Bucharest will see a showdown over plans to re-organise Icann

Mr Auerbach was elected to represent US and Canadian web-user interests on the Icann board.

The organisation is registered in California as a non-profit corporation and under the laws of the US state is required to let its directors know how the organisation is being run.

"Icann management has denied me the tools I need to exercise independent judgment and fulfil my duties as director," Mr Auerbach said in a statement.

'Static bureaucracy'

He claims to have been offered access to the records only if he signs a binding confidentiality agreement - an offer he says he has refused.

Since December 2000, Mr Auerbach has been a persistent critic of Icann, claiming that the organisation is badly run, secretive and takes too long to make decisions.

In an e-mail sent to BBC News Online, Mr Auerbach said that without the oversight provided by its directors, Icann was in danger of becoming a static bureaucracy in which staff, rather than the organisation's elected representatives, dictated policy.

Icann has yet to comment on the lawsuit. Under a re-organisation plan floated by Icann head Stuart Lynn last month, Mr Auerbach looks likely to lose his post as an Icann director.

The final vote on the proposed changes to Icann will take place at the Icann meeting set for 24-28 June in Bucharest, Romania.