[Ws2-jurisdiction] first draft of fact solicitation questions

parminder parminder at itforchange.net
Sun Nov 27 06:33:32 UTC 2016



On Saturday 26 November 2016 08:23 PM, avri doria wrote:
> Hi,
>
> I am among those who would like to see a question included along the
> lines Parminder suggests. It should, however, be made by specific
> reference to existing laws that could be used to interfere with ICANN's
> ability to provide service to customers in other countries.

I think that Avri's proposal would be a good way to go about it, as long
as we do not the circumscribe the inquiry too much. I would prefer a
general question, plus a specific component, like
 
What do you think are the problems, if any, with continued jurisdiction
of the US state over ICANN, as a US non-profit? Please justify your
response with appropriate examples, analysis, etc. Especially, please
indicate if there are existing and past instances that highlight such
problems. Also, in terms of future likelihood, please mention specific
institutions/ laws etc of the US state that could be used to interfere
with ICANN's ability to provide global governance services to all people
of the world, including in non US countries.

(Pl note that I have replaced the last part on services to customers in
other countries to global gov services to all people.)


> While I strongly support keeping the incorporation in CA in the US
> because the yet to tested accountability process depends on that,

I am happy to support a separate exercise seeking expert opinion on
whether accountability process does or does not pertain to private law
which can choose its own jurisdiction of adjudication (as most private
contracts can), irrespective of whether ICANN is subject to US public
laws or not, as having immunity from them, whether on basis of an
international law incorporation of US state granted immunity under the
mentioned immunity laws of the US. In this manner, to ascertain whether
ICANN's new accountability mechanism can or cannot still be adjudicated
upon by Californian law/ courts, on the basis of making the necessary
provision in ICANN's bylaws.
 
>  I also
> support an effort to look for immunity from laws that affect ICANN
> ability to serve clients internationally - be they governments,
> companies or individuals.  This immunity should be restricted to ICANN
> performance of its mission in relation to international entities and
> _not_ relate to contract law, labor law or local ordinances on garbage
> pickup.

Of course, that is exactly what is sought. And that is possible in my
view to do with immunity under the US immunity provisions.
> I do not think that this immunity can be gained in the WS2 timeframe,
> but I do believe that WS2 could initiate yet another CCWG effort to work
> on that, if the consensus of the group were to do so.
The purpose of the WS2 is to make recommendations and for ICANN to begin
action on that basis. That can be done in a few months, if agreed to..
It is not about necessarily completing the process within WS2 time
frame. If WS2 does not give this rec, and passes it on to WS3, the same
problem will arise; if we would not have begun working on it, immunity
cannot be gained within any WS# time period as well, which then becomes
an infinite process .....

Let us be very clear; if we are working on immunity from US under
relevant current provisions of US law, we can only recommend, as the
wish of the world community. It if of course for the US state to act on
it or not. But I would find it extremely strange for us not to arrive at
a rec which in our view if what preserves the global public interest
best, and is quite possible/ practical to do, just because we begin
second guessing whether US state will actually do it, and if so, in what
time frame. That I do not think if the job of this group or of CCWG as a
whole.

> But first we need more of the background information, the so-called
> facts. We have to remember that with NTIA oversight, the application of
> some laws may have been different than it might be going forward.  We
> need to understand whether that is the case or not, and whether there
> are laws that could now be applied to ICANN's activities that were not
> applied before.

Yes I agree. This is a kind of investigation that is needed. Meanwhile,
let me add, and I think this is what Avri is already alluding to, as now
being not under a US gov contract/ oversight, ICANN in fact , in one
way, may be more exposed to the full power of all laws and institutions
of the US state than before. It is now just another private organisation.

