Grosseschnauzer
TNPer
Article VII of current Constitution provides in part::Section 2. Amendment Procedures.
A - The Constitution shall only be amended if a proposal receives both:
1 - Appoval by the Regional Assembly. A proposal for a constitutional amendment is adopted and ratified as part of this Constitution if, at a referendum of the Regional Assembly in which a quorum of members of the Regional Assembly participate, the proposal garners approval by no less than two-thirds of the votes cast during the voting period. This is to be followed by:
2 - Approval by a majority of the Cabinet Ministers. Cabinet Ministers shall have 15 days after the proposed amendment is passed by the Regional Assembly for consideration to endorse approval of the proposal. All actions by Cabinet Ministers in this regard shall be promptly posted with the Regional Assembly.
B - A proposal that fails to achieve the required majority in Regional Assembly voting will be categorized as a dead bill, governed by Article IV, Section 7.
C - Failure of any proposal to achieve the required majority amongst Cabinet Ministers will result in that proposal being returned to the Regional Assembly for a second notice and comment period. This period will be no less than 72 hours but no more than seven days.
D - During this second notice and comment period, the author of the proposal will declare whether s/he wishes to resubmit the proposal to the Cabinet or whether s/he wishes to call for a vote of the Regional Assembly to override the Cabinet rejection. Once a declaration has been made, the Speaker shall move to address the matter in a timely manner.
E - Should the author wish to resubmit the proposal, Cabinet Ministers will have no more than seven days to reconsider and vote on the proposed change. All actions by Cabinet Ministers in this regard shall be promptly posted with the Regional Assembly. The outcome of this Cabinet vote will be considered final. Proposals that are rejected at this stage are considered dead bills.
F - Should the author wish to submit the proposal to the Regional Assembly for the purposes of overriding initial Cabinet rejection of the proposal, a vote will be taken amongst Regional Assembly members. Such a proposal becomes law if a quorum of the Regional Assembly participates in the voting and the proposal garners the support of no less than three-fourths of votes cast during the voting period. Proposals that fail to reach this threshold will be considered dead bills.
G - Regional Assembly voting periods at all stages shall be seven full days.
The Regional Assembly has passed two separate proposals in the natue of Constitutionl amendments and revisions that I present to the Cabinet for its consideration and review. The members of the Cabinet have fifteen days to act on these two proposals.
The two proposals are:
Monte Ozarka's Proposal:Constitution of The North Pacific
Preamble
We, the people of The North Pacific, recognizing the shortcomings of the previous constitution and united in our loyalty and efforts, hereby undertake to correct any failings by entering into this new Constitution. Out of strife and division, we look to this new document to guide our region into long-lasting peace and prosperity. It is our hope that this Constitution will make The North Pacific a more vibrant region and create a better gameplay environment for all.
Article I: Stipulations
Section 1: Bill of Rights
1. All Nations and/or Players will be afforded a list of rights to be detailed in "Bill of Rights" to be passed shortly after this Constitution.
Section 2: Amendment Procedure
1. The Constitution and Declaration of Rights and Obligations may only be changed via constitutional amendment in the form of 75% Assembly approval in a vote lasting ten full days.
2. Proposals for constitutional amendment are immune to veto.
Section 3: Miscellany
1. Upon passage of this document as an amendment to the previous Constitution, all legislation previously passed is nullified, except for TNP Laws 1, 2, 6, 14, 22, and 23 (previous to the passage of this Constitution), which shall each be entered into the Legal Code as laws.
2. The Constitution and Declaration of Rights shall share full, constitutional authority with all the rights and privileges that come with that authority. The Legal Code is second only to the previous in legal force. In case of conflict in wording, the Constitution and Declaration of Rights take precedence. Any and all other regulations and guidelines are lower in authority than the Legal Code unless otherwise specified.
3. All Government bodies are allowed to create rules for its own governance.
4. The Speaker of the Assembly, CLO members, and Delegate shall each be elected to 4-month terms. The members of the Judiciary (including the Chief Justice) shall each be elected to 6-month terms. All elections shall be held on the region's official off-site forum.
