearance of mail
1. Article 3 does not apply to Antigua and Barbuda, Australia, Bahrain, Barbados, Belize, Botswana, Brunei Darussalam, Canada, Hong Kong, China, Dominica, Egypt, Fiji, Gambia, Ghana, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland,
2. Article 3 also does not apply to Denmark, whose legislation does not permit the removal or modification of addresses of mail consignments to letters at the request of the consignor from the time the consignee was informed of the arrival of a consignment to his address.
Article II
Taxes
1. By derogation from section 7.5, the Postal Administration of Canada is authorized to collect postal taxes other than those set out in the Regulations, where the taxes in question are eligible under the laws of Canada.
Article III
Exception to the post office franchise in favour of the Ecograms
1. By derogation from section 8.4, the postal administrations of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines and Turkey, which do not grant the postage to the Ecograms in their domestic service, have the ability to collect the postage taxes and special services taxes, which may, however, not exceed those of their domestic service.
2. By derogation from Article 8.4, the postal administrations of Germany, America (United States), Austria, Canada, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, Japan and Switzerland have the power to collect the special services taxes that are applied to the Ecograms in their domestic service.
Article IV
Basic services
1. Notwithstanding the provisions of Article 10, Australia does not approve the extension of basic services to postal parcels.
Article V
Small packages
1. By derogation from Article 10 of the Convention, the postal administration of Saudi Arabia is authorized not to accept small packages with a weight greater than 1 kilogram.
Article VI
Printed. - Maximum weight
1. By derogation from section 10.4.2, the postal administrations of Canada and Ireland are allowed to limit the maximum weight of the printed material to 2 kilograms on arrival and shipment.
Article VII
Postal package service
1. Latvia and Norway reserve the right to ensure the delivery of the postal parcel service either by following the provisions of the Convention or, in the case of starting packages and after bilateral agreement, by using any other more advantageous means for their customers.
Article VIII
Colis. - Maximum weight
1. By derogation from section 10.6, the Postal Administration of Canada is authorized to limit the maximum weight of packages to 30 kilograms upon arrival and shipment.
Article IX
Maximum limits for shipments with declared value
1. Sweden reserves the right to limit the value of the contents of the mail shipments to the recommended letters and with declared value as well as packages with and without declared value to Sweden, according to the maximum limits given in the table below:
1° Sending mail to letters arriving
For the consultation of the table, see image
2° Colis arriving
For the consultation of the table, see image
This restriction cannot be bypassed by a partial declaration of the value exceeding 4,000 SDRs (for mail-to-letter shipments) and 4,500 SDRs (for postal parcels). No new restrictions are imposed on the nature of the content of recommended shipments and shipments with declared value. Shipments whose value exceeds these limits will be returned to the original office.
Article X
Notice of receipt
1. The postal administration of Canada is authorized not to apply section 18 with respect to parcels, as it does not offer the notification service for parcels in its domestic regime.
Article XI
International Response Trade Correspondence Service
1. By derogation from Article 21.1, the postal administration of Viet Nam does not accept the obligation to provide the return service of CCRI shipments.
Article XII
Prohibitions (post to letters)
1. On an exceptional basis, the postal administrations of Lebanon and the Republic of Korea do not accept the recommended shipments that contain coins or currency notes or any value to the bearer or travel cheques or platinum, gold or silver, manufactured or not, precious stones, jewellery and other valuable items. They are not required by the provisions of the Post to Letters Regulations in a rigorous manner with respect to their liability for the spoliation or avagance of recommended consignments, as well as for consignments containing glass or fragile objects.
2. As an exceptional measure, the postal administrations of Saudi Arabia, Bolivia, China (Population Bank), excluding the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, Iraq, Nepal, Pakistan, Sudan and Viet Nam do not accept the recommended shipments containing coins, bank notes, currency notes or any value to the bearer, cash cheques
3. The Myanmar Postal Administration reserves the right not to accept shipments with declared value containing the precious objects referred to in Article 25.5, as its domestic legislation opposes the admission of such shipments.
4. The postal administration of Nepal does not accept the recommended shipments or those with declared value containing cuts or coins, unless the special agreement is reached.
5. The postal administration of Uzbekistan does not accept the recommended shipments or those with declared value containing coins, bank notes, cheques, postage stamps or foreign currencies and declines any liability for loss or damage of such shipments.
6. The postal administration of Iran (Islamic Republic) does not accept shipments containing objects contrary to Islamic religion.
7. The Philippine Postal Administration reserves the right not to accept shipments from mail to letters (usual, recommended or with declared value) containing coins, currency notes or any value to the bearer, travel cheques, platinum, gold or money, manufactured or not, precious stones or other valuable items.
