Legislators,

a motion to vote on the following bill has been seconded.

The debate thread can be found here.

The Criminal Code in its current form can be found here.

As an amendment to a general law, the vote will last 3 days, ending at 23:30 UTC on 6th November 2019. The vote requires a 60% majority to pass.

Please vote by poll if possible. If you cannot vote by poll, post 'Aye', 'Nay' or 'Abstain' in this thread. Please do not vote both by poll and by post. Comments and discussion belong in the debate thread and may be moved there.
 

Amendment to the Criminal Code Wrote:

Criminal Code

...

3. Parole

(1) After serving at least one year of a ban from the region and/or the regional forum, convicts may apply for parole to a parole board.
a. Said parole board shall consist of the senior most member of the Council on Regional Security, the Chief Justice of the High Court, and the Chair of the Assembly.
b. The parole board may decide to recommend parole to convicts, provided a majority of its members support this motion; this decision should consider the security of the region and the genuine willingness of the convict to reform their behavior.
c. If parole is granted, the regional and/or forum ban shall be revoked and the individual shall be allowed to reside in The South Pacific.

(2) After six months of residency, the individual may apply for legislator status, albeit with a prohibition on holding office.

(3) While on parole, the special parole board can decide at any time, by majority vote, to revoke an individual’s parole; this decision should consider the security of the region and the contributions of the individual to the region.

(4) After six months of legislator status, the individual may apply to the parole board for the prohibition on holding office to be lifted. The parole board can grant this motion, provided a majority of the board supports – and in doing so, the individual will no longer be held under any conditions of parole.

(5) At each point of the parole process, prior to the parole board's decision, the Assembly shall be informed of a request and legislators shall be allotted one week to formally present briefs to the parole board regarding the convicted, their past crimes and the appropriateness of parole.

(6) Changes to the parole system shall not affect the current status of parolees, although any new procedure shall be followed hereafter.

4. Prohibited Regions and Organizations

(1) The Cabinet or the Council on Regional Security may request the Assembly designate foreign regions and organizations deemed hostile to The South Pacific as Prohibited Groups. Such requests must be accompanied with a report detailing those activities that meet the definitions of hostility detailed in Section 2 of this Article.

(2) For the purposes of this article, hostility shall constitute foreign regions or organizations that--
a. Were actively involved and complicit in an attempt, successful or otherwise, to illegally overthrow the legitimate government of The South Pacific;
b. Have coordinated efforts to directly exploit the elections or Assembly of The South Pacific;
c. Groups that have engaged in or have attempted to engage in coordinated espionage against The South Pacific’s government or military;
d. Groups that have or have attempted to sabotage The South Pacific's military operations.

(3) For the purposes of this article, being on opposite sides of a military engagement, provided the target-region is not an ally or a region that The South Pacific is at war with, shall not constitute sabotage of The South Pacific's military operations.

(4) Membership in a designated Prohibited Group is prohibited within The South Pacific and grounds for revocation of Legislator status.
a. A seven day grace period will be allowed for renunciation of membership in the Prohibited Group.
b. The seven days grace period begins immediately after the notification of the legislator in question that they are a member of a Prohibited Group by the Prime Minister or a member of the Council on Regional Security.

(5) Any individual whose Legislator status has been revoked for membership in a designated Prohibited Group may contest their membership in the Prohibited Group to the High Court within 7 days of their legislator status being revoked.
a. The High Court shall uphold the revocation of Legislator status if the individual is found to have been a member of a designated Prohibited Group at the time of revocation.
b. The High Court shall reinstate Legislator status if the individual is found not to have been a member of a designated Prohibited Group at the time of revocation.

(6) Applicants for Legislator status who are members of a designated Prohibited Group shall not be granted such status unless they renounce membership in the Prohibited Group.

(7) Membership in a designated Prohibited Group does not constitute a criminal offense; failure to disclose such membership shall constitute fraud.

(8) Regions at war with The South Pacific or with which The South Pacific is at war shall be automatically considered Prohibited Groups.
a. The Assembly may further designate Prohibited Groups via a vote with a 60% majority in favor, should the Cabinet or the Council on Regional Security request such a designation.

(9) The Assembly may rescind a Prohibited Group designation via a vote with a 60% majority in favor.

(10) The following regions and organizations are deemed Prohibited Groups within The South Pacific--
a. The Empire

(11) The Chair of the Assembly shall update clause 10 of this article to reflect The South Pacific's current Prohibited Groups.