ARTICLE 31 Settlement of Disputes

（1） Disputes arising between Parties， or between Parties and theOrganization， relating to rights and obligations under this Conventionshould be settled by negotiation between the parties concerned. If withinone year of the time any party has requested settlement， a settlement hasnot been reached and if the parties to the dispute have not agreed tosubmit it to the International Court of Justice or to some other procedurefor settling disputes， the dispute may， if the parties to the disputeconsent， be submitted to arbitration in accordance with the Annex to thisConvention. Any decision of an arbitral tribunal in a dispute betweenParties， or between Parties and the Organization， shall not prevent oraffect a decision of the Assembly pursuant to Article 30 （1）， that theConvention shall cease to be in force for a Party.

（2） Unless otherwise mutually agreed， disputes arising between theOrganization and one or more Parties under agreements concluded betweenthem， if not settled by negotiation within one year of the time any partyhas requested settlement， shall， at the request of any party to thedispute， be submitted to arbitration in accordance with the Annex to thisConvention.

（3） Disputes arising between one or more Parties and one or moreSignatories in their capacity as such， relating to rights and obligationsunder this Convention or the Operating Agreement may be submitted toarbitration in accordance with the Annex to this Convention if the Partyor Parties and the Signatory or Signatories involved agree to sucharbitration.

（4） This Article shall continue to apply to a Party or Signatory whichceases to be a Party or Signatory， in respect of disputes relating torights and obligations arising from its having been a Party or Signatory.

ARTICLE 32 Signature and Ratification

（1） This Convention shall remain open for signature in London untilentry into force and shall thereafter remain open for accession. AllStates may become Parties to the Convention by：

（a） Signature not subject to ratification， acceptance or approval，or

（b） Signature subject to ratification， acceptance or approval，followed by ratification， acceptance or approval， or

（c） Accession.

（2） Ratification， acceptance， approval or accession shall be effectedby the deposit of the appropriate instrument with the Depositary.

（3） On becoming a Party to this Convention， or at any time thereafter，a State may declare， by written notification to the Depositary， to whichRegisters of ships operating under its authority， and to which land earthstations under its jurisdiction， the Convention shall apply.

（4） No State shall become a Party to this Convention until it hassigned， or the entity it has designated， has signed the OperatingAgreement.

（5） Reservations cannot be made to this Convention or the OperatingAgreement.

ARTICLE 33 Entry into Force

（1） This Convention shall enter into force sixty days after the dateon which States representing 95 per cent of the initial investment shareshave become Parties to the Convention.

（2） Notwithstanding paragraph （1）， if the Convention has not enteredinto force within thirty-six months after the date it was opened forsignature， it shall not enter into force.

（3） For a State which deposits an instrument of ratification，acceptance， approval or accession after the date on which the Conventionhas entered into force， the ratification， acceptance， approval oraccession shall take effect on the date of deposit.

ARTICLE 34 Amendments

（1） Amendments to this Convention may be proposed by any Party.Proposed amendments shall be submitted to the Directorate， which shallinform the other Parties and Signatories. Three months' notice is requiredbefore consideration of an amendment by the Council， which shall submitits views to the Assembly within a period of six months from the date ofcirculation of the amendment. The Assembly shall consider the amendmentnot earlier than six months thereafter， taking into account any viewsexpressed by the Council. This period may， in any particular case， bereduced by the Assembly by a substantive decision.

（2） If adopted by the Assembly， the amendment shall enter into forceone hundred and twenty days after the Depositary has received notices ofacceptance from two-thirds of those States which at the time of adoptionby the Assembly were Parties and represented at least two-thirds of thetotal investment shares. Upon entry into force， the amendment shall becomebinding upon all Parties and Signatories， including those which have notaccepted it.

ARTICLE 35 Depositary

（1） The Depositary of this Convention shall be the Secretary-generalof the Inter-Governmental Maritime Consultative Organization.

（2） The Depositary shall promptly inform all signatory and accedingStates and all Signatories of：

（a） Any signature of the Convention.

（b） The deposit of any instrument of ratification， acceptance，approval or accession.

（c） The entry into force of the Convention.

