Preamble

1. Structure.
a) The document is divided among three articles, the Constitution, concerning the fundamental unamenable laws of our region, Policy, concerning the regional laws, and Procedure, concerning the systems that serve to uphold the region.

2. Authority.
a) The statutes in this document are the final authority with regard to the actions and decisions of all the region's residents and government officials.
b) They are to be created by the Executives, enforced by the Council, and interpreted by the Courts.
c) They are not to be superseded by any other document or proclamation short of a Founder decree.

3. Amendments.
a) Any resident may propose an amendment to any section of this document at any time.
b) Any proposed amendment must be sent to the Judge, who will review the text for legality.
c) Should an amendment be ruled illegal, it may be revised and re-submitted at any time, until the Judge issues a Statement of Approval or Statement of No Merit.
i. The former Statement must be made publicly. Upon approval, an amendment proceeds to a region-wide referendum, to be held onsite.
ii. The latter Statement may be made privately at the Judge's discretion, and prohibits the resident in question from re-submitting the same amendment.
d) Should an amendment pass the referendum with a majority vote in favor, it shall be added to the Statutory Code by the Mayor.

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Constitution

This section outlines unamenable laws.

a) The World Assembly Policy, being necessary to the international influence of the town, shall not be amended or changed in any way.
b) Puppets shall not be permitted to enter the region.
c) The Embassy Policy, which helps to identify strong inter-regional relationships and maintain neutrality, shall not be amended.
d) Executive and World Assembly authorities shall be granted to the Mayor.
e) Candidates for the position of “Judge” must pledge impartiality in all forms.
f) The union of leaders, hereafter known as “The Meritocratic League,” claims its capital as the town of Ridgefield.

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Meritocratic League Charter

This section outlines the manifesto of the Meritocratic League.

a) Land in the town of Ridgefield exists as neutral territory and shall not be claimed under the sovereignty of or annexed by any one nation.
b) The town of Ridgefield is established as a safe haven for all residents and shall be demilitarized to preserve international cooperation.
c) A representative or leader of each nation shall reside in the town of Ridgefield.
d) Nations shall not enforce embargoes or impose tariffs exceeding 20% on fellow nations of the League.
e) Each representative will be permitted to express opinion freely, regarding international law and regulation.
f) Members recognize the Ridger as a legitimate currency and Ridgesh as the official language of the Meritocratic League.

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Code Ownership Policy

This section outlines who currently maintains the Statutory Code and who is permitted to take control in the event that a new owner is needed.

1. Current Arbiter of the Code: Ikania, Mayor-WA Delegate and Emiline, Administrator of the Augustin Alliance.
a) The Code will be in the hands of, and is to be maintained by, the sitting Mayor - whenever an edit is needed, or a change is enacted.
b) The Founder is able to maintain the Code, whenever necessary.

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WA Policy

1. Requirement.
a) All residents are required to be members of the World Assembly at all times (see "Exemption" below).
b) A puppet may be used to join the World Assembly, but only that nation may remain in the region.
c) Non-WA nations without an exemption will be issued a reminder within a week of their arrival or resignation.
d) Nations not in compliance one week after the reminder will be ejected, but not banned.
e) There are no rules regarding endorsements of other WA members.

2. Reason.
a) Ridgefield strives to maintain a certain quality of content and community. Puppets, which are frequently anonymous and of low value to their owners, degrade this quality.
b) The only way to prevent a flood of puppets with total surety is to rely on the game's automatic anti-multiing functionality, which prevents players from cheating by entering multiple nations into the WA.
c) A high-quality region full of active, contributing residents is preferable to a much larger region that has been inflated with inactive puppets.
d) Finally, a high concentration of WA nations strengthens our voice in international affairs, and increases our overall regional influence by orders of magnitude.

3. Exemption.
a) There shall be a World Assembly membership exemption offered for members of the Joint Task Force (JTF), the military of the Augustin Alliance.
b) The founder nation is exempt from this policy, but the founder will not be permitted to own puppets within the region.

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RMB Policy

1. Consecutive posts.
a) Do not post more than once in a row. Multiple consecutive posts will be suppressed with no exceptions.
b) Instead, reread your post before submitting, check for typos, and hit Preview to look over your formatting.
c) Deleted posts cannot be suppressed and therefore do not count toward this rule, but it is asked that you avoid posting consecutively and deleting the posts.
d) When quoting a post, a resident should shorten the content between the [quote] tags to 50 words or less and in a clear and concise way that is not misleading to the meaning and intent of the original post, so as to reduce spam and posting of the same thing twice in its entirety.
e) If a resident fails to comply with rule d) then a warning will be issued, and, if it is not fixed in a reasonable amount of time, the post is to be suppressed indefinitely, until the necessary changes are made.

