<<NCUC statement on

"Procedure for use by ICANN in considering requests for consent and
related contractual amendments to allow changes in the architecture
or operation of a gTLD registry."

NCUC observes that by initiating this procedure, ICANN is assuming
that its contracts alone are not sufficient to provide a predictable and
stable basis for the industry. It is assuming that it needs an ongoing
form of oversight to supplement its contracts and contractual
modifications, because the contracts cannot deal with all possible
developments in the future. Thus, ICANN is expanding into additional
areas of industry regulation, although no one wants to admit that.