The Aquatic Brotherhood

History
As the BTA launched the Sphere into a war against CIS, MAster Debater was found to have presented false information to the Sphere alliances, in order to go to war. As part of the BTA surrender terms, he was expelled from TAB, the new alliance formed by BTAers Fatt Sorum, Count Rupert and +Zeke+.

Charter
 Charter of The Aquatic Brotherhood

Preamble

We, the members of The Aquatic Brotherhood embark on a new road to a brighter future and swear to uphold the bond of honor, brotherhood, protection and advancement that binds our nations together in a common purpose.

Article I: New Identity

Section 1: In the spirit of our newfound commitment to create a bright new future and a positive honorable identity, separate from the failings of the past, we hereby declare from this day forward that our alliance will be known The Aquatic Brotherhood (TAB). This serves as official notice that the Blue Turtle Alliance (BTA) is now disbanded.

Subsection 1: Therefore, all member-states are to change their alliance affiliation to read: “The Aquatic Brotherhood”.

Subsection 2: Therefore, any member-states of the alliance formerly known as the BTA who fail to change their alliance affiliation and retain the BTA as their alliance affiliation will be treated as a member of a secessionist faction and dealt with accordingly (See Article VIII).

Section 2: TAB will adopt the following flag:

Section 3: TAB is a democracy with power divided between the executive, legislative, and judicial branches of government.

Section 4: TAB would like to publicly recognize that a special bond of camaraderie exists between itself and the CIS. We want to thank them for their valuable assistance in helping us create a new and prosperous future.

Article II: Membership

Section 1: Any nation may apply for membership in TAB. The nation must not be in any current wars or be a current member in another alliance. No nation will be turned away on the basis of team color, ethnicity, and or government.

''Subsection 1: It should be noted that TAB is an aqua team alliance. Changing your team color to aqua would help facilitate trades within the alliance and is strongly urged, but changing will not be required.''

Section 2: Nations wishing membership should fill out a membership application on the TAB forums. Nation Name: Ruler Name: Resources: Team Color : Are you at war?: Received aid in the last 10 days?: Previous alliances (You can only be in ONE alliance): Link to your nation: Were you referred by anyone?:

Section 3: Any member-state wishing to leave TAB must either; a.) Post a topic of resignation on TAB’s offsite forum in the appropriate forum or, b.) Send a message to any member of the Master Council informing them of your resignation.

Section 4: Responsibility for the approval of all applicants falls to the Prime Minister or his duly appointed agent.

Section 5: New member-states will be granted Cadet status for a two-week probationary period after which, on the approval of the Prime Minister’s office, they can assume full membership responsibilities.

Article III: Executive Branch

Section 1: The executive branch of the TAB will consist of the President, the Prime Minister, the War Minister, and the Trade Minister. All of the aforementioned people will have a seat on the Master Council.

Section 2: All members of the executive branch have the right to manage their ministries however they see fit.

Section 3: No member may occupy more than one position at a time in the executive branch.

Article IIIa: The President

Section 1: The President of The Aquatic Brotherhood is the head of state of TAB. All treaties and public announcements must bear his or her signature (and the signature of relevant government official).

Section 2: The President is responsible for calling elections for the Prime Minister and/or Trade Minister. Elections must be called at least once every sixty days.

Section 3: The President is responsible for alliance diplomacy. As such he may appoint diplomats as he sees fit.

Section 4: During times of extreme crisis the President may declare a State of Emergency for the next 14 days. During that time the President may rule by decree. At the end of the 14 days period the Master Council may renew the State of Emergency for another 14 days. After that all extensions require a 66 percent majority of the Brotherhood Congress.

Subsection 1: In the event the President declares a State of Emergency, he or she must post said State of Emergency and the reasons for issuing said State of Emergency on the TAB website, in the appropriate forum.

Subsection 2: In the event that a State of Emergency is declared, the President must post any decrees issued in his/her name on the TAB website, in the appropriate forum.

Section 5: The President will have a three-month term. Elections will be held during the last 48 hours of March, June, September, and December. Anyone may run for Presidency providing they receive 3 nominations. For the first 2 terms, the CIS supreme council must approve the President.

