Constitution of the Chiefdom of Osolia

Constitution of the Chiefdom of Osolia
	Melonian Transitional Legislature
Introduced by	Speaker tz_scion
Dates
Presented to the Assembly	16 December 2023
Commencement	21 December 2023
Other legislation
Repeals/revokes	Melonian Transitional State
Amended by	Invitation Act; Legal Reform Amendment; Council Reform Amendment; Server Security Amendment; City Reform Amendment
Status: Amended
Text of statute as originally enacted
Revised text of statute as amended

The Constitution of the Chiefdom of Osolia is the supreme law of the Chiefdom of Osolia. It was established on December 21st, 2023, officially establishing the Chiefdom and replacing the Melonian Transitional State.

The Constitution establishes the Chiefdom as a democratic state, with a directly elected executive leader, the Chief, a legislature composed of all electors, and a leader of the legislature, the Speaker, who is similarly directly elected alongside the Chief in regular general elections.

The Constitution is divided into 6 articles, outlining the crucial functions, duties, and procedures of the Osolian state and the rights of all Osolians.

The Constitution has been amended 5 times, most recently by the City Reform Amendment on November 1, 2024.

Provisions

Preamble

We, the people of Osolia, hereby declare the creation of the Chiefdom of Osolia. This government shall fairly and inclusively serve all players on the Osolian Minecraft server. As such, all players shall have a voice in Osolian matters. To achieve these goals, our system of governance shall be highly democratic, with a mixture of representative democracy and direct democracy. Recognizing the diverse and dynamic nature of our community, we shall commit to fostering an environment that encourages collaboration, creativity, and mutual respect among all players. The principles of equality, fairness, and transparency shall guide our actions as we work to enhance the gameplay experience for every Osolian citizen. May the Chiefdom of Osolia stand as a testament to the strength that arises from cooperation and consideration.

The preamble establishes the principles of Osolia, namely democracy, fair representation and equalness, transparency, and the mixture of representative and direct democracy. The preamble calls for cooperation and consideration.

Article 1 — System of Governance

The first article of the Constitution establishes the composition of the Osolian government and the roles of the branches of government—the executive, the legislature, and the judiciary.

Section 1: The Chief and the Chief's Council

Section 1 establishes the position of Chief and the Chief's cabinet (named the Chief's Council). The Chief is a directly elected head of state who is responsible for representing the nation, matters of law enforcement, national security, and the general running of the nation.

The Chief is given the opportunity to nominate players to the Chief's Council, who are, by convention, given the titles Director of X and are named the leaders of the corresponding Department of X. Directors are subject to an Assembly vote to be appointed, but can be fired at will by the Chief. The Chief serves as the Director of any vacant departments.

The Chief has the authority to issue executive orders during emergencies, which are required to comply with the Constitution.

The Chief is given the ability to pardon convicted individuals, which entirely removes the relevant crimes from the individuals' criminal records.

All members of the Chief's Council, including the Chief, arerequired to ensure the smooth transfer of power, including providing information and support to any incoming government.

The Chief may choose to temporarily name another player as the Acting Chief in cases where the Chief expects they will be "unavailable for a prolonged period of time". The Acting Chief is replaced by the Chief immediately once the Chief is available again.

The Chief is not term-limited.

Section 2: The Assembly and its Speaker

Section 2 establishes the Assembly as the legislative body of the Chiefdom, "consisting of all Osolian citizens".^[1]

The Section establishes two types of votes that may be held by the Assembly; bills, which are legislation that have not yet received a vote; measures, which are actions that will be carried out by the Chief's Council. Both may be proposed by any member of the Assembly.

The Speaker is established as an elected position who "serves as the head of legislation in the Chiefdom of Osolia". The Speaker is tasked with the responsibility of:

presenting bills, measures, and commencing votes on them; representing the Assembly in official capacities
mantaining order during debates, allocating speaking time to members, and ensuring the legislative process is adhered to
establishing committeees to address specific issues, conduct inquiries, and provide recommendations
ensuring a smooth transfer of power, similarly to the Chief
appointing an acting Speaker in cases of prolonged unavailability, similarly to the Chief.

