World Wide Alliance of Top Level Domain-names

Resolution ccNSO from Rio de Janeiro meeting

Resolution of the ccTLD Meeting at Rio de Janeiro on ccNSO (in formation)

25th March 2003

(Please send your comments to ccnso@wwtld.org)

Resolutions adopted by the ccTLD Managers meeting in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, March 25 2003 concerning the Recommendations of the ccNSO Assistance Group

Introduction

1. The following resolutions are adopted by the ccTLD managers meeting in Rio, in response to the Recommendations of ICANN's ccNSO Assistance Group.

2. Managers are grateful to the members of the AG for their efforts, and for completing their recommendations in time for consideration at this meeting, and to those individual members who made themselves available for the extensive panel discussion with the cctld community in Rio.

3. The ccTLD managers support the thrust of the Recommendations and consider the scope, PDP, nature of the Council and other matters in the Recommendation as substantially providing an SO which would meet the needs of the ccTLD managers and their Local Internet Communities. However, some significant reservations and concerns are noted below and as such any consent or agreement by the ccTLD community is subject to review of the bylaws

4. There are some amendments required which have resulted from the discussions in Rio. In making these changes, the managers note:

   1. that substantial compromises have been made by various parties to this process;

   2. that this version of the SO will not be the last as improvements to structure and process can be made as experience and trust develop between the parties;

   3. that a structure of the amended format is likely to provide a constructive forum for ccTLD managers to develop a meaningful relationship in the ICANN structure; and

   4. that the SO as defined here should result in a structure in which the work of the SO can be efficiently carried out.

5. This advances work begun by the ccTLD Managers in Marina del Rey in November 2000, continued in Stockholm in June 2001, Montevideo in September 2001, substantially realised in the recognition of an SO for the cctlds in the ERC Blueprint for Reform released in Bucharest in May 2002 and brings near to completion the formation of an SO.

6. The members of the Assistance Group present abstained from this motion to the extent that changes from their Recommendations paper are made.

Resolved

1. Managers endorse the concept of an SO provided that it has the features set out in the clauses below.

2. Policies developed by the SO shall only be binding on its members when adopted by the Board of ICANN according to its bylaws and when limited to procedures providing for the entry in the IANA database of information relating to ccTLDs.

3. When such policies have been properly developed according to the rules of the SO and are sent to the Board, the Board's role is to ratify the policies, or remit them for further work to the SO.

4. Only policies properly developed through the SO can be binding on the members of the SO

5. A membership made up of Managers (including persons or other legal entities) entitled to or currently operating ccTLD registries who:

   1. choose to join the SO;

   2. pay the agreed dues (which may be zero in some cases); and

   3. agree to abide by the rules of the SO and applicable ICANN bylaws.

6. No policy development can be initiated until a minimum of 40 ccTLD Managers have joined the SO.

7. A policy development process as defined in the Recommendations, and in which

   1. the opinion provided by the general counsel makes no value judgements on any policy or proposed policy;

   2. validity of voting by members should be conditional on the achievement in each poll of a quorum of either 50 members or 40% of the total electorate, whichever is the lesser;

   3. only policies receiving the affirmative vote of 66% of voters of each region shall be conveyed to the Board as an SO Recommendation.

8. Has an additional reservations policy which provides that a member may reserve its right not to be bound by or implement a policy where for a member to do so would breach custom, religion, public policy or like constraint.

9. Voting appointments from the Nominating Committee are acceptable provided the ccNSO can make balanced contribution to the membership of the Nominating Committee. [abstention from .uk]