At-Large Advisory Committee Accountability Framework for Members

This document is substantially a compilation of requirements of ALAC members that are to be found in several places. It is produced partly to ensure there is transparency in the obligations which Members of the ALAC have to each other and to the At-Large Community, but also as an exercise to ensure that obligations are kept up-to-date and provide a foundation for RALOs to use in developing Accountability Frameworks for their officers and members as they think relevant and helpful.
In the text below, the source from which the requirement is drawn is noted as follows:
• ALAC Self-Review (ASR) – The then-Interim ALAC adopted a Self-Review of its work in November 2006.
• ALAC Rules of Procedure (RoP) – Formal Rules of Procedure were adopted by the ALAC in October 2007. Following the indicator is the number of the Rule in question.
• Chair’s Statements (CS) – These obligations were announced by the Chair of the ALAC during meetings, and not objected to by Members, during Meetings of the ALAC
• New Proposals (NP) – These are new accountability elements proposed as a part of the drafting of this document.
• Bold Text – proposed new text which connects previously separate elements, or which provides enforcement or other provisions
• Strikethrough – text in the original source that is to be deleted.

Requirements of All ALAC Members

1. (ASR) (RoP 21.1) Committee Members are expected to Actively Participate in all aspects of the committee’s work by:
a. (ASR) (RoP 21.3) Reading and commenting in the ALAC online forums;
b. (ASR) (RoP 21.4, 21.9) Following the ALS Certification process and voting in all ALS votes (abstentions count as a vote for this obligation)
c. Meeting Participation (Telephonic)
i. (ASR) (RoP 21.9) Participating in at least 2/3 of ALAC conference calls in any six month period
ii. (RoP 21.5) Participating in ALAC Conference Calls
d. Meeeting Participation (Face-to-Face)
i. (ASR) (RoP 21.9) Attending at least one physical ALAC meeting in any 9 month period
ii. (RoP 21.6) Attending physical ALAC meetings at ICANN Meetings;
e. (RoP 21.7) Providing feedback on any ICANN vs At-Large Community matters/issues whenever asked to / needed;
f. (ASR) (RoP 21.8) Serving as a liaison to the public
g. (RoP 21.9) Completing at least one feedback survey on At-Large Community issues/matters in any 6-month period.
2. (ASR) (RoP 21.10) For ordinary ALAC members, in case of failure to meet the requirements obligations provided in this Accountability Framework, the Chair will:
a. (NP) privately notify the Member that they are not living up to their obligations, and inform them that they need to do so within thirty (30) days or further action will be taken;
b. If after thirty days, the Member remains in breach of his or her obligations, the Chair shall privately encourage the member to resign.
c. If this does not happen by 14 (fourteen) days from that communication, the Chair will formally notify the entity responsible for appointing the member, and a message MAY be copied to the public ALAC At-Large worldwide list, and ask that the appointment is be immediately reconsidered.
3. (NP) Members shall send thir apologies in advance to the relevant list when unable to attend any meeting, telephonic or otherwise, where they would be expected to attend, excepting unusual and rare circumstances which prevent them doing so.
4. (NP) Members are expected to attend not less than ¾ of all teleconference meetings of their RALO in any six-month period.
5. (CS) Members shall participate as an ALAC Issue Coordinator in at least one Policy Working Group, and as a member in at least one Internal / Administrative Working Group.
a. (NP) “Participation” with respect to these commitments shall mean:
i. (NP) Regular attendance at the meetings of the working groups of which they are a member – defined as not less than 2/3 of the meetings of working groups in any six-month period;
ii. (NP) Routinely contributing substantively to Working Groups, which shall include reading relevant documents and contributing substantively to any drafting efforts that are required to fulfil the mandate of the working group;
iii. (NP) When unable to participate in a meeting, providing apologies in advance;
iv. (NP) Where a working group requires membership from each RALO, helping to recruit participants as necessary.
b. (NP) Active articipation is integral to Membership of the At-Large Advisory Committee and failure to live up to the obligations in this section 5 on a routine basis shall in itself be sufficient grounds for the Chair to invoke Section 2 of the Accountability Framework.
6. (NP) Where a Member of ALAC receives travel support from ICANN or any other entity to attend a meeting related to the business of the At-Large community, he or she shall ensure that he is available and participating throughout the entire time span of the meeting. It brings the entire committee into disrepute where a Member of ALAC uses community travel funds to attend a meeting and then engages in ‘tourism’.
7. (NP) Members that receive travel support shall at all times ensure that they abide by all policies and procedures related to the same. Ignorance of a provision of such a policy, where the Member was provided reasonable opportunities to know of the provision, shall not be accepted as a valid reason for failing to abide by this provision of the Accountability Framework.
8. (NP) Failure to abide by the obligations in Section 6 and 7 of this Accountability Framework shall result in an immediate call by the Chair of ALAC for the resignation of the Member. If the Member fails to do so within 14 days, the Chair shall request the body that appointed the Member to vacate the appointment forthwith, and of the circumstances which led the chair to make this request.

