Dramatic Legal Reform?!

[Consular]

Hi everyone.

 

Now, bear with me. Beer with me? No, bear I think. Yes.

 

What I'm about to propose might seem strange. But I think it worth at least considering.

 

I'd like to propose a draft of a single constitution that I've had in the back of my mind for many a month now. It is essentially the result of my gathered knowledge and experience of being a member of this community for two years now.

 

The core idea is that is would result in the abolishment of every single current law we have (which, and no offense to the authors, I think are confusing in nature) in favour of a single document that outlines the structure of the entire region, including in game. That last bit will seem controversial right now, but trust me when I say it is very carefully wording so as to maintain our careful balance -- I love the division of gameside authority we have now and would never subject the Delegate to offsite authority, and this document would need to be approved by the Delegate to advance (which shouldn't be a problem as it doesn't infringe on them at all really).

 

I think a single eloquent document like this would be in the spirit of TWP. We aren't strong legislators and this would make everything clean, giving a nice and simple platform for governance and allowing us to focus our efforts elsewhere. I feel like legislation at the moment is consuming far too much of the amazing Elegarth's spirit. A single document might seem less organic than our mess of stuff, but it is worded around ideas that have developed organically, so I think this not something to worry about.

 

I have the ideas but haven't yet fully written it. What I would like to know is if any TWP members are interested in this at all? Just a guage so to speak. The document would of course be fully open to adaptation by my fellow TWPers before we did any implementation. 

 

[That Called the Vlagh]

It's bare, I think.

 

I am all for the abolishment of the current legal structure but will insist on maintaining the Delegate's decision to keep the offsite community and ingame governance separate.

[Consular]

As I tried to say in the op I have no intention of altering that current balance whatsoever. Just putting it in words! Glorious, glorious words.

 

Bare with me. Yeah that looks right.

[Theoden Sebastian]

I would support this. As you said, there is no major disturbance of the current separation of in-game and forum powers that have defined TWP for so long. It might also be good for activity in the HGA.

[Consular]

I've started writing some of it. I'll be posting bits in this thread and updating the OP as I go. It will be on a completely unpredictable timeframe though because that's just how I do things. D:

 

I'd still love more feedback though, even before I start writing in proper.

[Theoden Sebastian]

No worries. Maybe I'll wait for the draft and see what I can help. 

[That Called the Vlagh]

I look forward to your draft.

[Hariko]

This sounds like a great idea. 

[Consular]

The Assembly of Nations

• There shall exist an "Assembly of Nations of The West Pacific", which shall exist in continuous session, to which every nation resident in the region of The West Pacific shall have the inviolable right of membership, irrespective of World Assembly membership, and irrespective of any other condition whatsoever.

- Membership in this Assembly shall be entirely voluntary.

 

- Membership in this Assembly may be granted in exceptional circumstances and only for good cause to nations without residence in The West Pacific, by two thirds majority vote of the standing Assembly.

 

- Nations removed from the region by the Delegate of The West Pacific immediately forfeit all right of membership.

• All nations in with membership in this Assembly shall be fundamentally equal in standing and expression, shall have the right to vote irrespective of World Assembly membership, and irrespective of any other condition whatsoever. No nation shall be entitled to a vote of greater worth than any other nation, in any circumstances whatsoever.

• This Assembly shall be self governing, including but not limited to holding the exclusive right to establish rules over its own procedures, by simple majority vote, though always absolutely subject to the conditions of this document.

- This Assembly may change its own name by simple majority vote. For the purpose of legal clarity the Assembly shall always be referred to as the "Assembly" in law, irrespective of its chosen thematic name at any given time.

• This Assembly shall elect from its own membership a Speaker, who shall oversee the organisation of business and procedure in this Assembly, and who may be vested with whatever additional powers this Assembly chooses.

- This Speaker shall be elected by simple majority vote every three months, in an election allowing for five days for nominations and campaigning, and five additional subsequent days for the casting of votes.

 

- This Speaker may be immediately removed from office for any reason by the Assembly through a simple majority "Vote of No Confidence". Should this vote be unsuccessful, there must be a period of one week before another vote of no confidence can be held.

