Re: [bc-gnso] CSG charter and knock-on effects to BC charter

["Mike O'Connor" <mike@xxxxxxxxxx>]

hi all,

i've read through our current charter just to remind myself of the major issues 
we were working on when we drafted it.  my sense when we passed it on up the 
chain was that it was an interim document that was going to get revised once we 
had a better feel for the CSG charter (one "layer" above us in the GNSO) and 
after we'd had some experience with its day-to-day implementation (the kinds of 
things that i bet Chris has on his list).

so i'll join the chorus that is saying that this review of our charter is a 
Good Thing, and that this is about the right time to do it.

here are some of the big issues that i recall (hastily constructed after a 
quick reading, i'm probably missing a few);

-- membership -- whether/how consultants and new-gTLD-applicants fit in our 
membership focus.  

-- disclosure -- whether consultants/lawyers/etc. needed to disclose their 
clients and the interests of those clients (we've got a new framework from the 
GNSO to incorporate into this one)

-- Credentials Committee -- processes for members to appeal if their 
application is denied, and processes for disciplining members  

-- GNSO Council representatives -- the "each constituency elects 2" structure 
was an interim thing awaiting decisions further up the food-chain

-- Executive Committee -- this charter created the Executive Committee and 
their roles out of thin air, so there well may be a number of tweaks that need 
to be applied based on experience

-- Finance and Policy Committees -- again, created from whole cloth.  
experience may be a good teacher here as well.

-- Policy-development process -- thresholds for adopting policy positions, 
process, etc.

-- role and supervision of the Secretariat -- this was substantially changed, 
again experience may be a good teacher

-- standards of behavior -- a very tough issue that may be informed by 
subsequent work of various players

-- the level of accountability, authority and responsibility that apply to (and 
between) Council reps, Excom members and the constituency -- this one clearly 
needs work and clarification

as i say, this is just the highlights through a foggy memory -- but i think 
it's a reasonable starting point for an "issues list" for discussion.  i'm not 
sure we need to revisit all of these, but i'm perfectly fine with the decision 
by our leadership to take a look at the charter now that we've had some 
experience with it.

mikey

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