#The Constitution of Mount Augusta Sunday, August 14th, 2016
#Preamble
Since its founding, the city of Mount Augusta has striven to be a guardian of fairness, justice, and democracy. It is to this end that we, the people of Mount Augusta establish, reaffirm, and solidify the rights of all persons who live and travel within our beloved city.
#Mount Augusta Bill of Rights
The people, government, and organizations of and in the City State of Mount Augusta are obligated to respect, protect, promote, and fulfill these rights. The people of Mount Augusta demand liberties and freedoms be afforded to all people.
I. All persons, resident and nonresident, are equal before the law and have the right to equal protection and benefit of the law.
II. The state may not unfairly discriminate directly or indirectly against anyone on one or more grounds, including but not limited to race, gender, sex, marital status, ethnic or social origin, color, sexual orientation, age, disability, religion, conscience, belief, culture, language and place of birth.
III. All persons have inherent dignity and the right to have their dignity respected and protected.
IV. Neither Slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party has been duly convicted, shall exist in Mount Augusta, or anyplace subject to its jurisdiction.
V. All persons have the right to freedom and security of the person, which includes the right
i. not to be deprived of freedom arbitrarily or without due process of law;
ii. not to be detained without trial;
iii. to be free from all forms of violence from either public or private sources, except as necessary to be pearled if explicitly permitted by law;
iv. not to be tortured or coerced by means of pearl;
v. not to be treated or punished in a cruel, inhuman or degrading way.
VI. All persons have the right to privacy, which includes the right to be secure in their persons, houses, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures.
VII. All persons have the right to freedom of conscience, religion, thought, belief and opinion.
VIII. Free speech and writing shall not be punished by the law, with the following permitted exceptions:
i. Deception that predictably contributes to harm (Fraud, Slander, Perjury, etc.) is not protected. “Harm” here means physical damage, lost time or property or labor, the creation of burdensome obligations or restrictions, or damage to one’s good name or reputation.
ii. Speech or writing that carries legal implications, such as dereliction threads, courtroom discussion, or bill votes, may be subject to regulation.
IX. The State may not abridge the right of the people to peacefully assemble, to demonstrate, to picket, and to present petitions; peacefully and unarmed.
X. All persons have the right to freedom of association.
XI. Every resident is free to make political choices, which includes the right to form a political party; to participate in the activities of, or recruit members for, a political party; and to campaign for a political party or cause.
XII. Neither the State nor its representatives shall, under any circumstance, seize the property of Augustan residents except through means available to all private individuals.
XIII. Neither the right of every citizen of Mount Augusta to register to vote nor the right of every registered voter to vote shall be denied or abridged by anyone.
XIV. Neither the State nor its representatives shall, under any circumstance, revoke the citizenship of citizens except through means available to all private individuals.
XV. The right of every resident non-citizen of Mount Augusta to engage in the application process for citizenship shall not be denied or abridged by anyone, albeit applications may be rejected.
XVI. No citizen of Mount Augusta shall be involuntarily denaturalized for any reason, including as punishment for a crime.
#Article I. Voting
##A. Voting Eligibility and Registration
i. Requirements for voter eligibility
a. Must own or rent property, as defined in Article IV, within the borders of Mount Augusta. Fulfilling this requirement is sufficient to gain residency.
b. Must not have outstanding (convicted but unserved or unpearled) criminal convictions made by the Mount Augusta justice system.
c. Must be able to attest to online activity by posting a screenshot of the eligibility sign, as specified in Article I Section A ii. d., showing a date within the last two (2) weeks.
d. Must not be currently banned from Mount Augusta's current host server.
e. Must be a citizen of the State of Mount Augusta.
ii. Public record of voter registration
a. Prior to any election, or when called for by any citizen, a voter registration thread shall be posted on the subreddit. The thread title must begin with "[Voter Registration]".
b. An elected Judge must confirm the thread as being an official voter registration thread within 48 hours. Voter registration threads are automatically closed after 30 days or after a Judge confirms a new voter registration thread, whichever comes sooner.
c. The public record shall consist of, for each registered voter, their in-game name, their reddit account, the date on which the period of registration of an individual began or begins, and the date on which it ends. This record shall be contained within the most recent voter registration thread, copied from the previous most recent thread.
d. To assist in verifying voter eligibility, a publicly accessible sign must be maintained, reinforced, placed on a reinforced block, accessible for modification only by the Mayor, the current Judges, and those who are permitted by these parties. It shall containing the current date, updated no less than weekly.
