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.

Introduction of IDN ccTLDs

Open: 19 December 07
Closed: 25 January 08
Extended to
22 February 08

Explanation:The country code Names Supporting Organisation (ccNSO) - which represents the manager of the country code top-level domains such as .de for Germany, or .uk for the Britain - asked for an issues paper to be drawn up regarding the possible introduction of ccTLDs as internationalized domain names (IDNs) i.e. for the two-letter country codes currently used on the Internet to be provided in a non-Western alphabet.

In particular the issues report will cover whether the existing ICANN bylaws cover IDN versions of the two-letter codes (as defined by the ISO 3166-1 list); and whether the ccNSO should launch a policy development process (PDP) into delegation of IDN versions of ISO 3166-1 codes.

The staff member responsible for drawing up the report was asked to identify policies, procedures, and/or bylaws that should be reviewed and, as necessary revised as a result of such a policy. The staff member was also asked to propose a timeline for conducting each stage of a possible future PDP.

The various ongoing policy issues that may impact this paper, as well as a suggested format for people to submit their comments in is available in the official announcement of this public comment forum. We advise that those interested in responding review that announcement in full.

Please note that it is not necessary at this stage to make suggestions to resolve any issues relating to an overall policy or answer any questions.

Staff member responsible: Bart Boswinkel

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