GNSO Council Meeting Minutes 24 September 2009

Proposed agenda and documents

List of attendees:
Philip Sheppard - Commercial & Business Users C
Mike Rodenbaugh - Commercial & Business Users C - absent, apologies
Zahid Jamil - Commercial & Business Users C
Maggie Mansourkia - ISCPC
Antonio Harris - ISCPC
Tony Holmes - ISCPC absent - apologies
Stéphane van Gelder - Registrar C.
Tim Ruiz - Registrar C.
Adrian Kinderis - Registrars C. - absent, apologies
Chuck Gomes - gTLD registries C.
Edmon Chung - gTLD registries C.
Jordi Iparraguirre - gTLD registries C.- absent, apologies
Kristina Rosette - Intellectual Property Interests C
Ute Decker - Intellectual Property Interests C - absent
Cyril Chua - Intellectual Property Interests C
Mary Wong - NCUC
William Drake - NCUC
Carlos Souza - NCUC - absent - apologies
Olga Cavalli- Nominating Committee appointee
Terry Davis - Nominating Committee appointee - absent, apologies
Avri Doria - Nominating Committee appointee

14 Council Members
( 18 Votes - quorum)

ICANN Staff
Denise Michel - Vice President Policy Development
Kurt Pritz - Senior Vice President, Services
Robert Hoggarth - Senior Policy Director
Liz Gasster - Senior Policy Counselor
Marika Konings - Policy Director
Margie Milam - Policy Director
Julie Hedlund - Policy Staff
Craig Schwartz - Registry Liaison
Glen de Saint Gry - GNSO Secretariat

GNSO Council Liaisons/Observers
Alan Greenberg - ALAC Liaison
Mr Han Chun Lee - ccNSO observer

Rita Rodin - ICANN Board member - absent - apologies
Bruce Tonkin - ICANN Board member - absent apologies

MP3 Recording

Roll Call.

Item 1: Update any Statements of Interest

No updates noted

Item 2: Review/amend the agenda

Drop Item 8 on the GA Elections

see email from Denise Michel

Item 3: Approve GNSO Council minutes 3 September 2009

Chuck Gomes, seconded by Olga Cavalli , moved the adoption of the GNSO Council minutes of 3 September 2009.

The motion passed.

Avri Doria abstained:

Reasons for abstention:
Due to CSG concerns about the ethics of my decision to join the NCUC and about the propriety of my continuing to vote as an NCA, I abstain from all votes in the council until such time as the Board Structural Improvements Committee decides on the disposition of the CSG letter of concern. I do this so that there can be no later dispute concerning policy decisions of the GNSO council based on questions about my status.

Item 4: Vote on motion on Vertical Separation

Avri Doria reminded Council that absentee voting is allowed for this motion.

1. Motion Requesting an Issues report on vertical Integration and Registry/Registrar cross-ownership Motion proposed by Mary Wong and seconded by Philip Sheppard with friendly amendments from Kristina Rosette.

Whereas, Recommendation 19 of the GNSO policy authorizing the new gTLD process states: "Registries must use only ICANN accredited registrars in registering domain names and may not discriminate among such accredited registrars;"

Whereas, opening up the market to many new TLD operators may call into question some of the assumptions on which the separation of registry and registrar functions is based;

Whereas, economic research commissioned by ICANN staff also suggests that changes in these assumptions might be justified;

Whereas, the new gTLD policies passed by the Council do not provide any guidance regarding the proper approach to cross ownership and vertical integration, but instead implicitly suggest that the status quo be left in place;

Resolved: the GNSO Council hereby requests the preparation of an Issues Report for delivery within 45 days on future changes in vertical integration and cross-ownership between gTLD registrars and registries, to assist in determining whether a PDP should be initiated regarding what policies would best serve to promote competition and to protect users and registrants.

The motion passed with 11 Council votes in favour. (The threshold for the creation of an Issues Report is 25%.)

The full voting record is noted below:

Nine Live Council votes: Philip Sheppard, Zahid Jamil, Kristina Rosette, Cyril Chua, Tony Harris, Maggie Mansourkia, Mary Wong, William Drake, Olga Cavalli (one vote each)

Terry Davis and Mike Rodenbaugh - absentee ballots (one vote each)

Total 11 Votes in favour.

