Dear Louis and Andrew:
In accordance with the ICANN Board Resolution 99.100 I'm sending today 1st
february
the new charter of the NCDNHC.
At the same time, we formally want to ask to the ICANN Board for a short
extension in the
deadline included in the Board resolution 99.101 for the election of the
new NC representatives.
We are in the nomination period now and we expect to have the new 3 NC reps
elected the next
20th february.
We expect that this minimal extension could be approbed for the Board as
soon as possible to allow
our representatives participate in the Cairo meeting's preparation.
Thanks in advance.
====================================================================
CHARTER OF THE NON-COMMERCIAL DOMAIN NAME HOLDERS CONSTITUENCY
31st Jan 2000
I. Goals of the Non-Commercial Constituency
The Non-Commercial Domain Name Holders Constituency has a special place in
the DNSO. The NCDNHC is intended to be independent of commercial interests.
Its members will be those organizations whose uses and applications of the
Internet are primarily non-commercial, including organizations which represent
individual domain name holders whose interests must be primarily
non-commercial.
Its purpose is to support non-commercial speech and activity on the Internet,
to protect the rights of non-commercial domain name holders, and to forge
together the interests of non-commercial domain name holders.
NCDNHC must provide the voice and representation for organizations that serve
non-commercial interests and provide services such as community organizing,
promotion of the arts, children's welfare, religion, education, scientific
research, human rights and the advancement of the Internet as a global
communications system available to all segments of society. The interests of
such organizations are not necessarily represented by the other
constituencies of the DNSO and deserve to be represented in the NCDNHC.
II. Membership Criteria
The NCDNHC proposes that the following organizations shall be eligible for
membership in the NCDNHC: a) organizations holding at least one domain
name, b) and which are incorporated as a non-commercial entity (in countries
that have such a provision in their commercial code), or if unincorporated or
operating in a country without provisions for non-commercial incorporation,
operate on a not-for-profit basis primarily for non-commercial purposes, and
c) which are engaged in activities that are primarily non-commercial,
including, e.g. political, educational, religious, charitable, scientific and
artistic.
The membership of the NCDNHC shall specifically exclude commercial entities
and associations of or for the benefit of commercial entities (even if they
are non-commercial in form), and also shall exclude organizations which use
the Internet primarily for commercial activity, even if their other
activities are non-commercial.
The NCDNHC will have two types of membership. Voting members and
non-voting members.
We recognize that some organizations that are non-profit and engage in
non-commercial activities may be eligible for other DNSO constituencies, but
in order to focus the efforts of the NCDNHC, such organizations are eligible
for voting membership in the NCDNHC only if they are not voting members in
any other DNSO Constituency. Non- voting members can participate in the
discussion list, submit proposals to the Constituency and participate in all
open teleconference calls and physical meetings.
We understand that many subgroups have separate interests and a separate
voice from their parent organizations. Those subgroups are welcome to
participate fully and actively in the Constituency as non-voting members.
III. Organizational Principles
In order to foster full and fair representation of both large and small
organizations, the NCDNHC proposes to divide the membership of the
Non-Commercial Constituency into two subgroups:
Large Organizations: Organizations meeting the membership criteria and goals
for promoting non-commercial activity on the Internet as set out in Section I
above, incorporated as a not-for-profit entity, and, for membership
organizations, having a current membership over 1000 or more people or, for
non-membership organizations, having 200 or more employees (such as a
not-for-profit university).
Small Organizations: Organizations meeting the membership criteria and goals
for promoting non-commercial activity on the Internet as set out in Section I
above, operating on a not-for-profit basis for the benefit of more than one
individual or family, and whose membership is under 1000 or, for
non-membership organizations, having less than 200 employees.
IV. Voting Principles, Proposals and Overall Organization
A. DNSO Names Council and NCDNHC Administrative Committee
Per ICANN Bylaws, members of the NCDNHC are entitled to elect three members to
the DNSO Names Council.
NCDNHC will also elect two other persons who, together with the Names Council
members, shall form an Administrative Committee. The Administrative Committee
is intended to represent all five geographic regions. It will advise members
of the NCDNHC of the Names Council proposals and will assist Names Council
representatives by providing input and information from NCDNHC members.
Further, the Administrative Committee will be responsible for handling the
administrative issues of the Constituency, including the management of
fees.
B. Voting Principles
In order to assure geographic distribution, (i) no two Names Council
representatives shall be citizens of the same geographic area, as defined in
the ICANN bylaws, (ii) no two Names Council representatives shall represent
the same organization, and (iii) no single Names Council representative shall
represent more than one organization.
C. Voting Proposals
In order to balance the size of the large organizations with the potential of
the small organizations to join in much greater numbers, voting will be
weighted by giving two votes to each large organization and one vote to each
small organization.
In order to assure diversity, Names Council Representatives and
Administrative Committee members will be elected by the following process:
- the person with the most votes is the First Names Council Representative.
- the person with the second highest number of votes -- from a different
geographic region than the first Names Council Representative -- is elected
as the Second Names Council Representative.
- the person with the third highest number of votes -- from a different
geographic region than the first and second Names Council Representatives --
is elected as the Third Names Council Representative.
- the person with the fourth highest number of votes -- from a different
geographic region than the 3 Names Council Representatives -- is elected to
the NCDNHC Administrative Committee.
- the person with the fifth highest number of votes -- from a different
geographic region than the Names Council Representatives and the other
non-Names Council Administrative Committee member -- is also elected to the
NCDNHC Administrative Committee.
