Dear all,
Please find included the agenda and draft resolutions for the upcoming Council meeting,
Kind regards,
Bart
Agenda and draft resolutions ccNSO Council Meeting
22 August 2019
12.00 UTC
Welcome and roll call
Minutes & Action Items
Minutes
Minutes of in person meeting June 2019 have been circulated by email on 13 August.
Action items
152-01
Secretariat to inform the IGLC, the newly appointed members and update the website and email list accordingly.
Completed
152-02
Secretariat to launch call for volunteers – Customer Standing Committee (CSC).
Completed
152-03
The Secretariat is further requested to inform the community as soon as possible on the upcoming CSC member nomination and selection process.
Completed
152-04
Secretariat to launch call for volunteers – ccNSO member NomCom FY 2020.
Completed
152-05
Secretariat to launch call for volunteers - Root Zone Evolution Review Committee (RZERC). Completed
152-06
Secretariat to send out call for volunteers as soon as possible – IFRT.
Completed
152-07
Council to provide statement on ccNSO Draft Review Report – start on Google Drive for collaboration.
Completed, Statement submitted
152-08
Council to draft statement to send to other DP’s and ICANN Secretary - how to improve rejection and approval action process handled by the Empowered Community and Legal.
On-going
Intermeeting decisions (since 18 April)
Appointment ccNSO delegate on NomCom FY2020
Submission Council Statement Draft report 2nd ccNSO Review.
Selection 3rd member IFRT (non-ccNSO member)
Re-launch CSC Selection process
ccNSO Statement on Streamlining Organisational Reviews
ccNSO Statement on Fundamental Bylaw Change
Update “end of ccNSO membership” following transfer of management of ccTLD
For information.
Background document.
Adoption FY 2020 NomCom Selection Report
According to the Guideline the documentation of process needs to be adopted to close the process formally. The Council is informed that GRC is working on updating the Guideline.
For adoption: Selection Report (circulated by email)
Draft Resolution
The ccNSO Council adopts the FY 2020 NomCom Selection Report on the selection of the FY 2020 ccNSO appointed member to the NomCom. The Council congratulates Annebeth Lange with her appointment and thanks the previous appointee Pablo Rodriguez (.pr) for his two years of service on the NomCom and also thanks the other candidates who expressed interest to serve as appointee to the NomCom. The Secretariat is requested to publish the report on the ccNSO website.
Update ccNSO related ICANN Bylaw Change Repository
For information: the Bylaw change repository has been updated. Two additional items were added, and one change is underway.
Appointment ccNSO member RZERC
For decision: only one candidate has volunteered: Peter Koch (Denic, .de) who is currently member of RZERC.
The Expression of Interest and other relevant material will be circulated in separate email.
Draft resolution
Following the call for expression of interest ( 15 July – 9 August 2019) Peter Koch (.de) volunteered to serve for a second term on the Root Zone Evolution Review Committee (RZERC) and was the only candidate. The ccNSO Council appoints Peter Koch as ccNSO appointee, and the chair is requested to ensure RZERC is informed accordingly.
ccNSO Selection procedure Boards seat 11
8.1 Adoption Guideline: ccNSO Selection procedure Boards seats 11 and 12
For discussion: timing of the ccNSO Call for expression of interest Board seat 11.
Background: Chris Disspain’s term ends at the end of the ICANN AGM in 2020. To replace him, the call for expression of interest needs to go out. Timing of the call and timing and duration of the Due Diligence background check need to be considered and taken into account (should the background check happen before or after the community has an opportunity to interview the candidates). Also, to be considered is the Bylaw provision when ECA needs to be informed about the candidate (22 April 2020).
In addition, the Guideline needs to take into account the situation that only one candidate is nominated by members. Given the requirement that members should be able to express that they do not support a candidate (none of the above):
an election will need to take place and
If this candidate does not receive the support of the majority of the members who have cast their vote, first check whether a majority of the members have cast their vote. If not, the vote will be re-launched. If a majority of the members voted or after the second round of voting, the majority of those who have cast their votes is explicitly not supportive, the Board Nomination process is terminated.
For decision:
Adoption amended Guideline: ccNSO Selection procedure Boards seats 11 and 12
The guideline to address some concerns re timing and to ensure an election even if only one candidate.
Draft Resolution
Background
At its meeting on 26 June 2019 the ccNSO Council conditionally adopted the Guideline: ccNSO Nominations process ICANN Board seats 11 and 12, as presented (version – Draft Final May 2019), provided and conditional that ICANN Org’s legal department checks section 3.5 and do not raise any legal concerns with respect to the proposed section 3.5 of the Guideline. After checking section 3.5, ICANN Org’s legal department did NOT raise any legal concerns, however, did suggest some clarifications to the language (see email chair to Council). To ensure the schedule is aligned with the relevant sections of the ICANN Bylaws, a reference to the relevant section in the Bylaws is now included. In addition, the ccNSO Council and community to include the option in the ballot “None of the Above” following the Board selection process for Seat 12 in 2017, which is now included in the Guideline. Finally, a general procedure is included (section 3.9) to deal with the termination and re-launch of the nomination process.
