"'Shall' is very commonly used in legislation in the third person to imply mandatoriness." Agreed. In four decades of U.S. legislative experience I have always seen "shall" used to denote a mandatory outcome. "May", on the other hand, allows for discretionary judgment -- and is usually accompanied by a listing of considerations that should be considered in exercising that discretion. I would note further that the current language we are seeking to have clarified neither provides any such list of considerations, nor does it designate who the decisional entity would be. Philip S. Corwin, Founding Principal Virtualaw LLC 1155 F Street, NW Suite 1050 Washington, DC 20004 202-559-8597/Direct 202-559-8750/Fax 202-255-6172/cell Twitter: @VlawDC "Luck is the residue of design" -- Branch Rickey -----Original Message----- From: accountability-cross-community-bounces@icann.org [mailto:accountability-cross-community-bounces@icann.org] On Behalf Of Nigel Roberts Sent: Sunday, February 28, 2016 3:01 PM To: accountability-cross-community@icann.org Subject: Re: [CCWG-ACCT] Request for Clarification on Threshold Issue I don't agree with your example. however valid the rest of your comment. Traditionally, the auxilary "shall" is used for the future tense with the first-person pronouns I and We. "Will" is used with the first-person (again, I refer to traditional usage) to express determination not merely futurity. The opposite is true for second- and third-person pronouns: with these "will" is used in the future tense, and "shall" is used only when we wish to express determination or to emphasize certainty. So both of your examples are right, not just one; and they bear subtly different meanings . . . . "If you come late I WILL NOT wait for you" means :- "I have no desire to wait for you if you are late. I am determined in that view" (the conclusion that "you should not expect to see me there" is merely implicit) However . . . "If you come late I SHALL NOT wait for you" means literally and EXPLICITLY simply that :- "Do not expect to see me there if you arrive late". This form says nothing about my feelings or desires explicitly (though you might imply this, it is not certain at all; and my reasons for not being there if your are late may be external unrelated to my desires, wishes or intentions.). 'Shall' is very commonly used in legislation in the third person to imply mandatoriness. Nigel (PS: WILL NOT and SHALL NOT may be replaced with WON'T and SHAN'T)
Example
If you come late I *will*not wait for you
It is never said
If you come late I *shal*l not wait for you
This is an important basic and fundamental issue to be respected.
Accountability-Cross-Community mailing list Accountability-Cross-Community@icann.org https://mm.icann.org/mailman/listinfo/accountability-cross-community ----- No virus found in this message. Checked by AVG - www.avg.com Version: 2016.0.7303 / Virus Database: 4537/11693 - Release Date: 02/25/16