[Draft] State Code of Osiris
Posted: Sun Dec 15, 2013 1:10 am
Revised: 09 January 2014State Code of Osiris
Section 1: Preamble
1. We, the Councilors of the Deshret, on behalf of the People of Osiris and for their general welfare, hereby establish the Osiris Fraternal Order. In order to provide for the stability and security of Osiris and the efficient operation of her government, we hereby establish this State Code of Osiris by which the Osiris Fraternal Order will be governed.
Section 2: Executive of Osiris
1. The Pharaoh will serve as the chief executive officer of Osiris, representing Osiris as Head of State and administering Osiris as Head of Government.
2. The Pharaoh will hold the in-game World Assembly (WA) Delegacy, will have the power to set a general endorsement limit for Osiris, and may use the in-game powers of the World Assembly in any way necessary to enforce all endorsement limits.
3. The Pharaoh will have the power, with the approval of the Deshret, to appoint any citizen as and remove senior cabinet officials, styled Scribes of the Hedjet. Junior cabinet officials may be appointed at the discretion of the Pharaoh.
(a) The following are mandatory executive ministries which must have a Scribe assigned to oversee them: Integration, Foreign Affairs, Military Affairs, Culture, World Assembly Affairs, Security, and Justice.
4. The Pharaoh will have the power to further organize the executive branch of government. The Pharaoh may delegate any of the powers and areas of oversight prescribed to them under this Section to officials in the executive branch of government. Such delegation does not affect the exercise by the Pharaoh of any such power or oversight.
5. The Pharaoh will serve as commander-in-chief of the military forces of Osiris and will have the power to order and authorize deployments.
(a) The Pharaoh will have the power, with the approval of the Deshret, to declare war against other regions and organizations and to declare a cessation of war.
(b) The Pharaoh will be required to execute declarations of war and treaty obligations.
6. The Pharaoh will have the power to negotiate treaties with other regions, organizations, and groups on behalf of Osiris for submission to the Deshret.
7. The Pharaoh will have the power to sign or veto any legislation passed by the Deshret. If the Pharaoh neither signs nor vetoes legislation within seven days of its passage, it will automatically become law.
8. The Pharaoh will have the power, with the approval of the Deshret, to pardon or commute the sentence of any individual convicted of any criminal offense against Osiris.
9. The Pharaoh will have the power to approve or deny applications for citizenship, diplomatic recognition, and exchange of embassies according to the standards established by law.
10. The Atef will serve as the security council of Osiris. The Pharaoh will appoint, with the approval of the Deshret, citizens to serve as Guardians of the Atef. Guardians of the Atef will be required to maintain WA nations in Osiris with high endorsement counts at all times.
(a) Guardians of the Atef may only exceed the general endorsement limit up to 66% of the Pharaoh's endorsement count or ten endorsements less than the Vizier's endorsement count, whichever is lower.
(b) The Pharaoh may at their discretion waive the Atef's endorsement limit during times of emergency and grant grace periods in regard to the Atef's endorsement limit during Pharaoh and Vizier transitions. The Pharaoh may rescind such waivers and grace periods at their discretion.
11. The Vizier will serve as Vice Pharaoh of Osiris, holding the second most WA endorsements in the region. The Pharaoh will appoint, with the approval of the Deshret, a citizen to serve as Vizier.
(a) The Vizier will serve as acting Pharaoh in the event of the Pharaoh's scheduled absence or an unscheduled absence exceeding seven days. The Vizier will be vested with all powers of the Pharaoh for the duration of the Pharaoh's absence, but will not assume the in-game WA Delegacy except in the event of an emergency as certified by the Atef of Osiris.
(b) The Vizier will assume the office of Pharaoh in the event of the Pharaoh's resignation or removal from office by means other than challenge election.
Section 3: Election of the Pharaoh
1. The Pharaoh may be subject to a challenge election when there has been a period exceeding three months since the last challenge election, or when there has been no challenge election since the event of the Vizier assuming the office of Pharaoh after the resignation or removal from office of the preceding Pharaoh.
(a) Challenge elections will be administered by the Keeper of the Deshret and any Councilor may issue a challenge.
(b) When a challenge election is initiated by the Deshret, a three day period for submission of candidacies will begin. Only Councilors of the Deshret may submit a candidacy. The incumbent Pharaoh will not be barred from submitting a candidacy.
