<div dir="ltr">Malcolm,<div>I quite agree with the notion of engagement and</div><div>the implication of modification to meet half way.</div><div>-Akinbo.</div></div><div class="gmail_extra"><br><div class="gmail_quote">On Sun, Jan 11, 2015 at 10:38 PM, Malcolm Hutty <span dir="ltr"><<a href="mailto:malcolm@linx.net" target="_blank">malcolm@linx.net</a>></span> wrote:<br><blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0 0 0 .8ex;border-left:1px #ccc solid;padding-left:1ex"><span class="">On 2015-01-11 08:30, Adebunmi AKINBO wrote:<br>
<blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0 0 0 .8ex;border-left:1px #ccc solid;padding-left:1ex">
+1 DelBianco = So, when the Board is confronting a community consensus<br>
to take an action that could put the corporation at risk of a lawsuit<br>
… how do you believe a board member is obliged to react?<br>
</blockquote>
<br></span>
I would say that it is the responsibility of the Board to find ways to<br>
reconcile the community consensus with their legal obligations. Normally<br>
this is done through a combination of engagement with the community (so<br>
as to relieve unrealistic or unachievable expectations) and creative<br>
approaches to implementation (so that the objectives of the community<br>
are met in a manner compatible other obligations, which may not be the<br>
implementation originally envisaged).<br>
<br>
These twin duties are, in my view, *both* fundamental. The latter should<br>
not be allowed to become an excuse for the Board to go its own way, in<br>
defiance of the community.<br>
<br>
Ultimately, if a Board member believes they are incapable of satisfying<br>
all their duties, then their responsibility is to resign their office.<br>
<br>
Indeed, the equivalent is true for ordinary commercial companies too;<br>
directors have the same responsibilities to the law and the company, on<br>
the one hand, and the company's owners on the other. So this is not a<br>
radical suggestion. The radical idea would be to propose that directors<br>
are entitled, in the final analysis, to advance their own preferences in<br>
defiance of the community they are appointed to serve.<br>
<br>
Kind Regards,<br>
<br>
Malcolm.<br>
<br>
<blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0 0 0 .8ex;border-left:1px #ccc solid;padding-left:1ex"><span class="">
On the above, can we seek a legal opinion?<br>
Its important to address this scenario.<br>
<br>
This can happen at anytime in the lifetime of ICANN.<br>
-Akinbo.<br>
<br>
On Sun, Jan 11, 2015 at 4:33 AM, Alan Greenberg<br>
<<a href="mailto:alan.greenberg@mcgill.ca" target="_blank">alan.greenberg@mcgill.ca</a>> wrote:<br>
<br>
</span><blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0 0 0 .8ex;border-left:1px #ccc solid;padding-left:1ex"><span class="">
I am not an ICANN Board Member. I am not a lawyer. I am not a<br>
California law expert.<br>
<br>
But I "hope" that the answer is "it depends". I would like to<br>
think that the risk of being sued and the potential liabilities (and<br>
the chances of losing!) would be weighed against the ICANN Mission,<br>
Core Values and its Articles of Incorporation which includes the<br>
phrase "The Corporation shall operate for the benefit of the<br>
Internet community as a whole".<br>
<br>
Alan<br>
<br>
At 10/01/2015 08:40 PM, Steve DelBianco wrote:<br>
<br>
</span><blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0 0 0 .8ex;border-left:1px #ccc solid;padding-left:1ex"><span class="">
Thanks for the larger context around that bylaws provision, Bruce.<br>
But if we are considering whether the bylaws refer to<br>
‘ICANN’ as the corporation or the community, see<br></span>
ICANN’s own Management Operating Principles (2008 link [1],<div><div class="h5"><br>
p. 5):<br>
<br>
"The third and perhaps most critical point of tension is between<br>
the accountability to the participating community to perform<br>
functions in keeping with the expectations of the community and<br>
the corporate and legal responsibilities of the Board to meet its<br>
fiduciary obligations. The ultimate legal accountability of the<br>
organization lies with the Board, not with the individuals and<br>
entities that make up the ICANN community.â€<br>
<br>
So, when the Board is confronting a community consensus to take<br>
an action that could put the corporation at risk of a lawsuit …<br>
how do you bellieve a board member is obliged to react?<br>
