Draft Revamped Legal Code

Eluvatar:

And now to make it a bill.

A Bill to Revamp The North Pacific Legal Code:

1. The entire TNP Legal Code will be repealed and put aside.
2. A new and revamped Legal Code will be adopted as follows:

Revamped Legal Code:

Codified Law of The North Pacific


In order to present a clearer and more comprehensible legal system, the Regional Assembly undertakes to keep the law of the North Pacific organized and clear. If any part of this Code is in conflict with the Constitution or subsequent legislation, the Speaker will update it on the instructions of the Court, unless a Regional Assembly member objects. This Code will be divided into several Chapters, which may contain Sections. Every operative sentence must be a numbered clause, numbered within a Chapter. Clauses may be referenced by chapter and clause number.


Chapter 1: Criminal Code

1. No citizen holding no public office may be punished for any crime not listed in the Criminal Code.

Section 1.1: Treason
2. "Treason" is defined as taking arms or providing material support to a group or region for the purpose of undermining or overthrowing the lawful government of The North Pacific or any of its treatied allies as governed by the Constitution.
3. Specifically, no player maintaining a nation in a region or organization at war with TNP may maintain a nation within TNP, or participate in the governance thereof, for the duration of hostilities.
4. At this time, there are no regions or organizations at war with TNP. At this time TNP has no treatied allies.
5. The Speaker will update the preceding clause as appropriate.

Section 1.2: Espionage
6. "Espionage" is defined as the use of a Nation or Persona within The North Pacific for the purpose of gathering information for a group or region not officially sanctioned by the lawful government of The North Pacific as governed by the Constitution and the Bill of Rights.
7. The information gathered must be of a nature that a person that has not registered on the official forums or attained public office would be unable to access it without cracking technical security measures.

Section 1.3: Sedition
8. "Sedition" is defined as an intentional attempt to incite the Nations of The North Pacific to revolt in a manner not sanctioned by the Constitution and the Bill of Rights.

Section 1.4: Fraud
9. "Election fraud" is defined as the willful deception of citizens with regards to the candidates running, the time and venue of the elections, or the requirements and methods by which one may be eligible to vote or run for office.
10. “Fraud” is defined as an intentional deception, by falsehood or omission, made for some benefit or to damage another individual.

Section 1.5. Crashing, Phishing, or Spamming
11. "Crashing" is defined as any unauthorized action which could cause a forum to go out of service or lose information, including the deletion of posts, the deletion of a forum, spamming, or any other act of such kind.
12. "Phishing" is defined as any attempts to gain access to off-site property controls or passwords by deception, especially by posing as administrators or moderators for any unauthorized use.
13. Phishing also includes the collection of personal information kept at the Forum.
14. "Spamming" is defined as any action by non-region nationals to waste space or cause shock on any off-site property or regional message board to make it unusable.
15. Spamming includes any attempts to force a DOS error on forums and any attempts to flood the RMB of a region which is not that nation's normal abode.
16. No Nation of The North Pacific may perform, order, condone, or accept as legal, Crashing, Phishing, or Spamming.

Section 1.6: Proxying
17. "Proxying" is defined as use of a proxy server to render a forum user anonymous or any practice which allows a member multiple accounts.
18. Forum administrators will inform the Government and Court of Proxying they observe.

Section 1.7. Adspam
19. Recruitment for other regions on the Regional Message board may be regulated or prohibited by Delegate Decree.

Section 1.8. Conspiracy
20. "Conspiracy" is defined as planning, attempting, or helping to commit any crime under this criminal code.

Section 1.9. Exceptions
21. Exceptions for treason, espionage or proxying may be given to members of the military and intelligence services with the consent of the Delegate and the appropriate Minister when on officially sanctioned missions for the purposes of preserving regional security.

Chapter 2: Penal Code

1. Criminal acts may be punished by restrictions on basic rights, in a manner proportionate to the crime at the discretion of the Court unless specified in this chapter.
2. Treason will be punished by ejection and banning, and removal of any basic rights for whatever duration the Court sees fit.
3. Espionage will be punished by the suspension of speech and/or voting rights for whatever finite duration the Court sees fit.
4. Sedition will be punished by the suspension of speech and/or voting rights and ejection and banning if necessary for whatever finite duration the Court sees fit.
5. Crashing, Phishing, or Spamming may be punished by ejection and banning, the removal of any and all basic rights for whatever duration the Court sees fit, and/or banning by forum administration.
6. Proxying may be punished by ejection and banning, the removal of any basic rights for whatever duration the Court sees fit, and/or banning by forum administration.
7. Adspam prohibited by the Delegate may be punished by adspam suppression and summary ejection and/or banning from the region.
8. Conspiracy will be punished by a sentence strictly less than what would be appropriate for the original crime.


