INTERNET CORPORATION FOR ASSIGNED NAMES AND NUMBERS
MINUTES OF MEETING OF EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE
16 August 2001
A meeting of the Executive Committee of the Board of Directors of the
Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers ("ICANN")
was held by teleconference on 16 August 2001. The following members
of the Committee were present by telephone: Vint Cerf, Hans Kraaijenbrink,
Sang-Hyon Kyong, Alejandro Pisanty, and Nii Quaynor. (Mr. Pisanty and
Mr. Quaynor joined the meeting shortly after it began.) Also present
on the teleconference were M. Stuart Lynn, ICANN's President and Chief
Executive Officer, and Louis Touton, ICANN's Vice-President, Secretary,
and General Counsel.
The meeting was called to order by Dr. Cerf at 8:10 am U.S. Eastern
Standard Time.
Approval of Minutes
Dr. Cerf noted that minutes of the Executive Committee's last meeting,
which was held on 30 January 2001, had been prepared and distributed
to the Committee. Dr. Pisanty joined the meeting during this discussion.
Dr. Kyong made the following motion, which Mr. Kraaijenbrink seconded:
Resolved [EC01.7] that the Minutes of the Meeting
of the Executive Committee held on 30 January 2001 are hereby
approved and adopted as presented.
The motion carried unanimously, with Dr. Quaynor not yet present.
Repayment of Loans
The Executive Committee next considered whether to authorize repayment
of loans ICANN had received from MCI WorldCom, Inc. (since renamed WorldCom,
Inc.) and 3Com Corporation.
Mr. Touton explained that ICANN received loans from four companies
in 1999 totalling US$1,025,000, which greatly assisted ICANN in paying
its operating costs prior to the time ICANN attained sufficient regular
funding sources. The loans were for one year and could be extended by
up to one additional year at the lenders' options. At the time of the
meeting, the extended terms of two of the loans had just expired or
would soon expire. ICANN has sufficient funds to repay these loans and
it is recommended that it do so.
During this discussion, Dr. Quaynor joined the meeting.
Upon motion by Mr. Kraaijenbrink, seconded by Dr. Pisanty, the Executive
Committee adopted the following resolution, with Dr. Cerf not participating
due to his employment by WorldCom:
Whereas, MCI WorldCom, Inc. has loaned ICANN a principal amount of
US$500,000, which was due for repayment on 28 July 2001;
Whereas, the principal due to MCI WorldCom for repayment is US$500,000
and the unpaid interest that will be accrued through 21 August 2001
is US$31,958;
Whereas, in resolution
99.121 the Board delegated to the Executive Committee the authority
(with exceptions not here relevant) to exercise all the Board's powers
in the oversight of the management of the affairs of ICANN;
Resolved [EC01.8], that the President is authorized
to disburse, on or about 21 August 2001, US$531,958 to MCI WorldCom,
Inc. in full repayment of its loan to ICANN.
Upon motion by Mr. Kraaijenbrink, seconded by Dr. Pisanty, the Executive
Committee adopted the following resolution:
Whereas, 3Com Corporation has loaned the Corporation a principal
amount of US$175,000, which will be due for repayment on 23 August
2001;
Whereas, the principal due to 3Com for repayment is US$175,000 and
the unpaid interest that will be accrued through 23 August 2001 is
US$11,375;
Whereas, in resolution
99.121 the Board delegated to the Executive Committee the authority
(with exceptions not here relevant) to exercise all the Board's powers
in the oversight of the management of the affairs of ICANN;
Resolved [EC01.9], that the President is authorized
to disburse, on or about 21 August 2001, US$186.375 to 3Com Corporation
in full repayment of its loan to ICANN.
Payment of Legal Expenses
Mr. Touton noted that during 2001 ICANN has been involved in several
intensive negotiations of appropriate contractual arrangements with
the operators and sponsors of the seven new TLDs selected by the ICANN
Board in November 2000. These agreements are complex (in large part
due to the likelihood that they will serve as models for future agreements
and therefore should be sufficiently robust and flexible to allow them
to be used in those situations as well). To meet the need to move forward
with negotiating several agreements at once and to handle disputes arising
from the selection process, it has been necessary to enlist the assistance
of ICANN's outside lawyers, Jones, Day, Reavis & Pogue.
