[Draft] The Lazarene Charter

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[Draft] The Lazarene Charter; The Democratic Republic of Lazarus
Tweet Topic Started: May 3 2015, 03:13 AM (226 Views)
Ivo	May 3 2015, 03:13 AM Post #1
Lazarene Posts: 70 Group: Persona Non Grata Member #24 Joined: Apr 9, 2015 Alignment Lawful Good Military Stance Neutral	The Lazarene Charter Preamble We, the united nations of Lazarus, declaring our commitment to a new and free region based on democracy and the will of the people, do hereby convene to establish the Democratic Republic of Lazarus. The Lazarene Charter shall stand as the absolute law of the region in every practical sense. Article A: Citizenship (a) Any person may apply for citizenship by disclosing their nation residing in Lazarus and their World Assembly nation, any/all crimes committed in past regions, and swearing an oath of citizenship established by law. (b) Pending security approval from the administrators, the Secretary of Internal Affairs will accept or reject applications for citizenship. The Regional Assembly may vote to overturn approval or rejection of an application for citizenship within fourteen days, should an appeal be brought forth. (c) Citizenship shall be revoked by the Secretary of Internal Affairs if citizenship is voluntarily forfeited, if the citizen's nation has relocated out of Lazarus or ceased-to-exist, if the citizen has not posted on the forum for more than twenty-eight days, or if the citizen has been convicted of a criminal offense and sentenced to a ban according to the Criminal Code of Lazarus by the Supreme Court. (d) Citizenship shall not be removed except under the conditions cited within this Charter. Article B: The Regional Assembly (a) The legislative and supreme governing body of the Democratic Republic of Lazarus shall be known as the Regional Assembly. (b) All citizens of the Democratic Republic of Lazarus will be members of the Regional Assembly. (c) The Regional Assembly shall have the power to enact, amend, or repeal its own procedural rules by a simple majority vote, accounting for only the number of citizens voting and discounting abstentions. (d) The Regional Assembly shall have the power to enact, amend, or repeal legislation by a simple majority vote, accounting for only the number of citizens voting and discounting abstentions. (e) The Regional Assembly shall have the power to enact, amend, or repeal treaties with foreign regions or interregional organizations by a simple majority vote, accounting for only the number of citizens voting and discounting abstentions. (f) The Regional Assembly shall have the power to enact, amend, or repeal a Criminal Code of Lazarus by a simple majority vote, accounting for only the number of citizens voting and discounting abstentions. (g) Any citizen shall have the power to initiate legislation for the Regional Assembly to consider. (h) The Regional Assembly shall have the power to initiate a recall referendum against any higher official by a simple majority vote, accounting for only the number of citizens voting and discounting abstentions. (i) The Regional Assembly shall have the power to remove any of the following officials from office by a two-thirds majority vote: President, Vice President, Councillor, Speaker, Secretary, Counsel. (j) The Regional Assembly shall have the power to declare war against a foreign region or interregional organization by a two-thirds majority vote. (k) The Regional Assembly shall elect a citizen to serve as its Speaker, to administer its business according to its procedural rules. The Speaker shall have the power to appoint deputies to assist in legislative duties, whom may be regulated by the procedural rules of the Regional Assembly. (l) Only the Regional Assembly shall have the power to amend this Charter by a three-quarters majority vote. Article C: President (a) The Regional Assembly shall elect a citizen to serve as the President of the Democratic Republic of Lazarus. All executive powers and duties shall be vested within this position. (b) The President shall serve as the World Assembly Delegate of Lazarus and will only exercise the powers of the delegacy as permitted by law. (c) The President shall have the power to negotiate treaties with foreign regions and interregional organizations, which will only take effect upon ratification by the Regional Assembly. (d) The President shall have the power to veto legislation to enact, amend, or repeal legislation within fourteen days of its passage. The Regional Assembly shall have the power to override such veto by a two-thirds majority vote. Article D: Vice President (a) The Regional Assembly shall elect a citizen to serve as Vice President of the Democratic Republic of Lazarus. (b) The Vice President shall hold the second-highest number of endorsements in Lazarus, behind the President. (c) The Vice President shall administer the business of the Cabinet according to its procedural rules. (d) The Vice President shall be first in the line of succession to serve as the Acting President of the Democratic Republic of Lazarus. Article E: Cabinet (a) The Cabinet shall be appointed by the President to oversee state and government affairs. Secretaries will take office only if the Regional Assembly confirms their appointment by a simple majority vote. (b) The Cabinet may be consisted of Secretaries, including those who oversee Internal Affairs, Foreign Affairs, Culture, Defense, and WA Affairs. The President shall have the power to modify these positions as seen fit. Article F: The Supreme Court (a) The judiciary branch of the Democratic Republic of Lazarus shall be known as the Supreme Court. One High Counsel and two Associate Counsels shall serve in this court until resignation or removal from office by the Regional Assembly. (b) The President shall nominate citizens to serve as Counsels, who will take office only if the Regional Assembly confirms their appointment by a simple majority vote. (c) A Counsel of the Supreme Court may not serve as President, Vice President, Speaker, Secretary, or Deputy Speaker simultaneously. (d) The procedural rules of the Supreme Court shall be established by law. (e) The Supreme Court shall have the power to try all criminal and civil cases and determine the constitutionality of established laws, foreign treaties, and government policies. (f) The Supreme Court shall elect a Chief Counsel from among its membership to administer its business according to its procedural rules. (g) The Supreme Court shall reach decisions by majority vote. Article G: Security Council (a) The Security Council shall be consisted of Councillors who are tasked with maintaining regional security in the Democratic Republic of Lazarus. (b) Any citizen who meets endorsement and influence requirements established by law has the opportunity to apply to become a Councillor. (c) In order for a Councillor application to be accepted, the Regional Assembly must approve it by a two-thirds majority vote. Councillors shall serve until resignation or removal from office by the Regional Assembly. (d) The Security Council shall monitor and report on regional security to the Regional Assembly. (e) The Security Council shall enforce the decisions of the Regional Assembly to remove the President from office. (f) Councillors must be prepared to serve as the Acting President, if the office of President is vacant or the President is absent without notice, according to the line of succession established by law. (g) The Acting President shall exercise the powers and duties of the President for the duration of the office's vacancy or, in the case of absence without notice, until the President returns. (h) The President may only be considered absent without notice if certified as such by a simple majority vote by the Security Council. (i) Councillors who cease to meet endorsement and influence requirements established by law shall automatically forfeit their position on the Security Council. Article H - The Lazarene Liberation Army (a) The Lazarene Liberation Army shall be comprised of citizens and will be the sole legal military force of the Democratic Republic of Lazarus and the only military force officially sanctioned by the government. (b) The President shall be Commander-in-Chief of the Lazarene Liberation Army. The President may further delegate command to the Secretary of Defense and other citizens. (c) The primary responsibility of the Lazarene Liberation Army will be the defense of Lazarus and the execution of all military mandates established by law. (d) The Lazarene Liberation Army shall engage in the defense of regions at the discretion of command. The Lazarene Liberation Army shall be barred from invading regions in the absence of a declaration of war by the Regional Assembly. Article I - Election Procedure (a) The President, Vice President, and Speaker shall be considered elected officials for all intents and purposes within the Charter. (b) A general election shall be conducted every four months for an elected office. A special election shall be called if an office becomes vacant before a full term is over (c) One ballot for every office may be cast by any citizen. If a candidate receives a simple majority of the votes cast in the election, the candidate will be elected to the office. (d) If no candidate receives a majority of votes, a run-off election shall be conducted between the two candidates with the highest number of votes. The candidate who receives a simple majority of votes cast in the run-off election will be elected to office. (e) All ties shall be broken in favor of the candidate who has been a citizen for the longest continuous period of time. (f) Any abstentions cast in an election will not count against a simple majority. (g) No person may simultaneously hold multiple elected offices. (h) No person may serve in the same elected office consecutively for more than two terms of four months each. (i) Elections shall follow their procedural rules established by law. Article J: The Rights of Citizens (a) All citizens shall have the right to freely express themselves, including freedom of speech and press. (b) All citizens shall have the right to freely associate themselves with others, including freedom of peaceful assembly. (c) All citizens shall have the right to equal treatment under the law and freedom from denial of participation based on arbitrary discrimination. (d) All citizens shall have the right to defend themselves against criminal charges before the Supreme Court with the guarantee of a fair and speedy trial. (e) All citizens shall have the right to the due process of law and guaranteed protection against an ex post facto application of the law or a bill of attainder. (f) All citizens shall have the right to vote and to stand for elected office. (g) In no way may the rights granted to citizens of the Democratic Republic of Lazarus be construed to be granted to all the residents of Lazarus. Article K: The Rights of Residents (a) All nations shall have the right to reside in Lazarus and to be protected against ejection or ban without reasonable cause and due process of law. (b) All nations shall have the right to sovereign management of national affairs and to decline to provide a World Assembly endorsement to any other nation. (c) All nations shall have the right to maintain a World Assembly endorsement count up to the limit set by the Regional Assembly. Article L: Regional Forum (a) The regional forum shall be located at the following URL: http://nslazarus.com/archive/NSLazarus/index/ (b) Violation of the terms of service of the forums, and the establishment and enforcement of moderation policies will be the responsibility of the forum administration. -- tl;dr: I liked Cormac's constitutional drafts, and so there are many similarities. However, I've found that I dislike themed Constitutions. Whatever theme we choose, there's going to be someone unhappy with it or wanting a different one. I'd rather have a basic government structure that works than incorporate such a theme like for the PRL. We don't have to be unique or complex; instead, we can be unique in our actions. It'll be up to the citizens to mold Lazarus into the shape they want it to be in. That's how this draft goes, in a fundamental democratic structure that has worked wonders for many years. That being said, here are some of the more significant changes: > The endorsement cap is no longer specified in the Constitution; instead, the power to set those limits is vested in the Regional Assembly. In Cormac's draft, it states that "[n]ations will have the right to maintain World Assembly endorsement count up to thirty less endorsements than the Vice Secretary or, during periods of transition in office, the Presidium Councillor with the highest endorsement count." I don't think that this clause belongs to the Constitution, since we have no idea what our constant, normal level will be. Even so, it fluctuates at a high enough rate that "30 less endorsements than the Vice Secretary" could mean anywhere on a very large percentile range of the delegate's total endorsements. It should be up to the Regional Assembly to decide a percentage or a set number for the endorsement cap, and amend if/when necessary. > The Rights of Citizens and the Rights of Residents in Lazarus have been separated (people who are citizens are also granted the rights listed in Article K). It doesn't make sense to include clauses such as "[n]ations will have the right to defend themselves against criminal charges before the People's Court with the guarantee of a fair and speedy trial." when a nation in Lazarus without citizenship could not care less. Another example would be with 'Shadoke' in Osiris and 'Emma' in Spiritus. When criminal charges were leveled against each, both resigned their citizenship and were declared persona non grata without the need for a trial. The rights given to citizens should not be extended to all residents of the region, since that would make matters needlessly complicated. However, under Article K, there is a clause that states that "[a]ll nations shall have the right to reside in Lazarus and to be protected against ejection or ban without reasonable cause and due process of law." It is therefore still illegal for the delegate to banject any resident of Lazarus, unless they've committed a criminal act or have been spamming away on the RMB. I am, of course, open to suggestions of changes, comments, and questions, as this is still a work in progress. Some elements have been borrowed from other regional constitutions, such as The North Pacific, Spiritus, and Osiris. Edited by Ivo, May 3 2015, 07:14 PM.



