Preliminary Report
ICANN Meeting in Bucharest
28 June 2002
The ICANN Board of Directors held a regular meeting on 28 June 2002 meeting in Bucharest, Romania, with Directors Vint Cerf (chairman), Amadeu Abril i Abril, Robert Blokzijl, Ivan Moura Campos, Lyman Chapin, Jonathan Cohen, Frank Fitzsimmons, Masanobu Katoh, Hans Kraaijenbrink, Sang-Hyon Kyong, Stuart Lynn, Andy Mueller-Maguhn, Jun Murai, Alejandro Pisanty, Nii Quaynor, Helmut Schink and Linda S. Wilson participating. The Board adopted the following resolutions:
Resolved [02.71] that the Reconsideration Committee's Recommendation RC 02-2 is adopted for the reasons stated in that recommendation. The Board notes that a DNSO task force is currently involved in bottom-up development of improved policies concerning registration transfers between registrars; proposals for such improvements should be directed to the task force.
Resolved [02.72] that the Reconsideration Committee's Recommendation RC 02-3 is adopted for the reasons stated in that recommendation.
Whereas, negotiators for Malawi Sustainable Development Network Programme (Malawi SDNP), and ICANN have reached agreement, subject to the ICANN Board's approval, on the terms of an ICANN-ccTLD Manager Memorandum of Understanding for the .mw top-level domain according to the model memorandum of understanding for bilateral situations as posted on the ICANN web site, with insertion of particulars appropriate to the .mw top-level domain;
Whereas, the President and General Counsel have presented the ICANN-ccTLD Manager Memorandum of Understanding to the Board and recommended that the Board authorize its entry as negotiated;
Resolved [02.73] that the President is authorized to enter on behalf of ICANN the ICANN-ccTLD Manager Memorandum of Understanding for .mw as presented to the Board, along with any minor corrections or adjustments as appropriate;
Resolved [02.74] that, upon signature of the memorandum, the President is authorized to take such actions as appropriate to implement it.
Whereas, Stuart Lynn's "President's Report: The Case for Reform," thoughtfully laid out the need for constructive change in ICANN structure and processes, and initiated a very productive dialog throughout the ICANN community;
Whereas, the Board accepted the President's Report as a timely and important call to action, and then established a Board Evolution and Reform Committee (ERC) to manage the process of receiving and evaluating community input on these and related issues;
Whereas, the ERC has since undertaken an intense process of outreach, consultation, and analysis of suggestions from throughout the community on how ICANN's structure and processes can be reformed to improve its effectiveness while preserving its essential character as an open and transparent non-governmental policy development body;
Whereas, the ERC established various mechanisms for receipt of input from the ICANN community and the global public interested in these issues, received and considered a very large number of comments and suggestions related to these issues, and periodically published Working Papers on ICANN Mission and Core Values, ICANN Structure and the Nominating Committee Concept, and the ICANN Policy Development Process, along with other documents identifying possible alternative solutions to the identified issues and seeking further community input on increasingly specific and detailed proposals for reform;
Whereas, the ERC most recently published its Blueprint for Reform, summarizing its work to date and making specific recommendations for Board action that would create a roadmap for moving forward in the reform process;
Whereas, the ERC Blueprint offers specific recommendations with respect to a statement of ICANN's Mission and Core Values, its organization and structure, the composition and selection of its Board, improvements in ICANN's policy development process, various measures to improve accountability of ICANN's structures and procedures, and the need for funding adequate to carry out ICANN's mission;
Whereas, the public participation of the audience and Board members in the open forum of the ICANN Board that took place during its meeting in Bucharest, Romania, on 27 June 2002, provided additional input and feedback on the proposals contained in the Blueprint;
Whereas, it is now time to move forward with implementation with confidence that while the Blueprint may not satisfy everyone, it provides the right foundation on which ICANN can build for the future;
Therefore, it is resolved [02.75] that the Board adopts and endorses the ERC Blueprint for Reform, and the broad outlines of ICANN structural and procedural reform that it contains;
Further resolved [02.76] that the ERC is directed to oversee further detailed implementation and transition work based on the Blueprint for Reform, with the continued involvement and participation of the ICANN community, to report to the Board at its next telephonic meeting as to its progress and schedule, and to provide its implementation recommendations to the Board and the community sufficiently prior to the Shanghai meeting so that the Board can take action at that meeting;
Further resolved [02.77] that the President is directed to provide all appropriate assistance and resources to the ERC and any transition teams or mechanisms that it creates to assist it in the transition process;
Further resolved [02.78] that the Board takes note of the importance to the community, as expressed throughout this reform process and in the Public Forum discussion at the Bucharest meeting, of the following issues, and instructs the ERC to take due account of these issues as it moves forward in the implementation process, namely, the need to:
- devise and incorporate specific measures to ensure, to the extent feasible, geographic and cultural diversity in all parts of ICANN structure, which have been key core values of ICANN since its inception, and remain so today, as expressed in the ERC Blueprint for Reform;
- consider the creation of an At Large Advisory Committee as a potential vehicle for informed participation in ICANN by the broad user community;
- ensure that the composition and operation of the Nominating Committee in fact represents a balance among all segments of the Internet community;
- collaborate with critical infrastructure providers and the technical community to further the establishment of effective working relationships; and
- ensure that ICANN's policy development processes enhance and promote a transparent bottom-up process.
