[ncc-services-wg] 2023-03 Voluntary Transfer Lock

Colleagues

I support the principle of locking resources and I understand the
urgency to put this in place. However, neither of the two options
currently on the table are viable solutions. You cannot have two
active policies that directly conflict with each other. RIPE Resource
Transfer Policies (ripe-682) says "Any legitimate resource holder is
allowed to transfer complete or partial blocks of address space or
number resources". This proposal says "This policy allows any resource
holder whose resources are registered with the RIPE NCC to inform them
which of these resources must not be transferred for a certain amount
of time". If you implement this policy and lock a resource then you
violate ripe-682 as the resource holder is no longer allowed to
transfer this resource as specified in ripe-682. You will have to
either amend ripe-682 and include locked resources as an exception to
transfers, or add a condition in this new policy to say it overrides
ripe-682. Doing either of these is getting complicated and messy.

Gert said "Now, a voluntary service where an authorized person at a
customer can state "I do not want to be able to use your services for
the next half year, whatever I might say tomorrow" is something
between a paying customer and the entity offering that service.  You
have a contract, you do what the contract says.  No?"

No! The RIPE NCC doesn't have customers. It is an association with
members who pay membership fees. The association has rules. Somewhere
in the historical documents setting up the RIPE NCC I am sure there is
something that says the RIPE NCC must implement RIPE policies and
comply with them. As Athina pointed out, to make 1:1 agreements with
members like this would mean the RIPE NCC can be accused of violating
ripe-682.

Why don't we keep it simple? Let's modify ripe-682 and include an opt
out clause to disallow transfers. If you invoke this opt out it is a
part of ripe-682 so you are not violating it. All the transfer rules
are in one policy, self contained and consistent. You also need to
think carefully about mergers & acquisitions. If one of the goals of
this is to prevent forced resource transfers in areas of conflict,
what is preventing a forced company acquisition? If that bypasses the
lock then it is pointless.

Maybe I can suggest a modification to ripe-682 as an alternative to
creating this whole new, conflicting policy.

-----
Move "5.0 Attribution" to "6.0 Attribution"

Add a new 5.0...

5.0 Opt Out

A resource holder may voluntarily opt out from being allowed to
transfer blocks of address space or number resources (IPv4, IPv6 and
AS Numbers) that were previously allocated or assigned to them by the
RIPE NCC or otherwise through the Regional Internet Registry (RIR)
system or legacy resources that are subject to a contract with the
RIPE NCC.

Additionally a resource holder can voluntarily request to the RIPE NCC
that any resources they hold should be reclaimed and held by the RIPE
NCC if their organisation is subject to a merger or acquisition.

5.1 Transfer Locks

The resource holder will inform the RIPE NCC which resources they want
to lock, from what date and for what period. The RIPE NCC will provide
a form for making this request. The appropriate documents and
signatures required by the form must accompany the request.

For address space, the full resource block must be locked. Partial
block requests are not permitted.

Resource holders can only lock their own resources.

Resource transfer requests received during the period of the lock will
not be processed by the RIPE NCC.

The transfer locks are irrevocable for the period specified on the request form.

The lock period will auto renew for the same period of time until the
lock is cancelled by the resource holder. The lock will then expire at
the end of the current lock period.

Locked resources will be tagged in the RIPE Database. This locked
status will be shown in query results. The dates relating to a lock
period will not be published.

5.2 Mergers and Acquisitions

The resource holder will inform the RIPE NCC that the resources they
hold should be reclaimed by the RIPE NCC if their organisation is
subject to a merger or acquisition, from a specified date and for a
specified period. The RIPE NCC will provide a form for making this
request. The appropriate documents and signatures required by the form
must accompany the request.

The reclaim period will auto renew for the same period of time until
the reclaim request is cancelled by the resource holder. The reclaim
will then expire at the end of the current reclaim period.

While reclaim requests are in force, organisations will be tagged in
the RIPE Database. This reclaim status will be shown in query results.
The dates relating to a reclaim period will not be published.
-----

cheers
denis
co-chair DB-WG

On Thu, 4 May 2023 at 16:18, denis walker <ripedenis at gmail.com> wrote:
>
> Hi all
>
> I'm confused. Why are you trying to develop a services policy to override an address policy? Why don't you just modify the address transfer policy and include a voluntary,  temporary opt out from the transfer policy.
>
> Why use indirection or double negatives when you can go straight to the policy at the base of the question? All members signed an SSA committing them to follow RIPE policies. If the policy itself includes the right to opt out of the policy according to some conditions, then by invoking that opt out the member is following the policy. By accepting the opt out the RIPE NCC is also following the policy.
>
> Cheers
> Denis
> Co-chair DB-WG
>
> On Thu, 4 May 2023, 14:13 Athina Fragkouli, <afragkou at ripe.net> wrote:
>>
>> Dear Rob, all,
>>
>> At the last RIPE meeting in October 2022, a number of Ukrainian members asked for a way to prevent their resources from being transferred, even if a request was submitted that was compliant with RIPE policy.
>>
>> As the RIPE policy does not currently give the RIPE NCC the right to reject a compliant transfer request, we expressed our reluctance to take any decisions that would violate the RIPE policies, as this would potentially expose the RIPE NCC to liability and set a dangerous precedent.
>>
>> If, for example, a resource holder that has asked the RIPE NCC to restrict their ability to transfer resources later sends a policy-compliant transfer request, we would have a hard time rejecting their request without a relevant RIPE policy. In such a case, the resource holder may accuse the RIPE NCC of not adhering to RIPE policies or delaying the transfer without a solid basis.
>>
>> One might argue that the earlier request (to prevent any transfers) accompanied by some form of signed agreement could provide such a solid basis. However, the RIPE NCC cannot enter into agreements that violate RIPE policies or restrict their applicability. Any legal framework the RIPE NCC creates is to facilitate the implementation of RIPE policies, never to violate or restrict them.
>>
>> Recognising the time needed to develop a policy and the related PDP timeframes, and the level of support expressed by the RIPE community for a temporary solution, the RIPE NCC Executive Board decided in December 2022 to allow members and End Users (represented by their sponsoring LIRs) to request the prevention of their resources from being transferred for a period of six months, (i.e. until 1 July 2023):
>> https://www.ripe.net/about-us/executive-board/minutes/2022/minutes-163rd-executive-board-meeting
>>
>> The RIPE NCC Executive Board will review this decision in June. This temporary solution was based on an explicit understanding that the RIPE community would use this time to develop a RIPE policy that provides a more permanent solution.
>>
>> Kind regards,
>>
>> Athina Fragkouli
>> Chief Legal Officer
>> RIPE NCC
>>
>> --
>>
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