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NEAR House of Stake Screening Committee Charter

Preliminary Article - General Provisions​

P.1 Purpose and Application​

P.1.1 This Screening Committee Charter (“Charter”) sets out the mandate, authority, structure, and accountability of the Screening Committee within the governance framework of NEAR House of Stake.

P.1.2 This Charter applies solely as an internal governance framework for NEAR House of Stake and does not regulate, amend, or supersede the legal structure, powers, or obligations of NEAR House of Stake Foundation (“Foundation”).

P.2.1 This Charter is not a legal contract and does not, of itself, create enforceable rights, obligations, or duties between the Foundation and any Screening Committee member, delegate, Tokenholder, or other participant, except as required by applicable law.

P.2.2 This Charter operates subject to the Memorandum of Association, Articles of Association, and Bylaws of the Foundation (“Foundation Legal Documents”). In the event of any conflict or inconsistency, the Foundation Legal Documents shall prevail.

P.2.3 This Charter shall be interpreted consistently with the NEAR House of Stake Constitution.

P.3 Interpretation​

P.3.1 Capitalised terms used in this Charter but not otherwise defined herein shall have the meanings given to them in the Foundation Legal Documents or the Constitution, as applicable, unless the context requires otherwise.

Article 1 - Purpose of the Screening Committee​

1.1 Purpose of the Governance Body​

1.1.1 The Screening Committee filters proposals and resolves conflicts raised from Constitutional interpretation and selects and evaluates the Endorsed Delegates.

1.1.2 As an impartial and accountable body, it seeks to ensure all its reviews, deliberations, and dissenting views are transparently recorded and accessible to support a smooth and strategic proposal flow.

Article 2 - Authority and Responsibilities​

2.1 Authority​

2.1.1 The Screening Committee receives its authority from Foundation Legal Documents and NEAR House of Stake Constitution.

2.1.2 No action, decision, recommendation, or determination of the Screening Committee shall be construed as binding the Foundation, incurring obligations, authorising expenditures, or representing the Foundation, except as expressly provided for in the Foundation Legal Documents.

2.1.3 The Screening Committee may, at its discretion, determine that a proposal is a Supermajority Proposal, according to NEAR House of Stake Proposals and Voting Procedures.

2.1.4 The Screening Committee appoints and removes Endorsed Delegates, according to NEAR House of Stake Endorsed Delegates Charter

2.2 Resolution of Disputes and Conflicts​

2.2.1 The Screening Committee resolves disagreements, solely for internal governance coordination purposes, over the meaning or intent of any constitutional policy or charter clause, in line with the NEAR House of Stake Constitution.

2.2.2 It publicly reports on its resolution of disputes and conflicts.

2.2.3 Any interpretation or determination issued by the Screening Committee shall not create legal rights, remedies, or obligations, nor limit or override the statutory powers, fiduciary duties, or dispute resolution mechanisms established under the Foundation Legal Documents or applicable law.

2.3 Proposal Evaluation and Screening​

2.3.1 The Screening Committee has seven calendar days to:

  • review and provide feedback,

  • approve for voting or reject proposals that have both passed the HSP Editor's check and are created onchain on the voting platform,

  • publicly report a decision rationale

    2.3.2 It screens proposals based on criteria defined in the Foundation Legal Documents, the NEAR House of Stake Mandate, Constitution, Mission-Vision-Values, and Proposals and Voting Procedures.

    2.3.3 It publicly reports its proposal screening decisions, with a rationale.

    2.3.4 Proposal screening and evaluation involve discretionary governance judgment exercised in accordance with applicable House of Stake Constitutional Documents.

2.4 Oversight of Endorsed Delegates​

2.4.1 The Screening Committee oversees Endorsed Delegates in accordance with NEAR House of Stake Endorsed Delegates Charter.

2.4.2 It publicly reports, with rationales, its selection and removal decisions, and Endorsed Delegate evaluations.

2.5 Other Functions​

2.5.1 The Screening Committee carries out functions that are, from time to time, delegated to it for a defined period by the Head of Governance or by governance proposals.

Article 3 - Membership and Selection Process​

3.1 Composition​

3.1.1 Membership on the Screening Committee does not create any employment, agency, fiduciary, or contractual relationship with the Foundation. Committee members act solely in a governance capacity, subject to applicable NEAR House of Stake Constitutional Documents.

3.1.2 Screening Committee members provide subject matter expertise in governance-related domains to support informed committee decision-making.

3.2 Qualifications​

3.2.1 Members are selected based on expertise, commitment, and alignment with Constitutional Documents and Mandate.

Article 4 - Transparency, Accountability and Oversight​

4.1 Decision Process​

4.1.1 To approve a proposal, the Screening Committee must have at least one member approving, with none against.

4.2 Transparency​

4.2.1 All decisions must be documented and made public, according to the Transparency Duties detailed in NEAR House of Stake Constitution.

4.3 Agreements​

4.3.1 The Screening Committee shall exercise its functions in a manner intended to be neutral, legitimate, and procedurally fair, subject to the discretionary judgment permitted under this Charter, the Constitution, and applicable NEAR House of Stake Constitutional Documents.

4.3.2 Screening Committee members agree to follow Foundation Legal Documents, NEAR House of Stake Mandate, NEAR House of Stake Constitution, its subordinate charters, Mission-Vision-Values, and House of Stake Code of Conduct.

4.3.3 Conflicts of interest must be disclosed and managed in accordance with NEAR House of Stake Conflict of Interest Policy.

4.4 Continuous Improvement​

4.4.1 The Screening Committee members shall strive to continuously improve the efficiency, effectiveness, and pragmatism of their own processes.

4.5 Appeals and Complaints​

4.5.1 The Forum may be used to raise appeals or complaints about the Screening Committee or its individual members. Such appeals shall be dealt with in accordance with the Foundation Legal Documents and NEAR House of Stake Constitutional Documents.

4.6 Reliance and Expectations​

4.6.1 Participation in Screening Committee processes, including proposal review, dispute resolution, or delegate evaluation, does not give rise to any reasonable expectation, reliance interest, or estoppel against the Foundation. No action or outcome under this Charter constitutes a promise or commitment by the Foundation to implement.

4.7 Limitation of Liability​

4.7.1 To the fullest extent permitted by applicable law, neither the Screening Committee nor its members shall be liable for any act or omission undertaken in good faith in the exercise of their governance functions under this Charter.

END OF THE NEAR HOUSE OF STAKE SCREENING COMMITTEE CHARTER​

Committee Composition​

Current Members:

  • Bianca Guimaraes-Chadwick (NEAR Foundation)
  • Bowen Wang (Near One)
  • Gauntlet (1 seat)