<br>
From: Robin Gross <<a href="mailto:robin@ipjustice.org" target="_blank">robin@ipjustice.org</a>><br>
Date: Saturday, January 10, 2015 at 8:10 PM<br>
To: Bruce Tonkin < <a href="mailto:Bruce.Tonkin@melbourneit.com.au" target="_blank">Bruce.Tonkin@melbourneit.com.<u></u>au</a>><br>
Cc: " <a href="mailto:accountability-cross-community@icann.org" target="_blank">accountability-cross-<u></u>community@icann.org</a>" <<br>
<a href="mailto:accountability-cross-community@icann.org" target="_blank">accountability-cross-<u></u>community@icann.org</a>><br>
Subject: Re: [CCWG-Accountability] Regarding role of Board<br>
directors<br>
<br>
Thanks for the info, Bruce. It is worth pointing out that<br>
regardless of how those bylaws are interpreted, under California<br>
law, nonprofit board members owe a legal duty of loyalty to the<br>
corporation and there isn't anything that this working group can<br>
do change California corporations law and the legal duty of<br>
loyalty each board member owes to the corporation (as a<br>
corporation, yes, not staff). This is where a tension comes in<br>
for trying to do public governance via a private corporation - the<br>
two concepts weren't "built" for the other, so there are gaps and<br>
some issues as a result. I think this is an issue our group<br>
should explore.<br>
<br>
Best,<br>
Robin<br>
<br>
On Jan 10, 2015, at 4:43 PM, Bruce Tonkin wrote:<br>
<br>
Hello Steve,<br>
ICANN Bylaws Article 6 Section 7 defines the duty of directors to<br>
ICANN the Corporation:<br>
<br>
Directors shall serve as individuals who have the duty to act in<br>
what they reasonably believe are the best interests of ICANN and<br>
not as representatives of the entity that selected them, their<br>
employers, or any other organizations or constituencies.<br>
<br>
I have often heard you refer to that specific clause in the<br>
bylaws over the past year.<br>
I think it is worth understanding it a little more. I<br>
personally believe that the intent of putting this clause in the<br>
bylaws is that several Board members are appointed to the Board<br>
from a specific stakeholder group, and this makes it clear that<br>
Board members need to act on behalf of all stakeholders not just<br>
the stakeholder group that appointed them. So from my<br>
perspective it is a higher level of accountability than simply<br>
being accountable to the group that appointed them. We certainly<br>
make that clear as new directors join the Board.<br>
The clause does not mean that somehow a Board director is now<br>
accountable to the staff in the organization rather than the<br>
"ICANN community".<br>
For those appointed to the Board by the nominating committee - I<br>
think it is already clear to them that they represent stakeholders<br>
as a whole, as they go through a rigorous interview process in<br>
front of the whole nominating committee.<br>
In my experience as Board director, Boards in general operate on<br>
behalf of their stakeholders - these stakeholders could be the<br>
general public, shareholders, or members. Under its articles of<br>
incorporation, ICANN is structured to act on behalf of the global<br>
public interest - i.e. the general public.<br>
In addition to acting on behalf of stakeholders, a board is also<br>
accountable to govern an organization in accordance with the law.<br>
This to me is the "corporate" obligation that you often refer.<br>
This includes ensuring that the organization can meet its<br>
financial commitments, ensure the staff have a safe workplace,<br>
ensure there are financial controls to stop fraud, ensure the<br>
organization complies with any contracts it has entered into etc.<br>
Directors of ICANN can be held personally liable under law if<br>
they are negligent.<br>
After the ATRT1 review, a set of governance guidelines were<br>
established to make this clearer:<br>
<a href="https://www.icann.org/resources/pages/guidelines-2012-05-15-en" target="_blank">https://www.icann.org/<u></u>resources/pages/guidelines-<u></u>2012-05-15-en</a><br></div></div>
[2]<div><div class="h5"><br>
>From the section on the role of directors:<br>
"The fundamental responsibility of Directors (as defined below)<br>
is to exercise their business judgment to act in what they<br>
reasonably believe to be the best interests of ICANN and in the<br>
global public interest, taking account of the interests of the<br>
Internet community as a whole rather than any individual group or<br>
