PPI Conference 2016/Statutes Amendments

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The deadline is June 24th 2016 23:59 CET Late submissions will be accepted at the discretion of the Board and the GA

The current statutes and how they were voted upon can be found here.

SAP-X I am a master mask

Title	Submission Title
Sponsor	Pirate Party Name and short form (PPXX)
Member(s) of Pirate Party proposing	Name(s)
Contact data	email address or similar
proposal ballot(s)	Proposal:
reasoning and motivation

SAP-1 Composition of the Board

Title	Composition of the Board
Sponsor	Pirate Party of Russia (PPRU)
member of Pirate Party	Nikolay Voronov (International Coordinator PPRU)
Contact data	alexvox at pirate-party . ru
proposal ballot(s)	Composition of the Board Proposal: http://wiki.pp-international.net/Statutes#XII._Board remove point 5 from section XII.Board (5) "To safeguard the diversity and the international character of the organization only one officer of the same nationality may be elected in the board of PPI. If two nominees of the same nationality would receive the needed votes to be appointed in the board only the nominee first elected in case of sequential elections or the nominee with the most votes in case of a simultaneous election will be appointed."
reasoning and motivation	some countries are multinational, so our current wording "nationality" is not appropriate term for political diversity, one party may have candidates of different nationalities. At the same time, different parties (with different point of view) may have delegates of same nationality. There is no political diversity with our current wording, but kinda insulting definition which tends GA to find out the nationality of the candidate rather than political stance, this is rude and looks like discrimination based on nationality in a certain sense. Every person can point out any nationality (try to dispute that), so why we need this paragraph? We need active people with skills, no matter from what country they are, every party have equal rights to put as many candidates as they want. PPI shouldn't suffer from people who don't know what to do and only GA have a right to decide who is worthy for the Board (according to skills, experience, etc), make a rotation system if you really want diversity.

SAP-2 Name and Seat

Title	Name and Seat
Sponsor	Pirate Party of Germany (PPDE)
member of Pirate Party	Thomas Gaul (Int. Coord. PPDE) Gregory Engels (Int. Coord. PPDE)
Contact data	thomas.gaul at piratenpartei . de gregory.engels at piratenpartei . de
proposal ballot(s)	Proposal: Change I. Name (1) The name of the association is Pirate Parties International. The official abbreviation is PPI. (2) The association is not for profit. The rights and duties of the association and its Members shall be disjunct. to I. Name and Seat (1) The name of the association is Pirate Parties International. The official abbreviation is PPI. (2) The association is not for profit. The rights and duties of the association and its Members shall be disjunct. (3) The seat of the association is Geneva, Switzerland.
reasoning and motivation	It is necessary to introduce a seat to fulfill minimum requirements given by several laws and treaties concerning money laundry. PPI being a non profit NGO would never support any attempt of money laundry or similar acts against the laws. This is for clarification.

