Proposed new NCSG structure

[Mary Wong]

I echo Kim's thanks to Milton for his concrete and clear proposal for how NCUC and all interested non-commercial stakeholders/interests can handle the upcoming transition toward GNSO Council representation and bicameral voting based on 4 Stakeholder Groups (SGs) rather than the existing 6 Constituencies. This will be a significant change within ICANN/GNSO, and will have tremendous potential impact on future NCUC (or NCSG) participation/involvement in ICANN policies and processes.
 
I also share the concern over an over-extended Executive Council (EC) within a reconstituted NCSG because of the possibility of constituency (and hence each constituency's EC representative) proliferation. Let me first make clear that I am not opposed to a flexible, changing number and variety of constituencies - on the contrary, a nimble, diverse and wide-ranging number of constituencies representing a broad variety of stakeholders and interests will be very much in line with the Board Governance Committee's (BGC) February 2008 report on the GNSO Improvements.
 
I therefore support Milton's proposal, which does not set a ceiling for the number or types of constituencies that can be formed within the proposed NCSG. To his two questions, I'd also answer yes for both (i.e. excludability criteria to be set by each constituency and no limits on the number of constituencies a NCSG member may join.)
 
I would also urge the submission and retention of all constituency documentation, including membership criteria and decision-making, so as to clearly show NCSG's commitment to the BGC's concerns over transparency, inclusiveness and participation.
 
Finally, returning to Kim's recommendation about a minimum/maximum range for EC seats, we could consider adding the following requirements: 
 
(1) each constituency seeking an EC seat should have a minimum number of members (e.g. 6, making it 5 regular members - based on Milton's suggestion - plus 1 EC representative); and 
 
(2) where the number of eligible constituencies exceed the available maximum number of EC seats, there should be a clear process for allocating EC seats to as representative a group of constituencies as possible (e.g. based on number of members and/or a vote of all constituencies.)
 
My apologies for such a long post; my intention was to emphasize the importance of the new SG structure and the equally significant need for the NCUC/NCSG membership to demonstrate that its internal composition and processes are broad, diverse, yet open and thoughtful, and that a repositioned NCSG will be vibrant, positive and truly representative of all non-commercial user interests globally.
 
Cheers
Mary

 
 
Mary W S Wong
Professor of Law
Franklin Pierce Law Center
Two White Street
Concord, NH 03301
USA
Email: mwong at piercelaw.edu 
Phone: 1-603-513-5143
Webpage: http://www.piercelaw.edu/marywong/index.php 
Selected writings available on the Social Science Research Network (SSRN) at: http://ssrn.com/author=437584
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