Herro!
I come today to propose we re-format the Concordat.
At present, the Concordat is a bit difficult to read since it lacks a certain level of organization after you break it down into Articles. Plus we have some mega bulky clauses that can be difficult to sift through on their own. I think it makes sense to therefore reformat the Concordat with one more layer of organization to make it more accessible.
I don’t see many cons beyond maybe loosing the historical formatting of our oldest law, but at some point practical concerns need to come before history IMO.
NOTE 1: The only legally substantial change is some wording regarding Delegate veto & signature of legislation, “substantial” in that I changed the wording a bit for more concision while trying to keep the exact same legal meaning and the addition of Article B, Section 3, clause 3 (which is not present in the current Concordat), some alterations to Minister appointments, and merging of Article E & F + addition of Article D, Section 2.6 . Otherwise most changes if any were removing unnecessary transition words or use more specific terms in clauses succeeding where that term was first used (see as an example “discretionary direct edits” in Article B, Section 6 compared with Clause B.12 in the current Concordat).
NOTE 2: I do not believe we should fall into another ConkCrisis because a rewrite is another word for an amendment that changes everything, key word being amendment . 2019/2020 was a repeal and replace mistakenly labelled as a rewrite, which is why the Concrisis occured in 2022.
NOTE 3: If anyone would like a table side-by-side comparison of this vs the current Concordat, please let me know and I’ll do it.
NOTE 4: Plan to move this 2 weeks from the original posting date.
The Magisterium, believing improvements can be made to the Concordat’s formatting, hereby proposes this rewrite of the Concordat in full for approval by the Citizenry to become a Concordat Amendment.
Preamble
We, the assembled Residents of The East Pacific, desiring a more prosperous and perfect region, do hereby gather to establish this Concordat of The East Pacific.
Article A: Executive
Section 1: Establishment
This Concordat does hereby invest executive authority in a Delegate of The East Pacific and does appoint the Delegate the executor of this Concordat, subsequent laws passed by the Magisterium, and Orders and verdicts imposed by the Conclave.
The Delegate shall be a Citizen elected for a term of four months by a majority vote of Citizens.
The Delegate shall not serve concurrently as a Magister, Arbiter, or Vizier.
Section 2: Minister Appointments
The Delegate may appoint Ministers to take on any of the roles of the Delegate and Advisors to advise the Delegate.
The Delegate or relevant Minister may further appoint Staffers to assist in the Delegate’s or Minister’s duties.
As a limit, the Delegate may only order a Vizier to assume the full Delegacy. The Delegate may then retake the Delegacy at any time.
Statutory apportionment of Regional Officer positions or powers shall take primacy over discretionary Minister appointments.
An individual that has assumed the Delegacy through a means other than that provided for by this Concordat shall not be recognized by the Government as Delegate.
Section 3: General Powers & Responsibilities
The Delegate shall eject and/or banish Nations from the Region who have committed a summary offense or have been sentenced as such for committing an indictable offense, by the Conclave, for the prescribed period of time.
The Delegate shall represent The East Pacific to foreign entities as Head of State.
The Delegate shall nominate Citizens to serve as Arbiters and Viziers subject to confirmation by the Magisterium.
Section 4: Recruitment
The Delegate is fully empowered to create and send recruitment telegrams to Frontier regions on behalf of The East Pacific.
Exceptions to this power include any region with an embassy or treaty with The East Pacific, and any properties thereof.
Further exceptions to this power may be defined in law.
Article B: Legislative
Section 1: Establishment & Organization
This Concordat does hereby invest legislative authority in a Magisterium, which shall enact legislation and maintain Standing Orders of the Magisterium.
The Standing Orders of the Magisterium shall be considered legally binding within the Magisterium, unless contradicted by this Concordat or statutory law.
The induction or removal of a Magister shall follow the methods prescribed in the Standing Orders.
Section 2: Magisterium Leadership
Magisters shall elect among themselves a Provost, as outlined in the Standing Orders.
The Provost shall preside over the Magisterium, represent it to the Executive, the Praesidium and the Conclave, and keep a record of the laws of The East Pacific.
Any Magister may motion, with support from another Magister, to remove the Provost for misuse of their ability to make discretionary edits via a 1/2 majority vote - a successful motion shall initiate the vote with the Provost being suspended solely for the vote’s duration.
Section 3: Legislative Process
Enactment, amendment, or repeal of legislation, and both ratification and repeal of a treaty or declaration of war submitted by the Delegate, shall be decided by majority vote.
The Delegate may elect to, within ten days of passage in the Magisterium, veto or sign into immediate effect an enactment of a law, amendment, or repeal of legislation.