SAP-3 Delete Court of Arbitration from the Statutes

Title	Submission Title
Sponsor	Pirate Party of Germany (PPDE)
member of Pirate Party	Thomas Gaul (Int. Coord. PPDE) Gregory Engels (Int. Coord. PPDE)
Contact data	thomas.gaul at piratenpartei . de gregory.engels at piratenpartei . de
proposal ballot(s)	Proposal: Delete or change all references to the Court of Arbitration from the Statutes accordingly. In detail: Ad. 1 Change III. Membership (5) The Members are obliged to respect the Statutes, internal regulations and rules of procedure, in particular abide by the decisions of the Court of Arbitration. to III. Membership (5) The Members are obliged to respect the Statutes, internal regulations and rules of procedure. (6) The legal domicile of the association is where the organisation is seated. Ad. 2 Change VI. Multiple applicants from one sovereign state (2) If a Federation or Confederation cannot be agreed on, the voting power of this state is split between these Members. The splitting method is, in order of preference: a) consensus between all Ordinary Members of this sovereign state; b) compromise between all Ordinary Members of this sovereign state, with the help of a Registered Moderator from the Court of Arbitration ; c) decision by the Court of Arbitraton within the limits contained in proposals given by Ordinary Members from the sovereign state. (3) As long as none of the preferred methods comes into action, the voting power of the sovereign state is split equally between its Ordinary Members. to VI. Multiple applicants from one sovereign state (2) If a Federation or Confederation cannot be agreed on, the voting power of this state is split between these Members. The splitting method is, in order of preference: a) consensus between all Ordinary Members of this sovereign state; b) compromise between all Ordinary Members of this sovereign state (3) As long as none of the preferred methods comes into action, the voting power of the sovereign state is split equally between its Ordinary Members. 'Ad. 3 Change VII. Termination of Membership (2) The decisions on the changes of Membership, such as suspension, reinstatement and exclusion, fall within the competence of the Court of Arbitration, and can be appealed to the General Assembly. If the Member appeals, the decision becomes effective at the end of the Meeting of the General Assembly, unless the General Assembly decides otherwise. A proposal for the exclusion of a Member may only be submitted by the Board, or by a tenth of Members from three different continents. to (2) The decisions on the changes of Membership, such as suspension, reinstatement and exclusion, fall within the competence of the Board, and can be appealed to the General Assembly. If the Member appeals, the decision becomes effective at the end of the Meeting of the General Assembly, unless the General Assembly decides otherwise. A proposal for the exclusion of a Member may only be submitted by four Board members, or by a tenth of Members from three different continents. Ad. 4 Delete XIa. Revocation (1) At any time, Ordinary Members wielding at least a fifth of the voting power can initiate the revocation of a PPI officer by calling upon the Court of Arbitration. The Council of the Court of Arbitration can reject the revocation request if it is not supported by enough of the Ordinary Members, if an election for the seat took place less than a month ago or will take place within a month, or another revocation process of the same PPI officer is already in progress. (2) When the request is valid, within seven days the Council of the Court of Arbitration warns the Members of the revocation process, and opens an internal consultation of seven days to collect grievances against the concerned PPI officer. The Council of the Court of Arbitration then has seven days to send him a synthesis of the grievances. (3) The PPI officer has seven days to answer. At reception of his answer, or at the end of the time, the Council of the Court of Arbitration organizes a postal referendum on the revocation of the PPI officer with the synthesis of the grievances and, if any, his answer. If the revocation is voted, the PPI officer's seat is treated as vacant and this person cannot occupy the same seat until the following General Assembly. Ad. 5 Change XIII. Functions of the Board (8) A Board member may resign at any moment. After resignation, death, long term disease or if a Member of the Board does not execute its functions for more than three months, his seat becomes vacant. If the seat has neither become vacant by resignation nor death of the Board Member the remaining Board Members have to declare the seat as vacant by majority vote. The concerned Board Member may appeal the decision to the Court of Arbitration within the period of a month. The Court of Arbitration shall pass judgement not later than a month after the appeal was filed. Pending the decision of the Court of Arbitration or until the decision of the Board cannot be appealed anymore the seat shall not be taken by an Alternate Member, but all rights of the concerned Board Member will be suspended. to XIII. Functions of the Board (8) A Board member may resign at any moment. After resignation, death, long term disease or if a Member of the Board does not execute its functions for more than three months, his seat becomes vacant. If the seat has neither become vacant by resignation nor death of the Board Member the remaining Board Members have to declare the seat as vacant by majority vote. Ad. 6 Delete Court of Arbitration XIVa. Court of Arbitration (0) The Court of Arbitration shall be constituted by a Council composed of individuals and a deciding Jury composed of all the Ordinary Members. (1) The exclusive power to resolve internal disputes shall be vested to the Court of Arbitration. All other organs and officers are required to cooperate with the Court of Arbitration to the extend needed for the proper exercise of its functions. (2) Complaints may be sent by the organs and officers of the PPI and by the Members. A complaint may be regulated with a fee to be returned if the complaint is reasonable. The complainant may participate in the investigation. (3) In particular, the Court of Arbitration has the exclusive power to a) issue a preliminary ruling in an urgent matter of its competence, b) declare matters of fact when necessary for the functioning of the PPI, c) decide the disputes between the officers and the organs of the PPI, d) decide on the restrictions on persons who breach the Statutes and the internal regulations and in these cases degrade an official or declare his further incapability to be elected, e) decide on the validity of legal acts of the organs of the PPI, f) decide on the matters of Membership (Art. VII par. 2). (4) The Court of Arbitration keeps a Register of Mediators. This register lists the name, contact address, and Party affiliation of the people from the Ordinary Members who are willing to help solve the disputes between the Members. All Members may consult this register and choose a Mediator who can help them solve the dispute. (5) If the mediation fails, each of the Members or applicants who are in a dispute may present an agreement to the Court of Arbitration, which contains their description of the dispute, their solution and their consent to abide by the decision of the Court of Arbitration. The Council of the Court of Arbitration will present an independent solution within the limits of opposing views. Other solutions may also be presented to the Court of Arbitration by independent third parties. The Jury of the Court of Arbitration will decide the dispute by casting a preferential vote using an appropriate single-method election system that ensures a condorcet criterion. (6) The Council of the Court of Arbitration may answer the preliminary questions of the organs and individuals about the interpretation of the Statutes and the internal regulations; such answers act through their persuasiveness only. (7) The Council of the Court of Arbitration shall have between three and seven Members. The provisions concerning the election of the Members of the Board and vacancies apply accordingly. (8) A member of the Board cannot be also a member of the Council of the Court of Arbitration. In case the results in the General Assembly elections would put the person in position to occupy a seat in both Board and Council of the Court of Arbitration, she must immediately relinquish one of the two. In case the person is not able to choose: if she already occupied one of the seats before the General Assembly then she relinquishes this position for the new one, otherwise it is considered by default that she relinquishes any seat position in the Council of the Court of Arbitration. (9) The Court of Arbitration keeps a Register of Investigators. This register lists the name, contact address, and Party affiliation of the people from the Ordinary Members who are willing to help investigate on any matter the Court of Arbitration has authority on. All Members and PPI officers may consult this register and ask, anonymously or not, an Investigator to constitute a file. Any Investigator can ask the Court of Arbitration to rule on a case. Members of the Court of Arbitration or of the Board cannot be Investigators.
reasoning and motivation	Out of experience and several discussions in the past, we consider: Lesson learnt. Due to several ideas mostly based on the judical background and its history in each member state country there deem to be no mutual definition of a Court of Arbitration. There may be ways to see fit some kind of a body for appealing decision or such in the future. At the current state of affairs among the members of PPI there will be no common solution to agree upon. The current concept is malfunctioning and needs to be abolished.

