[council] Public Comment: Proposed Bylaw Amendments Related to GNSO Restructuring (Version 2)

[Glen de Saint Géry <Glen@xxxxxxxxx>]

Dear All,

Please take the time to comment and note the 21-day public consultation forum, 
from 3 August 2009 through 24 August 2009.

http://www.icann.org/en/announcements/announcement-03aug09-en.htm
Public Comment: Proposed Bylaw Amendments Related to GNSO Restructuring 
(Version 2)

3 August 2009
Implementation of the Generic Names Supporting Organization (GNSO) Improvements 
process requires the amendment of a substantial number of the ICANN Bylaws to 
reflect new GNSO structures, processes and mechanisms. 

Today, a packaged set of draft Bylaws and additional Staff recommendations 
(Version 2) is being posted for Public review and comment so that the ICANN 
Board can move forward with Bylaw amendments as soon as practicable. 

Approving the Bylaws amendments is a key step toward seating a newly structured 
GNSO Council at the ICANN meeting in Seoul, Korea this coming October as 
directed by the ICANN Board. 

Background and Explanation: 

An initial set of Bylaws amendments (Version 1) was posted for public comment 
on 30 June 2009, reflecting the work product of a GNSO Council Restructure 
Drafting Team (consisting of the entire GNSO Council and additional GNSO 
community members), and additional Staff recommendations. The Bylaw 
Amendments-Version 2 being posted today for public comment [PDF, 256K] are 
based upon the 30 June 2009 initial version, and include additional amendments 
that reflect guidance received from the Board's Structural Improvements 
Committee (SIC), and from the Board at its July meeting. In addition, Staff 
proposes additional amendments to enable the Bylaws to be internally 
consistent, and to conform to the principles of the GNSO Restructuring Report 
approved by the Board. 

In June 2008, the Board of Directors endorsed a series of recommendations on 
how to improve the GNSO's structures and operations. For the past year the 
community has been engaged in substantial discussions regarding various 
components of the recommendations including development of a new Policy 
development process, creation of a new Working Group Model for policy 
development, the restructuring of the GNSO Council and a variety of other 
process and mechanism changes designed to increase participation in the GNSO's 
work efforts. 

Relevant Board Resolution, Bylaws and Constituency Submissions: 

GNSO Improvements Information Page - http://gnso.icann.org/en/improvements/ 
GNSO Improvements Report adopted by ICANN's Board (3 February 2008): 
http://www.icann.org/topics/gnso-improvements/gnso-improvements-report-03feb08.pdf
 
Report To ICANN Board From Working Group on GNSO Council Restructuring (WG-GCR 
Report), 25 July 2008: 
http://www.icann.org/en/topics/gnso-improvements/gnso-council-restructuring-report-25jul08.pdf
 
Minutes of the Special Meeting of the ICANN Board of Directors, 28 August 2008: 
http://www.icann.org/en/minutes/minutes-28aug08.htm 
Minutes of the Special Meeting of the ICANN Board of Directors, 1 October 2008; 
http://www.icann.org/en/minutes/minutes-01oct08.htm 
Preliminary Report from the Special Meeting of the ICANN Board of Directors, 11 
December 2008; http://www.icann.org/en/minutes/prelim-report-2-11dec08.htm 
Minutes of the Special Meeting of the ICANN Board of Directors, 23 April 2009; 
http://www.icann.org/en/minutes/minutes-23apr09.htm 
Minutes of the Special Meeting of the ICANN Board of Directors, 21 May 2009; 
http://www.icann.org/en/minutes/minutes-21may09.htm 
Resolution of the Regular Meeting of the ICANN Board of Directors, 26 June 
2009: http://www.icann.org/en/minutes/resolutions-26jun09.htm#2 
Preliminary Report of the Special Meeting of the ICANN Board of Directors, 30 
July 2009: http://www.icann.org/en/minutes/prelim-report-30jul09.htm 
The Process from Here: 

At the end of this Public Comment Forum period, ICANN Staff will review the 
comments submitted regarding Version 2, and revise the Bylaws as appropriate. 
ICANN Staff expects to present this revised set of Bylaws Amendments to the 
Board for approval at its next meeting (27 August 2009), to allow the new GNSO 
Council to be seated by Seoul. 

It should be noted that the GNSO Improvements Report approved by the Board in 
June 2008 has additional guidelines and recommendations for the ongoing 
practices and processes of GNSO constituencies. It is expected that this work 
-- particularly with respect to a new Policy Development Process, creation of a 
new Working Group Model and development of a new set of GNSO Council Operation 
Rules and Procedures - will be ongoing as part of the GNSO Improvements 
implementation efforts. As a result, additional Bylaws Amendments will be 
necessary to implement the outcome of these GNSO work teams. 

Deadline and How to Submit Comments: 

The Staff is opening a 21-day public consultation forum, from 3 August 2009 
through 24 August 2009, and invites community comments on this matter. The 
formal Public Comment Forum Box is located here: 
http://www.icann.org/en/public-comment/public-comment-200908.html#gnso-restructure.

To submit comments: gnso-council-draft2@xxxxxxxxx 
To view comments: http://forum.icann.org/lists/gnso-council-draft2/ 
Staff Responsible: Robert Hoggarth

Glen de Saint Géry
GNSO Secretariat
gnso.secretariat@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx
http://gnso.icann.org