JIP-35: Activate an updated Jito DAO Constitution
Category: Process
Proposal Type: Constitutional Amendment (Major)
Status: OFFICIAL
Abstract
This JIP proposes the adoption of a new Jito DAO Constitution to replace the current Constitution and establish an updated governance mandate for the Jito Network. The new Constitution consolidates and supersedes the existing Constitution, clarifies the DAO’s self-governing authority, formalises the roles of the Security Council and Dev Council. Formalises the appropriate authorities for stake pool management, establishes a structured proposal elevation process, and provides a standardised framework for subDAOs and constitutional amendments. The goal is to update the DAO’s governance framework to a mature, DAO-native governance model that positions the Jito Network for long-term resilience and growth.
Motivation
The existing Jito DAO Constitution was created during the formation of Jito DAO in December 2023. Over two years of practical use in the market Jito DAO has proven itself to be a stable and resilient governing body for the Jito Network. Over that time the Jito Network has developed new products such as StakeNet, the (Re)Staking protocol, interceptor and BAM. All of which contribute their current and future fees to the treasury.
The governance system has performed well and has proven that a strong delegate supported tokenholder driven governance system can effectively govern a decentralized protocol. It does, however, come with challenges. In recent months the Security Council has been called into action with more frequency than is desirable. These interventions have been out of necessity to action complex upgrade paths authorised through JIP derived mandate. For example, multiple changes to StakeNet parameters were required to limit yield drag on JitoSOL as validators dropped out of StakeNet compliance in large numbers, fee routing control was required to facilitate the BAM Subsidy mechanism in JIP-31 and future interventions will also be required in the near term to finalise JIP-28 and update StakeNet for tracking BAM compliance. More broadly, Solana is a rapidly upgrading chain, with major changes such as Alpenglow and MCP in the pipeline, alongside a consistent stream of procedural feature gate directed upgrades that often require direct intervention to keep Jito Network healthy. A recent feature gate upgrade, resulting in a two part engineering intervention to prepare the protocol, and a third intervention which was required to resolve a bug as this change to vote credit calculations embedded into the protocol.
In the current security context, it is vital that the Security Council is seldom used, is operated only in cases of emergency and on critical upgrade paths where trustless execution is not feasible. It is likely that further stake pool management interventions will be required to ensure that JitoSOL remains hyper-optimised in an increasingly competitive market. Consequently, a key component of the constitution is the formalisation of a Dev Council, operated by core contributors to the Jito Network including Jito Labs engineers. This allows the network to operate under a pragmatic decentralization approach, which balances operational efficiency and market performance, whilst retaining the most important properties of decentralization and maximal security.
Additionally, the DAO has stepped into a cautious and incremental approach to increased capacity and capability. The subDAO model has been activated through JIP-17 (Cryptoeconomics subDAO), JIP-21/32 (Community subDAO) and the Governance subDAO (JIP-30), demonstrating the DAO’s capacity to delegate domain-specific mandates. The refreshed constitution formalises these structures.
It is important however, that the DAO remains governance minimised and does not fall to common DAO pitfalls, resisting the proliferation of committees, sub-structures and human dependencies. Consequently, a Jito DAO mandate is proposed that prioritises resilience, sets clear goals for economic governance of the JTO token and opens up the potential for accelerating network growth and grass roots community building.
In order to allow the gradual expansion of DAO capacity and to ensure that credible paths to community proposals exist, but without becoming frail to extraction, a new proposal elevation process is clarified including an alignment check against a set of developing ‘Jito Principles.’ In order for a proposal to be elevated to official consideration, proposals must be proposed by established DAO members, align with these principles and be endorsed by delegates.
Finally, the refreshed governance framework is designed to align synergistically with the Solana Constitution with a similar format and approach for the Jito Constitution. The goal is to harmonise our governance processes at the constitutional level to create a coherent governance layer that sits naturally within the broader Solana ecosystem, which prepares JitoSOL holders to have direct contribution capability in the Solana Governance Proposal (SGP) process.
The Jito Constitution will be open for comment and discussion at the following link for its time in the Official track, including an open opportunity to deliberate the Jito Principles that will act as an alignment filter for future proposals.
Key Terms
The Jito Constitution — the proposed Jito DAO Constitution, is available for comment and review at the following link.
Current Constitution — the existing Jito Constitution, available at https://jito.network/docs/governance.
Foundation Bylaws — the governing bylaws of the Jito Foundation, which remain in effect and are referenced by the new Constitution for operational and legal procedures.
