We, the people of $COUNTRY_NAME, in order to create an atmosphere of friendship, cooperation, and pride, establish this Constitution of our beloved country. We uphold the beliefs that each citizen must have an equal voice in the government and ruling of our country, that government itself is a construct of and servant to the people, that rules, regulations, and laws should be established to facilitate the active participation of the people and to make possible the dreams and desires of the citizens.
Article A. Citizen Rights
All Civfanatics Forum users who register in the Citizen Registry are citizens of our country. Citizens have the right to assemble, the right to free movement, the right to free speech, the right to a fair and speedy trial, the right to representation, the right to seek to redress grievances, and the right to vote.
Section 1. Rights Reserved to the People
Rights reserved to the people As provided by Article A of this constitution, all actions not forbidden by forum rules, or by this Constitution, are presumed to be within the right of every citizen. Actions prescribed by this Constitution may be substituted by other similar actions, provided such substitution lies within the spirit of these rules.
Section 2. Slate Polling and Political Parties
Slate Polling, or the agreement among certain citizens to vote for a single candidate is illegal and against the Sprit of the game. As such, political parties are also illegal and against the Sprit of the game.
Article B. Laws and Rules
Governing laws and rules shall consist of these Articles of the Constitution, the Code of Laws, and any administrative rules that a governmental official shall propose and are accepted by the people. No law or rule shall be valid which is in contravention of this Constitution, excepting an amendment specifically tasked to do so. The Constitution may be amended by vote of the citizenry.
Section 1. Amending the Constitution
Amending the constitution shall require a 2/3's majority of Yes votes over No votes. The poll must run for 4 days, and require that half of the current census had voted. Any Amendment to the constitution must be given to the Judiciary for confirmation, who will then post the amendment poll.
Article C. Basic Government
The government will consist of the Executive Branch, Legislative Branch and Judicial Branch. These Branches are tasked with the play of the save, creation of laws, and upholding of laws, respectively.
Article D. The Executive Branch
The Executive branch is responsible for determining and implementing the will of the People, and is headed by the President. The President is charged with organizing and monitoring the affairs of the Ministers, and is also the primary designated player. The President shall take direction from a council of leaders and from other elected and appointed officials via the turnchat instruction thread, including worker actions. The President is also charged with appointing citizens to uncontested elections, the election office, and the Naming Commission.
Section 1. Domestic Affairs
The Minister of Domestic Affairs shall be responsible for all domestic initiatives, including revolts and slider management, and the management of the national budget.
Section 2. Foreign Affairs
he Minister of Foreign Affairs shall be responsible for matters involving treaties with foreign nations as well as all espionage and embassy missions.
Section 3. Defensive Affairs
The Minister of Defense shall be responsible for all military strategy, troop activities, and unit upgrades.
Section 4. Trade
The Minister of Trade shall be responsible for negotiating trades both domestic and foreign, and monitored rival civs trade status.
Section 5. Research and Technology
The Minister of Science shall be responsible for all tech acquisition, foreign and domestic, and the construction of space ship parts.
Section 6. Cultural Affairs
The Minister of Culture shall be responsible for the construction of wonders, the analysis and maintenance of cultural borders, as well as the movement and actions of settlers. This official shall also be responsible for monitoring Japanatica's cultural level against that of all rival nations. The Minister of Culture is also charged with the responsibility of the formation of new provinces.
Article E. Legislative Branch
The Legislative Branch shall be formed of the House of the People and Governors of [Insert Nation Name Here].
Section 1. The House of the People
The House of the People will be formed of the entirety of the citizenry and is responsible for the drafting of new Laws and Amendments to the Constitution. The House will present all proposed Articles, Amendments and Laws to the Judicial Branch for review.
Section 2. The Governors
Governors are responsible for the care, management, use of the cities, and use of lands of there province through the setting of build queues, allocation of laborers on tiles, and population rushes.
Section 3. Mayors
Mayors are appointed by a governor and tasked with the ability to monitor and advise governors for the care, management, and use of there city. They are limited to the power the governor gives them.
Article F. The Judicial Branch
The Judicial Branch will consist of the Chief Justice, the Public Defender, and the Judge Advocate. These three justices are tasked with upholding the Constitution and its supporting laws (if any) in a fair and impartial manner as prescribed by law. The Chief Justice shall have the additional responsibility of organizing and conducting the affairs of the Judicial Branch. The Public Defender will act as counsel for an accused individual. The Judge Advocate will act as the prosecution.