A lack of Delegate veto or signature within ten days of passage by Magisterium vote shall lead to the relevant law, amendment, or repeal of legislation being put into immediate effect after the ten day period expires.
The Magisterium may elect to override a Delegate veto of a law, amendment, or repeal of legislation by a 3/4 vote.
Section 4: Magisterium Confirmation and Removal of Officals
The Magisterium may confirm Arbiters nominated by the Delegate by a 2/3 vote.
The Magisterium may confirm Viziers nominated by the Delegate by a 2/3 vote.
The Magisterium may remove an Arbiter by a ⅔ majority for abuse of power, inactivity, or dereliction of duty.
Section 5: Magisterium Suspension of Officials
The Magisterium may suspend the Delegate, a Vizier, or an Arbiter by a 2/3 vote for suspicion of indictable crimes or abuse of power.
Said suspension shall be considered an Indictment for the named offence or offences as prosecuted by the Provost.
Said suspension shall be lifted by any non-guilty decision of the Conclave or by majority vote of the Magisterium.
Section 6: Discretionary Edits
Should a spelling, grammar, naming, or formatting (in relation to the rest of the legislation’s format) error exist in the Concordat or statutory law, the Provost may make a discretionary direct edit to correct said error.
Discretionary direct edits cannot change the legal effect of the legislation.
Discretionary direct edits shall always be announced and recorded in a public area.
The Conclave may reverse any discretionary direct edits that violates this clause by a 2/3 majority vote.
Article C: Judicial
Section 1: Establishment & Organization
This Concordat does hereby invest judicial power in the Conclave, which shall be the interpreter of this Concordat and the judge and jury of Residents.
The Standing Orders of the Conclave shall be considered legally binding within the Conclave, unless contradicted by this Concordat or statutory law.
The Conclave shall be composed of five Arbiters, which shall not serve concurrently as the Delegate or as a Magister.
Section 2: Arbiter Confirmations and Re-Confirmations
Every six months, on the first of January and July, discussion for re-confirmation of all sitting Arbiters shall be immediately begun by the Provost of the Magisterium.
Arbiters are appointed for a tenure lasting until the next re-confirmation of the cycle unless they are appointed in the month prior to re-confirmation, in which case they hold their seat until the second re-confirmation of the cycle.
After three days of discussion on re-confirmation, a vote will begin. All sitting Arbiters shall retain their seat for the duration of re-confirmation.
Should any Arbiter(s) fail the re-confirmation vote by the Magisterium, their seat is forfeited.
In the event of any vacancy in the Conclave, the Delegate must nominate a new Arbiter within seven days.
An Arbiter cannot be nominated again for the same seat after their re-confirmation fails.
Section 3: Conclave Leadership
The Arbiters shall elect from amongst themselves a Viceroy who shall oversee the proceedings of the Conclave, administrate elections in the Region, and represent the Conclave to the Executive, the Magisterium, and the Praesidium.
The Viceroy shall submit election regulation changes to the Magisterium for majority approval.
The Viceroy shall be charged with maintaining the Standing Orders of the Conclave.
Section 4: General Judicial Powers & Limits
The Conclave may rule on the actions of the Delegate or the Praesidium and nullify any which are contrary to this Concordat or statutory law.
The Conclave may nullify any law passed by the Magisterium that is contrary to this Concordat.
The Conclave may remove a Vizier or Magister by a 2/3 vote for abuse of power, inactivity, or dereliction of duty.
The Conclave cannot overturn any part of the Concordat.
The Conclave may not apply any legislation to any situation that occurred before the legislation was passed.
Section 4: Orders
The Conclave is empowered to compel an action, reversal, or suspension of action by Order with an indictable penalty for if the Order is not met.
Orders can be limited in any way by statutory law.
Orders can never conflict with the Concordat.
Orders may supersede statutory law, but only when a compelled action or reversal/suspension of such is necessary to maintain the status quo until an on-going trial concludes (upon which the relevant Order shall no longer be enforced).
Section 5: Trials
The Conclave may rule on the actions of any Resident to be in violation of this Concordat or of the indicted offences as prescribed by the laws of the Region and sentence those found guilty pursuant to statutory limits.
Trials in the Conclave shall be in open session.
The Conclave may, via a 2/3 vote, temporarily suspend any government official who is being tried for an indictable offense from exercising some or all of their governmental powers during trial.
Temporary suspensions shall be lifted at the end of said government official’s trial or lifted early by a 2/3 vote of the Conclave.
Any Arbiter with substantial prior involvement with a matter that goes to trial must recuse themselves from said trial.
If necessary, an Arbiter may be forcefully recused with the support of all other non-recused Arbiters.
