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Proposed Agenda for the GNSO Council Meeting 4 September 2014

Last Updated:
Date

This agenda was established according to the GNSO Council Operating Procedures approved 13 September 2012 for the GNSO Council and updated. <http://gnso.icann.org/en/council/op-procedures-13jun13-en.pdf >
For convenience:

  • An excerpt of the ICANN Bylaws defining the voting thresholds is provided in Appendix 1 at the end of this agenda.
  • An excerpt from the Council Operating Procedures defining the absentee voting procedures is provided in Appendix 2 at the end of this agenda.

Meeting Times 15:00 UTC:
http://tinyurl.com/k5lubtm

Coordinated Universal Time 15:00 UTC
08:00 Los Angeles; 11:00 Washington; 16:00 London; 17:00 Brussels; 23:00 Perth

Dial-in numbers will be sent individually to Council members. Councillors should notify the GNSO Secretariat in advance if a dial out call is needed.

GNSO Council meeting audiocast
http://stream.icann.org:8000/gnso.m3u

Item 1: Administrative matters (5 mins)

1.1 Roll Call
1.2 Statement of interest updates
1.3 Review/amend agenda
1.4. Note the status of minutes for the previous Council meeting per the GNSO Operating Procedures:

Minutes of the GNSO Council meeting 25 June 2014, and 24 July 2014 will be posted as approved on 3 September 2014

Item 2: Opening Remarks / Review of Projects & Action List (10 mins)

Review focus areas and provide updates on specific key themes / topics

Include review of Projects List and Action List.

Comments or questions arising.

Item 3: Consent agenda (5 mins)

3.1 - Uniformity of Reporting and the ICANN Contractual Compliance three-year plan.

A MOTION to :

  1. Thank ICANN Contractual Compliance for its presentation of their three-year plan and continued collaboration with the GNSO in future policy development efforts

    AND

  2. Consider the issues identified in the Uniformity of Reporting Final Issue Report to have been addressed and to consider the issue closed.

3.2 - The Council confirms the Co-Chairs for the Working Group on Curative Rights Protections for IGO/INGOs (IGO-INGO-CRP), namely Philip Corwin and Petter Rindforth.

Item 4: MOTION – A proposed modification of the GNSO's consensus recommendations relating to IGO acronyms and Red Cross identifiers (20 mins)

On 10 November 2013 the PDP Working Group (IGO-INGO PDP WG) delivered its Final Report to the GNSO Council that included twenty-five consensus recommendations of the WG. On 20 November 2013 the GNSO Council unanimously adopted all twenty-five consensus recommendations of the IGO-INGO PDP WG and forwarded them to the ICANN Board in January 2014 with a recommendation for their adoption.

On 30 April 2014 the Board resolved to adopt those of the GNSO's recommendations that are not inconsistent with GAC advice, and to facilitate dialogue between the affected parties in order to reconcile the remaining differences, as further detailed in Annex A and Annex B of the Board's resolution. The GNSO's recommendations and GAC advice are largely consistent except in relation to the duration and mechanism of protection for IGO acronyms and the full names and acronyms of 189 Red Cross national societies and the international Red Cross and Red Crescent movement, for which the GNSO had recommended a 90-day period of protection by way of a claim notification service utilising the Trademark Clearinghouse (TMCH).

On 16 June 2014 the NGPC sent a letter to the GNSO Council requesting that the GNSO consider modifying its recommendations relating to the duration and mechanism of protection for IGO acronyms and national society names of the Red Cross. This modification to be in accordance with and as envisaged by Section 16 of the GNSO's PDP Manual.

On 24 July 2014, the Chair of the NGPC followed up with a note to the Chair of the GNSO Council and offered to provide a written or oral briefing to provide greater clarity on the GAC's advice and expectations with respect to protections of IGO-INGO Identifiers. Such briefing will now be provided as part of this meeting.

4.1 – Receive the briefing (Chris Disspain)
4.2 – Present the motion (Thomas Rickert / Mary Wong)
4.3 – Discussion
4.4 – Vote (Threshold: simple majority)

Item 5: MOTION – To appoint a GNSO liaison to the GAC (10 mins)

The call for applications for the GNSO Liaison to GAC was circulated and a deadline for applications was set for the 31 July 2014.

