80 EXPANDING GLOBAL COMMUNICATIONS SERVICESthough in terms which permit that secrecy to be brokenin appropriate cases (CS art. 37.1. and 2).Telecommunications have a content, and questions canarise as to <strong>the</strong> lawfulness <strong>of</strong> that content. Thedevelopment <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> INTERNET seems greatly to haveincreased <strong>the</strong> abilities <strong>of</strong> many to send and receivemessages. That is good, and within <strong>the</strong> scope <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong>rights listed above. But how do <strong>the</strong>se rights interrelatewith concerns as to crime, terrorism and <strong>the</strong> like. What<strong>of</strong> intellectual property, or <strong>the</strong> locus <strong>of</strong> transactions <strong>for</strong><strong>the</strong> purpose <strong>of</strong> contract, delict (tort) or taxation? Theseare not specifically a matter <strong>of</strong> spacetelecommunications, and go to content ra<strong>the</strong>r thantechnology. For those reasons I do not pursue <strong>the</strong>m.But it is useful to remember we are dealing with onlyone side, <strong>the</strong> technical side, <strong>of</strong> questions <strong>of</strong> international(and national) telecommunications. Variousorganisations and conferences are at work on <strong>the</strong>seo<strong>the</strong>r questions, as are some legislatures. This aspect<strong>of</strong> expanded global telecommunications should not beneglected.Commentary PaperAlfons A. E. NollFormer Legal Advisor <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> I.T.U.,Attorney at Law and Of Counsel <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong>Geneva <strong>Office</strong> <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong>Baker & McKenzie Law Firm© A . NOLL 1999All rights reservedMr. Chairman, Ladies and Gentlemen,To be <strong>the</strong> first “commentator” on Pr<strong>of</strong>essor Lyall’sDiscussion Paper on “InternationalTelecommunications” is <strong>for</strong> me as <strong>the</strong> <strong>for</strong>mer ITULegal Adviser ( from 1979 to 1997) not only an honour,but also and particularly a real pleasure. As I should beshort and leave sufficient time to my two “cocommentators”,let me directly go “medias in res”!1. First <strong>of</strong> all, my thanks and congratulations go toPr<strong>of</strong>essor Lyall who has done an admirable “job”by presenting us a fascinating paper full <strong>of</strong>material, evaluations, judgements, suggestions andnew ideas, which just call <strong>for</strong> and provokecomments - both concurring and supporting, butalso diverging or simply dissenting ones - as well as<strong>the</strong>y invite to raise questions. This will certainlyhelp materializing <strong>the</strong> author’s stated intention, i.e.“to trigger discussion”. Although my commentswill, <strong>of</strong> course, concentrate on <strong>the</strong> second half <strong>of</strong>his paper mainly dealing with <strong>the</strong> ITU, I shallquickly address a few points put <strong>for</strong>ward orhighlighted by Frank Lyall in <strong>the</strong> first two parts <strong>of</strong>his paper, as I found <strong>the</strong>m particularly interesting.2. As far as his “Introduction” is concerned, I fullyshare, on <strong>the</strong> one hand, his fear that today’seasiness to communicate risks to becomedetrimental to balanced, thought-through andseriously considered decision-making at all levels.Both by e-mail and mobile phone, we all push eacho<strong>the</strong>r <strong>for</strong> constantly quicker, but certainly notnecessarily better “action”, <strong>the</strong> substance <strong>of</strong> whichrisks to suffer! On <strong>the</strong> o<strong>the</strong>r hand, I also share <strong>the</strong>“petitum” expressed by him, but not alwaysstrictly followed through in <strong>the</strong> later part <strong>of</strong> hispaper, “that as much <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> population <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> worldas possible should be able to gain from <strong>the</strong> benefitsthat have come since <strong>the</strong> opening <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> spacetelecommunications systems”. Some <strong>of</strong> hiscategorical and certainly justified evaluations,judgments and pronouncements would benefit frombeing accompanied by a few concrete, illustratingexamples. As he correctly finds it “curious” that“solutions to modern problems <strong>of</strong>ten are directlytraceable to basic concepts worked out” long timeago in <strong>the</strong> past, we should ask ourselves: Is this nota sign <strong>of</strong> lack <strong>of</strong> imagination on our part, inter alia,due to <strong>the</strong> hectic and cantering booming <strong>of</strong> telecomdevelopments “leaving us” - only seemingly andperhaps even as an excuse! “no time” to quietly sitdown and work out new concepts perhaps moreadequate to respond even better to <strong>the</strong> telecomproblems <strong>of</strong> our time and <strong>the</strong> next century, not tospeak <strong>of</strong> millennium?