Chapter 3: Judicial Law

1. These procedures will govern the Judiciary.

Section 3.1: The Attorney General
2. The Attorney General will be elected during Judicial Elections.
3. The Attorney General must not have been convicted of any crime in the North Pacific.
4. The Attorney General will serve as Chief Prosecutor in all cases brought before the Court of the North Pacific.
5. It is the duty of the Attorney General to see to completion any proceeding they are prosecuting.
6. If the original Attorney General is unable to complete a pending case, the successor Attorney General will take over as prosecutor and complete the pending proceedings.
7. The Attorney General may request expedited judicial review of any executive action by any official.

Section 3.2: Appointment of Hearing Officers
8. If there is a vacancy on the Court, or any Justice is unavailable or has a conflict of interest the remaining Justices will promptly appoint a hearing officer to participate as temporary Justices.
9. Any hearing officer appointed under this Section may not hold any other office while serving as a judicial hearing officer.

Section 3.3: Criminal Trial Procedure
11. When seeking an indictment to eject or ban, or expel from the RA due to oath violation, pending a trial, the Government must inform all the Justices.
12. Any Justice may approve or deny an indictment, and their decision will be final.
13. Once an ejection is performed, the Government must notify the ejected nation of their rights within one hour, and publicly submit a criminal proceeding to the court within six hours.
14. Once a criminal proceeding is presented, the defendant will have 48 hours to enter a plea, or a plea of "Not Guilty" may be entered for them.
15. Once a plea is entered, a period of time set by the Court for the discovery of evidence and witness testimony will begin. This period is normally 7 days.
16. Once discovery ends a period of time for arguments on the evidence and law will begin, its duration set by the Court. This period is normally 5 days.
17. During discovery and arguments, either side may make objections or requests publicly on the forum.
18. Once arguments end, the Court will have 72 hours to decide on a verdict and, if necessary, sentence.


Chapter 4: Election and Appointment Procedure

Section 4.1: Oath of Office
1. All government officials will take the Oath of Office below before assuming their role within the government of The North Pacific.

I, [forum username], do hereby solemnly swear that during my term as [government position], I will uphold the ideals of Democracy, Freedom, and Justice of The Region of The North Pacific. I will use the powers and rights granted to me through The North Pacific Constitution and Legal Code in a legal, responsible, and unbiased manner, not abusing my power, committing misfeasance, malfeasance, or nonfeasance in office, in any gross or excessive manner. I will act only in the best interests of The North Pacific, not influenced by personal gain or any outside force, and within the restraints of my legally granted power. As such, I hereby take up the office of [government position], with all the powers, rights, and responsibilities held therein.

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2. All government officials will be required to take the Oath of Office within one week of attaining office or be subject to removal from office following an automatic recall vote.
3. This Oath will be binding and violations are grounds for a recall.

Section 4.2: Election Law Definitions
4. "Abstentions" are not votes for or against any candidate, and may not be used to determine the results of any election. They may be used to for quorum, activity, or other purposes.
5. "Candidates" are those citizens who declare themselves, or have accepted a nomination by another Assembly member preceding the close of nominations, as a candidate for an office to be chosen at that election. Candidates may only stand for one office during a given Election Cycle.
6. "Election Commissioner" is an individual designated to supervise a given election. No one who may be a candidate in an election may serve as an Election Commissioner during it.
7. "Election Cycle" is defined as the period of time that begins on the first day on which nominations, or a declaration, of candidacy are made and concludes with the final declaration of results for an election. The dates for the Election Cycle will be designated at least 30 days in advance by the Delegate .
8. A "vacancy" in an office occurs when the holder of it resigns, is removed, abandons it . Vacancies are filled through a special election unless a it cannot be completed prior to the beginning of the general or judicial election cycle. Pending an election, however, a vacancy may be temporarily filled as provided by the Constitution, the Legal Code, or a rule adopted by the appropriate body.

Section 4.3: Overall Election Law
11. In General and Judicial elections, Election Commissioners will be appointed by the Delegate to oversee the nomination and election processes at least one week before the month in which the election begins. If an appointment of Election Commissioners has not been made by that time, the Chief Justice shall promptly make the appointment within 48 hours.
12. The period for nominations or declarations of candidacy shall last for seven days.
13. Voting will begin three days after the period for nominations or declarations has closed and last for seven days.
14. If a run-off vote is required it will begin within two days of the first vote ending and it shall last for five days.

