[council] IDN Issues Report

[Bruce Tonkin]

Hello All,

Below is an extract from the issues report just released by Denise of
the proposed terms of reference for decision in the Council meeting on
20 July 2006.

With respect to the policy development process described in
http://www.icann.org/general/bylaws.htm#AnnexA we have completed step 2:
Creation of Issues Report.

We are now up to step 3 and step 4 of the PDP process.

3. Initiation of PDP

c. Vote of the Council. A vote of more than 33% of the Council members
present in favor of initiating the PDP will suffice to initiate the PDP;
unless the Staff Recommendation stated that the issue is not properly
within the scope of the ICANN policy process or the GNSO, in which case
a Supermajority Vote of the Council members present in favor of
initiating the PDP will be required to initiate the PDP.


And 


4. Commencement of the PDP

At the meeting of the Council initiating the PDP, the Council shall
decide, by a majority vote of members present at the meeting, whether to
appoint a task force to address the issue. If the Council votes:

a. In favor of convening a task force, it shall do so in accordance with
the provisions of Item 7 below.

b. Against convening a task force, then it will collect information on
the policy issue in accordance with the provisions of Item 8 below.



Regards,
Bruce Tonkin



F. Proposed Terms of Reference

The following terms of reference for further work are focused on the
GNSO activities, which should address gTLD aspects, as recommended by
the GNSO working group assessing the Preliminary Issues Report.

1. Should IDN Top-Level Domains be introduced? 

a.	Given the information provided here and any other relevant
information available, in particular the results of technical tests
regarding IDN top-level domains, assess whether there is sufficient
support within the Internet community to enable the introduction of
IDN-gTLDs. 

b.	With a positive presumption regarding a) above, awaiting the
final outcome, address the following additional terms of reference. 


2. Selection Criteria for IDN Top-Level Domains 

a.	Taking into account the background, considerations and findings
regarding selection criteria in the New gTLD PDP, develop modified or
additional criteria, as appropriate, for IDN-gTLDs which specifically
address ICANN's goals of expanding the use and usability of the
Internet. In particular, examine ways in which the allocation of new
IDN-gTLDs domains can meet demands for broader use of the Internet in
developing countries. 


3. Allocation Methods for IDN Top-Level Domains 

a.	Taking into account the background, considerations and findings
regarding allocation methods in the New gTLD PDP, develop modified or
new allocation methods, as appropriate, for selecting new IDN-gTLDs. 


4. Policy to Guide Contractual Conditions for IDN Top-Level Domains 

a.	Taking into account the background, considerations and findings
regarding contractual conditions in the New gTLD PDP, develop policies
to guide the specific contractual criteria needed for new IDN-gTLDs, to
be made publicly available prior to any application rounds.


 5. Additional policy considerations regarding IDN Top-Level Domains 

a.	For two IDN-gTLD strings for the same purpose with the same
operator, should the same second level strings in these TLDs resolve to
the same Internet location?
	
b.	In cooperation with the ccNSO and the GAC, taking into account
their considerations and findings regarding IDN top-level domains,
determine policies to ensure consistency in approaches and
interdependencies, as appropriate from a gTLD perspective.

c.	For IDN-gTLDs, should the script used in a string at the second
level match the script used in the string at the top level?