by Max Barry

Latest Forum Topics

Advertisement

31

DispatchBulletinPolicy

by The Ministry of Information of the Communist Bloc. . 4,965 reads.

The Constitution of The Revolutionary Republic of The Communist Bloc (REPLACED)

This Constitution has been superseded by our new Constitution, which can be reviewed here. This version has remained in place for historical, archival purposes.

The Constitution of
The Revolutionary Republic of The Communist Bloc


PREAMBLE

Conscious of its responsibility towards furthering the leftist cause both on and off NationStates and driven by the will to further democracy, equality, and freedom for all, the nations of The Communist Bloc have given themselves this constitution. This document shall serve as the basis of all our acts in order to ensure a peaceful and prosperous future, and therefore, by the power of the people’s will, be it enacted that:


ARTICLE 1 REGIONAL IDENTITY


(1) The region is officially known as the Revolutionary Republic of The Communist Bloc. In legislation, it may be referred to as “the Revolutionary Republic”, “the region”, “the Bloc”, “The Communist Bloc”, or “TCB”.

(2) The region shall have a flag as outlined in legislation, or as determined by the executive in the absence of legislation.

(3) The region may have a motto, anthem, and other identifying symbols as determined in legislation.

(4) The region shall be emphatically anti-fascist, and opposed to all forms of far-right ideology.


ARTICLE 2 BASIC RIGHTS


(1) All residents are entitled to—
  1. the freedom of speech, expression, thought, information, association, and religion,

  2. the freedom to leave and return,

  3. the freedom from cruel or degrading punishment and from arbitrary detention or exile,

unless the freedoms above are exercised in a way intended to—

  1. defame or discriminate against other individuals,

  2. spread far-right, fascist, or other bigoted views, or

  3. subvert the rights of other individuals within The Communist Bloc, or to undermine The Communist Bloc's continued existence and functioning.

(2) Citizens shall have the inviolable right to privacy without a legal warrant issued with probable cause from the judiciary.

(3) Citizens have the right to vote and stand in elections for offices as established in this constitution, and shall not be disenfranchised unless the judiciary rules as such. The judiciary may only disenfranchise citizens if they have been found seriously violating regional law or violating the rights of another citizen.

(4) All residents have the right to equal protection of the law without prejudice or discrimination. No law or citizen may discriminate against another citizen on the basis of including but not limited to:

  1. age, sex, gender identity, or sexual orientation,

  2. faith, national or ethnic origin,

  3. social class, or disability.

No citizen may harass another on any basis.

(5) Citizens have the right to appeal judicial sentences, including bans and ejections, within fourteen days of their sentencing. Citizens have the right to a speedy, fair, and impartial trial within full view of the public within seven days of their arrest. No citizen shall be tried on the basis of the same allegation more than once, except in the case of a mistrial or the presentation of new evidence. All citizens are presumed innocent until proven guilty.

(6) Citizens have the right to petition the government for a redress of listed grievances. The responsibility of addressing petitions falls upon the executive.

(7) All legal rights and responsibilities of citizens draw legal legitimacy from the oath or affirmation willingly taken upon application for citizenship. All citizens have the inalienable right to terminate this at any time for any reason should they wish, resulting in immediate termination of citizenship.

(8) Citizens have the right to challenge any legislative act or any attempted government actions that may contradict the rights established by this constitution through due judicial process.

(9) Citizens have a right to access and talk freely (within the limits of the law) in any venue of The Communist Bloc, including but not limited to:

  1. the Regional Message Board,

  2. the Regional Discord, and

  3. the TCB Forum.

(10) This article shall not be construed to restrict or exclude any other innominate rights.


ARTICLE 3 CITIZENSHIP

(1) All individuals running nations within The Communist Bloc shall be considered residents.

(2) Citizens are residents—

  1. who have successfully applied for citizenship,

  2. whose citizenship has not expired under the provisions of (3),

  3. have not been stripped of or barred from citizenship by a lawful measure of the Executive, Legislature, or Judiciary.

(3) Citizenship expires 14 days after either of the following occurs:

  1. The citizen’s World Assembly nation (as declared at the time of their citizenship application) ceases to exist.

  2. The citizen ceases to have a nation within The Communist Bloc.

(4) Acts of Legislature and Executive Orders may limit or relax the requirements for citizenship for certain individuals or groups.

(5) Citizenship applicants must have a nation within The Communist Bloc, have a World Assembly nation (not necessarily within the Bloc), have a forum account, pass a security check, and completely fill in their application to be accepted.

(6) Citizenship applications cannot be approved during the voting period of any election. Unless an application is to be rejected, it must be placed on hold until no voting is taking place.

(7) A citizenship application is to be rejected where—

  1. the application form has not been satisfactorily and truthfully completed,

  2. the applicant does not have a nation in The Communist Bloc,

  3. the application does not comply with any guidelines lawfully established by the Executive or the Legislature,

  4. a security reason for denial of citizenship is advised by the Administration,

  5. an existing ruling of the People’s Tribunal which remains in effect at the point of application has barred the applicant from citizenship,

  6. the granting of citizenship to the applicant is deemed to pose an unacceptable risk to The Communist Bloc, or

  7. the granting of citizenship to the applicant would be a violation of TCB Law.

(8) Any member of the Legislative Committee may propose to overturn the rejection of a citizenship application. A simple majority of the Legislative Committee must vote in favour to overturn said rejection.

