ADS

From NSwiki, the NationStates encyclopedia.
Jump to: navigation, search
ADS
Forum: The ADS Regional Forum
Population: 63 Nations
Delegate: Fiscal Heights
Founder: Ibn Fadlan
Info: NSEconomy RC XML

The Alliance of Democratic States

"ADS" is the acronym and official name for "The Alliance of Democratic States."


The ADS was founded with the intent to act as a positive force in the NS world by advancing the ideals of peace, liberty, and democratic government. This lofty goal is to be achieved through diplomatic fiat as opposed to any sort of aggressive military force.


There is no stated preference for communist nor capitalist states. Authoritarian leaders on either end of the economic spectrum are equally frowned upon.

History

  • 8/31/06 -- The first 3 senators for the regional government are confirmed, The Democratic Republic of M and M Shogren, The Republic of Fuzzitonia, and The Free Land of Jensonopia
  • 9/18/06 -- The 4th senator for the region is confirmed, The Republic of Finlandia Glorii
  • 10/4/06 -- Ibn Fadlan Returns, taking back the roll of founder


As the regional constitution has just been ratified and the first regional government has not yet been elected, little can be said about the region's past. Rather, members of the ADS are looking to the future.

Constitution

The Alliance of Democratic States Constitution

Preamble We, the nations of the Alliance of Democratic States (ADS), recognizing the need for governance, order, and protection of our region, hereby establish this Constitution to ensure harmony among the Nations of the ADS. We stand for the ideals of liberty and democratic government, though we will accept any nation, provided that nation does not circumvent our efforts to advance these ideals.

Article 1: The Rights of Members A “member” is defined as any nation residing in the ADS, or nations given special permission to reside outside the ADS by the Founder for reasons including, but not limited to, recruitment, invasion, or defense. Members are bound by the laws of the ADS and this constitution. Any member may secede from this constitution and the laws of the ADS by leaving the region. Once passed, members not abiding by the regulations laid out in this constitution shall be subject to legal proceedings carried out by the Chief Justice.

The rights defined here are the basic rights of all nations. The ADS shall pass no legislation that violates these rights. These rights may only be infringed upon through an amendment to this constitution.

All members are recognized as sovereign. The ADS shall not pass any laws interfering with the internal governance of an individual nation. The national flag, currency, and animal of each member are also completely up to individual members to determine for themselves.

The ADS is and will remain an inclusive region. No legislation shall be passed infringing upon the rights of members based on race, religion, gender, sexual orientation, or political leanings, nor shall any laws be passed promoting one race, religion, gender, sexual orientation, or political leaning over others. While participation in regional government and on the regional forums is to be encouraged, no law shall be passed punishing members for inactivity


Article 2: Voting and Electoral Procedures Each member of the ADS that is registered on the forum is granted one vote in Presidential and Cabinet Minister elections and may apply for participation in the Assembly. All UN members are granted one vote in Delegate elections and UN Resolution votes. Members who wish to vote must have a unique leader/owner in order to be eligible for these voting rights to prevent the unfair swaying of the vote using puppet nations.

Elections for the Delegate and Cabinet Ministers are held every 12 weeks at the same time, with the exceptions of the Chief Justice, which is elected four weeks before the other positions, and the UN delegate.

All voting will take place on the ADS forum; all candidates wishing to run and all members wishing to vote must be eligible by the criteria listed above. Candidates must also be Senators.

Two weeks before elections are due, the Internal Affairs Minister will announce that elections are nearing and will open threads in the Voting Booth forum. Assemblymen may nominate Senators for any position.

For a Senator to run for a position, he/she must be nominated by a Senator or by two Assemblymen. The Senator must accept this nomination.

Any campaigning will take place over the nomination period. After a voting period of one week, the winner of the election is determined by the Senator who won the most votes.

Senators may form voting blocs, political parties, or other organizations and may run together on the same ticket for a position.

Senators may stand for only one position, not including the UN Delegacy.


Article 3: The Assembly The Assembly is the lower house of the ADS legislature. It shall be comprised of any member who meets the requirements for voting outlined in Article 2. The Senate has the power to overrule the Assembly with a two-thirds vote. Proposals overruled by the Senate may not be resubmitted by the Assembly for two weeks.

To apply to the Assembly, members may apply in a specific thread located in the Assembly forum. Applicants are subject to a security check to make certain that they meet the requirements. Applicants who are accepted are granted the title “Assemblyman” and may participate in the activities of the Assembly.

Assemblymen may propose new laws and debate proposed laws. Assemblymen may also seek to repeal laws and call for votes of no confidence on elected officials, as well as electing Senators and calling votes of ejection on Senators. Votes of ejection on Senators shall not require a vote in the Senate to pass.

