Dear all,<div><br></div><div>Jovan has launched in the post below a very interesting topic that moved a bit out of McTim's initial call for buying a boat. Hence the separate thread (also shared on the IRP list). </div>
<div><br></div><div>I have just posted a piece on CircleID on the topic of "<a href="http://www.circleid.com/posts/20121204_sovereignty_and_the_geography_of_cyberspace/">Sovereignty and the Geography of Cyberspace</a>" that touches upon some of Jovan's comments. It follows a workshop that the <a href="http://www.internetjurisdiction.net">Internet & Jurisdiction Project</a> organized at the Baku IGF. I hope you'll find it interesting. Comments welcome.</div>
<div><br></div><div>One point I would like to highlight is that the Council of Europe in a <a href="https://wcd.coe.int/ViewDoc.jsp?id=1835707">recommendation of its Council of Ministers</a> in September 2011, established the principle of responsibility of States for transboundary harm:</div>
<blockquote style="margin:0 0 0 40px;border:none;padding:0px"><div><p style="color:rgb(0,0,0)"><u><font face="arial, helvetica, sans-serif"><i>1.1. No harm</i></font></u></p></div><div><p style="color:rgb(0,0,0)"><font face="arial, helvetica, sans-serif"><i>1.1.1. States have the responsibility to ensure, in compliance with the standards recognised in international human rights law and with the principles of international law, that their actions do not have an adverse transboundary impact on access to and use of the Internet.</i></font></p>
</div><div><p style="color:rgb(0,0,0)"><font face="arial, helvetica, sans-serif"><i>1.1.2. This should include, in particular, the responsibility to ensure that their actions within their jurisdictions do not illegitimately interfere with access to content outside their territorial boundaries or negatively impact the transboundary flow of Internet traffic.</i></font></p>
</div></blockquote><div>During very interesting workshops in Baku, including one from the Council of europe, this principle was explored further. Jovan rightly posits that if it means a responsibility to prevent any action on their territory that would create transboundary harm, it could be misused to justify surveillance and censorship. </div>
<div><br></div><div>This is why the drafting group (Wolfgang, Rolf Weber, Michael Yakushev, Christian Singer and myself) carefully restricted this principle to the action of states themselves. Responsibility for transboundary harm should be a natural corollary of the exercise of sovereignty. </div>
<div><br></div><div>Unrestrained exercise of sovereignty can lead to extraterritorial impact, as the rojadirecta case has shown. And this would favor the governments having major operators on their soil. Sovereignty can kill sovereignty. </div>
<div><br></div><div>This is abroad discussion, but this notion - that emerged from a discussion four years ago at the first EuroDIG in Strasbourg - may be one of the new principles needed for the cross-border infrastructure that the Internet is. </div>
<div><br></div><div>Best</div><div><br></div><div>Bertrand</div><div><div class="gmail_extra"><br><br><div class="gmail_quote">On Fri, Dec 7, 2012 at 3:37 PM, Jovan Kurbalija <span dir="ltr"><<a href="mailto:jovank@diplomacy.edu" target="_blank">jovank@diplomacy.edu</a>></span> wrote:<br>
<blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0px 0px 0px 0.8ex;border-left-width:1px;border-left-color:rgb(204,204,204);border-left-style:solid;padding-left:1ex">
<div text="#000000" bgcolor="#FFFFFF">
Well, we have innovation! With the IGF in Bali, and ICANN on a
cruise ship, we may have 'beach or floating governance'. Internet
governance could be fun!<br>
<div> <br>
I like the metaphor of the ship since it implies our common
destiny. We are all passengers of ICANNia or ITUnia or...<b>?<font color="#cc0000"></font></b> Metaphors are also useful to
remove our tunnel vision and make us think more creatively. In
another metaphor, I hope that Internetistan will resist
Absurdistan (<a href="http://diplo.smugmug.com/ILLUSTRATIONS/Posters-1/4464706_T4FW6r#%21i=1104113260&k=2GsD8hV&lb=1&s=A" target="_blank">here is the map of this fast-growing country</a>).
