[council] Draft Revisions to the ICANN Bylaws Relating to GNSO Restructure

Sun Mar 29 21:28:39 UTC 2009

I support the suggestion to move voting thresholds to the Rules but with a condition in the Rules that any changes to the thresholds requires a high voting bar (at least 60% of both houses) and that the Bylaws require Board approval of the Rules and any amendments to the Rules.  In my opinion, the consensus reached on GNSO restructure was highly dependent on the interdependency of several elements of the restructure recommendations.  In particular, the recommended thresholds were a very crucial part of the overall package that we agreed to, so if it is too easy to change those, it could compromise the whole set of recommendations.

I do not agree that this document is almost ready.  I think we have quite a bit of work to do still and this is much too important to rush.  I am all for doing it quickly, but let's make sure we carefully deal with all the issues that are being identified.  In that regard, I think it would be helpful if Staff prepared a document organized similar to what they have already done that integrates all the various comments including their source with each section.

Chuck

________________________________

	From: owner-council at gnso.icann.org [mailto:owner-council at gnso.icann.org] On Behalf Of Ken Bour
	Sent: Friday, March 27, 2009 2:59 PM
	To: 'Stéphane Van Gelder'; 'Margie Milam'; council at gnso.icann.org; liaison6c at gnso.icann.org
	Subject: [council] Draft Revisions to the ICANN Bylaws Relating to GNSO Restructure

	Stéphane: 

	Thank you for your prompt initiative and the supportive observations.  Please see my embedded comments below.

	If there are any other questions, please continue to raise them.   In the interest of time, we recognize and appreciate the Council's active interest and remain committed to timely and thorough replies.   

	Ken Bour

	From: owner-council at gnso.icann.org [mailto:owner-council at gnso.icann.org] On Behalf Of Stéphane Van Gelder
	Sent: Friday, March 27, 2009 1:05 PM
	To: Margie Milam; council at gnso.icann.org; liaison6c at gnso.icann.org
	Subject: Re: [council] Draft Revisions to the ICANN Bylaws Relating to GNSO Restructure

	Margie,

	Thanks for sending these on. As we are so pushed for time, allow me to get the ball rolling on this discussion and make a few comments.

	Section 3. Article 1.
	Moving the "geographic regions goalposts" up from "no 2 members" to "no 3 members" seems like a sensible suggestion for those SGs with 6 Council members. I agree with it.

	[KAB: ] Staff appreciates your support of this provision.   

	Section 3. Article 3.
	What's your rationale for recommending that "vacancy rules" be moved to OR&Ps?

	[KAB: ] The only specific provision, in this section, deals with the removal of an NCA for cause and includes the actual voting thresholds.   One of Staff's sub-objectives in this re-drafting assignment was to eliminate any/all provisions that, in its judgment, could be more effectively accommodated within internal Council procedures.   One area identified was detailed voting thresholds and another involved this topic of vacancies, removals, and resignations.   Staff suggests that such provisions do not rise to the level of being required in ICANN-level legal Bylaws.   In the event that new Council voting thresholds are added or modified, in the future, such changes could be accomplished locally versus requiring protracted formal Bylaws amendments.   Similarly, procedures for handling Council vacancies, resignations, and other administrative matters seem more appropriate for OR&P vs. corporate Bylaws.   

	Section 3. Article 7.
	Are there no voting thresholds for selecting the chair and vice-chairs?

	[KAB: ] Yes, there are bicameral house voting thresholds for these positions and, as discussed above, they will be prescribed in the Council's OR&P currently under revision by the GNSO Operations Work Team (Ray Fassett, Chair) under the auspices of the Operations Steering Committee (OSC).   The Council Chair election requires 60% of both houses and the Vice-Chair positions are prescribed in the following language, inserted below:  

	"The GNSO Council shall also select two Vice Chairs, one elected from each of the two voting houses.   If the Council Chair is elected from one of the houses, then the non-voting Council-Level Nominating Committee Appointee shall serve as one of the Vice Chairs in lieu of the Vice Chair from the house of the elected Chair.   If the Chair is elected from one of the houses, that person shall retain his/her vote in that house."  

	Section 3. Article 8.
	I agree the voting threshold descriptions belong in the OR&Ps, but it would be helpful for our discussion of the bylaws to have a reminder of what they are. Can you provide a link to where they are please?

