[bylaws-coord] FW: Issues List for Bylaws Coordinating Group (March 24, 2016)

[Andrew Sullivan]

Hi,

I have two remarks in response to the circulated questions.

Question 1 is an attempt to add some flexibility to the time lines.  I
dimly recall (I haven't trolled the minutes) discussion about this
very inflexibiity, and I seem to recall that the proponents of it
thought it a positive good.  There seemed to be worry that anything
longer than 90 days meant that the Board wouldn't have enough time to
consider the BCG's recommendation.  I'd be slightly worried about
getting offside with the CCWG consensus here, but I don't have a real
strong feeling about it.

I'm more worried about question 3, which is basically a request that
the CCWG proposal be overturned.  I want to be clear that I do not
myself have a particular view about what the right answer is, but I do
think it important to understand what the community thought.  Here's
what I think people were arguing (again, I haven't gone back through
the transcripts, so I encourage those who remember differently to
correct me).

I understand the reasons for raising this concern, but my recollection
of the CCWG discussion around this was _exactly_ that the Board had to
do these things in public.  If there were discussions that they
wouldn't make in public, then they'd be discussions they shouldn't
have at all.

I'm aware of the potential for perverse outcomes here.  It's entirely
possible, for instance, that people will become even less transparent,
having one-on-one conversations outside the context of a Board meeting
and coming to some working consensus and only then holding the
meeting, in which case the discussion would have happened, it'd be
protected private discussion (or, possibly, discussion in the presence
of counsel and thereby pritected by privilege), and nobody would be
able to find out any of it.  I will note that in bodies with which I'm
familiar or where I act, I am used to the possibility of executive
session where sensitive issues can be discussed.  I think the problem
is, at bottom, that much of the community believes that the Board
hides too often behind secrecy.  So there is a desire to ensure that
daylight be brought to bear.

I'm not sure what to do about the issue, because I see that there is a
looming practical problem.  At the same time, the community consensus
seemed pretty strong to me on this matter, and I'm not sure that the
bylaws drafting stage is the appropriate place to revisit that consensus.

Best regards,

A

On Fri, Mar 25, 2016 at 05:37:46PM +0000, Samantha Eisner via bylaws-coord wrote:
> Please see the attached questions that were raised initially on last night's Bylaws coordination call.
> 
> From: "Grapsas, Rebecca" <rebecca.grapsas at sidley.com<mailto:rebecca.grapsas at sidley.com>>
> Date: Friday, March 25, 2016 at 1:28 AM
> To: Samantha Eisner <samantha.eisner at icann.org<mailto:samantha.eisner at icann.org>>, Brenda Brewer <brenda.brewer at icann.org<mailto:brenda.brewer at icann.org>>, Grace Abuhamad <grace.abuhamad at icann.org<mailto:grace.abuhamad at icann.org>>
> Cc: "Gregory, Holly" <holly.gregory at sidley.com<mailto:holly.gregory at sidley.com>>, "Rosemary E. Fei" <rfei at adlercolvin.com<mailto:rfei at adlercolvin.com>>, Stephanie Petit <stephanie at adlercolvin.com<mailto:stephanie at adlercolvin.com>>
> Subject: Issues List for Bylaws Coordinating Group (March 24, 2016)
> 
> All - please see attached for posting to the Bylaws Coordinating Group list.
> 
> With kind regards,
> 
> Rebecca
> 
> REBECCA GRAPSAS
> Counsel
> 
> SIDLEY AUSTIN LLP
> 787 Seventh Avenue
> New York, NY 10019
> +1 212 839 8541
> rebecca.grapsas at sidley.com<mailto:rebecca.grapsas at sidley.com>
> www.sidley.com<http://www.sidley.com>
> [SIDLEY]
> 
> 
> 
> 
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-- 
Andrew Sullivan
ajs at anvilwalrusden.com