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<center>=Constitution of the Himalayan Postal Union=</center>
==Treaty Concerning the Formation of a General Postal Union, Concluded Between Nepal, Bhutan, Sikkim, and Lo==


=Preamble=
===PREAMBLE===
*In order to develop communications between the peoples of the Himalayan nations by the efficient operation of the postal services, and to contribute to the attainment of the aims of international collaboration in the cultural, social and economic fields of the Himalayan Confederacy, the sovereigns of the Governments of the contracting countries have, subject to ratification, adopted this Constitution.
*The undersigned plenipotentiaries of the Governments of the countries above enumerated have, by common consent and subject to ratification, agreed upon the following Convention:


*The mission of the Union is to stimulate the lasting development of efficient and accessible universal postal services of quality in order to facilitate communication between the inhabitants of the Himalayan Nations by:
===ARTICLE 1===
**1. guaranteeing the free circulation of postal items over a single postal territory composed of interconnected networks;
*The countries between which the present treaty is concluded shall form, under the title of General Postal Union, a single postal territory for the reciprocal exchange of correspondence between their post-offices.
**2. encouraging the adoption of fair common standards and the use of technology;
**3. ensuring cooperation and interaction among the Himalayan Nations;
**4. promoting effective technical cooperation;
**5. ensuring the satisfaction of customers’ changing needs.


=Definitions=
===ARTICLE 2===
*For the purpose of the Acts of the Universal Postal Union, the following terms shall have the meanings defined below:
*The stipulations of this treaty shall extend to letters, post-cards, books, newspapers, and other printed papers, patterns of merchandise, and legal and commercial documents originating in one of the countries of the Union and intended for another of those countries. They shall also apply to the exchange by post of the articles above mentioned between the countries of the Union and countries foreign to the Union whenever such exchange takes place over the territory of two at least of the contracting parties.
**1. Postal service: all postal services, whose scope is determined by the bodies of the Union. The main obligations of postal services are to satisfy certain social and economic objectives of member countries, by ensuring the collection, sorting, transmission and delivery of postal items.
**2. Member country: a country that fulfils the conditions of article 2 of the Constitution.
**3. Single postal territory (one and the same postal territory): the obligation upon the contracting parties to the UPU Acts to provide for the reciprocal exchange of letter-post items, including freedom of transit, and to treat postal items in transit from other countries like their own postal items, without discrimination.
**4. Freedom of transit: obligation for intermediate postal administrations to transport postal items passed on to them in transit by another HPU postal administration, providing similar treatment to that given to domestic items.
**5. Letter-post item: items described in the Convention.
**6. International postal service: postal operations or services regulated by the Acts; set of these operations or services.


=Section I - Organic provisions=
===ARTICLE 3===
==Chapter I – General==
*The general Union rate of postage is fixed at ??? for a single prepaid letter.
===Article 1 - Scope and objectives of the Union===
*Every letter which does not exceed 15 grams in weight shall be considered a single letter. The charge upon letters exceeding that weight shall be a single rate for every 15 grammes or fraction of 15 grams.
*1. The countries adopting this Constitution shall comprise, under the title of the Universal Postal Union, a single postal territory for the reciprocal exchange of letter-post items. Freedom of transit shall be guaranteed throughout the entire territory of the Union.
*The charge on unpaid letters shall be double the rate levied in the country of destination on prepaid letters.
*2. The aim of the Union shall be to secure the organization and improvement of the postal services and to promote in this sphere the development of international collaboration.
*The prepayment of post-cards is compulsory. The postage to be charged upon them is fixed at one-half of that on paid letters, with power to round off the fractions.
*3. The Union shall take part, as far as possible, in postal technical assistance sought by its member countries.


===Article 2 - Members of the Union===
===ARTICLE 4===
*Member countries of the Union shall be:
*The general Union rate for legal and commercial documents, patterns of merchandise, newspapers, stitched or bound books, pamphlets, music, visiting cards, catalogues, prospectuses, announcements and notices of various kinds, whether printed, engraved, lithographed, or autographed, as well as for photographs, is fixed at ??? for each single packet.
**1. countries which have membership status at the date on which the Constitution comes into force;
*Every packet which does not exceed 50 grams in weight shall be considered a single packet. The charge upon packets exceeding that weight shall be a single rate for every 50 grammes or fraction of 50 grams.
**2. countries admitted to membership in accordance with article 11.
*The maximum weight of the articles mentioned above is fixed at 250 grams for patterns of merchandise, and at 1000 grams for all the others.
*There is reserved to the Government of each country of the Union the right to refuse to convey over its territory or to deliver articles specified in the present Article with regard to which the laws, orders, and decrees which regulate the conditions of their publication and circulation have not been observed.


