Here is my draft synthesis of the community Constitution documents provided:
Cardano Blockchain Ecosystem Constitution
Preamble
The Cardano Blockchain enables the development of contracts, applications, and digital assets in a permissionless, decentralized manner. It was founded to improve economic, political, and social systems for everyone worldwide through unbiased processing of immutable data and the emergence of decentralized applications, businesses, and network states.
Recognizing the need for a dynamic governance framework that relies on self-governance by the Cardano Community utilizing blockchain technology, we hereby establish this Constitution. It serves as a set of principles for the operation and governance of the Cardano Blockchain as a foundation that empowers individuals and communities to manage their identity, value, and governance.
The Cardano Community affirms our intention to abide by this Constitution in order to participate in the governance of the Cardano Blockchain ecosystem. We invite all who share our values to join us but stand not in the way of any who wish to take another path.
Article I. Tenets and Guardrails
Section 1: Tenets
These Tenets shall guide all participants of the Cardano Community. Proposed governance actions shall be evaluated in accordance with them.
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Transactions on the Cardano Blockchain shall not be intentionally slowed down or censored.
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The cost of transactions should be predictable and reasonable.
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Anyone desiring to develop and deploy non-malicious applications on the Cardano Blockchain shall not unreasonably be prevented from doing so.
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The Cardano Blockchain shall recognize contributions through reward sharing with stake pools and DReps via appropriate tokenomics and consensus mechanisms.
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The Cardano Blockchain shall not modify an ADA ownerās value without consent.
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The Cardano Blockchain shall not unreasonably impede interoperability with other blockchains.
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The Cardano Blockchain shall preserve in a safe manner any information an ADA owner seeks to store on the blockchain.
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The Cardano Blockchain shall not unnecessarily spend or waste resources.
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All users shall be treated fairly, taking into account the collective desires of the community, consistent with the long-term sustainability and viability of Cardano.
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The total supply of ADA shall not exceed 45 billion and will not be burned or increased.
Section 2: Guardrails
The Cardano Blockchain shall operate in accordance with the Guardrails as set forth in the Guardrails Appendix to this Constitution. The community may digitally codify Guardrails to allow their implementation on-chain. Where there are inconsistencies between the Guardrails Appendix and what is implemented on-chain, the on-chain version shall prevail and the Constitutional Committee shall reconcile the inconsistencies.
Article II. The Cardano Community
Section 1
No formal membership shall be required to use, participate in, and benefit from the Cardano Blockchain. All ADA owners are beneficiaries of the Cardano ecosystem and collectively members of the Cardano community.
Section 2
ADA owners are entitled to access and participate in the on-chain governance processes of the Cardano ecosystem, including voting, subject to this Constitution.
Article III. Governance
Section 1
The Cardano ecosystem shall be governed by a decentralized, on-chain model, utilizing smart contracts and blockchain tools to facilitate decision-making and transparency. On-chain voting shall follow the processes in the Guardrails.
Section 2
Three independent governance bodies shall participate in voting to provide checks and balances:
- Delegated Representatives (DReps)
- Stake Pool Operators (SPOs)
- Constitutional Committee (CC)
Section 3
On-chain governance decisions shall be made through a collective process, with consensus thresholds as required by the Guardrails. All governance actions shall be voted on in accordance with the Guardrails.
Section 4
All ADA owners shall have the right to propose changes to the governance structure according to the Guardrails. The process for participating in, submitting, and voting on governance actions shall be open, transparent, and protected from undue influence.
Section 5
Any proposed governance action shall require a standardized format including a hash linked to off-chain content. Rationale shall be provided to justify the requested change. āHard Forkā and āProtocol Parameter Changeā governance actions shall undergo technical scrutiny to ensure they do not endanger the security, functionality, or performance of Cardano.
Section 6
The community is expected to propose, at least annually, a budget for ongoing maintenance and development. No treasury withdrawals shall occur unless a budget is in effect per the Guardrails. Any treasury request over 1,000,000 ADA shall require a periodic independent audit.
Article IV. Delegated Representatives (DReps)
Section 1
ADA owners may register as DReps and vote directly on governance actions or may delegate their voting rights to registered DReps to vote on their behalf.
Section 2
Any ADA owner can register as a DRep. ADA owners can delegate voting stake to one or more registered DReps, including themselves. This enshrines a liquid democracy model.
Section 3
DReps may adopt and publish codes of conduct for their activities as DReps but are not expressly required.
Section 4
DReps shall act as a check on the Constitutional Committee by voting on motions of no-confidence and updates to the committee/threshold.
Article V. Stake Pool Operators (SPOs)
Section 1
SPOs shall approve critical governance actions requiring additional oversight, voting independently from DReps as set forth in the Guardrails. SPOs shall participate in hard fork initiation as the node operators.
Section 2
SPOs shall act as a check on the Constitutional Committee by voting on motions of no-confidence and updates to the committee/threshold.
Article VI. Constitutional Committee (CC)
Section 1
A Constitutional Committee shall be established to ensure governance actions are consistent with this Constitution. The CC shall be limited to voting on the constitutionality of governance actions.
Section 2
The CC shall be composed of a number of ADA owners as determined by the Guardrails. CC members shall serve staggered terms as consistent with the Guardrails, no less than one year unless approved on-chain.
Section 3
The community shall establish a process for electing CC members consistent with the Guardrails.
Section 4
No governance action, other than a motion of no-confidence or update to the CC, may be implemented on-chain unless the CC has affirmed it does not violate this Constitution.
The CC shall be in a state of confidence or no-confidence at all times. In a state of no-confidence, CC members must be reinstated or replaced before any other governance action may go forward.
Section 5
The CC shall publish each decision. When rejecting an action, the CC shall set forth the basis with reference to specific Articles of this Constitution.
The CC shall operate pursuant to a code of conduct published by the CC and adopt policies and procedures as the CC deems necessary.
Article VII. Amendments
Amendments to this Constitution require approval through an on-chain governance action by ADA owners satisfying a threshold of 67% of active stake, except as otherwise provided in the Guardrails Appendix.
Appendix I: Cardano Guardrails
The Guardrails Appendix sets forth the full technical parameters and voting thresholds required to maintain the functionality, security and performance of the Cardano Blockchain. It is an integral part of this Constitution but has been attached separately given its length and technical nature.