United Nations Charter

(6/8/2020)

Preamble

We, the founding member states of these United Nations, do establish and ordain this Charter for international peace and prosperity. This Charter is the highest law of the land and no statute may supersede it. All former Charters upheld by the United Nations are hereby null, void and unenforceable by the United Nations.

Article I

The founding countries are to be the original voting member states represented in the United Nations. These countries are The Confederate Provinces of East Old Man Reid, The Nation of Isaac, the Grand Isle of Knoo, the Cloak and Dagger Society, Quinn’s Country, Crippal, and Nelsonia.

To be established and recognized as a sovereign state, a government must be established and legitimately own territory. This state will receive observer status in the United Nations.

To be admitted with voting power, a two-thirds supermajority of votes must be cast in favor of admitting the new country. The country must also ratify the United Nations Charter as the international governing body by which it will conduct all foreign affairs or else it cannot hold voting power in the United Nations.

Unless specifically stated by a United Nations statute, non-voting observer states will not be eligible for benefits of United Nations statutes.

All states, observed and not observed by the United Nations, are required to comply with United Nations law. The United Nations reserves the right to press charges on any entity for violations of international law.

Article II

The legislative powers of the United Nations are to be held in a unicameral legislature. This chamber holds the power to pass legislation and is to be the United Nations Assembly. Each voting member state has one ambassador, all of whom have an equal vote. They may propose a motion which requires a simple majority of greater than one half of votes, a resolution which requires a simple majority of greater than one half of votes, or an amendment or addendum to the United Nations Charter, which requires a minimum vote of two thirds of all ambassadors.

Once a piece of legislation is passed through the Assembly, it is law unless it conflicts with the United Nations Charter. Amendments or addendums to the United Nations Charter cannot, by the definition of amendments and addendums, conflict with the United Nations Charter and any piece of the Charter conflicting with an addendum or amendment are no longer legally enforceable.

Both chambers need at least two votes cast to pass any motion or piece of legislation. The minimum voting time for all motions is 36 hours, although the author of a motion may extend the voting time, but no longer than 168 hours; all votes not cast during the window are to be considered abstentions. Votes pass if a majority is reached or when the voting time expires. An ambassador has the right to abstain after their vote has been cast, but may not change their vote after abstaining.

Article III

The executive powers lie in the office of the Speaker of the United Nations. The Speaker must be an Ambassador in the Assembly, and must be elected with the highest proportion of votes. The Assembly votes every other Monday to determine the new Speaker. No Ambassador may be the Speaker for a period exceeding twelve weeks and may not hold the office of Speaker until the next election. Voting time in a Speaker election is to be 24 hours.

When voting for a Speaker candidate, one can withdraw their vote for an abstention - removing their vote entirely - or drop out and endorse another candidate - moving all votes for oneself, including if one voted for themselves, to another candidate. If one voted for a different candidate and chose to endorse another candidate, then that vote is removed as if abstained. If one voted for themselves, then that vote transfers to the endorsed candidate. Once one endorses a candidate, one cannot abstain and remove the votes. Endorsing and abstaining are mutually exclusive.

The Sergeant at Arms, which is a position held in good behavior for an indefinite period with a primary focus of announcing the status and results of motions on the floor inaugurally held by the ambassador of East Old Man Reid.

The Speaker is to appoint a Director for each bureau of the bureaucracy established by the United Nations and reserves the right to pass an executive order, forcing a bureau to act in a certain way, within the legal limits of power allocated to a specific bureau. No bureau may go outside of the limits of power allocated by the legislature.

The Bureau of Records is to hold the United Nations Charter in all of its past and present forms. In addition to the Charter, it is to hold all passed resolutions, even if they were repealed. The Bureau will also hold all court proceedings, publications by other bureaus and executive orders.

The Director of the Bureau of Records is the official Deputy Speaker of the United Nations.

