Konstitucio of Desert District
The Konstitucio of Desert District is the document that incorporates the basic principles of Desert District. Co-written over several months by First Secretary Lee Bastino and former First Secretary James Bornstein, it was completed on 5 August 2020.
Legislation passed by the Legislative Body is the second part of laws in Desert District.
Full Konstitucio
Section I, Legislative Body
The Legislative Body is the only body which can make legislation on top of the Konstitucio.
The Legislative Body candidates must be a citizen of Desert District.
Legislation by the Legislative Body cannot overturn anything in the Konstitucio as the LB has the principle values of Desert District.
Legislative Body members are elected by members of the county in which the LB candidate is a citizen of.
Any Legislative Body member can introduce legislation, which must be in the form of a PDF as Google Docs and Microsoft Word documents are not secure and are not accessible to all, respectively. A vote should be conducted as soon as all LB members are available.
Votes shall be done over the official Desert District Discord Server with the react function, with the Y emoticon being “Yay”, meaning the Legislative Body member is in favor of the legislation, the N emoticon meaning the LB member is not in favor of the legislation, and the P emoticon meaning the LB member is not opposed or in favor of the legislation.
As there are 7 counties, there are 7 members of the Legislative Body. Legislation is immediately passed if 6-7 LB members vote in favor it goes into effect immediately and will be listed as passed laws in the MicroWiki page, and if 4-5 members vote in favor then it must be approved by the First Secretary, and they additionally have the option to veto. If it is below 4, then the legislation has failed.
If one member of the Legislative Body wishes to remove the First Secretary, all LB members must vote whether it is possible it is proper, which will have a national vote. If they believe it may be warranted, they shall vote using Discord react on the official Desert District Discord. The Y emoticon is “Yay” or the LB member is in favor of a national vote, or the N emoticon for “Nay” meaning the LB member is not in favor of a national vote. If a majority are in favor, the vote happens immediately, also with the Y and N system of react.
Section II, First Secretary
The position of Head of State of Desert District is First Secretary, who holds partial veto power over decisions made by the Legislative Body.
They select High Court justices, who must be confirmed by the Legislative Body.
They are the Commander-In-Chief of the Armed Forces. This means all decisions regarding it are made by the First Secretary.
They can call recalls of Legislative Body members, and members of the county that the LB member represents vote upon the recall.
They can make changes to the flag of Desert District at any time, and the changes go into effect immediately.
They can be removed from office by votes among the whole nation, which are called by a majority vote by the Legislative Body.
They have the ability to prosecute individuals for crimes.
Section III, Basic Rights
The people of Desert District are guaranteed absolute freedom of speech. There are absolutely no exceptions to this.
Healthcare shall always be free. There is no lifetime cap, and no cost.
The form of prison is that you are not permitted on Desert District Property. All 1-3rd ever crimes have a maximum sentence of 2 years, with the exception of 2nd Degree and 1st Degree murder, which is at the full discretion of the High Court. Rehabilitation is possible and this is to guarantee that. They can extend to 10 years from 4-8. After this, life sentences are possible.
All press has a right to function with absolutely no censorship on behalf of the Desert District Government. The only exception is classified information, which should you become aware of unintentionally, you must report to the First Secretary. Not doing so is a crime.
Semi and fully-automatic firearms are completely banned to be in possession of in Desert District. For other firearms, you must have a majority of the High Court approve it.
If found in possession of any of these prohibited items, one will be charged with Posession of Undocumented Firearm.
Section IV, Climate Change
Desert Districts acknowledges possibly the largest known global threat, climate change. Due to that, all non-renewable energy is strictly banned from Desert District. This includes all gasoline, fossil fuels, etc.
This includes non-electric vehicles and all release of gasoline in gas form. Gas grills and stoves are banned, and charcoal grills are provided upon request, along with natural lump charcoal and basic tools, such as a spatula, wire brush, and high smoke-point cooking oil.
If you are found in possession of any of these prohibited items, one will be charged with Climate Damage.
Section V, Murder; Assault; and Sex Crimes
1st Degree Murder is defined as a party physically injuring an individual to the point of death when not in self-defense, intentionally. If in self-defense, the assaulted would have been actively threatening the victim’s safety. Even after an assault, if they are running away, it is still First Degree murder.
2nd Degree Murder is defined as a party indirectly physically injuring an individual to the point of death when not in self-defense, intentionally.
Sexual activity requires consent and one over the age of 20 cannot consent to sexual activities with one under 20. Those found violating this will be charged with Pedophilia.
Sexual activity without consent with both over the age of 20 is not permitted. Those found violating this will be charged with Rape.
Section VI, Judicial System
The High Court manages all court cases in Desert District. They are appointed by the First Secretary.
There are two members in the High Court. Either of them have the ability to prosecute for crimes alongside the First Secretary.
Trials that are not able to take place in Desert District territory occur on the official Desert District Discord Server, in the #courtroom channel. This channel is only visible to those who are participating in the trial to protect privacy.
The First Secretary represents the prosecution no matter who the prosecutor is. The defendant may choose to represent themselves or have an attorney. Any server member can serve as an attorney, and they may have as many as they so desire.
Both parties have the ability to have anywhere between 0-3 witnesses. Either party may cross-examine with unanimous approval from the High Court.
The defense and prosecution have a maximum of three minutes to speak, and either High Court member may silence them. The witnesses have a maximum of one minute to speak, and either High Court member may silence them.
Speaking out of turn after a warning from a High Court member may result in a mute until a verdict is delivered at the High Court’s discretion.
Once the trial is complete, the High Court privately makes a verdict in #verdict-decision, only visible to High Court members. They must unanimously decide on a verdict, and then whichever High Court member was appointed first sentences. The sentencing system is described in Basic Rights.
Section VII, Micronational Titles
With this Konstitucio, the Citizens’ Service Award is created. If an individual is a citizen who had made a significant impact to the greatness of the nation, the First Secretary may present them with the title.
Other titles may be introduced into the Legislative Body and passed.
Section IIX, Election
Elections are held for both First Secretary and Legislative Body members every three months.
If there are no candidates for First Secretary, the current one remains until the next election.
If there are no candidates for Legislative Body, the First Secretary appoints them.
Elections are done via Google Form.
Any two-way ties will be solved with a Google Coin Toss. Three-way or higher ties will be solved with Google Random Number Selected, with each candidate being assigned one.
Registration is done also via Google Form until 11:59 PM local time to the day prior to the election, and elections start immediately after at 12:00 AM local time. The election takes exactly 24 hours, until 12:00 AM local time on the day after election day. Unless there is any sort of tie, all candidates are immediately inaugurated by default.