[governance] MODIFIED draft text on political oversight

[Milton Mueller]

>>> Avri Doria <avri at acm.org> 09/27/05 5:30 PM >>>
>I am afraid we are at an impasse.  I cannot accept the 
>notion of the  forum as an oversight body for ICANN.

I didn't propose that MSF be an "oversight" body. I merely pointed out
that someone (not ICANN) has to decide when ICANN meets the conditions
you specify to be granted the full control of the root. Obviously. And
that is either the USG (which is the situation now) or....someone else.
It seems to me that MSF is the least objectionable option here, but I
agree it is not a good one. The problem highlights the major problems
with your proposal. 

>The idea of having an independent external review formed in  
>extraordinary cases, i.e. when the internal procedures of a more  
>developed ICANN (truly MSH etc) were unable to resolve an issue are  
>about as far as i could ever agree to.  

Whenever there is a big and important dispute, the worst thing you can
possibly do is construct the dispute resolution mechanism, rules and
decision makers ex post. That is just so fundamental to institutional
design it hardly bears repeating. The burden of doing this will be so
great that almost no review of ICANN Decisions will ever be possible,
because accepting a dispute would plunge everyone involved into so much
work and uncertainty that they will do anything to avoid it. 

>an no, i will also not subscribe to a framework convention, which  
>would be controled by nations and where civil society (and the  
>private sector as well as the internet community) would have no voice 

>in negotiations at all.

Huh? CS and PS can have a voice if govts agree to give them one. Which
is right where we are now, eh? How is it that you trust governments to
give you a voice in WSIS but not in a framework convention? In both
cases, governments have the same formal powers. In both cases, if CS is
to be included it will be becaiuse governments agree to give them that
role. Reliance on a FC per se doesn't change anything.


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