The line of succession, should a Speaker be removed from office, shall be established by the Assembly, but the Deputy Speaker shall be first in line. No positions held by the Speaker are permitted to be in the line of succession and no position held indefinitely by one person may be in the line of succession. The line of succession is to be applied when the Speaker is removed from office. The Speaker cannot fire any Bureau Director, but rather must call for an impeachment for the Assembly to vote on should they wish for a Bureau Director to lose their position. The Assembly can impeach any Bureau Director, Speaker, Deputy Speaker or group of executive leaders with a simple majority vote. No member of the line of succession may hold more than one position in the line of succession.

Should a Bureau Director be impeached, the Speaker must appoint a replacement. The Speaker is also to appoint Bureau Directors after being elected. Upon the removal of office of executive officials, the highest-ranked member left in the line of succession is to assume the role of Speaker and is to appoint replacements for all vacant positions. Impeachment may only be attempted twice on a single official during a term. An official may be put up for impeachment more than twice only if an official is convicted of a crime during their term.

Article IV

All international judicial powers are to reside in the United Nations Assembly. The head of the Judiciary is to be the Deputy Speaker of the United Nations. If the Deputy Speaker is a prosecutor or defendant, then the position of head of the Judiciary follows the line of succession until a member of the line of succession is a neutral party in the case. The Speaker is not in this line, as the Speaker must represent the United Nations when the United Nations is a party in a case.

The judiciary is to hear three different types of cases: civil, criminal and war criminal. All cases begin with opening statements by the defendant and the prosecution, followed by a rebuttal from each side. In the presence of the Assembly, less formal debate may ensure between the two sides. The head of the judiciary during the case is to determine how many additional arguments each side may make and how long they have. The Assembly may suggest to the head of the judiciary to allow each side more arguments. Both sides must have an equal amount of arguments and equal time allotted for arguments.

In a civil case, the Assembly is to hear if a law passed is enforceable under the United Nations Charter and is to settle disputes between international entities. In civil cases not involving the United Nations, the most severe sentence to a violator of a code of conduct would be loss of territory not exceeding 10% of the violating country’s land area.

In a criminal case, the Assembly is to decide if the accused broke international law. Any citizen of a United Nations-recognized nation has the right to report violations to international law to the United Nations, from where the United Nations Assembly may hold a court for the accused. The United Nations is to be the prosecuting party, regardless of whomst made the accusation. The assembly will determine the verdict and sentence of the case. A verdict must be decided by simple majority. A sentence must be decided by an absolute majority.

In a war criminal case, the Assembly is to decide if the accused broke the laws of war. War criminal cases follow the same procedures as criminal cases. This is the most egregious violation to international law, and the minimum sentence is a fine of five diamonds to the United Nations and one diamond each party that was wronged. A verdict and sentencing are to be determined the same way as a criminal case.

No court cases may be appealed from a nation’s court to the United Nations Judiciary provided a national court was hearing a case regarding two of its own citizens.

There is also to be a statute of limitations that the Assembly is to pass regarding how long one has to press charges in the United Nations Judiciary after a crime has been committed or code of conduct has been violated. The baseline statute of limitations is fifty-six days after the date of the crime or violation, although this may be changed for various crimes or violations to code of conduct.

Article V

Borders between nations are to be decided by a United Nations Bureau known as the Cartography Commission. The head of the Cartography Commission is to be a position held indefinitely in good behavior and is to publish at least one map per month. The inaugural head of the Cartography Commission under this United Nations Charter is to be the Ambassador from the Nation of Isaac. The Cartography Commission publishes the borders between nations and determines the Spheres of Influence in which a nation directly exerts influence.

National borders define territory owned specifically by a country and no other country may have a claim to that land. Nations may use this land for any purpose, within the limits of United Nations law. This includes selling land, in which they have two options, directly agreeing with a single nation to exchange land for goods or currency or holding an auction with every nation represented.

In a direct sale, both parties will sign a treaty specifying what land is to be ceded and what compensation the selling party receives. There must be some form of compensation.

