Superseded Version of Internet Resource Policy Evaluation Process [Archived]

This version of the ARIN Internet Resource Policy Evaluation Process was published on 28 March 2006. It supersedes the previous version.

PRINCIPLE

ARIN’s Internet resource policies are developed in an open and transparent manner by the Internet community. Anyone may participate in the process - ARIN membership is not required. Policies are ratified by the ARIN Board of Trustees only after a full public discussion is held, review and recommendation by the ARIN Advisory Council is made, and there is evidence that a consensus for the policy has been reached among the community, in accordance with the process described in this document. This Internet Resource Policy Evaluation Process defines how policy is established in the ARIN region.

Policies are documented community decisions that determine the rules by which Internet numbering resources are managed and administered by ARIN. It is important that policies be distinctly separated from activities that are considered to be general practices and procedures of ARIN. Practice and procedure is how ARIN conducts its operations, and is not within the purview of the Internet Resource Policy Evaluation Process.

All discussions regarding ARIN fees take place at ARIN Members’ Meetings. As one of its primary fiduciary responsibilities, the Board of Trustees makes all final decisions regarding ARIN’s fee structure. Fee discussions are not deemed appropriate for the Internet Resource Policy Evaluation Process.

PROCESS

For an overview of the Internet Resource Policy Evaluation Process, see the flowchart that accompanies this document (Appendix A).

Policy Proposal Template Submittal

Individuals who wish to propose new ARIN Internet resource policies or modifications to existing ARIN Internet resource policies must submit a completed Policy Proposal Template (Appendix B). The template must be submitted via email to policy@arin.net.

The policy proposal must contain the following information:

1. Point of contact information for the primary author,
2. Statement of proposed policy, including the specific language to be adopted,
3. Arguments for the proposal and general discussion of the issue,
4. Timetable for implementation.

Policy proposals may be submitted at any time; however, they must be submitted at least sixty (60) days prior to the ARIN Public Policy Meeting in order to be considered for that particular meeting.

After receipt, all policy proposals will be posted as is on the ARIN web site on a publicly accessible page and to the ARIN Public Policy Mailing List.

Initial Review

The ARIN Advisory Council will review all proposed policies and may decide to:

1. Accept the proposal as a formal policy proposal as it is presented;
2. Work with the author to:
3. clarify the language or intent of the proposal;
4. divide the proposal into two (2) or more proposals; or
5. combine the proposal with other proposals; or,
6. Not accept the proposal as a formal policy proposal.

This review will be conducted at the next regularly scheduled Meeting of the Advisory Council that occurs after the proposal is posted on the ARIN Public Policy Mail List. If the period before the next regularly scheduled meeting is less than ten (10) days, then the period may be extended to the subsequent regularly scheduled meeting, but the period shall not be extended beyond forty-five (45) days. Not withstanding this schedule of the review, all proposals that have been received sixty (60) days prior to the ARIN Public Policy Meeting will be reviewed by the Advisory Council no later than forty-five (45) days prior to the ARIN Public Policy Meeting.

In the event that the Advisory Council and the author can not reach an agreement, or that the Advisory Council decides not to support the policy proposal, then the Advisory Council will notify the community via the Public Policy Mailing List of their decision with an explanation.

Petition Process

If a policy proposal does not receive the support of the Advisory Council, the author of the policy proposal may elect to use the petition process to advance their proposal. The author of the policy proposal will be responsible for initiating their petition to the Public Policy Mailing List. The author’s message to the public policy mailing list must include the URL of the policy proposal on the ARIN website and must clearly state they are attempting to advance their policy proposal through petition. The petition process initiated by the author will be considered active for a period of five working days. It is the responsibility of the author to ensure they post their petition to the public policy mailing list at least 40 days prior to the next Public Policy Meeting making it possible for the five working day petition, if successful, to comply with the formal policy proposal posting procedures as described later in this document.

In order for a petition to be considered successful, it must receive statements of support from at least four different people who are from separate organizations. People who wish to document their support for the petition must do the following: 1) post a response to the Public Policy Mailing List stating their support for the proposal, and 2) send email to petition@arin.net with full point of contact information, including their telephone number and organizational affiliation. The ARIN President will verify whether people from at least four different organizations support the petitioned policy proposal.

If the petition receives the required support, the policy proposal will be considered formal and will follow the remainder of the process, as outlined in this document.

If the petition fails to receive the required support within five days, the policy proposal will be considered to be closed.

Formal Policy Proposal Posting

All proposals accepted by the Advisory Council or successfully petitioned will be posted as formal policy proposals to the Public Policy Mailing List for discussion at least 30 days prior to the Public Policy Meeting. Formal policy proposals will be numbered to enable tracking throughout the process. Policy proposals will also be placed on the ARIN web site on a publicly accessible page.

Public Policy Meeting

All formal policy proposals will be presented and discussed at an ARIN Public Policy Meeting. A proposal need not be presented separately at a Members’ Meeting if one is held within three days of the Public Policy Meeting. If more than three days lapse, the proposal must also be presented at the next Members’ Meeting. In the later case there may be a delay in the evaluation process so the Advisory Council can review comments from the Members’ Meeting.

