[AfrICANN-discuss] Community Comment Invited on Petition To Form A New GNSO CyberSafety Constituency

[Anne-Rachel Inné]

Community Comment Invited on Petition To Form A New GNSO CyberSafety
Constituency
5 March 2009

The ongoing GNSO Improvements process has created significant
community interest in the formation of new GNSO constituencies and
several groups have stepped forward to begin the process of forming a
new GNSO constituency. The ICANN Board has now received its first
formal petition - from the prospective CyberSafety Constituency. All
members of the ICANN community and the public are now invited to
review the petition and charter of the CyberSafety Constituency and
share comments with the Board through 5 April 2009.

Background and Explanation:
In June 2008, the Board of Directors endorsed a series of
recommendations on how to improve the GNSO’s structures and
operations. One of the significant drivers of those recommendations
was an interest in maximizing participation in the GNSO and its policy
development processes. Among the various recommendations endorsed by
the Board was that ICANN take steps to clarify and promote the option
to self-form new constituencies.
The current ICANN Bylaws provide that any group of individuals or
entities may petition the Board for recognition as a new or separate
constituency, in accordance with Section 5(4) of Article X. Such a
petition must explain (1) why “the addition of such a Constituency
will improve the ability of the GNSO to carry out its
policy-development responsibilities” and (2) why “the proposed new
Constituency would adequately represent, on a global basis, the
stakeholders it seeks to represent.” Despite those Bylaw provisions,
it has been many years since the organization has had a formal request
for a new constituency. Since the Board action last June, however, the
ICANN Staff has received inquiries from several interested parties
about how to form a new GNSO constituency.
The ICANN bylaws do not provide specific procedural guidance for how
interested parties should submit the petitions contemplated in Article
X. Mindful that explicit steps, formats, and/or processes for
expansion would take some time for the community to develop in the
implementation of the improvements recommendations, the Board directed
ICANN Staff to provide the community with some initial guidance, a
structure and a specific procedural path for potential new
constituencies to follow. At its 1 October meeting, the Board
acknowledged Staff's development of a "Notice of Intent" document for
potential new constituencies and directed Staff to develop a formal
petition and charter template to assist new constituency applicants in
satisfying the formative criteria (consistent with the ICANN Bylaws)
to facilitate the Board's evaluation of petitions to form new
constituencies.
The process subsequently developed by the Staff required interested
groups to first submit a Notice of Intent to Form New Constituency
(NOIF) [DOC, 148K]. The proponent of the CyberSafety Constituency
completed that first step on 20 October 2008. The second step of the
process is development of a New Constituency Petition and Charter. The
proponent of the CyberSafety Constituency completed that effort on 23
February 2009.
Relevant Board Resolution, Bylaws and Constituency Submissions:
•	Minutes of 1 October 2008 ICANN Board Meeting:
http://www.icann.org/en/minutes/minutes-01oct08.htm
•	ICANN Bylaws Article X, Section 5, Subsection 4:
http://www.icann.org/en/general/bylaws.htm - X-5.1
•	Copies of the CyberSafety Constituency Petition Documents:
o	CyberSafety Introduction Letter to Petition and Charter Document [PDF, 10K]
o	CyberSafety Constituency Petition and Charter (23 Feb 2009-Redacted)
[PDF, 94K]
The Process From Here:
At the end of this Public Comment Forum period, the ICANN Staff will
provide a summary/analysis of the comments submitted regarding the
CyberSafety Constituency petition and charter. That summary/analysis
will be shared with the community and the Board. The Board will
ultimately make the decision on whether to authorize the new
constituency.
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 will be ongoing as part of the GNSO
Improvements implementation efforts.
Deadline and How to Submit Comments:
The Staff is opening a 30-day public consultation forum, from 5 March
2009 through 5 April 2009, and invites community comments on this
matter. This particular comment period is slightly longer than 30-days
because the period is tolled while International ICANN meetings are in
session.
The formal Public Comment Forum Box is located here:
http://www.icann.org/en/public-comment/public-comment-200904.html#cybersafety
To submit comments: cyber-safety-petition at icann.org
To view comments (including the various constituency submissions):
http://forum.icann.org/lists/cyber-safety-petition/
Staff Responsible: Robert Hoggarth