Further resolved [02.79] that any further opportunities for strengthening ICANN's capacity to fulfill its mission that develop or are identified during the implementation process should be carefully reviewed and utilized as appropriate;
Further resolved [02.80] that the Board takes note of all the many different viewpoints that have characterized a very constructive dialog since the President issued his Report, and extends its deep appreciation to all the many members of the ICANN community that cared enough about ICANN to participate in an extraordinarily thoughtful and serious undertaking. The Board notes with deep gratitude all the countless hours of volunteer time selflessly devoted to this process.
Whereas, ICANN's bylaws require that the President shall prepare and submit to the Board a proposed annual budget of the Corporation for the next fiscal year;
Whereas, the President, with the endorsement of the Finance Committee and with the assistance of the Budget Advisory Group, has followed an open and consultative process in developing the budget, including posting of a preliminary budget on 30 March 2002, posting of a proposed budget on 15 May 2002, submission of on-line comments, and a budget presentation and discussion at the ICANN Public Forum in Bucharest on 27 June 2002;
Whereas, the Board has carefully considered the comments received;
Whereas, the President has submitted to the Board a proposed prepared through that consultative process for FY02-03, commencing 1 July 2002 (the "Proposed Budget");
Whereas, the Board has reviewed the Proposed Budget and has found that its adoption is in the best interests of the Corporation;
Resolved [02.81] that the Proposed Budget is hereby adopted as the annual budget of the Corporation for the fiscal year beginning 1 July 2002 (as adopted, the "Budget"); and
Further resolved [02.82] that the President is authorized and directed to implement and carry out the Budget and is directed to inform the Board of material variances from the Budget.
Whereas, ICANN resolution 02.45 authorized the convening of a technical steering group to develop a concrete proposal for implementation of a Redemption Grace Period for deleted domain names;
Whereas, the Technical Steering Group's Implementation Proposal was posted on the ICANN website on 7 June 2002;
Whereas, the proposal called for implementing a Redemption Grace Period by instituting an extended Delete Pending Period and a new Restore capability, which will be a new Registry Service for which registry operators will be able to charge a cost-based service fee;
Whereas, the Redemption Grace Period proposal was discussed and received broad community support at the ICANN Public Forum held 27 June 2002 in Bucharest, Romania;
Resolved [02.83] that the President and General Counsel are authorized to conduct negotiations on behalf of ICANN toward appropriate revisions to agreements between ICANN and the unsponsored TLD registry operators to implement the Redemption Grace Period in a manner consistent with the Technical Steering Group's Implementation Proposal.
Whereas, on 21 March 2002 VeriSign, Inc., the operator of the .com and .net registries, requested amendments to the registry agreements for those top-level domains to allow it to conduct a twelve-month trial of a proposed wait-listing service (WLS) to be offered through accredited registrars for an annual fee;
Whereas, in resolution 02.53 the Board requested the Names Council to coordinate within the DNSO a comprehensive review of issues concerning the deletion of domain names and possible solutions for those issues and to submit to the Board a status report on that review, with the status report to include any recommendations concerning VeriSign's request to modify the .com and .net agreements to allow it to provide the WLS;
Whereas, the DNSO's Transfers Task Force presented to the Board a status report giving preliminary findings and recommendations on WLS, but requiring additional analysis and discussion within the DNSO before the report is finalized;
Whereas, as contemplated by resolution 02.55 ICANN has received various public comments on the WLS on a web-based public comment forum;
Whereas, a Public Forum was held on 27 June 2002 at ICANN's meetings in Bucharest, during which VeriSign gave a presentation of the WLS in which it constructively proposed changes to accommodate concerns expressed in community comments; the DNSO Transfers Task Force summarized its preliminary findings and recommendations; and several members of the Internet community gave their views on WLS;
Whereas, the Board, although very anxious to ensure that action on VeriSign's request proceeds without unnecessary delay, believes that its consideration of the request would be assisted by receiving the final report of the DNSO's bottom-up consensus-development effort, including its views on the modifications recently proposed by VeriSign;
Resolved [02.84] that the Names Council is requested to provide, no later than 26 July 2002, its final recommendations, with its supporting rationale and any separate positions of DNSO constituencies, on the VeriSign WLS request (including the modifications made on 27 June 2002), so that the Board may act shortly thereafter.