SAP-4 Correct oversight with Co-Chairman

Title	Submission Title
Sponsor	Pirate Party of Germany (PPDE)
member of Pirate Party	Thomas Gaul (Int. Coord. PPDE) Gregory Engels (Int. Coord. PPDE)
Contact data	thomas.gaul at piratenpartei . de gregory.engels at piratenpartei . de
proposal ballot(s)	Proposal: Change XIII. Functions of the Board (5) One of the Co-Chairmen convenes, opens, suspends, and closes the sessions and meetings and presides over them to ensure the observance of procedure, communicates the points of concern, and informs the Board about absences. In the absence of both of the Co-Chairmen another Member of the Board may be appointed to perform all these functions. to XIII. Functions of the Board (5) The Chairman ore the vice chairman convenes, opens, suspends, and closes the sessions and meetings and presides over them to ensure the observance of procedure, communicates the points of concern, and informs the Board about absences. In the absence of both Chairmen another Member of the Board may be appointed to perform all these functions by the rest of the board.
reasoning and motivation	Adapt paragraph to the current situation

SAP-5 Term of Office

Title	Term of Office
Sponsor	Pirate Party of Germany (PPDE)
member of Pirate Party	Thomas Gaul (Int. Coord. PPDE) Gregory Engels (Int. Coord. PPDE)
Contact data	thomas.gaul at piratenpartei . de gregory.engels at piratenpartei . de
proposal ballot(s)	Term of Office Proposal: Change and add in XII. Board XII. Board (2) The Board and the Alternate Members are elected for two years by the General Assembly at the regular sessions or if an extraordinary session is requested for that purpose. (2a) This rule applies only once: At the next regular session, every secondary seat of the Board and the Alternate Board - according to the number of their previous votes - will be new elected due to establish a rotating system. In case of a tie at the previous votes a decision is taken by drawing lot. __________________________________________________________ Current wording: XII. Board (2) The Board and the Alternate Members are elected by the General Assembly at the regular sessions or if an extraordinary session is requested for that purpose
reasoning and motivation	Given the complex task of running the PPI as an international organization requires the transfer of know-how and skills among the board members. It is good practice to introduce a rotation among the board members by electing every year only a part of it (as practiced for example by the Pirate Party of Sweden). For the first year that we want to introduce this rotation, its brings some challenges of how to transit to the new regulation, for that a "one time" provision is needed.