2. Objectionable posts.
a) Spam is defined as completely meaningless content, or at least six consecutive posts, including deletions. Three or more consecutive posts with completely meaningless content will be considered aggravated spam.
b) Obscene material is defined as gore, nudity, shock images, or highly R-rated text (sexually explicit or containing excessive profanity).
c) Spamming the RMB will result in a telegram warning and suppression of all offending posts, issued by the Chief of Police. Aggravated spamming will result in summary ejection, by the same.
d) Posting obscene material will result in summary banishment, issued by the Chief of Police.

3. Embassy posts.
a) Nations in regions that have embassies with ours are able to post on our RMB.
b) Frequently, though not always, you will have the same ability to post in those regions. Be thoughtful of other regions when posting on their RMBs, as your posts reflect on our region as a whole.

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Appearance Policy

1. Regional image.
a) Residents shall strive to act in a way that presents the region in a positive light, and avoid actions that will tarnish its appearance or reputation before the outside world.
b) Residents shall speak coherently and sensibly, keeping in mind that they represent the region as a whole, especially on foreign properties.
c) Residents shall take care to stay within site rules at all times, and avoid bringing moderator attention upon the region.
d) Resident shall speak explicitly in character.
e) Resident shall not be allowed to remain in the town if their name is deemed to be obscene or otherwise inappropriate.

2. Consequences.
a) Minor violations may be met with post-suppression, post deletion, or private censure, depending on the circumstances and location.
b) Major violations may be met with any of the above, as well as temporary or permanent bans from the region or particular offsite property, private reprimand, or removal from office if applicable, depending on the severity of the offense.
c) The responses to violations of 1.a-d) may be determined by Court decision.

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Embassy Policy

1. Please telegram a request to the Director of Relations, or if unavailable, the Founder. The request should include at least one good reason why we should accept your request. All regions collecting embassies will be categorically denied.

2. Embassies do not signify alliances, but good inter-regional relations. We are a neutral region, and an embassy with another region should not be taken as a sign of ideological or gameplay alignment with that region.

3. Keep in mind that nations in embassy regions have RMB posting ability in our region.

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Referendum Policy

1. Formatting
a) All amendments will be line-by-line instructions for what to change, while also specifying the amended section and subsections.

2. Proposition
a) When put to vote, amendments should be posted plainly in a dispatch, along with a name for shorthand reference and a heading sentence that details which sections (§) are to be amended. This may be done by either the resident proposing the amendment or the Judge, Mayor or Founder.

3. Attributes
a) The Judge, Mayor or Founder is to post the referendum poll for all amendments at vote.
i. The title of the poll must include the title of the amendment dispatch.
ii. The description of the poll must include a link to the amendment dispatch.
iii. The poll shall last three days and suffrage shall be granted to any resident in the WA.

4. Procedure of Retraction
a) If the resident that proposed the amendment at vote wishes to retract it, the proposed amendment may be nullified and the poll deleted by the Judge, Mayor, or Founder, so long as the request retraction is made publicly and within the first day of voting.

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Faction Policy

This section regards political organizations established by residents of the region.

a) If a resident would like to start an official political organization, they must be granted a Charter of Organization from the Judge to assemble in the region.
b) To get a Charter of Organization from the Council, a faction must create a dispatch including;
i. A founding nation and chief executive.
ii. An explicitly defined platform.
iii. A formal process of enlisting new members.
iv. A displayed list of members.
c) Any faction created by a resident nation of Ridgefield exists subordinate to the Meritocratic League and may not infringe upon its charter in any way.

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Awards of Merit

This section regards awards for those that have done the best work for the Meritocratic League.

a) In order to achieve this award, one must serve this region with honor and distinction, proving that they have merit.
b) Individuals will be added to this section when the Town Council bestows this honor.
c) Individuals will also be presented with the Medal of Merit, showcasing their fine achievements.

Medal of Merit:

Recipients:
● DiRito-Opolis 10 / 2 / 2019

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Government Structure

Executive

Founder
a) Permanently occupied by: Ridgefielders
b) Responsibilities:
i. Acting in the best interests of the region as a whole, at personal discretion.
ii. Along with the Mayor, convening whenever a candidate has presented their case for a position.
iii. Holding veto authority over any proposed legislation or amendment that is deemed inconsistent with the founding vision of the region.
iv. Establish the region.
v. Serve in an advisory capacity to the higher officials.
vi. Provide security for the region.
vii. Conduct administrative investigations.
c) Authority: Executive
d) Selection: None
e) Civil Service Employee(s):

Mayor (WA Delegate)
a) Currently occupied by: Ikania
b) Responsibilities:
i. Overseeing other officials and ensuring the smooth operation of the region.
ii. Along with the Founder, convening whenever a candidate has presented their case for a position.
iii. Posting all at-vote WA resolutions on the RMB, with a recommended vote or abstention, and the underlying rationale.
iv. Gathering as many endorsements as possible to strengthen the region's voice.
v. Maintaining official regional dispatches.
vi. Appointing and dismissing Regional Officers.
c) Authority: Executive
d) Selection: Elected through endorsement system
e) Civil Service Employee(s):

