Quote:CHARTER OF THE HIGH COURT OF THE SOUTH PACIFIC





We, the Justices of the High Court of the South Pacific, acting in good faith and in endeavouring to uphold the laws and legal process of the South Pacific, hereby establish this Charter to codify the procedures and conduct of this Court.





Article 1 - Fundamental Principles

1. The High Court is a sovereign branch of the South Pacific. It should never be dissolved, nor should any individual or entity independent of the Court, be permitted to assume its powers.
   
   
2. The High Court is responsible for the enforcement and clarification of laws in the South Pacific.
   
   
3. The High Court, as a branch of the South Pacific, should be accountable to the people of the South Pacific.
   
   

Article 2 - Composition of the High Court

1. The High Court shall consist of four Court Justices.
   
   
2. The Court Justices shall select one of themselves to serve as Chief Justice.
   
   
3. Three Justices of the High Court, determined by a rotating schedule created by themselves, shall participate in criminal cases and legal questions
   
   
4. The fourth Justice shall serve as the non-presiding Justice and is responsible for the hearing of appeals
   
   
5. Procedures for the Election of High Court Justices will be defined in the Code of Laws.
   
   
6. The Court Justices are not prohibited from joining the Assembly or any associated organization in the South Pacific, barring political parties and organizations or interest groups.
   
   

Article 3 - Conduct of Court Justices

1. In conducting business of the High Court, Court Justices and Acting Justices should uphold the following qualities:
   
   
   1. Fairness - Avoid prejudice based on personal bias, instead rule upon what is written in law
      
      
   2. Analysis - Consider the impact of Court rulings carefully, and ensure whenever possible, that no individual should be able to gain personal benefit or otherwise exploit rulings of the Court
      
      
   3. Integrity - Avoid corruption by undue influence beyond the realm of the Court in the discharge of one's duties
      
      
   4. Resilience- At times when it is necessary to pass a ruling that may create disharmony in the greater community, Justices and the Court may face backlash and criticism for the discharge of our duties
      
      
   5. Teamwork- Maintain good communication with the community and fellow Justices
      
      
   6. Honour- To serve and dignify the region in the maintenance of an important security apparatus
      
      

Article 4 - The Chief Justice

1. The Chief Justice should be selected from the bench of serving Court Justices.
   
   
2. The Chief Justice is responsible for leading the High Court in its deliberations and policies.
   
   
3. The Chief Justice should be seen as primus inter pares, or first among equals. The opinion of the Chief Justice should not bear greater weight than that of fellow Court Justices.
   
   
4. The Chief Justice should act as the liaison between the High Court and other branches of the South Pacific, including the community, whenever necessary and appropriate.
   
   

Article 5 - Powers of the High Court

1. The High Court is responsible for determining innocence or guilt in criminal cases, and issuing sentence.
   
   
2. The High Court may declare any whole General Law, or portions within such law, that conflict with the Charter defunct, and to reconcile contradictions within the Charter.
   
   
3. The High Court holds the sole power to remove citizenship outside of regular legislation that outlines reasonable upkeep requirements or security imperatives.
   
   
4. The High Court is responsible for hearing appeals to criminal cases and legal questions. The non-presiding Justice is the final court of appeal; its verdict cannot be further contested.
   
   
5. In response to a Legal Question, the High Court may void a decision of the Assembly, the Delegate, the Vice-Delegate or the Cabinet if they are found to have acted contrary to the Charter or Code of Laws in the process of making that decision.
   
   

Article 6 - Criminal Cases

Section 1: Basic Principles

1. If charges are filed against a citizen the case will be held in the High Court.
   
   
2. A Justice may file charges against a citizen, provided they recuse themselves from the case.
   
   
3. If charges are filed against or on behalf of a former citizen, with citizenship being held at the time of the offence, the Chief Presiding Justice may, at personal discretion, issue summons to request that the individual return to stand trial or otherwise obtain testimony from the individual.
   
   
4. The Chief Presiding Justice shall be selected from amongst the Presiding Justices and is responsible for keeping order in the court and has the power to penalize citizens for being in contempt of the court.
   