Article IIIb: The Prime Minister

Section 1: The Prime Minister is the head of government for TAB. He will have veto power on all pieces of legislation, excluding treaties. The legislature may override a veto with a 66 percent vote of the Brotherhood Congress in favor of the vetoed bill.

Section 2: It is the Prime Minister’s responsibility to handle the day-to-day internal affairs of the alliance.

Section 3: When the President calls for Prime Ministerial elections, the candidates must be given seven days to announce their candidacy and receive three endorsements from full members of TAB.

Section 4: Only full members of TAB can be elected to the Prime Ministership. Only full members of TAB can participate in the Prime Ministerial elections. For the first two ministerial elections the CIS supreme council must approve the winning candidate.

Article IIIc: The War Minister

Section 1: The history of the BTA is full of crushing military defeats. In order to stop this pattern the War Minister will be appointed at the jurisdiction of the TAB president.

Section 2: The War Minister is responsible for the organization and maintenance of the Brotherhood’s military. He or she will appoint Battalion Commanders to deal with military subdivisions. For the first two ministerial elections the CIS war council must approve the candidate.

Article IIId: The Trade Minister

Section 1: The Trade Minister is responsible for organizing schemes to increase the efficiency of TAB member-states. These will include programs of war, and introductory and growth aid.

Section 2: Elections for Trade Minister will follow the same rules and regulations as the Prime Ministerial elections. For the first two ministerial elections the CIS supreme council must approve the winning candidate.

Article IV: Legislature

Section 1: The legislature of TAB will be bicameral. The lower house will be known as the Brotherhood Congress and all full members of TAB are entitled to membership. The upper house will be known as the Master Council, consisting of the President, Prime Minister, War Minister and Trade Minister.

Section 2: Either house may introduce legislation or bills but must receive a majority in both houses to become a law.

Subsection 1: Any legislation submitted for consideration is to be posted for discussion for a minimum of 72 hours (3 days) before a vote can be called.

Subsection 2: The President or the member originally submitting the legislation can call for a vote at any time after the discussion period.

Subsection 3: Once a vote has been called for, voting for the legislation will be open for a period of 48 hours.

Subsection 4: If a piece of legislation fails to become law, it cannot be reintroduced for a period of 30 days.

Section 3: Treaty Proposals negotiated by the President’s office must be submitted to the legislature for ratification. To be approved, treaties must receive 66% of the vote in both houses to be ratified.

Article V: The Judiciary

Section 1: The High Magistrate will head the Judiciary branch of TAB and is charge on investigating allegations of illegal activities in regards to this charter or any document/treaty passed by the TAB Legislature. Therefore, all allegations of illegal activity must be made to the High Magistrate whose decision will be final.

Section 2: The High Magistrate may appoint subordinates as (s)he sees fit. The CIS high magistrate must approve the high magistrate indefinitely.

Article VI: Impeachments

Section 1: Impeachments of the War or Trade Ministers require a majority vote in the Brotherhood Congress. The Prime Minister can veto impeachments of the War or Trade Ministers, and the Brotherhood Congress can overturn the veto of the impeachment with a 66 percent vote in favor of impeachment.

Section 2: Impeachment of the Prime Minister or High Magistrate require that the motion for impeachment receive approval of 66 percent of the Brotherhood Congress that choose to vote, and the approval of the President.

Section 3: Impeachment of the President requires that the motion for impeachment receive approval of 66 percent of the Brotherhood Congress that choose to vote, and the approval of 3 of the 4 on the Master Council.

Article VII: Resignations

Section 1: If the Prime or Trade Ministers resign or are impeached, then the President must call for elections to fill the vacancy.

''Subsection 1: The President must call for elections within two weeks of the vacancy. ''

Subsection 2: The President may temporary assign someone to fulfill the role of Prime or Trade Minister until the election.

Subsection 3: Such elections are to fill the remainder of the term, not a new 60-day term.

Section 2: If the War Minister resigns or is impeached then the president of TAB must find a replacement and seek approval from the CIS war council within 24 hours.