(9) The First Minister may overrule any decisions taken by Ministers or other deputies on matters relating to citizenship or ambassador requests for forum access.


ARTICLE 4 THE EXECUTIVE

The Council of Ministers

(1) The Council of Ministers consists of the First Minister, other Ministers, and the World Assembly Delegate. It is the primary forum for executive discussion and planning and the chief advisory body for the First Minister, and is chaired by the First Minister.

(2) The First Minister may empower the Council of Ministers to vote on any executive decision. The results of the vote are legally binding.

(3) The First Minister or any other Minister shall be considered incapacitated if—

  1. their World Assembly Nation ceases to exist, or

  2. the Council of Ministers is reliably informed that they are unable to continue carrying out their duties.

(4) Each individual Member of the Council of Members has one vote, including in the event of mergers or splits of Ministries under (12), or the creation of new Ministries under (13). This does not apply to the World Assembly Delegate, who is a non-voting member of the Council, unless the World Assembly Delegate is also a Minister.

The First Minister

(5) The First Minister is directly elected by citizens for a 3-month term, subject to recall, according to the procedures in Article 8.

(6) The First Minister serves as the head of state of the region.

(7) The First Minister serves as the official representative of The Communist Bloc within NationStates.

(8) The First Minister may not hold any other ministerial, legislative or judicial positions during their term.

(9) If the First Minister is incapacitated or resigns, they are succeeded by the Second Minister upon a confirmation vote by the Council of Ministers via a simple majority. A by-election must be held for the Ministry vacated by the new appointed First Minister according to the procedures in Article 8.

(10) The First Minister may also serve as a Vice World Assembly Delegate, but not as the World Assembly Delegate. If they are appointed World Assembly Delegate, they must either resign as First Minister or decline the appointment. An incumbent World Assembly Delegate may not become First Minister.

The Second Minister

(11) The First Minister appoints and dismisses the Second Minister, who must be an elected Minister.

(12) The Second Minister may act on behalf of the First Minister with the First Minister’s permission.

The Ministries

(13) The following Ministries cannot be abolished, although they may be merged or split by Executive Order or Act of the Legislature.

  1. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Defence establishes and manages diplomatic relations with other regions and entities, provides security to The Communist Bloc and performs military operations in compliance with regional law and treaties.

    1. The Communist Bloc may opt to establish a regional military through legislation. The regional military shall, in that case, function as an independent part of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Defence and shall have its own hierarchy. The head of the regional military shall be in charge of organising military operations and may serve as a liaison to military organisations.

  2. The Ministry of Domestic Affairs recruits nations to The Communist Bloc, processes citizenship applications, and provides assistance to citizens and residents.

  3. The Ministry of Culture promotes culture, organises events, and oversees role-playing.

  4. The Ministry of Information maintains regional information including on laws and events, notifies citizens of elections and important votes via mass telegram and the channels specified in Article 2(9)(a)-(c) of this Constitution, and disseminates regional news both internally and externally.

  5. The Ministry of World Assembly Affairs promotes discussion of General Assembly and Security Council resolutions, issues voting recommendations, and instructs the World Assembly Delegate on how to vote.

(14) The First Minister may assign additional responsibilities to the aforementioned Ministries.

(15) Additional Ministries may be established by Executive Order or Act of the Legislature to cover additional responsibilities.

(16) The Council of Ministers may reassign responsibilities between Ministries by simple majority, provided this does not result in any Ministry having no responsibilities.

(17) Ministries are headed by their respective Ministers, who have full responsibility for, and authority over, the actions of the Ministry.

(18) If a Ministry is vacated by incapacity or resignation, a by-election is held according to the procedures in Article 8.

(19) If a Ministry is vacant, the First Minister may choose to temporarily distribute some or all of its duties among the other Ministers.

Ministers

(20) Ministers are directly elected by citizens for 3-month terms on the same schedule as the First Minister, subject to recall, according to the procedures in Article 8.

(21) Ministers may appoint and dismiss any number of citizens to carry out tasks within their Ministry’s responsibilities.

(22) A Ministry may be occupied jointly by more than one individual if they have stood for election on a joint ticket.

(23) Where a Ministry is held jointly, the joint Ministers share the Ministry’s single vote on the Council of Ministers between them; they do not get any additional votes.

The World Assembly Delegate

(24) The World Assembly Delegate is not a Minister, but is nonetheless a full member of the Council of Ministers. They are responsible for keeping their nation in The Communist Bloc as a World Assembly Member, maintaining their nation’s status as World Assembly Delegate, and maintaining and updating the status of Ministers as regional officers.

(25) The position of World Assembly Delegate is permanent and can be vacated only through resignation or incapacitation.

(26) The World Assembly Delegate shall be considered incapacitated if—

  1. they have been unexpectedly unreachable for a period of at least 3 weeks, or

  2. the Council of Ministers is reliably informed that the World Assembly Delegate will be unable to prevent their nation from ceasing to exist.

(27) In the event that the position of World Assembly Delegate becomes vacant, the Council of Ministers must nominate a new World Assembly Delegate from among the Vice World Assembly Delegates. Either house of the Legislature may hold a vote to reject the nominee put forward by the Council of Ministers.

