Operating Procedures

Annex A

NPOC Executive Committee Guidelines

The NPOC EC can create new committees that it deems useful, with a simple majority vote.

The NPOC Executive Committee Guidelines sets forth the duties of the Executive Committee and its members. The Guidelines can be modified by the Executive Committee, with a simple majority vote.

Duties of the Chair

1. Prepare budget requests, as necessary, for approval by the EC;
2. Solicit nominations from Constituency Members and representatives to be elected by EC 

    to fill positions that open from time-to-time in the ICANN process

1. Oversee the timely publication of meeting notes, and acting as a Constituency

    spokesperson on matters outside the Policy Committee’s responsibility; 

1. Provide oversight of the Policy Committee’s process and regular communication with the 

    Constituency membership:

1. Issuing announcements to the Constituency regarding meetings and drafting agendas at least 7 days before those meetings.
2. Chairing the constituency meetings.
3. Represent NPOC at high-level meetings and liaise with other Stakeholder Group representatives, Advisory Committees, the ICANN Board, and ICANN Staff on administrative and substantive matters.
4. Delegate work to the rest of the EC, that is relevant to NPOC pursuing its mission.

For the purposes of the Chair being unavailable for their duties, the EC chooses an interim Chair to act on their behalf. Appointment of interim chair would require a majority vote from other EC members.

Duties of the Outreach and Engagement Coordinator.

1. Recruit new members and periodically reporting their activities to the Membership; and 
2. Working with new and current Members to help them understand the structure of ICANN and encouraging them to participate in NPOC and ICANN processes.
3. Ensure that Members are made aware of and respond to calls for comments by members of the Policy Committee, Working Groups, GNSO Council, and other ICANN policy development committees or bodies. The Outreach and Engagement Coordinator must provide a reply to all such calls for comment from the Policy Committee.
4. Ensure that internal constituency email lists are up to date.
5. Reviewing Members’ status and eligibility pursuant to Section 3 in the NPOC charter document.
6. Manage the Constituency website, especially making sure the content is up to date.
7. Oversee membership recruitment, processing, and retention; 

Duties of the Secretary

1. Maintain and make available as appropriate all records and documents of  NPOC.
2. Track the Constituency task list and notify EC members of agreed upon tasks that have not been done on time.
3. Oversee the management of the email lists required by the Bylaws; 

Duties of the the Policy Committee Chair

1. 
   The Policy Committee Chair shall work with the NPOC Chair to help inform the Constituency, via mailing lists, the announcement list, the website, and other appropriate communication media regarding: 

1. ICANN Public Comment solicitations on matters of interest to Constituency members and for which Member comments might play a role in influencing policy and protecting non-commercial interests;
2. Positions developed by the NPOC Policy Committee; and
3. Issues that are being or have been recently considered by the GNSO Council, and the positions taken by Constituency representatives on those issues.

Duties of the Treasurer

1. Managing the funds and account of NPOC.
   
   
2. Providing financial reports to the EC annually with a summary report at least every quarter
   
   
3. Depositing any contributions, managing NPOC bookkeeping and accounting, preparing budgets, and regularly reporting to the EC regarding finances and accounts of NPOC.

1. Reporting possible unpaid membership dues to the Outreach and Engagement Coordinator.

Membership dues

NPOC does not currently require its members to pay a fee for their membership but reserves the right to do so.

Annual Report

NPOC will collaborate on an Annual Report focusing on improving accountability, transparency, and participation, describing where things might have fallen short, and any plans for future improvements.

Membership applications

Membership applications shall undergo a review process at the NCSG EC, and all applicants will receive a notification of their application status no later than two weeks following the next ICANN meeting.

Membership Application Checklist:

1. The Organization is incorporated as a noncommercial entity (in countries that have such a provision in their commercial code) or, if unincorporated, or if operating in a country without provisions for noncommercial incorporation, that operates on a not‑for‑profit basis primarily for noncommercial purposes, and

1. Be the exclusive user of at least one domain name.

1. Is engaged in online activities that are primarily noncommercial, including, e.g., advocacy, educational, religious, human rights, charitable, scientific and artistic, and

1. In the case of a membership-based organization, the organization should not only be noncommercial itself, but should have a primarily noncommercial focus, and the membership should also be primarily composed of noncommercial members.  (E.g., a chamber of commerce, though it may be a noncommercial organization itself, and might even have some noncommercial members, is primarily composed of commercial organizations and has a commercial focus and would not be eligible for membership.)

1. Application is submitted to the designated membership application portal published on NPOC’s Official website.

1. Approval is done usually no later than two weeks after the next ICANN meeting after application. In the case where application approval is delayed, potential members are notified.

1. If a membership application needs further information, the member is notified via an email correspondence and must provide that information within 2 weeks of notification. In the process that such response are not satisfactory and meet the checklist, application for approval may be denied at the discretion of the NCSG EC based on standard approval mechanisms,

1. When applications are approved, members are notified and welcomed on the NPOC and NCSG mailing list.

1. In case the application is not accepted, the person can appeal to the NCSG EC, who made the decision, within one month after being notified of the rejection. The whole procedure can be found in the NCSG charter 2.4.2.1 - Appeals of NCSG‑EC decisions.

Annex B

NPOC PROCEDURES FOR REMOVAL OF OFFICERS, APPOINTEES AND MEMBERS

1 A Member’s eligibility, status, and rights and privileges shall be subject to formal review by the EC in accordance with the Membership Standards. A Member may be removed from Membership or placed on temporary suspended status by the EC pursuant to a formal process, including the right of the Member to contest the removal or change in status. 

2   The Outreach and Engagement Coordinator shall have the responsibility for reviewing the eligibility of all Members on a regular basis, for such things as prolonged inactivity of two years or more and initiating any formal process for change of status or removal.

3   Any decision by the EC regarding removal or suspension of a Member due to an eligibility change can be appealed by requesting a full vote of the Membership.

 

3.1 Requests for review shall be submitted to the EC by at least ten (10) Members. The EC must take requests under consideration and respond within ten (10) days. If, after consideration of any documentation and reasoning provided by those requesting review, the EC does not reverse its decision, the EC and those making the request for review should attempt to negotiate a mutually agreeable solution within ten (10) days. 

3.2  If the EC and those making the request for review cannot reach a mutually acceptable agreement on the decision within ten (10) days, those making the request shall file an appeal to the Membership within ten (10) days. The vote of the  Membership on the appeal shall be scheduled no later than sixty (60) days after the appeal is made, unless there is a general election scheduled no more than ninety (90) days from the day when the appeal process started. In this case, the voting can take place at the next general election. 

3.3  Approval of any appeal shall be by a super-majority vote of sixty per cent (60%) of all Active Members as defined in Section 3.9 of the NPOC charter. 

3.4   If the appeal is approved, the EC shall take all necessary steps to reverse its challenged decision within fourteen (14) days of the vote.