| Code of Laws of the South Pacific |
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[On March 02, 2015, we amended the following from below]
Article 5: Criminal Code 1. Treason shall be defined as plotting against the Coalition, seeking to lower the delegate's endorsement count without his or her consent, breaking the endorsement cap after receiving an official warning, aiding any entity in which the Coalition is taking defensive action against, or any entity in which a state of war exists with. 2. Identity fraud shall be defined as a deception made of one's self, or knowingly abetting in another's claims to a false identity, wherein this fraud threatens the security of The South Pacific, or circumvents the laws and legal processes of The South Pacific. 3. Espionage shall be defined as an act of or attempt to obtain information that is confidential or not made publicly available for use by oneself or an entity one represents. Distribution of private information that originates on the South Pacific Forum without the express written permission of the Cabinet of the South Pacific shall be considered Espionage. 4. Blackmail shall be defined as demanding private gains from a player in return for not revealing compromising or injurious information. 5. Miscarriage of Justice shall be defined as a deliberate perversion of the justice system - conduct which prevents the judiciary from reaching a true and just result. 6. Organised crime shall be defined as involvement in a group or association with the intent of committing an unlawful act in The South Pacific. 7. Corruption shall be defined as the misuse of public office for private or personal advantage. 8. Electoral Fraud shall be defined as a manipulation of the democratic process in The South Pacific, wherein an organised body of abettors conspire to obtain citizenship with the intent to vote for private or personal advantage. 9. Vexatious Charges shall be defined as the filing of criminal charges against another player despite the filing party's knowledge that that said charges were meritless, frivolous, repetitive, and/or burdensome. 10. Conduct violations shall be defined as breaking in-game NationStates rules. Article 6: Penal Code 1. If found guilty of an act of treason, the offending nation will be immediately banned from the in-game region and offsite forums. 2. Conduct violations are punishable by immediate ejection and banishment from the region, albeit punished parties may appeal this decision to the court. In most cases, nations that appeal the decision and apologize should expect to have their ban lifted. 3. If found guilty of any other crime listed above, the Judiciary will determine a sentence. The sentence must be proportionate to the offense. Article 7: Parole 1. After serving at least one year of a ban from the region and/or the regional forum, convicts may apply for parole to a parole board. 2. Said parole board shall consist of the Chair of the CSS, Chief Justice of the High Court and the Chair of the Assembly. 3. The parole board may decide to recommend parole to convicts, provided a majority of its members support this motion; this decision should consider the security of the region and the genuine willingness of the convict to reform their behavior. 4. If parole is granted, the regional and/or forum ban shall be revoked and the individual shall be allowed to reside in The South Pacific. 5. After six months of residency, the individual may apply for citizenship, albeit with a prohibition on holding office. 6. While on parole, the special parole board can decide at any time, by majority vote, to revoke an individual’s parole; this decision should consider the security of the region and the contributions of the individual to the region. 7. After six months of citizenship, the individual may apply to the parole board for the prohibition on holding office to be lifted. The parole board can grant this motion, provided a majority of the board supports – and in doing so, the individual will no longer be held under any conditions of parole. 8. At each point of the parole process, prior to the parole board's decision, the Assembly shall be informed of a request and citizens shall be allotted one week to formally present briefs to the parole board regarding to the convicted, their past crimes and the appropriateness of parole. 9. Changes to the parole system shall not affect the current status of parolees. Although any new procedure shall be followed hereafter.
