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FINAL VERSION TO BE SUBMITTED IF RATIFIED

FINAL DRAFT VERSION TO BE VOTED UPON BY THE ALAC

ALAC and At-Large representatives were very active in the Policy and Implementation Working Group and the ALAC supports the recommendations.

The ALAC nonetheless has two concerns that have been raised throughout the WG processes.

1. GNSO processes allow participation from all communities, and so in theory can equitably balance all issues. However, given that contracted parties can be greatly impacted by GNSO policy decision outcomes, they have strong motivation to actively participate in policy development working groups, and are often well funded to do so. Those representing users and the public interest such as At-Large or non-commercial users’ constituencies are less able to participate on the same level. Accordingly, it is possible for WG participation to be unbalanced. Moreover, within the GNSO Council, the Contracted House Stakeholder Groups acting in unison can block a super-majority approval of any prospective recommendation. As a result, the ALAC has concerns that if an issue is to arise where the public interest or the needs of users is in conflict with the needs of contracted parties, the GNSO may not be able to arrive at an equitable solution.

2. Although the principle of referring all policy-like issues encountered during implementation back to the GNSO for resolution supports the concept of the GNSO being the sole gTLD policy body, the ALAC is concerned that for complex implementations such as the new gTLD process and future directory services solutions, the number of such referrals may unreasonably elongate the overall implementation process.

As stated above, the ALAC supports the recommended processes, but Advises the Board to carefully monitor both issues to ensure that user and public interests are appropriately considered and that the implementation of complex policy can be accomplished in reasonable time-frames.

FIRST DRAFT SUBMITTED

The first draft submitted will be placed here before the call for comments begins.