Article II: Legislative Branch
Section 1: Registration and Membership
1. The Assembly is tasked with creating and maintaining a uniform procedure for membership in and removal from the Assembly.
2. Holding other office in the Government does not eliminate Assembly-members from the rights and obligations of Assembly-members.
Section 2: Speaker of the Assembly
1. The Assembly is led by the Speaker, whose task it is to lay out a uniform set of guidelines by which proposed legislation and other actions may be considered and voted upon.
2. The Speaker decides the order in which bills will be voted upon and is responsible for opening and closing each vote.
Section 3: Legislative Action
1. The Assembly is authorized to create, maintain, and amend as needed the North Pacific's legal documents and institutions, which shall serve as a body of laws binding upon the region, the forums, and its Nations and/or Players.
2. Only Assembly-members may bring up impeachment charges against any member of the Government. The Assembly is the jury for all impeachment cases.
3. The Assembly may subpoena members of the Government to give sworn testimony before the Assembly.
4. The Assembly may remove any member of the Government not elected by popular election.
5. Any agreement or treaty signed with a foreign region or organization must be introduced to the Assembly by the Minister of External Affairs or Delegate.
6. The Assembly is granted the power to legislate rules and institutions necessary and proper to carry out the mandates of this Constitution.
Article III: Executive Branch
The authority to formulate and guide regional policy, command the armies, diplomats and intelligence agents in the service of TNP is vested in the Executive Branch. The Executive shall consist of the the Delegate and the Cabinet.
Section 1: Delegate
1. The Delegate shall serve as TNP UN Delegate and as Head of State.
2. The Delegate is authorized to style his own title.
3. The Delegate is responsible to ensure the good governance of the Executive Branch of TNP and may appoint and remove at will executive officers that serve under him.
4. The Delegate is responsible for the legal management and update of the Regional World Factbook Entry.
5. The Delegate is responsible for the security of the region, and is charged with the use of regional controls to eject and ban nations from the region in accordance with the laws of TNP.
6. The Delegate may veto bills passed through the Assembly that do not attain at least 60% supermajority in favor.
7. Candidates for the Delegacy must have served in at least one Ministry in the preceding term.
a. Each Player may, at most, only serve two terms as Delegate consecutively.
Article IV: Council of Lower Officers
Section 1: Membership and Powers
1. The Council of Lower Officers (CLO) is to be comprised of the Speaker of the Assembly and three specially-elected members of the Assembly.
2. The CLO is to be given access and speaking privileges within the private Cabinet areas but are not allowed to take part in votes of the Cabinet.
3. The CLO may, with supermajority vote, place an emergency temporary halt on any specific action undertaken by a Ministry, officer, or agent of the Executive branch.
4. The CLO may vote to immediately bring any piece of legislation to an emergency vote before the Assembly.
Article V: Judicial Branch
The Judicial Branch is invested with the powers and obligation to investigate the constitutionality of Government policies, actions, and laws. It is also tasked to provide an impartial platform by which suspects of crimes against the region or against others are tried.
Section 1: Membership and Responsibilities
1. The Chief Justice is responsible for organizing the proper distribution of cases to maintain timeliness and impartiality.
2. The presiding justice shall serve as arbiter of rule disputes, maintain courtroom decorum, and consider all requests of the Court with the intent of pursuing truth impartially.
3. No sitting justice shall fire a request for judicial review.
Section 2: Court Powers
1. The Judiciary is vested with the responsbility to oversee all trial proceedings.
2. All matters of judicial review to examine the constitutionality of Government policies, actions, and laws are to be brought before the full three-member Judiciary.
3. The official opinions crafted as a result of judicial review are to be binding upon all agents, officers, agencies, and Government bodies of TNP. If a policy, action, or law is deemed unconstitutional, any evidence collected via these unconstitutional means is inadmissible in the Assembly or in any TNP court of law.
Article VI: Ejection and Banning
Section 1: Use of Ejection and/or Banning
1. Ejection and/or banning from the region The North Pacific may be prescribed as a punishment for violations of regional, NationStates.net, or real-life laws.