===Article 3 - Jurisdiction of the Union===
===ARTICLE 5===
*The Union shall have within its jurisdiction:
*The articles specified in Article 2 may be registered.
**1. the territories of member countries;
*Every registered packet must be prepaid.
**2. post offices set up by member countries in territories not included in the Union;
*The postage payable on registered articles is the same as that on articles not registered.
*The charge to be made for registration and for return receipts must not exceed that made in the interior service of the country of origin.
*In case of the loss of a registered article, except in the case of vis major, there shall be paid an indemnity of ??? to the sender, or, at his request, to the addressee, by the Administration of the country in the territory in which the loss has occurred-that is to say, where the trace of the article has been lost,-unless, according to the legislation of such country, the Administration is not responsible for the loss of registered articles sent through its interior post.
*The payment of this indemnity shall be effected with the least possible delay, and, at the latest, within a year from the date of application.
*All claim for an indemnity is excluded if it be not made within one year, counting from the date on which the registered article was posted.


===Article 4 - Exceptional relations===
===ARTICLE 6===
*Postal administrations which provide a service with territories not included in the Union are bound to act as intermediaries for other administrations. The provisions of the Convention and its Regulations shall be applicable to such exceptional relations.  
*Prepayment of postage on every description of article can be effected only by means of postage-stamps or stamped envelopes valid in the country of origin.
*Newspapers and other printed papers unpaid or insufficiently paid shall not be forwarded. Other articles when unpaid or insufficiently paid shall be charged as unpaid letters, after deducting the value of the stamped envelopes or postage-stamps (if any) employed.


===Article 5 - Seat of the Union===
===ARTICLE 7===
*The seat of the Union and of its permanent organs shall be at Kathmandu.  
*No additional postage shall be charged for the re-transmission of postal articles within the interior of the Union.
*But in case an article which has only passed through the interior service of one of the countries of the Union should, by being re-directed, enter into the service of another country of the Union, the Administration of the country of destination shall add its interior rate.


===Article 6 - Official languages of the Union===
===ARTICLE 8===
*The official languages of the Union shall be Nepali and Dzongkha.  
*Official correspondence relative to the postal service is exempt from postage. With this exception, no franking or reduction of postage is allowed.


===Article 7 - Monetary unit===
===ARTICLE 9===
*The monetary unit used in the Acts of the Union shall be the Himalayan rupee.  
*Each Administration shall keep the whole of the sums which it collects by virtue of the foregoing Articles 3, 4, 5, 6, and 7. Consequently, there will be no necessity on this head for any accounts between the several Administrations of the Union.
*Neither the senders nor the addressees of letters and other postal packets shall be called upon to pay, either in the country of origin or in that of destination, any tax or postal duty other than those contemplated by the Articles above mentioned.


===Article 8 - Relations with international organizations===
===ARTICLE 10===
*In order to secure close cooperation in the international postal sphere, the Union may collaborate with international organizations having related interests and activities.
*The right of transit is guaranteed throughout the entire territory of the Union.
*Consequently, there shall be full and entire liberty of exchange, the several Postal Administrations of the Union being able to send reciprocally, in transit through intermediate countries, closed mails as well as correspondence in open mails, according to the requirements of trade and the exigencies of the postal service.
*Closed mails and correspondence sent in open mails must always be forwarded by the most rapid routes at the command of the Postal Administrations concerned.
*When several routes offer the same advantages of speed, the despatching Administration shall have the right of choosing the route to be adopted.
*It is obligatory to make up closed mails whenever the number of letters and other postal packets is of a nature to hinder the operations of the re-forwarding office, according to the declaration of the Administration interested.
*The despatching Office shall pay to the Administration of the territory providing the transit, the sum of ??? per kilogram for letters and ??? per kilogram for the several articles specified in Article 4, net weight, whether the transit takes place in closed mails or in open mails.
*In order to ascertain the weight of the correspondence forwarded in transit, whether in closed mails or in open mails, there shall be taken, at periods which shall be determined upon by common consent, the statistics of such correspondence during two weeks. Until revised, the result of that labor shall serve as the basis of the accounts of the Administrations between themselves.
*Each Office may demand a revision,
**first, in case of any important modification in the direction of the correspondence, and
**second, at the expiration of a year after the date of the last account.