8. The postal administration of Australia does not accept any postal shipment containing ingots or bank notes. In addition, it does not accept recommended shipments to Australia or uncovered transit shipments that contain valuable items, such as jewellery, precious metals, precious or semi-precious stones, securities, coins or other negotiable effects. It shall not be held liable for any shipments posted in violation of this reservation.
9. The postal administration of China (Rép. pop), excluding the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, does not accept shipments with declared value containing coins, bank notes, currency notes, bearer values or travel cheques, in accordance with its internal regulations.
10. Postal administrations of Latvia and Mongolia reserve the right not to accept ordinary, recommended or with declared value containing coins, bank notes, bearer effects and travel cheques, as their national legislation opposes them.
11. The postal administration of Brazil reserves the right not to accept ordinary mail, recommended or with declared value containing coins, bank notes in circulation and any values to the bearer.
12. The postal administration of Viet Nam reserves the right not to accept letters containing objects and goods.
Article XIII
Prohibitions (postal)
1. Postal administrations in Canada, Myanmar and Zambia are authorized not to accept parcels with declared value containing the valuable items referred to in section 25.5.2, as their domestic regulations are opposed to them.
2. On an exceptional basis, the postal administrations of Lebanon and Sudan do not accept parcels containing coins, currency notes or any value to the bearer, travel checks, platinum, gold or silver, manufactured or not, precious stones and other precious objects, or containing liquids and easily liquefiable elements or glass objects or assimilated or fragile. They are not bound by the provisions of the Regulation concerning postal parcels.
3. The postal administration of Brazil is authorized not to accept parcels with declared value containing coins and currency notes in circulation, as well as any value to the bearer, as its domestic regulations oppose it.
4. The postal administration of Ghana is authorized not to accept parcels with declared value containing coins and currency notes in circulation, as its domestic regulations oppose it.
5. In addition to the items mentioned in Article 25, the postal administration of Saudi Arabia does not accept parcels containing coins, currency notes or any value to the bearer, travel checks, platinum, gold or silver, manufactured or not, stoneware and other precious objects. It also does not accept packages containing medications of any kind, unless accompanied by a medical order from a competent official authority, products intended for the suppression of fire, chemical liquids or objects contrary to the principles of Islamic religion.
6. In addition to the objects mentioned in Article 25, the post office of Oman does not accept the packages containing:
6.1 of any kind, unless accompanied by a medical order from a competent official authority;
6.2. products intended for fire suppression and chemical liquids;
6.3 objects contrary to the principles of Islamic religion.
7. In addition to the objects mentioned in Article 25, the postal administration of Iran (Islamic Republic) is authorized not to accept packages containing articles contrary to the principles of Islamic religion.
8. The postal administration of the Philippines is authorized not to accept parcels containing coins, currency notes or any value to the bearer, travel checks, platinum, gold or silver, manufactured or unmanufactured, precious stones or other precious objects, or containing liquids and easily liquefiable elements or glass objects or assimilated or fragile.
9. The postal administration of Australia does not accept any postal shipment containing ingots or bank notes.
10. The postal administration of China (Population Bank) does not accept ordinary parcels containing coins, currency notes or any value to the bearer, travel cheques, platinum, gold or silver, manufactured or not, precious stones or other valuable items. In addition, except for the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, packages with declared value containing coins, currency notes, bearer values or travel cheques are not accepted either.
11. The postal administration of Mongolia reserves the right not to accept, according to its national legislation, parcels containing coins, bank notes, bills and travellers' cheques.
12. The postal administration of Latvia does not accept ordinary parcels or parcels with declared value containing coins, bank notes, any values (cheques) to the bearer or foreign currencies, and it does not accept any liability in the event of loss or damage to such shipments.
Article XIV
Objects subject to customs duties
1. By reference to Article 25, the postal administrations of the following countries do not accept shipments with declared value containing objects subject to duty: Bangladesh and El Salvador.
2. By reference to Article 25, the postal administrations of the following countries do not accept the ordinary and recommended letters containing objects subject to duty: Afghanistan, Albania, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Cambodia, Chile, Colombia, Cuba, El Salvador, Estonia, Italy, Latvia, Nepal, Uzbekistan, Peru, Republic of Korea, San Marino, Turkmenistan, Ukraine and Venezuela.
3. By reference to Article 25, the postal administrations of the following countries do not accept the ordinary letters containing objects subject to customs duties: Benin, Burkina Faso, Côte d'Ivoire (Rép.), Djibouti, Mali, Mauritania and Viet Nam.