In an auction, the selling party specifies a piece of land, the minimum bidding price and a time at which the auction ends, at which point the territory is sold to the highest bidder. The seller may not withdraw, extend the bidding time, or raise the asking price after the start of the auction.

Spheres of Influence are territories in which a nation has exclusive expansion rights due to their levels of influence as determined by the Cartography Commission. Nations may share territory in Spheres of Influence, and expansion into a shared Sphere of Influence may be contested. Expansion into Spheres of Influence under the control of a single country by the aforementioned country cannot be contested.

Unclaimed territory outside of Spheres of Influence may be settled by anyone, however if the unclaimed territory being settled by a nation is sufficiently close to another nation’s Sphere of Influence or incorporated territory, they may contest the settlement.

Nations have the right to harvest resources within the borders of their territory and exclusive Spheres of Influence, but may not harvest any resources without consent of other nations within the borders of their territory, exclusive Spheres of Influence or shared Spheres of Influence. Harvesting resources in neutral territories does not exert control or influence on the territory.

To be able to build into maritime territory, a nation must exert exclusive influence or own the territory surrounding the land around the body of water. In the cases of rivers, this is owning both banks of a river. If a nation does not meet these requirements, the maximum they may build into maritime territory is three blocks from the shore that they own and must be above the waterline. The construction of man-made islands is prohibited. All existing man-made islands created before 10/9/2019 are lawful and permitted to continue to exist. However, no new one may be created lawfully and is to be considered an act of war against the United Nations.

Nations have the right to build in airspaces over unclaimed territory and their own borders and exclusive Spheres of Influence. Air structures do not exert influence or control over territory although air structures built by a nation within its own territory or exclusive Sphere of Influence receive the same protections as any other building. Air structures are to abide by the same restrictions as maritime territory when built over maritime territory.

Article VI

The seat of government of the United Nations is to be the quartz and stone-block building conjoined by a skybridge within the territory known as West Old Man Reid. This building is exclusively owned by the United Nations. The rest of the territory of West Old Man Reid owned by the United Nations is to be governed by a bureau known as the Department of the Treasury, which has a primary function of handling United Nations monetary assets. The head of the Department of the Treasury is a Speaker-appointed position at the start of each new Speaker’s term.

The territory known as No Man's Land as a protected international park and any improvements or alterations to the land or the space above are expressly prohibited. This is to be enforced strictly by the United Nations Department of the Interior, which has a primary function of maintaining natural beauty, according to United Nations statutes. The head of the Department of the Interior is a position held indefinitely in good behavior. The inaugural head of the Department of the Interior is the Ambassador from the Cloak and Dagger Society.

All railroad stops and land designated for railroad stops are to be United Nations-controlled territory governed by a bureau known as the Bureau of Transportation. The focus of the Bureau of Transportation is to make transportation between different parts of the world easier. The head of the Bureau of Transportation is a Speaker-appointed position at the start of each new Speaker’s term.

Article VII

All resolutions passed by the United Nations under the prior United Nations Charter are null and void with the following exceptions:

• Maritime Defense Initiative
  
• Diplomatic Procedures: Declarations of War, Declarations of Hostility, Embargoes, Treaties, and Alliances
  
• Alfredo Sauce
  
• Cartography Commission
  
• The Aternos Games
  
• The Revolutionary War Wasn’t in Vain 3.0
  
• Mistake Day
  
• Sergeant at Arms
  
• Department of the Treasury
  
• Bureau of Transportation
  
• Bank Protection
  
• Vow Against Growing in Neighbouring Areas
  
• Department of Corrections
  
• The Use of United Nations Land
  
• The Foundation of a new Department
  
• Ease of Exploration and Trade
  
• Bridge Proposal

These resolutions are not to be treated as permanent and do not need an amendment to the United Nations Charter to be repealed. A simple resolution is all that is required to repeal a resolution that is being kept from the former Charter.

