Commonwealth of Sovereign Allies

The Commonwealth of Sovereign Allies CHARTER



Preamble

The CSA was founded when Numa Maximus, the first Grand Chancellor, decided to form an alliance to become a sister to its counterpart, the United Commonwealth of Nations. Together they hope to integrate and become a CN power, and be a bastion of true democracy, strong brotherhood and a champion of justice and rights on Planet Bob.

Article I: Membership (Admission and Secession)

Part 1a: Admission

All nations, whether in existence now or in the future, regardless of team colour or past alliance membership has the right to apply for membership in The Commonwealth. This cannot be denied in any circumstance, unless the potential member has a history of offences against The Commonwealth, or The Commonwealth is not accepting new applicants, in which case admission may be denied.

A potential member must fill out an information form, and post it in the appropriate topic in the New Member Academy on the CSA forums.

Unfortunately, to protect existing members against attack, should the applying nation be engaged in war, whether against aligned or unaligned nations, then admission will be denied. However, the application will not be removed but will be put on hold until all wars expire, unless the potential member wishes otherwise. Once all wars have ended, the applying nation will then be automatically accepted into The Commonwealth; no second application is necessary.

After the Application is looked over by a member of the government (Tier 3 or higher), the aspiring member will be masked as a CSA Applicant. They will be notified on how the CSA Academy operates, where to go for information, and how to pass the final exam.

Once declared a member of The Commonwealth, it is expressly forbidden to be a member of another alliance as well. Any member found doing so will immediately be declared a spy, all member privileges will cease and the offending nation will be ejected from The Commonwealth. A nation ejected because of espionage against The Commonwealth may never rejoin.

Part 1b: The Academy Upon joining the CSA, a prospective member will be tested on the knowledge he/she has of CN and the CSA as a whole. The new Applicant will only have most of the right that would otherwise be granted to them as a member.

The Final Exam: The Exam will be held, at the latest, one week after the Applicant joined CSA (this is determined by the in-game value "Alliance Seniority"). Said Applicant may take this exam anytime before that date, as long as they have a full understanding of the CSA. The exam will be administered through an Academy Official, and once it is passed the Applicant will immediately report their results to a Tier 3 or above government official to be masked as a full member.

Part 2a: Secession

All member nations have the right to resign from The Commonwealth at any time, regardless of position or rank. The exception is when the resigning nation has entered into an agreement where one of the requirements is remaining a member of The Commonwealth for a certain period of time, such as a loan. The resigning nation must honour the agreement, and stay a member of The Commonwealth until all requirements have been fulfilled.

Part 2b: Expulsion

In the case of severe disturbance or discord by a member nation, or if that nation has been discovered to be engaging in an activity not in the interests of The Commonwealth (for example, espionage), or anything that Council of 5 deems to warrant the action outlined in this section, Council of 5 may consider expulsion of said member nation. The offending nation has the right to put forward a case to explain it's motives and to defend itself. An unanimous vote by the Allied Council or a General Referendum vote is required for expulsion, but also to drop the case. I.E. All Council members must agree to either expell the offending nation OR to drop the case and permit continued membership. In case of a split vote, those who voted for the minority option (the option with the fewer votes) must state why they did so. A new vote will then be taken, and whichever outcome (expulsion or dropping the case) has the most votes will be implemented on the member-nation. An expelled member nation will have it's forum account banned, and will no longer have the right to fly the AA of the United Commonwealth of Nations, nor, obviously, will it be a member of UCN any longer.

Article II: Full Membership

Part 1: Introduction

Membership in The Commonwealth is rich, satisfying and rewarding. Once a new nation has passed the final exam and fully joined the CSA, they will immediately be asked to sign up for a position in the Defense Legion Army (DLA, see Article III for more details). Members are encouraged to join one of the many ministries that handle every important aspect of The Commonwealth.

Part 2: Advancement in The Commonwealth

Member nations can apply for a position within any ministry, providing that they fulfil the requirements needed for that position, and can rise through the ranks, possibly even becoming Minister of that ministry, as long as they are members of good standing in that ministry. For example, a member of the Ministry of the Interior cannot become Minister of Foreign Relations. He or she can only become Minister of Interior, or must transfer to another ministry should he/she wish to become head of that ministry. This is to prevent nations from applying for positions in which they have little or no experience.

If they choose not to work in a ministry, nations can embark on a military career in the DLA by getting promoted and becoming responsible for greater numbers of troops.

Otherwise, at bare minimum, member nations are always soldiers of the DLA.

Part 3: Involvement and General Existence

There are rewards and badges to recognize a nation’s achievements and rank in The Commonwealth. These can be worn in the signature.

