{"id":389,"date":"2010-12-06T23:19:06","date_gmt":"2010-12-06T15:19:06","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/wiki.iipl.org.cn\/?p=389"},"modified":"2010-12-13T06:28:46","modified_gmt":"2010-12-12T22:28:46","slug":"icann-review-on-fast-track-idn-cctlds","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/wiki.iipl.org.cn\/?p=389","title":{"rendered":"ICANN Review on Fast Track IDN ccTLDs"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>ICANN’s year-end annual meeting is happening at Cartagena de Indias<\/a>, Colombia, December 5-10. This is one of 3 ICANN global meetings held yearly. Cartagena must be a nice city. I can see the Walled Old Town with Towers, Churches and cannons on the Wall, which is opposite to the Convention Center. But apart from enjoying the sunshine of Caribbean Sea at the breaks, I have been at the conferences or en route to the conference.<\/p>\n

IDN fast track process review<\/a> is one of the sessions. ICANN staff chaired the session. Senior Director on IDNs presented on the following aspects of fast track process:<\/p>\n

– Transparency
\n– Community Support
\n– Meaningfulness
\n– Determination of the IDN ccTLD manager
\n– IDN Tables
\n– Disputes
\n– Confusingly similar string
\n– Objection\/re-evaluation rights<\/p>\n

Although there were less than 30 participants in the plenary room, the session brought up interesting information. At the end of the presentation, there were questions raised on the Internet referred to .\u0431\u0433 (applied Bulgaria IDN ccTLD string) case. The staff restated that they were not supposed to comment on any specific case.<\/p>\n

I then asked a procedural question. Although the String evaluation done by DNS stability panel (according to their guidelines) is a technical decision, it is a decision made on behalf of ICANN and has (significant) policy implication. If such technical determination is not subject to reconsideration or independent review, wouldn’t it be an accountability issue, as highlighted by ICANN at the opening ceremony?<\/p>\n

To my *rough* memory, both replied that fast track process should be sufficiently simply, without objection or re-evaluation. And, surprisingly both ICANN staff replied that anyone would be available to reconsideration or review. I assume I heard their reply clearly. The audio record at the link is broken unfortunately.<\/p>\n

********************<\/p>\n

Interestingly, ICANN staff made a statement on December 4, 2010 on Internet Governance list: “The Fast Track Process is a limited process set up for the initial implementations of IDN ccTLDs. It was a factor in the community development of the process that there should be no reconsideration process included specific to the Fast Track process because it was a limited approach to only those requests where no dispute, questions, or otherwise concerns existed.” “Now, the process is a year old, and hence we are conducting a review of how well it functions and if any changes should be made. There is a public forum online and also a session scheduled in Cartagena. We will discuss all aspects of the process there<\/a>.”<\/p>\n

ICANN Senior Director on IDNs later responded in following two bulletin points:<\/p>\n