From ???@??? Tue Sep 30 19:36:26 1997 Received: from testserver.microstate.com (testserver.microstate.com [208.215.57.15]) by ax.ibase.br (8.8.5/Revision: 1.6 ) with ESMTP id OAA00796 for ; Tue, 30 Sep 1997 14:05:33 -0300 (EST) Received: (from majordomo@localhost) by testserver.microstate.com (8.8.5/8.8.5) id NAA25938 for loss-list; Tue, 30 Sep 1997 13:08:04 -0400 Received: from geocities.com (mail4.geocities.com [206.111.43.204]) by testserver.microstate.com (8.8.5/8.8.5) with ESMTP id NAA25932 for ; Tue, 30 Sep 1997 13:07:52 -0400 Received: from 164.109.213.86 (a-ko.digex.net [164.109.213.86]) by geocities.com (8.8.5/8.8.5) with SMTP id KAA03233 for ; Tue, 30 Sep 1997 10:03:04 -0700 (PDT) Message-ID: <343130DF.65CD@geocities.com> Date: Tue, 30 Sep 1997 13:03:28 -0400 From: Lise Mendel Organization: League of Secessionist States X-Mailer: Mozilla 3.0 (Macintosh; I; 68K) MIME-Version: 1.0 To: League Mailing List Subject: League Charter Content-Type: text/plain; charset=iso-8859-1 Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit Sender: owner-loss@lists.microstate.com Precedence: bulk Reply-To: loss@lists.microstate.com Now that I have the mailing list up and running the League will be more accessible. The mailing list goes to delegates, observers and applicants to the league. Please note that the default "reply to" address is the mailing list, not the individual sender. For the first message to the list, here's the first draft of the Charter. The charter itself specifies 60 days (until 29 November, 1997) with immediate applicibility. I am using Executive force to suspend this for seven days (until 7 October, 1997) to give all members ample time to check e-mail and read the document. If there are serious objections to any provision in the Charter they are to be brought to the attention of the General Assembly within that time, and, if needed, an emergency session will be held. Barring this action, the Charter will be in force effective after the one week waiting period is over. -- Lise Mendel Secretary General of the League of Secessionist States http://www.geocities.com/CapitolHill/5111/ ˆTHE CHARTER˜ of the League of Secessionist States œ ˆPreamble˜ Had I plantation of this isle, my lord... and were the king on't, what would I do?... In the commonwealth I would by contraries Execute all things,... All things in common nature should produce Without sweat or endeavour; treason, felony, Sword, pike, knife, gun, or need of any engine Would I not have... I would with such perfection govern, sir, To excel the Golden Age. -William Shakespeare, The Tempest, Act II, Scene i 1. Whereas the desire for independence is one of the most basic human driving forces, present in all peoples, there have been many who have sought to secede from their mother countries and face the perils and rewards of independent nations. 2. It is therefore just and proper that a permanent body be set up to recognize and give aid to the common experiences, friendships, and diplomatic links between these nations. 3. Therefore, this document establishes the League of Secessionist States (LOSS) as a permanent entity to serve as a common bond, forum, and dispute regulating mechanism between the several micronations inhabiting the World. œ ^L ˆArticle I˜ Definitions 1. In this Charter, the following words are defined as follows: i. "micronation" means a nation-state which has seceded from a canon country but, for one reason or another, has failed to achieve recognition by canon countries. ii. "canon country" means a nation-state whose independence is generally recognized. iii. "secession" means a formal declaration of independence made by a micronation. iv. "independence" means the possession, by a nation-state, of territory, a permanent population, the capacity to enter into relations with other nation- states, and a government. v. "territory" means an area of the surface of the Earth or of another planetary body which is formally claimed as the physical component of a nation-state. vi. "permanent population" means a person or persons who owe allegiance to, and who have citizenship in, a given nation vii. "government" means a political structure which exercises dominion over a nation- state, as opposed to anarchy. viii. "member-state" means a micronation which has successfully petitioned for and obtained membership in the LOSS. ix. "website" means a hypertext document available for public view on the World Wide Web. x. "e-mail" means: a) a message sent over the electronic mail service of the Internet; b) this means of communication, or c) to send a message using this means of communication. xi. "delegate" means the agent which each member-state of LOSS sends as its representatives to LOSS. xii. "secretary-general" means the leader of the LOSS, elected as prescribed in Article X, section n. xiii. "vote" means a vote of the General Assembly, as provided for in Article III, Section 1, Subsection iii. 2. The feminine pronoun shall be construed to include the masculine. œ ^L ˆArticle II˜ Membership 