International Financial Organisation Act 1985

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AN ACT TO ENABLE KIRIBATI TO BECOME A MEMBER OF THE INTERNATIONAL MONETARY FUND, THE INTERNATIONAL BANK FOR RECONSTRUCTION AND DEVELOPMENT, THE INTERNATIONAL FINANCE CORPORATION AND THE INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT ASSOCIATION, AND FOR CONNECTED PURPOSES

Authorisation of membership

3. (1) The Government of Kiribati is authorised on behalf of the Republic of Kiribati to accept membership in the Fund, the Bank, the Corporation and the Association by accepting the Fund Agreement, the Bank Agreement, the Corporation Agreement and the Association Agreement and the terms and conditions of their respective Membership Resolutions.

(2) The Minister acting in accordance with the advice of the Cabinet is authorised to sign the originals of the Agreements referred to in subsection (1) of this section, either by himself or through such person as he may designate, and to execute and deposit any instrument of acceptance and other documents which may be required for these purposes.

Participation in Special Drawing Account

4. Upon the admission of Kiribati to membership in the Fund, Kiribati is authorised to become a participant in the Special Drawing Rights Department in the Fund and the Minister acting in accordance with the advice of the Cabinet is authorised to execute and deposit with the Fund on behalf of Kiribati an instrument of participation stating that Kiribati undertakes all the obligations of a participant in the Special Drawing Rights department of the Fund in accordance with the laws of Kiribati and representing that Kiribati has taken all stops necessary to enable it to carry out all of these obligations.

Financial provisions

5. (1) There shall be paid out of the Consolidated Fund as a statutory expenditure by warrant under the hand of the Minister all sums required to be paid from time to time to –

under the terms and conditions of the Membership Resolutions and the provisions of the Fund Agreement, the Bank Agreement, the Corporation Agreement and the Association Agreement.

(2) The Minister acting in accordance with the advice of the Cabinet may create and issue to the Fund, the Bank or the Association non interest bearing and non negotiable notes or similar obligations as are provided for by Section 4 of Article III of the Fund Agreement, by Section 12 of Article V of the Bank Agreement and by paragraph (3) of section 2 of Article II of the Association Agreement (which sections and paragraphs relate to the acceptance by the Fund, the Bank and Association of such notes or similar obligations in place of currency) and the sums payable under such notes on obligations so created and issued shall be a charge on the Consolidated Fund.

(3) Any sum received by the Government of Kiribati from –

shall be paid into the Consolidated Fund.

Designation of Fiscal Agency

6. (1) The Ministry of Finance shall serve as the Fiscal Agency as required under Article V of Section 1 of the Fund Agreement, and Article III, section 2 of the Bank Agreement and is accordingly authorised to carry out on behalf of Kiribati all operations and transactions authorised under the various provisions of the Articles of the Fund Agreement and the Bank Agreement.

(2) The Bank of Kiribati Ltd is designated as a depository for the holdings of currency in Kiribati by the Fund and the Bank.

Credits under Agreement payable to Fiscal Agency

7. The Ministry of Finance shall be credited with any amount which may be paid or transferred to Kiribati in operations and transactions authorised under the various provisions of the Articles of the Fund Agreement and the Bank Agreement.

Certain articles Agreement given force of law

8. The provisions of –

shall have the full force of law in Kiribati.

Appointment of Governor

9. The Beretitenti may acting in accordance with the advice of the Cabinet from time to time appoint a Governor and an alternate Governor to represent Kiribati on the Boards of Governors of the Fund, the Bank, the Corporation and the Association.

Regulations

10. The Beretitenti acting in accordance with the advice of the Cabinet shall from time to time make such regulations as may be necessary for the carrying into effect of the obligations under any of the provisions of the Fund Agreement, the Bank Agreement, the Corporation Agreement, and the Association Agreement, the Membership Resolutions and this Act.

The Governments on whose behalf the present Agreement is signed agree as follows:

The Fund shall be guided in all its policies and decisions by the purposes set forth in this Article.

Section 1. Original members

The original members of the Fund shall be those of the countries represented at the United Nations Monetary and Financial Conference whose governments accept membership before December 31, 1945.

Section 2. Other members

Membership shall be open to other countries at such times and in accordance with such terms as may be prescribed by the Board of Governors. These terms, including the terms for subscriptions, shall be based on principles consistent with those applied to other countries that are already members.

Section 1. Quotas and payment of subscriptions

Each member shall be assigned a quote expressed in special drawing rights. The quotas of the members represented at the United Nations Monetary and Financial Conference which accept membership before December 31, 1945 shall be those set forth in Schedule A. The quotas of other members shall be determined by the Board of Governors. The subscription of each member shall be equal to its quota and shall be paid in full to the Fund at the appropriate depository.

Section 2. Adjustment of quotas

(a) The Board of Governors shall at intervals of not more than five years conduct a general review, and if it deems it appropriate propose an adjustment, of the quotas of the members. It may also, if it thinks fit, consider at any other time the adjustment of any particular quota at the request of the member concerned.

(b) The Fund may at any time propose an increase in the quotas of those members of the Fund that were members on August 31, 1975 in proportion to their quotas on that date in a cumulative amount not in excess of amounts transferred under Article V, Section 12(f)(I) and (j) from the Special Disbursement Account to the General Resources Account.

(c) An eighty-five percent majority of the total voting power shall be required for any change in quotas.

(d) The quota of a member shall not be changed until the member was consented and until payment has been made unless payment is deemed to have been made in accordance with section 3(b) of this Article.

Section 3. Payments when quotas are changed

(a) Each member which consents to an increase in its quota under Section 2(a) of this Article shall, within a period determined by the Fund, pay to the Fund twenty-five percent of the increase in special drawing rights, but the Board of Governors may prescribe that this payment be made, on the same basis for all members, in whole or in part in the currencies of other members specified, with their concurrence, by the Fund, or in the member’s own currency. A non-participant shall pay in the currencies of other members specified by the Fund, with their concurrence, a proportion of the increase corresponding to the proportion to be paid in special drawing rights by participants. The balance of the increase shall be paid by the member in its own currency. The Fund’s holdings of a member’s currency shall not be increased above the level at which they would be subject to charges under Article V, Section 8(b)(ii), as a result of payments by other members under those provisions.

(b) Each member which consents to an increase in its quota under Section 2(b) of this Article shall be deemed to have paid to the Fund an amount of subscription equal to such increase.

(c) If a member consents to a reduction in its quota, the Fund shall, within sixty days, pay to the member an amount equal to the reduction. The payment shall be made in the member’s currency and in such amount of special drawing rights or the currencies of other members specified, with their concurrence, by the Fund as is necessary to prevent the reduction of the Fund’s holdings of the currency below the new quota, provided that in exceptional circumstances the Fund may reduce its holdings of the currency below the new quota by payment to the member in its own currency.

(d) A seventy percent majority of the total voting power shall be required for any decision under (a) above, except for the determination of a period and the specification of currencies under that provision.

Section 4. Substitution of securities for currency

The Fund shall accept from any member, in place of any part of the member’s currency in the General Resources Account which in the judgment of the Fund is not needed for its operations and transactions, notes or similar obligations issued by the member or the depository designated by the member under Article XIII, Section 2, which shall be non-negotiable, non-interest-bearing and payable at their face value on demand by crediting the account of the Fund in the designated depository. This Section shall apply not only to currency subscribed by members but also to any currency otherwise due to, or acquired by, the Fund and to be placed in the General Resources Account.

Section 1. General obligations of members

Recognizing that the essential purpose of the international monetary system is to provide a framework that facilitates the exchange of goods, services, and capital among countries, and that sustains sound economic growth, and that a principal objective is the continuing development of the orderly underlying conditions that are necessary for financial and economic stability, each member undertakes to collaborate with the Fund and other members to assure orderly exchange arrangements and to promote a stable system of exchange rates. In particular, each member shall:

Section 2. General exchange arrangements

(a) Each member shall notify the Fund, within thirty days after the date of the second amendment of this Agreement, of the exchange arrangements it intends to apply in fulfilment of its obligations under Section 1 of this Article, and shall notify the Fund promptly of any changes in its exchange arrangements.

(b) Under an international monetary system of the kind prevailing on 1 January, 1976, exchange arrangements may include (I) the maintenance by a member of a value for its currency in terms of the special drawing right or another denominator, other than gold, selected by the member, or (ii) cooperative arrangements by which members maintain the value of their currencies in relation to the value of the currency or currencies of other members, or (iii) other exchange arrangements of a member’s choice.

(c) To accord with the development of the international monetary system, the Fund, by an eighty-five percent majority of the total voting power, may make provision for general exchange arrangements without limiting the right of members to have exchange arrangements of their choice consistent with the purposes of the Fund and the obligations under Section 1 of this Article.

Section 3. Surveillance over exchange arrangements

(a) The Fund shall oversee the international monetary system in order to ensure its effective operation, and shall oversee the compliance of each member with its obligations under Section 1 of this Article.

(b) In order to fulfil its functions under (a) above, the Fund shall exercise firm surveillance over the exchange rate policies of members, and shall adopt specific principles for the guidance of all members with respect to those policies. Each member shall provide the Fund with the information necessary for such surveillance, and, when requested by the Fund, shall consult with it on the member’s exchange rate policies. The principles adopted by the Fund shall be consistent with cooperative arrangements by which members maintain the value of their currencies in relation to the value of the currency or currencies of other members, as well as with other exchange arrangements of a member’s choice consistent with the purposes of the Fund and Section 1 of this Article. These principles shall respect the domestic social and political policies of members, and in applying these principles the Fund shall pay due regard to the circumstances of members.

Section 4. Par values

The Fund may determine, by an eighty-five percent majority of the total voting power, that international economic conditions permit the introduction of a wide-spread system of exchange arrangements based on stable but adjustable par values. The Fund shall make the determination on the basis of the underlying stability of the world economy, and for this purpose shall take into account price movements and rates of expansion in the economies of members. The determination shall be made in light of the evolution of the international monetary system, with particular reference to sources of liquidity, and in order to ensure the effective operation of a system of par values, to arrangements under which both members in surplus and members in deficit in their balances of payments take prompt, effective, and symmetrical action to achieve adjustment, as well as to arrangements for intervention and the treatment of imbalances. Upon making such determination, the Fund shall notify members that the provisions of Schedule C apply.

Section 5. Separate currencies within a member’s territories

(a) Action by a member with respect to its currency under this Article shall be deemed to apply to the separate currencies of all territories in respect of which the member has accepted this Agreement under Article XXXI, Section 2(g) unless the member declares that its action relates either to the metropolitan currency alone, or only to one or more specified separate currencies.

(b) Action by the Fund under this Article shall be deemed to relate to all currencies of a member referred to in (a) above unless the Fund declares otherwise.

Section 1. Agencies dealing with the Fund

Each member shall deal with the Fund only through its Treasury, central bank, stabilization fund, or other similar fiscal agency, and the Fund shall deal only with or through the same agencies.

Section 2. Limitation on the Fund’s operations and transactions

(a) Except as otherwise provided in this Agreement, transactions on the account of the Fund shall be limited to transactions for the purpose of supplying a member, on the initiative of such member, with special drawing rights or the currencies of other members from the general resources of the Fund, which shall be held in the General Resources Account, in exchange for the currency of the member desiring to make the purchase.

(b) If requested, the Fund may decide to perform financial and technical services, including the administration of resources contributed by members, that are consistent with the purposes of the Fund. Operations involved in the performance of such financial services shall not be on the account of the Fund. Services under this subsection shall not impose any obligation on a member without its consent.

Section 3. Conditions governing use of the Fund’s general resources

(a) The Fund shall adopt policies on the use of its general resources, including policies on stand-by or similar arrangements, and may adopt special policies for special balance of payments problems, that will assist members to solve their balance of payments problems in a manner consistent with the provisions of this Agreement and that will establish adequate safeguards for the temporary use of the general resources of the Fund.

(b) A member shall be entitled to purchase the currencies of other members from the Fund in exchange for an equivalent amount of its own currency subject to the following conditions:

(c) The Fund shall examine a request for a purchase to determine whether the proposed purchase would be consistent with the provisions of this Agreement and the policies adopted under them, provided that requests for reserve tranche purchases shall not be subject to challenge.

(d) The Fund shall adopt policies and procedures on the selection of currencies to be sold that take into account, in consultation with members, the balance of payments and reserve position of members and developments in the exchange markets, as well as the desirability of promoting over time balanced positions in the Fund, provided that if a member represents that it is proposing to purchase the currency of another member because the purchasing member wishes to obtain an equivalent amount of its own currency offered by the other member, it shall be entitled to purchase the currency of the other member unless the Fund has given notice under Article VII, Section 3 that its holdings of the currency have become scarce.

(f) Under policies and procedures which it shall adopt, the Fund may agree to provide a participant making a purchase in accordance with this Section with special drawing rights instead of the currencies of other members.

Section 4. Waiver of conditions

The Fund may in its discretion, and on terms which safeguard its interests, waive any of the conditions prescribed in Section 3(b)(iii) and (iv) of this Article, especially in the case of members with a record of avoiding large or continuous use of the Fund’s general resources. In making a waiver it shall take into consideration periodic or exceptional requirements of the member requesting the waiver. The Fund shall also take into consideration a member’s willingness to pledge as collateral security acceptable assets having a value sufficient in the opinion of the Fund to protect its interests and may require as a condition of waiver the pledge of such collateral security.

Section 5. Ineligibility to use the Fund’s general resources

Whenever the Fund is of the opinion that any member is using the general resources of the Fund in a manner contrary to the purposes of the Fund, it shall present to the member a report setting forth the views of the Fund and prescribing a suitable time for reply. After presenting such a report to a member, the Fund may limit the use of its general resources by the member. If no reply to the report is received from the member within the prescribed time, or if the reply received is unsatisfactory, the Fund may continue to limit the member’s use of the general resources of the Fund or may, after giving reasonable notice to the member, declare it ineligible to use the general resources of the Fund.

Section 6. Other purchases and sales of special drawing rights by the Fund

(a) The Fund may accept special drawing rights offered by a participant in exchange for an equivalent amount of the currencies of other members.

(b) The Fund may provide a participant, at its request, with special drawing rights for an equivalent amount of the currencies of other members. The Fund’s holdings of a member’s currency shall not be increased as a result of these transactions above the level at which the holdings would be subject to charges under Section 8(b)(ii) of this Article.

(c) The currencies provided or accepted by the Fund under this Section shall be selected in accordance with policies that take into account the principles of Section 3(d) or 7(i) of this Article. The Fund may enter into transactions under this Section only if a member whose currency is provided or accepted by the Fund concurs in that use of its currency.

Section 7. Repurchase by a member of its currency held by the Fund

(a) A member shall be entitled to repurchase at any time the Fund’s holdings of its currency that are subject to charges under Section 8(b) of this Article.

(b) A member that has made a purchase under Section 3 of this Article will be expected normally, as its balance of payments and reserve position improves, to repurchase the Fund’s holdings of its currency that result from the purchase and are subject to charges under Section 8(b) of this Article. A Member shall repurchase these holdings if, in accordance with policies on repurchase that the Fund shall adopt and after consultation with the member, the Fund represents to the member that it should repurchase because of an improvement in its balance of payments and reserve position.

(c) A member that has made a purchase under Section 3 of this Article shall repurchase the Fund’s holdings of its currency that result from the purchase and are subject to charges under Section 8(b) of this Article not later than five years after the date on which the purchase under this subsection, and any period so adopted shall apply to all members.

(d) The Fund, by an eighty-five majority of the total voting power, may adopt periods other than those that apply in accordance of holdings of currency acquired by the Fund pursuant to a special policy on the use of its general resources.

(e) A member shall repurchase, in accordance with policies that the Fund shall adopt by a seventy percent majority of the total voting power, the Fund’s holdings of its currency that are not acquired as a result of purchases and are subject to charges under Section 8(b)(ii) of this Article.

(f) A decision prescribing that under a policy on the use of the general resources of the Fund the period for repurchase under (c) or (d) above shall be shorter than the one in effect under the policy shall apply only to holdings acquired by the Fund subsequent to the effective date of the decision.

(g) The Fund, on the request of a member, may postpone the date of discharge of a repurchase obligation, but not beyond the maximum period under (c) or (d) above or under policies adopted by the Fund under (e) above, unless the Fund determines, by a seventy percent majority of the total voting power, that a longer period for repurchase which is consistent with the temporary use of the general resources of the Fund is justified because discharge on the due date would result in exceptional hardship for the member.

(h) The Fund’s policies under Section 4(d) of this Article may be supplemented by policies under which the Fund may decide after consultation with a member to sell under Section 3(b) of this Article its holdings of the member’s currency that have not been repurchased in accordance with this Section 7, without prejudice to any action that the Fund may be authorized to take under any other provisions of this Agreement.

(i) All repurchases under this Section shall be made with special drawing rights or with the currencies of other members specified by the Fund. The Fund shall adopt policies and procedures with regard to the currencies to be used by members in making repurchases that take into account the principles in Section 3(d) of this Article. The Fund’s holdings of a member’s currency that is used in repurchase shall not be increased by the repurchase above the level at which they would be subject to charges under Section 8(b)(ii) of this Article.

(b) The Fund shall levy charges on its average daily balances of a member’s currency held in the General Resources Account to the extent that they –

The rates of charge normally shall rise at intervals during the period in which balances are hold.

(c) If a member fails to make a repurchase required under Section 7 of this Article, the Fund, after consultation with the member on the reduction of the Fund’s holdings of its currency, may impose such charges as the Fund deems appropriate on its holdings of the member’s currency that should have been repurchased.

(d) A seventy percent majority of the total voting power shall be required for the determination of the rates of charge under (a) and (b) above, which shall be uniform for all members, and under (c) above.

(e) A member shall pay all charges in special drawing rights, provided that in exceptional circumstances the Fund may permit a member to pay charges in the currencies of other members specified by the Fund, after consultation with them, or in its own currency. The Fund’s holdings of a member’s currency shall not be increased as a result of payments by other members under this provision above the level at which they would be subject to charges under (b)(ii) above.

Section 9. Remuneration

(a) The Fund shall pay remuneration on the amount by which the percentages of quota prescribed under (b) or (c) below exceeds the Fund’s average daily balances of a member’s currency held in the General Resources Account other than balances acquired under a policy that has been the subject of an exclusion under Article XXX(c). The rate of remuneration, which shall be determined by the Fund by a seventy percent majority of the total voting power, shall be the same for all members and shall be not more than, nor less than four-fifths of, the rate of interest under Article XX, Section 3. In establishing the rate of remuneration, the Fund shall take into account the rates of charge under Article V, Section 8(b).

(b) The percentage of quota applying for the purposes of (a) above shall be –

(c) The Fund, by a seventy percent majority of the total voting power, may false the latest percentage of quota applying for the purposes of (a) above to each member to –

(i) a percentage, not in excess of one hundred percent, that shall be determining for each member on the basis of the same criteria for all members, or

(ii) one hundred percent for all members.

(e) Remuneration shall be paid in special drawing rights, provided that either the Fund or the member may decide that the payment to the member shall be made in its own currency.

Section 10. Computations

(a) The value of the Fund’s assets held in the accounts of the General Department shall be expressed in terms of the special drawing right.

(b) All computations relating to currencies of members for the purpose of applying the provisions of this Agreement, except Article IV and Schedule C, shall be at the rate which the Fund accounts for these currencies in accordance with Section 11 of this Article.

(c) Computations for the determination of accounts of currency in relation to quota for the purpose of applying the provisions of this Agreement shall not include currency held in the Special Disbursement Account or in the Investment Account.

Section 11. Maintenance of value

(a) The value of the currencies of members held in the General Resources Account shall be maintained in terms of the special drawing right in accordance with exchange rates under Article XIX, Section 7(a).

(b) An adjustment in the Fund’s holdings of a member’s currency pursuant to this Section shall be made on the occasion of the use of that currency in an operation or transaction between the Fund and another member and at such other times as the Fund may decide or the member may request. Payments to or by the Fund in respect of an adjustment shall be made within a reasonable time, as determined by the Fund, after the date of adjustment, and at any other time requested by the member.

Section 12. Other operations and transactions

(a) The Fund shall be guided in all its policies and decisions under this Section by the objectives set forth in Article VIII. Section 7 and by the objective of avoiding the management of the price, of the establishment of a fixed price, in the gold market.

(b) Decisions of the Fund to engage in operations or transactions under (c), (d), and (e) below shall be made by an eighty-five percent majority of the total voting power.

(c) The Fund may sell gold for the currency of any member after consulting the member for whose currency the gold is sold, provided that the Fund’s holdings of a member’s currency held in the General Resources Account shall not be increased by the sale above the level at which they would be subject to charges under Section 8(b)(ii) of this Article without the concurrence of the member, and provided that, at the request of the member, the Fund at the time of sale shall exchange for the currency received as would prevent such an increase. The exchange of a currency for the currency of another member shall be made after consultation with that member, and shall not increase the Fund’s holdings of that member’s currency above the level at which they would be subject to charges under Section 8(b)(ii) of this Article. The Fund shall adopt policies and procedures with regard to exchanges that take into account the principles applied under Section 7(i) of this Article. Sales under this provision to a member shall be at a price agreed for each transaction on the basis of prices in the market.

(d) The Fund may accept payments from a member in gold instead of special drawing rights or currency in any operations or transactions under this Agreement. Payments to the Fund under this provision shall be at a price agreed for each operation or transaction on the basis of prices in the market.

(e) The Fund may sell gold held by it on the date of the second amendment of this Agreement to those members that were members on August 31, 1975 and that agree to buy it, in proportion to their quotas on that date. If the Fund intends to sell gold under (c) above for the purpose of (f)(ii) below, it may sell to each developing member that agrees to buy it that portion of the gold which, if sold under (c) above, would have produced the excess that could have been distributed to it under (f)(iii) below. The gold that would be sold under this provision to a member that has been declared ineligible to use the general resources of the Fund under Section 5 of this Article shall be sold to it when the ineligibility ceases, unless the Fund decides to make the sale sooner. The sale of gold to a member under this subsection (e) shall be made in exchange for its currency and at a price equivalent at the time of sale to one special drawing right per 0.888671 gram of fine gold.

(f) Whenever under (c) above the Fund sells gold held by it on the date of the second amendment of this Agreement, an amount of the proceeds equivalent at the time of sale to one special drawing right per 0.888671gram of fine gold shall be placed in the General Resources Account and, except as the Fund may decide otherwise under (g) below, any excess shall be held in the Special Disbursement Account. The Assets held in the Special Disbursement Account shall be held separately from the other accounts of the General Department, and may be used at any time –

Decisions to use assets pursuant to (i) above shall be taken by a seventy percent majority of the total voting power, and decisions pursuant to (ii) and (iii) above shall be taken by an eighty-five percent majority of the total voting power.

(g) The Fund may decide, by an eight-five percent majority of the total voting power, to transfer a part of the excess referred to in (f) above to the Investment Account for use pursuant to the provisions of Article XII, Section 6(f).

(h) Pending uses specified under (f) above, the Fund may invest a member’s currency held in the Special Disbursement Account in marketable obligations of that member or in marketable obligations of international financial organizations. The income of investment and interest received under (f)(ii) above shall be placed in the Special Disbursement Account. No investment shall be made without the concurrence of the member whose currency is used to make the investment. The Fund shall invest only in obligations denominated in special drawing rights or in the currency used for investment.

(i) The General Resources Account shall be reimbursed from time to time in respect of the expenses of administration of the Special Disbursement Account paid from the General Resources Account by transfers from the Special Disbursement Account on the basis of a reasonable estimate of such expenses.

(j) The Special Disbursement Account shall be terminated in the event of the liquidation of the Fund by a seventy percent majority of the total voting power. Upon termination of the account because of the liquidation of the Fund, any assets in this account shall be distributed in accordance with the provisions of Schedule K. Upon termination prior to liquidation of the Fund, any assets in this account shall be transferred to the General Resources Account for immediate use in operations and transactions. The Fund, by a seventy percent majority of the total voting power, shall adopt rules and regulations for the administration of the Special Disbursement Account.

Section 1. Use of the Fund’s general resources for capital transfers

(a) A member may not use the Fund’s general resources to meet a large or sustained outflow of capital except as provided in Section 2 of this Article, and the Fund may request a member to exercise controls to prevent such use of the general resources of the Fund. If, after receiving such a request, a member fails to exercise appropriate controls, the Fund may declare the member ineligible to use the general resources of the Fund.

