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EC Standing Rules 2.3 |  EC Standing Rules 2.2 |  EC Standing Rules 2.1 |  EC Standing Rules 2.0  

These are the normative Standing Rules governing the actions of the Executive Committee. You can also read the .pdf version of the EC Standing Rules here, or return to the JCP process document.

Comments to: pmo@jcp.org
Copyright (c) 1996 - 2012 Oracle America, Inc.

The definitions found in the JCP Process Document also apply to this document.

The use of the term day or days in this document refers to calendar days unless otherwise specified.

The Executive Committee of the JCP meets approximately monthly, either in person or in teleconference, to fulfill the responsibilities defined here and in the JCP Process document.

All EC meeting materials, including agendas, presentations, minutes, and attendance statistics, are published on the EC public web site located at http://jcp.org/en/participation/committee.

In exceptional cases, at the request of an EC member (with no need for a second,) the EC may agree to go into private session in order to cover a specific topic, and only for the duration of that coverage. Private sessions are strongly discouraged. Minutes are taken during private sessions but are not published publicly; this is the only case in which two separate minutes are maintained.

EC meetings are chaired by the Chair, who also keeps minutes. All minutes shall be marked "preliminary, not approved" until approved by the EC at the next meeting. After approval, the minutes shall be marked "approved" and shall be posted to the appropriate web site no later than fourteen calendar days after approval.

EC meetings are conducted in a spirit of collaboration and cooperation, with the goal of reaching broad agreement taking priority over strict adherence to formal procedures.

Attendance at meetings is mandatory:

• If possible, a telephone bridge will be provided for the convenience of those who are unable to attend face-to-face meetings in person. However, this will be placed in listen-only mode, permitting remote attendees to listen but not to verbally participate in the meeting. If possible an asynchronous communication mechanism such as a chat room or IRC channel will be provided to enable those who are not physically present to express their views. This will be monitored, but there is no guarantee that comments received in this manner will be addressed in real-time. Remote observers will not be counted as present at the meeting.
• Missing two meetings in a row (whether teleconference or face-to-face meetings) results in the loss of voting privileges in all JSR ballots and EC votes that have not yet started. An EC member who has lost voting privileges cannot make or second a motion. Privileges are regained after full attendance at two consecutive meetings.
• Missing five meetings in a row, or missing more than two-thirds of all meetings in any consecutive twelve-month period, results in loss of EC membership.
• Members who are unable to attend an EC meeting due to extraordinary circumstances may appeal to the Chair for a waiver of the non-attendance penalty. Any such waiver may be granted purely at the Chair's discretion, possibly after consultation with the EC.
• The PMO shall provide regular attendance reports to the EC, and shall issue warnings to those who are at risk of losing membership.

Quorum for EC meetings is 75% of EC voting members. In the absence of a quorum the EC may have discussion, but can take no action and make no decision until the next quorate meeting or until an electronic ballot is carried out (see below, Electronic Voting.)

EC meetings must be scheduled at least 10 days in advance for teleconference meetings and at least 30 days in advance for face-to-face meetings, at which time the meeting location must be also announced.

In addition to the regular monthly meetings the ECs shall organize the following meetings with the help of the PMO:

1. a semi-annual teleconference open to all JCP members. The agenda for this meeting shall incorporate, at the EC's discretion, topics suggested by the membership in response to the meeting invitation, which shall solicit such input with sufficient advance notice, as well as provide clear instructions on how to join the meeting;
2. if an appropriate venue such the JavaOne conference or equivalent is available for co-location, an annual face to face meeting with all JCP members. Whenever possible no fee should be charged for attending this meeting. As above, the agenda for this annual meeting shall include, at the EC's discretion, topics suggested by the membership.

To facilitate the organization and receipt of topic suggestions as specified above, and to enable JCP members and the public to provide feedback to the EC, the EC shall set up a (possibly moderated) public mailing list with a corresponding public archive.

EC members shall at all times adhere to the following policies in connection with their JCP activities:

1. Executive Committee voting members should cast their JSR ballots with the goal of promoting the efficient evolution of the Java platform.
2. Any communications among Executive Committee members in the course of their JCP activities should take into account the caveats expressed with respect to antitrust laws in section 6.3, "EC Duties and Responsibilities" of the Process Document, item (11.)

The Chair and EC members may submit agenda items (either for discussion of for action) by emailing those items to the EC mailing list at any time. Agenda items shall be scheduled for the next available meeting, depending on availability and timing.

