[CCWG-ACCT] RES: Stress Test 18: bylaw amendment suggestion
Matthew Shears
mshears at cdt.org
Wed Nov 11 12:16:25 UTC 2015
Hello Pedro
Please see in-line
On 11/11/2015 12:43, Pedro Ivo Ferraz da Silva wrote:
> Dear Greg, Avri,
>
> Thanks for your comments.
>
> I believe some of the concerns below have been answered by Jorge, so I
> don't want to repeat arguments here.
>
> I would just like to comment on the Greg's statements that "the
> proposed suggestion essentially turns the concerns of the rest of the
> community on its head" and that "Under this formulation, the GAC gets
> far more than it has under the current bylaw".
>
> The suggested language for the bylaws preserves the advisory nature of
> the GAC with regards to the ICANN Board. It actually restricts it by
> imposing the requirement of the advice having to be reached based on
> consensus - an imposition that Brazil and other countries have
> expressed to be against but for the sake of compromise have decided
> not to object.
>
> With regards to raising to 2/3 majority the rejection threshold, this
> is by no means an attempt to turn the GAC into a "co-equal (if not
> more than equal) policymaker with the GNSO (and ccNSO)". It is rather
> a disposition targeted at recognizing the importance of public policy
> considerations within ICANN's decision-making system.
With regards to the above, and forgive me for asking as it is very
difficult to fully follow these discussions while at the IGF, but isn't
the call for raising the Board's rejection threshold of consensus advice
to 2/3rds the same issue that was opposed by much of the community back
in 2014?
https://www.icann.org/public-comments/bylaws-amend-gac-advice-2014-08-15-en
If so, I am a little at a loss to understand the purpose of raising it
again in the context of these discussions, particularly as it has not
been part of the discussions in earlier versions of the proposal or in
the pubic comment.
Many thanks for clarifying.
Matthew
>
> Regards,
>
> Pedro
>
>
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------------------
> *De:* accountability-cross-community-bounces at icann.org
> [accountability-cross-community-bounces at icann.org] em nome de Greg
> Shatan [gregshatanipc at gmail.com]
> *Enviado:* quarta-feira, 11 de novembro de 2015 5:04
> *Para:* Avri Doria
> *Cc:* accountability-cross-community at icann.org
> *Assunto:* Re: [CCWG-ACCT] Stress Test 18: bylaw amendment suggestion
>
> At the risk of being impolitic, it seems to me that the proposed
> suggestion essentially turns the concerns of the rest of the community
> on its head. Under this formulation, the GAC gets far more than it
> has under the current bylaw, and the concerns of the rest of the
> community are barely met, if at all. The first time the GAC provides
> advice using "majority consensus" (a term sadly coined in the
> Executive Summary), we'll know that we got nothing for our bargain.
>
> As Avri touches on, the new proposed paragraph significantly misstates
> the current obligations of the Board. In addition to the misstatement
> Avri cites, the paragraph attempts to codify the informal descriptor
> "due deference" which is actually not what the current bylaws says.
> Furthermore, the idea that if the Board decides not to follow GAC
> advice, the Bylaw "requires finding mutually agreed solutions for
> implementation of that advice" -- _the very advice the Board has
> decided not to follow_, is clearly incorrect -- the Board's only
> obligation is to try in good faith to find a mutually acceptable
> solution. A requirement to "try" is not a requirement to "find" and a
> "mutually acceptable solution" need not (and probably does not)
> involve implementation of the GAC advice (except in a revised fashion
> acceptable to the Board).
>
> Others have commented on the "ask" for a 2/3 requirement to reject
> advice, and I'll only say I agree with them. This is entirely
> consistent with the idea that the GAC is a co-equal (if not more than
> equal) policymaker with the GNSO (and ccNSO), which in turn is
> entirely inconsistent with the fundamental mechanics of ICANN and the
> "balance of power' among SO/ACs which the Executive Summary boldly
> says we are not changing.
>
> I have nothing but respect for the unique and critical role that the
> GAC plays at ICANN, and respect for the GAC members as well, so please
> do not see this as disrespect for either. It is, however, a fairly
> complete rejection of this particular proposal, as stated. I may
> revisit it to see what can be salvaged, but I've run out of steam for
> the night, given that this is hour 20 since I awoke for our Tuesday
> meeting.
>
> Greg
>
> On Tue, Nov 10, 2015 at 10:36 PM, Avri Doria <avri at acm.org
> <mailto:avri at acm.org>> wrote:
>
>
>
> On 09-Nov-15 11:28, Pedro Ivo Ferraz da Silva wrote:
>
> */_if not followed, requires finding mutually agreed solutions for
> implementation of that advice_/*
>
> The current bylaws state:
>
> > The Governmental Advisory Committee and the ICANN Board will
> then try,
> > in good faith and in a timely and efficient manner, to find a
> mutually
> > acceptable solution.
>
>
> I am wondering whether the the words 'try , in good faith and in a
> timely and efficient manner, ' were accidentally dropped from the
> newly
> proposed formulation.
>
> Form my perspective there is a world of difference between requiring a
> genuine attempt to find a mutually acceptable solution and the
> requirement for finding one.
>
> In one case if the attempt fails, the Board is still free to make
> a to
> reject the advice. In the later, the Board seems bound to find a
> mutually agreed upon solution without the abilty to reject the
> advice if
> no such solution can be found.
>
> Can someone clarify this for me? I accept that having missed a few
> meeting lately, my understanding may be lagging, but that is my reason
> for returning to the proposed and existing language.
>
> thanks
>
> avri
>
>
>
>
> ---
> This email has been checked for viruses by Avast antivirus software.
> https://www.avast.com/antivirus
>
> _______________________________________________
> Accountability-Cross-Community mailing list
> Accountability-Cross-Community at icann.org
> <mailto:Accountability-Cross-Community at icann.org>
> https://mm.icann.org/mailman/listinfo/accountability-cross-community
>
>
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> Accountability-Cross-Community mailing list
> Accountability-Cross-Community at icann.org
> https://mm.icann.org/mailman/listinfo/accountability-cross-community
--
Matthew Shears
Director - Global Internet Policy and Human Rights
Center for Democracy & Technology
mshears at cdt.org
+ 44 771 247 2987
---
This email has been checked for viruses by Avast antivirus software.
https://www.avast.com/antivirus
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://mm.icann.org/pipermail/accountability-cross-community/attachments/20151111/aefcd27e/attachment.html>
More information about the Accountability-Cross-Community
mailing list