Foreign Relations of the United States Diplomatic Papers, 1932, General, Volume I

Treaty Series No. 867

Convention Between the United States of America and Other Powers, Signed at Madrid, December 9, 1932¹⁸

Madrid, December 9, 1932

[Translation]

International Telecommunication Convention

Concluded Among the Governments of the Countries Listed Hereinafter:

Union of South Africa; Germany; Republic of Argentina; Commonwealth of Australia; Austria; Belgium; Bolivia; Brazil; Canada; Chile; China; Vatican City State; Republic of Colombia; French Colonies, protectorates and territories under French mandate; Portuguese Colonies; Swiss Confederation; Belgian Congo; Costa Rica; Cuba; Curaçao and Surinam; Cirenaica; Denmark; Free City of Danzig; Dominican Republic; Egypt; Republic of El Salvador; Ecuador; Eritrea; Spain; United States of America; Empire of Ethiopia; Finland; France; United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland; Greece; Guatemala; Republic of Honduras; Hungary; Italian Islands of the Aegean Sea; British India; Dutch East Indies; Irish Free State; Iceland; Italy; Japan, Chosen, Taiwan, Karafuto, Kwantung Leased Territory and the South Sea Islands under Japanese mandate; Latvia; Liberia; Lithuania; Luxemburg; Morocco; Mexico; Nicaragua; Norway; New Zealand; Republic of Panama; Netherlands; Peru; Persia; Poland; Portugal; Rumania; Italian Somaliland; Sweden;. Syria and Lebanon; Czechoslovakia; Tripolitania; Tunisia; Turkey; Union of Soviet Socialist Republics; Uruguay; Venezuela; Yugoslavia.

The undersigned, plenipotentiaries of the governments listed above, having met in conference at Madrid, have, in common agreement and subject to ratification, concluded the following Convention:

chapter i

organization and functioning of the union

Article 1

Constitution of the Union

§ 1. The countries, parties to the present Convention, form the International Telecommunication Union which shall replace the Telegraph Union and which shall be governed by the following provisions.

§ 2. The terms used in this Convention are defined in the annex to the present document.

Article 2

Regulations

§ 1. The provisions of the present Convention shall be completed by the following Regulations:

• the Telegraph Regulations,
• the Telephone Regulations,
• the Radio Regulations (General Regulations and Additional Regulations),

which shall bind only the contracting governments which have undertaken to apply them, and solely as regards governments which have taken the same obligation.

§ 2. Only the signatories to the Convention or the adherents to this document shall be permitted to sign the Regulations or to adhere thereto. The signing of at least one of the sets of Regulations shall be obligatory upon the signatories of the Convention. Similarly, adherence to at least one of the sets of Regulations shall be obligatory upon the adherents to the Convention. However, the Additional Radio Regulations may not be the subject of signature or adherence except when the General Radio Regulations have been signed or adhered to.

§ 3. The provisions of the present Convention shall bind the contracting governments only with respect to the services governed by the Regulations to which these governments are parties.

Article 3

Adherence of Governments to the Convention

§ 1. The government of a country, in the name of which the present Convention has not been signed, may adhere to it at any time. Such adherence must cover at least one of the sets of annexed Regulations, subject to the application of § 2 of article 2 above.

§ 2. The act of adherence of a government shall be deposited in the archives of the government which received the conference of plenipotentiaries that has drawn up the present Convention. The government with which the act of adherence has been deposited shall communicate it to all the other contracting governments through diplomatic channels.

§ 3. Adherence shall carry with it as a matter of right, all the obligations and all the advantages stipulated by the present Convention; it shall, in addition, entail the obligations and advantages stipulated by the particular Regulations which the adhering governments undertake to apply.

Article 4

Adherence of Governments to the Regulations

The government of a country signatory or adherent to the present Convention may at any time adhere to one or more of the sets of Regulations which it has not undertaken to observe, taking into account the provisions of article 2, § 2. Such adherence shall be notified to the Bureau of the Union which shall inform the other governments concerned thereof.

Article 5

Adherence to the Convention and to the Regulations by Colonies, Protectorates, Overseas Territories, or Territories under Sovereignty, Authority, or Mandate of the Contracting Governments

§ 1. Any contracting government may, at the time of its signature, its ratification, its adherence, or later, declare that its acceptance of the present Convention is valid for the whole or a group or a single one of its colonies, protectorates, overseas territories, or territories under sovereignty, authority, or mandate.

