17-01-2003 12:00									#1
	Magna Chartaginia - final draft Enter the AD-FREE zone

I've updated the Constitution with the chosen [TBA]s, so it is in its final form. Now that we have the experience of playing for quite a time, we can judge better how good/bad or necessary/unnecessary the rules are. In my opinion it is better to have written laws, even if we can act in a civilized and organized way without them.

Please read the draft and comment if you want changes.

This draft will be open for discussions 3 days (unless serious discussions will take place), after which I'm going to post the poll for adopting the Magna Chartaginia.

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Magna Chartaginia

Preamble
We the people of Legoland seek to better the world around them through the development of our lands and the growth of our sciences. We are a peaceful people, but not a passive one. Our lands will be defended at any cost, and our troops are willing and able to march forth against any enemy that deigns to threaten us. The world can be a better place, and it is our job to make it so.

Article I: The citizens

Section 1: The Rights

As all the bricks in a foundation are equally important, so too are the citizens of Legoland. Every citizen carries rights and burdens of responsibility that are neither greater, nor less than any of their fellows. All speak with an equal voice, and no voice should go unheard. So long as a citizen stays involved with the affairs of the land, they may seek, or be appointed to, any office in the land. A civilization built on a foundation such as this shall not crumble from within, nor be toppled from without.

Section 2: The Responsibilities
It is every citizen’s duty to make known their thoughts on the state and future of our land. Only through open discussion can we find the proper path to choose from. It is also every citizen's duty to serve in the best interests of the land. A citizen must not willfully pass on information to our foes that would endanger our safety nor give away our secrets.

Article II: The executive branch

Section 1: The President
- The Senate elects the President every month. He requires an absolute majority of the votes to be elected. Runoff poll will be done if necessary.
- Only a member having PtW can run for presidency.
- The President physically plays the game, according to the wishes of the Ministers and Senate
- The President shall post a report and a save of the game to the Senate after every turn.
- When the wishes of the Ministers do not come to the President in time, or are harmful due to changes in game, then the President can act on his/her own in the best interest of the Legoland team.
- Should an ambassador be unable to negotiate with another team, and the Foreign minister unavailable to take over him, the President must negotiate directly with the other team.
- If the Vice President or any minister spot is vacant, then the President can appoint a new one to that spot, who will serve until the next election.
- Should the President be unable to accomplish all of his duties in time, he can delegate some of his responsibilities to the VP

Section 2: The Vice President
- The President appoints the VP from the Ministers
- One must have PtW to become VP
- When the President is unavailable, the Vice President replaces him.

Section 3: The Ministers
- The Senate elects the Ministers every month.
- There are 4 Ministers: the Master Builder, the Military Architect, the Enlightened and the Foreign Advisor.
- It is the ministers responsibility to make their decisions/orders public in time, so the President can act consequently
- The Master Builder (Domestic Minister) is responsible for managing all cities, their production queues, their citizens, and all of the workers and settlers. He is responsible for choosing sites for new cities, disbanding cities, and making rushed production requests.
- The Military Architect (Minister of Defense) shall be responsible for the movement of all military units, as well as long-term strategic plans.
- The Enlightened (Minister of Science and Economy) shall be responsible for managing sliders and selecting future courses of research. He is also responsible for keeping track of all trade treaties. He must initiate new trade treaties when they become available. The Senate must approve new treaties.
- The Foreign Advisor (Foreign Affairs Minister) coordinates the foreign policy of Legoland. He gives instructions to ambassadors, keeps track of treaties and foreign events. He must report regularly to the President and the Senate. Should any ambassador be unavailable, the FA shall take over his responsibilities. He is also responsible for gathering intelligence information on the request of the Senate, the President or one of the Ministers. High-risk intelligence activities that could result in declaration of war from other nations must be approved by the Senate
- Ministers are free to appoint one or more Deputy Ministers, that assist them in managing their ministerial agenda. The Deputy Ministers become, in the order they were appointed, responsible for handling the ministerial agenda, should the Minister be temporarily unavailable.

Section 4: Ambassadors
- Ambassadors should act upon the instructions of the FA and report directly to the FA
- Ambassadors deal directly with all other teams in the game.
- Ambassadors are primary ones who talk and negotiate deals with other teams.

Article III: the Senate
- Every member of the Legoland team is a member of the Senate.
- Only the Senate can declare war to another country, with a majority of 51% of the votes.
- The Senate can issue any order that could be issued by a minister. A member of the executive branch cannot overrule this decision.
- The Senate can veto any decision coming from the Ministers or the President, with absolute majority. However, if such a decision has already been applied in the game, the veto has no effect.
- The Senate can remove any minister, the President, Vice President or Justices of Court. This removal requires 66% of the votes to pass.

Article IV: The Supreme Court
- The Supreme Court shall consist of three judges, appointed by the President at the beginning of his term.
- If 2 out of 3 judges vote to hear a case, the case will be presented to the court for trial.
- The court's main responsibility is to deal with cases regarding constitutional interpretation, or cases with severe consequences (treason, abuse of office, etc.), or cases which the public is unable to settle.
- The citizenry may settle any case rejected by the court.