The location of this sign must be posted within each voter registration thread, and once set should not be moved unless absolutely necessary.
iii. Gaining voter registration
a. A citizen meeting voting eligibility requirements, who is currently not a registered voter, will gain voter registration three (3) days after posting proof of activity on an active voter registration thread, as outlined by Article I Section A i. c. The individual must fulfill the requirements outlined by Article I Section A i. for the entire period of three (3) days for voter registration to be granted.
iv. Survivability of voter registration
a. For a citizen meeting the voting eligibility requirements, once voting registration is confirmed it shall survive for 30 days following confirmation, past which the registration is no longer valid.
b. Registered voters meeting voter eligibility requirements may re-confirm their voter registration in a voter registration thread. The renewal comes into effect immediately upon re-confirmation.
v. Arbitration of voter eligibility
a. Judges are responsible for investigating and deciding on eligibility. Should an individual Judge’s decision be called into question, a majority vote of standing Judges suffices to decide the matter.
b. In all disputes concerning voter eligibility that cannot be resolved by the Judges, the Mayor is the final arbiter, with no opportunity for further appeal.
c. If there are no Judges current appointed, the Mayor shall assume all duties of Judge as defined in Article I Section A until Judges are appointed.
##B. Conduct of Popular Vote
i. Voting on Bills
The voting process shall take place on the official Mount Augusta subreddit. Each bill must be posted in two rounds. First in a post containing "[Bill Discussion]", which must remain open for at least 24 hours. Voting will not yet occur in this post. The bill must be clearly described in the body of the post. After at least 24 hours has passed, another reddit post must be made containing "[Bill Vote]" in the title. The bill must again be clearly written in the body of the post, and may be a revised version of the original one. Voting shall be open for 48 hours.
b. Each voter shall present either a “yes” ("Aye") or “no” ("Nay") vote as a comment on the [Bill Vote] post. Only eligible voters as outlined in Article I, Section A may vote.
c. Bills on which voting is being conducted may not be edited under any circumstances, but may be resubmitted with or without changes if the vote fails.
d. No longer than 24 hours after the end of the 48-hour voting period, as post must be made to the r/MtAugusta subreddit with [Bill Result] in its title. The post must contain the official tally of the votes for and against the bill, and an official status of “passed” or “not passed.” The post must also contain the full text of the bill.
e. In the event a bill amends the constitution, the amendments must go into effect immediately upon posting of the official results. Changes to the online constitution must be made no more than 24 hours after the posting of the official results.
f. In the event a bill changes the Mt. Augusta criminal code, the changes to the criminal code do not go into effect until the online criminal code is updated. Changes to the online criminal code must be made no more than 24 hours after the posting of official results.
g. If another type of bill or generic referendum is passed (defined as a “Resolution”), its text shall be appended to an online archive of all Resolutions. The bill will go into effect when the Resolution has been added to the online archive.
ii. Election Threads
a. Where an election for an official state position is concerned; after the end of that position's term, the resignation of the holder of that position, the recall of the holder of that position, a post on the Mt. Augusta subreddit publicizing any of these events, or calling for an election for a position currently empty, shall begin the election process for that position.
b. Eligibility Thread - A Voter Eligibility thread must be called. Campaigning may run concurrent to this thread.