(28) If there are fewer than two Vice World Assembly Delegates, the Council of Ministers must appoint a new one. The Council of Ministers may vote to increase or alter the number of Vice World Assembly Delegates, but not to reduce it below two.

Executive Orders and Power of Veto/Nullification

(29) The First Minister may, with the majority consent of the Council of Ministers, issue Executive Orders to manage the operations of the executive, subject to the following:

  1. Executive Orders cannot contravene or supersede any part of this Constitution, nor any Act of the Legislature, nor any judicial ruling.

    1. Any provisions within Executive Orders which violate this are null and void. Any non-violating provisions remain in force if they do not depend on the violating provisions.

    2. The authority to determine violations of (i) rests with the People’s Tribunal.

  2. Executive Orders may be repealed or amended by the First Minister, or by a simple majority of the Legislative Committee.

    1. No new Executive Order can contain any of the same (or excessively similar) provisions as an Executive Order that has been repealed by the Legislative Committee during the same term of office.

    2. No new Executive Order can have the effect of undoing an amendment made by the Legislative Committee during the same term of office.

    3. The authority to determine whether provisions violate (i)-(ii) rests with the People’s Tribunal.

  3. Executive Orders cannot vary, extend, or restrict the powers of the First Minister, the Legislative Committee, the People’s Assembly, or the People’s Tribunal.

(30 The First Minister may veto any action by any Minister only if there is a plausible danger for the region. This veto is subject to judicial review.

(31) The People’s Tribunal may nullify any action by any Minister if it violates the Constitution, an Executive Order or an Act of the Legislature in force at the time of the action.

(32) The First Minister may refer any action by any Minister to the Legislative Committee for consideration, who may nullify the action by simple majority.

State of Emergency

(33) The First Minister may declare a State of Emergency for 1 month with the unanimous consent of the Council of Ministers.

  1. During a State of Emergency, the restrictions on the power and scope of executive orders are suspended.

  2. During a State of Emergency, no elections may be held and no new Acts may be passed by the Legislature.

  3. The Legislative Committee may extend the State of Emergency by a period not exceeding 1 week at a time, for a maximum of three months from the initial declaration.

  4. The State of Emergency may be terminated prior to its scheduled end either by the First Minister or by a simple majority of the Legislative Committee.

  5. Executive Orders which would in regular circumstances be declared unconstitutional , and any actions resulting from them, become null and void when the State of Emergency ends.

  6. Provisions (b) and (c) cannot be altered by the First Minister even using the powers granted in (a).

  7. Once a State of Emergency has ended, another State of Emergency cannot be declared for at least two months from the date the first State of Emergency ended.


ARTICLE 5 THE LEGISLATURE

The Legislature

(1) The Legislature consists of the Legislative Committee and the People’s Assembly. It is responsible for enacting, amending, and repealing laws in the form of Acts of the Legislature and Constitutional Amendments, as well as for exercising other powers granted by this Constitution.

(2) The People’s Assembly has the right to observe all formal proceedings of the Legislative Committee.

Acts of the Legislature

(3) Before Acts of the Legislature become law, they are termed bills. They become law upon being enacted and take effect either immediately, or at a later point specified within the bill.

  1. Bills must abide by the Constitution. Any provision violating the Constitution is null and void. Any non-violating provisions remain in force. The authority to determine violations rests with the People’s Tribunal.

  2. Bills may be first introduced either in the People’s Assembly or in the Legislative Committee where they must be debated and voted upon.

    1. Debates on bills in the People’s Assembly last at least 7 days.

    2. Debates on bills in the Legislative Committee last at least 7 days by default, but members can decide to conclude debate and start the vote by a simple majority vote.

    3. Votes on bills in the People’s Assembly last a minimum of 3 days, unless an absolute majority has already been reached in favour or against.

    4. Votes on bills in the Legislative Committee last 3 days, unless an absolute majority has already been reached in favour or against.

  3. Any bill introduced and passed by the People’s Assembly must be debated by the Legislative Committee, which may also choose to amend the bill. The Legislative Committee then votes on the bill (as amended) under the procedures of (b), and if it achieves a simple majority, it is enacted (as amended).

  4. Any bill introduced and passed by the Legislative Committee is enacted upon also being passed by the People’s Assembly.

(4) If a provision in one Act contradicts a provision in another Act, the more recently enacted Act takes precedence.

(5) Constitutional Amendments are not considered bills or Acts of the Legislature. Procedures for amending the constitution are outlined in Article 9.

The Speaker of the Legislature

(6) The Speaker of the Legislature is elected by the Legislative Committee from among its members by simple majority at the start of each term, and can be recalled in the same way.

(7) If the Speaker is recalled, resigns the Speakership, or ceases to be a Legislative Committee Member, the Legislative Committee must elect a new Speaker.

(8) The Speaker’s duties are—

  1. to act as Chair of the Legislative Committee and People’s Assembly, ensuring that all proceedings (including debates and votes) are civil, orderly, and constitutional,

  2. to maintain records pertaining to the Legislative Committee,

  3. to introduce business from the Legislative Committee to the People’s Assembly, and vice versa,

  4. to announce business of the People’s Assembly on the RMB,

  5. to maintain an up-to-date Law Archive of all Acts of the Legislature, Executive Orders and Administrative Orders, and

  6. to maintain voting records of the Legislative Committee and People’s Assembly.

