Hello All, See below the resolutions from the ICANN Board meeting held on 28 Sept 2013. The key topics of interest to the GNSO were: - approval of the policy for Locking of a Domain Name subject to UDRP Proceedings - kicking off review of GNSO in 2014 - appointment of Cheryl Langdon-Orr as the 2014 Nominating Committee Chair and Stéphane Van Gelder as the 2014 Nominating Committee Chair-Elect. - a Proposed Process for GNSO Stakeholder Group and Constituency Charter Amendments - a Clarification Regarding the Competition, Consumer Trust and Choice Metrics for the New gTLD Program per the AoC Review Regards, Bruce Tonkin From: http://www.icann.org/en/groups/board/documents/resolutions-28sep13-en.htm Approved Board Resolutions | Regular Meeting of the ICANN Board 28 September 2013 1. Consent Agenda: a. Approval of Board Meeting Minutes Resolved (2013.09.28.01), the Board approves the minutes of the 17 July, 18 July and 22 August 2013 Meetings of the ICANN Board. b. Delegation of a ccTLD for Iran in Arabic script Resolved (2013.09.28.02), as part of the exercise of its responsibilities under the IANA Functions Contract, ICANN has reviewed and evaluated the request to delegate the ایران ("Iran") countrycode top-level domain to the Institute for Research in Fundamental Sciences. The documentation demonstrates that the proper procedures were followed in evaluating the request. Resolved (2013.09.28.03), the Board directs that pursuant to Article III, Section 5.2 of the ICANN Bylaws, that certain portions of the rationale not appropriate for public distribution within the resolutions, preliminary report or minutes at this time due to contractual obligations, shall be withheld until public release is allowed pursuant to those contractual obligations. c. GNSO Locking of a Domain Name Subject to UDRP Proceedings PDP Recommendations Whereas, on 15 December 2011, the GNSO Council launched a Policy Development Process (PDP) on the Locking of a Domain Name subject to UDRP Proceedings addressing five charter questions, set forth at https://community.icann.org/x/ma-bAQ. Whereas, the PDP followed the prescribed PDP steps as stated in the Bylaws resulting in a Final Report delivered on 5 July 2013. Whereas, the Locking of a Domain Name subject to UDRP Proceedings Working Group (WG) reached full consensus on the recommendations in relation to the issues outlined in the Charter. Whereas, the GNSO Council reviewed, and discussed the recommendations of the Locking of a Domain Name subject to UDRP Proceedings WG, and adopted the Recommendations on 1 August 2013 by a Supermajority and unanimous vote (see http://gnso.icann.org/en/council/resolutions#201308). Whereas, the GNSO Council vote met and exceeded the required voting threshold to impose new obligations on ICANN contracted parties. Whereas, after the GNSO Council vote, a public comment period was held on the approved recommendations, and the comment received has been summarized and considered (http://www.icann.org/en/news/public-comment/locking-domain-name-recommendati...). Resolved (2013.09.28.04), the Board adopts the GNSO Council Policy Recommendations on the Locking of a Domain Name subject to UDRP Proceedings as set forth in the Final Report (see http://gnso.icann.org/en/issues/locking/domain-name-final-05jul13-en.pdf [PDF, 1.01 MB]). Resolved (2013.09.28.05), the President and CEO is directed to develop and complete an implementation plan for these Recommendations and continue communication with the community on such work. d. Country Code Names Supporting Organization (ccNSO) Review Implementation Whereas, on 21 April 2011, the Board resolved to direct ICANN staff, in coordination with the Structural Improvements Committee (SIC), to develop a proposed implementation plan and timeline for the recommendations in the Final Report of the ccNSO Review Board Working Group [PDF, 294 KB] and to submit these to the Structural Improvements Committee for review and Board approval (Resolution 2011.04.21.06). Whereas, at its 18 June 2011 meeting, the SIC acknowledged receipt from staff of an implementation plan, titled "ccNSO Improvements Implementation Project Plan", dated 9 June 2011, and resolved to recommend it to the ICANN Board for approval. Whereas, at its 24 June 2011 meeting, the Board resolved to request that ICANN CEO direct staff to proceed with the implementation in accordance with the implementation plan document ccNSO Improvements Implementation Project Plan dated 9 June 2011 [PDF, 508 KB] (Resolution 2011.06.24.03). Whereas, on 27 September 2013, the SIC acknowledged receipt of a letter from the ccNSO Chair announcing completion of the ccNSO review implementation in complement of a final ccNSO implementation Project Plan update, dated September 2013. Whereas, on 27 September 2013, the SIC agreed to recommend that the ICANN Board receive the final ccNSO implementation Project Plan update [PDF, 170 KB], dated September 2013, note the implementation phase of the ccNSO review as complete, and commence the assessment phase inherent in the review cycle. Resolved (2013.09.28.06), the Board receives the final ccNSO implementation Project Plan update, dated September 2013, and notes the completion of the implementation of the ccNSO review recommendations. Resolved (2013.09.28.07), the Board directs the ICANN President and CEO to assess the improvements arising out of the ccNSO review in accordance with the assessment phase of the organizational review cycle. Resolved (2013.09.28.08), the Board thanks the ccNSO for its implementation work. e. GNSO Review Whereas, under ICANN's Bylaws the next review of the GNSO was due to commence in 2013. Whereas, the SIC solicited and considered public comments on whether the review should be postponed and a new schedule for the review be established within the next six months. Whereas, it is important that the review of the GNSO take into account the outcomes of ICANN's strategic planning efforts and the Accountability and Transparency Review Team 2's work, which can only be achieved through the initiation of a GNSO review in 2014. Resolved (2013.09.28.09), that the Board directs the SIC to schedule the review of the Generic Names Supporting Organization (GNSO), which is mandated by ICANN Bylaws Article IV, Section 4, to commence in 2014, and that preparations for this Review commence as soon as feasible. 