Constitutional Protections
What Cannot Change
Some principles are so fundamental to Nonterritorial's mission that they're protected from governance change. These are our constitutional protections—commitments that no vote can override.
Immutable Protections
These are enforced at the smart contract level and literally cannot be changed:
1. Transfer Lock
Exhibition NFT transfers remain permanently disabled.The transferFrom and related functions will always revert. This is hard-coded into the contract with no upgrade path. No governance vote, no admin key, no emergency measure can enable token trading.
Why immutable: This is the foundation of anti-speculation architecture. Any possibility of enabling transfers would undermine the entire value proposition.
2. Payment Distribution Execution
Smart contract payment distribution executes automatically
and cannot be blocked by any party.When a license is paid, funds flow to recipients automatically. No human intervention required or possible.
Why immutable: Artists must trust they'll be paid. Any discretion in payment would recreate the problems of traditional intermediaries.
Constitutional Protections (Super-Majority Required)
These can theoretically be changed, but require 80% supermajority across all stakeholder groups:
3. Artist Payment Floor
Current: 40% Constitutional floor: 30%
The DAO could vote to adjust artist percentage between 30–50%, but cannot go below 30%.
Why protected: The network exists to serve artists. Reducing their share below 30% would fundamentally betray that mission.
4. Multi-Stakeholder Governance
The balance can shift within these bounds, but no group can dominate and artists/hosts must always have meaningful voice.
Why protected: Governance capture by any single interest would undermine the network's legitimacy and function.
5. Non-Transferable Tokens
Tokens are earned through participation, not purchased. This cannot be changed.
Why protected: Transferable tokens would enable plutocracy, speculation, and governance capture.
6. Foundation Sunset
The foundation can voluntarily reduce power faster, but cannot delay the sunset.
Why protected: Permanent foundation control would mean permanent centralization. The network must become genuinely autonomous.
7. Anti-Speculation Architecture
This includes: tradeable licenses, license futures, access derivatives, or any financial instrument based on exhibition value.
Why protected: Speculation is architecturally excluded. Reopening that door would destroy the network's integrity.
Protected Principles (Supermajority Required)
These require 66% supermajority to change:
8. Open Access
Pricing may vary, but access cannot be arbitrarily denied.
9. Artist Rights Retention
The network cannot require exclusive licensing agreements.
10. Transparent Operations
The network cannot operate in secret.
Amendment Process
For Constitutional Protections (80% Threshold)
For Protected Principles (66% Threshold)
Same process with:
14-day discussion minimum
14-day voting window
14-day timelock
Historical Record
All constitutional proposals and outcomes are permanently recorded:
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No proposals yet
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This record will be maintained publicly and immutably.
Emergency Provisions
Circuit Breakers
In extreme circumstances (critical security vulnerability, existential threat), emergency measures can be invoked:
Emergency Pause
Activated by: 2 of 3 emergency keyholders
Duration: Maximum 72 hours
Effect: Pauses non-essential contract functions
Requires: Post-incident governance review
Emergency Upgrade
Activated by: 4 of 6 multi-sig holders
Duration: Temporary (30 days maximum)
Effect: Deploy critical security fix
Requires: Immediate public disclosure, retroactive governance approval
Limitations on Emergency Powers
Emergency powers CANNOT:
Enable token transfers
Redirect payment distribution
Override constitutional protections
Extend foundation control
Remain in effect without governance approval
Accountability
Every emergency action triggers:
Immediate public notification
Detailed incident report within 7 days
Governance review within 30 days
Potential removal of emergency keyholders if abused
Enforcement
Smart Contract Enforcement
Constitutional protections encoded in smart contracts are self-enforcing. No one can override immutable code.
Governance Enforcement
For constitutional protections not enforced by code:
Violation Report Any token holder can report potential constitutional violation
Review Panel Randomly selected panel of stakeholders reviews claim
Determination If violation confirmed:
Action is nullified
Responsible parties may face token penalties
Repeated violations result in governance exclusion
Dispute Resolution
Constitutional interpretation disputes:
Initial review by Dispute Resolution committee
Appeal to full stakeholder vote (simple majority)
Final appeal to external arbitration (if > €100K at stake)
Why These Protections Matter
Commitment Device
Constitutional protections are a commitment device. They signal to artists, hosts, and the public that certain principles won't change based on momentary incentives or power shifts.
Trust Foundation
Artists trust the network because they know:
They'll always be paid (immutable)
Their share won't drop below 30% (constitutional)
Speculation won't undermine their work (immutable)
Hosts trust the network because they know:
Access remains open (protected)
Operations remain transparent (protected)
No single party can capture governance (constitutional)
Long-Term Stability
Cultural infrastructure must be stable. Artists can't build practices around systems that might fundamentally change. Hosts can't commit to programming that might be undermined.
Constitutional protections create the stability that permanent cultural infrastructure requires.
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