c. Campaign Thread - A thread must be posted on the subreddit with "[Campaign]" in the title. The position's title must also be included in the thread title. Once this thread is posted, Candidates have 24 hours to submit their own candidacy and may campaign their policy in that thread. If the campaign thread is replacing a position that did not serve out its full natural term length, the time to submit candidacy is 48 hours. Should no candidates show up within those 24 / 48 hours, an additional 48 hours are given for campaigning. Candidacy is locked once the campaign thread is complete. All Candidates must be registered voters OR have been a registered voter at one point. All Candidates must be registered voters OR have been a registered voter at one point. All Candidates must be eligible to vote, as defined in Article I, Section A part iii. An exception to eligibility will be made if a candidate is eligible except for having recently received a criminal sentence that they could not possibly finish serving until after the END of this campaign thread. Candidates must have begun serving their sentence and must have begun within 24 hours after sentencing in order to take advantage of this exception.
d. Debate Thread - At the conclusion of the campaigning period, another thread shall be posted with "[Debate]" in the title. For 48 hours, candidates and residents will have the opportunity to discuss issues and solutions.
e. Election Thread - At the conclusion of the debate period, another thread shall be posted with "[Election]" in the title. The thread body must include: an explanation of the position with its associated powers and responsibilities and a list of candidates with Reddit usernames and in-game names. All persons who applied for eligibility to vote no less than 7 days prior to the posting of the [Election] thread now have 48 hours to choose their candidate by posting a reply to the election thread, including a rank-ordered list of any number of candidates, with their most preferred first, and their least preferred last.. Voters may change or withdraw their vote at any time before the election ends, provided it is announced clearly in the same fashion as the original vote. In the voting election thread, only votes shall be commented on the post.
f. Conclusion of Election - Once the election ends, votes must be counted as accurately as possible and ineligible votes disqualified. The results must be documented and publicized on the subreddit. Candidates are assigned ballots by the ballots' first choices. The candidate with the majority (>50%) of ballots wins the election. If no candidate meets this requirement, then the candidate or candidates with the fewest ballots is/are dropped and their ballots are redistributed to those ballots' next-choice candidates, if any. This process repeats until some candidate receives a majority of ballots and wins the election. If the last two candidates are tied, new run-off elections will be held again for only these last two candidates until one of them wins or drops out.
iii. Recall Votes
a. All elected and appointed offices are subject to the approval of the citizenry, and are therefore open to immediate recall upon a passing recall vote on the official Mount Augusta subreddit. The title of each recall post must contain "[Recall]" along with the name and office of the person who is up for recall. The recall shall be open to voting for 48 hours.
b. Each voter shall present either a “yes” ("Aye") or “no” ("Nay") vote as a comment on the recall thread. Only eligible voters as outlined in Article I, Section A may vote. A majority of at least two-thirds (2/3rds) of all valid votes cast shall be needed for a passing recall.
c. No longer than 24 hours after the end of the 48-hour voting period, a post must be submitted to the r/MtAugusta subreddit with "[Recall Result]" in its title. The post must contain the official tally of the votes for and against the recall and an official status of “passed” or “not passed.”
##C. Publicization of popular vote
i. All voting requirements and processes shall be listed, or linked to, on a clearly visible, static, and accessible part of the official subreddit
##D. Absentee Voting
i. Voters may choose to post their vote to elections or bills through another citizen of Mt. Augusta. That citizen must post a screenshot containing the date, the absentee's vote, and some declaration from the absentee granting the other citizen permission to cast the vote.
ii. If eligibility is questioned, a vote will be held among the three judges to resolve the question. Should the number of sitting judges be even, the vote of the mayor will act as a tiebreaker.
##E. Citizenship
i. To fulfil the prerequisites for gaining citizenship, one must do all of the following:
a. Own or rent property, as defined in Article IV, in Mount Augusta.
b. Not be a convicted fugitive from the law of Mount Augusta.
c. Have either substantially contributed to Mount Augusta, or be substantially or primarily active in Mount Augusta.
d. Not be banned from the host server of Mount Augusta.
ii. To gain citizenship, one must do all of the following in order:
a. Fulfil the prerequisites set out in i.
b. Post in the [Citizenship] thread on r/MtAugusta, setting out how one fulfils the prerequisites, and pledging to follow the law of Mount Augusta. A valid [Citizenship] thread is confirmed by a Judge, and may be renewed from time to time by a Judge; the last one expires on renewal of the next. One may only apply for citizenship once a month.
