Add Constitutional Committee Member - Christina
On-chain changes
- New threshold67%
- AddedkeyHash c46a3789…26ab92 term to epoch 653
Abstract
This governance action proposes to add an additional Constitutional Committee member through a community-initiated Update Committee action.
The proposal is submitted independently by community participants, in accordance with Cardano’s permissionless governance framework, and explicitly references the previously submitted Update Committee action whose purpose was to add Cardano Curia to the Constitutional Committee
By increasing the number of Constitutional Committee members above the minCommitteeSize parameter (currently set to 7), this action strengthens governance continuity and reduces the risk of ratification delays should a committee member resign or retire during the current mandate.
Motivation & rationale
Permissionless On-Chain Governance
With the activation of full on-chain governance under CIP-1694, Cardano transitioned into a governance system where any Ada holder may submit governance actions, provided they comply with constitutional guardrails and ledger rules. This permissionless design ensures that governance is not limited to institutional processes, but remains open to direct community participation.
Context of the Snap Election
Intersect facilitated a snap election to fill a vacant Constitutional Committee seat following the resignation of a committee member. That process resulted in the selection and on-chain ratification of Cardano Curia through an Update Committee governance action.
During the off-chain snap election process facilitated by Intersect, the outcome between candidates Christina and Cardano Curia was exceptionally close. While Curia was duly selected and ratified through the established process, the narrow margin demonstrated substantial community support for Christina as well.
Governance Resilience
The protocol parameter minCommitteeSize is currently set to 7. When the number of active Constitutional Committee members falls below this threshold, governance actions requiring Constitutional Committee ratification cannot be approved.
Adding an additional committee member above this minimum threshold increases operational resilience. It ensures that, should another committee member step down or become inactive during the current mandate, the Constitutional Committee would remain capable of ratifying governance actions without interruption.
This proposal therefore seeks to reinforce governance continuity while remaining fully compliant with existing constitutional and ledger constraints.
In accordance with the Cardano Constitution, CIP-1694, and the permissionless nature of Cardano governance, this Update Committee governance action is submitted as a community-initiated proposal to allow an additional opportunity for representation where the off-chain electoral outcome was narrowly decided.
This action does not override, invalidate, or conflict with the previously submitted Update Committee action whose purpose was to add Cardano Curia to the Constitutional Committee. Instead, it explicitly references that governance action as its required previousGovActionId, ensuring strict ledger ordering and consistency.
By design, this governance action cannot be ratified unless the Curia Update Committee action has already been ratified. As a result, it is structurally incapable of negating or replacing the Curia outcome.
Permissionless Community Initiative
This proposal is submitted independently, on the author’s own accord, and is fully financed by community members. No institutional mandate is claimed or implied.
Non-Conflict and Ledger Safety
This governance action:
- References the Curia Update Committee action as its
previousGovActionId - Does not modify the Constitutional Committee voting threshold, which remains set at 67%
- Does not remove or replace any existing committee member
- Does not alter existing committee terms
If ratified, this action will add one additional Constitutional Committee member, leaving all previously enacted committee memberships and term expirations unchanged.
Proposed Committee Member
The candidate proposed by this governance action is Christina. The cold Constitutional Committee credential provided by the candidate is:
| Member | Cold Credential | Term Expiration Epoch |
|---|---|---|
| Christina | keyHash-c46a3789d71bc0a27d1c381909289978797a60c5f67aa8bc2b26ab92 | 653 |
Term Length
If ratified, the term length for Christina will be set to the same expiration epoch as Cardano Curia, which is set to expire at epoch 653. This ensures fairness and consistency with the original term length established for all participating candidates during the snap election process.
Conclusion
This proposal reinforces Cardano’s governance resilience while respecting prior outcomes. It is submitted in the spirit of Cardano’s permissionless governance model. Regardless of the outcome, its purpose is to ensure that questions of representation are resolved transparently and on-chain, by the community itself.
Rationale highlights
Why some of the largest DReps voted for and against, in their own words.
Summary Yoroi DRep votes NO on the governance action titled “Add Constitutional Committee Member – Christina.” This decision reflects a cautious view on how risk mitigation measures should be shaped through broader ecosystem input. Rationale Election scope...
Summary
Yoroi DRep votes NO on the governance action titled “Add Constitutional Committee Member – Christina.” This decision reflects a cautious view on how risk mitigation measures should be shaped through broader ecosystem input.
Rationale
Election scope and mandate
The Intersect snap election was held to select one replacement Constitutional Committee member. Cardano Curia was chosen through that process, and the outcome does not provide a mandate to appoint an additional member.