Six Council votes against:

Live Council votes: Tim Ruiz, Stéphane van Gelder (two votes each)

Adrian Kinderis - absentee ballot (two votes each)

Four Councillors abstained (7 votes):

Live Council Abstentions: Chuck Gomes, Edmon Chung, (two votes each) Avri Doria (one vote)

Jordi Iparraguirre - absentee ballot (two votes)

Three Councillors did not vote:

Carlos Souza, Ute Decker, Tony Holmes (one vote each)

Reasons for abstentions:

Chuck Gomes and Edmon Chung

"I want to thank Kristina and the IPC for the good amendments that were accepted as friendly by the NCUC. The Registry constituency does not want to abstain because of the amendments, theySG has not had enough time to comment on them yet. The constituency had previously made a decision on the original motion to abstain and because there has not been enough time to obtain feedback on the amended motion, Edmon Chung and I are going to abstain.

"The reason for the abstention has little to do with the request in the motion, except for the fact that even though the motion requests that any PDP not affect the timing of the new gTLDs, we think it would be highly unlikely that it would not have an impact on the launch of new TLDs, and because there could be misperceptions with regard to existing Registries doing anything that might cause delays and thinking that we are fearful of competition, we want to avoid that possible perception."

Noted for the record: Reason for abstention : Jordi Iparraguirre

“I'm abstaining for the same reason as Chuck and Edmon. Our vote in the GNSO follows the decisions taken by our constituency, and we had no time to discuss it.”

Avri Doria

Due to CSG concerns about the ethics of my decision to join the NCUC and about the propriety of my continuing to vote as an NCA, I abstain from all votes in the council until such time as the Board Structural Improvements Committee decides on the disposition of the CSG letter of concern. I do this so that there can be no later dispute concerning policy decisions of the GNSO council based on questions about my status.

Avri Doria, as a concerned party in Item 5 handed the chair to Chuck Gomes.

Item 5: Vote on the bicameral Council transition plan, including assignment of Nominating Committee Appointees (NCAs)

Amendment to Motion to Approve Plan for Bicameral Council Seat Transition
Motion made by Chuck Gomes on 23 September 2009 seconded by Mary Wong

In the following Motion to Approve Plan for Bicameral Council Seat Transition originally submitted on 15 September and amended on 17 September, add the following to step 9 of the Plan: "As the first substantial item on the agenda of 28 October, the new council members will discuss and vote on the updated Council Operating Procedures. Approval of the Procedures will require a majority of the voting members of each house for approval. Any amendment that results from comments submitted, will need to be voted on prior to the vote on the Procedures and will also require a majority of the voting members of each house."

Motion to Approve Plan for Bicameral Council Seat Transition
Original Motion by Chuck Gomes on 15 September 2009; revised on 17 September 2009, seconded by Mary Wong

Amended Motion to Approve Plan for Bicameral Council Seat Transition

17 September 2009

Whereas:

• On 27 August 2009 the ICANN Board approved Bylaws Amendments Related to GNSO Restructuring (http://www.icann.org/en/general/bylaws-amendments-27aug09.pdf) in support of the transition to a new GNSO Council to be seated during the ICANN annual general meetings in Seoul in October 2009.
• Article XX (Transition Article), Section 5, item 5.e of the Bylaws Amendments reads, “The three seats currently selected by the Nominating Committee shall be assigned by the Nominating Committee as follows: one voting member to the Contracted Party House, one voting member to the Non-Contracted Party House, and one non-voting member assigned to the GNSO Council at large.”
  The Bylaws Amendments were approved too late in the 2009 Nominating Committee process to allow the three Nominating Committee seats to be assigned by the Nominating Committee.
• Article XX (Transition Article), Section 5, item 6 of the Bylaws Amendments reads, “The GNSO Council, as part of its Restructure Implementation Plan, will document: (a) how vacancies, if any, will be handled during the transition period; (b) for each Stakeholder Group, how each assigned Council seat to take effect at the 2009 ICANN annual meeting will be filled, whether through a continuation of an existing term or a new election or appointment; (c) how it plans to address staggered terms such that the new GNSO Council preserves as much continuity as reasonably possible; (d) the effect of Bylaws term limits on each Council member.”
• Article XX (Transition Article), Section 5, item 11 of the Bylaws Amendments reads, “As soon as practical after the commencement of the ICANN meeting in October 2009, or another date the Board may designate by resolution, the GNSO Council shall, in accordance with Article X, Section 3(7) and its GNSO Operating Procedures, elect officers and give the ICANN Secretary written notice of its selections.”
  The GNSO Council desires to: i) Maximize continuity in the transition from the old to the new Council; ii) minimize the complexity for Stakeholder Groups in selecting Councilors; and iii) respect the rights of GNSO Stakeholder Groups to elect their Council representatives in ways that best meet their needs while complying with the ICANN Bylaws.
• The GNSO Council Operations work team prepared draft GNSO Council Operating Procedures and the Operations Steering Committee forwarded those for Council consideration on 17 September 2009.
  The charters for the GNSO Policy Process and Operations Steering Committees (PPSC and OSC) are scheduled to end at the ICANN Annual Meeting in Seoul.

