Today we are publishing, for members and stakeholders, the outcomes of the Independent Governance Review carried out by Professor Bob Garratt. This review was conducted in response to concerns raised by BERR and our stakeholders about the composition of our membership, voting processes and the roles of the board.

Professor Garratt acknowledges that Nominet is highly regarded nationally and internationally for our management of the .uk registry and our contribution to the guardianship of the Internet. However, he concludes that there are significant constitutional issues that restrict Nominet’s ability to fully support our members and engage effectively with our broader stakeholders.  As such, he calls for the board and members to urgently make the changes necessary to ensure Nominet realises its fundamental purpose:

• to ensure we self regulate responsibly and responsively for all stakeholders
• to ensure our public purpose is supported by our efforts to build a world where the Internet is an inclusive, trusted space, which has a positive impact on people’s lives.
  
  

Background

The review was led by Professor Bob Garratt and included:

• a Board evaluation study that compared the current Nominet corporate governance structure and processes with the 2006 Combined Code of Corporate Governance, led by Professor Bob Garratt, a recognised corporate governance expert
• a study of membership and stakeholder issues, led by Mutuo, an organisation that encourages mutual approaches to business and public policy.
  
  

Nominet Board's Response

Whilst the domain name industry and the Internet have rapidly progressed in the 13 years since our foundation, our structure and constitution have not.  Recent events, prompted by issues with the composition of our membership, voting processes and the roles of the board, have raised serious questions from members, stakeholders and government about Nominet’s ability to responsibly self regulate, support the public interest and respond effectively to rapid market developments.  

The Board believes that continued self-regulation of .uk and the Internet is vital to the future success of the industry. However, we also recognise that self-regulation needs to work for all if we are to win the confidence of government and stakeholders. Whilst it is our understanding that the government does not wish to regulate Nominet or the domain name industry, we must demonstrate that we are all capable of self regulation. The government has made it very clear that it considers Nominet’s role as critical to the UK national infrastructure and that current governance issues must be resolved if we are to continue with this model. Our response to BERR’s letter is here.  As such, we need to make the appropriate changes to ensure the self regulation model can remain.

Next Steps

The review recommendations are designed to guide and help our members in this discussion. We urge all members to fully engage in discussion of these questions and to take rapid and necessary action to ensure Nominet’s constitution and governance is fit for purpose: a self-regulated Nominet that effectively supports its members, stakeholders, its public purpose and the UK Internet, avoiding the need for any form of Government intervention in the sector, whether by regulation, legislation or otherwise. We recognise that this will not be an easy discussion because there is a lot at stake. Nominet was created by its members to develop and shape the Internet for the benefit of all, and that fundamental purpose remains central to Nominet. 

We will be launching a formal consultation during May.  We will work with members to seek feedback from all stakeholders; open meetings will be held during the period in London, Manchester, Glasgow and Cardiff. Following the consultation we will hold an EGM in the autumn on a set of resolutions based on member feedback to the recommendations in Professor Garratt’s report.  We will be holding our AGM in early July.

As ever, we remain committed to the continued smooth running of .uk and to delivering a secure and robust service to our members, registrars and customers.