Section 4.3: General Elections
15. The election cycle for the terms of the Delegate and Vice Delegate will begin on the first day of the months of January, May, and September.
16. Non-incumbent candidates for Delegate or Vice Delegate may not obtain an endorsement level during the election cycle greater than the level authorized for members of the Security Council under Chapter 5.

Section 4.4: Judicial Elections
17. The election cycle for the 6-month term of the Chief Justice, the two Associate Justices, and the Attorney General will begin on the first days of the months of April and October.

Section 4.5: Special Elections
18. A special election will be held in the event of a vacancy in any elected office or position.
19. The Delegate, or if the Delegate is not available, the Speaker, or if the Delegate and Speaker are not available, any Court Justice, will serve as Election Commissioner for the special election.
20. The period for nominations or declarations of candidacy in the special election will last for five days, beginning within two days after the vacancy is noticed.
22. Voting will begin one day after the period for nominations or declarations has closed and last for five days.


Chapter 5: Security Council Law

1. Any laws regulating the activities of the Security Council must be listed in this chapter.
2. In this chapter, "Council" means the Security Council.

Section 5.1: Requirements
3. Members of the Council will maintain an influence level equal to or greater than Vassal.
4. Members of the Council will maintain an endorsement level within the range described in this Section.
5. The minimum level is defined as being 50 endorsements, or fifty per cent of the serving Delegate's endorsement count, whichever is least.
6. The maximum level is defined as 20 fewer endorsements than the serving Delegate's endorsement count, or eighty-five percent of said count, whichever is greatest.
7. Where the computation results in fractions, the count shall be rounded down.
8. The required range is to be applied in a reasonable manner, taking into account such factors as transitions between elected Delegates, the recall of a Delegate, or periods of Delegate inactivity.
9. The legitimate Delegate is exempt from endorsement requirements.

Section 5.2: Enforcement
10. If any Council member does not have the required influence level, or exceeds or does not meet the required endorsement level, the Vice Delegate will warn them. If the Council member does not come into compliance within at least fifteen days of the warning, the Vice Delegate will suspend them.
11. The Vice Delegate shall remove members of the Council whose member nation no longer exists or no longer resides in The North Pacific or resigns from the World Assembly.
12. The Vice Delegate will report any suspension or removal of a member of the Council to the Regional Assembly.
13. If a suspended member of the Council comes back into compliance with the endorsement and influence requirements, the Vice Delegate will reinstate them.
14. A majority of the Council may vote to determine that the continued membership in the Council of a member poses a security risk to The North Pacific and request approval from the Regional Assembly to remove the member from the Council.
15. The Speaker of the Regional Assembly will submit the request to an immediate vote of the Regional Assembly; approval will require a two-thirds majority.


Chapter 6: Government Regulations

1. Any Law regulating the operations of the government of the North Pacific other than the Election Commission, the Judiciary, and the Security Council must be listed in this chapter.

Section 6.1: Regional Assembly Membership Act
2. The Speaker will work with forum administration to process Regional Assembly applicants.
3. Assembly members must maintain a nation in the North Pacific.
4. Applicants must swear an oath, as follows:

Code:

[nation]TNP Nation[/nation]
[nation]WA Nation[/nation]

I, [forum user name], leader of The North Pacific nation of (your TNP nation's name), pledge loyalty to the region, to abide by its laws, and to act as a responsible member of its society. I pledge to only register one Nation to vote in The North Pacific. I pledge that no nation under my control will wage war against the North Pacific. I understand that if I break this oath I may immediately lose my voting privileges, permanently. In this manner, I petition the Speaker for membership in the Regional Assembly of the North Pacific.

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5. New forum members may who register as citizens or join the Regional Assembly must be made aware of the Criminal Code they are pledging to respect..
6. The Speaker will accept applicants with valid applications who are verified by forum administration not to be using a proxy or evading a judicially-imposed penalty.
7. The Speaker will process applications within 14 days. If the applicant is not rejected within 14 days, they will be automatically accepted to the Regional Assembly.
8. Regional Assembly members may not vote in any vote which began before they were last admitted.
9. The Speaker's office will maintain a publicly viewable roster of Regional Assembly members.
10. The Speaker's office will promptly remove any members whose removal is ordered by the Court, whose North Pacific nation leaves or ceases to exist, who fail to log in to the North Pacific forum for over 30 days.

