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.

closed Final Report from the EPDP on Specific Curative Rights Protections for IGOs

CategoryPolicy
RequestersICANN Board

Outcome

All the Public Comments submitted for this proceeding will be transmitted to the ICANN Board for its consideration as it reviews the EPDP recommendations with a view toward acting on them. Under the ICANN Bylaws, prior to any action by the Board on proposed policies that substantially affect the operation of the Internet or third parties, ICANN is required to provide a reasonable opportunity for parties to comment on these policies. The Bylaws also obligate the Board to consider any timely advice that may be duly submitted by the Governmental Advisory Committee as part of the Board’s decision-making.

What We Received Input On

ICANN is inviting the public to provide input on the five policy recommendations from the Generic Names Supporting Organization’s (GNSO) Expedited Policy Development Process (EPDP) on Specific Curative Rights Protections for International Governmental Organizations (IGOs). If adopted by the ICANN Board, these community-developed consensus recommendations will result in several procedural changes to ICANN’s existing second-level domain name dispute resolution processes, by:

  • adding a definition of “IGO Complainant” to the Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy (UDRP) and Uniform Rapid Suspension dispute resolution procedure (URS), to clarify the applicability of these dispute resolution mechanisms to IGOs that can demonstrate the requisite legal rights;
  • exempting IGO Complainants from the requirement to agree to a Mutual Jurisdiction (as defined in the UDRP and URS), such that the question of an IGO’s immunity from the jurisdiction of a court is determined as a matter of law by the relevant court, while preserving the existing right of a domain name registrant to file a court proceeding at any time during a UDRP or URS proceeding;
  • adding a voluntary mutual arbitration option to the two dispute resolution processes, such option to remain available to a registrant even after the registrant has elected to file a court proceeding; and
  • clarifying the law to be applied in a voluntary arbitration proceeding.

While the proposed policies, if adopted, will result in procedural amendments to the UDRP and URS, they will not change the applicability, scope, or substantive criteria in these processes.

In reviewing these community-developed policy proposals, the ICANN Board is obliged to consider whether the recommendations will, or will not, be in the best interests of ICANN or the ICANN community. Accordingly, the public is welcome to provide your input on the impact of these recommendations, if any.

Proposals For Your Input
Final Report on Specific Curative Rights Protections for IGOs (pdf, 751.74 KB)

Background

In April 2019, the GNSO Council approved four out of five consensus recommendations from a Policy Development Process concerning access to existing curative rights mechanisms (i.e., second-level dispute resolution processes) by IGOs and international non-governmental organizations. The fifth recommendation that the GNSO Council did not approve related to the question of IGO jurisdictional immunity, in cases where a registrant that has lost a UDRP or URS proceeding elects to take the case to a court. The GNSO Council directed that additional policy work be conducted on this specific issue, and chartered an Expedited Policy Development Process to determine whether an appropriate policy solution can be developed that is, to the extent possible, generally consistent with the four recommendations the Council had already approved, and that:

  • accounts for the possibility that an IGO may enjoy jurisdictional immunity in certain circumstances;
  • does not affect the right and ability of registrants to file judicial proceedings in a court of competent jurisdiction whether following a UDRP/URS case or otherwise; and
  • recognizes that the existence and scope of IGO jurisdictional immunity in any particular situation is a legal issue to be determined by a court of competent jurisdiction.

The Expedited Policy Development Process resulted in the five policy recommendations that are the subject of this Public Comment proceeding. All five were designated as Full Consensus recommendations by the working group and the GNSO Council approved all five recommendations unanimously in June 2022. In July 2022, the GNSO Council approved and transmitted to the ICANN Board its Recommendations Report describing the proposed policy and its impacts.