Convention Relating to International Exhibitions Signed at Paris on 22nd November 1928,
And Supplemented by the Protocols of 10th May 1948,
16th November 1966, 30th November 1972
And the Amendment of 24th June 1982
And the Amendment of 31st May 1988
ARTICLE 1
1. An exhibition is a display which, whatever its title, has as its principal purpose the education of the public: it may exhibit the means at man`s disposal for meeting the needs of civilization, or demonstrate the progress achieved in one or more branches of human endeavor, or show prospects for the future.
2. An exhibition is international when more than one State takes part in it.
3. Participants in an international exhibition comprise on the one hand exhibitors of States which are officially represented grouped into national sections, on the other hand international organisations or exhibitors from countries which are not officially represented and lastly those who are authorized in accordance with the regulations of the exhibition to carry on some other activity, in particular those granted concessions.
ARTICLE 2
This Convention applies to all international exhibitions except :
a) exhibitions lasting less than three weeks ;
b) fine Arts exhibitions ;
c) exhibitions of an essentially commercial nature.
Whatever title may be given to an exhibition by its organizers, this Convention recognizes a distinction between registered exhibitions and recognized exhibitions.
General Conditions governing the Organisation of International Exhibitions
ARTICLE 3
International exhibitions presenting the following features shall be eligible for registration by the International Exhibitions Bureau referred to in Article 25 below :
A) Their duration may not be less than six weeks nor more than six months ;
B) The rules governing the exhibition buildings used by the participating States shall be laid down in the general regulations of the exhibition. If a tax is chargeable on property under the legislation of the inviting State, the organizers shall be responsible or paying it. Only services actually rendered in accordance with the regulations approved by the Bureau shall qualify for reimbursement ;
C)From 1 January 1995 the interval between two registered exhibitions shall be at least five years ; the first exhibition may be held in 1995. The International Exhibitions Bureau may nevertheless accept a date not more than one year earlier than the date resulting from the above provision, to allow celebration of a special event of international importance, without however altering the five-year interval laid down in the original calendar.
ARTICLE 4
A) International exhibitions presenting the following features shall be eligible for recognition by the International Exhibitions Bureau :
1. their duration may not be less than three weeks nor more than three months ;
2. they must illustrate a definite theme ;
3. their total surface area must not exceed 25 ha ;
4. they must allocate to the participating States premises constructed by the organizer, free of all rents, charges, taxes and expenses other than those representing services rendered ; the largest space allocated to a State must not exceed 1.000 m2. The International Exhibitions Bureau may however authorize a derogation from the requirement that premises be allocated free of charge if the economic and financial situation of the organizing State justifies it ;
5. only one recognized exhibition, pursuant to this paragraph A, may be held between two registered exhibitions ;
6. only one registered exhibition or exhibition recognized pursuant to this paragraph A, may be held in the same year.
B) The International Exhibitions Bureau may also grant recognition to :
1. the Milan Triennale Exhibition of Decorative Arts and Modern Architecture, on grounds of historical precedence, provided that it retains its original features ;
2. A1 horticultural exhibitions approved by the International Association of Horticultural Producers, provided that there is an interval of at least two years between such exhibitions in different countries and at least ten years between events held in the same country ;
due to be held in the interval between two registered exhibitions.
ARTICLE 5
The opening and closing dates of an exhibition and its general features shall be laid down at the time of registration or recognition and may be changed only with the agreement of the B.I.E.
Registration
ARTICLE 6
1. The Government of a Contracting Party in whose territory an exhibition coming within the scope of the Convention is planned (hereinafter referred to as the inviting Government) shall send to the Bureau an application for registration or recognition indicating the laws, regulations or financial measures it proposes to make for the exhibition. The Government of a non-contracting State wishing to obtain registration or recognition of an exhibition may apply to the Bureau in the same way provided that it undertakes to comply with the provisions of the Convention set out in Parts I, II, III and IV and the regulations made for their implementation.
2. The application for registration or recognition shall be made by the Government responsible for the international relations of the place in which the exhibition is planned to be held (hereinafter referred to as the inviting Government) even if this Government is not the organizer of the exhibition.
3. The Bureau shall in its compulsory regulations determine the maximum period for which a date for an exhibition may be reserved and the minimum period for receipt of an application for registration or recognition; it shall also specify the documents which must accompany such an application. It shall also fix by compulsory regulation the amount of the contribution to be paid for the costs of examination of the application.