Recused Arbiters may not perform Arbiter duties for any matter directly related to said trial.
Article D: Security
Section 1: Establishment & Organization
The Praesidium shall be invested the responsibilities of regional security, stability, and continuity of government.
The Praesidium shall be composed of Viziers, each who shall maintain a high level of endorsements in the region and serve for an indefinite period.
The Praesidium shall be charged with removing from power any Delegate suspended by the Magisterium, guilty of a summary or indictable offence, or any individual that has illegally seized the Delegacy.
The Standing Orders of the Praesidium shall be considered legally binding within the Praesidium, unless contradicted by this Concordat or statutory law.
Section 2: Praesidium Leadership
The Praesidium shall elect from among the Viziers a Grand Vizier, who shall preside over the Praesidium and represent it to the Magisterium, the Executive, and the Conclave.
The Grand Vizier shall oversee the security of the region as determined by this Concordat and the Standing Orders of the Praesidium.
The Grand Vizier shall be charged with maintaining the Standing Orders of the Praesidium.
The Grand Vizier cannot serve concurrently as Delegate, Provost, or Arbiter.
Section 3: Delegate Suspension and Trial
The Praesidium may temporarily suspend the Delegate via a 2/3 majority vote if it believes beyond a reasonable doubt that the Delegate has acted to destroy this Concordat or has committed an abuse of power.
The temporary suspension must be confirmed within seventy-two hours by a decision of the Conclave.
The suspension shall be considered an Indictment for High Treason or abuse of power as prosecuted by the Grand Vizier or designee.
The suspension and Indictment shall be lifted by a non-guilty verdict of the Conclave, a 2/3 vote of the Praesidium, or a 4/5 vote of the Magisterium.
Section 6: Acting Delegate Selection
Should the Delegate be suspended or leave office by removal, resignation, or any other means, the Praesidium shall select a Vizier to serve as Acting Delegate.
At any point, the Magisterium may override the Praesidium’s selection and select a Vizier of their own choosing to serve as Acting Delegate via a majority vote.
Whether Praesidium or Magisterium appointed, the Acting Delegate may exercise any and all powers of the Delegacy until the Delegate is unsuspended or, if the Delegate left office, a new election for Delegate has been held.
A Vizier shall not be considered as serving concurrently as Delegate if serving as an Acting Delegate.
Article E: Residency, Citizenship, Rights
Section 1: Residents, Citizens, and Naturalization
A Resident is an individual with one or more nations residing within The East Pacific Region.
A Citizen is a Resident that has ratified this Concordat and undertaken Naturalization as defined by law.
The Grand Vizier, with assistance from the Praesidium, shall be charged with overseeing the naturalization process and maintaining a record of all Citizens pursuant to statutory law and, secondly, the Standing Orders of the Praesidium.
Section 2: Loss of Citizenship
Citizens who leave the Region may have their citizenship removed.
Citizens who leave the Region shall also surrender all governmental roles, except in circumstances explicitly provided for by law.
Section 3: General Rights
Each Resident shall be free to serve in any office in The East Pacific, as limited by World Assembly Membership, Concordat ratification, and Citizenship.
Each Resident may submit to the Magisterium a legislative proposal for public debate and Magisterium vote, excluding those which may only be proposed by a specific governmental entity as according to this Concordat or statutory law.
All Residents that have gained Citizenship may vote in Delegate elections and Concordat referenda, except in the case that their Citizenship was confirmed during the voting period for the election or referendum in question.
Each Resident may leave the region freely.
Section 4: Rights During Trial
Each Resident shall be given a swift and impartial trial by the Conclave if an indictment is made against them.
Any Resident may appeal to the Conclave via trial on any government action taken against them.
Residents may not be banned or ejected for any reason not stated in law or this Concordat.
Each Resident shall not be tried twice for the same offence nor forced to self-incriminate unless new and compelling evidence has been presented to the Conclave nor forced to self-incriminate.
Residents shall not be denied the right to representation as limited by statutory law.
Article F: The Administration
Section 1: Recognition
The off-site administration team, “the Administration”, shall be understood to be the administration team of The East Pacific’s forum as listed here: About - Tep Forum .
The Administration, and any moderation team or designated governmental officials appointed thereto, are those responsible for the technical maintenance of The East Pacific’s official Discord servers, forums, and other official services.
Section 2: Legal Proceedures
This Concordat, nor any subsequent laws thereunder, provides the government of The East Pacific no authority over the Administration.
Any ban, decided by the Administration in consensus for violations of the applicable rules of conduct related to the official off-site services, shall be considered a ban under the law for the same duration, and executed as such by the relevant regional authorities, without trial, hearing or appeal to the Conclave.
