Please find the draft agenda for the GNSO Council Meeting on 14 March 2013 at 15:00 UTC.
https://community.icann.org/display/gnsocouncilmeetings/Agenda+14+March+2013

This agenda was established according to the GNSO Council Operating Procedures approved 13 September 2012 for the GNSO Council and updated.
http://gnso.icann.org/en/council/gnso-operating-procedures-13sep12-en.pdf
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.

Meeting Times 15:00 UTC
http://tinyurl.com/czfwutj

Coordinated Universal Time 15:00 UTC
08:00 Los Angeles; 11:00 Washington; 15:00 London; 16:00 Paris; 04:00 Wellington

Dial-in numbers will be sent individually to Council members. Councilors should notify the GNSO Secretariat in advance if a dial out call is needed.

GNSO Council meeting audio cast

http://stream.icann.org:8000/gnso.m3u

Item 1: Administrative matters (10 minutes)

1.1 Roll Call

1.2 Statement of interest updates
Jonathan Robinson
https://community.icann.org/display/gnsosoi/Jonathan+Robinson+SOI

1.3 Review/amend agenda

1.4. Note the status of minutes for the Council meeting on 14 February 2013 approved per the GNSO Operating Procedures on 1 March 2013.

Item 2: Opening Remarks from Chair (5 minutes)

Review focus areas and provide updates on specific key themes / topics

Include brief review of Projects List and Action List

Item 3: Consent agenda (0 minutes)

Confirmation of James Bladel and Mikey O'Connor as the co-chairs of the IRTP Part D PDP Working Group.

Item 4: UPDATE & DISCUSSION – Policy vs. Implementation (15 minutes)

Recent issues highlight an ongoing broader issue regarding the boundary between policy development and implementation work as well as the effective integration of policy development and integration work from the outset.

In addition, the Council is increasingly asked to consider issues for policy guidance and may well need to look at the evolution of its own work and processes to accommodate this type of request.

Recent discussions on the Council mailing list indicate that there is an interest to undertake further work on this issue. At the same time, ICANN Staff has published a paper that is intended to facilitate further community discussions on this topic.

Further community discussion will take place in Beijing and the inclusion of this agenda item here serves to keep the issue on the agenda of the Council in the interim.

8.1 Discussion

8.2 Next steps

Item 5: UPDATE & DISCUSSION - Whois Privacy and Proxy Relay and Reveal Study (10 minutes)

At the ICANN Meeting in Toronto, Lyman Chapin presented the results of the survey that evaluated the feasibility of conducting a future in-depth study into communication Relay and identity Reveal requests sent for gTLD domain names registered using Proxy and Privacy services.

The Council discussed this at its 14 February 2013 meeting but did not reach a firm conclusion. Some expressed concern about going ahead with the study now, when a lot of other Whois activities are going on, while others appeared to support moving forward as the study could result in data that would help inform ongoing Whois activities.

One possible way forward is that staff is asked to go ahead with the RFP for this work and then report back to the Council before going ahead with the study? In this way, some of the preparatory work could be done, which would allow us to move forward quickly if/when the Council decides to move ahead.

9.1 – Update as necessary

9.2 – Discussion

9.3 – Next steps

Item 6: UPDATE & DISCUSSION – Planning for Beijing (30 minutes)

Making the most out of the face-to-face meeting time available at the ICANN Meeting in Beijing will take some planning. GNSO Council VC Mason Cole is working with staff to lead this effort.

The Council now has the opportunity to discuss plans and provide feedback. Included in this item will be the opportunity to shape the topics and substance of the Council’s proposed meetings with other groups in Beijing such as the CCNSO, the GAC and the ICANN board.

10.1 – Update (Mason Cole)

10.2 – Discussion

10.3 – Next steps

Item 11: Any Other Business (5 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): 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)
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.)
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Local time between October and March, Winter in the NORTHERN hemisphere
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Reference (Coordinated Universal Time) UTC 15:00
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California, USA (PST) UTC-8+1DST 08:00
New York/Washington DC, USA (EST) UTC-5+1DST 11:00
Rio de Janiero, Brazil (BRST) UTC-3+1DST 12:00
Montevideo, Uruguay (UYST) UTC-3+1DST 12:00
Edinburgh, Scotland (BST) UTC+0DST 15:00
London, United Kingdom (BST) UTC+0DST 15:00
Abuja, Nigeria (WAT) UTC+1+0DST 16:00
Bonn, Germany (CEST) UTC+1+0DST 16:00
Stockholm, Sweden (CET) UTC+1+0DST 16:00
Ramat Hasharon, Israel(IST) UTC+2+0DST 17:00
Karachi, Pakistan (PKT ) UTC+5+0DST 20:00
Beijing/Hong Kong, China (HKT ) UTC+8+0DST 23:00
Perth, Australia (WST) UTC+8+0DST 23:00
Wellington, New Zealand (NZDT ) UTC+12+1DST 04:00 – next day
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The DST starts/ends on last Sunday of March 2013, 2:00 or 3:00 local time (with exceptions - DST starts on 10 March 2013 in USA)
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For other places see http://www.timeanddate.com
http://tinyurl.com/czfwutj

Thank you.

Kind regards,

Glen

Glen de Saint Géry
GNSO Secretariat
gnso.secretariat@gnso.icann.org
http://gnso.icann.org