Nominating Committee | ICANN Bylaws Provisions

Following are portions of the ICANN Bylaws relating to the Nominating Committee. Click here for the full ICANN Bylaws.

ARTICLE VI: BOARD OF DIRECTORS

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Section 2. DIRECTORS AND THEIR SELECTION; ELECTION OF CHAIRMAN AND VICE-CHAIRMAN

1. The Directors shall consist of:
   1. Eight voting members selected by the Nominating Committee established by Article VII of these Bylaws. These seats on the Board of Directors are referred to in these Bylaws as Seats 1 through 8.

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2. In carrying out its responsibilities to fill Seats 1 through 8, the Nominating Committee shall seek to ensure that the ICANN Board is composed of members who in the aggregate display diversity in geography, culture, skills, experience, and perspective, by applying the criteria set forth in Section 3 of this Article. At no time shall the Nominating Committee select a Director to fill any vacancy or expired term whose selection would cause the total number of Directors (not including the President) who are citizens of countries in any one Geographic Region (as defined in Section 5 of this Article) to exceed five; and the Nominating Committee shall ensure through its selections that at all times the Board includes at least one Director who is a citizen of a country in each ICANN Geographic Region.

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Section 3. CRITERIA FOR SELECTION OF DIRECTORS

ICANN Directors shall be:

1. Accomplished persons of integrity, objectivity, and intelligence, with reputations for sound judgment and open minds, and a demonstrated capacity for thoughtful group decision-making;
2. Persons with an understanding of ICANN's mission and the potential impact of ICANN decisions on the global Internet community, and committed to the success of ICANN;
3. Persons who will produce the broadest cultural and geographic diversity on the Board consistent with meeting the other criteria set forth in this Section;
4. Persons who, in the aggregate, have personal familiarity with the operation of gTLD registries and registrars; with ccTLD registries; with IP address registries; with Internet technical standards and protocols; with policy-development procedures, legal traditions, and the public interest; and with the broad range of business, individual, academic, and non-commercial users of the Internet;
5. Persons who are willing to serve as volunteers, without compensation other than the reimbursement of certain expenses; and
6. Persons who are able to work and communicate in written and spoken English.

Section 4. ADDITIONAL QUALIFICATIONS

1. Notwithstanding anything herein to the contrary, no official of a national government or a multinational entity established by treaty or other agreement between national governments may serve as a Director. As used herein, the term "official" means a person (i) who holds an elective governmental office or (ii) who is employed by such government or multinational entity and whose primary function with such government or entity is to develop or influence governmental or public policies.

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3. Persons serving in any capacity on the Nominating Committee shall be ineligible for selection to positions on the Board as provided by Article VII, Section 8.

Section 5. INTERNATIONAL REPRESENTATION

In order to ensure broad international representation on the Board, the selection of Directors by the Nominating Committee and each Supporting Organization shall comply with all applicable diversity provisions of these Bylaws or of any Memorandum of Understanding referred to in these Bylaws concerning the Supporting Organization. One intent of these diversity provisions is to ensure that at all times each Geographic Region shall have at least one Director, and at all times no region shall have more than five Directors on the Board (not including the President). As used in these Bylaws, each of the following is considered to be a "Geographic Region": Europe; Asia/Australia/Pacific; Latin America/Caribbean islands; Africa; and North America. The specific countries included in each Geographic Region shall be determined by the Board, and this Section shall be reviewed by the Board from time to time (but at least every three years) to determine whether any change is appropriate, taking account of the evolution of the Internet.

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Section 8. TERMS OF DIRECTORS

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3. At least one month before the commencement of each annual meeting, the Nominating Committee shall give the Secretary of ICANN written notice of its selection of Directors for seats with terms beginning at the conclusion of the annual meeting.

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Section 12: VACANCIES

1. A vacancy or vacancies in the Board of Directors shall be deemed to exist in the case of the death, resignation, or removal of any Director; if the authorized number of Directors is increased; or if a Director has been declared of unsound mind by a final order of court or convicted of a felony or incarcerated for more than 90 days as a result of a criminal conviction or has been found by final order or judgment of any court to have breached a duty under Sections 5230 et seq. of the CNPBCL. Any vacancy occurring on the Board of Directors shall be filled by the Nominating Committee, unless (a) that Director was selected by a Supporting Organization, in which case that vacancy shall be filled by that Supporting Organization, or (b) that Director was the President, in which case the vacancy shall be filled in accordance with the provisions of Article XIII of these Bylaws. The selecting body shall give written notice to the Secretary of ICANN of their appointments to fill vacancies. A Director selected to fill a vacancy on the Board shall serve for the unexpired term of his or her predecessor in office and until a successor has been selected and qualified. No reduction of the authorized number of Directors shall have the effect of removing a Director prior to the expiration of the Director's term of office.

