Constitution of Blackstar

Preamble
We the residents of Blackstar, to keep order and peace in this longstanding community, hereby establish this legislation as the supreme law of the region. It shall outlive the reign of all Delegates to come; let the Constitution of Blackstar be a permanent guide to all present and future residents. We the people of Blackstar, agree to the constitution and pledge to protect and follow it. We hereby adopt this constitution on December 4th, 2020.

Article One: Citizenship & Nation Rights
Section 1. Citizenship
I. Citizenship within Blackstar shall consist of all nations that reside within the region of Blackstar and have joined the official forum, or are a member of the World Assembly.
II. Only Citizens who join the official forum will be considered voting citizens, as most official votes shall take place on the forum.

Section 2. Rights of Blackstar's Citizens and Residents
I. Everyone is equal before the law. Discrimination on grounds of nationality, ethnic or social origin, religion, race, sexual orientation, political or personal beliefs shall be prohibited.
II. Every citizen and resident has the right to free speech and peaceful assembly.
III. Every citizen shall have the right to vote and participate in the democratic life of the Region.
IV. Every citizen has the right to stand as a candidate in elections for the regional government and Senate.
V. Every citizen and resident has the right to the protection of personal data concerning them.
VI. Every citizen and resident has the right to have his or her affairs handled impartially, fairly and within a reasonable time by the institutions, bodies, offices and agencies of the Region.
VII. Any citizen or resident accused of a crime has the right to a fair trial in a timely manner and may choose a lawyer to represent them or may represent themselves.
VIII. World Assembly citizens are not required to endorse anyone.

Article Two: The President & their Cabinet
Section 1. President’s Role & Election
I. The President will serve as World Assembly Delegate of Blackstar.
II. The President shall act as executive office and sovereign overseer of the region.
III. The President may not serve as a Senator.
IV. President elections will occur every 6 months or as needed and be overseen by the election commissioner.
V. President elections will contain one week of nominations, one week of campaigning, and one week of voting. All citizens have the right to vote to determine the next President.

Section 2. President Powers
I. The President shall have access to all regional powers.
II. The President may veto a law, policy, or Senate action passed by the Senate if it was passed with less than 75% approval.
III. The President may put up a regional password in the event the Founder ceases to exist.
IV. The President may open new embassies as they see fit.
V. The President may suppress spam posts, recruitment posts, and obscene/offensive posts.
VI. The President has the right to eject non-citizen nations for spam posts, recruitment posts, obscene/offensive posts, or those found guilty of a crime.
VII. The President has the right to appoint a Secretary of Foreign Affairs, Secretary of Home Affairs, Secretary of Labor, and a Secretary of War.
VIII. The President has the right to appoint additional Secretary positions to fill any additional roles as needed, to serve as his cabinet.
IX. The President has the right to approve and vote on World Assembly resolutions as they see fit.

Section 3. Secretary of Foreign Affairs
I. Secretary of Foreign Affairs shall negotiate treaties and alliances.
II. Secretary of Foreign Affairs will serve as a regional officer of Blackstar with access to embassies and poll powers.
III. Secretary of Foreign Affairs may open embassies with other regions as appropriate.
IV. Secretary of Foreign Affairs may appoint ambassadors to other regions Blackstar has relationships with.

Section 4. Secretary of Home Affairs
I. Secretary of Home Affairs shall oversee verifying residents wishing to become citizens.
II. Secretary of Home Affairs will serve as a regional officer with access to communication and poll powers.
III. Secretary of Home Affairs may suppress spam posts, recruitment posts, and obscene/offensive posts.

Section 5. Secretary of Labor
I. Secretary of Labor shall work towards increasing employment among active citizens.
II. Secretary of Labor will serve as a regional officer of Blackstar with access to appearance and poll powers.
III. Secretary of Labor shall work with other departments to help meet their recruitment needs and raise awareness of open positions.
IV. Secretary of Labor shall ensure Blackstar's various factbooks and dispatches are up to date, and assist departments with their factbooks and dispatches as needed.

