[Passed] Rules of the Council of Scribes

[Amerion]

Rules of the Council of Scribes

On the 16^th of May, 2016, the Pharaoh established Provisional Rules of the Council of Scribes. With the election of the Chief Scribe having concluded, I propose the Council formally adopt these rules with the following amendments^[1].

Spoiler

Provisional Rules of the Council of Scribes Section 1: Composition and Administration

(1) All citizens of the Osiris Fraternal Order may participate in all discussions conducted by the Council of Scribes.
(2) Citizens of the Osiris Fraternal Order, the Pharaoh and Priests excepted, will have a vote on all proposals and in all elections.
(3) The Council of Scribes will be administered by the Chief Scribe. The Chief Scribe may appoint deputies to assist in administration of the Council of Scribes.
(4) If the office of Chief Scribe is vacant, or for the duration of discussion and voting on a motion to remove the Chief Scribe from office, the business of the Council of Scribes will be administered by the Pharaoh or by a Priest designated by the Council of Priests.

Section 2: Legislative Procedure

(1) Any citizen may introduce a proposal before the Council of Scribes.
(2) Only the Chief Vizier or designated Vizier(s) may introduce treaties before the Council of Scribes.
(3) Only the Pharaoh may introduce nominations for the Council of Priests before the Council of Scribes.
(4) In order for a proposal to be brought to vote, a voting citizen may make a motion to vote, with a minimum of two other voting citizens seconding the motion.
(5) After a motion to vote has been made and twice seconded in accordance with procedure, the Chief Scribe may delay a vote for up to seven days.
(6) All votes shall take place for three days. Voting citizens may vote "aye," "nay," "abstain," or votes of clearly similar intent.
(7) Abstentions may not be used to determine the outcome of any vote.
(8) All proposals require a simple majority (50%+1) of votes in order to pass.
(9) Following the passage of proposals that require the assent of the Pharaoh, the Chief Scribe will present the proposals to the Pharaoh for assent.

Section 3: Electoral Procedure

(1) The Pharaoh of the Osiris Fraternal Order may serve as electoral administrator for all elections.
(2) In the event that the Pharaoh is unable or unwilling to administer an election, the Council of Priests will designate a Priest to administer the election.
(3) The electoral period for any elected office will begin with a three day period for nominations, followed by a one day period for additional campaigning, followed by a three day period for voting. Candidates may campaign throughout an electoral period.
(4) An electoral period will begin nine days before the expiration of an elected official's term or as soon as practical after an elected office is vacated. Should an electoral period for any reason be delayed, the incumbent official will continue to hold office until conclusion of the electoral period.
(5) In any election, citizens who are eligible to vote may vote for one eligible candidate who has confirmed candidacy or may vote abstain/present.
(6) The option to reopen nominations will be included in all elections. Should the reopening of nominations receive majority support, the electoral period will be restarted.
(7) The candidate elected to office in any election will be the candidate who receives majority support in the election. If no candidate receives majority support, the two candidates with the most votes will proceed to run-off election. In the event of a tie for most votes involving more than two candidates, all candidates involved in the tie will proceed to run-off election.
(8) The run-off electoral period will consist of a two day voting period. Run-off election will be repeated as necessary until one candidate receives majority support in the election.
(9) In the event that majority support is not achieved during an election due to a tie involving only two candidates, the tie will be broken in favor of the candidate who has maintained citizenship in the Osiris Fraternal Order for the longest continuous period of time.
(10) Votes of abstain/present in any election will count only toward participation in the election and will not count for or against majority support needed to be elected to office or to reopen nominations.

Proposal for amendments to the rules:

Amendment 1: Powers of legislative deputies

I would like to draw the Council's attention to Section 1: Composition and Administration (4) which stipulates the following:

(4) If the office of Chief Scribe is vacant, or for the duration of discussion and voting on a motion to remove the Chief Scribe from office, the business of the Council of Scribes will be administered by the Pharaoh or by a Priest designated by the Council of Priests.

I propose amending this clause and the preceding clause (3) to:

(3) The Council of Scribes will be administered by the Chief Scribe. The Chief Scribe may appoint deputies to assist in the business of the Council and may delegate one deputy as Deputy pro tempore, to exercise the office of the Chief Scribe in his absence.
(4) If the office of Chief Scribe is vacant, or for the duration of discussion and voting on a motion to remove the Chief Scribe from office, the business of the Council will be administered by a deputy previously designated by the Chief Scribe. If no deputy is available, the business of the Council will be administered by the Pharaoh, by the Heir Apparent if designated by the Pharaoh, or by a Priest designated by the Council of Priests.