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ARTICLE VII: NOMINATING COMMITTEE

Section 1. DESCRIPTION

There shall be a Nominating Committee of ICANN, responsible for the selection of all ICANN Directors except the President and those Directors selected by ICANN's Supporting Organizations, and for such other selections as are set forth in these Bylaws.

Section 2. COMPOSITION

The Nominating Committee shall be composed of the following persons:

1. A non-voting Chair, appointed by the ICANN Board;
2. The immediately previous Nominating Committee Chair, as a non-voting advisor;
3. A non-voting liaison appointed by the ICANN Root Server System Advisory Committee established by Article XI of these Bylaws;
4. A non-voting liaison appointed by the ICANN Security and Stability Advisory Committee established by Article XI of these Bylaws;
5. A non-voting liaison appointed by the Governmental Advisory Committee;
6. Subject to the provisions of the Transition Article of these Bylaws, five voting delegates selected by the At-Large Advisory Committee established by Article XI of these Bylaws;
7. Two voting delegates, one representing small business users and one representing large business users, selected by the Business Users Constituency of the Generic Names Supporting Organization established by Article X of these Bylaws;
8. One voting delegate each selected by the following entities:
   1. The gTLD Registry Constituency of the Generic Names Supporting Organization established by Article X of these Bylaws;
   2. The gTLD Registrars Constituency of the Generic Names Supporting Organization established by Article X of these Bylaws;
   3. The Council of the Country Code Names Supporting Organization established by Article IX of these Bylaws;
   4. The Internet Service Providers Constituency of the Generic Names Supporting Organization established by Article X of these Bylaws;
   5. The Intellectual Property Constituency of the Generic Names Supporting Organization established by Article X of these Bylaws;
   6. The Council of the Address Supporting Organization established by Article VIII of these Bylaws;
   7. An entity designated by the Board to represent academic and similar organizations;
   8. Consumer and civil society groups, selected by the Non-commercial Users Constituency of the Generic Names Supporting Organization established by Article X of these Bylaws;
   9. The Internet Engineering Task Force; and
   10. The ICANN Technical Liaison Group established by Article XI-A of these Bylaws; and
9. A non-voting Associate Chair, who may be appointed by the Chair, at his or her sole discretion, to serve during all or part of the term of the Chair. The Associate Chair may not be a person who is otherwise a member of the same Nominating Committee. The Associate Chair shall assist the Chair in carrying out the duties of the Chair, but shall not serve, temporarily or otherwise, in the place of the Chair.

Section 3. TERMS

Subject to the provisions of the Transition Article of these Bylaws:

1. Each voting delegate shall serve a one-year term. A delegate may serve at most two successive one-year terms, after which at least two years must elapse before the individual is eligible to serve another term.
2. The regular term of each voting delegate shall begin at the conclusion of an ICANN annual meeting and shall end at the conclusion of the immediately following ICANN annual meeting.
3. Non-voting liaisons shall serve during the term designated by the entity that appoints them. The Chair, the immediately previous Chair serving as an advisor, and any Associate Chair shall serve as such until the conclusion of the next ICANN annual meeting.
4. Vacancies in the positions of delegate, non-voting liaison, or Chair shall be filled by the entity entitled to select the delegate, non-voting liaison, or Chair involved. A vacancy in the position of non-voting advisor (immediately previous Chair) may be filled by the Board from among persons with prior service on the Board or a Nominating Committee. A vacancy in the position of Associate Chair may be filled by the Chair in accordance with the criteria established by Section 2(9) of this Article.
5. The existence of any vacancies shall not affect the obligation of the Nominating Committee to carry out the responsibilities assigned to it in these Bylaws.

Section 4. CRITERIA FOR SELECTION OF NOMINATING COMMITTEE DELEGATES

Delegates to the ICANN Nominating Committee shall be:

1. Accomplished persons of integrity, objectivity, and intelligence, with reputations for sound judgment and open minds, and with experience and competence with collegial large group decision-making;
2. Persons with wide contacts, broad experience in the Internet community, and a commitment to the success of ICANN;
3. Persons whom the selecting body is confident will consult widely and accept input in carrying out their responsibilities;
4. Persons who are neutral and objective, without any fixed personal commitments to particular individuals, organizations, or commercial objectives in carrying out their Nominating Committee responsibilities;
5. Persons with an understanding of ICANN's mission and the potential impact of ICANN's activities on the broader Internet community who are willing to serve as volunteers, without compensation other than the reimbursement of certain expenses; and
6. Persons who are able to work and communicate in written and spoken English.