Section 3: If the offices of President or High Magistrate are vacated then elections will be held one week after the resignation to choose a replacement to serve for the remainder of the term.

Section 4: For a TAB member-state to resign, they must post their resignation in the appropriate forum on the TAB website or on the public CN Open World Forum.

Article VIII: Secessionist Movements

Section 1: TAB recognizes the mistakes of the past. TAB will not allow itself to be used by petty demagogues as a recruiting ground. Leaders of splinter factions will be destroyed and their followers will be given 48 hours to return to the fold. After 48 hours they will be treated as a traitors to TAB.

Section 2: This article does not strip member-states of there sovereign right to terminate their membership in the TAB, but secessionist movements will not be tolerated.

Article IX: War Powers

Section 1: Declarations of War (alliance-wide) should not be taken lightly, as such all Declarations of War must pass the Brotherhood Congress and Master Council by a 66% margin.

Section 2: In the event that any member-state is attacked by a foreign nation and or alliance, a Declaration of War is considered by TAB to be de facto. An attack on one is an attack on all.

''Subsection 1: If a member-state is attacked by a nation in an alliance. Attempts will be made diplomatically to determine the cause of the attack, whether the enemy nation is in fact a member of said alliance, and whether the war can be resolved peacefully before asserting the de facto Declaration of War.''

Subsection 2: Should a member-state come under an unprovoked attack, all member-states are expected to be ready to render assistance as requested by the Master Council, the War Minister or his agents.

Section 3: TAB does not condone aggressive wars. All member-states are hereby ordered to refrain from attacking nations in alliances unless during times of war they are instructed to do so by the War Minister or his agents and there is a proper Declaration of War in place.

''Subsection 1: In the event of an unapproved attack being made in error against a nation in an alliance by a member-state, reparations will be paid to the affected nation or alliance by the member-state making the error. Should the member be unable to pay, TAB will pay. Should the member-state refuse to pay reparations, the member-state will be expelled from the alliance and be considered a rogue nation.''

Section 4: TAB does not condone the practice of attacking nonaligned or inactive nations (i.e. tech raiding); however TAB does recognize the sovereignty of its member-states over matters that do not involve other alliances. Thus any member-states attacking nonaligned nations do so at their own risk and will receive no support from the alliance (militarily or financially) while hostilities are ongoing.

Section 5: The general public at large considers acts of espionage to be Acts of War. As such all members of government, and all member-states are forbidden to participate in any acts of espionage. Any members believed to have performed acts of espionage will be brought before the High Magistrate. Espionage is considered grounds for removal from the alliance. Each member is however entitled to a hearing where evidence may be heard for and against before the High Magistrate before the member can be expelled from the alliance.

Article X: Nuclear Weapons

Section 1: TAB reserves the right of its member-states to create, develop and use nuclear weaponry (in compliance with the Charter).

Section 2: Although TAB is not a signatory of the For the Love of God, Think of the Children&#33; Convention, TAB joins them in deploring the aggressive use of nuclear weapons and will not condone their use in such a fashion by any of its member-states.

Subsection 1: Should a member-state find itself under attack by a nuclear aggressor, they may respond in kind to the nuclear attack made by the aggressor without notice from the Master Council or War Minister.

Subsection 2: Any member-states fighting in support of a member-state who has suffered at the hands of a nuclear aggressor, must receive authorization from the Master Council or War Minister to launch nuclear weapons against the nuclear aggressor.

Section 3: Any TAB member-state who violates TAB Nuclear Policy will be considered a nuclear aggressor and removed immediately from membership in TAB. No trial will be necessary - expulsion is automatic.

Section 4: Any nuclear aggressor in TAB will be expelled immediately - TAB does not wish to be seen as a nuclear agressor.

Signed by the Founders of The Aquatic Brotherhood Fatt Sorum +Zeke+ Count Rupert

Government
(as of May 2007)


 * Leadership:
 * President Fatt Sorum
 * Prime Minister Count Rupert
 * War Minister Tiberivs
 * Trade Minister ghostmexi007
 * High Magistrate Swissguard

Link
Link to TAB's message board: