Board composition(all
items) and Transparency (item 16 only)
These recommendations evolved during a series of telephone conferences and exchanges of e-mail beginning March 2002 and going forward. These conferences were held jointly with the chair and alternate chair of the General Assembly and included sessions with ICANN CEO, staff and advisors and the chairman of the ICANN evolution committee.
1. General operational functions (such as IP address allocation, maintaining the DNS root zone file).
2. gTLD administrative functions (such as registrar accreditation, supervising the Uniform Dispute Resolution Policy, determining the process for new gTLDs).
3. ccTLD administrative functions (such as updating the IANA database entries concerning ccTLD Managers, or requests for delegation and re-delegation).
4. Policy coordination for infrastructure security.
5. Policy-related functions including:
5.1. IP address and AS number allocation,
5.2 ccTLD global
policy coordination,
5.3. Protocol numbering
via the IANA registries,
5.4 gTLD registry-level
policies.
Recommendation 1 - mission.
The Names Council proposes the following re-statement of ICANN's mission:
"ICANN's mission is to coordinate
technical and policy functions of the domain name system in order to promote
a stable, secure and commercially viable domain name system, promote competition
in key aspects of the DNS, and achieve broad representation of global Internet
communities, all for the benefit of the users of the global Internet[1]."
The Names Council specified
the following existing functions of ICANN where the NC notes that improvements
and enhancements in delivery of services or improvements in relationships
are needed:
- ccTLD administrative functions
- root server administration
- Registry and Registrar
contract enforcement e.g. escrow,the
UDRP and WhoIs.
Recommendation 2 - structure.
Create clearly delineated divisions within and under ICANN responsible
for the administration ofoperational
and policy functions. This would establish separate staff functions for
policy and operational functions but maintain a clear authority within
ICANN management for all such functions.
Some of the Names Councilnoted
that the greatest potential for mission creep lay in the areas of additional
security and additional consumer protection. The Names Council recognised
that the functions expected of ICANN as viewed today may, be different
in a changed world of tomorrow. That future world may dictate that ICANN's
functions are more, or are fewer, than those today. Focus of the core functions
of the moment will be a key to success.
Recommendation 3 - functions.
ICANN's functions should not be extended at this time beyond what is outlined
in the note "What ICANN Does" .
Recommendation 4 - short-term funding. The
NC urges the existing funders to reach at least interim agreements quickly
to avoid any short fall in ICANN's existing budget.
Recommendation 6 - secondary sources. Secondary sources should include the ccTLDs and RIRs, but should not include governments.
(Consideration should be given to the relevance of
ccTLDs which are marketed in non-geographic ways to recommendations 5 and
6).
Recommendation 7 - supplementary sources. Supplementary
sources could be found from sources such as secretariat service fees to
the GAC.
Recommendation 8 - budgeting. Further to recommendation 2, ICANN budgeting should reflect a delineated structure.
Recommendation 10 - impact. The policy recommendations
from such policy advisory bodies should be ordinarily binding on the ICANN
Board and ICANN entities, but with rejection possible subject to a 2/3
Board majority.
Recommendation 11 - staff support. ICANN’s
policy advisory bodies should be made more effective by the provision of
full-time staff to support all aspects of policy making including a co-ordinating
secretariat and staff support to policy-making task forces and similar
groups.
Recommendation 12 - ccTLDs. Create a new advisory body for the ccTLDs. This would need means of collaborative decision making with the gTLD advisory body on relevant areas of policy.
Recommendation 13 - gTLDs:Create a new advisory body for gTLDs[3]. This would need means of collaborative decision making with the ccTLD advisory body on relevant areas of policy.
These
are recommendations proposed for e-mail adoption following e-mail input
to version 6 and the April 24 call. Deadline midnight your time zone 28
April to comment.
Recommendation
14 – Board elections.
The advisory bodies should elect or select a selection of Board members.
Recommendation
15 – Board size.
The Board should be set at a size that balances two goals – large enough
to be representative, small enough to be functional.
Recommendation
16 – independent review.
Create a committee for independent review to over see the work of a professional
ombudsman. The committee could comprise a designee of the GAC, a designee
of the IAB, past board members, and an ombudsman.