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DispatchAccountDiplomacy

by The Republic of The Emerald Union. . 464 reads.

UOJ Constitution

The Constitution of Union of Justice



We The People of Union of Justice, sovereign region born from the ashes of Union of the Seekers, declare ourselves independent from any trans-regional body, organization, or raiding group and wish to maintain the right to exist within Nationstates and to pursue the basic rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.


Laws

Article 001

The regional Legislature shall make no laws to impede on freedom of religion, speech, the press, petitioning of the government, and peaceful protest. These freedoms are extended only in out of character—hereafter referred to as OOC—contexts. Refer to sections 001–006 for more information.

Section 001 - Freedom of Religion
Citizen-nations of Union of Justice are entitled to freely practice any religion while residing in Union of Justice. However, citizen-nations may not claim "religious preponderance" over other member-nations, their religions, or their religious practices.

    1. For the purpose of this legislation, the definition of the term religious preponderance: Any matter of stating or inciting that one's religion or religious practices are superior and/or more morally correct than other religions or religious practices.

Section 002 - Freedom of Speech
All citizen-nations of Union of Justice reserve the right to freely speak their minds with limited obstruction. Obstruction of citizen-nations' free speech will occur only if their words become dangerous to regional security and/or the safety of another citizen-nation.

Section 003 - Freedom of the Press
Any citizen-nations may organize and create regional press material to report on regional news and issues, both in character—hereafter referred to as IC—and OOC. Regional press will remain free from obstruction by the regional government unless the press material presents a real and present danger to regional security and/or another citizen-nation.

Section 004 - Freedom to Petition the Government
Any citizen-nation of Union of Justice may petition the government to produce legislation, action, or change of any kind.

Section 005 - Freedom of Peaceful Assembly
All citizen-nations of Union of Justice may organize in protest of any regional entity. Said organized protests must be peaceful and not disrupt regional activities. All protests will be shut down immediately if they become disruptive or dangerous. In the event of a protest shutdown, protest leaders will be tried as criminals in the regional court.

Section 006 - Freedom of Fair Trial in the Court of Law and Freedom from Cruel and Unusual Punishment
All citizen-nations of Union of Justice are entitled to fair trials in the court of law. Citizen-nations may defend themselves or be defended by a citizen-nation of their choice—with said citizen-nation's consent. Citizen-nations may not be tried again for the same criminal case after the completion of a legal trial. If a citizen-nation believes their trial and/or punishment is or was unfair and/or biased, they may file an appeal following official court procedure legislation.

All of the rights stated above may be voided by the regional Founder Overlord67 in order to protect regional security and/or regional interests.

Article 002

For the purpose of clarity, the regional government defines the Government's powers and the jurisdiction of regional officials:

Founder:
Powers: Infinite (to what is possible within the region)
Unelectable (permanent position)

Job Description: The Founder's main job is to keep the region safe from raiders and overall help lead the regional government. The Founder has the ability to declare elections, polls, voids, and etc. along with opening and closing embassies.

Vice Founder:
Powers: Limited (Granted by the Founder)
Chosen/Unelectable (can be changed only by Founder)

Job description: The Vice Founder's duty is to take over for the Founder either by the Founder's assignment for a limited time, in the event that the Founder CTE’s, or if there is over one week with no active Founder presence in the region. The duties and powers of the Vice Founder are the same as the Founder, but only given during the Founder's absence or by assignment.

World Assembly Delegate:
Powers: Limited (Given by Founder)
Electable (Term Limit: 1 ½ - 2 Months)

Job Description: The Job of the WA Delegate is to monitor regional security with the aid of the Secretary of Defense and vote on World Assembly and Security Council resolutions. If the Founder and Vice Founder are not active within a period of one week, then the WA Delegate will assume all the powers of the Founder. The WA Delegate is expected to be the face of the region and any inter-regional responsibilities fall upon him/her.

