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.

Proposed Modifications to GNSO Operating Procedures

Comment/Reply Periods (*) Important Information Links
Comment Open: 9 July 2012
Comment Close: 30 July 2012
Close Time (UTC): 23:59 UTC Public Comment Announcement
Reply Open: Cancelled – No Comments To Submit Your Comments (Forum Closed)
Reply Close:   View Comments Submitted
Close Time (UTC):   Report of Public Comments
Brief Overview
Originating Organization: GNSO
Categories/Tags: Policy Processes
Purpose (Brief): The Generic Names Supporting Organization (GNSO) Standing Committee on Improvements Implementation (SCI) has recommended adding a new section to the GNSO Operating Procedures outlining a procedure for a consent agenda as well as updating the GNSO Council Voting Results Table to bring it in line with the GNSO voting thresholds in the ICANN Bylaws which were recently updated as a result of the recent approval of the revised GNSO Policy Development Process (PDP).
Current Status: As required by the ICANN Bylaws, a public comment forum is hereby initiated on the proposed changes.
Next Steps: Following the closing of the public comment forum, the SCI will review the comments received; revise its recommendations, if deemed appropriate, and; submit these to the GNSO Council for its approval.
Staff Contact: Marika Konings, Sr. Policy Director Email: policy-staff@icann.org
Detailed Information
Section I: Description, Explanation, and Purpose

The GNSO Council requested the SCI on 20 February 2012 to develop a proposed process for a consent agenda. The SCI has reached consensus on the proposed procedure for a consent agenda and the proposed language to be incorporated in the GNSO Operating Procedures. The main elements of the proposed procedure for a consent agenda are:

  • When preparing the meeting agenda, the Council Chair in consultation with the Council Vice-Chairs determines whether an item belongs on the consent agenda;
  • Items that are not eligible for inclusion in the consent agenda are those items that are not subject to a simple majority vote and items subject to absentee voting;
  • If any Council member requests that an item be removed from the consent agenda, it must be removed;
  • If an item is removed from the consent agenda, it is added to the meeting agenda for that meeting;
  • When there are no more items to be removed, the Chair reads out the number of the remaining consent items. Then the Chair calls for a vote.

The proposed provision to be included in the GNSO Operating Procedures can be found here [PDF, 40 KB]. In addition, the proposed provision can be reviewed as part of the proposed revised GNSO Operating Procedures [PDF, 670 KB] in section 4.9.

In addition, the GNSO Council Voting Results Table (Appendix 1 of the GNSO Operating Procedures) required updating, following the approval of the revised GNSO Policy Development Process (PDP) and the subsequent modification of the ICANN Bylaws, to include the new and modified voting thresholds linked to the revised GNSO PDP such as approval of a PDP Team Charter, termination of a PDP and modification/amendment of an approved PDP recommendation.

The revised GNSO Voting Results Table can be found here [PDF, 188 KB]. In addition, the proposed modifications can be reviewed as part of the proposed revised GNSO Operating Procedures in Appendix 1 [PDF, 670 KB].

As required by the ICANN Bylaws, the SCI is requesting community input on these proposed modifications to the GNSO Operating Procedures.

Section II: Background
The Standing Committee on Improvements Implementation (SCI) was established by the GNSO Council on 7 April 2011 to be responsible for reviewing and assessing the effective functioning of recommendations provided by the Operational Steering Committee (OSC) and Policy Process Steering Committee (PPSC) and approved by the GNSO Council. For further information about the SCI and its activities, please see https://community.icann.org/display/gnsosci/Home.
Section III: Document and Resource Links

Proposed Consent Agenda Procedure [PDF, 40 KB]
Revised GNSO Voting Results Table [PDF, 188 KB]
Revised GNSO Operating Procedures (version 2.5) [PDF, 670 KB]
ICANN Bylaws

Section IV: Additional Information
N/A

(*) Comments submitted after the posted Close Date/Time are not guaranteed to be considered in any final summary, analysis, reporting, or decision-making that takes place once this period lapses.