Chanada/viridian/constitution

= The First Constitution of the People's National Republic of Viridian =

Drafted 24 September 2014

Ratified 10 October 2014

Preamble
This document is presented before the People's National Republic of Viridian, hereafter referred to as Viridian upon its formal establishment of a government. In order to become the official Constitution of Viridian, this document and all of the articles within must be approved by a 100% vote of Viridian’s Inaugural Ministers’ Council,

Inaugural Minister of Foreign Affairs: Lemonhands Inaugural Minister of Infrastructure: Locktrap Inaugural Minister of Defense: immelol4 Inaugural Minister of Resource Management: Dsipal Inaugural Minister of the Interior: peramene

as well as its Inaugural Chancellor, kovio and the Inaugural Vice-Chancellor, HanTzu. This document aims to explicitly define the limitations and parameters of power exercised by these seven offices as they serve the citizens of Viridian, and to empower the nation itself. Once enacted, it shall be publicly viewable at all times and what follows shall be considered the highest law in the lands of Viridian:

2-A: Foreign Affairs
The Minister of Foreign Affairs is tasked with managing diplomatic relations with ally, neutral, and hostile extra-, supra- and international bodies, as well as negotiating alongside the Chancellor any treaties or trade agreements. The Minister shall endeavour to employ the talents of individuals in these tasks but will ultimately be the individual held accountable for all foreign relations.

2-B: Defense
The Minister of Defense is tasked with the defense of the nation as well as law enforcement, and as such is to be considered responsible for the nation’s defense. Working alongside the Minister of Foreign Affairs, the Minister will interface with extra-national interests seeking to bring criminals to justice, and be responsible for the detainment of criminals within Viridian. In the event of a foreign or griefer incursion, the Minister of Defense may make temporary, emergency exceptions to visitor policies and accept outside military aid at their discretion. Said aid is expected to report to the Minister and the Minister is ultimately responsible for their actions while on Viridian soil.

2-C: The Interior
The Minister of the Interior is tasked with maintaining a census, managing the election system in a transparent manner, adjudicating disputes between the citizens of Viridian and maintaining the laws of the nation, including this document. The Minister is also responsible for publishing updates for the citizens of Viridian, in as lay language as is possible, whenever any governmental action is taken.

2-D: Infrastructure
The Minister of Infrastructure is tasked with the enforcement of any building codes which the nation, or any body within it, has enacted. They are also responsible for city-planning initiatives, and maintaining roads and railways both foreign and domestic. In the service of these tasks, the Minister is heavily encouraged to employ the talents of those individuals within the city whom are skilled with redstone, rail, and construction.

2-E: Resource Management
The Minister of Resource Management is tasked with the development of publicly-accessible economic infrastructure, automated and manual farms for the procurement of resources as well as working closely with the Minister of Infrastructure to designate territory and methodologies which will produce wealth for the nation.

Article 2: Definition of the Chancellorship
The Chancellor shall endeavour to direct the Ministers’ Council as to specific tasks within their specializations, shall possess the positive veto, and shall be the figurehead executive in the principal task of representing the best interests of the people of Viridian.

Article 3: Election of Ministers
In recognition of the complexity and time required to run a formal election, one shall only be held if a sufficient number of the people of Viridian call for one. Elections shall take place monthly, beginning with November 2014 in the following cycles: 3 days prior to the beginning of each new calendar month, the Minister of the Interior shall call on citizens to register for the census. Citizens must register for the census in order to vote in the elections or maintain their private property within Viridian. Initial Phase: The Minister of the Interior shall call for a vote of Yes or No for each of the Ministries. If any Minister attains a 70% balance of Yes votes, no further election shall be held for their position. If any Minister fails to do so, it is important to note that they are not recalled, and are encouraged to run as the incumbent in the election which will follow - this merely represents the will of the people to explore their options. This cycle shall be allowed to persist for a week, and the thread will be maintained wherever appropriate and with regular notice indicated in-game. Second Phase: The Minister of the Interior shall call on citizens to vote in an election for each Minister position for which the people have called for an election. All elections will be organized according to Alternative Vote (assuming more than two candidates) - that is to say, citizens will name candidates in order of preference, and calculations shall be performed to gradually eliminate candidates and redistribute their votes according to citizen preference. As such, the winner of the traditional vote may not win the election. This cycle shall be allowed to persist for a week, and the thread will be maintained wherever appropriate and with regular notice indicated in-game.