  The GNSO Council approves the following plan:

1. It is recommended that all Councilors who will be seated in the 28 October public GNSO Council meeting should be selected and the GNSO Secretariat provided with their contact information not later than 30 September 2009. If that is not possible, then best efforts should be made to do so as soon as possible after 30 September to facilitate travel and lodging arrangements in Seoul.

2. Each Stakeholder Group may determine the term dates for its respective Councilors provided those dates are compliant with the ICANN Bylaws and their respective charters[1]; any terms that are changed from the previously defined dates strictly for the purpose of seating the bicameral Council shall be considered full terms with regard to complying with Bylaws term limit requirements.

3. Each House will elect a vice chair for the new bicameral Council:

a. Nominations must be completed not later than 23 October 2009.
b. Elections must be completed not later than Tuesday, 27 October 2009.
c. Election requires a simple majority vote.

4. The new bicameral Council will be seated in the public GNSO Council meeting on 28 October 2009, at which time the service of the previous Council will end.

5. The GNSO Council Operations Work Team (GCOT) will be tasked with developing a timeline for use by Houses in the elections of vice chairs starting in 2010, which will be added to the GNSO Council Operating Procedures once appropriately approved after the meetings in Seoul.

6. The nomination procedure for GNSO Council Chair will be as follows:

a. The GNSO Secretariat will call for nominations from existing Councilors for GNSO Council Chair on 7 October 2009.
b. The nomination period will end on 21 October 2009.
c. Nominees shall submit a candidacy statement in writing to the Council not later than 23 October 2009.

7. Avri Doria, current GNSO Council chair, will serve as non-voting chair of the bicameral Council meeting on 28 October until such time as a new chair is elected, at which time the new chair will assume the chair responsibilities. If an absentee ballot is required to complete the chair’s election, this will be a 24 hour ballot scheduled to end on 29 October. If no chair has been elected by the end of the Annual meeting on 30 October, the vice-chairs will assume the chair responsibilities as defined in the Bylaws

8. The existing GNSO Council will approve a draft of the GNSO Council Operating Procedures (previously called the Rules of Procedure of the GNSO Council) for public comment and ICANN Staff will post them for a 21-day public comment period as soon as possible; such draft will include a revision of those areas of the existing Rules necessary for seating the bicameral Council. The Council also notes that there are several placeholder items in the current version of the recommended Operating Rules and procedures that will need to be addressed by the GCOT after Seoul.

9. As much in advance of the meeting as possible, the agenda for the 28 October 2009 Council meeting will be prepared by the existing Council under the leadership of Avri Doria as chair and shall include but not be limited to the following two action items: 1) Approval of the Council Operating Procedures necessary for seating the bicameral Council; 2) Election of chair.

10. The Council requests that the Nominating Committee be tasked with assigning all three Nominating Committee Appointees (NCAs) to Council seats beginning after the 2010 ICANN Annual Meeting. For the period starting on 28 October 2009 and continuing only through the 2010 ICANN Annual Meeting, the following procedure will be used to assign NCAs to Council seats:

a. ICANN Staff should ensure that a Statement of Interest is received from Andrey Kolesnikov and sent to the Council not later than 30 September 2009.
b. Not later than 30 September 2009, new and existing NCAs will make best efforts to collaborate and provide their input to the GNSO Council regarding their recommendations for assigning NCA Council seats. Such input should include any seating assignments that any of the NCAs would individually be uncomfortable taking along with their reasons.
c. Taking into consideration the input from the NCAs, if any, both GNSO Council Houses and/or their respective Stakeholder Groups should attempt to reach agreement on the seating for each of the three NCAs for the first year of the new bicameral Council and communicate the results to the Council not later than 7 October 2009.
d. If the GNSO Council Houses and/or their respective Stakeholder Groups are unable to reach agreement, then the new, inexperienced NCA will take the non-voting Council seat and random selection will be used to assign the other two NCAs to Houses before the Council meeting on 8 October 2009.
e. In the meeting scheduled for 8 October 2009, the Council will acknowledge the results of this process and confirm that it was properly conducted.

11. The Council requests ICANN Staff support to fulfill this plan, including but not limited to scheduling and arranging for any needed teleconference calls.

