Article 22 Assembly of the Special Union

(1)

a)

The Contracting Parties shall be members of the same Assembly as the States party to the 1967 Act.

b)

Each Contracting Party shall be represented by one delegate, who may be assisted by alternate delegates, advisors and experts.

c)

Each delegation shall bear its own expenses.

(2)

a)

The Assembly shall:

(i)

deal with all matters concerning the maintenance and development of the Special Union and the implementation of this Act;

(ii)

give directions to the Director General concerning the preparation of revision conferences referred to in Article 26(1), due account being taken of any comments made by those members of the Special Union which have not ratified or acceded to this Act;

(iii)

amend the Regulations;

(iv)

review and approve the reports and activities of the Director General concerning the Special Union, and give him or her all necessary instructions concerning matters within the competence of the Special Union;

(v)

determine the program and adopt the biennial budget of the Special Union, and approve its final accounts;

(vi)

adopt the financial Regulations of the Special Union;

(vii)

establish such committees and working groups as it deems appropriate to achieve the objectives of the Special Union;

(viii)

determine which States, intergovernmental and non-governmental organizations shall be admitted to its meetings as observers;

(ix)

adopt amendments to Articles 22 to 24 and 27;

(x)

take any other appropriate action to further the objectives of the Special Union and perform any other functions as are appropriate under this Act.

b)

With respect to matters which are of interest also to other Unions administered by the Organization, the Assembly shall make its decisions after having heard the advice of the Coordination Committee of the Organization.

(3)

a)

One-half of the members of the Assembly which have the right to vote on a given matter shall constitute a quorum for the purposes of the vote on that matter.

b)

Notwithstanding the provisions of subparagraph (a), if, in any session, the number of the members of the Assembly which are States, have the right to vote on a given matter and are represented is less than one-half but equal to or more than one-third of the members of the Assembly which are States and have the right to vote on that matter, the Assembly may make decisions but, with the exception of decisions concerning its own procedure, all such decisions shall take effect only if the conditions set forth hereinafter are fulfilled. The International Bureau shall communicate the said decisions to the members of the Assembly which are States, have the right to vote on the said matter and were not represented and shall invite them to express in writing their vote or abstention within a period of three months from the date of the communication. If, at the expiration of this period, the number of such members having thus expressed their vote or abstention attains the number of the members which was lacking for attaining the quorum in the session itself, such decisions shall take effect provided that at the same time the required majority still obtains.

(4)

a)

The Assembly shall endeavor to take its decisions by consensus.

b)

Where a decision cannot be arrived at by consensus, the matter at issue shall be decided by voting. In such a case,

(i)

each Contracting Party that is a State shall have one vote and shall vote only in its own name; and

(ii)

any Contracting Party that is an intergovernmental organization may vote, in place of its member States, with a number of votes equal to the number of its member States which are party to this Act. No such intergovernmental organization shall participate in the vote if any one of its member States exercises its right to vote, and vice versa.

c)

On matters concerning only States that are bound by the 1967 Act, Contracting Parties that are not bound by the 1967 Act shall not have the right to vote, whereas, on matters concerning only Contracting Parties, only the latter shall have the right to vote.

(5)

a)

Subject to Articles 25(2) and 27(2), the decisions of the Assembly shall require two-thirds of the votes cast.

b)

Abstentions shall not be considered as votes.

(6)

a)

The Assembly shall meet upon convocation by the Director General and, in the absence of exceptional circumstances, during the same period and at the same place as the General Assembly of the Organization.

b)

The Assembly shall meet in extraordinary session upon convocation by the Director General, either at the request of one-fourth of the members of the Assembly or on the Director General's own initiative.

c)

The agenda of each session shall be prepared by the Director General.

(7)