§ 2. The whole or a group or a single one of these colonies, protectorates, overseas territories, or territories under sovereignty, authority, or mandate may, respectively, at any time, be the subject of a separate adherence.

§ 3. The present Convention shall not apply to colonies, protectorates, overseas territories, or territories under sovereignty, authority, or mandate of a contracting government, unless statement to this effect is made by virtue of § 1 of the present article, or a separate adherence is made by virtue of § 2 above.

§ 4. The declarations of adherence, made by virtue of § 1 and § 2 of this article, shall be communicated through diplomatic channels to the government of the country on the territory of which was held the conference of plenipotentiaries, at which the present Convention was drawn up, and a copy thereof shall be transmitted by this government to each of the other contracting governments.

§ 5. The provisions of §§ 1 and 3 of this article shall also apply either to the acceptance of one or more of the sets of Regulations, or to the adherence to one or more of the sets of Regulations, within the terms of the provisions contained in article 2, § 2. Such acceptance or adherence shall be notified in conformity with the provisions of article 4.

§ 6. The provisions of the preceding paragraphs shall not apply to the colonies, protectorates, overseas territories, or territories under sovereignty, authority, or mandate which appear in the preamble of the present Convention.

Article 6

Ratification of the Convention

§ 1. The present Convention must be ratified by the signatory governments and the ratifications thereof must be deposited, as soon as possible, through diplomatic channels, in the archives of the government of the country which received the conference of plenipotentiaries that has drawn up the present Convention; this same government shall, through diplomatic channels, notify the other signatory and adhering governments of the ratifications, as soon as they are received.

§ 2. In case one or more of the signatory governments would not ratify the Convention, the latter shall none the less be valid for the governments which shall have ratified it.

Article 7

Approval of the Regulations

§ 1. The governments must, as soon as possible, submit their decision concerning the approval of the Regulations drawn up by the Conference. This approval shall be reported to the Bureau of the Union which shall inform the members of the Union accordingly.

§ 2. In case one or several of the governments concerned would not report such an approval, the new regulatory provisions shall none the less be valid for the governments which shall have approved them.

Article 8

Abrogation of Conventions and of Regulations Prior to the Present Convention

The present Convention and the Regulations annexed thereto¹⁹ shall abrogate and replace, in the relations between the contracting governments, the International Telegraph Conventions of Paris (1865), Vienna (1868), Rome (1872), and St. Petersburg (1875), and the Regulations annexed thereto, as well as the International Radiotelegraph Conventions of Berlin (1906), London (1912), and Washington (1927), and the Regulations annexed thereto.

Article 9

Execution of the Convention and of the Regulations

§ 1. The contracting governments undertake to apply the provisions of the present Convention and of the Regulations accepted by them, in all the offices and in all the telecommunication stations established or operated by them, and which are open to the international service of public correspondence, to the broadcasting service, or to the special services governed by the Regulations.

§ 2. Moreover, they agree to take the steps necessary to enforce the provisions of the present Convention and of the Regulations which they accept, upon the private operating agencies recognized by them and upon the other operating agencies duly authorized to establish and operate telecommunications of the international service whether or not open to public correspondence.

Article 10

Denunciation of the Convention by the Governments

§ 1. Each contracting government shall have the right to denounce the present Convention by a notification, addressed, through diplomatic channels, to the government of the country in which was held the conference of plenipotentiaries that has drawn up the present Convention, and announced by these governments to all the other contracting governments, likewise through diplomatic channels.

§ 2. This denunciation shall take effect at the expiration of the period of one year, beginning with the day on which the notification was received by the government of the country in which the last conference of plenipotentiaries was held. This effect shall apply only to the author of the denunciation; the Convention shall remain in force for the other contracting governments.

Article 11

Denunciation of the Regulations by the Governments

§ 1. Each government shall have the right to terminate the obligation which it has undertaken to apply one of the sets of Regulations, by notifying its decision to the Bureau of the Union which shall inform thereof the other governments concerned. Such notification shall take effect at the expiration of the period of one year, beginning with the day on which it was received by the Bureau of the Union. This effect shall apply only to the author of the denunciation; the Regulations in question shall remain in force for the other governments.

§ 2. The provision of § 1 above shall not annul the obligation for the contracting governments to enforce at least one of the sets of Regulations, covered by article 2 of this Convention, taking into account the reservation contained in § 2 of the said article.