A preliminary agenda must be submitted by the Chair at least 7 days before the meeting. EC members may suggest additional items for the agenda at that time, if they have not already done so in previous meetings or emails.

The Chair should email the final agenda 4 days before a meeting. Absent an agenda, the EC members present at a meeting may agree on one at that time, and proceed accordingly.

The final meeting agenda should clearly identify which items are for discussion and which are for action, and it should be posted to the public site.

Agenda items may be changed or added at the beginning of the meeting if no one disagrees.

Meeting materials (presentations, statistics, documents) must be posted on the EC site (http://jcp.org/en/ec/my) at least 3 calendar days in advance of the meeting. Meeting materials may not be made public until after the meeting, lest they be part of a private session. Otherwise, an agenda item for which its supporting materials are not ready on time may be removed from consideration by the Chair or at the request of an EC member. However, the agenda item may be still considered, with the late materials, if no one disagrees.

Supporting materials for any agenda item may be updated at the beginning of the meeting if no one disagrees.

Agenda items for discussion shall be opened to the floor for discussion and comment.

Agenda items for action shall be opened to the floor for discussion and comment, with the goal being to reach general agreement on the proposed action. When such agreement is reached after a long discussion, the Chair shall present to the EC members a clear statement of what will be recorded in the minutes as the result of such discussion.

All JSR ballots shall be conducted electronically, as specified in the JCP Process Document, and the results made public.

All decisions of the EC, except those pertaining to JSRs, should be made by general agreement whenever possible. EC members who disagree with an EC decision but are willing to drop their objection in order to reach general agreement may have a brief statement included in the minutes.

In the absence of general agreement any EC voting member, or the Chair, may request that a vote be conducted.

Any motion on the agenda that cannot be acted on for lack of quorum may be brought to an electronic vote at the request of the proposer, following the process specified in the Section "Electronic Voting."

All EC decisions are advisory in nature except as they pertain to formal ballots as defined in the Process Document.

The table in Appendix B shall be used as a guide in determining the order of precedence for motions and the voting required for the motion to pass. Electronic voting periods last 14 days except where noted otherwise in this document.

EC voting members may cast three types of votes: "yes", "no" and "abstain." "No" votes should be accompanied by an explanation of the changes - if any - that would permit a change of the vote to "yes". Abstentions are discouraged but may be used by members who are unwilling to support the motion and who do not wish to block further progress. Abstentions should be accompanied by comments.

For the purpose of calculating the voting result only "yes" and "no" votes are taken into account.

Except where noted otherwise in this document an EC vote - whether electronic or not - is approved if (a) a majority of the votes cast are "yes" votes, and (b) a minimum of 5 "yes" votes are cast.

The full text of EC motions and the detailed results (including how each member voted) shall be recorded in the meeting minutes.

Although there is a strong preference for in-session voting whenever possible, any EC member may request that a motion be voted on through electronic means. The topic addressed by the motion, as well as the general nature of the motion, must have been discussed at an EC meeting prior to the electronic vote.

An electronic vote can be requested either by proposing a motion during a meeting or by sending an email to the EC mailing list with the words "EC Vote Request" in the subject title. In either case another EC member must second the request. The request must include a clearly labeled motion to be voted on by the EC. It is considered good practice to discuss a motion at an EC meeting, or to circulate it for comment on the EC mailing list, before requesting a vote.

Within 7 days of receipt of the request and the second, the PMO shall send email to the EC mailing list starting the electronic vote on the motion. The voting period duration is 14 days to ensure that all voting members have time to consider the motion before voting.

The PMO may conduct the vote by instructing EC voting members to vote through a PMO-provided or designated website or may instruct the EC to vote by email. In either case, EC voting members may change their vote up to the end of the voting period. The PMO tabulates the results.

Options for votes (i.e. yes, no, abstain) and the number of votes needed to pass are the same as during meetings.

The PMO shall report the results within 7 calendar days, either to the EC mailing list or at an EC meeting, at which time the full text of the motion and the detailed results (including how each member voted) shall be recorded in the meeting minutes.

To revise this document, a formal proposal must be submitted to the EC in the form of a Final Draft. The draft shall be published by the PMO for 30 day review during which EC members and the public can comment on the proposal. The EC shall formally track comments as Expert Groups are required to do for JSRs.

At the end of the review period, and after proper disposition of comments and possible revision of the Draft, it shall be subjected to a vote by the EC. In order for the vote to pass, a majority of the votes cast must be "yes", and there must be a minimum of 5 "yes" votes. If the vote fails, revised Final Drafts may be submitted for additional votes at any subsequent time.