10-19-2011, 10:02 PM
Quote:<strong class='bbc'>Section 1. The Election Commission</strong>[*:123s9ero]The Election Commission Forum will be a permanent feature of the South Pacific Forums. During inter-election periods it will contain information on election laws and regulations, the members and terms of the Election Commissioners, and the projected schedule for upcoming Election.
[*:123s9ero]The Election Commission will oversee the Election as maintained in this law, and will provide guidance to any inquires concerning the election.
[*:123s9ero]The Election Commission will have three members, one chair and two deputies. All three are appointed by the delegate one month after the conclusion of the delegate elections. The delegate will can alter his appointments within one week of the initially scheduled appointments. After that they can not be waived by the delegate, but must be impeached.
[*:123s9ero] Commissioners serve six month terms and may not occupy any other office at any other time during their term.
[*:123s9ero] The Chair of the Election Commission is given moderation powers over the Election Forums, with other commissioners capable of receiving such power at the order of the delegate. The Minister of Security is obligated to help the Election Commission perform its tasks in ensuring no voter fraud or any such deception occurs, as obligated by the Voting Law.
[*:123s9ero]All time references in this law are in South Pacific standard time, which is indicated by the clock above the forum and equal to GMT.
<strong class='bbc'>Section 2. Candidate Review Period</strong>[*:123s9ero]The Election Commission will create a public thread to review all prospective candidates, beginning on the last Saturday of every February, May, August, and November, prior to the start of campaigning and ending on Friday at midnight, the day before the campaigning officially begins. Anyone wishing to be a candidate must submit themselves for review in this thread.
[*:123s9ero]Prospective candidates must satisfy the following conditions to be accepted.
a. Prospective candidates must be citizens.
b. Prospective candidates must fulfill all specific requirements for the office they are running for as spelled out in the Charter.
c. Prospective candidates must declare any conflicts of interest, in accordance with the Conflict of Interests law of the South Pacific.
d. Prospective candidates may not run for more than one position.
e. No candidate will be denied if these requirements are met.
[*:123s9ero] Accepted Candidates will be provided a Campaign Thread immediately after their acceptance. Candidates can begin utilizing said thread immediately, regardless of whether or not the official campaign period has begun. Although campaigning is not limited to this specific thread, disruption of the forum or the regional message board with promotional material will be considered as spamming under the 3 warnings law and dealt with accordingly.
[*:123s9ero]<del>Prospective candidates for office must send a PM indicating their intention to run to all Election Commissioners. Once they have received an acknowledgment from any Election Commissioner that their candidacy has registered, a candidate may participate fully in the election campaign.</del>
[*:123s9ero]<del>No candidate may run for more than one cabinet position per election.</del>
<strong class='bbc'>Section 3. The Campaign Period</strong>[*:123s9ero]The election campaigns begin officially on the first Saturday of every March, June, September, and December, prior to the start of voting and ends on Friday at midnight, the day before voting begins.
[*:123s9ero] Campaigning may continue into the Voting Period but must cease after the results are announced.
[*:123s9ero]<del> During the campaign period, the Election Commission will open a campaign thread for each candidate in the Election Forum of the office the candidate is running for. Although campaigning is not limited to this specific thread, disruption of the forum or the regional message board with promotional material will be considered as spamming under the 3 warnings law and dealt with accordingly.</del>
[*:123s9ero]<del> During the campaign period candidates may register to run for office as described in Section 5 of this law and campaign for election.</del>
<strong class='bbc'>Section 4. Registration and Ballot Format</strong>[*:123s9ero]Beginning during the Candidate Review Period and ending with the conclusion of the voting period, any citizen wishing to vote in the election must register.
[*:123s9ero] Registration is simply a statement of registration in a public registration thread.
[*:123s9ero] Ballots will be private. Only those who have registered will be masked for poll access.
[*:123s9ero]The ballot will list all candidates in alphabetical order, using the full version of their name.
