The Arctic Constitution

Article I. Preamble
Fancy words about democracy, peace etc.

Article II. Bill of Rights
The following are recognized as the inalienable rights of the members of the region.

2.1. Self-determination
The Regional Government or Regional Assembly shall make no law or regulation governing the internal operation of any member within the region. Each member will maintain its own right to govern in accordance with its own desires.

2.2. Freedom of Speech
The Regional Government or Regional Assembly shall make no law or regulation restricting the freedom of speech within Arctic beyond those rules governing all participation and etiquette in NationStates.

2.3. Equality before the Law
All members are equal before the law. No member shall be deprived of any right, privilege or immunity, nor exempted from any burden or duty unfairly.

2.4. Reservation of Powers
Powers not enumerated in this Constitution shall be reserved to members of the Regional Assembly by default. The Constitutional Court shall rule on matters where the reservation of powers is disputed.

Article III. The Regional Assembly

3.1. General Provisions
3.1.1. All Regional Assembly members are eligible to vote in elections as well as any regional issues on ballot. To ensure equal suffrage, each Regional Assembly member shall have one vote.

3.1.2. Abstentions cast in the Regional Assembly will not be used to determine the result of any vote .

3.1.3. A player in control of multiple nations may not have more than one nation in the Regional Assembly.

3.2. Membership

3.2.1. WA Members
Every WA member with at minimum 7 days of regional membership is considered a member of the Regional Assembly.

3.2.2. Non-WA members
Non-WA members may be admitted into the Regional Assembly by a two-thirds majority vote. To apply for Regional Assembly membership, a non-WA member nation needs a written endorsement from two Regional Assembly members.

3.3. Powers and Responsibilites of the Regional Assembly

3.3.1. The Regional Assembly shall elect a WA Delegate/Prime Minister.

3.3.2. The Regional Assembly shall elect the members of the Constitutional Court.

3.3.3. The Regional Assembly may enact, amend or repeal laws and proposals by a plurality vote. When a law or proposal is put to a vote, every Regional Assembly member must cast their vote within 7 days. If a Regional Assembly member fails to cast their vote within 7 days, their right to vote shall not be considered in the estimation of a majority vote or a plurality vote. No law may contradict this Constitution.

3.3.4. The Regional Assembly shall approve or reject any formal alliances or written treaties with regions and organizations outside the Arctic by a majority vote.

3.3.6. Motion of No Confidence: The Regional Assembly may remove a government official from office by a two-thirds majority vote. A Motion of No Confidence needs the written endorsement of three WA members to be put to a Regional Assembly vote. The government official that is subject of a Motion of No Confidence shall not participate in such a vote.

3.3.7. The Regional Assembly may amend this Constitution by a two-thirds majority vote, as per Article X.

Article IV. The Monarch
The position of Monarch of the Arctic shall be held by the Founder. His main duties are to uphold the Constitution, ensure longevity of the region, and protect the region from external or internal harm.

4.1. The Monarch shall be responsible for calling constitutionally-mandated Prime Minister elections and appointing the winner to the post of Prime Minister.

4.2. The Monarch shall grant the Prime Minister/WA Delegate access to regional controls. At minimum, the Prime Minister shall have access to Appearance, Border Control, Communications, Embassies and Polls.

4.3. The Monarch shall grant government members access to regional controls in accordance with the Prime Minister's instructions.

4.4. The Monarch shall have the right to declare a state of emergency as per Article IX of this Constitution.

4.5. If the Regional Government ceases to function, the Monarch shall assume the responsibilities of the Prime Minister until the situation is resolved or a new election is held.

4.6. If the Regional Government fails to implement, carry out and enforce decisions by the Regional Assembly, the Monarch shall have the power to do so.

4.7. The Monarch shall have powers to award titles, medals, and honors to regional members with outstanding service to the Arctic.

Article V. The Regional Government
The Regional Government is the executive organ of the Arctic. The government is accountable for their policies and actions to the Regional Assembly. The government's main duty is to ensure smooth day-to-day running of the region, promote a vibrant and active community, protect the region from internal or external threats, and in general act in the best interest of the region.

5.1. Government Powers And Responsibilities
5.1.1. Security
The government may eject any nations deemed to be in violation of Article VIII of this Constitution.
The government may close regional borders in cases of an elevated threat to the region.
The government may instruct the Monarch to temporarily remove the WA Delegate's access to regional controls in cases of an elevated threat to the region.
The government may declare a state of emergency as per Article IX of this Constitution.

5.1.2. Regional Affairs
The government shall manage and update the regional map, and mediate in any territorial disputes that may occur.
The government will be responsible for the regional message board, the regional forum, the factbook and the Wiki.
The government will be responsible for managing the regional currency, the Polar Crown.

5.1.3. Foreign Affairs
The government is responsible for maintaining and opening relations with regions and organizations outside of Arctic, appointing ambassadors and emissaries to represent Arctic in foreign regions, and receiving ambassadors from foreign regions in Arctic. Notwithstanding this authority to open friendly relations or communicate with foreign regions, no formal alliances or written treaties must be made without the consent of the Regional Assembly.

5.1.4. Legislation
The government may submit legislative proposals to the Regional Assembly for approval. The government is obliged to abide by, implement and enforce any laws passed by the Regional Assembly.

