New Order of Independence

The New Order of Independence (NOI) is a brown team alliance founded on May 22, 2007 by a group of former members of The Oasis and some friends. Our goal is to be a fun-loving alliance with great strength and an ability to leave a lasting impression on planet Bob. NOI has proven in recent times that its military, while small, is quite competent and powerful. NOI has MDOAP standing with The New Polar Order, an MADP with The Northern Treaty Alliance, and MDPs with The Federation and The Alliance of International Defense.

Declaration of War
On 9/11/2007 at around 11:45pm CST, The New Order of Independence joined the Unjust War by declaring war on The Order of Feudalistic Security.

Early Roots
The New Order of Independence was formed by 16 former members of The Oasis; who left The Oasis because of a disagreement with The Oasis' former Councilor, Corey Faith. This disagreement, though minor in nature, prompted some of The Oasis' other councilors, and other Oasis members, to move on, and so they seceded from The Oasis. At first NOI was a small alliance that devoted itself to its members and attempted to be an entirely active alliance. Later, other members of The Oasis would follow the original 16 to NOI, and because of it, NOI slowly began to grow in numbers while maintaining activity and making sure that each member nation was efficient and strong.

Due to the cramped size of green team, NOI made the transition from the Green Team to the Brown team in early June of 2007.

Before long, they had established an MDOAP with the New Polar Order and even made an attempt to join the newly formed UPS (Brown alliance only) Treaty. After some disagreements on the part of GATO and AiD, NOI backed out of all attempts to join UPS and started a relationship with another brown team alliance, the NTO. Despite UPS' eventual collapse, and NTO and NOI's friendship was the likely reason, all four alliances eventually became close friends and allies.

OFS Drama
In August of 2007, NTO learned that The OFS, another brown alliance, stated that they intended to take over the brown team. Whether this is true or just talk is disputed, but NTO IRC logging evidence showed that The OFS' leader, Gonzoczar, hinted at the possibility of merging with cooperating brown alliances and taking over the remainng uncooperative brown alliances. This led to NOI's then Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mr Sfa, threatening OFS, warning them that they should not threaten NTO, or attempt dominance over brown. OFS told Mr Sfa that they had no intentions of taking over brown and, that they didn't like NOI's threats. After talking it over with NOI High Chancellor, Kalus, the incident appeared to be over, and NOI admitted that Mr Sfa had made a mistake to threaten them so quickly.

In the coming days, however, OFS' threats returned and caused more tension. This tension was quickly resolved when Gonzoczar offered NOI a TOA treaty. This treaty appeared to be a step in the right direction.

A few days later, NOI and NTO both opted to moderate a diplomatic meeting OFS and AiD over a conflict the two shared. When the meeting did not go over well, OFS left the channel and NOI and AiD began talking about ways to defeat OFS. The intent of both alliances at this time is unclear and it is believed by many that neither actually had any intentions at the time of attacking OFS. Still, OFS got word of NOI's apparent betrayal and immediately canceled the TOA between the two. The incident was resolved privately between Kalus and Gonzoczar with the help of NpO moderators and the issue seemed resolved, though neither alliance made any effort towards forming another treaty.

The Preamble
We, the members of the New Order of Independence (henceforth referred to as NOI), in order to form a more perfect union of nations, hereby ratify this pact...

Article I: Definitions
NOI Member (member nation): A nation which has been fully inducted into NOI. This includes both those that have gone through the induction process and those who are founding nations of NOI.

Majority Vote: A vote in the senate in which more votes are "for" than "against". In the senate of five ministers, a majority would be 3 votes.

Majority +1 Vote: A vote in the senate in which there must be one more "for" vote than in a majority vote. In the senate of five ministers, a majority +1 would be 4 votes.

Article II: The Senate
The Senate: Shall be made up of five Ministers. Each Senator shall have one vote in the Senate.