   
   

Section 2: Procedures

Section 2.1: Procedure for filing a Complaint

1. Any resident of The South Pacific may lodge a criminal complaint against an individual residing within the jurisdiction of The South Pacific, or have such done on their behalf by a representative. An individual doing such will be referred to as “The Complainant” and their representative as “Complainants Counsel” during the pre-trial period. An individual who has had a criminal complaint lodged against them will be referred to as “The Accused” and their representative as “Accused’s Counsel” during the pre-trial period.
   
   
2. The Complainant or Complainants Counsel must create a thread identifying the Accused party or parties, the criminal offence they believe the Accused has perpetrated, and presenting sufficient preliminary evidence to warrant a trial.
   
   
3. The Chief Presiding Justice will publicly acknowledge receipt of this complaint within 72 hours, and the High Court Justices will collectively determine whether sufficient preliminary evidence has been presented to warrant trial.
   
   
4. Should the evidence presented be deemed insufficient then the complaint will be rejected until such time that further evidence is presented.
   
   
5. Should the evidence presented be deemed sufficient then they will publicly state such, and further inform both the Complainant and the Accused or their representatives via personal message. At this point a case number will be assigned and a new thread created for the Pre-Trial stage and all subsequent stages.
   
   
   

Section 2.2: Pre-Trial

1. Once the case enters the pre-trial stage the Complainant, the Accused, and their respective representatives will be referred to as “The Prosecution” and “The Defence”. The Complainant remains referred to as such, whilst the Accused will be referred to as “The Defendant”.
   
   
2. The Defence has 72 hours to respond to the complaint once the pre-trial stage is entered. Should they not respond to the complaint then The High Court will proceed to formal trial, with a plea of not guilty automatically entered. In these circumstances The High Court will appoint a representative for the Defendant to act as the Defence in their stead.
   
   
3. In responding to the complaint the Defence must first enter a plea of either guilty or not guilty. Should the Defence enter a guilty plea then The High Court will move immediately to sentencing. A not guilty plea can be changed to a guilty plea at any point in time following this stage.
   
   
4. Subsequent to this both the Defence and the Prosecution may submit pre-trial motions, including but not limited to motions to dismiss the charges, requests for additional time, alter the charges and for one or more Court Justices to recuse themselves. Such motions should provide evidentiary reason to justify them, and will be considered by the Court Justices collectively. Such motions may be considered later at the discretion of the Court Justices, but will not be granted short of extraordinary circumstances outside of the pre-trial stage. Once all pre-trial motions have been addressed the Defence and the Prosecution will have a period of at least 72 hours to submit lists of intended witness and all other forms of evidence to the Chief Presiding Justice for review and approval. The Court Justices will collectively approve or deny each proposed witness and piece of evidence, and provide the approved lists to both the Defence and the Prosecution. The Defence and Prosecution both have the right to cross-exammine the others’ witnesses.
   
   
5. A period of time will then be allowed for the gathering of all witness testimony. This should be arranged via a means mutually agreeable to the Defence and the Prosecution, or failing this by a means determined by the Chief Presiding Justice. Should a witness prove hostile whilst testifying or refuse to testify then the matter should be reported to the Chief Presiding Justice. In such circumstances the Court Justices will collectively consider the matter, and may compel the witness to cooperate or should they refuse find them in contempt.
   
   

Section 2.3: Trial

1. The Prosecution will have 72 hours to present their case, including all evidence and witness testimony.
   
   
2. The Defence will then have 72 hours to cross-examine the prosecution's witness testimony and offer rebuttal to the Prosecution's case.
   
   
3. The Defence will then have 72 hours to present their case, including all evidence and witness testimony.
   
   
4. The Prosecution will then have 72 hours to cross-examine the defence's witness testimony and offer rebuttal to the Defence’s case.
   