(9) The Speaker must not be a member of the Council of Ministers, the People’s Tribunal, or the Administration Council, unless either—

  1. this restriction would result in no eligible candidates for the Speakership, or

  2. no other Member of the Legislative Committee is willing to be Speaker.

(10) The Speaker, in order to carry out their duties, shall have moderation powers in all venues of the Legislative Committee and People’s Assembly, though they may be removed by the Administration Council if these powers are abused.

(11) On leaving office, the Speaker shall pass all records, material, and relevant information to the new Speaker.

The Legislative Committee

(12) The Legislative Committee is the upper house of the Legislature and has primary responsibility and discretion in enacting, amending and repealing laws.

(13) The Legislative Committee is elected for a 3 month term, subject to recall, according to the procedures in Article 8.

(14) The Legislative Committee consists of 5 Members.

  1. If for any reason the Legislative Committee has fewer than 5 Members at any time, a by-election is held according to the procedures in Article 8.

(15) Legislative Committee Members may resign. If a Legislative Committee Member, without the Speaker’s authorisation, fails to contribute at all to the proceedings of the Legislative Committee for a consecutive period of 3 weeks or longer, that Member is considered to have resigned.

(16) The Legislative Committee may debate and vote on up to 5 pieces of legislation at the same time, including Bills and Constitutional Amendments.

  1. If there are any bills that have passed the People’s Assembly and have not yet been debated by the Legislative Committee, these are prioritised.

  2. However, the Legislative Committee is always entitled to consider at least 2 of its own proposals within the limit of 5 at any given time.

The People’s Assembly

(17) The People’s Assembly consists of all citizens of The Communist Bloc. It is not possible to resign from the People’s Assembly without renouncing citizenship.

(18) In addition to other powers and procedures established in this Article and Article 8, the People’s Assembly has the right to—

  1. repeal any Acts of the Legislature by simple majority vote, and

  2. petition the Council of Ministers and the Administrative Council to take an action, undo an action, and/or provide justification or information pertaining to an action, by obtaining a minimum of 5 signatures from citizens.

Procedures

(19) Debates and votes within the Legislature must be transparent to all citizens, with the exception of those relating to impeachment.

(20) No votes can be called which would overlap with the voting period of any election except by-elections.


ARTICLE 6 THE PEOPLE'S TRIBUNAL

Jurisdiction

(1) The People’s Tribunal shall have jurisdiction over all criminal and civil matters, as well as appeals.

(2) The People's Tribunal shall offer advice as and when needed by anybody operating within their jurisdiction.

(3) The People’s Tribunal may be allocated additional jurisdiction through Executive Orders or Acts of the Legislature.

(4) All sessions of the People’s Tribunal require a Quorum of 3 People’s Justice, convened by the lead Justice on the case, in order to proceed.

Judicial Oversight

(5) On the basis of the Constitution and other relevant legislation, the People’s Tribunal may rule, by simple majority, on the constitutionality of:

  1. Executive Orders,

  2. Acts of the Legislature,

  3. Constitutional Amendments, and

  4. actions taken by officials in the course of exercising their powers.

(6) The People’s Tribunal may place Executive Orders and Acts of the Legislature on hold for up to three days if it believes they may violate the Constitution.

  1. During this period, the Tribunal must consider a ruling.

    1. If the ruling finds the legislation unconstitutional, the issuing body must amend the legislation to remove the violations the Tribunal has identified in its ruling.

    2. If the ruling finds the legislation constitutional, the issuing body shall continue the normal procedure from where it was interrupted.

  2. If the holding period lapses without a ruling, the issuing body may proceed as if the legislation had been ruled constitutional. This does not prevent the Tribunal from re-considering the law after it comes into effect, in a case brought to the Tribunal by a citizen.

(7) Impeachment cases against elected officials other than People’s Justices must be brought to the Tribunal by the Legislative Committee through a simple majority vote. The People’s Tribunal may impeach through a 2/3 majority of the Quorum, provided the official concerned has acted unconstitutionally or illegally in exercising their powers.

  1. A World Assembly Delegate cannot be impeached from that position, but may be impeached from any other elected office they hold concomitantly.

Composition

(8) The People’s Tribunal is elected for a 6 month term, subject to recall, according to the procedures in Article 8.

(9) The People’s Tribunal consists of 5 People’s Justices.

(10) The People’s Justices elect a Chief Justice from among themselves, who oversees the Tribunal and assigns Justices to lead cases.

(11) The Chief Justice must not be a member of the Council of Ministers, the Legislative, or the Administration Council, unless either—

  1. this restriction would result in no eligible candidates for the position of Chief Justice, or

  2. no other People’s Justice is willing to be Chief Justice.

(12) Any Justice who is elected First Minister forfeits their judicial appointment and a by-election is held according to the procedures in Article 8.

Procedures

(13) The procedures of the People’s Tribunal must be fair, consistent, and transparent, must align with the principles of the Constitution, and must not violate any rights guaranteed either in Article 2 or by legislation.

(14) Both the claiming/prosecuting and defending parties to any trial shall be entitled to be represented by counsel, provided:

  1. there is a citizen willing to act as counsel in the case, and

  2. that citizen is considered competent to act as counsel by the People’s Justice(s) hearing the case.

(15) Justices must recuse themselves from cases to which they are a party (accuser/plaintiff, defendent/respondent, appellant, witness, counsel, or accessory).

