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Alan Greenberg served as the GNSO Liaison for the following terms:  2006-2007, 2007-2008, 2008-2009, 2009-2010, 2010-2011, 2011-2012, 2012-2013, 2013-2014.

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NEWS: 

GNSO Election results for 2015-2016:

GNSO Council Chair: James Bladel
GNSO Council Vice Chair (Contracted Parties House): Donna Austin
GNSO Council Vice Chair (Non-contracted Parties House): Heather Forrest

Item 1: Administrative matters (5 minutes)

1.1 – Roll call

1.2 – Updates to Statements of Interest

1.3 – Review/amend agenda.

1.4  – Note the status of minutes for the previous Council meetings per the GNSO Operating Procedures:

Minutes of the GNSO Council meetings of 24 June, 23 July 2015 and 24 September and 21 October will be posted as approved on xxxxxx 2015

Item 2: Opening Remarks / Review of Projects & Action List (10 minutes)

2.1 – Review focus areas and provide updates on specific key themes / topics, to include review of Projects List and Action List

Action Items

Besides the regular updates that will be done before the next Council call, the following require further action from the Council:

• Council response to Board letter on exclusive registry access – draft circulated to the Council list on 18 November, feedback requested by 23 November:  http://gnso.icann.org/mailing-lists/archives/council/msg17670.html 

• Council response to Board letter on replacement of registrar insurance requirements – draft to be circulated to the Council by 19 November, feedback to be provided by 24 November.

• Dublin meeting survey – Councillors to respond as soon as possible:  https://s.zoomerang.com/s/PR55KC2 

• IETF follow up - Council to consider next steps, including possibly inviting IETF representatives to a meeting in Marrakech to discuss the most effective ways of ensuring there is regular communication/liaison

Item 3: Consent agenda (0 minutes)

Item 4: VOTE ON MOTION – Adoption of the Charter for PDP Working Group on Next Generation gTLD Registration Directory Services (RDS) to Replace WHOIS (15 minutes)

In November 2012 the ICANN Board requested an Issue Report on the purpose of collecting and maintaining gTLD registration data, and on solutions to improve accuracy and access to gTLD registration data, as part of a Board-initiated GNSO Policy Development Process (PDP). Concurrently, the Board directed the launch of a new effort to redefine the purpose of collecting, maintaining and providing access to gTLD registration data, and to consider safeguards for protecting data, as a foundation for new gTLD policy and contractual negotiations, as appropriate. In June 2014 the Expert Working Group convened as a result of the Board resolution published its Final Report. In April 2015 a group comprising Board and GNSO Council members finalized a proposed Process Framework to guide the work of the PDP. In July 2015 an updated Preliminary Issue Report was published at the Board’s request for public comment, following which a Final Issue Report taking into account public comments received was prepared and submitted to the GNSO Council on 7 October 2015 (see http://whois.icann.org/sites/default/files/files/final-issue-report-next-generation-rds-07oct15-en.pdf).

At its October meeting in Dublin, the Council agreed to defer voting on chartering the Working Group for this PDP till its next meeting. Here the Council will review and vote on a revised motion to approve the charter for the Working Group to be formed to conduct this Board-initiated PDP.

4.1 – Presentation of the motion (Susan Kawaguchi)

4.2 – Discussion

4.3 – Council vote (voting threshold: an affirmative vote of more than one-third (1/3) of each House or more than two-thirds (2/3) of one House)

Amended motion passed: call for volunteers to form the PDP Working Group to be launched at the latest by 4 January; Councillors to update their respective SG/Cs on how the amendment affects the Working Group’s handling of SG/C feedback provided during the public comment period on the Preliminary Issue Report.

Note that the deliberations around this motion, including on the spot word-crafting, took much more time than the allocated time provided in the agenda - hence affecting other order of business items.

Item 5: VOTE ON MOTION – New Referral Request to the Standing Committee for GNSO Improvements Implementation (10 minutes)

The GNSO Council identified a number of procedural issues during the most recent round of elections for the GNSO Chair. These arise mainly from the fact that the GNSO Operating Procedures do not currently contain express provisions for an election timetable and a method for prescribing the specific terms to be served by the Chair and Vice-Chairs. The Procedures also do not seem to permit new incoming Council members to stand for the Chair position. Here the Council will discuss and vote on whether to refer these matters to the GNSO’s Standing Committee for GNSO Improvements Implementation (SCI), and the scope of such a referral request.

