[Ws2-staff_acct] Staff accountability and the new complaints function

Fri Nov 4 12:55:09 UTC 2016

If I may briefly interject with a clarification about any relationship my Office might have with the new Complaints Officer. The relationship will be strictly that of referral of complaints. We will not be conducting investigations of any sort together and there will be no sharing of information at any time. I envision non-jurisdictional complaints regarding staff will now be referred to the ICANN Complaints Officer rather than to an appropriate manager or HR.

In much the same way complaints to the Complaints Officer that are more suitable to be investigated by the Ombudsman, systemic issues for example, will be directed to the Office of the Ombudsman. Jurisdictional complaints received by the Office of the Ombudsman regarding staff will remain with the Office of the Ombudsman and will not be shared with the Complaints Officer in any manner. I will continue to resolve those complaints confidentially involving only the appropriate staff to conduct the investigation as has been done since the conception of the Office.

I hope this makes things a bit clearer moving forward.

Regards Herb

Herb Waye
ICANN Ombudsman

https://www.icann.org/ombudsman
https://www.facebook.com/ICANNOmbudsman
Twitter: @IcannOmbudsman

ICANN Expected Standards of Behavior:
https://www.icann.org/sites/default/files/assets/expected-standards-22aug16-en.pdf

Confidentiality
All matters brought before the Ombudsman shall be treated as confidential.  The Ombudsman shall also take all reasonable steps necessary to preserve the privacy of, and to avoid harm to, those parties not involved in the complaint being investigated by the Ombudsman.The Ombudsman shall only make inquiries about, or advise staff or Board members of the existence and identity of, a complainant in order to further the resolution of the complaint.  The Ombudsman shall take all reasonable steps necessary to ensure that if staff and Board members are made aware of the existence and identity of a complainant, they agree to maintain the confidential nature of such information, except as necessary to further the resolution of a complaint

From: <ws2-staff_acct-bounces at icann.org<mailto:ws2-staff_acct-bounces at icann.org>> on behalf of Jordan Carter <jordan at internetnz.net.nz<mailto:jordan at internetnz.net.nz>>
Date: Friday, November 4, 2016 at 4:48 PM
To: "ws2-staff_acct at icann.org<mailto:ws2-staff_acct at icann.org>" <ws2-staff_acct at icann.org<mailto:ws2-staff_acct at icann.org>>
Subject: Re: [Ws2-staff_acct] Staff accountability and the new complaints function

hi all

I wonder if it is worth pulling together a one pager about this, possibly in conjunction with the Ombuds group given the links intended (or at least mentioned by Göran) between the complaints officer and the Ombudsman?

cheers
Jordan

On 2 November 2016 at 14:52, Phil Corwin <psc at vlaw-dc.com<mailto:psc at vlaw-dc.com>> wrote:
+1 in agreement with Greg

Philip S. Corwin, Founding Principal

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________________________________
From:ws2-staff_acct-bounces at icann.org<mailto:ws2-staff_acct-bounces at icann.org> [ws2-staff_acct-bounces at icann.org<mailto:ws2-staff_acct-bounces at icann.org>] on behalf of Greg Shatan [gregshatanipc at gmail.com<mailto:gregshatanipc at gmail.com>]
Sent: Wednesday, November 02, 2016 4:41 AM
To: avri doria
Cc: ws2-staff_acct at icann.org<mailto:ws2-staff_acct at icann.org>
Subject: Re: [Ws2-staff_acct] Staff accountability and the new complaints function

I will pass on an observation from an ICANN-watcher regarding the style of ICANN legal as a "defender."  This person is very familiar with how legal departments deal with shareholders and other stakeholders.  This person remarked to me that the style of ICANN legal in dealing with the ICANN community often tends to resemble the way US corporations deal with "dissident shareholders."

Dissident shareholders are usually "outsiders" seeking to shake up a corporation, particularly board and senior management -- sometimes they are "crackpots" with small shareholdings who like to submit motions that seek significant changes that have no chance of success, and sometimes they are major shareholders (often newer investors) who seek to wield their power to make significant changes that may well have a chance of success (the second type also gets called "activist shareholders").  Both types make organizations feel as if they are under attack, and they respond with that mindset.  (They may even call in lawyers who specialize in "dealing with" dissident shareholders, to augment their regular counsel.)

Of course, the stakeholder community is not analogous to dissident shareholders -- which makes this comparison more jarring.  The new role of the global multistakeholder community as the oversight/accountability mechanism for ICANN underscores the potential concerns (dangers, even) of a continuing an approach that bears any resemblance to one used to wrangle dissident shareholders.

Against this background, putting the Complaints Officer under ICANN legal bears careful review.

Greg

On Wed, Nov 2, 2016 at 2:45 AM, avri doria <avri at apc.org<mailto:avri at apc.org>> wrote:
Hi,

One of the subjects discussed with the CEO in the CCWG meeting this
morning was the complaints function and how it would work.  After a bit
of discussion the subject was passed on to our subgroup for follow up.

The issues to be reviewed include:

  * The placement of the function in the legal department, particularly
    considering the legal obligation of legal dept. to protect the
    organization and the conflict of interest this creates in
    impartially dealing with complaints
  * what impact does the imperative on legal to "Defend the
    Fortress/Faith" have on how people might have complaints dealt with,
    or their willingness to complain
  * Any other aspects that people can think of or that come up in the
    discussions.

Thanks

Avri & Jordan

co-rapporteurs

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