Section 5. DIVERSITY

In carrying out its responsibilities to select members of the ICANN Board (and selections to any other ICANN bodies as the Nominating Committee is responsible for under these Bylaws), the Nominating Committee shall take into account the continuing membership of the ICANN Board (and such other bodies), and seek to ensure that the persons selected to fill vacancies on the ICANN Board (and each such other body) shall, to the extent feasible and consistent with the other criteria required to be applied by Section 4 of this Article, make selections guided by Core Value 4 in Article I, Section 2.

Section 6. ADMINISTRATIVE AND OPERATIONAL SUPPORT

ICANN shall provide administrative and operational support necessary for the Nominating Committee to carry out its responsibilities.

Section 7. PROCEDURES

The Nominating Committee shall adopt such operating procedures as it deems necessary, which shall be published on the Website.

Section 8. INELIGIBILITY FOR SELECTION BY NOMINATING COMMITTEE

No person who serves on the Nominating Committee in any capacity shall be eligible for selection by any means to any position on the Board or any other ICANN body having one or more membership positions that the Nominating Committee is responsible for filling, until the conclusion of an ICANN annual meeting that coincides with, or is after, the conclusion of that person's service on the Nominating Committee.

Section 9. INELIGIBILITY FOR SERVICE ON NOMINATING COMMITTEE

No person who is an employee of or paid consultant to ICANN (including the Ombudsman) shall simultaneously serve in any of the Nominating Committee positions described in Section 2 of this Article.

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ARTICLE IX: COUNTRY NAMES SUPPORTING ORGANIZATION

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Section 3. ccNSO COUNCIL

1. The ccNSO Council shall consist of (a) three ccNSO Council members selected by the ccNSO members within each of ICANN's Geographic Regions in the manner described in Section 4(7) through (9) of this Article; (b) three ccNSO Council members selected by the ICANN Nominating Committee; (c) liaisons as described in paragraph 2 of this Section; and (iv) observers as described in paragraph 3 of this Section.

ARTICLE X: GENERIC NAMES SUPPORTING ORGANIZATION

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Section 3. GNSO COUNCIL

1. Subject to the provisions of the Transition Article of these Bylaws, the GNSO Council shall consist of three representatives selected by each of the Constituencies described in Section 5 of this Article, and three persons selected by the ICANN Nominating Committee. No two representatives selected by a Constituency shall be citizens of the same country or of countries located in the same Geographic Region. There may also be two liaisons to the GNSO Council, one appointed by each of the Governmental Advisory Committee and the At-Large Advisory Committee from time to time, who shall not be members of or entitled to vote on the GNSO Council, but otherwise shall be entitled to participate on equal footing with members of the GNSO Council. The appointing Advisory Committee shall designate its liaison (or revoke or change the designation of its liaison) on the GNSO Council by providing written notice to the Chair of the GNSO Council and to the ICANN Secretary. The GNSO Council may also have observers as described in paragraph 9 of this Section.
2. Subject to the provisions of the Transition Article of these Bylaws: (a) the regular term of each GNSO Council member shall begin at the conclusion of an ICANN annual meeting and shall end at the conclusion of the second ICANN annual meeting thereafter; (b) the regular term of one representative selected by each Constituency shall begin in an even-numbered year and the regular term of the other representative selected by the Constituency shall begin in an odd-numbered year; and (c) the regular term of one of the three members selected by the Nominating Committee shall begin in even-numbered years and the regular term of the other two of the three members selected by the Nominating Committee shall begin in odd-numbered years. Each GNSO Council member shall hold office during his or her regular term and until a successor has been selected and qualified or until that member resigns or is removed in accordance with these Bylaws.
3. A GNSO Council member may resign at any time by giving written notice to the ICANN Secretary. A GNSO Council member selected by a Constituency may be removed by that Constituency according to its published procedures. A GNSO Council member selected by the Nominating Committee may be removed for cause stated by a three-fourths (3/4) vote (see Section 5(2) of this Article) of all members of the GNSO Council (excluding the member to be removed), subject to approval by the ICANN Board. A vacancy on the GNSO Council shall be deemed to exist in the case of the death, resignation, or removal of any member. Vacancies shall be filled for the unexpired term involved by the Nominating Committee giving the ICANN Secretary written notice of its selection, unless the member holding the position before the vacancy occurred was selected by a Constituency, in which case that Constituency shall fill the unexpired term by giving the ICANN Secretary written notice of its selection.