Section 1. Judicial Procedures
The elected Judiciary shall create their procedures once elected it, to be located in the first post of that term's Judiciary thread. Any change after the Judiciary's posting of these procedures will require the Will of the People.
Article G. Elections, the Election Office, and Deputies
The Elections determine the elected officials of [insert country name here]. Elected Officials shall have a fixed term of one month, starting from the first of the month. All elected officials must act according to the Will of the People, as mentioned below in Article J.
Section 1. Elections
All elected positions shall have a fixed term of one month. Each position will be granted to the candidate receiving the largest number of votes in that election. In the event of a tie between two or more candidates with the most votes, a runoff poll shall be opened between those candidates only. This poll shall run for 2 days, and be repeated as often as needed to resolve the tie. Nominations shall begin roughly 8 days before the end of the month, with debates following exactly 2 days after that, and elections 2 days after debates. Nominations will be closed once the elections begin, however debates will continue.
Section 2. The Election Office
The Election Office shall be comprised of those citizens willing to assist the election process. These citizens are appointed by the President, and are subject to a confirmation poll. The Election Office shall determine before each election who will post the threads for that election. The Election Office shall maintain on the initial post of their thread the dates for the current and next election cycle. The Election Office shall solicit and maintain a common list of debate questions for each office. This list shall be posted as soon as possible in each debate thread. Any non-trivial differences in the dates/times threads are posted from the scheduled time should be noted by the Election Office official posting the thread.
Section 3. Pre-Nominations
Any citizen may submit a Pre-Nomination to a member of the Election Office one week before the start of the election process (Nominations, Debates, and Elections).
Section 4. Deputies
All Executive and Legislative positions shall have a deputy. The Deputy will be permitted to conduct the affairs of the office as directed, or during a planned Absence of the elected official. If no instructions have been posted for an office within 24 hours of the upcoming Turn Chat, the deputy for that office may post the official instructions for the office. The Judiciary does not use deputies. In the event of an Absence, a pro-tem justice(s) may be appointed by the Chief Justice (or Judge Advocate if the Chief Justice if absent) and confirmed by the President and the remaining justice if not also absent. If both the Chief Justice and the Judge Advocate are absent, the Public Defender may appoint pro-tems to the other seats, with Presidential approval. A deputy is chosen by the elected official.
Section 5. Appointments
The President will appoint a citizen to any Vacant office. If a deputy exists for that office, the President must appoint that citizen. This appointment may be challenged by any citizen by that citizen posting a confirmation poll within 24 hours of the appointment.
Article H. Multiple Poistions
No person shall hold multiple positions of leadership (President, Vice-President, Department Leader, Judiciary, Provincial Governor, Deputy) simultaneously. The Election Office, the Naming Commission, and similiar offices do not count.
Article I. Census, and Amending the Constitution
The census shall be defined as the average number of votes cast, dropping fractions, in each of the contested elections in the most recent general election. Ratification of Amendments to the Constitution shall require each of the following.
Section 1. Time Limits
A poll which is open for at least 96 hours, which states the text of the proposed new section(s), the text of the section(s) being replaced, and posing the question in the form of yes / no / abstain.
Section 2. Citizen Approval
A 67% majority of Yes votes over No votes, Abstain notwithstanding.
Section 3. Census
A total number of votes greater than or equal to 2/3 the census current at the start of voting on the amendment, dropping any fraction therein.
Article J. The Will of the People
Elected officials must plan and act according to the will of the people. The will of the people will be determined through discussion and polls. If pertinent discussion is done outside the scope of the DG forums, then it must be documented in the Turnchat Instruction Thread 6 hours prior to the commencement of the turnchat by the appropriate leader.
Article K. Turnchats/Turnchat Instruction Thread
All irreversible game actions must progress during a public turnchat, while reversible game actions (i.e. build queues) that adhere to legal instructions can be prepared offline.