(c) At the conclusion of this candidacy submission period, the Keeper of the Deshret will determine eligible candidates according to eligibility standards established by law and open a four day voting period for a new Pharaoh to be elected by the Deshret.
(d) No candidate will be elected Pharaoh without receiving a simple majority of votes cast. Should no candidate receive a simple majority of votes cast in the election, the two candidates with the most votes (or, in the case of a tie for most votes, those candidates) will participate in a run-off election following the same process prescribed by Section 3.1(c) of this Code.
(e) Upon passage of this Code, the incumbent Pharaoh may be immediately subject to a challenge election.
2. The Deshret will have the power to establish additional standards for challenge elections by law.
3. The incumbent Pharaoh will be charged with ensuring a speedy and safe transition of power whenever a new Pharaoh is elected.
Section 4: Deshret of Osiris
1. The Deshret will be the legislative council of Osiris, open to all citizens of the Osiris Fraternal Order who maintain active involvement in the executive branch of government as certified by the Vizier.
(a) The Pharaoh and the Vizier will only be eligible for non-voting, advisory membership in the Deshret and may not serve as Keeper of the Deshret. The Deshret may, through its procedural rules, empower the Vizier to temporarily preside over the Deshret in the event that the office of Keeper is vacant and to cast tie-breaking votes.
(b) The Deshret will have the power to establish additional standards for membership in the Deshret by law.
2. The Deshret will elect from among its Councilors a Keeper of the Deshret whenever the position is vacant. The Keeper will serve a two month term as the presiding officer of the Deshret.
3. The Deshret will have the power to make and revise its own procedural rules.
4. The Deshret will have the power to pass any law that it determines is necessary and proper for the general welfare of the People of Osiris.
5. The Deshret will have the power to ratify treaties negotiated by the Pharaoh with other regions, organizations, and groups.
6. The Deshret will have the power to override the Pharaoh's veto by a two-thirds majority vote.
7. The Deshret will have the power to remove the Pharaoh from office by a three-quarters majority vote. The Deshret will have the power to remove any other government official from office by a two-thirds majority vote.
8. The Deshret will have the power to establish an additional Pharaonic line of succession beyond the Vizier from among Guardians of the Atef.
9. Unless otherwise noted by this Code, all decisions by the Deshret will be made by simple majority vote.
(a) The result of a vote will be determined by only taking into account members voting, and discounting any "present" votes cast in the vote.
Section 5: Pschent of Osiris
1. The Pschent will be the judicial council of Osiris, comprised of three Elders of the Pschent appointed by the Pharaoh with the approval of the Deshret. Elders of the Pschent will not serve as Pharaoh, Vizier, Scribe of the Hedjet, Guardian of the Atef, or Keeper of the Deshret and will not serve as junior officials for any of these offices for the duration of their service on the Pschent.
(a) Elders may maintain active involvement in Priesthoods of the Hedjet and may serve as Councilors of the Deshret while serving as Elders.
2. The Pschent will have the power to make and revise its own procedural rules.
3. The Pschent will have the power to nullify any law or portion of law that contradicts this Code, and to order the cessation of any government action that violates this Code or the laws of Osiris. The Pschent may only exercise this power if petitioned to do so by an affected citizen of Osiris.
4. The Pschent will have the power to hear prosecution of alleged criminal offenses by the Scribe of Justice or their deputy, to decide guilt or the lack of it, and to determine penalties for guilty parties according to the standards established by law.
5. Decisions by the Pschent amount to interpretation of the law, and those decisions and interpretation are binding on the Pschent and all government bodies and officials.
6. Unless otherwise noted by this Code, all decisions by the Pschent will be made by simple majority vote.
Section 6: Rights of Citizens
1. For the purposes of this Code, citizens will be defined as those applicants who have been accepted as citizens by the Pharaoh according to the standards established by law. Minimum requirements for an applicant to attain citizenship are as follows:
(a) No applicant for citizenship will be accepted as a citizen if the applicant does not have a nation residing in Osiris.
