ICANN Resolutions » Discussion regarding draft new ICANN Bylaws – including ICANN Legal assessment of whether it is consistent with the proposals
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Discussion regarding draft new ICANN Bylaws – including ICANN Legal assessment of whether it is consistent with the proposals
Posting of Draft New ICANN Bylaws for Public Comment resulting from IANA Stewardship Transition
Whereas, on 14 March 2014, the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) of the United States Department of Commerce announced its intention to transition the stewardship of the IANA Functions to the global multistakeholder community.
Whereas, on 10 March 2016, Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) accepted and transmitted to the NTIA the following transition documents: (i) the IANA Stewardship Transition Coordination Group's IANA Stewardship Transition Proposal, and (ii) the Cross Community Working Group on Enhancing ICANN Accountability's Work Stream 1 Report (collectively, the "Transition Proposals").
Whereas, a Bylaws Coordination Group was formed and in conjunction with ICANN lawyers and the independent law firms hired to assist the community in the development of the Transition Proposals, worked diligently to create a new set of Bylaws ("New Draft ICANN Bylaws") which set out the various proposed changes to the ICANN's current bylaws to give effect to the Transition Proposals.
Whereas, ICANN's General Counsel has asserted that the proposed New Draft ICANN Bylaws is consistent with the Transition Proposals and recommends that they be posted for a public comment period, prior to the ICANN Board's formal consideration for approval.
Whereas, the independent law firms are still finalizing their review of the New Draft ICANN Bylaws for consistency with the Transition Proposals, and if there are any material changes from the current draft prior to posting, ICANN's General Counsel will note such material changes to the ICANN Board, and will return to the ICANN Board if there are concerns raised with such changes prior to posting.
Resolved (2016.04.19.03), the ICANN Board approves the posting of the New Draft ICANN Bylaws for public comment on the ICANN website for a period of not less than 30 days, on 20 April 2016 or as soon thereafter as reasonably practicable.
The posting for public comment of these proposed Bylaws is the next required step towards planning for the implementation of the Transition Proposals. NTIA has stated that it needs to see that changes to the Bylaws have been adopted sufficient to implement the Transition Proposals before NTIA can complete its review of the Transition Proposals. Understanding that NTIA's review is likely to take approximately 90 days from the 10 March 2016 transmission of the Transition Proposals, the proposed Bylaws must be posted for comment now in order to support the global multistakeholder community's work towards a successful completion of the stewardship of the IANA functions.
To meet this intensive timeline, the ICANN community, supported through the Bylaws Coordination Group as well as the CWG-Stewardship and the Cross-Community Working Group on Enhancing ICANN Accountability, have worked very closely with their selected independent counsel and ICANN's legal team to develop the New Draft ICANN Bylaws that are being approved for posting.
The posting of these Bylaws changes for public comment is in line with ICANN's commitment to accountability and transparency. All public comments will be evaluated and presented to the Board for consideration and decision. There are no fiscal impacts in submitting this document for public comment. The fiscal impact of developing the Bylaws changes are significant. The posting of these proposed Bylaws changes is not anticipated to have any impact on the security, stability or resiliency of the DNS.
This is an Organizational Administrative Function for which public comment is not required.