 

- This Speaker may appoint a deputy, who shall be vested with whatever powers and duties the Speaker so chooses, as long as these powers and duties are within the power of the office of the Speaker itself.

 

- This Speaker shall be responsible for administrative matters of the Assembly, including the admission and removal of members, the maintenance of an accurate membership roster, the organisation and implementation of elections and votes, the application of the relevant procedures of this document and any further consistent procedures this Assembly has adopted.

 

- This Speaker shall have the authority to organise and implement elections and votes in a manner of their own choosing that is not inconsistent with this document or any other law enacted by this Assembly.

 

- This Speaker shall have the responsibility of dialogue with the Delegate of The West Pacific, on behalf of the member nations of this Assembly, and if necessary shall act directly as liaison between the office of the Delegate and this Assembly.

• This Assembly shall have the legislative power to pass international law binding on The West Pacific and all nations within, as long as said law is not inconsistent with and does not supercede this document, as long as said law does not unduly infringe upon the inherent sovereignty of the nations of The West Pacific, and as long as said law does not interfere with the innate rights and duties of the Delegate of The West Pacific or their ability to administer the region.

• This Assembly shall not have the power to limit nor control nor affect the exercise of the innate powers of the Delegate of The West Pacific, in any manner whatsoever.

• This Assembly shall have the right of inquiry, concerning intentions or performance of duties, against the Delegate of the West Pacific. This Assembly may adopt resolutions, by simple majority vote, of approval or disapproval of a current or prospective Delegate of The West Pacific, or of any specific actions they have undertaken.

• This Assembly may adopt a "Declaration of Open Rebellion", by two thirds majority vote, enumerating a list of grievances against the Delegate of The West Pacific. If such a declaration is adopted, this Assembly shall have the right to undertake whatever measures considered necessary for the purpose of this declaration, until such a time as mutually agreeable compromise is reached with the Delegate, or a new Delegate is placed in office.

 

 

 

This is the section I have so far describing what is usually called the "legislative" area of government. I hesitate to use that term since what I'm proposing doesn't fit a "traditional" model of government at all, but yeah. This essentially combines the Assembly Act, the PM Act (I've used the name Speaker largely because I find the name PM to be uninspired), and elements of the Electoral Act as well. I've left out points on ministries and other elected officials but will add them -- I just need to go to sleep right now and wanted to give people something to chew on for now.

 

Like I attempted to say but failed because I can't spell; bare with me. I'm proposing a system where the Delegate and the Assembly can collectively hold authority and guide the course of the region, without infringing upon each other, through a delicate system of balance and convention which I feel reflects our current de facto way of doing things anyway.

[Qartistan]

I'm a big fan of written constitutions, but if we're going to make one, we should start asking other nations what they want in it (i.e. term limits, form of government, etc.) For that, we could create a dedicated sub-forum.

 

There are also some other issues we should address, like citizenship (including how nations may both acquire and lose it), emergency legislation, individual rights and guarantees, constitutional amendments, etc.

 

One thing I really liked about your draft is the Declaration of Open Rebellion and how it needs 2/3 of the vote, instead of 50%+1. This 2/3 system should also be implemented for constitutional amendments, in my opinion.

 

IRL, I'm a law student in a country with a civil law legal system, so I'm used to this sort of codification. If you want, I could help you with the draft.

[Darkesia]

Outstanding!  You really are nailing it, Archi.

 

Qartistan, I think you are missing the whole point.  We don't WANT to be like other places, especially RL places.  Keep it simple.

Example:  There are no citizenship rules except that of residency.  That was clearly stated in the document above.  It is always a bad idea to restrict voting rights/citizenship by post count or WA status or endo count or being "voted" for in a popularity contest.  Don't disenfranchise anyone residing in the region.

[Qartistan]

Outstanding!  You really are nailing it, Archi.

 

Qartistan, I think you are missing the whole point.  We don't WANT to be like other places, especially RL places.  Keep it simple.

