A draft of my proposal

Monte Ozarka · Jul 30, 2007

I know, I know. I'm jumping the gun. By a lot. But still, why not?

Here's a working draft of a constitution that would encompass the ideas for my proposal. Yes, I wrote a constitution. Because it's not like I have anything better to do (like med school apps *cough*)... It's significantly shorter than our current Constitution but still rather lengthy. I've never been particularly economic in my words.

Note 1: The Declaration of Rights is lifted practically verbatim from our current Constitution.
Note 2: I really blow at trying to think of things for the Judicial Branch.
Note 3: Notice the lack of anything duality or invader/defender-related. This can be hashed out later.

Comments are welcome, suggestions are highly appreciated, and flames are tolerated. Just gimme feedback.

EDIT: Revision 1

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 and Definitions

Section 1: By which this Constitution Shall Take Effect
// might as well work with Dali on this, right?

Section 2: Definitions
1. In this document, "TNP" shall mean "The North Pacific" and shall refer to both the in-game region and official forums.
2. In this document, "MoIIA" shall mean "Ministry of Immigration and Internal Affairs".
3. In this document, "MoEA" shall mean "Ministry of External Affairs".
4. In this document, "MoD" shall mean "Ministry of Defense".
5. In this document, "MoI" shall mean "Ministry of Intelligence".
6. In this document, "CLO" shall mean "Council of Lower Officers".
7. In this document, "Government" shall mean the legal governing body that is created and directed by this Constitution.
8. In this document, "Cabinet" shall mean the body of officers that the Delegate has appointed to lead the MoIIA, MoEA, MoD, and MoI, plus the Delegate.

Article II: Declaration of Rights and Obligations

Section 1: Declaration of Rights
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.
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.

Section 2: Declaration of Obligations
1. Each Player will agree to not circumvent real-life laws in his/her NationStates activities.
2. Each Player will abide by the rules of the administrators of the official forums.
3. Each member Nation will abide by the Constitution of The North Pacific and The North Pacific Legal Code enacted pursuant to Article WHATEVER of this Constitution.
4. Each member Nation shall refrain from the threat or use of force against the territorial integrity or political independence of any other nation or region in a manner inconsistent with the Constitution of The North Pacific.
5. Each member Nation shall refrain from giving assistance to any nation or region that is at war with The North Pacific.

Article III: Legislative Branch

Section 1: Registration and Membership
The powers of the Legislative branch are vested within the Assembly. In the interest of maintaining a healthy legislative body, the following requirements are put in place before a nation may be allowed to vote:
1. Nations that reside in The North Pacific and who agree to abide by the member Nation requirements of this Constitution can request Assembly membership at the Regional off-site forum in the proper location.
2. In their request, Nations will be required to post a link to their TNP member Nation at NationStates.net. They must also publicly take the following oath:

"I, (Forum Name), as the leader of the (Official Full National Name), pledge to obey the Constitution and Laws of The North Pacific Region, and to act as a responsible member of its society. I understand that if my Nation leaves The North Pacific region for unapproved reasons, I may be stripped of my right to vote and be required to reapply. I pledge to only register one Nation to vote in The North Pacific. I understand that my registration of, or attempt to register, multiple Nations to vote in The North Pacific shall warrant the summary withdrawal of my right to vote from all my Nations, past, present, and future, as well as possible expulsion from the Region. I understand that if any nation under my control directly wages war against The North Pacific, or allies themselves with a region waging war, declared or not, against the North Pacific, this shall warrant the summary withdrawal of my right to vote from all my Nations, past, present, and future, as well as possible expulsion from the Region. In this manner, I petition the Regional Government of The North Pacific region for membership in the Assembly."

3. Nations must give immediate notice to the proper officials if the nation resident in TNP changes.
4. The MoIIA is tasked with investigating the eligibility of an applicant and must give its approval before the applicant can be given the full rights of an Assembly-member.
5. Each Assembly-member may only vote once per legislative or electoral matter. He/she may change his/her vote as many times as needed before the vote closes.

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 may be considered and voted upon.
2. The Speaker decides the order in which bills will be voted upon. The Speaker also opens and closes each vote.
3. If the Speaker realizes that he/she will be absent when a vote is scheduled to open or close, he/she may authorize a "Speaker Pro Tempore" to open and/or close voting on the legislation.
4. The Speaker is elected via the election protocol laid out in Section 4 of this Article.

Section 3: Legislative Action
1. Only current Assembly-members are allowed to propose and vote on legislation. Assembly-members may only vote on legislation whose voting period officially opened after they are approved to join the Assembly.
2. Holding other office in the Government does not eliminate Assembly-members from the rights and obligations of Assembly-members.
3. An Assembly-member may bring any bill to vote before the full Assembly, as allowed by Assembly regulations laid out by the Speaker.
4. A bill has reached quorum if at least 50% of current Assembly-members has participated in the bill's vote.
5. Assembly-members are only allowed to vote "AYE", "NAY", or "ABSTAIN".
6. Assembly-members are not required to vote.
7. The voting period for legislation is a full seven days, unless specified otherwise within this Constitution.
a. A bill is automatically passed into law if it garners 75% approval, with a quorum participating.
b. A bill is passed onto the Cabinet for Executive approval or veto if it garners at least 50% + 1 approval, with a quorum participating. If the Cabinet gives a plurality vote in favor of the legislation, it is passed into law. Otherwise, the bill is sent back to the Assembly for reworking and revote. If it fails to pass Executive veto again, it is declared dead and cannot be resurrected for thirty days.
c. A bill is declared dead and cannot be resurrected for thirty days if it fails to attain 50% + 1 approval in the Assembly.
d. A bill is to be worked and voted upon by the Assembly again if it fails to reach quorum.
8. The Assembly is the jury for all impeachment cases. An official may be impeached with 70% supermajority vote and a quorum participating.
9. The Assembly may subpoena any member of the Government to give sworn testimony before the Assembly with at least a 50% + 1 approval and a quorum participating.
a. No North Pacfic Intelligence Agency agent may be subpoenaed and questioned 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.

Section 4: Electoral Processes
1. Only current Assembly-members are allowed to run or nominate other Assembly-members for office in the Government. If an Assembly-member declares his/her own candidacy, they are automatically entered into the race. If an Assembly-member is nominated by another Assembly-member, he/she must accept the nomination before he/she is entered into the race.
2. Any Assembly-member may run for any office, so long as he/she fills the requirements for that office.
3. Each Assembly-member may only run for one office per election cycle.
4. Only current Assembly-members are allowed to vote in any and all elections. Assembly-members may only vote in an election cycle if the official vote has not yet opened by the time they were approved for Assembly membership.
5. Each Assembly-member may only vote for one Nation per position.
6. A term of office lasts for four months, beginning each year on the first Monday of February, June, and October. Elections will be held for one week, beginning on the Monday two weeks before a new term begins.
7. The Nation that receives the most legitimate votes for a position wins the contest for that position and takes office at the next term.
a. In the event of a tie, a run-off between the tied candidates lasting five full days shall be held immediately.
b. If, after two run-offs, the tie is unable to be broken, the incoming Delegate shall choose the one of the tied candidates to fill the position. If the twice-unbroken tie occurs in the election for the Delegacy, the incoming Speaker shall choose the candidate.
8. These processes are to be enforced in all elections for elected office, except as otherwise indicated within this Constitution.

Section 5: Mid-Term Replacement
1. If a member of the CLO or the Judiciary resigns in the middle of a term, the Delegate must appoint an Assembly-member to fill the position temporarily.
2. If the Delegate resigns in the middle of a term, a Minister selected by plurality in a Cabinet vote will temporarily fill the Delegate position.
3. A permanent replacement may be nominated and voted upon in the Assembly via normal election procedures laid out in Art.III, Sect.4 (Para.6 excepting). Upon election, the permanent replacement replaces the temporary replacement.
4. Any replacement, temporary or permanent, must fulfill the normal prerequisites of that office.

Article IV: Executive Branch
The powers to dictate policy and to command the armies, diplomats, and intelligence agents in service of TNP is vested in the Executive Branch.

