Hi Lawrence,
To my mind, everything depends on the nature of the issue being raised.  In other words, the Charter and the Predictability Framework list classifications of issues and the existing Change Log shows that the only SPIRT changes thus far do not have material impact on applicants and do not involve policy issues.  

Your email says:  " In the days ahead, the SPiRT will most likely bring to the attention of Council an issue that may need to be resolved by the 12th of Augus".  If an issue that is raised for Council attention is a policy issue, then I do not believe that "non-objection" is an appropriate mechanism for the SPIRT to become involved in discussing the issue with ICANN even as a preliminary matter.  The SPIRT team is NOT empowered to develop policy and the community was promised that it would not do so.  The Predictability Framework provides that Council will deal directly with any new policy issue that arises and may do so "in consultation with the SPIRT".  This procedure was hotly debated in the SPIRT Charter work and within the IRT, we made certain that the Predictability Framework text and corresponding chart used the language "in consultation with the SPIRT" wherever a possible policy issue must be addressed.  This is why I stated in the recent Council meeting that the non-objection process should NOT include a box that stated that the nature of the issue related to policy.  

To reiterate, the SPIRT is NOT empowered to deliberate in any manner on policy issues based on its own initiative.  If a SPIRT team member sees a policy issue, this must be raised directly with Council for a determination on next steps.  If this issue is "time-sensitive", it may require a Special Meeting of Council to determine how to proceed but the Predictability Framework states that Council works with Board and Org in this realm and does so "in consultation with the SPIRT".  The SPIRT cannot develop policy.   Therefore, neither a "non-objection' NOR a "consent of Council" process is appropriate where a policy issue has arisen.

The types of changes governed by the SPIRT Charter are listed in the SPIRT Change Log as follows:

  • Type 0: Typographic Changes

    • These include grammatical, linguistic, term-consistency, or formatting changes to the Applicant Guidebook.

  • Type 1: Minor Operational Changes

    • A minor operational change refers to any modification during the ongoing round of the Program that can be implemented in alignment with the existing Board-approved policy recommendations and does not have a material impact on applicants.

  • Type 2: Non-Minor Operational Changes

    • A non-minor operational change is a change during the ongoing round of the Program that can be implemented in alignment with the existing Board-approved policy recommendations and has a material impact on applicants.

  • Type 3: Policy Changes

    • A policy change is a change during the ongoing round of the Program that cannot be implemented in alignment with the existing Board-approved policy recommendations. Policy changes for ongoing rounds would only occur in extraordinary circumstances where the Program’s continuation is at risk if the change were not executed.


    • As noted above, Type 3 changes should NEVER be subject to a Non-Objection OR EVEN a Consent process within 72 hours at Council.   Only Council, after due consideration and discussion, may determine how to proceed with next steps on a Type 3 issue.  That might include Council making a deliberate decision to ask the SPIRT for its analysis of the issue, but that is certainly not a foregone conclusion for Type 3.  Council is the manager of the policy process and has other options in this regard.  Not only is the SPIRT not empowered to deliberate on policy issues by its Charter, but the SPIRT is NOT a representative body.  

    Thank you,
    Anne


    Anne Aikman-Scalese
    GNSO Councilor
    NomCom Non-Voting 2022-2026
    anneicanngnso@gmail.com


    On Tue, May 5, 2026 at 4:08 AM Lawrence O. Olawale-Roberts via council <council@icann.org> wrote:
    Dear Farzaneh,

    “No Objection” in this case means no GNSO councilor objects to the SPiRT going ahead in notifying the Council that there is now an issue brought before the SPiRT that may impact the current round and they seek clearance to interface with ICANN staff to see if it is in scope, truly impacts the current round or can wait for subsequent rounds and where there is need for immediate mitigation, propose a way forward to the council/Board.

    Ideally the SPiRT would not have need for Council’s concurrence to start its investigation into a matter, with a bid to determining if there is merit in pursuing its resolution further, but for a clause in their charter that mandates that the SPiRT cannot refer an issue to themselves but through the GNSO Council or Staff. Hence as the SPiRT is conducting work that would still come back to council with recommendation on the same issue(s), approving through a simple process that they start that work should not be a heculian task.

    In Brief and In this context, “non-objection” means asking whether the GNSO Council has any objection to the SPIRT moving forward with discussing an issue with ICANN org, without convening a full meeting of council or waiting till a subsequent scheduled council meeting "Only to give A-Go-Ahead" for SPiRT to begin to look into an issue that concerns the ongoing round of New gTLD applications.. For avoidance of doubt again, "non-objection" does not imply that any determination of the issue is being made, it only helps for work to start .