[*:123s9ero]In cases where only one candidate stands for office the ballot will give voters the opportunity to vote ?Approve? or ?Disapprove? on the suitability of that candidate to hold the office in question. In the event of a majority of voters voting ?Disapprove? the position will be declared vacant, and the Delegate may appoint a citizen of The South Pacific to the position, in accordance with the Charter.
<strong class='bbc'>Section 5. The Voting Period</strong>[*:123s9ero]Voting will take place over five days, beginning on the <del>first</del>
second Saturday of every March, June, September, and December. <del>The exact length of the voting period is to be determined and announced by the Election commission prior to the begin of the voting period.</del>
[*:123s9ero]<del>During the voting period, candidates may encourage voters to vote, but may not campaign for or against any candidate.</del>
[*:123s9ero]During the voting period all registered citizens will vote using only the private ballot forms in the Election Forum.
[*:123s9ero] Following the voting period official announcements of the results will be made in the Election Forum.
<strong class='bbc'>Section 6. Appeal Period</strong>[*:123s9ero]Appeals of election results can only be made within seventy-two hours of the results being announced; once the results have been certified no further appeal can be made.
[*:123s9ero] Appeals will be made before the Minister of Justice and follow the procedures of a suit, with the Election Commissioners to stand in defense of the election.
[*:123s9ero] If multiple appeals are to be found worthy of a trial by the Minister of Justice, the various charges will be synthesized into one suit. The outcome of this suit will be the final say on appeals of the given election.
[*:123s9ero]<del> Any appeals of Election Commission decisions must be sent to the Delegate and to all Election Commissioners; they will be posted on Election Commission board, as will be the rulings on any appeals.</del>
[*:123s9ero]<del> Appeals shall be heard by the Delegate, as written down in the Election Commission law.</del>
<strong class='bbc'>Section 7. Certification of results</strong>[*:123s9ero]Once the results appeal period has concluded and appeals are satisfied by the Minister of Justice, the certified results of the election will be posted by the Election Commission in the Election Forum, along with any reports from the Commission on the election, which will then be concluded.
[*:123s9ero] With the announcement of the certified results and the subsequent conclusion of the election, the winners will assume their elected positions.
[*:123s9ero]<del> The outgoing officials will hold office until the results are certified, but will refrain from any activities during the appeal period that constitutes as campaigning under Art. 7 of this law.</del>
<del> <strong class='bbc'>Section 7. Ballot format</strong></del>[*:123s9ero]The ballot will list all candidates in alphabetical order, using the full version of their name.
[*:123s9ero]In cases where only one candidate stands for office the ballot will give voters the opportunity to vote ?yes? or ?no? on the suitability of that candidate to hold the office in question. In the event of a majority of voters voting ?no? the position will be declared vacant, and the Delegate may appoint a citizen of The South Pacific to the position, in accordance with the Charter.
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<del><strong class='bbc'>Section 8. Penalties</strong></del>[*:123s9ero]Investigation and prosecution of violations of Election laws and regulations will be conducted as defined in The Election Commission law.
[*:123s9ero]Claims of unfair campaigning or fixing votes will be handled by the Delegate in the form of a trial.
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<strong class='bbc'>Section 8. Emergency Elections</strong>[*:123s9ero]Should any elected official either resign, be impeached or no longer be able to exercise their duties then the election commissioners shall call an election within 14 days for the vacated post.
[*:123s9ero]This election shall follow the normal procedure of elections for the position in question.
[*:123s9ero]The newly elected individual shall serve for the remainder of the existing term.
<strong class='bbc'>Section 9. Repeal</strong>[*:123s9ero] This bill repeals the Election Commission Law
Quote:<strong class='bbc'>3 Warnings Law (3WL)</strong>
All nations of The South Pacific, being equal under the law, shall be subject to the same standards of decorum within the region and the forum. The following behaviors shall be subject to Warning:[*:123s9ero]<strong class='bbc'>Obscenity (Language):</strong> any excessive cursing, sexual content, or otherwise tasteless remarks unsuitable for minors is subject to a warning.
