The Constitution of Declansburg

Nations of Declansburg: The founding nations of Yaxopsville and Dux Milan have joined New Bradfordsburg in the authorship of a regional constitution, which shall be commissioned for the purpose of creating a prosperous region. This document will give rights and regulate them to balance the competing demands of law & order, freedom, and security. This document was duly updated by the Assembly of Declansburg on Aug. 19, 2023 (2035 in RP).

CONSTITUTION OF DECLANSBURG

ARTICLE I

In the recognition that all nations are created equal, no regional law shall abridge any nation’s right to self-determination regarding domestic laws and legislation.

ARTICLE II

All provisions in this document shall apply equally to any Member State in Declansburg.

ARTICLE III

The regional government shall have authority to enforce all articles of this document by appropriate legislation.

ARTICLE IV

Any nation in Declansburg within the World Assembly, regional offsite forums, and regional Discord server shall be considered a Member State and is granted Assembly member status.

ARTICLE V

In accordance with this Constitution, the Assembly shall have the authority to legislate foreign and domestic policy by passage of general laws, acts and resolutions by simple majority vote, and to appoint regional officers via elections, which shall be scheduled to occur once every twelve months, or at a date selected by the Prime Minister.

ARTICLE VI

Section I : The Assembly, acting as a Jury, shall have the authority, upon a majority vote, to accept charges filed by the Judicial Officer, which shall trigger a trial in the Lower Cricut Court. The Judicial Officer shall also ensure that a speedy trial is awarded to charged parties. Charged parties shall be listed as defendants. In all trials, charged parties shall have control over their own defense and may appoint counsel, either foreign or domestic. The Attorney General shall act as a prosecutor on behalf of the Assembly in all cases being tried by the courts.

Section II : The Judicial Officer shall be elected by parliament for a term of one year and, once elected, The Judicial Officer shall be awarded all regional officer authorities.

Section III : The Judicial Officer may charge nations with a Violation of Regional Law, which are then subject to trial.

Section IV : A charged party is given the right to a trial before the Lower Circuit Court, which shall consist of the Deputy Prime Minister. The Deputy Prime Minister shall find the charged party either guilty or innocent. Charges may also be dismissed.

Section V : A convicted party may appeal a conviction by the Lower Circuit Court to the High Circuit Court, which shall be presided over by the Prime Minister. The Prime Minister shall find the charged party either guilty or innocent. Charges may also be dismissed.

Section VI : A convicted party may appeal a conviction by the High Circuit Court to the Supreme Court, which shall consist of the entirety of The Parliament. The Judicial Officer shall preside over the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court shall find the charged party either guilty or innocent. Charges may also be dismissed.

Section VII : The Judicial Officer must ensure that all trials allow defendants the chance to enter relevant evidence into the record for consideration. Furthermore, The Judicial Officer shall decree sentencing in the event of any conviction, which shall require either a guilty verdict from the Lower Circuit Court, the High Circuit Court, or by a majority vote of The Parliament in favor of a guilty verdict.

Section VIII : The Governor shall have the authority to issue pardons to nations convicted in regional tribunals.

ARTICLE VII

Section I : The Assembly shall be presided over by an elected Secretary General, elected in three (3) month intervals, whom shall be tasked with maintaining decorum and administering the Declansburg Capital District.

Section II : The region at-large shall be represented in the World Assembly by an elected Prime Minister, elected in one (1) year intervals, with authorities of appearance, border control, communications, embassies, and polls, who shall serve jointly as the region’s non-executive WA Delegate during their tenure.

Section III : The Prime Minister shall serve alongside a Deputy Prime Minister, elected duly with the Prime Minister in one (1) year intervals, who shall hold the same regional authorities as the Prime Minister, and shall be elected in the same election cycles as the Prime Minister.

Section IV : The Deputy Prime Minister shall take over the duties of Prime Minister in the event that the Prime Minister’s nation is incapacitated until the next scheduled election.

Addendum: Separated are the worlds of regional RP and interregional affairs. Positions representing the region at-large to the NationStates community (PM, DPM, MFA) are treated as non-RP positions, where map-based regional RP is not taken into consideration.

Positions relating to the Declansburg Assembly (AG, Sec. Gen., Judicial Officer), ARE, however, strictly in-character regional roleplay positions, where all matters of map roleplay, but none of interregional roleplay, may be taken into consideration.

ARTICLE VIII

The Assembly may call snap elections for any elected position, at any time, with just cause, with a majority vote.

ARTICLE IX

Section I : The Governor shall only use the authorities granted to The Governor to act in the best interests of Declansburg, in conjunction with the Prime Minister and Deputy Prime Minister.

Section II : The Governor shall not serve as Prime Minister or Deputy Prime Minister.