Requirements of ALAC Officers

9. (RoP 2.6) They shall accept to serve on behalf of the At-Large Community by acting for the good of the entire Committee, working to bridge differences and build consensus, but also recognizing difference and enabling different opinions to be shared;
10. (RoP 2.7) They shall accept, while acting in their capacity as ALAC officer, to put the collective views of the Committee always in front of their own.
11. (RoP 3.7) All officers have a duty of performing their roles with diligence and loyalty to the Committee, and are bound to meet the minimum participation requirements set forth in [RoP) rule 21. In case of failure to do so, the Chair shall call a vote of recall.
12. (RoP 3.1) a conflict of interest statement must be filed when an ALAC Member presents himself or herself as a candidate for an officer position.

Requirements of ALAC Liaisons to Other Bodies of ICANN

1. (RoP 21.6) Attending physical … meetings of the bodies to which the person is liaison at ICANN meetings.
2. (NP) Attending at least 2/3 of the telephonic meetings of the bodies to which the person is a liaision in any six-month period.
3. (RoP 5, bullet 1) … participate dilligently (meaning, on a continuing and steady basis) in the meetings and activities of the body he/she is a liaison to, on mailing lists, and in relevant policy debates and fora related to the same.
4. (RoP 5.2) a conflict of interest statement must be filed when any person presents himself or herself as a candidate for a liaison position.
5. (RoP 5, bullet 2) To communicate and advocate the positions of the ALAC to such body;
6. (RoP 5, bullet 3) To report to the ALAC the current and upcoming activities of the body he/she is liaison to, as far as this is possible under the timing and confidentiality constraints of such body;
7. (RoP 5, bullet 4) When this is possible under such constraints, the liaison shall ask to the ALAC for advance instructions on matters that are going to be discussed by such body.

8. (RoP 5.3) a person may not serve two different liaision positions at the same time
9. (RoP 3.7) All liaisons have a duty of performing their roles with diligence and loyalty to the Committee, and are bound to meet the minimum participation requirements set forth in (RoP) rule 21. In case of failure to do so, the Chair shall call a vote of recall invoke Section 2 of ‘Requirements of All ALAC Members’ above.

