[DRAFT] Full Friendship Act

Ecclesia Drafts
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Author’s Note:

The Friendship Act is written to fill in some holes in our current laws where no formal system exists. As such, the Act:

  • Defines the powers and limitations of treaties
  • Sets up a centralized system for treaty negotiation and approval
  • Clarifies how the region should vote in inter-regional organizations
  • Sets up a centralized system for embassy construction
  • Sets up a centralized system to prevent members of hostile regions from infiltrating Carcassonne

Friendship Act

Chapter 1: Definitions

  1. A treaty shall be defined as any binding agreement with a foreign region or organization.
  2. Embassies shall refer only to the embassies found on the region’s World Factbook Entry.

Chapter 2: Treaties

  1. Treaties shall by treated with the same force as any law passed by the Ecclesia.
    1. Should a part or whole of a treaty contradict regional Law or the Constitution, all parts of the treaty in violation shall be null and void.
    2. Should a part or whole of a treaty contradict another treaty, all parts of the text most recently approved by the Ecclesia and in contradiction shall be null and void.
  2. The Minister-President must promptly inform the Ecclesia of all ongoing treaty negotiations whenever possible.
    1. The Ecclesia may pass resolutions to advise the Minister-President over the course of negotiations.
    2. The Ecclesia may summon the Minister-President, by majority vote lasting 24 hours, to provide information regarding the status and aims of such negotiations.
      1. The Minister-President must the Minister-President must either prompt response in a complete and truthful manner or formally decline to do so.
  3. When presenting a treaty for approval by the Ecclesia, the Minister-President must provide complete and truthful information on the aims and effects of such a treaty.
    1. Citizens may ask questions or otherwise petition the Minister-President to provide further information regarding anything related to the treaty.
      1. Should such a petition receive the support of 5 citizens, the Minister-President must either prompt response in a complete and truthful manner or formally decline to do so.
  4. Should a treaty empower Carcassonne to vote in an inter-regional organization, the Minister-President must receive the advice and consent of the Ecclesia whenever possible before placing such a vote.
    1. Should the Minister-President place a vote with the advice and consent of the Ecclesia, they must promptly inform the Ecclesia of their vote and reasoning for refusing to obtain Ecclesia consent.
      1. With the consent of the Monarch or Senate, the Minister-President may refuse to inform the Ecclesia of such a vote.

Chapter 3: Embassies

  1. The Ecclesia may open and close embassies with other regions by majority vote.
    1. No Regional Officer may propose or accept embassies without approval from the Ecclesia.
    2. Regional Officers may only close embassies without approval if the need for immediate action makes obtaining from the Ecclesia input impractical.

Chapter 4: Hostile Regions

  1. The Citizen-Speaker shall maintain an official list of Hostile Regions.
    1. This list shall be publicly available to all citizens.
    2. This list shall include names of regions as well as reasoning for their being on the list.
  2. The Minister-President may propose changes to the list, including adding or removing regions or changing reasonings.
    1. To take effect, these changes must by approved by a majority of at least 60% of voting citizens.
    2. All regions tagged as “Fascist” shall be considered hostile by default.
  3. Members of Hostile Regions may not become citizens of Carcassonne.
    1. Former members of a hostile region must first obtain permission from the Senate.
  4. Citizens of Carcassonne who become members of a currently Hostile Region may be charged with sedition, but it shall not be a crime to be a member of hostile region before said region was designated as such.
  5. The Grand Army of Carcassonne is authorized and encouraged to take military action against Hostile Regions.
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Let’s see if I can format properly mobile…

Chapter 2, some wording changes. Not sure having votes is practical, proposed instead delegating to the Citizen-Speaker. Alternatively, just let any citizen exercise the perogatice.

Chapter 2: Treaties

  1. Treaties shall by treated with the same force as any law passed by the Ecclesia.
  2. Should a part or whole of a treaty contradict regional Law or the Constitution, all parts of the said treaty in violation shall be null and void.
  3. Should a part or whole of a treaty contradict another treaty, all parts of the text most recently approved by the Ecclesia and in contradiction shall be null and void.
  4. The Minister-President must promptly inform the Ecclesia of all ongoing treaty negotiations whenever possible. The Ecclesia may pass resolutions to provide advice to advise the Minister-President over the course of such negotiations.
  5. The Ecclesia Citizen-Speaker may summon the Minister-President, by majority vote lasting 24 hours, to provide information regarding the status and aims of such negotiations. The Minister-President must promptly respond to such a petition summons in a complete and truthful manner, or formally decline to do so.
  6. When presenting a treaty for approval by the Ecclesia, the Minister-President must provide complete and truthful information on the aims and effects of such a said treaty.
  7. Should a treaty empower Carcassonne to vote in an inter-regional organization, the Minister-President must recieve the advice and consent of the Ecclesia whenever possible before placing such a vote.
  8. Should the Minister-President place a vote without the advice and consent of the Ecclesia, they must promptly inform the Ecclesia of their vote and reasoning for refusing to obtain Ecclesia consent.

Regarding chapter 3, I would prefer leaving embassies to the Government’s discretion.

I need to think about chapter 4 more, so some minor style suggestions for now.

Chapter 4: Hostile Regions

  1. The Citizen-Speaker shall maintain an official list of Hostile Regions.
  2. This list shall be publicly available to all citizens.
  3. This list shall include names of regions as well as reasoning for their being on the list.
  4. The Minister-President may propose changes to the list, including adding~~/~~ or removing regions or changing reasonings.
  5. To take effect, these changes must by approved by a majority of at least 60% of voting citizens.
  6. All regions tagged as “Fascist” are to shall be considered hostile by default.
  7. Members of Hostile Regions shall not be permitted to may not gain citizenship become citizens of Carcassonne.
  8. Former members of a hostile region must first obtain permission from the Senate.
  9. It shall be a crime for a Ccitizen of Carcassonne to become a member of a currently Hostile Region, but it shall not be a crime to be a member of hostile region before said region was designated as such.
    1. This is not retroactive: existing dual-members of Carcassonne and a Hostile Region shall not be considered to be guilty of a crime when a region is added to the List.
  10. The Grand Army of Carcassonne is authorized and encouraged to take military action against Hostile Regions.
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Updated bill to incorporate some wording changes, and to simplify the process of asking questions about the treaty (changed from a full vote to simply requiring 5 citizens to support). Also allows votes on treaty summons to extend beyond 24 hours if needed.

EDIT: Also implemented a embassy closure clause that’d let us close problematic stuff asap instead of waiting for the ecclesia

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The Ecclesia should not be able to open or close embassies with other regions. That should be a process initiated by the government. Frankly, the Ecclesia should play no role in the process at all.

I know that in the region you originate from, 10000 Islands, it works this way, but there are key differences. 10000 Islands is effectively an autocracy, and the legislature is a much more select (and secretive) body than the Ecclesia.

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It’s a bit of hassle, but considering how infrequently embassies are changed, the slight (around a week) delay is pretty reasonable. Especially if we intend to keep the embassy (and our partnership with the other region) for a long time.

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Update:

  • Sedition specified in clause 4.4
  • Clause 3.2 (on embassy order) removed