Methodian Constitution

Official Methody Region Constitution

§ Preamble

We, the nations of the region of Methody, declare this document to be the template to our self-government. We agree to follow by its rules and guidelines. We also promise to keep it up-to-date with the state of the region by means of regional conferences, that are to be held at least once every two months.

§ Clause 1: Membership of the Region

It is inevitable that the region will change in size as nations join or leave. Nations are free to leave the region at any time. However, when a nation wishes to join the region, the following procedure must be followed: (Unless there region is in a State of Emergency. In which case all nations are welcome to join)

• The leader of the nation must first apply to enter the region by private communication with the regional founder, Peteronia. This can be done in person or by the NationStates telegram system.
• The leader of the nation must reveal their real identity to Peteronia in that communication and state that they agree to abide by the guidelines set in this constitution.
• The regional founder, Peteronia, if he feels that the nation is suitable for the region, shall then reveal to the leader of the nation the current password of the Methody region.
• The leader of the nation must not reveal the password of the region to anyone else. They must use it as soon as possible to enter the region themselves.
• The regional founder, Peteronia, shall then change the password of the region and keep that password a secret until this procedure is repeated when another nation wishes to enter the region.

Although the Methody region is only designed for students at Methody, other people are also welcome to join as long as they personally know someone from Methody who can give a good reference for them. The identities of all member nations' leaders must be known by the regional founder, Peteronia. He must keep the list in full confidentiality, unless required by the Disciplinary Committee. National leaders are allowed to have multiple 'puppet' nations in the region, as long as they identify themselves to the regional founder, Peteronia, as the leaders.

§ Clause 2: Regional Leadership and Power Distribution

All the power in the region will be held by the regional founder, Peteronia. This includes the ability to set a password for the region, thus reducing permeability of undesired nations, and the ability to eject a nation from the region. However, the ejection facility may only be used under the following circumstances:

• When it is clear that the regional password has been leaked (Unless the Region is in a state of emergency, in which case: When it is clear that an attempt has been made to crash the region.)
• When the Regional Court has decided that the punishment for an offending region is ejection, the regional founder must perform the ejection immediately.

The regional founder is a member of the Regional Court.

§ Clause 3: UN Matters

UN membership is not compulsory, nor is it in any way discouraged or encouraged by this constitution. Nations in the region that are members of the UN have the right to endorse any other nation at any time they wish. However, the Regional Court may have to take action if a nation repeatedly alters their endorsements in a short space of time that leads to a frequent change in delegate. The regional UN delegate is not a member of the Regional Court, and has no power where regional controls are concerned (unless the regional founder is the delegate himself). Since the UN delegate represents both the region and the people who endorsed them, it is up to them to ensure that they vote on resolutions in a democratic manner depending on what the UN nations of the region want. They can state their opinions on the Regional Off-site forums. Non-UN nations' views do not have to be considered.

§ Clause 4: Regional Discipline

Discipline in the region is dealt with in the following manner:

• All discipline is managed by the Regional Court. This will consist of the regional founder, Prime Minister, Foreign Minister, Chief Justice and Associate Justices. The elections will occur every two months in a way where each national leader gets one vote, for each position. The first election must be held immediately after the publication of the final draft of this constitution.
• The disciplinary system involves warnings in the form of 'chances'. Each national leader has 3 chances each - not 3 chances per nation. When an offence is committed, the disciplinary committee will decide whether a chance will be removed from that nation's leader. Upon election of the three other members, the committee must decide on laws, which state what offences deserve chance removal and which do not. These laws must be published to the region.
• If all 3 chances are removed, the disciplinary committee will decide on a suitable punishment for a nation. This will involve the nation being ejected from the region for a designated amount of time. Once a nation has completed its punishment, its three chances are restored. Though, persistent offenders may be permanently removed from the region.
• All national leaders shall be treated equally where discipline is concerned.
• Appeals will not be considered unless the offending national leader has gathered substantial majority support for themselves from other national leaders in the region.
• The members of the committee must try to oversee all activities of the region to monitor whether offences are being committed. However, any nation of the region can submit evidence of an offence being committed in the form of a screenshot. Solely verbal evidence should not be considered.

