ICANN|ARCHIVES

Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers

1. Scope

This Code of Ethics applies to and must be agreed to by:

1) any and all ICANN Nominating Committee (NomCom) members [http://www.icann.org/general/bylaws.htm#VII]
2) any and all ICANN staff members engaged in supporting the work of the Nominating Committee, and
3) any and all outside consultants who may be retained by the Nominating Committee to assist with any phase of its work.

2. NomCom’s Objectives

The following are the core objectives of the NomCom:

1. Identify, recruit, and nominate the highest-quality nominees for the positions NomCom is charged to fill;
2. Advance the core mission and values of ICANN [Bylaws Article I, Sections 1 and 2];
3. Trust and respect all members of the NomCom;
4. Pursue diversity in geography, culture, skills, experience, and perspectives from across the global Internet community;
5. Earn the trust and respect of the Internet community by acting with fairness and integrity, and by providing transparency of objectives, criteria, procedures, and mechanisms for receiving input, while respecting candidates’ privacy and maintaining the confidentiality that is necessary to assure open and frank communications within NomCom;
6. Adhere to the ICANN Bylaws.

3. NomCom’s Role

NomCom is responsible for the selection of portions of the members of the ICANN Board of Directors, GNSO Council, Interim ALAC, and ccNSO Council, filling these leadership positions in a way that complements the selections made for such positions by the Supporting Organizations and Interim ALAC.

The central rationale for using a nominating committee to select a portion of the ICANN leadership bodies is to balance those who can represent particular areas of knowledge and interests with those who place the broad public interest of the global Internet community ahead of any particular interests. NomCom’s role is to select individuals of the highest integrity and capability who place the broad public interest of the global Internet community ahead of any particular interests, and who are nevertheless knowledgeable about ICANN’s mission and environment.

To achieve this broad public-interest orientation, the members of NomCom are drawn from across the ICANN and global Internet communities. They act only on behalf of the interests of the global Internet community within the scope of the ICANN mission and the responsibilities assigned to NomCom by ICANN Bylaws. They act as individuals and are not beholden to their appointing constituencies as they work by consensus to derive the NomCom slates of Selected Nominees for these leadership bodies.

The NomCom functions independently from the ICANN Board, Supporting Organizations, and Advisory Committees. The NomCom selections are final; no further approval or ratification is needed.

Together the NomCom and Supporting Organization selection pathways ensure that ICANN benefits from functional, cultural, geographic diversity in its policy development and decision-making as the Internet evolves.

NomCom is responsible for the selection of all ICANN Directors except the President and those selected by ICANN's Supporting Organizations, and for such other selections as are set forth in the Bylaws. [Bylaws Article VII, Section 1]

Integrity and Conflicts of Interest

NomCom members act only on behalf of the interests of the global Internet community and within the scope of the ICANN mission and responsibilities assigned to it by the ICANN Bylaws. The NomCom is designed to function independently from the ICANN Board, the Supporting Organizations, and Advisory Committees.

NomCom members are expected to adhere to the ICANN Conflict of Interest Policy. Each NomCom member must disclose promptly to the Chair any financial or other relations that might affect (or might reasonably be seen to affect) his/her performance on the Committee, including any financial connections to any individual under consideration by the NomCom. A subcommittee will be formed by the Chair to review disclosed conflicts or potential conflicts and to determine how to handle them. NomCom members must recuse themselves from participation in discussion and voting where such conflict exists.

NomCom members must not have any pre-existing commitments concerning the nomination of any particular candidates or potential candidates.

Each NomCom member is expected to pursue the stated objectives of the Committee, to comply with the rules and procedures established by the Committee, and to support the decisions the Committee makes.

Each NomCom member is expected to do his/her best to find the highest-qualified candidates for consideration by the NomCom, and to do his/her best to encourage those individuals to serve.

At no time shall any member of NomCom act in a way that would bring the Committee into disrepute or undermine the integrity of the process by which the Committee makes its selections.

Confidentiality and Privacy

All NomCom members will safeguard all internal NomCom communications and treat them as strictly private, confidential, and for the use of immediate committee members and NomCom staff only, without exception.

NomCom members will not disclose outside of the Committee any of the discussions about the candidates. Further, NomCom members will not disclose outside of the Committee the identities of candidates under consideration by NomCom, unless NomCom as a whole has decided to do so and the explicit consent of the candidate(s) in question has been obtained.

Formal Statement of Commitment to the Code of Ethics

I understand the core objectives of the NomCom and fully agree to adhere to this Code of Ethics and the ICANN Conflicts of Interest Policy. Failure to do so will constitute grounds for my immediate removal from the NomCom. I fully agree to keep confidential all NomCom related discussions and to destroy any and all NomCom communications, records and notes when not serving on the NomCom.

Please sign below as having read, understood and agreed to this Code of Ethics.