Fifth Ombudsman Annual Report Posted

The ICANN Office of the Ombudsman has published its fifth Annual Report. The announcement for the report may be found at:http://www.icann.org/en/announcements/announcement-24sep09-en.htm

The announcement states:

Ombudsman Releases 2009 Report

Dispute resolution annual summary by ICANN’s independent officer

24 September October 2009

ICANN's Ombudsman has released his 2009 report, summarizing the previous 12 months of dispute resolution efforts that he oversees in his role as an independent officer of the organization.

The report is an annual stocktaking of the office and how it has helped individuals and organizations bring disputes to resolution without recourse to more formal mechanisms such as the courts.

Highlights of the report include:

A summary of the 96 intakes and 31 complaints or requests for assistance received Recommendations on actions to be taken by the ICANN Board Details of outreach and training events Statement on respectful online communication A section on evaluation and recommendations against five ombuds criteria Statistics on Ombudsman activities for the 2008–2009 year Case studies and a description of how the Ombudsman’s Office saves ICANN money and staff time by handling persistent complainants A review of the first five years of operations.

“My office is a vital link in providing private, confidential, cost free, timely and expert dispute resolution for community members in their disagreements with ICANN,” said Ombudsman Frank Fowlie.

The Ombudsman is an independent, impartial, and neutral officer of ICANN. He acts as an Alternative Dispute Resolution office for anyone wishing to lodge a complaint about a staff or board decision, action or inaction.

The annual report has been produced in English, French, German, Spanish, Chinese and Arabic. The report is found at: http://www.icann.org/ombudsman/reports.html.

For those who have been tracking the discussion on the ICANN Ombudsman Blog concerning civility, you may wish to refer to Page 7 of the Annual Report to review the Statement on Respectful Online Communication.