Kwantung and the South Sea Islands under Japanese Mandate, Republic of Liberia, Madagascar, Morocco (with the exception of the Spanish Zone), Mexico, Monaco, Nicaragua, Norway, New Zealand, Republic of Panama, Paraguay, the Netherlands, Persia, Peru, Poland, Portugal, Rumania, Kingdom of the Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes, Siam, Italian Somaliland, Sweden, Switzerland, Surinam, SyroLibanese Territories, Republic of San Marino, Czechoslovakia, Tripolitania, Tunis, Turkey, Uruguay, and Venezuela.

The undersigned, plenipotentiaries of the Governments of the countries enumerated above, having met in conference at Washington, have, by common accord and subject to ratification, concluded the following Convention:

ARTICLE 1-Definitions

In the present Convention:

The term "radio communication" applies to the transmission by radio of writing, signs, signals, pictures, and sounds of all kinds by means of Hertzian waves.

The term "radio communication station" or simply "station" means a station equipped to carry on radio communications.

The term "fixed station" means a station permanently located and communicating with one or more stations similarly located. The term "mobile station" means a station capable of moving and which ordinarily does move.

The term "land station" means a station other than a mobile station used for radio communication with mobile stations.

The term "mobile service" means the radio communication service carried on between mobile stations and land stations, and by mobile stations communicating among themselves.

The term "international service" means a radio communication service between a station in one country and a station in another country, or between a land station and a mobile station located outside the limits of the country in which the land station is situated, or between two or more mobile stations on or over the high seas. An internal or national radio communication service which is likely to cause interference with other services outside the limits of the country in which it operates is considered as an international service from the viewpoint of interference.

The term "general communication system" means all the existing telegraph and telephone channels of communication, wire and radio, open to public service, but excluding the radio communication channels of the mobile service.

The term "public service" means a service for the use of the general public.

The term "limited service" means a service which may be used only by specified persons or for specific purposes.

The term "public correspondence" means all radio communications which a station, by reason of being open to public service, must accept from the public for transmission.

The term "private enterprise" means any person, company, or corporation which operates one or more stations for radio communication.

The term "radiotelegram" means a telegram originating in or destined to a mobile station, transmitted by radio over all or part of its route.

ARTICLE 2-Scope of the Convention

§1. The contracting Governments undertake to apply the provisions of the present Convention to all radio communication stations established, or operated by the contracting Governments, and open to the international service of public correspondence. They undertake likewise, to apply these provisions to the special services covered by the Regulations annexed to the present Convention.

§2. They agree, moreover, to take or to propose to their respective legislatures the necessary measures to impose the observance of the provisions of the present Convention and the Regulations annexed thereto upon individuals and private enterprises authorized to estab lish and operate radio communication stations in the international service, whether or not open to public correspondence.

§3. The contracting Governments recognize the right of two contracting Governments to organize radio communications, between themselves, provided only that they conform to all provisions of the present Convention and the Regulations annexed thereto.

ARTICLE 3-Intercommunication

§1. (1) So far as international communications between fixed stations are concerned, each contracting Government reserves entire freedom with relation to the organization of the service and the determination of the correspondence to be exchanged by the stations carrying on these communications.

(2) When, however, these fixed stations carry on an international service of public correspondence, either from country to country or with stations in the mobile service, they must conform, respectively, for each of these two classes of communications, to the provisions of the present Convention and of the Regulations annexed thereto.

§2. With regard to communications between stations participating in the mobile service, stations carrying on such communications must,

within the limits of their normal operations, exchange radiotelegrams reciprocally without regard to the radio system adopted by them.

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

ARTICLE 4-Limited service

Notwithstanding the provisions of Article 3, a radio communication station may be assigned to a limited international service of public correspondence determined by the purpose of the correspondence or by other circumstances independent of the system employed.

ARTICLE 5-Secrecy of correspondence. False or deceptive signals

The contracting Governments agree to take or to propose to their respective legislatures the necessary measures to prevent:

(a) The unauthorized transmission and reception by means of radio installations of correspondence of a private nature.

