[bc-gnso] Public Comment: Proposed City Top-Level Domain (CTLD) Constituency

["BC Secretariat" <secretariat@xxxxxxxxxxxx>]

http://www.icann.org/en/announcements/announcement-05jun09-en.htm

Public Comment: Proposed City Top-Level Domain (CTLD) Constituency
5 June 2009

The ongoing GNSO Improvements process has created significant community 
interest in the formation of new GNSO constituencies and several groups have 
stepped forward to begin the process of forming a new GNSO constituency.
The ICANN Board has now received a fourth formal petition from the 
prospective City Top-Level Domain (CTLD) Constituency. All members of the 
ICANN community and the public are now invited to review this petition and 
charter and share comments with the Board through 10 July 2009.
Background and Explanation:

In June 2008, the Board of Directors endorsed a series of recommendations on 
how to improve the GNSO's structures and operations. One of the significant 
drivers of those recommendations was an interest in maximizing participation 
in the GNSO and its policy development processes. Among the various 
recommendations endorsed by the Board was that ICANN take steps to clarify 
and promote the option to self-form new constituencies.
The current ICANN Bylaws provide that any group of individuals or entities 
may petition the Board for recognition as a new or separate constituency, in 
accordance with Section 5(4) of Article X. Such a petition must explain (1) 
why "the addition of such a Constituency will improve the ability of the 
GNSO to carry out its policy-development responsibilities" and (2) why "the 
proposed new Constituency would adequately represent, on a global basis, the 
stakeholders it seeks to represent." Notwithstanding those Bylaw provisions, 
it has been many years since the organization has had formal requests for a 
new constituency. Since the Board action last June, however, the ICANN Staff 
has received inquiries from several interested parties about how to form a 
new GNSO constituency and the first took place a little over three months 
ago when the proposed new CyberSafety Constituency submitted its formal 
petition and Charter documents (23 February 2009). Since then, formal 
petitio! ns have also been filed by the proposed Consumers Constituency (10 
April 2009) and the proposed IDNgTLD Constituency (18 April 2009).

The ICANN bylaws do not provide specific procedural guidance for how 
interested parties should submit the petitions contemplated in Article X.
Mindful that explicit steps, formats, and/or processes for expansion would 
take some time for the community to develop in the implementation of the 
improvements recommendations, the Board directed ICANN Staff to provide the 
community with some initial guidance, a structure and a specific procedural 
path for potential new constituencies to follow. At its 1 October 2008 
meeting, the Board acknowledged Staff's development of a "Notice of Intent" 
document for potential new constituencies and directed Staff to develop a 
formal petition and charter template to assist new constituency applicants 
in satisfying the formative criteria (consistent with the ICANN Bylaws) to 
facilitate the Board's evaluation of petitions to form new constituencies.
The process subsequently developed by the Staff required interested groups 
to first submit a Notice of Intent to Form a New Constituency (NOIF). The 
proponents of the City TLD Constituency completed that step on 15 February 
2009. The second step of the process is development of a New Constituency 
Petition and Charter, which the proponents of the City TLD Constituency 
completed on 1 June 2009.

Relevant Board Resolution, Bylaws and Constituency Submissions:
Minutes of 1 October 2008 ICANN Board Meeting: 
http://www.icann.org/en/minutes/minutes-01oct08.htm
ICANN Bylaws Article X, Section 5, Subsection 4: 
http://www.icann.org/en/general/bylaws.htm - X-5.1
The City Top-Level Domain (CTLD) Constituency Petition Documents: 
http://gnso.icann.org/en/improvements/newco-process-en.htm and/or in the 
Public Comment Forum of this proceeding

The Process From Here:
At the end of this Public Comment Forum period, the ICANN Staff will provide 
a summary/analysis of the comments submitted regarding the CTLD Constituency 
petition and charter. That summary/analysis will be shared with the 
community and the Board. The Board will ultimately make the decision on 
whether to authorize the new constituency.

It should be noted that the GNSO Improvements Report approved by the Board 
in June 2008 has additional guidelines and recommendations for the ongoing 
practices and processes of GNSO constituencies. It is expected that this 
work will be ongoing as part of the GNSO Improvements implementation 
efforts.
Deadline and How to Submit Comments:

The Staff is opening a 30-day public consultation forum, from 6 June 2009 
through 10 July 2009, and invites community comments on this matter.
The formal Public Comment Forum Box is located here: 
http://www.icann.org/en/public-comment/public-comment-200907.html#city

To submit comments: ctld-petition@xxxxxxxxx {Note: this would be a new email 
address}

To view comments (including the various constituency submissions): 
http://forum.icann.org/lists/ctld-petition
Staff Responsible: Robert Hoggarth

Glen de Saint Géry
GNSO Secretariat