The Legion

Introduction
The eagle. Bold and mighty, of the skies, he cares not for the petty squabbles that lie far below him. He needs not a host of other eagles to surround him, he is a proud beast who can care for himself, yet he will not allow his kin to suffer needlessly. He does not choose a path of mindless aggression, striking carelessly, but rather he chooses to exercise great wisdom and keen patience. He waits and he watches with great care and strikes only when, and if, the time is right. Not a glimmer of frailty or weakness appears across his majestic brow, even when under great threat. This is the eagle.

The Legion, bold and mighty, was birthed from necessity into a world full of potential aggression, anger and hate. Yet, like the eagle, The Legion learned to soar. In a world filled with powerful alliances, The Legion appeared and made its mark. Endorsing peace, it looked not for war with its brothers, but unity. However, as the eagle defends its kin, so did the Legion vow to defend its members.

And thus, the Charter of The Legion was formed.

Preamble
We, the members of the Legion, come together in a spirit of cooperation, friendship, and common purpose to draft this Charter of our alliance. Through this living document we provide for the general welfare of the alliance, pledge every Legion nation to an alliance wide defense, and enact a system of governance and conduct to guide our collective efforts towards the betterment of our nations and those of our friends and allies.

We root our strength in the purple sphere, and pledge to defend its integrity and security against any who would violate it and attempt to disrupt the peaceful existence of our friends, neighbours, and trading partners. We welcome as comrades any nations of common ideals who wish to reside in purple alongside us.

Article I: The Cabinet & Alliance Officials
Section 1: Government Structure

The executive branch of the Legion is represented by the Cabinet, which is elected popularly by the alliance membership.

Section 2: The Cabinet

Prime Minister: Acts as chief executive for the Legion. Responsible for determining Cabinet priorities and foreign policy, representing the Legion in international negotiations, deciding on disciplinary procedures, and coordinating Cabinet activities. Makes any executive decisions not otherwise specified in the Charter.

Deputy Prime Minister: Responsible for assisting the Prime Minister in his responsibilities, with particular focus on communication between the Cabinet and other member nations. Makes urgent executive decisions in the absence of the Prime Minister.

Foreign Minister: Responsible for deploying and coordinating Ambassadors to other alliances, negotiating treaties, and assessing potential threats.

Defense Minister: Responsible for the security of member nations, supervision of Legion wars, advising the Prime Minister on the acquisition and use of nuclear weaponry, and coordinating military assistance between members.

Home Minister: Responsible for setting admission and membership requirements, recruiting, background checking, guiding prospective members of the Legion, assisting the Prime Minister in disciplinary procedures, ensuring the mutual support and friendship of member nations, and coordinating reconstruction aid efforts.

Section 3: Appointed Offices

To further the mission and operations of the Legion, members are appointed to various positions by the Cabinet. These appointed Offices are subsections under the respective Cabinet Offices, rather than Cabinet level officials. Appointments are confirmed by the Prime Minister.

Director of Intelligence: Appointed by the Foreign Minister. Head of the alliance intelligence, conducts intelligence gathering missions and other duties to that end.

Director of Communications: Appointed by the Home Minister. Head of the alliance communications, oversees the Legion News Service (LNS), and works with the Cabinet on communications to the Legion as a whole and the rest of the globe.

Director of Game Mechanics: Appointed by the Deputy Prime Minister. Head of alliance information, oversees the Legion Information Station (LIS), and works with alliance members on collection and communication of information on the workings of the game engine.

Director of Economics: Appointed jointly by the Home Minister and Minister of Defense. Head of all financial transactions in the Legion, including the Legion Bank. Also oversees tech trades, resource trade guilds, and any economic-based growth programs.

Section 4: Order of Succession

In the event of an emergency vacancy in the Cabinet, the following order of succession will be followed until the vacancy is filled:

1. Deputy Prime Minister; 2. Foreign Minister; 3. Defense Minister; 4. Home Minister.

Cabinet members may appoint a substitute for their role in case they expect to be temporarily absent. For unexpected absences, or those extending beyond the length of term, the Prime Minister may appoint a substitute who is subject to confirmation by a vote in favor or against by the alliance membership, said vote posted within 48 hours of the appointment and lasting two days.

