| abstract | - Charter of the Federation of Independent States I. Purpose "It has been said that democracy is the worst form of government except all the others that have been tried." ~Sir Winston Churchill This charter is designed to provide aid, protection, and assist in the well being of the members of the FIS. We accomplish this by providing a unique military system, elected leadership, and friendly members. We help each other in times of need and are always willing to accept new members into our community. We provide newer members with advice and encouragement to help them become more active in our community. We seek to combine efficient governing with elected leadership. We recognize freedom of speech as the most fundamental belief any organization can be based upon. And it is keeping with these ideals that the charter below shall represent the governing system of the Federation of Independent States. II. Rights, Privileges and Obligations of Members "The idea of legally establishing inalienable, inherent and sacred rights of the individual is not of political but religious origin." ~George Jellinek Members of the FIS have the following rights: freedom of speech, suffrage, the right to be protected by the alliance, and the right to leave the alliance at any time. Members have the obligation to fight with the alliance when ordered to. No one may infringe upon these rights without consequences. Every member has the privilege to request information from any government official. III. Governing System "A government that robs Peter to pay Paul can always depend on the support of Paul. " ~George Bernard Shaw There are three separate offices and one assembly. The first office is the presidency. The President is responsible for recruitment, official statements to the CN universe, proposing the creation of new offices, and the official construction (as in writing) of amendments and new charters. The Adjudicator is the second office. The Adjudicator is responsible for managing disputes between members of the Federation. He will bring charges against any member in a new thread. The Adjudicator will present his/her case, and then the accused will present his/her case. After four days of presenting the facts, the topic will be turned into a poll so that the accused's guilt may be voted on by his peers. If he is determined to be innocent by his peers, the Adjudicator must resign his office. The minister of internal affairs is responsible for managing aid and trades between members. All requests for aid and trades must be submitted through him. The senate is composed of five offices. Each senator has unique responsibilities. The individual responsibilities will be stated in Article IV. VI. The Senate "When they call the roll in the Senate, the Senators do not know whether to answer 'Present' or 'Not Guilty.'" ~Theodore Roosevelt The Senate is composed of five unique offices. They are the senator of strategy, the senator of foreign affairs, the senator of elections, the senator of the military, and the senator of moderation. The duties of each office will follow. The senator of strategy is in charge of watching the CN forums for interesting information. He/She will post anything of importance in the FIS forums. He/She is also responsible for updating the News ticker. That Senators final duty includes updating and managing any technical improvements on the forums. The Senator of foreign affairs is in charge of managing diplomatic contact with other Alliances. He/She may assign diplomats as he/she sees fit. All treaties must be voted upon by the entire Alliance before becoming valid. All treaties must be posted within reach of all members. The senator of elections is responsible for managing all elections and nominations. Anyone wishing to run for a position must submit a message to the senator of elections. VII. Vetoes and Propositions "When you take charge of your life, there is no longer need to ask permission of other people or society at large. When you ask permission, you give someone veto power over your life." ~Geoffrey F. Abert All proposals and amendments must be brought before the senate before they can be voted upon by the whole Alliance. If there is a simple majority, the bill will be presented before the Alliance. The bill will be open for 4 days. The president must agree with the adjudicator to veto any bills, but if the senate votes unanimously to overturn the veto the president’s veto will be overturned. Before the bill is presented to the whole Alliance, a topic will be created to discuss the topic. After one day of discussion that topic will be turned into a poll. VIII. Elections "No wonder Americans hate politics when, year in and year out, they hear politicians make promises that won't come true because they don't even mean them - campaign fantasies that win elections but don't get nations moving again." ~Bill Clinton Every Member of the Federation of Independent States is eligible to hold office. Ten days before the new term begins, the positions to be voted on will be posted in the Forums. At that time anyone can be nominated for said positions. Each nomination must be seconded by another member before the nominated member is considered an "official" candidate. The nomination process will last for three days.
* A member is not allowed to nominate themselves. They are likewise not allowed to second the nomination of themselves. During the remaining seven days before the new term, candidates for all of the positions will be allowed to campaign for themselves. Candidates are encouraged to focus on the positives of themselves instead of the negatives of the competition. The campaigns must also not include frivilous or empty promises. The campaign must be conducted in a civilized manner fitting the positions that the nominees are running for. The winners of ALL elections will be determined by a simple majority, that being whoever has the most votes for a given position at the end of the week of elections will be declared the winner. In the event of a tie, a tie breaking decision will be conducted in the following fashion: The day that a tie is determined, the candidates will pick a 3-digit number. The following day, the Senator of Elections will log onto the Pensylvania State Lottery website and determine the 3 digit winning lottery ticket for that morning's lottery. Which ever of the two candidates is closest to that number will be determined the winner. It will also be the responsibility of the Senator of Elections to provide a link to the Pennsylvania State Lottery Website so that the winning number can be independently confirmed as to dispell any thoughts of collusion or partisanship. IX. Foreign Affairs "[He] looks at foreign affairs through the wrong end of a municipal drainpipe. ~Sir Winston Churchill The senator of foreign affairs is in charge of all foreign policy. Said senator can appoint diplomats and open diplomatic contact with any Alliance. All treaties, however, must be brought before the entire Alliance to be voted upon. All treaties must be posted within reach of all members of the Alliance. X. States of War "Virtue is a state of war, and to live in it we have always to combat with ourselves." ~Jean-Jacques Rousseau There are four levels of awareness in the FIS. The first is peacetime. Peacetime is defined as the time when there are no wars between any members of the FIS. The second is increased awareness, but there are still no wars. The third is a small war involving some members of the Alliance. The Fourth is an all out war against the FIS as a whole. To raise the level the the President, the Adjudicator, and the Senate must all agree unanimously. XI. Fourth State of War "I know not with what weapons World War III will be fought, but World War IV will be fought with sticks and stones." ~Albert Einstein When a fourth state of war is reached a military commander will be elected by all memebers of the Alliance. He/She may only stay in power for one month. At the end of that month the fourth state of war wil be voted upon by all members of the Alliance. If it is voted to end it the dictator must step down. All changes the dictator has put in place must be replaced to be exactly the way they were before the fourth state of war was enacted.
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