Public Comment

Public Comment is a vital part of our multistakeholder model. It provides a mechanism for stakeholders to have their opinions and recommendations formally and publicly documented. It is an opportunity for the ICANN community to effect change and improve policies and operations.

Registry Stakeholder Group Charter Revisions (Sep 2012)

Comment/Reply Periods (*) Important Information Links
Comment Open: 11 October 2012
Comment Close: 5 November 2012
Close Time (UTC): 23:59 Public Comment Announcement
Reply Open: 6 November 2012 To Submit Your Comments (Forum Closed)
Reply Close: 27 November 2012 View Comments Submitted
Close Time (UTC): 23:59 Report of Public Comments
Brief Overview
Originating Organization: ICANN Board
Categories/Tags: Reviews/Improvements
Purpose (Brief):

The GNSO's Registry Stakeholder Group (RySG) has alerted the ICANN Staff to a number of revisions to its Charter. This is the first instance where the Staff or the Board have been alerted to any amendments or revisions to a formally approved charter by a GNSO Stakeholder Group or Constituency since the latest round of GNSO independent review improvements was implemented.

The ICANN Bylaws provide that "each GNSO Stakeholder Group … and each of its associated Constituencies shall maintain recognition with the ICANN Board."

On 3 October 2012 the ICANN Board directed Staff to open a Public Comment Forum to solicit community input concerning these Charter amendments. The pubic is invited to review the charter amendments made by the RySG and provide comments to assist the Board in its review of the Charter changes.

Current Status: Community feedback is requested concerning the RySG's Charter amendments.
Next Steps: Upon completion of the Public Comment period, Staff will summarize any community input and forward a report to the Structural Improvements Committee (SIC), which will provide a recommendation to the Board concerning the Charter amendments. The Staff report will also be published for the community in this Public Comment Forum.
Staff Contact: Rob Hoggarth Email: policy-staff@icann.org
Detailed Information
Section I: Description, Explanation, and Purpose

In May and September of 2012, the Registry Stakeholder Group (RySG) advised ICANN Staff of changes to its Charter that can be summarized as follows:

  1. New provision to formally recognize the formation of "Observer Interest Groups" within the RySG. Among provisions concerning membership, voting rights (none), notification, etc., "Each Observer Interest Group shall have the rights and responsibilities related to development and issuance of policy and position statements."
  2. In determining a RySG member's weighted voting tier (based on ICANN fees), a clarification was added that both "registrations and fees are aggregated to include all TLDs represented by the member."
  3. In lieu of a permanent fixed membership fee schedule (deleted), the Charter language was changed to read that fees will be assessed based upon "a budget adopted by vote of the RySG no less frequently than on an annual basis."
  4. Addition of immediate past RySG Chair as a non-voting member of the Executive Committee.
  5. Minor formatting, numbering, and date modifications pursuant to the above changes.

The specific detailed changes can be found in the red-line formatted document associated with this public comment forum.

On 3 October 2012, the Board directed Staff to publish the proposed RySG Charter changes for Public Comment so that it may have the community's input before making a formal decision concerning the amendments (see Board Resolution 2012.10.03.02 here).

Section II: Background

In July 2009, as part of the comprehensive GNSO Improvements program, the ICANN Board approved the formal Charters of four new GNSO Stakeholder Groups (SGs) (see ICANN Board Resolution 2009.30.07.09).

The Registry Stakeholder Group recently (May 2012) became the first GNSO Stakeholder Group or Constituency to notify ICANN Staff that it had amended its charter.

The ICANN Bylaws (Article X, Section 5.3) state, "Each Stakeholder Group … and each of its associated Constituencies shall maintain recognition with the ICANN Board."
Section III: Document and Resource Links
Section IV: Additional Information
The comment period has been set at 26 days to accommodate for the 5-day ICANN Public Meeting in Toronto. The reply comment period is set for the minimum 21-day period.

(*) Comments submitted after the posted Close Date/Time are not guaranteed to be considered in any final summary, analysis, reporting, or decision-making that takes place once this period lapses.