（d） The adoption of any amendment to the Convention and its entryinto force.

（e） Any notification of withdrawal.

（f） Any suspension or termination.

（g） Other notifications and communications relating to theConvention.

（3） Upon entry into force of the Convention the Depositary shalltransmit a certified copy to the Secretariat of the United Nations forregistration and publication in accordance with Article 102 of the Charterof the United Nations.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF the undersigned， duly authorized by theirrespective Governments， have signed this Convention.

[ Signatures omitted.]

DONE AT LONDON this third day of September one thousand nine hundredand seventy-six in the English， French， Russian and Spanish languages， allthe texts being equally authentic， in a single original which shall bedeposited with the Depositary， who shall send a certified copy to theGovernment of each of the States which were invited to attend theInternational Conference on the Establishment of an International MaritimeSatellite System and to the Government of any other State which signs oraccedes to this Convention.ANNEX： Procedures for the Settlement of Disputes Referred to in Article 31of the Convention and Article XVI of the Operating Agreement

ARTICLE 1

Disputes cognizable pursuant to Article 31 of the Convention orArticle XVI of the Operating Agreement shall be dealt with by an arbitraltribunal of three members.

ARTICLE 2

Any petitioner or group of petitioners wishing to submit a dispute toarbitration shall provide each respondent and the Directorate with adocument containing：

（a） A full description of the dispute， the reasons why eachrespondent is required to participate in the arbitration， and the measuresbeing requested.

（b） The reasons why the subject matter of the dispute comes withinthe competence of a tribunal and why the measures requested can be grantedif the tribunal finds in favour of the petitioner.

（c） An explanation why the petitioner has been unable to achieve asettlement of the dispute by negotiation or other means short ofarbitration.

（d） Evidence of the agreement or consent of the disputants whenthis is a condition for arbitration.

（e） The name of the person designated by the petitioner to serveas a member of the tribunal.

The Directorate shall promptly distribute a copy of the document toeach Party and Signatory.

ARTICLE 3

（1） Within sixty days from the date copies of the document describedin Article 2 have been received by all the respondents， they shallcollectively designate an individual to serve as a member of the tribunal.Within that period， the respondents may jointly or individually provideeach disputant and the Directorate with a document stating theirindividual or collective responses to the document referred to in Article2 and including any counterclaims arising out of the subject matter of thedispute.

（2） Within thirty days after the designation of the two members of thetribunal， they shall agree on a third arbitrator. He shall not be of thesame nationality as， or resident in the territory of， any disputant， or inits service.

（3） If either side fails to nominate an arbitrator within the periodspecified or if the third arbitrator is not appointed within the periodspecified， the President of the International Court of Justice， or if heis prevented from acting or is of the same nationality as a disputant， theVice-President， or if he is prevented from acting or is of the samenationality as a disputant， the senior judge who is not of the samenationality as any disputant， may at the request of either disputant，appoint an arbitrator or arbitrators as the case requires.

（4） The third arbitrator shall act as president of the tribunal.

（5） The tribunal is constituted as soon as the president is selected.

ARTICLE 4

（1） If a vacancy occurs in the tribunal for any reason which thepresident or the remaining members of the tribunal decide is beyond thecontrol of the disputants， or is compatible with the proper conduct of thearbitration proceedings， the vacancy shall be filled in accordance withthe following provisions：

（a） If the vacancy occurs as a result of the withdrawal of amember appointed by a side to the dispute， then that side shall select areplacement within ten days after the vacancy occurs.

（b） If the vacancy occurs as a result of the withdrawal of thepresident or of a member appointed pursuant to Article 3（3）， a replacementshall be selected in the manner described in paragraph （2） or （3），respectively， of Article 3.

（2） If a vacancy occurs for any other reason， or if a vacancyoccurring pursuant to paragraph （1） is not filled， the remainder of thetribunal shall have the power， notwithstanding Article 1， upon request ofone side， to continue the proceedings and give the final decision of thetribunal.

ARTICLE 5

（1） The tribunal shall decide the date and place of its meetings.

