Minutes

Meeting of the Executive Committee
13 August 2002

INTERNET CORPORATION FOR ASSIGNED NAMES AND NUMBERS
MINUTES OF MEETING OF EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE
13 August 2002

A meeting of the Executive Committee of the Board of Directors of the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers ("ICANN") was held by teleconference on 13 August 2002. The following members of the Committee were present by telephone: Vint Cerf, Hans Kraaijenbrink, Stuart Lynn, and Nii Quaynor. Alejandro Pisanty and Sang-Hyon Kyong joined the call while it was in progress. Also present on the teleconference was Louis Touton, ICANN's Vice-President, Secretary, and General Counsel.

The meeting was called to order by Dr. Cerf at 14:03 UTC (10:03 am U.S. Eastern Standard Time).

Approval of Minutes

Dr. Cerf noted that draft minutes of the Executive Committee's meetings of 26 March and 19 July 2002 had been circulated and invited a motion for their approval. Upon motion of Mr. Kraaijenbrink (seconded by Dr. Quaynor), the Executive Committee unanimously adopted the following resolution:

Resolved [EC02.7] that the minutes of the meetings of the Executive Committee held on 26 March and 19 July 2002 are hereby approved and adopted as presented.

Interim Support for GAC Functions

At this point in the meeting, Dr. Pisanty joined.

Dr. Cerf noted that a short-term problem had arisen in funding for the Governmental Advisory Committee (GAC) secretariat. Dr. Lynn recounted that, since the GAC began functioning in March 1999, the Government of Australia has provided (and funded) secretariat and chair services for the GAC. At the March 2002 Accra meeting, the Australian government announced that it would be stopping its provision of the GAC secretariat functions at the conclusion of the June 2002 ICANN meeting in Bucharest and that Dr. Twomey's services as chair would stop at the conclusion of the October 2002 ICANN meeting in Shanghai. The Australian government's decision to stop providing secretariat and chair services, however, was made before the onset of ICANN reform activities in late February 2002. To ensure uninterrupted services in support of the GAC at a level necessary for the GAC to participate fully in reform discussions, at the Bucharest meeting the Australian government indicated its willingness to continue providing both secretariat and chair services through the conclusion of the ICANN Shanghai meeting in late October, provided supporting funding for this period could be found from other sources.

During the above discussion, Dr. Kyong joined the meeting.

Because of governmental budget cycles and the fact that the GAC has no scheduled meetings between June and October, governments have not been able to come forward in the time since Bucharest with sufficient funding to support the GAC secretariat and chair. This has interfered with the continuation of number of GAC activities, including liaison with governments regarding geographic and geopolitical names in .info and governmental outreach activities. Accordingly, Dr. Lynn moved, with Dr. Kyong's second, that the Executive Committee adopt the following resolution:

[1] Whereas, the Government of Australia generously provided both the chair and secretariat services to the ICANN Governmental Advisory Committee (GAC) beginning in February 1999;

[2] Whereas, at the March 2002 ICANN meeting in Accra, the Australian Government indicated that it would be unable to continue funding the GAC chair and secretariat functions past the time of ICANN's Bucharest meeting in June 2002;

[3] Whereas, in resolution 02.34 the ICANN Board expressed its deep appreciation to the Australian Government for its longstanding support and leadership in regard to ICANN;

[4] Whereas, the ongoing ICANN evolution and reform process makes it essential that the private-sector ICANN community communicate and coordinate closely with governments, so that governmental concerns and suggestions can be appropriately taken into account;

[5] Whereas, in view of the consequent need for an uninterrupted secretariat function for the GAC, at the ICANN Bucharest meeting the Australian Government indicated a willingness to continue to provide services for the GAC provided it receives reimbursement of its costs;

[6] Whereas, the GAC Secretariat provides valuable consultation to ICANN staff regarding its communications with governments on redelegations and other matters;

[7] Whereas, the GAC Secretariat acts as a valuable source of information to governments regarding ICANN policies and procedures;

[8] Whereas, the GAC has formed a committee that is studying how the chair, secretariat, and other support functions for the GAC can best be provided and funded in the future, but that committee's report is not expected to be ready for action by the GAC before the ICANN Shanghai meeting in late October 2002;

[9] Whereas, the Executive Committee has therefore concluded that it is appropriate to provide reimbursement to the Australian Government for its costs of providing chair and secretariat services to the GAC through 31 October 2002, after which other arrangements for the provision of these services can come into operation;

[10] Resolved that the President is authorized to provide reimbursement to the Australian government for its costs of providing chair and secretariat services to the GAC, in a total amount not to exceed US$75,000, for the period ending 31 October 2002, after which alternative arrangements by the GAC to provide these functions can be implemented.

(Bracketed numbers above are for ease of reference.) In the ensuing discussion, various amendments were proposed, all of which were accepted as friendly amendments:

a. Clause [4] was revised to emphasize that continued secretariat services is particularly important during the evolution and reform process.

b. A new recital was added immediately after clause [5] noting the importance of governmental views on how ICANN can best serve the public interest.

c. The modifier "actual" was inserted before "costs" in clauses [9] and [10].

d. The time period for which costs are eligible to be reimbursed was extended from 31 October to 15 November 2002, so that arrangements made by the GAC at Shanghai can be put in place before the funding specified by this resolution expires.

The Executive Committee then voted unanimously to adopt the resolution as amended, which read:

Whereas, the Government of Australia generously provided both the chair and secretariat services to the ICANN Governmental Advisory Committee (GAC) beginning in February 1999;

Whereas, at the March 2002 ICANN meeting in Accra, the Australian Government indicated that it would be unable to continue funding the GAC chair and secretariat functions past the time of ICANN's Bucharest meeting in June 2002;

Whereas, in resolution 02.34 the ICANN Board expressed its deep appreciation to the Australian Government for its longstanding support and leadership in regard to ICANN;

Whereas, the timing of the ongoing ICANN evolution and reform process makes it essential that the private-sector ICANN community communicate and coordinate closely with governments during this period, so that governmental concerns and suggestions can be appropriately taken into account;

Whereas, in view of the consequent need for an uninterrupted secretariat function for the GAC, at the ICANN Bucharest meeting the Australian Government indicated a willingness to continue to provide services for the GAC provided it receives reimbursement of its costs;

Whereas, the GAC provides a vital channel for consultation regarding views of governments on how ICANN can best serve the public interest;

Whereas, the GAC Secretariat provides valuable consultation to ICANN staff regarding its communications with governments on redelegations and other matters;

Whereas, the GAC Secretariat acts as a valuable source of information to governments regarding ICANN policies and procedures;

Whereas, the GAC has formed a committee that is studying how the chair, secretariat, and other support functions for the GAC can best be provided and funded in the future, but that committee's report is not expected to be ready for action by the GAC before the ICANN Shanghai meeting in late October 2002;

Whereas, the Executive Committee has therefore concluded that it is appropriate to provide reimbursement to the Australian Government for its actual costs of providing chair and secretariat services to the GAC through 15 November 2002, after which other arrangements for the provision of these services can come into operation;

Resolved [EC02.8] that the President is authorized to provide reimbursement to the Australian Government for its actual costs of providing chair and secretariat services to the GAC, in a total amount not to exceed US$75,000, for the period ending 15 November 2002, after which alternative arrangements by the GAC to provide these functions can be implemented.

There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned at 14:29 UTC (10:29 am U.S. Eastern Standard Time).

_______________________
Louis Touton
Secretary

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