EXPANDING GLOBAL COMMUNICATIONS SERVICES813. In his second Chapter dealing with <strong>the</strong> matter <strong>of</strong>“privatisation and competition”, he addresses atlength <strong>the</strong> “global telecommunications entities”and states that “large business through take-oversand mergers” go “along with <strong>the</strong> notion <strong>of</strong>competition ... now a dogma in internationaltrade”. Two questions come to my mind: Is <strong>the</strong>renot a certain contradiction between <strong>the</strong> “dogma” <strong>of</strong>competition and <strong>the</strong> trend <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> constantlyincreasing number <strong>of</strong> always bigger and largermergers or take-overs, which might sharply reduce“competition” finally to a bitter battle between onlya few telecom giants? And: Do such mergers andtake-overs <strong>the</strong>mselves not hide and cover up <strong>the</strong>real problems which those “getting married” cannotsolve individually any more and, <strong>the</strong>re<strong>for</strong>e, choose“to take refuge” in such mergers or take-overs,which usually at <strong>the</strong> beginning are welcome by <strong>the</strong>money winning share-holders, but <strong>the</strong> long-termsuccess and even survival <strong>of</strong> which is by far notensured? In this optic, I like Frank Lyall's picture<strong>of</strong> “<strong>the</strong> devil’s brew <strong>of</strong> commercialisation andcompetition”, share his “fear that <strong>the</strong> public interest<strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> world may be compromised” and fully agreethat “steps should be taken to ensure that <strong>the</strong>‘global public interest’ ” - which he later also calls<strong>the</strong> “general world public interest” and also simply<strong>the</strong> “general world interest” - “is protected byappropriate machinery”. His fine distinctionbetween “a public service” and “a service to <strong>the</strong>public” is also very pertinent, whereas he is, in myview, much too optimistic in pretending that“telecommunications can certainly be cited as onearea in which all countries willing and anxious tobenefit from space have been able to do so”.4. Lyall’s analysis <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> changed or changingstructure and functioning <strong>of</strong> INMARSAT andINTELSAT and <strong>the</strong> conclusions drawn <strong>the</strong>refromare most interesting, but also show that <strong>the</strong>y cannotsimply serve as “models” <strong>for</strong> “those who wouldseek <strong>the</strong> privatisation <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> internationalorganisations”, such as <strong>the</strong> ITU. While I supporthis idea that UNISPACE III itself shouldappropriately urge <strong>the</strong> international community that“<strong>the</strong> basic concept <strong>of</strong> international public servicetelecommunications facilities should in <strong>the</strong> generalworld interest be continued, if necessary bysubsidising uneconomic connections, routes andservices, by <strong>the</strong> more pr<strong>of</strong>itable”( see end <strong>of</strong> 2.1),I consider it most unlikely that <strong>the</strong> ITU Secretariatsor even <strong>the</strong> Radio Regulations Board (RRB) wouldever be authorized by <strong>the</strong> ITU Member States “notto accept notifications from such a state”, which “isnot able properly to superintend” space activities or“to en<strong>for</strong>ce <strong>the</strong> avoidance <strong>of</strong> harmful interference”(<strong>the</strong> end <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> section 2 on "States’ supervisoryabilities”, page 69), as this would imply a qualitycontrolover any State’s supervisory mechanisms,which would be considered as unacceptable andincompatible with <strong>the</strong> principle <strong>of</strong> Statesovereignty. On <strong>the</strong> o<strong>the</strong>r hand, his suggestions onpage 69 dealing with “Flags <strong>of</strong> convenience:Homesteading” appear to me to be quite realisticand thus desirable. I see great merit in Lyall’sanalysis <strong>of</strong>, and proposals <strong>for</strong>, <strong>the</strong> matter <strong>of</strong>“Licensing” (see page 70), cumulating in <strong>the</strong>creation <strong>of</strong> a “global CommunicationsCommission” <strong>for</strong> licensing “decisions affecting <strong>the</strong>world” being made “by a world authority”, in orderto ensure that “<strong>the</strong> interest <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> world as awhole” be protected against <strong>the</strong> variety <strong>of</strong> divergingcommercial and national interests, although <strong>the</strong>realization <strong>of</strong> such a clearly “supra-national”solution will certainly meet strong objections, needstime and thus is, as <strong>of</strong> today, only “music <strong>for</strong> <strong>the</strong>future”! (But see also paragraph 17 below).5. I now turn to <strong>the</strong> Chapter <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> Discussion Paperthat, <strong>for</strong> reasons beyond my comprehension, isentitled “Radio Matters” and deals in its first subchapterwith “The ITU in general”, which, in myunderstanding should have been <strong>the</strong> main title <strong>for</strong>that Chapter, <strong>the</strong> structuring <strong>of</strong> which couldcertainly be improved. As to <strong>the</strong> ITU’s“Background” (see page 71), it cannot be heldthat, after World War II, <strong>the</strong> Union adapted “itsconstitution to <strong>the</strong> UN model”. Far from: Contraryto <strong>the</strong> UN, it maintained its - what is called -“federal structure” with a General Secretariat (GS)and three Consultative Committees, each headed byone elected <strong>of</strong>ficial, i.e. <strong>the</strong> Secretary-General or aDirector respectively and retained, following <strong>the</strong>tradition since 1865, <strong>the</strong> “InternationalTelecommunication Convention” only as its basicinstrument, which not earlier than in 1992 was