(b) No applicant for citizenship will be accepted if the applicant, or any region, organization, or group of which the applicant is a member, has declared or engaged in hostility against the Osiris Fraternal Order since 10 December 2013, or if the applicant is part of a region, organization, or group against which the Osiris Fraternal Order has declared war, until the cessation of hostility or war or until the applicant has renounced membership in said region, organization, or group.
2. The following rights will be afforded to all citizens:
(a) Citizens will have the right to be secure in their citizenship according to the standards established by law.
(b) Citizens will have the right to be secure against ejection and/or ban from Osiris except as a temporary measure to enforce lawfully and publicly established endorsement limits. Citizens will have the right to be secure against ban from the Osiris Fraternal Order forum, though a citizen's access may be temporarily limited to the Pschent for the duration of criminal proceedings.
(c) Citizens will have the right to freedom of speech and expression, subject to reasonable restrictions imposed by law which do not violate the spirit of this Code.
(d) Citizens will have the right to petition government officials in relation to all matters and to receive a prompt response to such petitions.
(e) Citizens will have the right to active involvement in the executive branch of government unless precluded by this Code.
(f) Citizens will have the right to apply for, stand for, vote for, and be appointed to government office provided they meet eligibility requirements imposed by law.
(g) Citizens will have the right, during all criminal prosecutions, to be informed of the cause of the action against them, and will enjoy a presumption of innocence until proven guilty. They will have the right to represent themselves or to be represented by counsel in a speedy, impartial, and public trial. Trial may proceed notwithstanding a defendant's absence provided that due notice has been given and the defendant's absence is beyond justification.
(h) Citizens will have the right to be secure against double jeopardy in relation to the prosecution of alleged criminal offenses.
(i) Citizens will have the right to be secure against ex post facto laws and bills of attainder.
(j) Citizens will have the right to due process of law and equal protection under the law.
(k) Citizens will have the right to be members of the WA or to decline WA membership, to be secure against requirement to endorse any WA nation, to be secure against any specialized endorsement limit below the general endorsement limit, and to be secure against punishment for endorsing any WA nation which has a number of endorsements below the endorsement limit lawfully and publicly established for that nation.
3. The rights established by Section 6.2(a)-(f) of this Code may be temporarily or permanently suppressed in whole or in part through criminal penalties imposed by the Pschent, according to the standards established by law. The rights established by Section 6.2(g)-(k) of this Code may never be suppressed.
4. The establishment of rights by this Code will not be construed to restrict or prohibit the establishment of additional rights by law. No rights afforded to citizens by this Code will be construed to be afforded to non-citizen residents of Osiris.
Section 7: Forum Administration
1. The sole legally legitimate forum of Osiris is located at the following URL: https://osiris.valthost.com/index.php
2. Nothing in this Code or other laws of Osiris will be construed to abridge the power of the forum root administrator to grant or deny administrative or moderation power over this forum as they see fit.
3. The power of forum administration and moderation to enforce the Zetaboards Terms of Service and Terms of Use and to establish and enforce additional terms of use related exclusively to forum security will supersede all other provisions of this Code and all laws of Osiris.
(a) Administrative and moderation action may be reviewed by the Pschent, by petition of any citizen or on its own initiative, exclusively to determine whether the action taken was necessary for enforcement of the Zetaboards Terms of Service, Terms of Use, and/or forum security.
Section 8: Amendment
1. The Deshret will have the power, by a three-fifths majority vote, to amend this Code. The Pharaoh will have the same power to sign or veto amendments to this Code as prescribed by Section 2.7 of this Code, and the Deshret will have the same power to override the Pharaoh's veto as prescribed by Section 4.6 of this Code.
2. The Keeper of the Deshret will be responsible for maintaining copies of the original and current versions of this Code and a publicly accessible list of all amendments made to this Code.
Spoiler
- Added Section 3.1(e) to make the incumbent Pharaoh immediately subject to a challenge election, if a Councilor chooses to challenge him.
Spoiler
- Revised Section 2 by placing the provisions related to the Vizier below the provisions related to the Atef, renumbering the Atef provisions as Section 2.10 and the Vizier provisions as Section 2.11.
- Revised Section 3.1(d) with the language suggested by Treize Dreizehn here.
- Revised Section 3.1(c) to reflect the earlier revision from "nominations" to "submissions of candidacy" in Section 3.1(b).