Code of Conduct (RoP 22)

As representatives of the At-Large community, Members are expected to adhere to a high standard of behaviour. They shall abide without exception by the Code of Conduct. It applies to their conduct in any At-Large forum, whether face-to-face, telephonic, or via email, whether private or public in nature. In addition, Members shall at all times act in a way that is respectful, reasonable, exhibits common courtesy and professional demeanour.
1. (RoP 22.1) The ALAC discussion lists and its other online collaborative spaces serve two purposes. They are where we discuss ICANN-related policy issues and attend to administrative tasks related to the management of ALAC.
2. (RoP 22.2) Content that is acceptable in our online collaborative spaces is defined as:
3. (RoP 22.3) Discussion on ICANN-related policy issues,
4. (RoP 22.4) Discussion of ALAC administrative matters,
5. (RoP 22.5) Announcements of conferences, events, or activities related to ICANN matters.
6. (RoP 22.6) Inappropriate postings include:
7. (RoP 22.7) Unsolicited bulk e-mail,
8. (RoP 22.8) Discussion of subjects unrelated to ICANN policy, meetings, activities, or technical concerns,
9. (RoP 22.9) Unprofessional commentary, regardless of the general subject,
10. (RoP 22.10) Postings libellous being used to abuse, harass, stalk, or threaten others,
11. (RoP 22.11) Postings that are, knowingly false, ad-hominem, or misrepresents another person,
12. (RoP 22.12) Postings that violate an obligation of confidentiality,
13. (RoP 22.13) Postings that violate the privacy of others,
14. (RoP 22.14) Announcements of conferences, events, or activities that are not related to ICANN matters.
15. (RoP 22.15) The ALAC Chair is empowered to suspend or restrict a person's posting rights when the content that person has posted is inappropriate and represents a pattern of abuse. The Chair defines and determines inappropriate content on a case-by-case basis. Our definitions are not limited to this list. If the Chair suspends posting rights or deletes a comment or link, he will say so and explain why. When determining the duration of the suspension, the Chair is required to take into account the overall nature of the postings by an individual and whether particular postings are an aberration or typical.
16. (RoP 22.16) Occasionally, a participant may engage in what amounts to a "denial-of-service" attack to disrupt the consensus-driven process. Typically, these attacks are made by repeatedly posting messages that are off-topic, inflammatory, or otherwise counter-productive, and the Chair may choose to revoke the participant's posting rights. In contrast, good faith disagreement is a healthy part of the consensus-driven process. For example, if the group is unable to reach consensus, this is an acceptable, albeit unfortunate, outcome; however, if that group fails to achieve consensus because it is being continuously disrupted, then the disruption constitutes an abuse of the consensus-driven process. Interactions of this type are fundamentally different from "the lone voice of dissent" in which a participant expresses a view that is discussed but does not achieve consensus. In other words, individual bad faith should not trump community goodwill.

At-Large Community Conflicts of Interest Policy
This document is based upon the Conflicts of Interest Policy of of ICANN, which can be found at http://www.icann.org/committees/coi/coi-policy-04mar88.htm. The COI Policy of Transparency International was also a source of inspiration for this draft – that document can be found at http://www.transparency.org/about_us/organisation/conflict_interest.
1. Applicability
1.1 This policy applies, except as otherwise stated, to certain persons in leadership positions associated with the At-Large Community (“At-Large Community”), including but not limited to the members of the At-Large Advisory Committee (“ALAC”), and those elected to a leadership position in or by any Regional At-Large Organisation (“RALO”).
1.2 This policy sets minimum standards. Individual conflict of interest policies developed by RALOs should be congruent with this policy.
1.3 Where a conflict between this Policy and the ICANN Conflict of Interest Policy arises, the Conflicts Committee as defined in this text shall forthwith present options that will bring the two policies into congruence to the relevant body of the At-Large Community.
2. Definitions
2.1 Compensation. "Compensation" includes direct and indirect remuneration as well as gifts or favors that are substantial in nature.

2.2 Family. The "family" of any individual shall include only his or her spouse; his or her siblings and their spouses; his or her ancestors; and his or her descendants and their spouses.

