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
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 imposed by the Conclave.
Section 2
The Delegate shall be a Citizen elected for a term of four months by a majority vote of Citizens.
Section 3
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.
Section 4
The Delegate shall represent The East Pacific to foreign entities as Head of State.
Section 5
The Delegate shall nominate Citizens to serve as Arbiters and Viziers subject to confirmation by the Magisterium. Accordingly, the Delegate shall not serve concurrently as a Magister, Arbiter, or Vizier.
Section 6
The Delegate may appoint Ministers to advise on or perform any of the duties 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. Further, statutory apportionment of Regional Officer positions or powers shall take primacy over discretionary Minister appointments.
Section 7
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 8
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
This Concordat does hereby invest legislative authority in a Magisterium, which shall enact legislation and maintain Standing Orders of the Magisterium.
Section 2
The Standing Orders of the Magisterium shall be considered legally binding within the Magisterium, unless contradicted by this Concordat or statutory law.
Section 3
The induction or removal of a Magister shall follow the methods prescribed in the Standing Orders.
Section 4
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.
Section 5
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.
Section 6
The Delegate may elect to, within ten days of passage in the Magisterium, veto an enactment, amendment, or repeal of legislation. A law can also be signed into immediate effect by the Delegate before expiry of the aforementioned ten-day period. The Magisterium may elect to override such a veto by a 3/4 vote.
Section 7
The Magisterium may confirm Arbiters nominated by the Delegate by a 2/3 vote.
Section 8
The Magisterium may confirm Viziers nominated by the Delegate by a 2/3 vote.
Section 9
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. This suspension shall be considered an Indictment for the named offence or offences as prosecuted by the Provost. Suspension shall be lifted by any non-guilty decision of the Conclave or by majority vote of the Magisterium.
Section 10
The Magisterium may remove an Arbiter by a ⅔ majority for abuse of power, inactivity, or dereliction of duty.
Section 11
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, so long as such an edit does not change the legal effect of the legislation. Such edits shall always be announced and recorded in a public area. The Conclave may reverse any edit that violates this clause by a 2/3 majority vote.
Section 12
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.
Article C: Judicial
Section 1
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.
Section 2
The Standing Orders of the Conclave shall be considered legally binding within the Conclave, unless contradicted by this Concordat or statutory law.
Section 3
The Conclave shall be composed of five Arbiters, which shall not serve concurrently as the Delegate or as a Magister.
Section 4
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 5
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 6
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. Furthermore, the Conclave may nullify any law passed by the Magisterium that is contrary to this Concordat. The Conclave is empowered to compel a legally required action by Order with an indictable penalty, as limited by law. The Conclave cannot overturn any part of the Concordat.
Section 7
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.
Section 8
The Conclave may remove a Vizier or Magister by a 2/3 vote for abuse of power, inactivity, or dereliction of duty.
Section 9
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. This temporary suspension shall be lifted at the end of said trial or lifted early by a 2/3 vote of the Conclave.
Section 10
The Conclave may not apply any legislation to any situation that occurred before the legislation was passed.
Section 11
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
The Praesidium shall be invested the responsibilities of regional security, stability, and continuity of government. It shall be composed of Viziers. Viziers shall maintain a high level of endorsements in the region and serve for an indefinite period.
Section 2
The Standing Orders of the Praesidium shall be considered legally binding within the Praesidium, unless contradicted by this Concordat or statutory law.
Section 3
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.
Section 4
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 these Standing Orders.
Section 5
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. This 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
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 decision and select a Vizier of their own choosing to serve as Acting Delegate via a majority vote. In either case, 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: Citizenship and Residency
Section 1
A Resident is an individual with one or more nations residing within The East Pacific Region.
Section 2
A Citizen is a Resident that has ratified this Concordat and undertaken Naturalization as defined by law
Section 3
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.
Article F: Rights and Duties of Citizens and Residents
Section 1
Each Resident shall be given a swift and impartial trial by the Conclave if an indictment is made against them. Additionally, 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.
Section 2
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.
Section 3
Each Resident shall be free to serve in any office in The East Pacific, as limited by World Assembly Membership, Concordat ratification, and Citizenship.
Section 4
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.
Section 5
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.
Section 6
Each Resident may leave the region freely. Citizens who leave the Region will have their citizenship removed. They shall also surrender all governmental roles, except in circumstances explicitly provided for by law.
Article G: The Administration
Section 1
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.
Section 2
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 3
This Concordat, nor any subsequent laws thereunder, provides the government of The East Pacific no authority over the Administration.
Section 4
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 H: Regional Name and Emblem
Section 1
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
The regional symbol of The East Pacific shall be the Mason Compass (without the “G” inscribed in its center), and the regional colors shall be any variant of green and yellow.
Article I: Enactment and Amendment
Section 1
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.
Section 2
The Magisterium may propose a Proposal for Amendment to this Concordat by a 2/3 vote; such a Proposal for Amendment 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 as such shall be known as an “Amendment” or as a “Concordat Amendment”.
Section 3
Upon Amendment Referendum close, a Proposal for Amendment that gained the necessary support during the Amendment Referendum shall immediately be considered an Amendment.
Section 4
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.
Section 5
A Proposal for Amendment is not binding law unless it becomes an Amendment.