4. Registration or recognition shall be granted only if the exhibition fulfills the conditions of this Convention and of the regulations laid down by the Bureau.
ARTICLE 7
1. When two or more countries compete for the registration or recognition of an exhibition and cannot reach agreement they shall ask the General Assembly of the Bureau to arbitrate. In arriving at its decision the General Assembly shall take into account the considerations put forward and, in particular, any special reasons of an historical or ethical nature, the period which has elapsed since the last exhibition, and the number of displays already organised by the competing countries.
2. Except in exceptional circumstances the Bureau shall give preference to an exhibition organised in the territory of a Contracting Party.
ARTICLE 8
A State which has been granted the registration or recognition of an exhibition shall lose all rights arising from the registration or recognition if it changes the date reserved for the exhibition except in the circumstances provided for in paragraph 2 of Article 5. If it wishes to organize the exhibition at another date, the Government concerned shall make a fresh application, and if necessary, submit to the procedure laid down in Article 7 for resolving competing claims.
ARTICLE 9
1. In the case of any exhibition which has not been registered or recognized, Contracting Parties shall refuse their participation and their patronage as well as any Government subsidy.
2. Contracting Parties are quite free not to take part in an exhibition which has been registered or recognized.
3. Each Contracting Government shall use whatever means it considers most appropriate under its own legislation to act against the organizers of false exhibitions or exhibitions to which participants might be fraudulently attracted by false promises, notices or advertisements.
Obligations of Organizers of Registered Exhibitions and of Participating States
ARTICLE 10
1. The inviting Government shall ensure that the provisions of this Convention and of the regulations made for its implementation are observed.
2. If the said Government does not itself organize the exhibition it shall officially recognize the organizers for this purpose and it shall guarantee the fulfillment of the obligations of the organizers.
ARTICLE 11
1. All invitations to participate in an exhibition, whether they are addressed to member States or to non-member States, shall be sent through diplomatic channels by the Government of the organizing country to the Government of the country invited for that country and for the other parties in that country to be invited. The replies shall be forwarded to the inviting Government by the same channel, as well as any requests by non-invited parties to participate. The invitations shall observe the intervals prescribed by the Bureau and shall state that the exhibition in question has been registered. Invitations to international organisations shall be sent to them direct.
2. No Contracting Party may organize or sponsor participation in an international exhibition if the above-mentioned invitations have not been sent in accordance with the provisions of this Convention.
3. Contracting Parties undertake neither to address nor accept any invitation to participate in an exhibition, whether on the territory of a Contracting Party, or of a non-member State, in case where such invitation does not cite a registration or recognition approved according to the provision of this Convention.
4. Any Contracting Party may require the organizers not to send invitations to addressees in its territory other than itself. It may also refrain from forwarding invitations or requests to participate from parties who have not been invited.
ARTICLE 12
The inviting Government shall appoint a Commissioner-General of the Exhibition in the case of a registered exhibition or a Commissioner of the Exhibition in the case of a recognized exhibition who shall be authorized to represent the Government for all purposes in connection with the Convention and in all matters concerning the exhibition.
ARTICLE 13
The Government of any country participating in an exhibition shall appoint a Section Commissioner-General in the case of a registered exhibition or a Section Commissioner in the case of a recognized exhibition to represent it with the inviting Government. The Section Commissioner-General or the Section Commissioner shall have sole responsibility for the organisation of his country`s exhibit. He shall inform the Commissioner-General of the Exhibition or the Commissioner of the Exhibition of the content of this exhibit and shall see that the rights and obligations of exhibitors are respected.
ARTICLE 14 (abrogated)
ARTICLE 15 (abrogated)
ARTICLE 16
The Customs regulations for international exhibitions shall be those set out in the Annex, which forms an integral part of this Convention.
ARTICLE 17
At an exhibition only the sections constituted under the authority of Commissioners-General or Commissioners appointed in accordance with Article 13 by the Governments of the participating countries shall be considered as national and consequently be entitled to bear this name. A national section comprises all the exhibitors of the country in question but not the concession-holders.
ARTICLE 18
1. At an exhibition a participant or a group of participants may use a geographical title relating to a participating Party only with the authorization of the Section Commissioner-General or the Section Commissioner of the Government of the Party concerned.