(b) Nothing in this Section shall be deemed –

Section 2. Special provisions for capital transfers

A member shall be entitled to make reserve tranche purchases to meet capital transfers.

Section 3. Controls of capital transfers

Members may exercise such controls as are necessary to regulate international capital movements, but no member may exercise these controls in a manner which will restrict payments for current transactions or which will unduly delay transfers of funds in settlement of commitments, except as provided in Articles VII, Section 3(b) and in Article XIV, Section 2.

Section 1. Measures to replenish the Fund’s holdings of currencies

The Fund may, if it deems such action appropriate to replenish its holdings of any member’s currency in the General Resources Account needed in connection with its transactions, take either or both of the following steps –

Section 2. General scarcity of currency

If the Fund finds that a general scarcity of a particular currency is developing, the Fund may so inform members and may issue a report setting forth the causes of the scarcity and containing recommendations designed to bring it to an end. A representative of the member whose currency is involved shall participate in the preparation of the report.

Section 3. Scarcity of the Fund’s holdings

(a) If it becomes evidence to the Fund that the demand for a member’s currency seriously threatens the Fund’s ability to supply that currency, the Fund, whether or not it has issued a report under Section 2 of this Article, shall formally declare such currency scarce and shall thenceforth apportion its existing and accruing supply of the scarce currency with due regard to the relative needs of members, the general international economic situation, and any other pertinent considerations. The Fund shall also issue a report concerning its action.

(b) A formal declaration under (a) above shall operate as an authorization to any member, after consultation with the Fund, temporarily to impose limitations on the freedom of exchange operations in the scarce currency. Subject to the provisions of Article IV and Schedule C, the member shall have complete jurisdiction in determining the nature of such limitations, but they shall be no more restrictive than is necessary to limit the demand for the scarce currency to the supply held by, or accruing to, the member in question, and they shall be relaxed and removed as rapidly as conditions permit.

(c) The authorization under (b) above shall expire whenever the Fund formally declares the currency in question to be no longer scarce.

Section 4. Administration of restrictions

Any member imposing restrictions in respect of the currency of any other member pursuant to the provisions of Section 3(b) of this Article, shall give sympathetic consideration to any representations by the other member regarding the administration of such restrictions.

Section 5. Effect of other international agreements on restrictions

Members agree not to invoke the obligations of any engagements entered into with other members prior to this Agreement in such a manner as will prevent the operation of the provisions of this Article.

Section 1. Introduction

In addition to the obligations assumed under other articles of this Agreement, each member undertakes the obligations set out in this Article.

Section 2. Avoidance of restrictions on current payments

(a) Subject to the provisions of Articles VII, Section 3(b) and Article XIV, Section 2, no member shall, without the approval of the Fund, impose restrictions on the making of payments and transfers for current international transactions.

(b) Exchange contracts which involve the currency of any member and which are contrary to the exchange control regulations of that member maintained or imposed consistently with this Agreement shall be unenforceable in the territories of any member. In addition, members may, by mutual accord, cooperate in measures for the purpose of making the exchange control regulations of either member more effective, provided that such measures and regulations are consistent with this Agreement.

Section 3. Avoidance of discriminatory currency practices

No member shall engage in, or permit any of its fiscal agencies referred to in Article V, Section 1 to engage in, any discriminatory currency arrangements or multiple currency practices, whether within or outside margins under Article IV or prescribed by or under Schedule C, except as authorized under this Agreement or approved by the Fund. If such arrangements and practices are engaged in at the date when this Agreement enters into force, the member concerned shall consult with the Fund as to their progressive removal unless they are maintained or imposed under Article XIV, Section 2, in which case the provisions of Section 3 of that Article shall apply.

Section 4. Convertibility of foreign-held balances

(a) Each member shall buy balances of its currency held by another member if the latter, in requesting the purchase, represents –

The buying member shall have the option to pay either in special drawing rights, subject to Article XIX, Section 4, or in the currency of the member making the request.

(b) The obligation in (a) above shall not apply when –

Section 5. Furnishing of information

(a) The Fund may require members to furnish it with such information as it deems necessary for its activities, including, as the minimum necessary for the effective discharge of the Fund’s duties, national data on the following matters –

(b) In requesting information the Fund shall take into consideration the varying ability of members to furnish the data requested. Members shall be under no obligation to furnish information in such detail that the affairs of individuals or corporations are disclosed. Members undertake, however, to furnish the desired information in as detailed and accurate a manner as is practicable and, so far as possible, to avoid mere estimates.

(c) The Fund may arrange to obtain further information by agreement with members. It shall act as a centre for the collection and exchange of information on monetary and financial problems, thus facilitating the preparation of studies designed to assist members in developing policies which further the purposes of the Fund.

Section 6. Consultation between members regarding existing international agreements

Where under this Agreement a member is authorized in the special or temporary circumstances specified in the Agreement to maintain or establish restrictions on exchange transactions, and there are other engagements between members entered into prior to this Agreement which conflict with the application of such restrictions, the parties to such engagements shall consult with one another with a view to making such mutually acceptable adjustments as may be necessary. The provisions of this Article shall be without prejudice to the operation of Article VII, Section 5.

Section 7. Obligation to collaborate regarding policies on reserve assets

Each member undertakes to collaborate with the Fund and with other members in order to ensure that the policies of the member with respect to reserve assets shall be consistent with the objectives of promoting better international surveillance of international liquidity and making the special drawing right the principal reserve asset in the international monetary system.

Section 1. Purposes of Article

To enable the Fund to fulfil the functions with which it is entrusted, the status, immunities, and privileges set forth in this Article shall be accorded to the Fund in the territories of each member.

Section 2. Status of the Fund

The Fund shall possess full juridical personality, and in particular, the capacity –

Section 3. Immunity from judicial process

The Fund, its property and its assets, wherever located and by whomsoever held, shall enjoy immunity from every form of judicial process except to the extent that it expressly waives its immunity for the purpose of any proceedings or by the terms of any contract.

Section 4. Immunity from other action

Property and assets of the Fund, wherever located and by whomsoever held, shall be immune from search, requisition, confiscation, expropriation, or any other form of seizure by executive or legislative action.

Section 5. Immunity of archives

The archives of the Fund shall be inviolable.

Section 6. Freedom of assets from restrictions

To the extent necessary to carry out the activities provided for in this Agreement, all property and assets of the Fund shall be free from restrictions, regulations, controls, and moratoria of any nature.

Section 7. Privileges for communications

The official communications of the Fund shall be accorded by members the same treatment as the official communications of other members.

Section 8. Immunities and privileges of officers and employees

All Governors, Executive Directors, Alternates, members of committees, representatives appointed under Article XII, Section 3(4), advisors of any of the foregoing persons, officers, and employees of the Fund –

Section 9. Immunities from taxation

(a) The Fund, its assets, property, income, and its operations and transactions authorized by this Agreement shall be immune from all taxation and from all customs duties. The Fund shall also be immune from liability for the collection or payment of any tax or duty.

(b) No tax shall be levied on or in respect of salaries and emoluments paid by the Fund to Executive Directors, Alternates, officers, or employees of the Fund who are not local citizens, local subjects, or other local nationals.

(c) No taxation of any kind shall be levied on any obligation or security issued by the Fund, including any dividend or interest thereon, by whomsoever held –

Section 1. Undertakings regarding relations with non-member countries

Each member undertakes –

Section 2. Restrictions on transactions with non-member countries

Nothing in this Agreement shall affect the right of any member to impose restrictions on exchange transactions with non-members or with persons in their territories unless the Fund finds that such restrictions prejudice the interest of members and are contrary to the purposes of the Fund.

Section 1. Structure of the Fund

The Fund shall have a Board of Governors, an Executive Board, a Managing Director, and a staff, and a Council if the Board of Governors decides, by an eighty-five percent majority of the total voting power, that the provisions of Schedule D shall be applied.

Section 2. Board of Governors

(a) All powers under this Agreement not conferred directly on the Board of Governors, the Executive Board, or the Managing Director shall be vested in the Board of Governors. The Board of Governors shall consist of one Governor and one Alternate appointed by each member in such manner as it may determine. Each Governor and each Alternate shall serve until a new appointment is made. No Alternate may vote except in the absence of his principal. The Board of Governors shall select one of the Governors as chairman.

(b) The Board of Governors may delegate to the Executive Board authority to exercise any powers of the Board of Governors, except the powers conferred directly by the Agreement on the Board of Governors.

(c) The Board of Governors shall hold meetings as may be provided for by the Board of Governors or called by the Executive Board. Meetings of the Board of Governors shall be called whenever requested by fifteen members or by members having one-quarter of the total voting power.

(d) A quorum for any meeting of the Board of Governors shall be a majority of the Governors having not less than two-thirds of the total voting power.

(e) Each Governor shall be entitled to cast the number of votes allocated under Section 5 of this Article to the member appointing him.

(f) The Board of Governors may by regulation establish a procedure whereby the Executive Board, when it deems such action to be in the best interests of the Fund, may obtain a vote of the Governors on a specific question without calling a meeting of the Board of Governors.

(g) The Board of Governors, and the Executive Board to the extent authorised, may adopt such rules and regulations an may be necessary or appropriate to conduct the business of the Fund.

(h) Governors and Alternates shall serve as such without compensation from the Fund, but the Fund may pay them reasonable expenses incurred in attending meetings.

(i) The Board of Governors shall determine the remuneration to be paid to the Executive Directors and their Alternates and the salary and terms of the contract of service of the Managing Director.

(j) The Board of Governors and the Executive Board may appoint such committees as they deem advisable. Membership of committees need not be limited to Governors or Executive Directors or their Alternates.

Section 3. Executive Board

(a) The Executive Board shall be responsible for conducting the business of the Fund, and for this purpose shall exercise all the powers delegated to it by the Board of Governors.

(b) The Executive Board shall consist of Executive Directors with the Managing Director as Chairman. Of the Executive Directors –

For the purpose of each regular election of Executive Directors, the Board of Governors, by an eighty-five percent majority of the total voting power, may increase or decrease the number of Executive Directors in (ii) above. The number of Executive Directors in (ii) above shall be reduced by one or two, as the case may be, if Executive Directors are appointed under (c) below, unless the Board of Governors decides, by an eighty-five percent majority of the total voting power, that this reduction would hinder the effective discharge of the functions of the Executive Board or of Executive Directors or would threaten to upset a desirable balance in the Executive Board.

(c) If, at the second regular election of Executive Directors and thereafter, the members entitled to appoint Executive Directors under (b)(i) above do not include the two members, the holdings of whose currencies by the Fund in the General Resources Account have been, on the average over the preceding two years, reduced below their quotas by the largest absolute amounts in terms of the special drawing right, either one or both of such members, as the case may be, may appoint an Executive Director.

(d) Elections of elective Executive Directors shall be conducted at intervals of two years in accordance with the provisions of Schedule E, supplemented by such regulations as the Fund deems appropriate. For each regular election of Executive Directors, the Board of Governors may issue regulations making changes in the proportion of votes required to elect Executive Directors under the provisions of Schedule E.

(e) Each Executive Director shall appoint an Alternate with full power to act for him when he is not present. When the Executive Directors appointing them are present, Alternates may participate in meetings but may not vote.

(f) Executive Directors shall continue in office until their successors are appointed or elected. If the office of an elected Executive Director becomes vacant more than ninety days before the end of his term, another Executive Director shall be elected for the remainder of the term by the members that elected the former Executive Director. A majority of the votes cast shall be required for election. While the office remains vacant, the Alternate of the former Executive Director shall exercise his powers except that of appointing an Alternate.

(g) The Executive Board shall function in continuous session at the principal office of the Fund and shall meet as often as the business of the Fund may require.

(h) A quorum for any meeting of the Executive Board shall be a majority of the Executive Directors having not less than one-half of the total voting power.

(j) The Board of Governors shall adopt regulations under which a member not entitled to appoint an Executive Director under (b) above may send a representative to attend any meeting of the Executive Board when a request made by, or a matter particularly affecting, that member is under consideration.

Section 4. Managing Director and staff

(a) The Executive Board shall select a Managing Director who shall not be a Governor or an Executive Director. The Managing Director shall be chairman of the Executive Board, but shall have no vote except a deciding vote in case of an equal division. He may participate in meetings of the Board of Governors, but shall not vote at such meetings. The Managing Director shall cease to hold office when the Executive Board so decides.

(b) The Managing Director shall be chief of the operating staff of the Fund and shall conduct, under the direction of the Executive Board, the ordinary business of the Fund. Subject to the general control of the Executive Board, he shall be responsible for the organization, appointment, and dismissal of the staff of the Fund.

(c) The Managing Director and the staff of the Fund, in the discharge of their functions, shall owe their duty entirely to the Fund and to no other authority. Each member of the Fund shall respect the international character of this duty and shall refrain from all attempts to influence any of the staff in the discharge of these functions.

(d) In appointing the staff the Managing Director shall subject to the paramount importance of securing the highest standards of efficiency and of technical competence, pay due regard to the importance of recruiting personnel on as wide a geographical basis as possible.

Section 5. Voting

(a) Each member shall have two hundred fifty votes plus one additional vote for each part of its quota equivalent to one hundred thousand special drawing rights.

(b) Whenever voting is required under Article V, Section 4 or 5, each member shall have the number of votes to which it is entitled under (a) –

provided that neither not purchases nor not sales shall be deemed at any time to exceed an amount equal to the quota of the member involved.

(c) Except as otherwise specifically provided, all decisions of the Fund shall be made by a majority of the votes cast.

Section 6. Reserves, distribution of not income, and investment

(a) The Fund shall determine annually what part of its net income shall be placed to general reserve or special reserve, and what part, if any, shall be distributed.

(b) The Fund may use the special reserve for any purpose for which it may use the general reserve, except distribution.

(c) If any distribution is made of the net income of any year, it shall be made to all members in proportion to their quotas.

(d) The Fund, by a seventy percent majority of the total voting power, may decide at any time to distribute any part of the general reserve. Any such distribution shall be made to all members in proportion to their quotas.

(e) Payments under (c) and (d) above shall be made in special drawing rights, provided that either the Fund or the member may decide that the payment to the member shall be made in its own currency.

Section 7. Publication of reports

(a) The Fund shall publish an annual report containing an audited statement of its accounts, and shall issue, at intervals of three months or less, a summary statement of its operations and transactions and its holdings of special drawing rights, gold, and currencies of members.

(b) The Fund may publish such other reports as it deems desirable for carrying out its purposes.

Section 8. Communication of views to members

The Fund shall at all times have the right to communicate its views informally to any member on any matter arising under this Agreement. The Fund may, by a seventy percent majority of the total voting power, decide to publish a report made to a member regarding its monetary or economic conditions and developments which directly tend to produce a serious disequilibrium in the international balance or payments of members. If the member is not entitled to appoint an Executive Director, it shall be entitled to representation in accordance with Section 3(j) of this Article. The Fund shall not publish a report involving changes in the fundamental structure of the economic organization of members.

Section 1. Location of offices

The principal office of the Fund shall be located in the territory of the member having the largest quota, and agencies or branch offices may be established in the territories of other members.

Section 2. Depositories

(a) Each member shall designate its central bank as a depository for all the Fund’s holdings of its currency, or if it has no central bank it shall designate such other institution as may be acceptable to the Fund.

(b) The Fund may hold other assets, including gold, in the depositories designated by the five members having the largest quotas and in such other designated depositories as the Fund may select. Initially, at least one-half of the holdings of the Fund shall be held in the depository designated by the member in whose territories the Fund has its principal office and at least forty percent shall be held in the depositories designated by the remaining four members referred to above. However, all transfers of gold by the Fund shall be made with due regard to the costs of transport and anticipated requirements of the Fund. In an emergency the Executive Board may transfer all or any part of the Fund’s gold in holdings to any place where they can be adequately protected.

Section 3. Guarantee of the Fund’s assets

Each member guarantees all assets of the Fund against less resulting from failure or default on the part of the depository designated by it.

Section 1. Notification to the Fund

Each member shall notify the fund whether it intends to avail itself of the transitional arrangements in Section 2 of this Article, or whether it is prepared to accept the obligations of Article VIII, Sections 2, 3 and 4. A member availing itself of the transitional arrangements shall notify the Fund as soon thereafter as it is prepared to accept these obligations.

Section 2. Exchange restrictions

A member that has notified the Fund that it intends to avail itself of transitional arrangements under this provision may, notwithstanding the provisions of any other articles of this Agreement, maintain and adapt to changing circumstances the restrictions on payments and transfers for current international transactions that were in effect on the date on which it became a member. Members shall, however, have continuous regard in their foreign exchange policies to the purposes of the Fund, and, as soon as conditions permit, they shall take all possible measures to develop such commercial and financial arrangements with other members as will facilitate international payments and the promotion of a stable system of exchange rates. In particular, members shall withdraw restrictions maintained under this Section as soon as restrictions, to settle their balance of payments in a manner which will not unduly encumber their access to the general resources of the Fund.

Section 3. Action of the Fund relating to restrictions

The Fund shall make annual reports on the restrictions in force under Section 2 of this Article. Any member retaining any restrictions inconsistent with Article VIII, Section 2, 3, or 4 shall consult the Fund annually as to their further retention. The Fund may, if it deems such action necessary in exceptional circumstances, make representations to any member that conditions are favourable for the withdrawal of any particular restriction, or for the general abandonment of restrictions, inconsistent with the provisions of any other articles of this Agreement. The member shall be given a suitable time to reply to such representations. If the Fund finds that the member persists in maintaining restrictions which are inconsistent with the purposes of the Fund, the member shall be subject to Article XXVI, Section 2(a).

Section 1. Authority to allocate special drawing rights

To meet the need, as and when it arises, for a supplement to existing reserve assets, the Fund is authorised to allocate special drawing rights to members that are participants in the Special Drawing Rights Department.

Section 2. Valuation of the special drawing right

The method of valuation of the special drawing right shall be determined by the Fund by a seventy percent majority of the total voting power, provided, however, that an eighty-five percent majority of the total voting powers shall be required for a change in the principle of valuation or a fundamental change in the application of the principles in effect.

Section 1. Separation of operations and transactions

All operations and transactions involving special drawing rights shall be conducted through the Special Drawing Rights Department. All other operations and transactions on the account of the Fund authorized by or under this Agreement shall be conducted through the General Department. Operations and transactions pursuant to Article XVII, Section 2 shall be conducted through the General Department as well as the Special Drawing Rights Department.

Section 2. Separation of assets and property

All assets and property of the Fund, except resources administered under Article V, Section 2(b), shall be held in the General Department, provided that assets and property acquired under Article XX, Section 2 and Articles XXIV and XXV and Schedules II and I shall be held in the Special Drawing Rights Department. Any assets or property held in one Department shall not be available to discharge or meet the liabilities, obligations, or losses of the Fund incurred in the conduct of the operations and transactions of the other Department, except that the expenses of conducting the business of the Special Drawing Rights Department shall be paid by the Fund from the General Department which shall be reimbursed in special drawing rights from time to time by assessments under Article XX, Section 4 made on the basis of a reasonable estimate of such expenses.

Section 3. Recording and information

All changes in holdings of special drawing rights shall take effect only when received by the Fund in the Special Drawing Rights Department. Participants shall notify the Fund of the provisions of this Agreement under which special drawing rights are used. The Fund may require participants to furnish it with such other information as it deems necessary for its functions.

Section 1. Participants

Each member of the Fund that deposits with the Fund an instrument setting forth that it undertakes all the obligations of a participant in the Special Drawing Rights Department in accordance with its law and that it has taken all steps necessary to enable it to carry out all of these obligations shall become a participant in the Special Drawing Rights Department as of the date the instrument is deposited, except that no member shall become a participant before the provisions of this Agreement pertaining exclusively to the Special Drawing Rights Department have entered into force and instruments have been deposited under this Section by members that have at least seventy-five percent of the total of quotas.

Section 2. Fund as a holder

The Fund may held special drawing rights in the General Resources Account and may accept and use them in operations and transactions conducted through the General Resources Account with participants in accordance with the provisions of this Agreement or with prescribed holders in accordance with the terms and conditions prescribed under Section 3 of this Article.

Section 3. Other holders

The Fund may prescribe –

An eighty-five percent majority of the total voting power shall be required for prescriptions under (i) above. The terms and conditions prescribed by the Fund shall be consistent with the provisions of this Agreement and the effective functioning of the Special Drawing Rights Department.

Section 1. Principles and considerations governing allocation and cancellation

(a) In all its decisions with respect to the allocation and cancellation of special drawing rights the Fund shall seek to meet the long-term global need, as and when it arises, to supplement existing reserve assets avoid economic stagnation and deflation as well as excess demand and inflation in the world.

(b) The first decision to allocate special drawing rights shall take into account, as special considerations, a collective judgment that there is a global need to supplement reserves, and the attainment of a better balance of payments equilibrium, as well as the likelihood of a better working of the adjustment process in the future.

Section 2. Allocation and cancellation

(a) Decisions of the Fund to allocate or cancel special drawing rights shall be made for basic periods which shall run consecutively and shall be five years in duration. The first basic period shall begin on the date of the first decision to allocate special drawing rights or such later date as may be specified in that decision. Any allocations or cancellations shall take place at yearly intervals.

(b) The rates at which allocations are to be made shall be expressed as percentages of quotas on the date of each decision to allocate. The rates at which special drawing rights are to be cancelled shall be expressed as percentages of net cumulative allocations of special drawing rights on the date of each decision to cancel. The percentages shall be the same for all participants.

(c) In its decision for any basic period the Fund may provide, notwithstanding (a) and (b), that –

(d) A member that becomes a participant after a basic period starts shall receive allocation beginning with the next basic period in which allocations are made after it becomes a participants are made after it becomes a participant unless the Fund decides that the new participant shall start to receive allocations beginning with the next allocation after it becomes a participant during a basic period shall receive allocations during the remainder of that basic period and the participant was not a member on the dates established under (b) or (c) above, the Fund shall determine the basis on which these allocations to the participant shall be made.

(e) A participant shall receive allocations of special drawing rights made pursuant to any decision to allocate unless –

(f) If on the effective date of any cancellation the amount of special drawing rights held by a participant is less than its share of the special drawing rights that are to be cancelled, the participant shall eliminate its negative balance as promptly as its gross reserve position permits and shall remain in consultation with the Fund for this purpose. Special drawing rights acquired by the participant after the effective date of the cancellation shall be applied against its negative balance and cancelled.

Section 3. Unexpected major developments

The Fund may change the rates or intervals of allocation or cancellation during the rest of a basic period or change the length of a basic period or start a new basic period, if at any time the Fund finds it desirable to do so because of unexpected major developments.

Section 4. Decisions on allocations and cancellations

(a) Decisions under Section 2(a), (b), and (c) or Section 3 of this Article shall be made by the Board of Governors on the basis of proposals of the Managing Director concurred in by the Executive Board.

(b) Before making any proposal, the Managing Director, after having satisfied himself that it will be a consistent with the provisions of Section ascertain that there is broad support among participants for the proposal. In addition, before making a proposal for the first allocation, the Managing Director shall satisfy himself that the provisions of Section 1(b) of this Article have been met and that there is broad support among participants to begin allocations; he shall make a proposal for the first allocation as soon after the establishment of the Special Drawing Rights Department as he is so satisfied.

(c) The Managing Director shall make proposals –

Provided that, if under (i), (iii), or (iv) above the Managing Director ascertains that there is no proposal which he considers to be consistent with the provisions of Section 1 of this Article that has broad support among participants in accordance with (b) above, he shall report to the Board of Governors and to the Executive Board.

(d) An eighty-five percent majority of the total voting power shall be required for decisions under Section 2(a), (b) and (c) or Section 3 of this Article except for decisions under Section 3 with respect to a decrease in the rates of allocation.

Section 1. Use of special drawing rights

Special drawing rights may be used in the operations and transactions authorized by or under this Agreement.

Section 2. Operations and transactions between participants

(a) A participant shall be entitled to use its special drawing rights to obtain an equivalent amount of currency from a participant designated under Section 5 of this Article.

(b) A participant, in agreement with another participant, may use its special drawing rights to obtain an equivalent amount of currency from the other participant.

(c) The Fund, by a seventy percent majority of the total voting power, may prescribe operations in which a participant is authorized to engage in agreement win another participant on such terms and conditions as the Fund deems appropriate. The terms and conditions shall be consistent with the effective functioning of the Special Drawing Rights Department and the proper use of special drawing rights in accordance with this Agreement.

