[Abstract]

Author: John MathiasonThe Project releases one of our most significant WSIS contributions: a document calling for an international framework convention on the Internet. The paper, by John Mathiason, compares today’s situation to the controversies over climate change in the 1980s. The UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, rather than seeking to solve all of the problems in a single treaty, pursued a “framework convention,” which first established the principles and norms under which international action would proceed. It also set up a procedure for future negotiations over more detailed arrangements. We suggest a similar approach for Internet governance.Suggested citation: John Mathiason, “A Framework Convention: An Institutional Option for Internet Governance” (December 21, 2004). Internet Governance Project. Paper IGP04-002. Available at https://www.internetgovernance.org/pdf/igp-fc.pdf

9.2004 Internet Governance: the State of Play