4. Notwithstanding the provisions of 1 to 3, consignments of serums, vaccines as well as consignments of urgent drugs that are difficult to obtain are admitted in all cases.
Article XV
Withdrew. Change or correction of address
1. New Zealand to Antigua and Barbuda, Bahamas, Bahrain, Barbados, Belize, Botswana, Canada, Hong Kong, China, Dominica, Fiji, Gambia, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
2. Section 29 applies to Australia as it is consistent with the domestic legislation of that country.
3. By derogation from Article 29.4, El Salvador, Panama (Rép.), the Philippines and Venezuela are allowed not to return the parcels after the consignee has asked for clearance, as their customs laws oppose it.
Article XVI
Claims
1. By derogation from Article 30.4, the postal administrations of Saudi Arabia, Cape Verde, Egypt, Gabon, the Overseas Territories dependent on the United Kingdom, Greece, Iran (Islamic Republic of), Mongolia, Myanmar, the Philippines, the Republic of Korea, the Sudan, the Syrian Arab Tax
2. By derogation from Article 30.4, the postal administrations of Argentina, Austria, Slovakia and the Czech Republic (repe.) reserve the right to collect a special tax when, following the proceedings undertaken following the claim, it is revealed that the claim is unjustified.
3. The postal administrations of Afghanistan, Saudi Arabia, Cape Verde, Congo (Rép.), Egypt, Gabon, Iran (Islamic Republic of), Mongolia, Myanmar, Sudan, Suriname, Syrian Arab Republic, Ukraine and Zambia reserve the right to collect a claim tax on their customers for parcels.
Article XVII
Customs presentation fee
1. The postal administration of Gabon reserves the right to collect a tax of presentation to customs on its customers.
2. The postal administrations of the Congo (Rep.) and Zambia reserve the right to collect a tax of presentation to customs on their customers for parcels.
Article XVIII
Responsibility of postal administrations
1. The postal administrations of Bangladesh, Benin, Burkina Faso, Congo (Rép.), Côte d'Ivoire (Rép.), Djibouti, India, Lebanon, Madagascar, Mali, Mauritania, Nepal, Niger, Senegal, Togo and Turkey are authorized not to apply section 34.1.1.1 with respect to the liability for the spoliation or avariation of recommended shipments.
2. By derogation from articles 34.1.1.1 and 35.1, the postal administrations of Chile, China (Population), Colombia and Egypt only respond to the total loss and spoliation or the total agrarian content of the recommended shipments.
3. By derogation from Article 34, the postal administrations of Saudi Arabia and Egypt shall not assume any responsibility for the loss or avagance of shipments containing the objects referred to in Article 25.5.
4. Postal administrations of India and Nepal are authorized not to apply section 34.1.1.1 with respect to liability for the spoliation or avagance of ordinary postal parcels.
Rule XIX
Compensation
1. Trinidad and Tobago, Angola, Antigua and Barbuda, Australia, Bahamas, Bangladesh, Barbados, Belize, Bolivia, Botswana, Brunei Darussalam, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
2. By derogation from Article 34, the postal administrations of Saudi Arabia, Argentina, Austria, Brazil, Chile, Greece, Kenya, Latvia, Mexico, Oman, Uzbekistan, Qatar, Republic of Korea, Romania, Turkey, Ukraine and Viet Nam have declared no compensation in accordance with Article 34er of this article.
3. By derogation from article 34.8, America (United States) is authorized to maintain the shipper's right to compensation for packages with declared value after delivery to the consignee, unless the shipper waives his right in favour of the consignee.
4. When acting as an intermediary posting administration, America (United States) is authorized not to pay compensation for compensation to other jurisdictions in the event of loss, spoliation or agrarian of packages with declared value transmitted to undiscovered or shipped in closed dispatches.
5. By derogation from section 34, the Postal Administration of Viet Nam has the power not to pay compensation for recommended shipments and lost or damaged packages that contain currency, bearer values, travellers' cheques and gold, silver and gemstones.
6. Notwithstanding the provisions of section 34, Canada has the right, in respect of ordinary parcels, not to pay compensation, not to respond to the loss, spoliation or total or partial agrarian and not to return the taxes and duties paid to the shipper.
Rule XX
Exceptions to the principle of liability
1. By derogation from Article 34, Saudi Arabia, Bolivia, Egypt, Iraq, the Philippines, the Congo Dem. Reg., Sudan, Turkey and Yemen are allowed to pay no compensation for the agrarian of packages originating in all countries and intended for them containing liquids and easily liquefiable bodies, glass objects and perishable items of the same kind.
2. By derogation from section 34, Saudi Arabia and the Sudan may not pay compensation for packages containing prohibited items referred to in section 25.5.