(d) The Fund may make representations to a participant that enters into any operation or transaction under (b) or (c) above that in the judgment of the Fund may be prejudicial to the process of designation according to the principles of Section 5 of this Article or is otherwise inconsistent with Article XXII. A participant that persists in entering into such operations or transactions shall be subject to Article XXIII, Section 2(b).

Section 3. Requirement of need

(a) In transactions under Section 2(a) of this Article except as otherwise provided in (c) below, a participant will be expected to use its special drawing rights only if it has a need because of its balance of payments or its reserve position or developments in its reserves, and not for the sale purpose of changing the composition of its reserves.

(b) The use of special drawing rights shall not subject to challenge on the basis of the expectation in (a) above but the Fund may make representations to a participant that fails to fulfil this expectation. A participant that persists in failing to fulfil this expectation shall be subject to Article XXIII, Section 2(b).

(c) The Fund may waive the expectation in (a) above in any transactions in which a participant uses special drawing rights to obtain an equivalent amount of currency from a participant designated under Section 5 of this Article that would promote reconstitution by the other participant under Section 6(a) of this Article; prevent or reduce a negative balance of the other participant, or offset the effect of a failure by the other participant to fulfil the expectations in (a) above.

Section 4. Obligation to provide currency

(a) A participant designated by the Fund under Section 5 of this Article shall provide on demand a freely usable currency to a participant using special drawing rights under Section 2(a) of this Article. A participant’s obligation to provide currency shall not extend beyond the point at which its holdings of special drawing rights in excess of its not cumulative allocation are equal to twice its net cumulative allocation or such higher limit as may be agreed between a participant and the Fund.

(b) A participant may provide currency in excess of the obligatory limit or any agreed higher limit.

Section 5. Designation of participants to provide currency

(a) The Fund shall ensure that a participant will be able to use its special drawing rights by designating participants to provide currency for specified amounts of special drawing rights for the purpose of Sections 2(a) and 4 of this Article. Designations shall be made in accordance with the following general principles supplemented by such other principles as the Fund may adopt from time to time –

(b) In order to promote over time a balanced distribution of holdings of special drawing rights under (a)(i) above, the Fund shall apply the rules for designation in Schedule F or such rules as may be adopted under (c) below.

(c) The rules for designation may be reviewed at any time and new rules shall be adopted if necessary. Unless new rules are adopted, the rules in force at the time of the review shall continue to apply.

Section 6. Reconstitution

(a) Participants that use their special drawing rights shall reconstitute their holdings of them in accordance with the rules for reconstitution in Schedule G or such rules as may be adopted under (b) below.

(b) The rules for reconstitution may be reviewed at any time and new rules shall be adopted if necessary. Unless new rules are adopted or a decision is made to abrogate rules for reconstitution, the rules in force at the time of review shall continue to apply. A seventy percent majority of the total voting power shall be required for decisions to adopt, modify, or abrogate the rules for reconstitution.

Section 7. Exchange rate

(a) Except as otherwise provided in (b) below, the exchange rates for transactions between participants under Section 2(a) and (b) of this Article shall be such that participants using special drawing rights shall receive the same value whatever currencies might be provided and whichever participants provide these currencies, and the Fund shall adopt regulations to give effect to this principle.

(b) The Fund, by an eighty-five percent majority of the total voting power, may adopt policies under which in exceptional circumstances the Fund, by a seventy percent majority of the total voting power, may authorise participants entering into transactions under Section 2(b) of this Article to agree on exchange rates other than those applicable under (a) above.

(c) The Fund shall consult a participant on the procedure for determining rates of exchange for its currency.

Section 1. Interest

Interest at the same rate for all holders shall be paid by the Fund to each holder on the amount of its holdings of special drawing rights. The Fund shall pay the amount due to each holder whether or not sufficient charges are received to meet the payment of interest.

Section 2. Charges

Charges at the same rate for all participants shall be paid to the Fund by each participant on the amount of its cumulative allocation of special drawing rights plus any negative balance of the participant or unpaid charges.

Section 3. Rate of interest and charges

The Fund shall determine the rate of interest by a seventy percent majority of the total voting power. The rate of charges shall be equal to the rate of interest.

Section 4. Assessments

When it is decided under Article XVI, Section 2 that reimbursement shall be made, the Fund shall levy assessments for this purpose at the same rate for all participants on their net cumulative allocation.

Section 5. Payment of interest, charges, and assessments

Interest, charges, and assessments shall be paid in special drawing rights. A participant that needs special drawing rights to pay any charge or assessment shall be obligated and entitled to obtain them, for currency acceptable to the Fund, in a transaction with the Fund conducted through the General Resources Account. If sufficient special drawing rights cannot be obtained in this way, the participant shall be obligated and entitled to obtain them with a freely usable currency from a participant which the Fund shall specify. Special drawing rights acquired by a participant after the date for payment shall be applied against its unpaid charges and cancelled.

ARTICLE XXI
Administration of the General Department and the Special Drawing Rights Department

(a) The General Department and the Special Drawing Rights Department shall be administered in accordance with the provisions of Article XII, subject to the following provisions –

In addition to the obligations assumed with respect to special drawing rights under other articles of this Agreement, each participant undertakes to collaborate with the Fund and with the participants in order to facilitate the effective functioning of the Special Drawing Rights Department and the proper use of special drawing rights in accordance with this Agreement and with the objective of making the special drawing right the principal reserve asset in the international monetary system.

ARTICLE XXIII
Suspension of Operations and Transactions in Special Drawing Rights

Section 1. Emergency provisions

In the event of an emergency or the development of unforeseen circumstances threatening the activities of the Fund with respect to the Special Drawing Rights Department, the Executive Board, by an eighty-five percent majority of the total voting power, may suspend for a period of not more than one year the operation of any of the provisions relating to operations and transactions in special drawing rights, and the provisions of Article XXVII, Section 1(b), (c) and (d) shall then apply.

Section 2. Failure to fulfil obligations

(a) If the Fund finds that a participant has failed to fulfil its obligations under Article XIX, Section 4, the right of the participant to use its special drawing rights shall be suspended unless the Fund otherwise decides.

(b) If the Fund finds that a participant has failed to fulfil any other obligation with respect to special drawing rights, the Fund may suspend the right of the participant to use special drawing rights it acquires after the suspension.

(c) Regulations shall be adopted to ensure that before action is taken against any participant under (a) or (b) above, the participant shall be informed immediately of the complaint against it and given an adequate opportunity for stating its case, both orally and in writing. Whenever the participant is thus informed of a complaint relating to (a) above, it shall not use special drawing rights pending the disposition of the complaint.

(d) Suspension under (a) or (b) above or limitation under (c) above shall not affect a participant’s obligation to provide currency in accordance with Article XIX, Section 4.

(e) The Fund may at any time terminate a suspension under (a) or (b) above, provided that a suspension imposed on a participant under (b) above for failure to fulfil the obligations under Article XIX, Section 6(a) shall not be terminated until one hundred eighty days after the end of the first calendar quarter during which the participant complies with the rules for reconstitution.

(f) The right of a participant to use its special drawing rights shall not be suspended because it has become ineligible to use the Fund’s general resources under Article V, Section 5, Article VI, Section 1, or Article XXVI, Section 2(a). Article XXVI, Section 2 shall not apply because a participant has failed to fulfil any obligations with respect to special drawing rights.

Section 1. Right to terminate participation

(a) Any participant may terminate its participation in the Special Drawing Rights Department at any time by transmitting a notice in writing to the Fund at its principal office. Termination shall become effective on the date the notice is received.

(b) A participant that withdraws from membership in the Fund shall be deemed to have simultaneously terminated its participation in the Special Drawing Rights Department.

Section 2. Settlement on termination

(a) When a participant terminates its participation in the Special Drawing Rights Department, all operations and transactions by the terminating participant in special drawing rights shall cease except as otherwise permitted under an agreement made pursuant to (c) below in order to facilitate a settlement or as provided in Sections 3, 5 and 6 of this Article or in Schedule H.

(b) The Fund shall be obligated to redeem all special drawing rights held by the terminating participant, and the terminating participant shall be obligated to pay to the Fund an amount equal to its net cumulative allocation and any other amounts that may be due and payable because of its participation in the Special Drawing Rights Department. These obligations shall be set off against each other and the amount of special drawing rights held by the terminating participant that is used in the set off to extinguish its obligation to the Fund shall be cancelled.

(c) A settlement shall be made with reasonable dispatch by agreement between the terminating participant and the Fund with respect to any obligation of the terminating participant or the Fund after set off in (b) above. If agreement on a settlement is not reached promptly the provisions of Schedule H shall apply.

Section 3. Interest and charges

After the date of termination the Fund shall pay interest on any outstanding balance of special drawing rights held by a terminating participant and the terminating participant shall pay charges on any outstanding obligation owed to the Fund at the times and rates prescribed under Article XX. Payment shall be made in special drawing rights. A terminating participant shall be entitled to obtain special drawing rights with a freely useable currency to pay charges or assessments in a transaction with a participant specified by the Fund or by agreement from any other holder, or to dispose of special drawing rights received as interest in a transaction with any participant designated under Article XIX, Section 5 or by agreement with any other holder.

Section 4. Settlement of obligation to the Fund

Currency received by the Fund from a terminating participant shall be used by the Fund to redeem special drawing rights held by participants in proportion to the amount by which each participant’s holdings of special drawing rights exceed its net cumulative allocation at the time the currency is received by the Fund. Special drawing rights so redeemed and special drawing rights obtained by a terminating participant under the provisions of this Agreement to meet any instalment due under an agreement on settlement or under Schedule H and set off against that instalment shall be cancelled.

Section 5. Settlement of obligation to a terminating participant

Whenever the Fund is required to redeem special drawing rights held by a terminating participant, redemption shall be made with currency provided by participants specified by the Fund. These participants shall be specified in accordance with the principles in Article XIX, Section 5. Each specified participant shall provide at its option the currency of the terminating participant or a freely usable currency to the Fund and shall receive an equivalent amount of special drawing rights. However, a terminating participant may use its special drawing rights to obtain its own currency, a freely usable currency, or any other asset from any holder, if the Fund so permits.

Section 6. General Resources Account transactions

In order to facilitate settlement with a terminating participants, the Fund may decide that a terminating participant shall –

(a) The Special Drawing Rights Department may not be liquidated except by decision of the Board of Governors. In an emergency, if the Executive Board decides that liquidation of the Special Drawing Rights Department may be necessary, it may temporarily suspend allocations or cancellations and all operations and transactions in special drawing rights pending decision by the Board of Governors. A decision by the Board of Governors to liquidate the Fund shall be a decision to liquidate both the General Department and the Special Drawing Rights Department.

(b) If the Board of Governors decides to liquidate the Special Drawing Rights Department, all allocations or cancellations and all operations and transactions in special drawing rights and the activities of the Fund with respect to the Special Drawing Right Department shall cease except these incidental to the orderly discharge of the obligations of participants and of the Fund with respect to special drawing rights, and all obligations of the Fund and of participants under this Agreement with respect to special drawing rights shall cease except these set out in this Article, Article XX, Article XXI(d), Article XXIV, Article XXIX(c), and Schedule H, or any agreement reached under Article XXIV subject to paragraph 4 of Schedule H, and Schedule I.

(c) Upon liquidation of the Special Drawing Rights Department, interest and charges that accrued to the date of liquidation and assessments levied before that date but not paid shall be paid in special drawing rights. The Fund shall be obligated to redeem all special drawing rights held by holders, and each participant shall be obligated to pay the Fund an amount equal to its net cumulative allocation of special drawing rights and such other amounts as may be due and payable because of its participation in the Special Drawing Rights Department.

(d) Liquidation of the Special Drawing Rights Department shall be administered in accordance with the provisions of Schedule I.

Section 1. Right of members to withdraw

Any member may withdraw from the Fund at any time by transmitting a notice in writing to the Fund at its principal office. Withdrawal shall become effective on the date such notice is received.

Section 2. Compulsory withdrawal

(a) If a member fails to fulfil any of its obligations under this Agreement, the Fund may declare the member ineligible to use the general resources of the Fund. Nothing in this Section shall be deemed to limit the provisions of Article V, Section 5 of Article VI, Section 1.

(b) If, after the expiration of a reasonable period the member persists in its failure to fulfil any of its obligations under this Agreement, that member may be required to withdraw from membership in the Fund by a decision of the Board of Governors carried by a majority of the Governors having eighty-five percent of the total voting power.

(c) Regulations shall be adopted to ensure that before action is taken against any member under (a) or (b) above, the member shall be informed in reasonable time of the complaint against it and given an adequate opportunity for stating its case, both orally and in writing.

Section 3. Settlement of accounts with members withdrawing

When a member withdraws from the Fund, normal operations and transactions of the Fund in its currency shall cease and settlement of all accounts between it and the Fund shall be made with reasonable despatch by agreement between it and the Fund. If agreement is not reached prompting, the provisions of Schedule J shall apply to the settlement of accounts.

Section 1. Temporary suspension

(a) In the event of an emergency or the development of unforeseen circumstances threatening the activities of the Fund, the Executive Board, by an eighty-five percent majority of the total voting power, may suspend for a period of not more than one year the operation of any of the following provisions –

(b) A suspension of the operation of a provision under (a) above may not be extended beyond one year except by the Board of Governors which, by an eighty-five percent majority of the total voting power, may extend a suspension for an additional period of not more than two years if it finds that the emergency or unforeseen circumstances referred to in (a) above continue to exist.

(c) The Executive Board may, by a majority of the total voting power, terminate such suspension at any time.

(d) The Fund may adopt rules with respect to the subject matter of a provision on during the period in which its operation is suspended.

Section 2. Liquidation of the Fund

(a) The Fund may not be liquidated except by decision of the Board of Governors. In an emergency, if the Executive Board decides that liquidation of the Fund may be necessary, it may temporarily suspend all operations and transactions, pending decision by the Board of Governors.

(b) If the Board of Governors decides to liquidate the Fund, the Fund shall forthwith cease to engage in any activities except these incidental to the orderly collection and liquidation of its assets and the settlement of its liabilities, and all obligations of members under this Agreement shall cease except these set out in this Article, in Article XXIX(c), in Schedule J, paragraph 7, and in Schedule K.

(c) Liquidation shall be administered in accordance with the provisions of Schedule K.

(a) Any proposal to introduce modifications in this Agreement, whether emanating from a member, a Governor, or the Executive Board, shall be communicated to the chairman of the Board of Governors who shall bring the proposal before the Board of Governors. If the proposed amendment is approved by the Board of Governors, the Fund shall, by circular letter or telegram, ask all members whether they accept the proposed amendment. When three-fifths of the members, having eighty-five percent of the total voting power, have accepted the proposed amendment, the Fund shall certify the fact by a formal communication addressed to all members.

(b) Notwithstanding (a) above, acceptance by all members is required in the case of any amendment modifying –

(c) Amendments shall enter into force for all members three months after the date of the formal communication unless a shorter period is specified in the circular letter or telegram.

(a) Any question of interpretation of the provisions of this Agreement arising between any member and the Fund or between any members of the Fund shall be submitted to the Executive Board for its decision. If the question particularly affects any member not entitled to appoint an Executive Director, it shall be entitled to representation in accordance with Article XII, Section 3(j).

(b) In any case where the Executive Board has given a decision under (a) above, any member may require, within three months from the date of the decision, that the question be referred to the Board of Governors, whose decision shall be final. Any question referred to the Board of Governors shall be considered by a Committee on Interpretation of the Board of Governors. Each Committee member shall have one vote. The Board of Governors shall establish the membership, procedures, and voting majorities of the Committee. A decision of the Committee shall be the decision of the Board of Governors unless the Board of Governors, by an eighty-five percent majority of the total voting power, decides otherwise. Pending the result of the reference to the Board of Governors the Fund may, so far as it deems necessary, act on the basis of the decision of the Executive Board.

(c) Whenever a disagreement arises between the Fund and a member which has withdrawn, or between the Fund and any member during liquidation of the Fund, such disagreement shall be submitted to arbitration by a tribunal of three arbitrators, one appointed by the Fund, another by the member or withdrawing member, and an umpire who, unless the parties otherwise agree, shall be appointed by the President of the International Court of Justice or such other authority as may have been prescribed by regulation adopted by the Fund. The umpire shall have full power to settle all questions of procedure in any case where the parties are in disagreement with respect thereto.

In interpreting the provisions of this Agreement the Fund and its members shall be guided by the following provisions –

(a) The Fund’s holdings of a member’s currency in the General Resources Account shall include any securities accepted by the Fund under Article III, Section 4.

(b) Stand-by arrangement means a decision of the Fund by which a member is assured that it will be able to make purchases from the General Resources Account in accordance with the terms of the decision during a specified period and up to a specified amount.

(c) Reserve tranche purchase means a purchase by a member of special drawing rights or the currency of another member in exchange for its own currency which does not cause the Fund’s holdings of the member’s currency in the General Resources Account to exceed its quota, provided that for the purposes of this definition the Fund may exclude purchases and holdings under –

(d) Payments for current transactions means payments which are not for the purpose of transferring capital, and includes, without limitation –

The Fund may, after consultation with the members concerned, determine whether certain specific transactions are to be considered current transactions or capital transactions.

(e) Net cumulative allocation of special drawing rights means the total amount of special drawing rights allocate to a participant less its share of special drawing rights that have been cancelled under Article XVIII, Section 2(a).

(f) A freely usable currency means a member’s currency that the Fund determines (I) is, in fact, widely used to make payments for international transactions, and (ii) is widely traded in the principal exchange markets.

(g) Members that were members on August 31, 1975 shall be deemed to include a member that accepted membership after that date pursuant to a resolution of the Board of Governors adopted before that date.

(h) Transactions of the Fund means exchanges of monetary assets by the Fund for other monetary assets. Operations of the Fund means other uses or receipts of monetary assets by the Fund.

(i) Transactions in special drawing rights means exchanges of special drawing rights for other monetary assets. Operations in special drawing rights means other uses of special drawing rights.

Section 1. Entry into force

This Agreement shall enter into force when it has been sighed on behalf of governments having sixty-five percent of the total of the quotas set forth in Schedule A and when the instruments referred to in Section 2(a) of this Article have been deposited on their behalf, but in no event shall this Agreement enter into force before May 1, 1945.

Section 2. Signature

(a) Each government on whose behalf this Agreement is signed shall deposit with the Government of the United States of America an instrument setting forth that it has accepted this Agreement in accordance with its law and has taken all steps necessary to enable it to carry out all of its obligations under this Agreement.

(b) Each country shall become a member of the Fund as from the date of the deposit on its behalf of the instrument referred to in (a) above, except that no country shall become a member before this Agreement enters into force under Section 1 of this Article.

(c) The Government of the United States of America shall inform the governments of all countries whose names are set forth in Schedule A, and the governments of all countries whose membership is approved in accordance with Article II, Section 2, of all signatures of this Agreement and of the deposit of all instruments referred to in (a) above.

(d) At the time this Agreement is signed on its behalf, each government shall transmit to the Government of the United States of America one-hundredth of one percent of its total subscription in gold or United States dollars for the purpose of meeting administrative expenses of the Fund. The Government of the United States of America shall hold such funds in a special deposit account and shall transmit them to the Board of Governors of the Fund when the initial meeting has been called. If this Agreement has not come into force by December 31, 1945, the Government of the United States of America shall return funds to the Governments that transmitted them.

(e) This Agreement shall remain open for signature at Washington on behalf of the governments of the countries whose names are set forth in Schedule A until December 31, 1945.

(f) After December 31, 1945, this Agreement shall be open for signature on behalf of the government of any country whose membership has been approved in accordance with Article II, Section 2.

(g) By their signature of this Agreement, all governments accept it both on their own behalf and in respect of all their colonies, overseas territories, all territories under their protection, suzerainty, or authority, and all territories in respect of which they exercise a mandate.

(h) Subsection (d) above shall come into force with regard to each signatory government as from the date of its signature.

The signature and depositary clause reproduced below followed the text of
Article XX in the original Articles of Agreement.

Done at Washington, in a single copy which shall remain deposited in the archives of the Government of the United States of America, which shall transmit certified copies to all governments whose names are set forth in Schedule A and to all governments whose membership is approved in accordance with Article II, Section 2.

Australia ............................. 200 Iran .................................... 25
Belgium .............................. 225 Iraq .................................... 8
Bolivia ................................ 10 Liberia ................................. .5
Brazil .................................. 150 Luxembourg ............................ 10
Canada ................................. 300 Mexico ................................. 90
Chile .................................... 50 Netherlands ............................ 275
China .................................. 550 New Zealand ........................... 50
Colombia .............................. 50 Nicaragua ............................... 2
Costa Rica ............................. 5 Norway ................................. 25
Cuba .................................... 50 Panama ................................. .5
Czechoslovakia ....................... 125 Paraguay ............................... 2
Denmark * ............................. * Peru ..................................... 25
Dominican Republic ................. 5 Philippine Commonwealth .......... 15
Ecuador ................................ 5 Poland .................................. 125
Egypt .................................. 45 Union of South Africa ................ 100
El Salvador ............................ 2.5 Union of Soviet Socialist Republic ... 1200
Greece ................................. 40 United Kingdom .................... 1300
Guatemala ............................. 5 United States ........................ 2750
Haiti .................................... 5 Uruguay .............................. 15
Honduras .............................. 2.5 Venezuela ............................ 15
Iceland ................................. 1 Yugoslavia ........................... 60
India ................................... 400

* The quota of Denmark shall be determined by the Fund after the Danish Government has declared its readiness to sign this Agreement but before signature takes place.

Transitional Provisions with Respect to Repurchase, Payment of Additional Subscriptions, Gold, and Certain Operational Matters.

1. Repurchase obligations that have accrued pursuant to Article V, Section 7(b) before the date of the second amendment of this Agreement and that remain undischarged at that date shall be discharged not later than the date or dates at which the obligations had to be discharged in accordance with the provisions of this Agreement before the second amendment.

2. A member shall discharge with special drawing rights any obligation to pay gold to the Fund in repurchase or as a subscription that is outstanding at the date of the second amendment of this Agreement, but the Fund may prescribe that these payments may be made in whole or in part in the currencies of other members specified by the Fund. A non-participant shall discharge an obligation that must be paid in special drawing rights pursuant to this provision with the currencies of other members specified by the Fund.

3. For the purpose of 2 above 0.888 671 gram of fine gold shall be equivalent to one special drawing right, and the amount of currency payable under 2 above shall be determined on that basis and on the basis of the value of the currency in terms of the special drawing right at the date of discharge.

4. A member’s currency held by the Fund in excess of seventy-five percent of the member’s quota at the date of the second amendment of this Agreement and not subject to repurchase under 1 above shall be repurchased in accordance with the following rules –

5. Repurchases under 1 above that are not subject to 2 above, repurchases under 4 above, and any specification of currencies under 2 above shall be in accordance with Article V, Section 7(i).

6. All rules and regulations, rates, procedures, and decisions in offset at the date of the second amendment of this Agreement shall remain in effect until they are changed in accordance with the provisions of this Agreement.

7. To the extent that arrangements equivalent in effect to (a) and (b) below have not been completed before the date of the second amendment of this Agreement, the Fund shall –

(a) sell up to 25 million ounces of fine gold held by it on August 31, 1975 to those members that were members on that date and that agree to buy it, in proportion to their quotas on that date. The sale to a member under this subparagraph (a) shall be made in exchange for its currency and at a price equivalent at the time of sale to one special drawing right per 0.888 671 gram of fine gold; and

(b) sell up to 25 million ounces of fine gold held by it on August 31, 1975 for the benefit of developing members that were members on that date, provided, however, that the part of any profits or surplus value of the gold that corresponds to the proportion of such a member’s quota on August 31, 1975 to the total of the quotas of all members on that date shall be transferred directly to each such member. The requirements under Article V, Section 12(c) that the Fund consult a member, obtain a member’s concurrence, or exchange a member’s currency for the currencies of other members in certain circumstances shall apply with respect to currency received by the Fund as a result of sales of gold under this provision, other than sales to a member in return for its own currency, and placed in the General Resources account.

Upon the sale of gold under this paragraph 7, an amount of the proceeds in the currencies received equivalent at the time of sale to one special drawing right per 0.888 671 gram of fine gold shall be placed in the General Resources Account and other assets held by the Fund under arrangements pursuant to (b) above shall be held separately from the general resources of the Fund, Assets that remain subject to disposition by the Fund upon termination of arrangements pursuant to (b) above shall be transferred to the Special Disbursement Account.

