Universal Postal Union: Constitution and Final Protocol; Convention and Final Protocol; Agreement Concerning Postal Parcels, and Final Protocol [1964] PITSE 2 (10 July 1964)

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UNIVERSAL POSTAL UNION:
CONSTITUTION, AND FINAL PROTOCOL;
CONVENTION, AND FINAL PROTOCOL;
AGREEMENT CONCERNING POSTAL PARCELS, AND FINAL PROTOCOL;

(Vienna: 10 July 1964)
ENTRY INTO FORCE: 1 JANUARY 1966
CONSTITUTION OF THE UNIVERSAL POSTAL UNION

WITH A VIEW TO developing communications between peoples by the efficient operation of the postal services, and to contributing to the attainment of the noble aims of international collaboration in the cultural, social and economic fields.

1. The Countries adopting this Constitution comprise, under the title of the Universal Postal Union, a single postal territory for the reciprocal exchange of letter post items. Freedom of transit is guaranteed throughout the entire territory of the Union.

2. The aim of the Union is to secure the organisation and improvement of the postal services and to promote in this sphere the development of international collaboration.

3. The Union takes part, as far as possible, in postal technical assistance sought by its Member Countries.

(a) Countries which have membership status at the date on which this Constitution comes into force.

(b) post offices set up by Member Countries in territories not included in the Union;

(c) territories which, without being members of the Union, are included in it because from the postal point of view they are dependent on Member Countries.

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 Detailed Regulations are applicable to such exceptional relations.

The franc adopted as the monetary unit in the Acts of the Union is the gold franc of 100 centimes weighing 10/31 of a gram and of a fineness of 0.900.

1. Member Countries, or their Postal Administrations if the legislation of those Countries so permits, may establish Restricted Unions and make Special Agreements concerning the international postal service, provided always that they do not introduce provisions less favourable to the public than those provided for by the Acts to which the Member Countries concerned are parties.

2. Restricted Unions may send observers to Congresses, Conferences and meetings of the Union, to the Executive Council and to the Consultative Committee for Postal Studies.

3. The Union may send observers to Congresses, Conferences and meetings of Restricted Unions.

The relations between the Union and the United Nations are governed by the Agreements whose texts are annexed to this Constitution.

In order to secure close cooperation in the international postal sphere, the Union may collaborate with international organisations having related interests and activities.

2. Any sovereign Country which is not a member of the United Nations may apply for admission as a Member Country of the Union.

3. Accession or application for admission to the Union entails a formal declaration of accession to the Constitution and to the obligatory Acts of the Union. It shall be addressed through diplomatic channels to the Government of the Swiss Confederation and by that Government to Member Countries.

4. A County which is not a member of the United Nations will 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 are considered as having abstained.

5. Accession or admission to membership shall be notified by the Government of the Swiss Confederation to the Governments of Member Countries. It shall take effect from the date of such notification.

1. Each Member Country may withdraw from the Union by notice of denunciation of the Constitution given through diplomatic channels to the Government of the Swiss Confederation and by that Government to the Governments of Member Countries.

2. Withdrawal from the Union becomes effective one year after the day on which the notice of denunciation provided for in SS1 is received by the Government of the Swiss Confederation

1. The organs of the Union are Congress, Administrative Conferences, the Executive Council, the Consultative Committee for Postal Studies, Special Committees and the International Bureau.

2. The permanent organs of the Union are the Executive Council, the Consultative Committee for Postal Studies and the International Bureau.

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.

Conferences entrusted with the examination of questions of an administrative nature may be convened at the request or with the consent of at least two-thirds of the Postal Administrations of Member Countries.

1. Between Congresses the Executive Council (EC) ensures the continuity of the work of the Union in accordance with the provisions of the Acts of the Union.

2. Members of the Executive Council carry out their functions in the name and in the interest of the Union.

The Consultative Committee for Postal Studies (CCPS) is entrusted with carrying out studies and giving opinions on technical, operational and economic questions concerning the postal service.

Special Committees may be entrusted by a Congress or by an Administrative Conference with the study of one or more specific questions.

A central office operating at the seat of the Union under the title of the International Bureau of the Universal Postal Union, directed by a Director General and placed under the general supervision of the Government of the Swiss Confederation, serves as an organ of liaison, information and consultation for Postal Administrations.

1. Each Congress shall fix the maximum amount which the ordinary expenditure of the Union may reach annually.

2. The maximum amount for ordinary expenditure referred to in SS1 may be exceeded if circumstances so require, provided that the relevant provisions of the General Regulations are observed.

3. The extraordinary expenses of the Union are those occasioned by the convening of a Congress, an Administrative Conference or a Special Committee as well as special tasks entrusted to the International Bureau.

4. The ordinary expenses of the Union, including where applicable the expenditure envisaged in SS2, together with the extraordinary expenses of the Union, shall be borne in common by Member Countries, which shall be divided by Congress for this purpose into a specific number of contribution classes.

5. In the case of accession or admission to the Union under Article 11, the Government of the Swiss Confederation shall fix, by agreement with the Government of the Country concerned, the contribution class into which the latter Country is to be placed for the purpose of apportioning the expenses of the Union.

1. The Constitution is the basic Act of the Union. It contains the organic rules of the Union.

2. The General Regulations embody those provisions which ensure the application of the Constitution and the working of the Union. They shall be binding on all Member Countries.

3. The Universal Postal Convention and its Detailed Regulations embody the rules applicable throughout the international postal service and the provisions concerning the letter post services. These Acts shall be binding on all Member Countries.

4. The Agreements of the Union, and their Detailed Regulations, regulate the services other than those of the letter post between those Member Countries which are parties to them. They shall be binding on those Countries only.

5. The Detailed Regulations, which contain the rules of application necessary for the implementation of the Convention and of the Agreements, shall be drawn up by the Postal Administrations of the Member Countries concerned.

6. The Final Protocols annexed to the Acts of the Union referred to in SSSS3, 4 and 5 contain the reservations to those Acts.

Application of the Acts of the Union to Territories for whose international relations a Member Country is responsible

1. Any Country may declare at any time that its acceptance of the Acts of the Union includes all the Territories for whose international relations it is responsible, or certain of them only.

(a) of the Country where Congress is held, if made at the time of signature of the Act or Acts in question;

3. Any Member Country may at any time address to the Government of the Swiss Confederation a notification of its intention to denounce the application of these Acts of the Union in respect of which it has made the declaration provided for in SS1. Such notification shall take effect one year after the date of its receipt by the Government of the Swiss Confederation.

4. The declarations and notifications provided for in SSSS1 and 3 shall be communicated to Member Countries by the Government of the Country which has received them.

5. SSSS1 to 4 shall not apply to Territories having the status of a member of the Union and for whose international relations a Member Country is responsible.

The provisions of the Acts of the Union do not derogate from the legislation of any Member Country in respect of anything which is not expressly provided for by those Acts.

1. Signature of the Acts of the Union by Plenipotentiaries shall take place at the end of Congress

2. The Constitution shall be ratified as soon as possible by the signatory Countries.

3. Approval of the Acts of the Union other than the Constitution is governed by the constitutional regulations of each signatory Country.

4. When a Country does not ratify the Constitution or does not approve the other Acts which it has signed, the Constitution and the other Acts shall be no less valid for the other Countries that have ratified or approved them.

Notification of ratifications and other forms of approval of the Acts of the Union

The instruments of ratification of the Constitution and, where appropriate, of approval of the other Acts of the Union shall be addressed as soon as possible to the Government of the Swiss Confederation and by that Government to the Governments of Member Countries.

1. Member Countries may, at any time, accede to one or more of the Agreements provided for in Article 22, SS4.

2. Accession of Member Countries to the Agreements is notified in accordance with Article 11, SS3.

Each Member Country may cease being a party to one or more of the Agreements, under the conditions laid down in Article 12.

1. The Postal Administration of a Member Country has the right to present, either to Congress or between Congresses, proposals concerning the Acts of the Union to which its Country is a party.

2. However, proposals concerning the Constitution and the General Regulations may be submitted only to Congress.

1. To be adopted, proposals submitted to Congress and relating to this Constitution must be approved by at least two-thirds of the Member Countries of the Union.

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 26.

1. The Convention, the General Regulations and the Agreements define the conditions to be fulfilled for the approval of proposals which concern them.

2. The Acts referred to in SS1 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.

In the event of a dispute between two or more Postal Administrations of Member Countries 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 arbitration.

This Constitution shall come into operation on the 1 January 1966 and shall remain in force for an indefinite period.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the Plenipotentiaries of the Governments of the Contracting Countries 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 Government of the Country in which Congress is held.

At the moment of proceeding to signature of the Constitution of the Universal Postal Union concluded this day, THE UNDERSIGNED PLENIPOTENTIARIES HAVE AGREED THE FOLLOWING:

Member Countries of the Union which have not signed the Constitution may accede to it at any time. Instruments of accession shall be addressed 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 Countries of the Union.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the undermentioned Plenipotentiaries have drawn up this Protocol, which shall have the same force and the same validity as if its provisions were inserted in the text of the Constitution itself, and they have signed it 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 Government of the Country in which Congress is held.

THE UNDERSIGNED, PLENIPOTENTIARIES OF THE GOVERNMENTS OF MEMBER-COUNTRIES OF THE UNION, having regard to Article 22, SS3, of the Constitution of the Universal Postal Union, have drawn up by common consent in this Convention the rules applicable in common throughout the international postal service and the provisions concerning the letter post services.

PART I - RULES APPLICABLE IN COMMON THROUGHOUT THE INTERNATIONAL POSTAL SERVICE

1. Freedom of transit, the principle of which is set forth in Article 1 of the Constitution, carries with it the obligation for each Postal Administration to forward always by the quickest routes which it uses for its own items, closed mails and à découvert letter post items which are passed to it by another Administration. This obligation applies equally to air-mail correspondence, whether or not the intermediate Postal Administrations take part in reforwarding it.

2. Member-Countries which do not participate in the exchange of letters containing perishable biological substances or radioactive substances have the option of not admitting these items in transit à découvert through their territory. The same applies to the items referred to in Article 28, SS5.

3. Member-Countries not providing the insured letters and boxes service or not accepting responsibility for insured items in respect of carriage by their sea or air services cannot, however, refuse transit of such items in closed mails through their territory or conveyance of them by their sea or air services; but those Countries' responsibility is limited to that laid down for registered items.

4. Freedom of transit for postal parcels to be forwarded by land and sea routes is limited to the territory of the Countries taking part in this service.

5. Freedom of transit for air parcels is guaranteed through the entire territory of the Union. Nevertheless, Member-Countries which are not parties to the Agreement concerning Postal Parcels cannot be required to forward air parcels by surface.

6. Member-Countries which are parties to the Agreement concerning Postal Parcels are bound to provide transit for insured postal parcels despatched in closed mails, even if those Countries do not themselves admit such items or do not accept responsibility for them in respect of carriage by their sea or air services, in which case their responsibility is limited to that laid down for uninsured parcels of the same weight.

When a Member-Country fails to observe the provisions of Article 1 of the Constitution and of Article 1 of the Convention regarding freedom of transit, Postal Administrations of other Member-Countries are at liberty to discontinue their postal service with that Country. They must give prior notice of this step to the Administrations concerned by telegram.

When, owing to exceptional circumstances, a Postal Administration finds itself obliged to suspend the operation of its services temporarily, either wholly or in part, it is bound to notify the fact immediately, if need be by telegram, to the Administration or Administrations concerned.

A postal item is the property of the sender so long as it has not been delivered to the entitled person, except when the item has been seized in pursuance of the legislation of the Country of destination.

1. The charges for the various international postal services are fixed by the Convention and the Agreements.

2. No postal charge of any kind may be imposed other than those which are provided for in the Convention and Agreements.

In each Member-Country, the charges are fixed on the basis of the closest possible equivalent of the value of the gold franc in the currency of that Country.

Cases in which exemption from postal charges applies are expressly laid down by the Convention, the Agreements and the Final Protocols of these Acts.

Exemption from Postal Charges of items which concern prisoners of War and Civilian Internees

1. Subject to the provisions of Article 54, SS2, letter post items, insured letters and boxes, postal parcels and postal money orders addressed to or sent by prisoners of war, either direct or through the Information Bureaux and the Central Prisoner of War Information Agency provided for in Articles 122 and 123 respectively of the Geneva Convention of 12 August 1949 relative to the treatment of prisoners of war, are exempted from all postal charges. Belligerents apprehended and interned in a neutral Country are classed with prisoners of war properly so-called so far as the application of the foregoing provisions is concerned.

2. SS1 applies also to letter post items, insured letters and boxes, postal parcels and postal money orders originating in other Countries and addressed to or sent by civilian internees as defined by the Geneva Convention of 12 August 1949 relative to the protection of civilian persons in time of war, either direct or through the Information Bureaux and the Central Information Agency prescribed in Articles 136 and 140 respectively of that Convention.

3. The national Information Bureaux and the Central Information Agencies mentioned above also enjoy exemption from postal charges in respect of letter post items, insured letters and boxes, postal parcels and postal money orders which concern the persons referred to in SS1 and SS2, which they send or receive, either direct or as intermediaries, under the conditions laid down in those paragraphs.

4. Parcels are admitted free of postage up to a weight of 5 kgs. The weight limit is increased to 10 kgs. in the case of parcels of which the contents cannot be split up and of parcels addressed to a camp or the prisoners' representatives there ("hommes de confiance") for distribution to the prisoners.

Subject to the provisions of Article 54, SS2, literature for the blind is exempted from postage as well as the special fees for registration, advice of delivery, express, enquiry and cash on delivery.

Postage stamps for denoting payment of postage are issued by Postal Administrations only.

1. Forms for the use of Administrations in their relations with one another should be drawn up in French, with or without interlinear translation, unless the Administrations concerned arrange otherwise by direct agreement.

2. Forms for the use of the public should bear an interlinear translation in French when they are not printed in that language.

3. The texts, colours and dimensions of the forms which are the subject of SSSS1 and 2 should be as prescribed in the Detailed Regulations of the Convention and of the Agreements.

1. Each Postal Administration may issue, to persons who apply for them, postal identity cards valid as proof of identity for postal transactions effected in the Member-Countries which have not notified their refusal to admit them.

2. The Administration which issues a card is authorised to levy, on this account, a charge which must not exceed 1 franc.

3. Administrations are relieved of all responsibility when it is established that the delivery of a postal item or the payment of a money order was effected on the presentation of a genuine card. Moreover, they are not responsible for consequences arising from the loss, theft or fraudulent use of a genuine card.

4. A card is valid for a period of five years from the date of issue. Nevertheless, it ceases to be valid when the appearance of the holder is altered to such an extent that it no longer corresponds to the photograph or to the description.

Settlements between Postal Administrations of international accounts arising from postal traffic may be regarded as current transactions and effected in accordance with the current international obligations of the Member-Countries concerned, when there are agreements to this effect. In the absence of such agreements, accounts are settled in accordance with the provisions of the Detailed Regulations.

The Governments of Member-Countries undertake to adopt, or to propose to the legislatures of their Countries, the necessary measures:

(a) for punishing the counterfeiting of postage stamps, even if withdrawn from circulation, of international reply coupons and of postal identity cards;

(i) of counterfeit postage stamps (even if withdrawn from circulation) or used postage stamps, as well as of counterfeit or used impressions of franking machines or printing presses;

(d) for prohibiting and suppressing all fraudulent operations of manufacture and of putting into circulation of adhesive stamps and stamped impressions in use in the postal service, counterfeited or imitated in such a manner that they could be mistaken for the adhesive stamps and stamped impressions emitted by the Postal Administration of one of the Member Countries;

(e) for preventing and, if necessary, for punishing the insertion in postal items of opium, morphine, cocaine or other narcotics as well as explosive or easily inflammable substances, where their insertion has not been expressly authorised by the Convention and the Agreements.

Letter post items include letters, single and reply-paid postcards, printed papers, literature for the blind, samples of merchandise, small packets and "Phonopost" items.

1. The postage rates for the conveyance of letter post items throughout the entire extent of the Union, and also the limits of weight and size, are fixed in accordance with the table below. Except in the cases provided for in Article 17, SS3, these charges cover delivery of the items to the place of address to the extent that a delivery service is organised in the Country of destination:

2. The limits of weight and size fixed in SS1 do not apply to letter post items sent on postal service, which are the subject of Article 23. Printed papers for the same addressee at the same address, when enclosed in one or more special bags, cease to be subject to the limits of weight fixed in SS1 for this category of items.

3. The charge applicable to printed papers for the same addressee at the same address enclosed in a special bag is calculated by weight steps of 50 grams to the extent of the total weight of the bag. Each Administration has the option of conceding a reduction of the charge, up to 10%, for printed papers sent by special bags.

4. Perishable biological substances packed and labelled in accordance with the conditions stipulated in the Detailed Regulations are subject to the ordinary tariff for letters and may be exchanged only between officially recognised qualified laboratories. This exchange is, moreover, restricted to those Member-Countries whose Postal Administrations have declared their willingness to admit such items, whether reciprocally or in one direction only.

5. Radioactive materials are admitted for conveyance by post under the conditions laid down by the Detailed Regulations: they are subject to the ordinary tariff for letters and may be posted only by duly authorised senders. Such items are forwarded by the quickest route, normally by air. This exchange is, moreover, restricted to those Member-Countries whose Postal Administrations have declared their willingness to admit such items, whether reciprocally or in one direction only.

6. Each Postal Administration has the option of conceding a reduction, which may not exceed 50 percent of the ordinary tariff for printed papers, for newspapers and periodicals published in its Country, while reserving the right to restrict this reduction to newspapers and periodicals which fulfil the conditions required for transmission at the tariff for newspapers in its internal service. Commercial printed papers such as catalogues, prospectuses, price lists, etc, are excluded from this reduction, no matter how regularly they are issued; the same applies to advertisements printed on sheets annexed to newspapers and periodicals.

7. Administrations may likewise concede the same reduction for books and pamphlets, for sheets of music and for maps, provided they contain no publicity matter or advertisement other than that appearing on the cover or the fly leaves.

8. Items other than registered letters in a closed envelope may not contain coin, bank notes, currency notes or securities of any kind payable to bearer, platinum, gold or silver, manufactured or not, precious stones, jewels and other valuable articles.

9. Administrations of Countries of origin and of destination have the option of dealing, according to their legislation, with letters containing documents having the character of current and personal correspondence exchanged between persons other than the sender and the addressee or persons living with them.

10. Letters, printed papers, literature for the blind, samples of merchandise and small packets may not contain any card or reply envelope with postage denoted by postage stamps or franking impressions of the country of origin of the item.

11. Except as provided for in the Detailed Regulations, printed papers, literature for the blind, samples of merchandise and small packets:

(b) must not bear any inscription or contain any document having the character of

(c) must not contain any postage stamp or form of prepayment, whether cancelled or not, or any paper representing a monetary value.

12. The "Phonopost" items service is restricted to those Member-Countries whose Postal Administrations have announced their willingness to admit such items reciprocally or in the inward direction only.

13. The combining in one item of articles of different categories is authorised under the conditions laid down in the Detailed Regulations.

14. Apart from the exceptions allowed by the Convention and its Detailed Regulations, items not fulfilling the conditions laid down in this Article and the Detailed Regulations are not forwarded. Items which have been wrongly admitted are due to be returned to the Administration of origin. Nevertheless, the Administration of destination is authorised to deliver them to the addressees. In that event it applies to them, as necessary, the charges prescribed for the category of the letter post to which they belong by reason of their contents, weight or size. Items of which the weight exceeds the maximum limits laid down in SS1 may be charged according to their actual weight.

1. Administrations are authorised to collect from the sender an additional charge, according to the provisions of their legislation, on items handed over for despatch after the latest time of posting.

2. Items addressed poste restante may be subjected by Administrations of Countries of destination to the special charge, if any, prescribed by their legislation for items of the same kind in their internal service.

3. Administrations of Countries of destination are authorised to levy a special charge not exceeding 60 centimes on each small packet delivered to the addressee. This charge may be increased by 30 centimes, at most, when the item is delivered to the place of address.

The Administration of destination is authorised to collect, according to the provisions of its legislation, a storage fee for printed papers, small packets and "Phonopost" items weighing more than 500 grams of which the addressee has not taken delivery within the period during which they are held at his disposal free of charge.

1. As a general rule, items mentioned in Article 15, with the exception of those which are dealt with in Articles 8, 9 and 23, are to be fully prepaid by the sender.

2. Unpaid or underpaid items other than letters and single postcards are not forwarded, nor are reply-paid postcards of which the two halves are not fully prepaid at the time of posting.

3. When unpaid or underpaid letters or single postcards are posted in great number, the Administration of the Country of origin is at liberty to return them to the sender

1. Payment of postage is denoted either by means of postage stamps printed on or affixed to the items and valid in the Country of origin, or by means of impressions of franking machines officially adopted and working under the immediate control of the Postal Administration, by means of impressions made by a printing press or other process when such a system is authorised by the regulations of the Administration of origin.

2. Payment of postage for printed papers for the same addressee at the same address which are enclosed in a special bag is denoted by one of the methods referred to in SS1 and the total amount shown on the label outside the bag.

3. The following are considered as duly paid: reply postcards bearing postage stamps or franking impressions, printed, affixed or applied, of the Country of issue of the cards, items properly paid for their first transmission and on which the supplementary charge has been paid before their redirection, and also newspapers or packets of newspapers and periodicals which bear on the address side the indication "Abonnement-poste" or "Abonnement direct" and which are sent under the Agreement concerning subscriptions to Newspapers and Periodicals. The inscription "Abonnement-poste" or "Abonnement direct" is followed by the indication "Taxe perçue" (T.P.) or "Port payé" (P.P.).

1. Items posted on board ship during the stay at the two terminal points of the voyage or at any intermediate port of call must be prepaid by means of postage stamps and according to the tariff of the Country in whose waters the ship is lying.

2. If the posting on board takes place on the high seas, items may be prepaid, in the absence of special agreement between the Administrations concerned, by means of the postage stamps and according to the tariff of the Country to which the ship belongs or depends.

1. Apart from the exceptions laid down in Article 36, SS7, for registered items and in Article 144, SSSS3, 4 and 5, of the Detailed Regulations for certain classes of redirected items, unpaid or underpaid letters and single postcards are liable to a charge, payable by the addressee or, in the case of undeliverable items, by the sender: the charge is fixed at double the amount of the deficient postage, multiplied by the ratio between the charge adopted for letters at the first weight step by the Country of delivery and the corresponding charge adopted by the Country of origin, provided that the charge to be collected is not less than 10 centimes.

2. The same treatment may be applied in similar circumstances to other letter post items which have been incorrectly forwarded to the Country of destination.

Exemption from postal charges accorded to Postal Administrations, their offices and the International Bureau

Subject to the provisions of Article 54, SS4, letter post items relating to the postal service are exempted from all postal charges if exchanged between the following:

2. Their selling price is fixed by the Administrations concerned, but it may not be less than 40 centimes or the equivalent in the currency of the Country of sale.

3. Each reply coupon is exchangeable in any Member-Country for a postage stamp or stamps representing the postage prepayable on an unregistered single-rate letter for abroad from that Country. On presentation of a sufficient number of reply coupons Administrations are required to supply the postage stamps necessary for prepaying an unregistered letter weighing not more than 20 grams for despatch by air.

4. The Administration of a Member-Country may, however, reserve the right to require the reply coupons and the items to be prepaid by the exchange of those reply coupons to be presented at the same time.

1. At the senders' request, letter post items are sent out for delivery to the place of address by special messenger immediately after arrival, in Countries where the Administration agrees to undertake the service.

2. These items, styled "express", are subject, in addition to the ordinary postage, to a special charge which may not be less than the amount of postage prepayable on an unregistered single-rate letter and not more than 80 centimes or the amount of the charge applied in the internal service of the Country of origin if this is higher. This charge is to be fully paid in advance.

3. The special charge envisaged in SS2 can be validly paid for the express delivery of the reply half of a reply-paid postcard only by the sender of that half.

4. When the address of the addressee is situated outside the local delivery area of the office of destination, express delivery may give rise to the collection by the Administration of destination of an additional charge not greater than that fixed for items of the same kind in the internal service. Express delivery is not, however, obligatory in this case.

5. Express items on which the total amount of the charges payable in advance has not been completely paid are delivered in the ordinary way unless they have been treated as express by the office of origin. In the latter event they are charged in accordance with Article 22.

6. Administrations are at liberty to confine themselves to making only one attempt at express delivery. If that attempt fails, the item may be treated as an ordinary item.

7. If the regulations of the Administration of destination permit, addressees may ask the delivery office to deliver to them by express immediately on arrival any registered or other items which come to hand for them. In that case the Administration of destination is authorised to collect, at the time of delivery, the charge that applies in its internal service.

1. The sender of a letter post item may have it withdrawn from the post, or have its address altered, so long as the item:

(b) has not been confiscated or destroyed by the competent authorities because of infringement of Article 28,

2. If its legislation permits, each Administration is bound to accept requests for withdrawal from the post or alteration of the address in respect of any letter post item posted in the service of other Administrations.

3. The request to be made to this effect is forwarded by post or by telegraph at the expense of the sender who is due to pay, for each request, a charge not exceeding 60 centimes. In addition the sender is required to pay:

(a) the registration fee and, if appropriate, the corresponding air-mail surcharge, if the request has to be forwarded by post;

(b) the corresponding telegraph charge, if the request has to be forwarded by telegraph.

4. If the sender wishes to be informed by air or by telegraph of the action taken by the office of destination following his request for withdrawal from the post or alteration of the address, he is required to pay for this purpose the relative air-mail surcharge or telegraph charge.

5. The charges or surcharges prescribed in SS3 are levied only once in respect of each request for withdrawal from the post or alteration of address concerning several items posted at the same time, at the same office, by the same sender to the same addressee.

6. A request for simple correction of address (without alteration of the name or status of the addressee) may be addressed direct to the office of destination by the sender, that is to say, without compliance with the formalities and without payment of the charges prescribed in SS3.

7. The return to origin of an item or its redirection to the new destination following a request for withdrawal from the post or alteration of address takes place by air when the sender undertakes to pay the corresponding air-mail surcharge.

1. If an addressee changes his address, letter post items are reforwarded to him forthwith unless the sender has forbidden redirection, by means of a note on the address side in a language known in the Country of destination. Nevertheless, reforwarding from one Country to another is effected only if the items satisfy the conditions required for the further conveyance. In the case of letter post items which are to be re-directed or returned by air at the request of the sender or the addressee, Articles 62, SSSS2 to 4, of the Convention and 183 of the Detailed Regulations apply by analogy.

2. Each Administration has the option of fixing a redirection period in accordance with that in force in its internal service.

3. Administrations, which collect a fee for requests for redirection in their internal services are authorised to collect this same fee in the International Service.

5. The period of retention for items held at the disposal of the addressees or addressed poste restante is fixed by the regulations of the Administration of destination. As a general rule, however, this period must not exceed one month, except in particular cases when the Administration of destination considers it necessary to prolong it up to a maximum of two months. Return to the Country of origin must be effected within a shorter period if the sender has requested it by a note on the address side in a language known in the Country of destination.

6. Postcards which do not bear the address of the sender are not returned. Moreover the return to origin of undeliverable printed papers is not obligatory, unless the sender has asked for their return by means of a note on the item in a language known in the Country of destination. Books and registered printed papers must always be returned.

7. Except as provided in the Detailed Regulations, the redirection of letter post items from Country to Country or their return to the Country of origin does not give rise to the collection of any supplementary charge.

8. Letter post items which are redirected or returned to origin as undeliverable items are delivered to the addressees or senders against payment of the charges raised on departure, on arrival, or in course of transmission due to redirection alter the first transmission, without prejudice to the payment of customs duty or other special charges which the Country of destination does not cancel.

9. In the event of redirection to another Country or of non-delivery, the "poste restante" fee, the customs clearance fee, the storage fee, the commission fee, the additional express charge and the special fee for delivery of small packets to the addressees are cancelled.

(a) articles which, by their nature or their packing, may expose officials to danger, or soil or damage letter post items (see also (f) below);

(b) articles subject to customs duty (apart from the exceptions mentioned in Article 29) and samples of merchandise sent in quantity with the intention of avoiding payment of this duty;

(d) articles of which the importation or circulation is prohibited in the Country of destination;

(ii) parasites and destroyers of noxious insects intended for the control of those insects and exchanged between officially recognised institutions;

(f) explosive, inflammable or other dangerous substances: nevertheless the perishable biological substances and radioactive substances mentioned in Article 16, SSSS4 and 5, do not come within this prohibition;

2. Items containing articles mentioned in SS1 which have been wrongly admitted to the post are dealt with in accordance with the legislation of the Country of the Administration establishing their presence.

3. Nevertheless, items which contain articles referred to in SS1(c), (f) and (g) are in no circumstances forwarded to their destination, delivered to the addressees or returned to origin.

4. In cases where items wrongly admitted to the post are neither returned to origin nor sent on to the addressee, the Administration of origin must be informed exactly how they have been dealt with.

5. Moreover, every Member-Country reserves the right to deny conveyance in transit à découvert over its territory to letter post items, other than letters and postcards, which do not satisfy the legal requirements governing the conditions of their publication or circulation in that Country. Such items should be returned to the Administration of origin.

1. Printed papers, small packets and "Phonopost" items subject to customs duty are admitted.

2. The same applies to letters containing articles subject to customs duty where the Country of destination has given its consent. Nevertheless, each Postal Administration has the right to restrict to the registered letter service letters containing articles subject to customs duty.

3. Consignments of serums and vaccines and also of medicines urgently required and difficult to obtain are admitted in every case.

The Postal Administration of the Country of destination is authorised to submit to customs control, according to its legislation, the items mentioned in Article 29 and, if necessary, to open them officially.

Items submitted to customs control in the Country of destination may be subjected on this account to a customs clearance fee not exceeding 60 centimes per item, as a postal charge, when they are found to be liable to customs duty. The amount of this fee may be increased to 1.50 Franc for the items mentioned in Article 16, SS2, 2nd sentence, which exceed the weight limits prescribed in SS1 of the same article.

Postal Administrations are authorised to collect from the addressees of items the customs duty and all other non-postal charges which may be due.

1. In the service between those Member-Countries whose Postal Administrations have notified their agreement to that effect senders may, by means of a previous declaration at the office of origin, undertake to pay the whole of the postal and other charges to which the items are subject on delivery. So long as an item has not been delivered to the addressee, the sender may ask after posting, on payment of a charge not exceeding 60 centimes, that the item be delivered free of postal and other charges. If the request is to be forwarded by air or by telegraph, the sender must pay in addition the appropriate air-mail surcharge or telegraph charge.

2. In the cases provided for in SS1, senders must undertake to pay the amounts which may be claimed by the office of destination and, if necessary, pay a sufficient deposit.

3. The Administration of destination is authorised to collect a commission fee not exceeding 60 centimes per item. This fee is independent of that prescribed in Article 31.

4. Every Administration has the right to restrict the service of delivery free of postal and other charges to registered items.

Postal Administrations undertake to use their good offices with the appropriate services in their Country with a view to the cancellation of the customs duty and other non-postal charges on items returned to origin, destroyed because of complete spoiling of the contents or redirected to a third Country.

1. Enquiries are entertained within a period of a year from the day after that on which the item was posted.

2. Enquiries initiated by an Administration are in order and must be dealt with, provided only that they reach the Administration concerned within fifteen months from the date of posting of the items under enquiry. Each Administration is bound to deal with requests for information as early as possible.

3. Each Administration is bound to accept enquiries and requests for information relating to any item posted in the service of another Administration.

4. Unless the sender has already paid the special fee for an advice of delivery, each enquiry or request for information may be made subject to payment of a fee not exceeding 60 centimes. Enquiries and requests for information are forwarded officially, and always by the quickest available means (air or surface). If a request is made for transmission by telegraph, the cost of the telegram and, where appropriate, of the reply is collected in addition to the enquiry fee.

5. If the enquiry or request for information relates to several items posted at the same time at the same office by the same sender and addressed to the same addressee, only one fee is levied. However, in the case of registered items which were, at the sender's request, due to be forwarded by different routes, a separate fee is levied for each of the routes used.

6. If the enquiry or request for information has been occasioned by a service error, the fee collected for it is refunded.

1. The letter post items specified in Article 15 may be sent as registered items.

2. The charge on every registered item is due to be paid in advance. It is made up of:

3. In the case of printed papers addressed to the same addressee and for the same address which are enclosed in one or more special bags, Administrations may collect a bulk charge not exceeding 3 Francs per bag instead of the unit charge not exceeding 60 centimes laid down in SS2(b).

4. The fixed registration fee in respect of the reply half of a reply-paid postcard can be validly paid only by the sender of that half.

5. A receipt should be handed over free of charge to the sender of a registered item at the time of posting.

6. Postal Administrations of Countries prepared to cover risks resulting from causes beyond control are authorised to levy a special charge not exceeding 40 centimes for each registered item.

7. Unpaid or underpaid registered items which have been incorrectly forwarded to the Country of destination are liable to a charge, payable by the addressee or, in the case of undeliverable items, by the sender, as provided for in Article 22, SS1, but calculated on the basis of the single amount of the deficient postage.

1. The sender of a registered item may apply for an advice of delivery on payment at the time of posting of a fixed fee not exceeding 40 centimes. This advice is sent to him by air if he pays, in addition to the fixed fee mentioned, an additional charge not exceeding the air surcharge corresponding to the weight of the form.

2. The advice of delivery may be applied for after the posting of an item, within a period of one year and under the conditions laid down in Article 35. Nevertheless the corresponding air surcharge may be charged when the sender has requested that the forwarding of the request and the return of the advice of delivery be effected by air.