Decision
The ccNSO Council adopts the amended Guideline: ccNSO Selection procedure Boards seats 11 and 12, which will become effective seven (7) days after publication on the ccNSO Website. The Secretariat is requested to publish the amended Guideline as soon as possible on the ccNSO Website and inform the ccNSO members accordingly.
8.2. Adoption of the Timeline and appointment of Nomination Manager
What is preferred option
Interview in Montreal or Cancun?
The ccNSO Council was presented 3 options for the Board Seat 11 nomination process:
Option 1 A: The call for volunteers will be followed by the background check. In parallel with the background check all candidates will be subject to the Q& A session in Montreal (ICANN66), to be followed by the selection process by the members. This schedule does not comply with the Guideline (the background check is not completed before the Q& A with candidates), however the full process including the selection by the members will be concluded well before the 22 April 2020 deadline. Given the circumstances, the impact of the guideline could be considered unreasonable, and hence the Chair of the ccNSO Council may decide upon any issue ( Section 5.2 Guideline).
Option 1 B: In accordance with the Guideline the call for volunteers will be followed by the background check. After closure of the background check, the Q&A session would be conducted in Cancun (ICANN67) to be followed by the member selection process. The schedule of this procedure is fully compliant with the Guideline however, with a high risk of overrunning the 22 April deadline (breaching the ICANN Bylaws). To run the nomination process according to this schedule will most likely breach the ICANN Bylaws.
Option 2: The call for volunteers will be followed by Q&A session in Montreal (ICANN66), to be followed by the selection process by the members. The background check will follow the selection process by the members and limited. Depending on the duration of the background check, this schedule will be concluded just before 22 April 2019. This schedule does not follow the Guideline in at least 3 instances:
i. the background check is not completed before the Q& A with candidates and
ii. nor before the selection process by the members and
iii. not all candidates – if 2 or more – are expected to be subject to the background check=,
It is expected that under option 2 the full process - including the selection by the members will be concluded before 22 April 2020 deadline. Given the circumstances the impact of the Guideline could be considered unreasonable, and hence the Chair of the ccNSO Council may decide upon any issue ( Section 5.2 Guideline).
Draft Resolution
Background
In accordance with the Guideline, the ccNSO Council needs to appoint the Nomination Manager, to manage the Board Seat 11 nomination process.
The term of Chris Disspain (Board Seat 11) ends at the end of the ICANN AGM in November 2020. To replace him, the ccNSO Council will is required to select a candidate in accordance with the relevant ICANN Bylaws and internal rules of the ccNSO applicable at the time of the call for expression of interest. Under the current Guideline the timing and duration of the background check need to be considered and taken into account before the Q&A session and before the selection by the ccNSO Members. Also, to be considered is the Bylaw provision when ECA needs to be informed about the candidate (22 April 2020) and the Bylaw provision that internal rules and procedures of the ccNSO are required to be consistent with the ICANN Bylaws (section 10.3 (k)).
The ccNSO Council was presented 3 options for the Board Seat 11 nomination process.
Decisions
The ccNSO Council appoints Joke Braeken (ccNSO Secretariat) as the nomination manager, in accordance with the relevant Guideline.
The ccNSO Council adopts the timeline and sequence of call for volunteers, background check, Q&A session with the candidate(s), and selection by the members of the ccNSO under [select alternative option 1 A, option 1 B, option 2] [and (select if option 1 A or option 2) requests the chair of the ccNSO to invoke section 5.2 of the Guideline effective at the time of the call for nominations]. The Secretariat is requested to publish this resolution on the ccNSO website as soon as possible.
Added Item:
8.A Council Elections
For decision: Appointment Council Election Manager 2020 (Joke Braeken) and adoption Timeline Council election 2020.
Draft Resolution
Background
The term of the following ccNSO Councillors ends in March 2020:
Souleymane Oumtanaga (AF region, .CI)
Horifumi Hotta (AP Region, .JP)
Giovanni Seppia (EU Region, .EU)
Alejandra Reynoso (LAC Region, .GT)
Stephen Deerhake (NA Region, .AS)
In accordance with the Guideline ccNSO Council Election Procedure, the ccNSO Council needs to establish a timeline for the election of Councillors, which timeline allows for a Q & A session at the upcoming face -to -face meeting in Montreal (ICANN66). The proposed timeline Council Elections FY 2020 meets these requirements and was included in background material.
Decisions
The ccNSO Council appoints Joke Braeken as the Election Manager for the FY 2020 ccNSO Council Elections
The ccNSO Council adopts the timeline Council Elections FY 2020 as proposed and requests the Secretariat to publish the timeline and start the procedure accordingly.