Amendment 2: Correction of spelling, grammar, and formatting

I note Section 2: Legislative Procedure:

Section 2: Legislative Procedure

(1) Any citizen may introduce a proposal before the Council of Scribes.
(2) Only the Chief Vizier or designated Vizier(s) may introduce treaties before the Council of Scribes.
(3) Only the Pharaoh may introduce nominations for the Council of Priests before the Council of Scribes.
...

I propose the addition of a clause:

(1) Any citizen may introduce a proposal before the Council of Scribes.
(2) The Chief Scribe may correct grammatical, formatting and spelling errors in any proposal, provided that such changes are non-substantive in that they do not in any way affect the interpretation of the content of the proposal. All such corrections must be publicly declared in the relevant thread, detailing the full extent of corrections made. The corrections may be overruled by the Pharaoh.
(3) Only the Chief Vizier or designated Vizier(s) may introduce treaties before the Council of Scribes.
(4) Only the Pharaoh may introduce nominations for the Council of Priests before the Council of Scribes.
...

Amendment 3: Section 3: Legislative Procedure

The following section in the Provisional Rules of the Council of Scribe shall be removed from the ratified Rules. It is assumed that procedural issues relating to elections will be addressed in a future Bill.

Spoiler

Section 3: Electoral Procedure

(1) The Pharaoh of the Osiris Fraternal Order may serve as electoral administrator for all elections.
(2) In the event that the Pharaoh is unable or unwilling to administer an election, the Council of Priests will designate a Priest to administer the election.
(3) The electoral period for any elected office will begin with a three day period for nominations, followed by a one day period for additional campaigning, followed by a three day period for voting. Candidates may campaign throughout an electoral period.
(4) An electoral period will begin nine days before the expiration of an elected official's term or as soon as practical after an elected office is vacated. Should an electoral period for any reason be delayed, the incumbent official will continue to hold office until conclusion of the electoral period.
(5) In any election, citizens who are eligible to vote may vote for one eligible candidate who has confirmed candidacy or may vote abstain/present.
(6) The option to reopen nominations will be included in all elections. Should the reopening of nominations receive majority support, the electoral period will be restarted.
(7) The candidate elected to office in any election will be the candidate who receives majority support in the election. If no candidate receives majority support, the two candidates with the most votes will proceed to run-off election. In the event of a tie for most votes involving more than two candidates, all candidates involved in the tie will proceed to run-off election.
(8) The run-off electoral period will consist of a two day voting period. Run-off election will be repeated as necessary until one candidate receives majority support in the election.
(9) In the event that majority support is not achieved during an election due to a tie involving only two candidates, the tie will be broken in favor of the candidate who has maintained citizenship in the Osiris Fraternal Order for the longest continuous period of time.
(10) Votes of abstain/present in any election will count only toward participation in the election and will not count for or against majority support needed to be elected to office or to reopen nominations.

The following is a proposed version of the Rules of the Council of Scribes with the aforementioned amendments included:

Spoiler

Rules of the Council of Scribes Section 1: Composition and Administration

(1) All citizens of the Osiris Fraternal Order may participate in all discussions conducted by the Council of Scribes.
(2) Citizens of the Osiris Fraternal Order, the Pharaoh and Priests excepted, will have a vote on all proposals and in all elections.
(3) The Council of Scribes will be administered by the Chief Scribe. The Chief Scribe may appoint deputies to assist in the business of the Council and may delegate one deputy as Deputy pro tempore, to exercise the office of the Chief Scribe in his absence.
(4) If the office of Chief Scribe is vacant, or for the duration of discussion and voting on a motion to remove the Chief Scribe from office, the business of the Council will be administered by a deputy previously designated by the Chief Scribe. If no deputy is available, the business of the Council will be administered by the Pharaoh, by the Heir Apparent if designated by the Pharaoh, or by a Priest designated by the Council of Priests.

Section 2: Legislative Procedure

(1) Any citizen may introduce a proposal before the Council of Scribes.
(2) The Chief Scribe may correct grammatical, formatting and spelling errors in any proposal, provided that such changes are non-substantive in that they do not in any way affect the interpretation of the content of the proposal. All such corrections must be publicly declared in the relevant thread, detailing the full extent of corrections made. The corrections may be overruled by the Pharaoh.
(3) Only the Chief Vizier or designated Vizier(s) may introduce treaties before the Council of Scribes.
(4) Only the Pharaoh may introduce nominations for the Council of Priests before the Council of Scribes.
(5) In order for a proposal to be brought to vote, a voting citizen may make a motion to vote, with a minimum of two other voting citizens seconding the motion.
(6) After a motion to vote has been made and twice seconded in accordance with procedure, the Chief Scribe may delay a vote for up to seven days.
(7) All votes shall take place for three days. Voting citizens may vote "aye," "nay," "abstain," or votes of clearly similar intent.
(8) Abstentions may not be used to determine the outcome of any vote.
(9) All proposals require a simple majority (50%+1) of votes in order to pass.
(10) Following the passage of proposals that require the assent of the Pharaoh, the Chief Scribe will present the proposals to the Pharaoh for assent.

