Constitution of Europa

(Based on: http://s7.invisionfree.com/Europa/index.php?showtopic=1657&view=findpost&p=3303221)

Membership of Europa

Membership of Europa applies to all nations that have resided in the region for at least 1 month.

Government Structure

Senate

Senators elected from general membership of Europa. To be eligible for a Senate position, a nation must have resided in Europa for at least 2 months, as well as having a UN nation in Europa (exception if part of the Army) as well as being an active member of the forum. Senators are in office for three (3) months, after which there are elections for the positions. If a Senator resigns, is expelled or the election result is vetoed, another election is held immediately, for that Senate seat only.

General of the Europa Army. Sits on the Senate and advises the Senate on military affairs, including missions the Army is about to undertake.

Ministers

Ministers are elected by the Senate by from amongst suitable candidates for the position (they must put themselves forward). There are four Ministers for the four Ministries (Foreign Affairs, Internal Affairs, Immigration and Security). Once elected, they sit on the Senate and take part in it. A Minister may not be a Senator or vice versa. Must have a UN nation in Europa, exception if part of the Army. Ministers must also report to the Senate at the end of every week. Ministers are in office for three (3) months, after which there is another election for that position. If a Minister resigns, is expelled or the election result is vetoed, another election is held immediately, for that Senate seat only

Delegate

Member of the Executive Committe. Oversees activities within Europa, and decides, after a vote from amongst the general membership, the way to vote in a UN resolution.

Vice-Delegate

Elected for from amongst the general membership of Europa, in a similar way to the Senate, but are part of the higher level of Government, along with Founder and Delegate. Must have second highest number of UN endorsements. May not be a Senator or Minister. Helps the Delegate with voting on UN Proposals

Executive Committee

Consists of Delegate, Vice-Delegate and Founder. May over-rule the decisions of the Senate on elections of Ministers and also the appointment of Ministry Officials. If over-ruled, the place is considered empty and must be voted for again or another appointee selected (in the case of Ministry Officials).

All of the above may not have taken part in an Invasion or be a member of an Invader group, whether currently or in the past, unless given a dispensation by the Senate.

Rights & Duties

Senate

The Senate's duties include voting for Ministers from amongst suitable candidates, authorising Army missions and voting on Alliances.

Ministries

Ministry Officals are appointed by each Minister. Must have a UN nation in Europa (again, exception if in the Army), and a member for at least one month. Any appointment may be overruled by the Executive Committee.

Foreign Affairs

Run by the Minister for Foreign Affairs. Keeps other regions up-to-date with happenings, by co-ordinating activities between separate embassies. Appoints ambassadors from suitable candidates. May also run embassies his or her self. With ambassadors, responsible for making region up-date for other regions. Ambassaodrs must abide by the Canada/Q102 Protocol on Ambassadors.

Internal Affairs

Run by the Minister for Internal Affairs. Responsible for keeping members up-to-date with happenings with in the region, as well as communicating with and helping new members. Provides information of happenings and events with all members, including posting updates on the regional message board. Can appoint as many Internal Affairs Officals from suitable candidates as the Minister sees fit.

Immigration

Run by the Minister for Immigration. Responsible for recruiting of new nations from the Feeder Regions. Encourages new nations to join the region as well as participate with in it. May appoint an Immigration Offical for each Feeder region.

Security

Run by Minister for Security. Makes sure all UN members endorse both Delegate and Vice-Delegate. Monitors UN nations to make sure this happens. Can issue threats and even ejections if this does not happen. Makes sure there is no un-authorised endorsement swapping. May appoint as many Security Officers as sees fit.

Executive Committee

This group consists of the Delegate, Founder and Vice Delegate. Their duties involve the over-seeing of all European affairs. Able to veto all Senatorial vote results, including the voting-in of Ministers, authorisation of Army missions, Alliance voting and the election of nations to Senatorial office. Also can veto the appointment of Ministry Officals. If a Minstry Offical appointment or Senator election has been vetoed, the placement is declared open again, and a new Offical must be appointed or a new Senator elected. In the case of Alliances or Army missions, the situations of these must be investigated throughly before another vote or authorisation can be called.

Elections

For the purpose of elections, a special forum account will be used. Every member of Europa who is member of the forum, shall send a PM with his/her votes to this account. All members of the Supreme Court shall have the password for this account. They (at least two of them) will count the votes independently from each other and announce the result. The result has to be announced within one week after the end of the elections.

Judicary

The Supreme Court

The Supreme Court shall consist of six (6) members. These members will be appointed by a majority vote of the Senate and the Executive Committee but the list of potential members must be approved by a majourtiy vote of the members of Europa. Any member of Europa can be in the Supreme Court. Once every two (2) month's there shall a pre-selected 48 Hour window in which any member of Europa can call for a re-election of Supreme Court Members . If no member call's for re-election of Supreme Court members the current Supreme Court members shall remain in their positions. There is no time limit on the term of Supreme Court membership.

Trial System

Art 1: A trial consists of three judges, a prosecutor and a defender.

• a:The accused may defend himself or be defended by someone else.
• b: The judges have to be neutral. The Defendant must agree on the appointment of The Judges
• c: It will be from the six (6) Supreme Court members from which the Judges and the Prosecutor shall be drawn. In trials the Judges, Prosecutor shall be appointed by a vote in the Senate and the Executive Committee, but must be approved by a general (majority) vote of The Members of Europa.

Art 2: The prosecutor reads the accusations against the accused and shows proof to back up the accusations. Art 3: The defender shows proof to counter the accusations. Art 4: First the prosecutor shows his proofs, then the defender. When both are finished they may make a final speech.

• a: After the defender has finished, the prosecutor may react one time to his proofs.
• b: The defender may react one time to the prosecutor's reaction.
• c: Every step has to be made in one post only.

Art 5: The judges confer over the proof. They need a majority vote for a decision; unanimous vote is not compulsory.

• a: The maximum time for reaching a decision is 7 days. (This is to prevent endless talking and stalling.)
• b: The maximum time for a trial is 14 days. (This is to prevent endless talking and stalling.)
• c: The minimum time for a trial is 3 days. After defender and prosecutor are finished, the judges have to confer at least 1 day. (This is to prevent decisions out of the heat of the moment.)
• d: The minority has a right to state its view on the case after the majority has made its decision public.

Art 6: The judges specify the punishment of the accused. Art 7: Both the accused and the prosecutor may call for a revision once each. Three different judges will re-examine the presented proofs and decide again. The maximum number of trials in one case is thereby set to three. The last decision is valid.

The Europa Army

The Europa Army is a self-organizing part of the regional government. It is under the command of the General of the Army. The General is selected by the Senate and has to report to the Senate monthly and on special occasions.