Chuck,

In the cases of gTLDs, I think an appeals mechanism regarding delegations, re-delegations or root zone Whois changes could be handled outside of the certification process if there is one. For example, in the case of gTLDs, the decision to delegate a gTLD is made before IANA gets involved and IANA isn’t involved in that decision. See my comments in the Google Doc that Avri initiated.

Right. However, the area I was asking about was the implication of:

"There may also be a need for an injunction-like mechanism to defer the change in question during the appeal process."

The current process does not have a mechanism by which anyone other than the requester, ICANN, NTIA, and Verisign can "defer the change" (or even know it is in process) once lodged. More generically, the statement:

"An independent review panel must be set up to deal with contested changes to the Root Zone or its WHOIS Database."

implies a significant change to the way the IANA Names function is performed. Today, if a change lodged with the IANA Names function is contested, IANA staff will not move forward with the change and instead will request the contesting parties come to a consensus on the change. While not wanting to be again accused of trying to influence outcomes, I'll admit I don't think changing this policy (which has been in place since Postel days) would be prudent.

Regards,

-drc