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The Humane Republic of Lazarus

Legislative Procedures Act

No. 3 of 2015

The Grand Assembly enacts:

PART 1 — PRELIMINARY

1: Purposes
The purposes of this Act are –
(1) Formalize the rules of order in the Cosmic Council; and
(2) Provide a series of steps for a Bill to become an Act.

2: Commencement
This Act comes into operation upon passage.

PART 2 — ACT

3: Proposals
(1) Any citizen may introduce a proposal to exercise a power of the Cosmic Council by presenting it in a dedicated location for debates of the Legislature.
(2) Any applicant for citizenship whose application has been rejected or whose application has not been acted upon within a week may introduce a proposal to overturn the rejection or to approve their application, as applicable.
(3) If the Sovereign nominates a candidate for the Cabinet or Inquisitorial Court, the Sovereign shall be considered to have introduced a proposal to confirm the candidate.
(4) If a citizen applies to be a Guardian, the citizen shall be considered to have introduced a proposal to approve their application.

4: Debate
(1) Debate on a proposal shall last no less than two days from the time of its submission unless the citizen who introduced it requests that the period for debate be shortened. The Convenor may accept or deny such requests.
(2) The citizen who introduced the proposal shall have the sole right modify or withdraw it at any time before a vote.
(3) If the proposal is not discussed for twenty-eight contiguous days, the Convenor may close debate on it.

5: Voting
(1) If the minimum time allotted for debate on a proposal has elapsed, any citizen may motion to vote on the proposal and any other citizen may second the motion.
(a) In the event of a proposal presented to the Cosmic Council in accordance with Sections 1.2, 1.3, or 1.4, any citizen may motion to vote on the proposal.
(2) If a motion to vote is seconded, the Convenor shall schedule a vote on the proposal no more than one day after the motion was seconded.
(3) The citizen who introduced the motion to vote may withdraw it any time before the vote.
(4) Citizens shall vote by publicly declaring either aye, nay or abstain in a dedicated location for votes of the Council.
(5) The vote shall be four days. Voting for emergency matters may be abbreviated to no less than two days if agreed to by the Sovereign, Defender of the Realm, and Convenor.
(6) If more than 48 hours have passed since a motion to vote has been seconded and no vote has been scheduled, the citizen who introduced the motion to vote may schedule a vote on the proposal.

6: Deputies and Vacancies
(1) The Convenor shall designate a number of citizens as deputies to assist in the administration of the Council.
(2) The Convenor shall rank these deputies. If the Convenor is absent or unable or to fulfill their duties, the highest ranked deputy available shall assume the responsibilities of the Convenor.

https://www.tapatalk.com/groups/lazarus_...t-t31.html

The Celestial Union of Lazarus

The Elections Act


The Cosmic Council enacts:

PART 1 — PRELIMINARY

1. Purposes
The purposes of this Act are –

To codify and standardize the conduct of elections in Lazarus –
to solidify certain traditions regarding elections into procedure; and
to ensure continued peaceful and stable transfers of power.


2. Commencement
This Act comes into operation upon passage.


PART 2 — TEXT

3. The Timing of Elections

1) General Elections shall be held on the 8th day of :
January, May, and September for the Celestial Being.
February, May, August, and November for Sovereign, Defender of the Realm, and Convenor.
March, July, and November for the Prelates and Guardians.


2) General Elections shall last for a duration of fourteen (14) days, ending on the 22nd day of the month in which they began.

3) Special Elections shall be held as soon as reasonably possible once a vacancy in an elected office appears.
For the purposes of this Act, "as soon as reasonably possible" shall be defined as the moment an election commissioner is able to confirm the vacancy and access the elections sub-forum to open the standing period.

4) Special Elections shall last for a duration of seven (7) days.


4. The Composition of Elections

1) General Elections shall be composed as follows;
A four (4) day standing period.
A six (6) day campaigning period.
A four (4) day voting period.


2) Special Elections shall be composed as follows;
A two (2) day standing period.
A three (3) day campaigning period.
A two (2) day voting period.


3) In Regards to Prelates: In the clauses Article IV SS3E, and Article IV SS6 of the mandate, the term 'elect' shall be interpreted to mean a simple majority confirmation vote in the Cosmic Council.

5. The Conduct of Elections

1) The Election Commissioner determined by deliberation with their fellow commissioners to have the least conflict of interest in the election will officiate the election.
If there is only one commissioner at the time of the election they will serve by default.
If all available commissioners find themselves to have irreconcilable conflicts of interest they may ask the Convenor, or the Holy Prelate when applicable to appoint another commissioner.


2) Any eligible citizen will be considered a candidate for election upon stating their intent in the standing thread posted by the Election Commissioner.
"eligible citizen" is determined by the Mandate as follows; "a) hold the status of Core World and have done so for the continuous period of no less than three months, (b) not have been convicted of a crime."
An eligible citizen must not have met the consecutive term limit for the position they stand for, as outlined by the Mandate.


3) Candidates may begin campaigning in the elections sub forum immediately once they declare their candidacy in the standing thread.

4) After the full four (4) day standing period has elapsed, the standing period will be considered closed and the Election Commissioner will close the standing thread.
Any candidacy declarations submitted after the four (4) day period has elapsed will be considered invalid.


5) Immediately after nominations are closed, the six (6) day campaigning period will begin.

6) Upon the conclusion of the campaigning period, the Election Commissioner will open the voting thread and the four (4) day voting period will commence.
The voting thread will remain open for the full period of four (4) days or 96 hours after the Election Commissioner opened the voting thread.
Any votes submitted after the 96 hour period has passed will be considered invalid.


7) If no candidate receives a majority of votes, including abstention votes, (50+1%) the Election Commissioner will immediately open a 48 hour run-off voting period between the two candidates who received the largest shares of the vote. In the instance where votes to abstain receive a majority, the Election Commissioner will re-open nominations.

8) A citizen whose application was accepted during a regular or special election cycle is unable to cast a vote in said election.

9) A special election term is not to count towards consecutive term limits for potential candidates.

6. Election Commissioners

1) Any Councillor with Forum Administrator privileges may serve as an Election Commissioner.

2) If no Forum Administrator is available, any Guardian may serve as an Election Commissioner.

3) Election Commissioners are appointed by the Convenor,
If the Office of Convenor is vacant, or the Convenor cannot be contacted for more than seven (7) days the Holy Prelate may appoint an Election Commissioner.

4) Once appointed Election Commissioners serve an unlimited term.

5) Election Commissioners may be recalled by a simple majority vote of the Cosmic Council.

Posted Dec 18, 2013

Confidence Vote
To ensure that the Chairman continues to hold the three primary goals of the People's Republic of Lazarus, a confidence vote may be held.

1. A confidence vote can only be held in quarterly (within a year) intervals.
   
2. A confidence vote can only be started by a congressman.
   
3. The first part of the confidence vote will be the People's Congress vote.
   
4. If more than 60% of the Congressman are unhappy with the Chairman, then this leads to the next point:
   
5. The People's Confidence vote. As dictatorship of the proletariat all citizens of Lazarus can participate and shall participate this vote. If more than 50% are unhappy with the Chairman and thinking that his guiding is not leading Lazarus into a brighter and more harmonious future, the Chairman is required to appoint a successor within a week.
   
6. If the People's Confidence vote shows the people are confident with the Chairman, the People's Congress is forced to disband and re-elections for the People's Congress must be scheduled within a week.
   
7. % shall only be taken from people participating vote and not the overall numbers.
   

Posted Sep 23, 2012

Pan-Sinker Security Pact

We, the Sinker regions of NationStates, hereby do enact this treaty in solidarity with each other, while recognising the inalienable right of each Sinker region to sovereignty and self-determination:

Article I
The signatories recognize the legitimacy of the regional governments of the original signatories to this treaty at the date this treaty comes into force. The legitimacy of the regional governments of any new signatories at the time their signature is added to this treaty is recognised by all other signatories. The signatories declare that they shall never interfere in the affairs both internal and external of the other signatories, except as provided in Article III.

Article II
The signatories ensure continuing diplomatic relations and agree to open embassies for the other party on their soil, this includes the respective regional forums as well as the in-game region pages. The signatories promise to ensure the continued existence and use of these embassies as long as the alliance prevails.

Article III
The signatories agree to provide military aid to defend the security and sovereignty of other signatories. They will provide this military aid at the request of the other party, or if the signatory believes that a state of emergency exists in which the other party is unable to request military aid. All signatories also agree to support each other in times of war.

