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Constitution and Convention Collection

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The International Telegraph (later Telecommunication) Convention, today the Constitution and Convention of ITU, is the basic treaty that establishes the legal basis for the Union and defines its purpo​se and structure.
 
The first International Telegraph Convention signed in 1865 established the basic principles for international telegraphy. In order to keep up with advances in telegraphy, the Member States met regularly to revise the Convention and the annexed International Service Regulations (also known as the Telegraph Regulations).

For a brief period from 1906 to 1932, the regulation of radiotelegraph (“wireless”) communications was managed by a separate, but related, treaty – the International Radiotelegraph Convention.
 
​​​​​​​​​​​​​In 1932, the International Telegraph Convention and the International Radiotelegraph Convention were merged into a single new convention, the International Telecommunication Convention. This new Convention covered the three fields of telegraphy, telephony and radio.
 
The International Telecommunication Convention was revised regularly until 1989, when the Plenipotentiary Conference in Nice agreed to establish a stable Constitution and Convention. The 1989 Constitution and Convention of the International Telecommunication Union never received the required number of ratifications, however, and so it never came into effect. It is not included in the list below for this reason.
 
A thoroughly revised Constitution and Convention of the International Telecommunication Union was adopted at the 1992 Additional Plenipotentiary Conference held in Geneva. Subsequent plenipotentiary conferences have adopted only amending instruments to the 1992 documents. The Constitution and Convention currently in force are the Constitution and Convention of the International Telecommunication Union (Geneva, 1992) as amended by subsequent plenipotentiary conferences.​​​​​
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The History of ITU Portal uses Persistent Identifiers for its digitized documents. To copy a Persistent ID, hover the cursor over the document link and then right-click on it.
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YearTitleENFRESARZHRU

1865

International Telegraph Convention (Paris, 1865)

FR
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1868

International Telegraph Convention (Vienna, 1868)

FR
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1872

International Telegraph Convention (Rome, 1872)

EN
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FR
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1875

International Telegraph Convention (St. Petersburg, 1875)

FR
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1906

International Radiotelegraph Convention (Berlin, 1906)

FR
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1912

International Radiotelegraph Convention (London, 1912)

EN
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FR
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1927

International Radiotelegraph Convention (Washington, 1927)

EN
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FR
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1932

International Telecommunication Convention (Madrid, 1932)

EN
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FR
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1947

International Telecommunication Convention (Atlantic City, 1947)

EN
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FR
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ES
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ZH
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1952

International Telecommunication Convention (Buenos Aires, 1952)

EN
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FR
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ES
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ZH
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1959

International Telecommunication Convention (Geneva, 1959)

EN
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FR
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ES
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1965

International Telecommunication Convention (Montreux, 1965)

EN
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FR
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ES
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ZH
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1973

International Telecommunication Convention (Málaga-Torremolinos, 1973)

EN
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FR
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ES
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1982

International Telecommunication Convention (Nairobi, 1982)

EN
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FR
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ES
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AR
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ZH
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RU
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1992

Constitution and Convention of the International Telecommunication Union (published in Final Acts of the Additional Plenipotentiary Conference (Geneva, 1992))

EN
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FR
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ES
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AR
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ZH
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RU
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1994

Constitution and Convention of the International Telecommunication Union as amended by the 1994 Plenipotentiary Conference (published in Final Acts of the Plenipotentiary Conference (Kyoto, 1994))

EN
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FR
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ES
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AR
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ZH
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RU
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1998

Constitution and Convention of the International Telecommunication Union as amended by the 1998 Plenipotentiary Conference (published in Basic Texts, 1999)

EN
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FR
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ES
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AR
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ZH
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RU
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2002

Constitution and Convention of the International Telecommunication Union as amended by the 2002 Plenipotentiary Conference (published in Basic Texts, 2003)

EN
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FR
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ES
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AR
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ZH
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RU
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2006

Constitution and Convention of the International Telecommunication Union as amended by the 2006 Plenipotentiary Conference (published in Basic Texts, 2007)

EN
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FR
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ES
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AR
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ZH
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RU
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2010

Constitution and Convention of the International Telecommunication Union as amended by the 2010 Plenipotentiary Conference (published in Basic Texts, 2011) - English version includes index

EN
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FR
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ES
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AR
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ZH
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RU
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2014

Constitution and Convention of the International Telecommunication Union adopted by the 2014 Plenipotentiary Conference (published in Basic Texts, 2015)

EN
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FR
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ES
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AR
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ZH
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RU
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2018

Constitution and Convention of the International Telecommunication Union adopted by the 2018 Plenipotentiary Conference (published in Basic Texts, 2019)

EN
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FR
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ES
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AR
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ZH
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RU
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2022

Constitution and Convention of the International Telecommunication Union adopted by the 2022 Plenipotentiary Conference (published in Basic Texts, 2023)

EN
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FR
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ES
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AR
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ZH
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RU
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