3. When the sender enquires about an advice of delivery which he has not received within a normal period, neither a second advice of delivery fee nor the fee prescribed in Article 35 for enquiries and requests for information is charged.

1. In the service between those Administrations which have given their consent, registered items which are accompanied by an advice of delivery are, at the sender's request, delivered to the addressee in person; in such cases, the sender pays a special fee of 20 centimes or the fee charged in the Country of origin for a request for delivery to the addressee in person.

1. Postal Administrations are answerable only for the loss of registered items. Their responsibility extends as much to items conveyed à découvert as to those which are forwarded in closed mails.

2. The sender is entitled on this account to an indemnity the amount of which is fixed at 25 Francs per item; this amount may be raised to 125 Francs for each special bag of printed papers such as is mentioned in Article 16, SSSS2 and 3.

1. Postal Administrations cease to be responsible for registered items which they have delivered according either to the conditions laid down for items of the same kind in their regulations or to those set out in Article 12, SS3.

(a) in circumstances beyond control. The Administration in whose service the loss occurs is due to decide, in the light of the legislation of its Country, whether the loss is due to circumstances attributable to a cause beyond control: these circumstances are notified to the Administration of the Country of origin if the latter Administration so requests. Nevertheless, responsibility holds good in the case of the Administration of the despatching Country if it has undertaken to cover risks from causes beyond control (Article 36, SS6);

(b) when they cannot account for items owing to the destruction of official records through a cause beyond control, provided that proof of their responsibility has not been otherwise established;

(c) where the contents of the items in question fall within the prohibitions specified in Articles 16, SSSS8 and 11(c), and 28, SS1, insofar as these items have been confiscated or destroyed by the competent authority because of their contents;

(d) when the sender has made no enquiry within the period of one year prescribed in Article 35;

(ii) for registered items seized under the legislation of the Country of destination.

3. Postal Administrations do not assume any responsibility on account of customs declarations in whatever form these are made or of decisions taken by the customs services during the examination of letter post items submitted to customs control.

1. The sender of a letter post item is responsible, within the same limits as Administrations themselves, for any damage caused to other postal items as a result of the despatch of articles not proper to be admitted for conveyance or of failure to observe the conditions of acceptance, provided there has been no fault or negligence on the part of Administrations or carriers.

2. The acceptance by the office of posting of such an item does not relieve the sender of his responsibility.

3. Where appropriate, it is for the Administration of origin to take action against the sender.

1. Until the contrary is proved, responsibility for the loss of a registered item rests with the Postal Administration which, having received it without comment and being furnished with all the prescribed means of enquiry, cannot prove either delivery to the addressee or, where appropriate, regular transfer to another Administration.

2. Until the contrary is proved and subject to SS3, an intermediate Administration or Administration of destination is relieved of all responsibility:

(a) when it has observed the provisions of Article 3 of the Convention and Articles 157, SS5, and 158, SS4, of the Detailed Regulations;

(b) when it can prove that it was not informed of the enquiry until after the destruction of the official records relating to the item in question, the period of retention prescribed in Article 108 of the Detailed Regulations having expired: this reservation does not prejudice the rights of the claimant.

3. If, however, the loss occurs in course of conveyance and it is impossible to establish in which Country's territory or service the loss took place, the Administrations concerned bear the loss equally.

4. When a registered item has been lost in circumstances beyond control, the Administration in whose territory or service the loss occurred is not responsible to the despatching Administration unless the two Countries undertake to cover risks resulting from causes beyond control.

5. The customs duty and other non-postal charges of which it has not been possible to secure cancellation are borne by the Administrations responsible for the loss.

6. An Administration which has paid the indemnity takes over the rights, up to the amount of the indemnity, of the person who has received it in any action which may be taken against the addressee, the sender or third parties.

1. Subject to the right to make a claim on the Administration which is responsible, the obligation to pay the indemnity falls either on the Administration of origin or, in the case mentioned in Article 39, SS3, on the Administration of destination.

2. This payment must be made as soon as possible and, at the latest, within a period of six months from the day following the date of the enquiry.

3. When the Administration which would be due to pay does not undertake to cover risks resulting from causes beyond control and the question whether the loss of the item is due to such causes has not been decided by the time that the period laid down in SS2 expires, it may, exceptionally, postpone settlement of the indemnity beyond this period.

4. The Administration of origin or of destination, as the case may be, is authorised to settle with the entitled person at the expense of any of the other Administrations which participated in the conveyance and which, although duly informed, has allowed five months to pass without settling the matter or without communicating to the Administration of origin or destination, as the case may be, that the loss appeared to be due to a cause beyond control.

1. The Administration which is responsible or on whose account payment is made in accordance with Article 43 is bound to reimburse to the Administration which has made payment, and which is referred to as the paying Administration, the amount of the indemnity actually paid to the entitled person: this payment must take place within four months from the date of despatch of the notice of payment.

2. If the indemnity is due to be borne by several Administrations in accordance with Article 42, the whole of the indemnity due must be paid to the paying Administration, within the period mentioned in SS1, by the first Administration which, having duly received the item under enquiry, is unable to prove its regular transfer to the next service. It rests with this Administration to recover from the other Administrations responsible any share falling to each one of them of the indemnity paid to the entitled person.

3. The reimbursement to the creditor Administration is effected in accordance with the rules for payment prescribed in Article 13.

4. When responsibility is admitted, as well as in the case provided for in Article 43, SS4, the amount of the indemnity may also be recovered as a matter of course from the Administration responsible through any liquidation account, either direct or through the intermediary of an Administration which regularly conducts liquidation accounts with the Administration responsible.

5. The paying Administration may not claim reimbursement from the Administration responsible after the expiry of one year from the date of despatch of the notification that payment has been made to the entitled person.

6. An Administration whose responsibility is duly established and which has at first declined to pay the indemnity must assume all additional costs resulting from the unwarranted delay in payment.

7. Administrations may agree to settle periodically for the indemnities which they have paid to the entitled persons and which they have accepted as justified.

1. If, after payment of the indemnity, a registered item or part of such an item previously considered as lost is found, the addressee and the sender are informed of the fact: the latter or, where Article 39, SS3, applies, the addressee is further advised that he may take delivery of it within a period of three months on repayment of the amount of the indemnity received. If by the end of that period the sender or, where applicable, the addressee has not claimed the item the same approach is made to the addressee or the sender as the case may be.

2. If the sender or the addressee takes delivery of the item against repayment of the amount of the indemnity, that sum is refunded to the Administration or, where applicable, Administrations which bore the loss.

3. If the sender and the addressee decline to take delivery of the item, it becomes the property of the Administration or, where applicable, Administrations which bore the loss.

4. When proof of delivery is supplied after the period of five months laid down in Article 43, SS4, the indemnity paid continues to be borne by the intermediate Administration or Administration of destination if the sum paid cannot, for any reason, be recovered from the sender.

Except where otherwise provided by the Convention and the Agreements each Postal Administration retains the postal charges which it has collected.

1. Subject to Article 48, closed mails exchanged between two Administrations or between two offices of the same Country by means of the services of one or more other Administrations (third party services) are subject to the transit charges indicated in the table below, in favour of each of the Countries across whose territory or by whose services they are carried. These charges are payable by the Administration of the Country of origin of the mail. Nevertheless, costs of conveyance between two offices of the Country of destination are the responsibility of that Country.

2. In the absence of special agreement direct sea conveyance between two Countries by the ships of one of them is regarded as a third party service.

3. The distances used to determine the transit charges according to the table in SS1 are taken from the "List of Kilometric Distances relating to Land Sectors for Mails in Transit" provided for in Article 112, SS2(c), of the Detailed Regulations, as regards distances traversed by land, and from the "List of Shipping Lines" provided for in Article 112, SS2(d), of the Detailed Regulations, as regards distances traversed by sea.

4. Sea transit begins when the mails are deposited on the quay serving the ship in the port of departure and ends when they are delivered on the quay of the port of destination.

5. So far as the payment of transit charges is concerned, mis-sent mails are considered to have followed their normal route; consequently, Administrations concerned in the conveyance of such mails are not entitled on that account to demand a payment from the despatching Administrations, but the latter remain liable for the appropriate transit charges to the Countries whose services they normally use.

Items exempted from postal charges under Articles 8, 9 and 23 are exempted from all land and sea transit charges.

The transit charges specified in Article 47 are not applicable to conveyance by extraordinary services specially established or maintained by a Postal Administration at the request of one or more other Administrations. The conditions of this class of conveyance are regulated by mutual consent between the Administrations concerned.

1. General accounting for transit charges takes place annually on the basis of statistical returns taken once in every three years, during a period of 14 days. This period is extended to 28 days for mails exchanged less than six times a week by the services of any one Country. The Detailed Regulations fix the incidence of the statistics and the duration of their application.

2. When the annual balance between two Administrations does not exceed 25 francs, the debtor Administration is exempted from any payment.

3. Every Administration is authorised to submit for the consideration of a committee of arbitrators the results of statistics which in its opinion differ too much from reality. The arbitration is arranged as laid down in Article 126 of the General Regulations.

4. The arbitrators are empowered to fix in a fair and reasonable manner the transit charges proper to be paid.

1. Closed mails may be exchanged between the post offices of any Member-Country and the commanding officers of naval or air units or warships or military aircraft of the same Country stationed abroad, or between the commanding officer of one of those naval or air units or of any of those warships or military aircraft and the commanding officer of another unit or of another warship or military aircraft of the same Country, through the intermediary of the land or sea services of other Countries.

2. Letter post items enclosed in these mails must be confined to items addressed to or sent by the officers and crews of the ships or aircraft to or from which the mails are forwarded. The rates and conditions of despatch applicable to them are fixed, according to its regulations, by the Postal Administration of the Country to which the ships or aircraft belong

3. In the absence of special agreement, the Administration of the Country to which the warships or military aircraft belong is accountable to the intermediate Administrations for the transit charges for the mails, calculated in accordance with Article 47.

1. All letter post items are eligible for air conveyance and are then called "air-mail correspondence".

2. Additionally, each Administration has the option of admitting aerogrammes, as defined in Article 53, for air conveyance.

1. An aerogrammeme consists of a sheet of paper suitably folded and gummed, the dimensions of which, in that form, must be those of a postcard. The front of the sheet when folded in this way is reserved for the address: it must bear the printed indication "Aerogrammeme" and may also bear an equivalent indication in the language of the Country of origin. An aerogrammeme must not contain any article. It may be registered if the regulations of the Country of origin so permit.

2. Each Administration fixes, within the limits defined in SS1, the conditions of issue, manufacture and sale of aerogrammes.

3. Items of air-mail correspondence posted as aerogrammes but not fulfilling the conditions fixed above are treated in accordance with Article 57. Administrations have, however, the option of forwarding them in all cases by surface route.

1. Air-mail correspondence is divided, as regards charges, into surcharged air-mail correspondence and unsurcharged airmail correspondence.

2. In principle, air-mail correspondence is subject, in addition to the charges authorised by the Convention and various Agreements, to surcharges for air conveyance: the postal items mentioned in Articles 8 and 9 are liable to the same surcharges. All such correspondence is described as surcharged air-mail correspondence.

3. Administrations are permitted not to collect a surcharge for air conveyance, provided that they inform the Administrations of the Countries of destination of the fact: items accepted under these conditions are described as unsurcharged airmail correspondence.

4. With the exception of those originating from the International Bureau, items on postal service mentioned in Article 7 are exempt from air surcharges.

5. Aerogrammes, as described in Article 53, are subject to a charge at least equal to that applicable in the Country of origin to an unsurcharged letter of the first weight step.

1. Administrations establish the air surcharges to be collected for forwarding. They have the option of allowing, for the fixing of surcharges, smaller weight steps than the units of weight laid down in Article 16. However, the surcharges must be closely related to conveyance costs and as a general rule their proceeds must not in total exceed the costs payable for such conveyance.

2. Surcharges must be uniform for the whole of the territory of a Country of destination whatever the route used.

3. Administrations may fix combined charges for the prepayment of air-mail correspondence.

5. The air surcharge for the return of the reply half of a reply-paid postcard must be paid at the time the reply half is returned.

6. In calculating the air surcharge for an air-mail item, each Administration is authorised to take into account the weight of any forms used by the public which may be attached to the item.

Apart from the methods laid down in Article 20, the prepayment of air-mail correspondence may be represented by a manuscript indication, in figures, of the sum collected, expressed in the currency of the Country of origin, for example in the form: "Taxe perçue: ... dollars ... cents" [Amount collected: ... dollars ... cents]. This indication may appear either in a special stamp impression or on a special stamp or label, or simply be marked by any method on the address side of the item. In every case the indication should be authenticated by a date-stamp impression of the office of origin.

1. Unpaid or underpaid air-mail correspondence which it is not possible to have regularised by the senders is treated as follows:

(a) in the event of entire absence of prepayment, surcharged air-mail correspondence is treated in accordance with Articles 19 and 22; items on which the payment of postage is not obligatory before despatch are forwarded by the means of transport normally used;

(b) in the event of underpayment, surcharged air-mail correspondence is forwarded by air if the charges paid represent at least the amount of the air surcharge; nevertheless the Administration of origin is permitted to send these items by air even when the charges paid represent only 75 percent of the surcharge or of the combined charge. Below this limit, Articles 19 and 22 are applicable.

2. If the amount of the charge to be collected has not been indicated by the Administration of origin, the Administration of destination is permitted to deliver, without collecting a charge, insufficiently prepaid air-mail correspondence on which the prepayment represents at least the ordinary postage.

1. Administrations using air communications for the conveyance of their own air-mail correspondence are bound to forward by the same communications the surcharged air-mail correspondence which reaches them from other Administrations: the same applies to unsurcharged air-mail correspondence provided that the available aircraft capacity permits and the Administration of origin so requests.

2. Administrations of Countries without an air service forward air-mail correspondence by the most rapid means used for mails: the same applies if for any reason routeing by surface means is more advantageous than the use of air lines.

3. Closed air mails should be forwarded by the route requested by the Administration of the Country of origin, provided that it is used by the Administration of the Country of transit for the transmission of its own mails. If that is not possible or if there is insufficient time for the transhipment the Administration of the Country of origin should be so informed.

Administrations take the necessary steps to ensure the best conditions for the taking over and onward transmission of air mails arriving at their airports.

Administrations take all necessary steps to speed up the operations relating to the customs control of air-mail correspondence addressed to their countries.

Air-mail correspondence should be included in the first delivery following its arrival at the office of delivery.

1. In principle, all air-mail correspondence addressed to an addressee who has changed his address is redirected to its new destination by the means of transport normally used for unsurcharged correspondence. The same means of transport are used for the return to origin of air-mail correspondence which is undeliverable or which for any reason has not been delivered to the addressees.

2. At the express request of the addressee (in the case of redirection) or of the sender (in the case of return to origin) and if the person concerned undertakes to pay the air surcharges or combined charges appropriate to the further air transmission, or indeed if these surcharges or combined charges are paid at the redirecting office by a third person, the items in question may be re-forwarded by air: in the first two cases the air surcharge or combined charge is collected, in principle, at the time of delivery of the item and is retained by the delivering Administration.

3. Correspondence sent by ordinary means on its first transmission may be re-forwarded by air, under the conditions laid down in SS2.

4. Redirection envelopes and collective envelopes are forwarded to the new destination by the means of transport normally used for unsurcharged correspondence, unless the air surcharge or combined charge is paid in advance to the redirecting office, or the addressee or the sender, as the case may be, undertakes to pay the air surcharges or the combined charges appropriate to the further air conveyance in accordance with SS2.

1. The air conveyance costs for closed air mails are borne by the Administration of the Country of origin of the mails.

2. Any Administration which provides, as an intermediary, for the conveyance by air of air-mails or of air-mail correspondence sent in transit à découvert is entitled to payment for the conveyance: the same applies to air mails or air-mail correspondence in transit à découvert which is mis-sent or is exempt from transit charges.

3. The conveyance payments referred to in SS2 must, for a particular sector, be uniform for all Administrations which use the sector without sharing in the working expenses of the air service or services operating over it.

4. Unless agreement has been reached that no charge should be made, any Administration of destination which undertakes air conveyance of mail within its own Country is entitled to payment for the conveyance. This payment must be uniform for all air-mails originating abroad whether or not this mail is re-forwarded by air.

5. In the absence of special agreement between the Administrations concerned, Article 47 applies to air-mail correspondence for any transit by land or by sea: nevertheless, no transit charges are payable for:

(b) the conveyance of such mails from an airport serving a town to a depot situated in the same town and the return of the same mails for reforwarding.

1. The basic rates applicable to the settlement of accounts between Administrations in respect of air conveyance are fixed per kilogram of gross weight and per kilometre. These rates, detailed below, apply proportionally to fractions of a kilogram:

(a) for LC items (letters, aerogrammes, postcards, postal money orders, trade charge money orders, bills for collection, insured letters and boxes, advices of payment, entry and delivery): 3 millièmes of a franc as a maximum; however, this flat rate is increased to 4 millièmes of a franc as a maximum for LC items conveyed by lines for which the conveyance rate in force at 1 July 1952, exceeded 3 millièmes of a franc;

(b) for AO items (items other than LC) including Phonopost items: 1 millième of a franc as a maximum.

2. Air conveyance charges for air mails are calculated according to the actual basic rates (fixed within the limits of the basic rates specified in SS1) and the kilometric distances shown in the Liste des distances aéropostales [List of air-mail distances] provided for in Article 203, SS1(b), of the Detailed Regulations on the one hand and, on the other, the gross weight of the mails; no account is taken of the weight of sacs collecteurs.

3. Where charges are due for air conveyance in the interior of the Country of destination, they are fixed in the form of a single rate for each of the two categories, LC and AO. These charges are calculated on the basis of the rates prescribed in SS1, and according to the weighted average distances of the sectors flown by international mail on the internal network. The weighted average distance is determined in terms of the gross weight of all the air-mails arriving at the Country of destination, including the mail which is not reforwarded by air in the interior of that Country.

4. The product of the charges referred to in SS3 must not exceed in total the amounts which actually have to be paid for conveyance.

5. The rates for internal and international air conveyance (obtained by multiplying the effective basic rate by the distance), which are used in calculating the charges mentioned in SS2 and SS3, are rounded up or down to the nearest 10 gold centimes according to whether or not the number made up by the figure of centimes and that of millièmes exceeds 50.

Calculation of and accounting for charges for air conveyance of air-mail correspondence in transit à découvert

1. Air conveyance charges for air-mail correspondence in transit à découvert are calculated, in principle, as indicated in Article 64, SS2, but according to the net weight of the correspondence: the total amount of the conveyance charges is in this case increased by 5 percent. Nevertheless, when the territory of the Country of destination of such correspondence is served by one or more lines with several places of call in that territory, the conveyance charges are calculated on the basis of a weighted average rate taking into account the weight of the mail offloaded at each place of call.

2. The intermediate Administration is however entitled to calculate the charges for conveyance of à découvert correspondence on the basis of not more than 20 average rates, each relating to a group of Countries of destination and fixed according to the weight of mail offloaded at different destinations within the group. The product of these charges must not exceed in total the amounts which have to be paid for conveyance.

3. Accounting for charges for air conveyance of air-mail correspondence in transit à découvert takes place, in principle, on the basis of the data of statistical returns compiled once every six months over a period of fourteen days.

4. Nevertheless, the intermediate Administration has a right to payment on the basis of the actual weight in the case of misrouted correspondence or correspondence posted on board ship or sent to the Administration at irregular intervals or in too varying amounts.

1. Air conveyance charges are payable, apart from the exceptions provided for in SSSS2 and 3 to the Administration of the Country which controls the air service used.

2. Notwithstanding SS1, the conveyance charges may be paid to the Administration of the Country in which the airport is situated at which the air-mails are taken over by the air transport undertaking, subject to an agreement between this Administration and that of the Country which controls the air service concerned.

3. Notwithstanding SS1, the Administration which hands over air-mails to an air transport undertaking may settle direct with that undertaking for the conveyance charges for all or part of the distance flown, subject to the agreement of the Administration which controls the air service used and, if appropriate, to the agreement of the intermediate Administrations.

4. Any Administration which forwards air-mail correspondence in transit à découvert to another Administration must pay to that Administration all the conveyance charges due for the whole of the onward distance flown.

1. The Administration of origin of a mail which has gone off its route in course of conveyance is due to pay the charge for conveyance of the mail as far as the airport of offloading initially provided for on the delivery bill AV7.

2. It also settles the costs of reforwarding which relate to the sectors actually covered subsequently by the mail in order to reach its place of destination.

3. The supplementary costs relating to the sectors subsequently covered by the diverted mail are reimbursed as follows:

(a) by the Administration whose services have committed the error in the case of misrouteing;

(b) by the Administration which has collected the charges paid over to the air company when the latter has offloaded in a place other than that which is shown on the delivery bill AV7.

In case of loss or destruction of mail as the result of an accident occurring to the aircraft or through any other cause involving the responsibility of the air transport undertaking, no conveyance charge is due, in respect of the mail which is lost or destroyed, for any part of the flight of the line used.

Conditions of Approval of Proposals concerning the Convention and its Detailed Regulations

1. To become effective, proposals submitted to Congresses relating to this Convention and its Detailed Regulations must be approved by a majority of Member-Countries present and voting. Half of the Member-Countries represented at the Congress must be present at the time of voting.

2. To become effective, proposals introduced between two Congresses relating to this Convention and its Detailed Regulations must obtain:

(a) unanimity of votes if they involve amendments to Articles 1 to 14 (Part I), 15, 16, 19, 22, 23, 36, 37, 39 to 51 (Part II), 69 and 70 (Part IV) of the Convention, to any of the Articles of its Final Protocol or to Articles 102 to 104, 105, SS1, 127, 161, 165, 175, 176 and 204 of its Detailed Regulations;

(b) two-thirds of the votes if they involve amendments of substance to provisions other than those mentioned under (a):

(i) editorial amendments to the provisions of the Convention and its Detailed Regulations other than those mentioned under (a);

(ii) interpretation of the provisions of the Convention, its Final Protocol and its Detailed Regulations, except in the case of a dispute to be submitted to arbitration as provided for in Article 32 of the Constitution.

This Convention shall come into operation on 1 January 1966 and shall remain in force until the coming into operation of the Acts of the next Congress.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF the Plenipotentiaries of the Governments of the Member-Countries have signed this Convention in a single original which shall be deposited in the Archives of the Government of the Country where the seat of the Union is situated. A copy of it shall be delivered to each Party by the Government of the Country in which the Congress is met.

At the moment of proceeding to signature of the Universal Postal Convention concluded this day, THE UNDERSIGNED PLENIPOTENTIARIES HAVE AGREED THE FOLLOWING:

1. Article 4 does not apply to the Commonwealth of Australia, Canada, the Republic of Cyprus, Ghana, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, the Overseas territories for whose international relations the Government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland are responsible, the Irish Republic, Jamaica, Kuwait, Malaysia, the Federal Republic of Nigeria, New Zealand, Uganda, the United Arab Republic, Sierra Leone, the United Republic of Tanganyika and Zanzibar, Trinidad and Tobago, the Arab Republic of Yemen and the Federal Socialist Republic of Yugoslavia.

2. Nor does that Article apply to Denmark, whose internal legislation does not allow withdrawal from the post or alteration of the address of correspondence, at the request of the sender, from the time when the addressee has been informed of the arrival of an item addressed to him.

Notwithstanding Articles 9 and 16, those Member Countries which do not concede exemption from postal charges to literature for the blind in their internal service have the option of making the charges mentioned in Article 9 which must not, however, exceed those in their internal service.

1. Each Member Country has the option of increasing by 60% or reducing by 20%, at most, the charges prescribed in Article 16, SS1, in accordance with the following table:

2. The charges adopted are, as far as possible, to bear the same proportions to one another as the basic charges, each Postal Administration being free to round its charges up or down as the case may be according to the characteristics of its monetary system.

Exceptions to the Application of the Tariff for printed papers and samples of Merchandise

1. Notwithstanding Article 16, Member Countries have the right not to apply to printed papers and samples of merchandise the charge fixed for the first weight step, and to apply for that step the charge of 6 centimes; but they may apply a minimum charge of 12 centimes to samples of merchandise. When printed papers and samples of merchandise are brought together in a single item, the charge should be the minimum charge for samples of merchandise.

2. Exceptionally, Member Countries are authorised to bring their international rate for printed papers and samples of merchandise up to those laid down by their legislation for items of the same nature in their internal service.

Notwithstanding the table in Article 16, SS1, Member-Countries which by reason of their internal system are unable to adopt the metric-decimal system of weight have the option of substituting for it the ounce avoirdupois (28.3465 grams), taking one ounce as equivalent to 20 grams for letters and two ounces as equivalent to 50 grams for printed papers, samples of merchandise, small packets and "Phonopost" items.

The obligation to operate the small packet service does not apply to Member-Countries which find it impossible to introduce this service.

Notwithstanding the provisions of Articles 16, SSSS2 and 3, 20, SS2, and 39, SS2, and inasmuch as items containing printed papers exceeding the limits of weight of 3 kilograms or 5 kilograms respectively are not admitted in the internal service of Ethiopia, items of this nature are, equally, inadmissible in the international letter post service of this Country, irrespective of the method of despatch whether in ordinary bags or in specially labelled bags.

Notwithstanding Article 16, SS8, the Postal Administrations of the following Countries are authorised not to admit in registered letters the articles of value mentioned in the said SS8: the Argentine Republic, the United States of Brazil, Chile, El Salvador, India, Mexico, Pakistan, Peru, the United Arabic Republic and the Republic of Venezuela.

A Member Country is not bound to forward or deliver to the addressees letter post items which senders resident in its territory post or cause to be posted in a foreign Country with the object of profiting by the lower charges in force there: the same applies to such items posted in large quantities whether or not such postings are made with a view to benefiting from lower charges. The rule is applied without distinction both to correspondence made up in the Country where the sender resides and then carried across the frontier and to correspondence made up in a foreign Country. The Administration concerned has the right either to return the items in question to origin or to charge postage on them at its internal rates. The method by which the charges are collected is left to its discretion.

Notwithstanding Article 24, SS1, Postal Administrations are permitted not to undertake the sale of international reply coupons, or to limit their sale.

Article 26 does not apply to the Republic of South Africa, the Commonwealth of Australia, Burma, Canada, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, to those of the Overseas territories for whose international relations the Government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland are responsible, to the Irish Republic, Jamaica, Kuwait, Malaysia, the Federal Republic of Nigeria, New Zealand, Uganda, Sierra Leone, the United Republic of Tanganyika and Zanzibar, and to Trinidad and Tobago, whose legislation does not permit withdrawal from the post or alteration of address of letter post items at the sender's request. Equally that Article does not apply to India so far as it relates to alteration of address of letter post items. The Argentine Republic does not, for its part, give effect to requests for withdrawal from the post or alteration of the address originating from Countries which have made reservations regarding Article 26.

1. Member Countries whose internal service charges, other than the postage rates laid down in Article 16, are higher than those which are fixed in the Convention are authorised to apply them also in the international service.

2. Notwithstanding Article 36, SS3, the Postal Administrations of the Argentine Republic, the Republic of Cuba, Peru and the Philippines are authorised not to accept printed papers despatched in special registered bags. Consequently the special indemnity laid down for these items in Article 39, SS2, cannot be claimed from those Administrations.

Special transit charges for conveyance in transit by the Trans-Siberian and Trans-Andine

1. The Postal Administration of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics is authorised to collect a supplement of 1 franc 30 centimes in addition to the transit charges indicated in Article 47, SS1, table (i) (distances traversed by land) for each kilogram of letter post items conveyed in transit over the Trans-Siberian route.

2. The Postal Administration of the Argentine Republic is authorised to charge a supplement of 30 centimes over and above the transit charges indicated in Article 47, SS1, table (i) (distances traversed by land) for each kilogram of letter post items conveyed in transit over the Argentine section of the "Ferrocarril Trasandino".

Notwithstanding Article 47, SS1, the Postal Administration of Afghanistan is authorised provisionally, because of its special difficulties as regards means of conveyance and communication, to effect the transit of closed mails and à découvert correspondence across its territory on conditions specially agreed with the Postal Administrations concerned.

Exceptionally, the Postal Administration of Aden is authorised to collect a charge of 40 centimes per bag for all mails stored at Aden, provided that that Administration does not receive any payment in respect of land or sea transit for those mails.

By reason of the special geographical situation of the USSR, the Postal Administration of that Country reserves to itself the right to apply a uniform air surcharge throughout the whole territory of the USSR for all the Countries of the world. This surcharge is not to exceed the actual expenses occasioned by the conveyance of letter post items by air.

The Federal Socialist Republic of Yugoslavia will recognise only the costs of the conveyance effected in accordance with the provision concerning the line shown on the bag labels (AV8) of air-mail despatches.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the Plenipotentiaries below have drawn up this Protocol, which shall have the same force and the same validity as if its provisions were inserted in the text of the Convention itself, and they have signed it 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 shall be delivered to each Party by the Government of the Country in which the Congress is held.

HAVING REGARD TO Article 22, SS4, of the Constitution of the Universal Postal Union, concluded at Vienna on 10 July 1964,

THE UNDERSIGNED PLENIPOTENTIARIES OF THE GOVERNMENTS OF THE MEMBER COUNTRIES OF THE UNION, have, by common consent and subject to the provisions of Article 25, SS3 of the Constitution,

1. Items called "postal parcels" of which the individual weight must not exceed 20 kilograms may be exchanged between the contracting Countries either directly or through the intermediary of one or more of them.

3. In this Agreement, its Final Protocol and its Detailed Regulations, as well as in the Final Protocol of the latter, the abbreviation "parcels" applies to all postal parcels.

1. An "ordinary parcel" is one which is not subject to any of the special requirements prescribed for the categories defined in SSSS2 and 3.

(b) "parcel for delivery free of charges", any parcel in respect of which the sender asks to be charged with the whole of the postal charges and fees to which the parcel may be subject on delivery; this request may be made at the time of posting or subsequently up to the time of delivery to the addressee;

(c) "cash on delivery parcel", any parcel subject to a trade charge and covered by the Agreement concerning cash on delivery items;

(d) "fragile parcel", any parcel containing articles which are liable to break easily and which are to be handled with special care;

(i) any parcel whose dimensions exceed the limits fixed by Article 25, SS1, or those which Administrations may fix between themselves:

(ii) any parcel which by reason of its shape, nature or construction does not lend itself readily to loading with other parcels or which requires special precautions;

(iii) optionally, any parcel conveyed by a sea service whose volume exceeds the limits fixed by Article 25, SS2;

(f) "service parcel", any parcel relating to the postal service and exchanged, by surface only, under the conditions laid down in Article 23 of the Convention;

(g) "prisoner of war or internee parcel", any parcel intended for or sent by prisoners or organisations referred to in Article 8 of the Convention.

(b) "urgent parcel", any parcel which, as far as possible, is to be conveyed by the fast services used for the letter post;

(c) "express parcel", any parcel which, on arrival at the office of destination, is to be delivered to the place of address by special messenger or which, in those Countries whose Administrations do not undertake delivery to the place of address, gives rise to the delivery, by special messenger, of an advice of arrival; nevertheless, if the address of the addressee is situated outside the local delivery area of the office of destination delivery by special messenger is not obligatory.

4. The exchange of "insured", "free of charges", "cash on delivery", "fragile", "cumbersome", "air", "urgent", and "express" parcels requires prior agreement between the Administrations of origin and destination.

5. In addition, for the exchange of insured parcels (conveyed à découvert), "urgent", "fragile" and "cumbersome" parcels, the intermediate Administrations must signify their agreement to the transit routeing.

The charges and fees which Administrations are authorised to collect are made up of the principal charge as defined in Article 5 and, where appropriate by:

The principal charge consists of the rates due to each Administration sharing in the land or sea conveyance and which are provided for in Articles 6 to 9. It also includes, as appropriate, the air surcharges mentioned in Article 10.

1. Parcels exchanged between two Administrations are subject to the outward and inward land rates shown in the table appearing in SS4.

2. Each of the countries crossed or whose services assist in the land conveyance of parcels, is authorised to collect the transit land rate mentioned in the table which appears in SS4.

3. The rates mentioned in SSSS1 and 2 are payable by the Administration of the country of origin unless provisions of the present Agreement create exceptions to this principle.

4. Each outward, inward, or transit land rate is fixed as follows for each Country and each parcel:

5. Nevertheless, as regards the last two weight steps, the Administrations of origin and destination have the right to fix as they wish the land rates due to them.

6. As regards air parcels, the land rate for intermediate Countries is only applicable where the parcel is conveyed by an intermediate land service.

1. Administrations have the option of reducing or increasing simultaneously their outward land rate and their inward land rate but not, consequently, their transit land rate.

(a) come into force only on 1 January or 1 July, at the convenience of each Administration;

(b) be communicated at least three months in advance to the Swiss Postal Administration; any modifications for which these periods have not been observed will not be taken into consideration until 1 January or 1 July following;

3. The increase, where applied, must not exceed, in the case of the weight steps up to 10 kg., one half of the outward and inward land rate laid down in Article 6, SS4. The reduction may be fixed at the wish of the Administrations concerned.

1. Each of the countries whose services participate in the sea conveyance of parcels is authorised to reclaim the sea rates mentioned in the table shown in SS2. These rates are payable by the Administration of the country of origin, unless provisions of the present agreement create exceptions to this principle.

2. For each sea conveyance used, the sea rate is calculated in accordance with the following table:

3. If necessary, the distance steps used to determine the amount of sea rate applicable between two countries are calculated on a basis of a weighted average distance, determined in terms of the tonnage of the mails carried between the respective ports of the two countries.

4. Sea conveyance between two ports of the same Country does not give rise to the collection of the rate referred to in SS2 when the Administration of that Country already receives, for the same parcels, payment in respect of land conveyance.