<br>
<br>
But back to the current reality. Unfortunately, the ICANN cruise
ship won't solve the problem of internationalisation. 'Open sea'
refers only to freedom of navigation. It does not deal with the
status of the ship. All relations on the ship are regulated by the
national law of the ship's flag. ICANNia has to be registered
somewhere. One solution could be a flag of convenience such as
Liberia or Panama. What happens on the ICANNia is regulated by
national law, with no major differences from any other land-based
entity (company, organisation). Yes, ICANNia can sail in whatever
direction it wants to sail, but the decision must be made by the
captain according to the rules of the flag's state. Extrapolating
from the role of the captain on the ship, the ICANNia would look
like military unit. The cruise ship metaphor gets even more
interesting when we consider different classes of cabins, rescue
operations, etc.<br>
<br>
These thoughts have taken me back to Hugo Grotius's book <i>Mare
Liberum</i> that established the "open sea" concept four
centuries ago as opposed to the idea of a <i>Mare Nostrum</i>. <font color="#cc0000"><b> </b></font>His relevance for our time is
sobering. If we replace 'sea' with 'Internet' we could have the
next book on the Internet. Grotius was a very interesting
personality.<font color="#cc0000"><b> </b></font> Besides being
one of the first international lawyers, he was one of the founders
of the 'natural law' school of thought. In addition, he wrote a
lot about social contract (before Rousseau, Locke, and others). As
a matter of fact, his social contract theory could be applicable
to the Internet. </div>
<div><br>
</div>
When it comes to the concept of open sea, Grotius had an interesting
interplay with the political masters of his era. He believed in
open sea, but Dutch and British authorities quickly realised the
usefulness of his doctrine. They had the biggest fleets and had
ambitions to develop trade and colonial empires. Grotius provided
them with the necessary doctrine or 'political software'. However,
Grotius always argued that 'open sea' needs rules and principles in
order to be 'open'. Although it was counter-intuitive to the leaders
of two growing maritime powers, he managed to convince them that it
was in their best interest to 'tame' their comparative powers and
ensure the sustainability of their empires beyond the 17th century.
Everything else has written the history, which proved Grotius right.
We can draw many parallels, with the necessary caution that
historical analogies should be handled with care. <br>
<br>
While we are waiting for a new Grotius (or Godot), we should review
how we debate Internet governance issues. Grotius was a great
scholar who mastered the existing rules before he started changing
them. We, on the other hand, use well-defined and developed concepts
in a relaxed way. A few examples...<br>
<br>
As we saw, the frequently used metaphor of the open sea does not
translate to an open Internet. In many respects, it can lead in the
opposite direction (Internet Nostrum). <br>
<br>
Another example is the role of states' responsibility in the
Internet era. This is a well-defined concept in international law.
If we want states to be responsible for whatever is originating in
their territories (e.g. cyber-attacks, botnets), we have to give
them the tools to ensure their responsibility (mainly state control,
regulation, and surveillance). Most writings on state responsibility
start from the opposite assumption, i.e. the limited role of the
state. With all the creativity and imagination in the world, we
still cannot have it both ways. <br>
<br>
The most topical example of the need for evidence-based policy is
the case of the Red Cross name/emblem at ICANN. There are very clear
rules for the protection of the Red Cross name/emblem that were
adopted some 100 years ago and have been followed, without
reservation, on national and international levels. ICANN was right
in protecting the Red Cross name but made the mistake of putting it
together with organisations that do not enjoy the same status (the
International Olympic Committee). <br>
<br>
Even if we want to change the rules in order to adjust to
the specificities of the Internet era (if any), we have first to
