Post

Region: SolarFlare

LodgedFromMessages
Tocan isle

Hello all,
I am presenting this new constitution draft to the floor for scrutiny, debate, and revision
If you see any errors please point them out, and if you have any comments please voice them here

Preamble
The nations of SolarFlare, with the goals of upholding the region's founding values of peace, democracy, neutrality, and rule of law establish and ordain this Constitution as the supreme law of SolarFlare.

ARTICLE 1. Rules
All residents of SolarFlare must:
1. Not discriminate against or target others based on their race, religion, gender, or sexual orientation.
2. Not force one's political views onto others. Civil, respectful discussion is encouraged, but forcing is not.
3. Not espouse fascist or any other intolerant or hateful political views.
4. Not advertise for a region or campaign in the RMB or Discord.
5. Keep debate respectful.
6. Not impersonate staff (or any other nation) of this region.
7. Not spam. Spamming is the repeated sending of the same message, and it will not be tolerated.
8. Not voice support for or perpetrate sexual harassment or hateful discrimination.
9. Cooperate with other SolarFlare nations to serve the common good of the region.
10. Not attempt to raid the region and/or overthrow the government.

ARTICLE 2. Member Nations
Section 1. "Member Nation" shall be defined as any resident which has resided in SolarFlare for five days in a row, is not a raider, and is not a puppet of a current Member Nation.

Section 2. All Member Nations are entitled to the following rights and opportunities:
a. The right to vote in elections and other votes
b. The right to sue any party
c. The right to a fair trial
d. The right to run for regional office
e. The right to a jury
f. The right to an attorney in court
g. The right to call for a public investigation
h. The right to emigration
i. The right to voice their opinion, as long as it is not harmful and is voiced respectfully
j. The right to not be kicked or banned from the region without being informed of a valid reason
k. The right to not be subject to cruel or unusual punishment

Section 3. Puppets of Member Nations shall be assumed to be the same legal entity as their main nation, therefore any right violation of a puppet shall count as a violation of their main Member Nation's rights.

ARTICLE 3. Regional Officers
Section 1. The Founder, Celestial Wave, shall have all available game-side powers. The Founder's primary duties are to safeguard the region from invasion, to appoint and dismiss officers when required, and to run election polls.

Section 2. The President shall be democratically elected by all Member Nations every June and December and have all available game-side powers. The President is the chief executive of the region and is tasked with leading the cabinet and representing the region. They shall be given broad discretion to exercise their powers. Member Nations in the World Assembly are encouraged to endorse the President if they are in the World Assembly. Nations may serve up to 12 months in this office.

Section 3. The Vice President shall be the President's deputy and shall assist the President with its duties and fill in when they are absent. They shall be democratically elected by all Member Nations every June and December. This role does not have to be filled at all times. Elections should run directly after Presidential elections. Nations may serve up to 12 months in this office.

Section 4. The World Assembly Delegate shall be non-executive and only hold the World Assembly power. Any Member Nation can be Delegate, but whenever possible the President should hold the Delegacy. The Delegacy is subject to change depending on what nation has the most endorsements.

Section 5. SolarFlare shall have a cabinet composed of several officers with specific duties, responsibilities, and powers. Every June and December, the President will nominate several nations to serve in the cabinet. All nominees shall be either confirmed or rejected by popular vote (simple majority). These elections should run concurrently with each other on Google Forms directly after the Vice President elections. The President may create a new cabinet office whenever they please and nominate their nation of choice. Nations can serve up to 12 months in any given cabinet office. If an office becomes vacant, the President can nominate a new nation to be confirmed. Offices of the cabinet may include, but are not limited to the Foreign Affairs Officer (FAO), Communications Officer, and Roleplay Manager.

Section 6. A snap election occurs whenever an office becomes vacant either through resignation or removal.
a. If the President resigns, the Vice President automatically becomes President for the rest of the term.
b. If a cabinet member resigns, the President will appoint a new nominee who will be confirmed in the regular manner.
c. Any Member Nation can call for the removal of an officer. All Member Nations will then vote on whether to remove the officer. A snap election will commence to fill the vacancy.

ARTICLE 4. Communications and Border Control
Section 1. The Regional Message Board (RMB) is one of the primary means of regional and inter-regional communication and shall be regulated primarily by the Communications Officer. Other regional officers with communications powers may also help regulate. All member nations must follow the rules laid out in Article 2 when engaging with the RMB, as well as any additional rules decided by the administration.

