[council] Public Comment: Community Comment Invited on Petition To Form A New GNSO Not-for-Profit Organizations Constituency

[Glen de Saint Géry <Glen@xxxxxxxxx>]

http://www.icann.org/en/announcements/announcement-01dec10-en.htm

________________________________
Public Comment: Community Comment Invited on Petition To Form A New GNSO 
Not-for-Profit Organizations Constituency

1 December 2010

The ongoing GNSO Improvements process has created significant community 
interest in the formation of new GNSO constituencies and several groups have 
stepped forward to begin the process of forming a new GNSO constituency. The 
ICANN Board has now received its fifth formal petition - from the prospective 
Not-for-Profit Organizations Constituency (NPOC). The NPOC proponents propose 
to join the Non Commercial Stakeholders Group of the GNSO.

All members of the ICANN community and the public are now invited to review the 
petition and charter of the NPOC and share comments with the Board and 
community through 23 January 2011.

Background and Explanation:

In June 2008, the Board of Directors endorsed a series of recommendations on 
how to improve the GNSO’s structures and operations. One of the significant 
drivers of those recommendations was an interest in maximizing participation in 
the GNSO and its policy development processes. Among the various 
recommendations endorsed by the Board was that ICANN take steps to clarify and 
promote the option to self-form new constituencies.

The current ICANN Bylaws provide that any group of individuals or entities may 
petition the Board for recognition as a new or separate constituency, in 
accordance with Section 5(4) of Article X. Such a petition must explain (1) why 
“the addition of such a Constituency will improve the ability of the GNSO to 
carry out its policy-development responsibilities” and (2) why “the proposed 
new Constituency would adequately represent, on a global basis, the 
stakeholders it seeks to represent.” Despite those Bylaw provisions, it has 
been many years since the organization has had formal requests for a new 
constituency. Since the Board action in June 2008, however, the ICANN Staff has 
received inquiries from several interested parties about how to form a new GNSO 
constituency .

The ICANN bylaws do not provide specific procedural guidance for how interested 
parties should submit the petitions contemplated in Article X. Mindful that 
explicit steps, formats, and/or processes for expansion would take some time 
for the community to develop in the implementation of the improvements 
recommendations, the Board directed ICANN Staff to provide the community with 
some initial guidance, a structure and a specific procedural path for potential 
new constituencies to follow. At its 1 October 2008 meeting, the Board 
acknowledged Staff's development of a "Notice of Intent" document for potential 
new constituencies and directed Staff to develop a formal petition and charter 
template to assist new constituency applicants in satisfying the formative 
criteria (consistent with the ICANN Bylaws) to facilitate the Board's 
evaluation of petitions to form new constituencies.

The process subsequently developed by the Staff required interested groups to 
first submit a Notice of Intent to Form a New Constituency (NOIF). The NPOC 
proponents completed that first step on 15 June 2010. The second step of the 
process is development of a New Constituency Petition and Charter. The NPOC 
proponents completed that effort on 2 November 2010.

Relevant Board Resolution, Bylaws and Constituency Submissions:

·     Minutes of 1 October 2008 ICANN Board Meeting: 
http://www.icann.org/en/minutes/minutes-01oct08.htm

·     ICANN Bylaws Article X, Section 5, Subsection 4: 
http://www.icann.org/en/general/bylaws.htm - 
X-5.1<http://www.icann.org/en/general/bylaws.htm#X-5.1>

·     Copies of the Not-for-Profit Organizations Constituency Petition 
Documents:

The NPOC Charter Cover 
Letter<http://gnso.icann.org/improvements/npoc-charter-cover-letter-02nov10-en.pdf>
 [PDF, 41 KB];
The NPOC Petition (redacted) and 
Charter<http://gnso.icann.org/improvements/npoc-charter-redacted-02nov10-en.pdf>
 [PDF, 164 KB]
The Public Comment Forum of this 
proceeding<http://www.icann.org/en/public-comment/public-comment-201101-en.htm#npoc-petition-charter>

The Process From Here:

At the end of this Public Comment Forum period, the ICANN Staff will provide a 
summary/analysis of the comments submitted regarding the NPOC petition and 
charter. That summary/analysis will be shared with the community and the Board. 
The Board will ultimately make the decision on whether to authorize the new 
constituency.

Deadline and How to Submit Comments:

The Staff is opening a public consultation forum, from 1 December 2010 through 
23 January 2011, and invites community comments on this matter.

The formal Public Comment Forum Box is located here: 
http://www.icann.org/en/public-comment/public-comment-201101-en.htm#npoc-petition-charter

To submit comments: 
npoc-petition-charter@xxxxxxxxx<mailto:npoc-petition-charter@xxxxxxxxx>

To view comments (including the various constituency submissions): 
http://forum.icann.org/lists/npoc-petition-charter/

Staff Responsible: Robert Hoggarth



Glen de Saint Géry

GNSO Secretariat

gnso.secretariat@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx

http://gnso.icann.org