Article IV
The signatories agree to provide intelligence information at the request of the other party, as long as this information does not harm their own security or jeopardize ongoing intelligence gathering operations. The signatories are obliged to provide intelligence information to the other party if it refers to an immediate security concern to that party. The signatories must agree not to use the other party to harm the security or sovereignty of another region.

Article V
The signatories may work on military operations beyond those ensured in Article III and both agree that closer military co-operation should be encouraged. However there is no obligation for the signatories to work together on military operations beyond those ensured in Article III.

Article VI:
No signatory shall harbour an individual who attempts, conspires to, or knowingly provides aid to someone attempting to unlawfully seize control of the WA Delegacy of a signatory, as defined by the signatory in question at the time of signing, with reasonable proof of both actus reus (wrongful act) and mens rea (guilty mind).

Article VII:
Should a signatory fail to follow the provisions of this treaty the other signatories shall notify them of this first by private diplomatic channels to the relevant Official(s). Should that not produce any acceptable result with in five days the other signatories shall notify them publicly. Should no satisfactory conclusion be reached still after a further five days the signatory may be ejected by unanimous assent of the other signatories.

Article VIII
A new signatory may be added to this treaty by an amendment to the list of signatories.

Posted Sep 23, 2012

Treaty between Lazarus and The East Pacific

Article I
Both signatories recognize that the Lazarene government according to the Lazarene constitution is the legitimate government of the region Lazarus and that The Concordat, is the legitimate government of The East Pacific. Both signatories recognize each other as sovereign entities.

Article II
Both signatories ensure continuing diplomatic relations and agree to open embassies for the other party on their soil. The signatories promise to ensure the continued existence and use of these embassies as long as the alliance prevails.

Article III
Both signatories agree to provide military aid to defend the security and sovereignty of the other party’s region when either region's other allies aren't involved. They will provide this military aid at the request of the other party, or if the signatory believes that a state of emergency exists in which the other party is unable to request military aid. Both signatories also agree to support each other in times when the other region is being assaulted by hostile forces.

Article IV
Both signatories agree to provide intelligence information at the request of the other party, as long this information does not harm their security or jeopardize ongoing intelligence gathering operations of their region or their allies. Both signatories are obliged to provide intelligence information to the other party if it refers to an immediate security concern to that party. Although both signatories must agree not to use the other party to harm the security or sovereignty of another region.

Article V
Both signatories may work on military operations beyond those ensured in Article III and both agree that closer military co-operation should be encouraged. However there is no obligation for the signatories to work together on military operations beyond those ensured in Article III.

Article VI
If any or both regions fail to abide by the following terms articles set forth by this alliance, either signatory may withdraw, but must give a week's notice to the other party before it becomes void and both signatories agree to attempt seek a diplomatic solution before withdrawing.

Todd McCloud - Delegate of The East Pacific

Viktoria Gryfynn Somerset - Queen of Lazarus
Northern Chittowa - Seneschal of Lazarus

Posted Sep 23, 2012

Treaty between Lazarus and The Rejected Realms

Preamble:
We the sovereign regions of Lazarus and The Rejected Realms in order to strengthen relations between our two regions agree to the following terms outlined in this document.

Article I
Both signatories recognize that the Lazarene government according to the Lazarene constitution is the legitimate government of the region Lazarus and that the Rejected Realms government according to the Rejected Realms constitution, is the legitimate government of The Rejected Realms. Both signatories recognize each other as sovereign entities.

Article II
Both signatories ensure continuing diplomatic relations and agree to open embassies for the other party on their soil, this includes the respective regional forums as well as the in-game region pages. The signatories promise to ensure the continued existence and use of these embassies as long as the alliance prevails.

Article III
Both signatories agree to provide military aid to defend the security and sovereignty of the other party’s region. They will provide this military aid at the request of the other party, or if the signatory believes that a state of emergency exists in which the other party is unable to request military aid. Both signatories also agree to support each other in times of war.

Article IV
Both signatories agree to provide intelligence information at the request of the other party, as long this information does not harm their own security or jeopardize ongoing intelligence gathering operations. Both signatories are obliged to provide intelligence information to the other party if it refers to an immediate security concern to that party. Although both signatories must agree not to use the other party to harm the security or sovereignty of another region.

Article V
Both signatories may work on military operations beyond those ensured in Article III and both agree that closer military co-operation should be encouraged. However there is no obligation for the signatories to work together on military operations beyond those ensured in Article III.