1. The Fund shall notify members that par values may be established for the purposes of this Agreement, in accordance with Article IV, Sections 1, 3, 4 and 5 and this Schedule, in terms of the special drawing right, or in terms of such other common denominator as is prescribed by the Fund. The common denominator shall not be gold or a currency.

2. A member that intends to establish a par value for its currency shall propose a par value to the Fund within a reasonable time after notice is given under 1 above.

3. Any member that does not intend to establish a par value for is currency under 1 above shall consult with the Fund and ensure that its exchange arrangements are consistent with the purposes of the Fund and are adequate to fulfil its obligations under Article IV, Section 1.

4. The Fund shall concur in or object to a proposed par value within a reasonable period after receipt of the proposal. A proposed par value shall not take effect for the purposes of this Agreement if the Fund objects to it, and the member shall be subject to 3 above. The Fund shall not object because of the domestic social or political of the member proposing the par value.

5. Each member that has a par value for its currency undertakes to apply appropriate measures consistent with this Agreement in order to ensure that the maximum and the minimum rates for spot exchange transactions taking place within its territories between its currency and the currencies of other members maintaining par values shall not differ from parity by more that four and one-half percent or by such other margin or margins as the Fund may adopt by an eighty-five percent majority of the total voting power.

6. A member shall not propose a change in the par value of its currency except to correct, or prevent the emergence of, a fundamental disequilibrium. A change may be made only on the proposal of the member and only after consultant with the Fund.

7. When a change is proposed, the Fund shall concur in or object of its currency except to correct, or prevent the emergence of, a fundamental disequilibrium. The Fund shall not object because of the domestic social or political policies of the member proposing the change. A proposed change in par value shall not take effect for the purposes of this Agreement if the Fund objects to it. If a member changes the par value of its currency despite the objection of the Fund, the member shall be subject to Article XXVI, Section 2. Maintenance of an unrealistic par value by a member shall be discouraged by the Fund.

8. The par value of a member’s currency established under this Agreement shall cease to exist for the purposes of this Agreement if the member informs the Fund that it intends to terminate the par value. The Fund may object to the termination of a par value by a decision taken by an eighty-five percent majority of the total voting power. If a member terminates a par value for its currency despite the objection of the Fund, the member shall be subject to Article XXVI, Section 2. A par value established under this Agreement shall cease to exist for the purposes of this Agreement if the member terminates the par value despite the object of the Fund, or if the Fund finds that the member does not maintain rates for a substantial volume of exchange transactions in accordance with 5 above, provided that the Fund may not make such finding unless it has consulted the member and given it sixty days notice of the Fund’s intention to consider whether to make a finding.

9. If the par value of the currency of a member has ceased to exist under 8 above, the member shall consult with the Fund and ensure that its exchange arrangements are consistent with the purposes of the Fund and are adequate to fulfil its obligations under Article IV, Section 1.

10. A member for whose currency the par value has ceased to exist under 8 above may, at any time, propose a new par value for its currency.

11. Notwithstanding 6 above, the Fund, by a seventy percent majority of the total voting power, may make uniform proportionate changes in all par values if the special drawing right is the common denominator and the changes will not affect the value of the special drawing right. The par value of a member’s currency shall, however, not be changed under this provision if, within seven days after the Fund’s action, the member informs the Fund that it does not wish the par value of its currency to be changed by such action.

1. (a) Each member that appoints an Executive Director and each group of members that has the number of votes allotted to them cast by an elected Executive Director shall appoint to the Council one Councillor, who shall be a Governor, Minister in the government of a member, or person of comparable rank, and may appoint nor more than seven Associates. The Board of Governors may change, by an eighty-five percent majority of the total voting power, the number of associates who may be appointed. A Councillor or Associate shall serve until a new appointment is made or until the next regular election of Executive Directors, whichever shall occur sooner.

(b) Executive Directors, or in their absence their Alternates, and Associates shall be entitled to attend meetings of the Council, unless the Council decides to hold a restricted session. Each member and each group of members that appoints a Councillor shall appoint an Alternate who shall be entitled to attend a meeting of the Council when the Councillor is not present, and shall have full power to set for the Councillor.

2. (a) The Council shall supervise the management and adaptation of the international monetary system, including the continuing operation of the adjustment process and developments in global liquidity, and in this connection shall review developments in the transfer of real resources to developing countries.

(b) The Council shall consider proposals pursuant to Article XXVIII(a) to amend the Articles of Agreement.

3. (a) The Board of Governors may delegate to the Council authority to exercise any powers of the Board of Governors except the powers conferred directly by this Agreement on the Board of Governors.

(b) Each Councillor shall be entitled to cast the number of votes allotted under Article XII, Section 5 to the member or group of members appointing him. A Councillor appointed by a group of members appointing him. A Councillor appointed by a group of members may cast separately the votes allotted to each member in the group. If the number of votes allotted to a member cannot be cast by an Executive Director, the member may make arrangements with a Councillor for casting the number of votes allotted to the member.

(c) The Council shall not take any action pursuant to powers delegated by the Board of Governors that is inconsistent with any action taken by the Board of Governors and the Executive Board shall not take any action pursuant to powers delegated by the Board of Governors that is inconsistent with any action taken by either the Board of Governors or the Council.

4. The Council shall select a Councillor as chairman, shall adopt regulations as may be necessary or appropriate to perform its functions, and shall determine any aspect of its procedure. The Council shall hold such meetings as may be provided for by the Council or called by the Executive Board.

5. (a) The Council shall have powers corresponding to these of the Executive Board under the following provisions: Article XII, Section 2(e), (f), (g) and (j); Article XVIII, Section 4(a) and Section 4(c)(iv); Article XXIII, Section 1; and Article XXVII, Section 1(a).

(b) For decisions by the Council on matters pertaining exclusively to the Special Drawing Rights Department only Councillors appointed by a member that is a participant or a group of members at least one member of which is a participant shall be entitled to vote. Each of these Councillors shall be entitled to cast the number of votes allotted to the member which is a participant that appointed him or to the members that are participants in the group of members that appointed him, and may cast the votes allotted to a participant with which arrangements have been made pursuant to the last sentence of 3(b) above.

(c) The Council may be regulation establish a procedure whereby the Executive Board may obtain a vote of the Councillors on a specific question without a meeting of the Council when in the judgment of the Executive Board an action must be taken by the Council which should not be postponed until the next meeting of the Council and which does not warrant the calling of a special meeting.

(d) Article IX, Section 8 shall apply to Councillors, their Alternates, and Associates, and to any other person entitled to attend a meeting of the Council.

(e) For the purposes of (b) and 3(b) above, an agreement under Article XII, Section 3(i)(ii) by a member, or by a member that is a participant, shall entitled a Councillor to vote and cast the number of votes allotted to the member.

6. The first sentence of Article XII, Section 2(a) shall be deemed to include a reference to the Council.

1. The election of the elective Executive Directors shall be by ballot of the Governors eligible to vote.

2. In balloting for the Executive Directors to be elected, each of the Governors eligible to vote shall cast for one person all of the votes to which he is entitled under Article XII, Section 5(a). The fifteen persons receiving the greatest number of votes shall be Executive Directors, provided that no person who received less than four percent of the total number of votes that can be cast (eligible votes) shall be considered elected.

3. When fifteen persons are not elected in the first ballot, a second ballot shall be held in which there shall vote only (a) those Governors who voted in the first ballot for a person not elected, and (b) those Governors whose votes for a person elected are deemed under 4 below to have raised the votes cast for that person above nine percent of the eligible votes. If in the second ballot there are more candidates than the number of Executive Directors to be elected, the person who received the lowest number of votes in the first ballot shall be ineligible for election.

4. In determining whether the votes cast by a Governor are to be deemed to have raised the total of any person above nine percent of the eligible votes the nine percent shall be deemed to include, first, the votes of the Governor casting the largest number of votes for such person, then the votes of the Governor casting the next largest number, and so on until nine percent is reached.

5. Any Governor part of whose votes must be counted in order to raise the total of any person above four percent shall be considered as casting all of his votes for such person even if the total votes for such person thereby exceed nine percent.

6. If, after the second ballot, fifteen persons have not been elected, further ballots shall be held on the same principles until fifteen persons have been elected, provided that after fourteen persons are elected, the fifteenth may be elected by a simple majority of the remaining votes and shall be deemed to have been elected by all such votes.

During the first basic period the rules for designation shall be as follows –

(a) Participants subject to designation under Article XIX, Section 5(a)(i) shall be designated for such amounts as will promote over time equality in the ratios of the participants’ holdings of special drawing rights in excess of their net cumulative allocations to their official holdings of gold and foreign exchange.

(b) The formula to give effect to (a) above shall be such that participants subject to designation shall be designated –

1. During the first basic period the rules for reconstitution shall be as follows –

2. If a participant fails to comply with the rules for reconstitution, the Fund shall determine whether or not the circumstances justify suspension under Article XXIII, Section 2(b).

1. If the obligation remaining after the setoff under Article XXIV, Section 2(b) is to the terminating participant and agreement on settlement between the Fund and the terminating participant is not reached within six months of the date of termination, the Fund shall redeem this balance of special drawing rights in equal instalments within a maximum of five years of the date of termination. The Fund shall redeem this balance as it may determine, either (a) by the payment to the terminating participant of the amounts provided by the remaining participants to the Fund in accordance with Article XXIV, Section 5, or (b) by permitting the terminating participant to use its special drawing rights to obtain its own currency or a freely usable currency from a participant specified by the Fund, the General Resources Account, or any other holder.

2. If the obligation remaining after the setoff under Article XXIV, Section 2(b) is to the Fund and agreement on settlement is not reached within six months of the date of termination, the terminating participant shall discharge this obligation in equal half-yearly instalments within three years of the date of termination or within such longer period as may be fixed by the Fund. The terminating participant shall discharge this obligation, as the Fund may determine, either (a) by the payment to the Fund of a freely usable currency, or (b) by obtaining special drawing rights, in accordance with Article XXIV, Section 6, from the General Resources Account or in agreement with a participant specified by the Fund or from any other holder, and the setoff of these special drawing rights against the instalment due.

3. Instalments under either 1 or 2 above shall fall due six months after the date of termination and at intervals of six months thereafter.

4. In the event of the Special Drawing Rights Department going into liquidation under Article XXV within six months of the date a participant terminates its participation, the settlement between the Fund and that government shall be made in accordance with Article XXV and Schedule I.

SCHEDULE I
Administration of Liquidation of the Special Drawing Rights Department

1. In the event of liquidation of the Special Drawing Rights Department, participants shall discharge their obligations to the Fund in ten half-yearly instalments, or in such longer period as the Fund may decide is needed, in a freely usable currency and the currencies of participants holding special drawing rights to be redeemed in any instalment to the extent of such redemption, as determined by the Fund. The first half-yearly payment shall be made six months after the decision to liquidate the Special Drawing Rights Department.

2. If it is decided to liquidate the Fund within six months of the date of the decision to liquidate the Special Drawing Right Department, the liquidation of the Special Drawing Rights Department shall not proceed until special drawing rights hold in the General Resources Account have been distributed in accordance with the following rule –

3. With the amounts received under 1 above, the Fund shall redeem special drawing rights held by holders in the following manner and order –

(a) Special drawing rights held by governments that have terminated their participation more than six months before the date the Board of Governors decides to liquidate the Special Drawing Rights Department shall be redeemed in accordance with the terms of any agreement under Article XXIV or Schedule H.

(b) Special drawing rights held by holders that are not participants shall be redeemed before those held by participants, and shall be redeemed in proportion to the amount held by each holder.

(c) The Fund shall determine the proportion of special drawing rights held by each participant in relation to its net cumulative allocation. The Fund shall first redeem special drawing rights from the participants with the highest proportion until this proportion is reduced to that of the second highest proportion; the Fund shall then redeem the special drawing rights held by these participants in accordance with their net cumulative allocations until the proportions are reduced to that of the third highest proportion; and this process shall be continued until the amount available for redemption is exhausted.

4. Any amount that a participant will be entitled to receive in redemption under 3 above shall be set off against any amount to be paid under 1 above.

5. During liquidation the Fund shall pay interest on the amount of special drawing rights held by holders, and each participant shall pay charges on the net cumulative allocation of special drawing rights to it less the amount of any payments made in accordance with 1 above. The rates of interest and charges and the time of payment shall be determined by the Fund. Payments of interest and charges shall be made in special drawing rights to the extent possible. A participant that does not hold sufficient special drawing rights to meet any charges shall make the payment with a currency specified by the Fund. Special drawing rights received as charges in amounts needed for administrative expenses shall not be used for the payment of interest, but shall be transferred to the Fund and shall be redeemed first and with the currencies used by the Fund to meet its expenses.

6. While a participant is in default with respect to any payment required by 1 or 5 above, no amounts shall be paid to it in accordance with 3 or 5 above.

7. If after the final payments have been made to participants each participant not in default does not hold special drawing rights in the same proportion to its not cumulative allocation, those participants holding a higher proportion such amounts in accordance with arrangements made by the Fund as will make the proportion of their holdings of special drawing rights the same. Each participant in default shall pay to the Fund its own currency in an amount equal to its default. The Fund shall apportion this currency and any residual claims among participants is proportion to the amount of special drawing rights held by each and those special drawing rights shall be cancelled. The Fund shall then close the books of the Special Drawing Rights Department and all of the Fund’s liabilities arising from the allocations of special drawing rights and the administration of the Special Drawing Rights Department shall cease.

8. Each participant whose currency is distributed to other participants under this Schedule guarantees the unrestricted use of such currency at all times for the purchase of goods or for payments of sums due to it or to persons in its territories. Each participant so obligated agrees to compensate other participants for any less resulting from the difference between the value at which the Fund distributed its currency under this Schedule and the value realized by such participants on disposal of its currency.

1. The settlement of accounts with respect to the General Resources Account shall be made according to 1 to 6 of this Schedule. The Fund shall be obligated to pay to a member withdrawing an amount equal to its quota, plus any other amounts due to its from the Fund, less any amounts due to the Fund, including charges accruing after the date of its withdrawal; but no payment shall be made until six months after the date of its withdraw. Payments shall be made in the currency of the withdrawing member, and for this purpose the Fund may transfer to the General Resources Account holdings of the member’s currency in the Special Disbursement Account or in the Investment Account in exchange for an equivalent amount of the currencies of other members in the General Resources Account selected by the Fund with their concurrence.

2. If the Fund’s holdings of the currency of the withdrawing member are not sufficient to pay the net amount due from the Fund, the balance shall be paid in a freely usable currency, or in such other manner as may be agreed. If the Fund and the withdrawing member do not reach agreement within six months of the date of withdrawal, the currency in question held by the Fund shall be paid forthwith to the withdrawing member. Any balance due shall be paid in ten half-yearly instalments during the ensuing five years. Each such instalment shall be paid, at the option of the Fund, either in the currency of the withdrawing member acquired after its withdrawal or in a freely usable currency.

3. If the Fund fails to meet any instalment which is due in accordance with the preceding paragraphs, the withdrawing member shall be entitled to require the Fund to pay the instalment in any currency held by the Fund with the exception of any currency which has been declared scarce under Article VII, Section 3.

4. If the Fund’s holdings of the currency of a withdrawing member exceed the amount due to it, and if agreement on the method of settling accounts is not reached within six months of the date of withdrawal, the former member shall be obligated to redeem such excess currency in a freely usable currency. Redemption shall be made at the rates at which the Fund would sell such currencies at the time of withdrawal from the Fund. The withdrawing member shall complete redemption within five years of the date of withdrawal, or within such longer period as may be fixed by the Fund, but shall not be required to redeem in any half-yearly period more than one-tenth of the Fund’s excess holdings of its currency at the date of withdrawal plus further acquisitions of the currency during such half-yearly period. If the withdrawing member does not fulfil this obligation, the Fund may in an orderly manner liquidate in any market the amount of currency which should have been redeemed.

5. Any member desiring to obtain the currency of a member which has withdrawn shall acquire it by purchase from the Fund, to the extent that such member has access to the general resources of the Fund and that such currency is available under 4 above.

6. The withdrawing member guarantees the unrestricted use at all times of the currency disposed of under 4 and 5 above for the purchase of goods or for payment of sums due to it or to persons within its territories. It shall compensate the Fund for any loss resulting from the difference between the value of its currency in terms of the special drawing right on the date of withdrawal and the value realized in terms of the special drawing right by the Fund on disposal under 4 and 5 above.

7. If the withdrawing member is indebted to the Fund as the result of transactions conducted through the Special Disbursement Account under Article V, Section 12(f)(ii), the indebtedness shall be discharged in accordance with the terms of the indebtedness.

8. If the Fund holds the withdrawing member’s currency in the Special Disbursement Account or in the Investment Account, the Fund may in an orderly manner exchange in any market for the currencies of members the amount of the currency of the withdrawing member remaining in each account after use under 1 above, and the proceeds of the exchange of the amount in each account shall be kept in that account. Paragraph 5 above and the first sentence of 6 above shall apply to the withdrawing member’s currency.

9. If the Fund holds obligations of the withdrawing member in the Special Disbursement Account pursuant to Article V, Section 12(h), or in the Investment Account, the Fund may hold them until the date of maturity or dispose of them sooner. Paragraph 8 above shall apply to the proceeds of such disinvestment.

10. In the event of the Fund going into liquidation under Article XXVII, Section 2 within six months of the date on which the member withdraws, the accounts between the Fund and that government shall be settled in accordance with Article XXVII, Section 2 and Schedule K.

1. In the event of liquidation the liabilities of the Fund other than the repayment of subscriptions shall have priority in the distribution of the assets of the Fund. In meeting each such liability the Fund shall use its assets in the following order –

(a) the currency in which the liability is payable;

(b) gold;

(c) all other currencies in proportion, so far as may be practicable, to the quotas of the members.

2. After the discharge of the Fund’s liabilities in accordance with 1 above, the balance of the of the Fund’s assets shall be distributed and apportioned as
follows –

(c) The Fund shall distribute its remaining holdings of gold among the members whose currencies are held by the Fund in amounts less than their quotas in the proportions, but not in excess of, the amounts by which their quotas exceed the Fund’s holdings of their currencies.

(d) The Fund shall distribute to each member one-half the Fund’s holdings of its currency but such distribution shall not exceed fifty percent of its quota.

3. Each member shall redeem the holdings of its currency apportioned to other members under 2(d) above, and shall agree with the Fund within three months after a decision to liquidate upon an orderly procedure for such redemption.

4. If a member has not reached agreement with the Fund within the three month period referred to in 3 above, the Fund shall use the currencies of other members apportioned to that member under 2(d) above to redeem the currency of that member apportioned to other members. Each currency apportioned to a member which has not reached agreement shall be used, so far as possible, to redeem its currency apportioned to the members which have made agreements with the Fund under 3 above.

5. If a member has reached agreement with the Fund in accordance with 3 above, the Fund shall use the currencies of other members apportioned to that member under 2(d) above to redeem the currency of that member apportioned to other members which have made agreements with the Fund under 3 above. Each amount so redeemed shall be redeemed in the currency of the member to which it was apportioned.

6. After carrying out the steps in the preceding paragraphs, the Fund shall pay to each member the remaining currencies held for its account.

7. Each member whose currency has been distributed to other members under 6 above shall redeem such currency in the currency of the member requesting redemption, or in such other manner as may be agreed between them. If the members involved do not otherwise agree, the member obligated to redeem shall complete redemption within five years of the date of distribution, but shall not be required to redeem in any half-yearly period more than one-tenth of the amount distributed to each other member. If the member does not fulfil this obligation, the amount of currency which should have been redeemed may be liquidated in an orderly manner in any market.

8. Each member whose currency has been distributed to other members under 6 above guarantees the unrestricted use of such currency at all times for the purchase of goods or for payment of sums due to it or to persons in its territories. Each member so obligated agrees to compensate other members for any loss resulting from the difference between the value of its currency in terms of the special drawing right on the date of the decision to liquidate the Fund and the value in terms of the special drawing right realized by such members on disposal of its currency.

9. The Fund shall determine the value of gold under this Schedule on the basis of prices in the market.

10. For the purposes of this Schedule, quotas shall be deemed to have been increased the full extent to which they could have been increased in accordance with Article III, Section 2(b) of this Agreement.

The Governments on whose behalf the present Agreement is signed agree as follows –

The International Bank for Reconstruction and Development is established and shall operate in accordance with the following provisions –

Section 1. Membership

(a) The original members of the Bank shall be those members of the International Monetary Fund which accept membership in the Bank before the date specified in Article XI, Section 2(e).

(b) Membership shall be open to other members of the Fund, at such times and in
accordance with such terms as may be prescribed by the Bank.

Section 2. Authorized capital

(a) The authorized capital stock of the Bank shall be $10,000,000,000, in terms of United States dollars of the weight and fineness in effect on July 1, 1944. The capital stock shall be divided into 100,000 shares having a par value of $100,000 each, which shall be available for subscription only by members.

(b) The capital stock may be increased when the Bank deems it advisable by a three-fourths majority of the total voting power.

Section 3. Subscription of shares

(a) Each member shall subscribe shares of the capital stock of the Bank. The minimum number of shares to be subscribed by the original members shall be those set forth in Schedule A. The minimum number of shares to be subscribed by other members shall be determined by the Bank, which shall reserve a sufficient portion of its capital stock for subscription by such members.

(b) The Bank shall prescribe rules laying down the conditions under which members may subscribe shares of the authorized capital stock of the Bank in addition to their minimum subscriptions.

(c) If the authorized capital stock of the Bank is increased, each member shall have a reasonable opportunity to subscribe, under such conditions as the Bank shall decide, a proportion of the increase of stock equivalent to the proportion which its stock theretofore subscribed bears to the total capital stock of the Bank, but no member shall be obligated to subscribe any part of the increased capital.

Section 4. Issue price of shares

Shares included in the minimum subscriptions of original members shall be issued at par. Other shares shall be issued at par unless the Bank by a majority of the total voting power decides in special circumstances to issue them on other terms.

Section 5. Division and calls of subscribed capital

The subscriptions of each member shall be divided into two parts as follows –

Calls on unpaid subscriptions shall be uniform on all shares.

Section 6. Limitation on liability

Liability on shares shall be limited to the unpaid portion of the issue price of the shares.

Section 7. Method of payment of subscriptions for shares

Payment of subscriptions for shares shall be made in gold or United States dollars and in the currencies of the members as follows –

Section 8. Time of payment of subscriptions

(a) The two percent payable on each share in gold or United States dollars under Section 7(i) of this Article, shall be paid within sixty days of the date on which the Bank begins operations, provided that –

(b) The remainder of the price of each share payable under Section 7(i) of this Article shall be paid as and when called by the Bank, provided that –

Section 9. Maintenance of value of certain currency holdings of the Bank

(a) Whenever (i) the par value of a member’s currency is reduced, or (ii) the foreign exchange value of a member’s currency has, in the opinion of the Bank, depreciated to a significant extent within that member’s territories, the member shall pay to the Bank within a reasonable time an additional amount of its own currency sufficient to maintain the value, as of the time of initial subscription, of the amount of the currency of such member which is held by the Bank and derived from currency originally paid in to the Bank by the member under Article II, Section 7(i), from currency referred to in Article IV, Section 2(b), or from any additional currency furnished under the provisions of the present paragraph, and which has not been repurchase by the member for gold or for the currency of any member which is acceptable to the Bank.

(b) Whenever the par value of a member’s currency is increased, the Bank shall return to such member within a reasonable time an amount of that member’s currency equal to the increase in the value of the amount of such currency described in (a) below.

(c) The provisions of the preceding paragraphs may be waived by the Bank when a uniform proportionate change in the par values of the currencies of all its members is made by the International Monetary Fund.

Section 10. Restriction of disposal of shares

Shares shall not be pledged or encumbered in any manner whatever and they shall be transferable only to the Bank.

Section 1. Use of resources

(a) The resources and the facilities of the Bank shall be used exclusively for the benefit of members with equitable consideration to projects for development and projects for reconstruction alike.
(b) For the purpose of facilitating the restoration and reconstruction of the economy of members whose metropolitan territories have suffered great devastation from enemy occupation or hostilities, the Bank, in determining the conditions and terms of loans made to such members, shall pay special regard to lightening the financial burden and expediting the completion of such restoration and reconstruction.

Section 2. Dealings between members and the Bank

Each member shall deal with the Bank only through its Treasury, central bank, estabilization fund or other similar fiscal agency, and the Bank shall deal with members only by or through the same agencies.