(16) Any Justice also serving on the Council of Ministers must recuse themselves from cases regarding Executive Orders or the actions of other members of the Council of Ministers.

(17) Within any restrictions established by this Article, the People’s Tribunal may define its own procedures.

Collective Responsibility

(18) Where a body rather than an individual is party to a case, in respect to actions taken collectively by that body, the head of that body (i.e. the First Minister or the Speaker of the Legislature) shall act on behalf of the body in proceedings and shall assume the collective responsibility with respect to any sentence.

Impeachment of People’s Justices

(19) People’s Justices may be impeached through a 4/5 majority vote of the Legislative Committee. Impeached People’s Justices may not be re-elected to the People’s Tribunal until the next scheduled election or until a month after their impeachment, whichever is later.

(20) The People’s Tribunal may also impeach a People’s Justice itself. The impeachment has to be approved by the entire People’s Tribunal unanimously, except by the People’s Justice subject to the proceedings, who is recused.


ARTICLE 7 THE ADMINISTRATIVE COUNCIL

The Administration

(1) The Administrative Council, also known as the “Administration”, is the administrative organ of the Bloc. It is tasked with overseeing the operation and moderation of the region’s venues including those specified in Article 1(9) (hereafter “regional venues”), ensuring that content and behaviour complies with the terms and conditions of relevant service providers, as well as with any laws and requirements of the jurisdiction(s) in which the service providers are based.

(2) The Administrative Council is composed of 3-5 Administrators who are appointed or dismissed by 2/3 majority of the Administrative Council.

Powers

(3) The Administrative Council may issue Administrative Orders to—

  1. modify the rules of regional venues,

  2. perform reasonable administrative actions, or

  3. in cases of any severe and imminent threat to the continued existence of the Bloc, interfere in the actions of the executive, legislative and judicial branches of government to ensure the continued existence of the Bloc.

(4) All Administrative Orders are subject to judicial review and, if overturned, the Administrative Council must comply with undoing the effects of the overturned Order.

(5) Administrators have the power to ban and take other administrative actions against any person—

  1. for violating terms and conditions of service providers or any laws and requirements of their jurisdiction(s),

  2. on request by a member of the Council of Ministers, provided no other member of the Council of Ministers objects, or

  3. as required by Acts of the Legislature.

(6) Administrators may refuse requests for bans or other administrative actions from any Minister, in which case they are referred to the People’s Tribunal, which then rules on whether or not the requested action should be taken. Administrators must comply with the rulings of the People’s Tribunal.

(7) Bans and administrative actions under (5) are subject to judicial review by way of appeal. Where a ban effectively prevents the banned person from bringing an appeal, any citizen may bring an appeal on their behalf.

(8) The Administrative Council may, by 2/3 majority, appoint or dismiss Moderators to assist in moderating the region’s venues or any constituent part of a venue. Moderators are not members of the Administrative Council.

(9) During a State of Emergency declared under Article 4(33), the Administrative Council assumes judicial power for the duration of the State of Emergency, with capacity to overrule the People’s Tribunal. Such rulings may be overturned by the People’s Tribunal after the State of Emergency has ended.

Oversight

(10) The Server Owner of the TCB Official Discord Server can, in the face of imminent danger, take action and remove any Administrators, dismissing them from their post on the Administrative Council. Any remaining Administrators may then review the decision of the Owner and approve or deny it, either letting the decision stand or reversing it to its previous state. Dismissed Administrators will be barred from being reappointed for a period of 12 months.


ARTICLE 8 ELECTIONS

Principles

(1) All citizens, unless barred by this Constitution or a legally recognised punishment, have the right to stand for elected office.

(2)The ballot process in all elections must be secret and enable voters to change their vote as many times as they wish until the scheduled end of the voting period.

(3) No citizen may stand for election to more than one seat on the same body, nor occupy more than one seat on the same body.

  1. Where Ministries are split or created under Article 4(13)-(14) and where, between scheduled elections, this results in the same Minister occupying multiple Ministries, the First Minister shall either—

    1. compel the relevant Minister to resign from all but one of the Ministries held, which must be the Ministry most similar in responsibilities to the Ministry to which that Minister was originally elected, or

    2. determine that for the remainder of the term of office, the Ministries in question shall be considered to constitute a single seat on the Council of Ministers.

  2. Where Ministries are merged, the merged Ministry shall be held to constitute a single seat on the Council of Ministers.

  3. Where one citizen is elected as Minister for more than one Ministry, those Ministries shall be held to constitute a single seat on the Council of Ministers.

(4) Elections in The Communist Bloc are either scheduled elections, defined in (5)-(6), or by-elections.

Scheduled elections

(5) Scheduled elections must begin on the 15th day of the month, preceded by a 7 day campaign period and followed by a 48 hour voting period.

  1. Scheduled elections for the Council of Ministers (“executive elections”) shall take place in January, April, July, and October.

  2. Scheduled elections for the Legislative Committee (“legislative elections”) shall take place in March, June, September, and December.

  3. Scheduled elections for the People’s Tribunal (“judicial elections”) shall take place in February and August.

(6) If additional elected offices besides those covered in (4)(a)-(c) are created through legislation, elections for these must take place in May and/or November.