interest"<br>
"It is the duty of the Board to oversee management's performance<br>
to ensure that ICANN operates in an effective, efficient and<br>
ethical manner. The Board will also be responsible for overseeing<br>
the development of ICANN's short, medium and long-term strategic<br>
plans, ensuring that they will result in sustainable outcomes, and<br>
taking account of the critical interdependencies of financial,<br>
human, natural, manufactured, social and intellectual capitals."<br>
"Some of the Board's key responsibilities are to ensure that<br>
ICANN's ethics are managed effectively, that ICANN as a whole (as<br>
well as individual Board and staff members) operates pursuant to<br>
the highest ethical standards, that ICANN complies with applicable<br>
laws, and that ICANN considers adherence to best practices in all<br>
areas of operation."<br>
The bylaws could certainly be enhanced to incorporate the notion<br>
in the Governance Guidelines that Board directors are accountable<br>
to the Internet community as a whole.<br>
Regards,<br>
Bruce Tonkin<br>
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[3]<span class=""><br>
<br>
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<blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0 0 0 .8ex;border-left:1px #ccc solid;padding-left:1ex">
[3]<br>
</blockquote><span class="">
<br>
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[3]<br>
</blockquote>
<br>
--<br>
<br>
EVANG. AKINBO A. A. CORNERSTONE, NIGERIA.<br>
+2348064464545, +2348089118151 | 2BAC511D.<br>
<br>
<a href="http://www.akinbo.ng" target="_blank">www.akinbo.ng</a> [4]<br>
<br>
MEMBER, EXECUTIVE BOARD OF DIRECTORS,<span class=""><br>
Nigeria Internet Registration Association (NiRA)<br>
</span><a href="http://www.nira.org.ng" target="_blank">www.nira.org.ng</a> [5] | <a href="mailto:akinbo@nira.org.ng" target="_blank">akinbo@nira.org.ng</a><br>
@niraworks<br>
<br>
ACTING CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER,<br>
DNS Africa Magazine<br>
<a href="http://www.dnsafrica.org" target="_blank">www.dnsafrica.org</a> [6] | <a href="mailto:akinbo@dnsafrica.org" target="_blank">akinbo@dnsafrica.org</a><br>
<br>
@dnsafrica<br>
<br>
NATIONAL CONVENER,<span class=""><br>
Nigerian Youth Coalition on Internet Governance (NG-YCIG)<br>
</span><a href="http://www.ycig.org.ng" target="_blank">www.ycig.org.ng</a> [5]<br>
<br>
PRESIDENT,<br>
Young Internet Professionals (YiPS)<br>
<a href="http://www.yips.gnbo.com.ng" target="_blank">www.yips.gnbo.com.ng</a> [7] | <a href="mailto:akinbo@yips.org.ng" target="_blank">akinbo@yips.org.ng</a><br>
<br>
THE REDHUB.<span class=""><br>
12, Afonka Odebunmi Street, Lagos State.<br>
</span><a href="http://www.theredhub.org/" target="_blank">http://www.theredhub.org/</a> [8]<br>
<br>
NATIONAL FOCAL POINT ( NIGERIA ) 2009-2011.<span class=""><br>
Global Youth Coalition on HIV/AIDS (a program of TakingITGlobal)<br>
</span><a href="http://www.youthaidscoalition.org" target="_blank">www.youthaidscoalition.org</a> [9] <a href="http://www.takingitglobal.com" target="_blank">www.takingitglobal.com</a><br>
[10]<br>
<a href="http://www.iaids.org" target="_blank">www.iaids.org</a> [11]<br>
About me: <a href="http://profiles.tigweb.org/pscornerstone" target="_blank">http://profiles.tigweb.org/<u></u>pscornerstone</a> [12]<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
Links:<br>
------<br>
[1]<br>
<a href="https://www.icann.org/en/system/files/files/acct-trans-frameworks-principles-10jan08-en.pdf" target="_blank">https://www.icann.org/en/<u></u>system/files/files/acct-trans-<u></u>frameworks-principles-10jan08-<u></u>en.pdf</a><br>
[2] <a href="https://www.icann.org/resources/pages/guidelines-2012-05-15-en" target="_blank">https://www.icann.org/<u></u>resources/pages/guidelines-<u></u>2012-05-15-en</a><br>
[3] <a href="https://mm.icann.org/mailman/listinfo/accountability-cross-community" target="_blank">https://mm.icann.org/mailman/<u></u>listinfo/accountability-cross-<u></u>community</a><br>
[4] <a href="http://www.akinbo.ng" target="_blank">http://www.akinbo.ng</a><br>
[5] <a href="http://www.nira.org.ng/" target="_blank">http://www.nira.org.ng/</a><br>
[6] <a href="http://www.dnsafrica.org/" target="_blank">http://www.dnsafrica.org/</a><br>
[7] <a href="http://wwwyips.org.ng/" target="_blank">http://wwwyips.org.ng/</a><br>
[8] <a href="http://www.theredhub.org/" target="_blank">http://www.theredhub.org/</a><br>