Deputy Ministers: Shall be appointed under the discretion of the corresponding Minister, and approved by Senate vote. Appointment of a Deputy Minister is not mandatory. Deputy Ministers shall carry out duties assigned by their corresponding Ministers, provided these duties are in said Minister's domain.

I.The Responsibilities of the Senate:

i. The senate shall have the power to declare war on other nations and alliance. See Article XII of this charter. ii. The senate shall have the power to approve all appointments to positions of power within NOI. iii. All senators shall have administrator status on the NOI forums and operator status on the NOI IRC channels and shall moderate the forums and IRC channels. iv. In a senate vote, if any senator cannot be reached for a period of 36 hours after the vote has been started, then the majority or majority +1 vote must be applied to only the remaining senate.

Article III: The Ministry of Internal Affairs
I. Minster of Internal Affairs: One NOI member shall be elected to the position of Minister of Internal Affairs. The Minister of Internal Affairs (MoIA) shall be elected every two months. The MoIA shall have the power to appoint a member of NOI to Deputy Minister of Internal Affairs, but the appointment shall be approved by the senate.

II. The Responsibility of the MoIA:

i. The MoIA shall settle disputes between member nations and monitor the forum for unacceptable behavior. ii. The MoIA shall have the power to bring member nations to the senate for an expulsion hearing, for violations of the NOI Charter. The MoIA shall assist the senate in the gathering evidence against said member nations. iii. The MoIA shall oversee all recruitment actives, which include but are not limited to: inducting new members in to NOI, tracking recruitment, and overseeing recruitment drives. iv. The MoIA shall assist the MoC in monitoring the alliance's member list and Alliance Affiliations.

Article IV: The Ministry of Foreign Affairs
I. Minster of Foreign Affairs: One NOI member shall be elected to the position of Minister of Foreign Affairs. The Minister of Foreign Affairs (MoFA) shall be elected every two months. The MoFA shall have the power to appoint a member of NOI to Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, but the appointment shall be approved by the senate.

II. The Responsibilities of The Ministry of Foreign Affairs

i. The MoFA shall maintain the embassies of other nations on the NOI forums. This includes the creation of new embassies and handling of ambassador permission masks. ii. The MoFA shall appoint ambassadors to other alliances, and assign these ambassadors specific alliances to communicate with. These ambassadors shall report back to the MoFA with any news. iii. The MoFA shall monitor the Cybernations forum and post news of the happenings on Planet Bob to NOI's forum, keeping the Senate and NOI up to date on current events. iv. The MoFA shall be responsible for attending to requests by members of other alliances, and communicating these requests to the Senate.

Article V: The Ministry of Defense
I. Minister of Defense: One NOI member shall be elected to the position of Minister of Defense. The Minister of Defense (MoD) shall be elected every two months. The MoD shall have the power to appoint a member of NOI to Deputy Minister of Defense, but the appointment shall be approved by the senate.

II. The Responsibilities of the Minister of Defense

i. The MoD shall have the power to assign member nations to battle groups. These groups shall be organized in an effective manner, as determined by the MoD. ii. The MoD shall be responsible for coordinating the attacks and defense of NOI member nations in times of war. iii. The MoD shall be responsible for handling peace terms and war reparations, in conjunction with the MoFA. iv. The MoD shall be responsible for approving the use of nuclear weapons by NOI members.

Article VI: The Ministry of Finance
I. Minister of Finance: One NOI member shall be elected to the position of Minister of Finance. The Minister of Finance (MoF) shall be elected every two months. The MoF shall have the power to appoint a member of NOI to Deputy Minister of Finance, but the appointment shall be approved by the senate.

II. The Responsibilities of the Minister of Finance.

i. The MoF shall be responsible for the distribution of aid to NOI member nations. ii. The MoF shall be responsible for maintaining a list of NOI member nation resources, in conjunction with the MoC. iii. The MoF shall organize technology deals, trades, and other economic transactions between NOI member nations. iv. The MoF shall be responsible for receiving, paying, and/or distributing reparation payments after they have been negotiated by the MoFA and/or MoD.