Section III : The Governor may create and act as the appointing authority for no more than two regional officer positions, which shall serve at the pleasure of The Governor in a supporting role defined by The Governor’s Office.

Section IV : Regional officer positions created by The Governor may be constituted or dissolved by the Governor at any time.

ARTICLE X

The Assembly shall be disbanded if the region’s population sinks to below 10 nations that are considered regional Member States.

ARTICLE XI

Regional Member States are allowed to have an unlimited number of puppet nations within Declansburg at any given time but puppet nations may not hold Assembly seats.

ARTICLE XII

The enumeration in this Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the Nations.

ARTICLE XIII

No behavior that a reasonable person should consider as wildly inappropriate shall be tolerated in any RMB posts, flags, offsite forums, polls, pinned dispatches, or regional factbook entries.

Addendum: Wildly inappropriate behavior may include, but is not limited to: fascism, committing acts of genocide, and excessive brutality. Political rank and/or office shall not be used as an excuse for said behaviors.

ARTICLE XIV

Section I : All nations, territories, or governing bodies conducting affairs within this region in good faith must be treated fairly and evenly, whether they be domestic or foreign.

Section II : Failure by any nation to abide by Article XIV, Section I shall allow for a petition to the Assembly by the aggrieved party seeking a tribunal as a complainant and, if applicable, revoking of powers.

ARTICLE XV

This Constitution may be amended upon a two-thirds vote of the Assembly.

ARTICLE XVI

The Governor, or the Assembly by majority vote, may designate regions as Protectorate Regions of Declansburg, and shall set the laws so forth.

ARTICLE XVII

The Governor, or the Assembly by majority vote, may designate significant historical monuments as World Heritage Regions, and shall set the laws so forth.

ARTICLE XVIII

All Protectorate Regions and World Heritage Regions shall be granted the ability to self-govern and member states of affiliate regions shall not be considered Member States of Declansburg.

ARTICLE XIX

Regional government business shall be conducted onsite, and on the offsite forums, which shall be administered by The Founder and Governor.

ARTICLE XX

Section I : The Governor shall appoint a line succession to assume the duties of The Governor, who shall be afforded executive status should the Governor CTE. The line of succession shall chosen by the Founder and Governor.

Section II : In the event that an appointed successor cannot assume the duties of The Governor, the line of succession shall be considered broken and the Prime Minister shall assume all duties of The Governor as an executive WA Delegate.

ARTICLE XXI

Section I : The Assembly shall have a process to enact laws and new articles.

Section II : The Prime Minister shall set process to enact laws and new articles.

ARTICLE XXII

Section I : Declansburg Statute of Limitations (D-SoL) Clause

Goals:

1. To shield assembly nations from excessively delayed legal action initiated by other nations or the Judicial Officer concerning events that occurred in the distant past.

2. To promote timely, efficient, and accountable practice within Declansburg’s judicial framework.

Provisions:

1. The official Declansburg Statute of Limitations (D-SoL) shall be set at three months following the date of any legally actionable incident. Any proposal to bring a nation to trial submitted after this period shall be deemed null and void.

2. If a proposal for trial is approved by the Declansburg Assembly within the three-month window but the trial has not yet occurred, the proceedings must be concluded within two weeks after the D-SoL period ends. Failure to do so will result in the case being dismissed.

3. The D-SoL may be extended for a specific case if a proposal to do so is successfully passed by the Declansburg Assembly, with justification provided by the Judicial Officer for additional time to prepare or gather further evidence.

Section II : Ex Post Facto Protection Clause

Goals:

1. To ensure that no nation is prosecuted for actions that were lawful at the time they were committed, upholding the principles of legal fairness.

Provisions:

1. Nations of the Declansburg Assembly shall not be subject to prosecution for any action that was legal under existing laws at the time of its occurrence, regardless of any subsequent changes in legislation.

Section III : Double Jeopardy Protection Clause

Goals:

1. To safeguard the finality and integrity of the Declansburg Regional Judicial System's outcomes as well as to prevent repetitive or retaliatory legal proceedings by ensuring that no nation is tried more than once for the same offense.

Provisions:

1. Any Declansburg Assembly nation that has been fully tried and has received a verdict by the DPM, regardless of acquittal or conviction, can not be tried again for the same offense.

2. Exceptions to this protection include:

• Mistrials: If a trial is declared a mistrial due to a lack of resolution, the case may be retried following a new retrial proposal.

• Appeals: If a nation formally appeals a guilty verdict to either the High Circuit Court or the Supreme Court and it is accepted by either the Prime Minister or Supreme Court respectively, a retrial may occur solely to reevaluate or confirm the lower courts' decision.