On Thu, 17 Jun 1999, John B. Reynolds wrote:
You ask why the suggested acts of NTIA with regard to ICANN are not
equally appliable to NSI.
They would be...
However, NTIA has never demonstrated that it has any statutory authority
whatsoever to be doing what it is doing.
And NTIA, being a mere administrative agency of the executive branch of
the US government, has utterly no intrinsic powers.
NTIA obtains its powers only through explicit statutes and, occassionally,
executive orders (which in turn have to be able to find their source of
authority either in the Constitution or in a Statute or Treaty.)
Despite repeated requests, NTIA has never been able or willing to produce
a list of sources of authority.
I've read NTIA's statutory charter. It does not confer such authority.
I do not believe either NTIA or the Department of Commerce has any such
authority.
And there is no statute of limitations that would limit questions about
the legitimacy of acts of agencies that are beyond the powers of those
agencies.
Thus, NTIA's failure to have authority could lead to the illegitimization
of ICANN.
It is such a simple thing for NTIA to demonstrate that it actually has
authority, and so much is at risk due to NTIA's failure to do so.
--karl--