Article G: Regional Name and Emblem
Section 1: Name
The official name of the government of The East Pacific shall be the “Confederated East Pacific”.
“The Confederacy of The East Pacific” or “The Confederated States of The East Pacific” may be used interchangeably with The East Pacific’s official name.
Section 2: Emblem
The regional symbol of The East Pacific shall be the Mason Compass (without the “G” inscribed in its center).
The regional colors shall be any variant of green and yellow.
Article H: Enactment and Amendment
Section 1: Establishment & Amendment Proceedure
This Concordat is understood to have been established on January 11th, 2009, taking effect following a ratification vote of nations of The East Pacific as overseen by the Elders.
The Magisterium may propose a Proposal for Amendment to this Concordat by a 2/3 vote
A Proposal for Amendment successfully proposed by the Magisterium must receive the support of 2/3 of those Citizens voting in a referendum administered by the Conclave to be ratified and become a legally binding Concordat amendment.
A legally binding Concordat amendment ratified by the above process shall be known as an “Amendment” or as a “Concordat Amendment”.
Section 2: Specifications
Upon Amendment Referendum close, a Proposal for Amendment that gained the necessary support during the Amendment Referendum shall immediately be considered an Amendment.
Proposals for Amendments shall be defined as changes, additions and/or removal of provisions within this Concordat or replacements of this Concordat that have not been ratified in an Amendment Referendum.
A Proposal for Amendment is not binding law unless it becomes an Amendment.
5
Never read the original Concordat, but this version is definitely easier to get through.
I really like this. One minor legal clarification I think it’d be great to lump in is:
Section 3: Minister Appointments
The Delegate may appoint Ministers or Advisors to the Cabinet, or Staff, which may take on any of the roles of the Delegate.
As a limit, the Delegate may only order a Vizier to assume the full Delegacy. The Delegate may then retake the Delegacy at any time.
An individual that has assumed the Delegacy through a means other than that provided for by this Concordat shall not be recognized by the Government as Delegate.
I feel like if we do that it should be a little more explicit, so like:
Section 3: Minister Appointments
The Delegate may appoint Ministers to take on any of the roles of the Delegate and Advisors to advise the Delegate.
The Delegate or relevant Minister may further appoint Staffers to assist in the Delegate or Minister’s duties.
As a limit, the Delegate may only order a Vizier to assume the full Delegacy. The Delegate may then retake the Delegacy at any time.
Statutory apportionment of Regional Officer positions or powers shall take primacy over discretionary Minister appointments.
An individual that has assumed the Delegacy through a means other than that provided for by this Concordat shall not be recognized by the Government as Delegate.
thoughts?
i have made a new clause from section 3 to section 1 (since i think the statement the delegate cannot be arbiter/vizier should be its own clause) + moved up the appointing ministers section to follow the overall theme of establishment > organization > powers
also renamed the viceory and Gv sections to conclave & prae leadership respectively
Agreed. Also can I once again advocate for the merging of Articles E and F? ESPECIALLY with section titles, I think there is absolutely no reason to separate them at all. Rights of Citizens and Residents should fall under Citizenship and Residency. It seems so obvious to me.
i have added a prohibition of the grand vizier from being arbiter, provost, or delegate due to conflict of interest there. This is not in the current Concordat, but I think it should be noncontroversial.
incorporated this as-yet not acrhived but sitll legal concordat amendment into the proposal: Referendum on Multiple Concordat Articles (2024.1)
I noticed I changed Article E, Section 2, Clause 1 from the original Concordat which stated Citizens WILL get their citizenship stripped if they leave the region to they MAY. This is to reflect that our currently laws grant grace to Citizens who leave TEP, and that they may not necessarily be removed automatically.
This was not a change disclosed previously, so I will motion this to vote in two days if no feedback/discussion is given. I have checked over the Concordat, slowly going over edited clauses and roughly skimming clauses/sentences translated 1-1 into the proposal. To my understanding, the meaningful only changes made should be the ones I have mentioned previously.
To summarize the major, not-just-formatting or fixing transitional phrases changes to the Concordat:
Word changes Delegate veto & signature of legislation, “substantial” in that I changed the wording a bit for more concision while trying to keep the exact same legal meaning
addition of Article B, Section 3, clause 3 (which is not present in the current Concordat)
some alterations to Minister appointment clauses (clarifying our current exec structure better mostly)
merging of Article E & F
addition of Article D, Section 2.4 (because this should be law)
changed Article E, Section 2, Clause 1 from the original Concordat, which stated Citizens WILL get their citizenship stripped if they leave the region, to they MAY get citizenship stripped in the proposed rewrite.