Here is the newest form of the Code of Laws proposal. I've taken Oct's re-formatted version (with a few modifictions). I've also added in turnchats and the turnchat instruction thread (which is disturbingly missing from the current CoL which is part of the reason why I forgot to do it in this proposal).
Other than that, I've added in "The Library" which is basically the Information Department under a differant name. Information Department has always sounded abit cheesy to me, so this is basically just a cosmetic change. I've also defined the purpose of Bureau's and Bureau Chiefs.
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Element A. The Government
The Government shall consist of the Executive Branch, Legislative Branch and Judicial Branch. These branches and the Citizenry as a whole are responsible for the management of the nation.
Element B. The Executive Branch
The Executive Branch of Government shall consist of the Office of President, as well as the several Advisors. These Advisors post discussions and polls over duties they are charged with as listed below.
Section 1. Office of the President
The President shall be the Head of State of the nation, as well as the leader of the Executive Branch of Government. Specifically, the President shall be responsible for coordinating the efforts his various Advisors. The President shall also be responsible for any duty not specifically assigned to any of the Advisors, including the management of the budget and of the slider, as well as Civic choices for the nation.
Section 2. Office of War
The foremost priority of the Office of War in both peacetime and war shall be the defense of the nation. The War Advisor shall be responsible for the management of all offensive and defensive units. The Advisor shall also be responsible for tactical and strategic planning during war. The Advisor may assign military units to the Office of Foreign Affairs as the Advisor shall see fit.
Section 3. Office of Culture
The Cultural Advisor shall be responsible for the movement of settlers, as well as planning for city placement. The Advisor shall also be charged with the formation of national boundaries and the monitoring of national culture levels. The Office of Culture shall also be tasked with placement of Wonders of all types, as well as overseeing the spread of religion, though the Cultural Advisor shall not initiate Civic changes. The Advisor shall also monitor Great People Points, and shall control all Great Artists and Great Prophets.
Section 4. Office of Foreign Affairs
The Foreign Affairs Advisor shall be charged with the negotiation of treaties, as well as all espionage-related activities. The Advisor shall also be responsible for all exploration activity, and therefore shall control all non-military scouting units (including Scouts, Explorers, Caravels, etc., and other units that may be assigned to the Office of Foreign Affairs by the Office of War as the War Advisor may see fit). The Advisor shall be responsible for all trading activity (including trading of technology and resources). The Advisor shall also control Great Merchants.
Section 5. Office of Research and Development
Research and Development Advisor shall control all worker units of the nation, and shall also direct technological research. The Advisor shall also control all Great Scientists and Great Engineers.
Section 6. The Office of the Censor
The Censor of the Assembly shall be tasked with validating polls, managing elections, and determining the census. Within two days of initially taking office, the Censor shall post Procedures for polling, which must define procedures for Initiative, Referendum, and Recall. Polls shall always be validated based on the Procedures in place when the poll was initially posted. The Censor shall also be responsible for polling the names of cities, units, geographic regions, as well as polling for the nation’s name and national symbols.
Section 7. Designated Players
The Designated Players shall be responsible for physically playing the saved game. Designated Players must first follow the posted current instructions and goals of a leader. Should no posted instruction exist, the Designated Player during his session may take guidance from polls. Should no such relevant polling data exist, the Designated Player may take guidance from discussion within the Democracy Game forum. Should no such relevant discussion exist, the Designated Player may take guidance from other citizens in the Democracy Game chatroom, should the session be online.
Section 8. The Governors
The Governors of the States shall be charged with the management and specialization of a single city or state. In cities assigned to that Governor, a Governor may specify certain A.I. specialization, or may individually place population to work certain tiles and hire specialists. The Governor may also set the build queues for all assigned cities.
Element C. The Legislative Branch
The Legislative Branch shall consist of The Senate.
Section 1. The Senate
The Senate is formed by all Citizens of the nation. The total number of Citizens in the Assembly shall be determined by the Census. The Assembly shall be charged with the formation and passing of laws.
Element D. The Census and amending the Code of Laws
The average of the number of votes cast in each of the most recent contested elections shall constitute an active census of citizens. The highest vote total of these elections shall constitute a full census (the House). A simple majority of the house must be achieved for an amendment to pass. An amendment must pass a Judicial Review and be open for discussion for 72 hours before a poll may be posted. The poll must remain open for 48 hours.
Element E. The Election process
Elections shall decide who among the citizenry are trusted to manage the game. The President, the Advisors, Judiciary, Governors, and Designated Players are all elected. Each of these poistions, excepting the Judiciary, shall have a deputy chosen by the winning citizen. The Election process shall be made up of Nominations, Debates, and the Elections themselves. No citizen may hold the same office for 2 consecutive terms.
