prop · GR0329 · 2003-12-17 00:00:00 — (b)The are: (i)maintain global connectivity and global coverage; (ii)serve its lifeline connectivity ; and (iii)provide non-discriminatory access to the The following shall be considered for purposes of applying Article III on the same basis as international public telecommunications services: (a)domestic public telecommunications services between areas separated by areas not under the jurisdiction of the State concerned, or between areas separated by the high seas; and (b)domestic public telecommunications services between areas which are not linked by any terrestrial wideband facilities and which are separated by natural barriers of such an exceptional nature that they impede the viable of terrestrial wideband facilities between such areas, provided that the appropriate approval has been given. ITSO shall take all appropriate actions, including entering into the Agreement, to supervise the performance by the Company of the , in particular, the principle of non- discriminatory access to the Companys system for existing and future public telecommunications services offered by the Company when space segment capacity is available on a commercial basis. (a) ITSO shall possess juridical personality. It shall enjoy the full capacity necessary for the exercise of its functions and the achievement of its purposes, including the capacity to: (i) conclude agreements with States or international (ii) contract; (iii) acquire and dispose of property; and (iv) be a party to legal proceedings. (b) Each Party shall take such action as is necessary within its jurisdiction for the purpose of making effective in terms of its own law the provisions of this Article. (a)ITSO will be financed for the twelve year period established in Article XXI by the retention of certain financial assets at the time of transfer of ITSOs space system to the Company. (b)In the event ITSO continues beyond twelve years, ITSO shall obtain funding through the Agreement ITSO shall have the following organs: (a)the Assembly of Parties; and (b)an executive organ, headed by the Director General, responsible to the Assembly of Parties. (a) The Assembly of Parties shall be composed of all the Parties and shall he the principal organ of ITSO. (b)The Assembly of Parties shall give consideration to general policy and long-term objectives of ITSO. (c)The Assembly of Parties shall give consideration to matters which are primarily of interest to the Parties as sovereign States, and in particular ensure that the Company provides, on a commercial basis, international public telecommunications services, in order to: (i)maintain global connectivity and global coverage; (ii)serve its lifeline connectivity ; and (iii)provide non-discriminatory access to the (d) The Assembly of Parties shall have the following functions and powers: (i) to direct the executive organ of ITSO as it deems appropriate, in particular regarding the executive organs review of the activities of the Company that directly relate to the ; (ii) to consider and take decisions on proposals for amending this Agreement in accordance with Article XV of this Agreement; (iii) to appoint and remove the Director General in accordance with Article X; (iv) to consider and decide on reports submitted by the Director General that relate to the Companys observance of the ; (v) to consider and, in its discretion, take decisions on recommendations from the Director General; (vi) to take decisions, pursuant to paragraph (b) of Article XIV of this Agreement, in connection with the withdrawal of a Party from ITSO; (vii) to decide upon questions concerning formal relationships between ITSO and States, whether Parties or not, or international organizations; (viii)to consider complaints submitted to it by Parties; (ix)to consider issues pertaining to the Parties (x) to take decisions concerning the approval referred to in paragraph (b) of Article IV of this Agreement; (xi) to consider and approve the budget of ITSO for such period as agreed to by the Assembly of Parties; (xii) to take any necessary decisions with respect to contingencies that may arise outside of the approved budget; (xiii) to appoint an auditor to review the expenditures and accounts of ITSO; (xiv) to select the legal experts referred to in Article 3 of to this Agreement; (xv) to determine the conditions under which the Director General may commence an arbitration proceeding against the Company pursuant to the Agreement; (xvi) to decide upon amendments proposed to the Agreement; and (xvii) to exercise any other functions conferred upon it under any other Article of this Agreement. (e) The Assembly of Parties shall meet in ordinary session every two years beginning no later than twelve months after the transfer of ITSOs space system to the Company. In addition to the ordinary meetings of the Parties, the Assembly of Parties may meet in extraordinary meetings, which may be convened upon request of the executive organ acting pursuant to the provisions of paragraph (k) of Article X, or upon the written request of one or more Parties to the Director General that sets forth the purpose of the meeting and which receives the support of at least one-third of the Parties including the requesting Parties. The Assembly of Parties shall establish the conditions under which the Director General may convene an extraordinary meeting of the Assembly of Parties. (f)A quorum for any meeting of the Assembly of Parties shall consist of representatives of a majority of the Parties. Decisions on matters of substance shall be taken by an affirmative vote cast by at least two-thirds of the Parties whose representatives are present and voting. Decisions on procedural matters shall be taken by an affirmative vote cast by a simple majority of the Parties whose representatives are present and voting. Disputes whether a specific matter is procedural or substantive shall be decided by a vote cast by a simple majority