The Legal Affairs Directorate at the International Bureau of the Universal Postal Union

This chapter sketches out the history of the Universal Postal Union (UPU), the primary international forum for the postal sector, and contemplates its legal status, organizational structure, and constituent legal documents, including its unique non-permanent legal acts. The UPU ensures the good functioning of a universal network of up-to-date postal products and services, establishes the legal rules for international postal exchanges, and makes recommendations to foster sustainable growth in the provision of services. Central to these activities is the work of the international bureau’s Legal Affairs Directorate (LAD). LAD is the guardian of the organization’s conventions and other legal documents and provides a broad range of legal advice and services. It also plays a somewhat unique role relative to many other international organizations: the provision of advice, mediation, technical advice, and liaison work outside of the organization itself, i.e., to the UPU’s broad range of stakeholders, including member countries, designated operators, and other postal sector entities. The chapter closes by contemplating the UPU’s potential future roles as operator of a (i) dispute settlement mechanism for postal disputes and (ii) informal communication mechanism for customer complaints against designated postal operators.