OReilly Media on "ICANN without restraints: the difficulties of coordinating stakeholders"

[Robin Gross]

I don't disagree.  It does underscore the importance of getting good
and engaged board members at ICANN.  Especially those board members
that the GNSO selects, we should be more involved in their selection.

Best,
Robin


On Oct 3, 2009, at 9:01 PM, Milton L Mueller wrote:

> Yes, Robin, when people like me say that ICANN isn't accountable to
> anyone we know that the Board has ultimate decision making power
> but the issue is to whom are THEY accountable?
>
> A corporate board is accountable to the shareholders.
>
> Most Cal. Non Profit Public Benefits are accountable to a membership.
>
> ICANN has no members.
>
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: Non-Commercial User Constituency [mailto:NCUC-
>> DISCUSS at LISTSERV.SYR.EDU] On Behalf Of Jorge Amodio
>> Sent: Saturday, October 03, 2009 7:39 PM
>> To: NCUC-DISCUSS at LISTSERV.SYR.EDU
>> Subject: Re: [NCUC-DISCUSS] OReilly Media on "ICANN without
>> restraints:
>> the difficulties of coordinating stakeholders"
>>
>> Thanks for the clarification Robin. Then am I right saying that
>> besides
>> the
>> BoD under the law the organization is not accountable to its
>> constituents ?
>>
>> Regards
>> Jorge
>>
>> On Sat, Oct 3, 2009 at 5:39 PM, Robin Gross <robin at ipjustice.org>
>> wrote:
>>> On Oct 3, 2009, at 7:21 AM, Jorge Amodio wrote:
>>>
>>> [...]
>>> I'm not an attorney so correct me if I'm wrong. As far as I know
>>> being
>> ICANN
>>> a non-profit CA corp with no institutional "members", legally
>>> besides to
>> the
>>> Attorney General, ICANN still is accountable to ... nobody ?
>>> [...]
>>>
>>> Technically, ICANN is a California not-for-profit corporation so
>>> it is
>>> primarily accountable to its corporate board of directors.  Under
>>> the
>> law,
>>> the buck stops with them because they have a fiduciary obligation to
>> make
>>> informed decisions that serve the public interest.   If they
>>> fail, one
>> could
>>> appeal to the California Attorney General's Office who over-sees
>> California
>>> nonprofits.  One could also complain to the US Federal government
>> because of
>>> ICANN's 501(c)(3) tax status it must be meet certain standards of
>>> accountability and public benefit.   And ICANN can be sued in legal
>> courts,
>>> most easily in California, just like any other nonprofit
>>> corporation for
>>> breach of its legal obligations.
>>> Robin
>>>
>>> IP JUSTICE
>>> Robin Gross, Executive Director
>>> 1192 Haight Street, San Francisco, CA  94117  USA
>>> p: +1-415-553-6261    f: +1-415-462-6451
>>> w: http://www.ipjustice.org     e: robin at ipjustice.org
>>>
>>>
>>>




IP JUSTICE
Robin Gross, Executive Director
1192 Haight Street, San Francisco, CA  94117  USA
p: +1-415-553-6261    f: +1-415-462-6451
w: http://www.ipjustice.org     e: robin at ipjustice.org



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