Rhilanon, Christie Island
Outside the Conclave
It has been nearly 2 months. Viceroy Shadow, Viceroy Designee Nociav, Arbiter Wallenburg, and Arbiter Halleyscomet have finally emerged from a Closed Chambers discussion on a Judicial Review. Exhaustion is written all over their faces. They all look as if they have experienced 3 World Wars, 2 Great Depressions, and a Partridge in a Pear Tree. Verdict in hand, Viceroy Shadow steps up to the Microphone.
“Citizens of the Confederated East Pacific, A verdict has been reached.” They announce, “I will now read the verdict.”
A silence fills the air, the tensions mounting on this Judicial Review has reached it’s climax. The end is nigh! Finally!
“Novus Pontifex creatus est”
The assembled crowd looks like Shadow has gone mad. Maybe they have. Maybe they have.
“Oh, apologies, this is not the right script. Ah, here it is.”
— Begin quote from ____
On the Issue of The Concordat, The Conclave at Large has approved by a 2/3rds majority,
This request draws attention to two distinct possible governments of The East Pacific: one operating under the May 2022 Concordat and one operating under the July 2019 Concordat, which is the most recent version prior to the February 2020 amendment. When the February 2020 amendment to the Concordat was passed by a referendum, it explicitly claimed to “repeal and replace” the Concordat before it. This action would immediately dissolve the government under the July 2019 Concordat and replace it with a new “descendant” government. Notably, there is no legal procedure for repealing the Concordat, rendering any such action illegal.
Addressing this request has brought to Conclave’s attention an appeal to superlegal principles concerning the social contract of The East Pacific. Conclave finds that this social contract does not permit illegal government actions simply on the basis that several Citizens will assent to those actions. The social contract demands rule of law, rather than acquiescence to the popular will. Therefore, the February 2020 amendment cannot derive legitimacy from that popular will. Conclave also finds that this social contract does not permit any government organ to act on behalf of any other government organ. Therefore, no single government organ can consent to the dissolution of the entire government on behalf of other government organs, and the February 2020 amendment cannot derive legitimacy from the consent of Magisterium, as no other government organs joined Magisterium in approving the amendment. Without any apparent legitimacy, we must find the February 2020 amendment illegitimate.
- In February 2020, the Magisterium & Citizenry passed a Concordat re-write which stated in part: “Section 1) This Concordat recognizes itself as the descendant of the first concordat of The East Pacific, which took effect following a ratification vote of nations of The East Pacific, as overseen by the Elders. This Concordat repeals and replaces said elder concordat.” Would this have made the February 2020 Concordat a repeal and replace of the previous iteration of the Concordat, or is this an amendment to the previous iteration?
The February 2020 Concordat was introduced, passed, and ratified through the amendment process. However, it is not actually a legitimate amendment. It also neither repeals nor replaces the July 2019 Concordat, being illegitimate and therefore inactive.
- If it was a repeal and replace, considering the pre-Feb. 2020 Concordat had no mechanism for a repeal and replace, would this make all following iterations of the Concordat illegal? If so, will the Conclave strike them down (does it even have the power to)? What about all our laws passed since that time?
The language repealing the July 2019 Concordat is illegal. Since this language persists in all subsequent amendments, we need no further argument to acknowledge all subsequent amendments as illegal and illegitimate. This means that the July 2019 Concordat remains the legitimate Concordat under which the government exists. All government actions and laws which violate this Concordat are also illegal. This does not immediately render all government offices and officials illegitimate, however. Where officials are duly installed within the stipulations of the July 2019 Concordat they remain legitimate. For instance, Delegates elected after the February 2020 amendment may be legitimate up until October 2021, when Delegates were first elected under the current system of universal citizenship due to a Concordat amendment. Arbiters, similarly, remained legitimate until nominated by an illegitimate Delegate or confirmed by an illegitimate Magisterium. Therefore, Arbiters Eastern Alksearia, Nociav, and Wallenburg remain members of a legitimate Conclave, being installed to Conclave in a manner consistent with the July 2019 Concordat. This Conclave has the authority to acknowledge the July 2019 Concordat as the legitimate Concordat, and to carry out all other duties given to it under that Concordat, including to strike illegal laws.
— End quote
A dissenting opinion will be published at a later time. For now, the Verdict has been reached. So it is said, so it is done.