Public participation site

The ombudsman is an independent, impartial, and neutral officer of ICANN.

His function is to act as an Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) office for the ICANN community who may wish to lodge a complaint about a staff or board decision, action or inaction. The purpose of the office is to ensure that the members of the ICANN community have been treated fairly. The Ombudsman will act as impartial officer and will attempt to resolve complaints about unfair treatment by ICANN using ADR techniques.

Jurisdiction of the Ombudsman

The ICANN Ombudsman will receive and have jurisdiction over complaints concerning:

* Decisions, actions, or inactions by one or more members of ICANN staff;
* Decisions, actions, or inactions by the Board of Directors which may be inconsistent with the Articles of Incorporation or the Bylaws.

The Ombudsman does not have jurisdiction over complaints concerning:

* Internal administrative matters;
* Personnel issues;
* Issues relating to membership on the Board; nor
* Issues relating to vendor/supplier relationships.

Powers of the Ombudsman

The Ombudsman does not have the power to make, change or set aside a policy, administrative or Board decision, act, or omission. The Ombudsman does have the power to investigate these events, and to use ADR technique to resolve them.

His website can be found at http://www.icann.org/ombudsman/