c. Have no successful objections against one for 7 days. An ongoing objection is presumed successful for the time being. A successful objection must be the following in order:
1.Lodged by a citizen as a comment on the application post of the person objected to
2.Ruled not frivolous or unjustifiable by majority vote of Judges, with tie broken by Mayor
3.Voted on by registered voters with at least two thirds opposing the citizenship of the applicant, with 48 hours for voting from time of previous ruling.
iii. The only way for a confirmed citizenship to be lost to someone is if one renounces it, which is done by posting on r/MtAugusta in the [Citizenship] thread, and clearly renouncing the citizenship.
#Article II. Formation and Jurisdiction of Augustan Law
##A. Borders of the State of Mount Augusta
i. The borders of the State of Mount Augusta shall consist of both the borders of the City of Mount Augusta and of any outlying territories. All laws of the State of Mount Augusta shall apply within these borders.
ii. The borders of the State of Mount Augusta shall be outlined and defined by the office of the Mayor of Mount Augusta. Any proposal by the mayor to change the borders must be publicized on the subreddit in a post titled with "[Border Change]". The proposal may be contested by any eligible voter.
a. To contest the proposed border change, a post titled with "[Contest]" must be made on /r/MtAugusta within 48 hours of the publication of the border proposal by the Mayor. This thread will be treated as a regular vote for a border change as outlined in iii.
b. If the border change proposal is not contested within 48 hours, the borders proposed by the Mayor will become the new official borders of the State of Mount Augusta.
iii. The borders of the State of Mount Augusta may be changed through a bill via the same process as any other bill, requiring 2/3 of the vote to become the new official boundaries of the State of Mount Augusta.
iv. The extension of the borders of the City of Mount Augusta shall not infringe upon existing land claims by other states, groups or individuals without official consent.
##B. Creation of new laws
i. New laws may be proposed by any eligible voters of Mount Augusta. Such proposals shall be subject to a popular vote to determine passage. A majority of at least two-thirds of all votes cast shall be needed for passage.
ii. No law may be created that targets a group or individual or that sets differing standards of behavior or punishment for a group or individual. No law may be applied retroactively, except for bills granting amnesty. Any law violating this section shall be invalid.
iii. Movements to repeal or amend any law may be proposed by any registered voter of the state of Mount Augusta. Such proposals shall be subject to a popular vote to determine passage. A majority of at least two-thirds of all votes cast shall be needed for passage. Amnesty bills, if passed, have their effects limited to the following. For previously criminal acts for which amnesty is granted:
a. No new charges can be brought forward.
b. Current charges in trial proceedings are dropped.
c. Convictions where the sentence is in progress have their sentence reduced by the amount given in the verdict for the specific charges being granted amnesty, or by the minimum sentence related to that charge if unspecified in the verdict. If the maximum charge for other charges does not account for the remaining time in the sentence, the excess is discarded. If this reduces the remaining time in the sentence to zero days or less, the sentence ends immediately and the individual will be freed.
d. Convictions where the sentence was completed are not affected; individuals who served these sentences cannot use their lawfully served sentence as a basis for grievances in legal proceedings.
##C. Law Conflicts
i. In the case of a conflict between two or more laws, elements of the Constitution take precedence over elements of the Criminal Code, which in turn take precedence over resolutions. In the event of conflicts between two laws of the same precedence level, the later law prevails. In the event of conflict between two laws passed simultaneously, the textually later clause takes precedence. If a clause of a law is self-contradictory, that clause is null and void. All laws are superseded by the Bill of Rights should a conflict be found between a law and the Bill of Rights.