5. As regards air parcels, the sea rate for intermediate Administrations or services is only applicable where the parcel is conveyed by an intermediate sea service; for this purpose every sea service provided by the country of origin or destination is regarded as an intermediate service.

1. Administrations have the option of increasing by 50 percent at most the sea rate laid down in Article 8, SS2. On the other hand, they may reduce it as they wish.

3. In the case of an increase, this must also be applied to parcels originating in the Country to which the services effecting the sea conveyance belong; nevertheless, this obligation does not apply either in the relations between a Country and its colonies, overseas territories, etc, or in the reciprocal relations of those colonies, overseas territories, etc.

l. Administrations fix the air surcharges to be collected for the transmission of parcels by air. For the purpose of fixing surcharges they may adopt units of weight which are less than the first weight step.

2. Surcharges should be uniform for the whole of the territory of the same country of destination irrespective of the routeing used. Consequently if two countries are linked by several air lines, the surcharge is fixed according to the average distance between the respective airports and the importance of the lines as regards the international traffic.

3. Surcharges should be closely related to conveyance charges and, as a general rule, their proceeds should not, overall, exceed the costs payable for such conveyance.

1. The basic rate applicable to the accounting between Administrations in respect of air conveyances is fixed at 1 thousandth of a franc, as a maximum per kilogram of gross weight and per kilometre this rate is applied proportionately to fractions of a kilogram.

2. Payments of air conveyance pertaining to air parcel mails are calculated according to the effective basic rate specified in SS1 and the kilometric distances mentioned in the "List of air-mail distances" referred to in Article 203, SS1(b) of the Detailed Regulations of the Convention on the one hand, and according to the gross weight of the mails on the other hand.

3. The payment of air conveyance due to the intermediate Administration for à découvert air parcels is fixed in principle as indicated in SS1 but per kilogram or per half-kilogram for each country of destination. If two countries are linked by several air lines the payment is established by the intermediate Administration according to the average distance between the respective airports and according to the importance of the lines in respect of international traffic. As regards the calculation of the sums to be paid, fractions of the unit of weight adopted in this connection by the intermediate Administration are rounded upwards to the kilogram or the half-kilogram, as is the case.

4. Any country which within its own territory forwards or reforwards air parcels by air is entitled to a special payment for that transmission.

5. The special payment referred to in SS4 is fixed in the form of a single rate, calculated for all air parcels originating in or addressed to the country, on the basis of the rate provided for in SS1 and according to the weighted average of the sector distances covered by air parcels of the international service on the internal air network.

6. The transhipment at the same airport, in the course of transmission of air parcels conveyed successively by several separate air services is performed without remuneration.

(b) the transport of such mails between an airport serving a town and a warehouse situated in the same town and the return of the same mails for their reforwarding.

8. When air parcels are lost or destroyed on an air line as a result of an accident met by the carrying aircraft, or for any other reason for which responsibility falls on the air transport organisation, no remuneration for air transport is payable in respect of the lost or destroyed air parcels for any part whatever of the air-line journey.

Subject to compliance with the conditions laid down in Article 7, SS2, each Administration has the option of applying simultaneously to every parcel sent from or addressed to its offices an exceptional outward and inward rate of 25 centimes at the maximum.

1. Urgent parcels are subject to a principal charge double that applicable to ordinary parcels: where appropriate the exceptional outward and inward rate provided for in Article 12 is also doubled.

1. Express parcels are subject to a supplementary charge called the "express charge", collected in favour of the Administration of destination and of the fixed amount of 80 centimes, fully paid in advance at the time of posting, even if the parcel cannot be delivered by special messenger but only the advice of arrival.

2. In the exceptional case where the address of the addressee is situated outside the local delivery area of the office of destination, the express charge may be increased by a charge called "the additional express charge", which is collected on delivery and remains payable even if the parcel is returned to origin or redirected; this additional charge must not exceed that fixed in the internal service of the Country of destination.

l. Parcels for delivery free of charges and fees are subject to a charge called "charge for delivery free of charges" of the fixed maximum amount of 60 centimes for each parcel. This charge is added to the customs clearance charge referred to in Article 19(b); it is collected as commission from the sender in favour of the Administration of destination.

2. When delivery free of charges is requested after the parcel has been posted, a charge for a request for delivery free of charges is collected from the sender at the time the request is made. This charge of a fixed maximum amount of 60 centimes is added to the air surcharge or to the charge for the telegram if the sender has asked that his request should be sent by air or by telegraph.

1. Insured parcels are subject to an ordinary insurance fee which is collected by the office of posting. This fee is added to the charges and fees authorised in this part of the Agreement and is calculated in accordance with one or other of the following formulae:

(a) by Administrations which undertake to cover the risks arising from causes beyond control, a "fee for risks from causes beyond control" to be fixed so that the sum of this fee and the normal insurance fee does not exceed the maximum prescribed in SS1(b).

(b) optionally, by the Administration of origin, a despatch charge equal at most, to 50 centimes for each insured parcel.

3. Exceptionally, the air insurance fee collected in respect of conveyance by air services which involve extraordinary risks is fixed, in each individual case by the Administration concerned; the aggregate fee referred to in SS1(b), may then be increased accordingly.

Fragile parcels and cumbersome parcels are subject to a supplementary charge equal to 50 percent of the principle charge increased, where appropriate, by the rates mentioned in Article 12 or in the Final Protocol. If the parcel is fragile and bulky the supplementary tax mentioned above is collected once only. Nevertheless, the air surcharge in respect of these parcels must not be increased; if need be, the total charge is rounded up to the next 5 centimes.

(a) Charge for Export Customs formalities collected by the Administration of origin for submission to Customs; as a general rule the charge is collected at the time of posting of the parcel.

(b) Customs clearance charge, collected by the Administration of destination either for submission to Customs and Customs clearance or for submission to Customs only; in the absence of other arrangements, the charge is collected at the time of the delivery of the parcel to the addressee; however, in the case of parcels for delivery free of charges, the Customs clearance charge is collected by the Administration of origin on behalf of the Administration of destination.

(c) delivery charge; this charge may be collected by the Administration of destination as often as the parcel is tendered for delivery at the address; nevertheless, in the case of express parcels, it may be collected only in respect of each tender for delivery after the first;

(d) advice of non-delivery charge, collected under the conditions laid down in Article 32, SS3;

(e) advice of arrival charge, collected by the Administration of destination, when its legislation obliges it to do so and when that Administration does not undertake delivery to the place of address, in respect of every advice (the first as well as subsequent advices) which is in fact delivered to the address of the addressee, except for the first advice of express parcels;

(f) repacking charge, due to the Administration of the first of the Countries in whose territory a parcel has to be repacked in order to protect its contents; it is recovered from the addressee or, where appropriate, the sender;

(g) poste restante charge, collected by the Administration of destination at the time of delivery, on every parcel addressed "poste restante";

(h) storage charge, collected by the Administration of destination on every parcel which has not been taken possession of within the prescribed periods whether the parcel is addressed poste restante or to a place of address;

(i) advice of delivery charge, when the sender asks for an advice of delivery under the conditions laid down in Article 37 of the Convention;

(j) advice of embarkation charge, collected, in relations between Countries whose Administrations agree to provide this service, when the sender requests that an advice of embarkation be sent to him; this charge is halved between the Administration of origin and the Administration of the country of the port of embarkation;

(m) charge for cover against risks arising from circumstances beyond control, collected by Administrations prepared to cover risks arising from causes beyond control.

The scale of supplementary charges defined in Article 18 is fixed in accordance with the following table:

Description of charge 1	Amount 2	Observations 3

(a) Charge for export Customs formalities collected by the country of origin	50 centimes at most, per parcel

(b) Customs clearance charge collected by the country of destination	1 franc at most, per parcel

(c) Delivery charge	Same charge as in internal service	With a maximum of 60 centimes per parcel

(d) Advice of non-delivery charge	40 centimes at most	When the advice of non-delivery must be sent to him by air, the sender or third party pays the corresponding air surcharge. If, later on, new instructions must be transmitted by air or by telegraph the sender or the third party must pay, in addition, the charge in respect of air conveyance or the telegraphic charge as the case may be

(e) Advice of arrival charge	At most, a charge equal to that for an ordinary letter of the first weight step in the internal service

(f) Repacking charge	50 centimes at most, per parcel	This charge may be levied once only in the course of transmission from beginning to end

(g) Poste restante charge	Same charge as in the internal service

(h) Storage charge	Charge collected at the rate laid down by internal legislation	With a maximum of 10 francs

(i) Advice of delivery charge	(a) at the time of posting, 40 centimes at most	If the sender has asked that advice of receipt should be sent to him by air-mail the air surcharge is added to this charge

	(b) after posting, 60 centimes at most	When this request has to be sent by air-mail or by telegraph, the sender must also pay relative air-mail or telegraph charge as the case may be. Also, if the sender has asked for the advice of receipt should be sent to him by air-mail the corresponding air surcharge must be paid

(j) Advice of embarkation charge	40 centimes per parcel

(k) Enquiry charge	60 centimes at most

(l) Charge for a request for withdrawal from the post or alteration of address	60 centimes at most	If the sender has asked that his request should be sent by air or by telegraph the air surcharge or the charge for the telegram is added to this charge. When the request is sent by post (air or surface) and in every case if an insured parcel is concerned the fee for registration must be paid in addition

(m) Charge for cover against risk due to force majeure (circumstances beyond control)	(a) amount laid down in Article 16, SS2(a) in respect of insured parcels

	(b) maximum of 40 centimes per parcel in respect of uninsured parcels

1. Administrations of destinations are authorised to collect, from the addressees, all charges, especially Customs duty, to which the items are subjected in the Country of destination.

2. Administrations undertake to use their good offices with the competent authorities in their Countries with a view to the cancellation of the charges (including Customs duty) in the case of a parcel:

Parcels relating to the postal service exchanged by surface only are exempt from all postal charges under the conditions laid down in Article 23 of the Convention.

Prisoner of war and internee parcels enjoy, under the same conditions, the exemptions from charges accorded to postal items by Article 8 of the Convention, and do not give rise to any remuneration in favour of any Administration whatsoever except as regards the air surcharges applicable to air parcels.

Provided that the contents do not come within the prohibitions listed in Article 24 or within the prohibitions or restrictions applicable in the territory of one or more of the Administrations called upon to take part in the transmission every parcel, to be admitted to the post, shall:

(a) belong to one of the categories of parcels admitted by application of Article 2;

(i) articles which, by their nature or their packing, may expose officials to danger, or soil or damage other parcels; (see also (vi));

(ii) opium, morphine, cocaine and other narcotics; however, this prohibition does not apply to consignments sent for a medical or scientific purpose to Countries which admit them on this condition;

(iii) articles of which the importation or circulation is prohibited in the Country of destination;

(iv) documents having the character of current and personal correspondence as well as correspondence of any kind bearing an address other than that of the addressee of the parcel or of persons living with him; however, it is permissible to include one of the following documents, unclosed, reduced to its essential elements and relating solely to the goods being conveyed: invoice, despatch note or advice, delivery bill;

(v) living animals, unless their conveyance by post is authorised by the postal regulations of the Countries concerned;

(vi) explosive, inflammable or other dangerous substances. Nevertheless, Administrations may agree to the conveyance of firing caps and loaded metal cartridges for portable firearms, non-explosive parts of artillery fuses and matches, inflammable films, raw celluloid or articles made of celluloid;

(b) in uninsured parcels exchanged between two Countries which admit insured parcels: coin, banknotes, currency notes, securities of any kind payable to bearer, platinum, gold or silver, manufactured or not, precious stones, jewels and other valuable articles. This provision does not apply when the exchange of parcels between two Administrations admitting insured parcels can only be made in transit through the intermediary of an Administration which does not admit them. Every Administration has the right to prohibit the enclosure of gold bullion in insured or uninsured items originating from or addressed to its territory or sent in transit à découvert across its territory, or to limit the actual value of these items.

1. Except where parcels are considered as cumbersome by application of Article 2, SS2(e), any parcel sent by surface must not exceed 1.50 metres for any one dimension; 3 metres for the sum of the length and the greatest circumference measured in a direction other than that of the length.

2. Optionally and in derogation of the provision of SS1, the limits of size and volume of parcels sent by a sea service may be fixed at 1.25 metres for any one dimension and one of the following volumes:

3. Subject to SS1, any air parcel must not exceed the following sizes: l metre for the length and 50 centimetres for every other dimension; 3 metres for the sum of the length and the greatest circumference measured in a direction other than that of the length.

4. Whatever the mode of conveyance, any parcel must not be smaller than the minimum size prescribed for letters in Article 16, SS1 of the Convention.

5. To be admitted in the service between Administrations adopting the limits prescribed in SS2 and not allowing the conveyance of cumbersome parcels, parcels, which for their weight have a volume larger than the prescribed limits, are subject to the charges applicable to the weight step corresponding to their volume. In this case, the parcels shall not exceed the maximum limits of volume allowed in the service between these Administrations.

1. When parcels containing the articles listed in Article 24(a) have been wrongly accepted for transmission, they are to be dealt with in accordance with the internal legislation of the Country of the Administration establishing the presence; nevertheless, parcels containing the articles referred to in the same Article under (a)(ii), (vi) and (vii) are in no circumstances forwarded to their destination, delivered to the addressees or returned to origin.

2. If it is a question of the inclusion of a single item of correspondence prohibited within the meaning of Article 24(a)(iv) this correspondence is treated in the manner prescribed in Article 22 of the Convention, and the parcel must not be returned to origin on this account.

3. When uninsured parcels exchanged between two Countries which admit insurance contain articles listed in Article 24(b), they should be returned to origin by the transit Administration which discovers the error. If the error is discovered only after the receipt of the parcel by the Administration of destination, that Administration is authorised to deliver the parcel to the addressee under the conditions laid down by its regulations. If they do not permit delivery, the parcel must be returned to origin in application of Article 38.

4. SS3 is applicable to parcels of which the weight or the dimensions appreciably exceed the permitted limits; nevertheless, these parcels may, where appropriate, be delivered to the addressee if he has first paid any charges which may be due.

5. When a parcel wrongly admitted is neither delivered to the addressee nor returned to origin, the Administration of origin must be informed exactly how the parcel has been dealt with.

1. At the time of posting of a parcel, the sender is required to indicate the treatment to be given in case of non-delivery.

(b) despatch by surface or airmail of an advice of non-delivery to a third party residing in the Country of destination;

(e) delivery to an alternative addressee, if necessary after redirection by surface or air (and subject to the special provisions set out in Article 32, SS1(c)(ii));

(f) redirection or the parcel by surface or air, with a view to delivery to the original addressee;

(i) the option of each Administration to limit the insured value, so far as it is concerned, to an amount which must not be less than 1000 francs;

(ii) the obligation, in the service between Countries whose Administrations have adopted different limits, on all parties to observe the lowest limit;

(i) the prohibition against insuring the parcel for a value exceeding the actual value of its contents;

(ii) the option to insure part only of the actual value of the contents of the parcel.

2. Fraudulent insurance for a value greater than the actual value of the parcel is liable to the legal proceedings prescribed by the legislation of the Country of origin.

3. A receipt shall be handed over free of charge to every sender of an insured parcel at the time of posting.

1. A parcel for delivery free of charges may be accepted only if the sender undertakes to pay the full amount which the office of destination would be entitled to claim from the addressee as well as the charge for delivery free of charges prescribed in Article 15.

1. As a general rule, parcels are delivered to the addressees as soon as possible and in accordance with the provisions in force in the Country of destination.

2. Every parcel of which the arrival has been notified to the addressee is held at his disposal for a fortnight or, at most, for a month from the day after that on which the advice is sent; exceptionally, this period may be extended if the regulations of the Administration of destination permit.

3. When it has not been possible to send an advice of arrival, the period of retention is that prescribed by the regulations of the Country of destination; this period, applicable also to parcels addressed poste restante, must not, as a general rule, exceed five months for distant Countries (within the meaning of Article 107 of the Detailed Regulations of the Convention) and three months for others; return of the parcel to the office of origin should take place within a shorter period if the sender has requested it in a language known in the Country of destination.

4. The periods of retention prescribed in SSSS2 and 3 are applicable, in the case of redirection, to parcels to be delivered by the new office of destination.

1. The delivery by special messenger of an express parcel or of the advice of arrival is attempted once only.

2. If the attempt is unsuccessful the parcel ceases to be considered as express.

1. After receipt of the advice of non-delivery mentioned in Articles 27, SS2(a) and (b), it rests with the sender, or the third party concerned, to give his instructions, which may only be those authorised by the said Article SS2(c) to (h), and, in addition, one of the following:

(i) deliver it to a person other than the addressee against payment of the amount indicated;

(ii) deliver it to the original addressee or to another addressee without collecting the trade charge or against payment of a sum less than the original sum;

(d) deliver the parcel free of charges either to the original addressee or to another addressee.