Example:  There are no citizenship rules except that of residency.  That was clearly stated in the document above.  It is always a bad idea to restrict voting rights/citizenship by post count or WA status or endo count or being "voted" for in a popularity contest.  Don't disenfranchise anyone residing in the region.

I understand that, Dark. I’m not suggesting we copy/paste stuff from other Constitutions, be it from other regions or RL countries. If anything I said gave that impression, I apologize for the misunderstanding.

 

What I am suggesting is that we include constitutional norms regulating these matters. Like you said, the only rule for citizenship is residency, so including an article/section/whatever stating something along the lines of “Any nation that resides in the West Pacific shall be automatically granted citizenship, and shall only have it revoked when they cease to reside in the region” would be a good idea, in my opinion. Adding restrictions to constitutional amendments could make it hard, or even impossible, to change the system of citizenship acquisition, thus ensuring all nation are treated equally.

[Llamas]

I like this. I already planned to do something like this after the PM elections. One thing: keep the name PM. Remember that the PM is also head of the Executive Council and Head of Government in TWP. The term "Speaker" hardly conveys most of what he does.

Apart from that, however, I support this. It would simplify and consolidate the laws governing our administration.

I understand that, Dark. I’m not suggesting we copy/paste stuff from other Constitutions, be it from other regions or RL countries. If anything I said gave that impression, I apologize for the misunderstanding.

What I am suggesting is that we include constitutional norms regulating these matters. Like you said, the only rule for citizenship is residency, so including an article/section/whatever stating something along the lines of “Any nation that resides in the West Pacific shall be automatically granted citizenship, and shall only have it revoked when they cease to reside in the region” would be a good idea, in my opinion. Adding restrictions to constitutional amendments could make it hard, or even impossible, to change the system of citizenship acquisition, thus ensuring all nation are treated equally.

This isn't a constitution. It's a normal law.

[Elegarth]

Outstanding!  You really are nailing it, Archi.

 

Qartistan, I think you are missing the whole point.  We don't WANT to be like other places, especially RL places.  Keep it simple.

Example:  There are no citizenship rules except that of residency.  That was clearly stated in the document above.  It is always a bad idea to restrict voting rights/citizenship by post count or WA status or endo count or being "voted" for in a popularity contest.  Don't disenfranchise anyone residing in the region.

This Arch!

[That Called the Vlagh]

This isn't a constitution. It's a normal law.

I believe it is being suggested that this is a constitution and that the current laws be replaced in entirety.

[Llamas]

I believe it is being suggested that this is a constitution and that the current laws be replaced in entirety.

Looking at it, it looks like a weird hybrid; it reminds me of the Canadian constitution in that.

[Elegarth]

I believe it is being suggested that this is a constitution and that the current laws be replaced in entirety.

It would be nice, I think, to consider doing that for the most basic and fundamental laws, I'd like to help with it Arch

[URAP]

I've no ability to into helping right now, but looks great!

[Consular]

I'm a big fan of written constitutions, but if we're going to make one, we should start asking other nations what they want in it (i.e. term limits, form of government, etc.) For that, we could create a dedicated sub-forum.

 

There are also some other issues we should address, like citizenship (including how nations may both acquire and lose it), emergency legislation, individual rights and guarantees, constitutional amendments, etc.

 

One thing I really liked about your draft is the Declaration of Open Rebellion and how it needs 2/3 of the vote, instead of 50%+1. This 2/3 system should also be implemented for constitutional amendments, in my opinion.

 

If people want to offer thoughts on what they want they certainly can -- this thread is exactly for that. However, I'm not doing a broad survey, because this is not a constitutional convention. Everything I've written here isn't new at all -- it's just codifying everything that we currently already have in a way that is simple and understandable. I haven't really suggested any change in a substantive sense.

 

As for the various other issues, this is only a small part of what will be the final document. Patience, grasshopper.

 

What I am suggesting is that we include constitutional norms regulating these matters. Like you said, the only rule for citizenship is residency, so including an article/section/whatever stating something along the lines of “Any nation that resides in the West Pacific shall be automatically granted citizenship, and shall only have it revoked when they cease to reside in the region” would be a good idea, in my opinion. Adding restrictions to constitutional amendments could make it hard, or even impossible, to change the system of citizenship acquisition, thus ensuring all nation are treated equally.