Article XXI
Non-responsibility of postal administrations
1. The postal administration of Bolivia is not required to observe section 35.1 with respect to the maintenance of liability in the event of the spoliation or avagance of recommended shipments.
2. The postal administration of Nepal is authorized not to apply section 35.1.4 with respect to parcels.
Article XXII
Payment of compensation
1. The postal administrations of Bangladesh, Bolivia, Guinea, Nepal and Nigeria are not required to observe Article 37.3 in order to give a final solution within two months or to bring to the attention of the original or destination administration, as the case may be, that a consignment of the mail to the letters has been retained, confiscated or destroyed by the competent authority for the purpose of its content, or has been seized by the competent authority for the purpose of its content, or
2. Postal administrations of Saudi Arabia, the Congo (Rép.), Djibouti, Lebanon and Madagascar are not required to observe Article 37.3 with respect to providing a final solution to a claim within the two-month period for a mailing of letters. They do not accept, in addition, that the person entitled to be disinterested on their behalf by another administration on the expiry of the aforementioned period.
3. Postal administrations of Angola, Saudi Arabia, Guinea and Lebanon are not required to observe Article 37.3 with respect to giving a final solution to a claim within the two-month period for a parcel. They do not accept, in addition, that the person entitled to be disinterested on their behalf by another administration on the expiry of the aforementioned period.
4. Postal administrations in Niger and Thailand are not required to observe Article 37.3 with respect to giving a final solution within 30 days to a claim transmitted by fax. They also do not accept that another administration shall be entitled to it on their behalf upon the expiry of the aforementioned period.
5. Notwithstanding the provisions of Article 37.3, America (United States) and Malaysia reserve the right to finalize the claims within two months of the date of their submission, regardless of the means used for their transmission.
Article XXIII
Absence of mail to letters
1. The postal administrations of America (United States), the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and Greece reserve the right to collect a tax, in relation to the cost of the work involved, on any postal administration that, under section 43.4, refers to it objects that have not originally been shipped as postal shipments by their services.
2. By derogation from section 43.4, the Postal Administration of Canada reserves the right to receive compensation from the original administration that allows it to recover to a minimum the costs caused by the processing of such shipments.
3. Section 43.4 authorizes the postal administration of destination to claim to the deposit administration appropriate compensation for the distribution of mail shipments to letters posted abroad in large quantities. The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland reserves the right to limit this payment to the domestic tariff of the country of destination applicable to equivalent shipments.
4. Section 43.4 authorizes the postal administration of destination to claim to the deposit administration appropriate compensation for the distribution of mail shipments to letters posted abroad in large quantities. The following countries reserve the right to limit this payment to the limits allowed in the Mail in Numbers Regulations: America (United States), Australia, Bahamas, Barbados, Brunei Darussalam, China (Pop. Bank), United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, Overseas Territories dependent on the United Kingdom, Grenada, Guyana, India, Malaysia, Nepal, New Zealand, Netherlands, Suriname, Netherlands Antilles and Aryan
5. Notwithstanding reservations under 4, the following countries reserve the right to apply in their entirety the provisions of Article 43 of the Convention to the letter received from the Member Countries of the Union: Argentina, Benin, Brazil, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Cyprus, Côte d'Ivoire (Rép.), Egypt, France, Greece, Guinea, Israel, Italy, Japan, Jordan, Lebanon, Mali, Morocco, Syrian Arab Republic.
6. For the purposes of Article 43.4, the Postal Administration of Germany reserves the right to apply to the Postal Administration of the Land of Filing of Shipments an amount equal to that received from the postal administration of the country where the shipper resides.
Article XXIV
Terminal costs
1. By derogation from sections 49.1.3 and 51.1.3, the postal administrations of Saudi Arabia, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Latvia, Oman, Qatar, Syrian Arab Republic and Viet Nam are not required to pay additional compensation for the distribution of mail shipments to the recommended letters from their country.
2. Notwithstanding sections 49.1.3 and 51.1.3, the postal administrations of Djibouti, Ghana, India, Nepal and Yemen are not required to pay additional compensation for the distribution of mail shipments to the recommended letters and with declared value shipped from their country.
3. Notwithstanding the reservations made by countries in sections 49.1.3 and 51.1.3, the postal administration of Australia will not require signature at the time of delivery of recommended shipments for which additional remuneration of the distribution is not paid.
4. With respect to countries that have issued reservations to obligations under articles 49.1.3 and 51.1.3, which provide for additional compensation for recommended and declared shipments, America (United States) reserves the right to treat such shipments as ordinary mail and not to pay compensation for losses, spoliations or damages of such shipments that may have taken place in its service.