    Alternatively, the SPIRT can ask for the GNSO Council's "CONSCENT" to speak to ICANN org about an issue rather than a "non-objection" as this is a term the Council is familiar with and already have imbedded in our process. We can ask for the GNSO Council's "consent" via our mailing list and have it follow the 72 hour process for the SPiRT to be granted leave to start discussing an issue brought before it with ICANN Org.

    I am sure the Council supports the SPiRT being able to carry out it's functions without delays from the GNSO Council as there are time limitations imposed by the current round. In the days ahead, the SPiRT will most likely bring to the attention of Council an issue that may need to be resolved by the 12th of August (meaning Council will need to give conscent for the SPiRT to look into the issue, SPiRT would need to discuss the issue with ICANN and where there is need for mitigation, recommend a solution that is adopted before the ongoing application period ends), hence Council must finalize the process of SPiRT securing consent to review an issue in time not to affect the ongoing round.

    Lawrence.


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    From: farzaneh badii via council <council@icann.org>
    Sent: Saturday, May 2, 2026 5:02:02 AM
    To: Lawrence O. Olawale-Roberts <lawrence@microboss.org>
    Cc: GNSO-Secs <gnso-secs@icann.org>; council@icann.org <council@icann.org>
    Subject: [council] Re: Council Process for Response to SPIRT Request.
     
    Hello

    Under no circumstances we can agree to “no objection” being interpreted as consensus. No objection consensus is not consensus and has to be used very rarely and under exceptional circumstances. It is very easy to just ask each of the stakeholder groups to weigh in on an issue and they should be given time to respond. (It can be short but silence is not agreement/consensus) The recent “no objection” call about authentication and urgent request has made it clear that we cannot use this mechanism frequently and for important matters. 

    Farzaneh 


    On Wed, Apr 22, 2026 at 2:04 PM Lawrence O. Olawale-Roberts via council <council@icann.org> wrote:
    Dear Anne,

    Thanks for your mail and do permit me to respond inline marked in BOLD letterings.

    HI Lawrence.  I note there are a number of comments in the SPIRT Issue Consideration document that is linked in your memo.  There is also a suggestion from one member that the draft document be "cleaned up" with agreed edits being accepted.  This would be helpful before it is considered by Council as a recommendation for Council deliberations. The document linked defines the process through which a SPIRT member can present an issue before the leadership team (LT) for consideration and where the SPiRT LT finds merit in the request, passes it on to the GNSO Council via the liaison through the standard or expedited process presented to council at our last meeting. 

    Hence the document you referenced is for the process that defines how SPiRT members bring issues before SPiRT leadership which is different from the process I presented, as that defines how the council approves that the SPiRT goes ahead to work with staff at applying the predictability test on issues being brought before the SPiRT. The task now before the GNSO Council is to adopt the standard and expedited process as mechanisms through which instructions/directives of Council could help SPiRT deal with issues in a timely manner (especially as the issue brought before the Council by SPIRT would need a determination by ICANN staff if it is relevant change to the current round or not).

    As I understand it, what the SPIRT team is trying to address is to develop a mechanism for the SPIRT to raise an issue at Council e.g in the case of a disagreement between the SPIRT and ICANN staff on a change to the program.  Is that correct?  Not Quite, before the SPIRT can engage with ICANN org to discuss an issue requiring some change to the new gTLD program in the upcoming round, the consent of the GNSO Council would be required, thus the process currently under adoption. The defined process is to allow the SPiRT start the necessary discussion that may evolve into a disagreement between ICANN staff and SPiRT where any of both parties are not aligned.

    Regarding the submission form to be used to identify the issue, my recollection regarding the Charter is that the SPIRT is required to raise an issue with Council if it considers that a policy change is required.    This document would provide a means for SPIRT to raise an issue for Council's attention even where the SPIRT believes there is no policy issue involved, right?  This is Correct And it says that if the issue is "time-sensitive", SPIRT can use a "no response" time limit to proceed if no objection is raised on the Council list?  Do you view that as consistent with the SPIRT Charter? YES, this is consistent with the SPiRT charter. Any Type 2 or Type 3 change by the SPiRT would  require a directive from the GNSO Council that the SPiRT interface with ICANN staff to evaluate the issue(s) and apply the Predictability test to determine if a change is required, weather it results in a policy change or not. Secondly it is only when the issue is properly evaluated that a determination can be made if it would result in a policy change or not.

    Again the current proposal presented to council is the process to trigger the necessary discussion between SPiRT and ICANN staff to make this determination.