==Chapter II - Accession or admission to the Union. Withdrawal from the Union==
===ARTICLE 11===
===Article 9 - Accession or admission to the Union. Procedure===
*The relations of the countries of the Union with countries outside the Union shall be regulated by any separate conventions which now exist or which may be concluded between them.
*1. Any nation in the Himalayas may accede to the Union.
*The rates of postage chargeable for the conveyance beyond the limits of the Union shall be determined by those conventions; they shall be added, in such case, to the Union rate.
*2. Accession or application for admission to the Union must entail a formal declaration of accession to the Constitution and to the obligatory Acts of the Union. It shall be addressed by the Government of the country concerned to the Director-General of the International Bureau who shall consult the member countries on the application for admission.
*In conformity with the stipulations of Article 9, the Union rate shall be apportioned in the following manner:
*3. A nation which is not located in the Himalayas, but which shares a border with one or more of the Himalayan nations, may seek admission to the Union.
**first, the despatching Office of the Union shall keep the whole of the Union rate for the prepaid correspondence addressed to foreign countries;
*4. Instruments of accession shall be adressed through diplomatic channels to the Government of the country in which the seat of the Union is situated and by that Government to the Governments of the member nations of the Union.
**second, the receiving Office of the Union shall keep the whole of the Union rate for the unpaid correspondence originating in foreign countries.
*5. This nation shall be deemed to be admitted as a member country if its application is approved by at least two thirds of the member countries of the Union. Member countries which have not replied within a period of four months shall be considered as having abstained.
**third, the Office of the Union which exchanges closed mails with foreign countries shall keep the whole of the Union rate for the paid correspondence originating in foreign countries and for the unpaid correspondence addressed to foreign countries.
*6. Accession or admission to membership shall be notified by the Director-General of the International Bureau to the Governments of member countries. It shall take effect from the date of such notification.
**In the cases mentioned under the Nos. 1, 2, and 3, the Office which exchanges the mails is not entitled to any payment for transit. In all the other cases the transit rates shall be paid according to the stipulations of Article 10.


===Article 10 - Withdrawal from the Union. Procedure===
===ARTICLE 12===
*1. A member nation may withdraw from the Union by notice of denunciation of the Constitution given by the Government of the country concerned to the Director-General of the International Bureau and by him to the Governments of the other member nations.
*The exchange of letters with value declared and of Post Office money orders shall form the subject of ulterior arrangements between the various countries or groups of countries composing the Union.
*2. Withdrawal from the Union shall become effective one year after the day on which the notice of denunciation provided for in § 1 is received by the Director-General of the International Bureau.


===ARTICLE 13===
*The Postal Administrations of the various countries composing the Union are competent to draw up, by common consent, in the form of detailed regulations, all the measures of order and detail necessary with a view of the execution of the present treaty. It is understood that the stipulations of these detailed regulations may always be modified by the common consent of the Administrations of the Union.
*The several Administrations may make amongst themselves the necessary arrangements on the subject of questions which do not concern the Union generally; such as the regulations of exchange at the frontier, the determination of radii in adjacent countries within which a lower rate of postage may be taken, the conditions of the exchange of Post Office money orders and of letters with declared value, etc., etc.


==Chapter III - Organization of the Union ==
===ARTICLE 14===
===Article 11 - Bodies of the Union===
*The stipulations of the present treaty do not involve any alteration in the interior postal legislation of any country, nor any restriction of the right of the contracting parties to maintain and to conclude treaties, as well as to maintain and establish more restricted unions with a view to a progressive improvement of postal relations.
*1. The Union’s bodies shall be Congress, the Council of Administration, the Postal Operations Council and the International Bureau.
*2. The Union’s permanent bodies shall be the Council of Administration, the Postal Operations Council and the International Bureau.