Article VI
If any or both regions fail to abide by the following terms articles set forth by this alliance, either signatory may withdraw, but must give a weeks notice to the other party before it becomes void and both signatories agree to attempt seek a diplomatic solution before withdrawing.

Signed:
North Harmoneia, Lazarene Delegate
Emperor Matthuis, Lazarene Foreign Affairs Minister
Kandarin, Rejected Realms Delegate

Posted Nov 25, 2013

Non-Aggression Pact Between The South Pacific and Lazarus

The regions of The South Pacific and Lazarus,

Recognising that both have had positive relations in the past and even had a treaty of non-aggression, military support and mutual recognition,

Acknowledging that communication between both regions has been in recent times inadequate, and that this has lead to tense and regretful situations,

Believing however that neither region should be an enemy of the other, and that friendship and cooperation between Game Created Regions is beneficial to all involved parties,

Hereby agree to:

• Refrain from engaging in any decisive and purposeful action that will undermine the regional security of either party
  
• Respect as legitimate the current system of government of both parties or their duly selected and constitutional successors
  
• Refrain from conspiring themselves or through third parties to destabilise or overthrow the legitimate government of either party
  
• Report in good faith any known threat or security concern on their counterpart's legitimate government to the latter's security officials
  
• Hold discussions from time to time with each other on the state of their relations and address issues or improvements regarding the implementation of this pact
  
• Upon the passage of this pact the Treaty Between The South Pacific and Lazarus shall be considered repealed
  

Posted Dec 10, 2013

Treaty Between Wintreath and the People's Republic of Lazarus

Preamble

This treaty is created with the intent of promoting increased and close relations between the People's Republic of Lazarus, which is the legal government of Lazarus per its constitution, and the legitimate government of Wintreath. The signatories acknowledge their ideological unity, and their capacity to achieve great things during cooperative efforts, and have thus enacted this treaty. It is also the belief of the signatories that formalized friendship between defender regions is beneficial to all involved parties.

This treaty shall concern Lazarus and Wintreath in all of its clauses.

Article One: Recognition and Defense
1.The signatories agree to recognize the legitimate governments of their respective counterparts as outlined in the preamble of this document.
2.The signatories agree to come to the defense of their respective counterparts if requested to do so by the legitimate, authorized leadership of the asking party.
3. Defense can entail sending nations who are involved in the army of the respective regions to supply in-game endorsements on requested nations and/or verbal declarations of support by the Heads of State (or Foreign Affairs Official equivalent) of the two regions in question -- this only applies if the regions in question are undoubtedly sovereign territories. The legal Heads of State of the signatories shall be the only ones authorized to request such defensive support.

Article Two: Intelligence
1.The signatories agree to inform their counterpart's Head of State of threats to the counterpart's in-game or off-site security immediately upon learning of it.
2.The signatories agree that shared intelligence will not be passed on to external parties, with external being defined as parties who are not members of the signatory governments, or parties who have conflicting interests with this treaty's intentions via non-signatory regions.
3.The signatories are compelled to exchange informtion pertaining intelligence and counterintelligence with each other.
4.The signatories agree not to promote, encourage, authorize, or engage in espionage against their counterpart signatory.

Article Three: Military Cooperation
1.The signatories agree to seek increased military cooperation and shall maintain "Military Liaison" maskings for their counterpart's military officers on their forums. These maskings shall enable officers to see their counterpart region's low-level military forums (defined as forums that non-officers can see).
2.The signatories agree to respect the private nature of their counterpart's military intelligence and to respect the responsibility that comes with close cooperation. The signatories shall not share private information about their counterpart's militaries missions, agenda, or classified affairs to any parties, save for their superiors within their respective signatory region, without the permission of the relevant officers in the counterpart's military. The signatories agree that such information will not be shared externally under any circumstances without permission from their counterpart's military officers.
3.The signatories agree not to sabotage their counterpart's military operations.
4.The signatories agree to promote the strengthening of each other's militaries through sharing guides, techniques, and training advice.
5.The signatories agree to offer their counterpart's use of their late-updating jump points that are owned by members of either signatory's military officer corps. It is the expectation of both signatories that jump points used by a signatory's military shall be available to both militaries so as long as the missions are defenses, warzone missions or liberations.