Proposals in the Assembly must undergo at least five days of debate on the ADS forum before they are voted on. The proposal must be within the bounds of the constitution. The proposal must pass with a majority vote in the Assembly before it is sent to the Senate. Voting shall take place over a five-day period.

Debates in the Assembly are to be open to participation from and visible to all members, foreign diplomats, and guests on the ADS forums. However, only Assemblymen may vote on proposals in the Assembly.

The Assembly has the power to overturn legislation passed by the Senate with a two-thirds vote. Legislation that has been overturned by the Assembly cannot be resubmitted by the Senate for two weeks.

Assemblymen who become Senators are no longer Assemblymen.

Article 4: The Senate The Senate is the upper house of the ADS legislature and holds ultimate authority in the ADS. Only Senators may run for elected positions, with the exception of the UN Delegacy.

The Senate shall be made up of Assemblymen who meet the following criteria: contributing members of the Assembly, at least three weeks of activity on the ADS forum, registered on the ADS forum under their nation’s name, the Senate has not reached its cap. The cap for the Senate shall be 10% of the number of ADS members, rounded to the nearest odd number, with a minimum of nine Senators.

Those wishing to apply for membership to the Senate may do so if they meet the above criteria. Applications to the Senate shall be made in the Senate forum on the ADS forum.

The applicant shall undergo a five-day period where they may be asked questions by Assemblymen to determine their suitability for the position. The applicant is expected to answer all reasonable questions. After this period, the Assembly shall vote on the application.

If a majority of the voting Assembly approves the application, the applicant is granted the title “Senator” and may participate in the activities of the Senate.

Senators who have ceased activity on the ADS forum for three weeks without declaring a leave of absence or who have been called to a vote of ejection by the Assembly may be subject to ejection from the Senate. They will return to Assemblyman status.

If the Senator’s nation ceases to exist or moves to another region without special permission granted by the Founder, the Senator is immediately ejected from the Senate.

Senators can propose new laws or seek to repeal laws. Proposed laws must be within the bounds of the region’s constitution. Proposals in the Senate must undergo a five-day period of open debate, followed by a five-day voting period.

Only the Senate may propose the ejection of members from the region. Ejections may not be proposed on the grounds of race, gender, sexual orientation, religion, or political leaning. The member whose ejection has been proposed has the right to face the Senate in a week of open debate. After this period, the Senate shall vote for a period of one week. The Senate must approve the ejection with a two-thirds vote.

Only the Senate may propose constitutional amendments and alliances. If the proposed alliance does not have the approval of the President or the Minister of Foreign Affairs, the proposal must pass with a three-fourths vote in favor of the alliance. Alliances proposed by or with the approval of the President and/or Minister of Foreign Affairs require a two-thirds vote in favor for the alliance to be approved.

Laws initiated in and passed by the Senate are sent to the Assembly.

Article 5: Amendments to this Constitution A “constitutional amendment” is defined as any change to the wording, laws, and clauses of this constitution.

A proposed constitutional amendment must be approved by at least two-thirds of the Senate. At least fifty percent of the Senate must have voted on the constitutional amendment for quorum to be reached and for the vote to be legal. The constitutional amendment must then win at least fifty percent of the vote in the Assembly.

Voting on constitutional amendments shall take place over a period of one week in the Senate. If the constitutional amendment passes in the Senate, it will be sent to the Assembly. Voting on the constitutional amendment shall take place over a one week period in the Assembly.

If the constitutional amendment passes the Assembly, the constitutional amendment has become law and the Constitution is amended.


Article 6: The Founder The Founder cannot be removed from his position through any action other than his own resignation, unless the Senate unanimously finds the Founder in violation of this constitution or the laws of the ADS.

The Founder is responsible, along with the elected Minister of Defense, for all duties pertaining to the security of the ADS. This includes the right to grant members special permission to leave the region, though the Founder must notify the Minister of Defense.

The Founder is responsible for the recruitment activities of the ADS, and may appoint other members to aid in this role.

The Founder is responsible for the maintenance of the ADS regional forum, and may appoint other members to aid in this role.

The Founder is responsible, along with the elected Minister of Internal Affairs, to ensure that elections are held without any electoral fraud and in an orderly manner.

The Founder is not forbidden from holding any elected position in the regional government.

The Founder is expected to remain active in regional politics and on the forum unless he declares a leave of absence.