Section 3. Limitations on guarantees and borrowings of the Bank

The total amount outstanding of guarantees, participations in loans and direct loans made by the Bank shall not be increased at any time, if by such increase the total would exceed one hundred percent of the unimpaired subscribed capital, reserves and surplus of the Bank.

Section 4. Conditions on which the Bank may guarantee or make loans

The Bank may guarantee, participate in, or make loans to any member or any political sub-division thereof and any business, industrial, and agricultural enterprise in the territories of a member, subject to the following conditions –

Section 5. Use of loans guaranteed, participated in or made for the Bank

(a) The Bank shall impose no conditions that the proceeds of a loan shall be spent in the territories of any particular member or members.

(b) The Bank shall make arrangements to ensure that the proceeds of any loan are used only for the purposes for which the loan was granted, with due attention to considerations of economy and efficiency and without regard to political or other non-economic influences or considerations.

(c) In the case of loans made by the Bank, it shall open an account in the name of the borrower and the amount of the loan shall be credited to this account in the currency or currencies in which the loans is made. The borrower shall be permitted by the Bank to draw on this account only to meet expenses in connection with the project as they are actually incurred.

Section 6. Loans to the International Finance Corporation

(a) The Bank may make, participate in, or guarantee loans to the International Finance Corporation, an affiliate of the Bank, for use in its lending operations. The total amount outstanding of such loans, participations and guarantees shall not be increased if, at the time or as a result thereof, the aggregate amount of debt (including the guarantee of any debt) incurred by the said Corporation from any source and then outstanding shall exceed an amount equal to four times its unimpaired subscribed capital and surplus.

(b) The provisions of Article III, Sections 4 and 5(c) and of Article IV, Section 3 shall not apply to loans, participations and guarantees authorized by this Section.

Section 1. Methods of making of facilitating loans

(a) The Bank may make or facilitating loans which satisfy the general conditions of
Article III in any of the following ways –

(b) The Bank may borrow funds under (a)(ii) above or guarantee loans under (a)(iii) above only with the approval of the member in whose markets the funds are raised and the member in whose currency the loan is denominated, and only if those members agree that the proceeds may be exchanged for the currency of any other member without restriction.

Section 2. Availability and transferability of currencies

(a) Currencies paid into the Bank under Article II, Section 7(I), shall be loaned only with the approval in each case of the member whose currency is involved; provided, however, that if necessary, after the Bank’s subscribed capital has been entirely called, such currencies shall, without restriction by the members whose currencies are offered, be used or exchanged for the currencies required to meet contractual payments of interest, other charges or amortization on the Bank’s own borrowings, or to meet the Bank’s liabilities with respect to such contractual payments on loans guaranteed by the Bank.

(b) Currencies received by the Bank from borrowers or guarantors in payment on account of principal of direct loans made with currencies referred to in (a) above shall be exchanged for the currencies of other members or reloaned only with the approval in each case of the members whose currencies are involved; provided, however, that if necessary, after the Bank’s subscribed capital has been entirely called, such currencies shall, without restriction by the members whose currencies are offered, be used or exchanged for the currencies required to meet contractual payments of interest, other charges or amortization on the Bank’s own borrowings, or to meet the Bank’s liabilities with respect to such contractual payments on loans guaranteed by the Bank.

(c) Currencies received by the Bank from borrowers or guarantors in payment on account of principal of direct loans made by the Bank under Section 1(a)(ii) of this Article, shall be held and used, without restriction by the members, to make amortization payments, or to anticipate payment of or repurchase part or all of the Bank’s own obligations.

(d) All other currencies available to the Bank, including those raised in the market or otherwise borrowed under Section 1(a)(ii) of this Article, those obtained by the sale of gold, those received as payments of interest and other charges for direct loans made under Sections 1(a)(i) and (ii), and those received as payments of commissions and other charges under Section 1(a)(iii), shall be used or exchanged for other currencies or gold required in the operations of the Bank without restriction by the members whose currencies are offered.

(e) Currencies raised in the markets of members by borrowers on loans guaranteed by the Bank under Section 1(a)(iii) of this Article, shall also be used or exchanged for other currencies without restriction by such members.

Section 3. Provision of currencies for direct loans

The following provisions shall apply to direct loans under Section 1(a)(i) and (ii) of this Article –

(a) The Bank shall furnish the borrower with such currencies of members, other than the member in whose territories the project is located, as are needed by the borrower for expenditures to be made in the territories of such other members to carry out the purposes of the loan.

(b) The Bank may, in exceptional circumstances when local currency required for the purposes of the loan cannot be raised by the borrower on reasonable terms, provide the borrower as part of the loan with an appropriate amount of that currency.

(c) The Bank, if the project gives rise indirectly to an increased need for foreign exchange by the member in whose territories the project is located, may in exceptional circumstances provide the borrower as part of the loan with an appropriate amount of gold or foreign exchange not in excess of the borrower’s local expenditure in connection with the purposes of the loan.

(d) The Bank may, in exceptional circumstances, at the request of a member in whose territories a portion of the loan is spent, repurchase with gold or foreign exchange a part of that member’s currency thus spent but in no case shall the part so repurchased exceed the amount by which the expenditure of the loan in those territories gives rise to an increased need for foreign exchange.

Section 4. Payment provisions for direct loans

Loan contracts under Section 1(a)(i) or (ii) of this Article shall be made in accordance with the following payment provisions –

(a) The terms and conditions of interest and amortization payments, maturity and dates of payment of each loan shall be determined by the Bank. The Bank shall also determine the rate and any other terms and conditions of commission to be charged in connection with such loan.

In the case of loans made under Section 1(a)(ii) of this Article during the first ten years of the Bank’s operations, this rate of commission shall be not less than one percent per annum and not greater than one and one-half percent per annum, and shall be charged on the outstanding portion of any such loan. At the end of this period of ten years, the rate of commission may be reduced by the Bank with respect both to the outstanding portions of loans already made and to future loans, if the reserves accumulated by the Bank under Section 6 of this Article and out of other earnings are considered by it sufficient to justify a reduction. In the case of future loans the Bank shall also have discretion to increase the rate of commission beyond the above limit, if experience indicates that an increase is advisable.

(b) All loan contracts shall stipulate the currency or currencies in which payments under the contract shall be made to the Bank. At the option of the borrower, however, such payments may be made in gold, or subject to the agreement of the Bank, in the currency of a member other than that prescribed in the contract.

(ii) In the case of loans made under Section 1(a)(ii) of this Article, the total amount outstanding and payable to the Bank in any one currency shall at no time exceed the total amount of the outstanding borrowing made by the Bank under Section 1(a)(ii) and payable in the same currency.

(c) If a member suffers from an acute exchange stringency, so that the service of any loan contracted by that member or guaranteed by it or by one of its agencies cannot be provided in the stipulated manner, the member concerned may apply to the Bank for a relaxation of the conditions of payment. If the Bank is satisfied that some relaxation is in the interests of the particular member and of the operations of the Bank and of its members as a whole, it may take action under either, or both, of the following paragraphs with respect to the whole, or part, of the annual service –

Section 5. Guarantees

(a) In guaranteeing a loan placed through the usual investment channels, the Bank shall charge a guarantee commission payable periodically on the amount of the loan outstanding at a rate determined by the Bank. During the first ten years of the Bank’s operations, this rate shall be not less than one percent per annum and not greater than one and one-half percent per annum. At the end of this period of ten years, the rate of commission may be reduced by the Bank with respect both to the outstanding portions of loans already guaranteed and to future loans if the reserves accumulated by the Bank under Section 6 of this Article and out of other earnings are considered by it sufficient to justify a reduction. In the case of future loans the Bank shall also have discretion to increase the rate of commission beyond the above limit, if experience indicates that an increase is advisable.

(b) Guarantee commissions shall be paid directly to the Bank by the borrower.

(c) Guarantees by the Bank shall provide that the Bank may terminate its liability with respect to interest if, upon default by the borrower and by the guarantor, if any, the Bank offers to purchase, at par and interest accrued to a date designated in the offer, the bonds or other obligations guaranteed.

(d) The Bank shall have power to determine any other terms and conditions of the guarantee.

Section 6. Special reserve

The amount of commissions received by the Bank under Sections 4 and 5 of this Article shall be set aside as a special reserve, which shall be kept available for meeting liabilities of the Bank in accordance with Section 7 of this Article. The special reserve shall be held in such liquid form, permitted under this Agreement, as the Executive Directors may decide.

Section 7. Methods of meeting liabilities of the Bank in case of defaults

In case of default on loans made, participated in, or guaranteed by the Bank –

(a) The Bank shall make such arrangements as may be feasible to adjust the obligation under the loans, including arrangements under or analogous to those provided in Section 4(c) of this Article.

(b) The payments in discharge of the Bank’s liabilities on borrowings or guarantees under Section 1(a)(ii) and (iii) of this Article shall be charged –

(c) Whenever necessary to meet contractual payments of interest, other charges or amortization on the Bank’s own borrowings, or to meet the Bank’s liabilities with respect to similar payments on loans guaranteed by it, the Bank may call an appropriate amount of the unpaid subscriptions of members in accordance with Article II, Sections 5 and 7. Moreover, if it believes that a default may be of long duration, the Bank may call an additional amount of such unpaid subscriptions not to exceed in any one year one percent of the total subscriptions of the members for the following purposes –

Section 8. Miscellaneous operations

In addition to the operations specified elsewhere in this Agreement, the Bank shall have the power –

In exercising the powers conferred by this Section, the Bank may deal with any person, partnership, association, corporation or other legal entity in the territories of any member.

Section 9. Warning to be placed on securities

Every security guaranteed or issued by the Bank shall bear on its face a conspicous statement to the effect that it is not an obligation of any government unless expressly stated on the security.

Section 10. Political activity prohibited

The Bank and its officers shall not interfere in the political affairs of any member, nor shall they be influenced in their decisions by the political character of the member or members concerned. Only economic consideration shall be relevant to their decisions, and these considerations shall be weighed impartially in order to achieve the purposes stated in Article 1.

Section 1. Structure of the Bank

The Bank shall have a Board of Governors, Executive Directors, a President and such other officers and staff to perform such duties as the Bank may determine.

Section 2. Board of Governors

(a) All the powers of the Bank shall be vested in the Board of Governors consisting of one governor and one alternate appointed by each member in such manner as it may determine. Each governor and each alternate shall serve for five years, subject to the pleasure of the member appointing him, and may be reappointed. No alternate may vote except in the absence of his principal. The Board shall select on of the governors as Chairman.

(b) The Board of Governors may delegate to the Executive Directors authority to exercise any powers of the Board, except the power to –

(c) The Board of Governors shall hold an annual meeting and such other meetings as may be provided for by the Board or called by the Executive Directors. Meetings of the Board shall be called by the Directors whenever requested by five members or by members having one-quarter of the total voting power.

(d) A quorum for any meeting of the Board of Governors shall be a majority of the Governors, exercising not less than two-thirds of the total voting power.

(e) The Board of Governors may by regulation establish a procedure whereby the Executive Directors, when they deem such action to be in the best interests of the Bank, may obtain a vote of the Governors on a specific question without calling a meeting of the Board.

(f) The Board of Governors, and the Executive Directors to the extent authorized, may adopt such rules and regulations as may be necessary or appropriate to conduct the business of the Bank.

(g) Governors and alternates shall serve as such without compensation from the Bank, but the Bank shall pay them reasonable expenses incurred in attending meetings.

(h) The Board of Governors shall determine the remuneration to be paid to the Executive Directors and the salary and terms of the contract of service of the President.

Section 3. Voting

(a) Each member shall have two hundred fifty votes plus one additional vote for each share of stock held.

(b) Except as otherwise specifically provided, all matters before the Bank shall be decided by a majority of the votes cast.

Section 4. Executive Directors

(a) The Executive Directors shall be responsible for the conduct of the general operations of the Bank, and for this purpose, shall exercise all the powers delegated to them by the Board of Governors.

(b) There shall be twelve Executive Directors, who need not be governors, and of whom –

For the purpose of this paragraph, "members" means governments of countries whose names are set forth in Schedule A, whether they are original members or become members in accordance with Article II, Section 1(b). When governments of other countries become members, the Board of Governors may, by a four-fifths majority of the total voting power, increase the total number of directors by increasing the number of directors by increasing the number of directors to be elected.

Executive directors shall be appointed or elected every two years.

(c) Each executive director shall appoint an alternate with full power to act for him when he is not present. When the executive directors appointing them are present, alternates may participate in meetings but shall not vote.

(d) Directors shall continue in office until their successors are appointed or elected. If the office of an elected director becomes vacant more than ninety days before the end of his term, another director shall be elected for the remainder of the term by the governors who elected the former director. A majority of the votes cast shall be required for election. While the office remains vacant, the alternate of the former director shall exercise his powers, except that of appointing an alternate.

(e) The Executive Directors shall function in continuous session at the principal office of the Bank and shall meet as often as the business of the Bank may require.

(f) A quorum for any meeting of the Executive Directors shall be a majority of the Directors, exercising not less than one-half of the total voting power.

(g) Each appointed director shall be entitled to cast the number of votes allotted under Section 3 of this Article to the member appointing him. Each elected director shall be entitled to cast the number of votes which counted toward his election. All the votes which a director is entitled to cast shall be cast as a unit.

(h) The Board of Governors shall adopt regulations under which a member not entitled to appoint a director under (b) above may send a representative to attend any meeting of the Executive Directors when a request made by, or a matter particularly affecting, that member is under consideration.

(i) The Executive Directors may appoint such committee as they deem advisable. Membership of such committees need not be limited to governors or directors or their alternates.

Section 5. President and staff

(a) The Executive Directors shall select a President who shall not be a governor or an executive director or an alternate for either. The President shall be Chairman of the Executive Directors, but shall have no vote except a deciding vote in case of an equal division. He may participate in meetings of the Board of Governors, but shall not vote at such meetings. The President shall cease to hold office when the Executive Directors so decide.

(b) The President shall be chief of the operating staff of the Bank and shall conduct, under the direction of the Executive Directors, the ordinary business of the Bank. Subject to the general control of the Executive Directors, he shall be responsible for the organization, appointment and dismissal of the officers and staff.

(c) The President, officers and staff of the Bank, in the discharge of their offices, owe their duty entirely to the Bank and to no other authority. Each member of the Bank shall respect the international character of this duty and shall refrain from all attempts to influence any of them in the discharge of their duties.

(d) In appointing the officers and staff the President shall, subject to the paramount importance of securing the highest standards of efficiency and of technical competence, pay due regard to the importance of recruiting personnel on as wide a geographical basis as possible.

Section 6. Advisory Council

(a) There shall be an Advisory Council of not less than seven persons selected by the Board of Governors including representatives of banking, commercial, industrial, labour, and agricultural interests, and with as wide a national representation as possible. In those fields where specialized international organizations exist, the members of the Council representative of those fields shall be selected in agreement with such organizations. The Council shall advise the Bank on matters of general policy. The Council shall meet annually and on such other occasions as the Bank may request.

(b) Councillors shall serve for two years and may be reappointed. They shall be paid their reasonable expenses incurred on behalf of the Bank.

Section 7. Loan committees

The committees required to report on loans under Article III, Section 4, shall be appointed by the Bank. Each such committee shall include an expert selected by the governor representing the member in whose territories the project is located and one or more members of the technical staff of the Bank.

Section 8. Relationship to other international organizations

(a) The Bank, within the terms of this Agreement, shall cooperate with any general international organization and with public international organizations having specialized responsibilities in related fields. Any arrangements for such cooperation which would involve a modification of any provision of this Agreement may be effected only after amendment to this Agreement under Article VIII.

(b) In making decisions on applications for loans or guarantees relating to matters directly within the competence of any international organization of the types specified in the preceding paragraph and participated in primarily by members of the Bank, the Bank shall give consideration to the views and recommendations of such organization.

Section 9. Location of offices

(a) The principal office of the Bank shall be located in the territory of the member holding the greatest number of shares.

(b) The Bank may establish agencies or branch offices in the territories of any member of the Bank.

Section 10. Regional offices and councils

(a) The Bank may establish regional offices and determine the location of, and the areas to be covered by, each regional office.

(b) Each regional office shall be advised by a regional council representative of the entire area and selected in such manner as the Bank may decide.

Section 11. Depositories

(a) Each member shall designate its central bank as a depository for all the Bank’s holdings of its currency or, if it has no central bank, it shall designate such other institution as may be acceptable to the Bank.

(b) The Bank may hold other assets, including gold, in depositories designated by the five members having the largest number of shares and in such other designated depositories as the Bank may select. Initially, at least one-half of the gold holdings of the Bank shall be held in the depository designated by the member in whose territory the Bank has its principal office, and at least forty percent shall be held in the depositories designated by the remaining four members referred to above, each of such depositories to hold, initially, not less than the amount of gold paid on the shares of the members designating it. However, all transfers of gold by the Bank shall be made with due regard to the costs of transport and anticipated requirements of the Bank. In an emergency the Executive Directors may transfer all or any part of the Bank’s gold holdings to any place where they can be adequately protected.

Section 12. Form of holdings of currency

The Bank shall accept from any member, in place of any part of the member’s currency, paid in to the Bank under Article II, Section 7(i), or to meet amortization payments on loans made with such currency, and not needed by the Bank in its operations, notes or similar obligations issued by the Government of the member or the depository designated by such member, which shall be non-negotiable, non-interest-bearing and payable at their par value on demand by credit to the account of the Bank in the designated depository.

Section 13. Publication of reports and provision of information

(a) The Bank shall publish an annual report containing an audited statement of its accounts and shall circular to member at intervals of three months or loss a summary statement of its financial position and a profit and loss statement showing the results of its operations.

(b) The Bank may publish such other reports as it deems desirable to carry out its purposes.

(c) Copies of all reports, statements and publications made under this section shall be distributed to members.

Section 14. Allocation of net income

(a) The Board of Governors shall determine annually what part of the Bank’s net income, after making provision for reserves, shall be allocated to surplus and what part, if any, shall be distributed.

(b) If any part is distributed, up to two percent non-cumulative shall be paid, as a first charge against the distribution for any year, to each member on the basis of the average amount of the loans outstanding during the year made under Article IV, Section 1(a)(i), out of currency corresponding to its subscription. If two percent is paid as a first charge, any balance remaining to be distributed shall be paid to all members in proportion to their shares. Payments to each member shall be made in its own currency, or if that currency is not available in other currency acceptable to the member. If such payments are made in currencies other than the member’s own currency, the transfer of the currency and its use by the receiving member after payment shall be without restriction by the members.

Section 1. Right of members to withdraw

Any member may withdraw from the Bank at any time by transmitting a notice in writing to the Bank at its principal office. Withdrawal shall become effective on the date such notice is received.

Section 2. Suspension of membership

If a member fails to fulfil any of its obligations to the Bank, the Bank may suspend its membership by decision of a majority of the Governors, exercising a majority of the total voting power. The member so suspended shall automatically cease to be a member one year from the date of its suspension unless a decision is taken by the same majority to restore the member to good standing.

While under suspension, a member shall not be entitled to exercise any rights under this Agreement, except the right of withdrawal, but shall remain subject to all obligations.

Section 3. Cessation of membership in International Monetary Fund

Any member which ceases to be a member of the International Monetary Fund shall automatically cease after three months to be a member of the Bank unless the Bank by three-fourths of the total voting power has agreed to allow it to remain a member.

Section 4. Settlement of accounts with governments ceasing to be members

(a) When a government ceases to be a member, it shall remain liable for its direct obligations to the Bank and for its contingent liabilities to the Bank so long as any part of the loans or guarantees contracted before it ceased to be a member are outstanding; but it shall cease to incur liabilities with respect to loans and guarantees entered into thereafter by the Bank and to share either in the income or the expenses of the Bank.

(b) At the time a government ceases to be a member, the Bank shall arrange for the repurchase of its shares as a part of the settlement of accounts with such government in accordance with the provisions of (c) and (d) below. For this purpose the repurchase price of the shares shall be the value shown by the books of the Bank on the day the government ceases to be a member.

(c) The payment for shares repurchased by the Bank under this section shall be governed by the following conditions –

(d) If the Bank suspends permanently its operations under Section 5(b) of this Article, within six months of the date upon which any government ceases to be a member, all rights of such government shall be determined by the provisions of section 5 of this Article.

Section 5. Suspension of operations and settlement of obligations

(a) In an emergency the Executive Directors may suspend temporarily operations in respect of new loans and guarantees pending an opportunity for further consideration and action by the Board of Governors.

(b) The Bank may suspend permanently its operations in respect of new loans and guarantees by vote of a majority of the Governors, exercising a majority of the total voting power. After such suspension of operations the Bank shall forthwith cease all activities, except those incident to the orderly realization, conservation, and preservation of its assets and settlement of its obligations.

(c) The liability of all members for uncalled subscriptions to the capital stock of the Bank and in respect of the depreciation of their own currencies shall continue until all claims of creditors, including all contingent claims, shall have been discharged.

(d) All creditors holding direct claims shall be paid out of the assets of the Bank, and then out of payments to the Bank on calls on unpaid subscriptions. Before making any payments to creditors holding direct claims, the Executive Directors shall make such arrangements as are necessary, in their judgement, to insure a distribution to holders of contingent claims ratably with creditors holding direct claims.

(e) No distribution shall be made to members on account of their subscriptions to the capital stock of the Bank until –

(f) After a decision to make a distribution has been taken under (e) above, the Executive Directors may by a two-thirds majority vote make successive distributions of the assets of the Bank to members until all of the assets have been distributed. This distribution shall be subject to the prior settlement of all outstanding claims of the Bank against each member.

(g) Before any distribution of assets is made, the Executive Directors shall fix the proportionate share of each member according to the ratio of its shareholding to the total outstanding shares of the Bank.

(h) The Executive Directors shall value the assets to be distributed as at the date of distribution and then proceed to distribute in the following –

(i) Any member receiving assets distributed by the Bank in accordance with (h) above, shall enjoy the same rights with respect to such assets as the Bank enjoyed prior to their distribution.

Section 1. Purposes of Article

To enable the Bank to fulfil the functions with which it is entrusted, the status, immunities and privileges set forth in this Article shall be accorded to the Bank in the territories of each member.

Section 2. Status of the Bank

The Bank shall possess full juridical personality, and, in particular, the capacity –

Section 3. Position of the Bank with regard to judicial process

Actions may be brought against the Bank only in a court of competent jurisdiction in the territories of a member in which the Bank has an office, has appointed an agent for the purpose of accepting service or notice of process, or has issued or guaranteed securities. No actions shall, however be brought by members or persons acting for or deriving claims from members. The property and assets of the Bank shall, wheresoever located and by whomsoever held, be immune from all forms of seizure, attachment or execution before the delivery of final judgment against the Bank.

Section 4. Immunity of assets from seizure

Property and assets of the Bank, wherever located and by whomsoever held, shall be immune from search, requisition, confiscation, expropriation or any other form of seizure by executive or legislative action.

Section 5. Immunity of archives

The archives of the Bank shall be inviolable.

Section 6. Freedom of assets from restrictions

To the extent necessary to carry out the operations provided for in this Agreement and subject to the provisions of this Agreement, all property and assets of the Bank shall be free from restrictions, regulations, controls and moratoria of any nature.

Section 7. Privilege for communications

The official communications of the Bank shall be accorded by each member the same treatment that it accords to the official communications of other members.

Section 8. Immunities and privileges of officers and employees

All governors, executive directors, alternates, officers and employees of the Bank.

Section 9. Immunities from taxation

(a) The Bank, its assets, property, income and its operations and transactions authorized by this agreement, shall be immune from all taxation and from all customs duties. The Bank shall also be immune from liability for the collection or payment of any tax or duty.

(b) No tax shall be levied on or in respect of salaries and emoluments paid by the Bank to executive directors, alternates, officials or employees of the Bank who are not local citizens, local subjects, or other local nationals.

(c) No taxation of any kind shall be levied on any obligation or security issued by the Bank (including any dividend or interest thereon) by whomsoever held –

(i) which discriminates against such obligation or security solely because it is issued by the Bank; or

(ii) if the sole jurisdictional basis for such taxation is the place or currency in which it is issued, made payable or paid, or the location of any office or place of business maintained by the Bank.

(d) No taxation of any kind shall be levied on any obligation or security guaranteed by the Bank (including any dividend or interest thereon) by whomsoever held –

(a) Any proposal to introduce modifications in this Agreement, whether emanating from a member, a governor or the Executive Directors, shall be communicated to the Chairman of the Board of the Board of Governors who shall bring the proposal before the Board. If the proposed amendment is approved by the Board the Bank shall, by circular letter or telegram, ask all members whether they accept the proposed amendment. When three-fifths of the members, having four-fifths of the total voting power, have accepted the proposed amendments, the Bank shall certify the fact by formal communication addressed to all members.