[On March 06, we amended Article 1 from the below]
Article 1: Elections Section 1 - General Elections 1. Elections for all Cabinet positions shall commence on the fifteenth of every March, July, and November. 2. Elections for Court Justices shall commence on the first of every April, August, and December. 3. Terms for all Cabinet positions shall commence on the first of every April, August, and December, and terms for Justices shall commence on the fifteenth of every April, August, and December. 4. All elections shall consist of a pre-voting period lasting six days and a voting period lasting three days. Citizens shall have to declare their candidacy or accept their nomination within the first three days of the pre-voting period. 5. Runoff elections will begin within twenty-four hours of the initial vote closing and consist of a voting period lasting three days. 6. No one can run for or hold more than one Cabinet position, or more than one Justice position, or both a Cabinet and a Justice position at any given time. 7. Candidates for elections may self-declare or be nominated by another Citizen. Candidates must file a Conflict of Interest Disclosure at the time of their acceptance of a nomination or self-declaration. 8. Nominations may be accepted in absentia, as long as they are sent to the Election Commissioner at most two weeks before the start of the pre-voting period, and include a Conflict of Interest disclosure. 9. Conflict of Interest Disclosures must include current World Assembly Nation, all past and present aliases used, all past and present involvement in other regions and organizations, and all current positions held across NationStates. Section 2 - Position Specificities 1. The Delegate and Vice Delegate will run on a joint ticket and be elected by a majority vote. If no ticket receives a majority vote a runoff election with the two tickets receiving the most votes will occur. 2. Cabinet offices will be voted on separately and be elected by a plurality vote. Court Justices will be voted through a single ballot, with the three candidates who receive the most votes winning seats. 3. In all elections an option to re-open nominations will be included. For non-judicial elections, if this option receives the most votes the nomination period for that office will be restarted. 4. For Court Justice elections, if the option to Re-Open Nominations receives enough votes to be placed within the top four, then the nomination period will be restarted for all seats with lesser votes than this option. The candidates who receive the top votes will win however many seats are left to be filled. Section 3 - Vacancies 1. In the event that no candidate runs for an available office the newly elected Cabinet will appoint a Citizen to fill the vacancy. 2. Vacancies in office occur when the office holder resigns, is recalled, or no longer holds citizenship. In the event of a vacancy in office a special election will begin within 72 hours of the office becoming vacant, unless the vacancy occurs in the month prior to the start of the term for the position in question; in this case the Cabinet will appoint a Citizen to fill the vacated position for the remainder of the term. Section 4 - Election Commission 1. Elections will be run by a member of the forum administration staff, acting as an election commissioner. 2. A designated Election Commissioner may be appointed if all members of the administration staff will be candidates in the given election, or if no administrator is able to be an Election Commissioner.
[Article 7 was amended from the below on July 29, 2015]
Article 7: Prohibited Regions and Organizations 1. The Cabinet and/or Committee for State Security (C SS) may request the Assembly designate foreign regions and organizations deemed hostile to The South Pacific as Prohibited Groups. Such requests must be accompanied with a report detailing those activities that meet the definitions of hostility detailed in clause 2 of this Article. 2. For the purposes of this article, hostility shall constitute foreign regions or organizations that (1) were actively involved and complicit in an attempt, successful or otherwise, to illegally overthrow the legitimate government of The South Pacific; (2) have coordinated efforts to directly exploit the elections or Assembly of The South Pacific; (3) groups that have engaged in or have attempted to engage in coordinated espionage against The South Pacific government or military; or (4) groups that have or have attempted to sabotage The South Pacific's military operations. 3. For the purposes of this article, being on opposite sides of a military engagement, provided the target-region is not an ally or a region that The South Pacific is at war with, shall not constitute sabotage of The South Pacific's military operations. 4. Membership in a designated Prohibited Group is prohibited within The South Pacific and grounds for revocation of citizenship, following a 7 day grace period to allow renunciation of membership in the Prohibited Group. The seven days grace period begins immediately after the notification of the citizen in question that they are a member of a Prohibited Group by the Vice Delegate or a member of the CSS. 5. Any individual whose citizenship has been revoked for membership in a designated Prohibited Group may contest their membership in the Prohibited Group to the High Court within 7 days of their citizenship being revoked. The High Court shall uphold the revocation of citizenship if the individual is found to have been a member of a designated Prohibited Group at the time of citizenship revocation and shall reinstate citizenship if the individual is found not to have been a member of a designated Prohibited Group at the time of citizenship revocation. 6. Applicants for citizenship who are members of a designated Prohibited Group shall not be granted citizenship unless they renounce membership in the Prohibited Group. 7. Membership in a designated Prohibited Group does not constitute a criminal offense; failure to disclose such membership shall constitute fraud. 8. Regions at war with The South Pacific or with which The South Pacific is at war shall be automatically considered Prohibited Groups. The Assembly may further designate Prohibited Groups via a vote with a 60% majority in favor, should the Cabinet and/or CSS request such a designation. The Assembly may rescind a Prohibited Group designation via a vote with a 60% majority in favor. 9. The following regions and organizations are deemed Prohibited Groups within The South Pacific: None. 10. The Chair of the Assembly shall update clause 9 of this article to reflect The South Pacific's current Prohibited Groups.
