Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT)
CHAPTER V
ADMINISTRATIVE PROVISIONS
Article 53
Assembly
(1)(a) The Assembly shall, subject to Article 57(8), consist of the Contracting States.
(b) The Government of each Contracting State shall be represented by one delegate, who may be assisted by alternate delegates, advisors, and experts.
(i) deal with all matters concerning the maintenance and development of the Union and the implementation of this Treaty;
(ii) perform such tasks as are specifically assigned to it under other provisions of this Treaty;
(iii) give directions to the International Bureau concerning the preparation for revision conferences;
(iv) review and approve the reports and activities of the Director General concerning the Union, and give him all necessary instructions concerning matters within the competence of the Union;
(v) review and approve the reports and activities of the Executive Committee established under paragraph (9), and give instructions to such Committee;
(vi) determine the program and adopt the triennial* budget of the Union, and approve its final accounts;
(vii) adopt the financial regulations of the Union;
(viii) establish such committees and working groups as it deems appropriate to achieve the objectives of the Union;
(ix) determine which States other than Contracting States and, subject to the provisions of paragraph (8), which intergovernmental and international non-governmental organizations shall be admitted to its meetings as observers;
(x) take any other appropriate action designed to further the objectives of the Union and perform such other functions as are appropriate under this Treaty.
(b) With respect to matters which are of interest also to other Unions administered by the Organization, the Assembly shall make its decisions after having heard the advice of the Coordination Committee of the Organization.
(3) A delegate may represent, and vote in the name of, one State only.
(4) Each Contracting State shall have one vote.
(5)(a) One-half of the Contracting States shall constitute a quorum.
(b) In the absence of the quorum, the Assembly may make decisions but, with the exception of decisions concerning its own procedure, all such decisions shall take effect only if the quorum and the required majority are attained through voting by correspondence as provided in the Regulations.
(6)(a) Subject to the provisions of Articles 47(2)(b), 58(2)(b), 58(3) and 61(2)(b), the decisions of the Assembly shall require two-thirds of the votes cast.
(b) Abstentions shall not be considered as votes.
(7) In connection with matters of exclusive interest to States bound by Chapter II, any reference to Contracting States in paragraphs (4), (5), and (6), shall be considered as applying only to States bound by Chapter II .
(8) Any intergovernmental organization appointed as International Searching or Preliminary Examining Authority shall be admitted as observer to the Assembly.
(9) When the number of Contracting States exceeds forty, the Assembly shall establish an Executive Committee. Any reference to the Executive Committee in this Treaty and the Regulations shall be construed as references to such Committee once it has been established.
(10) Until the Executive Committee has been established, the Assembly shall approve, within the limits of the program and triennial* budget, the annual programs and budgets prepared by the Director General.
(11)(a) The Assembly shall meet in every second calendar year in ordinary session upon convocation by the Director General and, in the absence of exceptional circumstances, during the same period and at the same place as the General Assembly of the Organization.
(b) The Assembly shall meet in extraordinary session upon convocation by the Director General, at the request of the Executive Committee, or at the request of one-fourth of the Contracting States.
(12) The Assembly shall adopt its own rules of procedure.
* Editor's Note: Since 1980, the program and budget of the Union have been biennial.