Bertrand, *1) About W3C* W3C enters MoUs using its host organisations (MIT,ERCIM and Keio) as legal vehicles. See for example http://www.w3.org/2004/05/W3C-OMA-Agreement-FINAL.html I am of the opinion that MoUs that W3C enters without using host organisations as legal vehicles will not be legally enforceable. *2) About IETF* Substantial concerns were raised about the IETF MoU (as proposed) not being legally enforceable. See www.ietf.org/mail-archive/web/ianaplan/current/msg01370.html Greg, in another mail, had highlighted the essential components for any MoU/SLA/etc to amount to a enforceable contract. I believe both parties being legal entities (or at least fictionally treated so by law) is a necessary criteria. One way of enforcing a MoU between GNSO (as an internal structure of ICANN) and IANA (as an internal division of ICANN) is that the MoU can be given sanctity through ICANN by-laws. Unfortunately, by-laws can easily be changed raising serious accountability issues. On Mon, Dec 1, 2014 at 9:58 PM, Bertrand de La Chapelle < bdelachapelle@gmail.com> wrote:
I am afraid this is not that clear.
From what I have been told by someone knowledgeable, the IETF is not per se incorporated, and the MoU was signed by the President of ICANN (a legal entity) and the Chairs of the IETF and the Internet Architecture Board (neither of which is a legal entity). It was not through ISOC in that case, although ISOC does provide the IETF a lot of support and contracting capacity in other areas.
In any case, my question is a more general one. Is incorporation required to "contract"?
If this is really required, how did the W3C manage to organize itself during many years, simply by having a series of "host agreements" with three universities?
I am a bit stubborn, but I am afraid we are not answering this in full detail.
B.
"*Le plus beau métier des hommes, c'est d'unir les hommes*", Antoine de Saint Exupéry ("*There is no greater mission for humans than uniting humans*")BERTRAND DE LA CHAPELLEInternet & Jurisdiction Project | Directoremail bdelachapelle@internetjurisdiction.netemail bdelachapelle@gmail.com twitter @IJurisdiction <https://twitter.com/IJurisdiction> | @bdelachapelle <https://twitter.com/bdelachapelle>mobile +33 (0)6 11 88 33 32www.internetjurisdiction.net[image: A GLOBAL MULTI-STAKEHOLDER DIALOGUE PROCESS]
On Mon, Dec 1, 2014 at 5:16 PM, Milton L Mueller <mueller@syr.edu> wrote:
Bertrand,
I think your question has already been answered
1) *Is incorporation required to "contract"?* Given that the IETF seems to have an MoU with ICANN (among other arrangements with other "entities"), I would suppose that the answer is no. Can someone clarify this important point?
MM: Yes, it is. IETF contracts via ISOC.
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