Article 12

Denunciation of the Convention and of the Regulations by Colonies, Protectorates, Overseas Territories, or Territories under Sovereignty, Authority, or Mandate of the Contracting Governments

§ 1. The application of the present Convention to a territory, by virtue of the provisions of § 1 or of § 2 of article 5, may terminate at any time.

§ 2. The declarations of denunciation provided for in § 1 above shall be notified and announced according to the conditions stated in §1 of article 10; they shall take effect according to the provisions of § 2 of the latter article.

§ 3. The application of one or more of the sets of Regulations to a territory, by virtue of the provisions of § 5 of article 5, may terminate at any time.

§ 4. The declarations of denunciation provided for in § 3 above shall be notified and announced in accordance with the provisions of § 1 of article 11 and shall take effect under the conditions set forth in the said paragraph.

Article 13

Special Arrangements

The contracting governments reserve the right, for themselves, for the private operating agencies recognized by them, and for other operating agencies duly authorized to that effect, to conclude special arrangements on service matters which do not concern the governments in general. However, such arrangements must remain within the terms of the Convention and of the Regulations annexed thereto, as regards interference which their application might be likely to cause with the services of other countries.

Article 14

Relations with Noncontracting Governments

§ 1. Each of the contracting governments reserves the right, for itself and for the private operating agencies which it recognizes, to determine the conditions under which it will admit telecommunications exchanged with a country which has not adhered to the present Convention or to the Regulations which contain the provisions relative to the telecommunications involved.

§ 2. If a telecommunication originating in a nonadhering country is accepted by an adhering country, it must be transmitted and, so far as it uses the channels of a country adhering to the Convention and to the respective Regulations, the mandatory provisions of the Convention and of the Regulations in question, as well as the normal rates, shall be applicable to it.

Article 15

Arbitration

§ 1. In case of disagreement between two or more contracting governments concerning the execution of either the present Convention or the Regulations contemplated in article 2, the dispute, if it is not settled through diplomatic channels, shall be submitted to arbitration at the request of any one of the governments in disagreement.

§ 2. Unless the parties in disagreement agree to adopt a procedure already established by treaties concluded between them for the settlement of international disputes, or the procedure provided for in § 7 of this article, arbitrators shall be appointed in the following manner:

§ 3. (1) The parties shall decide, after mutual agreement, whether the arbitration is to be entrusted to individuals or to governments or administrations; failing an agreement on this matter, governments shall be resorted to.

(2) In case the arbitration is to be entrusted to individuals, the arbitrators must not be of the same nationality as any one of the parties concerned in the dispute.

(3) In case the arbitration is to be entrusted to governments or administrations, the latter must be chosen from among the parties adhering to the agreement, the application of which caused the dispute.

§ 4. The party appealing to arbitration shall be considered as the plaintiff. This party shall designate an arbitrator and notify the opposing party thereof. The defendant must then appoint a second arbitrator, within two months after the receipt of plaintiff’s notification.

§ 5. If more than two parties are involved, each group of plaintiffs or of defendants shall appoint an arbitrator, observing the same procedure as in § 4.

§ 6. The two arbitrators thus appointed shall agree in designating an umpire who if the arbitrators are individuals and not governments or administrations, must not be of the same nationality as either of them or either of the parties involved. Failing an agreement of the arbitrators as to the choice of the umpire, each arbitrator shall propose an umpire in no way concerned in the dispute. Lots shall then be drawn between the umpires proposed. The drawing of lots shall be done by the Bureau of the Union.

§ 7. Finally, the parties in dispute shall have the right to have their disagreement settled by a single arbitrator. In this case, either they shall agree on the choice of the arbitrator, or the latter shall be designated in conformity with the method indicated in § 6.

§ 8. The arbitrators shall be free to decide on the procedure to be followed.

§ 9. Each party shall bear the expenses it shall have incurred in the investigation of the dispute. The cost of the arbitration shall be apportioned equally among the parties involved.

Article 16

International Consulting Committees

§ 1. Consulting committees may be formed for the purpose of studying questions relating to the telecommunication services.

§ 2. The number, composition, duties, and functioning of these committees are defined in the Regulations annexed to the present Convention.