12. The charters for the GNSO Policy Process and Operations Steering Committees (PPSC and OSC) are extended until the end of ICANN’s first general meeting in 2010.

GNSO COUNCIL RESTRUCTURE IMPLEMENTATION PLAN

Notes:

(1) Those individuals who are term-limited are marked with an asterisk.

(2) This column reflects Staff-suggested dispositions only. Subject to certain structural realities (see Notes 4 and 5 below), the decisions regarding which seats and representatives continue, become vacant or are otherwise subject to re-election are completely in the hands of the individual Stakeholder Groups or Constituencies.

(3) All election/allocation results must be communicated to the GNSO Secretariat no later than 30 September 2009._

(4) Three seats from the Commercial Stakeholder Group are being eliminated in this new structure. The three seats indicated as possible eliminations are for illustration purposes only. That final determination of which seats are impacted by the change should be made by the CSG Executive Committee.

(5) Under the terms of the Transitional NCSG Charter, the NCUC leadership will make the determination regarding the upcoming NCSG seat vacancy and the Board has the responsibility to appoint the individuals to Councilor positions 4, 5 and 6.

(6) After the Board’s decision on the Bylaws amendments package currently scheduled for its 27 August meeting, it is hoped that the Nominating Committee will be in a position to recommend which Nominating Committee Appointee (NCA) should be assigned to each of three specific positions on the Council; one NCA serving as a voting member of the Contract Party House; one NCA serving as a voting member of the Non Contract Party House; and one NCA serving in a non-voting capacityto “preserve the independent presence on the Council.”

(7) Tony Holmes advised Council on 27 August that Maggie Mansourkia would be filling Greg Ruth’s seat on the Council until Seoul.

The amendment and the motion passed by voice vote.

Councillors present at the time of the vote:
Philip Sheppard, Zahid Jamil, Kristina Rosette, Cyril Chua, Tony Harris, Maggie Mansourkia, Mary Wong, William Drake, Tim Ruiz, Stéphane van Gelder, Edmon Chung, Chuck Gomes, Olga Cavalli.

One abstention - Avri Doria, Nominating Committee Appointee (NCA)
" I abstain because I am referred to in the motion."

Chuck Gomes handed the chair back to Avri Doria.

Item 6: Motion to Approve Draft GNSO Council Operating Procedures for Public Comment

Motion by Chuck Gomes on 17 September 2009 seconded by Tim Ruiz.

Whereas:

On 27 August 2009 the ICANN Board approved Bylaws Amendments Related to GNSO Restructuring (http://www.icann.org/en/general/bylaws-amendments-27aug09.pdf) in support of the transition to a new GNSO Council to be seated during the ICANN annual general meetings in Seoul in October 2009.

The existing Rules of Procedure for the GNSO Council (http://gnso.icann.org/council/new-procedures.shtml) require revision to accommodate the new Council structure.

The GNSO Council Operations Work Team (GCOT) established by the GNSO Operations Steering Committee (OSC) identified areas of the existing Rules that needed to be revised in order to seat the new Council, developed recommendations for updating those areas and submitted them to the OSC for review and comment.

The OSC reviewed and suggested a few edits to the GCOT recommendations.

The GNSO Council would like to provide the opportunity to receive public comments before the procedures are approved.

The GNSO Council Resolves to:

Sincerely thank the GCOT for its work in preparing the Draft Operating Procedures.

Approve the attached draft GNSO Council Operating Procedures for public comment.

Request ICANN Staff initiate a 21-day public comment period as soon as possible.

Attachment
GNSO Operating Procedures
(24 September 2009 Draft Version For Public Review and Comment)

1. Introduction and Scope

The Generic Names Supporting Organization (GNSO), its description, purpose(s), structures (e.g. Council, Stakeholder Groups), and governance mandate are covered in ICANN Bylaws, Article X, Sections 1-6 (link TBD). Transition procedures to the new GNSO Council, to become effective in October 2009, are contained in Article XX, Section 5 (link TBD). The Policy Development Process (PDP) for the GNSO is described in ICANN Bylaws ANNEX A (link TBD).

This document, the “Operating Procedures” of the GNSO, describes those supplementary elements of administration, governance, and other logistics/mechanics that are not already prescribed in the aforementioned ICANN Bylaws. Nothing in the contents of this document shall be in conflict with the ICANN Bylaws and, in the event of any discrepancy, apparent or otherwise, the ICANN Bylaws shall govern.

Taken together, the ICANN Bylaws and the GNSO Operating Procedures are intended to provide a complete set of rules, procedures, and practices for governing the operations of the GNSO.