===Article 12 – The Congress===  
===ARTICLE 15===
*1. Congress shall be the supreme body of the Union.
*There shall be organized, under the name of the Confederate Office of the General Postal Union, a central office, the expenses of which shall be borne by all the Administrations of the contracting Nations.
*2. Congress shall consist of the representatives of member countries.
*This office shall be charged with the duty of collecting, publishing, and distributing information of every kind which concerns the  postal service of the contracting nations; of giving, at the request of the parties concerned, an opinion upon questions in dispute; of making known proposals for modifying the detailed regulations; of giving notice of alterations adopted; of facilitating operations relating to international accounts, especially in the cases referred to in Article 10 foregoing; and in general of considering and working out all questions in the interest of the Postal Union.


===Article 13 - Extraordinary Congresses===
===ARTICLE 16===
*An Extraordinary Congress may be convened at the request or with the consent of at least two thirds of the member countries of the Union.  
*In case of disagreement between two or more members of the Union as to the interpretation of the present treaty, the question in dispute shall be decided by arbitration. To that end, each of the Administrations concerned shall choose another member of the Union not interested in the affair.
*The decision of the arbitrators shall be given by an absolute majority of votes.
*In case of an equality of votes the arbitrators shall choose, with the view of settling the difference, another Administration equally disinterested in the question in dispute.


===Article 14 - Council of Administration===
===ARTICLE 17===
*1. Between Congresses the Council of Administration (CA) shall ensure the continuity of the work of the Union in accordance with the provisions of the Acts of the Union.
*The entry into the Union of countries not yet forming part of it, shall be effected on the following conditions:
*2. Members of the Council of Administration shall carry out their functions in the name of and in the interests of the Union.
**first, they shall make their application to the Administration charged with the management of the International Office of the Union.
**second, they shall submit to the stipulations of the treaty of the Union.
**third, their adhesion to the Union must be preceded by an understanding between the Administrations having postal conventions or direct relations with them.
**fourth, in order to bring about this understanding, the managing Administration shall convene, if there be occasion, a meeting of the Administrations interested, and of the Administration desiring admission.
**fifth, when the understanding has been arrived at, the managing Administration shall give notice of the same to all the members of the Confederal Postal Union.
**sixth, if in a period of six weeks, counting from the date of that communication, no objections are presented, the adhesion shall be considered as accomplished, and notice thereof shall be given by the managing Administration to the Administration joining the Union. The definitive adhesion shall be completed by a diplomatic act between the Government of the managing Administration and the Government of the Administration admitted into the Union.


===Article 15 - Postal Operations Council===
===ARTICLE 18===
*The Postal Operations Council (POC) shall be responsible for operational, commercial, technical and economic questions concerning the postal service.  
*Every three years at least, a Congress of plenipotentiaries of the countries participating in the treaty shall be held with a view of perfecting the system of the Union, of introducing into it improvements found necessary, and of discussing common affairs.
*Each country has one vote.
*Each country may be represented either by one or several delegates, or by the delegation of another country.
*Nevertheless, it is understood that the delegate or delegates of one country can be charged with the representation of two countries only, including the one they represent.


===Article 16 - International Bureau ===
===ARTICLE 19===
*A central office operating at the seat of the Union under the title of the International Bureau of the Himalayan Postal Union, directed by a Director-General and placed under the control of the Council of Administration, shall serve as an organ of execution, support, liaison, information and consultation.
*The present treaty shall come into force on January 1, 1978.
*It is concluded for three years from that date. When that term shall have passed, it shall be considered as indefinitely prolonged, but each contracting party shall have the right to withdraw from the Union on giving notice one year in advance.