2. Main Agenda: a. Appointment of 2014 Nominating Committee Chair and Chair-Elect Whereas, the BGC reviewed the Expressions of Interest from candidates for the 2014 Nominating Committee ("NomCom") Chair and Chair-Elect, interviewed those candidates and considered the results of a 360-degree evaluation of the 2013 NomCom leadership. Whereas, the BGC has recommended that Cheryl Langdon-Orr be appointed as the 2014 NomCom Chair and Stéphane Van Gelder be appointed as the 2014 NomCom Chair-Elect. Resolved (2013.09.28.10), the Board hereby appoints Cheryl Langdon-Orr as the 2014 Nominating Committee Chair and Stéphane Van Gelder as the 2014 Nominating Committee Chair-Elect. b. Treatment of New gTLD Historical Costs Whereas, ICANN incurred costs over several years to design and prepare the launch of the New gTLD Program. Whereas, the costs incurred from October 2007 (the date of the GNSO recommendation on the New gTLD Program) to the launch of the program ("Historical Development Costs") are to be repaid to ICANN from a portion of the New gTLD Program application fees. Whereas, the Historical Development Costs are charged to the Program progressively as the evaluation work advances and the fees become non-refundable, which began in July 2012. Whereas, the Board Finance Committee has recommended that the amount of Historical Development Costs repaid to ICANN's operating fund from the New gTLD Program be transferred to the Reserve Fund. Resolved (2013.09.28.11), the Board authorizes the President and CEO, or his designee(s), to take all actions necessary to transfer, when and as appropriate, from ICANN's operating fund to ICANN's Reserve Fund all amounts, whether already paid or to be repaid in the future, that constitute Historical Development Costs. c. Proposed Process for GNSO Stakeholder Group and Constituency Charter Amendments Whereas, The ICANN Bylaws (Article X, Section 5.3) state, "Each [GNSO] Stakeholder Group … and each of its associated Constituencies shall maintain recognition with the ICANN Board." Whereas, it is important that GNSO Stakeholder Groups and Constituencies have the flexibility to update, modify and evolve their organizational charters to reflect community changes while balancing the need for validation by the Board. Whereas, there is currently no procedure for a GNSO Stakeholder Group or Constituency to obtain approval by the ICANN Board of Directors for an amendment of its charter. Whereas, the Structural Improvements Committee of the ICANN Board has formulated and recommended a process by which GNSO Stakeholder Groups and Constituencies can amend their charters with the Board maintaining its appropriate validation responsibilities for recognition of those GNSO groups. Whereas, the community has had the opportunity to review and comment on the proposed process and changes have been made to the proposed process to address community suggestions. Resolved (2013.09.28.12), the Board approves the process formulated and recommended by the Structural Improvements Committee and directs ICANN Staff to notify the leadership of the various GNSO Stakeholder Groups and Constituencies of the process and post a copy of the approved process on the GNSO web site within seven calendar days. d. Clarification Regarding the Competition, Consumer Trust and Choice Metrics for the New gTLD Program per the AoC Review Whereas, on 18 July 2013, the ICANN Board directed the CEO to commence the process for convening the Competition, Consumer Trust and Consumer Choice (CCT) Review Team to facilitate preliminary work on the feasibility, utility and cost-effectiveness of adopting the recommendations of the GNSO Council and the ALAC, as well as analyzing other potential metrics to be made available for the CCT review. Whereas, the Board wishes to clarify its Resolutions 2013.07.18.06 and 2013.07.18.07 to identify that the actual CCT review is not being commenced at this time, rather that an Implementation Advisory Group for Competition, Consumer Trust and Consumer Choice is approved for empanelment. The work of this Advisory Group is intended to be an input to the CCT review at the point in the future when the CCT review is commenced according to the schedule set forth in the Affirmation of Commitments (AoC). Resolved (2013.09.28.13), the Board directs the CEO to convene a volunteer group (the Implementation Advisory Group for Competition, Consumer Trust and Consumer Choice) in advance of a future AoC Competition, Consumer Trust and Consumer Choice Review Team, for the purpose of: (i) evaluating and reporting to the Board on the feasibility, utility and cost-effectiveness of adopting the recommendations of the GNSO Council and the ALAC; (ii) evaluating other inputs, including historical data regarding metrics used to evaluate earlier rounds of new gTLDs (2000, 2004); (iii) engaging with the GNSO, ALAC and staff in an effort to reach agreement on the metrics; and (iv) proposing a set of metrics to be compiled by ICANN to be made available to a future AoC Review Team examining the New gTLD Program. Resolved (2013.09.28.14), the portions of Resolutions 2013.07.18.06 and 2013.07.18.07 suggesting that the CCT review was being commenced prior to the time called for within the AoC are retracted.