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ARTICLE XI: ADVISORY COMMITTEES

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Section 2. SPECIFIC ADVISORY COMMITTEES

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1. Governmental Advisory Committee

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f. The Governmental Advisory Committee shall annually appoint one non-voting liaison to the ICANN Board of Directors, without limitation on reappointment, and shall annually appoint one delegate to the ICANN Nominating Committee.

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3. Root Server System Advisory Committee

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   d. The Root Server System Advisory Committee shall annually appoint one non-voting liaison to the ICANN Board of Directors, without limitation on re-appointment, and shall annually appoint one non-voting liaison to the ICANN Nominating Committee.

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4. At-Large Advisory Committee

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   b. The ALAC shall consist of (i) two members selected by each of the Regional At-Large Organizations ("RALOs") established according to paragraph 4(g) of this Section, and (ii) five members selected by the Nominating Committee. The five members selected by the Nominating Committee shall include one citizen of a country within each of the five Geographic Regions established according to Section 5 of Article VI.

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c. Subject to the provisions of the Transition Article of these Bylaws, the regular terms of members of the ALAC shall be as follows:

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3. The terms of three of the members selected by the Nominating Committee shall begin at the conclusion of an annual meeting in an odd-numbered year and the terms of the other two members selected by the Nominating Committee shall begin at the conclusion of an annual meeting in an even-numbered year.

4. The regular term of each member shall end at the conclusion of the second ICANN annual meeting after the term began.

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e. The ALAC shall annually appoint one non-voting liaison to the ICANN Board of Directors, without limitation on re-appointment, and shall, after consultation with each RALO, annually appoint five voting delegates (no two of whom shall be citizens of countries in the same Geographic Region, as defined according to Section 5 of Article VI) to the Nominating Committee.

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ARTICLE XI-A: OTHER ADVISORY MECHANISMS

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Section 2. TECHNICAL LIAISON GROUP

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7. Board Liaison and Nominating Committee Delegate. Annually, in rotation, one TLG organization shall appoint one non-voting liaison to the Board according to Article VI, Section 9(1)(d). Annually, in rotation, one TLG organization shall select one voting delegate to the ICANN Nominating Committee according to Article VII, Section 2(8)(j). The rotation order for the appointment of the non-voting liaison to the Board shall be ETSI, ITU-T, and W3C. The rotation order for the selection of the Nominating Committee delegate shall be W3C, ETSI, and ITU-T. (IAB does not participate in these rotations because the IETF otherwise appoints a non-voting liaison to the Board and selects a delegate to the ICANN Nominating Committee.)

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ARTICLE XX: TRANSITION ARTICLE

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Section 2. BOARD OF DIRECTORS

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4. Promptly after the adoption of this Transition Article, a Nominating Committee shall be formed including, to the extent feasible, the delegates and liaisons described in Article VII, Section 2 of the New Bylaws, with terms to end at the conclusion of the ICANN annual meeting in 2003. The Nominating Committee shall proceed without delay to select Directors to fill Seats 1 through 8 on the New Board, with terms to conclude upon the commencement of the first regular terms specified for those Seats in Article VI, Section 8(1)(a)-(c) of the New Bylaws, and shall give the ICANN Secretary written notice of that selection.

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Section 3. ADDRESS SUPPORTING ORGANIZATION

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The Address Supporting Organization shall continue in operation according to the provisions of the Memorandum of Understanding originally entered on 18 October 1999 between ICANN and a group of regional Internet registries (RIRs), and amended in October 2000, until a replacement Memorandum of Understanding becomes effective. Promptly after the adoption of this Transition Article, the Address Supporting Organization shall make selections, and give the ICANN Secretary written notice of those selections, of:

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2. the delegate to the Nominating Committee selected by the Council of the Address Supporting Organization, as called for in Article VII, Section 2(8)(f) of the New Bylaws.

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Section 4. COUNTRY-CODE NAMES SUPPORTING ORGANIZATION

2. After the adoption of Article IX of these Bylaws, the Nominating Committee shall select the three members of the ccNSO Council described in Article IX, Section 3(1)(b). In selecting three individuals to serve on the ccNSO Council, the Nominating Committee shall designate one to serve a term that ends upon the conclusion of the first ICANN annual meeting after the ccNSO Council is constituted, a second member to serve a term that ends upon the conclusion of the second ICANN annual meeting after the ccNSO Council is constituted, and the third member to serve a term that ends upon the conclusion of the third ICANN annual meeting after the ccNSO Council is constituted. The three members of the ccNSO Council selected by the Nominating Committee shall not take their seats before the ccNSO Council is constituted.