==Chapter IV - Finances of the Union==
===ARTICLE 20===
===Article 17 - Expenditure of the Union. Contributions of member countries===
*After the date on which the present treaty comes into effect, all the stipulations of the special treaties concluded between the various countries and Administrations, in so far as they may be at variance with the terms of the present treaty, and without prejudice to the stipulations of Article 14, are abrogated.
*1. Each Congress shall fix the maximum amount which:
*The present treaty shall be ratified as soon as possible, and, at the latest, three months previous to the date on which it is to come into force. The acts of ratification shall be exchanged at Kathmandu.
a. the expenditure of the Union may reach annually;
*In faith of which the plenipotentiaries of the Governments of the countries above enumerated have signed it at Kathmandu, October 20, 1978.
b. the expenditure relating to the organization of the next Congress may reach.
**For the Maharajahdom of Nepal:
*2. The maximum amount for expenditure referred to in § 1 may be exceeded if circumstances so require, provided that the relevant provisions of the General Regulations are observed.
**For the Rajadom of Bhutan:
*3. The expenses of the Union, including where applicable the expenditure envisaged in § 2, shall be jointly borne by the member nations of the Union. For this purpose, each member nation shall choose the contribution class in which it intends to be included. The contribution classes shall be laid down in the General Regulations.
**For the Rajadom of Sikkim:
*4. In the case of accession or admission to the Union under article 11, the nation concerned shall freely choose the contribution class into which it wishes to be placed for the purpose of apportioning the expenses of the Union.
**For the Rajadom of Lo:
 
=Section II - Acts of the Union=
==Chapter I - General ==
===Article 18 - Acts of the Union===
*1. The Constitution shall be the basic Act of the Union. It shall contain the organic rules of the Union and shall not be subject to reservations.
*2. The General Regulations shall embody those provisions which ensure the application of the Constitution and the working of the Union. They shall be binding on all member countries and shall not be subject to reservations.
*3. The Himalayan Postal Convention, the Letter Post Regulations and the Parcel Post Regulations shall embody the rules applicable throughout the Himalayan postal service and the provisions concerning the letter-post and postal parcels services. These Acts shall be binding on all member countries.
*4. The Agreements of the Union, and their Regulations, shall regulate the services other than those of the letter-post and postal parcels between those member countries which are parties to them. They shall be binding on those countries only.
*5. The Regulations, which shall contain the rules of application necessary for the implementation of the Convention and of the Agreements, shall be drawn up by the Postal Operations Council, bearing in mind the decisions taken by Congress.
*6. The Final Protocols annexed to the Acts of the Union referred to in §§ 3, 4 and 5 shall contain the reservations to those Acts.
 
===Article 19 - National legislation===
*The provisions of the Acts of the Union shall not derogate from the legislation of any member country in respect of anything which is not expressly provided for by those Acts.
 
==Chapter II - Acceptance and denunciation of the Acts of the Union==
===Article 20 - Signature, authentication, ratification and other forms of approval of the Acts of the Union===
*1. The Acts of the Union arising from the Congress shall be signed by the plenipotentiaries of the member countries.
*2. The Regulations shall be authenticated by the Chairman and the Secretary-General of the Postal Operations Council.
*3. The Constitution shall be ratified as soon as possible by the signatory countries.
*4. Approval of the Acts of the Union other than the Constitution shall be governed by the constitutional regulations of each signatory country.
*5. When a country does not ratify the Constitution or does not approve the other Acts which it has signed, the Constitution and other Acts shall be no less valid for the other countries that have ratified or approved them.
 
===Article 21 - Notification of ratifications and other forms of approval of the Acts of the Union===
*The instruments of ratification of the Constitution and the Additional Protocols thereto and, where appropriate, of approval of the other Acts of the Union shall be deposited as soon as possible with the Director-General of the International Bureau who shall notify the Governments of the member countries of their deposit.
 
===Article 22 - Accession to the Agreements===
*1.  Member nations may, at any time, accede to one or more of the Agreements provided for in article 17.4.
*2. Accession of member nations to the Agreements shall be notified in accordance with article 9.2.
 
===Article 23  - Denunciation of an Agreement===
*Each member nation may cease being a party to one or more of the Agreements, under the conditions laid down in article 9.
 
==Chapter III - Amendment of the Acts of the Union==
===Article 24 - Presentation of proposals===
*1. The postal administration of a member nation shall have the right to present, either to Congress or between Congresses, proposals concerning the Acts of the Union to which its nation is a party.
*2. However, proposals concerning the Constitution and the General Regulations may be submitted only to Congress.
*3. Moreover, proposals concerning the Regulations shall be submitted directly to the Postal Operations Council but must first be transmitted by the International Bureau to the postal administrations of all member nations.
 
