[council] RE: Topics for Board-GNSO meeting - please comment ASAP on any inaccuracies

[Donna Austin <Donna.Austin@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

All

My apologies, I missed the afternoon Council sessions.

In relation to the second topic to be lead by Brian, I wanted to bring to your 
attention a recent letter from the RySG to Akram Atallah. I think the letter is 
self-explanatory but I'd be happy to answer questions.

http://media.wix.com/ugd/ec8e4c_e00b1204bf4a4318b6ac5d831e3227cd.pdf

Thanks

Donna

From: owner-council@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:owner-council@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx] On 
Behalf Of Mary Wong
Sent: Saturday, 20 June 2015 5:56 PM
To: council@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [council] Topics for Board-GNSO meeting - please comment ASAP on any 
inaccuracies

Dear all,

Here is the list of topics to be sent to the Board for discussion at their 
meeting with the GNSO tomorrow; please let me know ASAP if you have any 
specific corrections on any inaccuracies or gaps. Thank you!

IMPACT ON BOARD OF NEW GNSO PROCESSES (GNSO LEADS: JONATHAN ROBINSON & CHUCK 
GOMES)

For Discussion - The need to amend ICANN's Bylaws if these new processes are 
adopted, with consequent impact on Board voting/actions

BOARD DECISIONS CONCERNING gTLD POLICY AND RELATED IMPLEMENTATION MATTERS (GNSO 
LEAD: BRIAN WINTERFELDT)

Question for Discussion - How does the Board formulate its decisions and what 
is its process for making decisions? This question arises specifically due to 
what the GNSO community perceives as growing deference to the GAC on gTLD 
policy and implementation issues, which could increase the GAC's ability to 
drive gTLD policymaking beyond what is contemplated in the ICANN Bylaws.

Specific examples:

Some NGPC decisions seem to be based on subjective criteria rather than 
substantive objective information (e.g. lack of international law basis for 
apparent GAC "veto" on the use of 2-character domains corresponding to country 
codes and its anticipated similar proposal on country and territory names)

Deference to the GAC can be illustrated by recent decisions on implementing 
approvals for release of 2-character domains, based on GAC/GAC member 
advice/comments

ICANN EXECUTIVE/STAFF DECISIONS CONCERNING gTLD POLICY AND RELATED 
IMPLEMENTATION MATTERS (GNSO LEAD: ??)

For Discussion - Community concerns that "back door" policy is being made by 
the ICANN executive/staff without input from the GNSO (e.g. imposition of URS 
in renewals of legacy gTLD registry agreements)

OTHER TOPICS (TO NOTE ONLY, NOT FOR LENGTHY DISCUSSION)

Community Concerns:

ICANN's growing maturity and complexity increases burden of tracking multiple 
streams of work; beyond volunteer burnout issues this highlights the need to 
recognize the pressures on community time and attention

General concern about a number of parallel activities and how they interrelate 
with one another

Concern over organizational stability in light of the transition to a new CEO 
at this time

Concluding Question (if time permits):
"What keeps Board members awake at night about ICANN?"

Cheers
Mary

Mary Wong
Senior Policy Director
Internet Corporation for Assigned Names & Numbers (ICANN)
Telephone: +1 603 574 4889
Email: mary.wong@xxxxxxxxx<mailto:mary.wong@xxxxxxxxx>