parminder
>
> avri
>
>
>
> On 26-Nov-16 05:08, parminder wrote:
>>
>>
>> On Saturday 26 November 2016 01:55 PM, Mueller, Milton L wrote:
>>> Sorry, Parminder, I see this as a request for opinions, not facts.
>>> The whole point of this exercise is to gain specific factual cases
>>> that show actual issues, not to provide people with an excuse to
>>> complain about what the “think are the problems.” I would reject
>>> adding such a question to the list 
>>>
>>  Milton, you probably mean, you are against adding such a question :).
>> I dont see you have any authority to reject anything any more than I
>> have to reject your original formulation.
>>
>> Was not the community accountability mechanism instituted just on the
>> basis of "what people think are the problems"? I saw no efforts to
>> gather facts with surveys like
>>
>> "1.       Are you aware of any instance in which anyone's business,
>> privacy, or ability to use or purchase DNS-related services, has been
>> affected by absence of a community accountability mechanism ?
>>
>> If any such known 'facts' exist I am unaware of them and will like to
>> know.
>>
>> In case of the question of ICANN's jurisdiction of incorporation
>> analytical facts are rather more evident, as raised in the civil
>> society statement.
>>
>> The process we employ can lead towards certain kind of outcomes rather
>> than others. And I see this particular process being aimed at
>> foreclosing the jurisdiction of incorporation question. This is fact
>> the "application of public laws question" because immunity from such
>> application can be obtained even without changing ICANN's place of
>> jurisdiction.
>>
>> Meaning ICANN can stay incorporated as US non profit in California,
>> and it exempted from application form various public laws as per the
>> US immunity act that I cited. I also said that, as far as I can
>> understand, it is possible to keep the private disputes arising from
>> ICANN's organisational system, including those about enforcement of
>> community powers, to be subject to US/ Californian law, strictly only
>> for such dispute resolution as per ICANN bylaws. We need to hear from
>> this group why this is not possible or not preferred...
>>
>> parminder
>>
>>
>>>  
>>>
>>> *From:*ws2-jurisdiction-bounces at icann.org
>>> [mailto:ws2-jurisdiction-bounces at icann.org] *On Behalf Of *parminder
>>> *Sent:* Wednesday, November 23, 2016 11:54 PM
>>> *To:* ws2-jurisdiction at icann.org
>>> *Subject:* Re: [Ws2-jurisdiction] first draft of fact solicitation
>>> questions
>>>
>>>  
>>>
>>> I will like to add a general question to the below:
>>>
>>> What do you think are the problems, if any, with continued
>>> jurisdiction of the US state over ICANN, as a US non-profit? Please
>>> justify your response with appropriate examples, analysis, etc.
>>> Especially, if there are existing and past instances that highlight
>>> such problems please indicate them.
>>>
>>> parminder
>>>
>>>  
>>>
>>> On Wednesday 23 November 2016 09:50 PM, Mike Rodenbaugh wrote:
>>>
>>>     These seem well-stated, except perhaps they should not be looking
>>>     only for personal experience, but broaden the request to seek any
>>>     experience the responder is aware of?  So I suggest something like:
>>>
>>>      
>>>
>>>     1.       Are you aware of any instance in which anyone's
>>>     business, privacy, or ability to use or purchase DNS-related
>>>     services, has been affected by ICANN's jurisdiction in any way?
>>>
>>>     If the answer is Yes, please describe specific cases or
>>>     incidents, including the date, the parties involved, and links to
>>>     any relevant documents.
>>>
>>>     2.       Are you aware of any instance in which ICANN's
>>>     jurisdiction affected any dispute resolution process or
>>>     litigation related to domain names?
>>>
>>>     If the answer is Yes, please describe specific cases or
>>>     incidents, including the date, the parties involved, and links to
>>>     any relevant documents.
>>>
>>>      
>>>
>>>      
>>>
>>>
>>>     Mike Rodenbaugh
>>>
>>>     RODENBAUGH LAW
>>>
>>>     tel/fax:  +1.415.738.8087
>>>
>>>     http://rodenbaugh.com 
>>>
>>>      
>>>
>>>     On Wed, Nov 23, 2016 at 6:47 AM, Mueller, Milton L
>>>     <milton at gatech.edu <mailto:milton at gatech.edu>> wrote:
>>>
>>>         CW and I have agreed on the following draft:
>>>
>>>          
>>>
>>>          
>>>
>>>         *Request for stakeholder input on jurisdiction issues*
>>>
>>>          
>>>
>>>         The Jurisdiction subgroup of the CCWG Accountability is
>>>         asking for the community to provide factual input on the
>>>         following questions:
>>>
>>>          
>>>
>>>         1.       Has your business, your privacy or your ability to
>>>         use or purchase DNS-related services, been affected by
>>>         ICANN's jurisdiction in any way?
>>>
>>>         If the answer is Yes, please describe specific cases or
>>>         incidents, including the date, the parties involved, and
>>>         links to any relevant documents.
>>>
>>>          
>>>
>>>         2.       Has ICANN's jurisdiction affected any dispute
>>>         resolution process or litigation related to domain names you
>>>         have been involved in?
>>>
>>>         If the answer is Yes, please describe specific cases or
>>>         incidents, including the date, the parties involved, and
>>>         links to any relevant documents.
>>>
>>>          
>>>
>>>          
>>>
>>>          
>>>
>>>         Dr. Milton L. Mueller
>>>
>>>         Professor, School of Public Policy
>>>
>>>         Georgia Institute of Technology
>>>
>>>          
>>>
>>>          
>>>
>>>
>>>         _______________________________________________
>>>         Ws2-jurisdiction mailing list
>>>         Ws2-jurisdiction at icann.org <mailto:Ws2-jurisdiction at icann.org>
>>>         https://mm.icann.org/mailman/listinfo/ws2-jurisdiction
>>>
>>>      
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>     _______________________________________________
>>>
>>>     Ws2-jurisdiction mailing list
>>>
>>>     Ws2-jurisdiction at icann.org <mailto:Ws2-jurisdiction at icann.org>
>>>
>>>     https://mm.icann.org/mailman/listinfo/ws2-jurisdiction
>>>
>>>  
>>>
>>
>>
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