By-elections

(7) By-elections may occur at any time, except during a scheduled election, preceded by a campaign period of at least 48 hours and a voting period of at least 24 hours.

  1. By-elections to fill an office or seat vacated by resignation, incapacitation, impeachment, recall, dismissal, or which was not filled in the previous scheduled election for that office or seat—

    1. are initiated by Administrative Order, Executive Order, or an Act of the Legislature,

    2. are preceded by a campaign period of at least 48 hours, and

    3. have a voting period of at least 24 hours.

  2. By-elections to fill an office newly created by Executive Order or Act of the Legislature—

    1. do not require a separate piece of legislation to take place,

    2. are preceded by a campaign period of at least 96 hours, and

    3. have a voting period of at least 48 hours.

  3. Run-off by-elections—

    1. do not require a separate piece of legislation to take place,

    2. have no campaign period, and

    3. have a voting period of at least 48 hours.

(8) Officials elected in by-elections will serve a term that concludes at the next scheduled election for their office or seat.

(9) No by-election shall be held for any office or seat if the next scheduled election capable of filling that office or seat is to take place in 7 days or fewer from the suggested by-election.

(10) If no one is elected in a by-election, another by-election can be held, but there is no obligation to do so; the office or seat may remain vacant until the next scheduled election.

Recall

(11) The People’s Assembly has the power to recall members of the Legislative Committee, the Council of Ministers, or the People’s Tribunal individually or severally by Vote of Recall.

(12) A Vote of Recall may be initiated—

  1. individually for an official, on petition by at least half as many citizens as the number of votes obtained by the official(s) in their most recent election to the office from which they are being recalled,

  2. collectively for an entire body of officials, on petition by at least half as many citizens as voted in the most recent scheduled election for that body.

(13) A Vote of Recall—

  1. must be preceded by a debating period of at least 5 days,

  2. must have a voting period lasting at least 48 hours, and

  3. in order to succeed, must obtain a simple majority of votes in favour.

(14) A Vote of Recall cannot be held for the same individual or office more than once per term for the office in question.

(15) A citizen who has been recalled cannot stand in any resulting by-election, but regains the right to stand in the next scheduled election and for any subsequent elections.

(16) A citizen who has been recalled from the same office in two consecutive terms loses the right to stand for that office for a period of 6 months beginning from the second recall.

Dismissal

(17) The Legislative Committee has the power to dismiss any of its own Members by Vote of No Confidence.

(18) A Vote of No Confidence must pass unanimously, except by the Member concerned, who is not entitled to a vote in the procedure, and ends when all entitled Members have voted.

(19) A citizen who has been dismissed in this way cannot stand in any resulting by-election, but regains the right to stand in the next scheduled Legislative Committee election.

Absences and resignation by default

(20) Any elected official who plans to be absent for a period of at least 7 days but not exceeding 27 days must notify the body of which they are a member, and nominate a fellow member of that body to act in their place, including the right to vote by proxy.

  1. No individual may hold more than one proxy vote within one body at one time.

(21) Any elected official who does not respond to any attempts to contact them via any available means for a period of at least 28 days, or who ceases to be a citizen, is considered to have resigned their office(s).

Eligibility of previously impeached persons

(22) A citizen impeached by the People’s Tribunal is ineligible to stand again for the office from which they were impeached for a period determined by the People’s Tribunal in its impeachment ruling, which must not ordinarily exceed 6 months.

  1. With the consent of both the First Minister and the Speaker of the Legislature, the People’s Tribunal may extend a citizen’s period of ineligibility to 12 months.

  2. With the consent of both the First Minister and the Speaker of the Legislature, the People’s Tribunal may extend a citizen’s scope of ineligibility to cover all elected offices.

Election procedures

(23) All elections must have secret ballots, and must enable voters to change or withdraw their votes at any time and as often as they wish for the duration of the voting period.

(24) The People’s Justices act as Independent Overseers of Elections (“Overseers”), overseeing any and all administrative tasks involving elections.

(25) Where a People’s Justice is standing for election, that member shall not serve as an Overseer.

  1. A non-Overseer People’s Justice may carry out individual time-critical Overseer tasks if no Overseer is available to fulfil the task.

  2. Where it can be demonstrated by judicial procedure that a non-Overseer People’s Justice has misused provision (a) to benefit themselves in an election, that individual shall be disqualified from the election, impeached and be permanently and irrevocably barred from serving as a People’s Justice.

(26) Overseers shall advertise each election within all the venues explicitly mentioned in Article 2(9) at the beginning of the campaign period, and again at the beginning of the voting period, providing links to the forum areas where these are taking place.

(27) Overseers shall announce the results of each election within 24 hours of the end of the voting period, at which point the results of the election become binding, subject to provisions relating to disqualification.

(28) Citizens become candidates by posting in the appropriate forum thread that they wish to stand. This post must contain the name of their TCB nation, the name of their WA nation, their Discord username, any TCB-internal affiliations (e.g. political parties), and any positions they already hold within TCB, elected or otherwise.

  1. Candidates in executive elections must further specify the Ministry/Ministries to which they are seeking election.

(29) In addition to all eligible candidates not previously disqualified, the ballot for any election except for run-off by-elections shall include a “None of the Above” option.

(30) In executive elections, each citizen has 1 vote total per Ministry. In legislative and judicial elections, each citizen has 5 votes total.

