GIP-10: Adopt Participation Agreement
- Adopt this participation agreement
- Make no changes
0 voters
GIP: 10
title: Adopt Participation Agreement
author: @silke
status: phase 3
type: Meta
created: 2021-06-03
Simple Summary
This is a proposal to implement a private ordering agreement (a so-called “Participation Agreement”) among all DAO Participants to provide an operating framework for the GnosisDAO and to govern the rights and obligations of each party.
Abstract
The participation agreement:
- Explains the GnosisDAO’s governance mechanism and determines who GnosisDAO participants are.
- Provides a mutual release by DAO participants from claims arising out of or in connection with the GnosisDAO and a mutual waiver of claims against the GnosisDAO and other DAO participants.
- Limits the liability of the GnosisDAO, the service providers, Gnosis Limited, and the signers in relation to loss or damage arising under or in connection with the use of GnosisDAO smart contracts.
- Provides a complaints and dispute resolution procedure.
Motivation
The motivation is critical for GIPs that want to allocate funding or change the GnosisDAO. GIP posts without sufficient motivation may be rejected outright.
Specification
Proposed Participation Agreement
Rationale
The GnosisDAO is a decentralised collective stewarding a growing ecosystem by developing and dogfooding the operating system for Ethereum and is governed by, and returns value to, the GNO token holders. It relies on the Gnosis Safe smart contracts and modules for DAO governance to enable transparent governance by the GNO token holders to manage the GnosisDAO and control resources transparently. Although the GnosisDAO was seeded by Gnosis Limited, Gnosis Limited has relinquished all control over the GnosisDAO. It is participant managed, and does not have any director or manager. No single party is in control. As the GnosisDAO exists entirely on-chain, it is not recognised as an entity with legal personality or limited liability. While efforts are underway (notably in Wyoming, Malta and by COALA, who have been drafting a DAO Model Law), unincorporated DAOs do not operate as people within the eyes of the law.
The attempted shoehorning of DAOs by legal systems into existing categories such as unregistered organisations, unincorporated associations or general partnerships leads to concerns that DAO participants may be held liable for the actions of the DAO. While GnosisDAO Participants cannot dictate states and state regulators how to characterise the GnosisDAO, we should use whatever private law mechanism at our disposal to frame the GnosisDAO as we see it and minimize legal risks as much as possible to the GnosisDAO, GnosisDAO participants, Gnosis Limited as the initial funder, service providers and the signers of the GnosisDAO Safe multisig.