[CCWG-Accountability] Regarding role of Board directors

[Bruce Tonkin]

Hello  Steve,


>>  ICANN Bylaws Article 6 Section 7 defines the duty of directors to ICANN the Corporation:  

>>  Directors shall serve as individuals who have the duty to act in what they reasonably believe are the best interests of ICANN and not as representatives of the entity that selected them, their employers, or any other organizations or constituencies.

I have often heard you refer to that specific clause in the bylaws over the past year.

I think it is worth understanding it a little more.   I personally believe that the intent of putting this clause in the bylaws is that several Board members are appointed to the Board from a specific stakeholder group, and this makes it clear that Board members need to act on behalf of all stakeholders not just the stakeholder group that appointed them.   So from my perspective it is a higher level of accountability than simply being accountable to the group that appointed them.   We certainly make that clear as new directors join the Board.

The clause does not mean that somehow a Board director  is now accountable to the staff in the organization rather than the "ICANN community".

For those appointed to the Board by the nominating committee - I think it is already clear to them that they represent stakeholders as a whole, as they go through a rigorous interview process in front of the whole nominating committee.

In my experience as Board director, Boards in general operate on behalf of their stakeholders - these stakeholders could be the general public, shareholders, or members.  Under its articles of incorporation,  ICANN is structured to act on behalf of the global public interest - i.e. the general public. 

In addition to acting on behalf of stakeholders, a board is also accountable to govern an organization in accordance with the law.   This to me is the "corporate" obligation that you often refer.   This includes ensuring that the organization can meet its financial commitments, ensure the staff have a safe workplace, ensure there are financial controls to stop fraud, ensure the organization complies with any contracts it has entered into etc.   Directors of ICANN can be held personally liable under law if they are negligent.

After the ATRT1 review,  a set of governance guidelines were established to make this clearer:

https://www.icann.org/resources/pages/guidelines-2012-05-15-en

From the section on the role of directors:

"The fundamental responsibility of Directors (as defined below) is to exercise their business judgment to act in what they reasonably believe to be the best interests of ICANN and in the global public interest, taking account of the interests of the Internet community as a whole rather than any individual group or interest" 

"It is the duty of the Board to oversee management's performance to ensure that ICANN operates in an effective, efficient and ethical manner. The Board will also be responsible for overseeing the development of ICANN's short, medium and long-term strategic plans, ensuring that they will result in sustainable outcomes, and taking account of the critical interdependencies of financial, human, natural, manufactured, social and intellectual capitals."

"Some of the Board's key responsibilities are to ensure that ICANN's ethics are managed effectively, that ICANN as a whole (as well as individual Board and staff members) operates pursuant to the highest ethical standards, that ICANN complies with applicable laws, and that ICANN considers adherence to best practices in all areas of operation."


The bylaws could certainly be enhanced to incorporate the notion in the Governance Guidelines that Board directors are accountable to the Internet community as a whole.     

Regards,
Bruce Tonkin