Article V: Voting procedures
- Various affairs of the Legoland state are decided by means of votes/polls. The result of any poll that is declared valid is binding for the President and his Ministers.
– Polls are decided by a simple sum of received votes. The option/candidate receiving the highest number of votes is declared the winner.
- Should any poll end up with more than one winner, the President breaks the tie. Should the President not be available, the right to break the tie passes on to whoever plays the turn for the team.
- A poll is declared valid if opened for at least 3 day period or if at least 50% percent of the Senate voted in it.
- As soon as any option in a given poll is voted for by at least 51% percent of the Senate, the poll may immediately be declared valid and closed
- Exceptions: Polls that decide Constitutional Amendments, Declarations of War, Elections and Removal from Office are declared valid if opened for at least 5 day period or if at least 66% percent of the Senate voted in it.
- The term "absolute majority" means 51% of the votes

Article VI: Amending the Constitution
- Any citizen can suggest an amendment to the Constitution
- Once an amendment is drafted and supported by at least two other members of Legoland, it must be introduced to the Senate.
- The amendment will be considered adopted if it receives 66% of the votes.

Last edited by Sharpe on 21-01-2003 at 05:07

	17-01-2003 12:10									#2
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Looks pretty solid at first read. I'll have to give it a second, of course Oh, and I fixed a typo using the magical ability to edit your posts, Tiberius... hope you don't mind!

	17-01-2003 12:15									#3
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No problem, but be good and tell me what did you change

	17-01-2003 12:24									#4
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I am ok with the draft as it is. To keep Tibi happy, I edited the draft, too, and added a missing word (a "5 day period").

	17-01-2003 13:33									#5
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It is 3 days period first and 5 day period later. Which is correct?

We do have some serious problems with the draft, don't we ?

	17-01-2003 13:53									#6
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quote: Originally posted by Tiberius It is 3 days period first and 5 day period later. Which is correct? We do have some serious problems with the draft, don't we ?

Singular. 5 day period, 3 day period. When used as an adjective, it should be in singular (at least that's what I was told at school... )

	17-01-2003 14:11									#7
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If you are sure, could you please correct it in my draft? All of you seem to enjoy editing my posts so much, that I wouldn't like to steal this pleasure from you

	17-01-2003 14:14									#8
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quote: Originally posted by Tiberius If you are sure, could you please correct it in my draft? All of you seem to enjoy editing my posts so much, that I wouldn't like to steal this pleasure from you

Well, I have already had my edit this time, so I guess I will leave it to someone else... there are only so many errors to correct, you know... Besides, I am only 99,9% sure...

	17-01-2003 14:15									#9
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So you admit you have doubts?

	17-01-2003 14:20									#10
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I think I will have to keep this thread open for more than 3 days, with all these heated discussions

	17-01-2003 14:31									#11
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quote: Originally posted by redstar1 So you admit you have doubts?

Well, yes, of course. Approximately 0,1% of doubts - that is the standard amount of doubts I put into just about anything I am "certain" about...

I do agree that we should keep this thread open for several more days. It's obvious that we have got so many things to discuss...

	17-01-2003 17:06									#12
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Or we could just model ourselves on the greatest bastion of democracy in the world, the UK, and just not bother writing it down

However, if I can be serious for just a second, how long is the poll going to be open for?

	17-01-2003 17:22									#13
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I'd guide myself after two paragraphs from Article V:

quote: - Exceptions: Polls that decide Constitutional Amendments, Declarations of War, Elections and Removal from Office are declared valid if opened for at least 5 day period or if at least 66% percent of the Senate voted in it.

quote: - As soon as any option in a given poll is voted for by at least 51% percent of the Senate, the poll may immediately be declared valid and closed

So at least 5 days, but if 10 (if we are 18; however I'm not sure about the number) people vote "YEA" it can be closed earlier.

	17-01-2003 20:04									#14
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quote: Originally posted by redstar1 Or we could just model ourselves on the greatest bastion of democracy in the world, the UK, and just not bother writing it down

This is something I truly admire! Serious!

Is that really true you do not have the most basic laws written? I mean I heard that many times and always thought how great it was. However, considering how the real world usually works, I always doubted if it could really be true...

	18-01-2003 12:38									#15
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This looks good to me. I will be voting yes to approve the consitution.

	21-01-2003 05:05									#16
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Looks good to me. There are still some grammatical errors , but they really don't matter. I corrected the "no crumble" and the "nor no less" though.

Just one question though - the President shall break the ties - but who breaks the tie in a Presidential election?

	21-01-2003 10:56									#17
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The President
I mean, until we elect a new President, the old one is still in office, isn't he ?

	21-01-2003 12:16									#18
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All of the typos I corrected were from the Preamble and Article I, which were things I had typed originally, so I'm going to assume you just copied and pasted them. So, basically, I was just fixing my own stupid mistakes...