Comment on DNSO Formation Concepts

[Michael Sondow <msondow@iciiu.org>]

I would like to call your attention to a potential source of unfair
practices in designation of the DNSO's ICANN Board members. 

The DNSO Formation Concepts accepted by ICANN on March 4th state:

"Selection of ICANN Directors 

     The DNSO Names Council should seek nominations from the General
Assembly for individuals to serve on the ICANN Board. The Names
Council shall vote from among those nominees to select directors to
be submitted to the ICANN Board of Directors for election under
Article IV, Section 9(b) of the ICANN Bylaws."

If the Names Council thus has sole discretion in the appointment of
the DNSO's three ICANN Board members it could choose them from among
its own numbers, who will be selected by the constituencies as their
leaders. These constituency leaders, sitting on the Names Council,
will have a natural tendency to want to increase their influence by
putting themselves on the ICANN Board as well. Such a doubling of
responsibility and power may not be good for bottom-up authority.
The provision that nominations should come from the General Assembly
doesn't prevent that from happening unless there is a specific
provision that the Board nominees cannot be Names Council members.