Article 17

Bureau of the Union

§ 1. A central office, called the Bureau of the International Telecommunication Union, shall function under the conditions stated hereinafter:

§ 2. (1) In addition to the work and operations provided for by the various other articles of the Convention and of the Regulations, the Bureau of the Union shall be charged with:

(a) work preparatory to and following conferences, in which it shall be represented in an advisory capacity;

(b) providing, in cooperation with the organizing administration involved, the secretariat of conferences of the Union, as well as, when so requested or when so provided for by the Regulations annexed to the present Convention, the secretariat of meetings of committees appointed by the Union or placed under the auspices of the latter;

(c) issuing such publications as will be found generally useful between two conferences.

(2) On the basis of the documents put at its disposal and of the information which it may gather, it shall publish periodically a journal of information and documentation concerning telecommunications.

(3) It must also, at all times, hold itself at the disposal of the contracting governments to furnish them with such opinions and information as they may need on questions concerning international telecommunications, and which it is in a better position to have or to obtain than these governments.

(4) It shall prepare an annual report on its activities, which shall be communicated to all members of the Union. The operating account shall be submitted, for examination and approval, to the plenipotentiary or administrative conferences provided for in article 18 of the present Convention.

§ 3. (1) The general expenses of the Bureau of the Union must not exceed, per year, the amounts specified in the Regulations annexed to the present Convention. These general expenses shall not include:

(a) the expenses pertaining to the work of plenipotentiary or administrative conferences,

(b) the expenses pertaining to the work of duly created committees.

(2) The expenses pertaining to the plenipotentiary and administrative conferences shall be borne by all the governments participating therein, in proportion to the contribution which they pay for the operation of the Bureau of the Union, in accordance with the provisions of the following subparagraph (3).

The expenses pertaining to the meetings of the committees regularly created shall be borne in accordance with the provisions of the Regulations annexed to the present Convention.

(3) The receipts and expenses of the Bureau of the Union must be carried in two separate accounts, one for the telegraph and telephone services, the other for the radio service. The expenses pertaining to each of these two divisions shall be borne by the governments adhering to the corresponding Regulations. For the apportioning of these expenses, the adhering governments shall be divided into six classes, each contributing at the rate of a certain number of units, namely:

• 1st class: 25 units
• 2d class: 20 units
• 3d class: 15 units
• 4th class: 10 units
• 5th class: 5 units
• 6th class: 3 units

(4) Each government shall inform the Bureau of the Union, directly or through its administration, of the class in which its country is to be placed. This classification shall be communicated to the members of the Union.

(5) The amounts advanced by the government supervising the Bureau of the Union must be refunded by the debtor governments with the briefest possible delay, and, at the latest, at the end of the fourth month following the month during which the account was rendered. After this period, the amounts due shall bear interest, accruing to the creditor government, at the rate of six percent (6%) per annum, counting from the date of expiration of the above-mentioned period.

§ 4. The Bureau of the Union shall be placed under the high supervision of the Government of the Swiss Confederation which shall regulate its organization, supervise its finances, make the necessary advances, and audit the annual accounts.

chapter ii

conferences

Article 18

Conferences of Plenipotentiaries and Administrative Conferences

§ 1. The provisions of the present Convention shall be subject to revision by conferences of plenipotentiaries of the contracting governments.

§ 2. Revision of the Convention shall be undertaken when it has been so decided by a preceding conference of plenipotentiaries, or when at least twenty contracting governments have so stated their desire to the government of the country in which the Bureau of the Union is located.

§ 3. The provisions of the Regulations annexed to this Convention shall be subject to revision by administrative conferences of delegates from the contracting governments which have approved the Regulations to be revised, each conference itself determining the place and time for the following meeting.

§ 4. Each administrative conference may permit the participation, in an advisory capacity, of private operating agencies recognized by the respective contracting governments.

Article 19

Change of Date of a Conference

§ 1. The time set for the meeting of a conference of plenipotentiaries or of an administrative conference may be advanced or postponed if request to this effect is made by at least ten of the contracting governments to the government of the country in which the Bureau of the Union is located, and if such proposal is agreed to by the majority of the contracting governments which shall have forwarded their opinion within the time indicated.

§ 2. The conference shall then be held in the country originally designated, if the government of that country consents. Otherwise, the contracting governments shall be consulted through the government of the country in which the Bureau of the Union is located.

Article 20

Internal Regulations of the Conferences

§ 1. Before any other deliberation, each conference shall establish Internal Regulations containing the rules according to which the debates and the work shall be organized and conducted.