1. The following steps must be taken by a micronation in order to acquire membership in the LOSS. i. The authorized agent of the micronation to conduct diplomatic affairs (hereinafter referred to as the "petitioner") shall complete and mail in the form at the Micronations Database at the LOSS website. ii. The petitioning micronation must be sponsored by a current member-state in good standing. ii. The petitioner shall send email to all delegates announcing her nation's petition for entry. iii. The secretary-general shall call a vote asking whether the petitioner's nation shall be admitted into LOSS. iv. If the vote be affirmative, the petitioning micronation shall immediately become a member-state of LOSS, and the petitioner shall become the petitioning nation's delegate to LOSS. v. A vote shall be taken on the petition only if the petitioning micronation has made available by email or on an official web page pertinent information regarding its governmental structure. vi. A vote shall be taken on the petition only if the petitioning micronation has been independent of its canon country for more than six (6) months. 2. The following steps shall be taken by the LOSS to rescind the membership of a member-state. i. A member-state may have its membership rescinded if: a) it declares war on a member-state nation; b) it acts in a fashion prejudicial to the security a member-state nation of LOSS; c) it acts in a fashion prejudicial to the security of LOSS; d) it fails to vote in at least three consecutive votes, without prior notice as to why it should be unable to vote, or e) it acts in another fashion which is determined by the secretary-general to be grounds for expulsion. ii. A report shall be filed by email to all LOSS delegates, reporting on the nature of the offence. This report shall be filed by: a) in the case of an offence under subsection i, paragraphs a) and b), the delegate for the member-state wronged; or b) in the case of all other offences, by the secretary-general. iii. After this report has been filed, the delegate of the member-state whose expulsion is being considered (the "defendant") shall file a rebuttal by email to all LOSS delegates, reporting on any mitigating circumstances and/or making other defences to the accusations. iv. After these reports have been filed, the Secretary General shall call a vote as to whether the defendant shall be expelled. The defendant and the party listed in subsection ii shall not be permitted to vote. A quorum of at least 75% of the membership shall be required. A simple majority of affirmative votes shall constitute an affirmative result, unless the grounds for expulsion is under subsection i, in which case only a unanimous affirmative vote will constitute an affirmative result. v. In the case of an affirmative result, the defendant shall be stripped of LOSS membership and not be permitted to reapply for one (1) year. vi. Notwithstanding subsections i-v, a member-state may withdraw when it wants to, in which case it will not be permitted to reapply for six (6) months. 3. If a member-state wishes to admit a new delegate, the following procedures shall be taken. i. The outgoing delegate shall issue a memorandum by email confirming her resignation. ii. The incoming delegate, appointed by the proper procedure according to the laws of her micronation, shall issue a memorandum by email confirming her appointment. iii. The secretary-general shall issue an updated list of LOSS delegates' email addresses to all delegates. œ ^L ˆArticle III˜ Organs 1. The General Assembly i. The General Assembly shall be the voting body of the LOSS. ii. It shall be composed of one (1) delegate from each member-state, appointed internally by the member-state. iii. All communication within the General Assembly shall be done by email sent to all delegates and to the secretary-general, except as provided for elsewhere in this Charter. iii. Whenever a resolution comes to a vote, the following procedure shall be used. a) Any delegate may raise a resolution to be voted on. b) The secretary-general may call a vote on the resolution. c) The delegates shall then have fourteen (14) days in which to vote. d) Each delegate shall vote by email sent to all delegates and to the secretary-general, voting once and only once, choosing one of the following: i) "aye", representing support for the resolution; ii) "nay", representing opposition to the resolution; iii) "abstaining", representing no vote on the resolution. iv) If a member-state abstains, it does not count towards expulsion under Article II, Section 2, Subsection i, paragraph d) v) An abstention counts towards establishing quorum up to a total of three (3) abstentions on a single vote. e) After the fourteen (14)-day voting period, the secretary-general shall count the votes and announce the results. f) A quorum of 50% of the delegates voting shall be necessary for the vote to be valid. g) If quorum is reached and the majority of the delegates who vote, vote "aye", the resolution shall pass. h) If quorum is not reached or if the majority of the delegates who vote, vote "nay", then the resolution shall fall. i) If quorum is met and a tie is achieved, the secretary-general shall cast a tie-breaking vote. 2. The Secretariat i. The secretary-general shall be the leader of the LOSS, elected from and by its member-states. ii. The secretary-general shall be elected as follows: a) The outgoing secretary-general shall announce her resignation to the delegates. b) Within fourteen (14) days of the resignation of the outgoing secretary- general, citizens of the member-states may announce their candidacy to the delegates. No more than one citizen of each member-state may declare her candidacy. The outgoing secretary-general may become a candidate. c) After this period, the delegates shall vote for a candidate. Each delegate shall vote once and only once. d) The candidate for whom the majority of votes are cast shall become the new secretary-general. In case of a tie, the candidates who are tied shall run again, alone, and be voted on according to paragraph 3. iii. In case of gross abuse of powers, the secretary-general may be removed from office by a 75% affirmative vote of the General Assembly. iv. An election for secretary-general must be called every year. v. No-one shall serve as secretary-general and as a delegate at the same time. 3. The Undersecretariat i. The undersecretary-general shall be an assistant to the secretary-general and shall assume the office of secretary-general if there is no secretary-general. ii. The undersecretary-general shall be elected as follows: After a vote for secretary-general as described in Section 2, Subsection ii, the candidate for whom the second-highest number of votes are cast shall become the new undersecretary-general. In case of a tie, the secretary-general-elect shall choose one of the tied candidates to be the undersecretary-general. iii. If only one person runs for secretary-general, the secretary-general-elect shall choose the undersecretary-general. 4. Court of Justice i. Membership a) The Court of Justice shall consist of three delegates ("justices") selected from the membership on a rotating basis determined by the member- states' admission date into the League. When more than one member- state was admitted on the same date the order shall be determined alphabetically among those states whose admission dates are the same. The term for membership on the Court of Justice shall be six months. b) The first Court shall be constituted of the first member-state admitted to the League whose delegate shall serve for a term of four months, the second member-states admitted whose delegate shall serve for 8 months and the third member-state admitted whose delegate shall serve for one year. Following the first class delegates shall take the seat of the expiring member-state in the order of their admittance to the League and shall serve for a term of six months. c) If a delegate wishes to retire from his seat on the Court on behalf of his nation prior to the expiration of the term for his seat, the General- Secretary shall appoint a delegate to serve the remainder of the unexpired term. This shall not affect the regular six month term served by the member-state's delegate. d) If a delegate retires from the League or is replaced by another delegate through the lawful procedures established by the member-state during his tenure on the Court, the new delegate shall assume the seat on the Court vacated by the retiring delegate. ii. Jurisdiction a) The Court of Justice shall be the court of original jurisdiction for all disputes within the League. b) The Court shall be the final arbiter of decisions pertaining to resolutions which may violate the spirit or the letter of the Charter of the League of Secessionist States. c) A decision of the Court may be overturned by a properly introduced resolution which receives an affirmative vote of 2/3 of the delegates except as noted in Article III, Section 4, Subsection ii, Paragraph b), in which case the decision may only be overturned by amending the Charter as specified in Article VIII. d) Any delegate may present a case to the Court, but in no case shall a delegate presenting a case participate as a justice of the Court. In the event that a justice of the Court shall be presenting a case, the secretary- general shall assume the member's seat on the Court until the conclusion of the case so brought before the Court. 5. Committees i. If and when the secretary-general should decide that a piece of legislation or other matter requires a group to investigate it, she shall form a committee to perform this function. ii. The committee members shall be chosen from among the delegates by the secretary-general. iii. The size of the committee shall be at the discretion of the secretary-general. iv. The committee members and the secretary-general shall agree upon a deadline for the committee's report. v. After the committee has given its report to the General Assembly, at the discretion of the secretary-general the committee shall be left standing, or dissolved. œ ^L ˆArticle IV˜ Settlement of Disputes 1. Any war or threat of war is to be considered of grave concern to the LOSS, whether immediately affecting any member-state of the League or not, and the League shall take such action as it may deem wise and prudent to safeguard the peace of Nations. If the secretary-general deems it necessary she may call an emergency session of the General Assembly to review the matter. 