Please note that the 2013 ALAC RoPs state the following regarding the term of the ALAC Chair:
8.2 If the Chair is still a member of the ALAC in the year following his or her selection, is willing to continue in that role and subject to the eligibility rules in Paragraph 5, the Chair’s term is deemed to be automatically renewed for a second year without any explicit action of the ALAC.
Relevant 2013 ALAC RoP Text:
5. ALAC Chair Requirements and Responsibilities
5.1 The Chair must be an ALAC Member.
5.2 A person nominated to be Chair does not need to be an ALAC Member at the time of nomination but must have an expectation of being an ALAC Member after the next ALAC Annual General Meeting (AAGM), the ALAC meeting held in conjunction with the ICANN Annual General Meeting (AGM).
5.3 Should the person elected Chair not be an ALAC Member after the AAGM, a new election must be conducted.
5.4 The Chair is elected for a one year term. At the end of that term, the appointment may be renewed for one additional year subject to the provisions of Paragraph 8.2. The first priority for the ALAC is to select the best person to be Chair regardless of their ability to serve for a second term.
5.5 All actions attributed to the Chair in these RoP may be delegated by the Chair to any other ALAC Member unless such delegation is explicitly not allowed.
5.6 When the Chair delegates the running of a meeting to another ALAC Member, all rights and responsibilities with respect to managing the meeting are vested in the acting meeting chair with the exception of those rights and responsibilities explicitly given to the “ALAC Chair”.
5.7 It is expected that a Chair will delegate specific responsibilities (sometimes referred to as “portfolios”) to other ALT Members, other ALAC Members and/or Liaisons based on skills, interests and workload.
5.8 All such delegations are subject to the agreement of the delegate and should be a matter of public record.
5.9 The duties of Chair include:
5.9.1 presiding over ALAC meetings;
5.9.2 determining the procedures to be followed where standard operating procedures do not cover a specific situation;
5.9.3 upholding the RoP, Bylaws and other norms applicable to the ALAC;
5.9.4 determining meeting agendas in advance in conjunction with the ALT Members and Staff;
5.9.5 being the prime liaison with Staff;
5.9.6 representing the ALAC and At-Large in meetings and in written communication. This responsibility notwithstanding, the Chair is obliged to consult with the ALAC Members, the ALT and the ALAC and/or other segments of At-Large as appropriate;
5.9.7 ensuring that timelines and deadlines for the work of the ALAC are set and met; and
5.9.8 facilitating and encouraging participation of all ALAC Members in At-Large Community activities and taking appropriate actions when the participation and contributions of ALAC Members and appointees, as specified in Paragraphs 4, 6 and 7, are unsatisfactory or do not meet expectations.
5.10 As a member of the ALT, the Chair is subject to the same obligations as all ALT Members.
5.11 The ALAC Chair may make substantive decisions on behalf of the ALAC if the matter is of such urgency that the ALAC cannot practically be consulted. To the extent possible, this must be done in consultation with the ALT. Any such decision must be reported to the ALAC without undue delay and must be ratified by the ALAC as soon as practical.
5.12 The ALAC Chair is empowered, at his/her sole discretion, to:
5.12.1 recommend to ICANN the suspension or restriction of a person's right to post to any At-Large electronic communications platform provided by ICANN, including but not limited to e-mail and wikis, if the Chair determines that the person has violated the ALAC Code of Conduct (Paragraph 14.4). If such action is necessary, and unless subject to legal constraints, the Chair will consult with the ALT prior to taking action if feasible, and/or after the fact, advise the ALT of the violation and seek ALT validation for the action(s) taken. The Chair is required to take into account whether the overall nature of the actions of the individual is an aberration or represents a pattern of abuse when determining the duration of the suspension or other action;
5.12.2 recommend to ICANN that electronic postings to ICANN managed communications platforms be deleted if their presence harms or prejudices any person or organization or if they are unrelated to ICANN activities;
5.12.3 take direct actions equivalent to those specified in paragraphs 5.12.1 and 5.12.2 for electronic communications platforms not operated under the aegis of ICANN.