During the months of February and May 2001, the fees associated with
these outside services were US$105,209.90 and US$78,650.70, respectively.
Given the discounts ICANN receives from Jones Day in recognition of
its non-profit character, the effective hourly rate for the legal services
covered by these two invoices is approximately US$200, well under the
rates ordinarily charged by lawyers with comparable experience and credentials
for work of this type.
Under exisitng Board resolutions, payments in excess of US$50,000 must
be approved by the Board. The Board has delegated approval authority
to the Executive Committee. There are three general considerations that
the Executive Committee applies in making these approvals:
1. Is the payment for a valid indebtedness of ICANN?
2. Was the indebtedness incurred on behalf of ICANN according to
actual, implied, or apparent authority?
3. Does ICANN have sufficient funds so that it can responsibly pay
its debt?
It was noted that both Dr. Lynn and Mr. Touton reviewed the two invoices,
concluded that these three conditions were satisfied, and have recommend
that the two invoices be paid. After further discussion, Mr. Kraaijenbrink
moved and Dr. Kyong seconded the following resolution:
Whereas, ICANN had significant needs for legal services in the months
of February and May 2001 concerning implementation of the new
TLD program authorized by resolutions 00.46 through 00.51;
Whereas, Jones, Day, Reavis & Pogue provided extensive legal
services to meet these needs;
Whereas, ICANN received invoices from Jones, Day for US$105,209.90
and US$78,650.70 for legal services provided to ICANN in connection
with the introduction of new TLDs and related matters during the months
of February and May 2001;
Whereas, the President reviewed the invoices and determined that
in his opinion they represent a proper indebtedness of ICANN, are
for authorized services, and should be paid;
Whereas, the President has advised the Executive Committee that ICANN
has adequate funds to pay these expenses;
Whereas, in resolution
99.121 the Board delegated to the Executive Committee the authority
(with exceptions not here relevant) to exercise all the Board's powers
in the oversight of the management of the affairs of the Corporation;
Whereas, the President advised the Executive Committee's members
of his opinion that the invoices should be paid;
Resolved [EC01.10] that the payment to Jones,
Day, Reavis & Pogue of US$105,209.90 and US$78,650.70 for legal
services provided to ICANN in connection with the introduction of
new TLDs and related matters during the months of February and May
2001 is hereby approved and authorized.
The resolution passed unanimously.
Director/Officer
Travel Reimbursement
The Executive Committee then took up the topic of reimbursement of
travel expenses incurred by ICANN Directors and Officers. Three aspects
were discussed:
1. A statement
of travel-reimbursement procedures prepared by Diane Schroeder,
ICANN's Business Manager. An earlier version of this statement has
been followed administratively for some time, but the statement has
been updated recently. The Executive Committee discussed the procedures
in detail, considering particularly whether the principle that business-class
air travel should be reimbursed for flights of greater than five hours'
duration should be refined in various ways. After evaluating various
proposals for refinements, the Executive Committee concluded that
the refinements led to inequities or significant complexities in ICANN's
international context and should not be made at this time. The Executive
Committee requested the President to provide a report of experience
under the procedures in approximately six months.
2. Approval of reimbursement of US$45,754.29 in travel expenses incurred
by Dr. Lynn. The Executive Committee reviewed the nature of these
expenses and concluded they were appropriate for reimbursement.
3. The ICANN Bylaws require that reimbursement of the President's
expenses be authorized by the Board or an authorized Committee of
the Board. Obtaining approval, however, ordinarily takes considerable
time, which requires Dr. Lynn to bear a significant float in view
of his extensive travel responsibilities. Accordingly, the Board discussed
a procedure (described in item
8 of the travel-reimbursement procedures) under which the Vice-President
and General Counsel may authorize payment to the President of an advance,
not to exceed US $20,000 at any time, toward expenses already incurred
by the President but for which reimbursement has not yet been authorized
by the Board, with the reimbursement to be later approved by the Board
or Executive Committee. During this discussion, Dr. Lynn stated that
he would provide written assurance that he would promptly repay any
amounts advanced where the Board or Executive Committee declined to
approve the reimbursement. With this commitment, the Executive Committee
concluded that the procedure was appropriate.
