Greenland Republic Constitution Revised 2009

= The Constitution of the Greenland Republic =

Preamble
We, the allied peoples of this Global Alliance, in order to provide justice and security throughout the Cyber World, to provide for the common defence of our members, to promote growth and education of their nations and to provide other alliances with a stalwart, honourable ally do hereby establish this Constitution for the Greenland Republic.

Title
This organization of nations will hereafter be referred to as the Greenland Republic. The name reminds us of our shared values of honour, justice and friendship.

Article I: Membership
Section 1. Only those applicants who are citizens in good standing of Digiterra shall be considered for admittance to the Republic. Applicants may be denied for any reason, such as a history of hostile or otherwise deplorable acts against the Republic or another alliance, or no reason at all. Applicants who also hold membership in another alliance shall not be admitted until said membership has been terminated according to the concerned alliance’s own protocol. All requests for dual membership shall be dealt with by the government of the Republic on an individual basis. All approved applicants must pass an admissions exam, the content of which shall be established by the Minister of the Interior as explained below, before they may be granted full membership to the Republic. All members of the Republic shall be bound to this Constitution and those members who are found to be in violation of its precepts shall face, at the government’s discretion, disciplinary action up to and including expulsion from the alliance.

Section 2. Any member in good standing of the Republic may resign at any time except in a state of war or if otherwise prohibited by government order. Any resigning member who owes money to the Republic shall be expected to repay the debt in a timely manner, as defined by the standing government. Any resigning member who holds government office shall be replaced through the office’s respective succession process, as described below.

Article II: Government
Section 1. The government of the Republic shall be headed by an elected chief executive, hereafter known as the Archon. The Archon, through the Minister of the Interior, the Minister of Finance, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, and the Minister of Defense, shall guide every aspect of the Republic’s operation, effectively establishing its course as an alliance. Additionally, the Archon shall be responsible for representing the Republic in global affairs and conducting business with the myriad alliance leaders of Digiterra. The Archon shall be assisted by a Vice Archon, for which position one candidate must be selected as part of any campaign for the office of Archon. It shall be the duty of the Vice Archon to advise the Archon whilst the latter is present and to assume authority in his stead whilst he is absent. If the Archon resigns or is removed from office before the end of his term, his Vice Archon shall succeed him and appoint a new Vice Archon. Additionally, it shall be the duty of the Vice Archon to act as the Republic’s resident buccal cavity of considerably obstreperous audibility whilst the office is occupied by an anthropoid of the decidedly discountenanced persuasion.

Section 2. The government of the Republic shall be executed through the operation of four departments, hereafter known as Ministries, headed individually by overseers, hereafter known as Ministers, all of which shall be appointed, from the top three candidates for each position as determined by popular vote, by the Archon upon his election. It shall be the duty of the Ministers to advise the Archon and Vice Archon and to administrate their respective Ministries in a manner directed by the Archon. Each Minister shall choose a deputy from the membership of the Republic to assist him and to succeed him should he resign or be removed from office before the end of his term; there is no other qualification required to be a deputy, nor must a member be free of other obligations in the Republic to be chosen as a deputy. The Ministry of the Interior shall be headed by a Minister of the Interior under the direction of the Archon. It shall be the duty of the Minister of the Interior to manage the forums of the Republic; to maintain, with the aid of any number of assistants at the Minister’s discretion, a recruitment effort on behalf of the Republic; to screen, through an entrance exam in addition to background checks at the Minister’s discretion, and either accept or deny applicants to the Republic according to standards which shall be maintained by the Minister; to provide all novice members with a general education on life in Digiterra; to maintain a library of all guides in the possession of the Republic; to maintain an accurate roster of all members of the Republic; to manage the access levels of all members of the Republic and to manage, in cooperation with the Minister of Foreign Affairs, the accommodation of all foreign emissaries within the Republic; and to schedule and conduct all official polls of the general membership, including elections. The Minister’s entrance exam must be approved by the Archon before it may be implemented; the previous entrance exam shall be used until a new exam is approved. The Ministry of Finance shall be headed by a Minister of Finance under the direction of the Archon. It shall be the duty of the Minister of Finance to maintain, with the aid of any number of assistants at the Minister’s discretion, an accurate account of all member nations of the Republic through regular audits; to maintain a healthy economy within the Republic through, wherever and whenever necessary, the encouragement, organization, and facilitation of all manner of trades and transactions between member nations; to serve the needs of the Republic as a whole by, wherever and whenever necessary, taking direct command of the economy of the Republic—in particular, to maximize, in cooperation with the Minister of Defense, the military and economic effectiveness of all member nations of the Republic; and to create and update economic guides whenever necessary to keep economic knowledge within the Republic up to date at all times. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs shall be headed by a Minister of Foreign Affairs under the direction of the Archon. It shall be the duty of the Minister of Foreign Affairs to maintain, with the aid of any number of assistants at the Minister’s discretion, a consistent diplomatic effort abroad on behalf of the Republic; to manage, in cooperation with the Minister of the Interior, the accommodation of all foreign emissaries within the Republic; to draft treaties whenever necessary; and to bring all proposed formal agreements between the Republic and foreign entities before the government of the Republic for approval. The Ministry of Defense shall be headed by a Minister of Defense under the direction of the Archon. It shall be the duty of the Minister of Defense to maintain, with the aid of any number of assistants at the Minister’s discretion, a structured and fully functional military encompassing all member nations of the Republic; to ensure the effectiveness of the military of the Republic through maximizing, in cooperation with the Minister of Finance, the military and economic effectiveness of all member nations of the Republic; to ensure the safety of the Republic and all its members through powerful and efficient operation of its military in times of conflict, reserved strength and constant vigilance in times of peace, and swift response to all rogue belligerents; and to create and update military guides whenever necessary to keep military knowledge within the Republic up to date at all times.

