Colonial Articles of Confederation

The subject of this article is from the Origins update.
The information from this article is up-to-date as of 9 November, 2020.

This section is Fan Fiction. The information found here is not an actual part of the released game, but a user-invented addition to the wiki.

Colonial Articles of Confederation is a fan fiction page.

Summary

This page describes the government for the civilization Sobek Colonial Confederation in Budullangr on PC. The Colonial Articles of Confederation (a.k.a "Articles of Confederation" or "Articles") serve as a binding constitution among all Members of the Sobek Colonial Confederation.

Preamble

We the Citizens of the Sobek Colonial Confederation, in order to establish justice, insure domestic tranquility, provide for the common defense, and secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity, do ordain and establish these Articles of Confederation as the supreme law, deriving its just authority from the law of nature, the Atlas and the consent of the governed.

Article 1: Organization

1.1 The Government of the Sobek Colonial Confederation shall consist of a Colonial Assembly and a number of star systems (Systems).

1.2 The Colonial Assembly shall consist of a Legislature (Senate), an Executive (Triumvirate), and a Judiciary (Forum).

1.3 The Triumvirate shall be composed of three individuals: Imperator, Magistrate and Prefect. All three members have equal voting rights and any decisions require a 2/3 vote to pass.

a) The Imperator shall be elected by simple majority of all citizens eligible to vote and shall hold the position for life, or until retirement.

b) The Magistrate shall be elected by simple majority by all voting members of Parliament and shall hold the office for a single term of four years.

c) The Prefect shall be elected by simple majority by all voting members of Council and shall hold the office for a single term of two years.

1.4 The Senate shall be composed of two houses: the Parliament, and the Council.

1.5 The Parliament shall be composed of two Tribunes from each System.

1.6 The Council shall be composed of one Councilor from each habitable body in each System.

1.7 Each of the two houses of the Senate shall regulate its own affairs, determine its own rules of procedure, and choose its own officers, including its spokesperson(s).

Article 2: Authority

2.1 The powers of the Colonial Assembly shall be restricted to the following provisions:

a) to protect the rights of the people to their persons and property;

b) to conduct the financial affairs of the Colonial Assembly;

c) to collect voluntary tax contributions from the Citizens of the Sobek Colonial Confederation, for the purpose of paying operating expenses and providing for the common defense;

d) to declare war in defense of the Sobek Colonial Confederation, and to make peace, and to raise and support a military force;

e) to provide for calling forth a militia to execute the laws, suppress insurrections, and repel invasions;

f) to vest the appointment of such officers whose appointments are not herein otherwise provided for, and which shall be established by Colonial law, in the Triumvirate or in the Forum, as the Senate deems proper;

g) to impeach any Colonial Assembly member or officer;

2.2 The Sobek Colonial Confederation shall not levy any mandatory tax or fee on either the individual Citizens or the Member Systems. The Treasury shall be funded exclusively by the following methods:

a) voluntary contributions from Citizens and Member Systems; The existence, frequency, or quantity of such voluntary contributions shall not be used as basis for granting or denying certain privileges or rights, nor may such contributions be solicited by means of extortion, blackmail or bribery;

b) profits made from the manufacturing and/or trade of commodities on the Galactic Market; The operation of manufacturing and/or trade for profit shall be the responsibility of the Triumvirate;

2.3 Laws passed by the Colonial Assembly shall not conflict with the laws or customs of any Member System, unless such laws or customs of a Member System are also in conflict with the rights guaranteed in Article Five; if such a conflict arises it shall be adjudicated by the Forum.

Article 3: Membership

3.1 A System is considered a member of the Sobek Colonial Confederation when all habitable bodies within the respective System ratify these Articles by Executive signature.

3.2 Upon ratifying these Articles, each System must loan for the duration of their membership, at least one functional frigate to the Capital Fleet to serve in the common defense of the Sobek Colonial Confederation.

3.3 Upon ratifying these Articles, each System must grant land rights on a habitable planet of their discretion, at least one square kilounit to establish an Embassy.

3.4 Membership within the Sobek Colonial Confederation shall be considered voluntary; participation can be withdrawn by any System without retaliation at any time.

3.4.1 To withdraw membership from the Sobek Colonial Confederation a System must provide such intentions in writing to the Imperator. Membership withdrawal requests must be signed by the Executive representative from each habitable body in the respective System.