Upon a motion by Dr. Kyong and a second by Dr. Pisanty, the Executive
Committee unanimously adopted the following resolutions:
Whereas, Article
V, Section 22 and Article
VII, Section 7 of the ICANN bylaws authorize the Board to authorize
the reimbursement of actual and necessary reasonable expenses incurred
by Directors performing duties as Directors and Committee Members;
Whereas, Article
VIII, Section 9 of the ICANN bylaws provides that expenses incurred
by ICANN Officers in connection with performance of their Officer
duties may be reimbursed to Officers of the President (in the case
of Officers other than the President) or the Board;
Whereas, in resolution
99.121 the Board delegated to the Executive Committee the authority
(with exceptions not here relevant) to exercise all the Board's powers
in the oversight of the management of the affairs of the Corporation;
Whereas, the Executive Committee has considered a statement of 'Administrative
Procedures for Reimbursement of Expenses' presented by Diane Schroeder,
ICANN Business Manager, dated 16 August 2001;
Whereas, the Executive Committee believes that it is appropriate
to approve formal procedures for the reimbursement of Director's and
Officer's expenses;
Whereas, the President has incurred and requested reimbursement for
US$45,754.29 in expenses in the course of his duties as President;
Resolved [EC01.11] that the procedures for
reimbursement of expenses of Directors and Officers stated in the
16 August 2001 'Administrative
Procedures for Reimbursement of Expenses' are hereby adopted;
Resolved [EC01.12] that the payment of US$45,754.29
to M. Stuart Lynn in reimbursement of expenses he incurred as President
is hereby approved and ratified; and
Resolved [EC01.13] that, as stated in item
8 of the 'Administrative Procedures for Reimbursement of Expenses',
the Vice-President and General Counsel may authorize payment to the
President of an advance, not to exceed US $20,000 at any time, toward
expenses already incurred by the President but not yet authorized
by the Board, with the expenses to be later approved by the Board
(or an authorized Committee of the Board).
It was noted that Mr. Kraajenbrink had recently attended the PSO General
Assembly and the London meeting of the Internet Engineering Task Force
on behalf of ICANN. His assistance in this regard allowed ICANN staff
to attend to other matters, including the intensive work on various
agreements ICANN is negotiating with registry operators and sponsors.
Upon Dr. Pisanty's motion, with a second by Dr. Kyong, the Executive
Committee adopted the following resolution:
Resolved [EC01.14] that the Executive Committee
approves reimbursement of the expenses of Director Hans Kraaijenbrink
for trips he made, prior to adoption of the
Administrative
Procedures for Reimbursement of Expenses, on behalf of ICANN to
the 11 July 2001 PSO General Assembly in Sophia Antipolis, France
and to the 5-10 August 2001 Internet Engineering Task Force meeting
in London, England.
Mr. Kraaijenbrink did not participate in this action of the Executive
Committee in view of his financial interest in the resolution.
At this point, Mr. Touton left the meeting.
Executive Committee
Composition
It was noted that in resolution
00.95, the Board appointed the members of the Executive Committee
including Michael M. Roberts, then ICANN's President. With Mr. Roberts'
March 2001 retirement as President, he became ineligible to remain a
member of the Executive Committee, but no resolution appointed Dr. Lynn
to serve on the Committee in Mr. Roberts' place. The Executive Committee
discussed the situation and concluded that the Board should be requested
to appoint Dr. Lynn as an additional member of the Executive Committee.
Personnel Matters
The Executive Committee discussed various personnel matters. Pursuant
to Article
III, Section 2(c) of the bylaws, a record of this discussion is
not included in these minutes.
There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned at 9:00
am U.S. Eastern Standard Time.
_______________________
Louis Touton
Secretary
Comments
concerning the layout, construction and functionality of this site
should be sent to webmaster@icann.org.
Page Updated
02-Jun-2003
(c) 2001
The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers
All rights
reserved.
|