CHAPTER III - MEMBERS: CATEGORIES, ADMISSION CRITERIA AND DISCIPLINARY REGULATIONS

This document and/or information was originally written in Spanish, the official language of Uruguay, the country where LACNIC is legally incorporated and whose laws and regulations govern the organization. Likewise, unofficial information and/or documents are also written in Spanish, as this is the language in which most of LACNIC's advisors and officers work and communicate. We do our best to ensure that our translations are reliable and serve as a guide for our non-Spanish-speaking members. However, discrepancies may exist between the translations and the original document and/or information written in Spanish. In such cases, the original text written in Spanish will always prevail.

ARTICLE 6

LACNIC shall have the following member categories:

  1. Active Members:
    • Active “A” Members: Those who receive IP address space directly from LACNIC, those who receive IP address space indirectly through a national registry in accordance with the agreements between LACNIC and such registries, or those who received from ARIN address space that is part of the address space distributed to LACNIC, and who apply for admission.
    • Active Founding Members: The following organizations: AHCIET (Hispano-American Association of Research Centers and Telecommunications Companies), CABASE (Argentine Chamber of Databases and Online Services), CGI-Br (Brazilian Internet Steering Committee), eCOMLAC (Latin American and Caribbean Internet and e-Commerce Federation), ENRED (Network Forum for Latin America and the Caribbean), and NIC-Mx (NIC Mexico). 
  2. Adhering Members: Those who agree with LACNIC's goals, apply for admission, and are included in one of the following categories:
    • Organizations based in the LAC region or that conduct their activities mainly in Latin America and the Caribbean, which are involved in Internet development and/or comprised of Internet service providers, make a relevant contribution to Internet-related policies in the region, agree with the goals of LACNIC and apply for admission.
    • Organizations that manage IP addresses that are not part of the address space distributed to LAC and that are geographically located in the LAC region.
    • Any person, company or institution designated as such by decision of the LACNIC Member Assembly in recognition of their activities in furtherance of LACNIC's goals.
    • Those persons or legal entities that contribute significantly to LACNIC's financial support. 

* Article modified by the Member Assemblies held on 24 April 2003 and 03 May 2016.

ARTICLE 7

Members shall have the following rights: 

  1. Active “A” Members:
    1. To use the various services available to members.
    2. To present before the Board of Directors any initiative that will favor the improvement of the institution in any respect.
    3. To request the summoning of an Extraordinary Member Assembly (Article 14).
    4. To participate in the assemblies with full voting and speaking privileges and to nominate candidates to the organization's bylaws-mandated bodies.
  2. Founding Members:
    1. To use the various services available to members.
    2. To present before the Board of Directors any initiative that will favor the improvement of the institution in any respect.
    3. To request the summoning of an Extraordinary Member Assembly (Article 14).
    4. To participate in the assemblies with full voting and speaking privileges and to nominate candidates to the organization's bylaws-mandated bodies.
  3. Adhering Members:
    1. To use the various services available to members, except those relating to Internet resources.
    2. To present before the Board of Directors any initiative that will favor the improvement of the institution in any respect.
    3. To participate in the General Assembly with speaking privileges but without the right to vote.

* Article modified by the Member Assemblies held on 31 March 2004, 03 May 2016, and 04 May 2022. 

ARTICLE 8

Members shall have the following obligations: 

  1. To pay the ordinary and extraordinary fees established by the Assembly.
  2. To comply with all other obligations under these Bylaws, regulations, and resolutions of the Member Assembly and the Board of Directors.

ARTICLE 9

Members who no longer meet the conditions required by these Bylaws shall lose their member status. Members who fall behind on payment of their membership fees or any other established contribution shall have their member status automatically suspended. Should such late payment of these membership fees or any other established contribution continue beyond the deadlines established in the LACNIC policies, the defaulting member shall automatically lose their member status. Before requesting their readmission, suspended members must proceed to pay the outstanding balance of their membership fees or other contributions owed to the organization on the date of their suspension. Member status shall also be lost in case of resignation or expulsion. 

* Article modified by the Member Assembly held on 03 May 2016.

ARTICLE 10

The Board of Directors may apply the following penalties against members: 

  1. Warning
  2. Suspension for a maximum of one year
  3. Expulsion, to be determined based on the seriousness of the offense and the specific circumstances of each case, for the following reasons:
    1. Failure to comply with the obligations arising from these Bylaws, regulations, or resolutions of the Member Assembly and the Board of Directors;
    2. Notorious misconduct;
    3. Voluntarily causing damage to LACNIC, causing serious disruptions within the organization, or adopting a behavior that is notoriously detrimental to the organization's interests.

ARTICLE 11

The penalties referred to in the preceding article shall be decided by the Board of Directors once the party involved has presented their defense. In all cases, within thirty days of being notified of the Board of Director’s resolution, the affected party may file an appeal before the first Member Assembly to be held. The filing of an appeal shall have suspensive effect. As for their membership rights, if the member who receives a penalty holds a position within the administrative or control bodies, said body may suspend them in this capacity until the corresponding Assembly has decided their case.

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