<div dir="ltr">I don't think that "international law" as referred to in this discussion was intended to mean "<span style="font-size:13px">law binding states in regards to bilateral and multilateral relationships between themselves (states), emanating from bilateral and multilateral agreements between themselves (states),</span>" Rather, I expect that what was meant was "principles of international law," as referred to in ICANN's Articles of Incorporation, Article 4, (emphasis added):<div><br></div><div><span style="color:rgb(51,51,51);font-family:helvetica,arial,sans-serif;font-size:16px;line-height:22.3999996185303px">4. The Corporation shall operate for the benefit of the Internet community as a whole, carrying out its activities in conformity with relevant <b>principles of international law </b>and applicable international conventions and local law and, to the extent appropriate and consistent with these Articles and its Bylaws, through open and transparent processes that enable competition and open entry in Internet-related markets. To this effect, the Corporation shall cooperate as appropriate with relevant international organizations.</span><br></div><div><span style="color:rgb(51,51,51);font-family:helvetica,arial,sans-serif;font-size:16px;line-height:22.3999996185303px"><br></span></div><div><span style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:Verdana,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:12px;text-align:justify">Article 38(1) of the Statute of the International Court of Justice refers to</span><span style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:Verdana,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:12px;text-align:justify"> “the general principles of law recognized by civilized nations,” which can be described as follows:</span></div><blockquote style><font color="#000000" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><span style="font-size:12px">The basic notion is that a general principle of international law is some proposition of law so fundamental that it will be found in virtually every legal system. When treaties and customary international law fail to offer a needed international rule, a search may be launched in comparative law to discover if national legal systems use a common legal principle. If such a common legal principle is found, then it is presumed that a comparable principle should be attributed to fill the gap in international law. (</span></font><span style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:Verdana,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:12px;text-align:justify">Ja</span><span style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:Verdana,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:12px;text-align:justify">nis, </span><i style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:Verdana,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:12px;text-align:justify">An Introduction to International Law)<br><br></i></blockquote><span style="text-align:justify">There is a useful discussion of the interpretation of the term "principles of international law" in the Declaration of the Independent Review Panel in </span><u style="text-align:justify">ICM v. ICANN</u><span style="text-align:justify">, which summarizes the arguments of both parties' international law experts before the panel comes to its own conclusion:</span><br><blockquote style="margin:0px 0px 0px 40px;border:none;padding:0px"><blockquote style><br></blockquote></blockquote><blockquote style><span class="" style="text-align:justify"><blockquote style><font color="#000000" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><span style="font-size:12px"><i>138. In the view of ICM Registry, principles of international law are</i></span></font></blockquote><blockquote style><font color="#000000" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><span style="font-size:12px"><i>applicable; that straightforwardly follows from their specification in the</i></span></font></blockquote><blockquote style><font color="#000000" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><span style="font-size:12px"><i>foregoing phrase of Article 4 of the Articles, and from the reasons given in</i></span></font></blockquote><blockquote style><font color="#000000" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><span style="font-size:12px"><i>introducing that specification. (Supra, paragraphs 53-54.) Principles of</i></span></font></blockquote><blockquote style><font color="#000000" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><span style="font-size:12px"><i>international law in ICM’s analysis include the general principles of law</i></span></font></blockquote><blockquote style><font color="#000000" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><span style="font-size:12px"><i>recognized as a source of international law in Article 38 of the Statute of the</i></span></font></blockquote><blockquote style><font color="#000000" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><span style="font-size:12px"><i>International Court of Justice. Those principles are not confined, as ICANN</i></span></font></blockquote><blockquote style><font color="#000000" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><span style="font-size:12px"><i>argues, to the few principles that may be relevant to the interests of Internet</i></span></font></blockquote><blockquote style><font color="#000000" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><span style="font-size:12px"><i>stakeholders, such as principles relating to trademark law and freedom of</i></span></font></blockquote><blockquote style><font color="#000000" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><span style="font-size:12px"><i>expression. Rather they include international legal principles of general</i></span></font></blockquote><blockquote style><font color="#000000" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><span style="font-size:12px"><i>applicability, such as the fundamental principle of good faith and allied</i></span></font></blockquote><blockquote style><font color="#000000" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><span style="font-size:12px"><i>principles such as estoppel and abuse of right. ICM’s expert, Professor</i></span></font></blockquote><blockquote style><font color="#000000" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><span style="font-size:12px"><i>Goldsmith, observes that there is ample precedent in international contracts</i></span></font></blockquote><blockquote style><font color="#000000" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><span style="font-size:12px"><i>and in the holdings of international tribunals for the proposition that nonsovereigns</i></span></font></blockquote><blockquote style><font color="#000000" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><span style="font-size:12px"><i>may choose to apply principles of international law to the</i></span></font></blockquote><blockquote style><font color="#000000" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><span style="font-size:12px"><i>determination of their rights and to the disposition of their disputes.