Re: Explosive bolts [Re: Options for IETF administrative restructuring]

brc@zurich.ibm.com (Brian E Carpenter) writes:

> ...
> 
> Firstly, note that the IETF (*not* the ISOC) signed an MOU with ICANN on
> March 1st 2000. Fred Baker signed it as IETF Chair, I signed it as IAB
> Chair, and Mike Roberts signed it as ICANN President.  The IETF lawyer
> and the ICANN lawyer were both consulted, and there was no suggestion
> that the IETF couldn't sign an MOU.  Not being a lawyer myself, I don't
> want to argue that point.

i am likewise not a lawyer and so i hardly ever trust myself, or recommend
that others trust me, when i say "you don't need a lawyer."  however, in
this case, i think "you need a better lawyer" is a safe statement.  look
at <http://www.bvsc.org/content.asp?id=12112236&cat=8&parentid=0>, to wit:

        Disadvantages

        Personal responsibility of the management committee. 

        The organisation cannot enter into contracts, own land, employ
        people or do anything itself

so if fred signed this as IETF Chair, he was agreeing personally to the
terms of the MoU.  his signature could not be representative of anything,
since by the nature of an unincorporated association, there is nothing to
represent.  now that fred's not IETF Chair any more, there is no sense in
which "IETF" is in any way constrained by the content of the MoU he signed.

> If you're wondering what the IETF is, the MOU also defines it for you:
> 
> >    IETF - the Internet Engineering Task Force, the unincorporated
> >    association operating under such name that creates Internet Standards
> >    and related documents.
> 
> These things are not hard. (See RFC 2860 for the full text.)

like many things outside the core technical field, these things are hard,
and harder than they look, and hard enough that you need a better lawyer.
as long as IETF remains an unincorporated association, i think you need
every new IESG and IAB member to add their signature to all current MoU's
and other agreements.  but you should find a lawyer.  a better lawyer than
the one who was standing by last time this stuff was discussed or signed.
-- 
Paul Vixie

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