Fearghas commented: #You miss the point - there are many different kinds of commercial organisation #structures that are not Limited/PLC/Limited by Guarantee companies that can #hold LIR assets and be members. Why should I be a Limited/PLC/Limited by #Guarantee company just to hold LIR membership or an ASN/PA/PI/etc space ? There is precedent for the legal organization of an entity to be scrutinized as part of the process of trusting that entity. One example that comes to mind is the vetting that takes place for Extended Validation SSL certificates under norms established by the Certificate and Browser Forum, see: http://www.cabforum.org/vetting.html Or consider requests for proposal that may require prequalification of potential bidders as responsible bidders able to actually undertake and complete the work that's being bid -- again, that sort of vetting is often far easier for a corporation than for a sole proprietorship or a partnership, etc. Public corporations have important properties that typically include transparency, verifiability, and accountability, although obviously we can all find counter examples from recent practice in any given economy :-; Regards, Joe