A fundamental catalogue compiled from independent and differential observations of stellar positions at various epochs provides the fundamental system of positions and proper motions of the stars. The system ought to be compiled in such a way that it represents the inertial frame of reference as accurately as practicable. Its direct purpose is to serve as the reference system of positional astronomy. It should fulfil the requirements of astronomical research, in particular in celestial mechanics and galactic research, as well as the demands of the astronomical determinations of time and of latitudes. It has also to fulfil the requirements of geodesy and navigation. For all these purposes the system must be uniform over the whole sky (free from regional systematic errors), and it has to be uniform over a large range of stellar magnitudes (free from errors depending on the magnitude of the stars).