Section 1. Turnchat Instruction Thread
A turnchat instruction thread must be created at least 3 days before the chat. All official instructions must be posted in the current turnchat instruction thread. Instructions must be clear and defined. Officials must post their instructions at least one hour prior to the Turnchat. However, officials may make changes to their instructions up to half an hour before the chat, so long as those changes are noted. The Designated Player shall be charged with the creation of a date and time for all public turnchats.
Article L. CivFanatics Forum Rules
The constitution, laws and standards of [Insert Country Name Here] can never be contrary to the rules and regulations of the Civfanatics forums. Moderators may veto any such constitutional amendments, laws or standards.
Article M. Commission of Game Actions
Commission of any game action by any person other than the Designated Player while carrying out their duties that is not instantly reversible without reloading the save is strictly forbidden. Exception: Determining options in the renegotiation of Peace agreements requires an action of acceptance or war to exit the bargain screen. This may be done but the game must be immediately closed without saving.
Article N. Provinces
A province shall be formed by a collection of cities, based on similiar geographic, ethnic, and economic backgrounds. The land as seen on the city-screen, and all land inbetween shall make up the province. The Formation of a Province will be handled VIA discussions and polling, and must be handled in a timely manner. The Culture Minister manages all cities that are not placed under the domain of a province. If the province was created mid-term, the Governor for the remainder of that term is appointed by the President. A province shall be named by it's first governor.
Article O. Freedom of Information
All elected/appointed officials are charged with the duty to post enough information for the citizens to make a informed decision. This includes information from the save, discussions, and past polls. Any citizen of the demogame may demand a minister to supply more information. A elected official may appoint a citizen to do this task for them.
Section 1.Ministry Threads
Each Minister shall post a basic department update, every turnchat, inside of there respective Ministry thread. This update must include information about the progress of the minister and there respective duties.
Article P. The Naming Commission
The Naming Commission is charged with the task of creating a list of names for use by the Designated Player in the naming of cities and units. If a citizen fails to create a city name, then they will be skipped.
Section 1. Naming Order
The order of naming cities shall be decided by rank in the CoC. The naming of units shall be decided by the date joined inside of the registry.
Article Q. Vacancies
Any elected official may declare themselves to be Absent for a period of time. During this time, the deputy or pro-tem will act with all power and duties of that office, surrendering them to the official or Justice when they return or at the end of the planned absence, whichever comes first. Should an official fail to post instructions for 2 consecutive turn chats without prior notice, the Judiciary may declare that office Vacant. If a Justice has not posted on any active Judicial matter for three days, the remaining Justices may declare the Justice Absent. If a Justice has not posted on any active Judicial matter for seven days, the remaining Justices may declare the office Vacant. If all three Justices fail to post on any active Judicial matter for 7 days, the President may declare all Judicial offices Vacant, and immediately appoint a Chief Justice.
Article R. Polling Standards
Any poll posted by a Citizen of the Democracy game is considered official and binding, unless otherwise stated. All polls must simply and clearly state the question and all options, and contain an abstain option. A poll should state the objectives of the poll and the time limit (if any) of the poll. A poll must also contain all releveant information, including links to the respective ministry thread, discussion, and other polls.
Article S. National Budget
The National Budgest consists of our national treasury(lump sum of gold), but does not include our additional gold per turn. It should be compiled and posted by the Domestic advisor each turnchat. It will include a list of the funds required for rushes, upgrades, trades, and espionage. Any instruction that is not listed inside of the national budget, is to be considered void. If the domestic minister decides to give certain elected officials a base sum of gold to use, then this must also be included within the national budget, with the maxium amount that can be used by that leader.
Section 1. Governor Loans
The Domestic Minister shall create a set point of funds to be spent each turnchat. If the current national budget has not reached that point, a governor may demand a rush, which consits of them informing the Domestic Advisor to add the rush to the National budget without the Domestic Advisors approval. However, if the total sum of gold for the rush will exceed the point defined by the Domestic Advisor, then a governor may not demand the rush. The governor's with more corrupt provinces get priority when demanding a rush, this will be decided by the Domestic advisor.
Article T. Chain of Command
The chain of command is used for determining the Designated Player of the chat, if the President has not assigned one. This is to be used if the assigned DP does not show up.
President
Vice President
Domestic Minister
Defense Minister
Trade Minister
Science Minister
Foreign Affairs Minister
Culture Minister
Governors (in order of date joined)
Deputies (in order of Minister)
.
