January 16, 2017
NEWS
The 31st Extraordinary Assembly of Parties (AP-31), during the period 20-23 March 2007 in Paris, France, approved an amendment to Article XII, Paragraph (c)(ii) of the ITSO Agreement in order to protect the Parties’ Common Heritage orbital locations and associated frequency assignments in case of adverse or unforeseen situations.
The amendment entered into force on 16 January 2017 in accordance with Article XV(e) of the Agreement which states that: “The Depositary shall notify all the Parties as soon as it has received the acceptances, approvals or ratifications required by paragraph (d) of this Article for the entry into force of an amendment. Ninety days after the date of issue of this notification, the amendment shall enter into force for all Parties, including those that have not yet accepted, approved, or ratified it and have not withdrawn from ITSO.” [emphasis added].
The new text of the Article XII (c) (ii) to the ITSO Agreement is:
In the event that the Company, or any future entity using the Common Heritage frequency assignments, waives such frequency assignment(s), uses such assignment(s) in ways other than those set forth in this Agreement, or declares bankruptcy, the Notifying Administrations shall authorize the use of such frequency assignment(s) only by entities that have signed a public services agreement, which will enable ITSO to ensure that the selected entities fulfill the Core Principles.
