Second Codex of the Lost World

The Second Codex of the Lost World is in effect from July 1, 2010. Follow this link to see the First Codex of the Lost World

Preamble
The Lost World exists to provide an atmosphere in which every member has the right to have his or her voice heard, and in which loyalty to one's alliance-mates and personal honor are paramount.

Section 1. Application
Applicants to The Lost World must be engaged in no current wars, on the ZI lists of any alliance, or be a member of any other alliance. While membership in the blue team is preferred and encouraged, only applicants under 5,000 NS will be required to switch to the blue team. Applicants seeking membership will have their application open for a period of up to 72 hours, during which members of The Lost World are free to ask questions to assess the applicant. If there are no serious concerns or complaints, the applicant will be accepted. The Chairman, the Vice Chairman, and the Park Management Director have the ability to deny a nation membership. Exemption from this process may be granted by the Chairman.

Section 2. The Academy
All newly-accepted members must complete Academy training within thirty (30) days of acceptance. The Academy requirement may be waived at the discretion of the Chairman or the Research and Development Director, and the time requirement may be extended with special permission from the same.

Section 3. Oath
All applicants must take the following oath. I, *name*, acknowledge that I have read, understand, and will uphold and defend the Codex of The Lost World, and understand that failure to abide by the Codex will be met with appropriate disciplinary action.

Section 4. Expulsion
Should a member be found to be acting against the Codex, the Chairman and a majority of the Board may agree on punishments including but not limited to censure, removal of privileges, expulsion, and ZI. Should any member wish to argue his or her case, appropriate means will be provided.

Section 5. General Alliance Laws
All members are expected to conduct themselves appropriately. This includes but is not limited to behavior towards fellow alliance members, tLW government, allies, and foreigners, as well as respecting tLW internal security. In other words, if it seems like a bad idea, it probably is. No nation may declare war, or spy, upon any other nation without the permission of the Chairman, Park Security Director, or any other official granted such authority by either of the preceding two individuals. All forms of "out of character" spying, espionage, hacking, etc., are strictly forbidden. All tLW members are encouraged to build and maintain a nuclear arsenal. However, launching nuclear weapons without approval of the Chairman or Park Security Director is expressly forbidden outside of alliance war situations. In the case of an alliance wide war, only the Chairman can authorize the use of nuclear weapons. All tLW members are required to participate in wars, at the discretion of the government, as well as obey all laws and government decrees. Any member of tLW may depart on good terms at any time, provided that the alliance is not in a state of high alert or a state of war, and provided that they do not owe the alliance any money. All personally owned, written, and submitted materials, including but not limited to guides and instructional posts, remain the property of the submitter with the understanding that tLW has indefinite use of them.

Article II. Government
The member nations of The Lost World (hereafter known as tLW) are to be governed by the Chairman and the Board of Directors.

Section 1. The Chairman
The Chairman is the highest ranking government official of the alliance. He/She is the Commander in Chief of the tLW military, leads the Board, guides the foreign and internal policies of the alliance, and oversees the daily running of the alliance.

Section 2. The Board
The Board is comprised of directors and advisers, and is led by the Chairman. The Board's greatest charge is to guard and promote the welfare of tLW member nations. The Directors head departments to meet this goal. Six departments exist to meet this goal, headed by the following directors: Park Security Director for the Defense department; Public Relations Director for the Foreign Affairs department; Park Finances Director for the Finance department; Park Management Director for the Internal Affairs department; Research and Development Director for the Development department; Tourism and Advertising Director for the Recruitment department. One Director from the Board is chosen as Vice Chairman by the Chairman. The Vice Chairman is a member of the Board who is appointed by the Chairman to serve as second-in-command and to, next to his own duties, fulfill the duties of the Chairman in the absence of the Chairman.

Section 3. Advisors
Advisors are respected members of tLW who may be appointed and removed from their capacity at the discretion of the Chairman. Board Advisors have no voting power in the Board, but may participate in all Board debate. All former Chairmen and Triumvirs are automatically granted the position of advisor upon their departure from their position and can only be removed from this position when they depart from this alliance.

Section 4. Removal of a Director or Chairman
Any member in good standing can level impeachment charges against a member of the government. From this point, the member will have 48 hours to prepare and present evidence relevant to the impeachment of said government member, after which the charged government member will have an additional 48 hours to refute the charges. During this time period, the membership may ask questions to both persons. A poll will open 24 hours after the presentation of all evidence and will remain open for 72 hours. A majority of 67% of the voting alliance membership is required to remove the official from office. After impeachment charges have been leveled against a Director or Chairman, the person will receive a temporary suspension of 24 hours which may be extended to the full period of 1 week by a normal government vote.

