Changes

Following these developments, ICANN announced it would hire outside ethics experts to review its policies and make recommendations. The decision was made during a September, 2011 meeting of the [[Board Governance Committee]].<ref>[http://domainincite.com/icann-to-hire-conflict-of-interest-experts/ ICANN to Hire Conflict of Interest Experts]</ref> This resulted in a new Conflict of Interest Policy for members of the Board and others, released on December 8th, 2011, and effective immediately. The policy requires disclosure to the Board Governance Committee of any and all potential conflicts of interest, and subsequent abstention from ICANN activities related to the conflict of interest.<ref>[http://www.icann.org/en/committees/board-governance/coi/ ICANN Conflict of Interest Policy]</ref> Board Members also may not join business with a new gTLD registry until 12 months after the registry's application has been voted on.<ref>[http://news.dot-nxt.com/2011/12/13/icann-board-dec-minutes ICANN Board December Minutes, dot-nxt.com]</ref>

Following these developments, ICANN announced it would hire outside ethics experts to review its policies and make recommendations. The decision was made during a September, 2011 meeting of the [[Board Governance Committee]].<ref>[http://domainincite.com/icann-to-hire-conflict-of-interest-experts/ ICANN to Hire Conflict of Interest Experts]</ref> This resulted in a new Conflict of Interest Policy for members of the Board and others, released on December 8th, 2011, and effective immediately. The policy requires disclosure to the Board Governance Committee of any and all potential conflicts of interest, and subsequent abstention from ICANN activities related to the conflict of interest.<ref>[http://www.icann.org/en/committees/board-governance/coi/ ICANN Conflict of Interest Policy]</ref> Board Members also may not join business with a new gTLD registry until 12 months after the registry's application has been voted on.<ref>[http://news.dot-nxt.com/2011/12/13/icann-board-dec-minutes ICANN Board December Minutes, dot-nxt.com]</ref>

===New gTLD Votes===

===New gTLD Votes===

One of the first examples of ICANN Directors excusing themselves from voting on matters that conflict with their outside interests occurred in a Board meeting held in February, 2012. At that meeting, the board had a matter related to confirming a second round of [[New gTLD Program|new gTLDs]] in front of them, and 7 directors abstained from voting as per the new COI policy. Those directors were: [[Steve Crocker]] (CEO of consulting firm, [[Shinkuro]], [[Bruce Tonkin]] (CSO at [[Melbourne IT]]), [[Sébastien Bachollet]] (CEO of [[BBS International Consulting]]), [[Bertrand de La Chapelle]] (International Diplomatic Academy), [[Thomas Narten]] (Senior Engineer, [[IBM]]), [[Ram Mohan]] (Non-voting Member, EVP at [[Afilias]]), and [[Suzanne Woolf]] (Non-voting Member, [[ISC]]).

A prominent example of ICANN Directors excusing themselves from voting per the new COI policies occurred at a Board meeting held in February, 2012. At that meeting, the board had a matter related to confirming a second round of [[New gTLD Program|new gTLDs]] in front of them, and 7 directors abstained from voting as per the new COI policy. Those directors were: [[Steve Crocker]] (CEO of consulting firm, [[Shinkuro]]), [[Bruce Tonkin]] (CSO at [[Melbourne IT]]), [[Sébastien Bachollet]] (CEO of [[BBS International Consulting]]), [[Bertrand de La Chapelle]] (International Diplomatic Academy), [[Thomas Narten]] (Senior Engineer, [[IBM]]), [[Ram Mohan]] (Non-voting Member, EVP at [[Afilias]]), and [[Suzanne Woolf]] (Non-voting Member, [[ISC]]). Two directors, [[Kuo-Wei Wu]] and [[Thomas Roessler]], had previously abstained at a December vote related to new gTLDs, but were once again declaring no conflict at the February meeting.<ref>[http://domainincite.com/seven-icann-directors-have-new-gtld-conflicts/ Seven ICANN Directors Have New gTLD Conflicts, DomainIncite.com]</ref>

==References==

==References==