Based on Strawman charter Version 4 Alternative 1

Proposed Charter (V5)

1 Introduction and Background

Each of the participating SOs and ACs has adopted this charter according to its own rules and procedures, which is recorded in Annex A of this charter.

2 Objective and Scope

Objective

The  Internet governance CWG has been established  as part of  the ICANN Community’s preparation for the /1Net initiative, the Multi-stakeholder Meeting in Brazil in 2014, as well as the Panel on the Future of Global Internet Cooperation and related Fora to coordinate, facilitate, and increase the participation of the ICANN community members in these fora and processes.

The CWG may as part of its activities, and on its own behalf, take a position on, provide input to the public fora and advocate the multi-stakeholder model in the ICANN context, through Position Papers or Statements and relate to ICANN, Supporting Organizations and Advisory Committees on issues.

The WG shall not act as a representative of the participating SO’s and AC’s collectively or individually, or others, unless they have been explicitly asked to do so and the participating SO’s and AC’s have collectively decided to do so.  Otherwise, collectively or individually, the participating SO's and AC's and others may be invited to endorse or support the position or statements of the CWG.

CWG papers and other activities must include a clear statement indicating whether the paper or activity has been endorsed by the chartering organizations or not.

Scope

The scope of activities of the CWG is to do whatever it deems relevant and necessary to facilitate and improve participation in the multistakeholder fora in which ICANN is, or should be, a participant..

The CWG will take a proactive role in seeking and foster participation and input into the process and provide regular feedback to the SO's and AC's 

In achieving its objective the CWG will undertake, but is not limited to, the following activities:

• Organizing SO and AC  focused  sessions at ICANN events;
• Disseminate and summarise information relevant and related to the Internet Governance events and processes defined before
• Draft and submit Position Papers and Statements on its own behalf

3. Deliverables and Timeframes

Work Plan

As a first step the cWG should establish and adopt an initial work plan and an associated schedule. The work plan and schedule should include the relevant schedule of activities of the WG related to the relevant Internet Governance events,  and schedule and methods for informing the participating SO’s, AC’s and broader community on progress made. The initial work plan and schedule should be published on the web page of the WG. The Co-Chairs will be responsible for maintaining and updating the work plan and schedule and for informing the Chairs of the participating SO’s and AC’s of changes made to the work plan and schedule.

Work on substantive issue need not wait for the completion of work plan and associated schedule.

Progress Paper 

The Co-Chairs of the WG shall regularly update the participating SO’s and AC’s on the activities of the cWG. At appropriate times, as identified in the work plan, the WG shall produce a Progress Paper on progress made and its activities to inform the broader community.

Position Papers and Statements

The WG may, as part of its activities and on its own behalf, take a position and provide input to the public fora through Position Papers or Statements and relate this position or statement to ICANN, the Supporting Organisations and Advisory Committees and external fora. The participating SO’s and AC’s collectively or individually, and others will be invited to endorse or support the position or statements of the WG.

4. Process for the development of a Position Paper or Statement

WG Interim Paper or draft Statement

The WG, at its own discretion, may publish for public consultation an Interim Paper, which will contain a review and analysis of the topics it considers relevant. If appropriate an Interim Paper shall be published for public consultation at the time designated in the WG work plan

Review of Interim Paper

After closure of the public consultation on the Interim Paper, the cWG shall review and analyse the comments received and may, at its reasonable discretion, provide appropriate responses. The WG shall, at its reasonable discretion, not be obligated to address all comments made during the comment period, nor shall the WG be obligated at its reasonable discretion to include all comments submitted by any one individual or organisation.

WG Position Paper or Statement

In considering a WG Position Paper or Statement the WG shall seek to act by consensus. The consensus view of the members of the  CWG shall be conveyed to the participating SO’s and AC’s. If a minority disagrees with a consensus position, that minority position shall be included in the Paper or Statement. The Paper shall be published within seven days after adoption of the Paper by the CWG and conveyed to the chairs of the participating SO’s and AC’s.

