Re: [office-comment] Separating OpenFormula from (the rest of) ODF 1.2

[Rick Jelliffe <rjelliffe@allette.com.au>]

Brad Hards wrote:
> On Friday 15 May 2009 03:32:24 pm marbux wrote:
>   
>> <http://www.wto.org/english/docs_e/legal_e/17-tbt_e.htm#ann3_sp>.
>> The plain language seems to resolve the issue:
>>
>> " Before adopting a standard, the standardizing body shall allow a
>> period of at least 60 days for the submission of comments on *the*
>> draft standard by interested parties within the territory of a Member
>> of the WTO."
>>     
The parties to the WTO treaties are nations. I don't see how OASIS-Open 
is bound to act according to that requirement, except out of prudence 
and good citizenship and best practice.

Article 4, 4.1 spells it out, I think: "They (Members, i.e. governments) 
shall take such reasonable measures as may be available to them to 
ensure that local government and non-governmental standardizing bodies 
within their territories, as well as regional standardizing bodies of 
which they or one or more bodies within their territories are members, 
accept and comply with this Code of Good Practice."

So if OASIS-Open doesn't comply, it is up to the US govt to encourage/ 
require them to comply, but (in the absence of specific US regulation) 
it wouldn't be illegal or ultra vires or anything like that.

Cheers
Rick Jelliffe