5. Notwithstanding the reservations made in Article XXIV, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the Overseas Territories dependent on the United Kingdom reserve the right to fully implement the provisions approved by the Beijing Congress concerning the collection of additional remuneration for the distribution of mail shipments to the recommended and valued letters declared in their relations with other countries.
6. Greece, Slovakia, Spain, South Africa, Austria, Cuba, Belize, Benin, Bolivia, Brazil, South Africa
7. By its resolution C 46/1999, the Congress directs the Postal Operations Council to establish until 2002 a formula for the conversion of domestic tariffs and/or postal administration costs to terminal rates and to determine the final percentages of domestic tariffs applicable in 2004 and 2005. In the event that this instruction would not be implemented in a timely manner, Germany reserves the right to determine its own percentages for the years 2004 and 2005 under Article 48.3, in accordance with the principles set out in this article.
8. By its resolution C 46/1999, the Congress directs the Postal Operations Council to establish until 2002 a formula for the conversion of rates or domestic costs of postal administrations to terminal rates and to determine the final percentages of domestic tariffs applicable for the years 2004 and 2005. Notwithstanding Article XXIV.5, by which a country reserves the right to determine itself these percentages for the years 2004 and 2005 under Article 48.3 in case the CEP has not implemented the instruction of Resolution C 46/1999 in due time, America (United States), the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the Netherlands reserves the right to
9. The Postal Administration of Germany reserves the right to administer the financial resources allocated to the Financing Fund for the Improvement of Quality of Service in Developing Countries, in accordance with section 50.1.1.1, until the principles and criteria established by the CEP regarding the management and financing system of this Fund and the operating procedures are implemented.
10. America (United States) supports the system of terminal fees as described in Articles 47 to 51. However, with respect to trade with members of the World Trade Organization, America (United States) reserves the right to apply these agreements regarding terminal costs in accordance with the provisions that will be adopted in future negotiations on the General Agreement on Trade in Services.
11. Greece, Slovakia, Dominican Republic, South Africa, Jamaica, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Saint Lucia
Article XXV
Inland air transport
1. By derogation from Article 53.3, the postal administrations of Saudi Arabia, the Bahamas, Cape Verde, Congo (Rép.), Cuba, Dominican Republic (Rép.), El Salvador, Ecuador, Gabon, Greece, Guatemala, Guyana, Honduras (Rep.), Mongolia, Nepal, Papua New Guinea,
2. By derogation from section 53.3, the Myanmar Postal Administration reserves the right to collect payments due to the delivery of international dispatches within the country, whether or not they are rerouted by air.
3. By derogation from Article 53.3, the Bangladesh Postal Administration reserves the right to collect payments due to the delivery of international dispatches within the country, whether or not these dispatches are re-routed by air and regardless of the distance travelled.
4. By derogation from Articles 53.4 and 53.5, the postal administrations of America (United States), Canada, Iran (Islamic Republic of) and Turkey are authorized to recover, in the form of uniform rates, postal administrations in question their domestic air transport costs caused by the arrival mail from any administration for which they apply the offset for terminal costs based specifically on costs or domestic tariffs.
5. As a reciprocity, the post office of Oman is entitled to collect from the postal administrations mentioned in 1 to 3 above the additional costs incurred by air transport within its country of mail dispatches from these administrations, whether the re-routing of such dispatches takes place by air or by another channel.
Article XXVI
Territorial quotas of exceptional arrival
1. By derogation from Article 56, the postal administration of Afghanistan reserves the right to receive 7,50 SDRs of additional exceptional territorial quota per parcel.
Article XXVII
Special rates
1. Postal administrations of America (United States), Belgium, France and Norway have the ability to collect higher territorial quotas for aircraft parcels than for surface parcels.
2. The postal administration of Lebanon is authorized to collect for parcels up to 1 kilogram the tax applicable to parcels over 1 to 3 kilograms.
3. The postal administration of Panama (Repe.) is authorized to collect 0.20 SDRs per kilogram for airborne surface packages (SAL) in transit.
In faith, the following Plenipotentiaries have drawn up this Protocol, which will have the same strength and value as if its provisions were inserted in the text of the Convention, and have signed it in a copy which is deposited with the Director General of the International Bureau. A copy will be given to each Party by the Government of the country headquarters of the Congress.
Done at Beijing on 15 September 1999.