Section 1: Delegate and Ministerial Appointments
1. The Delegate has overall command of the MoIIA, MoEA, MoD, and MoI and is ultimately responsible for their actions and policies. The Delegate is also authorized to take the regional delegate position for TNP in-game.
2. The Delegate is elected by the processes dictated in Art.III, Sect.4. Once elected and in office, the Delegate is to work with the previous Delegate to ensure a smooth transition of the UN Delegacy.
a. Candidates for the Delegacy must have served in at least one Ministry in the preceding term.
3. Immediately upon taking office, the Delegate is to recommend to the Assembly a candidate to run each of the Ministries. These officials serve as Ministers to their respective Ministries.
a. Each Minister-candidate must have served in their respective Ministries in the preceding term.
b. After the Delegate submits the list of nominees, the Assembly must vote on the approval or rejection of each candidate. If a candidate garners 50% + 1 support with a quorum present, the candidate is recognized as a Cabinet Minister.
c. If the candidate fails to garner the above support, the Delegate must present a new candidate to the Assembly for review and approval.
4. The Delegate may at any time nominate a Minister for replacement. The Delegate must present the Assembly with reasons for replacing a current Minister AND at the same time, offer a candidate to replace the aforementioned Minister. If the proposal garners at least 60% support in the Assembly with a quorum present, the outgoing Minister is removed from office and the replacement sworn in.

Section 2: Cabinet
1. Each Player and Nation may only hold one position in the Cabinet per term.
2. Each Minister only has as much executive authority as the Delegate apportions to them.
3. Each Minister is responsible for the smooth functioning of their Ministry and answer directly to the Delegate.
a. 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.
b. The Ministry of Immigration and Internal Affairs is responsible for checking the qualifications of Assembly-members and applicants and maintaining an up-to-date roll of Assembly-members. It is authorized to undertake any intelligence activities pursuant to background checking and security clearance.
c. 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.
d. 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.
4. Pursuant to Art.III, Sect.3, Para.7, Subpara.b, the Cabinet shall vote via a full vote of the Cabinet on legislation passed in the Assembly. The vote shall last for three full days.
a. The vote shall be opened by any Minister in a timely manner after the legislation has carried in the Assembly.
b. Any Minister who has not cast a vote by its close will be considered to have cast "ABSTAIN".
5. 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 required to by Assembly or judicial subpoena.

Article V: Other Government Bodies

Section 1: Non-Ministerial Government Bodies
1. The CommRangers are to be formed. Its duties include: 1) enforcing regional and NationStates game rules about regional message board (RMB) use and ad-spam, 2) maintaining a fun and lively atmosphere on the RMB, 3) directing Nations in the region to the official forums, and 4) aiding the Delegate in communicating with nations within the region.
a. The CommRangers are led by the Director of the CommRangers, as elected under the guidelines set forth in Art.III, Sect.4.
2. The Office of Regional Life is to be formed. Its duties include: 1) maintaining an active and cohesive forum community outside of formal Government activities, 2) attempting to further integrate the forum and non-forum regional communities, and 3) maintaining a healthy and appropriate level of discourse regarding non-Government activities.
a. The Office of Regional Life is led by the Director of Regional Life, as elected under the guidelines set forth in Art.III, Sect.4.
3. The Office of Culture and Education is to be formed. Its duties include: 1) maintaining the smooth running of the University and the rules which govern it, and 2) keeping an accurate record of the history and activities of the regional Government.
a. The Office of Culture and Education is led by the Director of Culture and Education, as elected under the guidelines set forth in Art.III, Sect.4.

Section 2: Council of Lower Officers
1. The CLO is to be comprised of the Speaker of the Assembly, the Director of the CommRangers, the Director of Regional Life, and the Director of Culture and Education.
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. With a 80% supermajority approval, 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.
a. The proposal can be opened at any time by any member of the CLO. The vote will last for three days or until 80% supermajority approval is reached, whichever comes first.
b. The halt may last for a maximum of three days and must be specified in the original proposal.
c. The halt on any one specific action may be renewed ONCE and only with unanimous consent.
d. Any CLO member who fails to cast a vote will be counted as having cast "ABSTAIN" at the end of the voting period.
e. The Executive branch is obligated to follow any halt placed upon it by the CLO immediately after the vote's passage.
4. With a 80% supermajority approval, the CLO may vote to immediately bring any piece of legislation to an emergency vote before the Assembly.
a. The proposal can be opened at any time by any member of the CLO. The vote will last for three days or until 80% supermajority approval is reached, whichever comes first.
b. The vote in the Assembly may be opened by any CLO member and will stay open for three full days.
c. The bill shall follow the strictures placed upon it in Art.III, Sect.3, Para.7, except in the case where the bill attains a quorum but does not pass. In this instance, the bill is not declared dead.
d. The CLO may not bring the same piece of legislation before the Assembly via an emergency vote more than once.

Article VI: 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.
2. The Judiciary is elected according to the guidelines set forth in Art.III, Sect.4, disregarding Paras.6 and 7.
a. A term of office for the Judiciary lasts for six months, beginning each year on the first Monday of February and August. Elections will be held for one week, beginning on the Monday two weeks before a new term begins.
b. Assembly members shall cast their votes for the three candidates they wish to see fill the Judiciary. The candidate receiving the highest number of votes becomes the Chief Justice. The two candidates receiving the next highest numbers of votes are the Associate Justices.
c. If a tie occurs in the election of the Judiciary, a run-off lasting five full days shall be held among the tied candidates. If, after two run-offs, the tie is unable to be broken and decisive winners announced, the incoming Delegate (for the February term) or the sitting Delegate(for the August term) may choose the winner(s) of each contest.
3. The Chief Justice is responsible for organizing the proper distribution and timeliness of cases and decisions. The Chief Justice must also try to arrange cases so as to remove any conflict of interest.

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 may file a request for judicial review.
3. Any Player or Nation registered on the official forums may file briefs regarding any ongoing judicial review.
4. 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 a TNP court of law. Any action which violate the bounds of constitutionality may result in criminal charges, impeachment, and/or censure of the person(s) committing it.
5. No current member of the Judiciary may bring forward a motion for judicial review.

Section 3: Criminal Proceedings
1. Crimes committed against TNP or with the express purpose of doing harm to TNP or violations of real-life law are to be tried as criminal proceedings.
2. Charges and indictments may be brought forth against the accused by either the Delegate or the Speaker.
3. Accused persons who do not present themselves before the Court may be tried in absentia. A plea of "NOT GUILTY" will automatically be entered.
4. Before the trial begins, the accused will be afforded the right to select a trial by Justice opinion or by jury.
a. The verdict in a "trial by Justice opinion" is decided by the judgment of a Justice at the conclusion of testimony and closing remarks.
b. The verdict in a "trial by jury" is decided by a majority vote of a group of unbiased and randomly-selected Assembly-members.
5. The accused must enter a plea of "GUILTY", "NOT GUILTY", or "NO CONTEST". Failing to do so will result in a plea of "NOT GUILTY" automatically being entered.
6. The accused has the right to legal counsel of his choosing.
7. The plaintiff (the Government) may appoint (a) prosecutor(s) of its choosing.
8. The only Players and Nations allowed to give testimony in a trial are the accused, his legal counsel, the prosecutor(s), and any witnesses called to testify by either side.
9. Further trial guidelines may be voted upon by the Judiciary and passed with majority approval.

Section 4: Civil Proceedings
1. Crimes committed against individual nations that do not fit the criteria for "criminal proceedings" are to be tried as civil proceedings.
2. Charges may be brought by anyone registered on the forums.
3. Accused persons who do not present themselves before the court may be tried in absentia.
4. Before the trial begins, the accused may choose to have his verdict decided by the Presiding Justice or by the entire Judiciary body.
5. The accused must enter a plea of "GUILTY", "NOT GUILTY", or "NO CONTEST". Failing to do so will result in a plea of "NOT GUILTY" automatically being entered.
6. The accused has the right to legal counsel of his choosing.
7. The plaintiff may appoint legal counsel of his choosing.
8. The only Players and Nations allowed to give testimony in a trial are the accused, the plaintiff, any legal counsel for either side, and any witnesses called to testify.
9. Further trial guidelines may be voted upon and passed with majority approval in the Judiciary.

Article VII: Amendments

Section 1: Amendment Procedure
1. The Constitution may only be changed via constitutional amendment.
2. The procedure for passing a constitutional amendment follows the structure laid out in Art.III, Sect.3, Paras.1-6.
3. The voting period for an amendment is a full ten days.
a. The proposed amendment is passed onto the Cabinet for Executive approval or veto if it garners at least 65% approval, with a quorum participating. If the Cabinet gives a majority vote in favor of the amendment, it is passed into law, and the Constitution may be altered as indicated. Otherwise, the bill is sent back to the Assembly for reworking and revote. If it fails to pass Executive veto again, it is declared dead and cannot be resurrected for thirty days.
b. An amendment is declared dead and cannot be resurrected for thirty days if it fails to attain 65% approval in the Assembly.