2.3 Financial Interest. A person has a "financial interest" if the person has, directly or indirectly, through business, investment or family:

(a) An existing or potential ownership or investment interest in any entity with which the Corporation has a transaction, contract, or other arrangement, or

(b) A compensation arrangement with the Corporation or with any entity or individual with which the Corporation has a transaction, contract, or other arrangement, or

(c) An existing or potential ownership or investment interest in, or compensation arrangement with, any entity or individual with which the Corporation is negotiating a transaction, contract, or other arrangement, or

(d) An existing or potential ownership or investment interest in, or compensation arrangement with, any entity whose business or operation has been or will be directly affected by a decision or action of the Corporation.

2.4 At-Large Officer. "At-Large Officer" shall mean all Members of the At-Large Advisory Committee, all officers or members of governing bodies of RALOs, as well as officers and members of Working Groups and Subcommittees of the At-Large Advisory Committee.

2.5 Interested Person. "Interested Person" shall mean either:
(a) Any person currently being compensated by the Corporation for services rendered to it within the previous 11 months, whether as a full- or part-time employee, independent contractor, or otherwise, or

(b) Any person whose family member, as defined in Section 2.2, is currently being compensated by the Corporation for services rendered to it within the previous 11 months, whether as a full- or part-time employee, independent contractor, or otherwise, or;

c) Any person currently or within the previous 11 months who serves or served in any capacity whether compensated or non-compensated, in any entity that may be benefited or harmed by, is dependent upon, or may be affected by, decisions of the Corporation or the policies developed by the stakeholder community participating in ICANN’s policy development work, of which the At-Large community is one part.

2.6 Corporation. “Corporation” shall mean the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN).

2.6 At-Large Community. “At-Large Community” shall mean the entire At-Large Community, composed of the At-Large Advisory Committee (“ALAC”), the officers or members of governing bodies or structures related to the five Regional At-Large Organisations (“RALOs”), and all Members of the RALOs as defined in each of their Operating Principles, Bylaws, Memoranda of Understanding with ICANN, or other equivalent constitutive documents.

3. Statements of Conflicts of Interest
3.1 To administer and monitor compliance with this policy, the most senior member of the Corporation’s At-Large staff, along with the currently serving Chair and Vice-Chairs of the At-Large Advisory Committee, shall constitute a Conflicts Committee.

3.2 The Conflicts Committee shall require a statement from each At-Large Officer not less frequently than once a year setting forth all business and other affiliations that relate in any way to the business and other activities of the Corporation.

3.3 It is obligatory upon all Interested Persons, or any person in the At-Large Community as defined, who believes there is a conflict of interest, or who suspects that a conflict of interest might exist, to report the same to the Conflicts Committee as soon as they become aware, or suspect, that such a conflict exists.

3.4 The Conflicts Committee shall cause to be kept a public record of all disclosures received available upon the At-Large community website. Where there are personal safety or similar serious concerns about full publicity, parts or even the whole of the declaration should be submitted to the ICANN Director of At-Large who shall hold it, and act upon it as appropriate, in confidence.

3.5 Where the Conflicts Committee has received a report from any person as provided in clauses 5.4 or 3.3, it shall then seek promptly to establish whether or not the reported potential or actual conflict exists, and shall at all times keep the identity of the person who reported the possible conflict confidential, unless they have unanimously come to the conclusion that the report was knowingly false or deliberately defamatory, in which they shall disclose the same as they shall judge most suitable.
4. Duty to Abstain or Recuse from Participation in Debates
4.1 No Interested Person shall vote on, or participate in discussions or deliberations related to, any matter in which he or she has an interest.

4.2 In the event of such an abstention or recusal, the Interested Person shall state the reason for the same, which shall be noted in the minutes of the relevant proceedings.

5. Disclosure Obligations
5.1 When requested by the Conflicts Committee (not less frequently than once per calendar year) each At-Large Officer shall promptly submit a statement to the Committee setting forth all business and other affiliations that relate in any way to the business and other affiliations of the Corporation.

5.2 With respect to any particular matter, each At-Large Officer shall disclose to the Conflicts Committee any matter that could reasonably be considered to make the person an "Interested Person” as defined above.

