Re: [gnso-improvem-impl-sc] FOR REVIEW: Chair Vice-Chair Procedures
All,
following the SCI call I’ve slightly revised the election table (see attached).
I think the date for the NomCom selectees announcement should also apply for
the announcement of new councillors sent by the SGs/Cs.
Best regards
Wolf-Ulrich
From: Julie Hedlund
Sent: Monday, May 16, 2016 6:47 PM
To: gnso-improvem-impl-sc@xxxxxxxxx
Subject: [gnso-improvem-impl-sc] FOR REVIEW: Chair Vice-Chair Procedures
Dear SCI members,
Per the action items below from our meeting on 05 May, Mary and I have drafted
the attached revised procedures on Chair/Vice-Chair Elections that are proposed
to be included in Section 2.2 of the GNSO Operating Procedures. Many thanks to
Amr for his suggestion below concerning additional language, which we have
included in brackets.
Please provide any comments on the list, and we can also discuss the proposed
language during the SCI call on Thursday, 19 May, at our usual time of 1800 UTC.
Kind regards,
Julie
Julie Hedlund, Policy Director
From: <owner-gnso-improvem-impl-sc@xxxxxxxxx> on behalf of Julie Hedlund
<julie.hedlund@xxxxxxxxx>
Date: Monday, May 9, 2016 at 10:59 AM
To: Amr Elsadr <aelsadr@xxxxxxxxxxx>
Cc: "gnso-improvem-impl-sc@xxxxxxxxx" <gnso-improvem-impl-sc@xxxxxxxxx>
Subject: Re: [gnso-improvem-impl-sc] Actions: SCI Meeting 05 May 2016
Hi Amr,
Thank you for your helpful comments and the suggested language for Scenarios 2
and 3. When staff send around the revised Operating Procedures with the
Section 2.2 new language, we’ll include your suggestion in brackets.
Kind regards,
Julie
Julie Hedlund, Policy Director
From: Amr Elsadr <aelsadr@xxxxxxxxxxx>
Date: Sunday, May 8, 2016 at 11:26 AM
To: Julie Hedlund <julie.hedlund@xxxxxxxxx>
Cc: "gnso-improvem-impl-sc@xxxxxxxxx" <gnso-improvem-impl-sc@xxxxxxxxx>
Subject: Re: [gnso-improvem-impl-sc] Actions: SCI Meeting 05 May 2016
Hi,
On May 5, 2016, at 11:18 PM, Julie Hedlund <julie.hedlund@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
[SNIP]
ACTION ITEMS:
Chair/Vice Chair Elections:
1.. Staff will produce a revision of Section 2.2 of the GNSO Operating
Procedures (Officer Elections: Chair/Vice-Chair Elections) based on the final
proposed language below.
2.. SCI members will review the revision on the list and finalize it no
later than at the 19 May meeting.
3.. Staff will submit the final revision for a Consensus Call for two weeks
(19 May to 02 June).
4.. Once the Consensus Call is completed Amr Elsadr, as the SCI Liaison to
the GNSO Council, will send an update to the Council on its list for possible
discussion in Helsinki.
These all seem good to me, but I have a suggestion for some additional language
that I will explain below. I don’t know if this should be included in the
section 2.2 revision, or not.
Discussion re: Public Comment on Proposed Revisions:
SCI members should review and discuss on the list whether to initiate a
40-day public comment period only on the revisions to the GNSO Operating
Procedures relating to motions and amendments, but to wait to submit a complete
set of revisions for GNSO Council approval once a separate 40-day public
comment process on revisions relating to Chair/Vice Chair elections is
completed. Staff notes that until the revised version of the GNSO Operating
Procedures is published, the GNSO Council will follow their current informal
process relating to motions and amendments. The only change from the current
process in the revision to the Operating Procedures is that discussion and
voting on the motion at the Council meeting cannot proceed without a second
(current informal process allows for discussion, but not voting, on a motion
without a second).
I agree with the explanation of where things currently stand here, so see no
urgency in producing an earlier and separate public comment period for the
changes that the SCI is recommending to guidelines on motions/amendments. If
the SCI had recommended changes to the current informal practice, then there
might have been a reason to try to get this done more quickly. However, since
the SCI hasn’t suggested any significant changes, delaying this in order to
package it with the Council elections topic shouldn’t have any impact on
Council business.