SAP-6 Appointed Members of the Board

Title	Appointed Members of the Board
Sponsor	Pirate Party of Germany (PPDE)
member of Pirate Party	Thomas Gaul (Int. Coord. PPDE) Gregory Engels (Int. Coord. PPDE)
Contact data	thomas.gaul at piratenpartei . de gregory.engels at piratenpartei . de
proposal ballot(s)	Proposal: Change XII. Board (6) Other positions may be created by the Board. (7) There shall be four Alternate Members of the Board. If one seat of the Board becomes vacant, one of the Alternate Members shall follow-up according to a list. The position of the Alternate Members on the list shall be determined by approval voting. (8) Alternate Members following-up on the Board shall have no office, but may be elected into one by a majority vote of the Board. to XII. Board (6) Other positions may be created by the Board. (7) The board can appoint further Member(s) of the Board without voting rights. This can be decided with a 2/3 majority of the board. The(ir) seat(s) becomes vacant according to Section XIII. (8). Further details may be regulated in the Rules of Procedures. (8) There shall be four Alternate Members of the Board. If one seat of the Board becomes vacant, one of the Alternate Members shall follow-up according to a list. The position of the Alternate Members on the list shall be determined by approval voting. (9) Alternate Members following-up on the Board shall have no office, but may be elected into one by a majority vote of the Board.
reasoning and motivation

SAP-7 Changing the Goals of PPI

Tasks & Goals	Changing the Goals of PPI: Removing "information & coordination on core topics"
Sponsor	Pirate Party of New Zealand (PPNZ)
Member(s) of Pirate Party proposing	Patrick Schiffer, Andrew Reitemeyer
Contact data	patrick.schiffer@pp-international.net, andrew.reitemeyer@pp-international.net
proposal ballot(s)	Proposal: Delete paragraph (2) e: "share information and coordinate research on the core pirate topics,"
Motivation:	The goals are already wide enough for PPI without this. PPI will need more resources before this goal will be a priority. More focused goals are much easier to get accomplished.

SAP-8 Tasks & Goals

Tasks & Goals Changing the functions of the General Assembly	Tasks & Goals - Remove policy motions & resolutions
Sponsor	Pirate Party of New Zealand and short form (PPNZ)
Member(s) of Pirate Party proposing	Patrick Schiffer, Andrew Reitemeyer
Contact data	patrick.schiffer@pp-international.net, andrew.reitemeyer@pp-international.net
Proposal:	Remove function (a) and (b) from section X. "Functions of the General assembly" a) to consider the policies and standards of the Pirate Movement throughout the world and take such action as shall further the goals of Pirate Parties International, b) to formulate the general policy of Pirate Parties International,
Motivation:	PPI has started to become a supranational organization by adopting resolutions that the members are expected to follow: http://wiki.pp-international.net/Resolutions PPI should not be a top-down organization that dictates which policies their members adopt. It's enough having larger agreements (such as the Uppsala declaration http://wiki.pp-international.net/Uppsala_Declaration , Prague declaration http://ppeu.net/?p=339 and the CEEP http://ppeu.net/wiki/doku.php?id=programme:ceep which are joined bottom-up. PPI should focus on coordinating, promoting and interacting with their members rather than developing its own political agenda.

SAP-9 Termination of Membership

Termination of Membership	Changing requirements for members of PPI
Sponsor	Pirate Party of New Zealand (PPNZ)
Member(s) of Pirate Party proposing	Patrick Schiffer, Andrew Reitemeyer
Contact data	patrick.schiffer@pp-international.net, andrew.reitemeyer@pp-international.net
Proposal:	Change VII. Termination of Membership (3) A Member’s affiliation ceases automatically upon dissolution, disqualification, liquidation or in cases of temporary administration, court-ordered settlement or insolvency. The Membership also ends automatically when this Member does no longer fulfill the criteria that were necessary for its preliminary recognition as a Member. to VII. Termination of Membership (3) A Member’s affiliation ceases automatically upon dissolution, disqualification, liquidation or in cases of temporary administration, court-ordered settlement or insolvency. The Membership also ends automatically when this Member does no longer fulfill the criteria that were necessary for its preliminary recognition as a Member. If a member fails to attend either of the two past General Assemblies their membership is terminated as well.
reasoning and motivation	Having members of PPI that are inactive in the organization only makes the interaction between members harder and statutes will be harder to pass, e.g. reaching the quorum on general assemblies.

SAP-9b Suspension of Membership

Termination of Membership	Changing requirements for members of PPI
Sponsor	Pirate Party of Russia (PPRU)
Member(s) of Pirate Party proposing	Nikolay Voronov
Contact data	alexvox@pirate-party.ru
Proposal:	Change VII. Termination of Membership (3) A Member’s affiliation ceases automatically upon dissolution, disqualification, liquidation or in cases of temporary administration, court-ordered settlement or insolvency. The Membership also ends automatically when this Member does no longer fulfill the criteria that were necessary for its preliminary recognition as a Member. to VII. Termination of Membership (3) A Member’s affiliation ceases automatically upon dissolution, disqualification, liquidation or in cases of temporary administration, court-ordered settlement or insolvency. The Membership also ends automatically when this Member does no longer fulfill the criteria that were necessary for its preliminary recognition as a Member. If a member fails to attend either of the two past General Assemblies their membership should be considered as suspended membership without voting rights.
reasoning and motivation	Having members of PPI that are inactive in the organization only makes the interaction between members harder and statutes will be harder to pass, e.g. reaching the quorum on general assemblies. We can't exclude members only because of inactivity on PPI GA's, some parties may be active on local level, but not interested in PPI-meetings, our goal is make pirate movement wider rather than put disputable bureaucratic obstacles in Statuses.