Any member is welcome to suggest new bills for implementation. Member nations are actively encouraged to propose improvements to the alliance or the forum.

The more experienced members will educate the younger nations in the finer parts of nation management and general betterment for the alliance.

Article III: The Defense Legion Army

The CSA's DLA is the military structure of the CSA. Upon entry into The Commonwealth the new member nation is immediately assigned a legion within the DLC according to the strength of their nation, and given the rank of Private.

Legions

Each legion has a specific NS range associated with it. Each legion has many nations, headed by a Commander who is in charge of the other nations of that legion.

Positions

• Private - All members of The Commonwealth are, by default, Privates. • Commander - Leads a single legion. Is appointed by the Grand Chancellor. • Defense Command - Comprised of two or more members that lead the Legions, appointed by the Allied Council. • War Officer - Is in charge of the entire Ministry of Defense. This position is decided by an appointment by the Grand Chancellor or Conciliatory General.

Article IV: Member’s Rights

1. Members have the right to refuse to participate in a war in which the CSA is fighting. However, if they are brought into this conflict by an attack from the enemy, the CSA is not obliged to assist them. 2. Members have the right to receive aid from outside sources. 3. Members have the right to be free from offensive insults and derogatory remarks of any kind whilst a part of the CSA. 4. Members have the right to offer advice and ideas on any aspect of the CSA. 5. Members have the right to have their contributions (of a nature outlined in Right No. 4 above) fully considered by the leadership. 6. Members have the right to suggest changes to any aspect of the alliance, and have those suggestions fully considered by the leadership. 7. Members have the right and are encouraged to criticise any aspect of the CSA. 8. Members have the right to leave CSA for any reason, apart from those covered above. 9. Members have the right to complete military protection from the CSA aside from the circumstance outlined in Member Right #1. 10. Members have the right to recieve constant aid so they can acheive Aim 2, Article II. 11. Members have the right call for the impeachment/removal of any other member, providing the reason given is understandable.

Article V: Government Structure

Power in the government is structured in the way that this chart suggests:

The higher the Tier on the chart, the more power the position has.

Allied Council

The Allied Council, or AC, combines many of the legislative and executive capacities of the alliance into one. Members are voted in by the "pick your favorite five" method, with the candidate with the most votes becoming the Head of State The Council can vote on treaties, pass laws, discipline members of CSA, amend the charter and declare war, all with a simple majority. Elections are carried out every two months. Council members have administrator powers.

Head of State (HoS)

The HoS is a voting member of the Council who also has special powers as a Triumvir of the alliance. He may pass laws and do other things that an executive should do without the approval of the Co5. Has admin powers.

Grand Chancellor and Conciliatory General

The GC serves as a "monarch" for the CSA. The only position on Tier 1 of the government structure, the GC has all the powers of the AC. He is only removed from office by a unanimous vote by the Allied Council or by resigning. The Conciliatory General, or CG, acts as the Grand Chancellor's aide and also helps to run the Internal Affairs Office. He/She is appointed by the GC, with a vote of approval by the Allied Council. If the GC resigns from office, the CG will take his place unless otherwise specified by the GC or the AC. These are the other two Triumvir of the CSA Triumvirate.

The Triumvirate Structure

The government of CSA is structured so that a Triumvirate is formed. This is made up by the Grand Chancellor, Head of State, and Conciliatory General (in order of government power). The Triumvirate holds the absolute power and decision-making of the alliance, however the remaining Allied Council members can veto a decision made by the Triumvirate. Any order sent out by the Triumvirate or even a single Triumvir must be carried out without question, unless the order violates the Members' Rights or any other part of this charter. All Triumvir have admin powers.

Ministries

The Ministries of CSA run the day-to-day affairs and happenings of the alliance. There may be as many Ministries as the current Triumvirate wishes, but there must always be Minsitries of Defense, Foreign Relations and Internal Affairs. Ministers are appointed by the Triumvirate, but Officers may only leave their posts if they resign or the Council votes them out of their position. In other words, every time a new Triumvirate administration begins, that does not necesarily mean that there will be a completely new set of ministers. The Officers of the three main aforementioned Ministries have free reign to develop their departments as they please, so they have admin powers.

Article VI: Protocols for Foreign Relations

Protocol 0: At no time will The Commonwealth ever start any kind of war without jusification and without approval of its member nations.

Protocol 1: The Commonwealth is open to the signing of any manner of treaty. However, the utmost deliberation and consideration will be taken when signing anything above a Non-Aggresion Pact.

Protocol 2: The Commonwealth is open to the signing of a treaty which binds it to an “alliance bloc” (i.e. The Continuum). Again, the utmost deliberation and consideration will be taken when signing. CSA cannot be part of multiple alliance blocs, as that only adds to confusion.

