[pp.int.general] On the legitimacy of the upcoming General Assembly

[internationaal at piratenpartij.nl]

Dear members of PPI,

As the accompanying letter shows, Piratenpartij (Pirate Party 
Netherlands) has requested a ruling from the Court or Arbitration on the 
matter of the legitimacy of this General Assembly.

We have not taken this decision lightly, or spitefully, but to ensure 
sound democratic practices are upheld.

As the statutes show, under Article X the General Assembly has a wide 
array of responsibilities within PPI. In order for the General Assembly 
to address these responsibilities, there must be due time for 
deliberation. Furthermore, time must be provided for the constitutuent 
parties to inform themselves of the alternatives available and the 
decisions at hand. There is not a single stipulation to be found under 
article X which does not suffer fatally from this late notice and 
general air of non-communication.

To our dismay we observe that a mere two days before the start of the 
event, there are just six candidatures, and still no proposals to be 
found on the wiki aside from Nuno's. How can there be any informed 
decision making process under these conditions, let alone transparent 
and inclusive decision-making? It is a tale fit for the sort of 
politicians we hope to uproot.

Furthermore, we note that the late notice has robbed members of the 
opportunity to propose statute amendments, and potential members from 
applying for membership.

We are concerned about the air of non-communication that surrounds PPI. 
If things are as quiet as they seem from a distance, there is little 
reason for PPI to exist. If there are things happening, we propose these 
are moved into an inclusive and transparent modus operandi as soon as 
possible. Particularly, discussions surrounding the policies and 
strategical goals of PPI and tactical methods of achieving those are 
nowhere to be found, even though they form the essential building blocks 
of any organisation. This is a concise way of saying that there is no 
plan or direction to be found.

We are equally concerned that most candidatures hitherto are from the 
German Pirate Party, which does little to establish the view of PPI as 
an international organisation. Here too, it is essential that PPI does 
not constrict itself to a handful of information bubbles, and that 
inclusive and transparent practices are fundamental to maintaining an 
international organisation of our nature.

With this we hope to have adequately informed you of our motivations.

On behalf of Piratenpartij (Pirate Party Netherlands),

Henk Heslinga
Chairman
Piratenpartij (Pirate Party Netherlands)

Steven Russchenberg
Board member International Affairs
Piratenpartij (Pirate Party Netherlands)

Gijs Peskens
Acting International Coordinator
Piratenpartij (Pirate Party Netherlands)


Mail to CoA:

Dear Court of Arbitration,

Piratenpartij (Pirate Party Netherlands) requests a ruling on the matter 
of the legitimacy of the General Assembly to be held in Paris on the 
12th and 13th of April 2014.

Piratenpartij believes the statutory requirements were not met in the 
organisation of this event, namely:

     9.7: Meetings of the General Assembly will be announced at least 
five weeks prior to the meeting. The invitation will be sent out by the 
Board to all Members and published on the homepage of Pirate Parties 
International website.

Our motivation will be stipulated in an accompanying letter.

Yours sincerely,

Henk Heslinga
Chairman
Piratenpartij (Pirate Party Netherlands)

Steven Russchenberg
Board member International Affairs
Piratenpartij (Pirate Party Netherlands)

Gijs Peskens
Acting International Coordinator
Piratenpartij (Pirate Party Netherlands)