Treaty of Courtland

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The Treaty of Courtland is an agreement on relations between several nations with holdings in the North Atlantic Ocean. It was signed in Courtland in Upper Virginia.

Text of the Treaty

Article 1: Mutual Recognition of and Respect for Sovereignty

1. The Danaan High Kingdom of the Resurgent Dream, the Dutch Democratic Republic of Knootoss, the Holy and Most August Empire of Pantocratoria, the Holy Empire of Excalbia, the Dominion of Upper Virginia and the Confederation of Sovereign States are recognized as unconditionally sovereign states. Saxmere is recognized as unconditionally sovereign to the extent that it chooses sovereignty in the forthcoming referenda. Further, notwithstanding their sovereign status, all the parties to this agreement pledge unconditionally and irrevocably to recognize the results of forthcoming referenda in Saxmere.

2. The existing and established governmental institutions of all signatory states are recognized as the only legitimate claimants to sovereign authority over the sovereign territory of the signatory states except as provided for in the agreement on a Saxmere referendum. This provision shall not be interpreted to in any way prejudice the existing federal system in the Resurgent Dream and the Confederation of Sovereign States.

3. The generally recognized territorial claims and claims for exclusive fishing rights of each party (as detailed in Appendix A) are recognized by all the parties.

4. Each sovereign state signatory to this treaty undertakes to maintain an embassy in every other sovereign state signatory to this treaty. Each signatory undertakes to respect reasonable diplomatic norms with regard to the embassies of other signatory states, including the recognition of diplomatic immunity, the recognition of the extraterritoriality of embassies, and the sanctity of the diplomatic pouch. Signatory states reserve the right to expel a diplomat from their territory and request another in the eventuality that a diplomat’s conduct actively poses an ascertainable threat to the public safety or the national security of their host nation. Each nation also undertakes to manage its embassies in such a way as to minimize any such eventuality.

Article 2: The Binding Nature of Treaties

1. When this treaty has been ratified by the Confederation of Sovereign States, the Holy and Most August Empire of Pantocratoria, the Dutch Democratic Republic of Knootoss, the Holy Empire of Excalbia, the Danaan High Kingdom of the Resurgent Dream and the Dominion of Upper Virginia by their respective procedures of ratification and has received the consent of the government of the State of Saxmere, it shall hold the force of law for all signatories. If the referendum to be held in Saxmere should result in sovereignty, this treaty shall immediately enter the procedures for formal ratification in that new state as well.

2. If any signatory should fail to ratify this treaty, it shall not go into effect.

3. The Teutonic Empire of Lavenrunz, should they wish to accept the terms of this treaty at any time, shall be admitted under the same terms as the other powers.

4. Any other recognized sovereign state wishing to come under the terms of this treaty, provided they possess territory in or adjacent to the Atlantic Ocean in the Northern Hemisphere, may do so only with the unanimous consent of all current signatories.

5. Violations of this treaty shall be referred to a conflict resolution mechanism detailed afterwards, excepting when such violation takes the form of a military assault against a sovereign state prohibited by this treaty, in which case no terms of this treaty shall prejudice the right of a signatory state from defending their own sovereign territory or that of an ally from attack.

6. Any signatory state shall have the right to request a renegotiation of the treaty and any two signatory states shall have the right to demand it. During such a renegotiation, the current treaty shall remain in effect until a new agreement is reached or the parties reach a consensus that no such renegotiated treaty is possible.

7. Any party intending unilateral withdrawal from the terms of this treaty must give all other parties six months notice. During the intervening six months, the treaty shall remain in full effect.

8. The signatories to this treaty affirm the legal and moral principle that nations are obliged to abide by all treaties into which they legitimately enter so long as the other parties to such treaties do so as well.

Article 3: Regular Meetings

1. The Heads of Government of all signatory nations will give the necessary directives in accordance with needs and will follow regularly the application of the programmes described in article four, five, six and seven of this treaty. They will meet to this effect each time this will be necessary and, in principle, at least twice a year.

2. The Foreign Ministers of all signatory nations will jointly supervise the execution of the programme described in articles four, five, six and seven. They will meet at least every three months. Without prejudice to contacts normally established through embassies, the relevant high officials of the signatory Foreign Ministries will meet each month alternatively in the respective capitals of signatory nations to assess current problems and to prepare the meeting of Ministers. The diplomatic missions and the consulates of the nations, as well as their permanent representation at international organisations, will make all contacts necessary on problems of common interest.

3. Regular meetings will take place between the responsible authorities of the signatory nations in the fields of defence, education and culture. They will in no way affect the functioning of already existing organisms whose activities will be developed.

4. In each of the signatory nations an inter-ministerial commission will be charged with following the problems of cooperation. It will be presided over by an official of appropriate rank and position, in accordance with local law and custom, and will include representatives of all the interested administrations. Its role will be to coordinate the action of the interested ministries and to make periodically a report to its government on the state of North Atlantic cooperation. It will also have the task of presenting all useful suggestions with a view to the execution of the programme and its extension to new fields.

Article 4: Foreign Affairs Programme

1. The signatory Governments will consult before any decision on all important questions of foreign policy and, in the first place, on questions of common interest, with a view to reaching as far as possible an analogous position.