Article Four: Culture
1.The signatories shall share in-game and off-site embassies. If an illegal delegate of a signatory region closes the in-game embassy with the signatory region's counterpart, embassies shall be restored immediately following the restoration of the legitimate delegate.
2.The signatories shall pursue closer friendship by engaging each other's members on their counterpart signatory's forums, chatrooms, and regional message boards.
3. The signatories agree to hold at least two cultural events with each other on their counterpart's forum per year; one must be hosted on Lazarus' forum, and one must be hosted on Wintreath's board.

Article Five: Protocol for Abolishment
1.The parties that ratified this document shall reserve the authority to render it null and void through the means authorized under their regional laws and/or protocols.

Posted Dec 07, 2013

The Charter of the Founderless Regions Alliance

Preamble

The Founderless Regions Alliance is an organization founded upon the principles of sovereignty and freedom of all regions in NationStates. We endeavour to protect regions from the menace of aggression and imperialism and we pledge to work tirelessly to that end. The Founderless Regions Alliance was founded by the regions Jethnea, Global Right Alliance and North Pacific.

The Founderless Regions Alliance from this point onward shall be referred to as the “FRA”.

Article 1 - Membership

i) The FRA is an organization of regions and interest groups dedicated to the cause of “defending.”

ii) Any region in NationStates, or a special interest group therein, may be eligible for membership in the FRA provided they meet out the criteria in this article. Membership may be granted in the form of ‘Full Member’ status or ‘Protectorate’ status to former Full Members. (See SubArticle 1)

iii) Any region may apply to join the FRA. If a region is accepted into the Alliance they are automatically obliged to uphold the Charter of the FRA, and are hence onward to be referred to as signatories. By applying for membership in the FRA, the applicant region assumes understanding of their obligation to uphold the Charter.

iv) If a region wishes to join the FRA they must first submit an application to the serving Regional Liason Officer. They are then required to send no less than two (2) representatives to enter into discussions with the Regional Assembly that last no less than four (4) and no longer than seven (7) days regarding their application. The Regional Assembly are then required to vote on said application in the manner described in Article 5.

v) All signatories are obliged to defend member regions of the FRA via all available military means possible, should a member region become victim to unprovoked aggression.

vi) All signatories, in an act of solidarity, renounce their right to declare a state of war or take aggression against another member region or a region that the FRA is assisting through redevelopment or military assistance.

vii) Signatories can leave the FRA if one of their official Regional Assembly representatives announces their resignation from the FRA directly to the Regional Assembly. A signatory body may also be forced to leave the FRA if they are expelled by the Regional Assembly through majority agreement of Regional Assembly Representatives.

Sub Article 1- Protectorate Status

i) Previous Member Regions who no longer have the ability to fulfil the Charter, yet still wish to be members of the FRA, may apply for Protectorate status.

ii) A region may be granted protectorate status by both their two Regional Representatives declaring such intention in the Regional Assembly.

iii) A region may also be graded to Protectorate Status by passing legislation of such intent, via regulations expressed in Article 2.

iv) Protectorate regions are granted the same rights as Full Members. Protectorate Regions are also expected to follow all aspects of the Charter as if they were Full Members.

v) Protectorate Regions have the right to have 1 (one) representative on the Regional Assembly.

vi) Protectorate Regions may either leave the FRA fully or push for full membership status by their recognised representative announcing their intentions in the Regional Assembly; triggering the traditional protocol for a full regional application.

Article 2 - The Regional Assembly

i) The Regional Assembly is the supreme source of authority over issues concerning the FRA.

ii) All signatories are to select, in a manner of their own choosing, two eligible representatives. Protectorate Regions must chose one. These Representatives are the signatories' official liaisons to the organisation and can vote on issues brought up in the Regional Assembly.

iii) The Regional Assembly shall hold elections to select the government of the FRA, whereas defined as the Cabinet of the FRA and the Speaker of the Assembly. Only the Representatives may vote in the elections.

iv) The Regional Assembly shall decide whether to accept applications to the FRA or expel members from the FRA. Should the Regional Assembly choose to expel a member of the FRA, the Member Region must be informed at least five (5) days in advance before an expulsion vote may begin.

v) Any regional member may suggest a new bill or an amendment to the Charter; however it is the Speaker of the Assembly that is responsible for moderating the debate and bringing the matter in front of the Regional Assembly Representatives for vote. A proposal must go through a minimum of two (2) days of debate with the Regional Assembly before being brought forth to a vote. The Speaker is obliged to take any proposal which has the support of two Representatives or Cabinet members, or a combination thereof, to a vote, once the debate period has concluded. This does not include any proposals brought under Article 6, Clause iii.

vi. Representatives may only represent one region at a time.