(b) The unauthorized divulging of the contents, or simply of the existence, of correspondence which may have been intercepted by means of radio installations.

(c) The unauthorized publication or use, of correspondence received by means of radio installations.

(d) The transmission or the placing in circulation of false or deceptive distress signals or distress calls.

ARTICLE 6-Investigation of violations

The contracting Governments undertake to aid each other by supplying information concerning violations of the provisions of the present Convention and of the Regulations annexed thereto, as well as, if necessary, in the prosecution of persons violating these provisions.

ARTICLE 7-Connection with the general communication system

Each of the contracting Governments agrees to take the necessary measures in order that land stations established on its territory and open to the international service of public correspondence shall be connected with the general communication system or at least to take steps to assure rapid and direct exchanges between these stations and the general communication system.

ARTICLE 8-Exchange of information regarding stations and service

The contracting Governments shall notify each other, through the intermediary of the International Bureau of the Telegraph Union, of the names of stations open to the international service of public correspondence and of stations carrying on special services covered by the Regulations annexed to the present Convention, as well as of all data for facilitating and expediting radio communication.

ARTICLE 9-Special devices

Each of the contracting Governments reserves the right to prescribe or permit, in the stations covered by Article 8, independent of the installation, the data relating to which shall be published in accordance with that Article, other devices to be established and operated for special radio transmission, without publishing the details of such devices.

ARTICLE 10-Conditions to be observed by stations. Interference

§1. The stations covered by Article 2 must, so far as practicable, be established and operated under the best conditions known to the practice of the service and must be maintained abreast of scientific and technical progress.

§2. All stations, whatever their purpose, must, so far as practicable, be established and operated so as not to interfere with the radio communications or services of other contracting Governments and of individuals or of private enterprises authorized by these contracting Governments to carry on public radio communication service.

ARTICLE 11-Priority for distress calls

Stations participating in the mobile service shall be obliged to give absolute priority to distress calls, regardless of their origin, to answer such calls, and to take such action with regard thereto as may be required.

ARTICLE 12-Charges

Charges applicable to radiotelegrams and the various cases in which these are allowed radio franking privileges shall be established in accordance with the provisions of the Regulations annexed to the present Convention.

ARTICLE 13-Regulations. Conferences

§1. The provisions of the present Convention are completed by: (1) General Regulations which have the same force and become effective at the same time as the Convention.

(2) Supplementary Regulations which bind only the Governments which have signed them.

§2. The provisions of the present Convention and of the Regulations annexed thereto shall be revised by conferences of Plenipotentiaries of the contracting Governments, each conference fixing the place and the time of the following meeting.

§3. Before any deliberation each Conference shall establish Rules of Procedure setting forth the conditions under which debate shall be organized and carried on.

ARTICLE 14-Special arrangements

The contracting Governments reserve for themselves and for private enterprises duly authorized by them the right to make special arrangements on matters of service which do not interest the Governments generally. These arrangements, however, must be in conformity with the Convention and the Regulations annexed thereto so far as concerns the interference which their execution might produce with the services of other countries.

ARTICLE 15-Suspension of the service

Each government reserves the right to suspend international radio communication service for an indefinite period, if deemed necessary either generally or only for certain connections and/or for certain kinds of radio communication, provided that it shall immediately so advise each of the other contracting Governments through the intermediary of the International Bureau of the Telegraph Union.

ARTICLE 16-International Bureau

§1. The International Bureau of the Telegraph Union shall be charged with collecting, coordinating, and publishing information of all kinds relative to radio services, with examining the requests for changes in the Convention and the Regulations annexed thereto, with promulgating the amendments adopted, and generally with performing all administrative tasks with which it shall have been charged in the interest of international radio services.

§2. The expenses resulting from these activities shall be borne by all the contracting Governments in the proportion fixed by the General Regulations.

ARTICLE 17-International technical consulting committee on radio communications

§1. An International Technical Consulting Committee on Radio Communications shall be established for the purpose of studying technical and related questions pertaining to these communications. §2. Its composition, activities, and operations shall be defined in the General Regulations annexed to the present Convention.