[9] <a href="http://www.youthaidscoalition.org" target="_blank">http://www.youthaidscoalition.<u></u>org</a><br>
[10] <a href="http://www.takingitglobal.com" target="_blank">http://www.takingitglobal.com</a><br>
[11] <a href="http://www.iaids.org" target="_blank">http://www.iaids.org</a><br>
[12] <a href="http://profiles.tigweb.org/pscornerstone" target="_blank">http://profiles.tigweb.org/<u></u>pscornerstone</a><span class=""><br>
<br>
______________________________<u></u>_________________<br>
Accountability-Cross-Community mailing list<br>
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</span></blockquote><span class="HOEnZb"><font color="#888888">
<br>
-- <br>
Malcolm Hutty | tel: +44 20 7645 3523<br>
Head of Public Affairs | Read the LINX Public Affairs blog<br>
London Internet Exchange | <a href="http://publicaffairs.linx.net/" target="_blank">http://publicaffairs.linx.net/</a><br>
<br>
London Internet Exchange Ltd<br>
21-27 St Thomas Street, London SE1 9RY<br>
<br>
Company Registered in England No. 3137929<br>
Trinity Court, Trinity Street, Peterborough PE1 1DA<br>
<br>
<br>
</font></span></blockquote></div><br><br clear="all"><div><br></div>-- <br><div class="gmail_signature"><div dir="ltr"><div><div dir="ltr"><div><b>Evang. Akinbo A. A. Cornerstone, Nigeria.</b></div><div>+2348064464545, +2348089118151 | 2BAC511D.<br></div><div><a href="http://www.akinbo.ng" target="_blank">www.akinbo.ng</a> </div><div><br></div><div><div style="font-family:arial;font-size:small"><b>Member, Executive Board of Directors</b>, </div><div style="font-family:arial;font-size:small">Nigeria Internet Registration Association (NiRA)</div><div style="font-family:arial;font-size:small"><a href="http://www.nira.org.ng/" style="color:rgb(17,85,204)" target="_blank">www.nira.org.ng</a> <span style="font-family:arial,sans-serif;font-size:13px"> </span><span style="font-family:arial,sans-serif;font-size:13px">|</span><span style="font-family:arial,sans-serif;font-size:13px"> </span><a href="mailto:akinbo@yips.org.ng" style="font-family:arial,sans-serif;font-size:13px" target="_blank">akinbo@nira.org.ng</a></div></div><div>@niraworks</div><div><br></div><div><div style="font-size:small"><b>Acting Chief Operating Officer,</b></div><div style="font-size:small">DNS Africa Magazine</div><div style="font-size:small"><a href="http://www.dnsafrica.org/" style="color:rgb(17,85,204)" target="_blank">www.dnsafrica.org</a><span style="font-family:arial"> </span><span style="font-size:13px"> </span><span style="font-size:13px">|</span><span style="font-size:13px"> </span><a href="mailto:akinbo@dnsafrica.org" target="_blank">akinbo@dnsafrica.org</a><br></div><div style="font-size:small">@dnsafrica</div></div><div><br></div><div><div><b><font face="arial">National Convener,</font></b></div><div style="font-size:small;font-family:arial">Nigerian Youth Coalition on Internet Governance (NG-YCIG)</div><div style="font-size:small;font-family:arial"><a href="http://www.nira.org.ng/" style="color:rgb(17,85,204)" target="_blank">www.ycig.org.ng</a></div></div><div><br></div><div><div style="font-size:small;font-family:arial"><b>President,</b></div><div style="font-size:small;font-family:arial">Young Internet Professionals (YiPS)</div><div style="font-size:small;font-family:arial"><a href="http://wwwyips.org.ng/" style="font-family:arial,sans-serif;font-size:13px" target="_blank">www.yips.gnbo.com.ng</a><span style="font-family:arial,sans-serif;font-size:13px"> | </span><a href="mailto:akinbo@yips.org.ng" style="font-family:arial,sans-serif;font-size:13px" target="_blank">akinbo@yips.org.ng</a><br></div></div><div><br></div><div><b>The RedHub.</b></div><div>12, Afonka Odebunmi Street, Lagos State.</div><div><a href="http://www.theredhub.org/" target="_blank">http://www.theredhub.org/</a></div><div><br></div><div><b>National Focal Point ( Nigeria ) 2009-2011.</b></div><div>Global Youth Coalition on HIV/AIDS (a program of TakingITGlobal)</div><div><a href="http://www.youthaidscoalition.org" target="_blank">www.youthaidscoalition.org</a> <a href="http://www.takingitglobal.com" target="_blank">www.takingitglobal.com</a></div><div><a href="http://www.iaids.org" target="_blank">www.iaids.org</a></div><div>About me: <a href="http://profiles.tigweb.org/pscornerstone" target="_blank">http://profiles.tigweb.org/pscornerstone</a></div><div><br></div></div></div></div></div>
</div>