MCC-700 Governance and Appeals — Amendment 1: Alignment with FD-2026-08-24 (v3.1 → v3.2)

Instrument: Amendment to MCC-700 Governance and Appeals v3.1 (Tier 2) Status: v0.1 DRAFT 25 August 2026 — NOT ADOPTED. Resolved as an intention by the Governing Board at its constituting meeting of 26 August 2026 (GB-2026-001, Resolution 3.2) and published the same day as the start of the sixty (60) days' public notice under MCC-001 cl. 0080; enters into force at the end of the notice period, on the same day as MCC-001 Charter Amendment 1 (consulted in parallel, 90 days). Authority to amend: Governing Board, after public consultation (MCC-700 §17.1) — see A1.9 on the notice period. Basis: FD-2026-08-24 items D1, D2, D8, D11, D16; MCC-001 Charter v2.0 cl. 0080, 0084; rulebook audit 24 August 2026 (K2, K4); Board Induction Pack v1.0 §7.

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Background

FD-2026-08-24 item D11 designates MCC-700 as the programme's sole governance architecture, with decisions by two-thirds of votes cast and a quorum of 50 % + 1. The consolidation of 24 August 2026 (v3.0 → v3.1) closed the insurance conflict (K8) but did not touch the thresholds, the entity name or the phase model. As a result, the instrument that D11 makes supreme still contains the rules D11 replaced. Charter Amendment 1 (A1.1) will make MCC-700 prevail over every other governance rule in the programme; it must therefore say the right thing before it prevails.

The Board Induction Pack v1.0 (§3, §7) instructs incoming members to "apply the stricter figure where texts conflict" until this amendment is in force.

Amendments

A1.1 — Cover and status. "MCC-700 Governance and Appeals Version 3.0 — DRAFT" and "Status: DRAFT — For Foundational Review" → "MCC-700 Governance and Appeals Version 3.2" and "Status: ADOPTED — [BDR reference], [date]". The header line "March 2026" → "[month year of adoption]".

A1.2 — §3.1, operating entity (item D1). "The MCC Programme, operated by Marine Conservation Credits Limited, …" → "The MCC Programme, operated by the MCC operating entity (a Norwegian aksjeselskap under formation pursuant to FD-2026-08-24 item D1; until its registration, the founder's entity of record), …". On registration the name is inserted by editorial note without a further amendment (D16 permits editorial corrections with a change-log entry).

A1.3 — §4.1.4, Governing Board voting (item D11). Replace the three-tier rule with:

4.1.4 Voting and decision-making: Decisions of the Governing Board require a two-thirds majority of votes cast. Abstentions are not votes cast. Amendments to MCC-001 (Charter and Constitution) and to the MCC-100 series require a two-thirds majority of all appointed members. The Board is quorate when more than half of its appointed members participate (§12.1). Where the Chair's casting vote (§12.1) would be decisive, the matter is instead carried over to the next meeting; a governance decision is not made on a casting vote.

A1.4 — §4.1.2 and §4.1.3, composition — transitional rule (item D2). Add:

4.1.5 Transitional composition. The Board constituted under FD-2026-08-24 exercises the full authority of this section from its constituting meeting, whatever its size. The eleven-member composition in 4.1.2 is a target to be reached within twenty-four (24) months of constitution; each appointment is minuted with the seat it fills. Until the Standards Committee, Registry Oversight Authority and Review and Appeals Authority are appointed, the Board exercises their authority (MCC-001 cl. 0022, 0045) and records each such decision as taken in that capacity, with the separation-of-roles safeguards of §3.4 applied person by person.

A1.5 — §11, decision authority table (item D11). Every entry reading "75 %" or "75 % supermajority" → "two-thirds of votes cast"; "Unanimous" (constitutional amendment) → "two-thirds of all appointed members (4.1.4)". The "2/3 majority" entries for VVB suspension/revocation and project revocation are unchanged. Editorial: the row "Methodology amendment (minor/technical revision) — Standards Committee with GB approval — simple majority" is retained; the row "Methodology revision (major …) — 75 % supermajority (treated as new methodology)" → "two-thirds of votes cast (treated as new methodology)". The text of §11.1 is corrected in the same terms.