Article VIII

This Charter is to take effect on the first anniversary of the ratification of the original United Nations Charter, June 8th, 2020. On this date, the prior Charter ceases to have any legal significance and this Charter becomes the supreme law of the land in all United Nations states.

Signitures,

We, the member states of the United Nations, do establish and ordain this Charter as the Official Charter and Supreme Law of the Land of the United Nations.

President OldManReidGaming of the Confederate Provinces of East Old Man Reid

The Mighty Lord Axeman_76 of the Nation of Isaac

President Vlueban of Quinn’s Country

President Cowman7 of Nelsonia

Captain TallerFiber1 of the Grand Isle of Knoo

Der Führer Yahtta of Crippal

Consul Danav215 of the Cloak and Dagger Society

(6/10/2019) (Void, 6/8/2020)

Article I

The United Nations is to be made of a legislative body with ambassadors from all represented nations. To be a represented nation, an absolute majority of nations must agree that the country has the right to exist and be represented in the United Nations. The nation that will be recognized also has to have a simple majority of its population wish to be an independent state.

Article II

As far as the legislative body goes, all nations are to be equally represented with one ambassador. To pass resolutions, a simple majority is required. Any ambassador may propose a resolution to the legislative body, and they do so by giving the proposed bill to the Speaker, who will read it to the body and then take a vote. The speaker always is to vote last, with the author of the bill voting first. Should the bill pass, either the author or the speaker is to read the contents of the bill in the general hall.

Article III

Ambassadors to the United Nations are to be chosen by each nation on the Sunday of every week, and the leader of each nation is to submit the name of their nation's ambassador. If the leader does not provide the name of their ambassador, the previous ambassador will continue in a second term. Should an ambassador resign, the leader of the ambassador's country must appoint a new one, or else the seat shall be vacant and all of the country's votes will be counted as abstentions.

Article IV

The Speaker of the United Nations must be a current ambassador and is to be decided in an election among the current ambassadors. A simple majority is required to elect a speaker, and in the event of a tie, the host country's ambassador is to be speaker. Speaker elections are to be held on the Monday of each week. The Speaker of the United Nations may also be removed from office with an absolute majority in the event that the other ambassadors of the United Nations feel that the Speaker of the United Nations is failing in their duties as Speaker. Should the Speaker be removed from office, either by their choice or the choice of the legislative body, the host country's ambassador shall become Speaker. If the host country's ambassador was the Speaker and left office, the leader of the smallest country represented in the United Nations shall appoint a new Speaker of the United Nations.

Article V

The powers of the Speaker of the United Nations include calling a session, moderating debate, reading proposed resolutions and ending a session. Should the legislative body determine the Speaker shall have more roles, they may pass an amendment to the UN Charter.

Article VI

To amend the UN charter, an absolute majority is necessary. Any ambassador may propose an amendment. A simple majority in the United Nations is having more than 50% support among ambassadors. An absolute majority is having at least 66.7% support among ambassadors. An abstention means the ambassador's vote shall not count at all, and so only those voting in favor of or opposed to a resolution shall be counted.

Article VII

The United Nations is also to govern the territory known as "No Man's Land", and to make laws regarding its wellbeing.

Should there be a dispute between two nations' legal systems, the legislative body will convene to determine, by simple majority, which nation will hold the court case to decide the fact. Court cases may be appealed from member states' courts to the legislative body of the United Nations, but an absolute majority is required in order for the court case to be accepted. When a court case is accepted by the United Nations, they are to hear the argument by both sides and to hear the law in question. The United Nations is to then decide, by simple majority, if the law is just and/or necessary, and if one side violated that law. If the law is deemed neither necessary nor just, the law is to be struck down.

Signatures,

We, the founding members of the United Nations, accept this charter for the means of governing our international body and promoting international harmony.

Pope OldManReidGaming of the Commonwealth of Old Man Reid

The Mighty Lord Axeman_76 of the Nation of Isaac

President Vlueban of Quinn's Country

President TheCowman of Nelsonia

Captain TallerFiber1 of the Isle of Knoo