§ Clause 5: Intra-region Relations

Subclause 1: Diplomacy and Communication

In this region, every national leader has equal rights to free speech. However, it is imperative that all nations treat each other and each other's views with respect and courtesy. This includes making your messages as legible as possible where spelling and grammar are concerned. Vicious slander and flaming may be considered as offences. Spamming the message centre or the offsite forum will not be tolerated and will be considered an offence. Nations may not post messages containing other nation's leaders real names in order to protect privacy.

Subclause 2: War, Conflicts and Other Engagements

Nations have the right to declare war on one another for whatever reason they choose. If both nations agree to the conflict then they may role-play the affair. If one nation decides not to enter the conflict, they will be protected by the Whitla Convention - no nation can lead offence against them, nor can they lead offence themselves. If role-play is conducted, it is imperative that no godmodding occurs. Godmodding involves saying what happens to your enemy, refusing to take losses and using über-tech. Übertech is not allowed. The Regional Court may be required to take action if role-play is not properly conducted. Nations are recomended to use ZoopTek's Nationstates Battle Grounds.

Subclause 3: Territories and Territory Declaration

Every nation has the right to a piece of territory and up to 3 colonies anywhere within the region. Although the Whitla Hall is neutral and the foyer is owned by Peteronia and Kamsaki. (For Continuation of Role-play) Excluding the Whitla, Territory is allocated on a 'first come, first serve' basis by judgement of the nation of BlobbDobb. Nations may war over territory if they wish. They must still abide by the rules mentioned in Subclause 2. No nation may be forced to surrender their territory by anyone other than BlobbDobb or the Regional Court. BlobbDobb must keep an up-to-date list of which nation owns what land with respect to a map of Methodist College Belfast. He must also ensure that an up-to-date map is available, by whatever means possible. If BlobbDobb is unable to complete these tasks within a reasonable amount of time, another nation must be elected to do so. The Regional maps are available at the BLobbDobbian Embassy

Subclause 4: Regional Emergencies

These are roleplay acitivities usually planned by the Prime Minister of the Region. Nations are not obliged to take part in these, although roleplay is reccomended. You must post any messages regarding the emergencies on the Methody Off-site forums. Normal Roleplay rules and etiquette applies.

§ Clause 6: Inter-region Relations

Any nation of the region is free to engage in communication with nations from other regions or other regions on the whole. However, nations must not say that they represent the region unless they are the Foreign Minister or have been allowed to do so by the majority of the region and by the regional founder. Though, nations are allowed to say that they are members of the region.

§ Clause 7: Methodian Union

The decisions of the Regional Court over-rule those of the M.U in All circumstances. The M.U must abide by this and its own constitution. A possible punishment for the Regional Courts use may be ejection of an offending nation from the M.U.

§ Appendices

1: Elections

All official elections held in the region will run precisely from one set time to another. Every national leader may choose to vote or not to vote. Non-votes shall be counted as abstentions. However, if they do vote, they have only one vote each. The candidates for election must be volunteers and reasonably frequent users of the regional message centre and offsite forum.

2: Definitions of terms used in this Constitution

• Flaming - Saying mean or nasty things about/to someone. This is a punishable offence.
• Spamming - Posting multiple messages on a message display facility, such as the Message Centre or Offsite *Forum, which do not add anything useful to a discussion. This is a punishable offence.
• Übertech - Technology whose existance is improbable in the near future or has no grounding in reality. This does not include EM Shields (As Decided by the Disciplinary Committee in Case 9)
• Regional Message Centre - The facility, located at the bottom of the regional webpage on NationStates, that can allow for nations to communicate with one another. Messages here are removed once new messages are posted.
• Regional Offsite Forum - The facility (or 'forum'), located here, that can allow for nations to communicate with one another. Messages here will remain as long as the forum remains.