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NZ Comments on the Proposed Amendments to the ICANN Bylaws
NZ Comments on the Proposed Amendments to the ICANN BylawsSUMMARY | BACKGROUND |PROCEDURAL COMMENT - PROCESS |PROCEDURAL COMMENT - TIMEFRAMES | COMMENT ON THE CONTENT OF THE REPORT |CONCLUSION Thank you for the opportunity to comment on the proposed amendments to ICANN Bylaws (October 8 1999). We again record our concern over the extremely short timeframe of 14 days allowed for comments on the Proposed Amendments. We note that this continues the trend we raised in our submission on the DNSO WG-A Report (dated July 30 1999) SUMMARY
BACKGROUNDThe Internet Society of New Zealand [ISOCNZ] is a not for profit, incorporated society. Its membership is open. Membership subscription costs NZ$50 per year. A full description of the principles of ISOCNZ may be obtained at its website at http://www.isocnz.org.nz .
As you know .nz has had extensive involvement with the process associated with the creation of ICANN: i. ISOCNZ monitored the formation of the IAHC and the MoU ii. ISOCNZ monitored both the Green and White papers iii. ISOCNZ made written comment on the Green and White papers (see (link to document) iv. Domainz also made submissions to the Green Paper (see http://www.domainz.net.nz/newsstand/usgovt.html ) v. ISOCNZ and Domainz were part of the Boston Working Group (BWG) submission to the US Government, late 1998. As the BWG submission was only one of two formal responses to the IANA draft that preceded formation of ICANN, NZ was involved in a number of audio conferences with Ira Magaziner and the US Dept of Commerce vi. ISOCNZ and or Domainz attended three of the international meetings prior to establishment of ICANN vii. ISOCNZ has, through Domainz, participated in the WIPO process, attending the Sydney meeting and presenting submissions in response to RFC-2 (see: http://www.domainz.net.nz/newsstand/wipo2.html ). viii. ISOCNZ made written submission on WIPO RFC-3 (see link to document) ) [The New Zealand Ministry of Commerce made comment to WIPO endorsing ISOCNZ's submission.] ix. ISOCNZ and Domainz attended March 1999 Singapore ICANN meeting x. ISOCNZ had representation at the April 1999 FICPI/AAPA meeting, Wellington, New Zealand xi. ISOCNZ organised a New Zealand National Summit on the proposed changes to the governance of the Internet arising out of WIPO RFC-3 and the ICANN Singapore meeting. A national position was created (see link to document ) xii. ISOCNZ and Domainz attended the May 1999 Berlin ICANN Meeting and made representations on the WIPO recommendations (see link to document) xiii. ISOCNZ attended the August 1999 Santiago ICANN Meeting and made representations on the WG-A Dispute Resolution Process Report (see link to document) PROCEDURAL COMMENT - PROCESS.nz views with concern the decision of the Board, or the staff acting on behalf of the Board, to present Amended Bylaws for public comment before the policy decisions behind the amendments have been debated. This results in commentators arguing over language rather than substance. .nz requests that the Proposed Amendments be withdrawn and re-presented only after the underlying policy issues have been opened for public comment. PROCEDURAL COMMENT - TIMEFRAMESAs noted in the Introduction, the timeframes for response to the Proposed Amendments are, we believe, needlessly tight and do not allow for proper consultation with our stakeholders. It would seem that the further along the process of setting up a representative structure gets, the shorter the consultation periods allowed. This does not, in our view, accord well with either the democratic process, nor with gaining well researched, broad-based, consultation with stakeholders.In addition we are of the opinion that the short timeframe for comment breaches the spirit of Section 3 (b) (ii) of the existing Bylaws .nz requests that when the Proposed Amendments are reopened for comment they be so for a period of not less than four weeks in total to ensure that proper consultation with stakeholders can take place. COMMENT ON THE CONTENT OF THE REPORT.nz has concerns over three main areas of the proposed amendments.
CONCLUSION.nz appreciates the opportunity to comment on the Proposed Amendments to the ICANN Bylaws. We have indicated the major areas of concern above, ranging from presentation of proposed amendments before the underlying policy intentions have been discussed, through insufficient consultation times, and onto comments about the content of the Report.We look forward to the Board's comments and explanations at the Los Angeles meeting. Sue Leader © 1999 The Internet Society of New Zealand Document Actions |
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