2. If a Contracting Party is not participating in an exhibition, the Commissioner-General or the Commissioner of the exhibition shall prohibit such usage as envisaged in the preceding paragraph, on behalf of the Contracting Party.
ARTICLE 19
1. Anything exhibited in a national section must have a close connection with the country exhibiting it (for example, articles having their origin in the territory of the participating Government, or articles created by nationals of the country).
2. With the authorization of the Commissioners-General or Commissioners of the other States concerned, other articles or products may be presented provided they serve only to complete the exhibit.
3. In case of dispute between participating Governments concerning paragraphs 1 and 2 above, the matter shall be referred to the college of Section Commissioners-General or Commissioners who shall decide by a simple majority of those present. Their decision is final.
ARTICLE 20
1. Unless there are provisions to the contrary in the laws of the organizing country, no monopoly of any kind shall be granted at an exhibition. However, a monopoly for a common service may be authorized by the Bureau at the time of registration or recognition. In that case the following conditions shall be observed by the organizers:
a) the existence of such monopoly or monopolies shall be indicated in the regulations of the exhibition and in the participation contract
b) the services subject to monopoly shall be made available to exhibitors under the conditions normally existing in the State ;
c) the powers of the Commissioners-General or Commissioners in their respective sections shall not in any case be subjected to any limitation.
2. The Commissioner-General or Commissioner of the exhibition shall take all steps to ensure that the charges made to participating Governments are not higher than those made to the organizers of the exhibition or in any case than the normal local charges.
ARTICLE 21
The Commissioner-General or Commissioner of the Exhibition shall do everything in his power to ensure the proper and efficient functioning of the public utility services inside the exhibition area.
ARTICLE 22
The inviting Government shall make every effort to facilitate the participation of Governments and of their nationals, especially as regards transport charges and conditions of admission of persons and things.
ARTICLE 23
1. The general regulations of an exhibition shall state whether or not prizes are to be awarded to the participants irrespective of the certificates of participation which may always be granted. If prizes are to be given their allocation may be limited to certain categories.
2. If participants do not wish to compete for prizes they shall make a declaration to this effect before the opening of the exhibition.
ARTICLE 24
The International Exhibitions Bureau as defined in the following Article, shall draw up regulations to determine the general conditions for the composition and functioning of juries and to decide how prizes shall be awarded.
Institutional Arrangements
ARTICLE 25
1. The International Exhibitions Bureau was established to supervise and ensure the application of this Convention. Its members shall be the Governments of the Contracting Parties. The headquarters of the Bureau shall be in Paris.
2. The Bureau shall have legal personality. In particular, it shall have the capacity to contract, acquire and dispose of movable and immovable property and to participate in legal proceedings.
3. The Bureau shall be entitled to conclude with States and International Organisations agreements relating to such Privileges and Immunities as are necessary for the exercise of the functions entrusted to it by this Convention.
4. The Bureau shall comprise a General Assembly, a President, an Executive Committee, specialized committees, as many Vice-Presidents as there are committees and a Secretariat under the authority of a Secretary-General.
ARTICLE 26
The General Assembly of the Bureau shall be composed of delegates appointed by the Contracting Parties on the scale of from one to three delegates per country.
ARTICLE 27
The General Assembly shall hold regular meetings and may also hold extraordinary meetings. It shall decide all questions which under this Convention come within the competence of the Bureau of which it is the highest authority. In particular the General Assembly shall :
a) discuss, adopt and publish regulations relating to the registration or recognition, classification and organisation of international exhibitions, and to the proper functioning of the Bureau. Within the limits of the provisions of this Convention the General Assembly may lay down compulsory regulations to be observed by the organizers of exhibitions who wish to enjoy the advantages of registration by the Bureau and also model regulations to serve as a guide to such organizers ;
b) draw up the budget, check and approve the Bureau`s accounts ;
c) approve the reports of the Secretary General ;
d) establish committees as necessary, and appoint members of the Executive Committee and of the other committees ;
e) approve any international agreements entered into in accordance with Article 25 (3) hereof;
f) adopt draft amendments in accordance with Article 33 ;
g) appoint the Secretary General.
ARTICLE 28
1. The Government of each Contracting Party, whatever the number of its delegates, shall have one vote in the General Assembly. This voting right shall be suspended if the sum of the subscriptions owed by a Contracting Government under Article 32 of this Convention exceeds the sum of the subscriptions due by it for the current year and the previous year.