Chair/Vice Chair Elections Final Proposed Language:
ISSUE 1: Must the GNSO Chair be a continuing (not new/incoming) Councilor?
Should new/incoming Councilors be eligible to stand for election?
See Section 2.2(b), which provides that a candidate for GNSO Chair “does not
need to be a member of a house, but must be a member of the GNSO Council.” With
the ICANN Bylaws prescribing that a Council member’s term begins and ends at
the conclusion of an ICANN annual general meeting, Section 2.2(b) as phrased
would seem to limit candidates for the Chair to only incumbent, continuing
Council members.
Final Proposed Language: "A candidate for GNSO Council Chair does not need to
be a member of a house, but must be a [continuing or incoming] member of the
GNSO Council." (Change to the GNSO Operating Procedures in brackets.)
ISSUE 2: Scenarios relating to the gap to be addressed when the Vice Chairs'
terms end at the same time as that of the Chair, and no Chair is conclusively
elected by that time.
SCENARIO 1: A new GNSO Council Chair is not elected, but both Vice Chairs are
continuing on the Council.
Final Proposed Language: “In the case where no Chair is conclusively elected,
the two Vice Chairs shall jointly oversee the Chair election and conduct
Council business until such time as a new Chair is elected.”
SCENARIO 2: A new GNSO Council Chair is not elected, but one Vice Chair is
continuing on the Council, while the other Vice Chair’s term on the Council is
ending.
Final Proposed Language: “In the case where one of Vice-Chair's terms on the
Council ends at the same time as the Chair, and no Chair is conclusively
elected, the House with a vacant Vice-Chair position shall designate an Interim
Vice Chair from within this House to join the continuing Vice Chair to oversee
the Chair election and conduct Council business. The deadline for the vacant
House to designate its Interim Vice Chair is 14 calendar days following the
Council meeting at which no Chair was conclusively elected.”
I’m wondering if this language may seem ambiguous to some readers, or possibly
even lead to a misunderstanding in the future. One could possibly interpret it
to mean that if the house that needs to appoint an interim vice-chair fails to
do so within 14 days, then the process would be required to proceed to scenario
3…, or more likely scenario 4. I wonder if it would be helpful to add a
sentence at the end like this: “Should the vacant House fail to appoint an
interim Vice-Chair within the allotted time period, the continuing Vice-Chair
from the other House will serve as an Interim Vice-Chair alone until a Council
Chair is elected.”
SCENARIO 3: A new GNSO Council Chair is not elected in the first round, and
neither of the two Vice Chairs is continuing on the Council.
Final Proposed Language: “In the case where both Vice-Chairs’ terms on the
Council end at the same time as the Chair, and no Chair is conclusively
elected, this procedure would apply: Each House should designate a new or
continuing Councilor from within its respective House, to temporarily fill the
role of Vice Chair on an interim basis, not as an elected Vice Chair. The
deadline for each House to designate its Interim Vice Chair is 14 calendar days
following the Council meeting at which no Chair was conclusively elected. The
Designated Interim Vice Chairs will co-chair the Chair election and conduct
Council business until such time as a Chair is conclusively elected. Once the
election is completed their service in those roles would end. Candidates for
Chair will not be eligible to serve as Designated Interim Vice Chairs, to avoid
potential conflicts of interest. However, Interim Vice Chairs are not
prohibited from being appointed as continuing Vice Chairs by their respective
Houses following a successful Chair election.”
Again, we may need the language to be specific on that one House appointing an
interim vice-chair is enough not to proceed to scenario 4.
SCENARIO 4: A new GNSO Council Chair is not elected, neither of the two Vice
Chairs is continuing on the Council, and the Houses do not designate Interim
Vice Chairs.
Final Proposed Language: “If both Houses should fail to temporarily fill the
role of Vice Chair on an interim basis, the non-voting NCA will be designated
Interim Chair to oversee the election and conduct Council business until such
time as a Chair is conclusively elected. The deadline for each House to
designate its Interim Vice Chair is 14 calendar days following the Council
meeting at which no Chair was conclusively elected."
Lets hope it never comes to this!! :)
Thanks.
Amr
Attachment:
Council Chair Election Timeline_WUKedit.docx
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