[CCWG-ACCT] Request for Clarification on Threshold Issue

avri doria avri at apc.org
Mon Feb 29 21:00:45 UTC 2016


+1

On 29-Feb-16 15:04, Jordan Carter wrote:
> Hi all
>
> In three versions of the proposal from this group the GAC has been a
> decisional participant. I firmly agree with what Thomas said, that is
> what our proposal says and that is how it has to remain.
>
> We haven't demanded any SO/AC has to say they are in. We have just
> said that we take them out if they insist.
>
> Anything else would be an utter travesty at this point and undermine
> our process.
>
> On the point raised by the letter that started this thread, I only
> re-state my view that IF the list of decisional participants changed,
> THEN the thresholds would have to change, BECAUSE we cannot have a
> situation where formal total unanimity is required to exercise
> community powers.
>
>
> cheers
> Jordan
>
>
> On 1 March 2016 at 07:27, Robin Gross <robin at ipjustice.org
> <mailto:robin at ipjustice.org>> wrote:
>
>     Unless the GAC can reach a consensus and decide to be “in" the EC,
>     it would have to be considered “out” of the EC.  If GAC can’t
>     decide to accept this new role and its responsibility, we have no
>     place on insisting that it does accept this change in its role and
>     responsibility.  We can’t leave loose ends like this in our report
>     without expecting disastrous results - we must have certainty
>     about what we are proposing.
>
>     Robin
>
>
>>     On Feb 29, 2016, at 10:07 AM, Phil Corwin <psc at vlaw-dc.com
>>     <mailto:psc at vlaw-dc.com>> wrote:
>>
>>     +1. The GAC needs to decide whether they want to be in or out of
>>     the EC, and the decision time is now.
>>      
>>     If the GAC can’t reach a consensus on something that basic then
>>     trying to use the accountability measures with them in the EC
>>     will be like trying to drive a car with the parking brake engaged.
>>      
>>     *Philip S. Corwin, Founding Principal*
>>     *Virtualaw LLC*
>>     *1155 F Street, NW*
>>     *Suite 1050*
>>     *Washington, DC 20004*
>>     *202-559-8597/Direct*
>>     *202-559-8750/Fax*
>>     *202-255-6172/cell***
>>     * *
>>     *Twitter: @VlawDC*
>>      
>>     */"Luck is the residue of design" -- Branch Rickey/*
>>      
>>     *From:* accountability-cross-community-bounces at icann.org
>>     <mailto:accountability-cross-community-bounces at icann.org> [mailto:accountability-cross-community-bounces at icann.org] *On
>>     Behalf Of *Mueller, Milton L
>>     *Sent:* Monday, February 29, 2016 10:12 AM
>>     *To:* Martin Boyle; Kavouss Arasteh; Bruce Tonkin
>>     *Cc:* accountability-cross-community at icann.org
>>     <mailto:accountability-cross-community at icann.org>
>>     *Subject:* Re: [CCWG-ACCT] Request for Clarification on Threshold
>>     Issue
>>      
>>     This discussion is an example of the absurdity of making
>>     participation in the empowered community (EC) optional. You were
>>     all warned about this months ago. The boundaries of the EC need
>>     to be fixed and completely unambiguous. You must be either in or
>>     out. There should be no “oh, today I think I am part of it but
>>     tomorrow I may not be.” It should not be determined on a
>>     case-by-case basis.
>>      
>>     My understanding is that all 3 SOs are part of the empowered
>>     community, as is ALAC. My understanding is that GAC has not
>>     decided whether it is in or out. But once it does decide, it
>>     should be in or out, full stop, for all cases except the narrow
>>     carve out related to GAC advice.
>>      
>>     If the individual entities who are in the EC (ACs and SOs) do not
>>     support a vote to spill the board, reject an IANA review
>>     decision, etc. they are voting against it, full stop. They are
>>     not “unable to cast a vote.” So a lower threshold never means
>>     that there is a chance that one SO or AC can make the decision.
>>     The threshold only changes based on whether GAC is in or out.
>>      
>>     --MM
>>      
>>      
>>
>>     *From:* accountability-cross-community-bounces at icann.org
>>     <mailto:accountability-cross-community-bounces at icann.org> [mailto:accountability-cross-community-bounces at icann.org] *On
>>     Behalf Of *Martin Boyle
>>     *Sent:* Sunday, February 28, 2016 3:09 PM
>>
>>     Kavouss makes a good point:  if views are so divided in the
>>     SO/ACs that many are not able to cast a vote, there is an
>>     indication that something is wrong.
>>      
>>     *From:* accountability-cross-community-bounces at icann.org
>>     <mailto:accountability-cross-community-bounces at icann.org> [mailto:accountability-cross-community-bounces at icann.org] *On
>>     Behalf Of *Kavouss Arasteh
>>     *Sent:* 28 February 2016 17:32
>>     *To:* Bruce Tonkin <Bruce.Tonkin at melbourneit.com.au
>>     <mailto:Bruce.Tonkin at melbourneit.com.au>>
>>     *Cc:* accountability-cross-community at icann.org
>>     <mailto:accountability-cross-community at icann.org>
>>     *Subject:* Re: [CCWG-ACCT] Request for Clarification on Threshold
>>     Issue
>>      
>>     Bruce
>>     Accruing to some established rule ,out if seven SO/AC, the
>>     minimum would be simple majority ( 4) bellow that the process
>>     does have no longer any legal validity
>>     Ksvouss 
>>
>>     Sent from my iPhone
>>
>>
>>     On 28 Feb 2016, at 00:02, Bruce Tonkin
>>     <Bruce.Tonkin at melbourneit.com.au
>>     <mailto:Bruce.Tonkin at melbourneit.com.au>> wrote:
>>
>>         Hello Keith,
>>          
>>         I assume there also needs to be some lower limit of
>>         participants that applies to the concept of “/preventing the
>>         need for unanimous support”./
>>          
>>         Taking an extreme case,  what if only one SO or AC “chooses”
>>         to be part of the decisional process?   Every decision taken
>>         would be unanimous by default.  