The three evaluators (GNSO Council Chair and Vice Chairs) carefully and thoroughly evaluated each application against the specified criteria. Following this process, the application submitted by Mason Cole was selected to be put forward to the GNSO Council for the position of GNSO Liaison to the GAC.

Here the council will consider motion 5 to appoint Mason Cole as the GNSO Liaison to the GAC with immediate effect such that he can be well informed and up to speed in order to participate effectively as soon as possible and, in particular, at ICANN 51.

Unless terminated earlier according to the processes agreed or extended by a new motion of the Council, the term of the Liaison will run for the course of the current financial year, FY 2015 (ending 30 June 2015).

5.1 – Motion (David Cake)
5.2 – Discussion
5.3 – Vote (simple majority)

Item 6: MOTION – Adoption of the charter for a cross community working group to develop a transition proposal for IANA stewardship on naming related functions (15 mins)

Following the distribution of an invitation to participate, a drafting team (DT) was formed with participants from the ccNSO, GNSO, SSAC and ALAC to develop a charter for a Cross Community Working Group to Develop an IANA Stewardship Transition Proposal on Naming Related Functions.

A drafting team was formed and has worked efficiently to produce a charter. The charter is now being sent out to the supporting organisations for support.

Here the Council will take the opportunity to review, discuss and vote on the adoption of the Charter.

6.1 – Motion (Avri Doria)
6.2 – Discussion
6.3 – Vote (simple majority)
6.4 – Next steps

Item 7: DISCUSSION – The report of the ICANN Board Working Group on the Nominating Committee (10 mins)

The Board Working Group on Nominating Committee (BWG‐NomCom) is charged with performing the review called for in Recommendation 10 of the Nominating Committee Review Finalization Working Group, addressing issues of the size and composition of the Nominating Committee, as well as the related issues of NomCom's recruitment and selection functions.

The Board Working Group on Nominating Committee has recently published its report.

Here the Council will take the opportunity to discuss the report and consider what if any action to take.

7.1 – Introduction
7.2 – Discussion
7.3 – Next steps

Item 8: DISCUSSION – The draft charter from for a cross community working group on internet governance (10 mins)

A drafting team was formed and has worked to produce a charter. The charter has been previously sent out to organisations for discussion and comment, including the GNSO Council.

Here the Council will take the opportunity to discuss the charter and consider the appropriate next steps.

8.1 – Discussion
8.2 – Next steps

Item 9: UPDATE – On the work of the GNSO Review Working Party (10 mins)

As part of a periodic review process that is built into the ICANN model, work on the ICANN Board initiated reviews of the GNSO (and the GNSO Council and related functions) has commenced. The objective of the Review is to examine the organizational effectiveness of the GNSO, including its components (GNSO Council, GNSO Working Groups, GNSO Stakeholder Groups and Constituencies). The review is to be tightly scoped based on objective and quantifiable criteria provided to an independent examiner.

The GNSO Review Working Party has been assembled to:

  • Act as a liaison between the GNSO, the independent examiner and the SIC,
  • Provide input on review criteria and the 360 Assessment,
  • Coordinate interviews and objectively supply clarification and responses to the draft findings and recommendations.

The SIC envisages that once a final report is issued and the Board takes action on it, as appropriate, the GNSO Review Working Party will also coordinate with the GNSO community to prepare an Implementation Plan and champion implementation of improvement activities.

9.1 – Update (Jennifer Wolfe)
9.2 – Discussion
9.3 – Next steps

Item 10: Procedure to elect the GNSO Council Chair (10 mins)

We have previously used an election procedure. Here we will review a current version of the same procedure with a view to approving it for use in the run up to and during the course of the 2014 ICANN Annual Meeting in Los Angeles.

10.1 Presentation of procedure (Jonathan Robinson)
10.2 Discussion
10.3 Call to approve the procedure

Item 11: UPDATE & DISCUSSION – Planning for LA (10 mins)

Making the most out of the face-to-face meeting time available at the ICANN Meeting in LA will take planning and preparation work. The Council has output from the survey of the ICANN 50 meeting in London.

