Movement Charter/Drafting Committee/Code of Conduct
Expectations
MCDC members are expected to:
- Comply with the Universal Code of Conduct;
- Fulfil the principles of the Movement Charter Drafting Committee (MCDC);
- Preserve in appropriate confidence the Committee's internal discussions and deliberations. (Note: The Committee follows the Chatham House Rule with respect to internal discussion and deliberation.)
- Engage in the Committee's activities and deliberations
Planned absence
- When a member believes they will not be able to participate in the activities and deliberations of the Committee for 7 days or more, they should notify the Committee in advance via e-mail *and* identify their expected period of absence on the MCDC Absence/Vacation schedule (non-public document)
- A member may have planned and unplanned absences up to three (3) times within any six-month period, and the accumulated absence days can not surpass 30 days during that period.
Inactivity
- A member may be considered as inactive when:
- They fail to attend three full Committee meetings in a row, without notifying the members in advance via email to the committee, or directly on the meeting agenda.
- They fail to respond to direct communications over a 30-day period without explanation.
- They fail to participate in consultations, subcommittee meetings or asynchronous activities over a 30-day period without explanation.
- Inactivity will be investigated by the subcommittee when there is a complaint. The complaining party may provide evidence of inactivity.
Removal
- Removal is defined as the permanent ban of a member's participation within the Committee.
- A member may be removed when:
- They fail to preserve in appropriate confidence the Committee's internal discussions and deliberations.
- They exceed the absence days allowed by the Committee.
- They are declared inactive by the Committee.
- They commit any of the unacceptable behaviours listed on the Universal Code of Conduct, within the Committee or in any of the Wikimedia projects or at Wikimedia-sponsored events (virtual or in-person).
- They violate a committee-related Non-Disclosure agreement
- They fail to declare a Conflict of Interest
- The Committee may consider non-punitive conflict resolution options on a case-by-case basis, as an alternative to removal.
Implementation
- An engagement subcommittee of three members will be named quarterly. That subcommittee will be responsible for receiving and processing any complaint regarding any member.
- All MCDC members will rotate through the subcommittee. MCDC members may not have a second or subsequent rotation on the subcommittee until all other members have rotated through.
- If a member of the current subcommittee is involved in a complaint, they must be substituted by another MCDC member.
- The subcommittee is responsible for collecting information regarding any complaint and will present the case for a hearing in the MCDC general meeting.
Filing and investigation
- Complaints must be filled by e-mail and directed solely to the subcommittee. The subcommittee will report any complaints to the committee as a whole, but the subcommittee will be responsible for the follow-up.
- If the complaint is admitted, the subcommittee must inform the questioned individual about the upcoming process by email, MCDC Telegram channel and (where applicable) Meta Wiki user talk page.
- Hearing date will be determined by the Committee. Both the subcommittee and questioned individuals are allowed to present their arguments for consideration on their hearing.
Voting and enacting
- If the MCDC decides to vote on removal, every member of the MCDC is allowed to vote on a motion to remove a member. Support staff should ensure that the voting process is anonymous to avoid possible retaliation.
- The removal process requires two-thirds (rounding up) of the eligible Committee members to support the motion to remove in order to be enacted. If the process fails to achieve the votes in the first round, it can be amended and presented for a second vote. If the process still fails to achieve the votes, it will be discarded, and no further action will be taken.
- All committee members are eligible to vote with the exception of the member who is subject to the vote. Members may recuse, in which case they will not be included in calculating the strength of support. Inactive members will not be included in calculating the strength of support unless they become active to participate in the vote.
- Final decision of the MCDC is not subject to appeal.