Good day everyone!
I finally decided to spice things up and throw my draft charter into consideration. It is largely the same as many of the other draft charters that have been presented with some minor adjustments.
Key points:
The threshold to amend the Charter was raised to two-thirds. This is because the Charter itself merely provides the framework. The actual structure, functions, responsibilities, etc., are to be worked out by law. I am open to three-fifths, but the idea is that there is little within the Charter that should be changed.
The Security Council is the successor to LeggComm, the CRS, and Coral Guard. Ideally, the Security Council will work out its structure and function internally (with the Assembly passing laws as guidelines).
The rest is pretty much the same as previous drafts.
The transition resolution is basically a catch-all designed to help transition from one charter to another. It provides some provisions for “what-ifs”, and is pretty straightforward.
Without further ado:
Charter of the Coalition of the South Pacific (2023)
CHARTER OF THE COALITION OF THE SOUTH PACIFIC (2023)
Organized under the authority of the Assembly of the South Pacific, we, the members of the Great Council of 2022, representing the diverse community that exists under the Coalition, convene to establish a fundamental law for the region that upholds our democratic principles and rights, provides for the regional security, welfare, and prosperity, and guarantees the future posterity of our citizens.
I. Supremacy and Sovereignty
The Charter is the highest law of the region and holds supremacy over all other laws, treaties, and regulations.
The Coalition holds sole sovereignty over the South Pacific and all domains under its jurisdiction. Accordingly, the Coalition cannot be dissolved, nor can its nature or structure be altered other than through the process provided by this Charter.
II. Rights and Freedoms
Citizens of the South Pacific, who have joined the region in good faith, are guaranteed the following rights in all matters except the reasonable enforcement of administration and moderation rules:
To freedom of expression, association, and of the press.
To petition government officials and receive a prompt and adequate response.
To reside in the region and use its offsite venues without arbitrary ejection or ban.
To not be subject to bills of attainder or ex post facto laws.
To vote for and hold public office, subject to reasonable restrictions prescribed by law.
The aforementioned list of guaranteed rights is not exclusive. Citizens are guaranteed the free exercise of any rights not listed in this section without being subject to arbitrary restrictions.
All nations residing within the South Pacific are called citizens. All citizens who undergo a security check on the regional forums are eligible to vote for and hold public office unless otherwise noted by law.
The Assembly will, by law, determine qualifications for citizens who have been through a security check to maintain their eligibility for purposes of the preceding section.
III. The Assembly
The Assembly is the sole and supreme legislative authority of the Coalition.
The Assembly consists of all citizens of the South Pacific who successfully register and maintain the conditions for membership as prescribed by law. Members of the Assembly are called legislators.
The Assembly has the sole power to amend this Charter, pass laws, ratify treaties, declare war, and confirm and recall government officials. The Assembly may pass amendments to the Charter with a two-thirds majority and all other measures with a simple majority of all valid votes cast, excluding abstentions, during a period of three days. Measures must be debated for at least three days before a vote is initiated.
The Assembly will establish by law a regional military, its leadership, and the scope of its mission.
The Assembly will choose a presiding officer from among its own members. The presiding officer’s manner of selection, term length, and duties will be prescribed by law.
The Assembly may establish further regulations to adequately conduct its business.
IV. The Delegate
The Delegate is the head of state and ceremonial leader of the Coalition, elected for a term of six months in a manner prescribed by law to promote regional unity and values, uphold regional security, and perform those tasks that, due to game mechanics, cannot be performed by others.
The Delegate, who has been lawfully elected or who lawfully succeeded to the office, is the sole nation allowed to hold the seat of World Assembly Delegate.
The Delegate will cast votes on proposals and all other measures before the World Assembly as directed by the Prime Minister or, in the absence of any such direction, as prescribed by law.
V. The Prime Minister
All executive authority of the Coalition is vested by a Prime Minister, who is the head of government, and elected for a term of three months in a manner prescribed by law.
The Prime Minister is responsible for setting, directing, and implementing policies related to foreign affairs, defense, community development, and other areas related to regional growth and interests as prescribed in law.
The Prime Minister may issue regulations to facilitate the conduction of executive affairs.
The Prime Minister may issue executive orders to address immediate and pressing issues arising from ambiguities or gaps in the law. However, such regulations will be rendered null if the Assembly does not ratify them within a week of issuance.
VI. The High Court
All judicial authority of the Coalition is vested by a High Court consisting of a Chief Justice and a number of Associate Justices as prescribed by law.
Justices are to be nominated by the Prime Minister and confirmed by the Assembly.
The High Court has the sole power to perform the following functions:
To interpret, reconcile, and void laws and regulations upon the determination that they conflict with the laws of the region, relevant regulations, or this Charter.
To review and overturn actions or decisions by government officials or institutions upon the determination that they conflict with the laws of the region, relevant regulations, or this Charter.
To conduct criminal proceedings and render sentencing for the commission of crimes.
