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Selection of International Law Advisor to the Enhancing ICANN Accountability Process

30 January 2015

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The Accountability & Governance Public Experts Group (PEG) announces the selection of the 7th and final Advisor to the Cross Community Working Group on Enhancing ICANN Accountability (CCWG).

The PEG is pleased to announce Lee Andrew Bygrave as the Advisor with International Law/Jurisprudence as his area of expertise.

Lee Andrew Bygrave is a Professor at the Department of Private Law at the University of Oslo, Norway, where he is also the Director of the Norwegian Research Center for Computers and Law. He is additionally an associate (former Co-Director) of the Cyberspace Law and Policy Centre at the University of New South Wales in Australia. Among his publications are Internet Governance: Infrastructure and Institutions (Oxford University Press, 2009) and, most recently, Internet Governance by Contract (Oxford University Press, 2015).

Bygrave will be serving in his personal capacity along with the previously announced Advisors to the CCWG-Accountability:

  • Roberto Bissio, Executive Director of the Instituto del Tercer Mundo  — Area of Expertise: Global Ethics Frameworks and Human Rights (for example consumer protection)
  • William Currie, Consultant in ICT Policy and Regulation — Area of Expertise: Governmental Engagement and Relations and Multistakeholder Governance
  • Valerie D'Costa, Program Manager at infoDev — Area of Expertise: Governmental Engagement and Relations and Multistakeholder Governance
  • Ira Magaziner, Chief Executive Officer and Vice Chairman of the Clinton Health Access Initiative — Area of Expertise: Governmental Engagement and Relations and Multistakeholder Governance
  • Nell Minow, Shareholder Advocate   — Area of Expertise: Board Governance and Corporate Management (for example operational, finance, risk management
  • Jan Scholte, Professor, University of Gothenburg and University of Warwick — Area of Expertise: Global Accountability and Transparency — theoretical, practical, tools and metrics

The Advisors have begun their engagement with the CCWG-Accountability, mainly through the CCWG-Accountability Chairs. The Advisors roles are to contribute research and advice, and to bring perspectives on global best practices to enrich the discussion, all while engaging with a broader network of accountability experts from around the world.

As stated in the revised Enhancing ICANN Accountability and Governance Process from 10 October, The Public Experts Group (PEG) was tasked with selecting up to 7 Advisors to the CCWG-Accountability. Now, that the PEG has concluded its work, it will no longer be active. However, the PEG notes that the Enhancing ICANN Accountability Process considered that while the PEG's formal task is to select Advisors, PEG members could continue to be available provide additional assistance if there is an identified need for further independent input or expertise.


The members of the PEG are:  Ms. Jeanette Hoffman, Director, Alexander von Humboldt Institute for Internet and Society; Ambassador Janis Karklins, Latvian Ambassador. Chair of the Multi-stakeholder Advisory Group (MAG); Mr. Larry Strickling, NTIA Administrator and Assistant Secretary for Communication and Information of the U.S. Department of Commerce; and Mr. Brian Cute, Chief Executive Officer, Public Interest Registry