Membership and admission rule

Membership and admission rule

Purpose

A polity that people join by choice must say who may join, how, and what newcomers may do while they settle in. Admission rules shape a community for decades: too open and shared commitments erode; too closed and the community ages, stagnates or becomes an exclusive club. This rule makes the process predictable and contestable.

Article 1. Eligibility

1. Any adult who accepts the charter may apply for membership.
2. Applicants declare any membership of another polity that has obligations incompatible with this charter, such as an exclusive duty of contribution.

Article 2. Candidacy

1. An accepted applicant becomes a candidate member for 12 months.
2. Candidates take part in work and community life, may speak in the assembly and serve on working groups, but do not vote on charter amendments or the admission of others.
3. Each candidate is assigned a mentor, a full member who answers questions and reports to the membership committee at the mid-point.

Article 3. Admission decision

1. At the end of candidacy the assembly votes on admission. A candidate is admitted unless a majority of votes cast are against.
2. The candidate may address the assembly before the vote.
3. A candidate who is not admitted may reapply after 12 months.

Article 4. Fair treatment

1. No application may be refused, and no candidate rejected, on the grounds of sex, ethnicity, religion or belief, disability, sexual orientation or political opinion.
2. The membership committee gives written reasons for any recommendation against admission and shares them with the candidate at least 14 days before the vote.
3. A rejected candidate may ask the independent review body to examine whether the procedure and Article 4(1) were respected. If not, the decision is taken again.

Article 5. Rate of intake

1. Each year the assembly sets the number of new candidates it can accept, based on housing, work and the capacity of mentors.
2. If there are more applicants than places, places are allocated by lot among eligible applicants, with a share reserved for family members of existing members and a share for people in urgent need.
3. The waiting list and the draw are published without names.

Article 6. Obligations of members

1. Members contribute as set in the budget and labour rules, take part in the assembly and respect the charter.
2. On admission a member receives a copy of the charter, of the exit and asset-division procedure, and a statement of any capital or deposit they bring in and how it will be treated on exit.

Article 7. Identity and the membership roll

1. The registrar keeps the membership roll. Each person may hold one membership; the registrar verifies identity once, by an in-person check or a verified identity service, and issues a single credential.
2. Credentials are personal and may not be transferred or sold. Discovery of duplicate credentials leads to suspension of all but one and to a review under the sanctions rule.
3. The roll is open to members for inspection; personal data beyond name and membership category is protected.

Article 8. End of membership

1. Membership ends by resignation, by death, or by expulsion.
2. Expulsion is possible only for serious or repeated breaches of the charter, after the steps of the graduated sanctions ladder, a hearing and the right of appeal to an independent arbiter, and by a two-thirds majority of the assembly.
3. The person leaving receives their entitlements under the exit and asset-division procedure, whatever the reason for leaving.