===Article 25 - Amendment of the Constitution===
*1. To be adopted, proposals submitted to the Congress and relating to this Constitution must be approved by at least two thirds of the member countries of the Union having the right to vote.
*2. Amendments adopted by a Congress shall form the subject of an additional protocol and, unless that Congress decides otherwise, shall enter into force at the same time as the Acts renewed in the course of the same Congress. They shall be ratified as soon as possible by member countries and the instruments of such ratification shall be dealt with in accordance with the procedure laid down in article 21.
 
===Article 26 - Amendment of the General Regulations, the Convention and the Agreements===
*1. The General Regulations, the Convention and the Agreements shall define the conditions to be fulfilled for the approval of proposals which concern them.
*2. The Convention and the Agreements referred to in § 1 shall enter into force simultaneously and shall have the same duration. As from the day fixed by Congress for the entry into force of these Acts, the corresponding Acts of the preceding Congress shall be abrogated.
 
==Chapter IV - Settlement of disputes==
===Article 27 – Arbitration===
*In the event of a dispute between two or more postal administrations of member nations concerning the interpretation of the Acts of the Union or the responsibility imposed on a postal administration by the application of those Acts, the question at issue shall be settled by binding arbitration.
 
=Section III - Final provisions =
===Article 28 - Coming into operation and duration of the Constitution===
*This Constitution shall come into operation on ??? and shall remain in force for an indefinite period.
*In witness whereof, the plenipotentiaries of the Governments of the contracting nations have signed this Constitution in a single original which shall be deposited in the archives of the Government of the country in which the seat of the Union is situated. A copy thereof shall be delivered to each party by the International Bureau of the Universal Postal Union.
 
Done at Kathmandu, ???.

Latest revision as of 19:28, 3 November 2010

Treaty Concerning the Formation of a General Postal Union, Concluded Between Nepal, Bhutan, Sikkim, and Lo

PREAMBLE

  • The undersigned plenipotentiaries of the Governments of the countries above enumerated have, by common consent and subject to ratification, agreed upon the following Convention:

ARTICLE 1

  • The countries between which the present treaty is concluded shall form, under the title of General Postal Union, a single postal territory for the reciprocal exchange of correspondence between their post-offices.

ARTICLE 2

  • The stipulations of this treaty shall extend to letters, post-cards, books, newspapers, and other printed papers, patterns of merchandise, and legal and commercial documents originating in one of the countries of the Union and intended for another of those countries. They shall also apply to the exchange by post of the articles above mentioned between the countries of the Union and countries foreign to the Union whenever such exchange takes place over the territory of two at least of the contracting parties.

ARTICLE 3

  • The general Union rate of postage is fixed at ??? for a single prepaid letter.
  • Every letter which does not exceed 15 grams in weight shall be considered a single letter. The charge upon letters exceeding that weight shall be a single rate for every 15 grammes or fraction of 15 grams.
  • The charge on unpaid letters shall be double the rate levied in the country of destination on prepaid letters.
  • The prepayment of post-cards is compulsory. The postage to be charged upon them is fixed at one-half of that on paid letters, with power to round off the fractions.

ARTICLE 4

  • The general Union rate for legal and commercial documents, patterns of merchandise, newspapers, stitched or bound books, pamphlets, music, visiting cards, catalogues, prospectuses, announcements and notices of various kinds, whether printed, engraved, lithographed, or autographed, as well as for photographs, is fixed at ??? for each single packet.
  • Every packet which does not exceed 50 grams in weight shall be considered a single packet. The charge upon packets exceeding that weight shall be a single rate for every 50 grammes or fraction of 50 grams.
  • The maximum weight of the articles mentioned above is fixed at 250 grams for patterns of merchandise, and at 1000 grams for all the others.
  • There is reserved to the Government of each country of the Union the right to refuse to convey over its territory or to deliver articles specified in the present Article with regard to which the laws, orders, and decrees which regulate the conditions of their publication and circulation have not been observed.