Whereas, the Board of Directors at its 22 April 2002 meeting established a tentative examination fee of US$35,000 in connection with proposals for transfer of the .org registry;
Whereas, the Board stated that it would finally establish the examination fee, not to exceed US$35,000, at its Bucharest meeting with rebates to be made if the final examination fee is less than the tentative examination fee;
Whereas, the President has analyzed the financial costs in relation to the revenues actually received, and concluded that the final examination fee could be set at US$29,000 and still recover anticipated costs;
Whereas, this final examination fee and the revenues derived therefrom would not provide for any potential litigation costs;
Resolved [02.85] that the Board establishes the final examination fee to be US$29,000 and instructs the President to rebate the US$6,000 per applicant.
Resolved [02.86] that there be, and there hereby is, effective immediately, established an advisory committee to be named the "Executive Search Committee," responsible for overseeing the search for a Chief Executive Officer and other officers as appropriate;
Further resolved [02.87] that Vinton Cerf be, and hereby is, appointed chair of the Executive Search Committee, and that Rob Blokzijl, Ivan Moura Campos, Masanobu Katoh, Nii Quaynor, and Linda Wilson be, and hereby are, appointed members of the Executive Search Committee.
Whereas, the ICANN Internationalized Domain Name (IDN) Committee has completed work on a set of policy papers relating to the potential introduction of non-ASCII characters to the DNS, including most recently its discussion papers on Non-ASCII Top-Level Domain Policy Issues and Registry Selection Considerations for Non-ASCII Top-Level Domains;
Whereas the IDN Committee has submitted to the Board a Final Report on its activities, meeting its anticipated deadline of 30 June 2002;
Whereas the IDN Committee's documents have generated and benefited from significant substantive feedback from various interested organizations, experts, and users;
Whereas the Board has begun consideration of the substance and implications of the IDN Committee's papers and final report, but is not yet prepared to determine its next steps in this area;
It is resolved [02.88] that the Board conveys its sincere thanks to the members of the ICANN IDN Committee for their diligent work and valuable contributions: Masanobu Katoh (Chair), Mouhamet Diop, Patrik Faltstrom, Qiheng Hu, John Klensin, Sang-Hyon Kyong, Stuart Lynn, Elisabeth Porteneuve, Mohd Sharil Tarmizi, and Vincent Wen-Sung Chen; and thanks Andrew McLaughlin and David Thompson for their staff support; and
Further resolved [02.89] that the Board asks the members of the IDN Committee to delay the Committee's formal termination until the conclusion of the October ICANN meeting in Shanghai, so that the committee can continue to monitor developments in the IETF, review further community feedback on its discussion papers and Final Report, and be available to advise the Board as needed in the area of internationalized domain names.
Whereas:
The ICANN Board notes with deep sadness the recent passing of Peter de Blanc, who was an active and constructive participant in the ICANN process in many roles, including as a member of the ccTLD constituency and as a representative of that constituency on the DNSO Names Council. Peter's service to the Internet community was longstanding, particularly his commitment to bringing the benefits of the Internet to new areas including his faithful service as administrative contact for the .vi ccTLD. Peter will be greatly missed as a citizen of the Internet, as a colleague, and as a valued friend.
Resolved [02.90] that the ICANN Board recognizes the testament to Peter's service as noted in the 28 June letter from the ccTLD managers;
Further resolved [02.91] that the Board joins with the ccTLD managers in formally recognizing Peter's many outstanding contributions to ICANN;
Further resolved [02.92] that the Board expresses its deep sympathies and condolences to Peter's family.