（2） The proceedings shall be held in private and all materialpresented to the tribunal shall be confidential. However， the Organizationand any Party which has designated a Signatory which is a disputant in theproceedings shall have the right to be present and shall have access tothe material presented. When the Organization is a disputant in theproceedings， all Parties and all Signatories shall have the right to bepresent and shall have access to the material presented.

（3） In the event of a dispute over the competence of the tribunal， thetribunal shall deal with that question first.

（4） The proceedings shall be conducted in writing， and each side shallhave the right to submit written evidence in support of its allegations offact and law. However， oral arguments and testimony may be given if thetribunal considers it appropriate.

（5） The proceedings shall commence with the presentation of the caseof the petitioner containing its arguments， related facts supported byevidence and the principles of law relied upon. The case of the petitionershall be followed by the counter-case of the respondent. The petitionermay submit a reply to the counter-case of the respondent and therespondent may submit a rejoinder. Additional pleadings shall be submittedonly if the tribunal determines they are necessary.

（6） The tribunal shall hear and determine counter-claims arisingdirectly out of the subject matter of the dispute， if the counter-claimsare within its competence as defined in Article 31 of the Convention andArticle XVI of the Operating Agreement.

（7） If the disputants reach an agreement during the proceedings， theagreement shall be recorded in the form of a decision of the tribunalgiven by consent of the disputants.

（8） At any time during the proceedings， the tribunal may terminate theproceedings if it decides the dispute is beyond its competence as definedin Article 31 of the Convention or Article XVI of the Operating Agreement.

（9） The deliberations of the tribunal shall be secret.

（10） The decisions of the tribunal shall be presented in writing andshall be supported by a written opinion. Its rulings and decisions must besupported by at least two members. A member dissenting from the decisionmay submit a separate written opinion.

（11） The tribunal shall forward its decision to the Directorate， whichshall distribute it to all Parties and Signatories.

（12） The tribunal may adopt additional rules of procedure， consistentwith those established by this Annex， which are appropriate for theproceedings.

ARTICLE 6

If one side fails to present its case， the other side may call uponthe tribunal to give a decision on the basis of its presentation. Beforegiving its decision， the tribunal shall satisfy itself that it hascompetence and that the case is well-founded in fact and in law.

ARTICLE 7

（1） Any Party whose Signatory is a disputant shall have the right tointervene and become an additional disputant. Intervention shall be madeby written notification to the tribunal and to the other disputants.

（2） Any other Party， any Signatory or the Organization may apply tothe tribunal for permission to intervene and become an additionaldisputant. The tribunal shall grant permission if it determines that theapplicant has a substantial interest in the case.

ARTICLE 8

The tribunal may appoint experts to assist it at the request of adisputant or on its own initiative.

ARTICLE 9

Each Party， each Signatory and the Organization shall provide allinformation which the tribunal， at the request of a disputant or on itsown initiative， determines to be required for the handling anddetermination of the dispute.

ARTICLE 10

Pending the final decision， the tribunal may indicate any provisionalmeasures which it considers ought to be taken to preserve the respectiverights of the disputants.

ARTICLE 11

（1） The decision of the tribunal shall be in accordance withinternational law and be based on：

（a） The Convention and the Operating Agreement.

（b） Generally accepted principles of law.

（2） The decision of the tribunal， including any reached by agreementof the disputant pursuant to Article 5（7）， shall be binding on all thedisputants， and shall be carried out by them in good faith. If theOrganization is a disputant， and the tribunal decides that a decision ofany organ of the Organization is null and void as not being authorized byor in compliance with the Convention and the Operating Agreement， thedecision of the tribunal shall be binding on all Parties and Signatories.

（3） If a dispute arises as to the meaning or scope of its decision，the tribunal shall construe it at the request of any disputant.

ARTICLE 12

Unless the tribunal determines otherwise because of the particularcircumstances of the case， the expenses of the tribunal， including theremuneration of the members of the tribunal， shall be borne in equalshares by each side. Where a side consists of more than one disputant， thetribunal shall apportion the share of that side among the disputants onthat side. Where the Organization is a disputant， its expenses associatedwith the arbitration shall be regarded as an administrative cost of theOrganization.