Actually Bruce, I think the new gTLD policy is within the Picket Fence (naming issue that requires or is substantially benefitted by coordination). ICANN does not have a legal right to impose obligations on the contracted parties related to stuff that is outside the PF. But the lines have been muddied from time to time. I would argue that the stability and security review provided for in the RSEP policies is within the PF, but the competition prong of that review is outside the PF. J. Beckwith Burr Neustar, Inc. / Deputy General Counsel and Chief Privacy Officer 1775 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20006 Office: + 1.202.533.2932 Mobile: +1.202.352.6367 / becky.burr@neustar.biz / www.neustar.biz On 2/17/15, 3:08 AM, "Bruce Tonkin" <Bruce.Tonkin@melbourneit.com.au> wrote:
Just one addition although the Bylaws are a little fuzzy on this point, Consensus Policy can only be developed to address issues that are within the ³picket fence² - issues related to names and numbers that require/substantially benefit from coordination. Specification 1 in the Registrar Accreditation Agreement and the Registry Agreement lay this out. In other words, the ³picket fence² limits ICANN¹s ability to impose obligations on registries and registrars that are outside of its ³mission."
To complicate further the GNSO can recommend by consensus that ICANN adopt policies that relate to generic top-level domains that don¹t directly relate to an existing registry/registrar contract. The policy on new gTLDs is example.
The consensus policies within a picket fence require existing registries and registrars to comply with the new policy e.g. registrar to registrar transfers policies.
Regards,
Bruce Tonkin