Summary

  • The GAC's 26 October Bali communiqué says it intends to build an operational framework for members to examine 2026 new-domain applications and coordinate public-policy concerns between meetings.
  • Its published discussion drafts separate voluntary group discussion, an individual member's Early Warning, and consensus advice from the committee to ICANN's Board.

There is a large blank sheet in the middle of this process. Every government may write a concern on it; the question is whose name eventually appears at the bottom. The Bali communiqué says the Governmental Advisory Committee intends to organise work between ICANN meetings as the 2026 round of new domain applications enters review. Its members can flag public-policy issues, compare what they have seen and coordinate a response where useful.

The published operational readiness framework is labelled “Draft for Discussion.” It sketches four steps: first inspect the revealed applications, then let governments review confirmed strings through their own processes, then hold voluntary application-discussion sessions, and finally choose a route for action. The chair could convene those sessions with vice-chairs and support staff. Participants would exchange facts and concerns; each member would still decide what to do with its own concern.

The clock gives that draft room a practical purpose. ICANN's confirmed timetable places String Confirmation Day on 17 November, after October's replacement window. The community-input and objections period then runs to 16 March 2027. A government can inspect the published application now, but the confirmed string and the formal warning window belong to the next stage. Comparing notes early can save a ministry from discovering a shared issue when the clock is almost spent.

Two pens lead out of the room. The Early Warnings guide lets an individual GAC member or observer send a reasoned notice to an applicant without a committee-wide vote. A separate draft advice approach invites interested members to develop possible text using the application, rationale, any previous warning and any exchange with the applicant. If the GAC later reaches consensus, its chair communicates advice to ICANN's Board. A concern travels from one desk to another, and the author of the decision becomes visible at each stop.