Westwind · Jul 30, 2007

It's a good starting place.....

Maybe the Declarations of Rights and Obligations can be made a separate document, with the Constitution acknowledging them. That would cut down the size of the Constitution by itself.

Here's my attempt at the Executive...

Article IV: 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: The Delegate

1. The Delegate shall serve as TNP UN Delegate, and as Head of State.

2. The Delegate is responsible to ensure the good governance of the Executive Branch of TNP.

2. The Delegate has oversight over the Ministries of TNP described in Section 2.

3. The Delegate is responsible for management and update of the Regional World Fact Book Entry.

4. 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 Constitution and Law of TNP.

4. Upon taking office, The Delegate is to appoint a Cabinet of Ministers to serve the region.

A. Selection of The Delegate

1. Election details here

2. The Delegate is to work with the previous Delegate to ensure a smooth transition of the UN Delegacy.

Section 2: The Cabinet

The Cabinet Ministries each hold authority to set policies and procedures to manage their respective portfolios accordingly.

A. Appointment Process

1. Cabinet Ministers are appointed by The Delegate.

2. Minister Appointees are presented by The Delegate to the Assembly for it's consent. Each appointee must garner 50% +1 of a quorum vote for consent.

a.)In the event that a quorum cannot be reached, the appointee shall hold office as Acting Minister until such time that a quorum may be attained.

b.)If the candidate fails to garner the consent of The Assembly, The Delegate must present a new candidate to The Assembly for advise and consent.

B.) Ministerial Replacement

1. In the event of an unannounced absence of greater than 20 days, The Delegate shall present to The Assembly a replacement appointment, who shall be subject to Assembly consent.

2. The Delegate may at any time remove a Minister, and appoint a replacement. The Delegate must present The Assembly with reasons for replacing a current Minister AND at the same time, offer an appointee to replace the removed Minister. If the proposal garners at least 60% support in the Assembly with a quorum present, the outgoing Minister is removed from office and the replacement sworn in.

C.) Ministerial Qualifications

1. Each Player and Nation may only hold one position in the Cabinet per term.

2. Ministers shall have the authority to set policies and procedures for the areas within their portfolio, within the policy guidance and direction of The Delegate, and within the Laws of TNP.

3. Each Minister is responsible for the smooth functioning of their Ministry and answers directly to The Delegate.

D.) Cabinet Ministries

The Cabinet shall consist of four (4) 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 and interregional security and power.

E.) Legislation

1. Pursuant to Art.III, Sect.3, Para.7, Subpara.b, the Cabinet shall vote via a full vote of the Cabinet on legislation passed in the Assembly. The vote shall last for three full days.

a. The vote shall be opened by any Minister in a timely manner after the legislation has carried in the Assembly.

b. Any Minister who has not cast a vote by its close will be considered to have cast "ABSTAIN".

5. 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 required to by Assembly or judicial subpoena.

Flemingovia · Jul 31, 2007

I will have more to say on this in time, but one minor comment for now:

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.

As root admin I feel I have to reserve the right to ban accounts who breech forum rules (as opposed to North PAcific laws) or particularly invisionfree TOS. Failure to do so COULD put the board itself at risk, since...

TOS:
5 Enforcement of Terms of Use:
InvisionFree may edit, delete, or restrict access to any Content/account/board or services as enforcement of the Terms of Use.

6 Termination of the Service:
You agree that InvisionFree may delete any board owned by you and/or your account on any InvisionFree board. InvisionFree may ban your email address, username, IP Address or remove/change any Content from any board or from your account, without notice or compensation. Your account or board may be deleted for any violation of the InvisionFree Terms of Use or for any reason deemed necessary. InvisionFree may not explain why your account/board/Content was deleted or edited.

I am sorry, but a blanket right of nations not to ban them from the forum is not something I would aggree to.

Monte Ozarka · Jul 31, 2007

*shrug*

I pretty much copied the Rights bit form our current Constitution verbatim. I support giving forum admins greater oversight, and I'll look over that bit when I have more time.

Joshua · Jul 31, 2007

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.

This isn't a free pass to avoid ever getting banned or tossed. I like this clause, as it will hopefully protect us from the mentality of ban first and ask questions later. Our admins should have the right to ban or demote any player who breaks the TOS.

I agree with L & C that the declaration of rights should be a separate document. But, where the constitution will promote and protect these rights.

I like having the CLO as a checks and balance on the Cabinet, but they should have greater power then simply to put a temporary stop actions taken by the executive branch. I feel the CLO deserves more bite then that.

Westwind · Jul 31, 2007

flemingovia:
As root admin I feel I have to reserve the right to ban accounts who breech forum rules (as opposed to North PAcific laws) or particularly invisionfree TOS. Failure to do so COULD put the board itself at risk, since...

I don't know that it needs to be in the Constitution to establish Admin's right to ensure compliance with the TOS. But we can simply add:

8. No Nation shall be ejected from the region, or banned from any forum, except as expressly authorized by this Constitution, the Legal Code, or forum Terms of Service. 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.

I agree with L & C that the declaration of rights should be a separate document. But, where the constitution will promote and protect these rights.

Just add a simple addition to the Constitution adopting the Declaration of Rights and Obligations as having Constitutional Authority, and can only be amended by the same process as the Constitution.

Sovereign Dixie · Aug 2, 2007

I've only glossed over this, and ill probably have more comments/ questions later, but so far, I like what I see. The main thing that I think is important here is...

Keep it as simple as possible/practical and worded in such a way that a new player fresh into the feeder can understand it.

Monte Ozarka · Aug 2, 2007

Sovereign Dixie:
I've only glossed over this, and ill probably have more comments/ questions later, but so far, I like what I see. The main thing that I think is important here is...

Keep it as simple as possible/practical and worded in such a way that a new player fresh into the feeder can understand it.

I agree to a point. The Constitution needs to be flexible and to the point, which almost necessitate it being short. However, it needs to cover all the bases so that loopholes are minimized. I doubt that the first thing that a newbie does is go read the region's legalese. Something far more believable is that they would read a FAQ or a short guide to how the region works that summarizes the Constitution and includes the most relevant parts. I mean, procedures for judicial review are important, but does a newbie really care? I doubt it.

Grosseschnauzer · Aug 2, 2007

My immediate reaction is that this is giving way too much final power in the Delegate without any real hope of balancing or checking it.

I don't think the Delegate should have a veto over routine legislation in the Regional Assembly. And there reallly isn't a point to having the Cabinet having any authority to vote on anything if the Cabinet members are all appointed by the Delegate. There would be no reason to think that a Cabinet member could ever vote against the Delegate's position, as he would be sacked. That needs some serious rethinking.

Would someone care to explain to me what the problem is with the Security Council? As far as I have been able to tell, it has worked as it was designed, as a elected Committee of the Regional Assembly on security issues, and I don't see any reason to change it.

The election of so-called "lesser" officials and having them work as a "Council" makes very little if any sense. If you want a council of some sort, maybe allow the RA to elect one for an double length term or as "lifetime Peerages" that might make more sense.

Finally it makes no sense not to have an Attorney General as the primary prosecutor in the region. THe Court should not be involved in evaluating whether criminal or civil cases should proceed, that function is best left with the Attorney General.

Monte Ozarka · Aug 2, 2007

Grosseschnauzer:
My immediate reaction is that this is giving way too much final power in the Delegate without any real hope of balancing or checking it.

I am most puzzled by this statement. What, to you, constitutes a "real hope of balancing or checking" the delegate's power? Ultimately, the delegate's power rests in his control of the ban button and the WFE. How do you plan on circumventing that?

I don't think the Delegate should have a veto over routine legislation in the Regional Assembly. And there reallly isn't a point to having the Cabinet having any authority to vote on anything if the Cabinet members are all appointed by the Delegate. There would be no reason to think that a Cabinet member could ever vote against the Delegate's position, as he would be sacked. That needs some serious rethinking.

In a system of checks and balances, each branch of government places a check upon each other. The executive should have an extra say in legislative affairs, as it is the branch of government involved in the much of the legitimate, day-to-day government work. And as far as Cabinet votes go, yes, I agree that a group of people picked by the Delegate would be likely to agree with the Delegate. However, there is the potential for argument and dissent within the Cabinet, and that is a check, albeit weak, on the Delegate from the Cabinet. Moreover, the Cabinet must be confirmed by the Assembly. Surely, receiving that nod from the general electorate means that they may be trusted with some degree of confidence?