  1. A citizen may not give more than 1 vote to any candidate.

  2. No citizen is obligated to use all of their votes.

(31) The results of any election, subject to other provisions herein, shall be determined as follows:

  1. Any candidate who has not obtained votes from at least 50% of voters is discounted, i.e. removed from the list of candidates.

  2. Where the vote was to elect a candidate to a single office, the candidate with the most votes is elected. If more than one candidate has obtained the highest number of votes, a run-off by-election must be held between those candidates to determine which candidate is elected.

  3. Where the vote was to elect candidates to more than one seat, the n candidates with the most votes are elected, where n is the number of seats. If more than n candidates would be elected by this method, a run-off by-election must be held between the lowest-scoring tied candidates among the would-be elected group.

(32) The Minister of Information or an appointed representative shall, on request of candidates, send mass telegrams containing a campaign message (provided that message is lawful). The message must be preceded by a disclaimer which notes that the message is sent on behalf of that candidate and that the Ministry of Information does not endorse candidates, and must also contain a link to the relevant election thread on the forums.

Disqualification

(33) A candidate who has been disqualified from an election cannot stand or be elected in that election. Where a candidate is disqualified after the voting period begins, for the purposes of calculating the results, that candidate has zero votes.

(34) Any candidate who ceases to be a citizen of the Bloc during the campaigning or voting period of an election, or who is discovered to be standing despite being ineligible, is automatically disqualified.

  1. If a candidate is ineligible because they hold a position incompatible with the position or seat they are standing for, they may re-qualify themselves by resigning that position.

(35) Disqualification proceedings must be heard in the People’s Tribunal against any candidate who, during the campaigning or voting period of an election—

  1. is, in the estimation of the People’s Tribunal, credibly accused of having unduly influenced or attempted to influence or tamper with the outcome of the ongoing election through deceit, misrepresentation, improper use of any systems used by the Bloc, or any criminal act, or

  2. is, in the estimation of the People’s Tribunal, credibly accused of having previously committed a crime, for which no trial has yet taken place, but a possible sentence for which might be disqualification from elections, or

  3. is, in the estimation of the People’s Tribunal, credibly accused of presenting a risk of serious harm to the Bloc.

(36) Disqualification proceedings may only be brought while the relevant election is still ongoing. Where the Legislative Committee is made aware of evidence that an elected official should have been disqualified, the Legislative Committee is obligated to bring impeachment proceedings against that official to the People’s Tribunal.

(37) Where disqualification proceedings against a candidate are still outstanding at the point where the results of an election are announced, and that candidate would be elected according to these results, they are considered provisional, and the candidate with outstanding proceedings cannot take up their office or seat (but other elected candidates can).

  1. If the candidate is then disqualified, Overseers must issue corrected results, calculated as if that candidate had zero votes.

  2. If the candidate is not disqualified, the provisional results become permanent, and the candidate can take up their office or seat.


ARTICLE 9 AMENDMENTS

Basic principles

(1) This Constitution may be amended by the Legislature through a Constitutional Amendment subject to the restrictions and procedure set forth in this Article.

(2) Within this Constitution, and for the purposes of Constitutional Amendments—

  1. the first level of subdivision is termed an “Article”,

  2. the second level of subdivision is termed a “section”,

  3. the third level of subdivision is termed a “subsection”, and

  4. the fourth level of subdivision is termed a “clause”.

Procedure

(3) For a Constitutional Amendment to pass, it requires a 4/5 majority in the Legislative Committee, a 2/3 majority in the People’s Assembly, and the assent of the First Minister.

(4) Constitutional Amendments must be proposed, debated and voted upon in the Legislative Committee before reaching the People’s Assembly.

  1. Proposals, debates and votes on Constitutional Amendments cannot take place during any election, nor during a State of Emergency.

  2. In the Legislative Committee—

    1. the debate must last for at least 7 days, and

    2. the voting period must last for at least 48 hours.

  3. In the People’s Assembly—

    1. the debate must last for at least 14 days, and

    2. the voting period must last for at least 96 hours.

Content

(5) A Constitutional Amendment cannot—

  1. amend the Preamble, Article 1, Article 2, or Article 9,

  2. amend more than one Article at a time, nor

  3. repeal an entire Article.

(6) Proposed Constitutional Amendments must contain the full text of each section they are amending (including any subsections and clauses), followed by the full amended text.

(7) No more than 5 Constitutional Amendments can be enacted during a single Legislative Committee term.

(8) Constitutional Amendments shall be numbered sequentially and their titles shall indicate the Article they are amending, or the new Article they are inserting.

(9) If a Constitutional Amendment inserts a new Article, it must be inserted after any existing Articles.

Oversight

(10) The People’s Tribunal may, by unanimous ruling, issue an interdict against any Constitutional Amendment which violates Article 1, 2, or 9, or which blatantly contradicts the values expressed in the Preamble.

  1. If an interdict is issued against a Constitutional Amendment before or during a debate or voting period, these must end immediately and the Constitutional Amendment falls.

  2. If an interdict is issued against a Constitutional Amendment after it has already passed, it is overturned.

  3. No Constitutional Amendment may be passed which contains substantively similar provisions to those previously identified in an interdict ruling as violating Article 1, 2, or 9, or blatantly contradicting the values expressed in the preamble.



