UNIVERSAL POSTAL UNION

ADDITIONAL ACT OF LISBON TO THE CONVENTION OF THE 1ST OF JUNE, 1878

March 21, 1885

Concluded between Germany, the United States of America, the Argentine Republic, Austro-Hungary, Belgium, Bolivia, Brazil, Chili, the United States of Colombia, the Republic of Costa Rica, Denmark and the Danish Colonies, the Dominican Republic, Egypt, Ecuador, Spain and the Spanish colonies, Great Britain and certain British Colonies, Canada, British India, Greece, Guatemala, the Republic of Hayti, the Kingdom of Hawaii, the Republic of Honduras, Italy, Japan, the Republic of Paraguay, the Netherlands and the Netherland Colonies, Peru, Persia, Portugal and the Portuguese Colonies, Roumania, Russia, Salvador, Servia, the Kingdom of Siam, Sweden and Norway, Switzerland, Turkey, Uruguay and the United States of Venezuela.

The undersigned, Plenipotentiaries of the Governments of the countries specified below, assembled in Congress at Lisbon . In virtue of Article XIX of the Convention concluded at Paris on the 1st of June, 1878 . Have by common consent, and subject to ratification, resolved upon the following Additional Act.

ARTICLE I. The Convention of the 1st of June, 1878 , is altered as follows:

I.                     Article II shall henceforth read as follows:

Article II. The stipulations of this Convention extend to letters, post cards, both single and with reply paid, printed papers of every kind, commercial papers and patterns or samples of merchandise, originating in one of the countries of the Union, and intended for another of those countries. They also apply, as far as regards conveyance within the Union , to the exchange by post of the articles above mentioned between the countries of the Union and countries foreign to the Union , whenever the services of two of the Contracting Parties at least are used for that exchange.

All the Contracting Countries are not bound to issue cards with reply paid, but they assume the obligation of returning the reply halves of cards received from other countries of the Union .

Article IV is altered as follows:

Paragraph 8 is replaced by the following stipulation:
2. That in all cases where the sea transit rate is fixed at present at 5 francs per kilogramme of letters or post cards, and at 50 centimes per kilogramme of other articles, those rates are maintained.

Paragraph 13 is altered as follows:

The general accounting for those charges takes place on the basis of statements prepared every three years during a period of 28 days, to be determined on in the Detailed Regulations referred to in Article XIV hereafter.

Paragraph 14 is replaced by the following stipulation:

Correspondence between Postal Administrations, the reply halves of double post cards, returned to the country of origin, articles redirected or missent, undelivered articles, acknowledgments of delivery, post office money orders or advices of the issue of orders, and all other documents relative to the Postal Service, are exempt from all charges for territorial or sea transit.

Article V is altered as follows: