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: By which this Constitution shall take effect
1. The bill "Procedural Guidelines" is automatically passed as the first law in the Legal Code.
2. Upon passage of this document as an amendment to the previous Constitution, all legislation previously passed is nullified, except for TNP Laws XXXXXXXX, which shall each be entered into the Legal Code as laws.
Section 2: Hierarchy of Governing Documents
1. The Constitution and Declaration of Rights shall share full, constitutional authority with all the rights and privileges that come with that authority.
2. The Legal Code is second only to the above in legal force. In case of conflict in wording, the Constitution and Declaration of Rights take precedence.
3. Any and all other regulations and guidelines are lower in authority than the Legal Code unless otherwise specified.
Section 3: 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 Cabinet veto.
Section 4: Declaration of Rights and Obligations
1. All Nations and/or Players will be afforded a list of rights to be detailed in the Declaration of Rights and Obligations.
Article II: Legislative Branch
Section 1: Registration and Membership
1. The Assembly is tasked with creating a uniform procedure for joining the Assembly.
2. The Assembly may eject a member from its ranks via the protocols for impeachment.
3. 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. The Speaker 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.
a. No North Pacfic Intelligence Agency agent may be subpoenaed and questioned before the Assembly or courts regarding their activities in that Agency without specific approval from the Delegate and Minister of Intelligence. Without this approval, all questions and subpoenas relating to the activities of the North Pacific Intelligence Agency must be directed toward the Delegate and Minister of Intelligence.
4. Any agreement or treaty signed with a foreign region or organization follows the voting procedures outlined in this section AND must also be introduced to the Assembly by the Minister of External Affairs or Delegate.
5. The Assembly is granted the power to legislate rules and institutions necessary and proper to carry out the mandates of this Constitution.
6. The Assembly may create procedures for its own governance as it sees fit.
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 has oversight over the Ministries of TNP described in Section 2.
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. Upon taking office, The Delegate is to appoint a Cabinet of Ministers to serve the region.
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.
Section 2: Cabinet Ministries
1. The Ministry of Intelligence is responsible for domestic and extra-regional intelligence and counter-intelligence activities conducted by the Government for the purpose of maintaining and expanding regional security and power. The Ministry is responsible to the Delegate and shall report to the Assembly on the state of intelligence affairs.
2. The Ministry of Immigration and Internal Affairs is responsible for checking the qualifications of Assembly-members and applicants, as well as maintaining an up-to-date roll of Assembly-members. It is authorized to undertake any intelligence activities pursuant to background checking and security clearance.
3. The Ministry of Defense is responsible for the recruitment, maintenance, and actions of any and all military forces acting under the jurisdiction of the Government for the purpose of maintaining and expanding regional security and power.
4. The Ministry of External Affairs is responsible for the recruitment, maintenance, and actions of diplomats acting under the jurisdiction of the Government for the purpose of maintaining and expanding regional security and power.
Section 3: Cabinet and Privilege
1. Ministers shall have the authority to set policies and procedures for the areas within their portfolio, the policy guidance and direction of the Delegate, and the Laws of TNP.
2. Each Minister is responsible for the smooth functioning of their Ministry and answers directly to the Delegate.
3. The Cabinet has the right to veto legislation that comes before it.
4. The Cabinet shall have a private discussion area open to them and the Council of Lower Officers. All conversation in this area are to be considered privileged and are not to be distributed, except with prior approval of the Delegate or unless required to by Assembly or judicial subpoena.
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 vote to 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: Election and Membership
1. The powers of the Judicial branch is vested within a three-member Judiciary who are each elected to 6 month terms.
3. The Chief Justice is responsible for organizing the proper distribution of cases to maintain timeliness and impartiality.
Section 2: Judicial Review
1. 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.
2. Any Player or Nation registered on the official forums, except for any current member of the Judiciary, may file a request for judicial review or briefs to the Court regarding any ongoing judicial review.
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.
Section 3: Trial proceedings
1. The Judiciary is vested with the responsbility to oversee all trial proceedings.
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. Further trial, appeal, and sentencing guidelines may be voted upon and passed with majority approval in the Judiciary.
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.