(b) Notwithstanding (a) above, acceptance by all members is required in the case of any amendment modifying –

(c) Amendments shall enter into force for all members three months after the date of the formal communication unless a shorter period is specified in the circular letter or telegram.

(a) Any question of interpretation of the provisions of this Agreement arising between any member and the Bank or between any members of the Bank shall be submitted to the Executive Directors for their decision. If the question particularly affects any member not entitled to appoint an executive director, it shall be entitled to representation in accordance with Article V, Section 4(1).

(b) In any case where the Executive Directors have given a decision under (a) above, any member may require that the question be referred to the Board of Governors, whose decision shall be final. Pending the result of the reference to the Board, the Bank may, as far as it deems necessary, act on the basis of the decision of the Executive Directors.

(c) Whenever a disagreement arises between the Bank and a country which has ceased to be a member, or between the Bank and any member during the permanent suspension of the Bank, such disagreement shall be submitted to arbitration by a tribunal of three arbitrators, one appointed by the Bank, another by the country involved and an umpire who, unless the parties otherwise agree, shall be appointed by the President of the Permanent Court of International Justice or such other authority as may have been prescribed by regulation adopted by the Bank. The umpire shall have full power to settle all questions of procedure in any case where the parties are in disagreement with respect thereto.

Whenever the approval of any member is required before any act may be done by the Bank, except in Article VIII, approval shall be deemed to have been given unless the member presents an objection within such reasonable period as the Bank may fix in notifying the member of the proposed act.

Section 1. Entry into force

This Agreement shall enter into force when it has been signed on behalf of governments whose minimum subscriptions comprise not less than sixty-five percent of the total subscriptions set forth in Schedule A and when the instruments referred to in Section 2(a) of this Article have been deposited on their behalf, but in no event shall this Agreement enter into force before May 1, 1945.

Section 2. Signature

(a) Each government on whose behalf this Agreement is signed shall deposit with the Government of the United States of America an instrument setting forth that it has accepted this Agreement in accordance with its law and has taken all steps necessary to enable it to carry out all of its obligations under this Agreement.

(b) Each government shall become a member of the Bank as from the date of the deposit on its behalf of the instrument referred to in (a) above, except that no government shall become a member before this Agreement enters into force under Section 1 of this Article.

(c) The Government of the United States of America shall inform the governments of all countries whose names are set forth in Schedule A, and all governments whose membership is approved in accordance with Article II, Section 1(b), of all signatures of this Agreement and of the deposit of all instruments referred to in (a) above.

(d) At the time this Agreement is signed on its behalf, each government shall transmit to the Government of the United States of America one hundredth of one percent of the price of each share in gold or United States dollars for the purpose of meeting administrative expenses of the Bank. This payment shall be credited on account of the payment to be made in accordance with Article II, Section 8(a). The Government of the United States of America shall hold such funds in a special deposit account and shall transmit them to the Board of Governors of the Bank when the initial meeting has been called under Section 3 of this Article. If this Agreement has not come into force by December 31, 1945, the Government of the United States of America shall return such funds to the governments that transmitted them.

(e) This Agreement shall remain open for signature at Washington on behalf of the governments of the countries whose names are set forth in Schedule A until December 31, 1945.

(f) After December 31, 1945, this Agreement shall be open for signature on behalf of the government of any country whose membership has been approved in accordance with Article II, Section 1(b).

(g) By their signature of this Agreement, all governments accept it both on their own behalf and in respect of all their colonies, overseas territories, all territories under their protection, suzerainty, or authority and all territories in respect of which they exercise a mandate.

(h) In the case of governments whose metropolitan territories have been under enemy occupation, the deposit of the instrument referred to in (a) above may be delayed until one hundred and eighty days after the date on which these territories have been liberated. If, however, it is not deposited by any such government before the expiration of this period, the signature affixed on behalf of that government shall become void and the portion of its subscription paid under (d) above shall be returned to it.

(i) Paragraphs (d) and (h) shall come into force with regard to each signatory government as from the date of its signature.

Section 3. Inauguration of the Bank

(a) As soon as this Agreement enters into force under Section 1 of this Article, each member shall appoint a governor and the member to whom the largest number of shares is allocated in Schedule A shall call the first meeting of the Board of Governors.

(b) At the first meeting of the Board of Governors, arrangements shall be made for the selection of provisional executive directors. The governments of the five countries, to which the largest number of shares are allocated in Schedule A, shall appoint provisional executive directors. If one or more of such governments have not become members, the executive director-ships which they would be entitled to fill shall remain vacant until they become members, or until January 1, 1946, whichever is the earlier. Seven provisional executive Directors shall be elected in accordance with the provisions of Schedule B and shall remain in office until the date of the first regular election of executive directors which shall be held as soon as practicable after January 1, 1946.

(c) The Board of Governors may delegate to the provisional executive directors any powers except those which may not be delegated to the Executive directors.

(d) The Bank shall notify members when it is ready to commence operations.

DONE at Washington, in a single copy which shall remain deposited in the archives of the Government of the United States of America, which shall transmit certified copies to all governments whose names are set forth in Schedule A and to all governments whose membership is approved in accordance with Article II, Section 1(b).

Australia	200	Iran	24
Belgium	225	Iraq	6
Bolivia	7	Liberia	.5
Brazil	105	Luxembourg	10
Canada	325	Mexico	65
Chile	35	Netherlands	275
China	600	New Zealand	50
Colombia	35	Nicaragua	.8
Costa Rica	2	Norway	50
Cuba	35	Panama	.2
Czechoslovakia	125	Paraguay	.8
Denmark*		Peru	17.5
Dominican Republic	2	Philippine Commonwealth	15
Ecuador	3.2	Poland	125
Egypt	40	Union of South Africa	100
El Salvador	1	Union of Soviet Socialist Republic	1200
Ethiopia	3	United Kingdom	1300
France	450	United States	3175
Greece	25	Uruguay	10.5
Guatemala	2	Venezuela	10.5
Haiti	2	Yugoslavia	40
Honduras	1
Iceland	1
India	400	Total	9100

*The quota of Denmark shall be determined by the Bank after Denmark accepts membership in accordance with these Articles of Agreement.

1. The election of the elective executive directors shall be by ballot of the Governors eligible to vote under Article V, Section 4(b).

2. In balloting for the elective executive directors, each governor eligible to vote shall cast for one person all of the votes to which the member appointing him is entitled under Section 3 of Article V. The seven persons receiving the greatest number of votes shall be executive directors, except that no person who receives less than fourteen percent of the total of the votes which can be cast (eligible votes) shall be considered elected.

3. When seven persons are not elected on the first ballot, a second ballot shall be held in which the person who received the lowest number of votes shall be ineligible for election and in which there shall vote only (a) those governors who voted in the first ballot for a person not elected and (b) those governors whose votes for a person elected are deemed under 4 below to have raised the votes cast for that person above fifteen percent of the eligible votes.

4. In determining whether the votes cast by a governor are to be deemed to have raised the total of any person above fifteen percent of the eligible votes, the fifteen percent shall be deemed to include, first, the votes of the governor casting the largest number of votes for such person, then the votes of the governor casting the next largest number, and so on until fifteen percent is reached.

5. Any governor, part of whose votes must be counted in order to raise the total of any person above fourteen percent shall be considered as casting all of his votes for such person even if the total votes for such person thereby exceed fifteen percent.

6. If, after the second ballot, seven persons have not been elected, further ballots shall be held on the same principles until seven persons have been elected, provided that after six persons are elected, the seventh may be elected by a simple majority of the remaining votes and shall be deemed to have been elected by all such votes.

The International Finance Corporation (hereinafter called the Corporation) is established and shall operate in accordance with the following provisions –

The purpose of the Corporation is to further economic development by encouraging the growth of productive private enterprise in member countries, particularly in the less developed areas, thus supplementing the activities of the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (hereinafter called the Bank). In carrying out this purpose, the Corporation shall –

The Corporation shall be guided in all its decisions by the provisions of this Article.

Section 1. Membership

(a) The original members of the Corporation shall be those members of the Bank listed in Schedule A hereto which shall, on or before the date specified in Article IX, Section 2(c), accept membership in the Corporation.

(b) Membership shall be open to other members of the Bank at such times and in accordance with such terms as may be prescribed by the Corporation.

Section 2. Capital Stock

(a) The authorized capital stock of the Corporation shall be $100,000,000, in terms of United States dollars.

(b) The authorized capital stock shall be divided into 100,000 shares having a par value of one thousand United States dollars each. Any such shares not initially subscribed by original members shall be available for subsequent subscription in accordance with Section 3(d) of this Article.

(c) The amount of capital stock at any time authorized may be increased by the Board of Governors as follows –

(d) In case of an increase authorized pursuant to paragraph (c) (ii) above, each member shall have a reasonable opportunity to subscribe, under such conditions as the Corporation shall decide, to a proportion of the increase of stock equivalent to the proportion which its stock theretofore subscribed bears to the total capital stock of the Corporation, but no member shall be obligated to subscribe to any part of the increased capital.

(e) Issuance of shares of stock, other than those subscribed either on initial subscription or pursuant to paragraph (d) above, shall require a three-fourths majority of the total voting power.

(f) Shares of stock of the Corporation shall be available for subscription only by, and shall be issued only to, members.

Section 3. Subscriptions

(a) Each original member shall subscribe to the number of shares of stock set forth opposite its name in Schedule A. The number of shares of stock to be subscribed by other members shall be determined by the Corporation.

(b) Shares of stock initially subscribed by original members shall be issued at par.

(c) The initial subscription of each original member shall be payable in full within 30 days after either the date on which the Corporation shall begin operations pursuant to Article IX, Section 3(b), or the date on which -------------

*On September 3, 1963, the authorized capital stock was increased to $110,000,000, divided into 110,000 shares of $1,000 each. On November 2, 1977, the authorized capital stock was further increased to $650,000,000 divided into 650,000 shares of $1,000 each.

Such original member becomes a member, whichever shall be later, or at such date thereafter as the Corporation shall determine. Payment shall be made in gold or United States dollars in response to a call by the Corporation which shall specify the place or places of payment.

(d) The price and other terms of subscription of shares of stock to be subscribed, otherwise than on initial subscriptions by original members, shall be determined by the Corporation.

Section 4. Limitation on Liability

No member shall be liable, by reason of its membership, for obligations of the Corporation.

Section 5. Restriction on Transfers and Pledges of Shares

Shares of stock shall not be pledged or encumbered in any manner whatever, and shall be transferable only to the Corporation.

Section 1. Financing Operations

The Corporation may make investments of its funds in productive private enterprises in the territories of its members. The existence of a government or other public interest in such an enterprise shall not necessarily preclude the Corporation from making an investment therein.

Section 2. Forms of Financing*

Amended The Corporation may make investments of its funds in such form or forms as September it may deem appropriate in the circumstances.
21, 1961

Section 3. Operational Principles

The operations of the Corporation shall be conducted in accordance with the following principles:

*Original Text:
(a) The Corporation’s financing shall not take the form of investments in capital stock. Subject to the foregoing, the Corporation may make investments of its funds in such form or forms as it may deem appropriate in the circumstances, including (but without limitation) investments according to the holder thereof the right to participate in earnings and the right to subscribe to, or to convert the investment into, capital stock.

(b) The Corporation shall not itself exercise any right to subscribe to, or to convert any investment into, capital stock.

Section 4. Protection of Interests

Nothing in this Agreement shall prevent the Corporation, in the event of actual or threatened default of any of its investments, actual or threatened insolvency of the enterprise in which such investment shall have been made, or other situations which, in the opinion of the Corporation, threaten to jeopardize such investment, from taking such action and exercising such rights as it may deem necessary for the protection of its interests.

Section 5. Applicability of Certain Foreign Exchange Restrictions

Funds received by or payable to the Corporation in respect of an investment of the Corporation made in any member’s territories pursuant to Section 1 of this Article shall not be free, solely by reason of any provision of this Agreement, from generally applicable foreign exchange restrictions, regulations and controls in force in the territories of that member.

Section 6. Miscellaneous Operations

In addition to the operations specified elsewhere in this Agreement, the Corporation shall have the power to:

Section 7. Valuation of Currencies

Whenever it shall become necessary under this Agreement to value any currency in terms of the valued of another currency, such valuation shall be as reasonably determine by the Corporation after consultation with the International Monetary Fund.

Section 8. Warning to be placed on securities

Every security issued or guaranteed by the Corporation shall bear on its face a conspicuous statement to the effect that it is not an obligation of the Bank or, unless expressly stated on the security, of any government.

Section 9. Political Activity Prohibited

The Corporation and its officers shall not interfere in the political affairs of any member; nor shall they be influenced in their decisions by the political character of the member or members concerned. Only economic considerations shall be relevant to their decisions, and these considerations shall be weighed impartially in order to achieve the purposes stated in this Agreement.

*last clause added by amendments effective September 1, 1965

Section 1. Structure of the Corporation

The Corporation shall have a Board of Governors, a Board of Directors, a Chairman of the Board of Directors, a President and such other officers and staff to perform such duties as the Corporation may determine.

Section 2. Board of Governors

(a) All the powers of the Corporation shall be vested in the Board of Governors.

(b) Each Governor and Alternate Governor of the Bank appointed by a member of the Bank which is also a member of the Corporation shall ex officio be a Governor or Alternate Governor, respectively, of the Corporation. No Alternate Governor may vote except in the absence of his principal.

(c) The Board of Governors may delegate to the Board of Directors authority to exercise any of its powers, except the power to:

(d) The Board of Governors shall hold an annual meeting and such other meetings as may be provided for by the Board of Governors or called by the Board of Directors.

(e) The annual meeting of the Board of Governors shall be held in conjunction with the annual meeting of the Board of Governors of the Bank.

(f) A quorum for any meeting of the Board of Governors shall be a majority of the Governors, exercising not less than two-thirds of the total voting power.

(g) The Corporation may by regulation establish a procedure whereby the Board of Directors may obtain a vote of the Governors on a specific question without calling a meeting of the Board of Governors.

(h) The Board of Governors, and the Board of Directors to the extent authorized, may adopt such rules and regulations as may be necessary or appropriate to conduct the business of the Corporation.

(i) Governors and Alternate Governors shall serve as such without compensation from the Corporation.

Section 3. Voting

(a) Each member shall have two hundred fifty votes plus one additional vote for each share of stock held.

(b) Except as otherwise expressly provided, all matters before the Corporation shall be decided by a majority of the votes cast.

Section 4. Board of Directors

(a) The Board of Directors shall be responsible for the conduct of the general operations of the Corporation, and for this purpose shall exercise all the powers given to it by this Agreement or delegated to it by the Board of Governors.

(b) The Board of Directors of the Corporation shall be composed ex officio of each Executive Director of the Bank who shall have been either (i) appointed by a member of the Bank which is also a member of the Corporation, or (ii) elected in an election in which the votes of at least one member of the Bank which is also a member of the Corporation shall have counted toward his election. The Alternate to each such Executive Director of the Bank shall ex officio be an Alternate Director of the Corporation. Any Director shall cease to hold office if the member by which he was appointed, or if all the members whose votes counted toward his election, shall cease to be members of the Corporation.

(c) Each Director who is an appointed Executive Director of the Bank shall be entitled to cast the number of votes which the member by which he was so appointed is entitled to cast in the Corporation. Each Director who is an elected Executive Director of the Bank shall be entitled to cast the number of votes which the member or members of the Corporation whose votes counted toward his election in the Bank are entitled to cast in the Corporation. All the votes which a Director is entitled to cast shall be cast as a unit.

(d) An Alternate Director shall have full power to act in the absence of the Director who shall have appointed him. When a Director is present, his Alternate may participate in meetings but shall not vote.

(e) A quorum for any meeting of the Board of Directors shall be a majority of the Directors exercising not less than one-half of the total voting power.

(f) The Board of Directors shall meet as often as the business of the Corporation may require.

(g) The Board of Governors shall adopt regulations under which a member of the Corporation not entitled to appoint an Executive Director of the Bank may send a representative to attend any meeting of the Board of Directors of the Corporation when a request made by, or a matter particularly affecting, that member is under consideration.

Section 5. Chairman, President and Staff

(a) The President of the Bank shall be ex officio Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Corporation, but shall have no vote except a deciding vote in case of an equal division.

(b) The President of the Corporation shall be appointed by the Board of Directors on the recommendation of the Chairman. The President shall be chief of the operating staff of the Corporation. Under the direction of the Board of Directors and the general supervision of the Chairman, he shall conduct the ordinary business of the Corporation and under their general control shall be responsible for the organization, appointment and dismissal of the officers and staff. The President may participate in meetings of the Board of Directors but shall not vote at such meetings. The President shall cease to hold office by decision of the Board of Directors in which the Chairman concurs.

(c) The President, officers and staff of the Corporation, in the discharge of their offices, owe their duty entirely to the Corporation and to no other authority. Each member of the Corporation shall respect the international character of this duty and shall refrain from all attempts to influence any of them in the discharge of their duties.

(d) Subject to the paramount importance of securing the highest standards of efficiency and of technical competence, due regard shall be paid, in appointing the officers and staff of the Corporation, to the importance of recruiting personnel on as wide a geographical basis as possible.

Section 6. Relationship to the Bank (Amended by September 1, 1965)

(a) The Corporation shall be an entity separate and distinct from the Bank and the funds of the Corporation shall be kept separate and apart from those of the Bank.* The provisions of this Section shall not prevent the Corporation from making arrangements with the Bank regarding facilities, personnel and services and arrangements for reimbursement of administrative expenses paid in the first instance by either organization on behalf of the other.

(*Original Text included the following –
"The Corporation shall not lend to or borrow from the Bank".

(b) Nothing in this Agreement shall make the Corporation liable for the acts or obligations of the Bank, or the Bank liable for the acts or obligations of the Corporation.

Section 7. Relations with other International Organizations

The Corporation, acting through the Bank, shall enter into formal arrangements with the United Nations and may enter into such arrangements with other public international organizations having specialized responsibilities in related fields.

Section 8. Location of offices

The principal office of the Corporation shall be in the same locality as the principal office of the Bank. The Corporation may establish other offices in the territories of any member.

Section 9. Depositories

Each member shall designate its central bank as a depository in which the Corporation may keep holdings of such member’s currency or other assets of the Corporation or, if it has no central bank, it shall designate for such purpose such other institution as may be acceptable to the Corporation.

Section 10. Channel of Communication

Each member shall designate an appropriate authority with which the Corporation may communicate in connection with any matter arising under this Agreement.

Section 11. Publication of Reports and Provision of Information

(a) The Corporation shall publish an annual report containing an audited statement of its accounts and shall circulate to members at appropriate intervals a summary statement of its financial position and a profit and less statement showing the results of its operations.

(b) The Corporation may publish such other reports as it deems desirable to carry out its purposes.

(c) Copies of all reports, statements and publications made under this Section shall be distributed to members.

Section 12. Dividends

(a) The Board of Governors may determine from time to time what part of the Corporation’s net income and surplus, after making appropriate provision for reserves, shall be distributed as dividends.

(b) Dividends shall be distributed pro rata in proportion to capital stock held by members.

(c) Dividends shall be paid in such manner and in such currency or currencies as the Corporation shall determine.

Section 1. Withdrawal by Members

Any member may withdraw from membership in the Corporation at any time by transmitting a notice in writing to the Corporation at its principal office. Withdrawal shall become effective upon the date such notice is received.

Section 2. Suspension of Membership

(a) If a member fails to fulfil any of its obligations to the Corporation, the Corporation may suspend its membership by decision of a majority of the Governors, exercising a majority of the total voting power. The member so suspend shall automatically cease to be a member one year from the date of its suspension unless a decision is taken by the same majority to restore the member to good standing.

(b) While under suspension, a member shall not be entitled to exercise any rights under this Agreement except the right of withdrawal, but shall remain subject to all obligations.

Section 3. Suspension or Cessation of Membership in the Bank

Any member which is suspended from membership in, or ceases to be a member of, the Bank
shall automatically be suspend from membership in, or cease to be a member of, the Corporation, as the case may be.

Section 4. Rights and Duties of Governments Ceasing to be Members

(a) When a government ceases to be a member it shall remain liable for all amounts due from it to the Corporation. The Corporation shall arrange for the repurchase of such government’s capital stock as a part of the settlement of accounts with it in accordance with the provisions of this Section, but the government shall have no other rights under this Agreement except as provided in this Section and in Article VIII(c).

(b) The Corporation and the government may agree on the repurchase of the capital stock of the government on such terms as may be appropriate under the circumstances, without regard to the provisions of paragraph (c) below. Such agreement may provide, among other things, for a final settlement of all obligations of the government to the Corporation.

(c) If such agreement shall not have been made within six months after the government ceases to be a member or such other time as the Corporation and such government may agree, the repurchase price of the government’s capital stock shall be the value thereof shown by the books of the Corporation on the day when the government ceases to be a member. The repurchase of the capital stock shall be subject to the following conditions –

(d) In no event shall any amount due to a government for its capital stock under this Section be paid until six months after the date upon which the government ceases to be a member. It within six months of the date upon which any government ceases to be a member the Corporation suspends operations under Section 5 of this Article, all rights of such government shall be determined by the provisions of such Section 5 and such government shall be considered still a member of the Corporation for purposes of such Section 5, except that it shall have no voting rights.

Section 5. Suspension of Operations and Settlement of Obligations

(a) The Corporation may permanently suspend its operations by vote of a majority of the Governors exercising a majority of the total voting power. After such suspension of operations the Corporation shall forthwith cease all activities, except those incident to the orderly realization, conservation and preservation of its assets and settlement of its obligations. Until final settlement of such obligations and distribution of such assets, the Corporation shall remain in existence and all mutual rights and obligations of the Corporation and its members under this Agreement shall continue unimpaired, except that no member shall be suspended or withdraw and that no distribution shall be made to members except as in this Section provided.

(b) No distribution shall be made to members on account of their subscriptions to the capital stock of the Corporation until all liabilities to creditors shall have been discharged or provided for and until the Board of Governors, by vote of a majority of the Governors exercising a majority of the total voting power, shall have decided to make such distribution.

(c) Subject to the foregoing, the Corporation shall distribute the assets of the Corporation to members pro rata in proportion to capital stock held by them, subject, in the case of any member, to prior settlement of all outstanding claims by the Corporation against such member. Such distribution shall be made at such times, in such currencies, and in cash or other assets as the Corporation shall deem fair and equitable. The shares distributed to the several members need not necessarily be uniform in respect of the type of assets distributed or of the currencies in which they are expressed.

(d) Any member receiving assets distributed by the Corporation pursuant to this Section shall enjoy the same rights with respect to such assets as the Corporation enjoyed prior to their distribution.

Section 1. Purposes of Articles

To enable the Corporation to fulfil the functions with which it is entrusted, the status, immunities and privileges set forth in this Article shall be accorded to the Corporation in the territories of each member.

Section 2. Status of the Corporation

The Corporation shall possess full juridical personality and, in particular, the capacity –

(i) to contract;

(ii) to acquire and dispose of immovable and movable property;

(iii) to institute legal proceedings.

Section 3. Position of the Corporation with regard to Judicial Process

Actions may be brought against the Corporation only in a court of competent jurisdiction in the territories of a member in which the Corporation has an office, has appointed an agent for the purpose of accepting service or notice of process, or has issued or guaranteed securities. No actions shall, however, be brought by members or persons acting for or deriving claims from members. The property and assets of the Corporation shall, wheresoever located and by whomsoever held, be immune from all forms of seizure, attachment or execution before the delivery of final judgment against the Corporation.

Section 4. Immunity of Assets from Seizure

Property and assets of the Corporation, wherever located and by whomsoever held, shall be immune from search, requisition, confiscation, expropriation or any other form of seizure by executive or legislative action.

Section 5. Immunity of Archives

The archives of the Corporation shall be inviolable.

Section 6. Freedom of Assets from Restrictions

To the extend necessary to carry out the operations provided for in this Agreement and subject to the provisions of Article III, Section 5, and the other provisions of this Agreement, all property and assets of the Corporation shall be free from restrictions, regulations, controls and moratoria of any nature.

Section 7. Privilege for Communications

The official communications of the Corporation shall be accorded by each member the same treatment that it accords to the official communications of other members.