Arrangement for post payment services
CONTENTS
CHAPTER Ier. - Preliminary provisions
Articles
1. Purpose of the Arrangement
2. Different products that can be offered
CHAPTER II. - Filing orders
3. Emission of securities and admission of payment orders (money, conversion, amount)
4. Taxes
CHAPTER III. - Transmission of orders
5. Exchange means
CHAPTER IV. - Processing in the payment country and claims
6. Payment
7. Claims
8. Accountability
CHAPTER V. - Accounts, liaison accounts
9. Remuneration of payment administration
10. Financial relations between participating jurisdictions
CHAPTER VI. - The Postchick
11. Postcheque operation
CHAPTER VII. - The POSTNET network
12. Conditions of accession and participation
CHAPTER VIII. - Consignments for reimbursement
13. Definition of service
CHAPTER IX. - Miscellaneous provisions
14. Application to open a postal current account abroad
CHAPTER X. - Final provisions
15. Final provisions
Arrangement for post payment services
The undersigned, Plenipotentiaries of the Governments of the Member Countries of the Union, in view of Article 22, § 4, of the Constitution of the Universal Postal Union concluded in Vienna on 10 July 1964, have, by mutual agreement and subject to Article 25, § 4, of the said Constitution, arrested the following Agreement.
CHAPTER Ier. - Preliminary provisions
Article 1er
Purpose of the Arrangement
1. This Arrangement governs all post transfer benefits. The contracting countries agree with mutual agreement on the products of this Agreement that they intend to establish in their mutual relations.
2. Non-postal organizations may participate, through the postal administration, postal cheque service or an institution that manages a mail transfer network, in exchanges governed by the provisions of this Arrangement. It is up to these organizations to agree with the postal administration of their country to ensure the full implementation of all the terms of the Arrangement and, within the framework of this Agreement, to exercise their rights and fulfil their obligations as postal organizations defined by this Arrangement. The postal administration serves as an intermediary in their relations with the postal administrations of other contracting countries and with the International Bureau.
Article 2
Different products that can be offered
1. The mandate
1.1. The sender shall remit funds to a post office window or order the debit of the mail account and request payment of the amount in cash to the recipient.
1.2. The sender remittances to a post office window and requests that they be paid to the recipient's postal current account or other types of accounts managed by the administrations.
2. The transfer
2.1. The holder of a postal current account shall, by debit of his account, request the inclusion of an amount on the credit of the postal current account, other types of accounts managed by the administrations or the bank current account of the beneficiary through the destination administration.
3. Postchick
3.1. The post-cheque is an international title that may be issued to incumbents of current postal accounts and payable in the post offices of the participating countries.
3.2. The post cheque may also be paid to third parties after agreement between the contracting authorities.
4. The withdrawal on the network of POSTNET banknote vending machines
4.1. Financial institutions, postal or non-postal, which adhere by agreement to the POSTNET network can offer their card holders the opportunity to remove cash from the POSTNET network's automatic banknote distributors.
5. Other benefits
5.1 Postal administrations may agree, in their bilateral or multilateral relations, to establish other benefits, the terms of which are to be defined between the administrations concerned.
CHAPTER II. - Filing orders
Article 3
Emission of securities and admission of payment orders (money, conversion, amount)
1. Except as a special agreement, the amount of securities and orders is expressed in currency of the country of payment.
2. The emission administration sets the rate of conversion of its currency to that of the country of payment.
3. The amount of remittance transfers is unlimited, except decisions taken by the relevant administrations.
4. The issuing administration has every freedom to define the documents and terms and conditions for depositing securities and orders of payment, except where they are to be transferred by mail. In this case, only the formulas provided for in the Regulation shall be used.
5. The securities and payment orders to be transmitted via telecommunications are subject to the provisions of the International Telecommunications Regulations.
Article 4
Taxes
1. The issuing authority freely determines the tax to be collected at the time of the issuance. To this main tax, it adds, if any, the taxes relating to special services rendered to the shipper.
2. The issuance administration may, after agreement with the payment administration, collect from the sender, at the request of the sender, fees for special services rendered to the recipient. The amount of these taxes is paid to the payment administration.
3. Transfers of funds exchanged, through a country Party to this Arrangement, between a contracting country and a non-contracting country may be subject, through the intermediary administration, to an additional tax, determined by the latter on the basis of the costs generated by the transactions it carries out, the amount agreed between the administrations concerned and levied on the amount of the title; However, this tax may be collected on the consignor and attributed to the administration of the intermediate country if the administrations concerned have agreed to this effect.
4. If warrant duplicates are payable under the provisions of the Regulations and if no fault of service has been committed, a fee as determined by the administration to which a request has been made may be collected on the shipper or on the beneficiary, unless that tax has already been collected under the notice of payment.