5.2. The Prime Minister/WA Delegate

5.2.1. The Prime Minister is the head of government. The Prime Minister shall receive his/her mandate to office by being the regional WA Delegate through a general election of all Arctic Regional Assembly members.

5.2.2. The Prime Minister shall have access to regional controls in accordance with Article 4.2.

5.2.3. Government ministers are appointed to office by the Prime Minister. The Prime Minister may remove or replace a minister at any time.

5.2.4. The Prime Minister shall be responsible for all World Assembly related matters, including voting on each WA Resolution in accordance with the wishes of WA members. On request, all WA members shall have the right to express their position on WA Resolutions by a poll in the forum.

5.3. Government Structure

5.3.1. While the Prime Minister is free to form the Regional Government as he/she sees fit, any government shall consist of at minimum three ministers, Prime Minister included.

Article VI. The Constitutional Court

6.1. The Arctic Constitutional Court will try all criminal cases, resolve conflicts or ambiguities in the law, and review the constitutionality of laws or legality of regional government policies by request of an affected party.

6.2. The Arctic Constitutional Court shall consist of an odd number of Justices, at least 3 and at most 7. These Justices will select a Chief Justice among themselves.

6.2.1. If there are no sufficient member-states to be appointed to the Arctic Constitutional Court, the Founder shall act as an interim Chief Justice. The interim Chief Justice shall hold all the powers and responsibilities granted to the Arctic Constitutional Court.

6.3. The Chief Justice will administer the rules of the Arctic Constitutional Court. Where no rules exist, the Chief Justice may use their discretion.

6.4. The official opinion of the Arctic Constitutional Court in any trial or review shall be binding on all Government bodies and officials.

6.5. Justices shall be elected by the Regional Assembly by a plurality vote every 12 months.

Article VII. Elections

7.1. General Provisions
7.1.1. Any member of the Regional Assembly is eligible to stand for election.

7.1.2. Any election shall be announced at minimum 14 days in advance to allow for nominations and campaigning.

7.1.3. The Prime Minister/WA Delegate shall have a term of six months. The Delegate may seek re-election at the end of his/her term but shall not serve more than three consecutive terms.

7.1.4. Members of the Constitutional Court shall have a term of one year.

7.1.5. Nations are not allowed to be a member of the Regional Government and the Constitutional Court simultaneously.

7.1.6. If an elected official vacates his/her seat before his/her term, a replacement election will be held as soon as possible.

7.2. Voting

7.2.1. If a player is in control of multiple nations, it is illegal for him/her to cast multiple votes.

7.2.2. In the event of a tie, voting will be extended by X days to allow more members to vote. The candidate with the most votes at the end of X days of continuous voting will be declared the winner. If at the end of X days, the votes are still tied, the contested position will be decided by a vote of the remaining Government members.

7.2.3. If an election position is contested by only one nation, the voting will proceed with "I refuse to vote for candidate name" as an alternative choice. If in the unfortunate scenario the sole candidate accumulates a lower vote count than "I refuse to vote for candidate name", the election will be declared a mis-vote. In such a case, the Monarch may either call for a new round of elections, or appoint a suitable candidate to fill the position.

Article VIII. Conditions for Ejection
Whereas Arctic is a free region with open borders, conduct that will lead to a nation's ejection from the region should be clearly defined.

8.1. Posting of any content considering spamming. Spamming is defined as any activity that is considered obscene, illegal, threatening, malicious or defamatory, or advertising of regions, forums, websites, and other causes not related to Arctic.

8.2. Attempting to steal another nation's identity or impersonate another player, including attempting to hack nation or region passwords. Any such activity will be reported to NS moderators.

8.3. Invading other regions or war-mongering. Arctic is a peaceful region and will not harbor invaders or condone such activity. Known nations of invader groups may be ejected at the discretion of the Regional Government.

8.4. Plotting against the region. Any member found to engage in subterfuge, espionage, sabotage, usurpation of power, intimidation of member nations, and other such plots with the primary aim of destablizing Arctic and her government, will be immediately ejected.

8.5. Any other action violating the rules of this constitution and regional laws.

Article IX. Emergency Powers
A state of emergency may be declared in the region in two instances. Both of which will render all other parts the Constitution void with the exception of this section. A state of emergency may be declared upon:

9.1. Founder Expiry/Deletion
The Regional Government shall have emergency powers over the region, exercised through the Prime Minister/Delegate, immediately after the expiry or deletion of the Monarch/Founder. Any action taken without the backing of the Regional Government is deemed illegal and may be subject to ejection or ban by the Prime Minister/Delegate.

9.2 Imminent Danger to Arctic
The Regional Government or the Monarch may also declare a state of emergency if an imminent threat to Arctic's survival is detected. Potential scenarios may include, but are not limited to: An invasion by an aggressor region or regions, NS-moderator actions that threaten Arctic and her members.

Article X. Amendments
An amendment to this Constitution may be proposed in the following two ways:

a) The Regional Government may propopse an amendment.
b) Any Regional Assembly member may propose an amendment, so long as he/she receives the written support of three other Regional Assembly members.

In both of these cases, the proposed amendment will be subject to a vote in the Regional Assembly and will require a two-thirds majority to pass in accordance with Article 3.3.3.