Blogs
Significant Changes in Third Proposal on Enhancements to ICANN Accountability by Matthew Shears | 3 December 2015
- CCWG-Accountability Issues Formal Update on Progress Made In and After ICANN54 in Dublin by CCWG Accountability co-Chairs | 15 November 2015
- Post ICANN54: A Glimpse into the 3rd Accountability Proposal by Aarti Bhavana | 5 November 2015
- Governments v. ICANN: The Last Battle Before the IANA Transition by Arun Mohan Sukumar | 27 October 2015
Centre for Communication Governance at National Law University, Delhi by Aarti Bhavana | 23 October
- Strange but familiar in Dublin by Jari Arkko and Andrew Sullivan | 21 October 2015
- CCWG-Accountability co-Chairs Statement Leading into ICANN54 in Dublin by CCWG co-Chairs | 14 October 2015
- Dublin and Transition by Steve Crocker | 13 October 2015
- Rx for Dublin Progress: Board Transparency, Specificity, and Community Acknowledgement by Philip Corwin | 13 October 2015
- Increasing Community Discussions on Enhancing ICANN Accountability at ICANN54 by Nick Tomasso | 12 October 2015
- Hopes for Dublin by Jordan Carter | 12 October 2015
- ICANN Accountability - the chronology and Dublin thoughts by Jordan Carter | 8 October 2015
- IANA Transition, ICANN Accountability, "Has Always Been About POWER" by John Poole | 1 October 2015
- Get on with it! Uncle Sam's right-hand man schools ICANN powwow by Kieren McCarthy | 26 September 2015
- Here, near the shore of Santa Monica, we see ICANN in its natural habitat – doing nothing by Kieren McCarthy | 25 September 2015
- NTIA Directs Smoke Signals Toward LA by Philip Corwin | 24 September 2015
- China (CAICT) Objects to ICANN CCWG Accountability 2nd Draft Proposal by John Poole | 24 September 2015
- Thoughts Heading into Los Angeles by Steve Crocker | 24 September 2015
- ICANN Accountability Enhancements Key in Moving IANA Transition Forward by Matthew Shears | 24 September 2015
- The Empire Strikes Back: ICANN Accountability at the Inflection Point by Philip Corwin | 23 September 2015
- Reflections on the IANA Stewardship Transition Process by Larry Strickling | 23 September 2015
- THE MYTH OF THE NEW GTLD BOTTOM UP MULTISTAKEHOLDER PROCESS by Avri Doria | 18 September 2015
- Building Momentum: An Update from the CCWG-Accountability co-Chairs | 18 September 2015
- ICANN Board Submits Final Comments to CCWG-Accountability Public Comment by Steve Crocker | 11 September 2015
- Upcoming Comments from the ICANN Board to the ICG and CCWG-Accountability by Steve Crocker | 7 September 2015
- Working Together Through The Last Mile by Steve Crocker | 3 September 2015
- The Latest Update on the Board's Review of the CCWG Proposal by Steve Crocker | 28 August 2015
- The IANA Transition: The Work Ahead | 27 August 2015
- Updating our Community on our Review of the CCWG-Accountability Proposal | 26 August 2015
- IANA Contract Extension The Right Thing to Do | 18 August 2015
- An Update on NTIA's Announcement to Extent IANA Functions Contract | 18 August 2015
- An Update on the IANA Transition by Larry Strickling | 17 August 2015
- Speak Up on the IANA Transition and ICANN Accountability | 7 August 2015
- An Update on IANA Stewardship Discussions | 7 August 2015
- Let Your Voice be Heard on IANA Transition by Larry Strickling | 4 August 2015
- Additional Coordination Through New Transition Facilitation Calls | 16 July 2015
- The CCWG: From Buenos Aires to Paris to Dublin | 15 July 2015
- ICANN accountability, IANA stewardship - what's at stake? | 15 July 2015
- Three key issues for ICANN's Accountability Working Group | 15 July 2015
- Joining the Global Discussion at ICANN 52 | 7 February 2015
- December Monthly Update | 18 December 2015
- October-November Monthly Update | 17 November 2014
- Evaluation of the Enhancing ICANN Accountability Comment Period | 6 October 2014
- September Monthly Update | 26 September 2014
- August Monthly Update | 8 August 2014
Most Recent Blog Update
Significant Changes in Third Proposal on Enhancements to ICANN Accountability by Matthew Shears
The Cross Community Working Group on enhancing ICANN’s accountability (CCWG Accountability) has published its third set of accountability recommendations that are key component of the overall IANA transition. The proposal is comprehensive and complex, and has substantively evolved from the 2nd version that was out for public comment at the end of the summer. The new proposal is on a short 21 day public comment period to ensure sufficient time for the US Government interagency review and implementation of key organizational and governance changes prior to the anticipated transition in September 2016. A set of overview slides on the proposal are available here.
The changes between the 2nd and 3rd proposals are significant and respond to many of the concerns raised during the prior public comment period. The changes between the 2nd and 3rd versions are highlighted in section 4 of each of the detailed Annexes to the proposal.
These changes include:
- Stepping back from what were considered to be the overly broad statutory powers of a membership model to the more constrained but still important powers of a designator model;
- Further elaborating the process for exercising community powers – the engage, escalate and enforce model;
- Making more clear the thresholds for the exercising of the community powers;
- Empowering the Supporting Organisations and Advisory Committees equally, such that the Government Advisory Committee is a decisional participant in the exercise of the community powers; and,
- Securing agreement on human rights related language for the ICANN bylaws.
At the heart of the recommendations are the community powers to:
- Reject budget or strategy/operating plans;
- Reject changes to ICANN “standard” bylaws;
- Approve changes to “fundamental” bylaws and/or articles of incorporation;
- Remove individual ICANN Board Directors;
- Recall the entire ICANN Board;
- Initiate a binding Independent Review Process; and,
- Reject ICANN Board decisions relating to reviews of IANA functions, including the triggering of Post-Transition IANA separation.
While these have not changed since the 2nd proposal, the purpose and extent of these powers, as well as the process for exercising them, are outlined in far greater detail than previously (see Annex 4).
Unfortunately there is no quick way of reviewing the proposal given its complexity (which is to be expected given the substantive changes to ICANN’s accountability and governance that are foreseen). This said, a thorough review of the 3rd proposal is critical given the importance of these accountability enhancements to the success of the IANA transition and the future of ICANN (the CCWG has expressed its view that it believes the proposal satisfies NTIA’s criteria in Annex 14.) CDT will be commenting further on this proposal and encourages all interested parties to do likewise in this important final round of consultations.