§ 2. For this purpose, the conference shall take as a basis the Internal Regulations of the preceding conference, which it may modify if deemed advisable.

Article 21

Language

§ 1. The language used in drafting the acts of the conferences and for all the documents of the Union, shall be French.

§ 2. (1) In the discussions of conferences, the French and English languages shall be permitted.

(2) Speeches made in French shall immediately be translated into English, and vice versa, by official interpreters of the Bureau of the Union.

(3) Other languages may also be used in the discussions of the conferences, on condition that the delegates using them provide for the translation of their own speeches into French or into English.

(4) Likewise these delegates may, if they so desire, have speeches in French or in English translated into their own language.

chapter iii

general provisions

Article 22

Telecommunication as a Public Service

The contracting governments recognize the right of the public to correspond by means of the international service of public correspondence. The service, the charges, the guarantees shall be the same for all senders, without any priority or preference whatsoever not provided for by the Convention or the Regulations annexed thereto.

Article 23

Responsibility

The contracting governments declare that they accept no responsibility in regard to the users of the international telecommunication service.

Article 24

Secrecy of Telecommunications

§ 1. The contracting governments agree to take all the measures possible, compatible with the system of telecommunication used, with a view to insuring the secrecy of international correspondence.

§ 2. However, they reserve the right to communicate international correspondence to the proper authorities, in order to insure either the application of their internal legislation, or the execution of international conventions, to which the governments concerned are parties.

Article 25

Constitution, Operation, and Protection of the Telecommunication Installations and Channels

§ 1. The contracting governments, in agreement with the other contracting governments concerned, shall establish, under the best technical conditions, the channels and installations necessary to carry on the rapid and uninterrupted exchange of telecommunications in the international service.

§ 2. So far as possible, these channels and installations must be operated by the best methods and procedures which the practice of the service shall have made known; they must be maintained constantly in operating condition and kept abreast of scientific and technical progress.

§ 3. The contracting governments shall insure the protection of these channels and installations within the limits of their respective action.

§ 4. Unless other conditions are laid down by special arrangements, each contracting government shall, at its own expense, establish and maintain the sections of international conductors included within the limits of the territory of its country.

§ 5. In the countries where certain telecommunication services are operated by private operating agencies recognized by the governments, the above-mentioned obligations shall be undertaken by the private operating agencies.

Article 26

Stoppage of Telecommunications

§ 1. The contracting governments reserve the right to stop the transmission of any private telegram or radiotelegram which might appear dangerous to the safety of the state or contrary to the laws of the country, to public order, or to decency, provided that they immediately notify the office of origin of the stoppage of the said communication or of any part thereof, except when it might appear dangerous to the safety of the state to issue such notice.

§ 2. The contracting governments likewise reserve the right to interrupt any private telephone communication which might appear dangerous to the safety of the state or contrary to the laws of the country, to public order, or to decency.

Article 27

Suspension of Service

Each contracting government reserves the right to suspend the service of international telecommunication for an indefinite time if it deems necessary, either generally or only as regards certain connections and/or certain classes of communications, provided that it immediately so advise each of the other contracting governments, through the intermediary of the Bureau of the Union.

Article 28

Investigation of Violations

The contracting governments undertake to inform each other concerning violations of the provisions of the present Convention and of the Regulations which they accept, in order to facilitate the action to be taken.

Article 29

Charges and Franking Privileges

The provisions relating to the charges for telecommunications and the various cases in which the latter enjoy franking privileges are laid down in the Regulations annexed to the present Convention.

Article 30

Priority of Transmission for Government Telegrams and Radiotelegrams

In transmission, government telegrams and radiotelegrams shall enjoy priority over other telegrams and radiotelegrams, except in the case when the sender expressly waives such right or priority.

Article 31

Secret Language

§ 1. Government telegrams and radiotelegrams as well as service telegrams and radiotelegrams, in all relations, may be written in secret language.

§ 2. Private telegrams and radiotelegrams may be sent in secret language between all the countries, except those which previously, through the intermediary of the Bureau of the Union, have announced that they do not permit such language for these categories of messages.

§ 3. Contracting governments which do not permit private telegrams and radiotelegrams in secret language from or to their own territory must permit them to pass in transit, except in the case of suspension of service provided for in article 27.

