Refugia Revised Statutes
Text (19 December 2019)
This document establishes this association of nations and their shared beliefs and values. We define these values as refuge and shelter to all who have need of it, environmental stewardship of our nations while working to improve global atmospheric carbon levels, as well as the fair treatment and political inclusion of all peoples. We resolve ourselves to form governments with transparency and integrity in leadership and work to leave things as better than we found them.
The nations here will compose a region to be known as Refugia. These Statutes form our law.
- Acceptance to the Region is a right afforded to any nation willing to uphold the values named herein. Nations that oppose, disregard, or obstruct these values may be subject to ejection and transportation via variation magic to [region]The Rejected Realms[/region].
- Member States are defined as World Assembly nations that have resided within the Region for a period not less than seven days.
- A Nation will lose its status as a Member State if it elects to depart the Region, its status is self-requested to be revoked, or the nation is ejected.
- Nations that lose their status may apply to obtain it through the same process again unless they are barred from the Region.
- Nations may apply for Member State status in conditions where admission to the World Assembly is declined, rejected, or impossible.
- Exemption nations must still have resided within the Region for a period of time not less than fourteen days and have received the unanimous approval from the Regional Council to provide the exemption.
- Member States are entitled to submit any proposal, amendment, repeal, or revision to any revised statute, including this document in its entirety. Votes must be easily accessible and include the option to abstain. Only one vote is allotted to each Member State per referendum.
- Proposals must be supported by at least one other Member State, which may be referred to as a "second."
- Votes will last a period of seven days from the time of announcement and will be enacted or discarded upon conclusion.
- Proposals which have been defeated will trigger a cooldown period on the sponsor nation from submitting a new proposal for seven days after the end of the poll defeat.
- All nations within the Region have the right to solicit a ruling or official Regional position on:
- Opinions regarding the legality of a proposal
- Opinions regarding World Assembly affairs
- Opinions regarding foreign regional actions
- Opinions regarding the status of Member States
- Suits regarding ejection or barring of Regional nations
The results of rulings solicited by member states will be formed by the Regional Council and delivered by a representative of the Government.
- The Regional Council is defined to comprise of the following members:
- The Arch-Administrator, defined as Refuge Isle, which acts as the head of state for the Region. The Arch-Administrator's responsibilities are defined as the appointment and dismissal of all positions that are fairly elected into office and maintaining records of significance. When the Arch-Administrator is the World Assembly Delegate to the Region, they shall cast votes corresponding to the will of the Region's voting Member States.
- The Councillor of Foreign Affairs, whose responsibilities are defined as management and maintenance of the travel portals within the Region. The Councillor of Foreign Affairs seeks out ideologically-similar regions to Refugia and builds relationships with them. To that end, the Councillor oversees the construction, maintenance, and withdrawal of embassies.
The Councillor shall:- Maintain the relationships between Refugia and its allied regions.
- Appoint and dismiss Envoys, as the Councillor feels necessary, to aid in their duties.
- Publish a dispatch to the region which provides an informed opinion for the reason an embassy should be opened or closed.
- Initiate a four-day referendum among Member States, to determine if an embassy may be opened or closed. Such openings and closures may not occur without a referendum, and may not be acted upon contrary to the referendum.
- The Councillor of Culture, whose responsibilities are defined as orchestrating cultural events and developing the identity of the Regional culture. The Councillor of Culture must develop a Regional Eco Report in fulfilling obligations stipulated by RRS 11. a) and b), which identifies ways in which Member States of the Region may contribute towards the environmental targets established therein. Further, the Councillor of Culture must publish regular updates to the report in order to maintain its relevance and timely advice.
- The Operations Councillor, whose responsibilities are defined as identifying internal and external threats to the Region, possessing a general knowledge of worldwide events and invasion patterns, as well as verifying voter integrity by maintaining a roster of valid Member States. During worldwide crises, the Operations Councillor is responsible for organising and leading the Region’s response effort.
- The Councillor of the Interior, whose responsibilities are defined as facilitation of Regional engagement through communication with and polling of Member States and residents. Furthermore, the Councillor is responsible for broadcasting announcements via telegram and ensuring an amicable discussion environment.
- Nations of Refugia maintaining an active World Assembly membership are able to endorse other Refugia WA nations. The nation holding a plurality of these votes will be appointed World Assembly delegate. The delegate is not required to vote in accordance with the popular internal polling on resolutions at vote. As delegate:
- The delegate’s vote on WA Resolutions at Vote will carry a number of votes commensurate to the number of endorsements they maintain plus one.
- The delegate can approve proposed resolutions, assisting them in reaching quorum.
- The succession of the Arch-Administrator is subject to the succession laws of Refuge Isle, and verified by the presence of an anchor stone and Administration Tower. The Arch-Administrator will call elections for the four democratic Council seats according to the following convention:
Operations | Feb 1 - 7 | Jun 1 - 7 | Oct 1 - 7 |
Foreign Affairs | Feb 7 - 14 | Jun 7 - 14 | Oct 7 - 14 |
Culture | Feb 14 - 21 | Jun 14 - 21 | Oct 14 - 21 |
Interior | Feb 22 - 28 | Jun 22 - 28 | Oct 22 - 28 |
- Elections will consist of a two day candidacy period, followed by a five day voting period. On the eighth day, the results of the elections will be announced and, if applicable, the next ones will begin.
- Nations must qualify as Member States as defined in RRS 2 to be eligible for candidacy.
- The first two days of each electoral period will be a candidacy period. Any eligible nation as defined in RRS 9(a) may make a public declaration of intent during this time, and will subsequently appear on the ballot.
- Member States are prohibited from occupying more than one Council seat at any given time.
- Member States are prohibited from occupying the same Council seat more than two times consecutively.
- In the event of unexpected absences or positions that cannot be filled, the Arch-Administrator may act in that position's capacity, or appoint an individual who may serve in that position's capacity until the following election produces a regular appointment.
- At any time, a Member State can charge a Regional Councillor of neglect in their duties or mismanagement of their position. Their charge will be submitted in writing to the Arch-Administrator only after a second member state has seconded the motion. This charge must contain:
- A list of grievances against the accused.
- Argument as to why these grievances should result in the removal of the accused prior to the next election.
If all requirements laid out in RRS 4(c), 10, 10(a), and 10(b) are met, the Arch-Administrator will call for a vote of “No Confidence” among the member states. If this vote passes by a simple majority, a new election will be called for that Council seat within the following five days. The previous seat holder can run again granted they qualify under circumstances detailed in RRS 8a.
- The Region defines the goals and expectations in it Members' conduct and operations in the following ways
- Reach an average Environmental Beauty score of 1,900 on or before December 31, 2020, and maintained thereafter.
- Reach an average Eco-Friendliness score of 5,000 on or before December 31, 2020, and maintained thereafter.