How to Write a Basic Constitution: A Beginner's Guide

Here I will outline a basic guide to writing a Constitution for your region. As an example on what each section should look like, I will be using one of my old Regional Constitutions which can be found here, as an example throughout this guide. Now, this guide is just supposed to be a super basic one for those who are just starting a new region and may have no idea how to organize a constitution. There is certainly a lot more one could add or organize within their own constitution and one could break down the sections and subsections even more if they so chose to and I highly encourage people who can take it to that next level to do so. However, as I said this is just a very basic guide for those who have never ever even dipped their foot into the world of writing documents and I made this to be as simple, clear cut, and basic as possible. It should be worth noting, before you begin though, that you should have some idea of the structure of government and outline of what you want to see in your region before you start writing.

How to write a basic Constitution.

1. Write the preamble.

The preamble should introduce the constitution and outline the objectives in a few sentences.

Example: The Nations of the Region of Anteria hereby establish this Concordat with the purpose of ensuring Regional stability and prosperity, and to uphold the Rights of the individual member Nations with respect to the individual Leaders of the said Nations, and the Sovereign Statutes thereof.

2. Define the organization/region/government/positions.

After starting your first Article as "Article 1" you may choose to give the article a name or not, that is up to you. Break it into sections to define each part. Section 1 should be the name of your body/organization/government.

Example:There shall be a Regional Government, the body of which shall be known as the Ministry of Anteria, whose purpose is to uphold the Rights of the Nations of Anteria; to enforce the Laws set forth by this Concordat, which shall be the highest Law of the Region...

Then follow it up with Section 2 and define the roles/positions set up by this body.

Example: The Office of Minister shall be held by a single Nation which shall be the Primary Nation of the Person who operates the said Nation, who shall come to occupy the said Office by means of election...

On top of each offices name and function, you should also outline the requirements and process for each of the offices you create in terms how who will hold it, how long they will hold it, and how they even get elected to it.

Example: A single Nation which shall be the Primary Nation of the Person who operates the said Nation shall be elected to the Office of Minister by means of a Regional Poll, which shall occur on the last day of the current Administrative Term and be open to the submission of Votes for twenty-four hours...

You also want to use Article 1 as a place where you can define the concepts or words you will be using throughout the document, so when that word arises people will know exactly to which you are referring to. For example, in my Concordat it refers to the "nations" of the region, so in Section 6 of Article 1, I also defined what a "nation" constitutes in my concordat. Which reads out as:
In clear terms, the definitions of Nation, Person, Primary Nation, and Puppet Nation shall be inscribed here:
Nation: An entity on NationStates which may be identified as a Country, Nation, State, or other such body which exists as a Member of the Region of Anteria on NationStates.
Person: The physical human who identifies as or has otherwise been proven to be the leader of one or more Nations within the Region of Anteria.
Primary Nation: A single Nation that is within the Region of Anteria such that the said Nation is the only Nation under the operation of the corresponding Person through which official Regional Votes and poll answers may be recognized.
Puppet Nation: A Nation under the operation of a Person that is within the Region of Anteria which is not the Primary Nation of the said Person.

3. Provide rules on functions and procedures.

Now this is where you should start a new Article. Article 2. Now I touched down office procedures in Article 1, however this should be where you really get into the meat of what exactly your organization does and how your region itself will operate. This will tell people how things in your region are meant to function for reference.

Example: All Laws written which shall become Regional Law shall abide by the Rights of the Nations of Anteria and Regional Laws as set forth in this Concordat. The Office of the Chief Justice and the Office of Minister shall retain the right and the duty to write and enstate Regional Laws...

You may choose to break this into its own article or leave it as a section of the same article, but there is also the chance you might have to remove someone from office and this is the part where you can do so. This can also be where you outline the criminal code in your region, what happens to those who break your rules.

Example: Trials which shall be conducted to interpret a violation of Regional Law by a Nation may be appealed for a new Hearing if a Primary Nation should provide significant evidence...

4. Establish the rights.

This can be your next article, Article 3. Arguable one of the most important parts of your constitution. What rights and privileges belong to your members? This is the part where you let your members know what they are entitled to and how they can expect to be treated within your region. It might be a good opportunity though, when writing these, to make sure people know where the line is drawn and what might not be covered by this section.

Example: All Persons who operate Nations within the Region of Anteria shall reserve these unalienable Rights,
One, all Persons within the Region of Anteria shall retain the Right to freedom of speech within the Region, unless the Person has uttered speech which is directly and unnecessarily hateful, discriminatory, or otherwise deeply offensive toward another Person within the Region of Anteria...

5. Establish the means of which your document is legitimate.

This section is mostly just a formality. What Makes your document the legitimate governance for your place? Was it voted in? Did the Founder sign off on it? was it a committee agreement? This is an opportunity to get fancy.

Example: As written in this Concordat, the Regional Founders of the Region of Anteria and the Nations of the Region of Anteria have agreed that this Document shall govern the said Region as the absolute Law of Anteria and all entities which may fall under the administration and regulation of the Ministry of Anteria. Here on the tenth day of May, in the year two-thousand eighteen...

6. Sign it

This is your document, be proud of it. Those who were involved should proudly put their names down.

Example: whereof We, The Regional Founders of Anteria, have hereunto subscribed our Names,
The Grand Republic of Kilowatt
The Corporate Conglomerate of Prybourne
The Calmunist Spacecat Haven of Velnotia

And voila! You have yourself a basic constitution! Should you wish to use this as your official document or a rough draft, it should be enough for you to comfortably get the job done! Like I said, this is meant to be a basic guide for those who are just getting their feet wet when it comes to the world of document writing and I am sure there are plenty more you could add onto and break down if you put your mind to it! If you have any questions or feedback about my guide, I would love to hear it!
Until then, happy writing!