[governance] ICANN's legal status

[Fouad Bajwa]

One thing I fail to understand is that rhetoric around the possibility
that if ICANN was and International body moved beyond US territory and
incorporation laws into an international treaty that it would become
immune to certain international laws? I tend to believe that whenever
any new political process evolves into an international treaty or
agreement it is bound to some kind of political instruments that are
constructed to benefit that particular international setting. I cannot
pick up WIPO processes and apply them directly to the Human Rights
Declaration but I can definitely identify a development agenda and
apply it in WIPO's existing processes to challenge and extract a new
set of insights and understanding that can positively affect
international development through influencing public policy of member
states.

I would agree to some extent that a majority of countries would like
to see some independent international body or structure to address
issues related to Internet and Public Policy but I would always defend
the 'and' in between Internet 'and' Public Policy. International
institution development or negotiation instruments can evolve into
policy but that cannot be directly taken as public policy, it can
influence public policy in stakeholder countries but itself cannot
stand as public policy and only complement it. Thats where I see ICANN
but since its incorporated in the US without a multilateral treaty, it
would be stand outside the scope of a recognized International Policy
setting. You may call it a 'defacto' industry evolved activity but
within International Treaty or Agreements, it simply does not exist
and I would not defend it.

I have developed a belief over time that we are dealing with the
politics of two different societies in terms of Internet Public Policy
or Internet Governance per se. I believe that the IG process would
have benefited from taking into account that there are two
multistakeholder-"isms" (very dissimilar) and must be tackled in a
very different light. I have always found Milton's and Parminder's
point of views to clearly show this dissimilarity and I have stopped
putting their arguments and disagreements as two contesting
ideologies. Its a dissimilarity of these isms and societies.

As for the sake of this discussion, these two schools of political
thought in terms of Internet Public Policy will remain side by side
whether we want to accept it or not. The two contexts will continue to
have their different understandings and struggles. ICANN's status will
be digestible to some and indigestible to most and there is no single
medicine that can change this point of views. Where will arguments go
if the origin of all political thought was the same?

fOO-da-bytes


On Tue, Sep 4, 2012 at 11:59 PM, Louis Pouzin (well) <pouzin at well.com> wrote:
> per http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/racket
>
> which definition would best match ICANN activities ?
>
> 1. a loud noise or clamor, especially of a disturbing or confusing kind;
> din; uproar:
> 2. social excitement, gaiety, or dissipation.
> 3. an organized illegal activity, such as bootlegging or the extortion of
> money from legitimate business people by threat or violence.
> 4. a dishonest scheme, trick, business, activity, etc.: the latest
> weight-reducing racket.
>
> Louis
> - - -
>
>
> On Tue, Sep 4, 2012 at 7:42 PM, Carlos A. Afonso <ca at cafonso.ca> wrote:
>>
>> Hmmm... like now, in which a non-profit gets hundreds of millions in fees
>> from the sale (should we use a different word?) at absolutely arbitrary
>> prices of mnemonics to blocks of Internet addresses?
>>
>> --c.a.
>
>
>
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