Would someone care to explain to me what the problem is with the Security Council? As far as I have been able to tell, it has worked as it was designed, as a elected Committee of the Regional Assembly on security issues, and I don't see any reason to change it.

The problem is that the Delegate pretty much has to go through them for everything beforehand. It gimps the role of the Delegate too much.

The election of so-called "lesser" officials and having them work as a "Council" makes very little if any sense. If you want a council of some sort, maybe allow the RA to elect one for an double length term or as "lifetime Peerages" that might make more sense.

Perhaps. But I wanted to avoid having too many positions. And I also wanted to avoid our current problem of meaningless ministries. Tell me--when was the last time we had a truly active, motivated MoCE? Or MoAE? Or MoC? When people are entrusted with little real responsibility, they lose interest. In this way, by giving these less glamorous positions more emergency political power, they must be active members of government, as they would be our first level of watchdogs.

Finally it makes no sense not to have an Attorney General as the primary prosecutor in the region. THe Court should not be involved in evaluating whether criminal or civil cases should proceed, that function is best left with the Attorney General.

I never said anything about evaluating whether cases should proceed. I'm saying that all should. Grand juries are time-consuming and largely pointless for the purposes of NS. And as for the prosecutor stuff, may I direct your attention to two paragraphs of the relevant section of my proposal:

7. The plaintiff (the Government) may appoint (a) prosecutor(s) of its choosing.
...
9. Further trial guidelines may be voted upon by the Judiciary and passed with majority approval.

The person doing the indicting (Delegate or Speaker) can appoint a prosecutor as needed. The best person for the job, if you will. And the Courts are allowed to make any additional rules as needed, much like how it is set up now. In fact, if the Courts really, really wants a Grand Jury to decide on the legitimacy of a case, they can make it happen. This is only sets up the bare bones of the judiciary.

Okay, I really must go now. I look forward to any constructive criticism.

Apollo-Industria · Aug 2, 2007

I didn't know we needed a new one.

Whatever works.

Sovereign Dixie · Aug 3, 2007

Monte Ozarka:
Sovereign Dixie:

I've only glossed over this, and ill probably have more comments/ questions later, but so far, I like what I see. The main thing that I think is important here is...

Keep it as simple as possible/practical and worded in such a way that a new player fresh into the feeder can understand it.

Click to expand...

I agree to a point. The Constitution needs to be flexible and to the point, which almost necessitate it being short. However, it needs to cover all the bases so that loopholes are minimized. I doubt that the first thing that a newbie does is go read the region's legalese. Something far more believable is that they would read a FAQ or a short guide to how the region works that summarizes the Constitution and includes the most relevant parts. I mean, procedures for judicial review are important, but does a newbie really care? I doubt it.

Good point.

A delegate veto is OK. Just give the RA override authority with a super majority, say, 3/4 or 2/3.

I also think cabinet members should be allowed to vote A reasonable Delegate, I would think, would not penalize a Minister for making a *personal* vote in the RA. Their job as Ministers is to carry out the policies of the Exec, their job in the RA, is to vote as they feel best. The two need not be mutually exclusive, and should be allowed to vote their own personal belief as well. This admittedly may be idealistic of me, but, I've seen it work.

FALCONKATS · Aug 3, 2007

I think it should be for an override as 3/4 plus one of the RA

Monte Ozarka · Aug 3, 2007

FALCONKATS:
I think it should be for an override as 3/4 plus one of the RA

Do you mean the RA can bypass a Cabinet veto through 3/4 plus one votes in the affirmative, or do you mean that the Cabinet must have 3/4 Cabinet supermajority plus one RA vote to veto something?

FALCONKATS · Aug 3, 2007

RA should have the right to not bypass but override a cabinet veto with the 2/3 majority plus one vote. But only if the bill has merit for the good of the region.

New Kervoskia · Aug 3, 2007

FALCONKATS:
RA should have the right to not bypass but override a cabinet veto with the 2/3 majority plus one vote. But only if the bill has merit for the good of the region.

That's far too vague and doesn't mean very much. Either give them the power or not, don't tack on another bit outlining specific cases.

Westwind · Aug 3, 2007

That's true. What is considered of merit today, will be different months from now. We have to trust to the future RA to have the good sense to determin for itself what is best for the region.

But I do agree with the 3/4 override for the RA.

Great Bights Mum · Aug 4, 2007

I don't see any term limits in this proposal. Do we no longer want them? If not, why not?

In the executive branch, I see the candidates for Delegate must have served in a ministry in the term immediately preceeding. What qualifies as having served in a particular ministry? I am imagining a scenario in which a ruling clique ices out any participation from certain faction/nations. At any rate, it certainly narrows one's choices.

Also, I see where to be appointed to a minister's slot, one must already be serving in that ministry. Couldn't that extremely limit the pool of eligible candidates?

Monte Ozarka · Aug 4, 2007

Great Bights Mum:
I don't see any term limits in this proposal. Do we no longer want them? If not, why not?

I left out any bits about term limits because I honestly don't know how people feel about it. I personally am rather ambivalent about this issue, although I am slightly biased toward no term limits.

In the executive branch, I see the candidates for Delegate must have served in a ministry in the term immediately preceeding. What qualifies as having served in a particular ministry? I am imagining a scenario in which a ruling clique ices out any participation from certain faction/nations. At any rate, it certainly narrows one's choices.

"Serving" can be rather broad, from being the previous Minister or other officer to simply being the feet on the ground. Say that you want to run for the MoEA. To do so, you must have served as an ambassador to somewhere for the DC in the term previous. Of course, this is all rather dependent on ministries allowing open participation from the citizenry, much like how we have it now. In short, I don't want the basic level of a ministry to be politicized. (Note: The MoIntelligence spot would have to work a little differently. I guess that in order to run for the spot, the outgoing MoI or someone must confirm any candidates to be NPIA agents.)

Also, I see where to be appointed to a minister's slot, one must already be serving in that ministry. Couldn't that extremely limit the pool of eligible candidates?

I really don't think so. What I hope to do is to stop the shuffling of old, established names around the various ministries, thereby (unintentionally) locking out rising new players. Within any ministry, one can usually find at least a few above average, dedicated people. Given the proper incentives, their potential can be further explored. (Furthermore, if we go the no-term-limit route, we can help alleviate this problem a bit.)

Great Bights Mum · Aug 4, 2007

I don't know. I think hand-picked ministries and no term limits politicizes everything. An incumbant delegate with an entrenched cabinet could make it very difficult for a challenger.

Apollo-Industria · Aug 4, 2007

Great Bights Mum:
I don't know. I think hand-picked ministries and no term limits politicizes everything. An incumbant delegate with an entrenched cabinet could make it very difficult for a challenger.

While I don't agree with no term limits, isn't the point of a government to be political?

I suggest an elected Delegate and Vice Delegate.

Then a Prime Minister who appoints his Ministers.

In case this has already been suggested, please not I am too lazy to read.

Monte Ozarka · Aug 6, 2007

Great Bights Mum:
I don't know. I think hand-picked ministries and no term limits politicizes everything. An incumbant delegate with an entrenched cabinet could make it very difficult for a challenger.

Well, I am certainly not wholly against term limits on the Delegate spot. However, I would be more apprehensive toward term limits on ministerial positions.

I'll be making some edits to this first draft based on some recent feedback. Thanks, y'all, and keep the ~~flames~~comments coming!

Westwind · Aug 6, 2007

I'm not terribly fond of term limits. Why prevent our best talent and resources from serving the region after a certain period? If there are better candidates, they will run and they will be elected.

If there are no candidates because the best one for the job can't run, that's a problem.

Poltsamaa · Aug 6, 2007

Lewis and Clark:
I'm not terribly fond of term limits. Why prevent our best talent and resources from serving the region after a certain period? If there are better candidates, they will run and they will be elected.

If there are no candidates because the best one for the job can't run, that's a problem.

Precisely!!

Term limits were implemented to give others a chance to hold office, but that has not happened and has resulted in more of a game of musical chairs than anything else!!

Nations with the ability and track record of getting the job done should be able to hold office as long as the voters want them to!! New nations can show their abilities as Deputies and in other areas, doing thinsg in the region gets your naem known and thats how you get to be elected!! At least, thats the theory!!

Monte Ozarka · Aug 6, 2007

Poltsamaa:
Lewis and Clark:

I'm not terribly fond of term limits. Why prevent our best talent and resources from serving the region after a certain period? If there are better candidates, they will run and they will be elected.

