Comments on the ICG draft charter

[Vinay Kesari <vinay.kesari@xxxxxxxxx>]

Below are brief comments on the 'Draft charter for the IANA Stewardship
Transition Coordination Group' ('ICG draft charter').

1. The ICG draft charter could contain a firmer commitment on the part of
the ICG, to actively solicit input from and engage with the broader
multistakeholder community beyond the 'affected parties' which are
represented on the ICG. The phrase *"...the ICG is open for input and
feedback from all interested parties"* marks an attempt at formal
inclusion, but more substantive inclusion should be the objective since
this would grant greater legitimacy to any final proposal.

This gains more relevance in the context of language in the ICG draft
charter which reads *"...if, in the ICG's opinion, broad public support for
the proposal as articulated by the NTIA is not present, the parts of the
proposal that are not supported return to the liaison phase."* In order to
satisfy this requirement, the ICG would need to gauge public support, which
would arguably require a commitment to pro-active engagement with
stakeholders beyond those who are currently considered 'affected parties'.

2. The ICG draft charter states that one of the tasks of the ICG is to *"...
assess the outputs of the three operational communities for compatibility
and interoperability."* It is unclear if the word 'compatibility' is used
here to mean compatibility *inter-se *of the outputs from the three
communities, or compatibility of each output with certain principles or
criteria. Clearer language would be preferable.

Please note that the above comments have been submitted in my personal
capacity.

Regards,
Vinay Kesari

ICT Lawyer, New Delhi, India
Twitter: @vinaykesari