Dear All,

With the adoption and implementation of the Policy & Implementation Working Group recommendations and more specifically the Implementation Review Team (IRT) principles and guidelines, the GNSO Council is expected to designate a GNSO Council liaison to each IRT to ensure a direct link to the GNSO Council if/when needed. To date, none of the IRTs in operation have a liaison and as such the GNSO Council Leadership would like to call for volunteers with the intent to confirm these appointments during the May meeting. According to the project list, the following IRTs are currently in operation:

For further details on the current status of these IRTs, please review the GNSO project list (see http://gnso.icann.org/en/council/project) and/or https://www.icann.org/policy/implementation. For a description of the role the liaison is expected to fulfil in the IRT, please see below.

If you are interested to volunteer for the role of liaison, please share your interest with the list, indicating which IRT you are volunteering for.

Thanks,

Marika

From the IRT Principles and Guidelines:

• In the event of disagreement between ICANN Staff and the IRT or any of its members on the implementation approach proposed by ICANN Staff, the GDD Project Manager, in consultation with the GNSO Council liaison if appropriate, shall exercise all reasonable efforts to resolve the disagreement. Should the disagreement prove irreconcilable despite such efforts, the GNSO Council liaison in consultation with the IRT is expected to make an assessment as to the level of consensus within the IRT on whether to raise the issue with the GNSO Council for consideration, using the standard decision making methodology outlined in the GNSO Working Group Guidelines. If the GNSO Council liaison makes the determination that there is consensus for such consideration, the liaison will inform the GNSO Council accordingly which will deliberate on the issue and then make a determination on how to proceed which could include, for example, the initiation of a GGP, a PDP or further guidance to the IRT and/or GDD staff on how to proceed. This process also applies to cases in which there is agreement between the IRT and GDD staff concerning the need for further guidance from the GNSO Council and/or when issues arise that may require possible policy discussion. 
• Any IRT member that believes that his/her contributions are being systematically ignored or discounted or wants to appeal a decision of the IRT or GDD Staff should first discuss the circumstances with the GNSO Council liaison to the IRT. In the event that the matter cannot be resolved satisfactorily, the IRT member should request an opportunity to discuss the situation with the Chair of the GNSO Council or their designated representative. In addition, an IRT member always has the option to involve the ombudsman (see https://www.icann.org/resources/pages/accountability/ombudsman-enfor further details).