Protocol 3: The Commonwealth, at no time for as long as it exists, endorses, encourages or has its members actively participate in espionage, either for or against The Commonwealth. This does not include in-game spy operations.

Protocol 3a: Should a spy nation be discovered in any way (apart from conducting espionage ourselves), regardless of whom the spy is working for, The Commonwealth feels that it is its duty to announce the spy’s existence to the Cyberverse. Full details will be announced in the Global Politics section in the Cyber Nations forums as soon as possible.

Protocol 4: Should an inter-alliance war break out, The Commonwealth will always opt for neutrality, unless the war is declared upon The Commonwealth itself.

Protocol 4a: If requested by an alliance engaged in a conflict with another, The Commonwealth will try to prevent war through diplomatic means, whether or not it will be taking part in the war itself, to try and prevent the senseless destruction of effort that has been put into the nations that will become involved in the conflict. The Commonwealth will never provoke alliances, nor be biased toward the potentially warring signatories, but will use diplomacy to try and turn these alliances away from war, and finding more peaceful means to solve their differences.

Protocol 5: Should the measures outlined in Protocol 4a fail, The Commonwealth may decide to announce that all refugee nations, regardless of where they originate are welcome to take refuge within The Commonwealth, until the war is over. Then they may choose either to leave their alliance, join CSA, or return to their alliance.

Protocol 5a: Refugee nations must sign up in the way a nation looking to join CSA would. However, while the nation will be accepted despite it being engaged in war, member privileges and the right to change their Alliance Affiliation to that of The Commonwealth will not start until all wars are over and the refugee nation applies for full membership.

Protocol 5b: Refugee nations who are accepted must switch to peace mode as soon as possible.

Protocol 5c: The Commonwealth will do its best to secure peace and foreign aid for refugee nations, but will not defend them militarily, in case of retaliation from the alliance that is attacking the refugee nation.

Protocol 5d: Refugee nations must announce in the appropriate thread that they have surrendered or otherwise given up fighting in the conflict.

Protocol 5e: Once a refugee nation is declared a member, it gains neutrality status. It must not be attacked again after its wars expire.

Protocol 5f: Acceptance of refugees during the conflict by The Commonwealth may be withdrawn by the alliance's government at any time. Existing refugees may remain as members as long as they apply for membership, however.

Protocol 6: Once an inter-alliance war is over, there will undoubtedly be reparations demanded by the victors of the conflict. Where practical, The Commonwealth will contribute to alliances’ reparation payments. No treaty or beforehand agreement is necessary – The Commonwealth will do this out of good will, and to score brownie points with all.

Protocol 6a: Priority will be given to alliances who are threatened with obliteration if they cannot come up with the payments required. Otherwise, priority will be given to alliances with unproportionally large reparation amounts.

Protocol 6b: The Commonwealth will decide who to aid. Alliances cannot beg, plead or demand that The Commonwealth assist with paying their reparations; it will be up to the government of The Commonwealth to decide which alliance gets their help.

Protocol 6c: CSA will decide how much to contribute – it must put its own members first – and alliances who receive the help of The Commonwealth should not completely rely on it, and should do their best to come up with as much of the payment as it can.

Protocol 6d: The alliance that CSA obliges is completely responsible for directing reparation payments offered by The Commonwealth, and indicating where that aid should be sent. The Commonwealth cannot be held responsible for mistakes concerning reparations.

Protocol 7: Regarding inactive member nations: If CSA knows that one of it's member nations is going inactive (or otherwise) in order to be deleted, then any nation in the Cyberverse is welcome to attack it. However, if The Commonwealth does not know that the said nation is inactive for this purpose, then it will protect the nation from all aggressors.

Article VII: Amendments

Amendments may be added to this charter in any of these two ways: • A majority vote in the Council • A "General Referendum" Poll. Any member may start an amendment poll (in the General Assembly please!), but for it to be a valid vote there must be at least 10 ballots cast. • Added as a Declaration by the Triumvirate. A Declaration becomes defunct after a new Triumvirate (one or more Triumvir being replaced) is installed, or unless said new Triumvirate wishes to keep the Declaration intact.

Active Amendments (none yet)

Signatories Every Grand Chancellor must sign thos charter with his/her own official crest upon being sworn into office.

Signatures:

Crest of the First Grand Chancellor, Numa Maximus

Other Signatures (not from a Grand Chancellor): (none so far)

-Charter last updated Feb. 10th, 2008

Official Forum and Sign up-thread

 * United Commonwealth of Nations Forum
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 * http://commonwealthofsovereignallies.ipbfree.com/index.php?showforum=6 Diplomat Sign Up]

Government

 * List of Current Government