Specification
Upon passage of this JIP, the following changes take effect:
1. Adoption of the New Constitution
The new Jito DAO Constitution, as published in its final form as a reply to this proposal prior to the vote, becomes the canonical governing document of the Jito DAO. The current Constitution is superseded in its entirety.
2. Formalisation of DAO Bodies
The new Constitution codifies the following bodies:
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Security Council (Article VIII) — 4 of 7 execution model, elected by JIP, annual review, interim replacement for breach. Scoped to critical upgrade paths and emergencies.
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Dev Council (Article IX) — 3 of 5 execution model, technical execution, delegated programme and parameter authority for active stake pool management. No lasting authority over user funds.
3. Lasting Control of Tightly Scoped Authorities to the Dev Council
This JIP authorises the Dev Council to hold the following authorities indefinitely, or until the powers are removed via JIP. The DAO and consequently tokenholders will retain their supreme control over the Jito Network, with the ability to revoke all permissions from any structure in the DAO through the governance processes outlined in the constitution.
Justification for Authority Transfer:
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Timeliness of interventions. Stake pool management often requires sub-epoch interventions for yield optimisation that cannot wait for the JIP process.
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Minimising Security Council interactions. Routine parameter adjustments and programme upgrades have been flowing through the Security Council out of necessity. Transferring these authorities to the Dev Council frees the Security Council for its intended role.
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Durable stake pool governance. StakeNet is a radically decentralised stake pool governance system. As the protocol moves toward 100% algorithmic delegation, the Dev Council requires standing authority to manage validator churn, tune parameters, and execute programme upgrades on both the Validator History and Steward programmes.
4. Standardised SubDAO Framework (Article XI)
SubDAOs must have defined term limits, budgets, aims, and outcomes. They terminate by default at the end of their term and return remaining assets to the treasury. Extensions require a new JIP.
5. Constitutional Amendment Process (Article XII)
Two paths for future amendments:
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Minor amendments may be included in a relevant JIP but must be flagged in the proposal type.
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Major amendments require a standalone JIP.
6. JIP Template (Appendix 1)
An updated JIP template is adopted as Appendix 1 to the Constitution, incorporating proposal type classification, implementation path, delegate endorsements, constitutional compliance declaration, and conditional subDAO scope requirements.
7. Continuity of Foundation Bylaws
The Foundation Bylaws remain in effect for operational, legal, and procedural matters with minor modifications to bring them in-line with the new constitution.
Implementation Path
Trustless (on-chain): The authorities outlined in the specification will be transferred to the Dev Council.
- Transfer relevant outstanding authorities to the Dev Council
Foundation Execution: Upon passage, the Foundation shall:
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Publish the new Constitution at https://jito.network/docs/governance, replacing the current Constitution.
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The foundation will continue its broad authority to ensure Jito DAO operates within constitutionally defined scope and ensure effective proposal curation.
Benefits, Risks & Risk Analysis
Benefits
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A single, canonical governance document replacing fragmented and partially inconsistent sources.
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Dev Council formalised with persistent delegated authority for active stake pool management, reducing Security Council overhead and ensuring JitoSOLs optimised participation in the market.
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Structured proposal elevation process with delegate endorsements and Jito Principles alignment.
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A standardised subDAO framework that enforces accountability and default termination.
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A clear amendment process enabling the Constitution to evolve with the DAO.
Risks
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Transition risk: Changing the canonical governance document requires all participants to familiarise themselves with the new text. Mitigated by the 2-week official review period and opportunities for community review and discussion.
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Authority transfer risk: Delegating programme and parameter authorities to the Dev Council concentrates technical control. Mitigated by the Dev Council’s 4 of 7 execution model, the DAO’s ability to revoke authorities at any time via JIP (Article IX.4), and the constitutional requirement that no lasting authority over user funds is retained (Article IX.5).
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Legal continuity risk: The Foundation Bylaws and Articles remain. The new Constitution explicitly defers to the Bylaws for operational and legal procedures.
Outcomes
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The Jito DAO operates under a clear, self-governing Constitution that reflects its actual governance structure and values.
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The Dev Council holds standing authority to manage stake pool programmes and parameters, enabling timely interventions and preparing the protocol for 100% algorithmic delegation.
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The Security Council is scoped to critical upgrade paths and emergencies, reducing operational overhead.
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The DAO has a structured proposal elevation process with delegate endorsements and Jito Principles alignment.
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The DAO has a standardised framework for creating, governing, and terminating subDAOs.
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Future constitutional evolution is enabled through a clear amendment process.
Cost Summary & Funding Source
No direct treasury expenditure is required. Implementation costs (documentation updates, parameter changes) fall within the Foundation’s existing operational scope.