Your Honor:

I submit the following legal questions on the removal of legislator status. These questions are based on Article IV, Sections 3-4 of the Charter of the Coalition of the South Pacific as well as precedent established by the High Court in HCLQ1611.

3. All residents of the Coalition are eligible to attain legislator status through application with the Chair, predicated on the Chair ensuring they are not seeking membership in bad faith, are not attempting to obscure their identity, are not attempting to join with multiple nations, and the Council on Regional Security does not declare them a significant risk to regional security. Any member of the Assembly may publicly petition the Chair for or against a prospective legislator’s admission.

4. Within the first week of each calendar month, the Chair will remove legislator status from any person absent for more than half of all votes finished in the previous calendar month, if a minimum of two votes occurred. The Chair may exercise their discretion and not remove legislators who have participated in assembly debate, but are below the voting threshold.

HCLQ1611:

The Court finds that the Deputy Chair does have the power to approve legislature applications unless otherwise determined by the Chair of the Assembly.

My questions are as follows:

1. Despite not explicitly being given the power to do so under Article IV, Section 4 of the Charter, does the Deputy Chair of the Assembly have the power to carry out the mandated monthly removal of legislator status, unless otherwise determined by the Chair of the Assembly, according to the precedent established by HCLQ1611, and, if so, does the power to do so continue following resignation of the Chair from office?

2. Given that Article IV, Section 3 of the Charter requires that only "residents of the Coalition" are eligible for legislator status, is maintaining a nation resident in the South Pacific also required to maintain legislator status, and can legislator status be removed during the mandated monthly removal of legislator status for failure to maintain a nation resident in the South Pacific even if an individual has satisfied legislative activity requirements?

I respectfully request that the High Court address these legal questions with all possible haste, as the mandated monthly removal of legislator status is scheduled for next week, and we have entered an election period. I thank the High Court for its consideration.

Reply

After deliberation the Court has chosen to hear this legal question, hereafter designated HCLQ 1706. Interested parties are invited to submit an amicus brief on the matter.

(This post was last modified: 04-27-2017, 11:19 PM by Farengeto.)

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HCLQ1706
May 6th, 2017

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Petitioner
Cormac

Presiding Justice
Farengeto

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Your Honor:

I submit the following legal questions on the removal of legislator status. These questions are based on Article IV, Sections 3-4 of the Charter of the Coalition of the South Pacific as well as precedent established by the High Court in HCLQ1611.

3. All residents of the Coalition are eligible to attain legislator status through application with the Chair, predicated on the Chair ensuring they are not seeking membership in bad faith, are not attempting to obscure their identity, are not attempting to join with multiple nations, and the Council on Regional Security does not declare them a significant risk to regional security. Any member of the Assembly may publicly petition the Chair for or against a prospective legislator’s admission.

4. Within the first week of each calendar month, the Chair will remove legislator status from any person absent for more than half of all votes finished in the previous calendar month, if a minimum of two votes occurred. The Chair may exercise their discretion and not remove legislators who have participated in assembly debate, but are below the voting threshold.

HCLQ1611:

The Court finds that the Deputy Chair does have the power to approve legislature applications unless otherwise determined by the Chair of the Assembly.

My questions are as follows:

1. Despite not explicitly being given the power to do so under Article IV, Section 4 of the Charter, does the Deputy Chair of the Assembly have the power to carry out the mandated monthly removal of legislator status, unless otherwise determined by the Chair of the Assembly, according to the precedent established by HCLQ1611, and, if so, does the power to do so continue following resignation of the Chair from office?

2. Given that Article IV, Section 3 of the Charter requires that only "residents of the Coalition" are eligible for legislator status, is maintaining a nation resident in the South Pacific also required to maintain legislator status, and can legislator status be removed during the mandated monthly removal of legislator status for failure to maintain a nation resident in the South Pacific even if an individual has satisfied legislative activity requirements?

I respectfully request that the High Court address these legal questions with all possible haste, as the mandated monthly removal of legislator status is scheduled for next week, and we have entered an election period. I thank the High Court for its consideration.

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Ruling

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After deliberation the following is the opinion of this Court:

1. The position of "deputy Chair of the Assembly" is referred to only in the Legislative Procedure Act in its references to "the Chair or their designated deputy". It is therefore the belief of this court that when the position of Chair is vacant they are therefore unable to designate a deputy and therefore when the position of Chair becomes vacant no designated deputy can exist. Since the conclusion of HCLQ 1611 the laws regarding the powers of the Chair have been rewritten with several clauses being written to explicitly include the aforementioned "the Chair or their designated deputy". Despite the clauses regarding legislator approval and removal being changed in this same period no such "deputy" term exists for legislator removal exists and it is therefore the opinion of this Court that the deputy Chair does not have the power to remove legislator status. Given that the precedent of HCLQ 1611 creates a situation in which the Chair's designated deputy can grant but not remove Legislator status, the Court advises that the Assembly clarify the powers of the Chair's designated deputy in these areas.

2. It is the opinion of this court that the given wording of Article 4.3 of the Charter, particularly the usage of the phrase "eligible to attain", that the requirements outline in Article 4.3 only apply during the application process for legislator status. Ineligibility under Article 4.3 prevents one from gaining legislator, however it is not grounds for the removal of legislator status. The Court recognizes this can lead to some unintended circumstances regarding Legislator status and therefore recommends Articles 4.3 and 4.4 of the Charter be clarified to address these situations.

Reply