2. GNSO Council Supplementary Procedures

2.1 GNSO Council Member Term Limits

The ICANN Bylaws {Article X, Section 3(2)} specify term limits for GNSO Council Representatives except under a “ Special Circumstance” that is to be defined in the GNSO Operating Procedures .

2.2 Officer Elections: Chair and Vice-Chairs

The GNSO Council shall select the GNSO Chair and two Vice Chairs as follows:

a. The GNSO Chair shall be elected by a 60 percent vote of both houses.

b. Each house will be allowed one candidate for GNSO Council Chair. A candidate for GNSO Council Chair does not need to be a member of a house. Should a Chair be elected outside the houses that Chair will be a non-voting Chair.

-- i. All ballots will include the “none of the above” option. In the event that this option gets 60 percent of both houses, each house will commence a new nomination period of not longer than 15 days. The election will be rescheduled for no sooner than 30 days.

-- ii. In the case of a tie the election will be rescheduled no sooner than 30 days. In the case of a second tie, each house will commence a new nomination period of not longer than 15 days. The election will be rescheduled for no sooner than 30 days.

-- iii. The leading candidate will be defined as the one with the highest score. For each candidate, determine the percentage of vote received in each house; add these percentages to determine the score; the leader is the one with the higher score. (Maximum score equals 200.)

-- iv. In case neither candidate reaches the 60 percent of both houses threshold, a second ballot will be held between the leader and “none of the above.”

-- v. If the single candidate does not reach the 60 percent of both houses threshold, then each house will commence a new nomination period of not longer than 15 days. The election will be rescheduled for no sooner than 30 days.

c. Each house shall select a Vice Chair within their respective houses.

d. A Chair and Vice Chair may not be elected from the same Stakeholder Group.

e. The Chair or Vice Chair shall retain their votes in their respective houses.

f. In the event that the GNSO Council has not elected a GNSO Council Chair by the end of the previous Chair’s term, the Vice-Chairs will serve as Interim GNSO Co-Chairs until a successful election can be held.

g. The Council shall inform the Board and the Community appropriately and post the election results on the GNSO website within 2 business days following the election.

2.3 Observers

The GNSO Council may agree with the Council of any other ICANN Supporting Organization to exchange observers. Such observers shall not be members of, or entitled to vote or make motions on, the GNSO Council, but otherwise shall be entitled to participate on equal footing with members of the GNSO Council. The appointing Council shall designate its observer (or revoke or change the designation of its observer) on the GNSO Council by providing written notice to the Chair of the GNSO Council and to the ICANN Secretary.

3. Council Meetings

Except as provided elsewhere in these procedures, the GNSO Council shall act at meetings.

3.1 Meeting Facilities

Provided that all members participating in such a meeting can speak to and hear one another, members of the GNSO Council may participate in a meeting of the GNSO Council through use of (i) conference telephone or similar communications equipment; or (ii) electronic video screen communication or other communication equipment; provided that (a) all members are provided the means of fully participating in all matters before the GNSO Council, and (b) ICANN adopts and implements means of verifying that a person participating in such a meeting is a member of the GNSO Council or other person entitled to participate in the meeting and all actions of, or votes by, the GNSO Council are taken or cast only by the members of the GNSO Council and not persons who are not members.

3.2 Open vs. Closed Sessions

Except where determined by a majority vote of both houses (see Section 4 - Voting) that a closed session is appropriate, meetings shall be open to physical or electronic attendance by all interested persons dependant upon space availability. Recordings of meetings will be made publicly available for any meetings not open to all interested parties. In cases where a closed session is deemed appropriate, the reason for such as closed session as well as the result of the vote will be published in the minutes.

3.3 Notice of Meetings

Advance notice of such meetings shall be posted on the GNSO website, if reasonably practicable, at least 7 days in advance of the meeting for Administrative issues and 14 days in advance for Policy issues. Advance notice shall also be posted to other GNSO Council work spaces where practical. Reports and motions should be submitted to the GNSO Chair Council for inclusion on the agenda as soon as possible, but no later than 8 business days before the GNSO Council meeting.

The time of the meetings may vary to accommodate the different geographic regions represented by Council members. By way of guidance, start times corresponding to local times for the Council members earlier than 06.00 and later than 23.00 should be avoided where possible.

3.4 Meeting Schedules

The GNSO Chair and GNSO Council will prepare a 12-month schedule of meetings within 30 days following the ICANN annual meeting. GNSO Council members may request changes to the schedule during the year, which may be agreed upon by the Chair in consultation with the Council, subject to the minimum period of notice below.

