Dear members,

As you are aware, part of Recommendation #7 from the  the CCWG-AP final
report stated that ICANN’s existing accountability mechanisms – the
Independent Review Process (IRP) or the Reconsideration Process – could not
be used to challenge decisions made by the Independent Applications
Assessment Panel on individual applications within the Grant Program.

At ICANN78 (Hamburg), the Board decided that it will direct ICANN org to
use the contractual terms and conditions required to apply for the Grant
Program to obtain applicant agreement that they cannot use ICANN’s
accountability mechanisms to challenge any individual decision taken on
their application within the ICANN Grant Program. Many in the community
were unhappy with this approach the board decided to take and a Request for
Reconsideration (RfR) was even sent by the IPC to the board.

In this proposal that is open for public comment, the Board is proposing
Bylaws Updates to Limit Access to Accountability Mechanisms whenever the
community asks for such limitations. We are seeking volunteers who can
review this proposal and assess/comment on behalf of NCSG. Let me know if
you'd like to volunteer.

Deadline to submit the comment is 15 April 2024 but we expect the draft
about 2 weeks before then. You can find more information here:
https://www.icann.org/en/public-comment/proceeding/proposed-bylaws-updates-to-limit-access-to-accountability-mechanisms-27-02-2024

I have created a draft Google doc for the comment here:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1fxmm1UyotTz1MDr66qUE0Xlh60b_3e3jZ0Z4UnO-79I/edit?usp=sharing

Warmly,
Tomslin