	[KAB: ] The voting thresholds originally prescribed by the Working Group on GNSO Council Restructuring (WG-GCR) contained both PDP and non-PDP elements.   In this re-drafting exercise, Staff is recommending that they be parsed out as follows:  the non-PDP voting thresholds will be contained in Council OR&P while the PDP thresholds will be included in Article XX-Transition until such time as the Policy Process Steering Committee (PPSC) and PDP Work Team (Jeff Neumann, Chair) have completed deliberations and are prepared to recommend a formal revision to Annex A of the Bylaws.   Since the PDP thresholds are currently specified in Annex A, which is not being revised as part of this restructuring effort, Staff recommends that the new PDP thresholds should be included in Article XX vs. Council OR&P.   Article XX is a "transition" document only and, once the PDP voting thresholds are successfully relocated from Annex A to the Council OR&P (Staff's recommendation), Article XX can be removed from the Bylaws in its entirety (assuming all other transition matters are completed).    Below are the voting thresholds recast into the two groupings: 

	            Non-PDP:  

	a)      Elect Council Chair:  requires 60% of both houses. 

	b)     Remove NCA for Cause:  requires 75% of both houses (excluding the NCA subject to removal); subject to Board approval.

	c)      All other GNSO Council Business (default):  requires majority of both houses.  

	PDP:

	a)      Create an Issues Report:  requires more than 25% vote of both houses or majority of one house. 

	b)     Initiate a PDP within Scope:  requires more than 33% vote of both houses or more than 66% vote of one house. 

	c)      Initiate a PDP not within Scope:  requires a vote of more than 75% of one house and a majority of the other house ("Super Majority").  

	d)     Approve a PDP without a Super Majority:  requires a majority of both houses and further requires that one representative of at least 3 of the 4 Stakeholder Groups supports.  

	e)      Approve a PDP with a Super Majority:  requires greater than 75% majority in one house and majority in the other house.

	Apart from the points raised above, I think this document is already very near completion. Having seen it, I must admit I feel a lot more confident that we can move ahead with sufficient speed to meet the deadlines set in your email for our review of these proposed bylaws. Congratulations on a well-written document.

	[KAB: ] Staff appreciates the compliment and the vote of confidence toward a successful June Council seating.   Thank you!  

	Stéphane

	Le 27/03/09 00:34, « Margie Milam » <Margie.Milam at icann.org> a écrit :

	Dear All,

	As discussed in today's GNSO call,   ICANN Staff has prepared Draft Bylaws Revisions (attached) that contain Staff recommendations for changes relating to the GNSO restructure.   They are intended to serve as a starting point for the GNSO Council's discussions.    

	General Observations

	·        These Bylaws were drafted to be consistent with Board recommendations as to structure and principles.

	·        Staff also attempted to build in flexibility to accommodate changes in the future without requiring Bylaws amendments.  For example, Staff recommends that some issues be moved from the Bylaws to GNSO Council Operating Rules and Procedures that would be approved by the Board.

	·        Since the Board approved improvements did not provide specific details with respect to all topics, ICANN staff developed recommendations to address these gaps, which are contained in footnotes throughout the document.

	·        The Draft Bylaws Revisions are subject to review by the ICANN Office of the General Counsel for legal form as well as consistency. 

	·        A few additional decisions will be needed to finalize these Bylaws, for example,  Board approval of the unresolved open issue concerning Board seats 13 and 14, and further Council work on certain of the transition procedures (e.g. staggered terms, elections). 

	Format of Revisions

	·        To facilitate reviewing these changes, the Draft Bylaws is organized as a side-by-side comparison of the current language and the proposed language.

	·        The yellow highlighted text refers to new or substantially revised language compared to the current Bylaws.

	·        The footnotes include rationale statements where Staff thought  an explanation might be helpful.   

	Next Steps and Timing

	·        The GNSO Council will need to decide how it would like to review the Draft Bylaws to develop its recommendations.

	·        ICANN Staff will be working with the GNSO Operations Work Team in developing the GNSO Operating Rules and Procedures to incorporate those improvements that were omitted from the Bylaws in order to provide flexibility.

	·        In order to seat the new Council by June,  the Board would need to approve of the revisions by no later than its May 21st meeting.

	·        A public comment period would need to take place before the May 21st meeting.

	·        The Council would need to complete its review/analysis by the next GNSO council meeting on April 16th  in order to accommodate the public comment period.

	·        Due to this short time period, the GNSO Council is currently evaluating the most effective way to proceed.  

	Finally, ICANN Staff is available to provide background and additional information on the Draft Bylaws Revisions if it would be helpful for your review.

	Regards,

	Margie Milam

	Senior Policy Counselor

	ICANN 

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