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6. Until the ccNSO Council is constituted, the delegate to the Nominating Committee established by the New Bylaws designated to be selected by the ccNSO shall be appointed by the Transition Board or New Board, depending on which is in existence at the time any particular appointment is required, after due consultation with members of the ccTLD community. Upon the ccNSO Council being constituted, the delegate to the Nominating Committee appointed by the Transition Board or New Board according to this Section 4(9) then serving shall remain in office, except that the ccNSO Council may replace that delegate with one of its choosing within three months after the conclusion of ICANN's annual meeting, or in the event of a vacancy. Subsequent appointments of the Nominating Committee delegate described in Article VII, Section 2(8)(c) shall be made by the ccNSO Council.

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Section 5. GENERIC NAMES SUPPORTING ORGANIZATION

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10. Each of the constituencies identified in paragraph 5 of this Section 5 that are designated to select a delegate to the Nominating Committee under Article VII, Section 2 of the New Bylaws shall promptly, upon adoption of this Transition Article, notify the ICANN Secretary of the person(s) selected to serve as delegates.

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Section 7. ADVISORY COMMITTEES AND TECHNICAL LIAISON GROUP

1. Upon the adoption of the New Bylaws, the Governmental Advisory Committee shall continue in operation according to its existing operating principles and practices, until further action of the committee. The Governmental Advisory Committee may designate liaisons to serve with other ICANN bodies as contemplated by the New Bylaws by providing written notice to the ICANN Secretary. Promptly upon the adoption of this Transition Article, the Governmental Advisory Committee shall notify the ICANN Secretary of the person selected as its delegate to the Nominating Committee, as set forth in Article VII, Section 2 of the New Bylaws.
2. The organizations designated as members of the Technical Liaison Group under Article XI-A, Section 2(2) of the New Bylaws shall each designate the two individual technical experts described in Article XI-A, Section 2(6) of the New Bylaws, by providing written notice to the ICANN Secretary. As soon as feasible, the delegate from the Technical Liaison Group to the Nominating Committee shall be selected according to Article XI-A, Section 2(7) of the New Bylaws.
3. Upon the adoption of the New Bylaws, the Security and Stability Advisory Committee shall continue in operation according to its existing operating principles and practices, until further action of the committee. Promptly upon the adoption of this Transition Article, the Security and Stability Advisory Committee shall notify the ICANN Secretary of the person selected as its delegate to the Nominating Committee, as set forth in Article VII, Section 2(4) of the New Bylaws.
4. Upon the adoption of the New Bylaws, the Root Server System Advisory Committee shall continue in operation according to its existing operating principles and practices, until further action of the committee. Promptly upon the adoption of this Transition Article, the Root Server Advisory Committee shall notify the ICANN Secretary of the person selected as its delegate to the Nominating Committee, as set forth in Article VII, Section 2(3) of the New Bylaws.
5. At-Large Advisory Committee
1. There shall exist an Interim At-Large Advisory Committee until such time as ICANN recognizes, through the entry of a Memorandum of Understanding, all of the Regional At-Large Organizations (RALOs) identified in Article XI, Section 2(4) of the New Bylaws. The Interim At-Large Advisory Committee shall be composed of (i) ten individuals (two from each ICANN region) selected by the ICANN Board following nominations by the At-Large Organizing Committee and (ii) five additional individuals (one from each ICANN region) selected by the initial Nominating Committee as soon as feasible in accordance with the principles established in Article VII, Section 5 of the New Bylaws. The initial Nominating Committee shall designate two of these individuals to serve terms until the conclusion of the ICANN annual meeting in 2004 and three of these individuals to serve terms until the conclusion of the ICANN annual meeting in 2005.
2. Upon the entry of each RALO into such a Memorandum of Understanding, that entity shall be entitled to select two persons who are citizens and residents of that Region to be members of the At-Large Advisory Committee established by Article XI, Section 2(4) of the New Bylaws. Upon the entity's written notification to the ICANN Secretary of such selections, those persons shall immediately assume the seats held until that notification by the Interim At-Large Advisory Committee members previously selected by the Board from the RALO's region.
3. Upon the seating of persons selected by all five RALOs, the Interim At-Large Advisory Committee shall become the At-Large Advisory Committee, as established by Article XI, Section 2(4) of the New Bylaws. The five individuals selected to the Interim At-Large Advisory Committee by the Nominating Committee shall become members of the At-Large Advisory Committee for the remainder of the terms for which they were selected.
4. Promptly upon its creation, the Interim At-Large Advisory Committee shall notify the ICANN Secretary of the persons selected as its delegates to the Nominating Committee, as set forth in Article VII, Section 2(6) of the New Bylaws.