If there are no candidates because the best one for the job can't run, that's a problem.

Click to expand...

Precisely!!

Term limits were implemented to give others a chance to hold office, but that has not happened and has resulted in more of a game of musical chairs than anything else!!

Nations with the ability and track record of getting the job done should be able to hold office as long as the voters want them to!! New nations can show their abilities as Deputies and in other areas, doing thinsg in the region gets your naem known and thats how you get to be elected!! At least, thats the theory!!

Eh. I'm not sure I agree.

Term limits do not work so well in our current system simply because of the sheer number of elected positions affected by term limits and the resultant dearth of viable candidates that it caused.

However, I do not see the incredible harm caused by having ONE powerful position have a mild term limit imposed upon it (i.e. no more than two consecutive terms, with no limit on the absolute number of times one can be elected to the Delegacy). It helps prevent the potential formation of dynasties, which can be heading toward a totalitarian society. A rather large leap, I know, but I think that a competent Delegate being forced from the Delegacy for one term is a rather small price to pay in order to bring a little bit of new blood into the top seat and to ward off monarchism.

Plus, there is nothing preventing a successful Minister that served under the successful Delegate from running, winning, and appointing the ex-Del a Minister. It will be more like how the VP oftentimes runs for President after the President has served two terms (in the US). Skill will not be wholly lost, as the re-shuffle would potentially be rather small.

Poltsamaa · Aug 6, 2007

I read your post and can't see the part where I disagreed with what you said or vice versa!!

I think term limits restrict good ministers and cause a talent drop at certain election cycles!! I was kind of thinking I agreed with the removal of term limits!!

punk d · Aug 6, 2007

In my opinion,

Handpicked ministers make for a smooth running Cabinet. The Del presumably gets to pick his/her peeps that will help him/her in the running of the region.

Is it at times political? yeah! But, isn't this a political game?!

Giving the delegate power to dismiss derelict ministers also seems very appropriate to me.

Winter Vacationers · Aug 6, 2007

I'm for term limits for Delegates. Otherwise, we could have Delegates serving for years on name recognition. If we can't find competent new people in a region of 4,000, we really have problems.

I'm not sure about term limits on Ministers.

Grosseschnauzer · Aug 6, 2007

The more power that is concentrated in one position the more strict a term limit is necessary to prevent abuse of power and the loss of a true democratic system.

And the claim that the Security Council impedes the Delegate is false. Name one request for authority from the Delegate that was not honored by the Security Council. You won't find one because it never happened. In several instances, the Security Council had to lean on the Delegate to act because of earlier events, and the fact that a rogue player threatened the constitutional transition from one elected Delegate to another.

The Security Council is a standing committee of the Regional Assembly, who elects its membership. Some people complain about the lack of contested elections, however, every Security Council election has been contested (more candidates than seats). If you look over the list of those who have served on the Council at some point or other, you will find there has been a great deal of turnover. In recent elections there has been a healthy mix of oldtimers and newcomers on the Council;l.

I truly believe the Council serves an excellent role as a check and balance on ejection and banning and on evaluation of security checks and military deployments. At the moment, this proposal fails to include any effective input and oversight over ejections and banning on the one hand and assuring that military deployments serve the region's best interests on the other.

Apollo-Industria · Aug 6, 2007

The Delegate has no power in government. It is more like the Monarch of England. It just decides on resolutions voted upon by the nations of the North Pacific. Correct? Vice Delegate is just the endo-cap.

The Prime Minister should hand-pick his or her ministers.

Westwind · Aug 6, 2007

It is because the Delegate has no power that we have a problem as it is. To deny the Delegate any power or authority is to ignore NS reality.

As for the Security Council, it's just another layer of buearacracy. NS is too inactive to allow any region to be overburdened with red tape. If we cannot provide an efficient system, we're just contributing to the death of NS.

Monte Ozarka · Aug 6, 2007

Grosseschnauzer:
And the claim that the Security Council impedes the Delegate is false. Name one request for authority from the Delegate that was not honored by the Security Council. You won't find one because it never happened. In several instances, the Security Council had to lean on the Delegate to act because of earlier events, and the fact that a rogue player threatened the constitutional transition from one elected Delegate to another.

I'm not saying that it didn't work out so far in practice, but rather that as it is set up in the Constitution, the SC is potentially a huge burden on Delegate power. Gut feeling, I guess. I guess we'll agree to disagree on this point.

The Security Council is a standing committee of the Regional Assembly, who elects its membership. Some people complain about the lack of contested elections, however, every Security Council election has been contested (more candidates than seats). If you look over the list of those who have served on the Council at some point or other, you will find there has been a great deal of turnover. In recent elections there has been a healthy mix of oldtimers and newcomers on the Council;l.

Meh. Depends on how you define it. Overall, I think that we simply have too many elected positions in the region, and the SC contributes a lot towards that overage.

I truly believe the Council serves an excellent role as a check and balance on ejection and banning and on evaluation of security checks and military deployments. At the moment, this proposal fails to include any effective input and oversight over ejections and banning on the one hand and assuring that military deployments serve the region's best interests on the other.

First of all, I think that requiring SC approval for the deployment of military forces is absurd. But I have a feeling that that's a point on which we'll have to agree to disagree. And to be fair, my CLO does try to mimic some of the SC's more important roles. I do agree with you that my proposal does not address any ejection procedures and recourse yet, and I must admit that I wholly forgot about it. I'll add something in in the next revision.

Apollo-Industria · Aug 6, 2007

It is because the Delegate has no power that we have a problem as it is. To deny the Delegate any power or authority is to ignore NS reality.

The reality is that if someone were to invade the North Pacific, which HAS happened, there would be no operating government in power if a Delegate ruled. I like the current system. NationStates reality has the Delegate vote on resolutions. We should keep it that way.

Blue Wolf II · Aug 6, 2007

Untrue. The delegate, if up-rooted, would just assume the head of the government in exile until voted out.

The West has a system where the First Minister is also the Delegate.

Also, I can't edit my posts!

Apollo-Industria · Aug 6, 2007

Congrats.

This is giving the Delegate too much power, and I won't stand for it.

Joshua · Aug 6, 2007

Apollo-Industria:
Congrats.

This is giving the Delegate too much power, and I won't stand for it.

Well, under the current system the UN Delegate is given no power in the government. Which is aside from his obvious in-game abilities. Which is why we need to recognize his authority and make his position a more central role in our system of governance.

The more power that is concentrated in one position the more strict a term limit is necessary to prevent abuse of power and the loss of a true democratic system.

I am not sure how to take this statement. We have term limits currently. But, it would seem despite that Dalimbar has hijacked the region, altered the WFE and could boot any of us if he felt so inclined to. I doubt Dalimbar would go on a massive ejection spree. So, term limits are no means of protection against abuse of power.

I also noticed GMB's comments that hand picked ministers and no term limits would politicize things. Has this not already occurred under the current system?

Also, given my plight currently. By that I mean the fact that Flemingovia, the root admin, has taken away my ability to edit posts. I thought this is why we had the warning system in place? I support keeping the admins separate from the government. Obviously, admins need the flexibility to manage and keep the peace on the forum. On the other hand I do not enjoy the fact that we can be at the whim of the admins if we happen to tick them off regardless of the fact that a person may not have broken the TOS or TNP laws. If we have a warning system in place and guidelines then mods and admins need to adhere to the system.

Obviously, the ability to edit or not to edit is not a huge deal in the grand scheme of things. It does highlight the point that the root admin can do as they please if they are so inclined. And I am not okay with that.

Other than that, from a brief glance of this draft I like what I see. I plan on reading this in more depth and hopefully adding more to this conversation. Thank you Monte Ozarka for taking the time to write up this draft!

Monte Ozarka · Aug 7, 2007

Whipped up some revisions for this draft, and I was even kind enough to include notes with the locations of changes.

As always, I welcome any comments or suggestions. I'm also working on trying to condense the document further, as it is getting more lengthy (EDIT: Holy hell, this is way long...) than I would like.

REVISION NOTES
- moved rights into a separate document (Art.II, Sect.1)
- Ministers can't be temporary CLO (but can be permanent ones) (Art.III, Sect.6)
- broke up the Executive section into more manageable blocks (Art.IV)
- Delegate may only serve two consecutive terms (Art.IV, Sect.1, Para.7b)
- replacing Ministers in event of inactivity or retirement/resignation (Art.IV, Sect.3, Para.3)
- Minister candidates serving until quorum for confirmation is met (Art.IV, Sect.3, Para.1d)
- clarified how to pass treaties and other extra-regional agreements (Art.III, Sect.4, Para.8)
- replacements serve out rest of term (Art.III, Sect.6, Para.3)
- ejection/banning procedures (Art.VII)
- admins/mods (Art.VIII)

STILL NEED TO BE DISCUSSED
- trial details (sentencing, appeals)

latest revision:
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 and Definitions

Section 1: By which this Constitution Shall Take Effect
// might as well work with Dali on this, right?

