... and answering some of the questions that came up in todays Wrap Up meeting :) Keith Davidson keith@internetnz.net.nz via icann.org Hi FOIWG'ers, Reporting from ICANN52 Singapore, firstly please excuse this lengthy message. I have copied below the ccNSO Council resolutions, the ccNSO report, the GAC Communique and the report from the ccNSO to the ICANN Board in the public forum. In a nutshell, the GAC did not object to the FOI, and the FOI received final approval from the ccNSO. It therefore is referred to the ICANN Board for their consideration, and implementation within IANA. Also the ccNSO will send the FOI to the CWG-IANA and CCWG-Accountability so that relevant recommendations may be incorporated into the IANA Transition Plan. While not the perfect outcome of having full GAC support, it nevertheless enables a useful implementation path. With that, the work of the FOIWG concludes and the FOI has become the property of the ccNSO, and hopefully a property of ICANN in due course. Byron and I will steward the process within ICANN. So as a last act as the Chair of the working group, I would like to extend my heartfelt thanks to all the active members of the group, and especially to the vice chair Becky, who assisted above and beyond the call of duty. It has been a fantastic experience and a very long haul to get us through, and I admire the tenacity and endurance of you all, and the support you have given me along the way. My last task as your chair will be to ask our secretariat to close the mailing list. Cheers Keith =========== ccNSO Resolutions: 7.1 Support Framework of Interpretation. The ccNSO Council expresses its final support for the "Framework of Interpretation" to provide more accurate and detailed analysis of the existing policies for the delegation, transfer and revocation of country code Top Level Domains. 7.2 Submission Framework of Interpretation and recommendations to CWG Stewardship and CCWG Accountability: The ccNSO Council will provide the Framework of Interpretation as an input to both the CWG-Stewardship and CCWG-Accountability working groups, with the request that the Framework and relevant recommendations from the report be incorporated into their work, including into the Service Level Agreement that will be included in the proposal for the IANA Transition Plan." 7.3 Submission of the Framework of Interpretation and recommendations to ICANN Board of Directors. The ccNSO Council empowers its chair and Keith Davidson, former chair of the FOIWG, to recommend the Final Report of the FOIWG to the ICANN Board of Directors, if they consider that the terms of the GAC Communiqué are compatible with such recommendations. The ccNSO Council also recommends that ICANN adopt the Framework of Interpretation and adopt the document as the specific guidance on the interpretation of the existing, applicable policies. With that in mind, the ccNSO Council recommends that certain previous documents including the GAC Principles 2000 (which the GAC superseded in 2005), ICANN's ICP1 and News Memo 1 should be archived and considered no longer used by ICANN or IANA staff. The ccNSO Council urges ICANN and IANA staff to apply the Framework in the near future, and the Council stands ready to assist IANA staff with that work. ========== CCNSO Council Report: Final Report FOI WG Introduction and Background The Framework of Interpretation WG was established in March 2011. According to its charter the FOIWG is to develop and propose a "Framework of Interpretation" (FOI) for the existing policies and guidelines applicable to the delegation and re-delegation of ccTLDs. After a long and intense consultation process of the FOIWG, community and others, the FOIWG finalized its recommendations during the London meeting (June 2014). The chair of the FOIWG submitted the Final Report of the WG to the ccNSO recommending that the ccNSO adopts the proposed FOI and Recommendations contained in the Final Report at the ICANN Los Angeles October 2014 meeting. In accordance with the charter of the FOIWG, its chair submitted the Final Report to the chair of GAC as well, and actively sought endorsement or support from the GAC for the FOI and Recommendations. After an intense discussion with the ccTLD managers present at the ccNSO meeting in Los Angeles (October 2014), the ccTLD managers unanimously endorsed the FOI and expressed their support for the recommendations contained in the Final Report. At its meeting in Los Angeles the ccNSO Council expressed its interim support for the Framework of Interpretation and the Recommendations contained in the Final Report of the FOIWG, requested its chair and the chair of the FOIWG to work with the chair of the Governmental Advisory Committee to engage with the GAC. As part of this engagement the ccNSO has committed to engage with the GAC going forward to provide further guidance on issues relating to delegations, transfers and revocations of ccTLDs, to review and identify any gaps in the existing policies and guidelines, and to consider whether or not a formal policy development process is needed to cover these policy gaps. An example of which would be the "retirement" of ccTLDs, where there is currently no policy basis for decision-making. Further, based on the dialogue at the ccNSO-GAC joint meeting, the ccNSO Council is optimistic that the GAC will not oppose to the Framework of Interpretation and hence not object to submission of the Framework to the ICANN Board of Directors. Finally, the ccNSO Council has been made aware that ccNSO appointed members and ccTLD participants in both the CWG Stewardship and CCWG Accountability reference the Framework of Interpretation in their work. ========== ccNSO Chairs Comments to ICANN Public Forum: The ccNSO, working closely with the GAC has now completed a multi year effort that started in 2009 with the Delegation and Redelegation Working Group. Having given unanimous provisional approval to the ccNSO's Framework of Interpretation at its meeting in <?>, the Council yesterday gave its overwhelming final approval. The FoI WG, in which the GAC was fully represented has been a good example on how different parts of ICANN can work together. The Framework may not constrain the operation of applicable law, nor may it limit the role of nataonal governments as the ultimate decision-maker in matters of public policy; and the Framework says so, explicitly. We welcome the GAC's consideration of our work, as noted in their Communique. The ccNSO Council directed the Chair of the Council and the Chair of the FoI to transmit the Framework to the Board and we look forward to working together with IANA staff as they start to use it as a tool to assist their day to day operations ========= GAC Communique: 1. Framework of Interpretation Working Group (FOIWG) Report The GAC notes the work of the ccNSO FOIWG, and its efforts to provide interpretive clarity to RFC1591. The GAC welcomes the FOIWG’s recognition that, consistent with the GAC’s 2005 Principles, the ultimate authority on public policy issues relating to ccTLDs is the relevant government. As such, nothing in the FOIWG report should be read to limit or constrain applicable law and governmental decisions, or the IANA operator´s ability to act in line with a request made by the relevant government.