3.5 Procedure to Produce the MinutesWithin 8 working days of a GNSO Council meeting, the GNSO Secretariat will forward draft summary to the GNSO Chair and Vice Chairs. Within 10 days of the meeting, the Chair and Vice Chairs will edit the draft and request the Secretariat to circulate the draft summary to GNSO Council members for comment and approval. All comments received will be accepted for inclusion into the draft minutes unless there are objections. If no objections are received within 10 days, the minutes will be deemed to have been approved for posting.All comments received from GNSO Council members will be incorporated in the summary unless there are objections from other GNSO Council members.Where there are objections, the Chair will attempt to resolve the issue (by reference to the audio transcript if any) and secure agreement from the relevant GNSO Council members. If agreement is not achieved, the Chair will determine the final version of the minutes and will note areas in which agreement has not been achieved Disputes: If any GNSO Council member disputes what he or she has said in the resulting draft minutes, the recording and/or transcript of the meeting should be reviewed before minutes are approved.The Chair will ensure the above procedure is complete and an approved version of the summary is circulated and made public within 21 days of the relevant meeting.

All minutes of meetings of the GNSO (and any working groups thereof) shall be approved promptly by the originating body. No later than the business day after the date on which they are approved by the Council, the minutes shall be made publicly available on the Website.

3.6 Speaking at MeetingsBoth at physical and telephone meetings the GNSO Chair will recognize three types of intervention in the following order of priority:

• A point of order
• A point of information
• A normal substantive intervention

3.6.1 Points of Order

At a physical meeting, a GNSO Council member may raise a hand or during a teleconference a GNSO Council member may speak over the dialogue and say immediately "point of order." A point of order is raised when there is an infraction of the GNSO Council Operating Procedures, or improper decorum in speaking. The point of order must be raised as soon as possible after the error occurs. The Chair will suspend discussion and to hear the point.

3.6.2 Points of Information and Normal Substantive Interventions

At a physical meeting, a GNSO Council member may raise a hand and wait to be recognized by the Chair and during a teleconference a GNSO Council member may speak in an appropriate gap and say immediately "their name to speak". This will be noted by the Chair who will invite the intervention in due course. To ensure balance, the Chair has the discretion to delay an intervention by a frequent speaker to allow others to speak. By way of guidance for the Chair, a GNSO Council member is not expected to speak for more than three minutes at a time and the Chair should solicit the views of other GNSO Council members before returning to the same speaker on any one issue. This guidance should not be construed as limiting the Council from substantive discussion of an issue. Such discretion should not be exercised for a "point of information". A point of information is for GNSO Council members seeking information from the Chair or other GNSO Council members about meaning or procedure - it is specifically not intended to provide information.

3.7 Seating and Visibility

As possible, during in-person meetings, the GNSO Council Chair and Vice Chairs should be located so they can see all members.

3.8 Absences

When a GNSO council member fails to participate in two regular consecutive GNSO meetings without notification of absence to the GNSO secretariat or GNSO chair or Council list, the GNSO secretariat will notify the Stakeholder Group and ask for a response.

4. Voting

4.1 Quorum

In order for the GNSO Council to initiate a vote, a quorum must be present. A quorum is a majority of voting members in each House, which includes at least one member of each Stakeholder Group.

4.2 Voting Thresholds

[ORIGINAL LANGUAGE RECOMMENDED BY GNSO OPERATIONS WORK TEAM:]

To pass, a motion must attain a majority of the votes cast in each house unless otherwise specified in these procedures or in the ICANN Bylaws. Abstentions count as votes cast and shall include a reason for the abstention. This has the effect of making an abstention count the same as a vote against except as described in ICANN Bylaws, ANNEX A, GNSO Policy-Development Process, Section 3, Initiation of PDP. [INSERT LIVE LINK TO THE BYLAWS.]

[SUGGESTED SUBSTITUTE LANGUAGE:]

Unless otherwise specified in these procedures or in the ICANN Bylaws, to pass a motion or other action, greater than 50% of the eligible voters in each House must cast affirmative votes. For all votes taken, the number of eligible voters in each House shall be fixed to the number of seats allocated in the Bylaws (a.k.a. the denominator) and is not affected by the number of members present or absent at the meeting in which the motion or other action is initiated. Council members are permitted to abstain in any vote, but must provide a reason which shall be recorded in the minutes along with the abstention.

4.3 Eligibility to Make Motions or Cast Votes

All actions of, or votes by, the GNSO Council are taken or cast only by the members of the GNSO Council. Persons who are not Council members may not vote. Acts by the GNSO Council members present at any meeting at which there is a quorum shall be acts of the GNSO Council, unless otherwise provided herein.

