I.  Mission and Purpose

1.The Registrar Constituency of the Domain Name Supporting Organisation ("DNSO") is one of the initial constituencies of the DNSO, according to Article VI-b, Section 3 of the ICANN Bylaws.

2. The purpose of the Registrar Constituency is to represent the views and interests of professional domain name registrars within the DNSO in all matters and issues of its responsibility according to ICANN bylaws.

3. A registrar is an entity that acts as a (technical and operational) interface between domain name holders ("registrants") and a TLD registry, providing registration and value-added services. Registrars directly submit to the registry zone file information and other data (including contact information) for each of their customers in a given TLD.

4. Registrars are different from registry or registrar resellers, which can provide some value-added registration services, as registrars directly interface with TLD databases operated by registry administrators.

5. The Registrar Constituency shall not act as a Registrar Trade Association nor represent collective registrar views or interests in any other forum than DNSO/ICANN. As registrars are the basic component for competition in the domain-name registration market, the Registrar Constituency shall refrain from facilitating, promoting or otherwise allowing collusion or other anticompetitive behavior among registrars.

II Membership

1. Initial Members of the Registrar Constituency

Eligible as Initial Members of the Registrar Constituency are the entities accredited as Registrars by ICANN up to the date in which the Registrar Constituency will be recognized by its Board of Directors.

2. Additional Members of the Registrar Constituency
 
(a) All entities accredited as Registrar by ICANN will be eligible to the Registrar Constituency as they get accredited.

(b) ICANN-accredited registrars can also participate within the Registrar Constituency through representative associations.

(c) Besides Registrars operating with gTLD registries (identified as those accredited by ICANN) the Registrar Constituency could also include registrars operating with ccTLD Registries. As such we understand those organisations which are registered with IANA/ICANN as the designated manager of an ISO-3166 Top Level Domain Registry.

(d) The Secretariat of the Registrar Constituency shall require from ICANN a regularly updated list of the delegated TLD registry managers, and undertake consultations with each such registry in order to ascertain whether they operate through registrars, what are their respective criteria for accrediting registrars, and the list of each registry‘s accredited registrars.

ISO-3166 TLD Registry-accredited Registrars could form a special class of members of the Registrar Constituency

3. Observers
 

The Registrar Constituency shall decide whether registry and registrar resellers, agents and other entities providing domain-name registration services but failing to qualify as a Registrar, as well as organisations representing these categories, are allowed to participate within the Registrar Constituency as non-voting, observer-status members.

III Organisation and Structure

1. The Registrar Constituency shall consist of:
 
(a) A Membership, as defined in the previous section

(b) A Secretariat, with the functions described below. (c) Three Names Council Representatives. One of these representatives shall chair the Registrar Constituency meetings, which can be either collocated or electronically linked.

2. The Secretariat functions will include:
 
(a) Reviewing applications for membership in the Registrar Constituency. In this function it will be helped by a Credentials Committee.

(b) Carrying out the administrative functions associated with the operations of the Registrar Constituency, including the arrangement of meetings, preparation and publication of minutes.

(c) Facilitating and, where appropriate, formulating membership consensus on policy issues for the purpose of advising the Business Constituency representatives on the Names Council

(d) Assessing and collecting membership fees and preparing the annual budget and accounting, if necessary.
 

3. The Secretariat functions will be provided by a member of the Registrar Constituency, elected by the Constituency membership. Each entity selected to run the Secretariat will provide its services for one year. Re-appointment will be possible up to a maximum of three consecutive years.

4. The Registrar Names Council Members
 

(a) The three Names Council representatives will act as Registrar Constituency representatives and not as those of their respective entities or organisations. As far as it is practical, Names Council representatives shall consult all relevant matters and decisions with the Registrar Constituency.

(b) The Registrar Names Council members shall normally serve for two years. They may seek re-election for a second consecutive mandate.

(c) The initial three Registrar Names Council members shall serve for a period not exceeding December 31, 1999. The Registrar Constituency shall develop prior to that date all relevant substantive and procedural rules in order to run regular elections. This include selecting a Secretariat, appointing a Membership Credentials committee; implementing criteria for ISO-3166 Registrar membership and formalizing policy-development mechanisms and rules.

(d) Registrar Names Council members, including initial representatives, may serve for two consecutive terms before becoming ineligible for re-election for a third consecutive term.

5. Selection of Candidates for the DNSO Names Council
 
(a) Each Constituency member may propose one individual as a candidate for election to the DNSO Names Council. Nominations will be open for a one-week period.

(b) All nominees from the same region (as defined in the ICANN Bylaws) as the person with the largest number of votes will be eliminated. From the resulting list, all nominees from the same region as the person with the second number of votes will be eliminated. The three people at the top of the remaining list will be elected as representatives of the Registrar Constituency to the Names Council.

(c) If the list of nominees contains only members from two or one of the regions, the Secretariat will extend the nomination period for a further week. After that week, elections will take place, providing as many Names Council seats as regions are represented. The Secretariat will organize a new election restricted to nominees of those regions not yet represented. Pending that, the Constituency will only partially fulfill the Names Council seats reserved to it.

 

1. Registrar Constituency members shall have one vote per member, irrespective of the size or the number of domain names registered.

2. Association of registrars shall have three votes each, provided that they have as members more than fifteen eligible registrars not represented within the Constituency as individual registrars.

3. Observers shall have no voting rights.

V Funding

1. The Registrar Constituency members shall arrange any necessary finance for the constituency in a manner to be agreed by the Constituency.

2. The Registrar Constituency shall participate in the DNSO funding in the way decided by the Names Council

VI Registrar Constituency Processes.

1. The Registrar Constituency shall adhere to the open and transparent process requirements as stated by ICANN. It shall also comply with ICANN-established conflict-of-interest, dispute resolution and review policies,

2. Registrar Constituency meetings will normally be held when possible by electronic means. Once a year a physical meeting shall be arranged, in conjunction with DNSO and/or ICANN-related meetings.

VII Registrar Constituency Formation Timetable
 

May, 3	Publication of the Draft Framework
May 3-May 18	Comments Period and membership applications
May 20	Final Registrar Constituency Proposal
May 25	Physical Meeting in Berlin. Secretariat selection.
May, 27	Initial Names Council nominations deadline
June, 2	Initial Names Council elections
Before December, 31	Regular Names Council elections.