5.12.4 exclude for a specified period of time, an individual from any ALAC-related and At-Large-related activities if that person’s actions violate the Code of Conduct (Paragraph 14.4) or are deemed to be disruptive.
5.13 Any member of the ICANN community may voice problems, concerns, or complaints about ICANN to the Ombudsman (See Paragraph 9.8).
5.14 Should the Chair be incapable of carrying out the duties and obligations of the office, including that of delegating responsibilities to another ALAC Member, another ALAC Member will be deemed to be the Chair until such time as the original Chair can resume his/her duties or the ALAC can select a replacement. The replacement chair will be, in order of precedence:
5.14.1 The Vice Chair, if there is only one and he/she is willing to serve as Chair.
5.14.2 One of the Vice-Chairs by mutual agreement of the Vice-Chairs in consultation with other ALT or ALAC Members, or barring such agreement, by random selection of those willing to serve as Chair with the random selection carried out by Staff.
5.14.3 Any other ALT Member by mutual agreement of the ALT Members, or barring such agreement, by random selection of those willing to serve with the random selection carried out by Staff.
5.14.4 Any other ALAC Member by mutual agreement of the ALAC Members. Barring such agreement, Staff shall identify one ALAC Member by random selection from among all remaining ALAC Members who are both willing to serve and have the explicit support of at least one other ALAC Member.
8. Terms
8.1 All appointments begin at the conclusion of one AAGM and continue until the conclusion of the following AAGM, unless the ALAC specifically identifies a different timeframe.
8.2 If the Chair is still a member of the ALAC in the year following his or her selection, is willing to continue in that role and subject to the eligibility rules in Paragraph 5, the Chair’s term is deemed to be automatically renewed for a second year without any explicit action of the ALAC.
8.3 Should the Chair not be eligible to serve the automatically renewable second year, or chooses not to do so, the ALAC will select a new Chair as per the normal Chair selection process.
8..4 If any person leaves an appointed position prior to the normal end of their term, the person appointed as a replacement will serve only for the remainder of the incumbent’s term. This interim appointment should not negatively impact the individual’s eligibility to be appointed to this position on a regular basis at a later stage.
Section D. Selections, Elections and Appointments
16. General Provisions
16.1 According to the ICANN Bylaws, the ALAC Chair has to be formally elected. Other selections and appointments can be made by Consensus, but failing that, elections can always be used as a last resort.
16.2 Elections and selections can take place by electronic mail, online ballot, written ballot, or any other convenient and accurate means that are deemed to provide appropriate degree of confidentiality.
17. Procedures for the Election of Chair and Selection of the ALAC Leadership Team
17.1 Ordinary Chair Elections
17.1.1 Ordinary elections of the ALAC Chair shall be held so as to have the new Chair selected prior to the start of the AAGM. The selection should preferably be completed at least three weeks prior to the start of the AAGM to allow for the orderly selection of the rest of the ALAC Leadership Team.
17.1.2 The time schedule of the election process must take into account a possible run-off election.
17.1.3 The Chair/Staff shall send via Approved Distribution Lists a Selection Call for the ALAC Chair, giving the schedule and modalities of the election process and requesting nominations (including self-nominations) by ALAC Members. The Selection Call will allow at least fourteen days for nominations.
17.1.4 The requirements to be met by nominees for Chair are listed in Paragraph 5.
17.1.5 A nominee must send a message of acceptance to the same list on which nominations were solicited within seven days of the close of nominations. The acceptance should be sent via Staff if the nominee does not have sending privileges to that list. An ALAC SoI must be completed prior to the close of the acceptance period if the nominee does not already have one.
17.1.6 The Chair/Staff shall post to the Approved Distribution Lists a Selection Summary of all valid nominations for Chair, announcing the detailed election process after the deadline for nomination acceptance has passed.
17.1.7 Nominations will then be discussed on the Approved Distribution Lists, conference calls or other electronic or face-to-face meetings as appropriate.
