TNAG-2147-FCO40-3066-Approval-of-the-final-acts-of-the-World-Administrative-Radio-1990 — Page 11

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Miss Phillips

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RECEIVED IN REGISTRY 13 MAR 1990

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APPROVAL OF THE FINAL ACTS TO THE WARCS 1983-88

1. I am content that we should follow precedent and agree that the DTI should notify acceptance of the WARCS Final Acts. The position is that the ITU Convention has annexed to it certain administrative and technical regulations.

adopted by each ITU plenipotentiary conference which draws up a revised version of the ITU Convention. Plenipotentiary conferences are held roughly every seven years but between each plenipotentiary conference the Regulations are revised by world or regional conferences. The revisions to the Regulations do not in themselves constitute treaties. They are more like internal rules for the organisation but are nevertheless legally binding since their authority derives from the ITU Convention itself. That being so, I do not think our practice would be offended if the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry rather than the Foreign Secretary were to signify UK approval.

2.

The reference to approval of the "Final Acts" is rather confusing. This is because the practice of the ITU is rather different from that of other organisations or international conferences where the Final Acts constitute no more than a record of the deliberations of the conferences at which the instruments adopted by the conference were drawn up. In ITU practice, signature of the "Final Acts" and their approval also entails signature and approval of the instruments themselves.

12 March 1990

If hamile.

K J Chamberlain

Legal Advisers

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