4.4 Absentee VotingMembers that are absent from a meeting at the time of a vote on the following items may vote by absentee ballot:a. Initiate a policy development process;
b. Forward a policy recommendation to the Board;
c. Recommend amendments to the ICANN Bylaws;
d. Fill a position open for election.

The GNSO Secretariat will provide reasonable means for transmitting and authenticating absentee ballots, which could include voting by telephone, e- mail, or web-based interface. Absentee ballots must be submitted within 72 hours following the start of the meeting in which a vote is initiated, except that in exceptional circumstances announced at the time of the vote the Chair may reduce this time to 24 hours or extend the time to 7 days.

4.5 Proxy Voting

This is a placeholder. This section is deferred due to the fact that 1) language in the GNSO Council Operating Procedures that pertains to this section requires ICANN legal counsel review, and 2) it is not necessary to complete this language in order to seat the Council at the ICANN Annual Meeting in Seoul, Korea, in October 2009. Thus, the OSC GNSO Council Operations Work Team has decided to defer completion of its work on this language until after the ICANN Annual Meeting in Seoul.

There was consensus in the Council to submit the draft and the proposed amendment (included in the document under 4.2 in italics) to public comment.

Staff committed to:

1. post the revised cleaned up version for public comment showing two versions, one with the amended language

2. create a voting matrix

Item 9: Discussion of Seoul Agenda

Proposal by Registrars for a Council encounter session (discussion and socializing)

1. Council agreed on GNSO Council members, current and new and Policy staff, Denise Michel, Liz Gasster, Margie Milam, Marika Konings, Julie Hedlund, Rob Hoggarth and Glen de Saint Géry, having dinner in a restaurant with a private room in Seoul on Saturday night, 24 October 2009. Each individual will pay for her/himself.

The GNSO Secretary is tasked with making the arrangements and informing the Council of the venue.

2. The Council passed a motion to hold a closed breakfast meeting: - one hour before the regularly scheduled meeting, 08:00 - 09:00, on Sunday, 25 October 2009.

- during which there will be no recording, transcription or remote participation

- the declared reason for closing the meeting is to allow the GNSO Council members, incoming and outgoing, liaisons to the Council and Policy staff to know each other better and share concerns

.The motion passed with 11 Votes in favour
Philip Sheppard, Kristina Rosette, Tony Harris, Maggie Mansourkia, Olga Cavalli (one vote each)Tim Ruiz, Stéphane van Gelder, Chuck Gomes (two votes each)

Chuck Gomes and Olga Cavalli noted for the record:Chuck Gomes:
"Yes and I will add a comment as well. Personally I would be okay with it being open. But I think there are enough people that are concerned about that, that I respect their view on that

.Olga Cavalli:
"Yes and I have a comment. The same as Chuck. I would prefer an open meeting but I understand the constraints of speaking (unintelligible) people have, so that's okay if it's closed.

Two Votes against:
Mary Wong, William Drake.

Mary Wong noted:"This is 'no' on principle because of the (NCUC) position on openness. Although personally I just want to say that I understand the limited reasons why others might vote yes. Thank you."

Avri Doria abstained and gave the following reason:

Due to CSG concerns about the ethics of my decision to join the NCUC and about the propriety of my continuing to vote as an NCA, I abstain from all votes in the council until such time as the Board Structural Improvements Committee decides on the disposition of the CSG letter of concern. I do this so that there can be no later dispute concerning policy decisions of the GNSO council based on questions about my status.

Dropped off the call:
Zahid Jamil, Cyril Chua, Edmon ChungAbsent councillors:
Mike Rodenbaugh, Ute Decker, Tony Holmes, Carlos Souza, Adrian Kinderis, Jordi Iparraguirre, Terry Davis.

The proposed draft agendas for the Seoul meetings are posted on the Wiki.

Saturday, 24 October 2009
https://st.icann.org/gnso-council/index.cgi?agenda_24_oct_2009

Opportunity for GNSO members to interview candidates for the position of Council chair.

Sunday, 25 October 2009
https://st.icann.org/gnso-council/index.cgi?agenda_25_oct_2009

Wednesday, 28 October 2009
https://st.icann.org/gnso-council/index.cgi?agenda_28_oct_2009

Thursday, 29 October 2009
https://st.icann.org/gnso-council/index.cgi?agenda_29_oct_2009

Kurt Pritz confirmed his availability to address the Council on new gTLDs on Sunday morning, rather than Saturday, following a request from Kristina Rosette.

