[Nro-comments] NRO Comment: Advisory Appeals Process

["Mark McFadden" <ireland@mailbag.com>]

The comment that follows is entirely my own opinion and not that of my
employer or of the Address Council, of which I am a member.

In the proposed formation document for the NRO, section 9 describes an
Advisory Appeals Panel whose job is "hearing complaints relating to failure
on the part of an RIR, the NRO or an NRO suborganization to follow its
documented policy development process concerning global IP number resource
policies."

What is missing in this section is whether or not the evaluation of the
Advisory Appeals Process should b e binding on the organization or
suborganization whose policy process is being evaluated.

It seems that, except in very unusual circumstances, the answer should be
"yes."  This should be added to this section of the NRO formation document:
evaluations of the appeals process should be binding.

If the evaluations are not binding on RIR or NROs, then what is the point of
the appeals process.  One can easily imagine a situation where a RIR makes a
decision and a group from the addressing community objects that the RIR did
not follow its own internal documented procedures.  That group could then
move to the Advisory Appeals Process and get a group of knowledgeable peers
to agree that the process had been flawed.  Even in this circumstance, the
RIR would not have to take any remedial action.  That means that the
Advisory Appeals Process is toothless and meaningless for those who might
avail themselves of this process.

This should be changed so that the Advisory Appeals Process is binding on
the organization whose process was being examined.

Mark McFadden
University of Wisconsin - Milwaukee