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Amerion
Admiral General
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Joined:
Dec 2014
Posts:
2,235
Threads:
271
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Credits: 97,400¢
MAJOR EVENTS
Max Barry Day 2019
On the 18 th of March, the Ministry of Regional Affairs hosted a celebration of Max Barry Day — the NationStates creator's birthday. The day is also a South Pacific Regional Holiday and the Ministry, under the direction of Minister of Regional Affairs @ Beepee, organised a variety of events ranging from quizzes, mock pieces of legislation and readings of Max Barry's novels throughout the day and across all of the South Pacific's platforms (gameside, forum, and Discord).
TSP Design Competition
From the 4 th to the 21 st of March, the Ministry of Regional Affairs is running a design competition, with the region seeking a unified design language across its various government bodies. This includes a standard font and colour palette which can be used in posts by the Cabinet, Assembly, High Court, etcetera. These logos will be applied to all official posts and correspondences issued by their respective authorities. The logos will largely appeal to a domestic audience with regular updates from government bodies. They will also be used abroad in foreign embassies and in the NationStates Gameplay forum (NSGP).
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ASSEMBLY AFFAIRS
[A1903.01] Amendment to Article 1 of the Legislator Committee Act passed
An amendment to Article 1 of the Legislator Committee Act has passed. The final tally is 20 in favour, 5 in opposition, with 11 abstaining, for a total of 36 votes. The vote was passed with 80% voting in favour, exceeding the requirement for a three-fifths supermajority of those voting with the exclusion of abstentions.
The amendment, proposed by @ USoVietnam, removed the requirement of reconfirmation votes for sitting members of the Legislator Committee. The Committee is a commission responsible for granting and revoking Legislator Status to Assembly members. It is a separate and independent institution and has no political function. The passage of this amendment brings the Committee in line with the High Court and the Council on Regional Security whose members serve lifelong terms.
Legislator Committee Act
An act to establish a commission to manage legislators
1. Scope
...
(3) A member of the Legislator Committee is removed from the committee if
a. a reconfirmation vote held every four months does not achieve a simple majority, or
b a. the member resigns, or
c b. the member loses legislator eligibility, or
d c. the member is recalled by the Assembly through regular order.
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An amendment to Article 2 of the Legislative Procedure Act has failed. The final tally is 14 in favour, 19 in opposition, with 7 abstaining, for a total of 40 votes. The vote failed with 42% voting in favour, failing to meet the requirement for a three-fifths supermajority of those voting with the exclusion of abstentions.
The amendment, proposed by @ North Prarie, removed the requirement of a three-day consultation period in which corrections by the Chair to legislation are presented to the Assembly for feedback. Under Article 2 of the L.P.A., the Chair has the authority to 'correct typographical errors, grammatical errors, naming or formatting inconsistencies at any time, as long as these corrections do not alter the original intent of the law'.
Legislator Procedure Act
An Act to define the procedural rules of the Assembly
2. Powers and Responsibilities of the Chair
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(4) The Chair may correct typographical errors, grammatical errors, naming or formatting inconsistencies at any time, as long as these corrections do not alter the original intent of the law, following a three day period in which the corrections are presented to the assembly for comments. Any such corrections must be recorded with the legislative history of each law.
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In the opening post of the discussion thread, Chair @ Bzerneleg said:
While I believe that the Assembly forums is currently, I would say, in a good and acceptable state, there are weaknesses and loopholes in which I think need to be addressed. Those issues have lead to a pileup of threads in the Assembly forums and archives, without a concrete, long-term solution to deal with the pileups. One of the things I want to happen is for a Legislator to not be able to find the things they need as a result of poor organization. Aware of the fact that there are many experienced administrators in this Assembly, may I ask that Legislators contribute their ideas and experience to together form a reorganization plan, which will in turn create an organized Assembly.
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CABINET MATTERS
Cabinet publishes internal discussions in compliance with Sunshine Act
The Sunshine Act provides that '[the] significant discussions of an institution shall, in due time, be released for public archival accessible to all members of the South Pacific.'
The Cabinet disclosed 7 threads from the October 2017 Term and 15 threads from the February 2018 Term with 1 remaining classified.
The Cabinet's Sunshine Act Release can be viewed here.
Cabinet appoints an Advisor and an Intern
The Cabinet has reappointed @ Amerion as Cabinet Advisor and has also appointed its first ministry intern, @ Divine Owl (Aidenfieeld), who will serve as an intern for the Ministry of Regional Affairs.
South Pacific Special Forces Weekly Report
The full Weekly Report can be viewed here.
