Minutes | Meeting of the Board Accountability Mechanisms Committee (BAMC) | 4 April 2024

BAMC Attendees: Becky Burr, Sarah Deutsch, Patricio Poblete, León Sánchez (Chair), and Katrina Sataki

ICANN organization Attendees: Samantha Eisner (Deputy General Counsel), Casandra Furey (Associate General Counsel), John Jeffrey (General Counsel and Secretary), Elizabeth Le (Associate General Counsel), Wendy Profit (Board Operations Senior Manager), and Amy Stathos (Deputy General Counsel)

The following is a summary of discussions, actions taken and actions identified:

1. Agenda review – The Chair reviewed the agenda for the meeting.

2. Procedural Evaluation of Reconsideration Request 23-2 – The Committee continued its discussion on the procedural evaluation of Request 23-2. The Committee noted that the Requestor asked for additional time to consider whether to withdraw Request 23-2 in light of the discussions between the Board and the community surrounding the proposed Bylaws revisions and updates to the CCWG-AP's Recommendation 7. The Committee further noted that while the Board is committed to continuing the dialogue with the community, the Bylaws do not allow for flexibility in the 135-day deadline to respond to reconsideration requests, which expires on 5 April 2023 for Request 23-2, and therefore, the Committee needs to proceed with the disposition of Request 23-2. The BAMC determined that Request 23-2 is not sufficiently stated pursuant to requirements set forth under Article 4, Sections 4.2(a) and (c) of the Bylaws and is therefore summarily dismissed for the following reasons: (i) the Requestor failed to sufficiently identify an alleged an adverse effect of the challenged conduct on the Requestor; (ii) the request for reconsideration of the Board's 6 December 2018 public comment on the Initial Report of the CCWG-AP is not timely; (iii) the request for reconsideration of Staff's organization of the public comment phase on the Proposed Final Report of the CCWG-AP between December 2019 and February 2020 is not timely; (iv) the request for reconsideration of Board Resolutions 2022.06.12.13 – 2022.06.12.16 is not timely; and (v) the request for reconsideration on the implementation of the Grant Program fails to identify any specific Board or Staff action or inaction. The BAMC further noted that the Board has already effectuated the Requestor's sought-after relief by initiating a Fundamental Bylaws Amendment process to limit access to ICANN's accountability mechanisms in specific circumstances, engaging with the community about the concerns raised in Request 23-2, and adopting Resolution 2024.03.07.03, which made approval of the initial ICANN Grant Program applications "dependent" on the successful completion of both "the Chartering Organizations' updating of the CCWG-AP Recommendation 7" and "full implementation" of the Fundamental Bylaws Amendment process. Although the Requestor has failed to sufficiently state grounds for reconsideration of the challenged action required under Article 4, Section 4.2(a) and (c) of the Bylaws, the BAMC recognized and appreciated the importance of the ICANN Grant Program to ICANN and the broader ICANN community and recommended that the Board continue to participate in a dialogue with the broader community to discuss the concerns raised in Request 23-2. The Committee noted that its decision is strictly limited to the preliminary procedural assessment of whether Request 23-2 has sufficiently stated a reconsideration request and does not reflect a conclusion as to its merits.

   • Actions:

     • BAMC Chair to respond to request from the Requestor for additional time to consider whether to withdraw Request 23-2.
     • ICANN org to publish the Summary Dismissal and notify the Requestor.