Section 2: Definitions
1. In this document, "TNP" shall mean "The North Pacific" and shall refer to both the in-game region and official forums.
2. In this document, "MoIIA" shall mean "Ministry of Immigration and Internal Affairs".
3. In this document, "MoEA" shall mean "Ministry of External Affairs".
4. In this document, "MoD" shall mean "Ministry of Defense".
5. In this document, "MoI" shall mean "Ministry of Intelligence".
6. In this document, "CLO" shall mean "Council of Lower Officers".
7. In this document, "Government" shall mean the legal governing body that is created and directed by this Constitution.
8. In this document, "Cabinet" shall mean the body of officers that the Delegate has appointed to lead the MoIIA, MoEA, MoD, and MoI, plus the Delegate.

Article II: Declaration of Rights and Obligations

Section 1: Declaration of Rights
1. All Nations and/or Players will be afforded a list of rights to be detailed in another document that is to be binding with full constitutional authority, subject to the definitions and stipulations of this Constitution, and changeable only via constitutional amendment procedures.

Section 2: Declaration of Obligations
1. Each Player will agree to not circumvent real-life laws in his/her NationStates activities.
2. Each Player will abide by the rules of the administrators of the official forums.
3. Each member Nation will abide by the Constitution of The North Pacific and The North Pacific Legal Code enacted pursuant to Art.III, Sect.3, Para.1 of this Constitution.
4. Each member Nation shall refrain from the threat or use of force against the territorial integrity or political independence of any other nation or region in a manner inconsistent with the Constitution of The North Pacific.
5. Each member Nation shall refrain from giving assistance to any nation or region that is at war with The North Pacific.

Article III: Legislative Branch

Section 1: Registration and Membership
The powers of the Legislative branch are vested within the Assembly. In the interest of maintaining a healthy legislative body, the following requirements are put in place before a nation may be allowed to vote:
1. Nations that reside in The North Pacific and who agree to abide by the member Nation requirements of this Constitution can request Assembly membership at the Regional off-site forum in the proper location.
2. In their request, Nations will be required to post a link to their TNP member Nation at NationStates.net. They must also publicly take the following oath:

"I, (Forum Name), as the leader of the (Official Full National Name), pledge to obey the Constitution and Laws of The North Pacific Region, and to act as a responsible member of its society. I understand that if my Nation leaves The North Pacific region for unapproved reasons, I may be stripped of my right to vote and be required to reapply. I pledge to only register one Nation to vote in The North Pacific. I understand that my registration of, or attempt to register, multiple Nations to vote in The North Pacific shall warrant the summary withdrawal of my right to vote from all my Nations, past, present, and future, as well as possible expulsion from the Region. I understand that if any nation under my control directly wages war against The North Pacific, or allies themselves with a region waging war, declared or not, against the North Pacific, this shall warrant the summary withdrawal of my right to vote from all my Nations, past, present, and future, as well as possible expulsion from the Region. In this manner, I petition the Regional Government of The North Pacific region for membership in the Assembly."

Click to expand...

3. Nations must give immediate notice to the proper officials if the nation resident in TNP changes.
4. The MoIIA is tasked with investigating the eligibility of an applicant and must give its approval before the applicant can be given the full rights of an Assembly-member.
5. Each Assembly-member may only vote once per legislative or electoral matter. He/she may change his/her vote as many times as needed before the vote closes.

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 also opens and closes each vote.
3. If the Speaker realizes that he/she will be absent when a vote is scheduled to open or close, he/she may authorize a "Speaker Pro Tempore" to open and/or close voting on the legislation.
4. The Speaker is elected via the election protocol laid out in Section 5 of this Article.

Section 3: Legislative Action
1. The Assembly is authorized to create, maintain, and amend as needed the North Pacific Legal Code, which shall serve as a body of laws binding upon the region, the forums, and its Nations and/or Players. Unless specified and passed as a constitutional amendment, no portion of the Legal Code has constitutional force.
2. The Assembly is the jury for all impeachment cases. An official may be impeached with 70% supermajority vote and a quorum participating.
3. The Assembly may subpoena any member of the Government to give sworn testimony before the Assembly with at least a 50% + 1 approval and a quorum participating.
a. No North Pacfic Intelligence Agency agent may be subpoenaed and questioned 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.

Section 4: Voting Procedures
1. Only current Assembly-members are allowed to propose and vote on legislation. Assembly-members may only vote on legislation whose voting period officially opened after they are approved to join the Assembly.
2. Holding other office in the Government does not eliminate Assembly-members from the rights and obligations of Assembly-members.
3. An Assembly-member may bring any bill to vote before the full Assembly, as allowed by Assembly regulations laid out by the Speaker.
4. A bill has reached quorum if at least 50% of current Assembly-members has participated in the bill's vote.
5. Assembly-members are only allowed to vote "AYE", "NAY", or "ABSTAIN".
6. Assembly-members are not required to vote.
7. The voting period for legislation is a full seven days, unless specified otherwise within this Constitution.
a. A bill is automatically passed into law if it garners 75% approval, with a quorum participating.
b. A bill is passed onto the Cabinet for Executive approval or veto if it garners at least 50% + 1 approval, with a quorum participating. If the Cabinet gives a plurality vote in favor of the legislation, it is passed into law. Otherwise, the bill is sent back to the Assembly for reworking and revote. If it fails to pass Executive veto again, it is declared dead and cannot be resurrected for thirty days.
c. A bill is declared dead and cannot be resurrected for thirty days if it fails to attain 50% + 1 approval in the Assembly.
d. A bill is to be worked and voted upon by the Assembly again if it fails to reach quorum.
8. 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 for consideration or endorsed by the Minister of External Affairs or Delegate.

Section 5: Electoral Processes
1. Only current Assembly-members are allowed to run or nominate other Assembly-members for office in the Government. If an Assembly-member declares his/her own candidacy, they are automatically entered into the race. If an Assembly-member is nominated by another Assembly-member, he/she must accept the nomination before he/she is entered into the race.
2. Any Assembly-member may run for any office, so long as he/she fills the requirements for that office.
3. Each Assembly-member may only run for one office per election cycle.
4. Only current Assembly-members are allowed to vote in any and all elections. Assembly-members may only vote in an election cycle if the official vote has not yet opened by the time they were approved for Assembly membership.
5. Each Assembly-member may only vote for one Nation per position.
6. A term of office lasts for four months, beginning each year on the first Monday of February, June, and October. Elections will be held for one week, beginning on the Monday two weeks before a new term begins.
7. The Nation that receives the most legitimate votes for a position wins the contest for that position and takes office at the next term.
a. In the event of a tie, a run-off between the tied candidates lasting five full days shall be held immediately.
b. If, after two run-offs, the tie is unable to be broken, the incoming Delegate shall choose the one of the tied candidates to fill the position. If the twice-unbroken tie occurs in the election for the Delegacy, the incoming Speaker shall choose the candidate.
8. These processes are to be enforced in all elections for elected office, except as otherwise indicated within this Constitution.

Section 6: Mid-Term Replacement
1. If a member of the CLO or the Judiciary resigns in the middle of a term, the Delegate must appoint an Assembly-member who does not sit in the Cabinet to fill the position temporarily.
2. If the Delegate resigns in the middle of a term, a Minister selected by plurality in a Cabinet vote will temporarily fill the Delegate position.
3. A permanent replacement may be nominated and voted upon in the Assembly via normal election procedures laid out in Art.III, Sect.5 (Para.6 excepting). Upon election, the permanent replacement replaces the temporary replacement and shall serve out the rest of the term. If no permanent replacement is elected, the temporary replacement shall serve out the rest of the term.
4. Any replacement, temporary or permanent, must fulfill the normal prerequisites of that office and of this Constitution.