   
5. The Prosecution will have 72 hours to present their closing argument.
   
   
6. The Defence will have 72 hours to present their closing argument.
   
   
7. The case will then proceed to verdict and sentencing.
   
   
   

Section 3: Verdict and Sentencing

Section 3.1: Verdict

1. The Court Justices will collectively reach a verdict amongst themselves by majority decision with the Defendant to be found either guilty or not guilty
   
   
2. Should a guilty verdict be reached then the case will proceed to sentencing immediately.
   
   
3. Should no majority decision be reached then a mistrial will be declared. The Defendant is found neither guilty nor not guilty.
   
   

Section 3.2: Sentencing

1. Upon reaching a guilty verdict the Court Justices will also pass sentence, to be announced at the same time.
   
   
2. Should the Defendant fail to carry out their sentence, or an official prevent or refuse to enforce it, the Court Justices may find them in contempt.
   
   
3. Sentences involving bans more than a year in length shall be subjected to a review by the Parole Board, in accordance with guidelines stipulated in Article 7 of the Code of Laws.
   
   
   

Section 4: Other

1. All verdicts will be accompanied by an explanatory opinion explaining how and why the High Court reached the verdict, and why any particular sentence was imposed. When a Court Justice dissents from a majority verdict they may attach a dissenting opinion. In event of a mistrial then the Chief Presiding Justice is responsible for providing the explanatory opinion as to the reasons behind the Court’s decision to declare a mistrial..
   
   
2. Should the Chief Presiding Justice be unavailable, absent, recused, or otherwise unable to preside over a case then a Court Justice will act in his stead.
   
   
3. Should a Court Justice recuse themselves then the remaining Justices will select a replacement from volunteering citizens. Should all Court Justices recuse themselves then the Appellate Justice will select replacements from volunteering citizens.
   
   
4. The Defendant and Complainant must be citizens of the South Pacific. Whilst it is preferable for the Prosecution and Defence to also be citizens of the South Pacific, the Chief Presiding Justice may at the pre-trial stage, in consultation with the other presiding justices, grant permission for one or both of the Prosecution and Defence to be exempt from this requirement for the duration of the trial. Any individual/nation currently serving a suspension or ban from the South Pacific, any individual/nation who is a member of a proscribed organisation/region, any individual/nation who is a member of an entity/region against which the South Pacific is taking defensive action or any individual/nation who is a member of a entity/region that the South Pacific is at war with will be considered ineligible to act as a Prosecutor or Defender. In all cases the decision of the Chief Presiding Justice is final.  
   
   
5. These procedures may be deviated from as necessary at the discretion of the Chief Presiding Justice.
   
   
   

Section 5: Criminal Case Appeals

1. To appeal the decision of a criminal case the defendant, his representative or the prosecution must file notice with the High Court within fourteen (14) days of the High Court ruling.
   
   
2. The notice must include the objections to the ruling and justification for why the appeal should be heard, with reference to the relevant sections of the Charter and Code of Laws.
   
   
3. The non-presiding Justice has five (5) days to decide whether to hear the Appeal.
   
   
4. If the Justice chooses to hear the case,they are required to do so in a timely manner. The Justice may issue summary judgments in favour of the defense or prosecution due to excessive absenteeism.
   
   

Article 7 - Criminal Code

1. Treason shall be defined as plotting against the Coalition, seeking to lower the delegate's endorsement count without his or her consent, breaking the endorsement cap after receiving an official warning, aiding any entity in which the Coalition is taking defensive action against, or any entity in which a state of war exists with. Nations and citizens that refuse to endorse the Delegate during a State of Emergency shall be considered guilty of treason, and refusing to disclose the name of one's WA nation whilst the aforementioned circumstances are in effect is also considered an act of treason.
   
   
2. Defamation shall be defined as communication of a statement which makes a false claim, expressly stated or implied to be factual, in an attempt to harm the reputation of another user or group of users on the forum. The offended must express the offense to the Court in order for the charge to be considered.
   
   
3. Fraud shall be defined as a deception made for personal gain or to damage another individual.
   
   
4. Electoral fraud shall be defined as a deception or manipulation of the electoral system for personal gain or to distort election results
   
   
5. Espionage shall be defined as an act of or attempt to obtain information that is confidential or not made publicly available for use by oneself or an entity one represents. Distribution of private information that originates on the South Pacific Forum without the express written permission of the Cabinet of the South Pacific or distribution of information originating from the High Court without express permission of the Chief Justice shall be considered Espionage.
   
