Summary

  • ICANN's Board adopted the IDN country-code selection and deselection policy on 22 October, apart from a separate risk-appraisal section. The adopted material maps some country-code disputes away from ICANN's general Reconsideration and Independent Review routes.
  • A purpose-built ccTLD review mechanism was approved in 2025, but the 2026 Board record places related Bylaws changes in a future Fundamental Bylaws process. Policy approval and a working appeals desk are two different dates.

Suppose a country-code domain in a local script faces retirement. Its manager needs to know who can review the decision. ICANN's 22 October Board decision approved new rules for choosing and retiring such domain names and their variants. It left out a separate risk-appraisal section. The approved part sets out where some challenges should go.

The ccPDP4 Board Report gives a concrete example. A manager receives a retirement notice after the territory changes its name, language or script, or after the domain becomes contested within the territory. That manager could ask for a dedicated country-code review when the mechanism becomes available. The report also asks ICANN to update its Bylaws. Claims about delegation, transfer, revocation and retirement would stay outside the general Reconsideration and Independent Review processes. The older Bylaws phrase is “delegation and re-delegation”; the proposed wording names more decisions. The Board says the clarification also covers string selection.

ICANN approved the dedicated review policy back in June 2025. The Board ordered a phased rollout and draft changes to its Fundamental Bylaws; review findings would be non-binding. The October decision says those Bylaws changes are still ahead. The Empowered Community will have to support them. A manager can now see the intended destination for some complaints. ICANN still has to publish the opening date and the rules for using it.