Structural Improvements Committee (SIC) Meeting - Minutes 28 March 2013

SIC Members: Ray Plzak – Chair; Sébastien Bachollet; Bertrand de La Chapelle; and Francisco da Silva

SIC Apologies: Judith Duavit Vazquez

Staff Attendees: David Olive – Vice President, Policy Development Support, Megan Bishop, Michelle Bright, Samantha Eisner, Alice Jansen, and Rob Hoggarth


The following is a summary of discussions, decisions, and actions identified:

The telephonic meeting was called to order at 14:06 UTC.

  1. RSSAC Review Implementation: The SIC discussed the status of the RSSAC Review Implementation and the proposed recommendation of the adoption of Bylaws to reflect the updated charter of the RSSAC. The SIC approved a recommendation to the Board to approve the Bylaws revisions for the RSSAC.
    • Action:
      • Staff to forward recommendation to the Board after incorporating clarifications requested by SIC members.
  2. GNSO Charter Amendment Procedure: The SIC continued its discussion of the draft process for review and amendment of Charters of the Stakeholder Groups and Constituencies within the GNSO. The SIC discussed the need to highlight that this recommended process is part of the oversight responsibility of the Board, while still providing mechanisms for easier self-organization among the stakeholder/constituent entities. The SIC also requested that the language of the document be clarified as to its applicability to both GNSO Stakeholder Groups and Constituencies so that there is a single process for the reviews. The SIC discussed some potential refinements to the procedure including time frames and Board review of SIC recommendations on the charters.
    • Action:
      • SIC member to coordinate with staff to perform requested edits and clarifications of draft procedures prior to the Beijing Meeting.
  3. Application for New Constituency by Cybercafé Association: The SIC received an update on the consideration of the application for recognition as a new GNSO constituency, including information on the work that occurred between ICANN staff and the proponents of the constituency. Staff provided an update to the prior documentation on this issue, to prepare for forwarding a recommendation to the Board on addressing the Non-Commercial Stakeholder Group's decision to reject the application on multiple grounds, including that the group is commercial in nature, and not a global organization among other concerns. The SIC also discussed some of the challenges posed by the model that we have today, where some constituencies may not neatly fit within the GNSO Stakeholder Groups as currently defined. The SIC agreed to provide a recommendation to the Board to accept the NCSG decision on the application.
    • Action:
      • SIC members to consider this situation as a potential case study as part of the discussion of the evolution of ICANN structures with the introduction of New gTLDs.
      • Staff to provide the SIC with a brief compilation of voting methods/decision making procedures inside of the various GNSO structures.
      • Staff to forward recommendation to the Board after updating the recommendation in line with SIC member comments.
  4. SIC Activities in Beijing: The SIC briefly discussed some of the work that is anticipated to occur at the ICANN meeting in Beijing, and noted that community sessions on ICANN structure as impacted by new gTLDs are anticipated for scheduling at the ICANN meeting in Durban. The SIC also briefly discussed its agenda for the SIC meeting in Beijing, as well as planning for the review of the Nominating Committee.

The telephonic meeting was adjourned at 15:07 UTC.