<br></i></span></font><i style="font-size:12px;color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:Verdana,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif"><br><br>139. ICANN and its expert, Professor David Caron, maintain that</i><font color="#000000" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><span style="font-size:12px"><i><br></i></span></font></blockquote><blockquote style><font color="#000000" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><span style="font-size:12px"><i>international law essentially governs relations among sovereign States; and</i></span></font></blockquote><blockquote style><font color="#000000" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><span style="font-size:12px"><i>that to the extent that such principles are “relevant” in this case, it is those</i></span></font></blockquote><blockquote style><font color="#000000" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><span style="font-size:12px"><i>few principles that are applicable to a private non-profit corporation that</i></span></font></blockquote><blockquote style><font color="#000000" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><span style="font-size:12px"><i>bear on the activities of ICANN described in Article 3 of its Articles of</i></span></font></blockquote><blockquote style><font color="#000000" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><span style="font-size:12px"><i>Incorporation (supra, paragraph 2). General principles of law, such as that of</i></span></font></blockquote><blockquote style><font color="#000000" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><span style="font-size:12px"><i>good faith, are not imported by Article 4 of ICANN’s Articles of Incorporation;</i></span></font></blockquote><blockquote style><font color="#000000" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><span style="font-size:12px"><i>still less are principles derived from treaties that protect legitimate</i></span></font></blockquote><blockquote style><font color="#000000" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><span style="font-size:12px"><i>expectations. Nor is Article 4 of the Articles a choice-of-law provision; in</i></span></font></blockquote><blockquote style><font color="#000000" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><span style="font-size:12px"><i>fact, no governing law has been specified by the disputing parties in this</i></span></font></blockquote><blockquote style><font color="#000000" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><span style="font-size:12px"><i>case. If ICANN, by reason of its functions, is to be treated as analogous to</i></span></font></blockquote><blockquote style><font color="#000000" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><span style="font-size:12px"><i>public international organizations established by treaty (which it clearly is</i></span></font></blockquote><blockquote style><font color="#000000" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><span style="font-size:12px"><i>not), then a relevant principle to be extracted and applied from the</i></span></font></blockquote><blockquote style><font color="#000000" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><span style="font-size:12px"><i>jurisprudence of their administrative tribunals is that of deference to the</i></span></font></blockquote><blockquote style><font color="#000000" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><span style="font-size:12px"><i>discretionary authority of executive organs and of bodies whose decisions</i></span></font></blockquote><blockquote style><font color="#000000" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><span style="font-size:12px"><i>are subject to review.<br><br></i></span></font></blockquote><blockquote style><font color="#000000" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><span style="font-size:12px"><i>140. In the view of the Panel, ICANN, in carrying out its activities “in</i></span></font></blockquote><blockquote style><font color="#000000" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><span style="font-size:12px"><i>conformity with the relevant principles of international law,” is charged with</i></span></font></blockquote><blockquote style><font color="#000000" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><span style="font-size:12px"><i>acting consistently with relevant principles of international law, including</i></span></font></blockquote><blockquote style><font color="#000000" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><span style="font-size:12px"><i>the general principles of law recognized as a source of international law. 64</i></span></font></blockquote><blockquote style><font color="#000000" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><span style="font-size:12px"><i>That follows from the terms of Article 4 of its Articles of Incorporation and</i></span></font></blockquote><blockquote style><font color="#000000" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><span style="font-size:12px"><i>from the intentions that animated their inclusion in the Articles, an intention</i></span></font></blockquote><blockquote style><font color="#000000" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><span style="font-size:12px"><i>that the Panel understands to have been to subject ICANN to relevant</i></span></font></blockquote><blockquote style><font color="#000000" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><span style="font-size:12px"><i>international legal principles because of its governance of an intrinsically</i></span></font></blockquote><blockquote style><font color="#000000" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><span style="font-size:12px"><i>international resource of immense importance to global communications and</i></span></font></blockquote><blockquote style><font color="#000000" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><span style="font-size:12px"><i>economies. Those intentions might not be realized were Article 4<br></i></span></font><span style="font-style:italic;font-family:Verdana,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:12px;color:rgb(0,0,0)"><br>interpreted to exclude the applicability of general principles of law.</span></blockquote></span></blockquote><blockquote style="margin:0px 0px 0px 40px;border:none;padding:0px"><blockquote style><span class="" style="text-align:justify"><blockquote style><font color="#000000"><span style="font-size:12px"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" style="font-style:italic"><br></font></span></font></blockquote></span></blockquote></blockquote><blockquote style></blockquote><span style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:12px;text-align:justify">While not dispositive, the Declaration can hardly be dismissed as inconsequential. It is clearly from even a brief review of the document that it is the result of many of hours of careful research, analysis and argument by knowledgeable professionals on both sides of the case, as well as a careful review by the panel (which included a former presiding judge of the ICJ, a distinguished scholar of international arbitration and a former US District Court judge). Given that these contributors trod the very ground upon which we now walk, the Declaration is, at the least, instructive.</span><div><div style="text-align:justify"><font color="#000000" face="arial, helvetica, sans-serif"><span style="font-size:12px"><br></span></font></div><div style="text-align:justify"><font color="#000000" face="arial, helvetica, sans-serif"><span style="font-size:12px">Greg Shatan</span></font></div><blockquote style><span class="" style="text-align:justify"><blockquote style></blockquote><blockquote style><font color="#000000"><span style="font-size:12px"><br><br></span></font></blockquote></span></blockquote></div><div class="gmail_extra">
<br><div class="gmail_quote">On Tue, Dec 16, 2014 at 2:20 PM, Dr Eberhard W Lisse <span dir="ltr"><<a href="mailto:el@lisse.na" target="_blank">el@lisse.na</a>></span> wrote:<blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0 0 0 .8ex;border-left:1px #ccc solid;padding-left:1ex"><div dir="auto"><div>Becky,</div><div><br></div><div>as if that was of any consequence.</div><span class=""><div><br></div><div><br></div><div>el<br><br>Sent from Dr Lisse's iPad mini</div></span><span class=""><div><br>On Dec 16, 2014, at 20:50, Burr, Becky <<a href="mailto:Becky.Burr@neustar.biz" target="_blank">Becky.Burr@neustar.biz</a>> wrote:<br><br></div><blockquote type="cite"><div>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1f497d">Also, fwiw, the panel in ICM v. ICANN held that ICANN is subject to international law.<u></u><u></u></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1f497d"><u></u> <u></u></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:9.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:#1f497d">J. Beckwith Burr</span></p></div></div></blockquote></span>[...]</div></blockquote></div></div></div>