(02-19-2020, 05:43 PM)remlasia Wrote:

(02-19-2020, 04:52 PM)Belschaft Wrote: This could be done by the Chair without being an amendment under Article 2.4 of the LPA.

The language of Article 2.4 of the Legislative Procedures Act states that the Chair may only do so to address "typographical errors, grammatical errors, naming or formatting inconsistencies". In our view, the proposed amendment to the Criminal Code does not constitute a correction of an inconsistency of any kind.

For those socially inclined, it may also broaden the scope of who the criminal act of treason applies to without the consent of the Assembly should the High Court of the The South Pacific later rule that gender does not just consist of "men" and "women".

We will take legal action against the Chair if Article 2.4 of that Act is improperly used to circumvent Assembly authorisation. The Principality of Remlasia will only accept the amendment if the Assembly votes to pass it.

Our legal position on the issue of gender is that of the scientific and biological view: gender is binary and consists of men and women only. We will only change our position if there is scientific evidence to support the existence of other genders in biology, beyond the realm of mental illness.  

The use of "he or she" is a naming inconsistency. "They" is the standard for an indefinite singular referent in all our other laws. For example, the Charter repeatedly uses the term in its formula for definining an office: "The Delegate will be the head of state of the Coalition. They will be responsible for helping maintain the security of the region...". LPA Article 2.3 says that "The Chair must document the use of their discretionary powers". The Chair is permitted to correct cosmetic inconsistencies so long as they "do not alter the original intent of the law"... which is exactly what this does. 

I agree with Belschaft that this change is better performed through the Chair's discretionary powers, though.

Your legal view of gender is wholly irrelevant. No reasonable interpretation of "he or she" suggests that the author of the Criminal Code meant to specifically allow seeking to lower the endorsement count of non-binary delegates. I mean... what?

I won't address your final paragraph because the Assembly is an IC political institution, but suffice to say... yikes. :/