Dear Colleagues,
Please see the response below from ICANN legal.
Best regards,
Byron
From: John Jeffrey <john.jeffrey@icann.org>
Sent: August 24, 2020 1:56 PM
To: Byron Holland <byron.holland@cira.ca>
Cc: Bart Boswinkel <bart.boswinkel@icann.org>
Subject: Re: [Ext] Request for advice - Board seat 12 election process
Byron,
Sorry for the delay in responding, it is quite rare that the ccNSO reaches out for advice to my office on such topics. I had a concern that the there might have been an active ICANN Ombudsman complaint, but I have today, finally, confirmed
that there is not such complaint before the ombudsman. It was my impression that such matters rarely come to my office, but are typically dealt with either at the council level or by way of a complaint to the ICANN Ombudsman. I do appreciate that this relates
to the selection of a Board Member.
Accordingly, after reviewing the information publicly available to me and sent to me by you. I do not, at this time, have sufficient information to make a determination on a conflict. Without any additional information made available,
there is not an indication of anything out of the ordinary in a councilor nominating a fellow councilor. I note that changes have been made to the process over time that might be tied together, with the assertion of conflict. I am available and would be willing
to seek additional information from Nigel (or anyone else raising the issue) to better understand the issue raised, or to understand whether it is tied to other matters simultaneously raised causing concerns, that are not apparent in the facts provided. Please
let me know if I can be of further assistance.
best regards,
John
John Jeffrey
General Counsel & Secretary, ICANN
12025 Waterfront Drive, Suite 300
Los Angeles, California 90094-2536
direct dial - +1.310.301.5834
mobile - +1.310.404.6001
JJ@ICANN.org