| [Legal Question] Vacant Vice Delegate |
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We need to reach a decision quickly.
I will review the law books again tonight and post something so if you want to get a statement out tomorrow while I'm at work, you can.
I think it is clear: the Delegate and the Vice Delegate must be voted together as a joint ticket.
Article 1.9 of the Code of Laws specifically says that the Delegate and the Vice Delegate must be voted as a joint ticket. Article 1.10 adds to this by saying ALL other positions are voted separately. I also think it is clear: The Delegate cannot be removed from his position in this manner to accommodate a re-election. Article 1.13 outlines that a special election can only occur if there is a vacancy. A vacancy can only occur if the officer holder has ( a ) resigned, ( b ) been recalled, ( c ) no longer holds citizenship. The Delegate has neither resigned, been recalled, nor lost his citizenship. Article 1.9 also compels an election to begin after the vacancy is declared. "In the event of a vacancy in office a special election will begin within 72 hours of the office becoming vacant". It however does not specify that this special election need be a special election for the office holder. It could be a special election for Sherlock Holmes as far as we are concerned. Lastly, I think it is also clear: the line of succession only applies if the Delegate resigns, is recalled or is unable to fulfill his duties. (Article 3.2). So there is no easy out - no easy succession. There are thus are two possible scenarios that we could see through - all legal in my view. 1) The region holds a faux special election for Vice Delegate. No one can legally run for Vice Delegate without being on a joint ticket - but since there is no vacancy for Delegate, no candidate can legally be valid. If no candidate can legally be valid - the elections will be a legal fiction since no one can even be considered for the nomination. At the end of the election if there are no candidates, Article 1.12 compels the cabinet to vote on a new Vice Delegate. 2) The region holds a faux special election for a made-up fictive non-cabinet position. The Easter Bunny for all I care. In this ugly scenario, there is no Vice Delegate - no one is officially allowed to fulfill the duties of Vice Delegate. Cabinet would appoint a Vice Delegate, the month prior to the next General Elections. And yes, it is totally legal to run a election for a made-up fictive non-cabinet position -- we do it every General Election: The Craziest TSPer. Not once is the Craziest TSPer thing mentioned in the Code of Laws. The former is the recommended plan of action since it would allow for a Vice Delegate to be appointed now and not be vacated for months. I recognize that both of these proposals are thoroughly bonkers, but I do not believe that the law allows for a valid and true election, but yet it also compels for it to happen. - Unibot.
There's a line of succession Uni; the CSS member with the highest endorsement count becomes Vice-Delegate. That would be B&N I believe.
Minister of Media, Subversion and Sandwich Making
Associate Justice of the High Court and Senior Moderator ![[Image: B9ytUsy.png]](https://i.imgur.com/B9ytUsy.png)
The Line of Succession only applies if the Delegate leaves. There is no law applying to the Vice Delegate.
See Article 3.2. This is a failure of the drafters of the Code of Laws. They didn't appear to anticipate a circumstance where the Vice Delegate resigned. The Line of Succession only is activated in Article 3.2 if the Delegate resigns, not the Vice Delegate. If you follow the letter of the law, the Line of Succession is a flawed system at best. My solution would be to hold a faux election where no candidate can validly be accepted and then legally run a cabinet vote to appoint a Vice Delegate. They can choose who they like.
Furthermore, you appear to be second in line for the succession? And gaining endorsements at the moment?
I'm on 180, B&N is over 200. And I'm only endorising people who endorsed me at present.
On my lunch break, will deal with the legal stuff when I get home from work. Minister of Media, Subversion and Sandwich Making
Associate Justice of the High Court and Senior Moderator
Article 6.2-5 of the Charter states "The line of succession to the Delegacy is determined...".
Also, Article 1.9 of the Code of Laws states "The Delegate and Vice Delegate will run on a joint ticket and be elected by a majority vote." Do we consider the Del/VD the same position? If we do, then we can use the line of succession...But then again, if they're the same position, then, if one leaves, they both have to leave. So the line of succession is worthless... If we DONT consider them the same position, then there are a few ways we could go about things... Technically, the Delegate picks his/her Vice. So, we could have the delegate appoint a new VD, and have an assembly confirmation as a "vote". Or, we could use one of Unibots 2 ideas. All 3 Id see as "legal" under the Charter. Really, it comes down to how the Vice Delegate is viewed. Personally, I think we have more questions than answers right now...
"...if you're normal, the crowd will accept you. But if you're deranged, the crowd will make you their leader." - Christopher Titus
Deranged in NS since 2011 One and ONLY minion of LadyRebels The OUTRAGEOUS CRAZY other half of LadyElysium
I agree that their are multiple possible interpretations, so I'm going to use Occam's razor. The Delegate and Vice-Delegate may run on a joint ticket during the General Election, but they are separate positions both designated as senior cabinet members in their own right. There is a vacancy in the office of Vice-Delegate; therefore a special election must be run to fill that office.
I don't have time to write an actual opinion tonight (only got home from work 30 mins ago) but if one or both of you agree with the above logic and can do so, I'll review it tomorrow. Time is a factor here, so if you don't agree please right an alternative opinion asap. Minister of Media, Subversion and Sandwich Making
Associate Justice of the High Court and Senior Moderator
No. There are separate positions - but the law is clear, they are the ONLY positions which MUST be elected as a joint ticket.
That is why I believe my opinion is the correct one: A special election must occur: the line of succession is not applicable and a vacancy compels a special election. However, a special election is also not valid: no candidate can legally be considered without a joint ticket and there is no vacancy for delegate. That means a special election must occur and no candidate can be considered valid. Thus a faux election for the sake of the law must be run and at the end, the cabinet must vote to appoint a Vice Delegate. This is an important distinction because there is a serious difference between: A. Choosing a Vice Delegate via the Line of Succession. B. Choosing a Vice Delegate via a Regional Vote. C. Choosing a Vice Delegate via a Cabinet Vote. It is possible that the outcome would be different for each of these options. In my opinion, A and B are not options. We've established that the Vice Delegate and the Delegate are only elected as joint tickets (filling their position individually undermines the joint aspect). Likewise, the Line of Succession only applies when the Delegate resigns (likely because of very poor wording on the part of the drafters). Therefore C. is the only option and it is only an option after an election where no candidate runs. In the event of a special election, no candidate can legally run without a joint ticket and no joint ticket can be accepted. Thus C. is how they have to do this - it is the simplest way that this can be done within the confines of the law as written. |
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