2. Provided that no instructions have been received from the sender or third party, the Administration of destination is authorised to deliver the parcel to the addressee originally indicated or, where appropriate, to another addressee indicated later, or to redirect the parcel to a fresh address. After receipt of fresh instructions these alone are valid and to be carried out. They may be sent by air or by telegraph if the sender or the third party pays the corresponding air surcharge or telegraphic charge.

3. When an advice of non-delivery has been sent to the sender by air in accordance with his instructions, the Administration of origin collects, at the time of delivery of the advice, the charge in respect of air conveyance. The sending of the instructions mentioned in SS1 gives rise to the collection, either from the sender or from the third party, of the charge mentioned in Article 18(d); when the advice relates to several parcels posted at the same time at the same office by the same sender and addressed to the same addressee the charge is collected once only.

1. Every parcel which it has not been possible to deliver is returned to the office of origin:

(ii) the sender or the third party referred to in Article 27, SS2(b) has made an unauthorised request;

(iii) the sender or third party refuses to pay the charge authorised in Article 32, SS3;

(iv) the instructions of the sender, or of the third party, have not achieved the desired result, whether these instructions were given at the time of posting or after receipt of the advice of non-delivery;

(i) of the period, if any, fixed by the sender in application of Article 27, SS2(d);

(ii) of the periods of retention laid down in Article 30, if the sender has not complied with Article 27;

(iii) of a period of two months from the despatch of an advice of non-delivery, if the office which prepared that advice has not received adequate instructions from the sender or the third party, or if these instructions have not been received by that office; this period is extended to four months in the service between distant Countries.

2. Where possible, a parcel is returned by the same route as it followed on the outward journey; nevertheless, an air parcel is not returned by air unless the sender has guaranteed the payment of the charges for any conveyance.

(b) the charges and fees, not cancelled, which the Administration of destination incurs at the time of return to origin.

If the sender has abandoned a parcel which it has not been possible to deliver to the addressee, that parcel is treated by the Administration of destination according to its own legislation.

1. The sender of a parcel which has not been delivered to the addressee has to pay the conveyance and other costs incurred by Administrations as a result of the non-delivery, even if the parcel has been abandoned, sold or destroyed.

2. The office of posting may, whenever it seems advisable, collect a deposit to cover these costs.

Redirection in Consequence of Change of Address by the Addressee, or of an Alteration of an Address

1. Redirection in consequence of a change of address by the addressee or of an alteration of address effected under Article 42 may take place either within the Country of destination or out of that Country.

2. Redirection within the Country of destination may be effected at the request of the sender, at the request of the addressee, or officially if the regulations of that Country permit.

3. Redirection out of the Country of destination may be effected only at the request of the sender or of the addressee; in this case the parcel must comply with the conditions required for the further transmission.

4. Redirection under the conditions set out above may also take place by air at the request of the sender or the addressee, provided that payment of the air surcharge in respect of the further transmission is guaranteed.

6. For the first and any subsequent redirection of each parcel, the following may be collected:

(a) the charges authorised by the internal regulations of the Administration concerned for such redirection, in the case of redirection within the Country of destination;

(b) the charges and fees entailed in the further transmission, in the case of redirection out of the country of destination;

1. Any parcel, arriving out of course as a result of an error on the part of the sender or the despatching Administration, is reforwarded to its proper destination by the most direct route used by the Administration which has received the parcel.

3. Any parcel reforwarded by application of the present Article is subject to the charges arising from forwarding to its proper destination and to the charges and fees mentioned in Article 36, SS6(c).

4. These charges and fees are collected from the Administration responsible for the office of exchange which misdirected the parcel. This Administration collects them where appropriate from the sender.

1. Any parcel wrongly accepted and returned to origin is subject to the charges and fees prescribed in Article 33, SS3.

2. If the rates and shares of charges which have been attributed to the Administration which returns the parcel are insufficient to cover these charges and fees, the outstanding charges are collected from the Administration responsible for the error if the parcel has been wrongly admitted in consequence of an error attributable to the postal service and from the sender if it has been wrongly admitted in consequence of an error of the sender or if it falls within one of the prohibitions laid down in Article 24.

3. In the contrary case, the Administration which returns the parcel refunds to the first Administration charged with reforwarding it to the office of origin, the rates and shares of charges for which it had been over-credited.

The return of a parcel to origin in consequence of the suspension of a service is free of charge; the unallocated conveyance charges collected for the outward journey are refunded to the sender.

When the Administration of destination or an intermediate Administration has not complied with the instructions given either at the time of posting or subsequently, it must bear the conveyance charges (outward and return) and any other charges or fees which have not been cancelled; nevertheless the charges paid for the outward journey remain the responsibility of the sender if he declared either at the time of posting or subsequently that in the event of non-delivery he would abandon the parcel or would like it to be sold.

Those articles contained in a parcel of which the early deterioration or decay is to be feared, and those articles only, may be sold immediately, even in course of transmission on either the outgoing or the return journey, without prior notice or legal formality, on behalf of the entitled person; if, for any reason whatsoever, sale is impossible, the spoilt or decayed articles are destroyed.

The sender of a parcel may, under the conditions laid down in Article 26 of the Convention, ask for its return to origin or to have its address altered, provided he guarantees payment of the amounts due for any further transmission under the provisions of Articles 33, SS3 and 36, SS6. In the case of telegraphic requests for alteration of the address of insured parcels the registration charge is due over and above the telegraph charge.

1. Each Administration is bound to accept enquiries and requests for information relating to any parcel posted in the service of another Administration.

2. Enquiries are entertained only within a period of a year from the day after that on which the parcel was posted.

3. Requests for information initiated by an Administration are in order and must be dealt with, provided only that they reach the Administration concerned within a period of fifteen months from the date the parcels were posted. Every administration is bound to deal with the requests for information as soon as possible.

4. Unless the sender has paid in full the advice of delivery charge prescribed in Article 18(i), each enquiry or request for information is subject to the collection of an "enquiry" charge at the rate laid down in Article 19(k). Enquiries or requests for information are transmitted under the conditions laid down in Article 35, SS4 of the Convention.

5. If the enquiry or request for information relates to several parcels posted at the same time at the same office by the same sender and addressed to the same addressee and sent by the same route, this charge is only collected once; it is refunded if the enquiry or request for information has been occasioned by a service error.

1. Postal Administrations are answerable for the loss of, theft from or damage to parcels, except in the circumstances provided for in Article 45. Their responsibility is binding as much for parcels conveyed à découvert as for those which are forwarded in closed mails.

2. The sender is entitled to an indemnity corresponding in principle, to the actual amount of the loss, theft or damage; indirect loss or loss of profits is not taken into consideration. Nevertheless, this indemnity may in no case exceed:

(a) for insured parcels, the amount in gold francs of the insured value; in the case of redirection or return by surface of an insured air parcel, the responsibility is limited, for the second journey, to that which applies to parcels sent by that route.

3. The indemnity is calculated in accordance with the current price, converted into gold francs, of goods of the same kind at the place and time at which the parcel was accepted for conveyance; failing the current price, the indemnity is calculated in accordance with the ordinary value of goods whose value is assessed on the same bases.

4. When an indemnity is due for the loss, total theft or total damage of a parcel, the sender is also entitled to the repayment of the charges paid with the exception of the insurance fees; the same applies to items refused by the addressees because of their bad condition, if that is attributable to the postal service and involves its responsibility.

5. When the loss, total theft or total damage arises from circumstances beyond control which do not give rise to indemnification, the sender is entitled to the repayment not only of the land and sea rates as well as the air surcharges appropriate to any sector not traversed by the parcel, but also the charges, whatever their nature, relating to a service paid for in advance but not rendered.

6. The indemnity is paid to the addressee when he claims it either after having made reservations in taking delivery of a parcel that has been tampered with or damaged or if the sender has waived his rights in his favour

1. Postal Administrations cease to be responsible for parcels which they have delivered either under the conditions prescribed by their internal regulations for items of the same kind, or under the conditions laid down in Article 12, SS3 of the Convention; responsibility is however maintained:

(a) when, internal regulations permitting, the addressee, or in the case of return to origin the sender, makes reservations on taking delivery of a spoiled or damaged parcel.

(b) when the addressee, or in the case of return to origin the sender, although having given a proper discharge, states without delay to the Administration who delivered the parcel to him that he has found damage and gives proof that the theft or damage did not occur after delivery.

(a) in circumstances beyond control. The Administration in whose service the loss, theft or damage took place must decide, according to the legislation of its country, whether this loss, damage or theft is due to circumstances attributable to a cause beyond control; these circumstances are brought to the knowledge of the Administration of the country of origin if the latter request them. Nevertheless, responsibility still rests with the Administration of the despatching country if it has undertaken to cover risks from causes beyond control (Article 16, SS2(a));

(b) when they cannot account for parcels owing to the destruction of official records through a cause beyond control, provided that proof of their responsibility has not been otherwise established;

(c) when the damage has been caused by the fault or the negligence of the sender or arises from the nature of the contents of the parcel;

(d) where it is a question of parcels whose contents fall within the prohibitions specified in Article 24(a)(ii), (iii), (v), (vi) and (vii) and (b), insofar as these parcels have been confiscated or destroyed by the competent authority on account of their contents;

(e) where it is a question of parcels which have been fraudulently insured for a sum greater than the actual value of the contents;

(f) where the sender has made no enquiry within the period prescribed in Article 43, SS2;

(ii) for parcels seized under the internal legislation of the Country of destination.

3. Postal Administrations accept no responsibility as regards customs declarations, in whatever form they have been made, or for the decisions taken by Customs on examination of parcels submitted to Customs control.

1. The sender of a parcel is responsible within the same limits as Administrations themselves for all damage caused to other postal items as a result of the sending of objects not admitted for conveyance or of the non-observance of conditions of admission, provided that there was neither fault nor negligence on the part of Administrations or carriers.

2. The acceptance by an office of posting of such a parcel does not relieve the sender of his responsibility.

3. Should the occasion arise, it is up to the Administration of origin to take action against the sender.

1. Until the contrary is proved, responsibility rests with the postal Administration which, having received the parcel without comment and being provided with all prescribed means of enquiry, cannot prove either delivery to the addressee or, where appropriate, proper transfer to another Administration.

2. An intermediate Administration or one of destination is, until proof to the contrary and subject to SS4, relieved of all responsibility:

(a) when it has observed the prescribed rules relative to the check of mails and parcels and the establishment of irregularities;

(b) when it can prove that it was not informed of the enquiry until after the destruction of official records relating to the parcel in question, the period of regular conservation having expired; this reservation does not prejudice the rights of the enquirer.

3. When the loss, theft or damage occurs in the service of an air undertaking the Administration of the Country which collects the transport charges reimburses the Administration of origin for the indemnity paid to the sender.

4. If the loss, theft or damage occurs in course of conveyance without it being possible to establish in the territory or in the service of which country this has happened, the Administrations concerned bear the loss equally; however when it is a question of an ordinary damaged parcel and when the amount of the compensation does not exceed 25 francs, this sum is borne equally by the Administration of origin and that of destination, intermediate Administrations being excluded. If the theft or damage has been established in the country of destination or, in the case of a return to the sender, in the Country of origin, it rests with the Administration of that country to prove:

(a) that neither the wrapping nor the fastening of the parcel carried any apparent traces of theft or damage;

(b) that in the case of an insured parcel the weight established at the time of posting has not varied;

When such proof has been made by the Administration of destination or, if appropriate by the Administration of origin none of the other Administrations concerned may repudiate its share of responsibility by arguing that it handed over the parcel without the next Administration having made any reservation.

5. In the case of items sent in bulk, in application of Article 51, SS2 and SS3, none of the Administrations concerned may, with the aim of refusing its share of responsibility, argue that the number of parcels found in the mail differs from that advised on the parcel bill.

6. In the case of bulk transmission, the Administrations concerned may agree among themselves that the responsibility be shared in the event of loss, theft or damage of certain categories of parcels, determined by common agreement.

7. As regards insured parcels, the responsibility of one Administration as regards other Administrations is in no case binding beyond the maximum insured value that it has adopted.

8. When a parcel has been lost, tampered with or damaged in circumstances beyond control, the Administration within whose territorial limits or in whose services the loss, theft or damage occurred is not responsible towards the Administration of origin unless the two Administrations undertake to cover risks resulting from a cause beyond control.

9. Customs and other fees of which it has not been possible to secure cancellation are borne by the Administrations responsible for the loss, theft or damage.

10. The Administration which has made the payment of the indemnity takes over the rights, up to the amount of this indemnity, of the person who has received it in any action which may be taken against the addressee, the sender or third parties.

1. Subject to the right to make a claim on the Administration responsible the obligation to pay the indemnity and to refund the charges and fees, falls either to the Administration of origin or, in the case mentioned in Article 44, SS6, to the Administration of destination.

2. This payment must be made within the soonest possible time and at the latest within a period of six months from the day following the day of enquiry.

3. When the Administration responsible for the payment does not undertake to cover risks resulting from causes beyond control and when at the end of the period prescribed in SS2, the question of knowing whether the loss, theft or damage is due to such causes has not yet been decided on, the settlement of the indemnity may exceptionally be postponed beyond that period.

4. The Administration of origin or destination, as the case may be, is authorised to settle with the entitled person at the expense of any of the other Administrations sharing in the conveyance which has been duly informed, and has allowed five months to pass without settling the matter or without having brought to the notice of the Administration of origin or destination as the case may be, that the loss, theft or damage would appear to be due to a cause beyond control.

1. The Administration responsible for or on whose account the payment is made in accordance with Article 47 is bound to reimburse the Administration having made the payment under Article 48 and which is called the "paying Administration" the amount of indemnity actually paid to the entitled person: this payment must be made within a period of four months from the despatch of the notification of payment.

2. If the indemnity is to be borne by several Administrations in accordance with Article 47, the whole of the indemnity must be paid to the paying Administration within the period mentioned in SS1 by the first Administration which, having duly received the parcel claimed for, is unable to prove its proper transfer to the corresponding service. It rests with this Administration to recover, from the other Administration responsible, the share likely to fall to each one of them of the compensation paid to the entitled person.

3. The reimbursement to the creditor Administration is made in accordance with the regulations for payment laid down in Article 13 of the Convention.

4. When responsibility has been admitted, as well as in the case provided for in Article 48, SS4, the amount of the indemnity may also be recovered as a matter of course by means of an account from the Administration responsible, either directly or through the intermediary of the first transit Administration, which claims credit in its turn from the next Administration, the operation being repeated until the sum paid has been debited to the Administration responsible; where appropriate, the provisions of the Detailed Regulations relating to the drawing up of accounts should be observed.

5. The paying Administration may only claim reimbursement of the indemnity from the Administration responsible within a period of one year either from the date of despatch of the notification of the payment or, where appropriate, from the date of expiry of the period prescribed in Article 48, SS4, of the Agreement.

6. The Administration whose responsibility is duly proved and which has at first declined to pay the indemnity must assume all additional costs resulting from the unwarranted delay in payment.

1. If, after payment of the indemnity, a parcel or part of a parcel previously considered as lost, is found, the addressee and the sender are informed of the fact; the latter or, in accordance with Article 44, SS6 the addressee is further advised that he may take delivery of it within a period of three months on repayment of the amount of the indemnity received. If, within this period, the sender or the addressee as the case may be, does not reclaim the parcel, the same approach is made to the addressee or the sender according to the case.

2. If the sender or the addressee takes delivery of the parcel or of the part of the parcel recovered against reimbursement of the amount of the indemnity, this amount is refunded to the Administration or, where appropriate, to the Administrations which bore the loss.

3. If the sender and the addressee refuse to take delivery of the parcel, this becomes the property of the Administration or, where appropriate, the Administrations which bore the loss.

4. When proof of delivery is forthcoming after the period of five months specified in Article 48, SS4, the indemnity paid remains the responsibility of the intermediate Administration or Administration of destination if the sum paid cannot for any reason whatever be recovered from the sender.

5. In the case of subsequent discovery of an insured parcel the contents of which are found to be of a lesser value than the amount of indemnity paid, the sender must reimburse the amount of this indemnity on return of the insured parcel, without prejudice to the consequences arising from fraudulent insurance as mentioned in Article 28, SS2.

1. An allocation of charges to the interested Administration is made in principle in respect of each parcel.

2. However, in the case of transmission by closed mails, the Administration of origin may agree with the Administration of destination, and with any intermediate Administrations with a view to allocating sea and land rates in bulk for each weight step, the allocation of other taxes being made per parcel.

3. Also in the case of transmission by direct mails, the Administration of origin may agree with the Administration of destination and possibly with the intermediate Administrations to credit them with sums calculated per parcel or per kilogram of gross weight of the mails and corresponding either to the land and sea rates only, other taxes being allocated on a per parcel basis or, alternatively, to the whole of the payments due to them.

The Convention is applicable, where appropriate, by analogy, whenever the present Agreement does not specifically apply.

Conditions for approval of proposals concerning the present Agreement and its Detailed Regulations

1. To become effective, proposals submitted to Congress and relating to the present Agreement and its Detailed Regulations must be approved by a majority of the Member Countries present and voting who are parties to the Agreement. Half of these Member Countries represented at Congress must be present at the time of voting.

