Dear Raúl:
Thanks for the email message, and for all the hard work in putting together
the revised charter. A few notes:
1. I will forward to the Board your request to extend the terms of the
current NC representatives. The next Board teleconference will be on (+/-)
February 10, so it won't be possible for the Board to take action prior to
that. As this is a cooperative venture on all our parts, we will suggest
that the NC continue to include the current NCDNHC representatives on its
mailing list and teleconferences, pending the completion of the election
process.
2. I have some specific comments and questions about the charter. In
particular, the provision for alternates is not consistent with the ICANN
Bylaws. I recommend that it be dropped -- the constituency might instead
rely on the two non-NC Administrative Committee members for purposes of NC
proxy voting, when required. Given its importance, the NCDNHC ought to fix
that provision before proceeding with its election process.
That and a few minor points follow:
[ ====================================================================
[
[ 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.
What's the intended meaning of "must be" in the preceding sentence? Why not state "organizations which represent individual domain name holders whose interests *are* primarily non-commercial"?
<...SNIP...>
[
[ 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.
What's the intended meaning of B(iii)? I trust that it is not intended to exclude an individual who works for multiple noncommercial employers. Many individuals in the noncommercial sector serve on multiple noncom boards of directors or advisory committees, or consult for more than one noncom organization. As written, B(iii) appears to say that such individuals cannot serve as a Names Council representative.
<...SNIP...>
[ 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. ***
[
[
This provision for N
C alternates is not consistent with the ICANN Bylaws. Article VI-B, Section
3(c) states the following: "Each Constituency shall select up to three
individuals to represent that Constituency on the NC, no two of whom may be
citizens of the same Geographic Region...." The alternates provision would
effectively give a constituency six representatives for NC activities (three
of whom would at any given time be able to vote). The Bylaws are quite
specific that up to three representatives can be named. The specific
limitation has a number of purposes -- for example, the NC ought to develop
into a collegial body that can work together and reach consensus. This is
hard enough with 19 participating members; it would be impossible with 38,
if every NC member had an alternate.
On occasion, the NC may have reason to authorize proxy voting (such as in
the election of ICANN Board members), but that should be a rare exception to
the rule that each of the NC's 19 members is a full participant in the work
of the NC. Moreover, it seems like a bad idea to create a kind of
geographic lock-in for the constituency's NC votes -- that is, if a North
American is elected to the NC, and the alternate is *required* to be a North
American, then the NCDNHC is effectively declaring that that vote is a North
American vote, under all circumstances. That seems like an unwise result.
In order to comply with the Bylaws, I recommend that the NCDNHC eliminate
the provision for alternates, and simply rely on the non-NC members of the
Administrative Committee to perform NC proxy voting when required.
[ 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
[
[
Throughout Section (G), I recommend that the language regarding alternates be eliminated.
<...SNIP...>
[
[
[
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.
[
[
Again, congratulations on the results of some hard work. As I said, I'll forward to the ICANNN Board the request to extend the current NC members' terms. Please let me know how you will handle the provisions relating to alternates on the NC.
Best regards,
--Andrew
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andrew mclaughlin | c.f.o. and senior adviser
internet corporation for assigned names and numbers
<mclaughlin@icann.org> | <http://www.icann.org>
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