Ecosystem alignment before structural change
If the intention is to mitigate operational risk by operating above the minimum committee size, this should be treated as a governance design question that involves wider community perspectives. Rather than proceeding through an ad hoc addition following a narrowly scoped election, an Info action could be submitted first to gather ecosystem feedback, evaluate alternatives, and build shared expectations before any New Committee governance action is proposed.
Conclusion
Yoroi DRep votes NO on this proposal and encourages a community-informed, ecosystem-aligned approach before making structural changes to the Constitutional Committee.
I am voting YES for "Add Constitutional Committee Member - Christina" for three reasons: This would simply add Christina to the seven CC members, bringing the total to eight, and would not have any significant drawbacks. The minimum CC size is set at seven...
I am voting YES for "Add Constitutional Committee Member - Christina" for three reasons:
This would simply add Christina to the seven CC members, bringing the total to eight, and would not have any significant drawbacks.
The minimum CC size is set at seven seats, and the current CC membership is seven entities. In this situation, if even one of these seven entities resigns, governance would cease, and a re-election would be necessary. Governance cessation would not simply result in issues such as treasury withdrawal; it would also make parameter changes and hard fork initiation difficult, potentially posing a significant risk to the Cardano chain. Therefore, improvement is necessary.
It is possible to reduce the CC minimum size, but this would require three months of off-chain consultation under the Constitution, and therefore cannot be changed until at least February 12th.
https://forum.cardano.org/t/pcp-committeeminsize-yuta/151156/7Therefore, the current viable solution, at least in the short term, is to increase the number of CCs to eight or more.
(We could consider amending the constitution to remove the three-month consultation requirement, but given that it's an important parameter and requires a three-month consultation, I doubt we'll be able to get community support easily.)- I've reviewed Christina's background and believe she's an experienced and honest member.
私は「Add Constitutional Committee Member - Christina」に次の３つの理由からYESを投票します。
これは7名のCCメンバーにChristinaを追加して8名にするのみであり、重大なデメリットはありません。
CC最小サイズは7席に設定されており、現在のCCメンバー数は７エンティティです。この状況では、この7エンティティのうち１つでも退任した場合、ガバナンスが停止し、再選挙などが必要になります。ガバナンスが停止するということは単にトレジャリーウィズドローなどの問題だけではなく、パラメータ変更やハードフォーク開始が困難になるため、チェーンに重大なリスクをもたらす可能性があります。そのため、改善が必要です。
CC最小サイズを減らすことも可能ですが、これは憲法上、3ヶ月のオフチェーン協議が必要であるため、少なくとも2月12日まではこれを変更することができません。
https://forum.cardano.org/t/pcp-committeeminsize-yuta/151156/7
よって現状少なくとも短期的に可能な方法はCCの数を８以上にすることです。
（3ヶ月の協議要件を削除するような憲法を変更する方法も考えられますが、当然ながら重要なパラメータでであるから3ヶ月の協議要件が要求されていることを考えると、コミュニティの指示が簡単に得られるとは思いません）Christinaの経歴を確認し、経験豊富かつ誠実なメンバーだと私は判断しました。
Summary EMURGO, as a DRep, votes NO on the governance action to add an additional Constitutional Committee member, with rationale below. Rationale While we acknowledge the qualifications of the proposed individual, Christina Gianelloni, and the good...
Summary
EMURGO, as a DRep, votes NO on the governance action to add an additional Constitutional Committee member, with rationale below.
Rationale
While we acknowledge the qualifications of the proposed individual, Christina Gianelloni, and the good intentions behind the proposal, the Intersect snap election was explicitly conducted to elect one Constitutional Committee member, and Cardano Curia was the clear winner of that process. Adding the runner-up cannot be considered an outcome of that election.
The Cardano Constitution does not clearly permit or prohibit expanding the committee beyond replacing a resigning member, placing this proposal in a procedurally ambiguous area. Expanding the committee from seven to eight members also carries concrete implications, including changes to decision thresholds and potential additional compensation costs, which should not be introduced without a clear basis.
As DReps, we consider it reasonable to vote based on constitutional interpretation to avoid setting an unclear precedent. For these reasons, EMURGO votes NO.
TL;DR: EDC voted YES on gov_action1aw809r9gpk7eemt02alszw7lceyf0505uvntavm62rakkckr3nxsqd54zm8; Christina was our choice for the additional seat and more people taking a role in the CC would be beneficial. Even if this proposal won't pass, we want to signal...
TL;DR: EDC voted YES on gov_action1aw809r9gpk7eemt02alszw7lceyf0505uvntavm62rakkckr3nxsqd54zm8;
Christina was our choice for the additional seat and more people taking a role in the CC would be beneficial. Even if this proposal won't pass, we want to signal our support for Christina's candidacy.