[Articles 3, 4 and 6 were amended from the below on August 31, 2015]
Article 3: South Pacific Special Forces 1. The South Pacific Special Forces, herein referred to as the SPSF, is established as the sole Armed Force within the Coalition of the South Pacific. 2. The SPSF will be led by the Minister of the Army and a panel of three Generals, herein referred to as the General Corps, selected by the Assembly and serving a life term. 3. The Minister of the Army will recommend Citizens to serve in the General Corps upon the passage of this document and in the event of a vacancy. The nominee must be approved by the Assembly, which will recommend replacements if the reject a nomination. 4. The General Corps is responsible for the planning of and overseeing of all missions of the SPSF. 5. The SPSF must, at all times, observe our laws, policies, the charter and our legal and contractual obligations, defend The South Pacific, refrain from conduct abroad which contradicts foreign policy and make an effort to include, welcome and accommodate all citizens as members, regardless of their beliefs. 6. The SPSF will be permitted to carry out offensive, defensive, support, and various types of operations as seen fit by the Minister of the Army. 7. The Minister of the Army and General Corps will be responsible for creating further regulations for the SPSF and presenting them to the Assembly for passage in accordance with normal Assembly policy. 8. The SPSF will be responsible for carrying out all operations relating to a Declaration of War passed by the Assembly. A declaration of war is not inherently necessary for the SPSF to act against a foreign entity and/or organization. 9. During the month of May, September and January, the Assembly will prepare a resolution to serve as a mid-term review of the SPSF's development, activity and leadership, with comments, feedback and suggestions for future reform. 10. To prepare such a review, the Minister of Army shall be invited to discuss the performance of the SPSF to the Assembly. Article 4: Holidays 1. January the 1st shall be declared Delegates Day, celebrating those who have served as Delegate of the Coalition. 2. April the 23rd through April the 27th shall be declared Foundation Week, celebrating the creation of the South Pacific. 3. June the 2nd shall be declared Coalition Day, celebrating the creation of the Charter, Government, and the Coalition. 4. July the 20th shall be declared Independence Day, celebrating our freedom and independence, marking the end of UCR control over the South Pacific. 5. November the 13th shall be declared Creation Day, celebrating the creation of NationStates. Article 6: Sunshine Provisions 1. The discussions of the Cabinet shall be released every 8 months for public archival accessible to all citizens. 2. The Cabinet may institute a classification system to ensure that discussions that are still undergoing or discussions that would seriously threaten the security of the region are not released too early. 3. The Cabinet shall regularly update the classification status of its discussions and not abuse the classification system to prevent its discussions from being published. 4. The Cabinet may publish its discussions at earlier intervals if it wishes or has been petitioned to do so by a Citizen. 5. The Cabinet may refuse to publish a discussion that has been petitioned by a Citizen. The reasons for which as well as the discussions in questions must be made available to the High Court. The High Court may overturn the Cabinet refusal to publish a discussion. 6. In the event that Cabinet discussions older than 8 months have failed to be published, the current Cabinet must publish those discussions in a speedy manner.
Amended 2 January 2015
The Code of Laws was amended as follows on 18 January 2016:
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