The Speaker is also tasked with arranging the impeachment of all officials, including the Chief, the Speaker, and any Governors or Directors. The impeachment of the Chief or a Governor or Director may also be carried out if a majority of the population supports such an act via a petition.

In cases where the Speaker fails to arrange the impeachment of themselves "in a timely manner", the Chief has the authority to appoint an Acting Speaker to handle the process.

The Speaker is not term-limited.

Section 3: Justice

Section 3 gives the Assembly the authority to "pass laws regarding crimes, torts, and procedure for criminal sentencing and liability imposition" while requiring such legislation conform to the Constitution and not apply ex post facto.

Trials are mandated to take place as soon as both the prosecution, defense, and the judge, are available. Trials are ran by the Speaker in any way they see fit, so long as no provisions of the Constitution are violated. The Speaker may recuse thesmelves in cases of a conflict of interest, in which case a new presiding judge will be chosen by the Assembly.

The defense and prosecution are both guaranteed lawyers upon request and equal speaking time.

Spectators of a trial serve as members of the jury, unless they leave for longer than 2 minutes and are not excused by the presiding judge, in which case they will no longer be able to determine guilt.

The determination of guilt is the exclusive competence of the jury. However, the overall outcome of a trial is decided by the presiding judge, conforming to the Constitution and all other relevant passed legislation.

A mistrial may be called by the presiding judge, in which case the trial shall be restarted at a later date.

Appeals may be requested by anyone "if a citizen believes that there has been a procedural error, a misapplication of the law, or new evidence that contradicts the previously given verdict".

Decisions and verdicts are mandated to be publicly available.

"Rehabilitation and restitution" shall be prioritized over "punitive measures" when determining sentencing and liability.

Contracts are recognized and are legally binding in a court of law. Neither party may have been "feigned or forced" into agreement, the contract must not "require any party to engage in actions or activities that would endanger governance, server security, violate any laws that explicitly supersede contracts, or violate the Discord server rules," and the contract must not include any stipulation violating a player's rights as described in Article 3, Section 2, Clause 2 of the Constitution.

Article 2 — Establishment of the Chiefdom of Osolia

The second article establishes some of the state's key principles, responsibilities, and abilities.

Section 1: National Sovereignty

The Chiefdom is a sovereign online nation governed by the Chiefdom itself. It may enter into treaties with other online nations only with a three-fourths supermajority vote of the Assembly.

Additionally, the Chiefdom is required to have a treasury, which may possess "currency, materials, assets, land, and other forms of wealth".

Section 2: National Symbols

The national flag of the Chiefdom is described as a "yellow twelve-pointed sun with a white circular band enclosed within, all over a blue background with a light blue diagonal cross". The in-game equivalent is established as "a blue banner with a light blue saltire, a white roundel, and a yellow flower charge, in that order".

Osol is established as the national language of Osolia.

Section 3: Territory and Cities

All territory in the Osolian word is public land, to be used by players how they see fit unless the land is claimed by the Chiefdom.

Cities may be established by the Chief, whose boundaries may be a maximum of 4000x4000 blocks, centered around a defined point. Cities have Governors, who may be overruled by the Chief or a Director. Governors are nominated by the Chief and approved by the Assembly. If a city doesn't have a Governor, the responsibilities of the Governor are delegated to the Chief's Council.

Governors are required to ensure the smooth transfer of power, similarly to the Chief and the Speaker.

Cities may also establish and enforce ordinances (city laws) within their boundaries. Ordinances are local laws that apply specifically within the jurisdiction of a particular city. They require a majority vote of the Assembly to enact, just like national laws.

Governors may also establish their own administrative structure for their city governments, but can also be overridden by a Chief or Director in this regard.

