Updated Commerce Union Factbook

Preamble

The Commerce Union shall hereby be an alliance on Project Terra, which shall foster economic cooperation amongst its members through diplomacy; trade agreements; and mutual aid, both economic and defensive.

Article 1: Authority & Application

Title 1 - Nullification of Previously Established Charter

Section 1: This charter hereby nullifies any previously passed "Charters."

Section 2: All attached laws and privileges granted by the previous Charter are hereby nullified.

Section 3: Any titles of office granted by the previous Charter and are granted by this Charter shall remain in effect until the previously established end date. Any other changes to those offices established by this Charter shall take effect immediately.

Title 2 - Application and Authority

Section 1: This Charter shall apply to all member states of the Commerce Union. Member states are any and all members of the Commerce Union, including those elected to offices of title, appointed to offices of title and who hold permanent titles.

Section 2: This Charter and its amendments shall serve as the supreme law of the Commerce Union. This Charter shall be granted a higher status of application than any and all other passed laws, acts, regulations, or precedents.

Section 3: Other laws shall be implemented when passed by the legislative branch established by this Charter, but they shall be seen as mere extensions of this Charter's established law. Not as amendments to this charter. They hold secondary importance to the Charter.

Article 2: Membership

Title 1 - Joining the Commerce Union

Section 1: Membership to the Commerce Union shall be granted to applicant nations who are deemed "approved" by the appropriate body of government.

Section 2: Requirements for joining the Commerce Union may be changed or altered for the safety of this alliance and any changes fall under the purview of the Office of the Chancellor.

Title 2 - Removal of Membership Through Resignation

Section 1: Any member may resign from the Commerce Union at any time.

Section 2: Unless express permission is granted by the Council, resignation from the Commerce Union is permanent.

Title 3 - Removal of Membership For Misconduct

Section 1: Any member may be indicted by the Justice Ministry if wrongdoing or rule violations are suspected.

Section 2: It is the Justice Ministry's duty to gather evidence against the member and to hold a formal indictment hearing where all evidence is presented from both sides.

Section 3: The Ministry of Justice has the authority to legally compel a member to produce an item of evidence in an indictment.

Section 4: After a seventy-two hour Indictment Period has passed, the Ministry of Justice may formally launch a trial on the impeachment (or otherwise punishment) of the member in question.

Section 5: A representative from the Ministry of Justice shall preside over the trial, maintaining fairness and upholding Union laws. The Ministry of Justice shall also decide sentencing for the convicted.

Section 6: A simple majority vote poll for or against the sentencing as dictated by the Ministry of Justice shall be the deciding factor in determining the guilt of the defendant.

Section 7: The Chancellor has the sole power to pardon anyone being indicted or found guilty. Likewise, the Chancellor's Office holds the right to immediately ban certain members whose actions are deemed detrimental to alliance security (i.e. leakers, spammers, etc).

Section 8: If the member is found guilty and banishment is decided, they are permanently banned after a twenty-four hour period has elapsed. They are barred from ever rejoining the Commerce Union.

Title 4 - Appeals Process for Termination of Membership

Section 1: If a member feels that they were unfairly sentenced, they may request an appeal to the Commerce Union Council. This must be requested at the very end of the trial, within the same thread. The convicted member has exactly twenty-four hours to request an appeal.

Section 2: The Council's decision is final.

Article 3: The Council

Title 1 - Creation of the Council

Section 1: The Commerce Union Council is hereby established.

Section 2: The Commerce Union Council shall consist of the heads of each of the Ministries, chaired by the Chancellor himself.

Section 3: Removal from the Council may only be done so by a 2/3 vote of the general membership in referendum or by a unanimous legislative vote from the Council; or when the sitting member's time runs out and he is up for re-election or if he decides to resign.

Section 4: Inactivity without prior approval of the Council for a period longer than 30 days shall be considered abandonment of office and all titles and responsibilities will be stripped prior to term end date.

Section 5: A Council Member may not hold another position within the alliance, appointed or elected while holding office as a member of the Council.

Section 6: The Council Chambers is hereby established.

