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Constitution of ITU: Chapter V - Other Provisions Concerning the Functioning of the Union

ARTICLE 25 - World Conferences on International Telecommunications

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1 A world conference on international telecommunications may partially, or in exceptional cases, completely revise the International Telecommunication Regulations and may deal with any question of a worldwide character within its competence and related to its agenda.

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2 Decisions of world conferences on international telecommunications shall in all circumstances be in conformity with this Constitution and the Convention. When adopting resolutions and decisions, the conferences shall take into account the foreseeable financial implications and should avoid adopting resolutions and decisions which might give rise to expenditure in excess of the financial limits laid down by the Plenipotentiary Conference.

ARTICLE 26 - Coordination Committee

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1 The Coordination Committee shall consist of the Secretary-General, the Deputy Secretary-General and the Directors of the three Bureaux. It shall be presided over by the Secretary-General, and in his absence by the Deputy Secretary-General.

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2 The Coordination Committee shall act as an internal management team which advises and gives the Secretary-General practical assistance on all administrative, financial, information system and technical cooperation matters which do not fall under the exclusive competence of a particular Sector or of the General Secretariat and on external relations and public information. In its considerations, the Committee shall keep fully in view the provisions of this Constitution, the Convention, the decisions of the Council and the interests of the Union as a whole.

ARTICLE 27 - Elected Officials and Staff of the Union

150	1 1) In the performance of their duties, neither the elected officials nor the staff of the Union shall seek or accept instructions from any government or from any other authority outside the Union. They shall refrain from acting in any way which is incompatible with their status as international officials.
151　　 PP-98	2) Member States and Sector Members shall respect the exclusively international character of the duties of these elected officials and of the staff of the Union, and refrain from trying to influence them in the performance of their work.
152	3) No elected official or any member of the staff of the Union shall participate in any manner or have any financial interest whatsoever in any enterprise concerned with telecommunications, except as part of their duties. However, the term "financial interest" is not to be construed as applying to the continuation of retirement benefits accruing in respect of previous employment or service.
153　　 PP-98	4) In order to ensure the efficient operation of the Union, any Member State a national of which has been elected Secretary-General, Deputy Secretary-General or Director of a Bureau shall refrain, as far as possible, from recalling that national between two plenipotentiary conferences.
154	2 The paramount consideration in the recruitment of staff and in the determination of the conditions of service shall be the necessity of securing for the Union the highest standards of efficiency, competence and integrity. Due regard shall be paid to the importance of recruiting the staff on as wide a geographical basis as possible.

ARTICLE 28 - Finances of the Union

155	1 The expenses of the Union shall comprise the costs of:
156	a) the Council;
157	b) the General Secretariat and the Sectors of the Union;
158	c) Plenipotentiary Conferences and world conferences on international telecommunications.
159　　 PP-98	2 The expenses of the Union shall be met from:
159A　　 PP-98	a) the contributions of its Member States and Sector Members;
159B　　 PP-98	b) other revenues as identified in the Convention or in the Financial Regulations.
159C　　 PP-98	2　bis) Each Member State and Sector Member shall pay a sum equivalent to the number of units in the class of contribution it has chosen in accordance with Nos.　160 to 161I below.
159D　　 PP-98 PP-02	2　ter) Expenses incurred by the regional conferences referred to in No.　43 of this Constitution shall be borne:
159E PP-02	a) by all the Member States of the region concerned, in accordance with their class of contribution;
159F PP-02	b) by any Member States of other regions which have participated in such conferences, in accordance with their class of contribution;
159G PP-02	c) by authorized Sector Members and other authorized organizations which have participated in such conferences, in accordance with the provisions of the Convention.
160　　 PP-98	3 1) Member States and Sector Members shall be free to choose their class of contribution for defraying Union expenses.
161　　 PP-98	2) The choice by Member States shall be made at a plenipotentiary conference in accordance with the scale of classes of contribution and conditions contained in the Convention and with the procedures described below.
161A　　 PP-98	3) The choice by Sector Members shall be made in accordance with the scale of classes of contribution and conditions contained in the Convention and with the procedures described below.
161B　　 PP-98	3　bis) 1) At its session preceding the plenipotentiary conference, the Council shall fix the provisional amount of the contributory unit, on the basis of the draft financial plan for the corresponding period and total number of contributory units.
161C　　 PP-98 PP-06	2) The Secretary-General shall inform the Member States and Sector Members of the provisional amount of the contributory unit as determined under No.　161B above and invite the Member States to notify, no later than four weeks prior to the date set for the opening of the plenipotentiary conference, the class of contribution they have provisionally chosen.
161D　　 PP-98	3) The plenipotentiary conference shall, during its first week, determine the provisional upper limit of the amount of the contributory unit resulting from the steps taken by the Secretary-General in pursuance of Nos. 161B and 161C above, and taking account of any changes in class of contribution notified by Member States to the Secretary-General as well as classes of contribution remaining unchanged.
161E　　 PP-98 PP-02 PP-06	4) Bearing in mind the draft financial plan as revised, the plenipotentiary conference shall, as soon as possible, determine the definitive upper limit of the amount of the contributory unit and set the date, which shall be at the latest on Monday of the final week of the plenipotentiary conference, by which Member States, upon invitation by the Secretary-General, shall announce their definitive choice of class of contribution.
161F　　 PP-98	5) Member States which have failed to notify the Secretary-General of their decision by the date set by the plenipotentiary conference shall retain the class of contribution previously chosen.
161G　　 PP-98	6) The plenipotentiary conference shall then approve the definitive financial plan on the basis of the total number of contributory units corresponding to the definitive classes of contribution chosen by the Member States and classes of contribution of the Sector Members at the date on which the financial plan is approved.
161H　　 PP-98	3　ter) 1) The Secretary-General shall inform the Sector Members of the definitive upper limit of the amount of the contributory unit and invite them to notify, within three months from the closing date of the plenipotentiary conference, the class of contribution they have chosen.
161I　　 PP-98	2) Sector Members which have failed to notify the Secretary-General of their decision within this three-month period shall retain the class of contribution previously chosen.
162　　 PP-98	3) Amendments to the scale of classes of contribution adopted by a plenipotentiary conference shall apply for the selection of the class of contribution during the following plenipotentiary conference.
163　　 PP-94　　 PP-98	4) The class of contribution chosen by a Member State or a Sector Member is applicable as of the first biennial budget after a plenipotentiary conference.
164 PP-98		(SUP)
165　　 PP-98	5 When choosing its class of contribution, a Member State shall not reduce it by more than two classes of contribution and the Council shall indicate to it the manner in which the reduction shall be gradually implemented over the period between plenipotentiary conferences. However, under exceptional circumstances such as natural disasters necessitating international aid programmes, the Plenipotentiary Conference may authorize a greater reduction in the number of contributory units when so requested by a Member State which has established that it can no longer maintain its contribution at the class originally chosen.
165A　　 PP-98	5　bis) Under exceptional circumstances such as natural disasters necessitating international aid programmes, the Council may authorize a reduction in the number of contributory units when so requested by a Member State which has established that it can no longer maintain its contribution at the class originally chosen.
165B　　 PP-98	5　ter) Member States and Sector Members may at any time choose a class of contribution higher than the one already adopted by them.
166 and 167　 PP-98		(SUP)
168　　 PP-98	8 Member States and Sector Members shall pay in advance their annual contributory shares, calculated on the basis of the biennial budget approved by the Council as well as of any adjustment adopted by the Council.

169　　 PP-98	9 A Member State which is in arrears in its payments to the Union shall lose its right to vote as defined in Nos. 27 and 28 of this Constitution for so long as the amount of its arrears equals or exceeds the amount of the contribution due for the two preceding years.
170　　 PP-98	10 Specific provisions governing the financial contributions by Sector Members and by other international organizations are contained in the Convention.

ARTICLE 29 - Languages

171　　 PP-06	1 1) The official languages of the Union shall be Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian and Spanish.
172	2) In accordance with the relevant decisions of the Plenipotentiary Conference, these languages shall be used for drawing up and publishing documents and texts of the Union, in versions equivalent in form and content, as well as for reciprocal interpretation during conferences and meetings of the Union.
173	3) In case of discrepancy or dispute, the French text shall prevail.
174	2 When all participants in a conference or in a meeting so agree, discussions may be conducted in fewer languages than those mentioned above.

ARTICLE 30- Seat of the Union

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The seat of the Union shall be at Geneva.

ARTICLE 31 - Legal Capacity of the Union

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The Union shall enjoy in the territory of each of its Member States such legal capacity as may be necessary for the exercise of its functions and the fulfilment of its purposes.

ARTICLE 32 - PP-02 General Rules of Conferences, Assemblies and Meetings of the Union

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PP-02

1 The General Rules of conferences, assemblies and meetings of the Union adopted by the Plenipotentiary Conference shall apply to the preparation of conferences and assemblies and to the organization of the work and conduct of the discussions of conferences, assemblies and meetings of the Union, as well as to the election of Member States of the Council, of the Secretary-General, of the Deputy Secretary-General, of the Directors of the Bureaux of the Sectors and of the members of the Radio Regulations Board.

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2 Conferences, assemblies and the Council may adopt such rules as they consider to be essential in addition to those in Chapter II of the General Rules of conferences, assemblies and meetings of the Union. Such additional rules must, however, be compatible with this Constitution, the Convention and the aforesaid Chapter II; those adopted by conferences or assemblies shall be published as documents of the conference or assembly concerned.