2. It is the right and duty of each member-state of the League to bring to the attention of the General Assembly any situation or circumstance which may adversely affect the peace thus far nurtured within the micronational community. 3. Arbitration i. The member-states of the League agree and covenant that if there should arise between them any situation or circumstance likely to disrupt the peace so established and diplomacy having failed to alleviate the disagreement, they shall submit to judicial review or arbitration. ii. Circumstances suitable for submission to judicial settlement or arbitration shall include interpretation of a treaty, questions of international law, breach of international obligation, extent and nature of reparations for any such breach, or any other matter to which a party determines may be injurious to the peace or general welfare of the micronational community. iii. The court of original jurisdiction for such disputes shall be the Micronational Court of Justice as established in Article III, Section iv of this Charter or any tribunal or arbiter agreed upon by the parties to the dispute or stipulated in any convention or treaty existing between them. iv. Member-states of the League agree and covenant that they will carry out in good faith any award or decision that may be rendered by the Micronation Court of Justice, tribunal, or arbiter as a result of any dispute herein discussed and will not resort to war or threat of war against any member-state which complies therewith. In the event of a failure to comply with such justly determined awards or decisions, the General Assembly shall establish what steps should be taken to give effect thereto. œ ^L ˆArticle V˜ Recourse to Breach of Peace or Acts of Aggression 1. Disputes between Member-States i. Should there arise a dispute between member-states of the League which is not submitted to judicial settlement or arbitration in accordance with Article IV, Section 3, Subsection i, the member-states agree that they will submit the matter to the General Assembly. Any party to the dispute may effect such submission by giving notice to the General-Secretary who shall make the necessary arrangements for a full investigation and consideration thereof. ii. The parties to the dispute shall forward to the secretary-general within thirty days of request, statements of their case with supporting facts and documents which the secretary-general shall cause to be published to the delegates of the League. iii. Settlement a) The General Assembly shall attempt to effect a settlement of the dispute and, if successful, publish a statement of the facts and explanations as well as the terms of the settlement. These finding shall become a part of the public records of the League. b) The General Assembly shall take into account any procedures for the settlement of the dispute which have already been agreed to by the parties involved. c) Member-states who are not a party to the dispute not supporting the decision of the General Assembly may include a dissenting opinion that shall be included as a part of the public record. 2. Should any member-state of the League resort to war or threat of war in disregard of its covenants under the present Charter, it shall be deemed to have committed a declaration of war against all member-states which hereby undertake to immediately subject said aggressor to the severance of all trade and relations between itself and the said aggressor. 3. Dispute Involving Non-Member State i. In the event of a dispute between a member-state and a state which is not a member or between states which are not members of the League, the non- member state or states shall be offered to accept the obligations of membership for the purposes of resolution of the dispute. If such invitation is accepted, the provisions outlined in Article IV, Section iii shall apply unless modified by the General Assembly. ii. Upon acceptance by the non-member state or states of the offer of dispute resolution as outlined above, the General Assembly shall carry out an investigation as outlined in Article V, Section i of this Charter. iii. If the non-member state or states shall resort to war or threat of war as a means of dispute resolution said state or states shall be subject to the provisions outlined in Article V, Section ii. iv. If both parties to the dispute are non-members states and refuse to accept the obligations of membership in the League for the purposes of resolving said dispute, the General Assembly shall take such measures and make such recommendations as it deems prudent and proper to prevent hostilities, protect the interests of LOSS member-states, and result in peaceful settlement of the dispute. œ ˆArticle VI˜ Regional Arrangements and Treaties 1. All member-states are free to negotiate, ratify, and conduct separate treaties or covenants with other micronations and canonical nations whether they are LOSS members or not, as long as the stipulations of the treaty do not require the signatories who are LOSS members to behave in a way contrary to the LOSS charter. 