- Revised Section 5.1 to restrict Elders of the Pschent from serving as Pharaoh, Vizier, Scribe, Guardian, Keeper, or a junior official for any of these offices for the duration of their service on the Pschent, and added Section 5.1(a) to make clear that Elders may maintain active involvement in Priesthoods of the Hedjet and may serve as Councilors of the Deshret while serving as Elders.
Spoiler
- Revised the Code draft according to all suggestions made by r3naissanc3r here, except for the suggested revisions to Section 2 with which I disagreed in my subsequent comment.
- Cleaned up Section 4.1(a) to allow the Vizier to temporarily preside over the Deshret when the Keepership is vacant and to break ties, if empowered to do so by the Deshret's procedural rules.
- Amended Section 8.1 to empower the Deshret to amend the Code by 3/5 majority vote and to override the Pharaoh's veto by 2/3 majority vote.
Spoiler
- Amended Section 6.2(g) per Josh Sebastian's suggestion here.
- Removed pronouns where practical and adjusted pronouns to be more gender inclusive through use of the singular "they" where it was impractical to remove pronouns.
Spoiler
- Changed "regions and organizations" to "regions, organizations, and groups" throughout the document.
- Adjusted gender pronouns to be more inclusive throughout the document.
- Added World Assembly Affairs to the list of mandatory executive ministries in Section 2.3(a).
- Edited Section 6.1(b) to exclude individuals who have declared or engaged in hostility against the Osiris Fraternal Order from attaining citizenship.
Spoiler
Section 3
- Removed "with the approval of the Deshret" from Section 3.1 and 3.3 and changed "approved" to "initiated" in Section 3.1(a).
- Added "unless the Pharaoh resigns or is removed from office" to Section 3.1(d) and "or is removed from office" to Section 3.3.
Spoiler
Section 1
- Removed "and Scribes of the Hedjet" from the preamble, since approval by the Hedjet is no longer required for ratification and amendment of the Code.
- Removed the section devoted to the Hedjet (previously Section 3), given that it is now simply the cabinet and has no judicial power, and edited Section 2.3 to flesh out the Hedjet.
- Added a Section 2.3(a) with mandatory executive ministries that must be overseen by Scribes. This includes all current ministries except WA Affairs, which I don't think should be mandatory.
- Added Section 2.5(a) to empower the Pharaoh to declare war with the approval of the Deshret, also removing that from the Deshret's powers in Section 4.
- Added a provision to Section 2.7 that makes any legislation neither signed nor vetoed by the Pharaoh within seven days automatically become law.
- Edited Section 2.8 to require Deshret approval for pardons and commutations.
- Edited Section 2.9 to limit the Pharaoh's power to accept and deny applications to the standards established by law.
- Edited Section 2.10 to require Deshret approval of the Vizier.
- Edited Section 2.10(a) to flesh out the role of the acting Pharaoh, including limiting his assumption of the Delegacy to emergencies certified by the Atef.
- Edited Section 2.11 to require Deshret approval of the Atef.
- Removed Section 2.12, which previously allowed the Pharaoh to appoint his own successor with Deshret approval.
- Added Section 3: Election of the Pharaoh, which is my somewhat revised version of the draft posted in this thread by Treize Dreizehn.
- Added Section 4.1(b), which explicitly empowers the Deshret to establish additional standards for Deshret membership by law.
- Added Section 4.6, which empowers the Deshret to override the Pharaoh's veto by a two-thirds supermajority vote.
- Added Section 4.7, which empowers the Deshret to remove the Pharaoh by a three-quarters supermajority vote and to remove any other government official by a two-thirds supermajority vote.
- Added Section 4.8, which empowers the Deshret to establish an additional line of succession beyond the Vizier.
- Added Section 5: Pschent of Osiris, which is my somewhat revised version of the draft posted in this thread by Josh Sebastian.
- Added Section 6: Rights of Citizens, which establishes minimum requirements for attaining citizenship and rights of citizens.
- Added Section 7: Forum Administration to briefly address the role of forum administration.
- Edited Section 8.1 to require only two-thirds vote by the Deshret and concurrence of the Pharaoh, but removed concurrence of the Hedjet.
- Added Section 8.2 to require copies of the original and current versions of the Code to be maintained along with a publicly accessible list of all amendments made.