17.2 Determination of winner
The following steps must be carried out in the specified order until a winner is declared or the election process is restarted with a new vote or Selection Call:
17.2.1 The winning candidate must receive votes from a majority of the sitting ALAC Members.
17.2.2 If the number of abstentions constitutes the majority of the sitting ALAC Members, the entire election process must be re-started with a Selection Call.
17.2.3 If the number of votes minus the number of abstentions does not constitute majority of the sitting ALAC Members, the vote must be re-run with the same slate of candidates. This may be done only once per Selection Call. If the situation occurs more than once, the entire election process must be re-started with a Selection Call.
17.2.4 In situations where there are more than two candidates:
17.2.4.1 If all candidates receive the same number of votes, the vote must be re-run with the same slate of candidates. This may be done only once for a given set of candidates per Selection Call. If the situation occurs more than once, the entire election process must be re-started with a Selection Call.
17.2.4.2 Drop the candidate placing last. If there is a tie, drop all candidates with the lowest number of votes. Re-run the vote with the remaining candidates.
17.2.5 If there are two candidates and both receive an equal number of votes, re-run the vote with the same slate of candidates. This may be done only once per Selection Call. If the situation occurs more than once, the entire election process must be re-started with a Selection Call.
17.3 Ordinary ALAC Leadership Team selections
17.3.1 Ordinary selections of the ALT Members will be held in connection with the AAGM.
17.3.2 The incoming Chair must be selected prior to the initiation of the selection process for the other ALT Members.
17.3.3 The Chair/Staff shall send via Approved Distribution Lists, a Selection Call for the ALT Members identifying the positions to be filled, giving the schedule and modalities of the selection process and requesting nominations (including self-nominations) by ALAC Members. The Selection Call will allow at least seven days for nominations.
17.3.4 The requirements to be met by Leadership Team nominees are listed in Paragraph 6.
17.3.5 A nominee must send a message of acceptance to the same list on which nominations were solicited within seven days of the close of nominations. The acceptance should be sent via Staff if the nominee does not have sending privileges to that list. An ALAC SoI must be completed prior to the close of the acceptance period if the nominee does not have one.
17.3.6 The selection of the ALT Members (excluding the Chair) shall be carried out prior to or during the AAGM using the standard ALAC process of Consensus if possible, and barring that, by secret ballot. If a vote is required for any position, the winner requires a majority of votes as per standard ALAC voting methodology. A voting method incorporating instant runoff may be used if deemed necessary. There must be no more than one person selected from each of the regions not represented by the Chair.
17.4 Extraordinary selections, elections and appointments
17.4.1 Extraordinary selections may be held, at the discretion of the ALAC, if for any reason a vacancy arises outside the normal election cycle, and an ALT position (including the Chair) becomes available.
17.4.2 When such an extraordinary selection is to occur, the Chair/Staff shall send via Approved Distribution Lists, a Selection Call for filling the open position for the remainder of the ordinary term, asking for nominations by a fourteen day deadline or sooner if warranted by special circumstances. Nominations may only be made by sitting ALAC Members. The Selection Call should allow for nominations to be accepted within seven days of the nomination.
17.4.3 If the position of Chair is the vacancy being filled, nominations may be for ALAC Members from any region.
17.4.4 If the position of one of the other Members of the Leadership Team is being filled, nominations may only be for an ALAC Member from the region represented by the previous incumbent.
17.4.5 Only sitting ALAC Members are eligible and entitled to vote.
17.4.6 Within seven days of the nominations deadline, the Chair shall post to the Approved Distribution Lists a Selection Summary” of all valid nominations, announcing the date, time and modalities of the selection and specifying the term of the appointment.
17.4.7 If the Chair is being elected, and the incoming Chair is from different region than the Chair previously in office:
17.4.7.1 the existing ALT Member from the region represented by the new Chair must step down; and
17.4.7.2 a new ALT Member from the region represented by the former Chair must be selected
0 Comments