Section 5. Special Notes
The founding Triumvirate will have permanent access to the [OOC]root admin features of tLW forums[/OOC], except in instances where a founding Triumvir is expelled from the alliance or else otherwise leaves. Access will also be granted to subsequent triumvirs while they remain in office.

Section 6. Additional Special Notes
The above article also grants access to the Chairman while he or she remains in office.

Section 1. Board Elections
Elections for all six directors will be held once every two months. Sign-ups will last for 72 hours, and voting will take an additional 72 hours. In the event that a director resigns before the end of his or her term and no deputy is immediately available, the Board will select a replacement. Any member may run for a Board position; however, he or she is prohibited from running for multiple positions at once.

Section 2. Chairman Elections
The Chairman is elected for a six-month term. Any member who has served as a Board member for a minimum of one full term may run for Chairman. Any member who wishes to run for Chairman has the option to run concurrently for exactly one Board position. Should they receive the highest vote-count in the Chairman election, they are obligated to accept their seat as Chairman.

Section 3. Uncontested Races
In the event that a race goes uncontested, the single candidate must undergo a confirmation vote, in which a simple majority of the voting membership must vote in favor of the candidate. Should this confirmation vote fail, the Board will seek a replacement. In the event that no member seeks election for a Board position within the designated sign-up period, the Board may either choose to appoint a person to fill the position, or to leave the position vacant and divide the responsibilities among themselves.

Section 4. Deputies & Personnel
Directors may appoint deputies and staff as they see fit to help facilitate the running of their office. The deputy will be first in line to take over the office should a Director step down for any reason and will act in the Directors stead should he/she not be available. A deputy is not a Board member and, as such, does not have the voting power of a Director. While the Directors are free to appoint their own deputies, the Chairman reserves the right to deny any appointment.

Section 1. Signing and Ratification of Treaties, Laws, and Activation of Optional Clauses
All votes require the vote of the Chairman, a Board majority (50% +1) and a majority (50% +1) of the voting membership to pass. Membership voting shall consist of a one day (24 hour) discussion period and a two day (48 hour) discussion and ratification vote. This includes, but is not limited to, the signing of new treaties, entrance into multi-alliance blocs, enactment of cancellation clauses, introduction of alliance laws, and the activation of sub-MDP-level treaties. MDP, MDoAP and MDAP treaties do not require a membership vote for activation because of the nature of those treaties and the speed with which they can need to be activated with. Proposals failing to receive the appropriate number of votes will be considered null. In the situation that the Chairman's vote and the Boards vote are not in agreement and the Board thinks the Chairman's vote is against the best interests of the alliance, the Board has the option to call for an override of the Chairman's vote. To override the Chairman's vote a new Board vote will be held where all minus one Director must vote yes to override the Chairman's vote. After this a membership vote will be held under the same rules as mentioned above with the exception that a 67% majority must be reached. If both votes pass, the Chairman's vote is overridden.

Section 2. Absence of the Chairman
The Vice Chairman will receive the same amount of power as the Chairman when the Chairman has not been on the forums or on IRC for at least 48 hours. In the situation that both the Chairman and the Vice Chairman have not been online for at least 48 hours and an emergency decision has to be made, any member of the Board may start a vote to temporarily transfer the duties and responsibilities of the Chairman to an ex Triumvir or ex Chairman he or she chooses. At the same moment of starting the vote, personal messages must be sent over the forums to both the Chairman and the Vice Chairman. If either of them returns to active duty the emergency vote and the transfer of powers to the ex Triumvir of ex Chairman will be canceled.

Section 3. Codex Amendments
This codex may be amended based on unanimous vote of the triumvirate, 2/3 majority of the cabinet, and majority of the membership that participate in elections. Article II, Section 5 and Article IV, Section 2 may not be amended. 

Section 4. Member-Sponsored Codex Amendments
It is the right of any member of The Lost World to propose an amendment to the Codex. Each member-sponsored amendment will require a 48-hour discussion period before any vote can be taken, and a 72-hour voting period following. If a 75% majority is reached, the article will be amended in the Codex. In the situation that a new Codex is being written then it will follow the same procedure as a Codex amendment. It is also the right of any member of The Lost World to hold a vote to force an issue into the agenda of the government. After forty-eight (48) hours, should the vote receive a majority (50% +1) of the voting membership, the government will be obligated to discuss the issue privately, and will be required to report on their decision to the membership.