UN Constitution

[Voltaire]

Whatever gets the game going ASAP I’m for it.

[Leland]

I'm also in favour of writing our own constitution from ground up... the Civ3 document could serve as a checklist or something. SMAC universe requires a bit different language, and in my opinion it should be quite a lot more streamlined. Maybe the first commissioner could do this?

[Kassiopeia]

Maybe the first commissioner could do this?

I could try. SMACspeak is my second language.

[Anodyne]

Yeah, it would be great.
I'd say that the Commissioner would have a limited veto, meaning that his veto would have to be approved by the council with 2/3 of votes.

[Juliennew]

Here is the form of the constitution.
Now the debate can really begin !!

UN CONSTITUTION

This is the constitution that we, the new people of the United Nations Peacekeepers, have decided upon. In it, we have declared that we shall form a government of the people, a Democracy, in which -WE- shall choose who leads us. We shall gather the smartest and most wise people of our faction together, and they shall erect sacrad polls, and they will do their bidding. Let no other faction, mindworm, or calamity stand in our way, WE ARE SMACERS, AND WE WANT TO PLAY!

ARTICLE I: Commission Stucture

Executive Branch

This is the administrative section of our faction. The Executive branch is made up of the Commissioner and the Alpha Talent. These two are required to abide by the suggestions of the directors, who represent the will of the people.

Commissioner:
The Commissioner shall physically play the game after referring to his directors, and generally checking with the people.

Once the turns are played the Commissioner shall send out the save game file via e-mail only to all the members of his cabinet and any faction's member who specially request it. The Librarian must receive saves from the end of each turnchat.

The Comissioner is required to host at least one turnchat a week.

Alpha-Talent:
The right hand of the Commissioner; he may assist the Commissioner in any way currently needed (holding polls, consulting directors, distributing the save files, etc). In the event the Commissioner is unable to play his turn, the Alpha-Talent shall play the turn instead.

Director Branch

Directors make up the core of our Commission. They do the hard labor required to point our faction in the right direction. Directors are experts in the area they oversee, and they have the serious task of informing and advising the people on our situation. They are required to conduct polls in order to interrupt the people’s will. They are then to carry out that will, by giving their direction to the Commissioner.

All Directors are allowed to advise and consult with each other. They are also granted the right to petition for changes or actions from other Directors that may be critical to the their department. Ultimately, however, it is the Director in charge of his/her section that has the final say in how things are handled.

Director of Research:
The Director of Research is the faction’s greatest mind in the area of technological advancement. It is his/her responsibility to advise and to poll the people on which techs the people wish to research.

The Director of Research is acknowledged the right to advise the Foreign Affairs Director on matters of Tech trading.

The Director of Research is required to consult the Director of Energy and Industry and the Director of Social Engineering to agree on the science rate.

Director of Peacekeeping Operations:
This officer is the principal military advisor to the Commissioner and the people, and prepares military plans and reviews overall military requirements for our nation. He/She also has the responsibility to assess threats to the security of the faction and keep everyone up to date on these threats.

The Director of PO is granted the power to manage the engineering of new military units.

The Director of PO is granted the power to set up the army's strategy. He tells what troops to move where, and which battles to engage.

The Military Advisor is granted the right to take an active part in negotiations of Blood Truce, Treaty of Friendship and Brothers Pact. (Note: The Foreign Affairs Director calls the shots, but the Director of PO must have his voice heard).

Director of Foreign Affairs:
This Director is the commission’s chief advisor on foreign affairs and is responsible for carrying out foreign policy. He/She is given the power to enter into diplomatic negotiations with other factions, however should refrain from making commitments until approved by the people.

The Foreign Affairs Director is granted the power to make/accept peace, make/accept Treaty of Friendship, and make/accept Brothers Pact. The exchange of all items falls on the broad shoulders of the Foreign Affairs Minister. It is strongly recommended that the Foreign Affairs Minister consult the appropriate ministers when gifts or exchanges are involved.

This Director is required to consult the Director of Energy and Industry when energy credits is part of a deal.

This Director is required to consult the Director of Research when technology is part of a deal.

This Director is required to consult the Director of Exploration and Intelligence when the map is part of a deal.