Article IV: 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 responsible to ensure the good governance of the Executive Branch of TNP.
3. The Delegate has oversight over the Ministries of TNP described in Section 2.
4. The Delegate is responsible for management and update of the Regional World Fact Book 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 Constitution and Legal Code of TNP.
6. Upon taking office, The Delegate is to appoint a Cabinet of Ministers to serve the region.
7. The Delegate is elected by the processes dictated in Art.III, Sect.4. Once elected and in office, the Delegate is to work with the previous Delegate to ensure a smooth transition of the UN Delegacy.
a. Candidates for the Delegacy must have served in at least one Ministry in the preceding term. b. 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: Ministerial Appointments and Duties
1. Immediately upon taking office, the Delegate is to recommend to the Assembly a candidate to run each of the Ministries. These officials serve as Ministers to their respective Ministries.
a. Each Minister-candidate must have served in their respective Ministries in the preceding term.
b. After the Delegate submits the list of nominees, the Assembly must vote on the approval or rejection of each candidate. If a candidate garners 50% + 1 support with a quorum present, the candidate is recognized as a Cabinet Minister.
c. If the candidate fails to garner the above support, the Delegate must present a new candidate to the Assembly for review and approval.
d. If quorum is unable to be met, the candidate will serve in his/her nominated position until he/she may be confirmed or rejected by the Assembly.
2. The Delegate may at any time nominate a Minister for replacement. The Delegate must present the Assembly with reasons for replacing a current Minister AND at the same time, offer a candidate to replace the aforementioned Minister. If the proposal garners at least 60% support in the Assembly with a quorum present, the outgoing Minister is removed from office and the replacement sworn in.
3. In the event of a Minister's resignation or unannounced absence of greater than 20 days, the Delegate shall present to the Assembly a replacement appointment, who shall be subject to Assembly consent as detailed in Para.1 of this section.
4. Each Player and Nation may only hold one position in the Cabinet per term.
5. Ministers shall have the authority to set policies and procedures for the areas within their portfolio, within the policy guidance and direction of The Delegate, and within the Laws of TNP.
6. Each Minister is responsible for the smooth functioning of their Ministry and answers directly to the Delegate.

Section 4: Cabinet Legislation and Privilege
1. Pursuant to Art.III, Sect.4, Para.7b, the Cabinet shall vote via a full vote of the Cabinet on legislation passed in the Assembly. The vote shall last for three full days.
a. The vote shall be opened by any Minister in a timely manner after the legislation has carried in the Assembly.
b. Any Minister who has not cast a vote by its close will be considered to have cast "ABSTAIN".
2. 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 required to by Assembly or judicial subpoena.

Article V: Other Government Bodies

Section 1: Non-Ministerial Government Bodies
1. The CommRangers are to be formed. Its duties include: 1) enforcing regional and NationStates game rules about regional message board (RMB) use and ad-spam, 2) maintaining a fun and lively atmosphere on the RMB, 3) directing Nations in the region to the official forums, and 4) aiding the Delegate in communicating with nations within the region.
a. The CommRangers are led by the Director of the CommRangers, as elected under the guidelines set forth in Art.III, Sect.5.
2. The Office of Regional Life is to be formed. Its duties include: 1) maintaining an active and cohesive forum community outside of formal Government activities, 2) attempting to further integrate the forum and non-forum regional communities, and 3) maintaining a healthy and appropriate level of discourse regarding non-Government activities.
a. The Office of Regional Life is led by the Director of Regional Life, as elected under the guidelines set forth in Art.III, Sect.5.
3. The Office of Culture and Education is to be formed. Its duties include: 1) maintaining the smooth running of the University and the rules which govern it, and 2) keeping an accurate record of the history and activities of the regional Government.
a. The Office of Culture and Education is led by the Director of Culture and Education, as elected under the guidelines set forth in Art.III, Sect.5.

Section 2: Council of Lower Officers
1. The CLO is to be comprised of the Speaker of the Assembly, the Director of the CommRangers, the Director of Regional Life, and the Director of Culture and Education.
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. With a 80% supermajority approval, 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.
a. The proposal can be opened at any time by any member of the CLO. The vote will last for three days or until 80% supermajority approval is reached, whichever comes first.
b. The halt may last for a maximum of three days and must be specified in the original proposal.
c. The halt on any one specific action may be renewed ONCE and only with unanimous consent.
d. Any CLO member who fails to cast a vote will be counted as having cast "ABSTAIN" at the end of the voting period.
e. The Executive branch is obligated to follow any halt placed upon it by the CLO immediately after the vote's passage.
4. With a 80% supermajority approval, the CLO may vote to immediately bring any piece of legislation to an emergency vote before the Assembly.
a. The proposal can be opened at any time by any member of the CLO. The vote will last for three days or until 80% supermajority approval is reached, whichever comes first.
b. The vote in the Assembly may be opened by any CLO member and will stay open for three full days.
c. The bill shall follow the strictures placed upon it in Art.III, Sect.4, Para.7, except in the case where the bill attains a quorum but does not pass. In this instance, the bill is not declared dead.
d. The CLO may not bring the same piece of legislation before the Assembly via an emergency vote more than once.

Article VI: 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.
2. The Judiciary is elected according to the guidelines set forth in Art.III, Sect.5, disregarding Paras.6 and 7.
a. A term of office for the Judiciary lasts for six months, beginning each year on the first Monday of February and August. Elections will be held for one week, beginning on the Monday two weeks before a new term begins.
b. Assembly members shall cast their votes for the three candidates they wish to see fill the Judiciary. The candidate receiving the highest number of votes becomes the Chief Justice. The two candidates receiving the next highest numbers of votes are the Associate Justices.
c. If a tie occurs in the election of the Judiciary, a run-off lasting five full days shall be held among the tied candidates. If, after two run-offs, the tie is unable to be broken and decisive winners announced, the incoming Delegate (for the February term) or the sitting Delegate(for the August term) may choose the winner(s) of each contest.
3. The Chief Justice is responsible for organizing the proper distribution and timeliness of cases and decisions. The Chief Justice must also try to arrange cases so as to remove any conflict of interest.

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 may file a request for judicial review.
3. Any Player or Nation registered on the official forums may file briefs to the Court regarding any ongoing judicial review.
4. 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 a TNP court of law. Any action which violate the bounds of constitutionality may result in criminal charges, impeachment, and/or censure against the person(s) committing it.
5. No current member of the Judiciary may bring forward a motion for judicial review.

Section 3: Criminal Proceedings
1. Crimes committed against TNP or with the express purpose of doing harm to TNP or are violations of real-life law are to be tried as criminal proceedings.
2. Charges and indictments may be brought forth against the accused by either the Delegate or the Speaker.
3. Before the trial begins, the accused will be afforded the right to select a trial by Justice opinion or by jury.
a. The verdict in a "trial by Justice opinion" is decided by the judgment of a Justice at the conclusion of testimony and closing remarks.
b. The verdict in a "trial by jury" is decided by a majority vote of a group of unbiased and randomly-selected Assembly-members.
4. The plaintiff (the Government) may appoint (a) prosecutor(s) of its choosing.

Section 4: Civil Proceedings
1. Crimes committed against individual nations that do not fit the criteria for "criminal proceedings" are to be tried as civil proceedings.
2. Charges may be brought by anyone registered on the forums.
3. Before the trial begins, the accused may choose to have his verdict decided by the Presiding Justice or by the entire Judiciary body.
4. The plaintiff may appoint legal counsel of his choosing.

Section 5: Basic Trial Guidelines
1. Accused persons who do not present themselves before the court may be tried in absentia.
2. The accused must enter a plea of "GUILTY", "NOT GUILTY", or "NO CONTEST". Failing to do so will result in a plea of "NOT GUILTY" automatically being entered.
3. The accused has the right to legal counsel of his choosing.
4. The only Players and Nations allowed to give testimony in a trial are the accused, the plaintiff, any legal counsel, and any witnesses called to testify.
5. Further trial and sentencing guidelines may be voted upon and passed with majority approval in the Judiciary.

Article VII: 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 vested with the power and responsibility to carry out these punishments in-game.
3. The Delegate is permitted to eject and/or ban violators of NationStates rules without prior or further consultation from the Government.
4. The Delegate is required to eject and/or ban Nations and/or Players that have been sentenced in the Court to be ejected or banned from the region for breaking regional laws.
5. The Delegate is to inform the region and the Government of all ejections or bannings carried out in a timely manner.
6. 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 or Player was ejected or banned pursuant to Sect.1, Para.3 of this Article and feels that such action was unwarranted, they may appeal their case to the full three-person Court.
2. The Court may subpoena materials and witnesses as needed in the investigation.
3. The Court will decide by a vote of the full Judiciary whether or not to overturn the Delegate's ruling.
4. If the Court votes to overturn the Delegate's decision to ban a Nation, the Delegate is ordered to immediately remove any ban emplaced upon that Nation and allow that Nation to return to The North Pacific.