Article 32

Monetary Unit

The monetary unit used in the composition of international telecommunication rates and in setting up the international accounts shall be the gold franc of 100 centimes, weighing 10/31 of a gram, and of a fineness of 0.900.

Article 33

Rendering of Accounts

The contracting governments must account to one another for the charges collected by their respective services.

chapter iv

special provisions for radio

Article 34

Intercommunication

§ 1. Stations carrying on radio communications in the mobile service shall be bound, within the scope of their normal operation, to exchange radio communications with one another irrespective of the radio system they have adopted.

§ 2. In order not to hinder scientific progress, however, the provisions of the preceding paragraph shall not prevent the use of a radio system incapable of communicating with other systems provided that this inability is due to the specific nature of the system and that it is not the result of devices adopted solely for the purpose of preventing intercommunication.

Article 35

Interference

§ 1. All stations, regardless of their purpose, must, so far as possible, be established and operated in such a manner as not to interfere with the radio services or communications of either the other contracting governments, or the private operating agencies recognized by these contracting governments and of other duly authorized operating agencies which carry on radio-communication service.

§ 2. Each contracting government which does not operate the radio facilities itself undertakes to require the private operating agencies recognized by it and the other operating agencies duly authorized for this purpose, to observe the provisions of § 1 above.

Article 36

Distress Calls and Messages

Stations participating in the mobile service shall be obliged to accept, with absolute priority, distress calls and messages regardless of their origin, to reply in the same manner to such messages, and immediately to take such action in regard thereto as they may require.

Article 37

False or Deceptive Distress Signals—Irregular Use of Call Signals

The contracting governments agree to take the steps required to prevent the transmission or the putting into circulation of false or deceptive distress signals or distress calls, and the use, by a station, of call signals which have not been regularly assigned to it.

Article 38

Limited Service

Notwithstanding the provisions of § 1 of article 34, a station may be assigned to a limited international telecommunication service, determined by the purpose of such telecommunication or by other circumstances independent of the system.

Article 39

Installations of National Defense Services

§ 1. The contracting governments retain their full freedom in regard to radio installations not covered by article 9 and, particularly, the military stations of land, maritime, or air forces.

§ 2. (1) However, these installations and stations must, so far as possible, comply with the regulatory provisions concerning aid to be rendered in case of distress and measures to be taken to avoid interference. They must also, to the extent possible, comply with the regulatory provisions concerning the types of waves and the frequencies to be used, according to the nature of the service performed by the said services.

(2) Moreover, when these installations and stations exchange public correspondence or engage in the special services governed by the Regulations annexed to the present Convention, they must, in general, comply with the regulatory provisions for the conduct of such services.

chapter v

final provisions

Article 40

Effective Date of the Convention

The present Convention shall become effective on the first day of January, nineteen hundred and thirty-four.

In witness whereof the respective plenipotentiaries have signed the Convention in a single copy which shall remain deposited in the archives of the Government of Spain and one copy of which shall be forwarded to each government.

Done at Madrid, December 9, 1932.

For the Union of South Africa:

• H. J. Lenton
• A. R. McLachlan

For Germany:

• Hermann Giess
• Dr. Ing. Hans Carl Steidle
• Dr. Paul Jäger
• Dr. Hans Harbich
• Paul Münch
• Martin Feuerhahn
• Siegfried Mey
• Dr. Friedrich Herath
• Rudolf Salzmann
• Erhard Maertens
• Curt Wagner

For the Argentine Republic:

• D. Garcia Mansilla
• R. Correa Luna
• Luis S. Castiñeiras
• M. Sáenz Briones

For the Commonwealth of Australia:

• J. M. Crawford

For Austria:

• Rudolph Oestreicher
• Ing. H. Pfeuffer

For Belgium:

• B. Maus
• R. Corteil
• Jos. Lambert
• H. Fossion

For Bolivia:

• Georges Sáenz

For Brazil:

• Luis Guimaraes

For Canada:

• Alfred Duranleau
• W. Arthur Steel
• Jean Desy

For Chile:

• E. Bermudez

For China:

• Lingoh Wang

For the Vatican City State:

• Guiseppe Gianfranceschi

For the Republic of Colombia:

• José Joaquín Casas
• Alberto Sánchez de Iriarte
• W. MacLellan

For the French Colonies, Protectorates and Territories under French Mandate:

• G. Carour

For the Portuguese Colonies:

