[council] Proposed agenda for the Special GNSO Council Meeting of 14 January 2016 at 12:00UTC

[Glen de Saint Géry <Glen@xxxxxxxxx>]

Dear Councillors,

Please find the proposed agenda for the Special GNSO Council Meeting of 14 
January 2016 at 12:00UTC
This agenda was established according to the GNSO Council Operating 
Procedures,<http://gnso.icann.org/en/council/op-procedures-24jun15-en.pdf> 
approved and updated on 24 June 2015.

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.

Coordinated Universal Time: 12:00 UTC
http://tinyurl.com/ha4rugt

04:00 Los Angeles; 07:00 Washington; 12:00 London; 14:00 Istanbul; 23:00 Hobart

GNSO Council Meeting Audio Cast
To join the event click on the link: http://stream.icann.org:8000/gnso.m3u
Councilors should notify the GNSO Secretariat in advance if they will not be 
able to attend and/or need a dial out call.
___________________________________________

Item 1: Administrative matters (5 minutes)
1.1 - Roll call
1.2 - Updates to Statements of Interest
1.3 - Review/amend agenda.

Item 2: Opening Remarks (5 minutes)
2.1 - Overview of the purpose of this special Council meeting (James Bladel)
Item 3: Consent agenda (0 minutes)

Item 4: VOTE ON MOTION - GNSO Endorsement of the Third Draft Proposal from the 
Cross-Community Working Group on ICANN Accountability (90 minutes)
In the course of discussions over the IANA stewardship transition, the 
community had raised concerns about ICANN's accountability, given ICANN's 
historical contractual relationship with the United States government. The 
community discussions indicated that existing ICANN accountability mechanisms 
do not yet meet some stakeholders' expectations. As that the U.S. government 
(through the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA)) 
has stressed that it expects community consensus on the transition, this gap 
between the current situation and stakeholder expectations needed to be 
addressed. This resulted in the 
creation<http://gnso.icann.org/en/drafts/enhancing-accountability-charter-03nov14-en.pdf>
 of a Cross Community Working Group on Enhancing ICANN Accountability 
(CCWG-Accountability<https://community.icann.org/x/ogDxAg>) of which the GNSO 
is a chartering organization.
In May 2015, the CCWG-Accountability 
published<https://www.icann.org/public-comments/ccwg-accountability-draft-proposal-2015-05-04-en>
 an initial proposal regarding its work on Work Stream 1 (meant to align with 
the timing of the IANA stewardship transition) for public comment. In August 
2015, the CCWG-Accountability 
published<https://www.icann.org/public-comments/ccwg-accountability-2015-08-03-en>
 its Second Draft Proposal for public comment. This second proposal included 
significant changes to the initial document, arising from feedback received in 
the first public comment period. Following community input, including from the 
ICANN Board, and discussions at several sessions during ICANN54, the 
CCWG-Accountability made further adjustments to its draft recommendations, 
resulting in its Third Draft Proposal that was 
published<https://www.icann.org/public-comments/draft-ccwg-accountability-proposal-2015-11-30-en>
 for public comment on 30 November 2015. The comment period closed on 21 
December 2015, with all Chartering Organizations expected to consider whether 
to adopt the recommendations in time for the CCWG-Accountability to send its 
final report on Work Stream 1 to the ICANN Board by late January 2016.
Concurrently, the IANA Stewardship Transition Coordination Group (ICG) - the 
community group formed to consolidate the various proposals relating to the 
IANA stewardship transition submitted by the Internet communities affected by 
the issue - announced<https://www.icann.org/news/announcement-2015-10-29-en> 
after ICANN54 that it had completed its task. However, before the ICG can send 
its consolidated proposal to the NTIA via the ICANN Board, it will first have 
to confirm with the Cross Community Working Group to Develop an IANA 
Stewardship Transition Proposal on Naming Related Functions 
(CWG-Stewardship<https://community.icann.org/display/gnsocwgdtstwrdshp/CWG+to+Develop+an+IANA+Stewardship+Transition+Proposal+on+Naming+Related+Functions>)
 that its accountability requirements have been met by the Work Stream 1 
recommendations from the CCWG-Accountability. In this regard, the 
CWG-Stewardship had submitted a public comment which, while noting that several 
of the CCWG-Accountability's latest recommendations adequately satisfied the 
CWG-Stewardship's requirements, nevertheless highlighted a number of points 
that in its view merited further attention.
In order to meet the CCWG-Accountability's planned timeline, the GNSO Council 
had agreed at its December 2015 meeting to form a Sub Team that was to review 
all the various public comments from the GNSO's Stakeholder Groups and 
Constituencies. Here the Council will discuss the status of the work of the Sub 
Team, and if appropriate vote on whether to adopt the CCWG-Accountability's 
recommendations.
4.1 - Summary and update from GNSO Council Sub-Team (James Bladel / Philip 
Corwin / Keith Drazek / Paul McGrady / Edward Morris)
4.2 - Discussion
4.3 - Presentation of the 
motion<https://community.icann.org/display/gnsocouncilmeetings/Motions+14+January+2016>
 (James Bladel)
4.4 - Vote on motion (voting threshold: simple majority)
4.5 - Next steps
Item 5: Any Other Business (10 Minutes)
_________________________________
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:
a. Create an Issues Report: requires an affirmative vote of more than 
one-fourth (1/4) vote of each House or majority of one House.
b. Initiate a Policy Development Process ("PDP") Within Scope (as described in 
Annex A<http://www.icann.org/en/about/governance/bylaws#AnnexA>): requires an 
affirmative vote of more than one-third (1/3) of each House or more than 
two-thirds (2/3) of one House.
c. Initiate a PDP Not Within Scope: requires an affirmative vote of GNSO 
Supermajority.
d. 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.
e. Approve a PDP Team Charter for a PDP Not Within Scope: requires an 
affirmative vote of a GNSO Supermajority.
f. 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.
g. 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.
h. 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.
i. Approve a PDP Recommendation With a GNSO Supermajority: requires an 
affirmative vote of a GNSO Supermajority,
j. 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.
k. 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.
l. 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<http://gnso.icann.org/council/gnso-operating-procedures-22sep11-en.pdf>)
4.4.1 Applicability
Absentee voting is permitted for the following limited number of Council 
motions or measures.
a. Initiate a Policy Development Process (PDP);
b. Approve a PDP recommendation;
c. Recommend amendments to the GNSO Operating Procedures (GOP) or ICANN Bylaws;
d. 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.)