Director of Energy and Industry:
The Director of I and E is truly the architect of our faction, for he is responsible for making the foundation of our faction, bases, as prosperous and successful as possible. The Director of Industry manages building queues and citizens, but may also request the Expansion and Terraforming Director to improve city tiles when needed. This Director is also responsible of the treasury of the faction.

The Director of I and E is required to consult the Director of Research and the Director of SE to agree on the energy rate.

The Director of I and E is required to cooperate with all the others Directors in case they require something build in the bases.

Director of Expansion and Terraforming:
The Director of E and T posses the important job of placing our glorious new bases.

The Director of E and T is in charge of all the formers and crawlers of our faction.

The Director of E and T must cooperate with the Director of I and E for the placement of crawlers.

Director of Social Engineering:
This Director is reponsible of the way of life of our people. He is in charge of preventing riots in our bases.

The Director of SE is granted the power to make polls on the Social Engineering choice and to report the results to the Commissioner.

The Director of SE is required to consult the Director of Research and the Director of Energy and Industry to agree on the psych rate.

Director of Exploration and Intelligence:
This Director is in charge of Planet's exploration.

The Director of Exploration and Intelligence is in charge of all the scouts (1/1/1) and rovers (1/1/2) used for exploration purposes. But theses units will return under the Director of PO rule as soon as they are garisonned or used for offensive against another faction.

The Director of Exploration and Intelligence is in charge of probe teams and missions.

The Director of E and I should cooperate with the Director of Peacekeeping Operations to agree on probe teams missions goals.

Public Information Servants

Chief Librarian:
The Chief Librarian logs everything that happens to our faction, however, he should do so without biased to political leaders or parties. The Chief Librarian is not allowed to vote in governmental polls.

The Chief Librarian may request detailed information on certain things from the Commissioner, and shall be granted access to multiple saves per turn (before and after the save has been played).

Reporters (Newspapers):
These independent agents are bestowed the great privilege of keeping the people informed on the happenings of the game and commission, as well as the general environment around us. They should strive to obtain accurate facts, and state things how they are, free of political involvement. The reporters act as a window into the game, serve as a commission watchdog, and are general tool of the people.

ARTICLE II: Commission Policy

Amendments:
Amendments to this Constitution can be submitted by any member of our faction. An amendment is passed and made official by a 2/3 or greater vote on the amendment's inclusion.

Length of Office Terms:
All office terms shall last one month. A member can run for a different office at the end of his term, but he cannot change offices during it. If a member is elected three times into the same office, that member must run for a different office in his fourth term, or not run at all.

Impeachment and Resignations:
All members of our great faction are recognized the right to bring foreword the issue of impeachment of any government official at any time. Resignations will be handled the same as any impeachments.

A poll will be posted which will expire in no less than 5 days. There are to be three poll options, yea, nay, and abstain. Upon the expiration of the poll, if 2/3 of the people who voted deem impeachment necessary, then the official shall be immediately removed from office. The Commissioner shall establish an emergency member to take his/her place until a new election can be held, and a new person voted into office to finish the term.

ARTICLE III: Polling

General Rules:
Polls may be conducted in an ‘unofficial’ format to simply gain information, but CANNOT be used in any official decisions. All of the following rules are regarding ‘official’ polls, which may or may not be used as official results for the actual game. Any unofficial polls must be labeled as so within the first post.

Each official poll should have its rules laid out, as well as a form of expiration, either when a certain event takes place (i.e. ‘when the game starts’), or a time limit (i.e. ‘5 days’). This is to prevent the occurrence of an incident such as if doesn’t include an expiration, and says 3 weeks later "well this poll said this" kind of thing, and use its results officially. Each poll should lay out the potential options, as well as the question in a clear format. The required inclusions for the post are: an expiration date/event, a fair, clear and concise, unbaised question which addressed the issue of the poll, and a general description of what your poll entails. Instead of a description if you wish to post a link to another thread to give a description, that is acceptable as well.

Those who wish to put up a poll are strongly recommended to first discuss the issue in another thread, and bounce around possible options for voting. If someone feels that a poll could have been better made as a 'grouping' poll, or a 'yes/no' poll, then it may be deemed invalid.

Length of a Poll:
Each poll must be open for a minimum of 3 days. This allows enough time for the majority of our members to see the poll and vote in it. Any poll open or taking results in less than 3 days is invalid. This includes 'spur of the moment' polls, that say something like 'This poll ends when turn 5 starts', but turn 5 starts in 2 days instead of 3 - this poll would be invalid.