• Ernesto Julio Navaro
• Arnaldo de Paiva Carvalho
• José Méndes de Vasconcellos Guimaräes
• Mario Correa Barata da Cruz

For the Swiss Confederation:

• G. Keller
• E. Metzler

For the Belgian Congo:

• G. Tondeur

For Costa Rica:

• A. Martin Lanuza

For Cuba:

• Manuel S. Pichardo

For Curaçao and Surinam:

• G. Schotel
• Hoogewooning

For Cyrenaica:

• G. Gneme
• Gian Franco della Porta

For Denmark:

• Kay Christiansen
• C. Lerche
• Gredsted

For Danzig Free City:

• Ing. Henryk Kowalski
• Zander

For the Dominican Republic:

• E. Brache (Junior)
• Juan de Olózaga

For Egypt:

• R. Murray
• Mohamed Said

For the Republic of El Salvador:

• Raoul Contreras

For Ecuador:

• Hlpólito de Mozoncillo
• Abel Romeo Castillo

For Eritrea:

• G. Gneme
• Gian Franco della Porta

For Spain:

• Miguel Sastre
• Ramón Miguel Nieto
• Gabriel Hombre
• Francisco Vidal
• J. de Encio
• Tomás Fernández Quintana
• Leopoldo Cal
• Trinidad Matres
• Carlos de Bordons

For the United States of America:

• Eugene O. Sykes
• C. B. Joluffe
• Walter Lichtenstein
• Irvin Stewart

For the Empire of Ethiopia:

• Tagagne

For Finland:

• Niilo Orasmaa
• Viljo Ylöstalo

For France:

• Jules Gautier

For the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland:

• F. W. Phillips
• J. Louden
• F. W. Home
• C. H. Boyd
• J. P. G. Worlledge

For Greece:

• Th. Pentheroudakis
• Stam Nicolis

For Guatemala:

• Virgilio Rodríguez Betata
• Enrique Traumann
• Ricardo Castañeda Paganini

For the Republic of Honduras:

• Ant n Graiño

For Hungary:

• Dr. François Havas
• Ing. Jules Erdöss

For the Italian Islands of the Aegean:

• G. Gneme E. Mariani

For British India:

• M. L. Pasricha
• P. J. Edmunds

For the Dutch East Indies:

• A. J. H. van Leeuwen
• Van Dooren
• G. Schotel
• Hoogewooning

For the Irish Free State:

• P. S. Oh-Eigeartaigh
• E. Cuisin

For Iceland:

• G. Hliddal

For Italy:

• G. Gneme
• G. Montefinale

For Japan, For Chosen, Taiwan, Karafuto, the Leased Territory of Kwantung and the South Seas Islands under Japanese Mandate:

• Saichiro Koshida
• Zenshichi Ishii
• Satoshi Furihata
• Y. Yonezawa
• T. Nakagami
• Takeo Iino

For Latvia:

• B. Einberg

Fur Liberia:

• Luis Ma. Soler

For Lithuania:

• Ing. K. Gaïgalis

For Luxemburg:

• Jaaques

For Morocco:

• Dubeauclard

For Mexico:

• G. Estrada
• Emilio Torres
• Augustin Flores, Jr.
• S. Tayabas

For Nicaragua:

• José García Plaza

For Norway:

• T. Engset
• Hermod Petersen
• Andr. Hadland

For New Zealand:

• M. B. Esson

For the Republic of Panama:

• M. Lasso de la Vega

For the Netherlands:

• H. J. Boetje
• H. C. Felser
• C. H. de Vos
• J. A. Bland vd Berg
• W. Dogterom

For Peru:

• Juan de Osma

For Persia:

• Mohsen Khan Raïs

For Poland:

• Ing. Henryk Kowalski
• St. Zuchmantowicz
• Kazimierz Goebel
• K. Krulisz
• Kazimierz Szymanski

For Portugal:

• Miguel Vaz Duarte Bacelar
• José de liz Ferreira, Junior
• David de Sousa Pires
• Joaquim Rodrigues Gonçalves

For Roumania:

• Ing. T. Tanasesco

For Italian Somaliland:

• G. Gneme

For Sweden:

• G. Wold

For Syria and Lebanon:

• M. Morillon

For Czechoslovakia:

• Ing. Strnad
• Dr. Otto Kučera
• Václav Kučera
• Ing. Jaromir Svoboda

For Tripolitania:

• G. Gneme
• D. Crety

For Tunis:

• Crouzet

For Turkey:

• Fahri
• I. Cemal
• Mazhar

For the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics:

• Eugène Hirschfeld
• Alexandre Kokadeev

For Uruguay:

• ad referendum du Gouvernement de l’Uruguay
• Daniel Castellanos

For Venezuela:

• César Mármol Cuervo
• Antonio Reyes

For Yugoslavia:

• D. A. Zlatanovitch

annex

(See article 1, § 2)

definition of terms used in the international telecommunication convention

Telecommunication: Any telegraph or telephone communication of signs, signals, writings, images, and sounds of any nature, by wire, radio, or other systems or processes of electric or visual (semaphore) signaling.

