Article XVII: Amendment (a) Any Party may propose amendments to this Agreement. Proposed amendments shall be submitted to the executive organ, which shall distribute them promptly to all Parties and Signatories. (b) The Assembly of Parties shall consider each proposed amendment at its first ordinary meeting following its distribution by the executive organ, or at an earlier extraordinary meeting convened in accordance with the provisions of Article VII of this Agreement, provided that the proposed amendment has been distributed by the executive organ at least ninety days before the opening date of the meeting. The Assembly of Parties shall consider any views and recommendations which it receives from the Meeting of Signatories or the Board of Governors with respect to a proposed amendment. (c) The Assembly of Parties shall take decisions on each proposed amendment in accordance with the provisions relating to quorum and voting contained in Article VII of this Agreement. It may modify any proposed amendment, distributed in accordance with paragraph (b) of this Article, and may also take decisions on any amendment not so distributed but directly consequential to a proposed or modified amendment. (d) An amendment which has been approved by the Assembly of Parties shall enter into force in accordance with paragraph (e) of this Article after the Depositary has received notice of approval, acceptance or ratification of the amendment from either: (i) two-thirds of the States which were Parties as of the date upon which the amendment was approved by the Assembly of Parties, provided that such two-thirds include Parties which then held, or whose designated Signatories then held, at least two-thirds of the total investment shares; or (ii) a number of States equal to or exceeding eighty-five per cent of the total number of States which were Parties as of the date upon which the amendment was approved by the Assembly of Parties, regardless of the amount of investment shares such Parties or their designated Signatories then held. (e) The Depositary shall notify all the Parties as soon as it has received the acceptances, approvals or ratifications required by paragraph (d) of this Article for the entry into force of an amendment. Ninety days after the date of issue of this notification, the amendment shall enter into force for all Parties, including those that have not yet accepted, approved, or ratified it and have not withdrawn from INTELSAT. (f) Notwithstanding the provisions of paragraphs (d) and (e) of this Article, an amendment shall not enter into force less than eight months or more than eighteen months after the date it has been approved by the Assembly of Parties.