As requested by Claude, a version of the Constitution with all the Amendments included in the text.
Preamble
All branches of the government are bound to serve the public before
themselves and to uphold the Universal Declaration Of Human Rights,
Founding Philosophy, Constitution, local laws, the SL ToS, and Community
Standards without exception.
Article I - The Representative Branch
Section 1 - The Representative Assembly
The Representative Assembly (RA) is a body of democratically
elected factions which represent different ideological views
of its citizens. Its governmental role is to pass laws and
its service role is to promote the city and perform long-term
planning.
Section 2 - The Representative Assembly Body
Representative seats are chosen by means of the Sainte-Laguë method using scores generated by Borda-count ranked votes cast by citizens.
The number of representative seats in the RA is equal to the odd whole number nearest to 10% of the population, rounded down, with a minimum of five seats and a maximum of fourty seats.
Each faction controls their seats and may replace members or fill
seats due to vacancies as they see fit. Each seat receives a
single vote.
Section 3 - The Representative Assembly Leader
The Leader of the RA is the head of the faction which receives the highest Borda Count score.
In the event of a Borda count tie between two or more factions, the tie will be broken by one (in the event of a two way tie) or more (in the case of a three or more way tie) best of three games of Rock,Paper, Scissors among the faction heads/founders. The games shall be overseen by the dean of the SC, who shall be the custodian of the official city RPS device.
Section 4 - Proceedings
The RA will convene at least once per fortnight. The RA may determine
the rules of its proceedings, punish its members for disorderly
behavior and with the concurrence of two-thirds expel a disruptive
member from a session.
Section 5 - Journal
The RA shall keep and publish a journal of its proceedings. The
individual votes of RA members shall be entered in the journal.
Parts of the journal that are deemed secret by a 2/3 majority and
with concurrence of the Philosophic branch will not be published.
Secret journal entries may only be deemed secret if they prevent
the exploitation of the city and citizens from external threats.
All secret journal entries will have an expiration date at which
time they will be voted upon again by the RA and verified
as constitutional by the Philosophic branch.
Section 6 - Legislative Process and Veto
A vote in the RA is a simple majority vote of representative seats.
Constitutional amendments require a 2/3 vote.
Final ratification of law is performed by the Philosophic branch,
which can veto a bill or resubmit a modified bill for vote, if it
conflicts with the Constitution.
The Artisanal branch may veto a revenue bill or resubmit a modified
revenue bill for vote.
Section 7 - Powers of the RA
In regards to the Artisanal branch:
* The RA sets taxation rate and the city budget.
* The RA can seek impeachment of members of the Artisanal branch for failing to support the city fiscally.
* The leader of the RA sits as the leader of the Artisanal branch if the Artisanal branch seeks to impeach a member of the Philosophic branch.
* The RA can override an Artisanal veto with a 2/3 vote
In regards to the Philosophic branch:
* The RA provides a vote of confidence on candidates to the Philosophic branch. This vote is in regards to their perceived likelihood to uphold the constitution.
* The RA can amend the constitution with a 2/3 vote.
* The RA can seek impeachment of members of the Philosophic branch by initiating an impeachment hearing.
* The leader of the RA sits as the leader of the Philosophic branch if the Philosophic branch seeks to impeach a member of the Artisanal branch.
Section 8 - Limits on the RA
No member of the RA may engage in what might be considered
a conflict of interest such as accepting money or favors from
individuals or special-interest groups.
Article II - The Artisanal Branch
Section 1 - Artisanal Collective
The Artisanal Collective (AC) is group of productive citizens
who provide revenue through sales and infrastructure support.
Its governmental role is to act as treasury and its service role
is to provide goods and infrastructure.
Section 2 - Artisanal Collective Body
The AC is open to all participant citizens provided they create goods
and/or services for the city. The collective is a four-tier system of
apprentices, journeymen, masters, and a guild master. Site specific
names may be substituted provided roles remain the same.
Section 3 - Artisanal Collective Leader
Every election cycle the AC leader or guild master is chosen from
the pool of masters. A vote using scores generated
by Borda-count ranked votes are employed.
Section 4 - Powers of the AC
In regards to the Representative branch:
* The leader of the AC may veto a revenue bill or resubmit a modified revenue bill for vote.
* The leader of the AC can call an emergency session of the Representative branch.
* The AC can seek impeachment of members of the Representative branch for failing to act with fiscal responsibility.
* The leader of the AC sits as the leader of the Representative branch if the Representative branch seeks to impeach a member of the Philosophic branch.
In regards to Philosophic branch:
* The Leader of the AC provides a vote of confidence on candidates to the Philosophic branch. This vote is in regards to their perceived likelihood to uphold the constitution.
* The Leader of the AC can seek impeachment of members of the Philosophic branch for failing to uphold the constitution.
