[ga] Responses to questions

[richard.hill@itu.int]

I stated "the bulk of ITU-T's output consists of non-binding
Recommendations" and was asked whether the remainder of the output consists
of binding regulations.

The answer is no.  ITU-T has no mandate, or processes, or operating rules
that would allow it to develop regulations that are binding on either its
members or anybody else.

The remainder of ITU-T's output (besides Recommendations) consists of
tutorial material, called Supplements, Handbooks, proceedings of Workshops,
etc.

As many other standardization bodies (including ISO and IETF), ITU-T uses
the words "shall" and "must" in its Recommendations.  Recently, a concern
was raised that this could cause confusion, with people mistakenly thinking
that the Recommendation was somehow binding.  In order to ensure that there
is no confusion, the following statement will appear in the future on the
inside cover page of ITU-T Recommendations that use those words:

"Compliance with this Recommendation is voluntary.  However, the
Recommendation may contain certain mandatory provisions (to ensure e.g.
interoperability or applicability) and compliance with the Recommendation is
achieved when all of these mandatory provisions are met.  The words "shall"
or some other obligatory language such as "must" and the negative
equivalents when applied are used to express requirements. The use of such
words does not suggest, of itself, that compliance with the Recommendation
is required of any party."

In addition, a new item 7.5 has been added to Authors Guide for Drafting
ITU-T Recommendations: 

"7.5	An ITU-T Recommendation, by definition, is not mandatory -
compliance is voluntary. The use of the words "shall" and "must" and their
negatives "shall not" and "must not" are to be used with care and sparingly.
These words are only to be used to express mandatory provisions when
necessary to give the Recommendation meaning and effect. - i. e. if certain
values and/or parts of a Recommendation are essential and the Recommendation
will have no meaning if these values and/or parts are not strictly respected
or adhered to. Compliance with the Recommendation is achieved only when all
mandatory provisions are met. However the inclusion of mandatory provisions
in a Recommendation does not imply, of itself, that compliance with the
Recommendation is required of any party."

Separately, there have been some questions regarding the role of ITU-T
staff.  ITU-T staff act as organizers of meetings and facilitators of the
development and publication of Recommendations.  The staff does not write
the Recommendations.  The Recommendations are written by experts from the
membership.  The staff organizes, at the request of and under the direction
of Chairmen elected by the membership, the physical or electronic meetings
required to progress the work.  The staff also handles the physical side of
the publication process, such as translation, posting to the web, printing,
etc.  And it provides editorial support to the authors.

The staff works in accordance with pretty strict (in my opinion) rules which
are written by the membership.

For example, the interim procedures for ENUM, available at:

  http://www.itu.int/ITU-T/inr/enum/index.html

give pretty strict (again, in my opinion) instructions to me for what I have
to do when we get a request for an ENUM delegation.

Best,
Richard


-----------------------------------------
Richard Hill
Counsellor, ITU-T SG2
International Telecommunication Union
Place des Nations
CH-1211 Geneva 20
Switzerland
tel: +41 22 730 5887
FAX: +41 22 730 5853
Email: richard.hill@itu.int
Study Group 2 email: tsbsg2@itu.int
 
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