 

I think this document already states extremely clearly that residency is the only requirement for Assembly membership.

 

I see no reason to mention anything regarding citizenship, because the way I see it we do not have citizenship. Residents have all rights, it is the only thing that matters, and this document preserves those rights quite clearly. I see no reason to apply a superficial citizenship label on top of that.

 

I like this. I already planned to do something like this after the PM elections. One thing: keep the name PM. Remember that the PM is also head of the Executive Council and Head of Government in TWP. The term "Speaker" hardly conveys most of what he does.

Apart from that, however, I support this. It would simplify and consolidate the laws governing our administration.

This isn't a constitution. It's a normal law.

 

The Speaker can be head of the executive functions though! Keep in mind I'm not following the usual legis-exec divide. It simply doesn't fit the way TWP works. The Assembly is a weird merger of both. And I think Speaker works fine -- it is the nation who Speaks for the Assembly, who speaks for TWP. It's a bit different yes but who cares -- TWP is a different place.

 

I am flexible on this if more people object, but I think the name PM is so very meh.

 

I believe it is being suggested that this is a constitution and that the current laws be replaced in entirety.

 

Yes. That is the final goal.

 

 

Looking at it, it looks like a weird hybrid; it reminds me of the Canadian constitution in that.

 

Pretty much!

 

 

It would be nice, I think, to consider doing that for the most basic and fundamental laws, I'd like to help with it Arch

 

Your help would be welcome of course!

[Llamas]

The Speaker can be head of the executive functions though! Keep in mind I'm not following the usual legis-exec divide. It simply doesn't fit the way TWP works. The Assembly is a weird merger of both. And I think Speaker works fine -- it is the nation who Speaks for the Assembly, who speaks for TWP. It's a bit different yes but who cares -- TWP is a different place.

 

I am flexible on this if more people object, but I think the name PM is so very meh.

I recommend we just refer to the office as PM in the bill to avoid ambiguity as to whether he should also have executive roles as well, and then just give him the authority to change the title to whatever he'd like, similarly to how the Assembly works. Actually, we might as well just give him the authority to change the name of the Assembly and Executive Council as well; having to go through the whole process of making and passing bill just for a name change seems like it might be a bit overkill.

[Consular]

Why? The law outlines the responsibilities so there isnt confusion. The name is irrelevant -- you're the one prescribing some meaning to it. PM doesnt necessarily mean anymore than Speaker in and of itself.

 

I don't think the Speaker/whatever should have the ability to change the name unilaterally. It's already noted the Assembly can change its name by a simple vote. There doesn't need to be a bill for that.

[Llamas]

Meh. It's a minor point.

 

It's already noted the Assembly can change its name by a simple vote.

Which presumably would follow the same process as passing a law/motion.

[That Called the Vlagh]

I think the name of the body will be determined through the course of a convention on the subject. Since this is not a bill it should not be treated as such.

I support the idea of a full constitutional convention taking place since it is becoming increasingly apparent that certain parties are unhappy with the current government structure.

I also agree with Arch regarding the title. Prime Minister implies authority that simply just doesn't exist within the confines of this body.

[Consular]

As Vlagh said, I don't think it requires a bill. Just a simple vote should be adequate. TWP is not an overly formal place and there's no need to pretend otherwise really.

 

A con con was certainly not my intention, but possible I suppose if everyone wants one. I'd rather finish this document and see if people like the things the way they are first.

[Reçueçn]

I think this looks great, Arch! I don't think this discussion needs to get any more formal than it is now for a while, anyways. I agree with pretty much everything you've written already (as you say, it's all based off laws we already have) and I would probably stick to calling the office that of "speaker," but I don't think that's a point worth debating this early. 

 

Right now, the next thing I'd like to see would be how you'll handle cabinet-type positions, from our Executive Council Act. That seems to be the next logical step. 

 

I am also willing to help, but don't know what you would want me to do. Send me a TG to delegate some work.

 

Again, outstanding job, and full support!