hsp: <TBD>
title: NEAR House of Stake Screening Committee Charter
description: Establishes mandate and structure for the Screening Committee
author: Hack Humanity
discussions-to: <forum URL>
status: Draft
track: Decision
type: Supermajority
category: Legitimacy & Engagement
stakeholders: See section "Stakeholders"
created: 2026-01-29
requires: Foundation Legal Documents
NEAR House of Stake Screening Committee Charter
Abstract
Proposal for Version: v1.0
Audience: NEAR community
Archive: Version 0.2.0
This proposal adopts the Screening Committee Charter v1 for NEAR House of Stake. The Charter defines the mandate, authority, structure, and accountability of the Screening Committee as a Governance Body operating within NEAR House of Stake, and in compliance with Foundation Legal Documents.
The Screening Committee screens proposals, resolves conflicts raised from Constitutional interpretation, and selects and evaluates the Endorsed Delegates.
The expected outcome is a clear, predictable, and accountable Governance Body that supports coherent proposal flow, and ensures all its reviews, deliberations, and dissenting views are transparently recorded. It is also expected that the Screening Committee provides consistent interpretation of Constitutional documents to support institutional-grade governance operations within NEAR House of Stake.
Payload
NEAR House of Stake Screening Committee Charter
NEAR House of Stake Screening Committee Charter
Preliminary Article - General Provisions
P.1 Purpose and Application
P.1.1 This Screening Committee Charter (âCharterâ) 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 (âFoundationâ).
P.2 Legal Nature and Hierarchy
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 (âFoundation Legal Documentsâ). 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 Editorâs 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
Context
NEAR House of Stake operates under a governance architecture composed of binding Foundation Legal Documents and Constitutional Documents adopted by Tokenholders.
This proposal replaces the Interim Screening Committee Charter established by NEAR Foundation.
This Charter is a constitutional document co-created through several cycles of feedback from multiple stakeholder groups, based on version 0.1.0 of the Interim Screening Committee Charter.
Problem
Without a formally adopted Screening Committee Charter, the authority, responsibilities, and accountability of the Screening Committee are defined only at a baseline level in Foundation Legal Documents and supplemented by interim documentation and ad hoc practice.
As a result, proposal screening, constitutional interpretation, and oversight of Endorsed Delegates are exposed to ambiguity, inconsistent application of authority, and misalignment between constitutional intent, operational practice, and current institutional capacity, creating risks of authority overreach, procedural uncertainty, and contested legitimacy.
Approach
The Screening Committee Charter is drafted to operate in compliance with Foundation Legal Documents and to establish clear authority boundaries, responsibilities, and accountability standards for the Screening Committee within NEAR House of Stake governance, reducing reliance on interim documentation or discretionary practices.
This Charter is designed to be operable under current institutional capacity and to provide a stable framework that may be amended over time through the Proposals and Voting Procedures as decentralization progresses.
End-to-end Value Hypothesis
On a standalone basis, this proposal delivers full value by establishing a clearly defined and accountable Screening Committee with an explicit mandate, authority boundaries, responsibilities, and transparency obligations within NEAR House of Stake governance.
All essential functions required for proposal screening, constitutional interpretation, dispute resolution, and oversight of Endorsed Delegates are specified within the Screening Committee Charter itself, while procedural execution, selection mechanics, and voting processes are governed by and delegated to other applicable NEAR House of Stake governance documents, including but not limited to the Proposals and Voting Procedures and the Endorsed Delegates Charter.
Objective
Establish the ratified Screening Committee Charter for NEAR House of Stake.
Outcome
Following ratification, two outcomes are expected:
-
The Screening Committee screens proposals, resolves conflicts raised from Constitutional interpretation, and selects and evaluates the Endorsed Delegates, supporting a smooth and strategic proposal flow in the best interest of the NEAR Ecosystem.
-
Other Constitutional Documents legitimately refer to the Screening Committee Charter as the governance framework governing the mandate, authority, responsibilities, and accountability of the Screening Committee within NEAR House of Stake.
Dependencies
This proposal depends on the NEAR House of Stake Foundation Legal Documents.
It depends only on technical mechanisms already deployed in NEAR.
Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)
Not applicable to this proposal.
Technical Specification
No software code, smart contract logic, or protocol-level changes are introduced by this proposal.
Backwards Compatibility
The proposal is compatible with Foundation Legal Documents. It does not override their constitutional authority, but operationalizes their intent by further developing their reference.
This proposal is also compatible with the Interim Constitutional documents.
Security Considerations
No security considerations identified.
Stakeholders
| Activity / Decision | Responsible | Accountable | Consulted | Informed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Proposal screening and approval decisions | Screening Committee | Screening Committee | - | NEAR forum |
| Constitutional interpretation | Screening Committee | Screening Committee | - | NEAR forum |
| Selection and removal of Endorsed Delegates | Screening Committee | Screening Committee | - | NEAR forum |
| Publication of decisions and rationales | Screening Committee | Screening Committee | - | NEAR forum |
Implementation Plan
Definition of Done is achieved when the Screening Committee Charterâs payload is published in the House of Stake Documentation.
Milestones
There are no Milestones applicable to this proposal.
Budget & Resources
Not applicable.
Conflict of Interest
The author of this proposal is @HackHumanity, which is contracted by NEAR Foundation including for the implementation of this proposal.
The production of this proposal is consistent with Hack Humanityâs engagement in facilitating the Governance Transition Program. To avoid any potential conflict of interest, Hack Humanity and its team members will either not vote, or vote abstain on this proposal.
Copyright
Copyright and related rights waived via CC0 1.0.
Authorship & Acknowledgment
Authored by: @humbertobesso, @danrandow, and @juankbell from @HackHumanity
Review and feedback from: @klausbrave, @AK_HoG, @lane, Bianca Guimaraes (NF Legal), @haenko
