Revolution & Ratification

An important, and often overlooked, section of governance is ratification of the Constitution. In any given situation that demands revolution, a successful governance model will outline how to grow and change without purporting to be perfect on its own. CasperLabs believes that in order to scale, the governance model must be able to evolve and reach consensus with its Stakeholders if and when revolution becomes necessary. The following document will outline possible forms of ratification, and what revolution looks like. In addition, it will attempt to provide a timeline for when governance takes effect.

In the Case of Revolution

In a situation in which the active governance model becomes archaic or ineffective, the stakeholders of the CasperLabs network will have the opportunity, should they deem it necessary, to draft and ratify a new constitution.

Using significant community consensus, Stakeholders may submit a request to IP Editors notifying them of the community’s intentions to significantly alter the current model. IP Editors must unanimously agree that the Constitution no longer functions in the most efficient or democratic way possible. If IP Editors are in agreement, the request will move to the Governing Board. Once at the Governing Board, they too must unanimously be in agreement to create a ‘Constitutional Convention’ to draft a new governance model.

The Governing Board will then select a group of 5-10 people from all industries and walks of life. It is the obligation of the Governing Board to include leaders not only in the blockchain industry, but also in the economic, political, and philosophical arenas as well. No member of the Governing Board shall sit on the Constitutional Convention Committee.

Once the Committee has drafted and agreed on its new Constitution, a whitepaper detailing each decision, why it was made, and how it serves to solve the problem of the previous governance model will be released on all CasperLabs forums for community discussion. Should any stakeholder group have major reservations to the new Constitution, that sentiment must be communicated to the Committee prior to the ratification process.

Ratification

Ratification is an extremely important part of governance on the blockchain. Even in its inception at Genesis, all Stakeholders must be in agreement, from the beginning, that they are willing to operate under a given governance model. This is a choice we make as citizens as adults, and is no less important as citizens of a blockchain.

Ratification on the blockchain is an explicit agreement by its stakeholders that they accept the governance model as it stands. Without acceptance of the governance model, stakeholders will be unable to engage on CasperLabs blockchain. The implicit understanding is that the participants on the blockchain understand their rights as stakeholders

Ratification may happen both On-Chain and Off-Chain. Below I will briefly explain both systems and what the process may look like in practice.

Off-Chain Ratification 

Off-Chain ratification is the ratification of a new, proposed constitution without voting on the network.

CasperLabs proposed Off-Chain governance model involves a stakeholder vote. Like other forms of Ratification, this proposed model requires a 2/3 ratification of stakeholders in order to take effect. In other words, 2/3 of the stakeholder groups on the blockchain must vote in favor of the new Constitution. Once a 2/3 supermajority is met, the new Constitution will take effect. The stakeholder groups that choose not to ratify the new constitution will not have a voice in the new governing system until they vote to ratify. At that point, they will be recognizes as a formal stakeholder group in the new system and given a seat at the table.

On-Chain Ratification

On-Chain ratification refers to ratification that occurs via the platform.

CasperLabs proposes an On-Chain ratification process that involves hashing the new constitution in the next block a stakeholder engages with. In doing so, the participant explicitly communicates that they have engaged with, and agree to, the new constitution as it stands. It also marks the number of stakeholders that have agreed to the Constitution in the overall network.

Another form of On-Chain ratification could be in the form of an On-Chain vote. In this case, the new Constitution would be voted via an On-Chain process. Similar to the Off-Chain voting process, it would require that 2/3 of stakeholders vote in favor of ratifying the constitution. Once a supermajority is met, the constitution will take effect. The downsides to this model include anti-Sybil measures. In addition, you cannot discern whom from each stakeholder group has agreed or disagreed, and therefore those who disagree will automatically have to work under a constitution they do not support.

Timeline

In order to ensure a smooth governing process, CasperLabs recommends the following timeline for stakeholders:

At Test-net, Stakeholder groups should begin forming and identifying what their stances are on important blockchain issues, as well as considering who will represent them on the governing board at genesis. The main purpose of formation at test-net is to ensure that governance can be as cohesive and effective as possible at genesis.

Many new blockchain technologies have a governance system run by developers – which is highly centralized in nature. In order to maintain the primary goal of CasperLabs, which is a fully decentralized network, stakeholder groups must understand their primary goals for the network and be prepared to move forward at genesis.