Artikel 21

1. [Composition]
(a) The Contracting Parties shall be members of the same Assembly as the States bound by Article 2 of the Complementary Act of 1967.
(b) Each member of the Assembly shall be represented in the Assembly by one delegate, who may be assisted by alternate delegates, advisors and experts, and each delegate may represent only one Contracting Party.
(c) Members of the Union that are not members of the Assembly shall be admitted to the meetings of the Assembly as observers.
2. [Tasks]
(a) The Assembly shall (i) deal with all matters concerning the maintenance and development of the Union and the implementation of this Act;
(ii) exercise such rights and perform such tasks as are specifically conferred upon it or assigned to it under this Act or the Complementary Act of 1967;
(iii) give directions to the Director General concerning the preparations for conferences of revision and decide the convocation of any such conference;
(iv) amend the Regulations;
(v) review and approve the reports and activities of the Director General concerning the Union, and give the Director General all necessary instructions concerning matters within the competence of the Union;
(vi) determine the program and adopt the biennial budget of the Union, and approve its final accounts;
(vii) adopt the financial regulations of the Union;
(viii) establish such committees and working groups as it deems appropriate to achieve the objectives of the Union;
(ix) subject to paragraph (1)(c), determine which States, intergovernmental organizations and non-governmental organizations shall be admitted to its meetings as observers;
(x) take any other appropriate action to further the objectives of the Union and perform any other functions as are appropriate under this Act.
(i) deal with all matters concerning the maintenance and development of the Union and the implementation of this Act;
(ii) exercise such rights and perform such tasks as are specifically conferred upon it or assigned to it under this Act or the Complementary Act of 1967;
(iii) give directions to the Director General concerning the preparations for conferences of revision and decide the convocation of any such conference;
(iv) amend the Regulations;
(v) review and approve the reports and activities of the Director General concerning the Union, and give the Director General all necessary instructions concerning matters within the competence of the Union;
(vi) determine the program and adopt the biennial budget of the Union, and approve its final accounts;
(vii) adopt the financial regulations of the Union;
(viii) establish such committees and working groups as it deems appropriate to achieve the objectives of the Union;
(ix) subject to paragraph (1)(c), determine which States, intergovernmental organizations and non-governmental organizations shall be admitted to its meetings as observers;
(x) take any other appropriate action to further the objectives of the Union and perform any other functions as are appropriate under this Act.
(b) With respect to matters which are also of interest to other Unions administered by the Organization, the Assembly shall make its decisions after having heard the advice of the Coordination Committee of the Organization.
3. [Quorum]
(a) One-half of the members of the Assembly which are States and have the right to vote on a given matter shall constitute a quorum for the purposes of the vote on that matter.
(b) Notwithstanding the provisions of subparagraph (a), if, in any session, the number of the members of the Assembly which are States, have the right to vote on a given matter and are represented is less than one-half but equal to or more than one-third of the members of the Assembly which are States and have the right to vote on that matter, 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 members of the Assembly which are States, have the right to vote on the said matter and 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 such members having thus expressed their vote or abstention attains the number of the members 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.
4. [Taking Decisions in the Assembly]
(a) The Assembly shall endeavor to take its decisions by consensus.
(b) Where a decision cannot be arrived at by consensus, the matter at issue shall be decided by voting. In such a case, (i) each Contracting Party that is a State shall have one vote and shall vote only in its own name, and
(ii) any Contracting Party that is an intergovernmental organization may vote, in place of its Member States, with a number of votes equal to the number of its Member States which are party to this Act, and no such intergovernmental organization shall participate in the vote if any one of its Member States exercises its right to vote, and vice versa.
(i) each Contracting Party that is a State shall have one vote and shall vote only in its own name, and
(ii) any Contracting Party that is an intergovernmental organization may vote, in place of its Member States, with a number of votes equal to the number of its Member States which are party to this Act, and no such intergovernmental organization shall participate in the vote if any one of its Member States exercises its right to vote, and vice versa.
(c) On matters concerning only States that are bound by Article 2 of the Complementary Act of 1967, Contracting Parties that are not bound by the said Article shall not have the right to vote, whereas, on matters concerning only Contracting Parties, only the latter shall have the right to vote.
5. [Majorities]
(a) Subject to Articles 24(2) and 26(2), the decisions of the Assembly shall require two-thirds of the votes cast.
(b) Abstentions shall not be considered as votes.
6. [Sessions]
(a) The Assembly shall meet once in every second 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, either at the request of one-fourth of the members of the Assembly or on the Director General's own initiative.
(c) The agenda of each session shall be prepared by the Director General.
7. [Rules of Procedure] The Assembly shall adopt its own rules of procedure.