of the Parties whose representatives are present and voting. Parties shall be afforded an opportunity to vote by proxy or other means as deemed appropriate by the Assembly of Parties and shall be provided with necessary information sufficiently in advance of the meeting of the Assembly of Parties. (g)For any meeting of the Assembly of Parties, each Party shall have one vote. (h)The Assembly of Parties shall adopt its own rules of procedure, which shall include provision for the election of a Chairman and other officers as well as provisions for participation and voting. (i)Each Party shall meet its own costs of representation at a meeting of the Assembly of Parties. of meetings of the Assembly of Parties shall he regarded as an administrative cost of ITSO. (a)The executive organ shall be headed by the Director General who shall be directly responsible to the Assembly of Parties. (b)The Director General shall (i) be the chief executive and the legal representative of ITSO and shall be responsible for the performance of all management functions, including the exercise of rights under contract; (ii) act in accordance with the policies and directives of the Assembly of Parties; and (iii) be appointed by the Assembly of Parties for a term of four years or such other period as the Assembly of Parties decides. The Director General may be removed from office for cause by the Assembly of Parties. No person shall be appointed as Director General for more than eight years. (c) The consideration in the appointment of the Director General and in the selection of other personnel of the executive organ shall be the necessity of ensuring the highest standards of integrity, competency and efficiency, with consideration given to the possible advantages of recruitment and deployment on a regionally and geographically diverse basis. The Director General and the personnel of the executive organ shall refrain from any action incompatible with their responsibilities to ITSO. (d)The Director General shall, subject to the guidance and instructions of the Assembly of Parties, determine the structure, staff levels and standard terms of employment of officials and employees, and shall appoint the personnel of the executive organ. The Director General may select consultants and other advisers to the executive organ. (e)The Director General shall supervise the Companys adherence to the . (f)The Director General shall (i)monitor the Companys adherence to the Principle to serve LCO by honoring LCO contracts; (ii) consider the decisions taken by the Company with respect to petitions for eligibility to enter into an LCO contract; (iii) assist LCO in resolving their disputes with the Company by providing conciliation services; and (iv) in the event an LCO customer decides to initiate an arbitration proceeding against the Company, provide advice on the selection of consultants and arbiters. (g)The Director General shall report to the Parties on the matters referred to in paragraphs (d) through (f). (h)Pursuant to the terms to be established by the Assembly of Parties, the Director General may commence arbitration proceedings against the Company pursuant to the Agreement. (i)The Director General shall deal with the Company in accordance with the Agreement. (j)The Director General, on behalf of ITSO, shall consider all issues arising from the Parties Common Heritage and shall communicate the views of the Parties to the (s). (k)When the Director General is of the view that a Partys failure to take action pursuant to Article XI(c) has impaired the Companys ability to comply with the , the Director General shall contact that Party to seek a resolution of the situation and may, consistent with the conditions established by the Assembly of Parties pursuant to Article IX(e), convene an extraordinary meeting of the Assembly of Parties. (l)The Assembly of Parties shall designate a senior officer of the executive organ to serve as the Acting Director General whenever the Director General is absent or is unable to discharge his duties, or if the office of Director General should become vacant. The Acting Director General shall have the capacity to exercise all the powers of the Director General pursuant to this Agreement. In the event of a vacancy, the Acting Director General shall serve in that capacity until the assumption of office by a Director General appointed and confirmed, as expeditiously as possible, in accordance with subparagraph (b) (iii) of this Article. Rights and Obligations of Parties (a) The Parties shall exercise their rights and meet their obligations under this Agreement in a fully consistent with and in furtherance of the principles stated in the Preamble, the in Article III and other provisions of this Agreement. (b)All Parties shall be allowed to attend and participate in all conferences and meetings, in which they are entitled to be represented in accordance with any provisions of this Agreement, as well as any other meeting called by or held under the auspices of ITSO, in accordance with the arrangements made by ITSO for such meetings regardless of where they may take place. The executive organ shall ensure that arrangements with the host Party for each such conference or meeting shall include a provision for the admission to the host country and sojourn for the duration of such conference or meeting, of representatives of all Parties entitled to attend. (c)All Parties shall take the actions required, in a transparent, non-discriminatory, and competitively neutral , under applicable domestic procedure and pertinent international agreements to which they are party, so that the Company may fulfill the . (a)The Parties of ITSO shall retain the orbital locations and frequency assignments in process of coordination or registered on behalf of the Parties with the ITU pursuant to the provisions set forth in the ITUs Radio Regulations until such time as the selected (s) has provided its notification to the