master them. I see here an important role for academic and civil
society communities. If we had advised ICANN to evaluate the Red
Cross and IOC submissions separately, we could have avoided a lot of
policy confusion and wasted time. <br>
<br>
The GIGANET might consider the evidence-based policy research as the
key theme for the next meeting?<br>
<br>
Regards, Jovan <br><div><div class="h5">
<br>
<br>
<div>On 12/6/12 3:31 PM, McTim wrote:<br>
</div>
<blockquote type="cite">All,
<div><br>
</div>
<div>If domiciling ICANN in a nation state is problematic, perhaps
ICANN could buy this cruise ship as a HQ:</div>
<div><br>
</div>
<div><a href="http://cruiseship.homestead.com/Cruise-Ship.html" target="_blank">http://cruiseship.homestead.com/Cruise-Ship.html</a></div>
<div><br>
</div>
<div>It would help solve the problem of internationalisation, be a
permanent host for ICANN meetings (2450 berths....saving hotel
costs for all) and generate revenue intersessionally. It's a
3-fer, plus it's a snip @~ 300 million USD!!</div>
<div><br>
</div>
<div>
<div><br>
</div>
-- <br>
Cheers,<br>
<br>
McTim<br>
"A name indicates what we seek. An address indicates where it
is. A route indicates how we get there." Jon Postel<br>
</div>
</blockquote>
<br>
</div></div><div>-- <br>
<div>
<p class="" style="text-autospace:none"><span><u></u> <u></u></span></p>
<p class="" style="text-autospace:none"><b><span>Jovan <span>Kurbalija</span>, PhD<u></u><u></u></span></b></p>
<p class="" style="text-autospace:none"><span>Director, <span>DiploFoundation</span></span><span><u></u><u></u></span></p>
<p class="" style="text-autospace:none"><span lang="FR-CH">Rue de
Lausanne 56 </span><b><span lang="FR-CH">| </span></b><span lang="FR-CH">1202
Geneva</span><span lang="FR-CH"> </span><b><span lang="FR-CH">|</span></b><b><span lang="FR-CH"> </span></b><span lang="FR-CH">Switzerland</span><span><u></u><u></u></span></p>
<p class="" style="text-autospace:none"><span><b><span>Tel.</span></b><span> </span><span lang="FR-CH"><a href="tel:%2B41%20%280%29%2022%207410435" value="+41227410435" target="_blank">+41 (0) 22 7410435</a> </span><b><span lang="FR-CH">| </span></b><b><span lang="FR-CH">Mobile.</span></b></span><span lang="FR-CH"> +41 (0)
797884226<u></u><u></u></span></p>
<p class="" style="text-autospace:none"><b><span>Email: </span></b><span lang="FR-CH"><a href="mailto:jovank@diplomacy.edu" target="_blank">jovank@diplomacy.edu</a></span><span> </span><span> </span><b><span lang="FR-CH">| </span></b><b><span lang="FR-CH">Twitter:</span></b><span lang="FR-CH"> @jovankurbalija</span><span> </span><span><u></u><u></u></span></p>
<p class="" style="text-autospace:none"><span><u></u> <u></u></span></p>
<p class="" style="text-autospace:none"><span><u></u> <u></u></span></p>
<p class=""><b><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Arial;color:rgb(31,73,125)" lang="FR-CH">The latest from Diplo:</span></b><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Arial;color:rgb(31,73,125)" lang="FR-CH"> </span><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Arial" lang="EN-US"><a href="http://www.diplomacy.edu/currently" target="_blank">today
– this week – this
month</a> <b><span style="color:red">l</span></b>
<a href="http://www.diplomacy.edu/conferences/innovation" target="_blank">Conference
on
Innovation in Diplomacy (Malta, 19-20 November 2012)</a> <b><span style="color:red">l</span> </b><a href="http://www.diplomacy.edu/courses" target="_blank">new online courses</a></span><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Arial" lang="EN-US"><u></u><u></u></span></p>
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<br></blockquote></div><br><br clear="all"><div><br></div>-- <br>____________________<br>Bertrand de La Chapelle<div>Internet & Jurisdiction Project Director, International Diplomatic Academy (<a href="http://www.internetjurisdiction.net" target="_blank">www.internetjurisdiction.net</a>)</div>
<div>Member, ICANN Board of Directors <br>Tel : +33 (0)6 11 88 33 32<br><br>"Le plus beau métier des hommes, c'est d'unir les hommes" Antoine de Saint Exupéry<br>("there is no greater mission for humans than uniting humans")</div>
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