2. To become effective, proposals introduced between two Congresses and relating to the present Agreement and its Detailed Regulations must obtain:

(a) the unanimity of the votes, if they involve either the addition of new provisions or an amendment of principle of the Articles of this Agreement, its Final Protocol or the final Article of its Detailed Regulations;

(b) two-thirds of the votes, if they involve an amendment of principle of the Detailed Regulations, with the exception of the final Article and of its final Protocol;

(i) the interpretation of the provisions of this Agreement, its final Protocol and its Detailed Regulations including the final Protocol of the latter except in the case of a disagreement to be submitted to arbitration as provided for in Article 32 of the Constitution;

3. When a Member Country of the Union expresses outside Congress a desire to become a party to this Agreement, asking to be allowed to collect exceptional outward and inward rates on a higher scale than that authorised by Article 12, the International Bureau submits the request to all the member Countries signatory to the Agreement; if, within a period of six months, more than one-third of these Member Countries do not pronounce against the request it is considered to be admitted.

Parcels addressed to or originating in Countries not participating in the Agreement

1. The Administration of Countries participating in this Agreement which maintain an exchange of parcels with the Administrations of non-participating Countries shall allow, in the absence of any opposition on the part of the latter, the Administrations of all the participating Countries to avail themselves of these services.

2. For transit by the land, sea and air services of the Countries participating in the Agreement, parcels addressed to or originating in a non-participating Country are treated in the same way as parcels exchanged between participating Countries so far as the amount of the land, sea and air rates are concerned. The same applies in the case of responsibility each time it is established that the damage occurred in the service of one of the participating countries and when the indemnity has to be paid in a participating country either to the sender or possibly to the addressee, in the case of theft or damage.

The present Agreement shall come into force on 1 January 1966 and shall remain in operation until the entry into force of the Acts of the next Congress.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the Plenipotentiaries of the Governments of contracting Countries have signed the present Agreement in a single copy which shall lie in the Archives of the Government of the country in which the seat of the Union is situated. A copy of it will be delivered to each Party by the Government of the Country where Congress is held.

AT THE MOMENT of proceeding to sign the Agreement concerning Postal Parcels concluded this day,

1. Any Country whose postal Administration does not at present undertake the conveyance of parcels and which is a party to the Agreement, has the option of arranging for its provisions to be implemented by railway and shipping undertakings. It may, at the same time, limit this service to parcels originating in or addressed to places served by these undertakings.

2. The postal Administration of such a Country shall make arrangements with the railway and shipping undertakings to ensure the complete implementation by them of all the provisions of the Agreement, with special reference to the arrangements for the exchange of parcels.

3. The postal Administration acts as intermediary for them in all their relations with Administrations of the other contracting Countries and with the International Bureau.

Delivery Free of Postal and non-postal charges requested after the Posting of a Parcel

The following Countries, which accept service of parcels free of postal and non-postal charges do not admit requests for delivery free of postal and non-postal charges after the posting of the parcel: the Commonwealth of Australia, Cyprus, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, the Overseas Territories for whose international relations the Government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland are responsible, Irish Republic, Kuwait, Malaysia, Federal Republic of Nigeria, New Zealand, Uganda, Sierra Leone, United Republic of Tanganyika and Zanzibar, and Trinidad and Tobago.

Countries which by reason of their internal regulations are unable to adopt the metric-decimal system of weight are permitted the right to substitute for the weight steps provided for in Article 3 of the following equivalents:

1. Notwithstanding Article 1 of the Convention, the right not to undertake the conveyance of parcels in transit across their territory is for the time being granted to Afghanistan, Iran, and the Portuguese Provinces in Africa.

For the time being the Administrations listed in tables 1 and 2 below are authorised to collect:

(a) the outward and inward rates indicated in table 1, in place of the exceptional outward and inward rate authorised in Article 12;

(b) the transit land rates indicated in table 2, in addition to the transit rates mentioned in Article 6.

				USSR in Europe	USSR in Asia
				fr. c.	fr. c.
			Parcels up to 1kg.	0.40	1.40
			Parcels over 1 and up to 3kg.	0.70	2.20
			Parcels over 3 and up to 5kg.	1.00	3.00
			Parcels over 5 and up to 10kg.	2.00	6.00
			Parcels over 10 and up to 15kg.	3.00	9.00
			Parcels over 15 and up to 20kg.	4.00	12.00
			Throughout the whole of the territory of the USSR the same outward and inward rates are in force for postal parcels.

6	Burma	0.75

7	Bolivia	⁵	⁵For parcels originating in or addressed to places other than Cochabamba, La Paz, Oruro, Potosi, Sucre and Tarija the rate may amount to the following:
				fr. c.
			Parcels up to 1kg.	3.00
			Parcels over 1 and up to 5kg.	7.00
			Parcels over 5 and up to 10kg.	14.00

8	Brazil (United States)	2.25⁶	⁶The rate may be increased to 3.25 francs for parcels addressed to certain remote offices.

9	Bulgaria (People's Republic)	0.50

10	Cameroon	⁷	⁷For the conveyance of parcels beyond the offices of exchange, an internal transport charge is collected which varies according to the destination and which may not exceed the tariff applicable to postal parcels in the internal service.

11	Central Africa (Republic)	⁸	⁸For the conveyance of parcels beyond the offices of exchange, an internal transport charge is collected which varies according to the destination and which may not exceed the tariff applicable to postal parcels in the internal service.

12	Ceylon	⁹	⁹The rate may amount to the following:
				fr. c.
			Parcels up to 1kg.	0.35
			Parcels over 1 and up to 3kg.	0.55
			Parcels over 3 and up to 10kg.	1.00

13	Chile	0.75

14	China	0.75¹⁰	¹⁰A rate corresponding to the tariff for postal parcels in the Chinese internal service is for the time being collected from the senders or the addressees in respect of parcels originating in or addressed to China, except Shanghai and Canton.

15	Cyprus	¹¹	¹¹The rate may amount to the following:
				fr. c.
			Parcels up to 1kg.	1.25
			Parcels over 1 and up to 3kg.	1.50
			Parcels over 3 and up to 5kg.	1.75
			Parcels over 5 and up to 10kg.	1.10

16	Colombia (Republic)	¹²	¹²The rate may be increased to 1 franc per parcel addressed to sea ports and 1 franc per kilogram or fraction of a kilogram for parcels addressed to other places.

17	Congo (Brazzaville)	¹³	¹³ For the conveyance of parcels beyond the office of exchange, an internal transport charge is collected which varies according to the destination and which may not exceed the tariff applicable to postal parcels in the internal service.

18	Congo (Leopoldville)	¹⁴	¹⁴The rate may amount to the following:
				fr. c.
			Parcels up to 1kg.	0.30
			Parcels over 1 and up to 3kg.	0.90
			Parcels over 3 and up to 5kg.	1.50
			Parcels over 5 and up to 10kg.	3.00
			Parcels over 10 and up to 15kg.	4.50
			Parcels over 15 and up to 20kg.	6.00

19	Ivory Coast (Republic)	¹⁵	¹⁵ For the conveyance of parcels beyond the offices of exchange an internal transport charge is collected which varies according to the destination and which may not exceed the tariff applicable to postal parcels in the internal service.

20	Dahomey (Republic)	¹⁶	¹⁶The rate may amount to the following:
				fr. c.
			Parcels up to 1kg.	1.50
			Parcels over 1 and up to 5kg.	2.00
			Parcels over 5 and up to 10kg.	3.00
			Parcels over 10 and up to 15kg.	4.00
			Parcels over 15 and up to 20kg.	5.00

21	Dominica (Republic)	1.25

22	El Salvador (Republic)	1.25

23	Ecuador	1.25

24	Spain	0.75

25	Ethiopia	¹⁷	¹⁷The rate may amount to the following:
				fr. c.
			Parcels up to 1kg.	0.90
			Parcels over 1 and up to 3kg.	1.25
			Parcels over 3 and up to 5kg.	1.65
			Parcels over 5 and up to 10kg.	2.50
			Parcels over 10 and up to 15kg.	3.70
			Parcels over 15 and up to 20kg.	4.90
			In the case of parcels transported by the Franco-Ethiopian Railway between Dire Dawa and Addis Ababa, costs arising from this special transport are added to the above mentioned rate.

26	Finland	0.75

27	Territories represented by the French Overseas Office for Posts and Telecommunications	¹⁸	¹⁸For the conveyance of parcels beyond the offices of exchange an internal transport charge is collected which varies according to the destination and which may not exceed the tariff applicable to postal parcels in the internal service.

28	Gabon (Republic)	¹⁹	¹⁹For the conveyance of parcels beyond the offices of exchange an internal transport charge is collected which varies according to the destination and which may not exceed the tariff applicable to postal parcels in the internal service.

29	Great Britain & British Overseas Territories	²⁰	²⁰The rate may amount to the following:
				fr. c.
			Parcels up to 1kg.	1.80
			Parcels over 1 and up to 3kg.	2.00
			Parcels over 3 and up to 5kg.	2.70
			Parcels over 5 and up to 10kg.	3.10

30	Greece	0.75

31	Guatemala	0.75

32	Haiti (Republic)	0.50

33	Upper Volta (Republic)	²¹	²¹For the conveyance of parcels beyond the offices of exchange an internal transport charge is collected which varies according to the destination and which may not exceed the tariff applicable to postal parcels in the internal service.

34	India	²²	²²The rate may amount to the following:
				fr. c.
			Parcels up to 1kg.	0.50
			Parcels over 1 and up to 3kg.	0.75
			Parcels over 3 and up to 5kg.	1.25
			Parcels over 5 and up to 10kg.	1.50

35	Indonesia	0.50

36	Iran	²³	²³For the conveyance of parcels beyond the offices of exchange a rate not exceeding the tariff applicable to parcels in the internal service is permitted.

37	Iraq	²⁴	²⁴The rate may amount to the following:
				fr. c.
			Parcels up to 1kg.	0.75
			Parcels over 1 and up to 5kg.	1.25
			Parcels over 5 and up to 10kg.	1.60

38	Iceland (Republic)	²⁵	²⁵The rate may amount to the following:
				fr. c.
			Parcels up to 3kg.	0.50
			Parcels over 3 and up to 5kg.	0.75
			Parcels over 5 and up to 10kg.	1.00

39	Israel	²⁶	²⁶The rate may amount to the following:
				fr. c.
			Parcels up to 1kg.	0.60
			Parcels over 1 and up to 3kg.	0.80
			Parcels over 3 and up to 10kg.	1.50

40	Jamaica	²⁷	²⁷The rate may amount to the following:
				fr. c.
			Parcels up to 1kg.	1.25
			Parcels over 1 and up to 3kg.	1.50
			Parcels over 3 and up to 5kg.	1.75
			Parcels over 5 and up to 10kg.	1.10

41	Japan	0.75

42	Kuwait	²⁸	²⁸The rate may amount to the following:
				fr. c.
			Parcels up to 1kg.	0.85
			Parcels over 1 and up to 3kg.	0.95
			Parcels over 3 and up to 5kg.	1.20
			Parcels over 5 and up to 10kg.	0.30

43	Libya	²⁹	²⁹Only for parcels addressed to the Province of Fezzan and the oases of Koufra, Jalo, Marada and Djiaghboub.

44	Malaysia	³⁰	³⁰The rate may amount to the following:
				fr. c.
			Parcels up to 1kg.	1.80
			Parcels over 1 and up to 3kg.	2.30
			Parcels over 3 and up to 5kg.	2.80
			Parcels over 5 and up to 10kg.	3.80

45	Malagasy (Republic)	³¹	³¹The rate may amount to the following:
				fr. c.
			Parcels up to 1kg.	0.80
			Parcels over 1 and up to 3kg.	1.20
			Parcels over 3 and up to 5kg.	2.00
			Parcels over 5 and up to 10kg.	3.00
			Parcels over 10 and up to 15kg.	4.00
			Parcels over 15 and up to 20kg.	5.00

46	Nicaragua	0.75

47	Niger (Republic)	³²	³²For the conveyance of parcels beyond the offices of exchange an internal transport charge is collected which varies according to the destination and which may not exceed the tariff applicable to postal parcels in the internal service.

48	Nigeria (Federal Rep.)	³³	³³The rate may amount to the following:
				fr. c.
			Parcels up to 1kg.	1.25
			Parcels over 1 and up to 3kg.	1.50
			Parcels over 3 and up to 5kg.	1.75
			Parcels over 5 and up to 10kg.	1.10

49	Norway	0.75

50	New Zealand	³⁴	³⁴The rate may amount to the following:
				fr. c.
			Parcels up to 1kg.	0.70
			Parcels over 1 and up to 3kg.	0.80
			Parcels over 3 and up to 5kg.	0.90
			Parcels over 5 and up to 10kg.	1.00

51	Uganda	³⁵	³⁵The rate may amount to the following:
				fr. c.
			Parcels up to 1kg.	1.25
			Parcels over 1 and up to 3kg.	1.50
			Parcels over 3 and up to 5kg.	1.75
			Parcels over 5 and up to 10kg.	1.10

52	Pakistan	³⁶	³⁶The rate may amount to the following:
				fr. c.
			Parcels up to 1kg.	0.25
			Parcels over 1 and up to 3kg.	0.75
			Parcels over 3 and up to 5kg.	1.00
			Parcels over 5 and up to 10kg.	1.50

53	Panama (Republic)	0.75

54	Peru	1.25

55	Portuguese Provinces of Angola and Mozambique	³⁷	³⁷For the conveyance of parcels beyond the offices of exchange a rate not exceeding the tariff applicable to parcels in the internal service is permitted.

56	Senegal (Republic)	³⁸	³⁸For the conveyance of parcels beyond the offices of exchange an internal transport charge is collected which varies according to the destination and which may not exceed the tariff applicable to postal parcels in the internal service.

57	Sierra Leone	³⁹	³⁹The rate may amount to the following:
				fr. c.
			Parcels up to 1kg.	1.25
			Parcels over 1 and up to 3kg.	1.50
			Parcels over 3 and up to 5kg.	1.75
			Parcels over 5 and up to 10kg.	1.10

58	Sudan (Republic)	⁴⁰	⁴⁰The rate may amount to the following:
				fr. c.
			Parcels up to 1kg.	0.50
			Parcels over 1 and up to 3kg.	0.85
			Parcels over 3 and up to 5kg.	1.20
			Parcels over 5 and up to 10kg.	2.40

59	Sweden	0.75

60	Tanganyika & Zanzibar (United Republic)	⁴¹	⁴¹The rate may amount to the following:
				fr. c.
			Parcels up to 1kg.	1.25
			Parcels over 1 and up to 3kg.	1.50
			Parcels over 3 and up to 5kg.	1.75
			Parcels over 5 and up to 10kg.	1.10

61	Chad	⁴²	⁴²For the conveyance of parcels beyond the offices of exchange an internal transport charge is collected which varies according to the destination and which may not exceed the tariff applicable to postal parcels in the internal service.

62	Thailand	0.75

63	Togo (Republic)	⁴³	⁴³The rate may amount to the following:
				fr. c.
			Parcels up to 3kg.	1.50
			Parcels over 3 and up to 5kg.	1.85
			Parcels over 5 and up to 10kg.	2.85
			Parcels over 10 and up to 15kg.	3.85
			Parcels over 15 and up to 20kg.	4.85


64	Trinidad and Tobago	⁴⁴	⁴⁴The rate may amount to the following:
				fr. c.
			Parcels up to 1kg.	1.25
			Parcels over 1 and up to 3kg.	1.50
			Parcels over 3 and up to 5kg.	1.75
			Parcels over 5 and up to 10kg.	1.10

65	Turkey in Asia	0.75⁴⁵	⁴⁵The rate may be increased to 2 francs for parcels addressed to offices distant from railways and the coasts which are conveyed by overland carriers.

66	Soviet Socialist Republic of Ukraine	⁴⁶	⁴⁶Outward and inward rates for parcels addressed to:
				USSR in Europe	USSR in Asia
				fr. c.	fr. c.
			Parcels up to 1kg.	0.40	1.40
			Parcels over 1 and up to 3kg.	0.70	2.20
			Parcels over 3 and up to 5kg.	1.00	3.00
			Parcels over 5 and up to 10kg.	2.00	6.00
			Parcels over 10 and up to 15kg.	3.00	9.00
			Parcels over 15 and up to 20kg.	4.00	12.00
			Throughout the whole of the territory of the USSR the same outward and inward rates are in force for postal parcels.

67	Union of Soviet Socialist Republics	⁴⁷	⁴⁷Outward and inward rates for parcels addressed to:
				USSR in Europe	USSR in Asia
				fr. c.	fr. c.
			Parcels up to 1kg.	0.40	1.40
			Parcels over 1 and up to 3kg.	0.70	2.20
			Parcels over 3 and up to 5kg.	1.00	3.00
			Parcels over 5 and up to 10kg.	2.00	6.00
			Parcels over 10 and up to 15kg.	3.00	9.00
			Parcels over 15 and up to 20kg.	4.00	12.00
			Throughout the whole of the territory of the USSR the same outward and inward rates are in force for postal parcels.

