WT A's Proposed ICANN Bylaw Changes for ALAC Approval

 

At-Large Improvements WT A is proposing two ICANN Bylaw revisions to Article XI, Section 2.4, which is the primary Bylaw section dealing with the ALAC and At-Large.  Within this section, the proposed changes are to paragraphs a and j.

This proposal is being made as part of the implementation of the following three recommendations to come out of  the Final Report of the ALAC Review Working Group on ALAC Improvements (9 June 2009):

• Rec. 1: ICANN Bylaws to reflect ALAC's continuing purpose
• Rec. 10: ALAC/At-Large is home of individual Internet users
• Rec. 11: Board statement recognizing Rec 10

The two proposed revisions are presented below in red, along with the paragraphs as they currently appear in ICANN's Bylaws.

At this point, WT A is requesting that members of the ALAC submit any comments they may have in the appropriate section at the bottom of this page.  Among these comments, please include any objections to the ALAC's submitting the proposed revisions to the SIC and Board.  

Many thanks to the ALAC from WT A. 

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Evan's proposed "compromise" wording that accounts for Legal's concerns:  Draft Article XI, Section 2.4.a

The following proposed Paragraph a ("preamble") would replace the current Paragraph a (see below) at the start of Article XI, Section 2.4.

ARTICLE XI:  ADVISORY COMMITTEES

Section 2.  SPECIFIC ADVISORY COMMITTEES

4.  At-Large Advisory Committee

The At-Large Advisory Committee ("ALAC") is the primary organizational home within ICANN for individual Internet users. It considers and provides advice on all aspects of activity within ICANN as they relate, directly or indirectly, to the interests of individual Internet users. The scope of this activity includes ICANN's accountability and transparency, policies created through ICANN's Supporting Organizations, and the many other issues for which community input and advice are required. The ALAC also coordinates some of ICANN's outreach to individual Internet users.

The specific elements of how ALAC fulfills this mandate are set forth below.

ALAC's proposal to ICANN Legal:  Draft Article XI, Section 2.4.a

Summary of Legal's concerns with this wording: 
   -  Final Report recommends that the ALAC should have a role within accountability mechanisms re-formed or created through the PSC work on improving institutional confidence (not that the ALAC has a responsibility to enhance ICANN’s accountability mechanisms);
   -  AoC does not refer to the ALAC's role in ICANN's accountability mechanisms; and
   -  Regarding the scope of activities on which the ALAC gives input, Legal recommends retaining the clause "insofar as they related to the interests of individual Internet users."

The following proposed Paragraph a ("preamble") would replace the current Paragraph a (see below) at the start of Article XI, Section 2.4.

ARTICLE XI:  ADVISORY COMMITTEES

Section 2.  SPECIFIC ADVISORY COMMITTEES

4.  At-Large Advisory Committee

a.  The ALAC, as the primary organizational home within ICANN for individual Internet users, has a responsibility to enhance ICANN's accountability mechanisms, as called for in the Affirmation of Commitments.  It also coordinates some of ICANN's outreach to individual Internet users.  The ALAC considers and provides advice on all aspects of activity within ICANN, including policies created through ICANN's Supporting Organizations, as well as the many other issues for which community input and advice are sought.  

The specific elements of how ALAC fulfills this mandate are set forth below.

 WT A's proposal to the ALAC:  Article XI, Section 2.4.a

The following proposed Paragraph a ("preamble") would replace the current Paragraph a (see below) at the start of Article XI, Section 2.4.

ARTICLE XI:  ADVISORY COMMITTEES

Section 2.  SPECIFIC ADVISORY COMMITTEES

4.  At-Large Advisory Committee

a.  The At-Large Advisory Committee ("ALAC") is the primary organizational home within ICANN for individual Internet users, whose views and concerns the ALAC collects, aggregates and articulates in order to offer a representative input into ICANN’s processes and activities.  The ALAC considers and provides advice on all aspects of work within ICANN, including policies created through ICANN's Supporting Organizations, as well as the many other issues for which community input and advice is sought.  The ALAC, which plays an important role in ICANN's accountability mechanisms, also coordinates some of ICANN's outreach to individual Internet users.

The specific elements of how ALAC fulfills this mandate are set forth below.

Current Article XI, Section 2.4.a as it exists in Bylaws

ARTICLE XI:  ADVISORY COMMITTEES

Section 2.  SPECIFIC ADVISORY COMMITTEES

4.  At-Large Advisory Committee

a.  The role of the At-Large Advisory Committee (“ALAC”) shall be to consider and provide advice on the activities of ICANN, insofar as they relate to the interests of individual Internet users.

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WT A's proposed Article XI, Section 2.4.j

The following proposed Paragraph j.7 would be added to the current Paragraph j (see below).