D. Membership Required To Run; Nominations Require a Second
To run for the Names Council, a candidate must be affiliated with an
organization that is a member of the NCDNHC, and have the approval of that
organization to run. Any organization may nominate a candidate, and every
nomination must be seconded by another organization.
E. Voting Results Shall Be Publicly Announced
In the interest of openness, results of voting for Names Council
representatives shall be public. After the period allowed for voting closes,
the votes shall be listed by organization on the NCDNHC website so that they
can be inspected and counted by members and the public.
F. Alternates
While it is anticipated that Names Council representatives will manage the
many tasks of Names Council representation, Constituency management and DNSO
working group participation, it is also recognized that participation in the
many international meetings, international conference calls, and other Names
Council duties may from time to time require a sharing of time and costs with
an Alternate.
Each person running for Names Council representative may choose an alternate
with whom to run. The alternate candidate must be affiliated with an
organization that is a member of the NCDNHC, and have the approval of that
organization to run. Further, the alternate must be a citizen of the same
geographic region as the Names Council candidate. The names of the two
individuals shall be listed together on the voting ballot. A Names Council
candidate need not run with an alternate.
The Alternate shall work closely with the Names Council representative to
participate and vote as he/she would have done. The Alternate shall keep the
Names Council representative fully informed of his/her actions when
participating in Names Council activities. ***
G. Resignation or Withdrawal
1. Of a Names Council Representative
Should a Names Council representative withdraw, resign or otherwise
relinquish his/her position prior to the end of his/her term and she/he has
an alternate, the alternate of the names council representative should such a
person exist, shall complete the term
Should the Names Council representative resign without an alternate the
administrative committee member who was the person with the fourth highest
number of votes from a different geographic region than the 3 names council
representatives shall serve out the remainder of the term.
2. Of an Administrative Committee member
Should an Administrative Committee member who is not also a Names Council
representative withdraw, resign or otherwise relinquish his/her position
prior to the end of his/her term, the Geographic region of the
Administrative Committee member shall be asked to hold new elections for
this position, provided the remaining time of the term consists of six or
more months.
Should the remaining time of the term consist of less than six months, the
alternate of the Administrative Committee representative, should such a
person exist, shall complete the term.
Should the Administrative Committee member resign without an alternate and
with less than six months remaining in his/her term, the Administrative
Committee shall solicit input from the Constituency members of the
Geographic
region of the Administrative Committee member and appoint a person from
the Region to serve out the term.
3. Of an Alternate
Should an alternate to a Names Council Representative withdraw, resign or
otherwise relinquish his/her position prior to the end of his/her term,
this position will not be fullfilled until the next election
The administrative committee members who were the persons with the fourth
and fifth highest number of votes from a different geographic region than
the 3 names council representatives shall serve as the alternates of the
names council representatives without an specific alternate each time that
it could be necessary from the point of view of the adcom
H. Term of Names Council and Administrative Council
The term of the Names Council and Administrative Council representatives
shall
be one year.
V. Sign up for Membership and Communication via Website and List
A. Sign up for Membership
The NCDNHC represents a large and heterogeneous group of organizations, many
of whom are not yet aware of the ICANN, its processes, and their impact. It
is crucial to the success of the constituency that it be operated in an open
manner which will encourage new organizations meeting the membership criteria
to join and participate.
It is also important that those within the constituency have the opportunity
to learn about a member, any possible conflicts the member might have, and
the position and title of the person designated to represent the member.
Membership will be by self-nomination based on disclosure. The NCDNHC
website will have a form which all prospective members will fill out, to
include: the individual seeking to work with the NCDNHC on behalf of the
organization, her/his title and position with the organization, full contact
information, whether he/she is formally authorized to represent the
organization, whether the organization is non-commercial and how the
organization engages in non-commercial speech and activity on the Internet,
whether the organization or the individual have any conflicts that the groups
should be aware of, the domain name of the organization and any website URL
it may have.
All organizations must fill out this form, and circulate it to the others
seeking to form the NCDNHC. As new organizations seek to enter the
Constituency, they too will circulate the form to the other members via the
NCDNHC list. Other members may challenge the application for failure to meet
the stated membership criteria of the constituency.
Copies of the forms for all organizations will also be kept on the NCDNHC
website, with a facility to search the forms by organization's name and
representative's name.
B. List
The NCDNHC shall have a listserv for members to introduce themselves and
discuss constituency matters.
C. Website and Listserv Host
The Internet Society (ISOC) shall be the initial host of NCDNHC website and
list.
Both shall be organized per the requirements of this Charter, and per the
specifications that may arise from consensus of the NCDNHC. The
Administrative
Committee shall have the authority to change the website and listserv host.
VI. Charter Amendment
This Charter may be amended from time to time as the needs of the
Constituency change or as needed to incorporate changes to the ICANN Bylaws..
Amendment shall be through the formation of a Charter Revision Committee, to
include the Administrative Committee and other members of the Constituency
who shall volunteer, which shall recommend and discuss changes. Recommended
changes shall then be presented to the Constituency for review and adoption.
Endnote
The issues set out in the Charter above are designed to take the
NCDNHC into its second year. We have not solved all problems and many
important issues have been raised in this round of charter revisions.
We hope that the next charter revision will look closely at the issue of
alternates, the Administrative Committee, the role of the elected
representatives, and the term of office.
We leave these issues to the NCDNHC as it grows and to the next charter,
which we hope will be revised within the second year of this Constituency.
Raul Echeberria
raul@inia.org.uy
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