The ever-increasing complexity of the world postal network pushed the UPU to work diligently in new fields related among others to postal technologies, e-commerce and postal payment services. During the last fifteen years, the UPU has set up several extra-budgetary groups in order to respond flexibly to the sector rapid changes. An analysis of their creation process shows that each of them was created on an ad hoc basis, without any consistent policy on creating such groups. The 24th Congress recognised the absence of clear rules defining the UPU’s extra-budgetary activities organisation and management. Through its resolution C16/2008, it has put the Council of Administration in charge of examining the different questions on the organisation and the financing of the UPU’s extra-budgetary activities, in the framework of the activities related to the UPU’s reform. During the said Congress, a set of proposals were presented with the aim of adding rules on the UPU’s extra-budgetary activities to the General Regulations. It was decided that they required a thorough study on legal and organisational aspects of the UPU’s extra-budgetary activities.