2. Separate treaties should be registered with the signatories involved. 3. Should the LOSS, or any LOSS member, wish to view any treaty or regional arrangement made by a LOSS member, that member should be willing to procure a copy of the treaty for the LOSS or the nation requesting. œ ˆArticle VII˜ Miscellaneous Provisions 1. The LOSS, being an organization that conducts business over the Internet, shall have no fixed physical seat per se. For practical purposes, the seat of the LOSS will be considered to be the city, province, or micronation the Secretary-General resides in. œ ^L ˆArticle VIII˜ Amendment 1. If a member-state desires to amend, change, revoke, or add to a portion of this Charter, its delegate shall prepare a motion to that effect. 2. The motion shall be put forward and voted on in the General Assembly according to Section III, Subsection i. 3. In order for the motion to pass, a quorum of 75% and a 66% majority shall be required. 4. Once the motion is passed, the Charter shall be amended accordingly, all obsolete official copies destroyed, and the new version ratified according to Article IX. œ ˆArticle IX˜ Ratification 1. Once the draft of this Charter is finished, it shall be e-mailed to all delegates. 2. Within a period of 60 days after the draft is submitted, delegates may respond with suggestions for amendment. i. If an amendment is suggested, all delegates shall vote according to Article III, Section i. If the resolution is passed, the draft shall be amended accordingly and the revised draft e-mailed to all delegates. 3. After the 60-day amendment period, a copy of this Charter shall be printed into hard- copy and forwarded to each delegate in turn. 4. After the hard copy is signed by each delegate, it shall be forwarded to the acting secretary-general for her signature. Once she signs it, it shall be in full force. 5. This article shall be in full force as soon as the initial draft of the Charter is submitted. œ ^L Whereas we, the Delegates of the Member-States of the League of Secessionist States, hereby approve of, ratify, and confirm the force of this Charter, we have affixed our several marks and seals hereto. Witnesseth: ________________________________________________________________________ His Imperial Majesty Emperor Dale I Emperor of Ældaria Delegate from the Empire of Ældaria ________________________________________________________________________ His Imperial Majesty Emporer Thomas Rigo Haug Emporer of Identidem de Lati Delegate from the Empire of Identidem de Lati ________________________________________________________________________ His Majesty King Theron Paul King of Landreth Delegate from the Kingdom of Landreth ________________________________________________________________________ His Excellency J. Alan Davis Ambassador Plenipotentiary of Malveale Delegate from the Sovereign Republic of Malveale ________________________________________________________________________ His Excellency Darryl Kummerow Ambassador to the LOSS Delegate from the Estates of Malagis ________________________________________________________________________ His Majesty King Remick Maximilian King of Merovingia Delegate from the Kingdom of Merovingia ________________________________________________________________________ His Supernal Majesty King Matthew I Most Serene and Excellent King of Nikhedonia Delegate from The Most Serene and Excellent Kingdom of Nikhedonia ________________________________________________________________________ His Excellency David Kendall Foreign Minister of Port Colice Delegate from the Commonwealth of Port Colice ^L ________________________________________________________________________ His Grace Chancellor Daniel, Duke of Aguiar Ambassador to the LOSS Delegate from the Kingdom of Porto Claro ________________________________________________________________________ His Majesty King Torsten Ott King of Riesenguthland-Ellermark Delegate from the Kingdom of Riesenguthland-Ellermark ________________________________________________________________________ His Excellency Evan Gallagher Foreign Minister of Talossa Delegate from the Kingdom of Talossa Whereas I, the Secretary-General of the League of Secessionist States, have received and do approve of and ratify this document, proclaiming it in force, I attach my sign and mark hereto. Witnesseth: ________________________________________________________________________ Her Excellency Lise Mendel Secretary-General of the League of Secessionist States