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Regional Government
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Topic Started: Jun 8 2015, 09:39 PM (194 Views)
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Triodard and Florard
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Jun 8 2015, 09:39 PM
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As our population begins to grow I think it would be fun and in our best interest to establish a regional government starting in June, assuming we get a few more active nations by then. We have about 20 days to write up a Constitution, and if we finish sooner we might even be able to hold elections by then, although I find this unlikely.
Below is what was proposed as the New Talos Constitution but was never passed and, as such, did not go into effect.
The Proposed New Talos Constitution Article I: The Assembly
1. The Assembly is the legislative body of New Talos, composed of all Citizens of the region. 2. Any Citizen may write and propose a bill, and the Speaker of the Assembly must put it to vote if at least two Citizens petition for it. The Speaker may put a bill to vote even if no Citizen petitions for it if they see fit. 3. When the Speaker puts a bill up for vote, there is to be a five day period where Citizens may vote. Citizens publicly state whether they are for or against the bill on the designated thread for voting. A bill needs a simple majority of votes for it in order to become a law.
Article II: The Speaker of the Assembly 1. The Speaker of the Assembly is responsible for organizing the Assembly and making sure all legislative procedures are followed. 2. The Speaker only has one vote, like every other Citizen, but in the event of a tie when voting for a bill their vote will determine whether it is passed or not. 3. The Speaker’s term lasts two months, and no Citizen may serve more than two consecutive terms as the Speaker.
Article III: The President 1. The President is responsible for executing laws passed by the Assembly, conducting relations with other regions and organizations, and organizing regional events. 2. The President may appoint Ministers to assist with his or her duties, but these Ministers may not exercise powers beyond those granted to the President, and the President has absolute authority over any Ministers he or she appoints. 3. The President shall take the role of WA Delegate, but will not have access to regional controls. The President may appoint another nation to take this role as a Minister. 4. The President’s term lasts two months, and no Citizen may serve more than two consecutive terms as the President.
Article IV: Election Procedures 1. The Speaker and the President are to be elected via a private poll on the Forums, open only to Citizens, where each Citizen has only one vote. 2. The Speaker and President are to be elected in different months, so that the elections do not occur at the same time. If the Speaker is elected in January, then the President would be elected in February. 3. Each election is to take place over five days, with three days in the month left afterwards as a transitional period. 4. If no other candidate wishes to run, the incumbent Speaker or President may serve beyond their term limit. 5. Any Citizen that wishes to run for office must send a telegram to Phoelos for approval. The registration period for an election is the first two seven day weeks of the election month. 6. No Citizen may serve as the Speaker and the President at the same time, and the Speaker may not be one of the President’s Ministers. 7. Campaigns are to be free of slander and harsh personal attacks on other candidates. 8. A candidate must win the majority of votes in order to be elected. If no candidate holds the majority, the candidate(s) with the fewest votes are to be eliminated and a new election with the remaining candidates immediately held.
Article V: Recall Elections 1. If three or more citizens petition Phoelos to recall the President, Speaker, or a Minister, a recall election must be held immediately. The vote is to last five days. 2. If more than two-thirds of the votes are in favor of recalling the government official, they are to be removed from office. 3. If the President or Speaker was recalled, Phoelos will take over their duties until the next election.
Article VI: Citizenship 1. Each player may only hold one Citizenship. 2. In order to be eligible for Citizenship, a player must have a nation in New Talos, have been a member on the forums for at least a week, and have made at least five posts. 3. Only when a member becomes a Citizen can they view the sections of the forums where one can vote on bills and candidates. 4. A thread is to be established for citizenship applications. The application must include the player’s nation in New Talos, any other current regional citizenships, and any questions they may have. The application thread must make very clear the rule that each player must hold only one Citizen in New Talos. 5. The President and the Speaker may approve of citizenship applications. 6. The President and the Speaker are also responsible for revoking Citizenship if a Citizen’s nation has ceased to exist, has been gone from New Talos for more than a week or constantly comes and goes, or if the player is proven to hold multiple Citizenships in New Talos.