2. The General Assembly shall be qualified to exercise its functions when the number of member States represented is at least two-thirds of the number of member States entitled to vote. If this quorum is not reached, the General Assembly shall be convened again with the same agenda after an interval of at least a month. In that case the quorum required shall be reduced to half the number of Contracting Parties entitled to vote.
3. Decisions shall be by a majority of the delegations present voting for or against, except that a majority of two-thirds shall be required in the following cases :
a) the adoption of proposals for amendments to this Convention ;
b)the drawing up and amendment of the regulations ;
c) the adoption of the budget and approval of the amount of the annual subscriptions of the Contracting Parties ;
d)the authorization for a change of opening or closing dates of an exhibition in accordance with Article 5 above ;
e) the registration or recognition of an exhibition in the territory of a non-member State which is in competition with an exhibition in the territory of a Contracting Party ;
f) the reduction of the intervals stipulated in Article 3 of the present Convention ;
g) the acceptance of reservations to an amendment presented by a Contracting Party ;
such amendment being adopted in accordance with Article 33, by a four-fifths majority, or unanimously as the case may be ;
h)the approval of any draft international agreement ;
i) the appointment of the Secretary General.
ARTICLE 29
1. The President shall be elected by secret ballot of the General Assembly for a period of two years from among the delegates of the Governments of the Contracting Parties. He may not represent the State to which he belongs during his period of office. He may be re-elected.
2. The President shall call and conduct meetings of the General Assembly and ensure the proper functioning of the Bureau. In the President`s absence his functions shall be exercised by the Vice-President in charge of the Executive Committee or, in the event of his incapacity, by one of the other Vice-Presidents in the order of their election.
3. The Vice-Presidents shall be elected from among the delegates of the Contracting Parties by the General Assembly which shall determine the nature and duration of their office and in particular the Committees of which they shall be given charge.
ARTICLE 30
1. The Executive Committee shall consist of delegates of twelve Contracting Parties, each nominating one representative.
2. The Executive Committee :
a) shall establish and keep up-to-date a classification of human endeavor as it may be portrayed in an exhibition ;
b)shall examine all application for the registration or recognition of an exhibition and submit them with advice for the approval of the General Assembly ;
c) shall discharge such tasks as are given to it by the General Assembly ;
d)may seek the opinion of other Committees.
ARTICLE 31
1. The Secretary General, who shall be appointed in accordance with the provisions of Article 28 of this Convention, shall be a national of the country of one of the Contracting Parties.
2. The Secretary General shall be responsible for attending to the current business of the Bureau in accordance with the instructions of the General Assembly and of the Executive Committee. He shall draw up a draft budget, present accounts and submit reports on his activities to the General Assembly. He shall represent the Bureau, especially in legal matters.
3. The General Assembly shall decide the other duties and responsibilities of the Secretary General as well as his terms of service.
ARTICLE 32
The annual budget of the Bureau shall be adopted by the General Assembly in accordance with the provisions of paragraph 3 of Article 28. The budget shall take account of the financial reserves of the Bureau, of revenue of all kinds, and also of the debit and credit balances carried forward from previous financial years. The expenses of the Bureau shall be met from these sources and from the subscriptions of Contracting Parties calculated on the basis of the number of parts falling to each Party according to the decisions of the General Assembly.
ARTICLE 33
1. Any Contracting Government may make a proposal for amendment of the Convention. The text of the said proposal and the reasons for it shall be communicated to the Secretary General who shall transmit them as soon as possible to the other Contracting Governments.
2. The proposal for amendment shall be included in the agenda of an ordinary session or of an extraordinary session of the General Assembly to be held at least three months after the date of its dispatch by the Secretary General.
3. Every proposal for amendment adopted by the General Assembly in accordance with the provisions of the previous paragraph and of Article 28 shall be submitted by the Government of the French Republic for the acceptance of all the Governments Parties to this Convention. It shall come into force with regard to all Parties on the date on which four-fifths of them have notified their acceptance to the Government of the French Republic, except that a proposal for amendment of the present paragraph, of Article 16, or of the Annex referred to in that Article shall not come into force until all Parties have notified their acceptance to the Government of the French Republic.