Thanks to Hosts, Sponsors, and Staff
Whereas, the preparation for and execution of the ICANN Bucharest meeting has been conducted in an exemplary fashion;
Whereas, the hospitality, facilities, attention to the needs of the participants, and extraordinary efforts to provide support have been without peer;
The ICANN Board expresses its deep appreciation and thanks, on its own behalf and on behalf of all participants to the local hosts and organizers, most particularly the support and hard work of Minister of Communications and Information Technology Dan Nica, Professor Doina Banciu (General Manager of ICI Bucharest), Dr. Ing. Eugenie Staicut (Head of RNC Department-ICI Bucharest), Victor Ciuperca (ICI Bucharest), and the following ICI Bucharest staff who made the Bucharest meeting such an outstanding success: Christian Mitu, Dan Mihalcea, Florentina Onea, Dan Paraschiv, Mircea Cornea, Cristian Haja, Andrei Petrescu, Florin Mihalache, Adrian Belmega, Ion Dumitrascu, Ion Manea, Olga Olaru, Diana Petrescu, Cristian Radulescu, Mihaela Moholea, Madalina Zamfir, Ani Neacsu, Dragos Vlad, Andrei Niculescu, Irina Stoltz, Raluca Andrei, Alina Pruna, and Karina Berceanu.
The Board would also like to thank Connex, the main sponsor of the meeting, for its generous support, and in particular, the work of Alexandru Hurdubaie, Manager of Data, and their staff: Lucian Lupascu, Liviu Neaga, Dragos Dobre, Adrian Ciobanu, Alina Iordan, Cristian Duta, Florentin Mirea, George Popescu, Fadi Rida, Florin Druzian, Oana Fodoran. The contribution of Flamingo, the second main sponsor, is also deeply appreciated, and especially the assistance of its staff members: Ion Dinescu, Alexandru Carlan, Elena Barbu, Carmen Olteanu, Andreea Constantinescu, Adrian Cretescu, Liviu Popescu, and Mihai Jinga.
Additional sponsors whose support for the ICANN meeting is greatly appreciated include CENTR, Afilias Global Registry, The Global Name Registry, NeuStar, ANISP (National Association of Internet Service Providers from Romania), Cisco Romania, ccTLD Constituency Secretariat, UltraDNS, Oracle AG Romania, Ericsson, CPI, Intrarom, HP Romania, Software ITC, ATIC, PCNet Data Network, MCD Infonet, RomTeamSolutions, Xerox Romania, Computerland, and Shark Industries. We would also like to acknowledge the hard work of the staff of the Marriott Grand Hotel; the hotel proved an exceptional and hospitable location for the ICANN meeting.
In addition, the Board expresses its great appreciation to John Crain, Diane Schroeder, Theresa Swinehart, Mary Hewitt, Dan Halloran, Herbert Vitzthum; Joel Jaeggli; Johnny Erikkson; Laura Brewer; and Terri Darrenougue and the rest of the ICANN staff for their dedicated efforts in ensuring the smooth operation of the meeting.
Whereas, Andrew McLaughlin has faithfully served the Corporation early 1999 as a consultant, as an employee, as Chief Policy Officer, as Treasurer, and, most recently, as Vice President and Chief Policy Officer;
Whereas, as of 1 July 2002, he will be resigning as Vice President and Chief Policy Officer, and will become a halftime employee;
Whereas, he will return to the Berkman Center at Harvard University to resume his academic career;
Whereas, the Board wishes to take note of his extraordinary contributions to ICANN over the years; and
Whereas, the Board is grateful for his willingness to continue part-time as an ICANN employee to facilitate an orderly transition;
Resolved [02.94] that the Board deeply appreciates Andrew McLaughlin's dedication to ICANN over the years of his association, looks forward to a continuing collegial relationship over the coming months and beyond, and wishes him all the best on his return to academe and in the future.
Whereas, Karen Rose will shortly leave her position with the United States Department of Commerce. Karen has been one of the unsung heroes of the evolution of the Internet community's processes for coordinating the assignment of key technical parameters, including the domain names. She was instrumental in the organization of the global discussions that led to the issuance of the Green and White Papers. She has been a tireless supporter of community's efforts to implement the concepts of the White Paper, including the establishment and recognition of ICANN and the introduction of competition in domain-name registration services. Throughout this time she has been a vital ambassador among the many and diverse constituencies whose cooperation has been essential to ICANN's development as a global, private-sector, consensus-creation body, and most impressively, she has done it with grace and good humor in frequently highly contentious circumstances.
Therefore [02.95] the ICANN Board, on behalf of the worldwide Internet community, expresses the deepest appreciation and respect for the critical contributions of Karen Rose to ICANN and to the concept of global private-sector coordination of the assignment of the Internet's technical parameters.
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