Here the Council has the opportunity to feed into plans and provide input based on past experience. Included in this item will be the opportunity to shape the approach to and substance of the Council's proposed meetings with other groups such as the ccNSO, the GAC and the ICANN board.

Please Note: The LA Meeting is an ICANN annual meeting and so will include the GNSO Council development session on the second Friday i.e. Friday 17 October 2014. This is a day and evening session focused on the successful and productive functioning of the Council for the period Annual Meeting 2014 to Annual Meeting 2015.

11.1 – Update (David Cake & Jonathan Robinson)
11.2 – Discussion
11.3 – Next steps

Item 12: Any Other Business (5 mins)

12.1 CCWG on Country and Territory Names - Vacant Co-Chair seat

Appendix 1: GNSO Council Voting Thresholds (ICANN Bylaws, Article X, Section 3)

9. Except as otherwise specified in these Bylaws, Annex A hereto, or the GNSO Operating Procedures, the default threshold to pass a GNSO Council motion or other voting action requires a simple majority vote of each House. The voting thresholds described below shall apply to the following GNSO actions:

  1. Create an Issues Report: requires an affirmative vote of more than one-fourth (1/4) vote of each House or majority of one House.

  2. Initiate a Policy Development Process ("PDP") Within Scope (as described in Annex A): requires an affirmative vote of more than one-third (1/3) of each House or more than two-thirds (2/3) of one House.

  3. Initiate a PDP Not Within Scope: requires an affirmative vote of GNSO Supermajority.

  4. Approve a PDP Team Charter for a PDP Within Scope: requires an affirmative vote of more than one-third (1/3) of each House or more than two-thirds (2/3) of one House.

  5. Approve a PDP Team Charter for a PDP Not Within Scope: requires an affirmative vote of a GNSO Supermajority.

  6. Changes to an Approved PDP Team Charter: For any PDP Team Charter approved under d. or e. above, the GNSO Council may approve an amendment to the Charter through a simple majority vote of each House.

  7. Terminate a PDP: Once initiated, and prior to the publication of a Final Report, the GNSO Council may terminate a PDP only for significant cause, upon a motion that passes with a GNSO Supermajority Vote in favor of termination.

  8. Approve a PDP Recommendation Without a GNSO Supermajority: requires an affirmative vote of a majority of each House and further requires that one GNSO Council member representative of at least 3 of the 4 Stakeholder Groups supports the Recommendation.

  9. Approve a PDP Recommendation With a GNSO Supermajority: requires an affirmative vote of a GNSO Supermajority,

  10. Approve a PDP Recommendation Imposing New Obligations on Certain Contracting Parties: where an ICANN contract provision specifies that "a two-thirds vote of the council" demonstrates the presence of a consensus, the GNSO Supermajority vote threshold will have to be met or exceeded.

  11. Modification of Approved PDP Recommendation: Prior to Final Approval by the ICANN Board, an Approved PDP Recommendation may be modified or amended by the GNSO Council with a GNSO Supermajority vote.

  12. A "GNSO Supermajority" shall mean: (a) two-thirds (2/3) of the Council members of each House, or (b) three-fourths (3/4) of one House and a majority of the other House."

Appendix 2: Absentee Voting Procedures (GNSO Operating Procedures 4.4)

4.4.1 Applicability
Absentee voting is permitted for the following limited number of Council motions or measures.

  1. Initiate a Policy Development Process (PDP);
  2. Approve a PDP recommendation;
  3. Recommend amendments to the GNSO Operating Procedures (GOP) or ICANN Bylaws;
  4. Fill a Council position open for election.

4.4.2 Absentee ballots, when permitted, must be submitted within the announced time limit, which shall be 72 hours from the meeting's adjournment. 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 calendar days, provided such amendment is verbally confirmed by all Vice-Chairs present.

4.4.3 The GNSO Secretariat will administer, record, and tabulate absentee votes according to these procedures and will provide reasonable means for transmitting and authenticating absentee ballots, which could include voting by telephone, e- mail, web-based interface, or other technologies as may become available.
4.4.4 Absentee balloting does not affect quorum requirements. (There must be a quorum for the meeting in which the vote is initiated.)
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