Council

Speaker of the Council
a) Currently occupied by: Vacant
b) Responsibilities:
i. Composing and distributing region-wide announcements and keeping the WFE up to date.
ii. Coordinating legislation proposals and government/citizen relations.
c) Authority: Appearance, Communications
d) Selection: Chosen based on evaluation from Founder and Mayor
e) Civil Service Employee(s):

Chief of Police
a) Currently occupied by: Vacant
b) Responsibilities:
i. Enforcing the region's RMB policy by sending warnings and suppressing posts.
ii. Enforcing the region's WA policy by sending warnings and ejecting noncompliant nations.
iii. Every Saturday, sending out a warning to region:ridgefield,-tag:wa. At the same time, going to the Residency list and kicking all non-WAs that have been in the region for over one week.
c) Authority: Communications, Border Control
d) Selection: Chosen based on evaluation from Founder and Mayor
e) Civil Service Regulation: The Chief of Police's civil service are to be named 'police officers'. Police officers are to be tasked with gathering endorsements and building influence to assist with ejections, as well as the ordinary function(s) of the civil service.
e) Civil Service Employee(s):

Cultural Curator
a) Currently occupied by: Vacant
b) Responsibilities:
i. Organizing and promoting games, events, and contests for the region.
ii. Thinking of original, interesting questions for the region, and posting them as polls on a regular basis.
c) Authority: Communications, Polls
d) Selection: Chosen based on evaluation from Founder and Mayor
e) Civil Service Employee(s):

Director of Relations
a) Currently occupied by: Vacant
b) Responsibilities:
i. Enforcing the region's embassy policy by rejecting requests from regions that are collecting embassies or fail to provide an adequate reason for the request.
ii. Reaching out to other regions to establish relations by constructing onsite and offsite embassies and deploying ambassadors.
c) Authority: Embassies
d) Selection: Chosen based on evaluation from Founder and Mayor
e) Civil Service Employee(s):

Courts

Judge
a) Currently occupied by: Antarcticao
b) Responsibilities:
i. Overseeing and making the final decision in court cases.
ii. Interpreting the laws of the region.
iii. Selecting and notifying the jury members for each case, and receiving their votes.
c) Authority: Communications, Polls
d) Selection: Chosen based on evaluation from Founder and Mayor
e) Civil Service Employee(s):

Jury
a) Occupied by: Five residents
b) Responsibilities:
i. Attending court cases when selected.
ii. Using best judgment to vote on trial outcomes.
iii. Pledging impartiality, or if unable, willingly stepping aside.
c) Authority: N/A
d) Selection: Random number generator, cycled with every court case

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Selection Process

Executive

Founder
a) The Founder is permanent and unchangeable.

Mayor (WA Delegate)
a) The Mayoral Office is tied to the position of WA Delegate.
i. Twice a day, the region updates, and the endorsements of all nations are tallied. The nation with the most endorsements at this point automatically becomes the Mayor.
ii. Under no circumstances shall any resident or residents be removed from the region as a result of surpassing the standing Mayor in endorsements.
iii. Under no circumstances shall any resident or residents be ordered to endorse the Mayor or a candidate for Mayor.
b) Residents are not prevented from seeking the office of Mayor.
i. There are no term limits for the office of Mayor. They may hold office for as long, and for as many separate periods, as residents collectively decide.
ii. Campaigns for the office of Mayor are permitted at any time by any resident. RMB posts, telegrams of any sort, and Discord posts are valid methods of campaigning.

Council

Councilors
a) The Speaker of the Council, Cultural Curator, Director of Relations, and Chief of Police are appointed by the Founder and the Mayor.
i. Any resident interested in running for one or more of these positions must create a campaign, which may be initiated at any time.
ii. Standing councilors interested in re-running are also required to create a campaign for reappointment.
iii. Residents may be appointed to an unlimited number of consecutive terms.
b) The Founder and the Mayor shall convene in the first week of odd months to consider all campaigns presented since the last round of appointments.
i. Should the two deciding officials disagree on the appropriate candidate for a position by the fifth day, the Judge shall be required to submit a tiebreaker vote.
ii. The discussion between the Founder and Mayor shall be kept private, and if the Judge's involvement is required, their considerations shall be separate. In this case, the Judge's vote shall be sent to both deciding officials simultaneously.
iii. At the conclusion of the one-week decision period, the Mayor shall appoint all new officials as Regional Officers with the appropriate titles and authority.

Courts

Judge
a) The Judge is selected in the same manner as the Councilors.
b) Should a court case involve the Judge, a temporary replacement will be appointed by the Founder.

