Role of TLD Oversight Committee 03/08/01

DISCUSSION PAPER BY KEITH DAVIDSON

TOC at this stage is very much a half way house between the old system where Council of 19 deals with all TLD issues in amongst other issues and where we will be post-SRS when TOC will be semi-autonomous (but still accountable to Council) in its running of TLD issues.

Over the next couple of months we will need to consider three major issues relating to TOC.? Some if not all of these will be options canvassed by the SRS Implementation Manager as work progesses.? However we should and can start thinking about the issues now.

They broadly are:

1) Membership of TOC

2) Powers of TOC

3) Structure of TOC

MEMBERSHIP

It is unlikely we will remain a committee of Council made up purely of interested Councillors.? What representation should Registrars have, Name Holders?, Council? ISPs who are not Registrars? The Registry?? Should Chairs of Cmtes such as International and Technical be on TOC?

POWERS

Council (and general meetings) remain the ultimate authority within Internet NZ but how should their role interact with TOC?

Should Council have to approve every decision of TOC?? Should TOC sets its own budget?? Should TOC be free to establish its own sub-committees and working groups? Should TOC manage the consultation process with regard to dot NZ issues and Council merely be a final safeguard??

Possibly like ICANN, Council could have a veto role.? TOC will publish decisions which will be final within 14 days unless a Councillor objects and then it is referred to full Council?

STRUCTURE

What cmtes and WGs does TOC need??

We do not need to make decisions at this meeting and some of these issues will be covered by Rose in her consultation, but now is a good time to start thinking about them so that when decision making time comes we can move quickly.