WIPO Database of Intellectual Property Legislative Texts WIPO Article 9 International Bureau (1) The International Bureau shall be the Secretariat of the Organization. (2) The International Bureau shall be directed by the Director General, assisted by two or more Deputy Directors General. (3) The Director General shall be appointed for a fixed term, which shall be not less than six years. He shall be eligible for reappointment for fixed terms. The periods of the initial appointment and possible subsequent appointments, as well as all other conditions of the appointment, shall be fixed by the General Assembly. (4) (a) The Director General shall be the chief executive of the Organization. (b) He shall represent the Organization. (c) He shall report to, and conform to the instructions of, the General Assembly as to the internal and external affairs of the Organization. (5) The Director General shall prepare the draft programs and budgets and periodical reports on activities. He shall transmit them to the Governments of the interested States and to the competent organs of the Unions and the Organization. (6) The Director General and any staff member designated by him shall participate, without the right to vote, in all meetings of the General Assembly, the Conference, the Coordination Committee, and any other committee or working group. The Director General or a staff member designated by him shall be ex officio secretary of these bodies. (7) The Director General shall appoint the staff necessary for the efficient performance of the tasks of the International Bureau. He shall appoint the Deputy Directors General after approval by the Coordination Committee. The conditions of employment shall be fixed by the staff regulations to be approved by the Coordination Committee on the proposal of the Director General. The paramount consideration in the employment of the staff and in the determination of the conditions of service shall be the necessity of securing the highest standards of efficiency, competence, and integrity. Due regard shall be paid to the importance of recruiting the staff on as wide a geographical basis as possible. (8) The nature of the responsibilities of the Director General and of the staff shall be exclusively international. In the discharge of their duties they shall not seek or receive instructions from any Government or from any authority external to the Organization. They shall refrain from any action which might prejudice their position as international officials. Each Member State undertakes to respect the exclusively international character of the responsibilities of the Director General and the staff, and not to seek to influence them in the discharge of their duties. Article 10 Headquarters (1) The headquarters of the Organization shall be at Geneva. (2) Its transfer may be decided as provided for in Article 6(3)(d) and (g). Article 11 Finances (1) The Organization shall have two separate budgets: the budget of expenses common to the Unions, and the budget of the Conference. (2) (a) The budget of expenses common to the Unions shall include provision for expenses of interest to several Unions. (b) This budget shall be financed from the following sources: (i) contributions of the Unions, provided that the amount of the contribution of each Union shall be fixed by the Assembly of that Union, having regard to the interest the Union has in the common expenses; WO029EN page 6 / 11