Article VII: Regional Security 1. Phoelos, the Founder, has the authority to eject or ban a nation if that nation is a threat to national security. 2. Any inter-regional defense treaties must be voted on by the Assembly in the same was as the law and approved by the President.
Article VIII: Declaration of Rights 1. Any nation may come and go as they please. 2. Any Citizen may run for office, provided they meet the requirements. 3. No Citizen will be punished for criticizing the government.
Article IX: Amendments 1. An Amendment may be proposed and voted on in the same way as a bill, except it requires three Citizens to petition for it, the Speaker may not put it to vote without the three petitions, and it requires more than a two-third majority to pass.
Article X: Ratification 1. This Constitution must be ratified by a two-third majority of the people of New Talos.
In my opinion it is a good basis of government, but I think we should write a new Constitution for Talo Balka, considering we merged with Franco Balka, who had a very different government, and we have several new members. I just left it up here for inspiration and guidance.
So, how do you think our government should be run?
I will keep any updated drafts of the Talo Balkan Constitution below:
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Nordwalsh
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Jun 10 2015, 09:32 PM
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Wait, we should have SOME sort of method of making people citizens. Otherwise anybody can barge in and vote.
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Triodard and Florard
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Jun 10 2015, 09:48 PM
Post #12
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Like what, and if someone is motivated how would we be able to stop them from gaining multiple citizenships? To be honest if they know what they're doing we have no way to detect it. Really any big requirements might only discourage people.
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Nordwalsh
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Jun 10 2015, 10:04 PM
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Well, isn't the whole "citizenship" thing entirely useless then?
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Triodard and Florard
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Jun 10 2015, 10:11 PM
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Not really. Most people are honest, and being told "Hey, you cannot have more than one Citizenship" will be enough. Others will be sloppy (Like use the same IP address) and get caught. But making them do x amount of posts isn't going to change that. I mainly added the clause about citizenship being revoked if they don't make a post after one month on the forum because of that. Perhaps we could lower it? That way we ward off 'puppets' whose sole purpose is voting.
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Nordwalsh
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Jun 10 2015, 10:18 PM
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I wasn't going to suggest a post requirement or anything. I was just gonna say we should have them fill out a short thing saying they want to be a citizen, then get approved by a minister or admin or something and have their forum account moved to a "citizens" group that is able to access the voting place. Most regions do something like that for citizenship.
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Triodard and Florard
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Jun 10 2015, 10:29 PM
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That's exactly what I have in the Constitution. Article I, Clause 5: A thread is to be established for citizenship applications. The application must include the player’s nation in Talo Balka, any other current regional citizenships, and any questions they may have. The application thread must make very clear the rule that each player must hold only one Citizen in Talo Balka.
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Triodard and Florard
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Jun 15 2015, 08:47 PM
Post #17
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I made some major revisions to the Judiciary Article.