Harmoneia	May 3 2015, 06:15 PM Post #2
Mhysa Posts: 657 Group: Accused Member #42 Joined: Apr 11, 2015 Alignment Lawful Good Military Stance Neutral Political Views Independent Nation in Lazarus Harmoneia	I don't have ang problem with it basically, but I'm a little bit iffy about practically copying TNP's government structure to the titles.



Ivo	May 3 2015, 06:36 PM Post #3
Lazarene Posts: 70 Group: Persona Non Grata Member #24 Joined: Apr 9, 2015 Alignment Lawful Good Military Stance Neutral	Harmoneia May 3 2015, 06:15 PM I don't have ang problem with it basically, but I'm a little bit iffy about practically copying TNP's government structure to the titles. Ivo nods Titles are unimportant at the moment, when a good structure is required for a government to function well. That being said, perhaps adopting a structure first and then deciding titles would be preferential?



Ivo	May 3 2015, 07:13 PM Post #4
Lazarene Posts: 70 Group: Persona Non Grata Member #24 Joined: Apr 9, 2015 Alignment Lawful Good Military Stance Neutral	Updated with provisions for the RA to set a Criminal Code for Lazarus.



Syrixia	May 6 2015, 09:41 PM Post #5
tunak tunak tun Posts: 111 Group: Foreign Dignitaries Member #35 Joined: Apr 9, 2015 Alignment Lawful Evil	Harmoneia May 3 2015, 06:15 PM I don't have ang problem with it basically, but I'm a little bit iffy about practically copying TNP's government structure to the titles. I'm a TNPer and even I agree with this. Each region needs its own unique government.



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