Governor

Decentralized governance execution with dispute resolution for contested actions

Governor

V2 Looking for V1 documentation? See Governor V1 (Legacy).

Kleros Governor enables DAOs and on-chain organizations to execute governance decisions with a built-in dispute resolution backstop. It uses an optimistic execution model: anyone can submit a list of transactions to be executed, and if no one challenges it, the transactions go through. If multiple competing lists are submitted, Kleros Court resolves the conflict.

Governor is the mechanism Kleros itself uses to manage protocol parameters, court configurations, and contract upgrades.

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Key Capabilities

Optimistic Execution

Transactions execute automatically if unchallenged during the submission period

Dispute Resolution

Competing transaction lists are settled by Kleros Court jurors

Permissionless Submission

Anyone can submit a transaction list by providing a deposit

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How It Works

Governor operates in sessions. Each session follows this flow:

1. Submission Period

   Anyone can submit a list of transactions they want the Governor to execute. Each submission requires a deposit and must be submitted within the first half of the submission window (withdrawals are only possible during this first half as well).

2. Approval / Dispute

   When the submission period ends, one of three things happens:

   • Zero submissions: The session closes and a new one begins.
   • One submission: The transaction list is approved and executed. The submitter’s deposit is returned.
   • Multiple submissions: A dispute is created in Kleros Court. Jurors decide which list should be executed. The number of choices equals the number of submitted lists.
3. Execution

   The approved transaction list is executed on-chain. Transactions in the list are processed sequentially.

Withdrawing a Submission

Submitters can withdraw their transaction list during the first half of the submission period, provided it is within the withdrawTimeout after submission. This returns their deposit and removes the list from consideration.

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Use Cases

Protocol Governance: Kleros uses Governor to manage its own contract parameters: updating court configurations, whitelisting fee tokens, adjusting staking parameters, and upgrading contracts.

DAO Execution: Any DAO can use Governor to execute treasury operations, parameter changes, or contract calls with a dispute resolution safety net.

Multi-sig Alternative: Governor provides a decentralized alternative to multi-sig wallets for organizations that want permissionless, transparent governance execution.

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How Governor Differs from Traditional Governance

Traditional	Kleros Governor
Proposals voted on before execution	Transactions submitted optimistically and challenged only if contested
Fixed voter set (token holders, multi-sig signers)	Anyone can submit; Kleros jurors resolve disputes
Often slow (multi-day voting periods)	Fast when uncontested; dispute resolution adds time only if needed
Requires quorum	No quorum needed for single submissions

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What’s Next?

Use Governor

Open the Governor application

Governance Overview

Learn about Kleros governance and KIPs