INTER-PARLIAMENTARY+UNION

//Adopted in 1976, entirely revised in October 1983,// //amended in October 1987, September 1988, March 1989, April 1990, September 1992,// //September 1993, April 1995, April 1996, September 1998, April 1999, October 2000 and April 2001,// //entirely revised in April 2003 and amended in April 2004, October 2004, October 2007, October 2008 and April 2009.//
 * [|STATUTES] OF THE [|INTER-PARLIAMENTARY UNION]**[|1]
 * || [|Download the entire text of IPU Statutes and Rules in PDF format (393 Kb)] ||  ||
 * Contents:**
 * [|__I. Nature, Purpose and Composition__]
 * [|__II. Organs__]
 * __[|III.]__ The __Assembly__
 * [|__IV. Governing Council__]
 * [|__V. Executive Committee__]
 * [|__VI. Geopolitical Groups__]
 * [|__VII. Secretariat of the Union__]
 * [|__VIII. Association of Secretaries General of Parliaments__]
 * [|__IX. Amendments to the Statutes__]

1. The Inter-Parliamentary Union is the international organisation of the Parliaments of sovereign States. 2. As the focal point for worldwide parliamentary dialogue since 1889, the Inter Parliamentary Union shall work for peace and cooperation among peoples and for the firm establishment of representative institutions. To that end, it shall: > (a)Foster contacts, coordination and the exchange of experience among Parliaments and parliamentarians of all countries;(b) Consider questions of international interest and express its views on such issues with the aim of bringing about action by Parliaments and their members; > (c) Contribute to the defence and promotion of human rights, which are universal in scope and respect for which is an essential factor of parliamentary democracy and development; > (d) Contribute to better knowledge of the working of representative institutions and to the strengthening and development of their means of action. 3. The Union, which shares the objectives of the United Nations, supports its efforts and works in close cooperation with it. It also co-operates with the regional inter-parliamentary organisations, as well as with international, intergovernmental and non-governmental organisations which are motivated by the same ideals. The Headquarters of the Inter-Parliamentary Union shall be at Geneva. 1. Every Parliament constituted in conformity with the laws of a sovereign State whose population it represents and on whose territory it functions may request affiliation to the Inter-Parliamentary Union. A National Group representing any such Parliament and which is already affiliated at the time of the approval of this Article[|2] may choose to remain a Member of the Union. 2. The parliament constituted in conformity with the basic law of a territorial entity whose aspirations and entitlement to statehood are recognized by the United Nations, and which enjoys the status of Permanent Observer to that Organization with substantial additional rights and privileges, may also become a Member of the Inter-Parliamentary Union. 3. In a federal State, only the federal Parliament may request to be a Member of the Inter-Parliamentary Union. 4. Every Member of the Union shall adhere to the principles of the Union and comply with its Statutes. 5. International parliamentary assemblies established under international law by States which are represented in the Union may, upon their request and after consultation with the relevant Members of the Union, be admitted by the Governing Council as Associate Members. 1. The decision to admit or readmit a Parliament shall be taken by the Governing Council, to which requests for affiliation or reaffiliation are communicated by the Secretary General. The Governing Council takes its decision on prior advice given by the Executive Committee, which shall consider whether the conditions mentioned in [|__Article 3__] are fulfilled, and report thereon. 2. When a Member of the Union has ceased to function as such, the Executive Committee shall consider the situation and express an opinion to the Governing Council. The Governing Council takes a decision on the suspension of the affiliation of that Member to the Union. 1. Each Member and each Associate Member of the Union shall make an annual contribution to the expenses of the Union in accordance with a scale approved by the Governing Council (cf. [|__Financial Regs., Rule 5__]). 2. A Member of the Union which is in arrears in the payment of its financial contributions to the organisation shall have no votes in the statutory bodies of the Inter-Parliamentary Union if the amount of its arrears equals or exceeds the amount of the contributions due from it for the preceding two full years. The Governing Council may, nevertheless, permit such a Member to vote if it is satisfied that the failure to pay is due to conditions beyond the control of the Member of the Union. Prior to examining this question, the Governing Council may receive a written explanation from the Member concerned. Notwithstanding the provisions of [|__Article 10.2 of the Statutes__], such a Member shall not be represented by more than two delegates at meetings convened by the Union. 3. When a Member of the Union is three years in arrears in the payment of its contributions to the Union, the Executive Committee shall consider the situation and express an opinion to the Governing Council. The Governing Council takes a decision on the suspension of the affiliation of that Member to the Union. 1. All Members or Associate Members of the Union shall have their own Rules governing their participation in the Union's work. They shall make all structural, administrative and financial provisions required to ensure effectively their representation in the Union, the implementation of the decisions taken and to maintain a regular liaison with the Secretariat of the Union to which they shall send, before the end of January of each year, a report of their activities, including the names of their officers and the list or the total number of their members. 2. It is the sovereign right of each Member of the Union to decide on the manner in which it organises its participation in the IPU. It is the duty of the Members of the Union to submit the resolutions of the Union within their respective Parliament, in the most appropriate form; to communicate them to the Government; to stimulate their implementation and to inform the Secretariat of the Union, as often and fully as possible, particularly in its annual reports, as to the steps taken and the results obtained (cf. [|__Assembly, Rule 39.2__]). To this end, all heads of delegations to IPU Assemblies should submit in accordance with national laws a report to their national parliaments with a copy to the IPU Secretary General as soon as possible following the closure of the Assembly.
 * I. NATURE, PURPOSE AND COMPOSITION**
 * ARTICLE 1**
 * ARTICLE 2**
 * ARTICLE 3**
 * ARTICLE 4**
 * ARTICLE 5**
 * ARTICLE 6**
 * ARTICLE 7**

The organs of the Inter-Parliamentary Union are: the Assembly, the Governing Council, the Executive Committee and the Secretariat.
 * II. ORGANS**
 * ARTICLE 8**

1. Any proposal to amend the Statutes shall be submitted in writing to the Secretariat of the Union at least three months before the meeting of the Assembly. The Secretariat will immediately communicate all such proposals to the Members of the Union. The consideration of such proposed amendments shall be automatically placed on the agenda of the Assembly. 2. Any sub-amendments shall be submitted in writing to the Secretariat of the Union at least six weeks before the meeting of the Assembly. The Secretariat will immediately communicate all such sub-amendments to the Members of the Union. 3. After hearing the opinion of the Governing Council, expressed through a simple majority vote, the Assembly shall decide on such proposals by a two-thirds majority vote.
 * IX. AMENDMENTS TO THE STATUTES**
 * ARTICLE 28**


 * 1) In these Statutes, whenever the words "parliamentarian", "President", "Vice-President", "delegate", "representative", "member" and "observer" are used, they should be construed as referring to both women and men.
 * 2) April 2001
 * 3) At the time of approval of this Article, the [|__geopolitical groups__] active in the IPU were the African group, Arab group, Asia-Pacific group, Eurasia group, Latin American group, and the Twelve Plus group.