[CWG-Stewardship] FW: Do we really need a Contracting Co.?

[Milton L Mueller]

From: Maarten Simon [mailto:maarten.simon at sidn.nl]

It is not that I see the Contracting co as a non option but I try to get a better understanding of what it will actually brings us. A clear one is that it probably makes a future separation mainly from a legal perspective a bit easier.

MM: It also makes it easier from a political perspective. The members of the ICANN community likely to be on a MRT are in many ways dependent on ICANN; in some cases (e.g., gTLDs seeking a new resource) the very livelihood as a business is in ICANN’s hands. Often that can influence their positioning on other issues. An accountability mechanism that resides entirely within ICANN and its bylaws is not an independent accountability mechanism.

MM: This brings up what may be a delicate issue.  Maarten, surely you have noticed that the groups more concerned with harder and separable forms of accountability tend to come from the gTLD space. That is no accident. You are a ccTLD operator not subject to ICANN policy authority; here in gTLD land we know a bit more about the exercise of arbitrary power and the real costs of the lack of accountability mechanisms. Therefore I think that, as the lawyers say, you kind of lack standing on some of the issues regarding regarding accountability mechanisms. Of course, you are as interested in a stable and accountable IANA as we are, but when you say “we don’t need an independent Contract Co.,” what I hear is “we ccTLDs don’t see a need for it.“ I understand that cc’s have a very good deal in certain respects – free service from IANA (or voluntary contributions) with no contractual obligations – but just as I said to Paul Kane, that situation does not apply to the rest of us and it is a mistake to design a solution that the rest of the TLD world has to live with based on your contentment with the status quo. I would ask for some deference to our views regarding the independence of the MRT and contracting process of ICANN. We have to live with the results a bit more than you do.

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