Reference (Coordinated Universal Time) UTC 12:00
Local time between October and March Winter in the NORTHERN hemisphere
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California, USA 
(PDT<http://www.timeanddate.com/library/abbreviations/timezones/na/pst.html>) 
UTC-7+1DST 04:00
San José, Costa Rica UTC-6+0DST  06:00
Iowa City, USA (CDT<http://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/UTC%E2%88%9206:00>) UTC-6+0DST 
06:00
New York/Washington DC, USA (EST) UTC-5+0DST 07:00
Buenos Aires, Argentina 
(ART<http://www.timeanddate.com/library/abbreviations/timezones/sa/art.html>) 
UTC-3+0DST 09:00
Rio de Janiero, Brazil (BRST) UTC-2+0DST 10:00
London, United Kingdom (BST) UTC+0DST 12:00
Bonn, Germany (CET) UTC+1+0DST 13:00
Cairo, Egypt, (EET) UTC+2+0DST 14:00
Istanbul, Turkey (EEST) UTC+3+0DST 14:00
Perth, Australia 
(WST<http://timeanddate.com/library/abbreviations/timezones/au/wst.html>) 
UTC+8+1DST 20:00 next day
Singapore (SGT) UTC +8  20:00
Sydney/Hobart, Australia (AEDT) UTC+11+0DST 23:00
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http://tinyurl.com/ha4rugt

Thank you.
Kind regards,
Glen

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