ARTICLE 10 REPLACING THE CONSTITUTION

Purpose

(1) This Constitution may be replaced with a new Constitution by a Constitutional Convention (hereinafter “Convention”).

(2) This Constitution remains in effect until the end of the Convention.

Constitutional Convention

(3) A Convention may be called either by a unanimous vote of the Legislative Committee, or by a 2/3 majority vote of the People’s Assembly.

  1. A vote to call a Convention cannot be held in either body if such a vote has failed in the People’s Assembly within the previous 3 months, nor if a Convention itself has failed within the previous 3 months.

(4) When a Convention is called, the People’s Assembly and Legislative Committee are dissolved.

  1. The People’s Assembly reconstitutes itself as the Convention, composed of all citizens.

  2. The Speaker of the Legislature becomes the Presiding Officer of the Convention.

(5) All scheduled elections shall be suspended for the duration of the Convention, though by-elections can continue to be held.

(6) The terms of all incumbent officials are extended until the end of the Convention, or until the next scheduled election after the failure of the Convention.

Constitutional Commission

(7) When a Convention has been called, citizens shall elect a Constitutional Commission (hereinafter “Commission”) consisting of a minimum of 5 and a maximum of 10 Commissioners, with the precise number of seats set by the Presiding Officer of the Convention.

  1. The campaign period, which commences on the day the Convention is called, lasts 14 days.

  2. The voting period, which lasts 96 hours, commences when the campaign period ends.

  3. Eligibility for election to the Commission shall not be limited based on positions currently held.

  4. Citizens who are ineligible to stand in elections for—

    1. the Legislative Committee,

    2. the People’s Tribunal, or

    3. the Council of Ministers

    for reasons other than their current position shall by extension also be ineligible for election as a Commissioner.

  5. The Commission shall assume all non-legislative powers of the Legislative Committee.

(8) The Commission shall elect a Chair from among its members, who may not simultaneously serve as Presiding Officer of the Convention.

  1. If they are also a Commissioner, the Presiding Officer of the Convention may resign that post in order to serve as Chair of the Commission, in which case the Convention must elect a new Presiding Officer in a by-election.

Procedure

(9) The Commission shall draft, debate, and vote upon Articles of the new Constitution. In total, the drafting, debating and voting period cannot exceed 7 days per Article, not counting any periods during which the Convention is already debating or voting upon a completed Article.

  1. With the consent of the Presiding Officer of the Convention, the Commission can decide to draft, debate and vote upon several Articles at once to assemble a set of Articles, in which case the time limit is extended accordingly per Article, up to a maximum of 28 days.

  2. If, at the end of the voting period, the Article or set of Articles fails to obtain a 2/3 majority, the process is restarted for a second attempt. This can occur only once per process.

  3. If a 2/3 majority is not obtained in the second attempt, the Commission is dissolved and a new election must immediately be held, as in (7), but with a campaign period of 7 days and a voting period of 48 hours.

(10) Once an Article or set of Articles has reached a 2/3 majority in the Commission, the Chair passes it to the Presiding Officer to be debated by the Convention.

  1. The debate must last 5 days and conclude with a voting period of 48 hours.

  2. During the debate, the Commission may begin drafting other Articles or sets of Articles, but must not debate or vote on them until after the Convention has finished debating and voting on the previous one(s).

  3. If an Article or set of Articles fails to reach a 2/3 majority in the Convention, the Commission must make a second attempt as per (9)(b) to submit a revised version to the Convention.

  4. If the revised version also fails, the Commission is dissolved and re-elected as per (9)(c).

(11) Once an Article achieves a 2/3 majority in the Convention, it has been accepted for the new Constitution, but does not take effect until the end of the Convention.

(12) When the Commission is satisfied that all necessary Articles for a new Constitution have been accepted, it must draft, debate, and vote upon an Enactment Paper containing—

  1. the order in which the accepted Articles are to appear in the new Constitution,

  2. a list of which, if any, previous laws are repealed when the new Constitution takes effect,

  3. a list of individuals to be appointed on an interim basis to offices of government under the new Constitution until proper election or appointment procedures are held for those offices (as specified in the new Constitution),

  4. a date on which the new Constitution shall take effect, which must be relative to the date on which the Convention passes the Enactment Paper, and must be no fewer than 2 and no more than 7 days after that date, and

  5. where applicable, any such other provisions and determinations as may be necessary to ensure a smooth transition to the new Constitution.

(13) The process of drafting, debating, and voting upon the Enactment Paper in the Commission must take no fewer than 2 and no more than 14 days in total.

(14) Once the Enactment Paper achieves a 2/3 majority in the Convention, the Chair passes it to the Presiding Officer to be immediately voted upon in the Convention for 96 hours.

(15) The Constitutional Convention fails if—

  1. the procedure of (9)(c) or (10)(d) is triggered more than once,

  2. the Enactment Paper fails to achieve a 2/3 majority in the Convention, or

  3. It is dissolved under the provisions of (19).

(16) The Constitutional Convention ends successfully when the new Constitution takes effect.

Oversight

(17) The People’s Tribunal has the power to impeach Commissioners with the same procedure as for any other official, on petition of the First Minister.

(18) The Convention has the power to recall Commissioners with the same procedure as for any other official.

(19) The Administrative Council has the power to dissolve a Constitutional Convention through a unanimous vote requiring the consent of both the First Minister and Chief Justice.

RawReport