5.1 – Presentation of the motion (Wolf-Ulrich Knoben)

5.2 – Discussion

5.3 – Council vote (voting threshold: simple majority)

Item 6: VOTE ON MOTION - Adoption of GNSO Review of the GAC Dublin Communique (15 mins)

Following discussions at the Council level in late 2014 to develop a means for the GNSO to provide input to the ICANN Board regarding gTLD policy matters highlighted in a GAC Communique, a template framework to review each GAC Communique was created by a group of Council volunteers assisted by ICANN staff. The Council agreed that while it would review carefully each GAC Communique issued at an ICANN meeting, it would not always provide input to the Board unless it also agreed that such feedback was either necessary or desirable, on a case-by-case basis. The first GNSO Review of a GAC Communique was of the GAC’s Communique from ICANN53 in Buenos Aires. That Review document was sent to the ICANN Board in July 2015 and acknowledged by the Board in October. Here the Council will review a draft of a possible review document to be sent to the Board in response to the GAC’s Dublin Communique.

6.1 – Presentation of the motion (Stephanie Perrin)

6.2 – Discussion

6.3 – Council vote (voting threshold: simple majority)

Deferred to the next meeting; Council to further discuss and finalize the draft most recently circulated on the mailing list:  http://gnso.icann.org/mailing-lists/archives/council/msg17693.html

Item 7: DISCUSSION OF COUNCIL ACTION – Cross-Community Working Group on Enhancing ICANN Accountability (25 minutes)

In the course of discussions over the IANA stewardship transition, the community had raised concerns about ICANN's accountability, given ICANN’s historical contractual relationship with the United States government. The community discussions indicated that existing ICANN accountability mechanisms do not yet meet some stakeholders’ expectations. Considering that the US Government (through the NTIA) has stressed that it expects community consensus on the transition, this gap between the current situation and stakeholder expectations needed to be addressed. This resulted in the creation of a Cross Community Working Group on Enhancing ICANN Accountability (CCWG-Accountability) of which the GNSO is a chartering organization.

In May 2015, the CCWG-Accountability published some initial proposals surrounding its work on Work Stream 1 (meant to align with the timing of the IANA stewardship transition) for public comment. In August, the CCWG-Accountability published its Second Draft Proposal for public comment. This second proposal included significant changes to the initial document, arising from feedback received in the first public comment period. Following community input, including from the ICANN Board, and discussions at several sessions during ICANN54, the CCWG-Accountability has made further adjustments to its draft recommendations. As a result, a third public comment period will be held in November, with the aim to submit a report to all the Chartering Organizations for adoption in January 2016.

At ICANN54, the IANA Stewardship Transition Coordination Group (ICG) – the community group that was formed to consolidate the various proposals relating to the IANA stewardship transition submitted by the Internet communities affected by the issue – announced that it had completed its task. However, before the ICG can send the consolidated proposal to the National Telecommunications and Information Administration via the ICANN Board, it will first have to confirm with the Cross Community Working Group to Develop an IANA Stewardship Transition Proposal on Naming Related Functions (CWG-Stewardship) that its accountability requirements have been met by Work Stream 1 recommendations currently being finalized by the CCWG-Accountability. The CCWG-Accountability therefore hopes that completion and timely approval of its Work Stream 1 recommendations by all its Chartering Organizations will mean minimal disruption of the IANA stewardship transition timeline.

Here the Council will receive an update on the progress of the CCWG-Accountability, and determine how best to ensure that its comments, as well as input from its Stakeholder Groups and Constituencies, are submitted and considered in a coordinated and timely fashion.

7.1 – Update (Thomas Rickert)

7.2 – Discussion

7.3 – Next steps

Councilors to begin consultations with their respective SG/Cs based on the 15 November Formal Update provided by the CCWG co-chairs:  https://www.icann.org/en/system/files/files/cwg-draft-2-proposal-work-stream-1-recs-15nov15-en.pdf (pending the release of the full Third Draft Proposal on 30 November).

Councilors to consider next steps in relation to input to be provided to the CCWG by the end of the public comment period as well as consideration of the Final Report.

Item 8: COUNCIL ACTION – GNSO Candidates for ICANN’s Competition, Consumer Trust and Consumer Choice Review Team (15 minutes)

As part of its Affirmation of Commitments with the United States government, ICANN is committed to conducting periodic community-led reviews of four key objectives, one of which is the promotion of competition, consumer trust and consumer choice. This review team is currently being formed, to “examine the extent to which the introduction or expansion of gTLDs has promoted competition, consumer trust and consumer choice, as well as effectiveness of (a) the application and evaluation process, and (b) safeguards put in place to mitigate issues involved in the introduction or expansion.” The Call for Volunteers to serve as a Review Team member representing a particular ICANN Supporting Organization or Advisory Committee closes on 13 November. SO/ACs are expected to confirm their endorsements of their representatives by 13 December, following which the ICANN CEO and the GAC Chair will select the members of the Review Team, which is expected to begin its work in January 2016. Here the Council will discuss which of the volunteers who have indicated a wish to represent the GNSO to endorse.