SAP-10 PPI Overhaul

Title	Submission Title
Sponsor	Pirate Party of Canada (PPCA)
Member(s) of Pirate Party proposing	Travis McCrea
Contact data	travis.mccrea@pirateparty.ca // TravisMcCrea (PirateIRC.net)
proposal ballot(s)	Pirate Parties International’s new board shall be reduced to a chairman and four board seats (5 total board members), and their positions are to help facilitate the effective communication amongst Pirate Parties. All statues are hereby null and void, and the board shall use the next year to figure out what works and what doesn’t work and shall have new statutes prepared by the next GA. The next GA must be no more than 400 days from the passing of this resolution and all current members of Pirate Parties International as defined by the current rules must be given 30 days notice of the GA. Voting within the GA will exist under the rules within the statues as agreed upon before the conclusion of the 2016 PPI GA.
reasoning and motivation	The board of PPI keep saying they cannot make meaningful changes to PPI because their hands are tied. Year after year they say "our new board will discuss changes" and "lets set up a workgroup to investigate the issue". This motion allows the current GA to elect a board who will be in charge of total reform of PPI with next to no restrictions on their actions except that their term ends in a year, this should allow the board to fully develop a PPI that works for everyone.

SAP-11 Voting: E-Democracy Online Assembly

Title	Voting: E-Democracy Online Assembly
Sponsor	Pirate Party of New Zealand and short form (PPNZ)
Member(s) of Pirate Party proposing	Andrew Reitemeyer
	andrew.reitemeyer@pp-interntional.net
proposal ballot(s)	Proposal: Change XI. Voting (4) A permanent online e-Democracy system allowing for decision making of General Assembly between its meetings shall be put in place where issues can be raised, initiatives started, suggestions made, and progress checked until a final vote can be cast. a) Issues and initiatives [* 1] can be raised and started by the Board and anyone else who can submit motions to the General Assembly; b) An issue not raised by the Board needs a support of one third of the Members in order for its initiatives to be voted. to (4) A permanent online e-Democracy system allowing for decision making of General Assembly between its meetings shall be put in place where all powers relating to statutes, motions and membership applications of the general assembly can be exercised. a) Issues and initiatives [* 1] can be raised and started by the Board and anyone else who can submit motions to the General Assembly; b) An issue not raised by the Board needs a support of one third of the Members in order for its initiatives to be voted. c) Decisions made shall have the same quorum, pass conditions and validity as an annual or exceptional GA. d) All members must be made aware of a new initiative by the proposing party and the voting period may not be less than 14 days and not more than 30.
Reasoning	The board of PPI is restricted in its ability to function as required as it is not being given full access to all PPI resources. The reforms required to make the organisation fit for purpose need the backing of an engaged General Assembly.

SAP-12 Control of PPI Resources by Change of Board

Title	Control of PPI Resources by Change of Board
Sponsor	Pirate Party of New Zealand and short form (PPNZ)
Member(s) of Pirate Party proposing	Andrew Reitemeyer
Contact data	andrew.reitemeyer@pp-international.net
proposal ballot(s)	1.6.2 XIV. Handover to a new Board a) Full details of and access to PPI assets[1] (including passwords) must be handed over to a new board within two weeks of the first board meeting of the new board or a written explanation given to the board as to why this is not possible. b) Passwords and encryption keys should be changed as soon as is practicable after the new board is formed. c) No one board member or officer of PPI can hold exclusive access to any PPI asset. The board will determine who on the board will be given passwords and access details. [1] This includes financial assets, including bank accounts, and IT assets, whether on its own, proprietary or open-source platforms.
reasoning and motivation	PPI has lost access to important assets over the years including two bank accounts. Crucial IT resources are in exclusive the control of people who are not on the board and some of those are not answerable to the board nor the GA. This is mostly the result of the lack of hand over procedures but we have been continuously frustrated in implementing resolutions because of this. This should be a procedural matter but prvious intransigence requires statutory powers.