The ICANN mission (was Re: [ncdnhc-discuss] A statement on the ICANN "reform" proposal)

[Rob Courtney]

At 9:11 PM -0800 2/26/02, Dave Crocker wrote:
>At 12:56 PM 2/26/2002 -0500, Rob Courtney wrote:
>>At 9:27 AM -0800 2/26/02, Dave Crocker wrote:
>>
>>>However ICANN must worry about ensuring that the name and number 
>>>administration service actually works in this real world we all 
>>>inhabit.  A working system must deal with more than a small set of 
>>>protocol standards.  It must deal with its operation in a larger 
>>>context.
>>>
>>>Absence of a UDRP, for example, was in fact proving crippling. 
>>>Hence the need for a mechanism that dealt with a core set of 
>>>registration disputes.
>>
>>I'm flexible. Dispute resolution could be built into the mission 
>>(assuming that we define ICANN's role in creating a dispute 
>>resolution structure quite narrowly). The key is not that the list 
>>has to be short -- although I think the list could be quite short, 
>>since the shorter the list, the narrower the mission -- but that 
>>the list has to be well-defined.
>
>The list is already short and narrow.  Always has been.
>
>All of the fears some folk espouse are about things that ICANN has 
>never sought.

The list is already short and narrow, but it's not written down 
anywhere! The Articles of Incorporation and the Bylaws are vague when 
it comes to ICANN's intended activities. Statements by Board 
directors and staff are sometimes conflicting and in any case 
non-binding.

We agree that there is an intended mission, and that it is narrow and 
technical. All I'm asking is that we codify it somewhere (viz. the 
Articles or the Bylaws, or both). I've put out a strawman, to which I 
hope others will contribute:

ICANN's mission is, and is limited to, those activities for which 
centralized coordination is necessary to:
* assure interoperability
* assure data integrity
* assure the availability of the Whois
* assure that a dispute resolution system is available and functional 
(thx Dave)

r

-- 

Rob Courtney
Policy Analyst
Center for Democracy & Technology
1634 Eye Street NW, Suite 1100
Washington, DC 20006
202 637 9800
fax 202 637 0968
rob at cdt.org
http://www.cdt.org/

  --

Add your voice to the Internet policy debate!
    JOIN THE CDT ACTIVIST NETWORK!
      http://www.cdt.org/join/