Marilyn and Council Colleagues As the senior staff member responsible for the GNSO Review, I will soon be able to provide much more detailed information on the way in which the Review will be proceeding now that the appropriate formalities from last night's Board meeting are completed. For the benefit of Council members who have not been involved in the establishment of the Review, I've provided some easy to navigate background. I hope this also helps other Council members with their preparation for the Review. 1. The July 2005 Luxembourg Resolution initiated the Review and started a process of discussion between the Board, Council, and Staff on the establishment of the Terms of Reference. (http://www.icann.org/ minutes/resolutions-15jul05.htm#p4) 2. The December 2005 Vancouver Resolution approved the Terms of Reference which had been developed in consultation with individual members of the Board, Council and Staff (http://www.icann.org/minutes/ resolutions-04dec05.htm.) A 21 day public comment period about the draft Terms of Reference was conducted between 27 October 2005 and 17 November 2005. The archive of comments is at http://forum.icann.org/ lists/gnso-review-tor/ 3. The 14 December 2005 ICANN website posting sought requests for proposals from independent evaluators (http://www.icann.org/ announcements/announcement-14dec05.htm). 4. The 21 Feb 2006 Board Resolution approved the appointment of an independent team of evaluators but is not available online as yet. 5. Background documents on the GNSO Review can be found at http:// www.icann.org/gnso/review-tor-background-04nov05.htm. These include the recommendations from the GNSO Council Review, the relevant ICANN By laws and other helpful information. 6. The Terms of Reference can be found at http://www.icann.org/gnso/ review-reference-terms-27oct05.htm. 7. Article IV Section 4 of ICANN's Bylaws (http://www.icann.org/ general/archive-bylaws/bylaws-08apr05.htm#IV) gives guidance about the conduct of the review and I've copied it here for easy reference. I have added some emphasis which may provide clarification about the process. 1. The Board shall cause a periodic review, if feasible no less frequently than every three years, of the performance and operation of each Supporting Organization, each Supporting Organization Council, each Advisory Committee (other than the Governmental Advisory Committee), and the Nominating Committee by an entity or entities independent of the organization under review. The goal of the review, to be undertaken pursuant to such criteria and standards as the Board shall direct, shall be to determine (i) whether that organization has a continuing purpose in the ICANN structure, and (ii) if so, whether any change in structure or operations is desirable to improve its effectiveness. The results of such reviews shall be posted on the Website for public review and comment, and shall be considered by the Board no later than the second scheduled meeting of the Board after such results have been posted for 30 days. The consideration by the Board includes the ability to revise the structure or operation of the parts of ICANN being reviewed by a two- thirds vote of all members of the Board. Finally, ICANN Bylaws Article X, Section 5 which deals with the GNSO's operating procedures. Of course, any further questions are more than welcome. Liz ..................................................... Liz Williams Senior Policy Counselor ICANN - Brussels +32 2 234 7874 tel +32 2 234 7848 fax +32 497 07 4243 mob On 22 Feb 2006, at 01:43, Marilyn Cade wrote:
The fact that the gNSO review has been finalized, a briefing of the Council on the “proposed approach” is of concern. This was supposed to be a joint effort by the Board and the Council and we are sadly without "visibility" into the process, or the outline, or the proposal. Or the funding amount, which I have asked for twice, on Council calls.
This is something that I propose that Council bring up with the President/CEO and Senior staff. I had noted it on the Board agenda, but never envisioned that there would be an approval, without discussion with the Council.
No doubt that is planned, but Senior Staff are seeking still to schedule a discussion with Council.
We can help them by initiating this discussion. Let’s spend five minutes on agenda bashing on our upcoming Council meeting on Friday.
Marilyn Cade
-----Original Message----- From: owner-council@gnso.icann.org [mailto:owner- council@gnso.icann.org] On Behalf Of Michael D. Palage Sent: Tuesday, February 21, 2006 6:57 PM To: council@gnso.icann.org Subject: [council] ICANN Board Call
Dear Council Members:
The ICANN Board just concluded its teleconference today and took the
following actions.
(1) Approval of São Paulo, Brazil as the venue for the 2006 ICANN annual
meeting the first week in December; and
(2) Approved funds to pay the evaluators for their work in connection
with the review of the GNSO;
Although there was a discussion regarding the VeriSign settlement
negotiation, there was no action taking. There is a scheduled call for
next week 28-Feb-2006. Although the Chair and secretariat have not yet
finalized the agenda for that call it is most likely to involve further
VeriSign discussions as well as those items which have not yet been
completed from today's call. As always, I will try to keep the council
informed of any developments.
Best regards,
Michael D. Palage