Dear all,

Please find included a note in preparation of your special Council meeting upcoming on 8 July 2025. The meeting will have a simple agenda:

1. Welcome and roll call
2. Admin matters
   1. SoI
   2. Quorum
3. Discussion and decision on ALAC’s Community Reconsideration request
4. AOB
5. Next meeting: 17 July 2025
6. Closure

Note & draft decision

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Proposed ccNSO Council Decision on whether to support ALAC Community Reconsideration Request

Introduction

On 19 June 2025, the Council was approached with the question of whether the ccNSO supports the ALAC Community Reconsideration Petition that they initiated.

The Petition can be found at: https://www.icann.org/en/system/files/correspondence/alac-to-eca-19jun25-en.pdf. 

The petition seeks reconsideration of the ICANN Board Resolutions of 19 May 2025 published at: https://www.icann.org/en/board-activities-and-meetings/materials/approved-resolutions-special-meeting-of-the-icann-board-19-05-2025-en#section1.a. 

Among others, ALAC suggests the Board decision to defer the fourth accountability and transparency review (ATR4) should be subject to Community Reconsideration. 

With respect to the deferral of ATR 4, in April 2025 the ccNSO Council has expressed strong support for what has come to be known as the “Review of Reviews”. This process is intended to explore the purpose and need for the ICANN Bylaw-mandated reviews, including the ATR, and this review should be conducted before launching ATR4 (see: https://ccnso.icann.org/sites/default/files/field-attached/reynoso-to-sinha-15apr25-en.pdf [ccnso.icann.org]

Per Section 4.2 (Reconsideration) and Annex D section 4.3 (Community Reconsideration Request) the ccNSO, as one of the Decisional Participants of ICANN’s Empowered Community, has to determine within 21 days after receiving the request whether it supports the Community Reconsideration Request.  This date is 10 July 2026. The details on the request for support are available in Annex D: https://www.icann.org/en/governance/bylaws#annexD. 

Further, the Council agreed to following procedure was adopted by Council on 25 June:

• Community Reconsideration Petition Support Period - The period to seek support ends at twenty-one (21) days after receiving the note from ALAC seeking support. The note was formally received on 19 June. The Community Reconsideration Petition Support Period ends 10 July 2025.
• Date Council decision whether to support Petition - The Council is expected to meet no later than 20 days after receiving the request for support to discuss whether to support the Community Reconsideration Request, taking into account the ccTLD community comments and other factors. The secretariat will schedule a call for 8 July 2025.
• Posting of Request - The ALAC request will be posted on the website/wiki.
• Solicitation community input -  starting Wednesday 25 June, until 1 July. Inform the community of the request and invite comments, if any (the Process Manager, will inform the community). Comments, if any, to be taken into account by Council at its meeting on 8 July
• Administrative Decision Council - Due to the tight timelines the Council  decisions are administrative i.e not subject to the members call for a vote. They are effective immediately upon publication.
• If no support for Request Community Reconsideration, no action is needed (maybe out of courtesy inform others). If supported, ECA, other DP’s and ICANN secretariat need to be informed.

The community solicitation started as agreed on Wednesday 25 June 2025, and resulted in one comment: What are the cost implications of either option (Reconsideration and ATR4, or doing a whole load of nothing)?

Decision

The ccNSO Council, after consulting the ccTLD community, and taking into account the support for a  “review of reviews”  process to be completed prior to ATR4 and any other ICANN Bylaw mandated specific review, decides NOT to support the Community Reconsideration Process.