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HIGH COURT PROCEEDINGS
Court also publishes internal discussions in compliance with Sunshine Act
The High Court recently unclassified 71 discussion threads from within its private section, 2504 Lampshade Street. These threads feature private discussions ranging from 2014 to 2017, including case deliberations, policy discussions and other internal exchanges. The Court released the following statement on the publications:
A series of 71 threads from 2014 to 2017 has been disclosed as part on an effort by the High Court to come into full compliance with the Sunshine Act. These threads include deliberations by past justices on case submissions, discussions on administrative policy and discussions on other internal matters. It is the hope of the Court that these threads will be useful to all members of the public, present and future, as a source of historical and legal research. A detailed report on the threads disclosed, including links to each, may be found in this report.
An additional number of threads and discussion logs will be disclosed in due course, as the Court continues to review its prior discussions.
The High Court's Report on Sunshine Act Compliance can be viewed here.
[CC] [1902] North Prarie enters a guilty plea for Contempt of Court
In a statement published in Court, @ North Prarie submitted a plea agreement with the Court wherein he pleaded guilty to the offence of Contempt of Court.
The Court had previously found probable cause that @ North Prarie and @ Concrete Slab had engaged in Bribery and Contempt of Court.
Responding to a query by @ Tsunamy on the Court's ability to offer plea agreements, Associate Justice @ Belschaft noted:
We concluded that it was a logical extension of our power to determine guilt and issue sentence; that would seem to contain the ability to offer a reduced sentence or set of charges in return for a formal guilty plea. In this particular case North Prarie had already, to our interpretation, admitted fault whilst arguing mitigation. We found this argument - that he had broken the law but without full cognisance of what he was doing - persuasive, and as such approached North Prarie about changing his plea.
Our remit is to investigate a matter, determine what occurred, and ensure restitution. I believe that in this case that was best served by this outcome.
The case thread can be viewed here.
[LQ] [1904] Ruling regarding Separation of Powers handed down
@ Amerion sought clarification on whether a distinction exists between appointed deputies and Cabinet advisors and trainees/interns based on the wording in the Charter and the Elections Act, respectively.
In a Summary of the Opinion, the Court provided:
It is the opinion of the Court, based on a historical and legal examination, that a Deputy and an Advisor are fundamentally different offices. While both are junior members of the Cabinet, Deputies have particularly attributes and authority under the Elections Act that make them Offices of the Coalition, a distinct category to which Advisors would not, under ordinary circumstances, accede. This does not necessarily contemplate the occurrence of certain situations, such as Advisors being given executive responsibilities, which would need to be examined and considered as appropriate.
The case thread can be viewed here and the full opinion is available here.
[LQ] [1908] High Court accepts a review of the Legality of Ejections for Conduct Violations
@ Awe posed a question to the Court as to whether '... Article 2, Section 2 of the Criminal Code conflicts with Article III, Section 3 of the Charter, and if that Section of the Criminal Code should be deemed unconstitutional, should it be found to violate the right to due process.'
The Court resolved that the legal question posed was justiciable.
The case thread can be viewed here and the full determination is available here.
[LQ] [1909] High Court declines a review of the Local Council's Standard Moderation Policy
@ New Haudenosaunee Confederacy sought a review of the Standard Moderation Policy and its application by a Local Councillor; 'I ask the court if this, specifically the bolded part, is actually a standard moderation policy, as it is not consistently enforced, as shown by this, a double post by Sword of Summer (although the second post was later deleted, it was originally suppressed), and this double post by Concrete Slab.'
The Court resolved that the legal question posed was not justiciable.
The case thread can be viewed here and the full determination is available here.
[CC] [1911] High Court declines to indict New Haudenosaunee Confederacy
@ Volaworand submitted a criminal complaint against @ New Haudenosaunee Confederacy (NHC), alleging that NHC had him by publically accusing him of 'telegram spam'.
The Court did not find probable cause that NHC may have committed Defamation.
The case thread can be viewed here and the full finding of probable cause is available here.
[LQ] [1912] High Court receives new Legal Question on Identity Theft and Concealed Identities
@ Tsunamy has requested a clarification by the Court as to whether 'negative campaigning under an assumed identity would be considered "identity fraud"'?
The Court has received the question and is inviting interested third parties to 'explain the necessity of a ruling in this matter while the Court considers its justiciability.'
The case thread can be viewed here.
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CITIZENS' REMARKS
No remarks were submitted this week.
Citizens' Remarks is a portion of the Coco Weekly allocated as a public space for Citizens or Legislators to post notices which they would like to make the region aware of. This can range from a Roleplay event to a personal statement regarding a regional happening.
To request a post in the Citizens' Remarks in the upcoming Coco Weekly, please follow the guidance provided in this thread.
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(This post was last modified: 03-18-2019, 10:33 PM by Amerion.)
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