   
6. Contempt shall be defined as willfully refusing or preventing the implementation of a lawful court order or instruction.
   
   
7. Conduct violations shall be defined as breaking in-game NationStates rules.
   
   
8. The Criminal Code can be amended by a simple majority vote in the Assembly to the Code of Laws.
   
   

Article 8 - Penal Code

1. If found guilty of an act of treason, the offending nation will be immediately banned from the in-game region and offsite forums.
   
   
2. If found guilty of defamation, the offending nation must issue a public apology to the nation in which the offense was committed against. Further punishment may be determined by the High Court.
   
   
3. If found guilty of fraud, the High Court will determine a sentence.  The sentence must be proportionate to the offense.
   
   
4. If found guilty of electoral fraud, the High Court will determine a sentence. The sentence must be proportionate to the offense.
   
   
5. If found guilty of espionage, the offending nation may be banned from the in-game region and expelled from the offsite forums. The High Court may determine a lesser sentence in order to keep proportionality with the offense.
   
   
6. Contempt is a summary offence, and individuals may be found to be in Contempt by the Court without trial. Contempt may be punished by the temporary suspension of any and all privileges enjoyed by the individual question - including voting, standing for and holding elected office, and the requirement of a public apology. Such suspensions will last until such time as the individual is no longer in contempt, and has issued a public apology if required.
   
   
7. Conduct violations are punishable by immediate ejection and banishment from the region, albeit punished parties may appeal this decision to the court. In most cases, nations that appeal the decision and apologize should expect to have their ban lifted.
   
   
8. Should a former citizen be found guilty of an offence, the High Court may advise the Delegate to bar the individual from taking residence in the in-game South Pacific region
   
   
9. Further penalties, where stipulated above, are meted at the discretion of the High Court. These penalties include being barred from voting in elections, holding elected office and the issuing of public apologies. Additional penalties given should be proportionate to the offence.
   
   
10. The Penal Code can be amended by a simple majority vote in the Assembly to the Code of Laws.
    
    

Article 9 - Legal Questions

Section 1: Procedures

1. Legal questions will always initially be handled by the High Court.
   
   
2. Legal questions must be answered within a reasonable amount of time.
   
   
3. Any and all interested parties may submit an amicus brief, a testimony to the High Court, in response to a legal question.
   
   
4. Legal questions and amicus briefs must make reference to the relevant sections of the Charter and Code of Laws, and clearly define the nature of the inquiry. Where this is not the case the High Court will issue a summary dismissal of the legal question or amicus brief.
   
   
5. The Court Justices shall have the authority to examine laws and make recommendations to the Assembly, however they may not issue an arbitrary judgement or opinion on laws without a specific legal question being filed.
   
   

Section 2: Legal Question Appeals

1. To appeal the decision of a legal question an interested party must file notice with the non-presiding Justice within fourteen (14) days of the High Court ruling.

2. The notice must include the objections to the ruling and justification for why the appeal should be heard, with reference to the relevant sections of the Charter and Code of Laws.

3. The non-presiding Justice has five (5) days to decide whether to hear the appeal.

4. If the Justice chooses to hear the case, they are required to do so in a timely manner. The Justice may issue summary judgments due to excessive absenteeism.


Article 10 - Administrative Actions

1. The Administrative Team is independent from the High Court. Neither the Administrative Team, nor the High Court, should enforce or influences procedures of the other entity
   
   
2. Should a citizen find the actions of the Administrative Team to be unjust, an appeal may be lodged with the High Court
   
   
3. To appeal an administrative team action, a citizen must file a notice with the High Court within fourteen (14) days of the action in question.
   
   
4. The notice must include a legal argument for why the administrative team action violated the Charter, violated the tenets of democracy, or unnecessarily infringed upon the rights of citizens.
   
