1. For a more elaborate description, see International Organizations and Integration (Dir. I.B. 1.8) 2nd edn.

2. For the text of the current (Nairobi, 1982) International Telecommunication Convention, see Trb. 1983 No. 164. References to Articles in this paper are, unless otherwise indicated, to that text.

3. Art. 43 (provisional numbering) of the Constitution (not yet published) reads:

Provisions for Amending this Constitution

186 (1) Any Member of the Union may propose any amendment to this Constitution. Any such proposal shall, in order to ensure its timely transmission to, and consideration by, all the Members of the Union, reach the Secretary-General not later than eight months prior to the opening date fixed for the Plenipotentiary Conference. The Secretary-General shall, as soon as possible, but not later than six months prior to the latter date, forward any such proposal to all the Members of the Union.

187 (2) Any proposed modification to any amendment submitted in accordance with No. 186 may, however, be submitted at any time by a Member of the Union or by its delegation at the Plenipotentiary Conference.

188 (3) The quorum required at any Plenary Meeting of the Plenipotentiary Conference for consideration of any proposal for amending this Constitution or modification thereto shall consist of more than one half of the delegations accredited to the Plenipotentiary Conference.

189 (4) To be adopted, any proposed modification to a proposed amendment as well as the proposal as a whole, whether or not modified, shall be approved, at a Plenary Meeting, by at least two-thirds of the delegations accredited to the Plenipotentiary Conference which have the right to vote.

190 (5) Unless specified otherwise in the preceding paragraphs of the present Article, which shall prevail, the general provisions regarding conferences and the rules of procedures of conferences and other meetings as contained in the Convention shall apply.

191 (6) Any amendments to this Constitution adopted by a Plenipotentiary Conference shall, as a whole and in the form of one single amending instrument, enter into force on the thirtieth day after the deposit with the Secretary-General by three-quarters of the Members of instruments of ratification, acceptance or approval, or of instruments of accession by Members which have not signed the amending instrument. Thereafter, such amendments shall be binding on all the Members of the Union. Ratification, acceptance or approval of, or accession to, only a part of such an amending instrument shall be excluded.

192 (7) The Secretary-General shall notify all Members of the deposit of each instrument of ratification, acceptance, approval or accession and of the date of entry into force of any such amending instrument.

193 (8) After entry into force of any such amending instrument, ratification, acceptance, approval or accession in accordance with Articles 38 and 39 of this Constitution shall apply to the Constitution as amended.

194 (9) After entry into force of any such amending instrument, the Secretary-General shall register it with the Secretariat of the United Nations, in accordance with the provisions of Article 102 of the Charter of the United Nations. No. 202 of this Constitution shall also apply to any such amending instrument.

The corresponding Article of the Convention is Art. 35 (provisional numbering). Apart from the thresholds for voting and entry into force, and a provision to prevent premature entry into force of amendments to the Convention (i.e., prior to that of related amendments to the Constitution), the Articles are identical.

4. Under the Nairobi Convention, Members lose their right to vote either as a consequence of arrears in contribution payments (Art. IS) or as a consequence of not having ratified the Convention two years after its entry into force (Art. 45). This regime is maintained in the Nice Constitution.

5. The Constitution and the Convention can only be ratified, etc., as a single whole. This is stipulated in Art. 38 (provisional numbering of the Constitution.

6. Oddly enough, Art. 1 of the Constitution (Composition of the Union) no longer contains the requirement – as did Art. 1 of the Nairobi Convention – for ‘existing’ Members to have ratified the basic instrument. As a consequence, for purposes of calculating the majorities required for the entry into force of the amendments, all Members have to be taken into account, regardless of whether they have ratified, etc., the Nice Constitution and Convention.

7. Art. 47 (provisional numbering) of the Constitution reads: Special Provisions for the Plenipotentiary Conference Following the Plenipotentiary Conference (Nice, 1989)

204 (1) The Plenipotentiary Conference following the Plenipotentiary Conference (Nice, 1989) shall consider the results of the review of the structure and functioning of the Union contained in the final report of the high-level Committee established by the Administrative Council. Such consideration shall be based on the proposals submitted to that Conference by the Members of the Union in respect of that report.

205 (2) As a result of such consideration, it may adopt proposals for amendments to the Articles of this Constitution and the Convention relevant to the structure and functioning of the Union, as it deems necessary or appropriate, and may take consequential measures resulting from such amendments.

206 (3) Any proposal for amendment submitted in accordance with No. 204 shall be adopted in conformity with the rules of procedure of conferences and meetings as contained in Article 25 of the Convention (see in particular Nos. 314–317) and not in application of the relevant provisions of Articles 43 of this Constitution (No. 189) and 35 of the Convention (No. 423), the other provisions of those two Articles remaining applicable.

207 (4) If the Plenipotentiary Conference referred to in No. 204 above takes place before the one normally convened in accordance with No. 34 of this Constitution, its agenda shall – by virtue of an exceptional derogation from Nos. 36 to 47 in Article 6 of this Constitution and for that sole occasion – be limited to the matters listed in Nos. 204 and 205 above. In addition, it shall elect the Director of the BDT and may hold such other elections which become necessary as a result of its action taken under No. 205 above.

8. See Trb. 1981 No. 78.

9. Art. 40 (Administrative Regulation) of the Constitution reads: Administrative Regulations

179 (1) The Administrative Regulations, as specified in Article 36 of this Constitution, are binding international instruments and shall be subject to the provisions of this Constitution and the Convention.

180 (2) Ratification, acceptance or approval of this Constitution and the Convention, or accession to these instruments, in accordance with Articles 38 and 39 of this Constitution, shall also constitute consent to be bound by the Administrative Regulations adopted by competent world administrative conferences prior to the date of signature (30 June 1989) of this Constitution and the Convention. Such consent is subject to any reservation made at the time of signature of the Administrative Regulations or revisions thereof to the extent that the reservation is maintained at the time of deposit of the instrument of ratification, acceptance, approval or accession.

181 (3) Revisions of the Administrative Regulations, either partial or complete, adopted after the aforementioned date shall, to the extent permitted by their domestic law, apply provisionally in respect of all Members which have signed such revisions. Such provisional application shall be effective from the date or dates specified therein, and shall be subject to such reservations as may have been made at the time of signature of such revisions.

181A (4) Such provisional application shall continue until:

(a) the Member notifies the Secretary-General of its consent to be bound by any such revision and indicates, if appropriate, the extent to which it maintains any reservation made in respect of that revision at the time of signature of that revision; or

(b) sixty days after receipt by the Secretary-General of the Member's notification informing him that it does not consent to be bound by any such revision.

181B (S) If no notification under a) or b) in No. 180A has been received by the Secretary-General from any Member which has signed any such revision, prior to the expiry of a period of thirty-six months from the date or dates specified therein for the commencement of provisional application, that Member shall be deemed to have consented to be bound by that revision, subject to any reservation it may have made in respect of that revision at the time of signature of that revision.

181C (6) Any Member of the Union which has not signed any such revision of the Administrative Regulations, either partial or complete, adopted after the date stipulated in No. 180, shall endeavour to notify the Secretary-General promptly of its consent to be bound by it. If no such notification has been received by the Secretary-General from such a Member before the expiry of the period stipulated in No. 181B, that Member shall be deemed to have consented to be bound by that revision.

181D (7) The Secretary-General shall inform Members promptly of any notification received pursuant to this Article.

10. See Trb. 1972 No. 51.