Article 4: Election of the Chancellor
The Chancellor’s term is two months, and the initial phase of the election begins on the 15th. There is no additional census as part of Chancellor cycles. The initial phase must achieve 40% “No” votes from the people of Viridian in order to call for an election cycle. Following that, anyone interested in running for the Chancellorship will declare wherever appropriate, and make their case to the Ministers. A week is allowed for public discussion and campaigning. After that time, the Ministers reach a consensus, their chosen Chancellor immediately takes power. If said consensus cannot be obtained within two days, an Alternative Vote amongst the Ministers will decide the Chancellorship.

Article 5: Designation of the Vice-Chancellor
The Vice-Chancellor is an assistant to the Chancellor, designated by them with the explicit expectation of representing the Chancellor when the Chancellor is not available. The Vice-Chancellor may only exercise executive powers in the absence of the Chancellor. The Vice-Chancellor serves at the whim of the Chancellor, and the Chancellor may replace the Vice-Chancellor without the approval of the Ministers.

Article 6: Succession of the Chancellorship in Emergency Situations
In the event of extended absence, debilitation, presumably permanent impearlment or any other situation which would make the Chancellor and Vice-Chancellor incapable of performing their duties, the Chancellorship shall descend the ranks of the government as follows:

Minister of the Interior Minister of Defense Minister of Foreign Affairs Minister of Resource Management Minister of Infrastructure

The acting Chancellor may elect their own Vice-Chancellor, but they are ignored from this succession until their position is affirmed by the next election cycle. This order demonstrates only the expectation that the officeholders would be capable of performing the duties of the Chancellor in a crisis. It is not in any way intended to be a designation of relative value or to be used in any other context

Article 7: Modification of this Document
Once enacted, modifications to this document must meet the same standards as required to originally enact it: all five Ministers and the Chancellor must consent to the modifications verbatim. Amendments will be added at the bottom of the document, ordered and dated, and relevant portions of the text which are modified will be struck out in order to remain visible for posterity and context. The Minister of the Interior shall maintain a separate lay Constitution featuring only the text as it stands, translated into as simple language as possible.

Article 8: Enactment of Legislation
A Legal Code shall be maintained by the Minister of the Interior and shall be publicly accessible at all times, it shall contain all laws enacted by the Ministers’ Council, with repealed laws struck out but remaining visible for posterity and context. No law which violates this document may persist.

Any citizen of Viridian may propose a bill to any Minister, however a formal proposal of the legislation must be done by a Minister. That Minister need not necessarily be the relevant Minister to the specific proposal, but each proposal is required to identify which Ministry the proposal directly impacts. In order for the proposal to be codified into the legal code, it must achieve one of the following: 4 out of 5 “Yes” votes 3 out of 5 “Yes” votes, without a dissenting Minister being that which is directly impacted by the legislation (“a Ministerial Veto”), AND the Chancellor’s “Yes” vote (“the positive Veto”)

All proposals are to be posted wherever appropriate, such that the population of Viridian may debate the proposal and inform the Ministers on how they wish the vote to go. The Ministers have no obligation to obey any observable trend within the thread, but are encouraged to take seriously the advice of the people. All proposals must exist in this state for at least a week, though the Ministers may elect to delay a vote if conversation on a topic is particularly fruitful.

Ratification
This document was ratified by the 1st Preliminary Government of Viridian on October 10th, 2014.

Signed, Kovio

Signed, HanTzu

Signed, peramene

Signed, Lemonhands

Signed, Locktrap

Signed, Dsipal

Signed, Immelol4