Section 8. Immunities and Privileges of Officers and Employees

All Governors, Directors, Alternates, officers and employees of the Corporation –

Section 9. Immunities from Taxation

(a) The Corporation, its assets, property, income and its operations and transactions authorized by this Agreement, shall be immune from all taxation and from all customs duties. The Corporation shall also be immune from liability for the collection or payment of any tax or duty.

(b) No tax shall be levied on or in respect of salaries and emoluments paid by the Corporation to Directors, Alternates, officials or employees of the Corporation who are not local citizens, local subjects, or other local nationals.

(c) No taxation of any kind shall be levied on any obligation or security issued by the Corporation (including any dividend or interest thereon) by whosoever held –

(d) No taxation of any kind shall be levied on any obligation or security guaranteed by the Corporation (including any dividend or interest thereon) by whomsoever held –

Section 10. Application of Article

Each member shall take such action as is necessary in its own territories for the purpose of making effective in terms of its own law the principles set forth in this Article and shall inform the Corporation of the detailed action which it has taken.

Section 11. Waiver

The Corporation in its discretion may waive any of the privileges and immunities conferred under this Article to such extent and upon such conditions as it may determine.

(a) This Agreement may be amended by vote of three-fifths of the Governors exercising four-fifths of the total voting power.

(b) Notwithstanding paragraph (a) above, the affirmative vote of all Governors is required in the case of any amendment modifying –

(i) the right to withdraw from the Corporation provided in Article V, Section 1;

(ii) the pre-emptive right secured by Article II, Section 2 (d);

(iii) the limitation on liability provided in Article II, Section 4.

(c) Any proposal to amend this Agreement, whether emanating from a member, a Governor or the Board of Directors, shall be communicated to the Chairman of the Board of Governors who shall bring the proposal before the Board of Governors. When an amendment has been duly adopted, the Corporation shall so certify by formal communication addressed to all members. Amendments shall enter into force for all members three months after the date of the formal communication unless the Board of Governors shall specify a shorter period.

(a) Any question of interpretation of the provisions of this Agreement arising between any member and the Corporation or between any members of the Corporation shall be submitted to the Board of Directors for its decision. If the question particularly affects any member of the Corporation not entitled to appoint an Executive Director of the Bank, it shall be entitled to representation in accordance with Article IV, Section 4(g).

(b) In any case where the Board of Directors has given a decision under (a) above, any member may require that the question be referred to the Board of Governors, whose decision shall be final. Pending the result of the reference to the Board of Governors, the Corporation may, so far as it deems necessary, act on the basis of the decision of the Board of Directors.

(c) Whenever a disagreement arises between the Corporation and a country which has ceased to be a member, or between the Corporation and any member during the permanent suspension of the Corporation, such disagreement shall be submitted to arbitration by a tribunal of three arbitrators, one appointed by the Corporation, another by the country involved and an umpire who, unless the parties otherwise agree, shall be appointed by the President of the International Court of Justice or such other authority as may have been prescribed by regulation adopted by the Corporation. The umpire shall have full power to settle all questions of procedure in any case where the parties are in disagreement with respect thereto.

Section 1. Entry into Force

This Agreement shall enter into force when it has been signed on behalf of not less than 30 governments whose subscriptions comprise not less than 75 percent of the total subscriptions set forth in Schedule A and when the instruments referred to in Section 2(a) of this Article have been deposited on their behalf, but in no event shall this Agreement enter into force before October 1, 1955.

Section 2. Signature

(a) Each government on whose behalf this Agreement is signed shall deposit with the Bank an instrument setting forth that it has accepted this Agreement without reservation in accordance with its law and has taken all steps necessary to enable it to carry out all of its obligations under this Agreement.

(b) Each government shall become a member of the Corporation as from the date of the deposit on its behalf of the instrument referred to in paragraph (a) above except that no government shall become a member before this Agreement enters into force under Section 1 of this Article.

(c) This Agreement shall remain open for signature until the close of business on December 31, 1956, at the principal office of the Bank on behalf of the governments of the countries whose names are set forth in Schedule A.

(d) After this Agreement shall have entered into force, it shall be open for signature on behalf of the government of any country whose membership has been approved pursuant to Article II, Section 1(b).

Section 3. Inauguration of the Corporation

(a) As soon as this Agreement enters into force under Section 1 of this Article the Chairman of the Board of Directors shall call a meeting of the Board of Directors.

(b) The Corporation shall begin operations on the date when such meeting is held.

(c) Pending the first meeting of the Board of Governors, the Board of Directors may exercise all the powers of the Board of Governors except those reserved to the Board of Governors under this Agreement.

DONE at Washington, in a single copy which shall remain deposited in the archives of the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development, which has indicated by its signature below its agreement to act as depository of this Agreement and to notify all governments whose names are set forth in Schedule A of the date when this Agreement shall enter into force under Article IX, Section 1 hereof.

Country	Number of Shares	Amount (In US Dollars)	Country	Number of Shares	Amount (In US Dollars)
Australia	2,215	2,215,000	Iran	372	372,000
Austria	554	554,000	Iraq	67	67,000
Belgium	2,492	2,492,000	Israel	50	50,000
Bolivia	78	78,000	Italy	1,994	1,994,000
Brazil	1,163	1,163,000	Japan	2,769	2,769,000
Burma	166	166,000	Jordan	33	33,000
Canada	3,600	3,600,000	Lebanon	50	50,000
Ceylon	166	166,000	Luxembourg	111	111,000
Chile	388	388,000	Mexico	720	720,000
China	6,646	6,646,000	Netherlands	3,046	3,046,000
Colombia	388	388,000	Nicaragua	9	9,000
Costa Rica	22	22,000	Norway	554	554,000
Cuba	388	388,000	Pakistan	1,108	1,108,000
Denmark	753	753,000	Panama	2	2,000
Dominican Republic	22	22,000	Norway	554	554,000
Ecuador	35	35,000	Peru	194	194,000
Egypt	590	590,000	Philippines	166	166,000
Salvador	11	11,000	Sweden	1,108	1,108,000
Ethiopia	33	33,000	Syria	72	72,000
Finland	421	421,000	Thailand	139	139,000
France	5,815	5,815,000	Turkey	476	476,000
Germany	3,655	3,655,000	Union of S. Africa	1,108	1,108,000
Greece	277	277,000	United Kingdom	14,400	14,400,000
Guatemala	22	22,000	United States	35,168	35,168,000
Honduras	11	11,000	Venezuela	116	116,000
Haiti	22	22,000	Uruguay	116	116,000
Ireland	11	11,000	Yugoslavia	443	443,000
India	4,431	4,431,000	Indonesia	1,218	1,218,000
TOTAL - No. of Shares = 100,000 Amount in US$ = $100,000,000

FOURTH SCHEDULE
ARTICLES OF AGREEMENT OF THE INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT ASSOCIATION

The Governments on whose behalf this Agreement is signed.

Considering –

That mutual cooperation for constructive economic purposes, healthy development of the world economy and balanced growth of international trade foster international relationships conducive to the maintenance of peace and world prosperity;

That an acceleration of economic development which will promote higher standards of living and economic and social progress in the less-developed countries is desirable not only in the interests of those countries but also in the interests of the international community as a whole;

That achievement of these objectives would be facilitated by an increase in the international flow of capital, public and private, to assist in the development of the resources of the less-developed countries, do hereby agree as follows:

The INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT ASSOCIATION (hereinafter called "the Association") is established and shall operate in accordance with the following provisions:

The purposes of the Association are to promote economic development, increase productivity and thus raise standards of living in the less-developed areas of the world included within the Association’s membership, in particular by providing finance to meet their important developmental requirements on terms which are more flexible and bear less heavily on the balance of payments than those of conventional loans, thereby furthering the developmental objectives of the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (hereinafter called "the Bank") and supplementing its activities.

The Association shall be guided in all its decisions by the provisions of this Article.

Section 1. Membership

(a) The original members of the Association shall be those members of the Bank listed in
Schedule A hereto which, on or before the date specified in Article XI, Section 2(c), accept membership in the Association.

(b) Membership shall be open to other members of the Bank at such times and in accordance with such terms as the Association may determine.

Section 2. Initial Subscriptions

(a) Upon accepting membership, each member shall subscribe funds in the amount assigned to it. Such subscriptions are herein referred to as initial subscriptions.

(b) The initial subscription assigned to each original member shall be in the amount set forth opposite its name in Schedule A, expressed in terms of United States dollars of the weight and fineness in effect on January 1, 1960.

(c) Ten percent of the initial subscription of each original member shall be payable in gold or freely convertible currency as follows: fifty percent within thirty days after the date in which the Association shall begin operations pursuant to Article XI, Section 4, or on the date on which the original member becomes a member, whichever shall be later; twelve and one-half percent one year after the beginning of operations of the Association; and twelve and one-half percent each year thereafter at annual intervals until the ten percent portion of the initial subscription shall have been paid in full.

(d) The remaining ninety percent of the initial subscription of each original member shall be payable in gold or freely convertible currency in the case of members listed in Part I of Schedule A, and in the currency of the subscribing member in the case of members listed in Part II of Schedule A. This ninety percent portion of initial subscriptions of original members shall be payable in five equal annual instalments as follows: the first such instalment within thirty days after the date on which the Association shall begin operations pursuant to Article XI, Section 4, or on the date on which the original member becomes a member, whichever shall be later; the second instalment one year after the beginning of operations of the Association, and succeeding instalments each year thereafter at annual intervals until the ninety percent portion of the initial subscription shall have been paid in full.

(e) The Association shall accept from any member, in place of any part of the member’s currency paid in or payable by the member under the preceding subsection (d) or under Section 2 of Article IV and not needed by the Association in its operations, notes or similar obligations issued by the government of the member or the depository designated by such member, which shall be non-negotiable, non-interest-bearing and payable at their par value on demand to the account of the Association in the designated depository.

(f) For the purposes of this Agreement the Association shall regard as "freely convertible currency" –

(g) Except as the Association may otherwise agree, each member listed in Part I of Schedule A shall maintain, in respect of its currency paid in by it as freely convertible currency pursuant to subscription (d) of this Section, the same convertibility as existed at the time of payment.

(h) The condition which the initial subscriptions of members other than original members may be made, and the amounts and the terms of payment thereof, shall be determined by the Association pursuant to Section 1(b) of this Article.

Section 3. Limitation on Liability

No member shall be liable, by reason of its membership, for obligations of the Association.

Section 1. Additional Subscriptions

(a) The Association shall at such time as it deems appropriate in the light of the schedule for completion of payments on initial subscriptions of original members, and at intervals of approximately five years thereafter, review the adequacy of its resources and, if it deems desirable, shall authorize a general increase in subscriptions. Notwithstanding the foregoing, general or individual increases in subscriptions may be authorized at any time, provided that an individual increase shall be considered only at the request of the member involved. Subscriptions pursuant to this Section are herein referred to as additional subscriptions.

(b) Subject to the provisions of paragraph (c) below, when additional subscriptions are authorized, the amounts authorized for subscription and the terms and conditions relating thereto shall be as determined by the Association.

(c) When any additional subscription is authorized, each member shall be given an opportunity to subscribe, under such conditions as shall be reasonably determined by the Association, an amount which will enable it to maintain its relative voting power, but no member shall be obligated to subscribe.

(d) All decisions under this Section shall be made by a two-thirds majority of the total voting power.

Section 2. Supplementary Resources Provided by a Member in the Currency of Another Member

(a) The Association may enter into arrangements, on such terms and conditions consistent with the provisions of this Agreement as may be agreed upon, to receive from any member, in addition to the amounts payable by such member on account of its initial or any additional subscription, supplementary resources in the currency of another member, provided that the Association shall not enter into any such arrangement unless the Association is satisfied that the member whose currency is involved agrees to the use of such currency as supplementary resources and to the terms and conditions governing such use. The arrangements under which any such resources are received may include provisions regarding the disposition of earnings on the resources and regarding the disposition of the resources in the event that the member providing them ceases to be a member or the Association permanently suspends its operations.

(b) The Association shall deliver to the contributing member a Special Development Certificate setting forth the amount and currency of the resources so contributed and the terms and conditions of the arrangement relating to such resources. A Special Development Certificate shall not carry any voting rights and shall be transferable only to the Association.

(c) Nothing in this Section shall preclude the Association from accepting resources from a member in its own currency on such terms as may be agreed upon.

Section 1. Use of Currencies

(a) Currency of any member listed in Part II of Schedule A, whether or not freely convertible, received by the Association pursuant to Article II, Section 2(d), in payment of the ninety percent portion payable thereunder in the currency of such member, and currency of such member derived therefrom as principal, interest or other charges, may be used by the Association for administrative expenses incurred by the Association in the territories of such member and, insofar as consistent with sound monetary policies, in payment for goods and services produced in the territories of such member and required for projects financed by the Association and located in such territories; and in addition when and to the extent justified by the economic and financial situation of the member concerned as determined by agreement between the member and the Association, such currency shall be freely convertible or otherwise useable for projects financed by the Association and located outside the territories of the member.

(b) The usability of currencies received by the Association in payment of subscriptions other than initial subscriptions of original members, and currencies derived therefrom as principal, interest or other charges, shall be governed by the terms and conditions on which such subscriptions are authorized.

(c) The usability of currencies received by the Association as supplementary resources other than subscriptions, and currencies derived therefrom as principal, interest or other charges, shall be governed by the terms of the arrangements pursuant to which such currencies are received.

(d) All other currencies received by the Association may be freely used and exchanged by the Association and shall not be subject to any restriction by the member whose currency is used or exchanged; provided that the foregoing shall not preclude the Association from entering into any arrangements with the member in whose territories any project financed by the Association is located restricting the use by the Association of such member’s currency received as principal, interest or other charges in connection with such financing.

(e) The Association shall take appropriate steps to ensure that, over reasonable intervals of time, the portions of the subscriptions paid under Article II, Section 2(d) by members listed in Part I of Schedule A shall be used by the Association on an approximately pro rata basis, provided, however, that such portions of such subscriptions as are paid in gold or in a currency other than that of the subscribing member may be used more rapidly.

Section 2. Maintenance of Value of Currency Holdings

(a) Whenever the par value of a member’s currency is reduced or the foreign exchange value of a member’s currency has, in the opinion of the Association, depreciated to a significant extent within that member’s territories, the member shall pay to the Association within a reasonable time an additional amount of its own currency sufficient to maintain the value, as of the time of subscription, of the amount of the currency of such member paid in to the Association by the member under Article II, Section 2(d), and currency furnished under the provisions of the present paragraph, whether or not such currency is held in the form of notes accepted pursuant to Article II, Section 2(e), provided, however, that the foregoing shall apply only so long as and to the extent that such currency shall not have been initially disbursed or exchanged for the currency of another member.

(b) Whenever the par value of a member’s currency is increased, or the foreign exchange value of a member’s currency has, in the opinion of the Association, appreciated to a significant extent within that member’s territories, the Association shall return to such member within a reasonable time an amount of that member’s currency equal to the increase in the value of the amount of such currency to which the provisions of paragraph (a) of this Section are applicable.

(c) The provisions of the preceding paragraphs may be waived by the Association when a uniform proportionate change in the par value of the currencies of all its members is made by the International Monetary Fund.

(d) Amounts furnished under the provisions of paragraph (a) of this Section to maintain the value of any currency shall be convertible and usable to the same extent as such currency.

Section 1. Use of Resources and Conditions of Financing

(a) The Association shall provide financing to further development in the less-developed areas of the world included within the Association’s membership.

(b) Financing provided by the Association shall be for purposes which in the opinion of the Association are of high developmental priority in the light of the needs of the area or areas concerned and, except in special circumstances, shall be for specific projects.

(c) The Association shall not provide financing if in its opinion such financing is available from private sources on terms which are reasonable for the recipient or could be provided by a loan of the type made by the Bank.

(d) The Association shall not provide financing except upon the recommendation of a competent committee, made after a careful study of the merits of the proposal. Each such committee shall be appointed by the Association and shall include a nominee of the Governor or Governors representing the member or members in whose territories the project under consideration is located and one or more members of the technical staff of Association. The requirement that the committee include the nominee of a Governor or Governors shall not apply in the case of financing provided to a public international or regional organization.

(e) The Association shall not provide financing for any project if the member in whose territories the project is located objects to such financing, except that it shall not be necessary for the Association to assure itself that individual members do not object in the case of financing provided to a public international or regional organization.

(f) The Association shall impose no conditions that the proceeds of its financing shall be spent in the territories of any particular member or members. The foregoing shall not preclude the Association from complying with any restrictions on the use of funds imposed in accordance with the provisions of these Articles, including restrictions attached to supplementary resources pursuant to agreement between the Association and the contributor.

(g) The Association shall make arrangements to ensure that the proceeds of any financing are used only for the purpose for which the financing was provided, with due attention to considerations of the economy, efficiency and competitive international trade and without regard to political or other non-economic influences or considerations.

(h) Funds to be provided under any financing operation shall be made available to the recipient only to meet expenses in connection with the project as they are actually incurred.

Section 2. Form and Terms of Financing

(a) Financing by the Association shall take the form of loans. The Association may, however, provide other financing, either –

(b) Subject to the foregoing paragraph, the Association may provide financing in such forms and on such terms as it may deem appropriate, having regard to the economic position and prospects of the area or areas concerned and to the nature and requirements of the project.

(c) The Association may provide financing to a member, the government of a territory included within the Association’s membership, a political subdivision of any of the foregoing, a public or private entity in the territories of a member or members, or a public international of regional organization.

(d) In the case of a loan to an entity other than a member, the Association may, in its discretion, require a suitable governmental or other guarantee or guarantees.

(e) The Association, in special cases, may make foreign exchange available for local expenditures.

Section 3. Modifications of Terms of Financing

The Association may, when and to the extent it deems appropriate in the light of all relevant circumstances, including the financial and economic situation and prospects of the member concerned, and on such conditions as it may determine, agree to a relaxation or other modification of the terms on which any of its financing shall have been provided.

Section 4. Cooperation with Other International Organizations and Members providing development assistance

The Association shall cooperate with those public international organizations and members which provide financial and technical assistance to the less-developed areas of the world.

Section 5. Miscellaneous Operations

In addition to the operations specified elsewhere in this Agreement, the Association may –

Section 6. Political Activity Prohibited

The Association and its officers shall not interfere in the political affairs of any member; nor shall they be influenced in their decisions by the political character of the members concerned. Only economic considerations shall be relevant to their decisions, and these considerations shall be weighed impartially in order to achieve the purposes stated in this Agreement.

Section 1. Structure of the Association

The Association shall have a Board of Governors, Executive Directors, a President and such other officers and staff to perform such duties as the Association may determine.

Section 2. Board of Governors

(a) All the powers of the Association shall be vested in the Board of Governors.

(b) Each Governor and Alternate Governor of the Bank appointed by a member of the Bank which is also a member of the Association shall ex officio be a Governor and Alternate Governor, respectively, of the Association. No Alternate Governor may vote except in the absence of his principal. The Chairman of the Board of Governors of the Bank shall ex officio be Chairman of the Board of Governors of the Association except that if the Chairman of the Board of Governors of the Bank shall represent a state which is not a member of the Association, then the Board of Governors shall select one of the Governors as Chairman of the Board of Governors. Any Governor or Alternate Governor shall cease to hold office if the member by which he was appointed shall cease to be a member of the Association.

(c) The Board of Governors may delegate to the Executive Directors authority to exercise any of its powers, except the power to –

(d) The Board of Governors shall hold an annual meeting and such other meetings as may be provided for by the Board of Governors or called by the Executive Directors.

(e) The annual meeting of the Board of Governors shall be held in conjunction with the annual meeting of the Board of Governors of the Bank.
(f) A quorum for any meeting of the Board of Governors shall be a majority of the Governors, exercising not less than two-thirds of the total voting power.

(g) The Association may be regulation establish a procedure hereby the Executive Directors may obtain a vote of the Governors on a specific question without calling a meeting of the Board of Governors.

(h) The Board of Governors, and the Executive Directors to the extent authorized, may adopt such rules and regulations as may be necessary or appropriate to conduct the business of the Association.

(i) Governors and Alternate Governors shall serve as such without compensation from the Association.

Section 3. Voting

(a) Each original member shall, in respect of its initial subscription, have 500 votes plus one additional vote for each $5,000 of its initial subscription. Subscriptions other than initial subscriptions of original members shall carry such voting rights as the Board of Governors shall determine pursuant to the provisions of Article II, Section 1(b) or Article III, Section 1(b) and (c), as the case may be. Additions to resources other than subscriptions under Article II, Section 1(b) and additional subscriptions under Article III, Section 1, shall not carry voting rights.

(b) Except as otherwise specifically provided, all matters before the Association shall be decided by a majority of the votes cast.

Section 4. Executive Directors

(a) The Executive Directors shall be responsible for the conduct of the general operations of the Association, and for this purpose shall exercise all the powers given to them by this Agreement or delegated to them by the Board of Governors.

(b) The Executive Directors of the Association shall be composed ex officio of each Executive Director of the Bank who shall have been (i) appointed by a member of the Bank which is also a member of the Association, or (ii) elected in an election in which the votes of at least one member of the Bank which is also a member of the Association shall have counted toward his election. The Alternate to each such Executive Director of the Bank shall ex officio be an Alternate Director of the Association. Any Director shall cease to hold office if the member by which he was appointed, or if all the members whose votes counted toward his election, shall cease to be members of the Association.

(c) Each Director who is an appointed Executive Director of the Bank shall be entitled to cast the number of votes which the member by which he was appointed is entitled to cast in the Association. Each Director who is an elected Executive Director of the Bank shall be entitled to cast the number of votes which the member or members of the Association whose votes counted toward his election in the Bank are entitled to cast in the Association. All the votes which a Director is entitled to cast shall be cast as a unit.

(d) An Alternate Director shall have full power to act in the absence of the Director who shall have appointed him. When a Director is present, his Alternate may participate in meetings but shall not vote.

(e) A quorum for any meeting of the Executive Directors shall be a majority of the Directors exercising not less than one-half of the total voting power.

(f) The Executive Directors shall meet as often as the business of the Association may require.

(g) The Board of Governors shall adopt regulations under which a member of the Association not entitled to appoint an Executive Director of the Bank may send a representative to attend any meeting of the Executive Directors of the Association when a request made by, or a matter particularly affecting, that member is under consideration.

Section 5. President and Staff

(a) The President of the Bank shall be ex officio President of the Association. The President shall be Chairman of the Executive Directors of the Association but shall have no vote except a deciding vote in case of an equal division. He may participate in meetings of the Board of Governors but shall not vote at such meetings.

(b) The President shall be chief of the operating staff of the Association. Under the direction of the Executive Directors he shall conduct the ordinary business of the Association and under their general control shall be responsible for the organization, appointment and dismissal of the officers and staff. To the extent practicable, officers and staff of the Bank shall be appointed to serve concurrently as officers and staff of the Association.

(c) The President, officers and staff of the Association, in the discharge of their offices, owe their duty entirely to the Association and to no other authority. Each member of the Association shall respect the international character of this duty and shall refrain from all attempts to influence any of them in the discharge of their duties.

(d) In appointing officers and staff the President shall, subject to the paramount importance of securing the highest standards of efficiency and of technical competence, pay due regard to the importance of recruiting personnel on as wide a geographical basis as possible.

Section 6. Relationship to the Bank

(a) The Association shall be an entity separate and distinct from the Bank and the funds of the Association shall be kept separate and apart from those of the Bank. The Association shall not borrow from or lend to the Bank, except that this shall not preclude the Association from investing funds not needed in its financing operations in obligations of the Bank.

(b) The Association may make arrangements with the Bank regarding facilities, personnel and services and arrangements for reimbursement of administrative expenses paid in the first instance by either organization on behalf of the other.

(c) Nothing in this Agreement shall make the Association liable for the acts or obligations of the Bank, or the Bank liable for the acts or obligations of the Association.

Section 7. Relations with other International Organization

The Association shall enter into formal arrangements with the United Nations and may enter into such arrangements with other public international organizations having specialized responsibilities in related fields.

Section 8. Location of Offices

The principal office of the Association shall be the principal office of the Bank. The Association may establish other offices in the territories of any member.

Section 9. Depositories

Each member shall designate its central bank as a depository in which the Association may keep holdings of such member’s currency or other assets of the Association, or, if it has no central bank, it shall designate for such purpose such other institution as may be acceptable to the Association. In the absence of any different designation, the depository designated for the Bank shall be the depository for the Association.