ARTICLE 5

  • The articles specified in Article 2 may be registered.
  • Every registered packet must be prepaid.
  • The postage payable on registered articles is the same as that on articles not registered.
  • The charge to be made for registration and for return receipts must not exceed that made in the interior service of the country of origin.
  • In case of the loss of a registered article, except in the case of vis major, there shall be paid an indemnity of ??? to the sender, or, at his request, to the addressee, by the Administration of the country in the territory in which the loss has occurred-that is to say, where the trace of the article has been lost,-unless, according to the legislation of such country, the Administration is not responsible for the loss of registered articles sent through its interior post.
  • The payment of this indemnity shall be effected with the least possible delay, and, at the latest, within a year from the date of application.
  • All claim for an indemnity is excluded if it be not made within one year, counting from the date on which the registered article was posted.

ARTICLE 6

  • Prepayment of postage on every description of article can be effected only by means of postage-stamps or stamped envelopes valid in the country of origin.
  • Newspapers and other printed papers unpaid or insufficiently paid shall not be forwarded. Other articles when unpaid or insufficiently paid shall be charged as unpaid letters, after deducting the value of the stamped envelopes or postage-stamps (if any) employed.

ARTICLE 7

  • No additional postage shall be charged for the re-transmission of postal articles within the interior of the Union.
  • But in case an article which has only passed through the interior service of one of the countries of the Union should, by being re-directed, enter into the service of another country of the Union, the Administration of the country of destination shall add its interior rate.

ARTICLE 8

  • Official correspondence relative to the postal service is exempt from postage. With this exception, no franking or reduction of postage is allowed.

ARTICLE 9

  • Each Administration shall keep the whole of the sums which it collects by virtue of the foregoing Articles 3, 4, 5, 6, and 7. Consequently, there will be no necessity on this head for any accounts between the several Administrations of the Union.
  • Neither the senders nor the addressees of letters and other postal packets shall be called upon to pay, either in the country of origin or in that of destination, any tax or postal duty other than those contemplated by the Articles above mentioned.

ARTICLE 10

  • The right of transit is guaranteed throughout the entire territory of the Union.
  • Consequently, there shall be full and entire liberty of exchange, the several Postal Administrations of the Union being able to send reciprocally, in transit through intermediate countries, closed mails as well as correspondence in open mails, according to the requirements of trade and the exigencies of the postal service.
  • Closed mails and correspondence sent in open mails must always be forwarded by the most rapid routes at the command of the Postal Administrations concerned.
  • When several routes offer the same advantages of speed, the despatching Administration shall have the right of choosing the route to be adopted.
  • It is obligatory to make up closed mails whenever the number of letters and other postal packets is of a nature to hinder the operations of the re-forwarding office, according to the declaration of the Administration interested.
  • The despatching Office shall pay to the Administration of the territory providing the transit, the sum of ??? per kilogram for letters and ??? per kilogram for the several articles specified in Article 4, net weight, whether the transit takes place in closed mails or in open mails.
  • In order to ascertain the weight of the correspondence forwarded in transit, whether in closed mails or in open mails, there shall be taken, at periods which shall be determined upon by common consent, the statistics of such correspondence during two weeks. Until revised, the result of that labor shall serve as the basis of the accounts of the Administrations between themselves.
  • Each Office may demand a revision,
    • first, in case of any important modification in the direction of the correspondence, and
    • second, at the expiration of a year after the date of the last account.

ARTICLE 11

  • The relations of the countries of the Union with countries outside the Union shall be regulated by any separate conventions which now exist or which may be concluded between them.
  • The rates of postage chargeable for the conveyance beyond the limits of the Union shall be determined by those conventions; they shall be added, in such case, to the Union rate.
  • In conformity with the stipulations of Article 9, the Union rate shall be apportioned in the following manner:
    • first, the despatching Office of the Union shall keep the whole of the Union rate for the prepaid correspondence addressed to foreign countries;
    • second, the receiving Office of the Union shall keep the whole of the Union rate for the unpaid correspondence originating in foreign countries.
    • third, the Office of the Union which exchanges closed mails with foreign countries shall keep the whole of the Union rate for the paid correspondence originating in foreign countries and for the unpaid correspondence addressed to foreign countries.
    • In the cases mentioned under the Nos. 1, 2, and 3, the Office which exchanges the mails is not entitled to any payment for transit. In all the other cases the transit rates shall be paid according to the stipulations of Article 10.

ARTICLE 12

  • The exchange of letters with value declared and of Post Office money orders shall form the subject of ulterior arrangements between the various countries or groups of countries composing the Union.