Section 2. SolarFlare may have a regional Discord server for regional communication. All rules specified in Article 2 apply on the server, as well as any additional rules decided by the administration.

Section 3. All officers with the border control power may eject and/or ban any nation for rule violations. Residents who are not Member Nations (as defined by Article 3) may be ejected and/or banned from the region for violating any Article 2 rule without the possibility of a trial. Member Nations, however, may sue the government if they believe their ejection was unreasonable or violated their rights.

Section 4. All officers with the communications power may send mass telegrams to the region for the purpose of spreading necessary information. If an officers abuses this power by spamming or sending telegrams for no reason, their communications power can be taken away.

ARTICLE 5. Foreign Affairs
Section 1. The Office of Foreign Affairs shall be run by the Foreign Affairs Officer (FAO). It is tasked with managing embassies and overseeing diplomatic relations with other regions. The FAO may appoint ambassadors to serve at their pleasure.

Section 2. All embassies must be approved by the FAO. The President or Founder may override any decision by the FAO.

Section 3. The government of SolarFlare may determine the region's stance on raiding and defending, and if there are enough willing WA members, they may establish a military. Such a military may not invade or help invade allied regions except to defend them.

ARTICLE 6. Voting
Section 1. Recognizing the undeniable right to vote, no legal Member Nation may be prevented from voting.

Section 2. The ballot of any office or law will be conducted by a NationStates regional poll unless specified otherwise.
a. If there is already a regional poll running, voting shall be held on Google Forms.
b. Election/voting results via Google Forms must be verified by at least one other nation independent from the candidates.

Section 3. Nominations shall last for 6 days and voting shall last for 6 days directly after.

Section 4. If there are more than two candidates in an election, the one with the least initial votes will be disqualified and a second round of voting will commence. If there is only one candidate, then the election will have two options: one option in favor of the candidate taking office, and the other opposing it.

Section 5. In order to win an election, a candidate must receive a majority of votes, excluding abstentions.

Section 6. Voting shall always be optional. Any officer found tampering with the vote or defying the procedures laid out in this article shall be subject to a trial.

ARTICLE 7. Court of Justice
Section 1. All legal disputes shall be settled in the Court of Justice, with the Judicial Council mediating the case. The Judicial Council shall be composed of 3 Member Nations who are not the President, Founder, or Vice President. Every March and September the Judicial Council will be elected by all Member Nations, or whenever there is a vacancy. One of these council members will be selected to be the Head Council Member. If a council member is absent during a case or has a conflict of interest causing them to be biased, a replacement will be picked by the Head Council Member.

Section 2. The Attorney General (AG), who shall be appointed by the President, shall represent the government in all court cases. They shall serve at the government's pleasure. The AG represents the government in legal cases. They must defend the government in suits against it, and must prosecute or appoint a prosecutor in criminal cases. The AG also may also vet people who apply to be lawyers under the SolarFlare constitution to allow them to serve as lawyers.

Section 3. The government may levy charges against a nation if they have been accused of breaking a law. Likewise, any resident may levy charges against the government if they believe they have broken a law or suppressed their rights. In cases of rule violation, the burden of proof is on the petitioner to prove the defendant is guilty.

Section 4. All participants in court have the following rights:
a. The right to an attorney— if they cannot find one, the state must hire an attorney for them
b. The right to remain silent
c. The right to not testify against oneself

Section 5. After hearing the case, the Judicial Council will vote on the decision and decide the punishment if the defendant is guilty. The side with the majority wins. The Head Council Member will publish a court opinion detailing the facts of the case, the decision, and the reasoning behind it.

ARTICLE 8. Passage, Replacement, and Amendments
Section 1. This constitution completely replaces the First Constitution of SolarFlare and is the supreme governing document of the region. It shall be enacted with a two-thirds vote by Member Nations.

Section 2. All elected officers under the First Constitution expire immediately and new elections will be held promptly.

Section 3. Any Member Nation may suggest an amendment to this Constitution. There shall be 4 days of debate and revisions followed by 6 days of voting. An amendment requires at least 4 votes in favor and a majority of votes cast to pass. Once an amendment is passed, it will be added to the end of the constitution and all parts rendered null by the amendment will be struck out.



Sponsor: Tocan isle
Status: On vote
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