Article VIII: Forum Administrators and Moderators

Section 1: Duties and Limitations
1. Administrators for the official regional forums are authorized to only alter the forum structure when requested to by the Government or when it would be beneficial to the community.
2. Administrators are authorized to alter a Player's masking, access, posting, or editing privileges only when requested to by the Government or when real-life laws or the Invisionfree Terms of Service are violated.
3. Administrators are authorized to appoint Moderators as needed to manage the forums. Moderators must also follow the strictures outlined in this Section.

Article IX: Amendments

Section 1: Amendment Procedure
1. The Constitution may only be changed via constitutional amendment.
2. The procedure for passing a constitutional amendment follows the structure laid out in Art.III, Sect.4, Paras.1-6.
3. The voting period for an amendment is a full ten days.
a. The proposed amendment is passed onto the Cabinet for Executive approval or veto if it garners at least 65% approval, with a quorum participating. If the Cabinet gives a majority vote in favor of the amendment, it is passed into law, and the Constitution may be altered as indicated. Otherwise, the bill is sent back to the Assembly for reworking and revote. If it fails to pass Executive veto again, it is declared dead and cannot be resurrected for thirty days.
b. An amendment is declared dead and cannot be resurrected for thirty days if it fails to attain 65% approval in the Assembly.

Romanoffia (Guest) · Aug 8, 2007

Suggestion - if no one runs against someone who is up against term limits, or perhaps if only one person is running against someone who is up against term limits, the limited person should be able to run again?

It would cut down upon the potential of a position not being filled because of general apathy. The other alternative is that if no one is running against an incumbant, then that incumbant should be allowed to continue or at least be allowed to run against a single contender. Personally, I hate to see an unopposed candidate.

R

Monte Ozarka · Aug 21, 2007

Latest update, yay?

REVISION NOTES
- split procedure from Constitution
- Procedural Guidelines has full constitutional authority
- Procedural Guidelines and Constitution are amended in different ways
- added inactivity clause and procedures to non-Ministerial offices
- generalized registration (Art. III, Sect. 1)
- broadened Assembly mandate beyond Legal Code (Art. III, Sect. 3, Para. 1)
- MoEA or Del has to introduce treaties (Art. III, Sect. 4, Para. 4)
- removed quorum (Procedures)
- removed stipulations for dead legislation
- gave Cabinet and Assembly right to make internal decisions that govern themselves
- changed criminal proceedings a bit
- slimmed down court stuff

I also have procedures to possibly start out with, but they'll be separate from this Constitution and will have only the force of normal legislation.

OVERVIEW OF CHECKS AND BALANCES
- CLO checks Executive authority through overruling
- CLO checked by short-term authority and high approval needed for actions
- Judiciary checks Executive action and policy through judicial review
- Judiciary checks Assembly legislation through judicial review
- Executive checks Assembly through veto authority
- Executive checks everyone through the power of temporary appointments
- Assembly checks Executive through limiting policy via legislation
- Assembly checks everyone through power of constitutional amendment and impeachment

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. Upon passage of this document as an amendment to the previous Constitution, all legislation previously passed is nullified.
2. The bill "Procedural Guidelines" is automatically passed as the first law in the Legal Code.

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.

Article II: Declaration of Rights and Obligations

Section 1: Declaration of Rights
1. All Nations and/or Players will be afforded a list of rights to be detailed in the Declaration of Rights.

Section 2: Declaration of Obligations
1. Each Player will agree to not circumvent real-life laws in his/her NationStates activities.
2. Each Player will abide by the rules of the administrators of the official forums.
3. Each member Nation will abide by the Constitution of The North Pacific and The North Pacific Legal Code.
4. Each member Nation shall refrain from the threat or use of force against the territorial integrity or political independence of any other nation or region in a manner inconsistent with the Constitution of The North Pacific.
5. Each member Nation shall refrain from giving assistance to any nation or region that is at war with The North Pacific.

Article III: 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. The MoIIA is tasked with investigating the eligibility of an applicant and must give its approval before the applicant can be given the full rights of an Assembly-member.
4. 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 also opens and closes each vote.
3. The Speaker may authorize a "Speaker Pro Tempore" to aid in the execution of the Speaker's duties.

Section 3: Legislative Action
1. The Assembly is authorized to create, maintain, and amend as needed the North Pacific Legal Code and other lesser documents and legal 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 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 IV: 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 responsible to ensure the good governance of the Executive Branch of TNP.
3. The Delegate has oversight over the Ministries of TNP described in Section 2.
4. The Delegate is responsible for 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 Constitution and Legal Code of TNP.
6. Upon taking office, The Delegate is to appoint a Cabinet of Ministers to serve the region.
7. Once elected and in office, the Delegate is to work with the previous Delegate to ensure a smooth transition of the UN Delegacy.
a. Candidates for the Delegacy must have served in at least one Ministry in the preceding term. b. 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.
5. The Cabinet may create procedures for its own governance as it sees fit.

Article V: Other Government Bodies

Section 1: Non-Ministerial Government Bodies
1. The CommRangers, led by the Director of the CommRangers, are to be formed. Its duties include: 1) enforcing regional and NationStates game rules about regional message board (RMB) use and ad-spam, 2) maintaining a fun and lively atmosphere on the RMB, 3) directing Nations in the region to the official forums, and 4) aiding the Delegate in communicating with nations within the region.
2. The Office of Regional Life, led by the Director of Regional Life, is to be formed. Its duties include: 1) maintaining an active and cohesive forum community outside of formal Government activities, 2) attempting to further integrate the forum and non-forum regional communities, and 3) maintaining a healthy and appropriate level of discourse regarding non-Government activities.
3. The Office of Culture and Education, led by the Director of Culture and Education, is to be formed. Its duties include: 1) maintaining the smooth running of the University and the rules which govern it, and 2) keeping an accurate record of the history and activities of the regional Government.

Section 2: Council of Lower Officers
1. The CLO is to be comprised of the Speaker of the Assembly, the Director of the CommRangers, the Director of Regional Life, and the Director of Culture and Education.
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 VI: 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.
2. The Judiciary will be elected via special elections separate from elections for all other positions.
3. The Chief Justice is responsible for organizing the proper distribution and timeliness of cases and decisions. The Chief Justice must also try to arrange cases so as to remove any conflict of interest.

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 a TNP court of law. Any action which violate the bounds of constitutionality may result in criminal charges, impeachment, and/or censure against the person(s) committing it.

Section 3: Civil and criminal 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.
3. Further trial, appeal, and sentencing guidelines may be voted upon and passed with majority approval in the Judiciary.

Article VII: 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 Court 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 or Player feels that their banning or ejection was unwarranted, they may appeal their case to the full three-person Court.
2. The Court will decide by a majority vote of the full Judiciary whether or not to overturn the Delegate's ruling.

Article VIII: Forum Administrators and Moderators

Section 1: Duties and Limitations
1. Administrators for the official regional forums are authorized to only alter the forum structure when requested to by the Government or when it would be beneficial to the community.
2. Administrators are authorized to alter a Player's masking, access, posting, or editing privileges only when requested to by the Government or when real-life laws or the Invisionfree Terms of Service are violated.
3. Administrators are authorized to appoint Moderators as needed to manage the forums. Moderators must also follow the strictures outlined in this Section.

Article IX: Amendments

Section 1: Amendment Procedure
1. The Constitution and Declaration of Rights 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.

Appendix A

Section 1: Definitions
1. In this document, "TNP" shall mean "The North Pacific" and shall refer to both the in-game region and official forums.
2. In this document, "MoIIA" shall mean "Ministry of Immigration and Internal Affairs".
3. In this document, "MoEA" shall mean "Ministry of External Affairs".
4. In this document, "MoD" shall mean "Ministry of Defense".
5. In this document, "MoI" shall mean "Ministry of Intelligence".
6. In this document, "CLO" shall mean "Council of Lower Officers".
7. In this document, "Government" shall mean the legal governing body that is created and directed by this Constitution.
8. In this document, "Cabinet" shall mean the body of officers that the Delegate has appointed to lead the MoIIA, MoEA, MoD, and MoI, plus the Delegate.

Monte Ozarka · Aug 21, 2007

Ughhhhh... Still long.

Will cut more/transfer more to procedural guidelines later.

EDIT: A few more revisions (in the version above) before I go to bed. Unnnngh. Still long.

A draft of my proposal

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A Wolf Most Blue

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Romanoffia (Guest)

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