by Max Barry

Latest Forum Topics

Advertisement

1

DispatchMetaGameplay

by Ainland. . 670 reads.

Constitution of the Liberal Democratic Union

Constitution of the Liberal Democratic Union

PREAMBLE

The Liberal Democratic Union (“the region”) is founded on the principles of open debate, freedom of opinion, and a plurality of views and political positions, underpinned by a commitment to open, fair, compassionate society within a market economy where all people enjoy equal protection of civil rights and political freedoms.

ARTICLE ONE

Role of the Founder

The Founder of the Liberal Democratic Union is Ainland. It is the Founder’s intention that the Liberal Democratic Union be a democratic, member-led region. As creator of the region, the Founder retains ultimate administrative control of the region, however promises and agrees to act in accordance with the constitution. The Founder will hold the following limited powers, in order to safeguard the constitution, maintain the security of the region, and ensure the region remains true to its founding purpose:

1. Where an off-site Forum and/or Discord server is provided for the region, the Founder will hold administrator/ownership of such platforms.
2. The Founder may appoint Moderators to these forums to act on his behalf, and to provide continuity in the event of his absence.
3. The Founder may veto any amendment to, or replacement of, the Constitution of the Liberal Democratic union. For the avoidance of doubt, this does not apply to the passing, amendment or repeal of laws.
4. The Founder may eject and/or ban any nation or user from the region, or off-site platforms, if the Founder believes the nation is acting in a manner which undermines the founding principles of the Liberal Democratic Union as stated in the preamble.

ARTICLE TWO

Common Purpose

The Liberal Democratic Union is a region dedicated to open debate, freedom of opinion, and a plurality of views and political positions. However, this is underpinned by a commitment to open, fair, compassionate society within a market economy where all people enjoy equal protection of civil rights and political freedoms. Therefore, the Liberal Democratic Union explicitly condemns fascism, communism, and all forms of dictatorship.

ARTICLE THREE

The Congress of the Liberal Democratic Union

1. Membership

All Member Nations are members of the Congress of the Liberal Democratic Union (“Congress”). The MINIMUM requirements for Member Nation status are as follows:

a. Resident in the Liberal Democratic Union
b. Civil Rights of Average or above
c. Political Freedoms of Average or above
d. Private enterprise must not be outlawed

Nations which meet requirements (a), (d), and either (b) or (c), may be granted Member Nation status for a period of thirty days at the discretion of the Home Secretary and subject to any applicable laws. If, after thirty days, the nation does not fulfil all requirements (a) – (d), they will not be eligible for Member Nation status.

Congress may place further requirements or restrictions on eligibility for Member Nation status by passing relevant laws.

2. Powers

All members of the Congress of the Liberal Democratic Union may introduce bills. Proposed bills must be submitted to the Speaker, who will provide a technical opinion on their legality and implications, before putting them to the Congress for debate. There will be a minimum debate period of three days, followed by a voting period of two days. Bills which pass a vote of Congress by simple majority, become law.

All members of Congress may propose amendments to, or replacement of, the constitution. Proposed amendments or replacement must be submitted to the Speaker, who will provide a technical opinion on their legality and implications, before putting them to the Congress for debate. There will be a minimum debate period of five days, followed by a voting period of three days. An amendment to, or replacement of, the constitution, requires a vote of Congress by a 60% majority, plus the consent of the Founder.

All members of Congress may stand for election as an officer of the region, subject to the terms of election for that office.

3. Additional Rights of Members of Congress

a. Freedom to participate in the Regional Message Board, Discord server and Regional Forum, in accordance with the other terms of this Constitution
b. Freedom to actively partake in role play
c. Freedom to conduct their nation’s own government

ARTICLE FOUR

Officers of the Liberal Democratic Union

1. The President

The President represents the Liberal Democratic Union in the World Assembly and presides over the Administration.

a. The President will be elected by the Congress of the Liberal Democratic Union by forum poll on the LDU offsite forum (http://ldu.boards.net) every three calendar months and may serve for a maximum of two consecutive terms. Eligibility for candidacy for President requires Member State status of at least one calendar month and membership of the World Assembly.

2. Members of the Administration

Members of the Administration hold executive responsibility for their respective departments.

a. Members of the Administration will be elected by the Congress of the Liberal Democratic Union by forum poll on the LDU offsite forum (http://ldu.boards.net) every three calendar months and may serve for a maximum of two consecutive terms.

b. Members of the Administration and the responsibilities are as follows:

i. Home Secretary – Welcoming nations, community engagement, border control, polls, communications management.
ii. Foreign Secretary – Foreign relations, recruitment, embassy management.

c. Members of the Administration may appoint deputies and delegate responsibilities to them.

4. Speaker

The Speaker is the Leader of Congress, and not a Member of the Administration. The Speaker is responsible for receiving proposed bills from members of Congress, scrutinising them and providing a technical and legal opinion, submitting them to the floor of Congress for debate, setting up and administering votes, and maintaining the library of Congress.

a. The Speaker will be elected by the Congress of the Liberal Democratic Union by forum poll on the LDU offsite forum (http://ldu.boards.net) every four calendar months and may serve for a maximum of two consecutive terms.

ARTICLE FIVE

Ejecting or Banning Nations

The ejection or banning of nations by the President or a Member of the Administration requires the agreement of at least two Members of the Administration (including the President). Such an action is subject to review by the Congress should any Member Nation request it, and may be overturned by majority vote.

a. In order to retain NationStates influence, the technical ban or ejection action may be delegated to the Founder, who will carry this out on behalf of the Members of the Administration.

ARTICLE SIX

Election Arrangements

Elections to the offices of President and Members of the Administration will be administered by the Speaker. There will be a nomination period of three days, followed by a campaign period of three days, followed by a three-day voting period for each office. The Speaker will call elections early where a President or Member of the Administration has been inactive for seven consecutive days.

Elections to the office of Speaker will be administered by the Home Secretary. Should a Speaker’s term end close to the end of a Home Secretary’s term, the Speaker’s term may be extended by up to three weeks to allow the administration of the election process. There will be a nomination period of three days, followed by a campaign period of three days, followed by a three-day voting period. The Home Secretary will call elections early where a Speaker has been inactive for seven consecutive days.


This is the Second Constitution of the Liberal Democratic Union. It was drafted by Ainland, with contributions from Chitral, Epilepsia, Erimea, Poland-bavaria and Sjevre. It was debated and amended for a period of fourteen days, before a voting period of seven days where it was passed with 100% of votes in favour. The constitution came into effect on 13-January-2021 at 11:00 UTC.

Ainland

Edited:

RawReport