[arin-ppml] Revised - Draft Policy ARIN-2020-8: Clarify and Update 4.2.1.2 Annual Renewal Fee

[John Curran]

On 19 Jan 2021, at 4:02 PM, Owen DeLong <owen at delong.com<mailto:owen at delong.com>> wrote:
...
I don’t know about the other RIRs, but in terms of ARIN, a careful reading of the bylaws shows that for better or worse, the board has near absolute power over virtually all aspects of the organization and its operations. We are fortunate in that we have consistently had a good and beneficent board with good leadership acting in good faith. I hope the members will continue to elect such individuals and that this tradition will continue.

ARIN as it is currently structured would not be (IMHO) particularly resilient against a corrupt or ill-motivated board willing to act in bad faith. Fortunately, I think that the likelihood of such a board getting elected is very low.

Owen -

FYI – We do take the matter of accountability to our community and the potential for capture quite seriously, and we (and the other RIRs) have done Accountability Assessments in this regard - <https://www.nro.net/accountability/rir-accountability/>

From ARIN’s most recent review <https://www.nro.net/arin-accountability-assessment> -

The assessment did note that the ARIN Board of Trustees has substantial power over the organization, principally the result of the Board’s ability to act unilaterally to amend ARIN’s Articles of Incorporation and Bylaws and due to the lack of term limits for Trustees. Although such power is common for nonmembership corporations, it is not the norm for membership organizations. The power of the Board of Trustees is offset significantly by the nomination committee process, the Bylaws requirement that there be at least one more trustee candidate than the number of vacancies, and the Trustees’ staggered terms. Additionally, it was noted that the transparency practices of the ARIN Board, the membership’s ability to remove Trustees, and the independence of individual Trustees from the organization also serve as practical restraints against capture.

(i.e. quite similar to the observations in your message…)

Thanks!
/John

John Curran
President and CEO
American Registry for Internet Numbers

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