[council] Public Comment: Proposed Changes to Enhance ICANN's Registrar Accreditation Evaluation Process

[Glen de Saint Géry <Glen@xxxxxxxxx>]

http://www.icann.org/en/announcements/announcement-2-22nov10-en.htm
Public Comment: Proposed Changes to Enhance ICANN's Registrar Accreditation 
Evaluation Process

22 November 2010

The community is invited to provide comments on proposed measures to enhance 
ICANN's registrar accreditation evaluation process. Specifically, ICANN is 
seeking public comment on:

   1. A proposed set of terms and conditions [PDF, 214 KB] for the registrar 
accreditation application;
   2. The scope of additional proposed due diligence checks;
   3. A proposed increase to the registrar accreditation application fee as a 
consequence of the need for ICANN to conduct additional information searches to 
support the additional due diligence checks.

Background/Explanation of Proposed Measures

ICANN assesses whether an applicant is eligible to become an ICANN-accredited 
registrar according to the qualification criteria set out in the Statement of 
Registrar Accreditation Policy. The current accreditation evaluation process 
includes a review of supporting documents and verification of information 
submitted by each applicant against the qualification criteria, in order to 
determine if the applicant has sufficient technical, operational and financial 
capabilities to become an ICANN-accredited registrar. ICANN also conducts a 
background search of the applicant through public sources, which may provide 
information or reveal issues that could have a material impact on the 
applicant's ability to operate a registrar business in accordance with ICANN's 
requirements.

Terms and Conditions

In order to enhance the accreditation process, ICANN recently adopted a new 
version of the Accreditation Application Form and amended the section 
"Information for Registrars and Registrants" published on its website. To 
provide further clarity on the respective obligations of the applicant and 
ICANN in relation to the registrar accreditation applications, ICANN proposes 
to introduce a set of terms and conditions that will apply to all registrar 
accreditation applications. A copy of the proposed terms and conditions is 
available here [PDF, 214 KB].

Additional Due Diligence Checks

In addition, members of the community, including representatives of law 
enforcement agencies, have recommended a number of areas where ICANN should 
focus further due diligence checks of applicants during the registrar 
accreditation application process, including:

    * Criminal records;
    * Credit records;
    * Financial history and solvency;
    * Corporate/company structure and ownership.

These due diligence checks would require ICANN to complete these inquiries 
through the use of external resources (including reputable commercial third 
party information service providers).

Proposed Increase in Registrar Accreditation Application Fee

In order to cover the additional third party search costs, ICANN proposes to 
increase the application fee for all new registrar accreditation applications 
(on a cost recovery basis) from the current fee of USD 2,500 to USD 3,500.
The Process From Here:

At the end of this Public Comment period, ICANN staff will analyze the comments 
received and determine the appropriate steps and arrangements that will be 
required to introduce the terms and conditions and implement any proposed 
additional due diligence checks and the resulting fee increase for registrar 
accreditation applications.
Deadline and How to Submit Comments:

Staff is opening a 60-day public consultation forum, from 22 November 2010 
through 21 January 2011 and invites community comments concerning these 
proposed measures.

    * The formal Public Comment Forum Box is located here: 
http://www.icann.org/en/public-comment/public-comment-201101-en.htm#registrar-accredit-eval
    * To submit comments: registrar-accredit-eval@xxxxxxxxx
    * To view comments: http://forum.icann.org/lists/registrar-accredit-eval/

Staff Responsible: Steve Gobin


Glen de Saint Géry
GNSO Secretariat
gnso.secretariat@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx
http://gnso.icann.org