---

[1] So as to not conflict with the supreme law of the region, the first proposed amendment are legally applicable only when the Scroll of Ma'at is amended along similar lines. Edit: The Omnibus Amendment Bill to the Scroll of Ma'at has since passed the Council of Scribes and is now awaiting the concurrence of the Council of Priests and the assent of the Pharaoh.

[Cormac]

The first amendment you're proposing is definitely unconstitutional, in that the Scroll of Ma'at mandates that the Pharaoh or a Priest preside over the Council of Scribes if the office of Chief Scribe is vacant, etc., so that will require amendment of the Scroll of Ma'at. You also haven't made any provision for if there is no deputy.

The second amendment you propose is a good idea.

[Amerion]

The first amendment you're proposing is definitely unconstitutional, in that the Scroll of Ma'at mandates that the Pharaoh or a Priest preside over the Council of Scribes if the office of Chief Scribe is vacant, etc., so that will require amendment of the Scroll of Ma'at. You also haven't made any provision for if there is no deputy.

The second amendment you propose is a good idea.

I have also proposed an amendment to the Scroll in a separate thread. I intend for that proposal to go to vote before this one and should it fail to gain the necessary votes, I will withdraw the first amendment and proceed only with the second proposed amendment.

Thanks for pointing that out. I will include a provision now.

Edit: The following provision has been added to the first proposed amendment:

(5) If the designated deputy is unable to assume the responsibilities of the Chief Scribe, the business of the Council of Scribes will be administered by the Pharaoh or by a Priest designated by the Council of Priests until such time that a Chief of Scribe can be elected.

[Cormac]

Sorry, I hadn't seen your proposed amendment to the Scroll of Ma'at. I should read all the threads first.

[Amerion]

No worries

[Cormac]

If I could make a few suggestions:

• In regard to the proposed amendment to Section 1(3), I'm not sure I would limit it to "one deputy." The Chief Scribe may want to appoint more than one deputy and delegate certain responsibilities to each of them in the future, and I think it may be beneficial to preserve flexibility in that regard.
• You may want to edit the proposed amendments to Sections 1(4)-(5) to mirror the language found in the Scroll of Ma'at. Alternatively, since this is already provided for by the Scroll of Ma'at, these clauses may be superfluous, but there is probably no harm in continuing to include them for the sake of clarity, as long as they mirror the language found in the Scroll.
• In regard to the proposed amendment to Section 2(2), from a purely stylistic standpoint, "Chief Scribe of the Council of Scribes" seems clunky. There is only one Chief Scribe and that official is the presiding officer of the Council of Scribes, so "of the Council of Scribes" seems unnecessary. Just Chief Scribe should do.
• Finally, in regard to Section 3 (Electoral Procedure), I would recommend removing that section altogether. I included that section in the Provisional Rules only because we did not yet have an electoral code passed. I can't imagine a scenario in which we don't have an electoral code by the time of the next election, which would render this section of the rules superfluous and potentially contradictory and requiring amendment.

I think that covers it. Nice work on this.

[Amerion]

Thank you for your suggestions. Your points 2-4 are taken note of and the text has been edited accordingly.

With regards to your first point, the term "one deputy" relates to the designated deputy who shall exercise the office of the Chief Scribe in his absence. The preceding text specifies that Chief Scribe may appoint deputies to assist in the business of the Council. I believe this addresses your concern.

Are there anymore suggestions for the text?

[Cormac]

Ah, I was misreading the provision regarding "one deputy." Thanks for clarifying.

I think that pretty much covers it!

[Amerion]

As I find it inappropriate for the Chief Scribe to do anything other than administration in the Council, I await either a motion to vote or further discussion regarding this proposal.

[Fedele]

(2) The Chief Scribe may correct grammatical, formatting and spelling errors in any proposal, provided that such changes are non-substantive in that they do not in any way affect the interpretation of the content of the proposal.

Who is to determine what is non-substantive? Particularly with grammatical and formatting changes, placement of a word, a comma moved, and how bullet points are arranged can change the meaning of a proposal. I would prefer this be decentralized.

Edit: This is not to imply that Amerion has ill intent or that Amerion would use this administrative authority improperly but we may not always have Amerion as Chief Scribe.