Section 10. Channel of Communication

Each member shall designate an appropriate authority with which the Association may communicate in connection with any matter arising under this Agreement. In the absence of any difference designation, the channel of communication designated for the Bank shall be the channel for the Association.

Section 11. Publication of Reports and Provision of Information

Section 12. Disposition of Net Income

The Board of Governors shall determine from time to time the disposition of the Association’s net income, having due regard to provision for reserves and contingencies.

Section 1. Withdrawal by Members

Any member may withdraw from membership in the Association at any time by transmitting a notice in writing to the Association at its principal office. Withdrawal shall become effective upon the date such notice is received.

Section 2. Suspension of Membership

(a) If a member fails to fulfil any of its obligations to the Association, the Association may suspend its membership by decision of a majority of the Governors, exercising a majority of the total voting power. The members so suspended shall automatically cease to be a member one year from the date of its suspension unless a decision is taken by the same majority to restore the member to good standing.

(b) While under suspension, a member shall not be entitled to exercise any rights under this Agreement except the right of withdrawal, but shall remain subject to all obligations.

Section 3. Suspension or Cessation of Membership in the Bank

Any member which is suspended from membership in, or ceases to be a member of, the Bank shall automatically be suspended from membership in, or cease to be a member of the Association, as the case may be.

Section 4. Rights and duties of Governments ceasing to be members

(a) When a government ceases to be a member, it shall have no rights under this Agreement except as provided in this Section and in Article X (c), but it shall, except as in this Section otherwise provided, remain liable for all financial obligations undertaken by it to the Association, whether as a member, borrower, guarantor or otherwise.

(b) When a government ceases to be a member, the Association and the government shall proceed to a settlement of accounts. As part of such settlement of accounts, the Association and the government may agree on the amounts to be paid to the government on account of its subscription and on the time and currencies of payment. The term "subscription" when used in relation to any member government shall for the purposes of this Article be deemed to include both the initial subscription and any additional subscription of such member government.

(c) If no such agreement is reached within six months from the date when the government ceased to be a member, or such other time as may be agreed upon by the Association and the government, the following provisions shall apply –

(d) In no event shall any amount due to a government under this Section be paid until six months after the date upon which the government ceases to be a member. If within six months of the date upon which any government ceases to be a member the Association suspends operations under Section 5 of this Article, all rights of such government shall be determined by the provisions of such Section 5 and such government shall be considered a member of the Association for purposes of such Section 5, except that it shall have no voting rights.

Section 5. Suspension of operations and settlement of obligations

(a) The Association may permanently suspend its operations by vote of a majority of the Governors exercising a majority of the total voting power. After such suspension of operations the Association shall forthwith cease all activities, except those incident to the orderly realization, conservation and preservation of its assets and settlement of its obligations. Until final settlement of such obligations and distribution of such assets, the Association shall remain in existence and all mutual rights and obligations of the Association and its members under this Agreement shall continue unimpaired, except that no member shall be suspended or shall withdraw and that no distribution shall be made to members except as in this Section provided.

(b) No distribution shall be made to members on account of their subscriptions until all liabilities to creditors shall have been discharged or provided for and until the Board of Governors, by vote of a majority of the Governors exercising a majority of the total voting power, shall have decided to make such distribution.

(c) Subject to the foregoing, and to any special arrangements for the disposition of supplementary resources agreed upon in connection with the provision of such resources to the Association, the Association shall distribute its assets of their subscriptions. Any distribution pursuant to the foregoing provision of this paragraph (c) shall be subject, in the case of any member, to prior settlement of all outstanding claims by the Association against such member. Such distribution shall be made at such times, in such currencies, and in cash or other assets as the Association shall deem fair and equitable. Distribution to the several members need not be uniform in respect of the type of assets distributed or of the currencies in which they are expressed.

(d) Any member receiving assets distributed by the Association pursuant to this Section or Section 4 shall enjoy the same rights with respect to such assets as the Association enjoyed prior to their distribution.

Section 1. Purposes of Article

To enable the Association to fulfil the functions with which it is entrusted, the status, immunities and privileges provided in this Article shall be accorded to the Association in the territories of each member.

Section 2. Status of the Association

The Association shall possess full juridical personality and, in particular, the capacity –

Section 3. Position of the Association with regard to Judicial Process

Actions may be brought against the Association only in a court of competent jurisdiction in the territories of a member in which the Association has an office, has appointed an agent for the purpose of accepting service or notices of process, or has issued or guaranteed securities. No actions shall, however, be brought by members or persons acting for or deriving claims from members. The property and assets of the Association shall, wheresoever located and by whomsoever held, be immune from all forms of seizure, attachment or execution before the delivery of final judgment against the Association.

Section 4. Immunity of Assets from Seizure

Property and assets of the Association, wherever located and by whomsoever held, shall be immune from search, requisition, confiscation, expropriation or any other form of seizure by executive or legislative action.

Section 5. Immunity of Archives

The Archives of the Association shall be inviolable.

Section 6. Freedom of Assets from Restrictions

To the extent necessary to carry out the operations provided for in this Agreement and subject to the provisions of this Agreement, all property and assets of the Association shall be free from restrictions, regulations, controls and moratoria of any nature.

Section 7. Privileges for Communications

The official communications of the Association shall be accorded by each member the same treatment that it accords to the official communications of other members.

Section 8. Immunities and Privileges of Officers and Employees

All Governors, Executive Directors, Alternates, officers and employees of the Association –

(a) The Association, its assets, property, income and its operations and transactions authorized by this Agreement, shall be immune from all taxation and from all customs duties. The Association shall also be immune from liability for the collection or payment of any tax or duty.

(b) No tax shall be levied on or in respect of salaries and emoluments paid by the Association to Executive Directors, Alternates, officials or employees of the Association who are not local citizens, local subjects, or other local nationals.

(c) No taxation of any kind shall be levied on any obligation or security issued by the Association (including any dividend or interest thereon) by whomsoever held –

(d) No taxation of any kind shall be levied on any obligation or security guaranteed by the Association (including any dividend or interest thereon) by whomsoever held –

Each member shall take such action as is necessary in its own territories for the purpose of making effective in terms of its own law the principles set forth in this Article and shall inform the Association of the detailed action which it has taken.

(a) Any proposal to introduce modifications in this Agreement, whether emanating from a member, a Governor or the Executive Directors, shall be communicated to the Chairman of the Board of Governors who shall bring the proposal before the Board. If the proposed amendment is approved by the Board, the Association shall, by circular letter or telegram, ask all members whether they accept the proposed amendment. When three-fifths of the members, having four-fifths of the total voting power, have accepted the proposed amendments, the Association shall certify the fact by formal communication addressed to all members.

(b) Notwithstanding (a) above, acceptance by all members is required in the case of any amendment modifying –

(i) the right to withdraw from the Association provided in Article VII, Section 1;

(ii) the right secured by Article III, Section 1(c);

(iii) the limitation on liability provided in Article II, Section 3.

(c) Amendments shall enter into force for all members three months after the date of the formal communication unless a shorter period is specified in the circular letter or telegram.

(a) Any question of interpretation of the provisions of this Agreement arising between any member and the Association or between any members of the Association shall be submitted to the Executive Directors for their decision. If the question particularly affects any member of the Association not entitled to appoint an Executive Director of the Bank, it shall be entitled to representation in accordance with Article VI, Section 4(g).

(b) In any case where the Executive Directors have given a decision under (a) above, any member may require that the question be referred to the Board of Governors, whose decision shall be final. Pending the result of the reference to the Board of Governors, the Association may, so far as it deems necessary, act on the basis of the decision of the Executive Directors.

(c) Whenever a disagreement arises between the Association and a country which has ceased to be a member, or between the Association and any member during the permanent suspension of the Association, such disagreement shall be submitted to arbitration by a tribunal of three arbitrators, one appointed by the Association, another by the country involved and an umpire who, unless the parties otherwise agree, shall be appointed by the President of the International Court of Justice or such other authority as may have been prescribed by regulation adopted by the Association. The umpire shall have full power to settle all questions of procedure in any case where the parties are in disagreement with respect thereto.

This Agreement shall enter into force when it has been signed on behalf of governments whose subscriptions comprise not less than sixty-five percent of the total subscriptions set forth in Schedule A and when the instruments referred to in Section 2(a) of this Article have been deposited on their behalf, but in no event shall this Agreement enter into force before September 15, 1960.

(a) Each government whose behalf this Agreement is signed shall deposit with the Bank an instrument setting forth that it has accepted this Agreement in accordance with its law and has taken all steps necessary to enable it to carry out all of its obligations under this Agreement.

(b) Each government shall become a member of the Association as from the date of the deposit on its behalf of the instrument referred to in paragraph (a) above except that no government shall become a member before this Agreement enters into force under Section 1 of this Article.

(c) This Agreement shall remain open for signature until the close of business on December 31, 1960, at the principal office of the Bank, on Schedule A, provided that, if this Agreement shall not have entered into force by that date, the Executive Directors of the Bank may extend the period during which this Agreement shall remain open for signature by not more than six months.

(d) After this Agreement shall have entered into force, it shall be open for signature on behalf of the government of any state whose membership shall have been approved pursuant to Article II, Section 1(b).

By its signature of this Agreement, each government accepts it both on its own behalf and in respect of all territories for whose international relations such government is responsible except those which are excluded by such government by written notice to the Association.

(a) As soon as this Agreement enters into force under Section 1 of this Article the President shall call a meeting of the Executive Directors.

(b) The Association shall begin operations on the date when such meeting is held.

(c) Pending the first meeting of the Board of Governors, the Executive Directors may exercise all the powers of the Board of Governors except those reserved to the Board of Governors under this Agreement.

The Bank is authorized to register this Agreement with the Secretariat of the United Nations in accordance with Article 102 of the Charter of the United Nations and the Regulations thereunder adopted by the General Assembly.

DONE at Washington, in a single copy which shall remain deposited in the archives of the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development, which has indicated by its signature below its agreement to act as depository of this Agreement, to register this Agreement with the Secretariat of the United Nations and to notify all governments whose names are set forth in Schedule A of the date when this Agreement shall have entered into force under Article XI, Section 1 hereof.

Australia	20.18	France	52.96	Norway	6.72
Austria	5.04	Germany	52.96	Sweden	10.09
Belgium	22.70	Italy	18.16	Union of South Africa	10.09
Canada	37.83	Japan	33.59	United Kingdom	131.14
Denmark	8.74	Luxembourg	1.01	United States	320.29
Finland	3.83	Netherlands	27.74			763.07

Afghanistan	1.01	Haiti	0.76	Panama	0.02
Argentina	18.83	Honduras	0.30	Paraguay	0.30
Bolivia	1.06	Iceland	0.10	Peru	1.77
Brazil	18.83	India	40.35	Philippines	5.04
Burma	2.02	Indonesia	11.10	Saudi Arabia	3.70
Ceylon	3.03	Iran	4.54	Spain	10.09
Chile	3.53	Iraq	0.76	Sudan	1.01
China	30.26	Ireland	3.03	Thailand	3.03
Colombia	3.53	Israel	1.68	Tunisia	1.51
Costa Rica	0.20	Jordan	0.30	Turkey	5.80
Cuba	4.71	Korea	1.26	United Arab Rep.	6.03
Dominican Rep.	0.40	Lebanon	0.45	Uruguay	1.06
Ecuador	0.65	Libya	1.01	Venezuela	7.06
El Salvador	0.30	Malaya	2.52	Vietnam	1.51
Ethiopia	0.50	Mexico	8.74	Yugoslavia	4.04
Ghana	2.36	Morocco	3.53
Greece	2.52	Nicaragua	0.30			236.93
Guatemala	0.40	Pakistan	10.09	Total		1000.00

*In terms of United States dollars of the weight and fineness in effect on January 1, 1960.

REPORT OF THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTORS ON THE ARTICLES OF AGREEMENT OF THE INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT ASSOCIATION

1. Resolution No. 136, adopted by the Board of Governors of the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (herein called "the Bank") on October 1, 1959, provides as follows –

"RESOLVED: That with respect to the question of creating an International Development Association as an affiliate of the Bank, the Executive Directors, having regard to the views expressed by Governors and considering the broad principles on which such an Association should be established and all other aspects of the matter, are requested to formulate articles of agreement of such an Association for submission to the member Governments of the Bank".

2. The Executive Directors of the Bank, acting pursuant to the foregoing Resolution, have formulated Articles of Agreement for an International Development Association (herein called "the Association") and, on January 26, 1960, approved the text of such Articles, as attached hereto, for submission to member governments of the Bank. The Executive Directors’ approval of the Agreement for submission to governments does not, of course, imply that governments are committed to take action on the Agreement.

3. The Executive Directors invite attention to the provision of Article XI, Section 1, pursuant to which the attached Agreement will enter into force at any time on or after September 15, 1960, when it has been signed on behalf of governments whose subscriptions aggregate at least $650 million, and to the provisions of Article XI, Section 2(c), pursuant to which, unless an extension of time is granted, the Agreement will remain open for signature by original members only until the close of business on December 31, 1960.

4. While the provisions of the attached text are for the most part self-explanatory, the Executive Directors believe that brief comment on a few principal features may be useful to member governments in their consideration of the Agreement.

5. The Articles provide for initial subscriptions which will aggregate $1 billion if all present members of the Bank become original members of the Association. The initial subscription to be made by each original member, as listed in Schedule A to the Articles of Agreement is designed to be proportionate to that member’s subscription to the capital stock of the Bank. For purposes of calculating proportionately, the Bank’s capitalization and each member’s subscription in the Bank have been taken as if the recently authorized capital increases has already become effective as follows – (a) all members of the Bank had doubled their capital subscriptions pursuant to Resolution No.128 of the Board of Governors, except China which has reserved its position; (b) the individual special increases in subscriptions authorized by Resolutions No. 130 and No. 132 of the Board of Governors had been effected; and (c) the "small quota" increases in subscriptions authorized by Resolution No.130 of the Board of Governors had been effected only by Bolivia, Burma, Ethiopia, Guatemala, Ira q, Libya, Tunisia and Vietnam, the only members which at December 31, 1959, had indicated their intention to effect such increases.

6. Article II, Section 2, divides the initial subscription of original members into a 10% component, which must be paid by all members in gold or freely convertible currency (as defined by Article II, Section 2(f), and a 90% component. The 90% component is payable in gold or freely convertible currency by members listed in Part I of Schedule A, and in national currency by members listed in Part II. Pursuant to Article IV, Section I, the national currency paid in by a member listed in Part II of Schedule A may be converted by the Association, or used by it to finance exports from the member’s territories, only with the member’s consent. Part I lists only those members whose economic and financial situation is such, in the opinion of the Executive Directors, as to justify making the entire amount of their subscriptions available on a freely convertible basis. While the members listed in Part II have no legal obligation to make more than 10% of their initial subscription available to the Association on a freely convertible basis, it is hoped that the more developed of these countries, upon accepting membership in the Association or reasonably soon thereafter, will be in a position to release at least some part of the 90% portion of their subscriptions.

7. Article II, Section 2, also provides that the 90% component of the initial subscription of original members shall be payable in five equal annual instalments amounting to 18% each and that, in connection with each such payment, members may substitute non-negotiable, non-interest-bearing demand notes for their own currency until the funds are needed by the Association. The remaining 10% component of the initial subscription of original members, which, as already noted, must be paid in gold or freely convertible currency, is also payable in five annual instalments – 50% the first year and 1¼ each year thereafter. Thus the first instalment of each member’s initial subscription amounts to 23% of the total (18% plus 5% and each of the other four instalments amounts to 19¼% (18% plus 1¼%).

8. Two other features concerning initial subscriptions to the Association deserve mention. The first relates to the maintenance of value obligation imposed upon each member by Article IV, Section 2(a), with respect to its own currency paid in by it as the 90% component of its initial subscription; unlike the situation under the Bank’s Articles, this maintenance of value obligation extends only until the member’s currency has been initially disbursed or exchanged by the Association for the currency of another member. The second feature is the provision of Article IV, Section 1(e), that the 90% component of the initial subscriptions of all members listed in Part I of Schedule A shall be used by the Association, over reasonable intervals of time, on an approximately pro rata basis.

9. The voting rights of original members in respect of their initial subscriptions, prescribed by Article VI, Section 3, are in general based on the Bank pattern of voting rights. Assuming that all members of the Bank become original members of the Association, members will have approximately the same relative voting power in the Association as in the Bank following completion of the recent capital increases, but adjusted to restore the voting power of the smaller Bank members which was somewhat diluted by those capital increases.

10. Voting rights on subscriptions other than initial subscriptions of original members are left to be determined by the Association.

11. Article III, Section 1(a), provides for a periodic review by the Association of the adequacy of its resources and for the authorization, if, when and to the extent deemed desirable, of general increases in subscriptions. In formulating those provisions, the Executive Directors considered that, as in the case of the initial subscriptions, any general increases in subscriptions should normally be designed to provide the Association with funds for a five year period. Section 1(c) of Article III requires the Association, when authorizing any general or individual increase in subscriptions, to give each member an opportunity to subscribe an amount enabling it to maintain its relative voting power. This provision permits the Association either to give each member an option to subscribe to all or part of the amount authorized for it, or to require each member to choose between subscribing the entire amount authorised for it or nothing at all.

12. Article III, Section 2, expressly authorises the Association to enter into arrangements, upon such terms and conditions as may be agreed, to accept from any member supplementary resources in the currency of another member, provided that the member whose currency is involved agrees to the use of such currency as supplementary resources and to the terms and conditions governing such use. The inclusion of this express authorization to accept supplementary resources of a particular type is not intended to preclude the Association from accepting other types of contributions for purposes and on terms consistent with the provisions of the Agreement.

13. Article V, Section 1(a) states that the Association shall provide financing to further development in the less-developed areas of the world included within the Association’s membership. Under this provision, the Association’s financing is to be for less-developed member countries and less-developed dependent and associated territories included within the membership of member countries.

14. The other provisions of Article V have been drafted in very general terms, in order to give the Association wide latitude to shape its financing to meet the needs of actual cases as they arise. For example, the Association is authorised to finance any project which is of high developmental priority, that is, which will make an important contribution to the development of the area or areas concerned, whether or not the project is revenue-producing or directly productive. Thus projects such as water supply sanitation, pilot housing and the like are eligible for financing, although it is expected that a major part of the Association’s financing is likely to be for projects of the type financed by the Bank.

15. Section 1(b) of Article V specified that the Association’s financing shall normally be in support of specific projects. The words "specific projects" are intended to include, as in the Bank’s practice, such proposals as a railway program, an agricultural credit program, or a group of related projects forming part of a development program. Section 1(b) permits the Association to provide financing for other than specific projects in special circumstances.

16. The only directives contained in the Agreement with respect to the terms and forms of the Association’s financing are the provision of Article I that the terms shall be "more flexible and bear less heavily on the balance of payments than those of conventional loans", and the provisions of Article V, Section 2(a), the effect of which is to require that financing out of initial subscriptions take the form of loans. The broad language of Article V is designed to permit the Association to carry out the directive of Article I, in the case of loans made from its freely convertible resources, in any of a number of ways: for example, by providing for lenient terms of repayment (such as loans repayable in foreign exchange with long maturities or long periods of grace or both, or loans repayable wholly or partly in local currency), by lending free of interest or at a low rate of interest, or by some combination of the foregoing.

17. Section 2(c) of Article V provides that the Association may provide financing not only to governments but to public or private entities in the territories of a member or members and, in addition, to public international or regional organizations. Section 2(d) provides that, in the case of a loan to an entity other than a member, the Association may require a suitable governmental or other guarantee; unlike the situation under the Bank’s articles, a governmental guarantee of such a loan is discretionary, not mandatory.

18. Section 1(g) of Article V provides that the Association, in making arrangements with respect to the use of the proceeds of any financing, including currencies accepted as supplementary resources, shall give due regard to considerations of competitive international trade. It is expected that the Association, like the Bank, will require that the choice of equipment and services to be purchased with funds supplied by the Association shall normally be determined on the basis of international competition.

19. One of the powers conferred upon the Association by Article V, Section 5, is the power to provide technical assistance and advisory services at the request of a member. Such assistance may, in the discretion of the Association, be provided with or without reimbursement.

20. Under Article VI of the Agreement, the Association is to be organized as an affiliate of the Bank, as required by Resolution No. 136 of the Board of Governors. As in the case of the International Finance Corporation, each member of the Association is to be represented on the Association's Board of Governors by the same Governor and Alternate Governor who represent it on the Board of Governors of the Bank, and each Executive Director and Alternate Director of the Bank is to serve ex officio in a corresponding capacity for the Association, provided that he represents at least one country which is a member of the Association. Unlike the International Finance Corporation, however, the Association will not have a separate President; the President of the Bank, who is also chairman of the Bank’s Executive Directors, is to serve as both President and Chairman of the Executive Directors of the Association.

21. Section 5(b) of Article VI provides that, to the extent practicable, officers and staff of the Bank are to be appointed to serve concurrently as officers and staff of the Association, and it is contemplated that, at least initially, the Association will have no separate officers or staff. It is further expected that, as and when the aggregate volume or work of the Bank and Association requires, officers and staff serving both institutions concurrently will be augmented, with responsibilities assigned as seems appropriate from time to time. However, should a different course at any time appear desirable, Article VI is sufficiently flexible to permit the appointment of officers (other than the President) and staff who would be concerned solely with the affairs of the Association.

22. Article VIII, dealing with status, immunities and privileges, allows exactly the corresponding provisions of the Bank’s Articles of Agreement.

1. It is considered expedient that Kiribati should become a member of the International Monetary Fund (the "Fund"). However in order to be admitted to membership in such Fund Kiribati is required by the Fund to pass an enabling Act which should authorise and direct Kiribati to accept Articles of Agreement of the Fund as set out in the First Schedule to this Act (the "Act"). The principal object of this Act therefore is to enable Kiribati to become a member of the Fund. It will be seen however that the provisions of the Act are so augmented to also enable Kiribati should it see fit in the future to join the International Bank for Reconstruction (the "Bank"), the International Finance Corporation (the "Corporation") and the International Development Association (the "Association").

2. This augmentation in the provisions of the Act will have the effect and advantage of having one single Act which should provide for Kiribati’s membership in all of the aforesaid interrelated international financial institutions which would in any case require as a condition for membership in any of them the passing of an enabling domestic legislation like this Act which should authorise and direct the Government of Kiribati to accept the Articles of Agreement with prescribed terms and conditions for membership of each of these international financial institutions. Further membership in the Fund is a condition precedent for membership in the Bank. With such augmentation in the provisions of the Act needless repetition and the reintroducing in the Maneaba of a multiplicity of Bills in respect of Kiribati’s membership in each of the above mentioned international financial organisations will be avoided.

Scheme of the Act

1. Clause 1 provides for the definition of the words and the terms used in the Act and also provides for the Articles of Agreement of the Fund as set out in the First Schedule of the Act, the Bank as set out in the Second Schedule of the Act, the Corporation as set out in the Third Schedule to the Act and the Association as set out in the Fourth Schedule of the Act.

2. Clause 3 authorises the Government of Kiribati to accept membership in the Fund, the Bank, the Corporation and the Association by accepting the Fund Agreement, the Bank Agreement, the Corporation Agreement and the Association Agreement and the Minister by himself or any other person authorised by him in that behalf is authorised to sign the Agreements and to execute and deposit any documents that may be required for these purposes on behalf of the Government.

3. Clause 4 authorises and directs Kiribati through the Minister acting in accordance with the advice of the Cabinet to accept all the obligations of a participant in the Special Drawing Rights Department of the Fund by depositing an instrument of participation pursuant to Article XVII, Section 1 of the Articles.

4. Clause 5 authorises and directs the Minister to pay all amounts payable from time to time under the Articles as statutory expenditures. It further authorises the Minister to create and issue new interest bearing and non negotiable notes in place of currency pursuant to section 4 of Article III of the Fund Agreement, section 12 of Article V of the Bank Agreement and paragraph 3 of section 2 of Article II of the Association Agreement which if created or issued shall be a charge on the Consolidated Fund.

5. Clause 6 designates the Ministry of Finance as the Fiscal Agency pursuant to Article V section 1, of the Fund Agreement, and Article III section 2 of the Bank Agreement and the Bank of Kiribati Ltd as a depository for the holdings of currency in Kiribati by the Fund and the Bank.

6. Clause 8 provides that certain provisions of the Fund Agreement, Bank Agreement, Corporation Agreement and the Association Agreement shall have the full force of law in Kiribati. They are as follows –

Kiribati Sessional Legislation

International Financial Organisation Act 1985