SO and AC support for the Position Paper or Statement

This and following paragraphs depend on the nature of the WG

5.  Members, Staffing, and Organization

A. Membership

Membership in the CWG is open to members of the participating ICANN SOs and ACs.  Each of the participating SOs and ACs shall appoint members to the WG in accordance with their own rules and procedures, which includes a providing a Statement of Interest if required. There shall be a minimum of one representative from each participating SO and AC and a maximum of five (5) representatives from each participating SO and AC.

In addition, SOs and ACs are allowed to nominate observers who shall be able to attend all conference calls and contribute at the discretion of the Chair(s) of the meeting. Observers may also be subscribed to the WG’s mailing list with no posting ability. Observers will not participate in the consensus determination.

Non-participating ICANN AC’s are invited to appoint one or more liaisons or observers according to their own rules and procedures, and who will participate on equal footing as the observers.

In addition to members, each of the participating SO’s and AC’s shall each appoint a Co-chair for the WG.  The Co-chairs shall have primary leadership responsibilities for the CWG. The Co-Chairs are encouraged to collaborate with one another and with ICANN support staff in leading the WG.  The selected Co-chair from an SO's or AC's, does not count against the 5 member limit.

All WG participants are expected to be able to:

• Demonstrate knowledge or expertise of aspects of the objectives of the WG; and
• Commit to actively participate in the activities of the working group on an ongoing basis.

The Co-Chairs of the Working Group, in consultation with the members of the WG may also appoint experts to the Working Group. Experts are not considered members, but otherwise are entitled to participate on equal footing.

Participants, liaisons and observers will be listed on the working group’s webpage.

 B Support staff and Tools

ICANN is expected to provide adequate staff support to the WG.

In addition, the following communication tools have been established to aid the work of the CWG:

• CWG Wiki Workspace at (URL TBD)
• CWG Email List Subscriptions (TBD); and
• CWG SOI Repository, if appropriate, at (URL TBD)

C Working Group Methodology

Making Decisions

In considering its work plan, Papers and Final Report the CWG shall seek to act by consensus. If a minority opposes a consensus position, that minority position shall be incorporated in the related paper. The Co-Chairs shall be responsible for designating each position as having one of the following designations:

• Full consensus – a position where no minority disagrees;
• Consensus - a position where most agree and a small minority disagrees.
• No Consensus but strong support for a specific position / recommendation but significant opposition;

and

• Divergence – no strong support for a specific position / recommendation

In the case of Consensus, No Consensus or Divergence, the CWG Co-Chairs should encourage the submission of (minority) viewpoint(s).

Based upon the WG's needs and/or the Co-Chairs’ direction, CWG participants may request that their names are not associated explicitly with any view/position.

Consensus calls should always make best efforts to involve the entire CWG. It is the role of the Co-Chairs to designate which level of consensus is reached and announce this designation to the WG.

6. Omission in or Unreasonable Impact of Charter

In the event this charter does not provide guidance and/or the impact of the charter is unreasonable for conducting the business of the WG, the Co-Chairs of the CWG shall decide within reason after consultation with the group, Iin emergency the Co-Chair may decide without prior consultation, but are required to report the emergency and decision to the membership.

In the event it is decided that the charter needs to be modified to address the omission or unreasonable impact, the Co-Chairs, after discussion with the CWG, may propose to modify the charter to the participating SO’s and AC’s. A modification shall only be effective after adoption of the adjusted charter by the participating SOs and ACs in accordance with their own rules and procedures.

7. Closure and Working Group

Each year, starting by 20 December 2014, the charter and deliverables of the CWG shall be reviewed by the participating SO’s and AC’s to determine whether the WG should continue or, close and be dissolved. The CWG will continue if at least two of the participating SO’s or AC”s extend the charter of the CWG and notify the other participating SO’s and AC’s accordingly before the annual extension date. The notifications will be included in Annex A.

8. Charter Document History

This section records key changes to the WG Charter that take place after the adoption of the Charter.

Annex A Record of Adoption and Extension of the charter

Annex B Schedule