4. Any Government which wishes to enter a reservation to its acceptance of an amendment shall inform the Bureau of the terms of this proposed reservation. The General Assembly shall give a decision concerning the admissibility of this reservation. It shall allow reservations which are conducive to the protection of established positions with regard to international exhibitions and reject those which would have the effect of creating privileged positions. If the reservation is accepted, the Party which had submitted it shall be included among those which are counted as having accepted the amendments for the purpose of calculating the above-mentioned four-fifths majority. If it is rejected, the Government which had submitted it shall choose between refusal to accept the amendment and its acceptance without reservation.
5. When the amendment comes into force, in the circumstances envisaged in the third paragraph of the present article, any Contracting Party which had refused to accept it may, if it sees fit, avail itself of the provisions of Article 37 below.
ARTICLE 34
1. Any dispute between two or more Contracting Governments concerning the application or the interpretation of this Convention, which cannot be settled by the authorities invested with powers of decision in pursuance of the provisions of this Convention, shall form the subject of negotiations between the Parties in dispute.
2. If these negotiations do not within a short space of time lead to an agreement, any Party shall refer the matter to the President of the Bureau and shall request him to nominate a conciliator. If the conciliator is unable to obtain the agreement of the Parties in dispute on a solution, he shall take note of and define the nature and the extent of the dispute in his report to the President.
3. Once a lack of agreement is thus notified the dispute shall become the subject of arbitration. To this end any Party shall, within an interval of two months from the date on which the report was communicated to the Parties in dispute, refer to the Secretary General of the Bureau a request for arbitration, naming the arbitrator chosen by that Party. The other Party or Parties to the dispute must each nominate, within an interval of two months, their respective arbitrators. Failing this, any Party shall notify the President of the International Court of Justice, requesting him to nominate the arbitrator or arbitrators. When several Parties act in unison for purposes outlined in the preceding paragraph, they shall count as one entity. In case of doubt, the decision lies with the Secretary General. The arbitrators shall in their turn nominate an additional arbitrator. If the arbitrators cannot agree on this choice within a space of two months, the President of the International Court of Justice, having been notified by any one Party, shall be responsible for nominating the additional arbitrator.
4. The arbitrating body shall give its decision by the majority of its members, the additional arbitrator having the casting vote in the event of the arbitrators?votes being equally divided. This decision shall be binding on all the Parties in dispute, finally and without the right of appeal.
5. Any State may, at the time of signing or ratifying this Convention, or acceding to it, declare itself not bound by the provisions of the above paragraphs 3 and 4. Other Contracting Parties will not be bound as regards those provisions towards any State which has so reserved its positions.
6. Any Contracting Party which has reserved its position in accordance with the provisions of the above paragraph, may at any time rescind its reservations by a notification to the depository Government.
ARTICLE 35
This Convention shall be open for accession by any State which is a member of the United Nations, or any State which is not a member of the United Nations but which is a Party to the Statute of the International Course of Justice or any State which is a member of one of the specialized agencies of the United Nations or the International Atomic Energy Agency and also by any State whose application for accession is approved by a two-thirds majority of the Contracting Parties which have the right to vote in the General Assembly of the Bureau. Instruments of accession shall be deposited with the Government of the French Republic and shall become effective on the date they are so deposited.
ARTICLE 36
The Government of the French Republic shall inform signatory and acceding Governments and also the International Exhibitions Bureau of :
a) the entry into force of amendments in accordance with Article 33 ;
b) accessions in accordance with Article 35 ;
c) denunciations in accordance with Article 37 ;
d) reservations filed in accordance with Article 34 paragraph 5 ;
e) the termination of the Convention, should this arise.
ARTICLE 37
1. Any Contracting Government may denounce this Convention by notifying the Government of the French Republic in writing.
2. Such a denunciation shall take effect one year after the date of receipt of such notification.
3. This Convention shall terminate if, as the result of denunciations, the number of Contracting Governments is reduced to less than seven. Subject to any agreement which may be concluded between the Contracting Governments concerning the dissolution of the Bureau, the Secretary General shall be responsible for questions regarding liquidation. Unless the General Assembly decides otherwise, the assets shall be divided among the Contracting Governments in proportion to the subscriptions paid since they have been Parties of this Convention. If there are liabilities, these shall be taken over by the same Governments in proportion to the subscriptions fixed for the current financial year.
DONE at Paris, the 30th of November, 1972