   
5. Actions taken by the administrative team that involve any of the following may not be appealed to the court:
   
   
   1. Real life threats or harassment
      
      
   2. Pornography
      
      
   3. Illegal Content
      
      
   4. Spambots
      
      
   5. Exposure of real life information
      
      
   6. Hacking of the Board
      
      
   
   
6. Actions taken by the administrative team that involve any of the following may not be appealed to the court unless the action is argued to be excessive or unjust:
   
   
   1. Temporary (being defined as under 96 hours) suspension of a member
      
      
   2. Placing a member on post moderation
      
      
   3. Altering signature / avatar content
      
      
   
   
7. The High Court has five (5) days to decide whether to hear the Appeal.
   
   
8. If an appeal is heard the administrative team must select up to two members to defend themselves before the court. Refusal to participate in the appeal process may result in the court issuing a summary judgement in favor of the appellant.
   
   
9. If the Court chooses to hear the case, they are required to do so in a timely manner. The High Court may issue summary judgments due to excessive absenteeism.
   
   
10. If the High Court orders the overturning of an administrative team decision, it must officially notify the administrative team of this decision via a public post.
    
    
11. If the administrative team responds with a majority vote rejecting the appeal court verdict, the Appellate Court decision may be stayed for up to 30 days. If the Administrative Team remains opposed to the decision after 30 days, the Assembly shall hold a formal vote to settle the matter.
    
    

Article 11 - Recusals

1. Should a conflict of interest arise in the conducting of a case, a Justice should be recused
   
   
2. One of the Justices may recuse themselves from a case, should this occur the remaining Justice shall take the role of the recused Justice. Should a second Justice recuse himself the assembly should appoint an Acting Justice to temporarily fill the role of the recused Justice.
   
   
3. The non-presiding Justice may partially recuse himself from a case by convening a jury to decide the verdict. The non-presiding Justice will still be responsible for moderating the case. Any jury convened shall be made up of three citizens selected randomly from a pool of volunteers, with no obvious bias toward one party or the other.
   
   

Article 12 - Miscellaneous Case Protocols

1. If a matter sits before the High Court for 72 hours without response, the Chief Justice shall be temporarily suspended, and a Court Justice will assume the office as Acting Chief Justice. Should no Court Justice assume the office then the Assembly may appoint an Acting Chief Justice.
   
   
2. In the event of appeals, specifically, if a matter sits before the non-presiding Justice for 72 hours without response, the non-presiding Justice shall be temporarily suspended, and the Assembly may appoint an Acting Justice.
   
   
3. The Court may hear cases simultaneously, or in any order it deems appropriate
   
   
4. Once charges are filed for a criminal case or legal question is asked, no party involved, including the petitioner, complaint, defense, prosecution, defendant or other parties involved may give up their citizenship. Should citizenship be surrendered during the duration from the filing of criminal cases to final verdict from appeals, it is deemed to not absolve the party concerned from legal consequences
   
   
5. In the absence of codified law, the High Court may apply precedent from past legal questions or criminal cases in its rulings. Where codified law is present, it should be applied in place of precedent.
   
   
6. Wherein subsequent legal questions or criminal cases would deviate or otherwise alter precedent established by past rulings, the High Court should issue a clarification amending or overturning the previous ruling  
   
   

Article 13 - Confidentiality and Disclosure

1. All deliberations of Court Justices, whether in the Private Office of the High Court, or through any other medium of communication, should be deemed confidential
   
   
2. No Justice should divulge any deliberations of the High Court to the community, news outlet, or otherwise any individual or entity allied or non-allied with the South Pacific without permission granted in writing by the Chief Justice.
   
   
3. If any Justice or private individual were to disclose or illegally obtain deliberations of the High Court, the individual shall be deemed to have committed espionage.
   
   
4. The deliberations of the High Court should be disclosed in accordance with provisions in the Code of Laws
   
   
5. The deliberations of the High Court may be disclosed in advance at request to the Courts, at the discretion of the Justices and Chief Justices
   
   
6. The deliberations of the High Court may be disclosed in advance if it is deemed to be of significance or relevance to Assembly deliberations or ongoing cases, at the discretion of the Justices and Chief Justices
   
   

Article 14 - Amendments

1. This Charter may be amended by a 50%+1 vote in favour in the Assembly, with a motion in support by a serving Court Justice
   

Article 15 - Supremacy

1. In the event of a discrepancy, the Charter of the Coalition of the South Pacific and Code of Laws should take precedence before this Charter of the High Court of the South Pacific.
   