    Is there a cleaner version of the "SPIRT Issue Consideration" document for Council to discuss at this time?  Have the comments been resolved or are you asking Council to discuss the comments in the linked document? The SPiRT team members are in the process of finalizing their proposal based on inputs in the linked document, while we await the opportunity as council to contribute to that process, Council at this point should:
    1. Approve the procedure leading to the expedited process and standardized process of bringing before the Council issues from the SPiRT and communicating council’s approval back to the SPiRT.

    2. Make a decision to allow staff provide council a draft of a procedural document outlining how the council should proceed and respond to issues raised by the SPiRT in order to have same approved in time before the Next Round application process kicks off.

    Looking forward to more background information during the Council meeting. 


    Apologies for my late response to your mail, Anne. 



    Thank you,
    Anne

    LOR


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    Lawrence@microboss.org

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    From: Anne ICANN <anneicanngnso@gmail.com>
    Sent: Thursday, April 16, 2026 1:38:53 AM
    To: Lawrence O. Olawale-Roberts <lawrence@microboss.org>
    Cc: Justine Chew <justine.chew.icann@gmail.com>; GNSO-Secs <gnso-secs@icann.org>; council@icann.org <council@icann.org>
    Subject: Re: [council] Re: Council Process for Response to SPIRT Request.
     
    HI Lawrence.  I note there are a number of comments in the SPIRT Issue Consideration document that is linked in your memo.  There is also a suggestion from one member that the draft document be "cleaned up" with agreed edits being accepted.  This would be helpful before it is considered by Council as a recommendation for Council deliberations.

    As I understand it, what the SPIRT team is trying to address is to develop a mechanism for the SPIRT to raise an issue at Council e.g in the case of a disagreement between the SPIRT and ICANN staff on a change to the program.  Is that correct?  Regarding the submission form to be used to identify the issue, my recollection regarding the Charter is that the SPIRT is required to raise an issue with Council if it considers that a policy change is required.    This document would provide a means for SPIRT to raise an issue for Council's attention even where the SPIRT believes there is no policy issue involved, right?  And it says that if the issue is "time-sensitive", SPIRT can use a "no response" time limit to proceed if no objection is raised on the Council list?  Do you view that as consistent with the SPIRT Charter?

    Is there a cleaner version of the "SPIRT Issue Consideration" document for Council to discuss at this time?  Have the comments been resolved or are you asking Council to discuss the comments in the linked document?

    Looking forward to more background information during the Council meeting.

    Thank you,
    Anne

    Anne Aikman-Scalese
    GNSO Councilor
    NomCom Non-Voting 2022-2026


    On Tue, Apr 7, 2026 at 6:41 AM Lawrence O. Olawale-Roberts via council <council@icann.org> wrote:
    Dear Justine and All,

    I would presume that a time-sensitive request would be one where mitigation required would span a number of days to 3-4 months if not more. 

    The goal here is to mandate an instruction from Council to the SPIRT Team in liaising with ICANN staff to proffer alternatives to a change on a process impacting the New gTLD Round - The standard process to secure a Council request to act alone may take 2-3 months (where Councilors seek a deferral in the process), hence any action that may require attention within a 3-6 month timeline should be classified as time-sensitive.  

    The edits to read GNSO Chair and Types of Changes are accepted and effected.

    LOR.

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    From: Justine Chew <justine.chew.icann@gmail.com>
    Sent: Tuesday, April 7, 2026 4:42:55 AM
    To: Lawrence O. Olawale-Roberts <lawrence@microboss.org>
    Cc: GNSO-Secs <gnso-secs@icann.org>; council@icann.org <council@icann.org>
    Subject: Re: [council] Council Process for Response to SPIRT Request.
     
    Dear Lawrence,

    Thanks for the summary document. I have a question and 2 comments:-

    1. Do we have an indication of what is considered "time-sensitive" or not?
    2. Consider amending "GNSO Council Chair" to "GNSO Chair" as referenced in the Bylaws Section 11.3(g)
    3. Consider amending "Types of Change Request" to "Types of Changes" just to avoid confusion with Application Change Request

    Kind regards,
    Justine



    On Tue, 7 Apr 2026 at 04:24, Lawrence O. Olawale-Roberts via council <council@icann.org> wrote:
    Dear Council Colleagues,

    On the council agenda for our upcoming meeting is an agenda item under AOB to resolve the Council Process for Response to SPIRT Requests. Seeing that the time for this segment is packed I elected to provide a brief summary on our request to Council via the attached document.


    I am open to reviewing ideas or answering any questions you may have before our meeting. 



    Lawrence.

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    Lawrence@microboss.org

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