Secretary's Notice | Secretary's Notice of ICANN Board Action Without a Meeting | 24 December 2024

EFFECTIVE DATE: 24 December 2024

THE ICANN BOARD PASSED THE FOLLOWING RESOLUTION EFFECTIVE 24 DECEMBER 2024 BY UNANIMOUS CONSENT, WITHOUT A MEETING, PURSUANT TO THE ICANN BYLAWS AT:

Section 7.19. ACTION WITHOUT MEETING

Any action required or permitted to be taken by the Board or a Committee of the Board may be taken without a meeting if all of the Directors entitled to vote thereat shall individually or collectively consent in writing to such action. Such written consent shall have the same force and effect as the unanimous vote of such Directors. Such written consent or consents shall be filed with the minutes of the proceedings of the Board.

ALL VOTING MEMBERS RESPONDED AND CONSENTED TO THE FOLLOWING RESOLUTION BY ELECTRONIC MEANS:

ICP-2 Implementation Document

Whereas, the ICANN Board accepted ICP-2: Criteria for Establishment of New Regional Internet Registries ("ICP-2") on 4 June 2001, and has used it twice to recognize the formation of new Regional Internet Registries ("RIRs"). The RIRs agree that ICP-2 remains in force today.

Whereas, in recent years many of the RIRs and ICANN have recognized that the stability of the numbering system would benefit from a formal statement confirming that RIRs are to maintain compliance with the conditions set out in ICP-2, and that ICANN, as the entity responsible for recognition of RIRs, maintains a role in confirming the RIRs' ongoing compliance with ICP-2.

Whereas, the Address Council to the Address Supporting Organization (the ASO AC) initiated work in January 2024 to develop a clearer statement of ICP-2 Implementation to formalize that compliance expectation. ICANN has reviewed and refined that implementation document, Implementation and Assessment Procedures for ICP-2 Compliance, to confirm that it does not alter the requirements of ICP-2 and that it does not create any new processes that should be reserved for policy development.

Whereas, the ASO AC is also working on developing a policy proposal for updating ICP-2, which is separate from the Implementation and Assessment Procedures. When an updated ICP-2 (informally referred to as ICP-2v2) is accepted by the ICANN Board, it is expected to be accompanied by implementation notes, and the Implementation and Assessment Procedures will no longer be in force.

Resolved (2024.12.24.01), the ICANN Board ratifies the Implementation and Assessment Procedures for ICP-2 Compliance and directs the Interim President and CEO, or her designees, to uphold ICANN's security and stability mandate through adherence to these Procedures.

Rationale for Resolution 2024.12.24.01

The Board is ratifying the proposed Implementation and Assessment Procedures for ICP-2 Compliance document. With the ICANN Board ratification, ICANN org is expected to confirm that the Implementation and Assessment Procedures are publicly available, and to act in compliance with those Procedures, including any necessary coordination with the Regional Internet Registries ("RIRs") as called for within that document.

The Implementation and Assessment Procedures represent a formal instantiation of two fundamental principles: (1) that the RIRs have an ongoing obligation to maintain compliance with the terms of ICP-2: Criteria for Establishment of New Regional Internet Registries; and (2) ICANN is responsible for investigating issues of RIR non-compliance and working with RIRs to attempt to restore compliance. The Implementation and Assessment Procedures rely on the obligations as stated within ICP-2 and do not amend those obligations in any way. Further, the Implementation and Assessment Procedures do not vest in ICANN or the RIRs any new processes or procedures that are properly reserved for a broader policy discussion.

ICP-2 has been in force since 2001. While three RIRs (APNIC, ARIN and RIPE NCC) were already in existence prior to the ICANN Board's acceptance of ICP-2, two RIRs were formally recognized by ICANN under the terms of ICP-2 (AFRINIC and LACNIC). In early 2024, the RIRs initiated an effort, through the Address Supporting Organization's Address Council (ASO AC) where the ASO AC was asked to lead, in public sessions, a conversation on how to document implementation issues relating to ICP-2, specifically to confirm that RIRs recognize an ongoing responsibility to remain compliant with the requirements set out in ICP-2 and that ICANN has a role in investigating and curing issues of non-compliance. The result is the Implementation and Assessment Procedures for ICP-2 Compliance now ratified by the Board

There are certain issues that are not covered in the Implementation and Assessment Procedures, as those would impose new obligations on ICANN or the RIRs and ICANN is not in a position to accept those without policy development through the numbering communities. Two of the main issues that are not covered within the Implementation and Assessment Procedures are (1) formal derecognition of an RIR; and (2) transition procedures to a successor RIR. The ASO AC is currently running a broad policy process to update ICP-2, with the intent to present an ICP-2 version 2 to the ICANN Board for acceptance, that is anticipated to cover these issues as well as address other areas of clarification. The ICANN Board's ratification of the Implementation and Assessment Procedures does not impact that separate policy track. If the ICANN Board accepts an updated ICP-2v2 (when available), the obligations set out in that ICP-2v2 will overtake the Implementation and Assessment Procedures.

The need for formal documentation of RIR obligations to remain compliant with the requirements of ICP-2 was raised by the numbering community, including four of the five RIRs (APNIC, ARIN, LACNIC and RIPE NCC). The ASO AC supported that effort through initiating work to develop an implementation document. Because this Implementation and Assessment Procedures document is setting out current obligations to define ICP-2 implementation expectations, further public comment is not required. This is different from the policy process on updating ICP-2, where the ICANN Board will expect to see broad community engagement, including public comment and other efforts to seek inputs, prior to ICANN Board consideration.

Ratification of this implementation document is within ICANN's mission as it supports ICANN's role in ensuring the stability and security of the Internet's unique identifiers, including "[c]oordinating the allocation and assignment at the top-most level of Internet Protocol numbers and Autonomous System numbers." This is also in the public interest as it formally instantiates ICANN's ability to act when needed in support of security and stability of the numbering system.

There are not anticipated fiscal or other resource impacts as a result of this activity, in that it is formally documenting actions that were already contemplated.

This is an organizational administrative function that does not require public comment.

Published on 3 Jan 2025