5. Records, securities and orders of payment relating to transfers of postal funds exchanged between administrations by post are exempted from all taxes under the conditions provided for in articles 8.2 and 8.3.1 to 8.3.3 of the Convention.
CHAPTER III. - Transmission of orders
Article 5 Means of Exchange
1. Postal exchange shall be effected by means of formulae set out in the Regulations, directly between issuing office and payment office or through exchange offices.
2. The exchange by means of telecommunications shall be effected by sending directly to the payment office or to an exchange office, provided that all necessary measures for the security of exchange are met by agreement between the administrations concerned.
3. Transfers of funds may be presented to the country of payment on magnetic tapes or on any other means agreed between administrations. Payment administrations are then free from the choice of the formulas to be used as a basis for the sums to be paid in cash to the beneficiaries.
4. All transfers of funds may be made through electronic networks, according to the specific conventions adopted by the relevant administrations.
5. Administrations may agree to use means of exchange other than those provided for in Article 5.1 to 4.
CHAPTER IV. - Processing in the payment country and claims
Article 6
Payment
1. In principle, the full amount of the mandate must be paid to the recipient; optional taxes may be collected if it requires additional special services.
2. The validity of mandates extends:
2.1. as a general rule, up to the expiry of the first month following that of the program;
2.2. after agreement between interested jurisdictions, until the third month after that of the program expires;
3. After these deadlines, the warrants reached to the payment offices are paid only if they are covered by a "date visa" given by the service designated by the issuing administration, at the request of the payment office. The date visa gives the warrant, from the day it is given, a new validity whose duration is that of a warrant issued on the same day. Mandates reached to payment administrations under Article 5.3 cannot be granted a visa for date.
4. If the non-payment of a warrant prior to the expiry of the validity period does not result from a fault of service, a so-called "date visa" tax may be collected which will be determined by the payment administration.
5. Payment of mandates is made according to the regulations of the country of payment.
Article 7
Claims
1. The provisions of Article 30 of the Convention shall apply.
Article 8
Accountability
1. Principle and scope of responsibility
1.1. Administrations are responsible for the sums paid at the countertop or debited from the shooter's account until the mandate has been regularly paid or the recipient's account has been credited.
1.2. Administrations are responsible for the erroneous indications they have provided and have resulted in either non-payment or errors in the execution of the transfer of funds. Responsibility extends to conversion errors and transmission errors.
1.3. Administrations are free from any responsibility:
1.3.1 in the event of delay that may occur in the transmission, shipping or payment of securities and orders;
1.3.2. where, as a result of the destruction of service documents resulting from a case of force majeure, they cannot report on the execution of a transfer of funds unless the evidence of their liability has been otherwise administered;
1.3.3. where the shipper has not made any claim within the time limit provided for in Article 30.1 of the Convention;
1.3.4. where the time limit for mandates in the issuing country has elapsed.
1.4. In the event of a refund, regardless of the cause, the amount to be refunded to the consignor may not exceed the amount paid or transferred to the debit of the account.
1.5. Administrations may agree to apply broader conditions of responsibility tailored to the needs of their domestic services.
1.6 The conditions for the application of the principle of liability, including the issues of determining liability, payment of due amounts, appeals, payment period and provisions relating to reimbursement to the participating administration, are those prescribed in the Regulations.
CHAPTER V. - Accounts, liaison accounts
Article 9
Remuneration of payment administration
1. For each term paid, the issuing authority assigns to the payment administration a remuneration whose rate is set out in the Regulations based on the average amount of terms included in the same monthly account.
2. Instead of the rates provided for in section 9.1, administrations may agree on different rates of pay or set a lump sum pay for each payment made.
3. For each transfer, the destination administration may request the payment of an arrival fee. This tax may be either debited from the beneficiary's account or taken over by the flow-through administration of its liaison account.
4. Transfers of funds made on a tax-free basis do not result in any remuneration.
5. Where there is an agreement between the jurisdictions concerned, transfers of relief funds exempted from taxes by the program administration may be exempted from pay.
Article 10
Financial relations between participating jurisdictions
1. The jurisdictions agree on technical means to be used to settle their claims.
2. The current liaison account
2.1. When the administrations have an institution of postal cheques, each of them is opened, on its behalf with the respective administration, a common liaison account by which the debts and reciprocal receivables are liquidated as a result of the exchanges made under the postal cheque service and, eventually, the mandates and all other transactions that the administrations would agree to settle by that means.
2.2. When the payment administration does not have a postal cheque institution, the current liaison account may be opened to another financial institution.
2.3. In the event of a discovery on a liaison account, the amounts due are of interest, the rate of which is set out in the Regulations.
