DotConnectAfrica Trust takes its case with ICANN to Independent Review Process (IRP) Panel

NEW YORK - Jan. 22, 2014 - PRLog -- On Jan. 10, 2014, DCA Trust submitted an Amended Notice of Independent Review Process (“IRP”) to the International Center for Dispute Resolution (ICDR).  DCA Trust sent its Notice of IRP in October 2013.

The IRP is a proceeding provided for in Article IV, Section 3 of the ICANN Bylaws, by which any person materially affected by a decision or action of the ICANN Board may request that the action be reviewed by an independent third party for consistency with the ICANN Bylaws and/or Articles of Incorporation.

The most recent version of the ICANN Bylaws was adopted by the ICANN Board in April 2013, and may be found, along with an archive of previous versions, on the ICANN web site: http://www.icann.org/en/about/governance/bylaws.  The International Centre for Dispute Resolution (“ICDR”), the international arm of the American Arbitration Association (AAA) provides institutional support for the ICANN IRP process, and the procedure of the IRP will be governed by the ICDR Rules and a set of Supplementary Procedures agreed upon between the ICDR and ICANN to govern IRPs.

DCA Trust’s Amended Notice of IRP is the latest step towards resolution of the dispute between ICANN and DCA Trust over ICANN Board decisions and actions taken with regard to DCA Trust’s application for the .africa new gTLD.  ICANN is committed to publishing documents filed throughout IRP Proceedings on its website.  Currently DCA Trust’s original Notice of IRP from October 2013 is available by selecting “Accountability and Transparency” on the ICANN site and scrolling down to “Independent Review Process”: http://www.icann.org/en/news/irp/dca-v-icann.

DCA Trust has not withdrawn its .africa new gTLD application, as it continues to pursue resolution with ICANN in accordance with the ICANN Bylaws.