Article VII: The Ministry of the Census
I. Minister of the Census: One NOI member shall be elected to the position of Minister of the Census. The Minister of the Census (MoC) shall be elected every two months. The MoC shall have the power to appoint a member of NOI to Deputy Minister of the Census, but the appointment shall be approved by the senate.

II. The Responsibilities of the Minister of the Census.

i. The MoC shall be responsible for maintaining an official list of member nations. ii. The MoC shall be responsible for maintaining a list of NOI member nation resources, in conjunction with the MoF. iii. The MoC shall be responsible for tracking the growth of NOI and its members on a daily basis. iv. The MoC shall be responsible for checking the official membership of NOI against the in-game listing. This includes resolving issues with Alliance Affiliation. The MoIA may assist in this matter.

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Article VIII: The High Chancellors
I. High Chancellors: Two NOI members shall be elected to the position of High Chancellor. The High Chancellors shall be elected every two months.

II. The Duties and Powers of the High Chancellors.

i. The High Chancellors shall be responsible for providing leadership and direction to the alliance and its members. ii. The High Chancellors shall make decisions in conjunction. The two must decide on actions jointly. iii. The High Chancellors shall have the power to make executive decisions for the alliance. However, their actions may be vetoed by a majority vote in the senate. iv. The High Chancellors shall be consulted by the senate to sit in at any official senate vote. They must also sign new treaties, as in Article XI. v. The High Chancellors shall have administrator rights on the NOI forums and operator status on the IRC channel.

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Article IX: Grounds for Expulsion from The New Order of Independence and/or Positions of Power
I. If any member of NOI is convicted of high crimes & misdemeanors against NOI, that nation shall be stripped of official positions and possibly expelled from NOI if and only if dictated by a Senate vote. In special cases, said nation may also be approved for attack. This may only happen in extreme cases, and shall be taken very seriously by the Senate.

II. If a nation is charged with a high crime, a Senator must bring the stated charges to the floor of the senate. The defendant shall be allowed to make statements in his or her defense, and shall be regarded as innocent until proven guilty. After debate, the Senate must vote in majority to convict the defendant, or majority +1 in the case of a High Chancellor.

i. High crimes & misdemeanors include but are not limited to: Attacking NOI member nations or member nations of other alliances without MoD approval, spying on NOI in the service of another alliance, aiding an enemy of NOI in times of war, or maliciously defacing NOI's reputation to other alliances or Planet Bob. ii. A NOI member in a position of power may also be removed from power for abusing his or her powers, or neglecting his or her responsibilities. iii. If a minister is removed from power, he or she shall be immediately stripped of his or her administrative privileges and title, and an election for the position shall be held at the next convenient time. As in a regular election, the respective deputy minister (if there is one) shall also lose his or her title, but may still be reappointed.

III. Extreme period of Inactivity. It is required that officials, both elected and appointed, stay active on the forums and the IRC channels. Periods of extreme inactivity shall be defined as being absent from forums and IRC for a period of 5 days or greater. If an official is inactive for said period, then power may be revoked by a majority vote of the Senate.

IV. Vacation clause: If an NOI member expects that he or she will be inactive, a temporary replacement may be put in place for a stated period of time. Temporary replacements shall be appointed by the expected inactive member, but may be removed from power like any other position. Temporary replacements may not receive administrator status on the forums unless agreed upon by the Senate. Temporary replacements shall gain a vote in the senate, but not administrator status on the forums or operator status on IRC. Once the original official returns, the temporary replacement shall be set back to his or her original status.