Section 5: Voting Protocols

A: Any member nation may make a motion to amend the Charter. Such a motion requires seconding from three Cabinet members to proceed to a general vote before the alliance membership, and a 2/3rds majority in favor in the general vote, to be implemented.

B: Any long term binding treaty between the Legion and another alliance which is proposed by the Cabinet must be voted upon by the membership and receive a majority vote in favor to be implemented, except in emergency situations where it can be demonstrated that the Legion is at immediate and grave risk of harm if the treaty is not immediately implemented. In such situations the Cabinet may institute a treaty by executive order, but said treaty must be ratified by a general vote held within one week to remain binding.

Article II: Member Ranks and Privileges
A. The Legion wishes to provide the opportunity for every member nation to attain any rank or position in the alliance, and encourages all nations to work towards earning any position to which they should aspire.

B. Recognizing that not all members will avail themselves of this opportunity or give equal contributions to the welfare of the Legion, and believing that contributions and commitment to the Legion should be encouraged, recognized and rewarded, the Cabinet may, at their discretion, establish and maintain rankings and privileges within the membership with the stipulation that they are only based on service to the Legion, which includes but is not limited to contributions to alliance defense, aid and development, administration, and regular participation in alliance discussions.

C. The Cabinet may assign special privileges to any membership rank so created, so long as those privileges do not in any way infringe upon the rights of any other Legion members as established by the Charter, and are fully disclosed to the entire membership.

D. Dual membership in other alliances is not permitted.

Article III: Elections
A: Cabinet elections shall take place on every even month, according to the following schedule: 2 days open for declarations of candidacy (beginning on the first Thursday of the election month), 3 days for campaigning (Saturday, Sunday, and Monday), and 2 days for voting (Tuesday and Wednesday). If a run-off is needed, run-offs will take place on Thursday and will last for 48 hours - ending at update on Saturday. Each stage of the elections process begins and ends at update.

B: In order to ensure the transparency of the election process, the outgoing Cabinet shall appoint an Elections Chair to oversee all matters relating to the election. The Elections Chair is not permitted to stand in the election. They may be removed from office at the behest of the members of the Legion, which must be done prior to the start of voting.

C: During the candidacy declaration period, any Legion members who have held Legion membership for a period of 6 weeks or longer may put themselves forward as a candidate for one office. If a Legion member is unable to declare their candidacy themselves during the nomination period, they may do so in advance through private message to the Elections Chair, who will in turn declare the candidacy once the declaration period begins.

D: Legion members may cast one vote for each Office. A nation gaining a majority (50% +1) of the votes is elected. In the event no candidate gains 50%+1 of the vote a runoff is called.

E. In the event of a runoff a new poll will be opened containing the top two candidates from the first round. If there are any ties in the first round that result in there being more than two eligible candidates for the runoff they will be entered in the poll as well. The winner of the runoff is elected regardless of vote percentage. In the event of a tie during a runoff the already elected members of the Cabinet will deliberate amongst themselves and choose which of the tied nations will join them for the term.

F: During voting polls will be posted containing only the names of all running candidates. Polls will be constructed such that viewing the current voting totals before casting a vote voids a nation's vote. If a nation runs unopposed no poll shall be posted, and they will win the election by default. There are no write-in votes permitted.

G: The Elections Chair shall certify and post election results within 24 hours of the end of voting. Election winners enter office upon certification.

Article IV: War & Nuclear Weapons
Section 1: War

A: The Legion seeks peace between its members and other nations of the world. Legion members may not declare wars of aggression without the approval of the Defense Minister or the Defense Minister’s appointed proxies.

B: Should a member nation be attacked, all Legion members pledge to mobilize the entirety of their military and economic resources in defense of the attacked nation, aiding reconstruction and war efforts to the best of their abilities as directed by the Defense Ministry.

C. In times of peace all Legion nations are required to follow the directives of the Defense Ministry in regards to any measures required to maintain military readiness.

Section 2: Nuclear Weapons

A: Nuclear research, posing a critical advantage in national development, is embraced by the Legion. Member nations may purchase nuclear armaments at their discretion.

B: Use of nuclear weapons for strictly defensive purposes is tolerated with Cabinet approval. Any nation seeking to launch nuclear weaponry may only do so with official Cabinet consent. The Minister of Defense must be informed if any nuclear weaponry is purchased.