2. With regard to aid to developing nations, the signatory Governments will systematically compare their programmes with a view to maintaining close coordination. They will study the possibility of undertaking joint projects. The Foreign Ministers will determine together the practical bases of this collaboration.

3. The signatory Governments will study jointly the means of reinforcing, where relevant, their cooperation in other important sectors of Transnational Economic Policy, such as trade, energy, the problems of communications and transport and industrial development, within the framework of economic cooperation.

Article 5: Defence Programme

1. As an optional part of this agreement, exchanges of personnel between the armies will be established and, where relevant, increased. They will concern in particular instructors and students of the general staff colleges and may include the temporary detachment of field and staff officers. In order to facilitate these exchanges, an effort will be made by both sides with a view to the practical teaching of the languages of the trainees. Any signatory of this agreement may opt to take part in the exchange of military personnel. Such exchanges will take place on a non-discriminatory basis among those nations electing to take part in the programme.

2. With regard to armaments, the signatory Governments will endeavour to organise work in common from the stage of drawing up appropriate armaments plans and of the preparation of plans for financing them. To this end, mixed commissions will study current research on these plans in the signatory nations and will present proposals to the ministries who will examine them at their quarterly meetings and will give the necessary directives for application.

Article 6: Education Programme

1. The competent authorities in signatory nations will make their own enquiries into the qualifications awarded by equivalent authorities in other signatories, and on the basis of those enquiries, each national authority will produce a list of equivalent qualifications.

2. Research organisations and scientific institutions will develop their contacts beginning with the fullest possible exchange of information. Coordinated research programmes will be set up in disciplines where this is feasible.

Article 7: Youth Programme

1. The signatories agree to expand educational and cultural exchanges by establishing special categories of no-fee visas for high school and university exchanges, cultural exchanges including but not limited to youth and amateur performing groups, summer work and travel programs and other short-and-long term academic exchanges. These categories of visas will be made available to citizens of the other signatory nations without numerical limits.

2. In order to promote high school and cultural exchanges, the signatory countries agree to jointly establish a special fund to finance appropriate programmes. The also agree to jointly develop appropriate programmes and recruit participants in each of the signatory nations. Funding and administration of these may be carried out by the embassies of the signatory nations or by non-profit non-governmental organizations especially developed for the task by each participant.

3. In order to promote, youth educational exchanges at the university level, the signatories agree to jointly establish a special scholarship fund that will administered in each country by the embassies of the signatory nations. Scholarships will be made available to deserving young citizens of the host countries to pay full tuition, room and board at a university in embassies’ home country.

Article 8: Conflict Resolution Mechanism

1. If two signatories are unable to resolve a conflict about foreign policy or another matter of major importance to relations between them in the consultations between their governments, then the conflict shall go before a Conflict Resolution Council.

2. The Conflict Resolution Council will consists of a rotation of three nations at any given time, in three separate staggered rotations, so as to ensure that no subgroup within the signatories have more than one sitting council member. The proposed rotations are Excalbia, Pantocratoria and (if it becomes independent) Saxmere as rotation one, the Confederation and Knootoss as rotation two, and the Resurgent Dream and Upper Virginia as rotation three.

3. When a conflict goes before the CRC, if either of the signatories involved is a presently sitting member of their CRC, they shall be excused from service and the next nation in their rotation take their seat. Both involved signatories shall make one, written statement of their arguments and positions to the CRC, which shall meet and discuss the issue. The CRC shall decide which of the arguments it has accepted, or shall propose an alternative settlement. This decided upon resolution to the conflict represents the will of the North Atlantic treaty.

4. If after a period deemed reasonable by the CRC either or both parties remain in violation of the conflict resolution decided upon by the CRC, then all signatory nations shall be free to impose trade sanctions on any signatory which remains in breach. No signatory nations shall be compelled by the CRC to take such action, but they shall no longer be bound by treaty against doing so.

Article 9: Trade Agreement

1. Trade Sanctions / Boycotts

a. Signatories will be forbidden from placing trade sanctions or boycotts on other signatories except as allowed by the CRC following the process described in Article 8.
b. The import and export of basic foodstuffs (not including processed foodstuffs or any good which may be classified as both a foodstuff and some other sort of good) shall never be the subject of a trade sanction or boycott placed on one signatory by another in the event of sanctions being allowed under section 1, subsection a by the CRC.
c. The import and export of vital medicines (not including medicines which may also be classified as recreational drugs or narcotics) shall never be the subject of a trade sanction or boycott placed on one signatory by another in the event of sanctions being allowed under section 1 by the CRC.
d. Blockading of one signatory by another is contrary to the spirit of article 1, and shall not be allowed by the CRC.

2. Trade amongst signatories

a. All signatories agree to participate in trade with each other (except in the case of sanctions or boycotts authorised by the CRC as per section 1, subsection a).
b. There shall be two tiers of trade between signatories within the North Atlantic signatories. Signatories shall sign this treaty as either free trade signatories or special trade relationship signatories:
i. Free trade signatories commit to a multilateral free trade agreement with all other free trade signatories. The exact terms of the multilateral free trade agreement will be determined by the free trade signatories at a subsequent economic summit.
ii. Special trade relationship signatories undertake, in general terms, to investigate the possibility of gradually reducing tariffs on imports from other signatory nations.
c. Signatories shall be allowed to move between tiers at their prerogative should they so desire.

Signatories

See Also

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