Emoji SG Final report
For discussion
The Emoji Study Group intends to submit its final report by the Council meeting of 22 August for adoption. It is suggested to either take an email vote or decision at the September Council meeting. For your information the report will be shared before the upcoming meeting for informational purposes. The draft Observations and Recommendations are:
Observations:
Potential for confusability with emoji is significant but is currently contained given the small number of registries which accept the registration of domain names which include emoji.
Some in the emoji domain name industry have proposed Whitelisting as a potential solution to address confusability
Recommendations
1.Dialogue
Following the Study Group’s efforts to liaise with as many relevant parties as feasible (including ccTLDs) one of the findings is that a full and frank dialogue with ccTLDs accepting emojis as second level domains should be continued and fostered. It should be ensured that both potential harms of and the reasons for accepting emojis should be well understood. This dialogue, however, will only succeed if all relevant parties participate. The ccNSO Council is requested to share the Study Group’s final report with the ccTLD community, and in particular with those ccTLDs that have been identified by the Study Group as accepting emojis in second level domains.
2. Define and communicate consistently what is and what is not an Emoji.
To understand the breadth of use and issues associated with the use of emoji in domain names, the Study Group looked at the definitions of emoji which are currently available. One of the observations made was that in trying to arrive at an authoritative and all-encompassing definition of what is an emoji one may, at least for the moment, have to settle on referring to the latest version of emoji as documented by the Unicode Consortium (see above). However, the Study Group is aware that this definition is unsatisfactory for many reasons. It is therefore recommended that the issue of definition of what is and what is not an emoji be further explored by the broader community.
3. Identification of cc’s and others accepting Emojis in second level domains.
As mentioned in the report, the Study Group used a variety of ad-hoc methods to identify ccTLDs that include emojis in second level domains. However, the Study Group is well aware that these methods were not systematically developed, nor applied consistently across namespaces. One of the underlying issues is definitional in nature (see the previous point and related findings of the Study Group). To understand the full scope of the issues, a systematic and consistent research approach is advised to provide a sound basis for well-informed and evidence-based discussions and recommendations. The Study Group therefore recommends that the ccNSO Council advises ICANN that, prior to taking further steps, ICANN and the broader community consider clearly delineating what it considers emoji and develop systemic methods to identify (cc)TLDs who include emoji (however defined) as second level domains.
No further action required at this stage, pending formal submission of the report by the Emoji Study Group
IDN ccPDP related matters
10.1 Letter to the Board re IDN ccTLD overall proposed policy
For adoption
Draft Resolution
The ccNSO Council adopts the letter as proposed as item 10.1 – letter to the Board re ending PDP 2 and request the Chair of the Council to send it to the Board on behalf of the ccNSO Council.
10.2 Adoption Final Report IDN PRT
For discussion and adoption
THE IDN PRT’s Recommendations included in the Final report are:
1. Launch a new ccNSO PDP in accordance with Annex B of the ICANN Bylaws to address the limited set of issues identified by the PRT (see Table 1 – 3 and 5 and 6 of the report). In some areas a more detailed approach is proposed (confusing similarity review and variant management) to ensure a possible mechanism to optimise and streamline the efforts to harmonize the development processes, procedures and/or criteria pertaining to the selection of IDN (cc)TLD strings.
2. After consulting the ccTLD community, propose to the ICANN Board of Directors to amend Article 10 of the ICANN Bylaws to enable the inclusion of IDN ccTLDs in the ccNSO as foreseen in 2013. The RT notes that the proposed ccNSO membership definition should be reviewed and updated to also address the issue identified by the ccPDP 3 Retirement WG and the ccNSO Council.
Draft Resolution
The ccNSO Council adopts the final report of the IDN Preliminary Review Team and supports the recommendations contained in the report. The Council thanks the team for its expedient work.
10.3 Next Steps: Actions to implement recommendations IDN PRT
For discussion
Action secretariat:
The secretariat is requested to propose next steps by the September Council meeting under assumptions of:
implementation of the recommendations of IDN PRT and
the Board accepting the proposal to conclude ccPDP 2 and the evolution of the Fast Track Process.
PDP 3 Part 1 Retirement – Update
Informational
Council Workshop Montreal (ICANN66)
Topics for Council Workshop,
Organizing the workshop
Regular Agenda Montreal (ICANN66)
Council meetings
i. Prep meeting
ii. Council meeting
iii. Joint meeting with GNSO Council
iv. Joint meeting with ALAC
Tech Day & Members meeting
i. Tentative agenda members meeting
ii. Plenary topics
WG meetings
Joint meeting with the Board
Joint meeting with GAC
Update ECA & CSC
ECA
CSC
CSC Selection process (for information only)
Update ccNSO Review
Updates chair, vice-chairs and Councillors, Regional Organisations, Secretariat.
Updates WGs.
GRC
IGLC (progress to date)
SOPC
Meeting Programme Committee
Emoji Study Group
Update liaisons
Update ALAC Liaison (written update)
Update GNSO Liaison (written update)
Next meetings
September 19
October 17
November -Montreal (2-7 November)
December 19
AOB
Closure
