Artikel 127

0bis. The Director General shall be the legal representative of the Union.
1. The Director General shall organize, administer and direct the International Bureau.
2. Regarding the classification of posts, appointments and promotions:
2.1 the Director General shall be empowered to classify posts in grades G 1 to D 2 and to appoint and promote officials in those grades;
2.2 for appointments in grades P 1 to D 2, the Director General shall consider the professional qualifications of the candidates who are nationals of a member country or who exercise their professional activities in a member country, taking into account equitable geographical and language distribution, and gender balance. D 2 posts shall as far as possible be filled by candidates from different regions and from regions other than those from which the Director General and Deputy Director General originate, bearing in mind the paramount consideration of the efficiency of the International Bureau;
2.3 the Director General shall also consider, for the appointment of a new official, that, in principle, persons occupying grade D 2, D 1 and P 5 posts must be nationals of different member countries of the Union;
2.4 for the promotion of an official of the International Bureau to grades D 2, D 1 and P 5, the Director General shall not be bound to apply the same principle as under 2.3;
2.5 the requirements of equitable geographical and language distribution and gender balance shall rank behind merit in the recruitment process;
2.6 the Director General shall inform the Council of Administration once a year of appointments and promotions in grades P 4 to D 2.
3. Furthermore, the Director General shall have the following duties:
3.1 acts as depositary of the Acts of the Union and as intermediary in the procedure of accession and admission to and withdrawal from the Union;
3.2 notifies the decisions taken by Congress to all the Governments of member countries;
3.3 notifies all member countries and their designated operators of the Regulations drawn up or revised by the Postal Operations Council;
3.4 prepares the draft annual budget of the Union at the lowest possible level consistent with the requirements of the Union and submits it in due course to the Council of Administration for consideration; communicates the budget to the member countries of the Union after approval by the Council of Administration and executes it;
3.5 executes the specific activities requested by the bodies of the Union and those assigned to the Director General by the Acts;
3.6 takes action to achieve the objectives set by the bodies of the Union, within the framework of the established policy and the funds available;
3.7 submits suggestions and proposals to the Council of Administration or to the Postal Operations Council;
3.8 following the close of Congress, submits proposals to the Postal Operations Council concerning changes to the Regulations required as a result of Congress decisions, in accordance with the Rules of Procedure of the Postal Operations Council;
3.9 prepares, for the Council of Administration and on the basis of directives issued by the Councils, the draft Union Strategy and draft quadrennial UPU business plan to be submitted to Congress;
3.10 prepares, for approval by the Council of Administration, a four-yearly report on the member countries’ performance in respect of the Union Strategy approved by the preceding Congress, which will be submitted to the following Congress;
3.11 (Deleted.)
3.12 acts as an intermediary in relations between: 3.12.1 the Union and the Restricted Unions;
3.12.2 the Union and the United Nations;
3.12.3 the Union and the international organizations whose activities are of interest to the Union;
3.12.4 the Union and the international organizations or the associations or enterprises that the bodies of the Union wish to consult or associate with their work;
3.12.1 the Union and the Restricted Unions;
3.12.2 the Union and the United Nations;
3.12.3 the Union and the international organizations whose activities are of interest to the Union;
3.12.4 the Union and the international organizations or the associations or enterprises that the bodies of the Union wish to consult or associate with their work;
3.13 assumes the duties of Secretary General of the bodies of the Union and supervises in this capacity, taking into account the special provisions of these General Regulations, in particular: 3.13.1 the preparation and organization of the work of the Union’s bodies;
3.13.2 the preparation, production and distribution of documents, reports and minutes;
3.13.3 the functioning of the secretariat at meetings of the Union’s bodies;
3.13.1 the preparation and organization of the work of the Union’s bodies;
3.13.2 the preparation, production and distribution of documents, reports and minutes;
3.13.3 the functioning of the secretariat at meetings of the Union’s bodies;
3.14 attends the meetings of the bodies of the Union and takes part in the discussions without the right to vote, with the possibility of being represented.