* The leader of the AC sits as the leader of the Philosophic branch if the Philosophic branch seeks to impeach a member of the Representative branch.
Section 5 - Limitations of the AC
All goods produced by members of the AC remain property of the
citizens and must remain with them if a member departs.
Removal of an artisan of any rank can be achieved with a 2/3 vote
of all members of the AC for any actions which endangers the goods
or infrastructure of the organization.
Article III - The Philosophic Branch
Section 1 - The Scientific Council
The Scientific Council (SC) is a self-selected meritocracy. Its
governmental role is to interpret and enforce the constitution.
Its service roll is to resolve citizen disputes and moderate
user forums and events.
Section 2 - The Scientific Council Body
The SC is comprised of Professors, Chairs, and a single SC Dean.
Professors are chosen at the recommendation of current members
based on demonstrated skill and desire to uphold the constitution
without bias. Chairs are nominated by the Dean and approved by a
simple majority vote. There are a maximum of nine Chairs available,
with the Dean receiving one. Members of the SC can be voted out
with a 2/3 majority.
Section 3 - The Scientific Council Leader
The Dean is elected by a simple majority vote of all members.
Section 4 - Proceedings
The SC will convene at least once per month. The SC may determine
the rules of its proceedings, punish its members for disorderly
behavior and with the concurrence of two-thirds expel a member
from a session.
Section 5 - Journal
The SC shall keep and publish a journal of its proceedings. All
individual votes of the members of the SC on any question shall
always be entered in the journal, along with a statement regarding
their personal philosophy on a given vote.
Section 6 - Hearings, Trials, and Ratification
Chairs of the SC will ratify bills passed by the Representative
Assembly by simple majority vote and may resubmit the bill with
modifications for vote. Hearings and trials not involving
government officials will be overseen by a single Professor
and judgment will be decided by a jury of peers.
All impeachment hearings will be performed in the Philosophic
branch by the Chairs without a jury. If a Chair is accused, that
Chair will be excused for the duration of the hearing. A member
of the branch which is not calling for the impeachment hearing
will serve as Leader of the Philosophic branch during the hearing.
Section 7 - Alternative Dispute Resolution
SC members will provide alternative dispute resolution (ADR) in matters of disagreement involving one or more citizens or corporations of Neufreistadt. The SC may at its discretion provide such services in cases where neither party is a resident or corporation of Neufreistadt. A seperate procedural document is maintained by the SC defining the services offered and the conditions on which they are made available. This document may be amended by a simple majority vote among the chairs of the SC.
Section 8 - Powers of the SC
Members of the Philosophic branch are not bound by a strict literal
interpretation of the Bill of Rights, Founding Philosophy,
Constitution, or the strict adherence to legal precedence.
Rather members of the SC are required to draw upon their
individual fields of expertise to solve complex social issues.
In regards to the Representative branch:
* The Philosophic branch may veto or rewrite and resubmit a bill or constitutional amendment if it is in violation of any of the founding documents.
* The SC can seek impeachment of members of the Representative branch for violating the constitution or acting illegally.
In regards to the Artisanal branch:
* The SC can seek impeachment of members of the Artisanal branch for violating the constitution or acting illegally.
Section 9 - Limitations of the SC
Any member can be voted out with a 2/3 majority.
Article IV - Factions
Section 1 - Requirements
All factions must provide platforms which state their general
philosophy and list of goals for the current and next term.
Factions exist to promote the discussion of issues. Faction
platforms cannot violate or seek to violate the Constitution.
Proposed Constitutional amendments may be listed.
Section 2 - The Faction Body
All faction members must be Neufreistadt citizens and must
join a special SL group created for the sole purpose of running
for seats in the RA. No citizen is required to be part of a faction
and cannot be a member of more than one faction at the same
time.
The minimum faction size is equal to three. No later than 15 days prior to the opening of the polls, faction members will report to the SC Dean their willingness or unwillingness to serve in the RA. Members
rank individuals in their own faction by means of the Borda count.
Individuals will learn their ranks and those winning seats will have
their ranks revealed, otherwise all ranks will remain secret. The
faction vote will be taken at the same time citizens vote for factions.
This ranking is used to select who will receive seats in the RA.
If a member retires from the RA, a member with the next highest
ranking in the same faction is takes a seat on the RA.
Section 3 - The Faction Leader
Factions are lead by the faction leader (SL group officer) who
vouches for all members in public proceedings and is responsible
for their proper ethical conduct. Faction leaders are those who
receive the highest ranking in the faction.
Section 4 - Campaigning
Campaigning for factions can be done in-world only by means
of unscripted items that are placed in a predetermined central
location or by discourse between two avatars directly. No spamming
of any kind is allowed, including the dropping of items on avatars
without permission, sending messages by group IM, or by shouting
messages to large groups. Only two emails are allowed in a given
election by any faction or representative of a faction.