Section 1. Nominations and Debates
Nominations shall be posted atleast 8 days before the end of the term, debates will last through the duration of the nominations. Nominations will be closed when the election polls start.
Section 2. Election Polls
Election Polls shall be posted atleast 4 days before the end of the term, and will be set to run for 3 days (72 hours). The candidate with the highest number of votes at the end of the 3 days is considered the winner. If two candidates tie, then a run-off poll, lasting 2 days (48 hours) is posted with just those two canidates which will continue as needed. The election for designated players shall be multiple choice, and list all of the possible candidates. Any candidate that recieves over 50% of the vote is a designated player for that term.
Section 3. Judicial Terms
The Judiciary shall remain in power one week after the election of a new Judiciary. At this time, the newly elected Judiciary shall take over.
Element F. Vacant Poistions
An advisor or Justice may declare themselves to be Absent for a period of time. This period may not exceed 2 weeks. 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. If this period exceeds one week, then the deputy or pro-term may keep the power and duties of the office, unless they decide to give it up. Should an official fail to post in the DG forum for 3 days in a thread related to their area without prior notice, the Judiciary may declare that office Vacant.
Section 1. Filling Vacant Offices:
The President will appoint a citizen to any vacant office. The appointment is subject to a conformation poll, set to run for 3 days. If the Presidential seat is vacant then the Advisor of Foreign Affairs appoints a President.
Section 2. Judicial Absence's
If a Justice has not posted on any active Judicial matter for seven days, the remaining Justices may declare the Justice Vacant. If all three Justices fail to post on any active Judicial matter for seven days, the President may declare all Judicial offices Vacant, and immediately appoint a new Chief Justice. The remaining members of the Judiciary appoint a replacement for a vacant Justice.
Element G. Recall
Any citizen may request a recall for an elected official by posting a thread in the Citizens forum, citing the reasons for the recall. If two or more citizens support the recall, the Chief Justice must post a recall poll. The poll must run for 3 days, be private, and be set up in a Yes/No/Abstain. If 2/3 of the census votes to recall an official, then the official is removed from office, and the office becomes vacant. In the case of a Judicial recall, the President will handle the recall poll.
Element H. Referendum
A referendum is the submission of a proposed public measure or a decree to a direct popular vote, it is the second highest form of decision making. A referendum must comply with all polling procedures. Referendums are a direct result of an elected official carrying out their duties.
Element I. Initiative
An initiative is executive legislation created, proposed, and approved by the citizens. It is the highest form of decision making, and over-rides any other decisions, excempting a decision tasked to do so.
Section 1. Proposing an Initiative
Any citizen of the democracy game can propose an initiative. An initiative must receive atleast 3 days of discussions and two days of polling. Initiatives only hold power during the term they are approved, unless otherwise stated.
Element J. Sunset Clause
A sunset clause is an emergency legislative act. It must be discussed for 48 hours, and receive 24 hours of polling. A simple majority of the house is required to pass the clause. A sunset clause will automatically be removed at the end of the term it was passed in, or during a other pre-determined time. At this time changes made by the sunset clause will revert back to it's original state.
Element K. Turnchats
All irreversible game actions must progress during a scheduled game session called a turnchat. Reversible game actions (i.e. build queues) that adhere to legal instructions can be prepared offline before the scheduled game session.
Section 1. Turnchat Instruction Thread
A Designated Player shall post a turnchat instruction thread 3 days before the scheduled turnchat. All executive advisors shall post instructions, based on citizen approval, in the instruction thread. These instructions are then used by the Designated Player to play the save. Advisors must post their instructions appro. 2 hours before the turnchat. The turnchat instruction thread is the only legal method of giving instructions to the designated player.
Element L. Liberare of Information
The Liberare or Library is a collection of game, save, and constitutional information. The Library is headed by a Director who is appointed by the President. The Director can then dictate additional tasks to Bureau Chiefs, who then take charge of a Bureau. The Library shall keep a record of all Bureau's and their purpose. The Director is charged with supplying save information at the citizens discretion.
Why not stick with a week like we've pretty much always had.
) Shouldn't they be a part of the Executive - they execute power for their own cities/states?
![[civ4]](/images/smilies/civ4.gif "Civ4 [civ4]")
game actions.
) made it clear that changes to the Triumvirate proposal which deleted the Tri concept were simply not going to be accepted under any circumstances. Go ahead and allow changes to the things you aren't adament about, to get the approval of that small percentage of people who will lead the stampede either for or against your proposal. Don't argue with them, don't upset them, or they will shoot you down without blinking an eye, whether it's a good concept or not.