Section 6.2: RA WA Verification and Confidentiality Act

11. The Speaker will designate a person who is not involved in any military operations to be the registrar of confidential puppets.
12. Assembly members with a World Assembly nation must inform the registrar of any nation of theirs which may attain World Assembly membership before it does so.
13. Unless granted permission otherwise by the Assembly member in question, if the registrar is informed of possible future World Assembly nations the registrar will keep that information in confidence and will not share it with anyone on pain of a minimum three months ban from the region unless the registrar observes such a nation waging war against the North Pacific.
14. The registrar will not inform their successor of confidential potential World Assembly nations; they may only report which Assembly Members have submitted such lists.

Section 6.3: Freedom of Information Act

15. The Delegate and appointed government officials will be delegated the task of informing the Assembly of any governmental action not already disclosed by the respective officers of the Executive.
16. All registered citizens residing in The North Pacific may request information from the Government through the Delegate and the designated officers of the Executive.
17. The Delegate and the designated officers of the Executive will endeavour to retrieve information requested from the different departments of the government, who are obligated to release this information provided it will not and/or does not present a threat to regional security or unduly impinge on the privacy of private citizens, and
18. Citizens which do not receive this information for any reason not specifically designated in appropriate laws or regulations may file a request for the information in a regional court, where the Delegate and the designated officers of the Executive may present evidence that addresses any claim that release of the information impairs Regional security.
19. Information not disclosed because of issues pertaining to Regional security will be classified by the majority vote of the Court sitting as a three-member panel.
20. Information whose disclosure is deemed a security threat to the Region will be released by the affirmative vote of a majority of a three-member panel of the Court, no sooner than 2 months after the original request, once the threat no longer exists.
21. All activities by the designated regional intelligence services are exempt from this law.

Section 6.4: Mandatory Ministries

22. There will be an Executive Officer charged with the North Pacific's foreign affairs. They will ensure the continued operation of any embassies of the North Pacific.
23. There will be an Executive Officer charged with welcoming. They will be tasked with ensuring that nations founded in the North Pacific are appropriately greeted, that newcomers to the regional forum and to regional internet relay chats shall be welcomed and helped with any questions, and with the maintenance of regional FAQs.
24. There will be an Executive Officer charged with military affairs. They will carry out such legal missions as are authorized by the Delegate, expressly or categorically.
25. There will be an Executive Officer charged with governmental communications. They will report on events in the region.
26. An Executive Officer may sustain multiple roles defined by this Act.
27. The Regional Assembly may elect an Executive Officer should one of the roles defined by this act remain vacant for seven days or in connection with the Regional Assembly removing the Executive Officer charged with that role.

Section 6.5: War

28. A region or organization "at war" with TNP is one which has made a formal declaration, or made acts of war against The North Pacific, or vice versa, as deemed by a three-fifths majority vote of the Regional Assembly.
29. War does not constitute actions taken by or against any army of the North Pacific abroad unless the conflict meets the conditions above.
30. A state of war exists until a formal peace treaty, surrender terms, or similar, are recognized by the Regional Assembly.

Chapter 7: Cultural Declarations

1. This Chapter will include laws concerning the North Pacific's history and culture.

Section 7.1: Arms, Flag, and Seal
2. The following arms as designed by ThelDRan and revised by Eluvatar and Gulliver is adopted as the coat of arms of the North Pacific:

3. Each institution in the North Pacific's government may establish for itself a seal which uses the arms of the North Pacific.
4. The arms of the North Pacific may not be used except to represent the North Pacific or an official regional entity.
5. The following flag, as designed by ThelDRan and revised by Eluvatar and Gulliver is adopted as the official flag of the North Pacific:

Section 7.2: Holidays
6. The first of January shall be known as Remembrance Day, and shall provide an occasion for Nations to remember those players who have left the region and the game of Nationstates.
9. The twenty-sixth of May shall be Manumission Day, and shall commemorate the end of the delegacy of Pixiedance, and celebrate the return of a democratic government to the region.
10. The seventh of July shall be Constitution Day, and shall commemorate the ratification of the Constitution of the North Pacific.
11. The twenty-eighth of July shall be Liberation Day, and shall commemorate and celebrate the overthrow of Great Bight and return of a native government to the region.
12. The thirteenth of November shall be Creation Day, and shall commemorate and celebrate the establishment of Nationstates; and provide an opportunity to extend fellowship throughout the NationStates communities.
13. The twenty-third of November shall be Founders' Day, and shall commemorate and celebrate the establishment of the first official forum of The North Pacific, and through it the community which has kept The North Pacific as the preeminent region in Nationstates.

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Eluvatar:

And now to make it a finalized bill.