8.1 – Presentation of the candidate list (Volker Greimann)

8.2 – Discussion

8.3 – Council decision and next steps

Deferred to the next meeting; Councilors to review the proposed process (see  http://gnso.icann.org/mailing-lists/archives/council/msg17695.html) for endorsing a certain number of applicants as GNSO representatives for consideration by the selection team (ICANN CEO and GAC Chair), and to continue discussions on the Council mailing list (see  http://gnso.icann.org/mailing-lists/archives/council/msg17686.html for the updated list of candidates).

Item 9: UPDATE – Issue Report for a Potential PDP on New gTLDs Subsequent Procedures (10 minutes)

In June 2015, the GNSO Council had requested an Issue Report to analyze subjects that may lead to changes or adjustments for subsequent New gTLD procedures, including any modifications that may be needed to the GNSO’s policy principles and recommendations from its 2007 Final Report on the Introduction of New Generic Top Level Domains. Preparation of the Preliminary Issue Report was based on a set of deliverables from the GNSO’s New gTLD Subsequent Procedures Discussion Group (DG) as the basis for analysis. The Preliminary Issue Report was published for public comment on 31 August 2015, with the comment period closing on 30 October as a result of a request by the GNSO Council to extend the usual 40-day comment period. Here the Council will receive an update from ICANN staff on the expected timeline and next steps following the close of the public comment period.

9.1 – Update (Steve Chan)

9.2 – Discussion

9.3 – Next steps

ICANN staff to send a written update to the Council mailing list.

Item 10: BRIEFING – Ensuring Attendee Security at ICANN Meetings (15 minutes)

At its meeting in Dublin the GNSO Council had expressed an interest in getting early information about security arrangements for forthcoming ICANN meetings, starting with the next meeting scheduled for Marrakech. The intention is to make this briefing a standard agenda item for all future ICANN Public Meetings, so that the community will have up to date information regarding the security arrangements ICANN is making for each Public Meeting.

10.1 – Informational briefing (Nick Tomasso / Geoff Bickers / Chris Clark)

10.2 – Discussion / Q&A

ICANN staff to forward the following questions to Nick Tomasso and his team:

• With the posting publicly of the location of where the security details will be at the venue, should we be concerned that others may gain access to this plan?

• Can we have the details about the firm Chris works for sent to the Council? [ NOTE: full details of the gentleman's credentials have been forwarded to the Council list ]

• Can we get an update from the Moroccan authorities about security enhancements outside the venue, e.g. the airport?

• Can ICANN staff provide updates about concerns that the rooms in Marrakech are: (1) non-refundable/changeable; (2) to be prepaid; and (3) not available on Thursday night? Apparently the hotel is also asking people to email a scanned copy of the front and back of their credit cards – all these are very discouraging and difficult for attendees, especially business travelers.

Item 11: QUESTION & ANSWER SESSION – GNSO Chair Elections (30 minutes)

Following the close of the second nomination period on 5 November, one nomination for GNSO Chair for the term AGM 2015-AGM 2016 was received from the Contracted Parties House. The Non-Contracted Parties House has since confirmed that it will not be nominating a candidate for Chair. Here the Council will have a chance to ask questions of the sole candidate, Mr James Bladel, prior to the distribution of the ballots on 20 November. Balloting will close on 23 November, with results to be announced on 24 November.

11.1 – Introduction of candidate (James Bladel)

11.2 – Q&A

11.3 – Next steps (Marika Konings /Glen de St Gery)

Councilors to follow up on James Bladel’s latest email invitation if so desired:  http://gnso.icann.org/mailing-lists/archives/council/msg17694.html; ICANN staff to distribute electronic ballots on 20 November.

Item 12:Any Other Business (5 Minutes)

• Proposed meetings for 2016: Councilors to provide input on the proposed schedule of meetings as well as potential changes to the rotation of time zones.

• CWG-Stewardship Letter concerning role in implementation: Councilors to provide feedback on whether there are any concerns in relation to the approach proposed by the CWG-Stewardship for dealing with implementation oversight.

• DNS Entrepreneurship Center: Julf to circulate message concerning DNS Entrepreneurship Center to Council mailing list.

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