Membership Advisory Committee

The Membership Advisory Committe was a committee that existed from 1998 to 1999. According to ICANN's archives, on November 25, 1998, The ICANN Bylaws called for a membership structure to be established to elect At Large directors. (See Bylaws Article V, Section 9(c)).

The document for Expressions of Interest stated the following:

"The Initial Board is establishing an advisory committee (see Bylaws Article VII, Section 3(c)) to advise it on the appropriate membership structure to satisfy the need for world wide representation on the board, and in particular how to create a diverse and open membership without subjecting the corporation to undue risk of capture by any particular interest group. The advisory committee will consist of up to ten members, and will include Initial Board members George Conrades as Chairman, and Greg Crew. The Berkman Center for Internet and Society at Harvard Law School has agreed to provide assistance to the committee, including an independent study of membership issues.

Expressions of interest are invited from individuals willing to serve on this committee, which will address specific issues including but not limited to:

a) membership structures and arrangements that will provide a world wide representative body to nominate and elect the 9 At Large ICANN board directors (with the goal of recommending three to five options to the ICANN Board).

b) appropriate rights and obligations of members, including membership application and registration requirements, membership fee structures, liability limitation of members, and voting rights and procedures.

c) requirements and procedures for various forms of membership, including individual, corporate and association.

d) efficient procedures for members to nominate and participate in the election of At Large directors, and to participate in general meetings of the corporation.

The work of the advisory committee will be open and inclusive of all members of the Internet community. Draft and final recommendations will be posted on the ICANN web site, and suggestions and comments via the Internet will be invited from interested parties. Recommendations from the committee will be subject to the notice and comment procedures set forth in the Bylaws, Article III, Section 3.

The ICANN Board will select the committee with the goal of assembling a diverse and broadly representative group. Expressions of interest to participate are to be directed to msvh@icann.org, by midnight, 5 December, 1998, US west coast time. Applicants are requested to state what contribution they would expect to make towards the work of this committee; such statements need not be more than 100 words.

The committee will commence work in December, 1998. Most of the work of the committee will be conducted via phone or the Internet. A final meeting is planned to be held in Singapore on 1 March, 1999, to prepare a report to the ICANN board by the end of March. Committee members will be expected to devote sufficient time to the work of the committee to achieve this very tight schedule.

Pending the identification of an ICANN funding mechanism and the actual receipt of funds, ICANN's resources to support meeting and travel expenses of its committees is very limited. We ask that committee members assist us by assuming personal responsibility for their travel expenses, if possible. We will facilitate phone participation in face-to-face meetings as necessary."

On December 17, 1998, ICANN announced the individuals who were appointed to the ICANN Membership Advisory Committee:

• Izumi Aizu (Asia Network Research; Asia & Pacific Internet Association; Malaysia/Japan)
• Diane Cabell (Fausett, Gaeta & Lund, LLP; United States)
• George Conrades, chairman (ICANN; United States)
• Greg Crew (ICANN; Australia)
• Pavan Duggal (Cyberlaw Consultant; India)
• Kanchana Kanchanasut (Asian Institute of Technology; Thailand)
• Daniel Kaplan (Consultant; Internet Society France; France)
• Siegfried Langenbach (CSL GmbH; Germany)
• Nii Quaynor (Network Computer Systems; Ghana)
• Oscar Robles Garay (Latin American & Caribbean Networks Forum/ENRED; Mexico)
• Dan Steinberg (Open Root Server Confederation; Canada)
• Tadao Takahashi (Internet Society Brazil; Brazil)
• Jonathan Zittrain, non-voting liaison to Berkman Center membership study (Berkman Center for Internet & Society at Harvard Law School; United States)