Article X: Requirements for Induction into NOI
I. Any nation who wishes to join NOI must understand and agree to the charter, and demonstrate a understanding of NOI policy and structure.

i. The first step in a nation's induction shall be to place an application on the forums, in the designated area. Application format shall be determined by the MoIA, but must include an oath to obey the NOI charter and leadership. Once complete, and after the member is approved by the MoIA, the applicant shall be masked as a Probationary NOI Member. ii. The second step to becoming a full NOI Member shall be questioning and conditioning, to prove the applicant's awareness of the NOI structure and policy. The applicant may be questioned by any member of NOI. iii. The final step is a second approval by the MoIA, after one week. At this time, the applicant shall be masked as a full NOI member, and allowed access to NOI's private IRC channel.

Article XI: Treaties and Pacts
I. All treaties and pacts entered into under the authority of the NOI Senate shall be the supreme law of the land, second only to this charter.

II. All treaties and pacts must be negotiated by the MoFA and approved by a majority vote in the Senate. After approval, the documents must be signed by the approving Senators and the High Chancellors.

Article XII: War
I. Members of NOI may not declare war on any nations without approval of the MoD.

II. There is a strict procedure that must be followed in order for NOI to declare a state of war on another alliance:

i. Before declaring war, the NOI Senate must exhaust all possible routes of diplomacy. ii. Any war declaration shall be debated on the floor of the senate for at least 1 day at which point the vote shall be opened. iii. In order to declare an NOI general state of war, the motion must be passed in a majority +1 vote in the Senate, and approved by the High Chancellors. iv. After war has been declared, announcements containing the Declaration of War must be posted on the Cybernations forums and the NOI forums.

III. If war is declared against NOI by another alliance, the MoD and High Chancellors shall have the power to organize a defense before a state of war is declared.

Article XIII: Charter Amendment Process
I. In order to make an amendment to the NOI charter, a 3-step process must be followed:

i. The charter amendment must be proposed by any member and presented to the Senate by a Minister or High Chancellor. The amendment proposal must also be posted on the NOI forums. ii. The amendment must then be debated and thought over for a minimum of 48 hours after its proposal. iii. The amendment must then be voted on by the senate and have a majority +1 vote outcome. The amendment may then be made.

II. Charter amendments, after being successfully made, must be announced in the news section of the NOI forums, and optionally may be announced on the Cybernations forums.

Article XIV: Elections:
I. General elections shall be held every two months. All Senator and High Chancellor positions are up for election at this time.

II. In elections, any full NOI member may run for any position or positions that he or she may choose, without fear of censorship.

III. The election process shall run as follows:

i. Members shall be given at least 48 hours to campaign for positions. If there is a position which lacks applicants, the campaigning period may be held for longer until a candidate appears. ii. Election polls shall be posted by the current MoIA, or another senator if the MoIA is unavailable or absent. If a position has only one candidate, that candidate shall automatically win the position, and polls for that position may be excluded. iii. Election polls shall be left to vote on for at least 48 hours, at most 72 hours. iv. After poll results are counted, new ministers and/or new High Chancellors shall be instated, according to the winners of the polls. If a member happens to win more than one poll, he or she must choose a single position. Any other position or positions will then go to the runner-up in the respective polls. v. As the new government members are instated, any incumbent ministers who have been defeated or did not re-run shall surrender their titles and administrator and operator status.

Article XV: Member Nations Rights:
I. Member Nations shall have the right to make trade agreements with any other nation, so long as that nation is not deemed to be a enemy of NOI.

II. Member Nations shall have the right to develop nuclear weapons should they so choose. However, the member must consult the MoD before launching nuclear weapons.

III. Member Nations shall have the right to peacefully leave NOI at any time if they choose, without fear of retaliation, provided that they have not committed any serious offenses as covered in Article IX.

Current Government Positions
High Chancellor of Light: Arturion High Chancellor of Darkness: Kalus Minister of the Census: Ladychickensoup Minister of Foreign Affairs: Bionic Redhead Minister of Internal Affairs: Devilsnightmarechild Minister of Finance: Luxornv Minister of Defense: Salty_eh?