Fairness and Neutrality:
The first post in a poll thread should be completely neutral. No options are to be suggested for voting, just what each option entails in an unbiased format. The same is true for the voting options. While poking fun at an option will probably be acceptable, if someone thinks that it interferes with a voter’s decision, then they may deem it invalid. If you show bias in your options, then it is no longer fair. So be warned, if your poll is a landslide one way and should win but someone feels that the options you presented are unfair and calls for a validity vote, if it’s deemed invalid your poll is useless.

Poll Format:
Each official poll MUST include either a ‘yes/no’ format, or a ‘group’ format, where similar options are grouped together, where the winning option within the group with the most votes is the official winner. The only time these formats do not have to be followed is in true multiple-choice polls, i.e. ‘Which Civilization should we be: Egyptians, Persians. Etc.’ In these cases, a simple ‘yes/no’ or ‘grouping’ poll does not suffice.

Repolling:
If someone wants to conduct a repoll, then it must be created at least 3 weeks following the initial poll. If a repoll is created before 3 weeks has passed, then that poll is immediately invalid. If a poll is an alternative poll, offering alternatives to decisions made in a previous poll, then it also must be conducted at least 3 weeks following the first poll, or be immediately deemed invalid. Any poll that's general purpose is the same or similar as another poll will be considered a repoll.

Length of Validity:
Poll results are valid until either a repoll is conducted, or an optional expiration on the results of the poll is included (either from an event or a time limit). In any other case, the results of a poll are official until the end of the game.

Invalidity of a Poll:
If these rules are not abided by, anyone may consider the poll invalid. If someone believes a poll to not be following these rules and declares it invalid, then a vote may be conducted among the elected officials listed above to be either ‘valid’ or ‘invalid’. If the poll is deemed invalid, then its results cannot be used for any official purposes regarding the game. A poll deemed invalid cannot be voted on again unless it abides by the rules regarding a repoll.

ARTICLE IV: Declaration of Rights

Clause 1: No person shall be denied the right to become a emeber of the UNP.

Clause 2: No member shall ever be denied the right to vote in any poll.

Clause 3: Free speech shall not be abridged unless it violates Apolyton rules.

Clause 4: No one shall be banned permanently from participating in the democracy game, excluding those who are permanently banned from apolyton. Note that people may still be banned for any amount of time, as long as it is not permanent.

Clause 5: The right to associate into any form of organization shall not be denied.

Clause 6: No member may be punished in any way without due process of law.

Clause 7: The commission may not knowingly hide information or give false information to the people.

[Darkness' Edge]

ahh damn, you mean i actually have to read this?

The Comissioner is required to host at least one turnchat a week.

I'm opposed to turnchats, as it instantly terminates the participation of anyone outside of North America (which includes myself). In the discussion we have seen so far, I haven't seen a great deal of support for turnchats either.

Alpha-Talent:
The right hand of the Commissioner; he may assist the Commissioner in any way currently needed (holding polls, consulting directors, distributing the save

files, etc). In the event the Commissioner is unable to play his turn, the Alpha-Talent shall play the turn instead.

I propose that the Alpha-Talent also runs elections, once we are up and running.

if 2/3 of the people who voted deem impeachment necessary, then the official shall be immediately removed from office. The Commissioner shall establish an

emergency member to take his/her place until a new election can be held, and a new person voted into office to finish the term.

...and if the commissioner is the one impeached...?

General Rules:
Polls may be conducted in an ‘unofficial’ format to simply gain information, but CANNOT be used in any official decisions. All of the following rules are

regarding ‘official’ polls, which may or may not be used as official results for the actual game. Any unofficial polls must be labeled as so within the first post.

I'm indifferent on this clause. I can see points why it should be there, but I can also see why it should be struck out. It does complicate the system a whole lot.

Apart from this sections, the rest of it seems great.

I do have one more comment though. Within the section that sets out the powers of directors, I think that each director should be specifically required to poll the people on most decisions.

[Voltaire]

I don’t believe that the ministries are equal in power, for example the Minister of Foreign Affairs directly makes decisions pertaining to negotiations, while the Director of Science only advises the Commissioner. The question here then is how much power the Commissioner will have, and what powers should the Commissioner have. As in should he or she have the final say, or do they have to follow the instructions of their ministers? Likewise, are the ministers bound to act in accordance with what the majority of citizens decide on in a poll?