[*:123s9ero]<strong class='bbc'>Spamming:</strong> disturbing regular <del>RMB</del> chatter with excessive spamming, including but not limited to the re-posting of messages, extremely off-topic posting, excessive advertisements for another region, etc.
[*:123s9ero]<strong class='bbc'>Slander/Libel (Defamation):</strong> untrue statements which are intended to tarnish (or have the practical effect of tarnishing) the reputation of another user
[*:123s9ero]<strong class='bbc'>Abuse:</strong> language or statements intended to demean another player that are NOT RP.
[*:123s9ero]<strong class='bbc'>Harassment:</strong> The repeated, aggressive abuse of another nation. The abuse is sustained over a period of time, e.g. telling a nation that they suck, or calling them an otherwise inane name several times a day over several days.
[*:123s9ero]<strong class='bbc'>Trolling/Flamebaiting:</strong> As per the <a class='bbc_url' href='http://www.nationstates.net/cgi-bin/forum.cgi?topic=416023'>NationStates rules</a>.
All nations within The South Pacific are entitled to three Warnings before being ejected and banned, subject to the following parameters:[*:123s9ero]The Minister of Justice shall be charged with overseeing all claims for warnings and issuing warnings to said offender(s).
[*:123s9ero]The three Warnings must be temporally spaced--they must be issued during at least two different time periods. Several warnings sent within just a few minutes will either be treated as one Warning, or subject to <strong class='bbc'>#5</strong> below.
[*:123s9ero]If you issue a warning, you must post the evidence of why in the Minister of Justice forum. You must have some sort of documentation of the offense that you gave are requesting the warning for.
[*:123s9ero]New rules must be approved by the assembly in the form of an amendment to this law.
[*:123s9ero]The warning system can be overridden in the case of a grievous offense, but the person can only be banned if a quorum, (two-thirds), of the Cabinet is in agreement with the action. If such a majority cannot be reached, the nation concerned will be issued a Warning instead.
[*:123s9ero]A public record shall be kept of all Warnings given, to whom and with links to the evidence, and this record shall be updated on a regular basis.
[*:123s9ero]When a Warning is given, a link to the Warning and evidence thereof (refer to <strong class='bbc'>#3</strong> above), shall be sent to the offending nation, along with a link to the 3 Warnings Law.
Once a nation has accumulated 3 Warnings, they shall be ejected and banned from the region. Nations wishing to contest their banishment shall follow the Trial procedures set forward in the Charter.
<strong class='bbc'>Removal of Warnings:</strong>[*:123s9ero]After six full months a person with one Warning will have that warning removed.
[*:123s9ero]After twelve full months a person with two Warnings will have one or both of their Warnings removed, at the discretion of the Secretary of Justice, who will consider the severity of the prior offenses.
Quote:<strong class='bbc'>Article 7 - Judiciary</strong> [*:123s9ero]Allegations of violations may be lodged by any nation(s) against any other nation(s). Allegations must be lodged within the Ministry of Justice forum in the form of a post topic. These allegations must include the accused nation(s) and offense(s) they are accused of committing in addition to any witnesses or advocates each side wishes to have appear before the trial.<a class='bbc_url' href='http://z1.invisionfree.com/forums/theSPacific/index.php?showtopic=10129'>Discussion Thread 1</a>
[*:123s9ero]The Minister of Justice shall be responsible in all respects for the processing of the allegation. If an allegation is lodged against the Minister of Justice, the Delegate shall be responsible for the processing.
[*:123s9ero]The Minister of Justice must call for evidence from the nation lodging the allegation during a consultation period that may last no more than three days. Upon the end of the three-day period, the Minister of Justice must determine if the evidence presented is strong enough to merit a trial. This decision will be made in a reply to the allegation post, and reasoning based on the charter and/or the code of laws shall be presented in the decision.
