Article XVI: Withdrawal (a) (i) Any Party or Signatory may withdraw voluntarily from INTELSAT. A Party shall give written notice to the Depositary of its decision to withdraw. The decision of a Signatory to withdraw shall be notified in writing to the executive organ by the Party which has designated it and such notification shall signify the acceptance by the Party of such notification of decision to withdraw. (ii) Voluntary withdrawal shall become effective and this Agreement and the Operating Agreement shall cease to be in force for a Party or Signatory three months after the date of receipt of the notice referred to in subparagraph (i) of this paragraph or, if the notice so states, on the date of the next determination of investment shares pursuant to subparagraph (c)(ii) of Article 6 of the Operating Agreement following the expiration of such three months. (b) (i) If a Party appears to have failed to comply with any obligation under this Agreement, the Assembly of Parties, having received notice to that effect or acting on its own initiative, and having considered any representations made by the Party, may decide, if it finds that the failure to comply has in fact occurred, that the Party be deemed to have withdrawn from INTELSAT. This Agreement shall cease to be in force for the Party as of the date of such decision. An extraordinary meeting of the Assembly of Parties may be convened for this purpose. (ii) If any Signatory, in its capacity as such, appears to have failed to comply with any obligation under this Agreement or the Operating Agreement, other than obligations under paragraph (a) of Article 4 of the Operating Agreement and the failure to comply shall not have been remedied within three months after the Signatory has been notified in writing by the executive organ of a resolution of the Board of Governors taking note of the failure to comply, the Board of Governors may, after considering any representations made by the Signatory or the Party which designated it, suspend the rights of the Signatory, and may recommend to the Meeting of Signatories that the Signatory be deemed to have withdrawn from INTELSAT. If the Meeting of Signatories, after consideration of any representations made by the Signatory or by the Party which designated it, approves the recommendation of the Board of Governors, the withdrawal of the Signatory shall become effective upon the date of the approval, and this Agreement and the Operating Agreement shall cease to be in force for the Signatory as of that date. (c) If any Signatory fails to pay any amount due from it pursuant to paragraph (a) of Article 4 of the Operating Agreement within three months after the payment has become due, the rights of the Signatory under this Agreement and the Operating Agreement shall be automatically suspended. If within three months after the suspension the Signatory has not paid all sums due or the Party which has designated the Signatory has not made a substitution pursuant to paragraph (f) of this Article, the Board of Governors, after considering any representations made by the Signatory or by the Party which has designated it, may recommend to the Meeting of Signatories that the Signatory be deemed to have withdrawn from INTELSAT. The Meeting of Signatories, after considering any representations made by the Signatory, may decide that the Signatory be deemed to have withdrawn from INTELSAT and, from the date of the decision, this Agreement and the Operating Agreement shall cease to be in force for the Signatory. (d) Withdrawal of a Party, in its capacity as such, shall entail the simultaneous withdrawal of the Signatory designated by the Party or of the Party in its capacity as Signatory, as the case may be, and this Agreement and the Operating Agreement shall cease to be in force for the Signatory on the same date on which this Agreement ceases to be in force for the Party which has designated it. (e) In all cases of withdrawal of a Signatory from INTELSAT, the Party which designated the Signatory shall assume the capacity of a Signatory, or shall designate a new Signatory effective as of the date of such withdrawal, or shall withdraw from INTELSAT. (f) If for any reason a Party desires to substitute itself for its designated Signatory or to designate a new Signatory, it shall give written notice thereof to the Depositary, and upon assumption by the new Signatory of all the outstanding obligations of the previously designated Signatory and upon signature of the Operating Agreement, this Agreement and the Operating Agreement shall enter into force for the new Signatory and thereupon shall cease to be in force for such previously designated Signatory. (g) Upon the receipt by the Depositary or the executive organ, as the case may be, of notice of decision to withdraw pursuant to subparagraph (a)(i) of this Article, the