Secretary of Defense:
Powers: Limited (Granted by Founder)
Electable (Term: 1 ½ - 2 Months)

Job Description: The job of the Secretary of Defense (hereafter referred to as SOD) is to take charge of the defense of the Region. The duties of the SOD fall solely on them to complete with direct oversight from the Founder and the WA Delegate (alternatively the Vice Founder and the WA Delegate if the Founder becomes inactive). The duties of the SOD are to protect the region from potential raids/raiders as well as to monitor other potential threats to the region. The SOD takes charge during any wars the region may find itself in and has the power to declare Martial Law in the event of extreme internal unrest, to which the security codes will be changed to a code purple for an indefinite amount of time.

Prosecutor General:
Powers: Limited (Granted by Founder)
Electable (Term: 1 ½ - 2 Months)

Job Description: The duties of the Prosecutor General (hereafter referred to as PG) are to uphold and enforce the laws of the region. Although the SOD's duties are concerned mainly with international issues, he/she may be requested to help the PG if a situation becomes too hazardous to be dealt with alone. The PG will have full control of the court during trials and is tasked with the publishing of all trial results unless a request for trial confidentiality is made. The PG will have dual control over Election Polls, along with the Founder (alternatively the Vice Founder if the Founder is absent), and they will work with the Founder and OOC Commissioner on trials. They will retain full control during this process.

OOC Commissioner:
Powers: Limited (Granted by Founder)
Electable (Term: 1 ½ - 2 Months)

Job Description: The OOC Commissioner's duties are to monitor Out of Character (hereafter referred to as OOC) communications within the region for inappropriate or dangerous content. Their main task is to maintain the internal stability of the region to ensure that any and all forms of regional communication project a good image of the region and uphold regional values.

IC Commissioner:
Powers: Limited (Granted by Founder)
Electable (Term: 1 ½ - 2 Months)

Job Description: The duties of the IC commissioner are similar to that of the OOC Commissioner, except that their powers are only applicable to RP scenarios. They make sure that RP does not result in god-modding and enforce regional RP rules. Additionally, they regulate RP communication to ensure that it remains appropriate.

Foreign Minister:
Powers: Limited (Granted by Founder)
Electable (Term: 1 ½ - 2 Months)

Job Description: The Foreign Minister's job is to create and dismantle relations with other regions. Unlike the other positions, the powers of the Foreign Minister do not include internal factors unless the WA Delegate, the Founder, and the Vice Founder are not active for a one week time period. If this is the case, then they will assume all duties of said positions and have the ability to call for new elections. The Vice Founder is to aid the Delegate in inter-regional issues and agreements and to be sure to expand the region's influence on the inter-regional stage.

Cartographer:
Powers: Limited (Granted by IC Commissioner)
Unelectable: Permanant Position (serve until retirement)

Job Description: The Job of the Cartographer is to create the Regional Map known as “Aerth”. They will work with the IC Commissioner on claims and expansions along with working with new Mal members on reasonable claims and etc. The duties of the Mapmaker are assigned to one person until they retire from the position in which a new mapmaker must be chosen and possibly a new map made unless the old mapmaker is able to give editing access to the new mapmaker.

Any and all of these government positions may be terminated by the Founder for reasons of regional security.

Article 003

To stablilize and unify regional elections, the government of Union of Justice has come together to regulate regional elections and election campaigns:

Section 001 - Regional Elections
Elections will be held approximately every one and one-half months, and they will be arranged and controlled by regional government officials. In the event that a regional officer is deemed unfit, unable, or too dangerous to perform their duties, they shall be impeached via public vote or trial, and emergency elections shall be held.

Section 002 - Campaigning
Participation in regional elections is encouraged and candidacy is available to all law-abiding citizen-nations. In order to curb corruption and unify election campaigning, the following regulations must be followed by all candidates for all offices in Union of Justice. If a candidate fails to follow the following regulations, he or she will be subject to punishment by a court of law:

Campaign Factbooks:
All candidates for regional government office may create a "campaign factbook" containing qualities or experiences of themselves that qualify them for the office they are running for, "campaign promises", and/or examples of action, legislation, or otherwise fit material that qualify them for the office they are running for.

    1. For the purpose of this legislation the definition of the term campaign factbook: Any and all factbooks, bulletins, and/or accounts made in support of or in opposition of a candidate for any regional office. Such factbooks are subject to removal by the OOC Commissioner if they do not follow set out guidelines.

    2. For the purpose of this legislation the definition of the term campaign promises: Any promise or claim made by a candidate for the regional office of what they will do while in an office or of any result predictions after the conclusion of the current election.

All campaign factbooks must contain the following information:

    1. The regional office the candidate is currently running for. If the candidate will be running for multiple offices, they will be required to make a separate factbook for each office.

    2. No negative messages about other candidates or other campaigns.

    3. No messages inciting revolution and/or and messages that endanger regional security.

If a candidate's campaign factbook fails to follow the above regulations, the factbook may be taken down by the OOC Commissioner, and the candidate may be charged in the court of law by the OOC Commissioner, Secretary of Defense, Vice Founder, and/or Founder.

Campaign Messages:
Any candidates may post messages in the RMB and/or through region-wide telegrams. These messages must not make any "outrageous claims" or endanger regional security and/or stability. Any candidate that sends such messages may be charged in the court of law, and any such messages will be suppressed in the RMB. All region-wide campaign telegrams must be approved by either the OOC Commissioner, Founder, or Vice Founder. If a candidate does not have the ability to send region-wide telegrams, the OOC Commissioner will send it for them without editing upon request. Campaign messages must not be spammed. Candidates will be allowed to post one RMB post and send one region-wide telegram out per two hours.

    1. For the purpose of this legislation the definition of the term outrageous claims: Any and all claims made that are not true and/or paint either a glorious or detrimental image for a candidate or campaign.

Section 003 - Political Parties and Voting

Political Parties:
By direct order of the regional government of Union of Justice, no OOC political parties or organizations may be formed, participated in, or endorsed by citizen-nations of Union of Justice.

Voting:
Voting in regional elections and/or polls pertaining to regional legislation and/or change is considered a civic duty as well as a right that may be taken away by the Founder or by the court of law at any time.

Article 004

The regional government may amend this document at any time with the consent of regional founder Overlord67. All amendments shall be recorded with a date and description of the change and will be posted for public use in a regional factbook.

Article 005

For regulation on regional Role Play, refer to the below document:

Regional Roleplay Rules and Regulations



In compliance with Article 005 of the Constitution of the Union of Justice and in order to provide a regional role-playing environment that is suitable for all member nations to exist in and/or participate within, the government of the sovereign region of Union of Justice has converged in order to produce legislation to be observed and endeavored in the regional role-playing realm.


Laws

Article 001

Any and all law abiding citizen nations of the Union of Justice shall maintain the right to form a regional role-playing profile, hereafter referred to as Nationbuilder Profile, as defined in this document and participate in regional role-playing, hereafter referred to as RP, activities defined in this document. For the purpose of clarity, below is a further explanation:

Section 001 - Nationbuilder Profiles

Nationbuilder profiles are required to RP in the Union of Justice. All Nationbuilder profiles should be made in the official Nationbuilder format, found here. All Nationbuilder profiles must be approved by the IC Commissioner before a citizen nation is allowed to participate in regional RP activities. All valid and approved Nationbuilder profiles will be recorded in the Master Nationbuilder Dispatch for public reference. All citizen nations with valid and approved Nationbuilder profiles automatically qualify to participate in the Aerth RP Arch, the main RP Arch of Union of Justice.

    1. For the purpose of this legislation the definition of the term Roleplay Arch: A particular realm or set storyline of RP, as decided and set up by the participators in that RP.

Section 002 - RP Definition

For the purpose of this legislation and for legal and practical reference the definition of the term Roleplay: The act of creating a Nationbuilder profile and participating in certain regional activities, including the creation of a character(s)/nation(s) in order to interact with other characters/nations.

Section 003 - Definitons

    1. For the purpose of this legislation and for legal and practical reference the definition of the term In Character: Any and all posts, telegrams, other communications, statements, or action made through a RP character or in a RP situation without otherwise indicating that said item is Out of Character (OOC).

    2. For the purpose of this legislation and for legal and practical reference the definition of the term Out of Character: Any and all posts, telegrams, other communications, statements, or action not made through a RP character or in a RP situation without otherwise indicating that said item is In Character (IC).

Article 002

All participating citizen nations in regional RP must follow several rules while Role-playing, hereafter referred to as RPing. Below is further explanation:

Section 001 - Jurisdiction

In compliance with Article 002 of the Constitution, all actions, communications, and otherwise situations that occur IC shall be under the jurisdiction of the IC Commissioner.

Section 002 - Guidelines for RP Posts

Citizen nations participating in regional RP should always clearly indicate in some fashion while RPing if a post is In Character, hereafter referred to as IC, or Out of Character, hereafter referred to as OOC. If any post contains both IC and OOC content, the poster in question should indicate clearly which content is IC and which content is OOC. OOC content cannot be used or referenced in IC content or situations. Any IC RP post made in response to and/or because of any OOC content shall be voided by the IC Commissioner.

Section 003 - Guidlines for RP War

After the initial invasion of a nation, the invaded nation will have five days IRL time to respond. If the invaded nation does not respond in that time, it will be considered a surrender and the invading nation may do as they wish with the invaded territory. All wars must be had in sequential turns. A nation may not make several separate attack posts without allowing the other warring nations to respond. Participating nations are permitted to use three weapons of mass destruction (WMDs) in the duration of the war (i.e., High yield kinetic weapons, nuclear weapons, biological and chemical weapons, etc.). Any characters with supernatural abilities (i.e., gods, powerful mutants, etc.) may not be used on a large scale in war and may only be used for small battles. Any magic used in war may not be as powerful as technological weaponry. No nation's entire territory may be taken away if they lost a war. All nations must retain some part of their territory to allow them to continue to RP in some way. For a war to end, all participating parties must cease combat with their main militaries. Participating citizen nations in RP may not "god mod". The IC Commissioner shall review all cases of god-modding and decide the appropriate action to be taken.

    1. For the purpose of this legislation and for legal and practical reference the definition of the term god mod: Any and all actions made by a citizen nation participating in RP that goes beyond the scope of reality to an extent that is unacceptable as deemed by the IC Commissioner.

Section 004 - National Statistics

All national statistics are initially determined by NS stats and are subject to change based on actions made in RP.

Read dispatch

Article 006

For court procedures and regulations, refer to the below document:

Court Rules and Regulations


This is a proposal to clarify the rights and details of trials so further conflict can be minimized, it is to be looked over and approved or denied by the Founder, Vice-Founded, and OOC Commissioner via a simple majority. Anything in this document may be edited by the PG at any time with the approval of two of the three people mentioned above.


Court Rules and Regulations

Rules of the Court

The regional Legislature shall make no laws to preclude the freedom of religion, freedom of speech, freedom of the press, freedom to petition the government, and freedom to peacefully protest. These freedoms are extended only in out of character (hereafter referred to as OOC) situations. For the purpose of clarity, below is a further explanation:

Section 001 - Order of the Court


    1. A trial must be just and orderly
    2. The Judge must listen to and consider both sides (the defendant and the prosecution/plaintiff) no matter their previous knowledge on the charges at hand
    3. Both sides (the defendant and the prosecution/plaintiff) will be given a chance to have opening statements before the trial officially goes into a debate and consideration
    4. The procecution/plaintiff may drop all charges of allegations of wrong doing at any time during or before the trial
    5. If the trial turns into a heated argument, the PG is allowed to hold the trial till a new date, have the case dismissed, or have someone removed from the court room
    6. Neither side (the defendant and the prosecution/plaintiff) nor the Judge may insult any other party, doing so will have said person dismiss from the trial and removed. This includes ad hominem. (This is at the discretion of the PG)
    7. The defendant is to be considered innocent until proven guilty

Section 002 - Individual Rights

Section 003 - Powers of the Prosecutor General


    - The PG has complete control over the court
    - They are the acting Judge in all cases
    - The PG is to record and document all court cases, which can be publicized unless specifically asked to keep the case details confidential
    - If a defendant can't choose their own lawyer, the PG will appoint one to them from a list of volunteers
    - The PG holds the right to change the court date if they deem it necessary (With founder and vice founder approval)
    - They decide the punishment of the defending party
    -May compel a witness to testify or surrender evidence, under threat of Contempt of the Court

Section 004 - Powers of the Defendant


    - The defendant is able to gather and state evidence supporting their client
    - The defendant is able to call witnesses with the approval of the presiding Judge
    - The defendant is allowed to be their own witness

Section 005 - Powers of the Prosecution/Plaintiff


    - The prosecution/plaintiff is able to gather and state evidence supporting their client
    - The prosecution/plaintiff is able to call witnesses with the approval of the presiding Judge
    - The prosecution/plaintiff is not allowed to be their own witness
    - The prosecution/plaintiff is allowed to add or drop charges with PG approval

Section 6 - Civil Cases


    Any citizen of the UoJ may file a civil lawsuit against any other citizen of the UoJ, with a few exceptions:
    -The action or decision in question occurred in an official, regional government capacity. (Sovereign Immunity)
    -The action in question happened more than four months ago. (Statue of Limitations).

    Suitable reasons for filing a suit include, but are not limited to:
    -Harassment
    -Violations of the Constitution
    -Unfair treatment
    -Disputing a decision made by the IC Commisioner
    -Plagarism
    Please keep in mind that it is ultimately up to the PG to decide on whether or not to accept a case. Essentially the same procedure applies to civil cases as criminal cases.



Read dispatch

Amendment 001 [Ratified 06.17.19]

The regional government of Union of Justice hereby reserves the right to restructure the regional government at any time in response to an emergency and/or to accommodate for the current regional status. The power to enact this change rests in the regional Founder and follows the chain of command beyond them. This power is only granted to the next level on the chain of command in the event that the Founder CTE's and/or the event that the founder grants the power to the next in line on the chain of command. Officials should restructure the government in a way that will not limit the freedoms of citizen-nations if at all possible. Changes in governmental structure will be added to the Constitution and kept in government record in order to maintain order and clarity.

Amendment 002 [Ratified 07.02.19]

In order to establish a regional government that is effective, transparent, and just, the Constitution of Union of Justice is met with several changes. Below is further information:

Section 001 - Investigation Warrants

Any and all investigators, including the SOD, must obtain a "warrant" from the Founder and/or Vice Founder or the PG before beginning and/or continuing any regional investigation. In order to obtain a warrant, said investigator must provide evidence to the Founder and/or Vice Founder or the PG that suggests wrongdoing by the citizen-nation(s) to be under investigation. Investigators must also provide the Founder and/or Vice Founder or the PG with a complete list of possible charges that may be held against any citizen-nation(s) to be under investigation. If any evidence of wrongdoing is obtained during an investigation that would allow the citizen-nation(s) under investigation to be charged for a crime not previously indicated as a potential charge, the investigator must inform the Founder and/or Vice Founder or the PG of the new charge or potential charge before continuing the investigation. If an investigator feels they have been wrongfully declined a warrant, they may appeal to the Prosecutor General or another judge in regional court to overrule the decision of the Founder and/or Vice Founder. The Prosecutor General or another judge must be provided with substantially sound and provable reasoning in order to grant an investigator a warrant.

    1. For the purpose of this legislation the definition of the term warrant: Any official and provable method of approval to move forward with an investigation given by the proper authorities.

Section 002 - Rights of Citizen-Nations Under Investigation

Investigators who have received a warrant for investigation must inform the citizen-nation under investigation that they have received a warrant and are now under investigation. Investigators may ask citizen-nations questions pertaining to the investigation. Citizen-nations under investigation reserve the right to refuse to answer any and all questions asked by investigators. Investigators are not permitted to ask personal questions (i.e., age, sex, location, nationality, etc.) unless they have obtained a RIC warrant. If an investigator has obtained a RIC warrant, they shall inform the citizen-nation(s) under investigation before proceeding with the investigation. Citizen-nations reserve the right to refuse to answer any questions asked under the jurisdiction of a RIC warrant. If a citizen-nation under investigation believes that their rights are being violated and/or they are not being fairly investigated, they may appeal to the Founder, Vice Founder, or Prosecutor General in order to have a different investigator assigned to their case. Citizen-nations must provide evidence of wrongdoing of the investigator in order for this to happen.

Section 003 - Regional Investigatory Court Warrants

Regional Investigatory Court Warrants, hereafter referred to as RIC warrants, allow investigators to inquire about citizen-nations' personal information or life. RIC warrants may only be obtained by presenting the Founder, Vice Founder, and Prosecutor General with clear and concrete evidence that was obtained legally and justification to investigate the personal life of the citizen-nation under investigation. RIC warrants shall be granted only in the most extreme cases and only with the unanimous approval of the Founder, Vice Founder, and Prosecutor General. Citizen-nations under investigation reserve the right to refuse to answer any questions asked under the jurisdiction of a RIC warrant.

Section 004 - Evidence

Any and all evidence obtained by an investigator during an investigation must be obtained legally and disclosed to the Founder, Vice Founder and PG in daily updates. Any evidence that is obtained illegally will be voided and cannot be used in the court of law. All investigators must provide daily updates on their investigations to the Founder, Vice Founder and PG in order for their investigation to continue. Any investigator who does not provide daily updates on investigations shall have their warrants revoked.

Section 005 - Investigation Findings

After an investigation is complete, all investigators must publish a report including all evidence found in the investigation and the results of the investigation either to the public or to government officials. Before any criminal punishments may be executed on any citizen-nation(s), all investigators must place charges on the citizen-nation in question and a trial in regional court must proceed. Any punishments given without a court case may be voided by the Prosecutor General, Founder, or Vice Founder. In situations of extreme urgency or in order to protect regional security, government officials may approve criminal punishment to be executed without a trial in the regional court. Said decisions may be appealed in regional courts.

Section 006 - The Right To Hold an Investigation

All citizen-nations of Union of Justice shall have the right to form an independent investigation into any nation or the regional government, provided they have obtained the proper warrants to do so. Independent Investigators shall not be granted a RIC warrant under any circumstances. Independent Investigators are to follow all procedure and regulations given to government investigators.

    1. For the purpose of this legislation the definition of the term Independent Investigator: Any citizen-nation of Union of Justice who obtains the proper warrants to hold a regional investigation, and thus is moving forward with the said investigation.

Section 007 - Government Transparency

The regional government of Union of Justice is obliged to provide its citizen-nations with satisfactory transparency on ALL governmental issues. Every citizen-nation of Union of Justice will have the right to request any information from the regional government. The regional government may only deny the release of information to protect regional security. If a citizen-nation who has been denied the information they requested believes that the information is not relevant to national security, they may take the regional government to the regional court to have the information reviewed by a panel of three citizen-nations privately. These citizen-nations shall be randomly selected and will decide whether the information shall be released to the public or remain private. The decision of this council is final and appeals may not be made. Every regional court case shall be made public in its entirety. The only non-publishable information shall be any and all personal IRL information that was brought up during the trial. Said personal information shall only be released based on the explicit recorded consent of the citizen-nation it belongs to. Consent to publish information shall be included in the court proceedings postings.

Section 008 - Regional Information Index

The government of Union of Justice hereby establishes the Regional Information Index, a database of all public information in the region (i.e., court proceedings, election proceedings, civil proceedings, etc.). This index shall be maintained constantly by at least one citizen-nation and at least one government official. The regional government may not remove information from the Regional Information Index without putting it to a region-wide vote and obtaining a majority vote in favor of removing said information.

Section 009 - Amendment Proposal Procedure

Establishing that the PG shall be the central and most credible source for knowledge of regional law, Union of Justice Constitutional Amendment Proposals Registry and the constitutional amendment process shall hereby be placed under the jurisdiction of the PG. All constitutional amendments shall be reviewed by the PG before being entered into the Constitutional Amendment Proposals Registry. The PG will provide assistance in creating amendment proposals and shall not reject any amendment proposal. The PG shall post the proposed amendment to the Constitutional Amendment Proposals Registry as soon as it has been finalized, where it will be announced to the region and put to vote as soon as possible. Voting periods for amendments shall be four days.


Conclusion

We hold these truths to be self evident. These rules and freedoms granted to the citizen-nations of Union of Justice are granted out of the wisdom and grace of the founder, Overlord69, and maintained by the glory of the Government. The Guarantee to Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness are universal and should be maintained unless a great tide of evil forces us otherwise. It is in the interests of Union of Justice that this constitution serve its purpose.


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