Depositary that it has approved, accepted or ratified the present Agreement. The Parties shall select among the ITSO members a Party to represent all ITSO member Parties with the ITU during the period in which the Parties of ITSO retain such assignments. (b)The Party selected pursuant to paragraph (a) to represent all Parties during the period in which ITSO retains the assignments shall, upon the receipt of the notification by the Depositary of the approval, acceptance or ratification of the present Agreement by a Party selected by the Assembly of Parties to act as a for the Company, transfer such assignments to the selected (s). (c)selected to act as the shall, under applicable domestic procedure: (i) authorize the use of such frequency assignment by the Company so that the may be fulfilled; and (ii) in the event that such use is no longer authorized, or the Company no longer requires such frequency assignment(s), cancel such frequency assignment under the procedures of the ITU. (d)Notwithstanding any other provision of this Agreement, in the event a Party selected to act as a for the Company ceases to be a member of ITSO pursuant to Article XIV, such Party shall be bound and subject to all relevant provisions set forth in this Agreement and in the ITUs Radio Regulations until the frequency assignments are transferred to another Party in accordance with ITU procedures. (e)Each Party selected to act as a pursuant to paragraph (c) shall: (i) report at least on an annual basis to the Director General on the treatment afforded by such to the Company, with particular regard to such Partys adherence to its obligations under Article XI(c); (ii) seek the views of the Director General, on behalf of ITSO, regarding actions required to implement the Companys fulfillment (iii) work with the Director General, on behalf of ITSO, on potential activities of the (s) to expand access to (iv) notify and consult with the Director General on ITU satellite system coordinations that are undertaken on behalf of the Company to assure that global connectivity and service to lifeline users are (v) consult with the ITU regarding the satellite communications needs of lifeline users. ITSO Headquarters, Privileges, Exemptions, Immunities (a)The headquarters of ITSO shall be in , D.C. unless otherwise determined by the Assembly of Parties. (b)Within the scope of activities authorized by this Agreement, ITSO and its property shall be exempt in all States Party to this Agreement from all national income and direct national property taxation. Each Party undertakes to use its best endeavors to bring about, in accordance with the applicable domestic procedure, such further exemption of ITSO and its property from income and direct property taxation, and customs duties, as is desirable, bearing in mind the particular nature of ITSO. (c)Each Party other than the Party in whose territory the headquarters of ITSO is located shall grant in accordance with the Protocol referred to in this paragraph, and the Party in whose territory the headquarters of ITSO is located shall grant in accordance with the Headquarters Agreement referred to in this paragraph, the appropriate privileges, exemptions and immunities to ITSO, to its officers, and to those categories of its employees specified in such Protocol and Headquarters Agreement, to Parties and representatives of Parties. In particular, each Party shall grant to these individuals immunity from legal process in respect of acts done or words written or spoken in the exercise of their functions and within the limits of their duties, to the extent and in the cases to be provided for in the Headquarters Agreement and Protocol referred to in this paragraph. The Party in whose territory the headquarters of ITSO is located shall, as soon as possible, conclude a Headquarters Agreement with ITSO covering privileges, exemptions and immunities. The other Parties shall, also as soon as possible, conclude a Protocol covering privileges, exemptions and immunities. The Headquarters Agreement and the Protocol shall be independent of this Agreement and each shall prescribe the conditions of its termination. (i) may withdraw voluntarily from ITSO. Party shall give written notice to the Depositary of its decision to withdraw. (ii) Notification of the decision of a Party to withdraw pursuant to subparagraph (a)(i) of this Article shall be transmitted by the Depositary to all Parties and to the executive organ. (iii) Subject to Article XII(d), voluntary withdrawal shall become effective and this Agreement shall cease to be in force, for a Party three months after the date of receipt of the notice referred to in subparagraph (a)(i) of this Article. (i) If a Party appears to have failed to comply with any obligation under this Agreement, the Assembly of Parties, having received notice to that effect or acting on its own initiative, and having considered any representations made by the Party, may decide, if it finds that the failure to comply has in fact occurred, that the Party be deemed to have withdrawn from ITSO. This Agreement shall cease to be in force for the Party as of the date of such decision. An extraordinary meeting of the Assembly of Parties may be convened for this purpose. (ii) If the Assembly of Parties decides that a Party shall be deemed to have withdrawn from ITSO pursuant to subparagraph (i) of this paragraph (b), the executive organ shall notify the Depositary, which shall transmit the notification to all Parties. (c)Upon the receipt by the Depositary or the executive organ, as the case may be, of notice of decision to withdraw pursuant to subparagraph (a)(i) of this Article, the Party giving notice shall cease to have any rights of representation and any voting rights in the Assembly of Parties, and shall incur no obligation or liability after the receipt of the notice. (d)If the Assembly of Parties, pursuant to paragraph (b) of this Article, deems a Party to have withdrawn