Section 6. Secretary of War
I. Secretary of War shall oversee regional security.
II. Secretary of War shall serve as a regional officer of Blackstar with border controls, communication, and poll powers.
III. Secretary of War may put up a regional password in the event the Founder ceases to exist.
IV. Secretary of War may create documents to outline how the military, military intel department, or related departments will operate. Unless already outline in a regional law or Senate passed organization outline.

Article Three: The Blackstar Senate
Section 1. The Senate
I. The legislative body of Blackstar shall be the Senate.
II. The Senate shall be made up of citizens of Blackstar who have joined the forum and taken the oath of office.
III. The Senate will vote on a Head of Senate to oversee the senate every four months or as needed. Elections will contain one week of nominations and campaigning, followed by five days of voting, and will be overseen by the chosen Election Commissioner.

Section 2. Head of Senate
I. Head of Senate will be the figurehead of the Senate.
II. Head of Senate will ensure Senate votes are held in a timely manner.
III. Head of Senate will serve as a regional officer of Blackstar with access to communication, appearance, and poll powers.
IV. Head of Senate will determine the manner in which the Senate votes are held on the forum.
V. Head of Senate will determine the wording of the oath of office.
VI. Head of Senate will keep track of current Senators on an official Senator list.
VII. Head of Senate may remove Senators from the official Senator list who have ceased to exist or haven't posted on the forum in over a months time.

Section 3. Requirements of Senate Voting
I. Only Senators who have taken the oath of office and added to the official Senator list by the Head of Senate may vote.
II. Only Senators who have been a Senator for at least one month may vote in an election.
III. All Senate actions will require at least 30% of the existing Senate to vote to be considered an official vote.

Section 4. The Senate shall have the power to, by a majority vote of Senators choosing to vote;
I. Enact laws and policies for the Region, which shall retain the highest authority next to the Constitution covering any subject matter not outlined in the constitution. Any law or policy with support of at least two members of the Senate shall be put to vote in a timely manner.
II. Prior to any election the Senate will choose an election commissioner to oversee the election, the election commissioner may not run or vote in the election.
III. Eject and/or Ban Nations from the Region.
IV. Create and dissolve alliances and/or associations with other regions.
V. Create and dissolve additional government related organizations or agencies.
VI. Approve the construction and/or revocation of embassies.
VII. Add or remove a regional tag.
VIII. Appoint members of the Senate to fulfill any additional roles or government positions as needed.
IX. May declare a mistrial by 75% or greater majority vote of any trial in the event the Senate believes the Judge was biased, the punishment was too harsh, new evidence has come to light, or other extenuating circumstances.

Section 5. Vote of no confidence procedures
I. Any member of the Senate, the Head of Defense, any appointed Secretaries, or other government positions can be removed from office by a 65% majority vote by the Senate.
II. To remove the President from office it requires a 75% majority vote by Senate.

Article Four: Judiciary
Section 1. Criminal acts in Blackstar shall include;
I. Making use of multiple nations to gain a political advantage.
II. Voting multiple times in any election or legislation vote.
III. Conspiring to or committing treason against Blackstar.
IV. Abuse of power, using one's position to manipulate, bribe, or force others to bend to your will.
V. Over throwing the legally elected government.
VI. Anything that is considered against the rules of NationStates itself.
VII. Framing individuals for crimes they didn't commit or conspiracies they aren't apart of, including creating false telegrams or evidence.
VIII. Expressing support for genocide, Hitler, fascism, or Nazism.
IX. Promoting for or the actions of a criminal organization.
X. Exposing a military or intelligence operation, giving away state secrets.
XI. Any act that violates the Constitution, regional law, or regional policy.

Section 2. Chief Justice
I. Chief Justice shall oversee the Judiciary branch and help interpret the Constitution.
II. Chief Justice will act as judge is all trials or may appoint a judge as needed. In the event the Chief Justice is accuser or accused for a trial, the Senate shall election a temporary judge to oversee the trial.
III. Chief Justice will serve as a regional officer of Blackstar with access to border control, communications, and poll powers.
IV. Chief Justice elections will occur every 6 months or as needed and be overseen by the election commissioner.
V. Chief Justice may create documents to outline how trials, and the Judiciary branch will operate, unless already outline in a regional law.

