Artikel 103 Constitutie van de Postunie van de Staten van het Amerikaanse Werelddeel, Spanje en Portugal

Article 103 Organization and Operation of Congresses 1 Representatives of the member countries and territories shall meet at Congresses approximately every four years. 2 Each Congress shall designate the host country or territory for the following Congress, subject to a corresponding offer by the country or territory so designated. In the event of offers from more than one country or territory, the decision shall be made by secret ballot, in accordance with the provisions of Article 111 of these Regulations. 3 In cases where a Congress cannot be held in the designated host country or territory, the General Secretariat shall take the necessary emergency action to seek out a country or territory willing to host the Congress, submitting the results of its efforts to the Council for a decision. 4 The General Secretariat shall follow the procedure established in paragraph 3 above if, by the end of a Congress, no country or territory has offered to host the next Congress. 5 In cases where a Congress must be held despite the absence of a host government, the General Secretariat shall make the necessary arrangements to convene and organize the Congress in the country or territory in which the Union has its headquarters in agreement with the Council and the government of the Eastern Republic of Uruguay, in which case the General Secretariat shall discharge the functions of host government. 6 The government of the host country or territory shall set the final date and location for the Congress in agreement with the General Secretariat. In principle, the government of the country or territory hosting the Congress shall send invitations to the governments of all member countries or territories one year in advance, either directly or through the General Secretariat. 7 The chairmanship of the Congress shall be exercised by the host country or territory. The Council shall designate the country or territory to serve as chairman under the circumstances described in paragraph 5 above. 8 The member country or territory hosting the Congress shall, in consultation with the General Secretariat, suggest the name of an actively employed or retired postal official with a long history of attendance at Union Congresses to serve as its Doyen, with the Council confirming this appointment in due course. The Doyen shall temporarily chair the Congress at the opening of its first plenary session until a permanent Chairman is appointed. The Doyen shall nominate candidates for the chairmanship and vice-chairmanship of both the Congress and its Committees. One Congress vice-chairmanship shall go to the country or territory that chaired the previous Congress. 9 The Doyen shall bring a motion before the first session of the Congress for the appointment of the officers, consisting of the Congress Chairman, the two Vice-Chairmen and the Secretary General of the Union. 10 The Congress shall have the following purposes: a) To amend and supplement Union Acts, Resolutions and Recommendations as necessary; b) To set priorities for Union activities during the ensuing period by adopting the strategy, which will serve as the basis for drawing up the annual action plans; and c) To discuss all matters brought before it, pertaining to the purposes of the Union. 11 The Congress shall express its will through Resolutions and Recommendations, in accordance with Article 19 of the Constitution. 12 Each member country or territory shall arrange to be represented by one or more delegates or by the delegation of another member country or territory. The delegation of a member country or territory may not represent more than one other country or territory in addition to its own. 13 Every member country or territory may formulate reservations to Union Acts and Resolutions adopted by the Congress with regard or in relation to postal operations at the time of their signature. 14 The government of the member country or territory hosting the Congress shall notify the governments of member countries or territories of the Acts, Resolutions and Recommendations adopted by the Congress.