Quote:Article 4: The High Court of the South Pacific



Section 1 - Composition and Powers

1. The High Court shall consist of four Court Justices.

2. The Court Justices shall select one of themselves to serve as Chief Justice.

3. Three Justices of the High Court, determined by a rotating schedule created by themselves, shall be responsible for determining innocence or guilt in criminal cases, and issuing sentence.

4. The High Court may declare any whole General Law, or portions within such law, that conflict with the Charter defunct, and to reconcile contradictions within the Charter.

5. The High Court holds the sole power to remove citizenship outside of regular legislation that outlines reasonable upkeep requirements or security imperatives.

6. Procedures for the Election of High Court Justices will be defined in the Code of Laws.

7. The Court Justices are not prohibited from joining the Assembly or any associated organization in the South Pacific, barring political parties and organizations or interest groups.



Section 2 - Criminal Cases

1. If charges are filled against a citizen the case will be held in the High Court.

2. A justice may file charges against a citizen, provided they recuse themselves from the case.

2. The Chief Justice will be responsible for keeping order in the court. He has the power to penalize citizens for being in contempt of the court.

3. The Chief Justice and Court Justices, in conjunction with the Assembly, are responsible for establishing a consistent and just set of procedures for hearing criminal cases. This set of procedures must be ratified by the Assembly as a General Law.

4. Excessive absenteeism from the prosecution may result in the summary dismissal of the case. Excessive absenteeism from the defense may result in a summary judgment against the defendant.



Section 3 - Legal Questions

1. Legal questions will always initially be handled by the High Court.

2. Legal questions must be answered within a reasonable amount of time.

3. Any and all interested parties may submit an amicus brief in response to a legal question.

4. Legal questions and amicus briefs must make reference to the relevant sections of the Charter and Code of Laws, and clearly define the nature of the inquiry. Where this is not the case the High Court will issue a summary dismissal of the legal question or amicus brief.

5. The Court Justices shall have the authority to examine laws and make recommendations to the Assembly, however they may not issue an arbitrary judgement or opinion on laws without a specific legal question being filed.



Section 4 - Recusals 

1. One of the Justices may recuse themselves from a case, should this occur the remaining justice shall take the role of the recused Justice. Should a second Justice recuse himself the assembly should appoint an Acting Justice to temporarily fill the role of the recused justice.



Section 5 - Inactivity

1. If a matter sits before the High Court for 72 hours without response, the Chief Justice shall be temporarily suspended, and a Court Justice will assume the office as Acting Chief Justice. Should no Court Justice assume the office then the Assembly may appoint an Acting Chief Justice.

2. In the event of appeals, specifically, if a matter sits before the non-presiding justice for 72 hours without response, the non-presiding justice shall be temporarily suspended, and the Assembly may appoint an Acting Justice.



Article 5: Appeals



Section 1 - Appeals

1. High Court Appeals shall be determined by the non-presiding justice of the specific case.

2. Should the need arise for an appeal, the aforementioned justice will be tasked with handling appeals relating to criminal cases and legal questions.

3. The non-presiding justice of a case that has been appealed has the power to overturn any verdict of the previous High Court decision.

4. The non-presiding justice is the final court of appeal; its verdict cannot be further contested.



Section 2 - Criminal Case Appeals

1. To appeal the decision of a criminal case the defendant, his representative or the prosecution must file notice with the High Court within fourteen (14) days of the High Court ruling.

2. The notice must include the objections to the ruling and justification for why the appeal should be heard, with reference to the relevant sections of the Charter and Code of Laws.

3. The non-presiding justice has five (5) days to decide whether to hear the Appeal.

4. If the justice chooses to hear the case, it is required to do so in a timely manner. The justice may issue summary judgments due to excessive absenteeism.