A Bill to Revamp The North Pacific Legal Code:

1. The entire TNP Legal Code will be repealed and put aside.
2. Any Treaties which have been entered into by TNP are not part of the Legal Code and are therefore not repealed, voided, or anulled by this bill.
3. A new and revamped Legal Code will be adopted as follows:

Revamped Legal Code:

Codified Law of The North Pacific


In order to present a clearer and more comprehensible legal system, the Regional Assembly undertakes to keep the law of the North Pacific organized and clear. If a minor error is found in this Legal Code, the Speaker will update it on the published instructions of the Court, unless a Regional Assembly member objects within five days. This Code will be divided into several Chapters, which may contain Sections. Every operative sentence must be a numbered clause, numbered within a Chapter. Clauses may be referenced by chapter and clause number.


Chapter 1: Criminal Code

1. No citizen holding no public office may be punished for any crime not listed in the Criminal Code.

Section 1.1: Treason
2. "Treason" is defined as taking arms or providing material support to a group or region for the purpose of undermining or overthrowing the lawful government of The North Pacific or any of its treatied allies as governed by the Constitution.
3. Specifically, no player maintaining a nation in a region or organization at war with TNP may maintain a nation within TNP, or participate in the governance thereof, for the duration of hostilities.
4. At this time, there are no regions or organizations at war with TNP. At this time TNP has no treatied allies.
5. The Speaker will update the preceding clause as appropriate.

Section 1.2: Espionage
6. "Espionage" is defined as the use of a Nation or Persona within The North Pacific for the purpose of gathering information for a group or region not officially sanctioned by the lawful government of The North Pacific as governed by the Constitution and the Bill of Rights.
7. The information gathered must be of a nature that a person that has not registered on the official forums or attained public office would be unable to access it without cracking technical security measures.

Section 1.3: Sedition
8. "Sedition" is defined as an intentional attempt to incite the Nations of The North Pacific to revolt in a manner not sanctioned by the Constitution and the Bill of Rights.

Section 1.4: Fraud
9. "Election fraud" is defined as the willful deception of citizens with regards to the candidates running, the time and venue of the elections, or the requirements and methods by which one may be eligible to vote or run for office.
10. “Fraud” is defined as an intentional deception, by falsehood or omission, made for some benefit or to damage another individual.

Section 1.5. Crashing, Phishing, or Spamming
11. "Crashing" is defined as any unauthorized action which could cause a forum to go out of service or lose information, including the deletion of posts, the deletion of a forum, spamming, or any other act of such kind.
12. "Phishing" is defined as any attempts to gain access to off-site property controls or passwords by deception, especially by posing as administrators or moderators for any unauthorized use.
13. Phishing also includes the collection of personal information kept at the Forum.
14. "Spamming" is defined as any action by non-region nationals to waste space or cause shock on any off-site property or regional message board to make it unusable.
15. Spamming includes any attempts to force a DOS error on forums and any attempts to flood the RMB of a region which is not that nation's normal abode.
16. No Nation of The North Pacific may perform, order, condone, or accept as legal, Crashing, Phishing, or Spamming.

Section 1.6: Proxying
17. "Proxying" is defined as use of a proxy server to render a forum user anonymous or any practice which allows a member multiple accounts.
18. Forum administrators will inform the Government and Court of Proxying they observe.

Section 1.7. Adspam
19. Recruitment for other regions on the Regional Message board may be regulated or prohibited by Delegate Decree.

Section 1.8. Conspiracy
20. "Conspiracy" is defined as planning, attempting, or helping to commit any crime under this criminal code.

Section 1.9. Exceptions
21. Exceptions for treason, espionage or proxying may be given to members of the military and intelligence services with the consent of the Delegate and the appropriate Minister when on officially sanctioned missions for the purposes of preserving regional security.

Chapter 2: Penal Code

1. Criminal acts may be punished by restrictions on basic rights, in a manner proportionate to the crime at the discretion of the Court unless specified in this chapter.
2. Treason will be punished by ejection and banning, and removal of any basic rights for whatever duration the Court sees fit.
3. Espionage will be punished by the suspension of speech and/or voting rights for whatever finite duration the Court sees fit.
4. Sedition will be punished by the suspension of speech and/or voting rights and ejection and banning if necessary for whatever finite duration the Court sees fit.
5. Crashing, Phishing, or Spamming may be punished by ejection and banning, the removal of any and all basic rights for whatever duration the Court sees fit, and/or banning by forum administration.
6. Proxying may be punished by ejection and banning, the removal of any basic rights for whatever duration the Court sees fit, and/or banning by forum administration.
7. Adspam prohibited by the Delegate may be punished by adspam suppression and summary ejection and/or banning from the region.
8. Conspiracy will be punished by a sentence strictly less than what would be appropriate for the original crime.


