The structure and duties of Conclave are spelled out specifically in Article F of Concordat.
Arbiters
The Arbiters who serve in Conclave are citizens appointed by the Delegate and approved by the Magisterium. There are no more than seven. Arbiters have no term limit. Conclave in session must have an odd number of Arbiters, which avoids the possibility of a tie vote. Arbiters are expected to be active and willing to express their opinions when called upon.
Interpreting Law
Conclave is the sole interpreter of region law. In that capacity, it has:[ul]
[li]Determined that certain laws and rules are inconsistent with Concordat and as such are not legal
[li]Responded to charges brought against nations by determining if their actions have violated region law
[/li][/ul]Concordat is the supreme set of rules for all nations in the region, regardless of whether or not they are on the forum, have citizenship, or are elected officials.
The Last Resort
The region’s forum is run by Admin, who are nations trusted with the highest forum privileges. Moderators, who have elevated privileges, assist in some Admin tasks. The actions of Admin are not governmental and there is no appeal of those actions in Conclave or with any other government official, including Delegate. So if you stir the wrath of Admin, don’t go complaining about it in Conclave.
How Does Conclave Work?
It’s not in session on any regular basis, except to elect the Viceroy. Arbiters deliberate in public. The power of Conclave is exclusively the collective opinion of Arbiters and as such it isn’t terribly swift. It can be busy for a few weeks and then silent for months.
You Say You Have Rights?
You do. Nations in TEP have certain rights. Citizens have more. With rights comes the responsibility to act in a way consistent with our laws. The cop on the block is not Conclave, it’s Delegate who is chief law enforcement officer. There is no right to a trial. Conclave reserves the right to determine if a matter brought to its attention merits a trial. If it doesn’t, the matter will be dismissed.
Not A Free Speech Zone
Conclave has a history of attempting to be snark free. As such, proceedings are not open for public comment. Threads are clearly marked as to who may post when they are open and they are locked when the proceeding has ended. Players aren’t allowed to use Conclave to troll. It will appear to the average player that their troll posts are being deleted. They aren’t. Evidence of trolling in TEP is preserved by Admin. No one but forum Mod and Admin can see it.
What’s In Chambers?
Donkey porn. And it’s a place open to Arbiters only for private conversation. It’s not a place Conclave conducts its business. By law, Conclave business always public and always in Conclave. Trying to get Arbiters to vote a certain way privately by TG or PM or publicly by posting elsewhere on the forum or in game is discouraged. If you have evidence relevant to a proceeding, contact one of the parties or the Viceroy, who is the Arbiter chosen by Conclave to preside.
Viceroy
Apart from presiding over Conclave, the region’s Viceroy is trusted with other responsibilities including naturalizing citizens and running elections. Those are not Conclave functions, they just come with the joy of being Viceroy.