[registrars] NC nomination - AAA

[Amadeu Abril i Abril <Amadeu@nominalia.com>]

Hi all,

Michael Palage has nominated me to run for the permanent Names Council
ads one of the three representatives of the Registrar Constituency. I
herevby accept the nomination and, as requested, send somehting like a CV.

IS THERE LIFE OUTSIDE ICANN AND DNS)

I was born in Barcelona (Catalonia; EU) in 1961

After obtaining my law degree from the Universitat de Barcelona in
1985. I continued my legal education in different postgraduate and
research programs at the Centre Européen Universtair of the Univerity
of Nancy II (France), the Institut d’Études Européenes of the Free
Univertiy Brussels and the European Univerity Insitute at Florence (Italy).

I also spent a year and a half at the European Commission’s DGIV, the
Directorate Gerneral in charge of competition policy (antitrust).

I currently teach Eurpean Law (Insitiutional and Economic),
Competition Law and Internet Law at ESADE Law School-Universitat Ramon
Llull, a private univerity where I also serve as Director of the
European Documentation Center.

Since 1997, where I startd acting asLegal & Policy Advisor to the
Catalan Reserach Foundation (FCR) and its domain-name registrtion
department, Nominalia I have spent all my time between the Univerity
and DNS-related efforts, therby nearly closing my private attorney practice.

I*CANN TELL YOU THAT...

I was lurking during the old "newdom" mailinglists days where all the
movement of DNS reform was somehow started. I participated in the IAHC
process and brought the FCR (Catalan Research Foundaiton) as one of
the inital signatories of the gTLD-MoU (http://www.gtld-mou.org). I
was elected by PAB (the body grouping the 200+ signatories of the MoU,
assort of General Assembly)  as Observer within the Policy Overstiht
Committee (the body intended to set the policy within the framewok of
the gTLD-MoU). When CORE (the Council of Registrars) was formed, I was
elected as one of their represnetatives within the same POC.

When the Green Paper came, I actively participated in the campagin
against that unaaceptable porposal, especially in Europe. In that
sense I serve in the so-called European Commisison panel of
partidcipants (EC-PoP) and I have participated in all its meetings and
telecofnerences to date.

Once the more acceptable White Ppaer appeared I participated in the
Geneva, Singapore and Buenos Aires meetings of the IFWP /International
Forum on the White Paper) and served in its Steering Committee.

I also organized in Barcelona the firts meeting of the DNSO formation
process, and have attended the other three formation meetings at
Monterrey, Washington and Singapore, also serving in their organising
committees. I also was among the promoters of the so-called BMW DNSO
application, 

I have attended all the ICANN meetings so far, and I also drafted and
submitted the Regstratr Constiuency charter for recognition during the
Berlin meeting.

I was elected as provisional NC representative by this consituency
last June. Besdies my work within the NC I have also co-chhaired
Working Group A on the unfirom dispute resolution policy.

In one sentence, I have been very present during all this process for
the last three years. Perhaps "too" present?

WHAT FOR?

One thing that I can promise if I am elected to the NC is lots of
dedication and effort. Ith8nk that my past record proves that this is
not unlikely to be the case.

As for what I stnad for, I believe, and cme to this process rto
defend, a basic set of principles.

I beleive that the DNS needs a slef-governance structure that allows
competition as the driving economic force; an international
perspective and framework that prevents any single government form
trying to apply domestic solutions guided by local political needs; a
stable and scalable DNS that includes an expansion of the gTLD space
in the first stage, and possibly other type of TLDs (neither genric
nor territorially conceived) in a second stage. And I believe that
prior tosuch reform we need to provide solutions that will guarantee
that no reform will increase the potential for conflicts of the DNS
and provide for viable alternatives, other than often impossible
recourse to courts. Finally,m we need a widely accepted strucutre able
to implement all these reforms and monitor the process.

ICANN and its current structure is far form being my favorite answer.
For one thing it is so complicated that few people fully undertand how
it works, while probably inflating the real costs. But we registrars
absolutely need "one" strucutre that pilots the process towards
increased competiion within the exising gTLD psace (an area where the
situation is far form being satisfactory) and, indeed, allowing for a
relatively quick addition of new gTLDs. Despite our possible
dissatisfactions and worriess I think that we’re all be better off
supporting as strongly as we could the current ICANN, work hard to
make sure it is viable (including working out a funding plan) and
workable (solving unresolved issues as the at large membership) and
deplouying as mucheffort as we could to counter the increasing weight
and itnerest exerced by governments.

Butm all in all, I am a lawyer, I know that when I am appointed to
represent somebody I am supposed to defend the views of those I
represnet. Or resign. 

Amadeu

PS: To make things clear, I am not an emplorye, director or
shareholder of Nominalia. Only their external Legal advisor. As I have
said, Nominalia is 100% subsidiary of the Catalan Researcgh Foundation
a private foundation with public and private funding in charge of
fostering reserach activites.. FCR has a tradition in pioneering
Intenret-related effots, lke building and managing the Cataln
Sicnetific Ring (the academic network), the Catalan Super Computing
center or starting the first ISP many years ago. FCR considers that it
is its duty to start risky activites when independnet market forces
are still unable or unsure to participate (think that we are a small
country, and even lack the structure of an independnet state), assume
the responsibility to devote time, effort and ressources in heling
those efforts to succeed (like this case in all really consuming
Internet Governance effots) and eveutally spin off the activity when
it becomes a pourly commercial venture. This is to say that FCR will
continue tis supoort to Nominalia at least until the "political" and
strucutral deadlocks are still there, while it might very likely
change hands when we are thru the current situation and thigns become
really a purely commercial activity. But Nominalia as registrar will remain.