Article V: The Legion Judiciary
The purpose of the Legion Judiciary is to ensure that the Charter and Laws of the Legion are upheld at all times.

Section 1: Organization

The Legion Judiciary is comprised of a panel of three members selected through popular vote.

A. Once elected Justices are entitled to serve as long as they retain regular Legion membership, with the option to resign at their discretion and at any time. (i). Justices must submit a notice of their resignation at least ten (10) days in advance in order to allow for election of a new justice to commence.

B. Justices automatically surrender their position upon election to the Cabinet. (i). An immediate election will be held to select a replacement justice in the event that a current justice is elected to Cabinet.

C. Justices may be removed from their post by a majority vote of the Cabinet, combined with a 2/3rds majority vote by Legion members.

Section 2: Procedures

A. Both plaintiff and defendant shall represent themselves, presenting whatever evidence they feel pertains to the case at hand. The Defendant is presumed to be innocent until proven guilty beyond reasonable doubt.

B. All evidence and/or witnesses gathered by either party must be submitted to the justices for approval.

C. A trial shall follow this order: The Plaintiff may make an opening statement, followed by the Defendant's opening statement. The Plaintiff may then examine any desired witnesses, and the Defendant may cross-examine them. After all witnesses and evidence has been exhausted, the Plaintiff and Defendant may make their closing statements. The justices will then retire to their private chambers to deliberate. The ruling may be handed down according to the opinion of the majority of the justices.

D. The justices are the sole determining authority on when constructive testimony has been exhausted and may close the trial when they are satisfied such testimony has been completed. No trial may last longer than four days maximum from start to finish, trials may be rescheduled if defendant or plaintiff is unavailable for testimony.

E. If a Justice is accused of a crime they shall be tried by a panel of the remaining justices.

Section 3: Judicial Authority

A. Justices shall have the authority to determine appropriate punishments for any infraction at their own discretion.

B. Judgments of appropriate punishments for any given type of infraction shall be considered to establish a binding precedent which must guide future decisions regarding similar offenses. Precedent may be over-ruled only with a unanimous decision by the Judiciary to do so, accompanied by an explanation of the reason for the previous decision being disregarded.

C. The following are classified as criminal offenses warranting trial: Corruption, Disobeying Orders, Fraud, Espionage, and Knowingly False Accusation of Crimes. (i). Crimes may carry a penalties up to and including expulsion from the Legion, depending on the severity of the offense. Other suitable penalties include, but are not limited to, fines and suspension from the Legion's protection. (ii). The Judiciary may elect to hear charges that a crime has been committed that does not fall in the above list. If they are in unanimous agreement that a trial is warranted it may proceed.

D. The Cabinet may exercise executive authority to impose disciplinary measures on any member accused of a crime without waiting for a trial if they determine that immediate action is necessary, but such disciplinary measures shall not remove access to the Judiciary for the accused, or involve direct military action against a member. War declarations unaccompanied by direct attacks are permitted. In such cases the accused may immediately appeal the decision to the Judiciary, or the Cabinet can present the case directly themselves and request confirmation of their decision. If the decision is upheld then the disciplinary measures may be extended to total removal of Legion access or direct military engagement if the charges warrant it.

Article VI: Ratification
At the conclusion of the Constitutional Convention, the full Alliance Charter shall be presented to the Legion for vote.

This vote shall begin on the first available weekday after the Constitutional Convention approves the Alliance Charter. Voting shall continue for three days. The vote will be certified and presented to the alliance population within twenty-four hours of the close of voting. Any amendments to the Charter which alter elected positions take effect upon the close of the next election cycle.

/s/

The Official Legion Charter became ratified by unanimous vote of Legion members on 2006.04.27

The Constitutional Convention for the new Legion Charter was held 2006.04.04 through 2006.04.23. Members of the Convention were as follows:

Silas of Zunea, Convention Chair

Fonzoland of Fonzoland, Member Delegate

Chancellor Makaryk of North Prussia, Member Delegate

Imperial Overlord of VL Empire, Member Delegate

President Bob of SocCarolina, Cabinet Delegate

Yenisey of Aopoleyin, Member Delegate

The Great Bear of Druid, Cabinet Delegate

Current Government
Prime Minister: TBD

Deputy Prime Minister: TBD

Foreign Minister: TBD

Defense Minister: TBD

Home Minister: TBD

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