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Constitution of Capitalist Paradise


To all present, and to all eyes who see, Greetings!

Preamble

Bearing now in these pages a CONSTITUTION of governance and law cast upon by inheritance and virtue all NationStates comprising the region CAPITALIST PARADISE

Our Motto:

From Liberty, Prosperity

From Prosperity, Freedom

Rights and By-laws

Rights of Sovereignty

To protect all nations, the Regional authority shall remain secular in nature. All nations, regardless of social, political, or theological makeup are both equally protected by and equally enjoy the rights and responsibilities enumerated in this document. No nation shall be judged or reprimanded or expelled based solely on that nation's social, political, or theological makeup nor will any of these idiologies be a consideration in any legal or legislative matters within the region.

Inherent Rights of Citizenship

Every nation/player with 15 days continuous presence in Capitalist Paradise is considered a citizen and shall have the following rights:

By-Laws

To protect all nations, the regional government shall remain secular in nature. All nations, regardless of social, political, or theological makeup are both equally protected by and equally enjoy the rights and responsibilities enumerated in this document.

Government

The governing body of Capitalist Paradise shall consist of four general branches:
  • The Executive
  • The Legislative
  • The Judiciary
  • The Vocals

The Executive

The Founder

Duties include but are not limited to:

  • Executor of regional citizenship
  • May help with maintenance of the World Factbook Entry, Welcome Telegram, and Recruitment Telegrams
  • Enforcement and defense of this Constitution and the common defense of Capitalist Paradise
  • Assume Full Regional Control whenever the founder sees fit
  • Maintain a chronicle of significant events in Capitalist Paradise’s history
    • Appoint a citizen to chronicle the events

World Assembly Delegate

This position is elected by the WA members of the Legislature. This position requires citizenship and a minimum influence level of Squire. The position is held for 180 days, at which an election for the position opens. There is no limit on the number of terms. Duties of the WA Delegate include but are not limited to:

  • Executor of regional citizenship
  • Enforcement and defense of this Constitution and the common defense of Capitalist Paradise
  • Representing our region to the World Assembly
  • Maintenance of the World Factbook Entry and all necessary dispatches
  • Appoint a Minister of Foreign Affairs
  • In the event of an invasion, the WA Delegate may assume Full Regional Control for the eradication of offending parties
  • In the event of an invasion, the WA Delegate may appoint regional officers to assist in the repelling of enemy forces
  • If the Founder is does not exist, assumes maintenance of Capitalist Paradise’s history

An accidental usurper, passing the WA Delegate to this position must immediately act to reduce its endorsement count or withdraw from the World Assembly, or suffer ejection by the Founder and criminally charged as a common "Raider". In the event the WA Delegate loses his seat as a result of endorsement withdraws, no punitive action shall be taken against the accidental usurper. However, the Founder may, at his discretion restrict access to regional controls until a new WA Delegate is lawfully elected. For the purpose of this document, "Raider" is defined as any nation which acquires WA Delegate status without following the above qualifications and electoral guidelines.

Minister of Foreign Affairs

This position is appointed by and serves at the pleasure of the WA Delegate. Duties include but are not limited to:

  • Enforcement and defense of this Constitution and the common defense of Capitalist Paradise
  • Construct and close embassies in accordance to embassy guidelines of the WA Delegate
  • General management of extra-regional affairs
    • To maintain inter-regional dialogue between Capitalist Paradise and all embassy host regions
    • May appoint of Ambassadorships to assist in the above duty

In order to fulfill these duties the Minister of Foreign Affairs is given the Embassies Regional Officer Power.

Minister of Interior

This position is elected by the Legislature; citizenship is required. The position is held for 180 days, at which an election for the position opens.[1] There is no limit on the number of terms. Duties include but are not limited to:

  • Enforcement and defense of this Constitution and the common defense of Capitalist Paradise
  • Responsible for running and presenting issues and elections to the Legislature
  • Shall appoint two vote counters to tally votes if needed
    • OR At his/her discretion, utilize an off-site polling service
  • In the case of a lawsuit, responsible for assembling an unbiased jury
  • Maintenance of the off-site forum
  • Maintenance of the Regional Newspaper
    • May appoint a Chief Editor to assume this duty
  • Responsible for recruitment and retention efforts

In order to fulfill these duties the Minister of the Interior is given the Communications Regional Officer Power.

Chief Editor

This position is appointed by the Minister of the Interior. Duties include but are not limited to:

  • Responsible for content published in the Regional Newspaper
  • General management of regional roleplays
  • Mentor new players on how to roleplay properly
  • Appointment of additional Editors whose duty is to assist the Chief Editor in his/her duties

The Chief Editor and/or Editors may be removed from office by a majority vote by the Legislature or at the discretion of the Minister of the Interior.

