Re: [Debconf-team] DebConf governance (Re: About the DC15 entity and authority (was: DebConf 15 Legal Entity)
* Steve Langasek (vorlon@debian.org) [140417 21:36]:
> On Thu, Apr 17, 2014 at 12:00:27PM +0200, Holger Levsen wrote:
> - The Debian name belongs to the Debian Project, and not to anyone else
> (legally, the marks are held by the Debian TOs in various jurisdictions,
> on behalf of Debian). Using the Debian name, including for fundraising,
> can only be done with the approval of the project and its duly-elected
> officials (i.e., the DPL).
or the relevant delegates, e.g. the debconf chairs.
> - The consequence is that the board of the TO does *not* have the final say
> on decisions of how to spend Debian's money, because in all transactions
> involving Debian assets they are acting as agents of Debian, answerable
> to its normal decision-making processes. They *also* have a
> responsibility to make sure the uses are legal and responsible ones
> according to their own charter, but that means they have veto power, not
> autonomy.
They have veto power according to the minimum requirements of
applicable law, I'd say. (This could also include that they might need
to spend money, because having money on the bank account is only
acceptable to a certain amount in Germany for pro-bono organizations.
So, if Debian proves unable to decide to spend money, the TO might
need to decide on their own; but that's rather a corner cases, and
there is enough time included to allow Debian to make a decision.)
> I don't know if this concept of DC15 being a fiduciary of Debian is captured
> accurately in its setup (bylaws or otherwise), but if it's not, that should
> be fixed.
Here is could only be "otherwise", because if you try to put it in the
by-laws, you need to show who "Debian" legally is. And that might be
more complex than it's worth.
Andi
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