Advisory Council Review

Following discussion at the ARIN Public Policy Meeting, the Advisory Council will evaluate the proposal for community support based on comments from the Public Policy Mailing List as well as discussion and polling from the meetings. The Advisory Council review will normally take place within five days of the conclusion of the Public Policy Meeting. Comments on the Public Policy Mailing List are given as much weight as those made at the Public Policy Meeting, as it is recognized the mailing list provides access to the process that does not require physical presence at a meeting. Depending on the level of community support the Advisory Council may: 1) support the proposal as is, 2) work with the author to clarify, revise, divide or combine with other proposals, or 3) find there is community support to abandon the proposal.

If the Advisory Council evaluation concludes that the community wants them to work with the author to clarify, revise, divide or combine with other proposals (decision point #2, above), and the Advisory Council and the author can not reach an agreement, then competing versions of the policy proposal from the Advisory Council and author will go to last call.

Policy proposals that have gained community support as is, or through the clarification, revision, or combining mentioned above, will be posted to last call.

For those proposals that the Advisory Council has determined do not have community support, an announcement by the Advisory Council will be sent to the Public Policy Mailing List stating their intention that the policy proposal be abandoned. In this case the author of the policy proposal may elect to challenge the Advisory Council’s determination through the “last call petition” process.

Last Call

During last call the proposal is posted on the ARIN web site on a publicly accessible page, and a “Last-Call for Comments” will be posted to the Public Policy Mailing List for a discussion period of at least ten working days. In the case where there are competing versions of a policy proposal, the last call will include a request for each responder to indicate which, if any, version should be supported. The assumption is that, at most, only one version of the proposal will be adopted.

The Advisory Council will review the comments collected during the last call period and may: 1) support the proposal as is and recommend that the Board of Trustees adopt, 2) find minor revisions are necessary in which case the Advisory Council or author will redraft and post again to last call, 3) find major revisions are needed in which case the Advisory Council or author will redraft and the proposal will be posted for the next public policy meeting, or 4) find community support to abandon the proposal.

If there were competing versions of a policy proposal submitted to last call, the Advisory Council will review the comments collected and may: 1) recommend a specific version of the proposal to the Board of Trustees for adoption, 2) find minor revisions are necessary with a particular version, in which case the Advisory Council or author will redraft and post again to last call, 3) find major revisions are needed with a particular version, in which case the Advisory Council or author will redraft and the proposal will be posted for the next public policy meeting, or 4) find community support to abandon the proposal.

Some of these paths may lengthen the proposal evaluation process.

For those proposals that the Advisory Council has determined do not have community support, an announcement with an explanation by the Advisory Council will be sent to the Public Policy Mailing List stating their intention that the policy proposal be abandoned. In this case the author of the policy proposal may elect to challenge the Advisory Council’s determination through the “last call petition” process.

Last Call Petition Process

Within five working days of the Advisory Council’s notification to the Public Policy Mailing list stating their intention that a policy proposal be abandoned, the author may elect to use the “last call petition” process to advance their proposal. The author of the policy proposal will be responsible for initiating their “last call petition” to the Public Policy Mailing List. The author’s message to the Public Policy Mailing List must include the URL of the policy proposal on the ARIN website and must clearly state they are attempting to advance their policy proposal through the “last call petition” process. Once initiated by the author, this process will be considered active for a period of ten working days.

In order for a “last call petition” to be considered successful, it must receive statements of support from at least ten different people who are from separate organizations. People who wish to document their support for the last call petition must do the following: 1) post a response to the Public Policy Mailing List stating their support for the proposal as is and 2) send email to petition@arin.net with full point of contact information, including their telephone number and organizational affiliation. The ARIN President will verify whether people from at least ten different organizations support the last call petitioned policy proposal as is.

If the “last call petition” fails to receive the required support within ten days, the determination of the Advisory Council will stand and the policy proposal will be abandoned.

If the “last call petition” receives the required support, an announcement will be made to the Public Policy Mailing List and the proposal will be forwarded directly to the Board of Trustees for final determination.

Board of Trustees Review

The Board of Trustees will consider Advisory Council recommendations and last call petitions at their next regularly scheduled Board meeting or may call a Special Board Meeting for this purpose.

The Board of Trustees may decide to return the proposal to the Advisory Council for clarification.

When the Board requests no further clarification for a given proposal, it may adopt or reject the proposal. The Board of Trustees will announce its decision with the Board of Trustees minutes.

Emergency Policy

If a proposed policy is declared by the Board of Trustees to be an emergency, it need not be presented at either a Public Policy or Members’ Meeting, but will be posted as a formal policy proposal to the Public Policy Mailing List for discussion for a period of at least ten working days. The proposal will also be placed on the ARIN web site on a publicly accessible page and announced to the ARIN-Announce mailing list.

Following the Public Policy Mailing List discussion for a period of at least ten working days, the ARIN Advisory Council will conduct their review and resubmit the policy proposal to PPML for Last Call, in accordance with the procedures outlined above. After last call the AC will review all comments and forward a recommendation to the ARIN Board of Trustees.

If a policy proposal is ratified as a formal policy in accordance with these emergency procedures, the new policy will be reviewed at the next scheduled ARIN Public Policy and Members’ Meetings in accordance with the normal procedures outlined in this document. The new policy may remain in effect or be overturned based on the consensus of the community.

Policy Suspension

If, after a policy has been ratified and put into effect, the Board of Trustees receives credible information that a policy is flawed in such a way that it may cause unforeseen problems if it is continued to be followed, the Board may suspend the policy and request a recommendation from the ARIN Advisory Council on how to proceed. The Advisory Council’s recommendation will be posted for discussion on the Public Policy Mailing List for a period of at least ten working days.