Chapter 3: Judicial Law

1. These procedures will govern the Judiciary.

Section 3.1: The Attorney General
2. The Attorney General will be elected during Judicial Elections.
3. The Attorney General must not have been convicted of any crime in the North Pacific.
4. The Attorney General will serve as Chief Prosecutor in all cases brought before the Court of the North Pacific.
5. It is the duty of the Attorney General to see to completion any proceeding they are prosecuting.
6. If the original Attorney General is unable to complete a pending case, the successor Attorney General will take over as prosecutor and complete the pending proceedings.
7. The Attorney General may request expedited judicial review of any executive action by any official.

Section 3.2: Appointment of Hearing Officers
8. If there is a vacancy on the Court, or any Justice is unavailable or has a conflict of interest the remaining Justices will promptly appoint a hearing officer to participate as temporary Justices.
9. Any hearing officer appointed under this Section may not hold any other office while serving as a judicial hearing officer.

Section 3.3: Criminal Trial Procedure
10. When seeking an indictment to eject or ban, or expel from the RA due to oath violation, pending a trial, the Government must inform all the Justices.
11. Any Justice may approve or deny an indictment, and their decision will be final.
12. Once an ejection is performed, the Government must notify the ejected nation of their rights within one hour, and publicly submit a criminal proceeding to the court within six hours.
13. Once a criminal proceeding is presented, the defendant will have 48 hours to enter a plea, or a plea of "Not Guilty" may be entered for them.
14. Once a plea is entered, a period of time set by the Court for the discovery of evidence and witness testimony will begin. This period is normally 7 days.
15. Once discovery ends a period of time for arguments on the evidence and law will begin, its duration set by the Court. This period is normally 5 days.
16. During discovery and arguments, either side may make objections or requests publicly on the forum.
17. Once arguments end, the Court will have 72 hours to decide on a verdict and, if necessary, sentence.


Chapter 4: Election and Appointment Procedure

Section 4.1: Oath of Office
1. All government officials will take the Oath of Office below before assuming their role within the government of The North Pacific.

I, [forum username], do hereby solemnly swear that during my term as [government position], I will uphold the ideals of Democracy, Freedom, and Justice of The Region of The North Pacific. I will use the powers and rights granted to me through The North Pacific Constitution and Legal Code in a legal, responsible, and unbiased manner, not abusing my power, committing misfeasance, malfeasance, or nonfeasance in office, in any gross or excessive manner. I will act only in the best interests of The North Pacific, not influenced by personal gain or any outside force, and within the restraints of my legally granted power. As such, I hereby take up the office of [government position], with all the powers, rights, and responsibilities held therein.

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2. All government officials will be required to take the Oath of Office within one week of attaining office or be subject to removal from office following an automatic recall vote.
3. This Oath will be binding and violations are grounds for a recall.

Section 4.2: Election Law Definitions
4. "Abstentions" are not votes for or against any candidate, and may not be used to determine the results of any election. They may be used to for quorum, activity, or other purposes.
5. "Candidates" are those citizens who declare themselves, or have accepted a nomination by another Assembly member preceding the close of nominations, as a candidate for an office to be chosen at that election. Candidates may only stand for one office during a given Election Cycle.
6. "Election Commissioner" is an individual designated to supervise a given election. No one who may be a candidate in an election may serve as an Election Commissioner during it.
7. "Election Cycle" is defined as the period of time that begins on the first day on which nominations, or a declaration, of candidacy are made and concludes with the final declaration of results for an election. The dates for the Election Cycle will be designated at least 30 days in advance by the Delegate .
8. A "vacancy" in an office occurs when the holder of it resigns, is removed, abandons it . Vacancies are filled through a special election unless a it cannot be completed prior to the beginning of the general or judicial election cycle. Pending an election, however, a vacancy may be temporarily filled as provided by the Constitution, the Legal Code, or a rule adopted by the appropriate body.

Section 4.3: Overall Election Law
9. In General and Judicial elections, Election Commissioners will be appointed by the Delegate to oversee the nomination and election processes at least one week before the month in which the election begins. If an appointment of Election Commissioners has not been made by that time, the Chief Justice shall promptly make the appointment within 48 hours.
10. The period for nominations or declarations of candidacy shall last for seven days.
11. Voting will begin three days after the period for nominations or declarations has closed and last for seven days.
12. If a run-off vote is required it will begin within two days of the first vote ending and it shall last for five days.

Section 4.3: General Elections
13. The election cycle for the terms of the Delegate and Vice Delegate will begin on the first day of the months of January, May, and September.
14. Non-incumbent candidates for Delegate or Vice Delegate may not obtain an endorsement level during the election cycle greater than the level authorized for members of the Security Council under Chapter 5.

