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Stéphane:
Thank
you for your prompt initiative and the supportive observations. Please see my
embedded comments below. If
there are any other questions, please continue to raise them. In the interest
of time, we recognize and appreciate the Council’s active interest and remain
committed to timely and thorough replies. Ken
Bour From:
owner-council@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:owner-council@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf
Of Stéphane Van Gelder Margie, [KAB: ] Staff appreciates your support of this provision. [KAB: ] The only specific provision, in this section, deals with
the removal of an NCA for cause and includes the actual voting thresholds. One
of Staff’s sub-objectives in this re-drafting assignment was to eliminate any/all
provisions that, in its judgment, could be more effectively accommodated within
internal Council procedures. One area identified was detailed voting
thresholds and another involved this topic of vacancies, removals, and resignations.
Staff suggests that such provisions do not rise to the level of being required
in ICANN-level legal Bylaws. In the event that new Council voting thresholds
are added or modified, in the future, such changes could be accomplished
locally versus requiring protracted formal Bylaws amendments. Similarly, procedures
for handling Council vacancies, resignations, and other administrative matters seem
more appropriate for OR&P vs. corporate Bylaws. [KAB: ] Yes, there are bicameral house voting thresholds for
these positions and, as discussed above, they will be prescribed in the Council’s
OR&P currently under revision by the GNSO Operations Work Team (Ray Fassett,
Chair) under the auspices of the Operations Steering Committee (OSC). The Council
Chair election requires 60% of both houses and the Vice-Chair positions are
prescribed in the following language, inserted below: “The GNSO Council shall also select two Vice Chairs, one elected
from each of the two voting houses. If the Council Chair is elected from one
of the houses, then the non-voting Council-Level Nominating Committee Appointee
shall serve as one of the Vice Chairs in lieu of the Vice Chair from the house
of the elected Chair. If the Chair is elected from one of the houses, that
person shall retain his/her vote in that house.” Section 3. Article 8. [KAB: ] The voting thresholds originally prescribed by the Working
Group on GNSO Council Restructuring (WG-GCR) contained both PDP and non-PDP
elements. In this re-drafting exercise, Staff is recommending that they be
parsed out as follows: the non-PDP voting thresholds will be contained in
Council OR&P while the PDP thresholds will be included in Article XX–Transition
until such time as the Policy Process Steering Committee (PPSC) and PDP Work
Team (Jeff Neumann, Chair) have completed deliberations and are prepared to
recommend a formal revision to Annex A of the Bylaws. Since the PDP thresholds
are currently specified in Annex A, which is not being revised as part of this restructuring
effort, Staff recommends that the new PDP thresholds should be included in
Article XX vs. Council OR&P. Article XX is a “transition” document only and,
once the PDP voting thresholds are successfully relocated from Annex A to the
Council OR&P (Staff’s recommendation), Article XX can be removed from the
Bylaws in its entirety (assuming all other transition matters are completed).
Below are the voting thresholds recast into the two groupings: Non-PDP:
a)
Elect Council Chair: requires 60% of both houses. b)
Remove NCA for Cause: requires 75% of both houses (excluding
the NCA subject to removal); subject to Board approval. c)
All other GNSO Council Business (default): requires majority of
both houses. PDP: a)
Create an Issues Report: requires more than 25% vote of both
houses or majority of one house. b)
Initiate a PDP within Scope: requires more than 33% vote of
both houses or more than 66% vote of one house. c)
Initiate a PDP not within Scope: requires a vote of more than
75% of one house and a majority of the other house (“Super Majority”). d)
Approve a PDP without a Super Majority: requires a majority of
both houses and further requires that one representative of at least 3 of the 4
Stakeholder Groups supports. e)
Approve a PDP with a Super Majority: requires greater than 75%
majority in one house and majority in the other house. Apart
from the points raised above, I think this document is already very near
completion. Having seen it, I must admit I feel a lot more confident that we
can move ahead with sufficient speed to meet the deadlines set in your email
for our review of these proposed bylaws. Congratulations on a well-written
document. [KAB:
] Staff appreciates the compliment and the vote of confidence toward a
successful June Council seating. Thank you!
Dear All, |