Article V - Election, Term, and Office
Section 1 - Voting Frequency
Officials in the Government are elected for a period of time
according to the general principles of democratic rotativity to
ensure proper representativity in a changing society, whose
duration will be fixed by the RA by passing appropriate laws.
Elections for branches and factions are staggered equally
throughout the term and held in the following order: Artisanal
branch, Philosophic branch, factions, and Representative branch.
Section 2 - Exclusivity
Citizens may not serve simultaneously in the Representative and
Philosophic branch. Members of the Representative Assembly and
the Scientific Council may be members of the Artisanal Collective
but may not vote nor hold elected positions in the Artisanal branch.
3. No citizen shall be eligible to vote in any election for public office in the Confederation of Democratic Simulators unless he or she has been a citizen for not less than 28 consecutive days immediately before any such election.
Article VI - Citizenship
Section 1 - Eligibility
Citizens
must agree to uphold the constitution. Citizens are those persons who own private land in sims subject to the city government.
Section 2 - Discharge
Citizens must give a one-week notice before leaving the group
or removing land tiers. In return the city guarantees a hearing
and a one-week grace period before revoking citizenship. Citizenship may be revoked for violation of city laws or covenants, failure to uphold the constitution, or non payment of land fees.
Section 3 - Departure Ultimatums
Citizens are may not issue departure ultimatums to members of
the government. In return the government will not issue discharge
ultimatums to citizens.
Article VII - The Chancellor
1. The Chancellor will serve as the executive of Neufreistadt-CDS,
working to coordinate and plan community projects.
2. The Chancellor of Neufreistadt-CDS shall, subject to the laws of
Neufreistadt-CDS, have the power:
(a) to determine the use to which any and all land in Neufriestadt
shall be put;
(b) to expend monies held by the Office of the Chancellor of
Neufreistadt-CDS for the administration and management of public
facilities (including, but not limited to, roadways, signage, public
buildings, public events and similar), and to discharge any other
duties or powers of the Office of the Chancellor conferred by this
Act or any other Act of the Representative Assembly;
(c) to publicise Neufreistadt-CDS;
(d) to appoint and pay deputies or other staff to hold office in the
Office of the Chancellor of Neufreistadt-CDS to facilitate the
discharge of any function of the Office of the Chancellor conferred
by this Act or any other Act of the Representative Assembly;
(e) subject to the payment of adequate compensation to any citizen or
citizens thereby affected, reclaim or swap any land held by any
citizen of Neufreistadt-CDS for the purposes of discharging any function
of the Office of the Chancellor conferred by this Act or any other
Act of the Representative Assembly, provided always that no citizen of
Neufreistadt-CDS shall not be caused to have no holding in Neufriestadt at
all thereby;
(f) to make regulations pursuant to the above; and
(g) to enforce such regulations in accordance with law.
3. The Chancellor must provide for regular and active citizen
participation and public review of any decision concerning land use or
the aesthetic or functional environment.
4. Nothing in this Act shall give the Chancellor of Neufriestadt
any power to change the overall theme of Neufriestadt.
5. The Chancellor of Neufreistadt-CDS shall be selected by the
Representative Assembly from among any Neufreistadt-CDS citizen who shall
make application to the RA within ten (10) days of the passage of this
amendment. The Chancellor will serve a term ending with the
election of a new Representative Assembly.
6. The Chancellor shall have the power to veto any act of the
Representative Assembly, except any bill to remove the Chancellor from office. The Representative Assembly may override a veto with a vote by at least a two-thirds majority,
In order to exercise the power of veto, the Chancellor shall post a public declaration of her or his intention to exercise that power, together with the name of the the Act in respect of which he or she seeks so to exercise, and the reasons for exercising it in respect of that Act, on the Neufreistadt Confederation of Democratic Simulators web forums or wiki within seven days of the posting to the wiki of the Act in respect of which he or she seeks to exercise that power.
7. The Chancellor may be removed from office prior to the
expiration of the term of office by at least a two thirds vote of the Representative Assembly.
8. Each month the Chancellor shall attend a meeting of the
Representative Assembly, and fully and truthfully answer there any
questions posed by any citizen about any aspect of the affairs of
Neufreistadt-CDS or of the Office of the Chancellor. The Chancellor
will also attend upon three days notice at the written request from
any member of the Representative Assembly.
9. Any power or responsibility assigned to the Artisan's Collective by
the constitution and precedent that overlaps those provided to the
Chancellor in this amendment will be assigned to the Chancellor.
10. This amendment shall be shall be reviewed by the Representative
Assembly after a Chancellor has been in office for two terms, and
will continue in force only if re-approved at that time.