Section 3. The government of the Republic shall be maintained by an elected body of representatives, hereafter known individually as Senators and collectively as the Senate, to manage all legislation concerning the alliance. It shall be the duty of the Senate to discuss and pass judgement on domestic ordinances and foreign commitments alike, as detailed below. If a Senator or group of Senators should resign or be removed from office, a replacement election shall be held immediately to fill the vacated seats. The Senate of the Republic shall be headed by a Senate Leader, elected by the Senators from amongst themselves. It shall be the duty of the Senate Leader to execute Senate protocol and to moderate the flow of legislation into the Senate; all petitions and legislation brought before the Senate are brought through the Senate Leader. Legislation may be submitted for discussion and amendment prior to a vote, but an initial draft of the measure must be written before it shall be considered and the legislation must be resubmitted in its final form before a vote may take place. All Senate votes shall take place within private Senate Chambers. The election of the Senate Leader shall take place at the commencement of each new Senate term and a replacement election shall take place immediately upon resignation or removal of the Senate Leader from office unless the Senate has vacant seats, in which case the replacement election shall take place immediately upon the filling of the vacated seats. The election shall close as soon as all Senators have voted, but may not last more than twenty-four hours. If no Senator receives a plurality of votes, a run-off election between the tied Senators shall be initiated immediately upon the closing of the first vote and shall close as soon as all Senators have voted, but may not last more than twenty-four hours; run-off elections shall continue in this manner until one Senator receives a plurality of votes. If, seventy-two hours after the initiation of the first vote, no Senator has received a plurality of votes, the Archon may intercede to appoint a Senate Leader from the remaining candidates. All domestic legislation, including but not limited to alliance doctrines, emergency measures, and general acts, shall be discussed and voted upon as regulated by the Senate Leader. Such legislation shall pass with a simple majority of the Senate membership; the vote shall close as soon as a simple majority is reached, but may not last more than forty-eight hours. Amendments to this Constitution are subject to alternate requirements which shall be detailed in Article VI. All foreign legislation, including but not limited to defensive pacts, economic treaties, and membership in multi-alliance organizations, shall be discussed and voted upon as regulated by the Senate Leader. Such legislation shall pass with a simple majority of the Senate membership in addition to the approval of both the Archon and his Minister of Foreign Affairs; the vote shall close as soon as a simple majority is reached, but may not last more than forty-eight hours. All formal declarations of war shall be discussed and voted upon as regulated by the Senate Leader. A declaration of war shall pass with a simple majority of the Senate membership in addition to the approval of both the Archon and his Minister of Defense; the vote shall close as soon as a simple majority is reached, but may not last more than forty-eight hours.

Article III: Elections
Section 1. No member of the Republic shall occupy more than one government office at any given time. No person who is not a member of the Republic shall be eligible for elected office within the Republic, nor shall any person who has not been a member of the Republic for at least one month prior to an election be allowed to run as a candidate in that election unless said member is granted exception to this rule by the Senate. As shall be detailed in Article IV, no member of the Republic who has been impeached and successfully removed from office shall be again eligible for elected office until at least one month after his removal.

Section 2. The terms of both the Archon and the Senators shall be two months in length, with the terms of either overlapping the other by one month. Elections for alternately the Archon or the Senate shall thus occur at the beginning of each month, as scheduled by the Minister of the Interior.