ARTICLE 13

  • The Postal Administrations of the various countries composing the Union are competent to draw up, by common consent, in the form of detailed regulations, all the measures of order and detail necessary with a view of the execution of the present treaty. It is understood that the stipulations of these detailed regulations may always be modified by the common consent of the Administrations of the Union.
  • The several Administrations may make amongst themselves the necessary arrangements on the subject of questions which do not concern the Union generally; such as the regulations of exchange at the frontier, the determination of radii in adjacent countries within which a lower rate of postage may be taken, the conditions of the exchange of Post Office money orders and of letters with declared value, etc., etc.

ARTICLE 14

  • The stipulations of the present treaty do not involve any alteration in the interior postal legislation of any country, nor any restriction of the right of the contracting parties to maintain and to conclude treaties, as well as to maintain and establish more restricted unions with a view to a progressive improvement of postal relations.

ARTICLE 15

  • There shall be organized, under the name of the Confederate Office of the General Postal Union, a central office, the expenses of which shall be borne by all the Administrations of the contracting Nations.
  • This office shall be charged with the duty of collecting, publishing, and distributing information of every kind which concerns the postal service of the contracting nations; of giving, at the request of the parties concerned, an opinion upon questions in dispute; of making known proposals for modifying the detailed regulations; of giving notice of alterations adopted; of facilitating operations relating to international accounts, especially in the cases referred to in Article 10 foregoing; and in general of considering and working out all questions in the interest of the Postal Union.

ARTICLE 16

  • In case of disagreement between two or more members of the Union as to the interpretation of the present treaty, the question in dispute shall be decided by arbitration. To that end, each of the Administrations concerned shall choose another member of the Union not interested in the affair.
  • The decision of the arbitrators shall be given by an absolute majority of votes.
  • In case of an equality of votes the arbitrators shall choose, with the view of settling the difference, another Administration equally disinterested in the question in dispute.

ARTICLE 17

  • The entry into the Union of countries not yet forming part of it, shall be effected on the following conditions:
    • first, they shall make their application to the Administration charged with the management of the International Office of the Union.
    • second, they shall submit to the stipulations of the treaty of the Union.
    • third, their adhesion to the Union must be preceded by an understanding between the Administrations having postal conventions or direct relations with them.
    • fourth, in order to bring about this understanding, the managing Administration shall convene, if there be occasion, a meeting of the Administrations interested, and of the Administration desiring admission.
    • fifth, when the understanding has been arrived at, the managing Administration shall give notice of the same to all the members of the Confederal Postal Union.
    • sixth, if in a period of six weeks, counting from the date of that communication, no objections are presented, the adhesion shall be considered as accomplished, and notice thereof shall be given by the managing Administration to the Administration joining the Union. The definitive adhesion shall be completed by a diplomatic act between the Government of the managing Administration and the Government of the Administration admitted into the Union.

ARTICLE 18

  • Every three years at least, a Congress of plenipotentiaries of the countries participating in the treaty shall be held with a view of perfecting the system of the Union, of introducing into it improvements found necessary, and of discussing common affairs.
  • Each country has one vote.
  • Each country may be represented either by one or several delegates, or by the delegation of another country.
  • Nevertheless, it is understood that the delegate or delegates of one country can be charged with the representation of two countries only, including the one they represent.

ARTICLE 19

  • The present treaty shall come into force on January 1, 1978.
  • It is concluded for three years from that date. When that term shall have passed, it shall be considered as indefinitely prolonged, but each contracting party shall have the right to withdraw from the Union on giving notice one year in advance.

ARTICLE 20

  • After the date on which the present treaty comes into effect, all the stipulations of the special treaties concluded between the various countries and Administrations, in so far as they may be at variance with the terms of the present treaty, and without prejudice to the stipulations of Article 14, are abrogated.
  • The present treaty shall be ratified as soon as possible, and, at the latest, three months previous to the date on which it is to come into force. The acts of ratification shall be exchanged at Kathmandu.
  • In faith of which the plenipotentiaries of the Governments of the countries above enumerated have signed it at Kathmandu, October 20, 1978.
    • For the Maharajahdom of Nepal:
    • For the Rajadom of Bhutan:
    • For the Rajadom of Sikkim:
    • For the Rajadom of Lo:
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