Section 4.4: Judicial Elections
15. The election cycle for the 6-month term of the Chief Justice, the two Associate Justices, and the Attorney General will begin on the first days of the months of April and October.

Section 4.5: Special Elections
16. A special election will be held in the event of a vacancy in any elected office or position.
17. The Delegate, or if the Delegate is not available, the Speaker, or if the Delegate and Speaker are not available, any Court Justice, will serve as Election Commissioner for the special election.
18. The period for nominations or declarations of candidacy in the special election will last for five days, beginning within two days after the vacancy is noticed.
19. Voting will begin one day after the period for nominations or declarations has closed and last for five days, unless there is only one candidate for each vacancy in which case they will take office immediately.


Chapter 5: Security Council Law

1. Any laws regulating the activities of the Security Council must be listed in this chapter.
2. In this chapter, "Council" means the Security Council.

Section 5.1: Requirements
3. Members of the Council will maintain an influence level equal to or greater than Vassal.
4. Members of the Council will maintain an endorsement level within the range described in this Section.
5. The minimum level is defined as being 50 endorsements, or fifty per cent of the serving Delegate's endorsement count, whichever is least.
6. The maximum level is defined as 20 fewer endorsements than the serving Delegate's endorsement count, or eighty-five percent of said count, whichever is greatest.
7. Where the computation results in fractions, the count shall be rounded down.
8. The required range is to be applied in a reasonable manner, taking into account such factors as transitions between elected Delegates, the recall of a Delegate, or periods of Delegate inactivity.
9. The legitimate Delegate is exempt from endorsement requirements.

Section 5.2: Enforcement
10. If any Council member does not have the required influence level, or exceeds or does not meet the required endorsement level, the Vice Delegate will warn them. If the Council member does not come into compliance within at least fifteen days of the warning, the Vice Delegate will suspend them.
11. The Vice Delegate shall remove members of the Council whose member nation no longer exists or no longer resides in The North Pacific or resigns from the World Assembly.
12. The Vice Delegate will report any suspension or removal of a member of the Council to the Regional Assembly.
13. If a suspended member of the Council comes back into compliance with the endorsement and influence requirements, the Vice Delegate will reinstate them.
14. A majority of the Council may vote to determine that the continued membership in the Council of a member poses a security risk to The North Pacific and request approval from the Regional Assembly to remove the member from the Council.
15. The Speaker of the Regional Assembly will submit the request to an immediate vote of the Regional Assembly; approval will require a two-thirds majority.


Chapter 6: Government Regulations

1. Any Law regulating the operations of the government of the North Pacific other than the Election Commission, the Judiciary, and the Security Council must be listed in this chapter.

Section 6.1: Regional Assembly Membership Act
2. The Speaker will work with forum administration to process Regional Assembly applicants.
3. Assembly members must maintain a nation in the North Pacific.
4. Applicants must swear an oath, as follows:

Code:

[nation]TNP Nation[/nation]
[nation]WA Nation[/nation]

I, [forum user name], leader of The North Pacific nation of (your TNP nation's name), pledge loyalty to the region, to abide by its laws, and to act as a responsible member of its society. I pledge to only register one Nation to vote in The North Pacific. I pledge that no nation under my control will wage war against the North Pacific. I understand that if I break this oath I may immediately lose my voting privileges, permanently. In this manner, I petition the Speaker for membership in the Regional Assembly of the North Pacific.

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5. New forum members may who register as citizens or join the Regional Assembly must be made aware of the Criminal Code they are pledging to respect..
6. The Speaker will accept applicants with valid applications who are verified by forum administration not to be using a proxy or evading a judicially-imposed penalty.
7. The Speaker will process applications within 14 days. If the applicant is not rejected within 14 days, they will be automatically accepted to the Regional Assembly.
8. Regional Assembly members may not vote in any vote which began before they were last admitted.
9. The Speaker's office will maintain a publicly viewable roster of Regional Assembly members.
10. The Speaker's office will promptly remove any members whose removal is ordered by the Court, whose North Pacific nation leaves or ceases to exist, who fail to log in to the North Pacific forum for over 30 days.

Section 6.2: RA WA Verification and Confidentiality Act

11. The Speaker will designate a person who is not involved in any military operations to be the registrar of confidential puppets.
12. Assembly members with a World Assembly nation must inform the registrar of any nation of theirs which may attain World Assembly membership before it does so.
13. Unless granted permission otherwise by the Assembly member in question, if the registrar is informed of possible future World Assembly nations the registrar will keep that information in confidence and will not share it with anyone on pain of a minimum three months ban from the region unless the registrar observes such a nation waging war against the North Pacific.
14. The registrar will not inform their successor of confidential potential World Assembly nations; they may only report which Assembly Members have submitted such lists.