[*:123s9ero]If a trial is deemed necessary: [*:123s9ero] <strong class='bbc'>The Minister of Justice?s reply to the allegation post should ask the defendant to enter a plea to the charges laid against them (<em class='bbc'>i.e.,</em> not guilty or guilty). A plea of not guilty or a failure to enter a plea shall necessitate a trial. In the event of a defendant pleading guilty, the Minister of Justice may decide to hold a trial regardless or may pronounce sentence without trial. The Minister of Justice shall oversee the carrying out of the sentence within three days of the pronouncement as outlined by Article 7, 13.</strong>
[*:123s9ero] The Minister of Justice is charged with creating a topic that designates a motion for trial. In the opening post, the Minister of Justice must establish the conflicting parties, charges brought upon the accused person(s) (labeled henceforth as the Defense) by the accuser(s) (labeled henceforth as the Prosecution), the jury, and if the trial is open to public comments or is private.
[*:123s9ero]The Minister of Justice must select three nations to serve as jurors from a random pool of volunteering citizens. Either party may reject any nominated juror, and any requests to call for the removal of a juror must be registered within 24 hours of the creation of the trial thread. The Minster of Justice then has one day to select a new juror or defend the decision regarding the selection of the juror in question.
[*:123s9ero]The Minister of Justice is charged with guiding the direction of the trial: from the motion, to evidence provided by the Prosecution, to the Defense, to opening the floor for questions, and suspending the trial to allow for jurors to reach a verdict. Only those given clearance to post during the trial may do so as directed by the Minister of Justice.
[*:123s9ero]If the Minister of Justice believes they have an interest in the trial that may bring into question their impartiality then they may appoint a neutral Associate Justice from their staff to preside over the case. The Defense or the Prosecution may appeal to the delegate if they have compelling evidence that the presiding Judge is predetermined.
[*:123s9ero] Procedure for any trial is as follows: [*:123s9ero]The trial will begin with three days for the Prosecution to present their case, three days for the Defense to make their case, and finally three days in which closing arguments can be made by both Prosecutor and Defender. The Defender always gets the last word.
[*:123s9ero]If the Prosecution fails to attend during their three days, the trial will be cancelled and the accused acquitted of all charges.
[*:123s9ero] If the Defense fails to show up during their three days, the defense is dismissed.
[*:123s9ero]Either side may request for more time.
[*:123s9ero]After the proceedings have ended, the trial thread is locked by the Minister of Justice.
[*:123s9ero] Following closing arguments the jury has a maximum of seven days to reach a verdict. The jury will judge only the charges presented by the Minister of Justice following the proceedings. A verdict is reached when the majority of jurors are in agreement.
[*:123s9ero] Verdicts must be announced giving only the charges laid, the parties involved, and whether those parties are guilty or not guilty.
[*:123s9ero] If a verdict is not reached by a jury, for whatever reason, a mistrial will be declared and the Minister of Justice must re-examine the evidence, as specified in Article 7.5, and decide whether to proceed with a new trial.
[*:123s9ero] Any nation found to be seeking to influence the deliberations of the jury will be prosecuted with a maximum penalty of expulsion from The South Pacific.
[*:123s9ero]Sentences must be carried out within three days of a verdict being rendered by the Minister of Justice, unless the verdict specifies a different timing. The Minister of Justice may call upon forum administrators or the Delegate to assist with carrying out sentencing.
[*:123s9ero] Appeals may be lodged with the Minister of Justice, but only if evidence is supplied showing the trial was not conducted legally.
[*:123s9ero] Appeals will be heard by the Delegate, following the procedures for trial laid out in Article 7, 5-18.
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<a class='bbc_url' href='http://z1.invisionfree.com/forums/theSPacific/index.php?showtopic=10172'>Discussion Thread 2</a>
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<strong class='bbc'>Voting closes:</strong> Thursday 10/27/11 at 7:00pm EDT (11:00am GMT)
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![[Image: We_so_excited!.gif]](http://images.wikia.com/austinally/images/c/c7/We_so_excited!.gif)
for DelegANT 2013!!! [/spoiler]
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