Dear Parminder,
my personal point of view is that whilst I am
comfortable with some
additional accountability measures to be ingrained
in ICANN's DNA in
order to prevent the Board from going rogue, I am
very uncomfortable
with giving all of the power to the Community to
overrule the Board
*without additional checks and balances imposed on
the community too*.
Some aspects of the community proposal would
effectively create a shadow
Board that would overrule the ICANN Board and this
shadow Board would
have no accountability mechanisms whatsoever. It
would not be bound to
all of the reviews which the ICANN Board is bound
to. It would not have
any appeal mechanism. It would not have any
fiduciary responsibility and
liability. Nothing. The shadow Board would be the
most direct way to
capture and to use as a tool to blackmail ICANN into
doing things that
it should not do.
I'll repeat Larry Strickling's words, which I agree
with 100%: "Why is
it that so many in the ICANN community feel that a
Board member which
they have appointed THEMSELVES turns into a pariah
the moment he/she is
appointed? "
And do not tell me that SOs & ACs have no say in
the appointment of
NomCom appointed Board members: the NomCom is made
up of people from the
community appointed by their SOs and ACs. NomCom
members work together
to find the best people for ICANN.
On the topic of needing to have a set of
accountability mechanisms that
create a legal entity so that the mechanisms can be
enforced in a court,
I am even more unhappy. "Enforced in a court" means
"enforced in a US
Court" - have you ever checked the cost of US
lawyers? Only the rich
will be able to do that. The ALAC has no chance
whatsoever to use that
mechanism. Then I am told, "no, ICANN will fund both
parties in the
lawsuit" - WOW, what a great tool to destroy the
organisation by suing
itself and depleting itself of all resources it has
by paying lawyers
ad-infinitum to inflict itself wounds. Really?
A shadow Board, self appointed, with no checks and
balances, would only
serve those with the money and time to spend 24/7 on
ICANN issues. Pure
volunteers like the ALAC would not have the time to
spend on this,
leaving only those with a direct vested interest
(and being paid for it)
being able to spend the time on this. If you want to
hand over ICANN
control to corporate interests and the domain name
industry (in its
widest sense) from rich English-speaking countries
then agree to the
current proposals as they stand. I do not want to
see that.
The Board has a duty to balance the points of view
in the community and
make sure the weaker parts of the community are also
supported. A shadow
board will just be the perfect environment for loud
mouths, bullies and
deep pockets.
Kindest regards,
Olivier
(as I said, just my personal views)
On 10/10/2015 12:13, parminder wrote:
> I cannot but note with considerable surprise
and disappoinment that when
> everyone with any thing ever to do with ICANN
is currently hotly
> debating the issue of the stand off between the
ICANN board and CCWG on
> ICANN accountability, ALAC remains so aloof
from the issue.... When this
> should prima facie be the one part of the ICANN
structure, as
> representing the peripheries, that should be
most bothered by efforts at
> concentration of power, or of holding on it,
vis a vis the rights of
> the public.
>
> I have not been able to follow the process
closely, but if I am right
> -and please correct me if I am not - even in
the earlier discussions
> ALAC has been most lukewarm to any kind of
structural changes that could
> indeed place an effective oversight of the
'community' over the ICANN
> board, when as said ALAC is the one group that
should be most keen on
> institutionalising such checks over
centralisation of power with the
> ICANN board. Can anyone explain me why it is
so. It really intrigues me,
> and I am sure I am missing something here.
>
> Thanks, parminder
>
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