3. Monthly account
3.1. The payment administration shall establish, for each issuance administration, a monthly account of the amounts paid for the post office. Monthly accounts are periodically incorporated into a general account that results in the determination of a balance.
3.2. Accounts may also be settled on the basis of monthly accounts, without compensation.
4. It may not be infringed by any unilateral measure such as moratorium, prohibition of transfer, etc., on the provisions of this article and those of the Regulations arising therefrom.
CHAPTER VI. - The Postchick
Article 11
Postcheque operation
1. Post-Chech deliverance
1.1. Each administration may issue post-cheeks to its current postal accounts.
1.2. It is also handed over to the holders of postal current accounts to which post-cheeks have been issued a post-cheque guarantee card that must be submitted at the time of payment.
1.3. The maximum guaranteed amount is printed on the back of each post-cole, or on an annex, in the currency agreed between the contracting countries.
1.4. Unless specifically agreed with the payment administration, the issuance administration sets the conversion rate of its currency to that of the payment country.
1.5. The issuing authority may collect a tax on the sniper of a postchase.
1.6. If applicable, the term of validity of the postcheques shall be determined by the emission administration. It is indicated on the postchase by the impression of the ultimate date of validity. In the absence of such an indication, the validity of the postcheques is unlimited.
2. Payment
2.1. The amount of post cheques is paid to the beneficiary in legal currency of the country of payment.
2.2. The maximum amount that can be paid through a post-cole is set by mutual agreement by the contracting countries.
3. Accountability
3.1. The payment administration shall be discharged from any liability when it may establish that the payment has been made under the conditions set out in the corresponding sections of the Regulations relating to the presentation of post-cheques to the payment desk and the terms and conditions of their payment.
3.2 The issuing authority shall not be required to honour the false or counterfeit postcheques that are returned to it after the period provided for in the relevant section of the Regulation respecting the return of post-cheques paid to the original postal cheque service.
4. Remuneration of payment administration
4.1. Administrations that issue and pay post cheques bilaterally set the amount of pay that is allocated to the payment administration.
CHAPTER VII. - The POSTNET network
Article 12
Conditions of accession and participation
1. Access to the network requires the signing of the POSTNET agreement and the completion of an entry fee.
2. The conditions of membership and participation in service are defined in the POSTNET agreement.
CHAPTER VIII. - Consignments for reimbursement
Article 13
Definition of service
1. On the basis of bilateral agreements, mail shipments to ordinary letters, recommended and with declared value, and regular and declared post packages may be shipped against refund.
2. The organization that issued the shipment shall remit the funds to the postal financial institution and request the payment of the amount to the recipient.
CHAPTER IX. - Miscellaneous provisions
Article 14
Application to open a postal current account abroad
1. During the opening of a postal current account to the ger and in the course of the use checks for the applicant, the postal or non-postal financial organizations of the countries Parties to this Arrangement agree bilaterally on the assistance they may lend to each other.
CHAPTER X. - Final provisions
Article 15
Final provisions
1. The Convention shall apply, if any, by analogy, in all that is not expressly settled by this Arrangement.
2. Article 4 of the Constitution is not applicable to this Agreement.
3. Conditions for approval of proposals for this Arrangement.
3.1. To become enforceable, proposals submitted to Congress and related to this Arrangement must be approved by the majority of Member Countries present and voting who are parties to the Arrangement. At least half of these Member Countries represented in Congress must be present at the time of the vote.
3.2. To become enforceable, proposals for the Regulations must be approved by a majority of the members of the Postal Operations Council who are parties to the Arrangement.
3.3. In order to become enforceable, the proposals introduced between two Congresses and related to this Arrangement must meet:
3.3.1. two-thirds of the vote, at least half of the Member Countries Parties to the Agreement that responded to the consultation, if it is the addition of new provisions;
3.3.2. the majority of votes, at least half of the Member Countries that have responded to the consultation, if any changes to the provisions of this Agreement;
3.3.3. the majority of votes, if this is the interpretation of the provisions of this Arrangement.
3.4. Notwithstanding the provisions of 15.3.3.1, any Member country whose national legislation is still incompatible with the proposed addition may make a written statement to the Director General of the International Bureau stating that it is not possible to accept this addition within ninety days from the date of notification of the addition.
4. This Arrangement will be implemented on 1er January 2001 and will remain in force until the implementation of the Acts of the next Congress.
In faith, the Plenipotentiaries of the Governments of the Contracting Countries have signed this Arrangement in a copy which is deposited with the Director General of the International Bureau. A copy will be given to each Party by the Government of the country headquarters of the Congress.
Done at Beijing on 15 September 1999.