Task Force Proposal on "Procedures to Deal With the Tenure of RIPE Working Group Chairs"

The Working Group Chairs Meeting at RIPE 67 established a task force with Brian Nisbet as the coordinator and Ondrej Filip, Nick Hilliard and Hans Petter Holen as members:

"- The task force should look at the final document, give it some editing as needed, and have the RIPE Chair publish it on the ripe-list with an explanation and a deadline of one month."

The proposal by the task force was circulated to the RIPE Working Group Chairs Mailing List, but there was no consensus to suggest this as a common proposal for all the working groups.

The matter was further discussed at the Working Group Chairs meeting at RIPE 68, and it was agreed that:

"- The Collective agreed to work with their respective WGs to establish a procedure for replacing WG Chairs.
- The minimum requirements are that each WG should have its own procedures, that these should be written down, that this should be done by the next RIPE Meeting and executed at the end of that meeting."

Procedures to Deal With the Tenure of RIPE Working Group Chairs

Version 1.6.2
25 November 2013
Authored by the WGC-TF

Reference documents: Working Group Chair Job Description and Procedures (ripe-542) (should combine & create new doc).

Note on language: throughout this document the word "Chair" shall be used for both Chairs and co-Chairs.

Introduction

This document aims to provide outline procedures to deal with the tenure of RIPE Working Group Chairs. It applies to all RIPE Working Groups.

WG Chair Term

The normal term for a WG Chair is three years, after which the WG Chair must resign. A WG Chair may stand for re-selection after resignation. A WG Chair may resign voluntarily at any time.

Selection of a WG Chair

WG Chair vacancies, along with a call for candidates, should be announced on the WG mailing list at least one month in advance of the date upon which the selection will be held. The announcement should set a closing date for candidates. A WG may request that a WG Chair vacancy be opened so long as the addition of a new Chair would not cause the number of Chairs of that WG to exceed the maximum number specified in this document.

WG Chairs are elected at WG sessions at RIPE meetings. Anyone physically present at the WG session is eligible to participate in the selection process. The candidate does not need to be physically present at the WG session.

If possible, the Chair should be elected by acclamation by the WG or by consensus after discussion. If the result is unclear, then a secret ballot should be held. In the case of a ballot, votes will be counted by RIPE NCC staff and/or Chairs of other WGs. The result will be determined by simple majority.

Removal of a WG Chair

A WG Chair may be unable to fulfil their duties as described in this document or otherwise fail to serve the WG and the community. With the endorsement of a significant share of the WG, a vote of no confidence may be initiated.

Before a vote of no confidence is taken, due effort should be made to address the issue(s) leading to the vote. The right of reply must be given to all parties involved in the procedure. If this effort fails to resolve the issue, the vote may proceed.

The vote must be requested on the WG mailing list at least one week in advance of the WG session at a RIPE Meeting and should take place during the WG session. Anyone physically present at the WG session may take part in the vote. The vote should be conducted by secret ballot and votes counted by RIPE NCC staff and/or WG Chairs of other WGs. The result will be determined by simple majority. If the vote of no confidence in a WG Chair is passed, the seat is vacated and the WG Chair is not eligible for stand for re-selection.

No Chair

If a working group is left with no Chair, e.g. due to the resignation or removal of the sole WG Chair, then the WG may elect an interim WG Chair according to the selection procedures specified above, but with candidates nominated at the WG session. An interim WG Chair must resign at the next WG session, but may stand for re-selection.

Staggered Introduction

For the purposes of staggering the introduction of this policy, in the case where all co-Chairs of a WG have served for more than the standard WG Chair term limit, an optional waiver is given to these WGs to allow them to schedule the automatic resignations of their Chairs over the two RIPE meetings immediately following the adoption of this policy. If the WG decides to avail of this waiver, it is the responsibility of the WG to decide in what order its co-Chairs should stand down.