from ITSO, that Party shall incur no obligation or liability after such decision. (e)No Party shall be required to withdraw from ITSO as a direct result of any change in the status of that Party with regard to the United Nations or the . (a)may propose amendments to this Agreement. Proposed amendments shall be submitted to the executive organ, which shall distribute them promptly to all Parties. (b)The Assembly of Parties shall consider each proposed amendment at its first ordinary meeting following its distribution by the executive organ, or at an earlier extraordinary meeting convened in accordance with the procedures of Article IX of this Agreement, provided that the proposed amendment has been distributed by the executive organ at least ninety days before the opening date of the meeting. (c)The Assembly of Parties shall take decisions on each proposed amendment in accordance with the provisions relating to quorum and voting contained in Article IX of this Agreement. It may modify any proposed amendment, distributed in accordance with paragraph (b) of this Article, and may also take decisions on any amendment not so distributed but directly consequential to a proposed or modified amendment. (d)An amendment which has been approved by the Assembly of Parties shall enter into force in accordance with paragraph (e) of this Article after the Depositary has received notice of approval, acceptance or ratification of the amendment from two-thirds of the States which were Parties as of the date upon which the amendment was approved by the Assembly of Parties. (e)The Depositary shall notify all the Parties as soon as it has received the acceptances, approvals or ratifications required by paragraph (d)of this Article for the entry into force of an amendment. Ninety days after the date of issue of this notification, the amendment shall enter into force for all Parties, including those that have not yet accepted, approved, or ratified it and have not withdrawn from ITSO. (f)Notwithstanding the provisions of paragraphs (d) and (e) of this Article, an amendment shall not enter into force less than eight months after the date it has been approved by the Assembly of Parties. (a)All legal disputes arising in connection with the rights and obligations under this Agreement between Parties with respect to each other, or between ITSO and one or more Parties, if not otherwise settled within a reasonable time, shall be submitted to arbitration in accordance with the provisions of to this Agreement. (b)All legal disputes arising in connection with the rights and obligations under this Agreement between a Party and a State which has ceased to be a Party or between ITSO and a State which has ceased to be a Party, and which arise after the State ceased to be a Party, if not otherwise settled within a reasonable time, shall be submitted to arbitration in accordance with the provisions of to this Agreement, provided that the State which has ceased to be a Party so agrees. If a State ceases to be a Party, after a dispute in which it is a disputant has been submitted to arbitration pursuant to paragraph (a) of this Article, the arbitration shall be continued and concluded. (c)All legal disputes arising as a result of agreements between ITSO and any Party shall be subject to the provisions on settlement of disputes contained in such agreements. In the absence of such provisions, such disputes, if not otherwise settled, may be submitted to arbitration in accordance with the provisions of to this Agreement if the disputants so agree. (a) This Agreement shall be open for signature at from 20, 1971 until it enters into force, or until a period of nine months has elapsed, whichever occurs first: (i) by the Government of any State party to the Interim (ii) by the Government of any other State member of the United Nations or the . (b)signing this Agreement may do so without its signature being subject to ratification, acceptance or approval or with a declaration accompanying its signature that it is to ratification, acceptance or approval. (c)referred to in paragraph (a) of this Article after it is closed for signature. (d)No reservation may be made to this Agreement. (a)This Agreement shall enter into force sixty days after the date on which it has been signed not subject to ratification, acceptance or approval, or has been ratified, accepted, approved or acceded to, by two- thirds of the States which were parties to the Interim Agreement as of the date upon which this Agreement is opened for signature, provided that such two-thirds include parties to the Interim Agreement which then held at least two-thirds of the quotas under the Special Agreement. Notwithstanding the foregoing provisions, this Agreement shall not enter into force less than eight months or more than eighteen months after the date it is opened for signature. (b)For a State whose instrument of ratification, acceptance, approval or accession is deposited after the date this Agreement enters into force pursuant to paragraph (a) of this Article, this Agreement shall enter into force on the date of such deposit. (c)Upon entry into force of this Agreement pursuant to paragraph (a) of this Article, it may be applied provisionally with respect to any State whose Government signed it subject to ratification, acceptance or approval if that Government so requests at the time of signature or at any time thereafter prior to the entry into force of this Agreement. Provisional application shall terminate: (i) upon deposit of an instrument of ratification, acceptance or approval of this Agreement by that Government; (ii) upon expiration of two years from the date on which this Agreement enters into force without having been ratified, accepted or approved by that Government; or (iii) upon notification by that Government, before expiration of the period mentioned in subparagraph (ii) of this paragraph, of its decision not to ratify, accept or approve this Agreement.