3.4.2 A request to withdraw membership from the Confederation shall be considered null and void if the request is delivered without the signatures of all Executive representatives from every habitable body in the respective System.

3.4.3 The Imperator shall sign the fully-executed membership withdrawal request within 24 hours of receipt, at which point the respective System shall no longer be considered a member of the Confederation and will no longer be subject to its laws or jurisdiction.

3.4.4 After membership is withdrawn, all loaned frigates from the Capital Fleet shall be returned to the respective System in working condition.

3.4.5 After membership is withdrawn, the Embassy land rights granted to the Confederation in the respective System shall be forfeited. All Confederation citizens must vacate the Embassy within 24 hours, taking only personal property, and causing no damage to infrastructure or other Embassy property. Ownership of all infrastructure associated with the Embassy shall be forfeited to the respective System. Confederation citizens who fail to vacate within the given time frame forfeit their diplomatic immunity and shall be subject to the local laws and jurisdiction of the respective System.

Article 4: Enforcement

4.1 All member Systems shall comply with the laws of The Senate and shall respect the decisions of The Forum.

4.2 Any member System that fails to comply with the laws of The Senate shall be considered in violation of these Articles and will be subject to judicial review by The Forum.

4.3 The member Systems are responsible for complying with the judicial decisions of The Forum.

4.4 A member System can challenge any judicial decision of The Forum by filing an official appeal in both houses of The Senate in accordance with the following provisions:

a) Parliament and Council have 30 days to debate the appeal and vote whether or not to overturn The Forum's decision.

b) The vote in both Parliament and Council must pass by 2/3 majority.

c) If the appeal fails to pass either house of The Senate within 30 days then the Forum's decision shall stand.

d) No further appeals are permitted for a period of 1 year.

4.4 The Capital Fleet, at the command of The Imperator, shall be the last resort for enforcing the laws of The Senate and judicial decisions of The Forum.

Article 5: Bill of Rights

5.1 The laws of the Sobek Colonial Confederation shall apply equally to all persons regardless of race, gender, ethnicity, opinions, religion, or peaceful lifestyle.

5.2 No one shall abridge the right of any person to do as they choose with their own person and property, so long as they do not interfere, by force or fraud (or the threat thereof), with the equal right of others to do as they choose with their own persons and property.

5.3 No one shall abridge the right of persons to the peaceful control of their own bodies.

5.4 No law shall create a class of victimless or consensual crimes.

5.5 No one shall abridge the right of freedom of association.

5.6 No one shall abridge the freedom of thought and feeling, or their peaceful expression or dissemination.

5.7 No one shall abridge the right of the people peaceably to assemble, or to petition the government for a redress of grievances.

5.8 No law shall countenance the existence of slavery, conscription, indenture, or any other form of involuntary servitude within the Sobek Colonial Confederation, or in any place subject to its jurisdiction.

5.9 No one shall restrict or hamper the free and peaceful movement of persons, goods, or ideas within or across the borders of the Sobek Colonial Confederation.

5.10 No one shall abridge the right of any person to use or issue any commodity or item as currency; nor shall the Sobek Colonial Confederation engage in monetary regulation or issue of any sort.

5.11 No one shall abridge the right of self-defense by victims or their agents against initiators of aggression (including governments or their agents), including the right, to own, manufacture, sell, and bear arms.

5.12 No law shall establish occupational licensure, nor make or claim grants of monopoly privilege, nor restrict competition or free entry into any profession or industry, including the services of adjudication, protection, and enforcement of legitimate rights.

5.13 The powers not delegated to the Colonial Assembly by these Articles are reserved to the Systems respectively, or to the people.

5.14 The existence of a state of emergency shall not be construed to limit the individual rights, or to expand the governmental powers, herein enumerated.

Article 6: Amendments

6.1 The Senate, whenever two thirds of both Houses shall deem it necessary, shall propose Amendments to these Articles, or, on the Application of the Legislatures of two thirds of the several Member Systems, shall call a Convention for proposing Amendments, which, in either Case, shall be valid to all Intents and Purposes, as Part of these Articles, when ratified by the Legislatures of three fourths of the several Member Systems, or by Conventions in three fourths thereof, as the one or the other Mode of Ratification may be proposed by the Senate; Provided that no Member System, without its Consent, shall be deprived of its equal Suffrage in the Senate.”