Radio communication: Any telecommunication by means of Hertzian waves.

Radiotelegram: Telegram originating in or intended for a mobile station, transmitted on all or part of its route over the radio-communication channels of the mobile service.

Government telegrams and radiotelegrams: Those emanating from:

(a) the head of a government;

(b) a minister; member of a government;

(c) the head of a colony, protectorate, overseas territory, or territory under sovereignty, authority, or mandate of the contracting governments;

(d) commanders in chief of land, naval, or air military forces;

(e) diplomatic or consular officers of the contracting governments;

(f) the secretary general of the League of Nations,

as well as the replies to such messages.

Service telegrams and radiotelegrams: Those emanating from the telecommunication administrations of the contracting governments, or from any private operating agency recognized by one of these governments, and which refer to international telecommunications, or to matters of public interest determined by agreement among the said administrations.

Private telegrams and radiotelegrams: Those other than a service or government telegram and radiotelegram.

Public correspondence: Any telecommunication which the offices and stations, by reason of their being at the disposal of the public, must accept for transmission.

Private operating agency: Any individual, company, or corporation, other than a governmental institution or agency, which is recognized by the government concerned and operates telecommunication installations for the purpose of exchanging public correspondence.

Administration: A government administration.

Public service: A service for the use of the public in general.

International service: A telecommunication service between offices or stations subject to different countries, or between stations of the mobile service except when the latter are of the same nationality and are within the limits of the country to which they belong. An internal or national telecommunication service which is likely to cause interference with other services beyond the limits of the country in which it operates, shall be considered as an international service from the standpoint of interference.

Limited service: A service which can be used only by specified persons or for special purposes.

Mobile service: A radio-communication service carried on between mobile and land stations and by mobile stations communicating among themselves, special services being excluded.

General Radio Regulations

annexed to the

International Telecommunication Convention²⁰

. . . . . . .

Final Protocol

to the General Radio Regulations

annexed to the

International Telecommunication Convention²¹

. . . . . . .

Additional Radio Regulations

annexed to the

International Telecommunication Convention²²

Madrid 1932

. . . . . . .

18. In French; English translation reprinted from the 1941 issue of Department of State Treaty Series No. 867. Ratification advised by the Senate, May 1 (legislative day of April 26), 1934; ratified by the President, May 19, 1934; ratification of the United States deposited at Madrid, June 12, 1934; proclaimed by the President, June 27, 1934.
19. Regulations superseded by General Radio Regulations (Cairo Revision, 1938), which are printed in Treaty Series No. 948.
20. The General Radio Regulations (Madrid, 1932), with Appendices and English translation, printed in the 1934 issue of Treaty Series No. 867 (49 Stat., pt. 2, 2444–2651) were superseded by the General Radio Regulations and Appendices (Cairo Revision, 1938), which are printed in Treaty Series No. 948.
21. The Final Protocol (Madrid, 1932), with English translation, printed in the 1934 issue of Treaty Series No. 867 (49 Stat., pt. 2, 2652–2657) was superseded by the Final Protocol to the General Radio Regulations (Cairo Revision, 1938), which is printed in Treaty Series No. 948.
22. The Additional Radio Regulations (Madrid, 1932) were not signed on the part of the United States. The French text, which was the only official text, and an English translation were printed in the 1934 issue of Treaty Series No. 867 in order that the texts of all the instruments of the Madrid Conference applicable to radio generally might be available in a single document. The Additional Radio Regulations (Madrid, 1932) were superseded by the Additional Radio Regulations (Cairo Revision, 1938), which were not signed on the part of the United States. The official French text and an English translation are printed in Treaty Series No. 948 in order that the texts of all the instruments of the Cairo Conference applicable to radio generally may be available in a single document.