2. The Delegate is permitted to eject and/or ban violators of NationStates rules without prior or further consultation from the Government.
3. The Delegate is required to eject and/or ban Nations and/or Players that have been sentenced in the Courts to be ejected or banned from the region for breaking regional laws.
4. The Delegate is to inform the region and the Government of all ejections or bannings carried out in a timely manner.
5. The Delegate, in carrying out these duties, must maintain an adequate level of regional influence.
Section 2: Legal Recourse
1. In the case where a Nation feels that their banning or ejection was unwarranted, they may appeal their case to the full three-person Court that shall have the power to overturn the Delegate's ruling and order the unbanning of the nation.
and the second proposal is:
As proposed by Haor Chall:The Bill of Rights for all Nations of The North Pacific
1. All Nations of The North Pacific are sovereign. Each Nation has the right of self-determination in that Nation's domestic policies, including, but not limited to, issue selection and UN membership.
2. Each Nation's rights to free speech, free press, and the free expression of religion shall not be infringed, and shall be encouraged, by the governmental authorities of the region. Each Nation has the right to assemble, and to petition the governmental authorities of the region, including the UN Delegate, for the redress of grievances. The governmental authorities of the region shall act only in the best interests of the Region, as permitted and limited under this Constitution.
3. Participation in the governmental authorities of the region is voluntary. Participation in the United Nations shall not be a condition of participation in the governmental authorities of the region.
4. No Nation of The North Pacific holding UN member status in NationStates shall be obligated to endorse any official of a government authority of the region. The right to add an endorsement or withdraw an endorsement is a sovereign right of that Nation as a UN member.
5. All Nations of The North Pacific have the right to be protected against the abuse of powers by any official of a government authority of the region. Any Nation of The North Pacific has the right to request the impeachment of any official of a government authority of the region in accordance with this Constitution, that is deemed to have participated in such acts.
6. No Nation shall be held to answer for a crime in a manner not prescribed by this Constitution or the Legal Code. No Nation shall be subjected to being twice put in jeopardy for the same offense. No Nation shall ever be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against itself.
7. When charged with criminal acts, Nations of The North Pacific shall have a fair, impartial, and public trial before a neutral and impartial judicial officer. In any criminal proceeding, a Nation is presumed innocent unless guilt is proven to the fact finder by reasonably certain evidence. A Nation may be represented by any counsel of the Nation's choosing. No Nation convicted of a crime shall be subject to a punishment disproportionate to that crime.
8. No Nation shall be ejected from the region, or banned from any forum, except as expressly authorized by this Constitution or the Legal Code. Should any official of a government authority of the region with authority to act, declare that the immediate ejection or banning of a Nation is an urgent matter of regional security, the ejected or banned Nation shall have prompt and immediate recourse to judicial review of the matter. The UN Delegate shall not exercise the power of ejection or banning unless expressly authorized by a specific action of a government authority of the region pursuant to this Constitution or to the Legal Code.
9. Each Nation in The North Pacific is guaranteed the organization and operation of the governmental authorities of the region on fundamental principles of democracy, accountability, and transparency. No action by the governmental authorities of the region shall deny to any Nation of The North Pacific, due process of law, including prior notice and the opportunity to be heard, nor deny to any Nation of The North Pacific the equal and fair treatment and protection of the provisions of this Constitution. No governmental authority shall have power to adopt or impose an ex post facto law or a bill of attainder as to any act for purposes of criminal proceedings.
10. Each Nation entitled to a vote in any manner under the fundamental laws of the region is entitled to the equal treatment and protection of that Nation's right to vote.
11. No governmental authority of the region has the power to suspend or disregard this Constitution or the Legal Code In the event of an actual emergency, the governmental authorities of the region, with the express consent of the Nations of the region or their representatives, is authorized to act in any reasonable manner that is consistent as practicable with the pertinent provisions of this Constitution.
This is the point in the process where the Cabinet may state its desire for changes in the proposals passed by the Regional Assembly, or may state approval of either or both proposals as passed in the Regional Assemby. Please remember to vote on both MO's proposed constitutional revision, and the proposal for a separate Bill of Rights.