Section 6.3: Freedom of Information Act

15. The Delegate and appointed government officials will be delegated the task of informing the Assembly of any governmental action not already disclosed by the respective officers of the Executive.
16. All registered citizens residing in The North Pacific may request information from the Government through the Delegate and the designated officers of the Executive.
17. The Delegate and the designated officers of the Executive will endeavour to retrieve information requested from the different departments of the government, who are obligated to release this information provided it will not and/or does not present a threat to regional security or unduly impinge on the privacy of private citizens, and
18. Citizens which do not receive this information for any reason not specifically designated in appropriate laws or regulations may file a request for the information in a regional court, where the Delegate and the designated officers of the Executive may present evidence that addresses any claim that release of the information impairs Regional security.
19. Information not disclosed because of issues pertaining to Regional security will be classified by the majority vote of the Court sitting as a three-member panel.
20. Information whose disclosure is deemed a security threat to the Region will be released by the affirmative vote of a majority of a three-member panel of the Court, no sooner than 2 months after the original request, once the threat no longer exists.
21. All activities by the designated regional intelligence services are exempt from this law.

Section 6.4: Mandatory Ministries

22. There will be an Executive Officer charged with the North Pacific's foreign affairs. They will ensure the continued operation of any embassies of the North Pacific.
23. There will be an Executive Officer charged with welcoming. They will be tasked with ensuring that nations founded in the North Pacific are appropriately greeted, that newcomers to the regional forum and to regional internet relay chats shall be welcomed and helped with any questions, and with the maintenance of regional FAQs.
24. There will be an Executive Officer charged with military affairs. They will carry out such legal missions as are authorized by the Delegate, expressly or categorically.
25. There will be an Executive Officer charged with governmental communications. They will report on events in the region.
26. An Executive Officer may sustain multiple roles defined by this Act.
27. The Regional Assembly may elect an Executive Officer should one of the roles defined by this act remain vacant for seven days or in connection with the Regional Assembly removing the Executive Officer charged with that role.

Section 6.5: War

28. A region or organization "at war" with TNP is one which has made a formal declaration, or made acts of war against The North Pacific, or vice versa, as deemed by a three-fifths majority vote of the Regional Assembly.
29. War does not constitute actions taken by or against any army of the North Pacific abroad unless the conflict meets the conditions above.
30. A state of war exists until a formal peace treaty, surrender terms, or similar, are recognized by the Regional Assembly.

Chapter 7: Cultural Declarations

1. This Chapter will include laws concerning the North Pacific's history and culture.

Section 7.1: Arms, Flag, and Seal
2. The following arms as designed by ThelDRan and revised by Eluvatar and Gulliver is adopted as the coat of arms of the North Pacific:

3. Each institution in the North Pacific's government may establish for itself a seal which uses the arms of the North Pacific.
4. The arms of the North Pacific may not be used except to represent the North Pacific or an official regional entity.
5. The following flag, as designed by ThelDRan and revised by Eluvatar and Gulliver is adopted as the official flag of the North Pacific:

Section 7.2: Holidays
6. The first of January shall be known as Remembrance Day, and shall provide an occasion for Nations to remember those players who have left the region and the game of Nationstates.
7. The twenty-sixth of May shall be Manumission Day, and shall commemorate the end of the delegacy of Pixiedance, and celebrate the return of a democratic government to the region.
8. The seventh of July shall be Constitution Day, and shall commemorate the ratification of the Constitution of the North Pacific.
9. The twenty-eighth of July shall be Liberation Day, and shall commemorate and celebrate the overthrow of Great Bight and return of a native government to the region.
10. The thirteenth of November shall be Creation Day, and shall commemorate and celebrate the establishment of Nationstates; and provide an opportunity to extend fellowship throughout the NationStates communities.
11. The twenty-third of November shall be Founders' Day, and shall commemorate and celebrate the establishment of the first official forum of The North Pacific, and through it the community which has kept The North Pacific as the preeminent region in Nationstates.

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4. Treaties entered into by TNP will be listed separately from the new and revamped legal code.
5. Despite the change in RA oath, no current member will be required to re-swear their oath as no new pledges are being added.
6. The Attorney General defined under the repealed legal code will continue their office as now governed by the new and revamped legal code.
7. This bill may not take effect if it fails to pass a three-fifths majority vote and the Delegate does not sign it within one week of its passing a simple majority vote in favor.

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