#Article III. Enforcement of Augustan Law
##A. Detainment and Rights of the Accused
i. Anyone with a reasonable belief that a person is committing an offence under the Mount Augusta Criminal Code may legally take action to arrest that person, by taking their pearl. A Judge has responsibility for determining what a reasonable belief is.
ii. It is an offence under the Mount Augusta Criminal Code 500.01 1. e. or 500.02 1. e. to interfere with an alleged arrester or arrest on the basis that the alleged arrester did not have a reasonable belief, unless the belief is presumed or ruled unreasonable as per iii.
iii. Evidence for the reasonable belief justifying an arrest should be posted on r/mtaugustajustice, as an [Arrest] thread, along with identification of the arrest, so that a Judge can rule on the reasonableness of the belief. If no evidence has been made available 24 hours after the arrest, then it is presumed that the belief was unreasonable, and the arrested should not be detained on the basis of the alleged arrest. If the belief was not reasonable, then the actions constituting the arrest are not covered by i., and are not necessarily legal.
iv. No person's pearl will be held on the basis of a reasonable belief as per i. for more than seven days, without a trial request lodged against them (a post on r/mtaugustajustice with [Trial Request] in the title, which is a request for trial).
v. A person who is arrested for allegedly committing an offence has the right:
a. to be informed promptly of the fact that they are being arrested as per a reasonable belief of an offence;
b. to have their pearl held by the judicial system of Mount Augusta
vi. The defendant in a trial shall know the time of and be able to attend their own trial and present evidence in their favor. If there is not sufficient evidence to prove guilt, the defendant shall be assumed innocent and there shall be no punishment or conviction. No individual may be tried more than once for the same instance of the same crime unless they call for a retrial or the previous trial was declared a mistrial. The defendant will have the right to have a translator present if applicable.
vii. Every accused person has a right to a fair trial, which includes the right to be informed of the charge with sufficient detail to answer it; to have adequate time and facilities to prepare a defense; to have their trial begin and conclude without unreasonable delay; to be present when being tried; to choose, and be represented by, a legal practitioner, and to be informed of this right promptly; to have their pearl held by the court during proceedings.
viii. No pearls shall be held within the borders of the State of Mount Augusta independently of its judicial system. If a foreign entity requests that a pearl be held within the borders of the State of Mount Augusta, that pearl is subject to the standards of Augustan law and the pearled individual must be given a trial just as if they had been pearled for an offense committed domestically. For the purposes of this trial, offenses committed abroad will be punishable in the same manner as offenses committed domestically.
ix. No person pearled by the State of Mount Augusta or turned over to the State of Mount Augusta shall have their pearl held in a location outside the borders of the State of Mount Augusta, excepting those who have first undergone the process of extradition.
x. Any person pearled in MtA, other than when pearled as part of a sentence for a specific convicted crime, may ask a judge to be released. If the judge considers that the pearled person does not present a danger to the community, and is not likely to flee from the justice system, the judge may simply grant this request. If the judge considers that the defendant does not present a danger to the community, but does have a risk of fleeing from the justice system, the judge may grant a conditional release upon payment of a bail. The amount of bail is set by the judge in accordance to the risk of fleeing. Whenever that judge decides that the original flight risk is no longer relevant, he or she may return the bail again. If the released individual flees the justice system, in the opinion of the judge, the judge may use the bail as a bounty to secure their pearl again.
##B. Court Structure
i. The Augustan Court consists of three Judges.
ii. The position of Judge shall be an elected position, term set to three months.
a. The Judge will have no power except the powers outlined in this Constitution.
b. The Judge will keep a detailed account of the trial, and run all court cases through /r/mtaugustajustice following the procedure outlined under Article III Subsection C. If a case in handled in-game, a record must be posted on /r/mtaugustajustice.
c. The Judge will maintain composure, will be committed to impartiality, and will remove themselves from positions of official power in any foreign organization, nation, or other entity composed of multiple individuals.
d. A Judge may resign by posting their resignation publicly on /r/MtAugusta. The process to elect a new judge to fill the gap as described by Article I, Part B must begin with 14 days of a resignation post. The replacement will serve the remainder of the former Judge’s term.
e. A Judge must be a citizen of Mount Augusta, as described by Article I, Section E or as otherwise defined by law.