5.3 It shall be incumbent upon each At-Large Officer to report to the Conflicts Committee any circumstance that would reasonably be interpreted by any third party to cause them to become an Interested Person as soon as such a circumstance becomes known, without being requested to make such a disclosure.

5.4 If any At-Large Officer becomes aware of a situation that would, in their judgment, cause another At-Large Officer to become an Interested Person, they are obligated to report the same to the Conflicts Committee forthwith. Any other person may act similarly if they have reason to believe a situation that warrants such a report exists.

6. No Compensation, Privileged Information Provisions
6.1 At-Large Officers, or companies or other organisations with which such are currently affiliated, (whether paid or unpaid) may not receive Compensation of any kind from the Corporation, save for expenses reimburseable for travel and expenses associated with attendance at events or meetings organised by or for the Corporation or in support of activities related to the same.

6.2 At-Large Officers, or companies or other organizations with which such members are currently affiliated may not not utilize privileged information obtained during their tenure as At-Large Officers for personal gain, and shall also remain at all times sensitive to the perception that they might be utilizing said information in such a way.

6.3 No At-Large Officer shall accept any gift, entertainment, loan or anything else of value from any organisation or individual if it could be reasonably construed or perceived that the gift is motivated by a wish to influence the At-Large community in the holistic sense.

7. Violations of the Conflicts of Interest Policy
7.1 If the Conflicts Committee has reasonable cause to believe that an At-Large officer has failed to disclose an actual or possible conflict of interest, it shall inform that person of the basis for such belief and afford the At-Large Officer an opportunity to explain the alleged failure to disclose.

7.2 If, after hearing the response of the At-Large Officer and making such further investigation as may be warranted in the circumstances, the Conflicts Committee determines that the member has in fact failed to disclose an actual or possible conflict of interest, it shall recommend to relevant deliberative body of the At-Large Community appropriate disciplinary and corrective action.

7.3 The violation of this conflicts of interest policy is a serious matter and may constitute cause for the recall of an At-Large Officer from their position, if the At-Large Officer is a member of the At-Large Advisory Committee, under the procedures provided in Rule 11 of the ALAC Rules of Procedure.

7.4 Violation of this conflicts of interest policy on the part of an At-Large Officer who is not a member of the At-Large Advisory Committee may constitute cause for recall under the procedures relevant to the body of which the At-Large Officer is a member.

8. Records of Proceedings
8.1 The minutes of the Conflicts Committee shall contain:

(a) The names of At-Large Officers found to be Interested Persons; the nature of the interest; any action taken to determine whether a conflict of interest was present; and the decision of the Conflicts Committee as to whether a conflict of interest in fact existed.

(b) The names of the persons who were present for discussions and votes relating to the actual or potential conflict of interest; the content of the discussion; and a record of any votes taken in connection therewith.

8.2 In connection with a conflict of interest, the minutes of any meeting concerned shall contain the names of the persons who were present for discussions and votes relating to the matter for which any member of the body in question was an Interested Person; note the recusal of abstention related to the conflict of interest; the content of the discussion related thereto; and a record of any votes taken in connection therewith.

9. Annual Statements
Each At-Large Officer shall annually sign a statement that affirms that such person:
a) Has received a copy of the conflicts of interest policy;
b) Has read and understands the policy;
c) Has agreed to comply with the policy.

10. Periodic Reviews
The Conflicts Committee shall periodically consider whether and how this Conflicts of Interest Policy should be revised or amended to better meet its objectives. In connection with any periodic review conducted by the Conflicts Committee it shall cause a report to be provided to all At-Large Officers related thereto.

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This document appears to be largely a compilation of procedural
complexities that do little to make ALAC more accountable to the
at-large public. I don't think we need more rules, we need a better set
of reporting mechanisms to coordinate with the public.

contributed by wendy@seltzer.com on 2008-04-04 00:52:59 GMT