Hi Justine, Thank you for reaching out. Please see our answers below: 1. We are indeed suggesting that IOs should neither communicate with applicants nor post any comments prior to the IOs’ deadline for filing objections (i.e., 104 + 7 days following String Confirmation Day). This is due to several reasons: * In 2012, the application comment period was open for 60 days, and the objection window stayed open for around 9 months, whereas now they have the same duration, so there would be no ‘clean break’ between the time IOs would comment and file objections. * The window for filing objections is much shorter than in the last round, and for the IOs to engage in an exchange with the applicants while giving them enough time to react may be challenging. * We believe that not allowing applicants and IOs to communicate prior to the deadline for filing objections may also potentially address a risk of bias as well as conflicts of interest concerns. * The IOs’ objections would be filed and treated the same as other objections, and applicants will have the chance to address concerns in the framework of the objection process. 2. We are planning on discussing the issue with the IRT but don’t have a timeframe for that yet. We will reach out as soon as we do. Please do share any additional thoughts or concerns! Best, Elisa From: Justine Chew <justine.chew.icann@gmail.com> Date: Monday, 26 January 2026 at 15:41 To: Elisa Busetto <elisa.busetto@icann.org> Cc: "subpro-irt@icann.org" <subpro-irt@icann.org> Subject: [Ext] Re: [SubPro-IRT] Meeting #173: Independent Objectors Dear Elisa, Thank you for posting the slide deck in advance of Thursday's call. As I will not be able to attend Thursday's call, I am posing 2 questions now -- 1. On slide 14, one of the bullets says, "No communication with applicants or public posting of comments (unlike in 2012)" (a) Could you remind us how it was decided to disallow communication with applicants? (b) What does the portion "... public posting of comments" mean? As in the IO is prohibited from posting/filing comments to applications, and they can only file objections? 2. On slide 16, the last bullet suggests that there will be a framework for assessing extraordinary circumstance allowing an IO to file an objection which they would otherwise be restrained from filing. (a) Will the IRT get to review this framework, and if yes, when would that happen? Kind regards, Justine On Mon, 26 Jan 2026 at 17:29, Elisa Busetto via SubPro-IRT <subpro-irt@icann.org<mailto:subpro-irt@icann.org>> wrote: Dear IRT members, After a long break (over a month!), we will hold an IRT meeting on Thursday at 12:00 UTC. The main objective of the meeting is to discuss the proposed approach for Independent Objectors. We are currently developing the Expression of Interest and would welcome your views. The deck was already posted to the wiki: https://icann-community.atlassian.net/wiki/x/EoD-L [icann-community.atlassian.net]<https://urldefense.com/v3/__https:/icann-community.atlassian.net/wiki/x/EoD-...> Best, Elisa _______________________________________________ SubPro-IRT mailing list -- subpro-irt@icann.org<mailto:subpro-irt@icann.org> To unsubscribe send an email to subpro-irt-leave@icann.org<mailto:subpro-irt-leave@icann.org> _______________________________________________ By submitting your personal data, you consent to the processing of your personal data for purposes of subscribing to this mailing list accordance with the ICANN Privacy Policy (https://www.icann.org/privacy/policy) and the website Terms of Service (https://www.icann.org/privacy/tos). You can visit the Mailman link above to change your membership status or configuration, including unsubscribing, setting digest-style delivery or disabling delivery altogether (e.g., for a vacation), and so on.