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Final Acts of the World Conference on International Telecommunications

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 January 2017

David P. Fidler
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Extract

On December 14, 2012, member states of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) approved the Final Acts of the World Conference on International Telecommunications. The ITU is the specialized agency of the United Nations fostering cooperation on information and communication technologies, and, through world conferences, it periodically revises the International Telecommunication Regulations (ITRs), a treaty the ITU adopted in 1988 However, in December 2012, the Final Acts, the manner in which they were approved, and the World Conference proved controversial, and these controversies will adversely affect the impact of the Final Acts and the revised ITRs on international telecommunications law.

Type
International Legal Documents
Information
International Legal Materials , Volume 52 , Issue 3 , June 2013 , pp. 843 - 860
Copyright
Copyright © American Society of International Law 2013

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References

* This text was reproduced and reformatted from the text available at the International Telecommunications Union Web site (visited June 13, 2013), http://www.itu.int/en/wcit-12/Documents/final-acts-wcit-12.pdf.

1 Int’l Telecomm. Union [ITU], Final Acts of the World Conference on International Telecommunications (Dec. 14, 2012), http://www.itu.int/en/wcit-12/Documents/final-actswcit-12.pdf [hereinafter Final Acts].

2 ITU, International Telecommunication Regulations, compiled in Final Acts of the World Administrative Telegraph and Telephone Conference (1988)Google Scholar, at 3–23, http://www.itu.int/dms_pub/itu-s/oth/02/01/S02010000214002PDFE.pdf [hereinafter Revised ITRs].

3 Id. at art. 4.1.

4 ITU, Constitution of the ITU (2013)Google Scholar, at art. 4(3), compiled in Collection of the Basic Texts of the International Telecommunication Union Adopted by the Plenipotentiary Conference (2011)Google Scholar, http://www.itu.int/dms_pub/itu-s/oth/02/09/s02090000115201pdfe.pdf.

5 Wolfgang, Kleinwächter, The History of Internet Governance , in Governing the Internet: Freedom and Regulation in the OSCE 41 (Christian, Möller and Arnaud, Amouroux, eds., 2007 Google Scholar), available at http://www.osce.org/fom/26169.

6 ITU, Review of the International Telecommunication Regulations, ITU Res. 146 (2006)Google Scholar, http://www.itu.int/ITU-T/itr-eg/files/resolution146.pdf.

7 ITU, Proposals Received from ITU Member States for the Work of the Conference, ITU Doc. DT/1-E at 99 (Nov. 30, 2012 Google Scholar), http://www.soumu.go.jp/main_content/000188223.pdf.

8 The WCIT also addressed revisions to the ITRs that did not involve Internet issues, such as challenges related to roaming charges for mobile phone use, reducing electronic waste, and increasing accessibility to international telecommunication services for persons with disabilities.

9 See Terry, Kramer, U.S. Ambassador and Head of Delegation, Remarks at the World Conference on International Telecommunications (Dec. 13, 2012)Google Scholar, http://www.state.gov/e/eb/rls/rm/2012/202040.htm (stating U.S. opposition to the Revised ITRs).

10 ITU, WCIT 2012: Signatories of the Final Acts, http://www.itu.int/osg/wcit-12/highlights/signatories.html (last visited Sept. 10, 2013).

11 ITU, Resolution 3: To Foster an Enabling Environment for the Greater Growth of the Internet, in Final Acts, supra note 1, at 20.

12 See Wolfgang, Kleinwächter, WCIT and Internet Governance: Harmless Resolution or Trojan Horse? , CircleID, Dec. 17, 2012 Google Scholar, available at http://www.circleid.com/posts/20121217_wcit_and_internet_governance_harmless_resolution_or_trojan_horse/.

13 Revised ITRs, supra note 2, at art. 10.1.