Section 3. Trials
I. As per Article I. Section 2. VII.; Any citizen or resident accused of a crime has the right to a fair trial in a timely manner and may choose a lawyer to represent them or may represent themselves.
II. Once an individual is a accused of committing a crime, it must be supported by one of the following to be brought to trial; the Founder, the President, the Head of Senate, or 3 members of the Senate.
III. The accuser, whether the region or individual, may choose a lawyer to serve as prosecutor for the trial.
IV. Collectively the Defense Attorney (representative of the accused) and prosecutor will select a jury of 5 people from among the active Senators.
V. Both the Defense Attorney and prosecutor must approve of each jury member. In the event they cannot agree the Chief Justice will choose the jury.
VI. Any citizen involved in the case as a judge, witness, accuser, or accused shall not serve on the jury.
VII. Trials shall take place in a timely manner in the location of the judge's choosing, be it on the regional message board, forum, or elsewhere as long as it's accessible to all involved.
VIII. As per Article III. Section 4. IX.; The Senate may declare a mistrial by 75% or greater majority vote of any trial in the event the Senate believes the Judge was biased, the punishment was too harsh, new evidence has come to light, or other extenuating circumstances.

Section 4. Trial Format
I. Trials shall begin with opening statements by the prosecution, followed by opening statements by the defense attorney.
II. After opening statements, evidence will be presented by both sides, each side will then be given a chance to dispute said evidence.
III. Each side will be given the chance to call witnesses, and each side will be given the chance to cross examine each witness.
IV. After the evidence is discussed and witnesses are heard, closing statements will be given by the prosecution, followed by the defense attorney.
V. Once the trial procedures are completed the jury will have a private discussion to talk over the case and review evidence and testimonials. The jury must vote with a 4 out of 5 majority the guilt or innocent of the accused individual.
VI. In the event the jury determines the accused is guilty, the Judge, Founder, and President shall collectively determine the punishment of the guilty. In the event the President and/or Founder is involved in the trial as accuser or accused they won't be apart of the determination of the punishment.

Article Five: Additional Agencies
Section 1. Founder of Blackstar
I. The Founder shall have access to all regional powers.
II. The Founder shall always act in the best interest of Blackstar and may create a regional platform to influence the region’s direction.
III. The Founder can hold votes to enact laws or policies open to the Senate.
IV. The Founder may veto a law or policy passed by the Senate if it was passed with less than 75% approval.
V. The Founder may open new embassies as they see fit.
VI. The Founder may suppress spam posts, recruitment posts, and obscene/offensive posts.
VII. The Founder has the right to eject non-citizen nations.
VIII. The Founder shall lead the Blackstar Intelligence Agency, and may create documents to outline how the agency will operate.

Section 2. Election Commissioner
I. The Election Commissioner will be a short term office held by an individual to help oversee elections within Blackstar.
II. The Election Commissioner will ensure elections are on schedule and held in a timely manner.
III. The Election Commissioner will determine the voting system used in the election, unless otherwise outline via regional law.
IV. In accordance with Article Three; Section 4. II. Prior to any election the Senate will choose an Election Commissioner by a majority vote of Senators choosing to vote to oversee the election, the election commissioner may not run or vote in the election.

Article Six: Ratification & Amendments
Section 1. Constitution of Blackstar Proposal shall be proposed to the region on the regional message board, discord, and forum, upon regional consensus the Constitution is ready, it will be put to vote before the residents of Blackstar. The new Constitution shall take effect once passed by the majority of Blackstar residents.

Section 2. As the new home of a number of former Lasagna citizens, upon ratification the current Lasagna President shall become the first President of Blackstar and the current Lasagna Prime Minister shall become the first Head of Senate of Blackstar.

Section 3. Amendments to this Constitution may be proposed by any Senator with the support of at least two additional Senators. Proposed amendments shall be posted and voted upon in the Senate chambers and all Senators shall have 5 days to register their approval or disapproval of the Amendment. The Amendment shall take effect at the end of that 5 day period provided that it is approved by at least 60% of all Senators choosing to vote.