Consensus

Report from Workshop A
IFWP-Geneva, 25 July, 1998

Redrafted Notes from Final Geneva Session

Consensus About Powers

The board shall have the power to set policy regarding IP numbers through a bottom-up procedure where entity councils make proposals that the board may accept or veto.

The board shall have the power to set policies and procedures to maintain a coherent root zone system.

The board shall have the power to set policies and procedures for delegating TLDs, including ccTLDs and gTLDs.

No consensus was reached about the board’s ability to modify the current structure of ccTLDs, including their relation to ISO 3166. There was no consensus that the board has the power to set policies to ensure the sovereignty or independence of the ISO 3166 ccTLDs.

The board shall have the power to set policies and procedures to assign technical parameters.
The board shall have the power to set technical policies and procedures including the coordination of the Internet domain name system and the oversight of registrars and registries.

Except for the consensus expressed elsewhere in this statement, there was no further consensus reached about the scope of the board’s ability to determine policies with respect to TLDs.
There was no further consensus about the board’s power with respect to the management of any specific TLD.
There was no consensus about the board’s power to consider uniform standards for the stable operation of TLDs.

The entity shall have the power to set policies and procedures to determine its own organizational structure and finances.

No consensus was reached about whether this power shall be exercised by the board or by the members.

Consensus on Structure of the Entity

Entity shall have councils with their supporting organizations.

Entity shall have a board.

Decisions about technical policies must be approved by a relevant council prior to the board’s decision to accept or reject. (Strong support but not full consensus.)
The board may propose matters to be considered by the councils.

Issues of membership will be addressed by Workshop B.

Consensus About Objectives / Principles

The entity shall be limited to its enumerated powers.

The entity shall strive to minimize barriers to entry.

The entity shall work to assure the stability of Internet.

Issues to Be Considered by Other Groups or in the Future

Whether a supermajority of the board should be required to change constitution (to be considered by Workshop C)

Whether the entity should have the power to change the location of the entity, as agreed by the ccTLD BoF on 7/23.

How to minimize the significance of the laws of the jurisdiction in which the entity sits relative to other international legal regimes.

Whether the entity should consider the relationship of Internet telephony to its powers and duties.

Whether the entity should consider issues of security, privacy, free expression, or other issues of human rights.

Whether the entity should adopt principles about which interests – commerce, non-commerce, etc. – should be paramount.

Other Issues On Which No Consensus Was Reached

There was no consensus reached either about:

Which dispute resolution mechanisms the board should adopt, or
Whether the board should have the power to set dispute resolution mechanisms at all, or
The issues that dispute resolution procedures would cover (for example, disputes between parties versus disputes between a party and the entity).

There was no consensus reached about whether the board should have the power to adopt "best practices" for registrars.