Party giving notice and its designated Signatory, or the Signatory in respect of which notice has been given, as the case may be, shall cease to have any rights of representation and any voting rights in any organ of INTELSAT, and shall incur no obligation or liability after the receipt of the notice, except that the Signatory, unless the Board of Governors decides otherwise pursuant to paragraph (d) of Article 21 of the Operating Agreement, shall be responsible for contributing its share of the capital contributions necessary to meet both contractual commitments specifically authorized before such receipt and liabilities arising from acts or omissions before such receipt. (h) During the period of suspension of the rights of a Signatory pursuant to subparagraph (b)(ii) or paragraph (c) of this Article, the Signatory shall continue to have all the obligations and liabilities of a Signatory under this Agreement and the Operating Agreement. (i) If the Meeting of Signatories, pursuant to subparagraph (b)(ii) or paragraph (c) of this Article, decides not to approve the recommendation of the Board of Governors that the Signatory be deemed to have withdrawn from INTELSAT, as of the date of that decision the suspension shall be lifted and the Signatory shall thereafter have all rights under this Agreement and the Operating Agreement, provided that where a Signatory is suspended pursuant to paragraph (c) of this Article the suspension shall not be lifted until the Signatory has paid the amounts due from it pursuant to paragraph (a) of Article 4 of the Operating Agreement. (j) If the Meeting of Signatories approves the recommendation of the Board of Governors pursuant to subparagraph (b)(ii) or paragraph (c) of this Article that a Signatory be deemed to have withdrawn from INTELSAT, that Signatory shall incur no obligation or liability after such approval, except that the Signatory, unless the Board of Governors decides otherwise pursuant to paragraph (d) of Article 21 of the Operating Agreement, shall be responsible for contributing its share of the capital contributions necessary to meet both contractual commitments specifically authorized before such approval and liabilities arising from acts or omissions before such approval. (k) If the Assembly of Parties decides pursuant to subparagraph (b)(i) of this Article that a Party be deemed to have withdrawn from INTELSAT, the Party in its capacity as Signatory or its designated Signatory, as the case may be, shall incur no obligation or liability after such decision, except that the Party in its capacity as Signatory or its designated Signatory, as the case may be, unless the Board of Governors decides otherwise pursuant to paragraph (d) of Article 21 of the Operating Agreement, shall be responsible for contributing its share of the capital contributions necessary to meet both contractual commitments specifically authorized before such decision and liabilities arising from acts or omissions before such decision. (l) Settlement between INTELSAT and a Signatory for which this Agreement and the Operating Agreement have ceased to be in force, other than in the case of substitution pursuant to paragraph (f) of this Article, shall be accomplished as provided in Article 21 of the Operating Agreement. (m) (i) Notification of the decision of a Party to withdraw pursuant to subparagraph (a)(i) of this Article shall be transmitted by the Depositary to all Parties and to the executive organ, and the latter shall transmit the notification to all Signatories. (ii) If the Assembly of Parties decides that a Party shall be deemed to have withdrawn from INTELSAT pursuant to subparagraph (b)(i) of this Article, the executive organ shall notify all Signatories and the Depositary, and the latter shall transmit the notification to all Parties. (iii) Notification of the decision of a Signatory to withdraw pursuant to subparagraph (a)(i) of this Article or of the withdrawal of a Signatory pursuant to subparagraph (b)(ii) or paragraph (c) or (d) of this Article, shall be transmitted by the executive organ to all Signatories and to the Depositary, and the latter shall transmit the notification to all Parties. (iv) The suspension of a Signatory pursuant to subparagraph (b)(ii) or paragraph (c) of this Article shall be notified by the executive organ to all Signatories and to the Depositary, and the latter shall transmit the notification to all Parties. (v) The substitution of a Signatory pursuant to paragraph (f) of this Article shall be notified by the Depositary to all Parties and to the executive organ, and the latter shall transmit the notification to all Signatories. (n) No Party or its designated Signatory shall be required to withdraw from INTELSAT as a direct result of any change in the status of that Party with regard to the International Telecommunication Union.