Article IX: The Judiciary 1. The Judiciary's purpose is to determine the Constitutionality of Laws and to hear cases regarding violation of laws. 2. The Judiciary is composed of Justices. Justices are Citizens who have thorough knowledge of the Law. 3. The Speaker and the President may nominate a Citizen for position of Justice, but they may not nominate themselves for the position. If the nominated Citizen desire to become a Justice, it will be put to vote. Three-quarters of the votes must be in favor of them becoming a Justice in order for them to be lawfully appointed. 4. Once appointed, a Justice serves indefinitely unless recalled or if they willingly step down. 5. Laws are assumed Constitutional unless a Justice challenges it. If a Law is challenged by a Justice, the Justices have a week to discuss and vote on the Constitutionality of the Law, and unless two-thirds or more vote in favor of its Constitutionality, the Law is rendered null and void. 6. Any Citizen may petition the Judiciary to hear their case if they believe a Law has been broken. At least two Justices must declare that the case is worthy of the Court's time in order for it to be heard. 7. The Justices serve as the Jury for the trial. They may not take an active role as the Jury in the trial if they are part of the Prosecution or the Defense. A Justice may voluntarily choose to not participate if they believe they would be biased. 8. All the Justices serving as the Jury must vote from among themselves a Chief Justice before the trial begins, who will keep the trial organized and decide the punishment should the Defendant be found guilty. 9. The Judiciary must hear the prosecution's and defense's cases until both parties declare that they are satisfied with what has been said. If the case lasts a month, at least two Justices must declare that it warrants more time in order for it to continue for a week. 10. After the case is over, the Justices serving on the Jury must vote on each charge to determine whether the Defendant is found guilty or not guilty. A two-thirds majority is needed for them to be found guilty of a charge. This discussion and voting may not last longer than a week. 11. If the Defendant is found guilty, the Chief Justice is to decide on the punishment within a week. 12. Should the Defense or Prosecution feel the trial was unfair, they may appeal for a retrial. All the Justices, the President, and the Speaker are to review the trial, and after no more than two weeks vote on whether it should be reheard. Only a simple majority vote among them is needed for the trial to be reheard. 13. A case may only be appealed once. 14. Should a government official be found guilty of a crime, a recall election is to be immediately held. Only a simple majority is needed to remove them from office in the recall trial.
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Triodard and Florard
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Jun 16 2015, 01:57 PM
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Based on suggestions from Ismaria, I have made some more changes to the proposal, including:
- Article V, Clause 8 now refers to defamation as opposed to slander, as we are not actually speaking with each other. - Article X now has improved wording. Many thanks to Ismaria for the revisions, especially for Clause 1. Clause 3 is expanded to be broader while still keeping in like with Article V, Clause 8 and allowing the government to deal with spam. - Article IX now revised to prevent a retrial from having the same jury. (Clause 13)
Spoiler: click to toggle Article I: Citizenship 1. A Citizen is a member of the region who chooses to participate in Government. One must be a Citizen in order to vote or run for office, but is still free to offer insights on matters of Government. 2. Each player may only hold one Citizenship. 3. In order to be eligible for Citizenship. a player must have a nation in the region. 4. Only when a member becomes a Citizen may they view the sections of the Forum dedicated to voting on legislation and candidates. 5. A thread is to be established for citizenship applications. The application must include the player’s nation in Talo Balka, any other current regional citizenships, and any questions they may have. The application thread must make very clear the rule that each player must hold only one Citizen in Talo Balka. 6. The President and the Speaker are responsible for approving Citizenship applications. 7. The President and the Speaker are also responsible for revoking Citizenship if a Citizen’s nation has ceased to exist, has been gone from Talo for more than a week or constantly comes and goes, if the member does not make any posts on the Forum in over a month without giving an explanation, or if the player is proven to hold multiple Citizenships in New Talos. 8. A thread is to be established for revoking citizenships, and a message must be posted explaining why the Citizenship was revoked.
Article II: The Assembly 1. The Assembly is the legislative body of Talo Balka, composed of all current Citizens. 2. Any Citizen may write and propose a bill, and the Speaker of the Assembly must put it to vote if at least two Citizens petition for it. The Speaker may put a bill to vote even if no Citizen petitions for it if they see fit. 3. When the Speaker puts a bill up for vote, there is to be a five day period where Citizens may vote. Citizens must publicly state whether they are for or against the bill on the designated thread for voting. A bill needs a simple majority of votes for it in order to become a law.
Article III: The Speaker of the Assembly Article II: The Speaker of the Assembly 1. The Speaker of the Assembly is responsible for organizing the Assembly and making sure all legislative procedures are followed. 2. The Speaker only has one vote, like every other Citizen, but in the event of a tie when voting for a bill their vote will determine whether it is passed or not. 3. The Speaker’s term lasts two months, and no Citizen may serve more than two consecutive terms as the Speaker.