Title 2 - Procedure

Section 1: The Council shall serve as the legislative body of the Commerce Union. The word "Council" may be used interchangeably with "Government" or "Leadership."

Section 2: Any members of the Union may introduce legislation to the Council for a vote or argue on behalf of their ideals/convictions in an audience of the Council after formally requesting such an audience with the Chancellor's Office.

Section 3: A set seventy-two hour period is in place for the voting to end once legislation is on the table for the Council's vote.

Section 4: A member may ask for an extension of a bill's vote due to technical errors, last minute changes or with another reasonable excuse. This is at the discretion of the Chairman of the Council, the Chancellor.

Section 5: Not all members must be present for a vote to commence, but a twenty-four hour notice shall be issued to all sitting members and their representatives that a vote is going on the table before voting begins.

Section 6: A bill must receive the majority of the vote of the Council in order to pass.

Section 7: Each member of the Council gets 1 vote.

Title 3 - Appeals/Veto Power

Section 1: Immediately after a bill is passed, any member state may initiate a referendum for veto in General Assembly.

Section 2: A 2/3 vote is required to effectively veto legislation that had garnered unanimous support from the Council.

Section 3: A majority's vote is required to effectively veto legislation that did not garner unanimous support from the Council, but still passed the Council.

Title 4 - Other Powers of the Council

Section 1: The Council holds the sole privilege of declaring war on another party. It must do so by 2/3 vote.

Article 4: Offices of Title/Ministries

Title 1 - Office of the Chancellor

Section 1: The Office of the Chancellor is hereby established.

Section 2: The Chancellor shall serve indefinitely or until resignation, upon which he shall pick his own successor.

Section 3: The Chancellor shall serve as Head Executive over the Alliance and Chairman of the Council.

Section 4: In the absence of another Council member, the Chancellor shall hold the power to make executive decisions for that department, but shall not garner any additional votes on the Council.

Section 5: The Office of the Chancellor shall be responsible for maintaining the maintenance of the forum, in-game alliance and all related alliance utilities.

Section 6: The Chancellor shall be responsible for calling official elections, keeping a record of candidates and maintaining voting conditions.

Section 7: The Chancellor shall chair the Council and have 1 vote.

Section 8: The Chancellor shall be responsible for approving applicants to the Union.

Section 9: The Chancellor may appoint deputies to assist him with his duties.

Title 2 - Ministry of Finance

Section 1: The Ministry of Finance is hereby established.

Section 2: The Minister of Finance shall be the executive of the Ministry of Finance. The Minister shall be elected by popular vote, in an open general assembly vote on a set and defined date.

Section 3: The Ministry of Finance shall be responsible for creating monetary policy, allocating funds for the Commerce Union and the management and payment of debts on behalf of the Commerce Union.

Section 4: The Minister of Finance shall work closely with the Chancellor's Office and the Council on developing Financial Policy.

Section 5: The Minister of Finance may appoint deputies to assist in his duties.

Section 6: The Minister of Finance shall have 1 seat and 1 vote on the Council.

Section 7: The Minister of Finance's term expires 90 days after taking office, at which time a new race will be held.

Title 3 - Ministry of Foreign Relations

Section 1: The Ministry of Foreign Relations is hereby established.

Section 2: The Minister of Foreign Relations shall be the executive of the Ministry of Foreign Relations. The Minister shall be elected by popular vote, in an open general assembly vote on a set and defined date.

Section 3: The Ministry of Foreign Relations shall be responsible for maintaining diplomatic relations with foreign nations and foreign alliances on behalf of the Commerce Union.

Section 4: The Minister of Foreign Relations shall work closely with the Chancellor's Office and Council on developing Foreign Affairs Policy.

Section 5: The Minister of Foreign Relations may appoint deputies to assist with duties of the office.

Section 6: The Minister of Foreign Relations shall have 1 seat and 1 vote on the Council.

Section 7: The Minister of Foreign Relations term expires 90 days after taking office, upon which time a new election will be held.

Title 4 - Ministry of Recruitment

Section 1: The Ministry of Recruitment is hereby established.

Section 2: The Minister of Recruitment shall be the executive of the Ministry of Recruitment. The Minister shall be elected by popular vote, in an open general assembly vote on a set and defined date.

Section 3: The Minister of Recruitment shall be familiar with the in-game mechanics on new nation registration/display. They will be responsible for messaging new members (as soon as they become new), and invite them or convince them to join the alliance. As well as the scouting and recruiting of more experience members as per Commerce Union Law and International Law.

Section 4: The Ministry of Recruitment shall work closely with the Chancellor's Office and Council on developing Recruitment Policy and Procedures.

Section 5: The Minister of Recruitment may appoint deputies to assist with the duties of the office.

Section 6: The Minister of Recruitment has 1 seat and 1 vote on the Council.

Section 7: The Minister of Recruitment's term lasts 90 days, upon which time a new election will be held.

Title 5 - Ministry of Defense

Section 1: The Ministry of Defense is hereby established.

Section 2: The Minister of Defense shall be the executive of the Ministry of Defense. The Minister shall be elected by popular vote, in an open general assembly vote on a set and defined date.

Section 3: The Minister of Defense shall be familiar with the in-game war mechanics. They will be responsible for coordinating military efforts for the alliance.

Section 4: The Minister of Defense shall work closely with the Chancellor's Office and Council on developing Defense Policy.

Section 5: The Minister of Defense may appoint deputies to assist with the duties of the office.

Section 6: The Minister of Defense has 1 seat and 1 vote on the Council.

Section 7: The Minister of Defense's term lasts 90 days, upon which time a new election will be held.

Title 6 - Ministry of Commerce

Section 1: The Ministry of Commerce is hereby established.

Section 2: The Minister of Commerce shall be the executive of the Ministry of Commerce. The Minister shall be elected by popular vote, in an open general assembly vote on a set and defined date.

Section 3: The Minister of Commerce shall be familiar with the in-game trade and market mechanics. They will be responsible for coordinating inter-alliance commerce, including trade amongst members. They shall also be responsible for maintaining records of the commerce transactions and total resource capacity of the alliance.

Section 4: The Minister of Commerce shall work closely with the Chancellor's Office and the Council on developing Commerce Policy.

Section 5: The Minister of Commerce may appoint deputies to assist with the duties of the office.

Section 6: The Minister of Commerce has 1 seat and 1 vote on the Council.

Section 7: The Minister of Commerce's term lasts 90 days, upon which time a new election will be held.

Title 7 - Ministry of Justice

Section 1: The Ministry of Justice is hereby established.

Section 2: The Minister of Justice shall be the executive of the Ministry of Justice. The Minister shall be elected by popular vote, in an open general assembly vote on a set and defined date.

Section 3: The Minister of Justice shall be responsible for upholding the laws of the Commerce Union as well as any and all other responsibilities granted by this Charter.

Section 4: The Minister of Justice shall work closely with the Chancellor's Office and the Council on developing Judicial Policy.

Section 5: The Minister of Justice may appoint deputies to assist with the duties of the office.

Section 6: The Minister of Justice has 1 seat and 1 vote on the Council unless a tie is reached. In the event of a tie, the Minister of Justice shall serve as the swing vote.

Section 7: The Minister of Justice's term lasts 90 days, upon which time a new election will be held.

Title 8 - Additional Ministries

Section 1: Additional ministries may be added at a later date by unanimous vote of the Council.

Section 2: Any ministry additions shall be treated as an amendment to this Charter.

Article 5: General Assembly

Section 1: The General Assembly is hereby established.

Section 2: The General Assembly shall serve as a place for members to vote on elected officials, hold community meetings about official topics or to hold referendums.

Section 3: All approved Member States of the Commerce Union shall have access to the General Assembly.

Article 6: Amendment Process

Section 1: This Charter may be amended by unanimous vote of the Council or by 2/3 referendum of the membership through General Assembly.


Treaties: N/A

Forums: commerceunion.boards.net

IRC: #CU

Last Updated: 7/30