The High Court may issue further regulations to conduct its business.
VII. Regional Security
The Security Council maintains the regional security of the South Pacific by establishing and enforcing an appropriate cap on endorsements, gathering and maintaining intelligence, establishing a line of succession to the delegacy, performing security checks for citizenship purposes, and any other tasks as prescribed by law.
The qualifications and methods for obtaining and maintaining membership in the Security Council will be prescribed by law.
The Security Council may declare a state of emergency in the event of a coup d’état or invasion. During that time, the Security Council may take all measures necessary to defeat the coup d’état or invasion, other than impeding the business of the Assembly or other actions as prescribed by law.
The Security Council may issue further regulations to conduct its business.
VIII. Accountability
Officials elected by the citizenry or confirmed by the Assembly must have never participated to any degree in a coup d’état or invasion against the Coalition. Officials in breach of this section automatically lose their office.
The Assembly may recall officials on the grounds of dereliction of duty, abuse of power, or violations of the law, but the effect of recall extends only to removal from office.
Officials hold their office until the expiration of their term or dismissal, if applicable, or otherwise until recall, resignation, or loss of qualifications.
Unless otherwise prescribed by law, all positions in government must be filled by a citizen that has undergone a security check.
The Assembly will prescribe by law a process for preserving all government documents for posterity and transparency purposes.
IX. Administration
Administrators are responsible for the technical maintenance of all regional offsite venues and the moderation of all regional onsite and offsite venues.
Except for adding new administrators, which the Assembly must confirm, administrators have the autonomy to perform their duties, issue and enforce administration and moderation rules, and manage the composition of their membership and support staff.
Changes to administration and moderation rules, and appointments of administrators and moderators, must be publicly announced and made available for comments for a period of seven days before they may take effect.
The Great Council Transition Resolution of 2023
THE GREAT COUNCIL TRANSITION RESOLUTION OF 2023
A resolution to provide for an orderly transfer of the Coalition of the South Pacific from the Charter of the Coalition of the South Pacific (2016) to the Charter of the Coalition of the South Pacific (2023)
Whereas the Great Council of 2022 conducted its proceedings in a far more deliberate and unhurried manner than was initially expected;
Whereas the members of the Great Council of 2022 had varying amounts of passion related to specific and numerous proposals;
Whereas this body has produced and agreed upon a successor Charter for the Coalition of the South Pacific;
Whereas this body left a great many laws yet to be decided and drafted;
Whereas this body feels that allowing the more numerous and active members of the Assembly the ability to draft successor laws would be beneficial to the region in the long term;
Whereas a transition period is needed to promote stability and orderly transfer of the current and incoming forms of government;
Whereas the transition period, as described, would provide order and stability in the absence of successor laws;
Resolved by the Great Council of 2022:
All laws and regulations, except treaties with foreign regions or organizations and decisions from the High Court, are rendered null and void.
All current legislators, who obtained their status prior to the adjournment of the Great Council of 2022, will remain legislators.
All legislators have until the last day of the month following the adjournment of the Great Council of 2022 to report to the presiding officer of the Assembly their desire to remain a legislator. Should a legislator voluntarily resign their legislator status, they will become a security-checked citizen.
The incumbent Delegate of the South Pacific, or their lawful successor, will continue to serve until the expected conclusion of their term.
The incumbent Prime Minister, and their Cabinet, will continue to hold office until the expected conclusion of their term and operate under the laws in place at the time of their election.
The Chair of the Assembly will continue to hold their office until the fourteenth (14) section of this resolution has been met.
The incumbent Local Council will continue to hold office until the expected conclusion of their term and operate under the laws in place at the time of their election.
All appointed positions within the South Pacific will continue to serve until the expected conclusion of their term and operate under the laws in place at the time of their appointment. Appointed positions that do not have a concluding date of service continue if their appointment if the successor Charter maintains their position.
All appointed positions that do not have a concluding date will confirm their continuation in the position with the first Prime Minister elected under the new Charter.
Members of the Council on Regional Security, Coral Guard, and Legislator Committee shall lawfully succeed in membership to the Security Council. The Assembly must confirm Coral Guard members before they may assume full membership in the Security Council.
In the instance that a term for an elected official is nearing its conclusion, their position exists under the new Charter, and no successor law detailing their election mechanism has been codified, then the previous election method for that position will be used.
In the instance of ambiguity due to the absence of successive legislation, the prior law will serve as a guide while successive legislation is drafted. This section should not be read as to dissuade the Prime Minister from creating an executive order under Article V, Section 4 of the Charter.
The presiding officer of the Assembly is directed to ensure that relevant laws prescribed by the Charter have been enacted.
Upon determination by the presiding officer of the Assembly, or a majority of the Assembly thereof, that the aforementioned terms of this resolution have been met, an election will be conducted for the position of presiding officer of the Assembly.
Upon conclusion of the election, the presiding officer of the Assembly will archive this resolution.