Article IV: The President 1. The President is responsible for executing laws passed by the Assembly, conducting relations with other regions and organizations, and organizing regional events. 2. The President may appoint Ministers to assist with his or her duties, but these Ministers may not exercise powers beyond those granted to the President, and the President has absolute authority over any Ministers he or she appoints. 3. The President shall take the role of WA Delegate, but will not have access to regional controls. The President may appoint another nation to take this role as a Minister. 4. The President’s term lasts two months, and no Citizen may serve more than two consecutive terms as the President.
Article V: Election Procedures 1. The Speaker and the President are to be elected via a private poll on the Forums, open only to Citizens, where each Citizen has only one vote. 2. The Speaker and President are to be elected in different months, so that the elections do not occur at the same time. If the Speaker is elected in January, then the President would be elected in February. 3. Each election is to take place over five days, with three days in the month left afterwards as a transitional period. 4. If no other candidate wishes to run, the incumbent Speaker or President may serve beyond their term limit. 5. Any Citizen that wishes to run for office must declare so publicly, and given they meet the criteria the President or Speaker must approve of their registration to run promptly. 6. The registration period for an election is the first two seven day weeks of the election month. 7. No Citizen may serve as the Speaker and the President at the same time, and the Speaker may not be one of the President’s Ministers. One of the President's Ministers may still run, but must give up office if they are elected Speaker. 8. Campaigns are to be free of defamation and harsh personal attacks on other candidates. 9. A candidate must win the majority of votes in order to be elected. If no candidate holds the majority, the candidate(s) with the fewest votes are to be eliminated and a new election with the remaining candidates immediately held.
Article VI: Recall Elections 1. If three or more citizens petition to recall the President, Speaker, a Justice, or a Minister, a recall election must be held immediately. The vote is to last five days. 2. If more than two-thirds of the votes are in favor of recalling the government official, they are to be removed from office. If the vote is to recall a Minister, only a simple majority is needed. 3. If the President or Speaker was recalled, an emergency election lasting three days is to be held starting two days after they are removed from office to elect who will serve for the remainder of their term. However, if they are recalled less than two weeks from the end of their term, this emergency election will not be held. If a Citizen is elected in an emergency election they must meet all the criteria and the remainder of their predecessor's term does not count towards the two term limit. 4. If a Minister is recalled, they must not be appointed to be a Minister for 50 days after the recall election ends.
Article VII: Regional Security 1. As the WA Delegate does not have access to the regional controls, the burden of ejecting or banning nations falls on the nation of Talo Balkan Founder, controlled by Triodard and Florard and Khasinkonia. 2. They may kick or ban nations for national defense purposes, but if two or more Citizens petition against the decision a five day vote must be held to determine the legitimacy of the executive action. 3. Unless 2/3 of the votes or more support the ejection or ban, it must be immediately repealed and the previously ejected or banned nation allowed back into the region.
Article VIII: Foreign Relations 1. The President is primarily responsible for conducting foreign relations. 2. The President may appoint Ambassadors and Diplomats to other regions or organizations. These Ambassadors and Diplomats may not make any binding deals. They are not considered Ministers. 3. If the President seeks to establish a binding treaty with another region or organization, it must be put to vote in the Assembly for five days and requires a 2/3 majority to pass. 4. If the President so chooses, or two members of the Assembly petition him or her, a preexisting Treaty may be put to a five day vote. It requires a 2/3 majority in favor of it to remain valid. 5. In the event of an emergency the President may declare a Treaty null and void.