Article 3 - The Cabinet

i) The FRA shall be led by an executive government collectively referred to as the Cabinet.

ii) There shall be 6 positions in the Cabinet; the Arch-Chancellor, the Vice Chancellor, the Chief of Defence, the Minister of Intelligence, the Regional Liason Officer, and the Speaker of the Assembly. No Cabinet member shall hold more than one (1) elected Cabinet position each term.

iii) If a Cabinet member is to be away from his or her duties for more than 3 weeks at any given time, he or she is obliged to step down and be replaced.

iv) Each Cabinet position has sole discretion over the staffing of its department.

v) Should a Cabinet member's activities be deemed dishonourable or unacceptable by an official Regional Assembly Representative, the Representative may bring an impeachment motion against the offending individual(s).

vi) The elected Cabinet members have the option of appointing one or more ministerial deputies if they deem that necessary for carrying out the duties of the Ministry concerned. They are entitled to delegate as many or as little of their powers to their deputy or deputies as they wish. Deputy Cabinet members must be members of an FRA member region. The Arch Chancellor is obliged to appoint a deputy. Should he/she fail to appoint one, then the Regional Assembly shall elect one for him.

vii) The role and responsibilities of the Cabinet are as follows:

(1) - The Arch-Chancellor
a ) The Arch Chancellor shall have oversight on the various departments and ensure the elected Cabinet are executing their duties with panache and responsibility.
b ) The Arch-Chancellor acts as the figurehead to outside regions and organizations.
c ) The Arch Chancellor shall be responsible for overseeing the elections procedures as outlined in Section 4.
d ) The Arch Chancellor has the power to remove members of the cabinet or an Official Regional Representative from their position with the majority approval of the other Official Regional Representatives.
e ) The Arch Chancellor has the power to appoint interim Cabinet members if a Cabinet member is unable to do his duties for a short amount of time.
f ) The Arch Chancellor has the power to request that a member's access to private areas of the forums be suspended or removed, if they are suspected of leaking private information. This suspension of access lasts until the relevant Cabinet minister makes a decision on their case.
g ) The Arch Chancellor has the power to call for a member to be banned from the forums, for either a set period of time, or indefinitely. This ban must be approved by a majority vote of the Official Representatives
h ) The Arch-Chancellor and Vice Chancellor(s) are collectively responsible for creating an organization update to be distributed to the members of the FRA, at least once a month.

(2) - The Vice Chancellor
a ) The Arch-Chancellor, within one week of taking office, shall appoint at least one, but no more than two Vice Chancellors.
b ) The primary duties of the Vice Chancellor(s) is to assist the Arch-Chancellor in his or her daily affairs. The Arch-Chancellor shall dictate upon their appointment which Vice Chancellor will take over temporarily as Arch-Chancellor should the Arch-Chancellor be away for a period longer than a week.
c ) The Vice Chancellor is responsible for acting as the main representative to the signatories of the FRA.
d ) The Vice Chancellor(s) are responsible for approving forum embassy requests with non-member regions on the FRA forum. Only one VC need approve this decision, and the decision may be overridden by the AC.
e ) The Arch-Chancellor and Vice Chancellor(s) are collectively responsible for creating an organization update to be distributed to the members of the FRA, at least once a month.

(3) - The Chief of Defence
a ) The Chief of Defence Force shall be in command of the FRA Rangers.
b ) The CDF shall be approving authority for all applications to join the FRA Rangers.
c ) The CDF has no power to send FRA Rangers into a region whose natives have specifically stated they do not wish to be defended.

(4) - The Minister of Intelligence
a ) The Minister of Intelligence shall work closely with the CDF to plan missions for the FRA Rangers.
b ) The Minister of Intelligence shall endeavour to collect information on any threats towards the FRA or its members.

(5) - The Regional Liason Officer
a ) The Regional Liason Officer shall be in charge of approaching regions who might be interested in joining the FRA as member regions, as well as serving as a point of contact between the FRA and her member regions to ensure a union between all members.
b ) Should the Regional Assembly not elect a Regional Liason Officer, the duties are transferred to the Vice Chancellor.

(6) - Speaker of the Assembly
a ) The Speaker of the Assembly shall be responsible for the moderation of discussion in the Regional Assembly
b ) The Speaker of the Assembly shall be responsible for bringing amendments to the Charter and other matters worth the attention of the Assembly to debate and vote in front of the Official Representatives.
c ) The Speaker of the Assembly shall be responsible for overseeing the acceptance and expulsion of regions into/from the FRA.
d ) The Speaker of the Assembly shall be responsible for maintaining activity within the Regional Assembly and recommending dismissal of inactive Official Representatives to the Arch Chancellor.
e) Only Official Representatives are eligible to run for this position.

Article 4 - Cabinet Elections

i) The Cabinet, with the exception of the Vice Chancellor(s), shall be elected by the Official Representatives of the Regional Assembly. Those elected to the Cabinet must serve a term of no longer than two (2) months before another election must be held.

ii) The Regional Assembly Official Representatives shall be directed under the supervision of the incumbent Arch-Chancellor to elect a Cabinet on the first days of every January, March, May, July, September and November.

iii) Nominations shall open on the first day of these months and remain open for a period of three (3) days. During this time, any member person(s) of a signatory of the FRA may nominate another member person(s) for a Cabinet position, as described in Article 3. This shall be followed by a 3 day period for campaigning via the posting of manifestos. To be on the ballot, nominations must be accepted during either the nomination or manifesto period.

iv) Two candidates confirmed for a single Cabinet Post may opt to form a Joint Ticket by declaring such publicly. A Joint Candidacy may NOT be nominated as such.

a.) An individual may only be part of one Joint Ticket each set of Cabinet Elections.

b.) A Joint Ticket can only be formed during either nomination or manifesto stage of the election process. Both candidates must agree, and either candidate can dissolve said Joint-Ticket at any time prior to voting stage.

c.) Forming a Joint Ticket removes the individual candidates as individual voting options.

d.) For all other purposes of the FRA, a Joint Ticket shall be treated as an individual.

v) Elections shall follow for a period of also three (3) days; ballots must be cast publicly in the appropriate area, although if they choose, a member of the Regional Assembly may submit his ballot privately to the incumbent Arch-Chancellor. At the end of this period, the incumbent Arch-Chancellor shall announce the newly elected Cabinet and step down from his or her position.

vi) In the event of a resignation or impeachment, the Arch-Chancellor will organise a snap election immediately in the same manner as a normal election.

vii)
a.) In these elections the terms "Abstain" and "Present" are equivalent.

b.) In an election where there are multiple candidates running, The only voting options that will count are one of the names of candidate. Voters can not submit "Abstain" or "Present" as a viable voting option.

c.) In an election where there is only one candidate running, voters can submit either the candidate's name or "Abstain" or "Present" as a viable voting option. In this case, the candidate must obtain a simple majority of votes in order to be declared the winner of said election.

viii) In the event of a tie, the candidates with equal number of votes shall first determine whether they shall serve as joint ministers in the office they were seeking, or if one of them shall concede the election. Should they choose not to do either of these, there will be a run-off election held three (3) days after the election results are in. The run-off election will be between only the candidates who received the equal number of votes in the original election. A simple majority will determine the winner of said cabinet position. Until the victor is named, the incumbent member will remain in power. Should one of the tied candidates be involved in a Joint Ticket during the preceding election for any position, regardless of the success of that candidacy, they may not choose to form a Joint Ticket in the tied election.

ix) In the event of a candidate being elected to multiple positions, the candidate shall resign his election to all but one position. The candidate with the second-most votes in each election shall assume the yielded position. Should no candidate assume the yielded position, the election process pursuant to procedures as described in Article 4 shall begin. Until a candidate is elected, the incumbent member shall remain in power.

x) Should the Arch-Chancellor resign, be impeached, or otherwise rendered incapable of carrying out these duties, the incumbent Vice Chancellor shall carry out his or her duties instead. Likewise, should the incumbent Vice Chancellor(s) be unable to carry out these duties, the incumbent Speaker of the Assembly shall carry out these duties instead.


Article 5 - Voting Requirements

i) All motions, not pertaining to those covered under Article 5 (ii) and (iii) that are up for vote in front of the Regional Assembly Official Representatives must achieve a simple majority to pass. Any tie shall be considered a failed motion. Exceptions may be made for certain decisions that require a higher degree of signatory consent. These votes shall be open for a period of three (3) days.

ii) Impeachment votes must have at least 60% of all votes cast and a quorum of at least one third of the total number of seated representatives votes in order to pass.

iii) All charter amendments must have at least two thirds of all votes cast and a quorum of at least one third of the total number of seated representatives votes in order to pass.

iv) In all cases other than unopposed Cabinet races, a vote of either "Present" or "Abstain" shall count towards the fulfilment of quorum, but shall NOT be counted mathematically for the purpose of determining passage or failure of a motion.


Article 6 - Forum Administration

i) The FRA Forum shall serve to coordinate efforts within the FRA and a place to foster camaraderie between members.

ii) The Forum Administrators shall act in an honest, upright, rational manner and to the ends of the FRA, failing which may result in the administrative powers being revoked and remonstrations deemed appropriate.

iii) The current forum Administrators are Big Killer Babys, The Merlion, Cocodian, Wopruthien, and Frattastan.

Additional administrators shall be nominated by the current team of administrators and approved by the Regional Assembly with two thirds of all votes cast in favour and a quorum of at least one third of the total number of seated representatives votes in order to pass.

Article 7 - Clarifications

i ) In all cases, a Cabinet Minister may delegate duties to his deputy at his discretion. They may also, at their discretion, assume or perform the duties assigned to their deputies in the Charter or other law.

Mandate 7
The Constitution of Lazarus
Preamble

Recognizing the inherent responsibility of authority in Lazarus, we lay forth the following government to be known as The Lazarus Mandate, along with such policies that will ensure efficient management and orientation of those nations that find themselves amongst the community of Lazarus, reborn or immigrant.

The Delegate

The Delegate serves as the sovereign of the region and as such, holds sole power regarding regional affairs. The Delegate, however, can delegate such power to others. On the first week of March, the Emerald Council will elect a member to the office of Delegate. Election periods will be a nine-day period that is to be held starting in the first week of March. Three days will be devoted to nominations and campaigning. The following three will be devoted to more campaigning and platform presentations and the final three will be dedicated to voting. At any point more than two months after the election or re-election of the Delegate, the Delegate seat may be challenged. A challenge must be seconded by two other Council members for it to be recognized and the election period to start. Upon the resignation or absence of the Delegate from the forums or Nationstates site for more than 7 days, their nominated successor shall become the Delegate and assume all their powers and responsibilities.

The Emerald Cabinet

At his or her sole discretion, the Delegate may create any Cabinet Office and appoint any citizen to it. The Delegate must nominate a successor whom will be a member of the Cabinet, at the start of their term. All appointments made by the Delegate must be confirmed by a simple majority vote of the Council. Delegation of power to said office is to the extent that the Delegate deems appropriate. Offices may create subordinate positions within their authority, and with the approval of the Delegate, may entrust powers to the subordinate positions and nominate members to fulfill the duties allocated to them.

The Emerald Council

To become a citizen of Lazarus one must complete an application form satisfying the requirements set by the Delegate whom may then grant or reject it. Only nations that have held citizenship in Lazarus for over 30 days are entitled to apply to the Emerald Council. An application is made to the Council in their forum area where they may ask questions of the applicant, especially regarding their past record and future ambitions. After the applicant receives two nominations from existing Council members an admission vote is initiated. This requires a simple majority support of the Council for the application to be approved. The Council retains the right to expel members from the Council and/or region by a 75% vote. Council members have the right to propose any Motion, Law or Mandate amendment they desire, except Treaties which must be proposed by the Delegate, and they all require a 75% vote. All votes without specified time limits last a maximum of a week. Abstentions and absences are not counted as participating voters.

The Emerald Nobility

The Delegate will be recognized as the head of the Emerald Family and King|Queen of the region under their own custom title. The Delegate may bestow special titles of nobility to citizens that are found deserving of special recognition for service to Lazarus. The Emerald Family shall consist of the current Delegate and any members that have been recognized as Delegate in the past. All Lazarene citizens will be recognized with Baronetcy. This is not to suggest that titles are reserved exclusively for Lazarenes. Nobility ranking will consist of the following though special titles may be granted to members by the Delegate not labeled below:

• Baron/Baroness
  
• Viscount/Viscountess
  
• Earl/Countess
  
• Marquess/Marchioness
  
• Duke/Duchess