[Juliennew]

the Minister of Foreign Affairs directly makes decisions pertaining to negotiations, while the Director of Science only advises the Commissioner.

I didn't go thorought the vocabulary of the text but understand it as the Director of Research polls the people and advise him on wich tech is the best to go for.
I should update the text to show that the Director are specially here to poll and advise the people on the cases regarding his departments.
I will keep the text updated until the Commissioner is elected.

[Voltaire]

Another question, the Civ III constitution has appointed positions as well (for the courts), should we include something such as that in the SMAC democratic game, and if so what positions should be appointed? IMO I believe that the Alpha Talent should be an appointed position by the Commissioner, this would add more realism to the game in a certain sense so that the Commissioner may reward a rival who decides to drop out of the race in their favor, and so on.

[Darkness' Edge]

I've created a poll on turnchat here. to find out what people think about turnchat. I think we should wait for the results to come in before making any final decision on the role turnchat should play in this game.

Secondly, Voltaire, that's why I'm proposing that the wording be made clearer, so that the Director of Foreign Affairs does not make all the decisions, but rather, polls the people.

Thirdly, appointed positions. As far as Alpha Talent goes, Leland has already polled the people on this issue. On courts - the Civ3 game is a lot bigger than this, and although we may have to introduce a system later on, I can't see the need for it at the moment.

[Juliennew]

I believe that the Alpha Talent should be an appointed position by the Commissioner, this would add more realism to the game in a certain sense so that the Commissioner may reward a rival who decides to drop out of the race in their favor, and so on.

I think there is already a poll for this question but IMO a more democratic way of appointing the Alpha-Talent is to appoint the runner-up of the Commissioner elections

[Leland]

Originally posted by Juliennew
Here is the form of the constitution.
Now the debate can really begin !!

Looks good, I have a couple of suggestions though.

• Maybe there could also be some upper limit as to how quickly the game can proceed, e.g. "the Commissioner shall not play more than 1 turn within 2 days". Or whatever is deemed an appropriate term duration in game time.
  
• Election procedure should be part of the constitution.
  
• I disagree strongly about the job description of the Director of Energy and Industry. Practically every other director is forced to either negotiate with him or submit to his producton choices, which I don't think is a good thing. I propose that we split this portfolio to two parts:
  
  Director of Energy and Industry
  The Director of I and E is truly the architect of our faction, for he is responsible for making the foundation of our faction, bases, as prosperous and successful as possible. The Director of Industry manages base facilities, special projects and citizens, but may also request the Expansion and Terraforming Director to improve city tiles when needed. This Director is also responsible of the treasury of the faction.
  
  The Director of I and E is required to consult the Director of Research and the Director of SE to agree on the energy rate.
  
  Director of Base Production
  The Director of BP has the last word on what goes into the build queues. He may not decide what exactly is being built, but he does have the power to allocate builds to other directors as he sees fit, and also has the power to abort any build that he deems unnecessary.
  
• The Director of Exploration and Intelligence should also have control over scout rovers and patrols (in other words, any military units that have 1/1/* stats and no special abilities).
  
• I don't think we need so much details about polling, after all polls are never really official (except during impeachment and elections, both of which can be covered as separate cases). Directors just use polls to get the public opinion, if they don't then their political opponents will make it an issue in the next elections.
  
• How about naming "Bill of Rights" to "Declaration of Rights", this is UN after all...
  
• The clause about banning someone is useless, because nowhere in the constitution are there any mentions of who has the power to ban anyone, or for what reasons.

[Juliennew]

Another question, the Civ III constitution has appointed positions as well (for the courts), should we include something such as that in the SMAC democratic game, and if so what positions should be appointed?

I don't think it is needed for the moment, it will make things too complex (and there already are )

I don't think we need so much details about polling, after all polls are never really official (except during impeachment and elections, both of which can be covered as separate cases). Directors just use polls to get the public opinion, if they don't then their political opponents will make it an issue in the next elections.

I will make a poll to deal with this

[Leland]

*bump*

[DeathByTheSword]

I have here v0.3 of the UN Constitution with only the barch part redone. I have not put in a D of BP or changed it. I just have highlighted the things we are discussion and altered things already discucced. i have it in a atchement but if need be I will post it here just say so!