Article IX: The Judiciary 1. The Judiciary's purpose is to determine the Constitutionality of Laws and to hear cases regarding violation of laws. 2. The Judiciary is composed of Justices. Justices are Citizens who have thorough knowledge of the Law. 3. The Speaker and the President may nominate a Citizen for position of Justice, but they may not nominate themselves for the position. If the nominated Citizen desire to become a Justice, it will be put to vote. Three-quarters of the votes must be in favor of them becoming a Justice in order for them to be lawfully appointed. 4. Once appointed, a Justice serves indefinitely unless recalled or if they willingly step down. 5. Laws are assumed Constitutional unless a Justice challenges it. If a Law is challenged by a Justice, the Justices have a week to discuss and vote on the Constitutionality of the Law, and unless two-thirds or more vote in favor of its Constitutionality, the Law is rendered null and void. 6. Any Citizen may petition the Judiciary to hear their case if they believe a Law has been broken. At least two Justices must declare that the case is worthy of the Court's time in order for it to be heard. 7. The Justices serve as the Jury for the trial. They may not take an active role as the Jury in the trial if they are part of the Prosecution or the Defense. A Justice may voluntarily choose to not participate if they believe they would be biased. 8. All the Justices serving as the Jury must vote from among themselves a Chief Justice before the trial begins, who will keep the trial organized and decide the punishment should the Defendant be found guilty. 9. The Judiciary must hear the prosecution's and defense's cases until both parties declare that they are satisfied with what has been said. If the case lasts a month, at least two Justices must declare that it warrants more time in order for it to continue for a week. 10. After the case is over, the Justices serving on the Jury must vote on each charge to determine whether the Defendant is found guilty or not guilty. A two-thirds majority is needed for them to be found guilty of a charge. This discussion and voting may not last longer than a week. 11. If the Defendant is found guilty, the Chief Justice is to decide on the punishment within a week. 12. Should the Defense or Prosecution feel the trial was unfair, they may appeal for a retrial. All the Justices, the President, and the Speaker are to review the trial, and after no more than two weeks vote on whether it should be reheard. Only a simple majority vote among them is needed for the trial to be reheard. 13. If a retrial is held, a new Jury is to be selected. Any citizen who was not on the Prosecution, Defense, or Jury of the previous trial may ask to be on the Jury. If less than 3 Citizens ask to become members of the Jury, the Justices who were previously on the Jury may ask to be on the new Jury. 14. A case may only be appealed once. 15. Should a government official be found guilty of a crime, a recall election is to be immediately held. Only a simple majority is needed to remove them from office in the recall trial.
Article X: Declaration of Rights 1. All nations shall reserve the right to leave and enter the region as they so please, except as punishment for a crime of which such nations have been duly convicted, and the regional government shall make no law prohibiting or infringing upon this right. 2. All Citizens shall reserve the right to run for office should they meet the lawful requirements. 3. The government shall pass no law infringing upon its Citizens' freedom of speech, press, and thought, so long as such speech is not falsely defamatory or pointlessly disruptive and obnoxious.
Article XI: Amendments 1. An Amendment may be proposed and voted on in the same way as a bill, except it requires three Citizens to petition for it, the Speaker may not put it to vote without the three petitions, and it requires at least a two-third majority to pass.
Article XII: Ratification 1. This Constitution must be put to vote for one week and requires at least a two-thirds majority in favor to pass.
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United Kingdom
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Jun 19 2015, 02:53 PM
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Hello all, just introducing myself on the forum.
I am a new nation to Talo Balka, and there seems to be an amazing system for this region!
Anyways, I had a couple thoughts, as to make it more diverse.
Firstly, for the Assembly, I would consider maybe having elections for that itself. Then, the Assembly would proceed to vote on a Speaker, as that's generally how it works. Now, seeing as this hasn't really even begun yet, parties could possibly be introduced later. With majority and minority leaders and such.
As well, what of a Supreme Court, or a Court of Justice? I don't really know what else to say other than that.
Anyways, these are just a few ideas for regional government.
Another idea is maybe to have a system such as the European Union, with the Commission being the executive branch, the Council and Parliament being the upper an lower houses of the legislation, respectively, and then a Court of Justice.
Thanks!
-UK
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Triodard and Florard
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Jun 19 2015, 03:03 PM
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I can understand wanting an elected assembly, and if we grow sufficiently larger in the future, that would be a good of action. However, as it stands, I don't think we have enough active nations to make that viable. One of my goals with this Constitution was to make it functional even while our region is small, so I created only two necessary elected government positions. As we grow we always could change it and expand it. Concerning parties, I don't see a need to include anything about them in the Constitution, but I don't see a problem with it.
The Justices serve as the Supreme Court, determining the Constitutionality of laws and hearing other cases.
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