Article IV: Impeachment
Section 1. All petitions to remove a government official other than the Archon or Vice Archon from office shall be voted on by the Senate. The petition to remove a government official other than the Archon or Vice Archon from office may be brought before the Senate by the Archon, the Vice Archon, or any two of the remaining government officials. The identity or identities of the petitioner or petitioners need not be revealed to any person except the Senate Leader or, if the petition calls for the removal of the Senate Leader, the Archon, through whom instead the petition shall be brought before the Senate and who shall assume the duties of the Senate Leader until the end of the procedure; the petitioner or petitioners may waive this privacy and bring the petition before the Senate directly if the acting Senate Leader fails to do so for whatever reason. Upon submission of the petition, a mandatory discussion period of no less than twenty-four but no more than seventy-two hours shall be initiated, during which all members of the government of the Republic may contribute to consideration of the petition. Upon the closure of this period, as declared by the acting Senate Leader, a vote to remove the government official in question shall begin immediately and shall be considered successful if a simple majority of the unconcerned Senate membership is in favor of his removal; the vote shall close as soon as a simple majority is reached, but may not last more than forty-eight hours. If the vote is successful, the government official in question shall be removed from office and barred from all elections and appointments for the following month.

Section 2. All petitions to remove the Archon or Vice Archon from office shall be voted on by the membership of the Republic as a whole. The petition to remove the Archon or Vice Archon from office may be brought before the general membership, through the Senate Leader, by any three government officials. The identities of the petitioners need not be revealed to any person except the Senate Leader; the petitioners may waive this privacy and bring the petition before the membership directly if the Senate Leader fails to do so for whatever reason. Upon submission of the petition, the Minister of the Interior shall assume responsibility for executing the remainder of the impeachment process and a mandatory discussion period of no less than twenty-four but no more than seventy-two hours shall be initiated, during which all members of the Republic may contribute to consideration of the petition. Upon the closure of this period, as declared by the Minister of the Interior, a vote to remove the Archon or Vice Archon in question shall begin immediately and last forty-eight hours; the vote shall be considered successful if a simple majority of the unconcerned voting membership is in favor of his removal. If the vote is successful, the Archon or Vice Archon in question shall be removed from office and barred from all elections and appointments for the following month.

Section 3. No petition to remove a government official that has failed to be granted once may be resubmitted by any person until at least one month after the previous petition.

Article V: Expulsion
Section 1. All petitions to expel a member from the Republic shall be voted on by the Senate. The petition to expel a member from the Republic may be brought before the Senate by the Archon or the Vice Archon. Upon submission of the petition, a mandatory discussion period of no less than twenty-four but no more than seventy-two hours shall be initiated, during which all members of the government of the Republic may contribute to consideration of the petition. Upon the closure of this period, as declared by the Senate Leader, a vote to expel the member shall begin immediately and shall be considered successful if a simple majority of the Senate membership is in favor of expulsion; the vote shall close as soon as a simple majority is reached, but may not last more than forty-eight hours. If the vote is successful, the member in question shall be expelled from the Republic.

Section 2. The expulsion of any member from the Republic shall be treated in the same manner as a willful resignation from the Republic.

Section 3. No member of the Republic holding government office may be expelled in the manner detailed above unless an impeachment of said member has first been conducted successfully.

Section 4. No petition to expel a member that has failed to be granted once may be resubmitted by any person until at least one month after the previous petition.

Article VI: Amendment
Section 1. The word of this document shall remain constant unless explicitly amended through the proper process, detailed herein.

Section 2. The consideration of an amendment to this Constitution shall first take place within the Senate. Any member of the government of the Republic may propose an amendment to this Constitution, but an initial draft of the Amendment must be written before it may be submitted to the Senate for consideration. Upon submission of the Amendment, a mandatory discussion period of no less than forty-eight but no more than ninety-six hours shall be initiated, during which all members of the government of the Republic may contribute to deliberation on the Amendment. Upon the closure of this period, as declared by the Senate Leader, the Amendment shall be resubmitted in its final form by its original author and shall pass with a simple majority of the Senate membership; the vote shall begin immediately upon resubmission and close as soon as a simple majority is reached, but may not last more than forty-eight hours. If the Amendment is passed by the Senate, it shall be considered valid upon the approval of the Archon.

Section 3. No amendment to this Constitution that has failed to be validated once may be resubmitted by any person for the remainder of the coinciding Senate term, nor may any amendment of negligible difference be submitted during this time.

Article VII: Supremacy
The Republic shall hold this Constitution as the supreme law of the alliance; any legislation passed by the government of the Republic that is found to be in violation of this document shall be considered null and void. All government officials shall be bound to abide by the word of this Constitution upon taking office.