A1.6 — §17, amendments to this Framework (Charter cl. 0080, 0084).

17.1 … Public consultation period of sixty (60) days minimum (MCC-001 cl. 0080) … Governing Board approval by two-thirds of votes cast. 17.2 Constitutional amendments (changes to MCC-001) follow MCC-001 cl. 0088–0097 and require two-thirds of all appointed members (4.1.4). The words "and may require external ratification" are deleted (no external ratifier exists).

A1.7 — §8.1.1, host-country authorisation (item D8). Replace 8.1.1.1–8.1.1.2 with:

8.1.1.1 Where a project seeks a corresponding adjustment or its units are to be used in a compliance scheme, a Letter of Authority from the host country's designated authority is required before registration and verified under 8.1.1.3. 8.1.1.2 For contribution-basis units carrying no climate claim, no authorisation is required; documented engagement with, and written notification of, the competent host-country authority is required before any issuance, and the authorisation status is recorded as NOT_APPLICABLE in the registry (MCC-HCA v1.0; MCC-CADCP v1.0; FD-2026-08-24 item D8). 8.1.1.3–8.1.1.4 are unchanged and apply where a Letter of Authority is required.

A1.8 — §10, operational phases. 10.1 "over a 24-month period" → "in phases; the Pilot Phase begins on the date of the Board's constituting resolution, and each subsequent phase on the Board's transition decision under 10.1.5". The month ranges in 10.1.1–10.1.4 become indicative ("typically months 1–6", etc.). MCC-OPS and MCC-PILOT in 10.2 are referenced "where adopted" — neither document has been adopted (audit K12).

A1.9 — §18, entry into force.

18.1 This Framework (Version 3.2) enters into force on [date], being no earlier than the sixtieth day after publication of the public notice under 17.1, and in any event not before Charter Amendment 1 enters into force. 18.2 Decisions taken under Version 3.1, and under FD-2026-08-24 during the interval, are not reopened by this amendment (non-retroactivity), save where the Board resolves otherwise for programme integrity. 18.3 unchanged (90-day conformance attestations).

A1.10 — §1.4, cross-references (editorial). "MCC-CA" → "MCC-CADCP"; "MCC-OPS, and MCC-PILOT" → "and, where adopted, MCC-OPS and MCC-PILOT"; add "MCC-400 (VVB Accreditation and Performance Standard)" and "MCC-850 (AI Governance Standard)", both of which the text relies on in §5 and §16 without listing.

Process

1. Tabled at the constituting meeting as one agenda item with Charter Amendment 1 (Konstitueringsmøte agenda, sak 3).
2. Intention resolution adopted; both instruments published on /consultations the same day as the start of the notice periods (90 days for the Charter, 60 for MCC-700). The consultation module records comments and the closing protocol.
3. After the periods: the Board's written response to material comments (MCC-001 cl. 0092), final vote, consolidation to MCC-700 v3.2 and MCC-001 v2.1 with change logs (D16), archive of v3.1/v2.0 with cover sheets, publication on /transparency/documents with SHA-256.
4. Until entry into force: the Board applies the stricter of the conflicting figures and minutes which rule it applied (Board Induction Pack v1.0 §3).

Effect on other texts

None of the seven launch policies v1.1 states a Board threshold. MCC-100 v2.2 cl. 0054 (30-day consultation) is unaffected — it governs programme rules, not this framework. The Board Induction Pack v1.0 §3 and §7(3) are updated to cite v3.2 on adoption.

Change log — v0.1 UTKAST (25 Aug 2026): first issue, prepared under FD-2026-08-24 item 3.