The Founder has the power to eject any member from the ADS with a two-thirds vote of the Senate. The Founder may immediately eject a member from the ADS without Senate approval for the following reasons: region invading, recruitment of members for other regions, a direct threat against the region.

Article 7: The UN Delegate The UN Delegate serves as the representative of the ADS to the UN and works alongside the Minister of Foreign Affairs on diplomatic matters.

The Delegate is elected for a term of at least one month. After one month, any member belonging to the UN may challenge the position. The challenger must have the support of at least two other members belonging to the UN. If the challenger meets this requirement, an election will begin.

The campaign period for the Delegate election shall last for two weeks. At the end of this time, a voting period of one week shall begin. The winner of the election is determined by a simple majority vote of members belonging to the UN. In the event of a tie, the Senate shall determine the outcome of the election with a majority vote.

The elected Delegate shall be endorsed by every member belonging to the UN.

The Delegate shall not be granted regional controls, but can request that the Founder post messages in the World Factbook Entry.

The Delegate may serve in the Senate or Assembly.

The Delegate is expected to hold referendums when participating in a full-scale vote of a resolution currently in session. The Delegate is expected to cast his or her vote in the UN according to the majority vote in the referendum.

The Delegate’s vote in the referendum counts exactly the same as other UN members. However, in the event of a tie, the Delegate may count his/her vote as two in order to break it.

The Delegate can be removed from power by a vote of no confidence.

Article 8: Cabinet Ministers The Cabinet Ministers shall be elected by a majority vote of all members. The positions are as follows: President, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Minister of Defense, Minister of Internal Affairs, and Supreme Justice.

Only Senators that have been nominated by at least one other Senator or two Assemblymen are eligible to run for these positions. To appear on the ballot, candidates must announce their campaign before the elections have begun.

Section 1: The President The President is responsible for providing the region with leadership, setting policy, and instructing the cabinet. The President has the power to settle diplomatic issues, call for votes on the floor of the Senate, and overrule the decisions of any of the elected offices except the Chief Justice.

Section 2: Minister of Foreign Affairs The Minister of Foreign Affairs is responsible for handling diplomatic relations with foreign powers, all duties related to alliances, establishing and maintaining embassies, and promoting the ADS throughout the world.

Section 3: Minister of Defense The Minister of Defense is responsible for maintaining the security of the region, intelligence gathering, and the maintenance and leadership of any army the Senate may wish to establish. The Minister of Defense must work with the Minister of Foreign Affairs to identify any potential threats to regional security.

If the Minister of Defense finds reason to take aggressive action against a foreign power, the President must approve the proposal. The Senate must approve any declaration of war with a majority vote.

Section 4: Minister of Internal Affairs The Minister of Internal Affairs is responsible for the organization of votes in the Senate and Assembly, processing applications to the Senate and Assembly, and maintaining the activity of the forums. The Minister of Internal Affairs notifies the Founder or appointed forum administrator as to the status of each member, alerts the Founder when members cease to exist or leave the region, and alerts the Senate when Senators no longer meet the requirements for membership in the Senate.

Section 5: The Chief Justice The Chief Justice will be responsible for seeing that proposed laws do not conflict with the constitution, that any Cabinet Member acting illegally is brought to trial, and that legal proceedings carried out in the ADS are done so justly. The Chief Justice is elected for a period of twelve weeks but the election occurs four weeks before the election of the other Cabinet Ministers.

Trials are to be carried out with the Senate acting as the jury. The proceedings are to be made visible to all members. The accused is guaranteed the right to a fair trial and to face his accusers. If the guilt of the accused is proved without reasonable doubt, and the jury declares the defendant guilty, the Chief Justice shall be responsible for carrying out an appropriate punishment.

Article 9: Votes of No Confidence A motion of no confidence can be placed against any Cabinet Member. Any Senator or Assemblyman can start a motion of no confidence against a Cabinet Member.

The motion is subject to a one week period of open debate on the ADS forums before being sent to vote. Once sent to vote, the voting process begins in both the Assembly and the Senate and lasts for a period of one week.

During the debate and voting periods, the Cabinet Minister who has recieved a motion of no confidence against them is suspended from office. No motions in the Assembly or Senate that could be impacted by or require approval from the Cabinet Minister who has recieved a motion of no confidence against him/her may be put up to vote during this time.

For the vote of no confidence to pass, a majority of the Senate and Assembly must vote in favor of it.

The Cabinet Minister the vote is placed against may not vote.

If a vote of no confidence passes, the official is removed from power and the President may appoint any Senator to the position, with the exceptions of the former Minister or a current Minister. If the President has been removed from office, a Presidential election shall immediately begin, with the newly elected President finishing out the former President's term.