2. člen MSDSMK

Besedilo sprememb sporazuma se v izvirniku v angleškem jeziku in v prevodu v slovenskem jeziku glasi: (1)(a) The Special Union shall have an Assembly consisting of the countries of the Special Union. (b) The Government of each country of the Special Union shall be represented by one delegate, who may be assisted by alternate delegates, advisors and experts. (c) Any intergovernmental organization referred to in Article 5(2)(b) may be represented by an observer in the meetings of the Assembly, and, if the Assembly so decides, in those of such committees or working groups as may have been established by the Assembly. (d) The expenses of each delegation shall be borne by the Government which has appointed it. (2)(a) Subject to the provisions of Article 5, the Assembly shall: (i) deal with all matters concerning the maintenance and development of the Special Union and the implementation of this Agreement; (ii) give directions to the International Bureau concerning the preparation for revision of conferences; (iii) review and approve the reports and activities of the Director General concerning the Special Union, and give him all necessary instructions concerning matters within the competence of the Special Union; (iv) determine the program and adopt the biennial budget of the Special Union, and approve its final accounts; (v) adopt the financial regulations of the Special Union; (vi) decide on the establishment of official texts of the Classification of Figurative Elements in languages other than English and French; (vii) establish such committees and working groups as it deems appropriate to achieve the objectives of the Special Union; (viii) determine, subject to paragraph (1)(c), which countries not members of the Special Union and which intergovernmental and international non-governmental organizations shall be admitted as observers to its meetings, and to those of any committee or working group established by it; (ix) take any other appropriate action designed to further the objectives of the Special Union; (x) perform such other functions as are appropriate under this Agreement. (b) With respect to matters which are of interest also to other Unions administered by the Organization, the Assembly shall make its decision after having heard the advice of the Coordination Committee of the Organization. (3)(a) Each country member of the Assembly shall have one vote. (b) One-half of the countries members of the Assembly shall constitute a quorum. (c) In the absence of the quorum, 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 countries members of the Assembly which 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 countries having thus expressed their vote or abstention attains the number of countries 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. (d) Subject to the provisions of Article 11(2), the decisions of the Assembly shall require two-thirds of the votes cast. (e) Abstentions shall not be considered as votes. (f) A delegate may represent, and vote in the name of, one country only. (4)(a) The Assembly shall meet once in every calendar year in ordinary session 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, at the request of one-fourth of the countries members of the Assembly. (c) The agenda of each session shall be prepared by the Director General.

(5)The Assembly shall adopt its own Rules of Procedure.

(1)The income and expenses of the Special Union shall be reflected in the budget of the Organization in a fair and transparent manner.

(2)The income of the Special Union shall be derived from the following sources: (i) contributions of the countries of the Special Union; (ii) fees and charges due for services rendered by the International Bureau; (iii) sale of, or royalties on, the publications of the International Bureau; (iv) gifts, bequests, and subventions; (v) rents, interests, and other miscellaneous income. (3)(a) For the purpose of establishing its contribution, each country of the Special Union shall belong to the same class as it belongs to in the Paris Union for the Protection of Industrial Property, and shall pay its annual contribution on the basis of the number of units assigned to that class. (b) The annual contribution of each country of the Special Union shall be an amount in the same proportion to the total sum to be contributed to the budget of the Organization by all countries as the number of its units is to the total of the units of all contributing countries. (c) Contributions shall become due on the first of January of each year. (d) A country which is in arrears in the payment of its contributions may not exercise its right to vote in any organ of the Special Union if the amount of its arrears equals or exceeds the amount of the contributions due from it for the preceding two full years. However, any organ of the Special Union may allow such a country to continue to exercise its right to vote in that organ if, and as long as, it is satisfied that the delay in payment is due to exceptional and unavoidable circumstances. (e) If the budget of the Organization is not adopted before the beginning of a new financial period, the budgeted income and expenses of the Special Union shall be at the same level as they were in the previous year, as provided in the financial regulations.

(4)The amount of the fees and charges due for services rendered by the International Bureau in relation to the Special Union shall be established, and shall be reported to the Assembly, by the Director General. (5)(a) The Special Union shall have a working capital fund which shall be constituted by a single payment made by each country of the Special Union. If the fund becomes insufficient, the Assembly shall decide to increase it. (b) The amount of the initial payment of each country to the said fund or of its participation in the increase thereof shall be a proportion of the contribution of that country for the year in which the fund is established or the decision to increase it is made. (c) The proportion and the terms of payment shall be fixed by the Assembly on the proposal of the Director General and after it has heard the advice of the Coordination Committee of the Organization. (6)(a) In the headquarters agreement concluded with the country on the territory of which the Organization has its headquarters, it shall be provided that, whenever the working capital fund is insufficient, such country shall grant advances. The amount of those advances and the conditions on which they are granted shall be the subject of separate agreements, in each case, between such country and the Organization. (b) The country referred to in subparagraph (a) and the Organization shall each have the right to denounce the obligation to grant advances, by written notification. Denunciation shall take effect three years after the end of the year in which it was notified.

(7)The auditing of the accounts shall be effected by one or more of the countries of the Special Union or by external auditors, as provided in the financial regulations. They shall be designated, with their agreement, by the Assembly.