Item 7: Vote on Charter for joint work with SSAC on Internationalized Data Registration Working Group

Internationalized Data Registration Working Group draft charter http://gnso.icann.org/drafts/internationalized-data-registration-wg-draft-charter-27sep09.pdf

GNSO Council Motion to approve Internationalized Registration Data Working Group Charter
Motion by Chuck Gomes on 15 Sep 09 and seconded by Philip Sheppard

Whereas:

• There have been increasing community concerns that the current WHOIS service is deficient in a number of ways, including technical areas as noted in recent SSAC reports, such as accessibility and readability of WHOIS contact information in an internationalized domain name (IDN) environment.
  On 21 April 2009, the ICANN Security and Stability Advisory Committee (SSAC) published a report titled SAC037 "Display and usage of Internationalized Registration Data" (SAC037) located at http://www.icann.org/committees/security/sac037.pdf.
  On 26 June 2009 the ICANN Board approved a resolution requesting that the GNSO and SSAC, in consultation with staff, convene an Internationalized Registration Data Working Group (IRD WG) comprised of individuals with knowledge, expertise, and experience in these areas to study the feasibility and suitability of introducing display specifications to deal with the internationalization of Registration Data.
  In the 26 June resolution, the Board directs the Internationalized Registration Data Working Group to solicit input from interested constituencies including ccTLD operators and the ccNSO during its discussions to ensure broad community input.
  ICANN Staff in cooperation with members of the GNSO Council and SSAC developed a draft charter for said working group as attached.

  The GNSO Council:

• Approves the IRD WG draft charter, and
• Encourages GNSO constituencies, stakeholder groups and other GNSO participants to identify possible participants of the IRD WG with knowledge, expertise, and experience in these areas to study the feasibility and suitability of introducing display specifications to deal with the internationalization of Registration Data.
• Internationalized Data Registration WG Draft Charter 15 Sep 09.doc

  
  The motion was passed by voice vote.

Councillors present at the time of the vote:
Philip Sheppard, Kristina Rosette, Cyril Chua, Tony Harris, Maggie Mansourkia, Mary Wong, William Drake, Tim Ruiz, Stéphane van Gelder, Chuck Gomes, Olga Cavalli.

One abstention - Avri Doria, Nominating Committee Appointee (NCA)

Avri Doria stated the following reason for abstainingDue to CSG concerns about the ethics of my decision to join the NCUC and about the propriety of my continuing to vote as an NCA, I abstain from all votes in the council until such time as the Board Structural Improvements Committee decides on the disposition of the CSG letter of concern. I do this so that there can be no later dispute concerning policy decisions of the GNSO council based on questions about my status.

Item 10: Status Updates 10. 1. Board Update - Denise Michel

Denise Michel reported that the ICANN Board was seeking input from the GNSO on two specific trademark issues; the clearing house and the Uniform Rapid Suspension System (URS).

Staff is working with the Board to finalise the specific request and the timeline which should be available to the Council after the Board meeting on 30 September 2009. Council was further reminded that to complete the work, some of the current working groups may have to be put on hold.

Kurt Pritz confirmed that the additional work would impact the timeline for the launch of new gTLDs and that Version 3 of the Draft Applicant Guidebook was due to be published on 1 October 2009.

Avri Doria proposed discussing the Board request at the next Council meeting on 8 October 2009.

Status Updates
10.2, 10.3, 10.4, 10.5, 10.6, 10.7

10.5.1.2

Tim Ruiz added that the constituencies had until October 6 to submit statements on the Post-Expiration Domain Name Recovery charter questions.

10.6.1

Olga Cavalli added the letter forwarded by Kevin Wilson

10. 8. 3. Constituency Charters

Rob Hoggarth noted that work is proceeding on the minimum structural changes. Staff suggested that the existing constituencies make changes to their charters prior to Seoul.

10. 8. 4. New Constituencies

Rob Hoggarth noted that the Board has reached out to potential new constituencies and there is ongoing dialogue.

Item 11: AOB

11.1 GNSO Council chair Chuck Gomes noted that he would provide the Council with a draft informal plan to expedite the selection of a Council chair.

Avri Doria noted, that as an unaffected party, she would be willing to organise the efforts

11.2 Intellectual Property Interests elected Council representatives.

Kristina Rosette announced that she had been re-elected and would take up the position on the Council with David Taylor from Lovells in Paris.

Avri Doria adjourned the GNSO Council meeting and thanked everyone for their participation.The meeting ended at 15:15 UTC.

Next GNSO Council teleconference will be on 8 October 2009 at 13:00 UTC.
see: Calendar