Article 3 — The Rights and Privileges of Citizens

The third article of the Constitution establishes the rights guaranteed to all Osolians and the mechanisms by which new players may be admitted to the Chiefdom. It was the first article to be amended.

Section 1: New Citizens

Citizens may propose the invitation of one new citizen in a given week to the server. The proposal may be rejected by the server owner if the invitation is deemed a "security risk," in which case the owner is expected to explain the reasoning involved in the denial.

Once invited, players are recognized as "residents," who hold the same "rights and privileges" as citizens except for the ability to invite other players. Additionally, residents may be removed from the server by an unchanging 5 vote threshold pro their removal, as opposed to the majority vote required for citizens. The server owner may veto any removal in a similar process to the server owner veto on invitations.

Residents are naturalized and become full citizens after 21 days.

If a player has been previously removed by an Assembly vote, they must be approved by a majority vote of the Assembly before they can be re-invited.

Section 2: Rights for Citizens

All citizens of the Chiefdom of Osolia are granted the right
to express their opinions without interference or retaliation from the government.

to petition, as in the right to gather a consensus on a matter and be heard by the government.

to practice any religion or support any political ideas without interference or retaliation from the government.

to not be discriminated against in any context. All citizens shall be granted the same rights, liberties, and opportunities.

to vote in any particular way or at all without interference or retaliation from the government.

to have a speedy and fair trial, and to be granted a lawyer if they cannot provide one in court.

to withhold any incriminating information from government officials and other officers of the law during arrests and interrogations.

to not be tried twice for the same crime, excluding appellate trials.

to request an appellate trial in any court case.
— Osolian Constitution

Although this section refers to "citizens", the same provisions are guaranteed to residents.

Article 4 — Voting Procedure

Article 4 outlines the procedures for the handling of voting and elections in Osolia, the operation of which is the duty of the Speaker.

General elections are required to be held on the 15th of every even month (February, April, June, etc...), except when a position is to be replaced via a special election, in which case the Speaker will arrange the election as quickly as is possible.

Candidates may not run for both Speaker and Chief concurrently.

When a general election takes place, all players may submit their votes. Citizens may rank candidates in order of preference, or indicate abstinence, which does not influence the result of the election.

There must be a period of at least 24 hours and at most 48 hours where ballots may be submitted. The Speaker may conclude elections at any point within that range.

Elections are run using instant runoff voting. Results of elections should be published publicly as soon as possible.

If there is a tie after the instant runoff voting process, an opportunity will be given for any of the tied candidates to concede the election. If neither candidate concedes, the Speaker initiates a special runoff election with the tying candidates as the only candidates. If there is once again a tie, or if there were only two candidates in the first election and they tied, the Speaker shall choose the winner.

Votes for bills and measures shall also be run by the Speaker. When one is set to take place, the Speaker shall take ballots. The typical election process will take place, but instead of voting for candidates, the vote will refer specifically to the bill or measure in question.

If the election is determined by a court of law to have not been correctly conducted according to this Constitution and all passed laws, the election must be restarted, and the election procedure may not occur without at least one member of the Assembly overseeing the Speaker to ensure that the proper election procedure is taking place.

Article 5 — Constitutional Amendments

Amendments require a three-fourths supermajority vote of the Assembly to pass.

The Constitution is modified according to the amendments passed by the Assembly.

Article 6 — Ratifying the Constitution

In order for this Constitution to be enacted as supreme law of the Chiefdom of Osolia, it requires a 3/4ths supermajority vote by the Assembly. Those who vote in favor of this Constitution shall sign their names on the next page.
— Osolian Constitution

Signatures

The Constitution was ratified by:

↑ As per Constitutional Amendment 1, residents hold the same "rights and privileges" as citizens and therefore are members of the Assembly as well.

[1] As per Constitutional Amendment 1, residents hold the same "rights and privileges" as citizens and therefore are members of the Assembly as well.

[1]