The Legislature

The Legislative body consists of Capitalist Paradise citizens with at least 15 days continuous presence within the region. Duties are:

  • Enforcement and defense of this Constitution and the common defense of Capitalist Paradise
  • Presenting issues of timely relevance including By-Laws and structural changes to this Constitution, to the Minister of the Interior for presentation to the Legislature.
    • The author of any legislation is responsible for its promotion.
  • Voting on issues and elections as presented -participation is not mandatory
  • Serve on a jury when summoned by the Minister of the Interior
  • May request impeachment of the WA Delegate to the Vocals with a 3/4ths majority vote of no confidence of voting members
  • May remove the Minister of the Interior from office with a 2/3ths majority vote of no confidence of voting members

The Judiciary

The Court will consist of 5 citizens selected on a case by case basis as jurors by Minister of the Interior. Any suit must be brought to the Minister of the Interior by the plaintiff. Duties of the Court:

  • Enforcement and defense of this Constitution
  • Resolve civil disputes among member nations if and after all reasonable efforts have been exhausted
  • Resolve criminal complaints
  • Deliver the final verdict to the Minister of the Interior be it ejection, banning or banning and ejection from the region if warranted in the opinion of the panel

Rights of those involved in a trial:

  • Any witness has the right to remain anonymous. If this is the case, the witness may request one of several services including, but not limited to using a player as a proxy to post the testimony, or the creation of a separate account used to post the testimony.
  • Defendants have the right to face their accuser (plaintiff) as well as their crimes
  • Defendants have the right of public defense by the Arbiter General. If the defendants do not want to utilize their services, they may inform the court who will be defending them

Prosecutor

The Prosecutor appointed on a case by case basis. In a civil suit, the position is appointed the Minister of the Interior. In a criminal suit, the position is appointed by the WA Delegate. The Prosecutor may strike two jury selections of the Minister of the Interior.

Advocate and Arbiter General

This position is elected by the Legislature. Duties are:

  • Vigorously represent defendants in all criminal cases
  • Resolve civil disputes among member nations
  • Provide final defense appeal to the WA Delegate in capital cases
  • Decide whether a trial occurs if a Non Legislature Member is ejected
  • May strike up to two jury selections of the Minister of Interior

The Vocals

A panel, consisting of former Capitalist Paradise WA Delegates, with a minimum of one full democratically elected term in office, residing in Capitalist Paradise whose duties are limited to:

  • Advising all government officials in their execution of their duties. This includes regular evaluations and constructive feedback to help officials improve in their duties.
  • Hearing impeachment proceedings for the sitting WA Delegate. The Vocals must reach a majority vote in order to convict and remove the WA Delegate.
  • Appoint a temporary Minister of the Interior if the standing Minister is recalled.
  • Assist the WA Delegate in monitoring the regional borders

In order to fulfill these duties The Vocals are given the Border Control Regional Officer Power.

Election Procedure

Introduction: A window of 3 days, beginning on a Friday, is opened for citizens to nominate candidates and to declare candidacy.

Debate & Vote: A window of 7 days, beginning on a Monday, for candidates to debate publicly on the Capitalist Paradise Regional Message Board and for citizens to vote for the candidate of their choosing.

If the election is for WA Delegate, an endorsement is a vote for a particular candidate as such the WA Delegate may naturally switch between candidates according to endorsements received or lost. The Founder, at his discretion, may reserve administrative powers at this time.

Appointment: On the 11th day, a Monday, the candidate with the plurality of votes will be indicated and commence their term in office.

Warnings and Ejection Procedure

  1. In order to fulfill their duty to defend the Constitution, The Founder, Delegate, and Minister of Interior may warn, eject, and/or ban nations from the region.
  2. No member of the Legislature may be ejected or banned from the region without at least one prior warning.
  3. Anybody can challenge a warning, ejection, or ban by petitioning to the Arbiter General to review their case. All Legislature Members will be heard in trial which shall be conducted by the trial proceedings while for all Non-Legislature Members the Arbiter General gets to decide whether a trial is warranted.
  4. The Court may hold a trial however they deem fit, but must ensure that the proceedings are unbiased and are held in a timely manner. Upon complaint by either plaintiff or defendant, the Vocals may investigate the trial proceedings and determine if the Court is following procedure.
  5. If a warning has been overturned, it will be forever stricken from the records and may not be used as evidence of a prior warning before ejection. If an ejection or ban has been overturned, the ejection or ban must be withdrawn and the nation allowed back in.
  6. If the government members do not comply with the Court, they shall be recalled by the Legislature and an immediate election to fill the vacant seats shall be held, overseen by the Minister of Interior. The recall election shall follow the Election Procedures outlined above.
    • If the next scheduled election is to be held in fewer than 10 days, the recall election will be forgone.
    • If the Delegate has been recalled, the highest-endorsed nation will become the temporary delegate.
    • If the Minister of Interior has been recalled, the Vocals shall appoint a temporary replacement.
  7. In the case of an invasion or other extra-ordinary event [read Z-Day], these rules may be suspended until the conclusion of the invasion or extra-ordinary event.

Below are the following amendments and additional legislation to the CAPITALIST PARADISE Constitution. These amendments and legislation were voted on and lawfully passed by the Legislature.

Amendments

Consistent Terms of Office Act

Monday, January 8th, 2018

In the interest of creating consistent and uniform terms of office, effective on January 11th, 2018 , 00:00 EST, the term length for the office of World Assembly Delegate and Minister of interior shall be changed to 180 days.

By-laws