I should add for completeness that in the 4 years I have held office, my budget has never been questioned but accepted without comment. In addition, although I work with ICANN staff when needed, I have never had any pressure from staff to do anything. My physical distance ensures I cannot be lobbied informally but generally I do what I need to do without any interference from the staff and board. The only limit is the need to report annually, but in meetings with the board, I have never been given any directions to do anything or stop doing anything. I agree the bylaws creating the role certainly need an update and I hope the working party on my role will have useful input to include any other features considered necessary by the community. I am always open for calls and discussions about these issues Regards Chris LaHatte Ombudsman Blog https://omblog.icann.org/ Webpage http://www.icann.org/en/help/ombudsman Confidentiality All matters brought before the Ombudsman shall be treated as confidential. The Ombudsman shall also take all reasonable steps necessary to preserve the privacy of, and to avoid harm to, those parties not involved in the complaint being investigated by the Ombudsman.The Ombudsman shall only make inquiries about, or advise staff or Board members of the existence and identity of, a complainant in order to further the resolution of the complaint. The Ombudsman shall take all reasonable steps necessary to ensure that if staff and Board members are made aware of the existence and identity of a complainant, they agree to maintain the confidential nature of such information, except as necessary to further the resolution of a complaint -----Original Message----- From: accountability-cross-community-bounces@icann.org [mailto:accountability-cross-community-bounces@icann.org] On Behalf Of Bruce Tonkin Sent: Monday, July 20, 2015 8:37 PM To: accountability-cross-community@icann.org Subject: [CCWG-ACCT] Regarding Ombudsman function Hello Nigel,
1. The Ombudsman, strengthened or otherwise is not truly independent.
Although the Ombudsman function is reasonably independent of at least the ICANN staff. The Board directly approves the budget for the Ombudsman and deals with any personnel issues. The Ombudsman puts forward a budget for approval and runs a separate office (which is currently in New Zealand). There is no obligation to use any ICANN services. " The annual budget for the Office of Ombudsman shall be established by the Board as part of the annual ICANN budget process. The Ombudsman shall submit a proposed budget to the President, and the President shall include that budget submission in its entirety and without change in the general ICANN budget recommended by the ICANN President to the Board. Nothing in this Article shall prevent the President from offering separate views on the substance, size, or other features of the Ombudsman's proposed budget to the Board The Ombudsman also has full rights of inspection of documents and could publicly report any issues with being given access to documents.
From the bylaws:
" have the right to have access to (but not to publish if otherwise confidential) all necessary information and records from ICANN staff and constituent bodies to enable an informed evaluation of the complaint and to assist in dispute resolution where feasible (subject only to such confidentiality obligations as are imposed by the complainant or any generally applicable confidentiality policies adopted by ICANN)"
2, The Ombudsman's role is that of mediator
Yes that is correct.
From the bylaws:
" The charter of the Ombudsman shall be to act as a neutral dispute resolution practitioner" Regards, Bruce Tonkin _______________________________________________ Accountability-Cross-Community mailing list Accountability-Cross-Community@icann.org https://mm.icann.org/mailman/listinfo/accountability-cross-community