Abstract

This paper discusses the Second Amendment of the IMF’s Articles of Agreement. The drafting of the Second Amendment of the Articles of Agreement was a more prolonged and more complicated task than the preparation of the First Amendment. One characteristic of the Second Amendment is the transformation into law, by incorporation in the Articles, of policies that the IMF had adopted over the years. The provisions of the Second Amendment that deal with repurchase obligations, the selection of currencies for use in purchases and repurchases, and stand-by arrangements are among the many examples that are sometimes referred to as constituting the modernization of the IMF.

IMF Pamphlet Series

INTERNATIONAL MONETARY FUND PAMPHLET SERIES

(All pamphlets have been published in English, French, and Spanish, unless otherwise stated)

*1. Introduction to the Fund, by J. Keith Horsefield. First edition, 1964. Second edition, 1965. Second edition also in German.

*2. The International Monetary Fund: Its Form and Functions, by J. Marcus Fleming. 1964. In English only.

3. The International Monetary Fund and Private Business Transactions: Some Legal Effects of the Articles of Agreement, by Joseph Gold. 1965.

4. The International Monetary Fund and International Law: An Introduction, by Joseph Gold. 1965.

*5. The Financial Structure of the Fund, by Rudolf Kroc. First edition, 1965. Second edition, 1967.

6. Maintenance of the Gold Value of the Fund’s Assets; by Joseph Gold. First edition, 1965. Second edition, 1971.

7. The Fund and Non-Member States: Some Legal Effects, by Joseph Gold. 1966.

8. The Cuban Insurance Cases and the Articles of the Fund, by Joseph Gold. 1966.

9. Balance of Payments: Its Meaning and Uses, by Poul Høst-Madsen. 1967.

*10. Balance of Payments Concepts and Definitions. First edition, 1968. Second edition, 1969.

11. Interpretation by the Fund, by Joseph Gold. 1968.

12. The Reform of the Fund, by Joseph Gold. 1969.

13. Special Drawing Rights, by Joseph Gold. First edition, 1969. Second edition, with subtitle Character and Use, 1970.

14. The Fund’s Concepts of Convertibility, by Joseph Gold. 1971.

15. Special Drawing Rights: The Role of Language, by Joseph Gold. 1971.

16. Some Reflections on the Nature of Special Drawing Rights, by J.J. Polak. 1971.

17. Operations and Transactions in SDRs: The First Basic Period, by Walter Habermeier. 1973.

18. Valuation and Rate of Interest of the SDR, by J.J. Polak. 1974.

19. Floating Currencies, Gold, and SDRs: Some Recent Legal Developments, by Joseph Gold. 1976. Also in German.

20. Voting Majorities in the Fund: Effects of Second Amendment of the Articles, by Joseph Gold. 1977.

21. International Capital Movements Under the Law of the International Monetary Fund, by Joseph Gold. 1977.

22. Floating Currencies, SDRs, and Gold: Further Legal Developments, by Joseph Gold. 1977. Concluding section also in German.

23. Use, Conversion, and Exchange of Currency Under the Second Amendment of the Fund’s Articles, by Joseph Gold. 1978.

24. The Rise in Protectionism, by Trade and Payments Division. 1978.

25. The Second Amendment of the Fund’s Articles of Agreement, by Joseph Gold. 1978.

26. SDKs, Gold, and Currencies: Third Survey of New Legal Developments, by Joseph Gold. 1979. Concluding section also in German.

27. Financial Assistance by the International Monetary Fund: Law and Practice, by Joseph Gold. First edition, 1979. In English only. Second edition, 1980.

28. Thoughts on an International Monetary Fund Based Fully on the SDR, by J.J. Polak. 1979.

29. Macroeconomic Accounts: An Overview, by Poul Høst-Madsen. 1979.

30. Technical Assistance Services of the International Monetary Fund. 1979.

31. Conditionality, by Joseph Gold. 1979.

32. The Rule of Law in the International Monetary Fund, by Joseph Gold. 1980.

33. SDRs, Currencies, and Gold: Fourth Survey of New Legal Developments, by Joseph Gold. 1980:

34. Compensatory Financing Facility, by Louis M. Goreux. 1980.

35. The Legal Character of the Fund’s Stand-By Arrangements and Why It Matters, by Joseph Gold. 1980.

36. SDRs, Currencies, and Gold: Fifth Survey of New Legal Developments, by Joseph Gold. 1981.

37. The International Monetary Fund: Its Evolution, Organization, and Activities. First edition, 1981. Fourth edition, 1984.

38. Fund Conditionality: Evolution of Principles and Practices, by Manuel Guitian. 1981.

39. Order in International Finance, the Promotion of IMF Stand-By Arrangements, and the Drafting of Private Loan Agreements, by Joseph Gold. 1982.

40. SDRs, Currencies, and Gold: Sixth Survey of New Legal Developments, by Joseph Gold. 1983. In English. French and Spanish in preparation.

41. The General Arrangements to Borrow, by Michael Ainley. 1984. In English. French and Spanish in preparation.

42. The International Monetary Fund: Its Financial Organization and Activities, by Anand G. Chandavarkar. 1984. In English. French and Spanish in preparation.

43. The Technical Assistance and Training Services of the International Monetary Fund. In English. French and Spanish in preparation.

*Out of print. Photographic or microfilm copies of all English editions, including numbers that are out of print, may be purchased direct from University Microfilms International, 300 North Zeeb Road, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48106, U.S.A., or, for those living outside the Western Hemisphere, from University Microfilms Limited, 30/32 Mortimer St., London, WIN 7RA, England.

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International Monetary Fund, Washington, D.C. 20431, U.S.A.

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1

Belgium, Canada, France, the Federal Republic of Germany, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, Sweden, the United Kingdom, and the United States.

2

For the text of the Outline and accompanying Annexes, as well as other documents, see International Monetary Reform: Documents of the Committee of Twenty (Washington, 1974).

3

Proposed Second Amendment to the Articles of Agreement of the International Monetary Fund: A Report by the Executive Directors to the Board of Governors (Washington, 1976).

4

Joseph Gold, “A Report on Certain Recent Legal Developments in the International Monetary Fund,” Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law (Nashville, Tennessee), Vol. 9 (1976), p. 231.

5

Joseph Gold, “Law and Reform of the International Monetary System,” The Journal of International Law and Economics (Washington), Vol. 10 (1975), p. 371.

6

The International Monetary Fund, 1945–1965: Twenty Years of International Monetary Cooperation, by J. Keith Horsefield and others (Washington, 1969), Vol. II, pp. 559–64.