68	Uruguay	0.75

69	Venezuela (Republic)	1.25

(3) See under Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. Throughout the whole of the territory of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics the same charges are in force for postal parcels.

(4) For parcels from and for Iran following the Trebizond-Erzeroum-Bayezid route the land rate for each weight step may be increased by a further 1.50 francs.

The Commonwealth of Australia, Cyprus, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, the Overseas Territories for whose international relations the Government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland are responsible, Jamaica, Malaysia, the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Uganda, Sierra Leone, the United Republic of Tanganyika and Zanzibar, and Trinidad and Tobago are authorised to increase by 50 per cent at the most the sea rates provided for in Articles 8 and 9 and Kuwait by 100 per cent at the most.

(a) to a supplementary land rate equal, at most, to half the land rate applicable to all parcels originating in or addressed to the mainland of France;

(b) to a supplementary sea rate equal to that applicable in France for the first distance step.

3. The Portuguese Administration has the right to collect a supplementary rate of 1.50 francs per parcel at most, for conveyance between the mainland of Portugal and the Madeira and Azores Islands.

4. Every parcel conveyed by the Iraq-Syria trans-desert motor services gives rise to the collection of a special supplementary rate fixed as follows:

5. The conveyance of parcels between Karachi (Pakistan) on the one hand and the Pakistani offices of Ormara, Pasni and Gwadur on the other, gives rise to the collection of supplementary rates equal to the sea rates fixed in Article 8, SS2 for the first distance step.

6. The Overseas Territories for whose international relations the Government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland are responsible, India, Malaysia, Pakistan and Trinidad and Tobago are authorised to collect in respect of all parcels transiting their respective ports the land rates prescribed in Article 6, SS4 of the Agreement, in addition to the sea rates due to them

7. The conveyance of parcels between West Pakistan and East Pakistan gives rise to the collection of a special supplementary rate fixed as follows:

These special supplementary rates are collected only on parcels originating in foreign Countries and passing through an office of exchange in West Pakistan en route for East Pakistan or vice-versa.

1. The postal Administration of Iraq has the right to apply to parcels originating in its Country a graduated tariff corresponding to different categories of weight, on condition that the average of the charges does not exceed the normal charge, including the exceptional and the supplementary rates to which it is entitled.

2. This last option is also granted to Countries which accede to the Agreement up to the next Congress.

3. Exceptionally, the Administrations of Pakistan and the Republic of Venezuela are authorised to collect for all parcels over 1kg. and up to 3kg. the charge applicable to parcels over 3kg. and up to 5kg.

4. The French Administration has the right invariably to treat air parcels as urgent parcels and to collect in respect of these parcels double the land rates and increases provided for in Articles 6, 7 and 12.

5. The Commonwealth of Australia has the right to collect from the public the postal and non-postal charges mentioned in Article 4 in terms of geographical zones.

Notwithstanding Article 16 certain Administrations are authorised, in accordance with the following table, to collect in respect of each insured parcel, the supplementary insurance fees below:

1. Greece, Tunisia and Turkey in Asia have the right for the time being not to admit parcels whose size or volume exceeds the maximum authorised by Article 25, SS2 for the sea services.

2. The Commonwealth of Australia and India have the right not to admit parcels whose dimensions exceed the limits prescribed in their internal services.

By application of Article 2, SS2(e)(i) and notwithstanding the limits fixed by Article 25, SS1:

(a) The Republic of Sudan has the right in its relations with other Countries to regard as cumbersome, parcels of which any dimension exceeds 1.10 metres or of which the sum of the length and the greatest circumference, measured in a direction other than that of the length exceeds 1.85 metres.

(b) Cyprus, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, the Overseas Territories for whose international relations the Government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland are responsible, the Irish Republic, Jamaica, Kuwait, Malaysia, the Federal Republic of Nigeria, New Zealand, Uganda, Sierra Leone, the United Republic of Tanganyika and Zanzibar, and Trinidad and Tobago have the right in their relations with other Countries to regard as cumbersome parcels of which any dimension exceeds 1.05 metres or of which the sum of the length and the greatest circumference, measured in a direction other than that of the length, exceeds 1.80 metres.

1. Notwithstanding the provision of Article 27, SS2(g) the Republic of Colombia, Israel, the Soviet Socialist Republic of Byelorussia, the Soviet Socialist Republic of Ukraine and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics have for the time being, the right not to admit parcels, bearing the indication vente du colis aux risques et perils de l'expediteur (sale of the parcel at the entire risk of sender).

2. Notwithstanding Article 27, SS2(a), (b) and (g) the Commonwealth of Australia, Ceylon, Cyprus, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, the Overseas Territories for whose international relations the Government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland are responsible, the Irish Republic, Jamaica, Kuwait, Malaysia, the Federal Republic of Nigeria, New Zealand, Uganda, Sierra Leone, the United Republic of Tanganyika and Zanzibar, and Trinidad and Tobago have the right not to admit the procedures relating to the sending of an advice of non-delivery, or to the sale of a parcel at the entire risk of the sender.

Notwithstanding Article 28 the Commonwealth of Australia, Cyprus, those of the Overseas Territories for whose international relations the Government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland are responsible which are concerned, Jamaica, Malaysia, the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Uganda, Sierra Leone, the United Republic of Tanganyika and Zanzibar, and Trinidad and Tobago, which have a maximum insured value in their internal service less than 1000 francs, have the right to limit the maximum insured value in their international service to this lower amount.

Article 42 does not apply to the Commonwealth of Australia, Burma, Cyprus, El Salvador, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, the Irish Republic, Kuwait, Malaysia, the Federal Republic of Nigeria, New Zealand, Uganda, Sierra Leone, the United Republic of Tanganyika and Zanzibar, and Trinidad and Tobago. Nor does it apply to those of the Overseas Territories for whose international relations the Government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland are responsible, whose internal legislation does not permit the withdrawal from the post or the alteration of the address of parcels at the sender's request or to India insofar as the alteration of the address of parcels in concerned.

Ceylon, Cyprus, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, the Overseas Territories for whose international relations the Government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland are responsible, the Irish Republic, Jamaica, Kuwait, Malaysia, the Federal Republic of Nigeria, New Zealand, Uganda, Sierra Leone, the United Republic of Tanganyika and Zanzibar, and Trinidad and Tobago have the right to restrict advice of delivery to insured parcels.

Notwithstanding Article 44 the Congo (Leopoldville), Iraq, Kuwait and the Republic of Sudan are authorised to pay no indemnity for damage to parcels coming from any Country addressed to the Congo (Leopoldville), Iraq, Kuwait or Sudan and containing liquids and substances which easily liquefy, glass articles and those of a similar fragile nature.

Notwithstanding the provisions of Article 44 the Commonwealth of Australia, Cyprus, those of the Overseas Territories for whose international relations the Government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland are responsible whose internal regulations do not permit them to comply, Jamaica, the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Uganda, Sierra Leone, the United Republic of Tanganyika and Zanzibar, and Trinidad and Tobago have the right not to pay compensation for uninsured parcels lost, stolen or damaged in their service.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the undermentioned Plenipotentiaries have drawn up the present Protocol which shall have the same force and validity as if the provisions contained in it were inserted in the actual text of the Agreement to which it relates, and they have signed it in a single copy which shall lie in the Archives of the Government of the Country in which the seat of the Union is situated. One copy of it shall be delivered to each Party by the Government of the Country in which Congress was held.

	Unit of weight	Charge	Limits
Category			of weight	of size
1	2	3	4	5
	g.	c.
Letters:
First weight step	} 20	25	} 2 kg.	{Maxima: length, width and
each succeeding step	}	15	}	{depth combined: 90 cm., but
				{the greatest dimension may
				{not exceed 60 cm.
				{In roll form: length plus twice
				{the diameter, 104 cm., but
				{the greatest dimension may
				{not exceed 90 cm.
				{Minima: to have a surface
				{measuring not less than
				{10 x 7 cm. In roll form:
				{length plus twice the
				{diameter: 17 cm., but the
				{greatest dimension may not
				{be less than 10 cm.
				{Items of smaller dimensions
				{than the minima set out
				{above are nevertheless
				{admitted if they bear a
				{rectangular address label of
				{card or strong paper, the
				{dimensions of which are not
				{less than 10 x 7 cm.
Postcards:
single	-	15	-	}Maxima: 15 x 10.7cm.
reply-paid	-	30	-	}Minima: as for letters.

Printed papers	50	-	3 kg.	}
first weight step	-	12	(for books: 5 kg; this limit	}
each succeeding step	-	6	of weight may be raised to	}
			10 kg. after agreement	}
			between the	}
			Administrations concerned)	}
				}
Literature for blind	See Article 9		7 kg.	}
				}
Samples of merchandise	50	-	500 gm.	}As for letters
				}
first weight step	-	12		}
each succeeding step	-	6		}
Minimum charge	-	25		}
				}
Small packets	50	12	1 kg.	}
Minimum charge	-	50		}
				}
"Phonopost" items	50	20	1 kg.	}

Distances traversed 1	Charge per kg gross 2

(i) Distances traversed by land expressed in kilometres	fr. c.

Up to 300 km	0.10
Above 300 up to 600	0.17
600 1000	0.24
1000 1500	0.33
1500 2000	0.42
2000 2500	0.51
2500 3000	0.60
3000 3800	0.71
3800 4600	0.83
4600 5500	0.97
5500 6500	1.11
6500 7500	1.26
7500 for each additional 1000	0.15

(ii) Distances traversed by sea

(a) expressed in nautical miles	(b) expressed in kilometres after conversion on the basis of 1 nautical mile = 1.852 km

Up to 300 nautical miles	Up to 556 km	0.19
Above 300 up to 600	Above 556 up to 1111	0.27
600 1000	1111 1852	0.33
1000 1500	1852 2778	0.38
1500 2000	2778 3704	0.43
2000 2500	3704 4630	0.47
2500 3000	4630 5556	0.50
3000 3500	5556 6482	0.53
3500 4000	6482 7408	0.56
4000 5000	7408 9260	0.60
5000 6000	9260 11112	0.64
6000 7000	11112 12964	0.69
7000 8000	12964 14816	0.72
8000	14816	0.76

Category	Charges
1	Upper limit 2	Lower limit 3
	c.	c.
Letters {first weight step	40	20
{each succeeding step	24	12
Postcards {single	24	12
{reply-paid	48	24
Printed papers {first weight step	19.2	9.6
{each succeeding step	9.6	4.8
Literature for the blind	-	-
Samples of merchandise {first weight step	19.2	9.6
{each succeeding step	9.6	4.8
Minimum charge	40	20
Small packets, per 50 grams	19.2	9.6
Minimum charge	80	40
"Phonopost" items per 50 grams	32	16

Weight steps 1	Outward and inward land rate 2	Transit land rate 3
	fr.c.	fr.c.
Up to 1 kg	0.60	0.40
Above 1 up to 3 kg	0.80	0.50
Above 3 up to 5 kg	1.00	0.60
Above 5 up to 10 kg	2.00	1.30
Above 10 up to 15 kg	3.00	1.90
Above 15 up to 20 kg	4.00	2.50

(a) First formula	For each 200 francs or fraction of 200 francs of insured value	5 centimes for each Administration participating in the land conveyance.
		10 centimes for each sea service used.
		10 centimes for each air service used.
(b) Second formula	For each 200 francs or fraction of 200 francs of insured value.	50 centimes at most.

No. 1	Authorised Administrations 2	Amount per parcel 3	Observations 4
		fr. c.
1	Afghanistan	1.50¹	¹The rate may be increased to 3.50 francs for parcels over 5 and up to 10kg.

2	Albania (People's Republic)	1.00

3	Argentine (Republic)	0.75²	²The rate may be increased to 1.25 francs for parcels coming from and intended for the Argentine offices of Costa del Sur, Tierra del Fuego, Antarctica and the South Atlantic islands.

4	Australia	³	³The rate may amount to the following:

				fr. c.
			Parcels up to 1kg.	0.45
			Parcels over 1 and up to 3kg.	0.90
			Parcels over 3 and up to 5kg.	1.50
			Parcels over 5 and up to 10kg.	2.10

5	Soviet Socialist Republic of Byelorussia	⁴	⁴Outward and inward rates for parcels addressed to:

1	2	Up to 1kg. 3	Over 1 and up to 3kg. 4	Over 3 and up to 5kg. 5	Over 5 and up to 10kg. 6	Over 10 and up to 15kg. 7	Over 15 and up to 20kg. 8
		fr. c.	fr. c.	fr. c.	fr. c.	fr. c.	fr. c.

1	Argentine (Republic) ⁽¹⁾	3.60	3.60	3.60	3.60
2	Australia ⁽²⁾	1.00	1.75	2.50	3.00
3	Soviet Socialist Republic of Byelorussia ⁽³⁾
4	Burma	0.70	0.60	0.60	0.90
5	Brazil (United States)	1.00	0.80	0.60
6	Central Africa (Republic)	0.60	1.50	2.00	4.00	6.00	8.00
7	Ceylon	0.85	1.25	1.90	2.70
8	Chile ⁽¹⁾	1.25	1.25	1.25	1.25
9	China	0.95	0.95	0.75	0.25
10	Cyprus	1.00	1.10	1.20	1.40
11	Congo (Brazzaville)	0.60	1.50	2.00	4.00	6.00	8.00
12	Congo (Leopoldville)	0.30	0.90	1.50	3.00	4.50	6.00
13	Ecuador	0.70	0.50	0.50
14	Gabon (Republic)	0.60	1.50	2.00	4.00	6.00	8.00
15a	Great Britain and British Territories Overseas ⁽²⁾ except for the following:	1.00	1.10	1.20	1.40
15b	Northern Rhodesia and Southern Rhodesia ⁽²⁾	1.00	1.10	1.50	2.00
16	India	0.45	0.60	1.00	1.50
17	Iraq	0.70	0.60	0.50	1.40	3.00	4.00
18	Jamaica	1.00	1.10	1.20	1.40
19	Kuwait	0.70	0.80	0.90	0.85
20	Libya	0.20	0.30	0.40	0.50
21	Malaysia	1.00	1.10	1.20	2.00
22	Nigeria (Federal Republic)	1.00	1.10	1.20	1.40
23	Uganda ⁽²⁾	1.75	2.20	2.65	2.80
24	Pakistan	1.00	1.00	1.00	1.00
25	Peru	0.70	0.60	0.50
26	Sierra Leone	1.00	1.10	1.20	1.40
27	Sudan (Republic)	0.90	1.40	1.90	3.80
28	Tanganyika and Zanzibar (United Republic)	1.75	2.20	2.65	2.80
29	Chad (Republic)	0.60	1.50	2.00	4.00	6.00	8.00
30	Trinidad and Tobago	1.00	1.10	1.20	1.40
31	Turkey in Asia ⁽⁴⁾	2.20	2.00	2.00	1.50	1.00	0.50
32	Soviet Socialist Republic of Ukraine ⁽²⁾
33	Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (a) for parcels conveyed across USSR in Europe (b) for parcels conveyed across USSR in Asia (c) for parcels conveyed across USSR in Europe and Asia	0.40 1.40 1.80	0.70 2.20 2.90	1.00 3.00 4.00	2.00 6.00 8.00	3.00 9.00 12.00	4.00 12.00 16.00
34	Venezuela (Republic)	0.70	0.60	0.50	1.00	1.50	2.00

Weight steps 1	Supplementary rates 2
kg.	fr.c.
up to 1	0.50
over 1 and up to 3	1.50
over 3 and up to 5	2.50
over 5 and up to 10	5.00
over 10 and up to 15	7.50
over 15 and up to 20	10.00

Authorised Administrations 1	Fees authorised for each 200 francs or fraction of 200 francs of insured value 2	Insured parcels to which they apply these charges 3
	c
(a) Argentine (Republic)	10	Parcels originating in or addressed to the following offices: La Costa del Sur, Tierra del Fuego, Antarctica and islands in the South Atlantic.

(b) Congo (Leopoldville)	10	Parcels originating in or addressed to the Congo (Leopoldville) or transiting the Congo (Leopoldville).

(c) France	15	Parcels conveyed between the mainland of France and Corsica.

(d) Iraq	10	Parcels conveyed by the Iraq-Syria trans-desert motor services.

(c) Uganda	10	Parcels originating in or addressed to Uganda or transiting Uganda.

(f) Sudan (Republic)	5	Parcels originating in or addressed to the Congo (Leopoldville) and transiting the Sudan

(g) Tanganyika and Zanzibar (United Republic)	10	Parcels originating in or addressed to the United Republic of Tanganyika and Zanzibar or transiting the United Republic of Tanganyika and Zanzibar

Pacific Islands Treaty Series

Universal Postal Union: Constitution and Final Protocol; Convention and Final Protocol; Agreement Concerning Postal Parcels, and Final Protocol [1964] PITSE 2 (10 July 1964)