ARTICLE XI:  ADVISORY COMMITTEES

Section 2.  SPECIFIC ADVISORY COMMITTEES

4.  At-Large Advisory Committee

j. The ALAC is also responsible, working in conjunction with the RALOs, for coordinating the following activities:

1. Making a selection by the At-Large Community to fill Seat 15 on the Board. Notification of the At-Large Community’s selection shall be given by the ALAC Chair in writing to the ICANN Secretary, consistent with Article VI, Sections 8(4) and 12(1);

2. Keeping the community of individual Internet users informed about the significant news from ICANN;
3. Distributing (through posting or otherwise) an updated agenda, news about ICANN, and information about items in the ICANN policy-development process;
4. Promoting outreach activities in the community of individual Internet users;
5. Developing and maintaining on-going information and education programs, regarding ICANN and its work;
6. Establishing an outreach strategy about ICANN issues in each RALO's Region;
7. Participating in the ICANN policy development processes and providing input and advice that accurately reflects the views of individual Internet users;
8. Making public, and analyzing, ICANN's proposed policies and its decisions and their (potential) regional impact and (potential) effect on individuals in the region;
9. Offering Internet-based mechanisms that enable discussions among members of At-Large structures; and
10. Establishing mechanisms and processes that enable two-way communication between members of At-Large Structures and those involved in ICANN decision-making, so interested individuals can share their views on pending ICANN issues.

Current Article XI, Section 2.4.j

ARTICLE XI:  ADVISORY COMMITTEES

Section 2.  SPECIFIC ADVISORY COMMITTEES

4.  At-Large Advisory Committee

j. The ALAC is also responsible, working in conjunction with the RALOs, for coordinating the following activities:

 
1. Making a selection by the At-Large Community to fill Seat 15 on the Board. Notification of the At-Large Community’s selection shall be given by the ALAC Chair in writing to the ICANN Secretary, consistent with Article VI, Sections 8(4) and 12(1);

2. Keeping the community of individual Internet users informed about the significant news from ICANN;
3. Distributing (through posting or otherwise) an updated agenda, news about ICANN, and information about items in the ICANN policy-development process;
4. Promoting outreach activities in the community of individual Internet users;
5. Developing and maintaining on-going information and education programs, regarding ICANN and its work;
6. Establishing an outreach strategy about ICANN issues in each RALO's Region;
7. Making public, and analyzing, ICANN's proposed policies and its decisions and their (potential) regional impact and (potential) effect on individuals in the region;
8. Offering Internet-based mechanisms that enable discussions among members of At-Large structures; and
9. Establishing mechanisms and processes that enable two-way communication between members of At-Large Structures and those involved in ICANN decision-making, so interested individuals can share their views on pending ICANN issues.

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Comments (accepted in the 6 UN languages)

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Please keep in mind that any revisions will have to be reviewed by Counsel to determine consistency with the remainder of Bylaws, etc. (just as the originally proposed WT A revisions were reviewed).

Samantha Eisner will be joining us for this discussion during the ALAC meeting.  After the meeting, she will also have to review the changes with Dan in ICANN Legal.

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[ALAC members are asked to enter their comments below.  Thank you.]

_________________________________________________________________________________________________

The below comments are excerpted from the indicated three e-mails:

From: Evan Leibovitch [evanleibovitch@gmail.com]
Sent: Saturday, February 12, 2011 4:10 PM
To: Olivier MJ Crepin-Leblond
Cc: Seth Greene; langdonorr@gmail.com; yrjo_lansipuro@hotmail.com; Samantha Eisner; ICANN At-Large Staff
Subject: Re: Submission of WT A's proposed ICANN Bylaw revisions to ALAC Chair & ALAC

+1

Nice catch.

- Evan

____________________________

From: yrjo_lansipuro@hotmail.com
To: ocl@gih.com; seth.greene@icann.org
CC: langdonorr@gmail.com; evanleibovitch@gmail.com; samantha.eisner@icann.org; staff@atlarge.icann.org
Subject: RE: Submission of WT A's proposed ICANN Bylaw revisions to ALAC Chair & ALAC
Date: Sat, 12 Feb 2011 19:09:38 +0200

I have no problem with replacing "work" with ["activity"], as suggested by Olivier.

Best,

Yrjö

___________________________

From: Olivier MJ Crepin-Leblond [ocl@gih.com]
Sent: Saturday, February 12, 2011 10:03 AM
To: Seth Greene
Cc: langdonorr@gmail.com; Evan Leibovitch; yrjo_lansipuro@hotmail.com; Samantha Eisner; ICANN At-Large Staff
Subject: Re: Submission of WT A's proposed ICANN Bylaw revisions to ALAC Chair & ALAC

I suggest replacing:
"The ALAC considers and provides advice on all aspects of work within ICANN"
with
"The ALAC considers and provides advice on all aspects of activity within ICANN"

My reason for this suggestion is that the ALAC is also able to provide advice on matters not directly tagged as work, such as, but not limited to the location of a meeting, personnel changes, opening/closing of ICANN offices, etc.

The text it replaces used to mention: "provide advice on the activities of ICANN" and this was wide-ranging.

I am aware that the rest of the "new" sentence is: "as well as the many other issues for which community input and advice is sought."  and I gather that this was included to expand the first part which restricted its input to "work". However, this also constrains the ALAC's mission.
The ALAC is able to comment on issues for which community input and advice is *NOT* sought too.

Kind regards,
Olivier