Jury
a) The Jury is selected by the Judge at the beginning of each court case.
i. Using the random number generator at Random.org, the Judge sets the upper bound to the region's population at the time, then generates five integers.
ii. These integers are matched by rank to the nation names of five residents, sorted in alphabetical order. As puppets are prohibited within the region, all jurors should be individual residents.
iii. Should a court case involve a selected juror, the Judge will select a replacement juror using the ordinary method.

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Court Procedure

1. Case of Court Policy
a) A court case may be opened against any resident accused of acting in contempt of the Statutory Code; whether it be of posting objectionable and/or obscene material on the RMB, degrading the regional appearance, acting in abuse of a governmental responsibility, an objection of no confidence made by a resident, etc.
b) Any case opened against a resident must first be submitted to the Judge, unless the Judge is the one initiating the case;
i. The Judge must decide whether or not the case has any merit to proceed.
ii. If the Judge deems the case has merit, a public statement and case dispatch are to be made.
iii. If the Judge deems the claim has no merit, the same person may not be accused for the same crime again, unless the claim is altered and/or more evidence is presented.
iv. The initial case opened against a resident must include the name(s) of the accused, the violation of the Statutory Code and/or damage to the regional system, and a brief description for context.
c) The accused person(s) is to be notified, and a jury is to be selected.
d) A court date is to be arranged according to the availability of the defendant, the prosecution, the Jury, and Judge, no later than three weeks after the opening of the case.
e) Arraignment is to be done privately via telegram or other means of communication, informing all parties of the court date and hearing the plea of the accused person(s).
f) The agreed date set by arraignment is the only day for the case to be held for the defendant and prosecution, unless an official request to move the date is made to and approved by the Judge.

2. Court Procedure
a) Court is to be held on the regional Discord server, unless one or more party does not have a reliable access to the Server. If the accused cannot access discord, their case may be presented via telegram. If a juror cannot access Discord, he or she may be replaced by a new juror.
b) If a resident wishes to seek legal-aid from another resident, he or she is permitted to do so.
c) The Judge is to administer the court hearing process. The prosecution is to present its case, and the defendant(s), their rebuttal.
d) Either the prosecution and/or defendant can issue questions to one another and refute each other's arguments (moderated by the Judge), at witness by the Jury, as well as to present witnesses for questioning. However, any question made towards the bench must be made rhetorically, as Jurors are not permitted, at any time, to speak on the case until the official verdict, unless directly called for by the Judge.
e) After the case has been presented in its entirety or once the arraigned day of court has ended, the Jury is to deliberate amongst themselves in the respective private Discord channel, until a decision is made, with a majority vote. If either side has not been present during the case, his or her side is not represented, and the Jury must make their conclusion from the information they have been presented.

Following verdict,
i. If an action is unproven, or the Jury rules that it does not breach the code in any way, the Judge may absolve the accused of the charges.
ii. If the defendant is guilty, punishment is to be determined by the Judge, according to the Code. He or she may defer to the Founder to interpret the Code and issue due punishment, if needed.
iii. Punishments include:
• Authority revocation
• Position removal
• Temporary kick or ban onsite and/or offsite
• Permanent kick or ban onsite and/or offsite
• The relinquishment of official dispatches under threat of a kick or ban
• A ban from speaking on the RMB or from voting on referendums under threat of a kick or ban
iv. The decision of the Jury and sentencing by the Judge may not be contested and/or overturned, except by the Founder, nor can members of the Jury be punished for their decision.

3. Indictment Clause
a) With reasonable cause and justification, the Judge is permitted to indict an official.
i. The sitting Judge will preside over this case.
ii. From here, a standard jury trial will be carried out.

4. Objections of No Confidence
a) Any resident may call for a vote of no confidence towards an official at any time, for severe inefficiency or ineffectiveness, overall detriment to the region, abuse, disregard of the Statutory Code, and/or negligence of responsibility or authorities and a case is to be issued, following standard case procedure.
b) The Judge queues a judicial review, to validate that the claim is indeed violating the Code, thus, initiating a case in Court in which the Jury is to determine whether or not the no confidence result holds any merit. With a guilty verdict, the official in question is to be removed.

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Amendments

1. Original Statutory Code, created 012217. (Authored by Ridgefielders & Helaw)

2. Statutory Code as Amended, created 022418. (As amended by Nueva rico & DiRito-Opolis)

3. Comprehensive Reform, created 051018. (Authored by Ridgefielders, Helaw, Nueva rico & DiRito-Opolis)

4. S.P.A.M. Amendment, created 062418. (Authored by Nueva rico)

5. Augustin Amendment, created 111218. (Authored by DiRito-Opolis, Ridgefielders, Nueva rico & Antarcticao)

6. Palpatine Amendment, created 012119. (Authored by DiRito-Opolis & Nueva rico)

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