Comment on the Draft Bylaw

["Lincoln Liu" <18601946277@xxxxxxx>]

I consider the establishment of the Empowered Community is the greatest 
achievement of this Draft Bylaw, while for anything yet to be improved, the 
issue of jurisdiction still stands in the first line.

 

1.    The establishment of the Empowered Community

May be many people, even the Board Members believe that the establishment of EC 
serves the only purpose of weakening Borad’s authority. However, in my opinion, 
the establishment of the EC is more like a measure of power balance than a plot 
of undermining.

 

As to a regular corporation, just for argument’s sake, the highest authority is 
not the Board, but the Shareholders Meeting, and the Board is naturally 
responsible for implementing the will of the Shareholders Meeting. Indeed, it 
sounds a little strange if we compare the EC to the Shareholders Meeting of 
ICANN, but we could do that in a proper way for better understanding.

 

When we look back, there has never been a legitimate entity that could bear the 
will of the whole Community, and this is an obviously existing blank of the 
ICANN governance system. I believe the EC Administration could exactly be the 
mouthpiece and ensure that the Board will cater to the needs of the whole 
Community.

 

Honestly speaking, the newborn EC is not “The Sword of Damocles”, and of 
course, no Board Member was, is, and will be the Tyrant Dionysius. I firmly 
believe that the EC will not be a potential risk that could make the Board feel 
like treading as if on thin ice, but a great milestone and a historical 
certainty in the way of the ICANN development.

 

2.    The issue of Jurisdiction

One of the most obvious amendments is the extension of the scope of ICANN 
applicable law, which makes ICANN subject to the CCC, other than the CNPBCL, a 
single part of the CCC. It is understandable as the ICANN governance system has 
changed, and original clauses of law could not meet the requirements of 
defining, describing, and explaining new things.

 

Here is one thing needs to be clear, the top priority at present is to realize 
the IANA transition, not to dispute over the issue of jurisdiction. It is a 
temporary expedient to adopt the old rules as the issue of jurisdiction is a 
time-consuming and complicated one. Any action that could delay or fail the 
IANA Transition shall be deemed as a miserable setback.

Nevertheless, the US Presidential Candidate Ted Cruz had been putting pressure 
on ICANN since early this year and questioning China’s role in IANA transition. 
I have to say the Cruz’s expression is a perfect incarnation of the McCarthy’s 
“Reds Under the Beds” and a groundless slander on a country like China that has 
been dedicating itself to global Internet development.

 

As an old Chinese saying goes: One falling leaf is indicative of the coming of 
autumn. So, it is fairly to believe that some US politicians perceive the IANA 
function as a bargaining chip in the Presidential Election. This would not only 
make the IANA transition a treacherous path just like their own ascension, but 
also reveal a truth that the adoption of old rules is only a temporary 
expedient, not a long-term one.

 

Last but not the least, the CCWG should focus on the issue of jurisdiction and 
treat it as a core work in the Workstream 2, and seek a measure to release the 
ICANN and PTI from the totally legal control of the CCC and US Federal Law. 
After all, refer back to a metaphor that I mentioned above, the absolutely 
unilateral jurisdiction is the actual Sword that hangs over everyone’s head.

 

Lincoln Liu