>>          
>>         How many participants of the 7 SOs and ACs makes a viable
>>         Empowered Community?  Should it be 2, 3, or 4.   I hope we
>>         get at least 4 out of 7 for it  to genuinely represent a
>>         significant portion of the community.
>>          
>>         So rather than “If fewer than 5”, it could be “If at least 4”
>>          
>>         Regards,
>>         Bruce Tonkin
>>          
>>          
>>         *From:* accountability-cross-community-bounces at icann.org
>>         <mailto:accountability-cross-community-bounces at icann.org> [mailto:accountability-cross-community-bounces at icann.org] *On
>>         Behalf Of *Drazek, Keith
>>         *Sent:* Sunday, 28 February 2016 7:04 AM
>>         *To:* accountability-cross-community at icann.org
>>         <mailto:accountability-cross-community at icann.org>
>>         *Subject:* [CCWG-ACCT] Request for Clarification on Threshold
>>         Issue
>>          
>>         Hi Thomas, Mathieu and Leon. I’m submitting the following on
>>         behalf of the undersigned members/participants from the GNSO:
>>          
>>         ---------------------------------------------
>>         Dear CCWG-Accountability Chairs,
>>          
>>         We are very concerned with the response of the Board to the
>>         request for clarification regarding the need to adjust the
>>         thresholds for the Empowered Community to exercise its powers
>>         if the number of decisional participants is less than 5
>>         SOACs. Currently the text in Annex 1 and 2 regarding this
>>         possibility is ambiguous:
>>          
>>         “The thresholds presented in this document were determined
>>         based on this assessment. If fewer than five of ICANN’s SOs
>>         and ACs agree to be decisional Participants, these thresholds
>>         for consensus support may be adjusted. Thresholds may also
>>         have to be adjusted if ICANN changes to have more SOs or ACs.”
>>          
>>         In our view, there is no question that the
>>         thresholds /must/ be adjusted if there are fewer than five
>>         decisional participants. We have acknowledged repeatedly and
>>         operated under the assumption that there should not be a
>>         requirement of unanimous support for the Empowered Community
>>         to exercise its powers. Yet, if there are less than five
>>         decisional participants, unless the thresholds are adjusted
>>         it would require unanimous support for the Empowered
>>         Community to:
>>          
>>         ·         Reject a proposed Operating Plan/Strategic Plan/Budget;
>>         ·         Recall the entire Board of Directors; and
>>         ·         Reject an ICANN Board decision relating to reviews
>>         of IANA functions, including the triggering of any PTI
>>         separation process.
>>          
>>         These powers are central to ensuring that ICANN remains
>>         accountable to the Empowered Community. This matter is too
>>         critical to the primary purpose of the CCWG-Accountability
>>         proposal to remain unclear. As the Board has noted in its own
>>         formal comments, “Leaving this issue for future consideration
>>         raises the potential for renegotiation of the community
>>         thresholds.  This potential for renegotiation adds a level of
>>         instability and a lack of predictability.”
>>          
>>         Although it has a superficial resemblance to the recent
>>         debate over thresholds in the GAC carve-out, we believe it is
>>         fundamentally different. There is a great distinction between
>>         an SO or AC */choosing/* to not participate, and an SO or AC
>>         being */blocked/* from participation in a specific instance,
>>         as was the case in the case of the GAC carve-out. We were
>>         willing to accept a unanimous threshold for Board recall in
>>         the unique circumstances of the GAC carve-out, where the GAC
>>         was blocked from participation, but we believe firmly that if
>>         any SO or AC */elects/*, whether through a conscious decision
>>         or an inability to decide, to not participate, then the
>>         non-unanimity principle must be upheld.
>>          
>>         However, as we saw with the debate over the thresholds in the
>>         GAC carve-out, this could be a contentious issue. It is far
>>         better to resolve this matter now (and during the drafting of
>>         bylaws), prior to the official transfer of the proposal to
>>         NTIA, than to delay it when it could have significant
>>         negative ramifications on the transition through a failure to
>>         resolve it during the implementation phase.
>>          
>>         Therefore, we respectfully request that the current text in
>>         Annex 1 and Annex 2 be edited to replace “may” with “shall”
>>         and add an additional explanatory clause:
>>          
>>         “The thresholds presented in this document were determined
>>         based on this assessment. If fewer than five of ICANN’s SOs
>>         and ACs agree to be decisional Participants, these thresholds
>>         for consensus support */shall/* be adjusted */to prevent the
>>         need for unanimous support among the decisional Participants
>>         to exercise any of the seven Community powers/*. Thresholds
>>         may also have to be adjusted if ICANN changes to have more
>>         SOs or ACs.”
>>          
>>         Signed,
>>          
>>         Phil Corwin
>>         Steve DelBianco
>>         Keith Drazek
>>         James Gannon
>>         Robin Gross
>>         Ed Morris
>>         Brett Schaefer
>>         Greg Shatan
>>         Matthew Shears
>>          
>>          
>>          
>>
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> Jordan Carter
>
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