Section 3 - Legal Question Appeals

1. To appeal the decision of a legal question an interested party must file notice with the non-presiding justice within fourteen (14) days of the High Court ruling.

2. The notice must include the objections to the ruling and justification for why the appeal should be heard, with reference to the relevant sections of the Charter and Code of Laws.

3. The non-presiding justice has five (5) days to decide whether to hear the appeal.

4. If the justice chooses to hear the case, it is required to do so in a timely manner. The justice may issue summary judgments due to excessive absenteeism.



Section 4 - Recusals

1. The non-presiding justice may partially recuse himself from a case by convening a jury to decide the verdict. The non-presiding justice will still be responsible for moderating the case. Any jury convened shall be made up of three citizens selected randomly from a pool of volunteers, with no obvious bias toward one party or the other.



Section 5 - Administrative Appeals

1. To appeal an administrative team action, a citizen must file a notice with the High Court within fourteen (14) days of the action in question.

2. The notice must include a legal argument for why the administrative team action violated the Charter, violated the tenants of democracy, or unnecessarily infringed upon the rights of citizens.

3. Actions taken by the administrative team that involve any of the following may not be appealed to the court:

..........a. Real life threats or harassment

..........b. Pornography

..........c. Illegal Content

..........d. Spambots

..........e. Exposure of real life information

..........f. Espionage of the region

..........g. Hacking of the Board

4. Actions taken by the administrative team that involve any of the following may not be appealed to the court unless the action is argued to be excessive or unjust:

..........a. Temporary (being defined as under 96 hours) suspension of a member

..........b. Placing a member on post moderation

..........c. Altering signature / avatar content

5. The High Court has five (5) days to decide whether to hear the Appeal.

6. If an appeal is heard the administrative team must select up to two members to defend themselves before the court. Refusal to participate in the appeal process may result in the court issuing a summary judgement in favor of the appellant.

7. If the Court chooses to hear the case, it is required to do so in a timely manner. The High Court may issue summary judgments due to excessive absenteeism.

8. If the High Court orders the overturning of an administrative team decision, it must officially notify the administrative team of this decision via a public post.

9. If the administrative team responds with a majority vote rejecting the appeal court verdict, the Appellate Court decision may be stayed for up to 30 days. If the Administrative Team remains opposed to the decision after 30 days, the Assembly shall hold a formal vote to settle the matter.

Quote:Article 5: Criminal Code



1. Treason shall be defined as plotting against the Coalition, seeking to lower the delegate's endorsement count without his or her consent, breaking the endorsement cap after receiving an official warning, aiding any entity in which the Coalition is taking defensive action against, or any entity in which a state of war exists with.

2. Defamation shall be defined as communication of a statement which makes a false claim, expressly stated or implied to be factual, in an attempt to harm the reputation of another user or group of users on the forum. The offended must express the offense to the Court in order for the charge to be considered.

3. Fraud shall be defined as a deception made for personal gain or to damage another individual.

4. Espionage shall be defined as an act of or attempt to obtain information that is confidential or not made publicly available for use by oneself or an entity one represents. Distribution of private information that originates on the South Pacific Forum without the express written permission of the Cabinet of the South Pacific shall be considered Espionage.

5. Conduct violations shall be defined as breaking in-game NationStates rules.



Article 6: Penal Code



1. If found guilty of an act of treason, the offending nation will be immediately banned from the in-game region and offsite forums.

2. If found guilty of defamation, the offending nation must issue a public apology to the nation in which the offense was committed against.  Further punishment may be determined by the Judiciary.

3. If found guilty of fraud, the Judiciary will determine a sentence.  The sentence must be proportionate to the offense.

4. If found guilty of espionage, the offending nation may be banned from the in-game region and expelled from the offsite forums.  The Judiciary may determine a lesser sentence in order to keep proportionality with the offense.

5. Conduct violations are punishable by immediate ejection and banishment from the region, albeit punished parties may appeal this decision to the court. In most cases, nations that appeal the decision and apologize should expect to have their ban lifted.

Quote:The Court now has the power to overturn the decision of the Assembly or Executive in response to a Legal Question.