Process for the review of ICP-2 and Timeline

Background

In November 2023, the Number Resource Organization Executive Council (NRO EC) requested that the Address Supporting Organization Address Council (ASO AC) review and consider improvements to Internet Coordination Policy 2: Criteria for Establishment of New Regional Internet Registries (ICP-2). Because ICP-2 was not developed through the policy development process of the RIRs nor does it fit within the definition of a Global Policy (as defined in the ASO MoU), the ASO AC has designed the following process to guide the review of ICP-2.

The ASO AC believes the modification of ICP-2 requires an open and transparent consultation process to allow participation from across the global Internet community.

Process for the Review

1. Review of ICP-2 – completed (Q1 and Q2 2024)

The ASO AC will review the existing ICP-2 document for relevance and accuracy in reflecting the current operational and governance requirements of RIRs.

2. Preparation of Principles – completed (Q2 and Q3 2024)

Following the review, the ASO AC will identify the core requirements for RIRs in a set of principles (“Principles”).
The Principles will be used as the foundation for drafting an update of ICP-2.
The ASO AC will seek input and feedback from the NRO EC on the Principles.
Following any resulting edits, the ASO AC will present the Principles for community consultation.

Outcome: The Proposed ICP-2 Version 2 Principles document

3. Community Input on Draft Principles – completed (Q4 2024)

In order to gauge community sentiment on the Principles, the ASO AC will create a questionnaire to solicit:
- Quantitative feedback: Allowing a numeric or scaled response to each principle.
- Qualitative feedback: Allowing open-ended feedback on each principle as well as an additional section for recommendations on additional principles and overarching feedback.
The questionnaire will be made available through the NRO website, and ICANN will host a public comment period using their established processes.
The ASO AC will determine the availability dates for the questionnaire to provide adequate time to gather responses and to align with ICANN’s existing timelines for public comment.

4. Feedback Review – completed (Q4 2024 and Q1 2025)

The ASO AC will review all questionnaire feedback received, focusing on both quantitative and qualitative responses.
The feedback will be analysed to gauge a range of views and concerns within the communities.

All feedback will be made public to promote transparency in the review process. The ASO AC will also produce a report with a summary of the feedback received. Based on the analysis of the feedback, the ASO AC will reflect any amendments in a new document, as described in section 5.

Outcome: ICANN Public Comment Report

ICP-2 Principles Questionnaire Report

5. Drafting the Document – completed (Q1 and Q2 2025)

The ASO AC will develop a draft of the revised ICP-2 (“Draft Document”) reflecting the review of the questionnaire feedback, as described in section 4.

Outcome: Draft document “Governance Document for the Recognition, Maintenance, and Derecognition of Regional Internet Registries”

6. Community Feedback on the Draft RIR Governance Document – In progress (Q2 2025)

The Draft RIR Governance Document will be made available to the global Internet community and presented to each RIR community, as well as the ICANN community for discussion from 14 April until 27 May 2025
The ASO AC will ensure that all RIR communities have the opportunity for meaningful engagement. An overview of the outreach and engagement activities is available here.
The community engagement methods will include:
- Dedicated online sessions
  - APNIC (tbc)
  - AFRINIC (tbc)
  - RIPE NCC Open House: Tuesday, 29 April at 11:00 (UTC+2)
- Sessions will also take place at the following RIR meetings:
  - ARIN 55: Monday, April 28 at 2:45 PM (UTC-4)
  - LACNIC 43: Wednesday, May 7 at 10:00 AM (UTC-3)
  - RIPE 90: Date and time of session tbc
- Dedicated mailing lists or similar feedback mechanism for community input in all RIR regions.
The ASO AC will also conduct an ICANN Public Comment in this phase.

7. Final Review – upcoming (Q3 and Q4 2025)

The ASO AC will discuss the feedback from the RIR communities and the ICANN public comment process on the draft document.
Any further edits considered necessary by the ASO AC will be reflected in the amended document.
The ASO AC will work with the NRO EC to publish and present the amended draft for review to the RIR and ICANN communities at upcoming meetings and other NRO and RIR publication channels. These meetings are:
- APNIC 60: 4-11 September, Da Nang, Vietnam
- Africa Internet Summit: 15-19 September, Ghana
- LACNIC 44: 6-10 October, San Salvador, El Salvador
- RIPE 91: 20-24 October, Bucharest, Romania
- ICANN 84: 25-30 October, Muscat, Oman
- ARIN 56: 30-31 October, Arlington, USA
Another cycle of review may be required if the feedback indicates that substantial changes are required to the final draft. This could result in the timeline being extended before the process moves to step 8.

8. Approval and Adoption – to be scheduled

Once the ASO AC is satisfied, their recommended document will be delivered to the NRO EC for its consideration.
The NRO EC and ICANN will determine the procedures for approval and adoption.

Timeline

Process	Timeline	Status	Outcome
Review of ICP-2	Q1 and Q2 2024	Completed
Preparation of Principles	Q2 and Q3 2024	Completed	The Proposed ICP-2 Version 2 Principles document
Community Input on Draft Principles	Q4 2024	Completed
Feedback Review	Q4 2024 and Q1 2025	Completed	ICANN Public Comment Report ICP-2 Principles Questionnaire Report
Drafting the Document	Q1 and Q2 2025	Completed	Draft “Governance Document for the Recognition, Maintenance, and Derecognition of Regional Internet Registries”
Community Feedback on the Draft Document	Q2 2025	In Progress	Mailing Lists Session Recordings
Final Review	Q3 and Q4 2025	Upcoming	Recommended Document
Approval and Adoption	To be scheduled	Upcoming

Last modified on 14/04/2025