f. Judicial elections will occur once every month, with the three-month terms of each Judge being staggered. Mount Augusta’s first judicial election on any iteration of the map will be for all three Judges. The Judge with the highest amount of votes will maintain their term for three months, the next highest voted Judge will maintain their position for two months, and the third highest voted Judge will maintain their position for one month.
iii. Limitations of positions
a. The Judges are subject to the approval of the citizenry, and are therefore open to immediate recall upon a passing recall vote
b. Judges cannot preside over trials in which they are either a defendant or plaintiff.
c. Judges must declare potential conflicts of interest. If the court, through /r/mtaugustajustice is petitioned by the defendant or the plaintiff, it is the responsibility of the other judges to determine if any potential conflict of interest is sufficient to remove impartiality of the presiding Judge, and any ruling of 2 or more Judges that a Judge cannot preside over a case due to conflict of interest is sufficient cause to prevent that Judge from presiding over the case.
d. In the case that all Judges are simultaneously either defendants, plaintiffs, or have a conflict of interest, it shall be the duty of the Mayor to adjudicate the trial. As highest arbitrator, there can be no appeal to such a trial, unless it should be declared a mistrial as per the process laid out in Article III, Part D, subpart ii.
e. Should the mayor and the judges all be plaintiffs, defendants, or have a conflict of interest in a trial, a temporary, impartial third party Judge must be voted in by two-thirds popular vote (following the rules outlined in Article I, Section B, part i), with the duty to preside over the trial only, after which they will cease to act as Judge.
f. As an exception to the above, if all members of Mt. Augusta are either Plaintiff or Defendant (such as People vs. defendant cases) then the current Judges may preside as normal, subject to these limitations.
##C. Trials
i. All parties shall have the opportunity to be present for the trial; by having access to the subreddit /r/mtaugustajustice[3] .
ii. Proper decorum and respect for the court process is requested.
iii. Comments unrelated to the trial, not providing evidence, or expressing opinions as to guilt or innocence will be removed.
iv. Order of Trial
a. Prosecution presents claim
b. Defendant enters plea. Pleas will be Guilty, Not Guilty, no-contest.
c. Prosecution presents evidence, and calls witnesses.
d. Defense cross examination.
e. Defendant presents evidence, and calls witnesses.
f. Prosecution cross examination.
g. Prosecution closing statement
h. Defendant closing statement.
i. The judge of the case will decide guilt or innocence on the charges, as well as the amount of time to be served, as per the Mount Augusta Criminal Code.
j. Details of the trial and the judge’s determination must be posted publicly by the judge or the judge’s designee within 24 hours of the conclusion of the in game trial to /r/mtaugustajustice. The judge's posting of the verdict and outcome to the /r/mtaugustajustice subreddit shall complete the trial.
v. The plaintiff in a trial must be an alleged victim who suffered direct harm as a result of each charge of each crime in the trial. Those with general fear, anxiety, lowered property values, or other indirect harms due to a crime are not considered victims. Legal representatives may act on behalf of a victim.
vi. Where no victim(s) as described in (v) can be identified, such as crimes against the state as a whole, the Mayor and Judges (as of the time of the trial) shall be considered to be “victims” for the purposes of prosecution.
vii. If the prosecution or defense in a trial willfully neglects the trial unreasonably for 48 or more hours, the opposing party may petition the judge for a summary judgment. The judge is empowered to approve this request and issue a verdict, thereby ending the trial, or skip the neglectful party's turn; assuming the following conditions are met
a. It is certain beyond reasonable doubt that the neglectful party is aware of the ongoing trial.
b. It is reasonable to believe that the neglectful party was unaware that it was their turn.
c. The petitioning party must provide evidence of the neglectful party's activity outside the trial or evidence of them intentionally neglecting the trial.
d. The prosecution or defense may petition the judge for a time extension. The judge may grant this extension dependent on the reasoning provided.
##D. Retrials
i. If there is new evidence that suggests that an individual convicted of a crime is innocent, they may demand a retrial in which any new evidence may be presented. Such a trial shall be conducted in the same way as a regular trial. If the individual is not convicted in the new trial, they shall be cleared of the crime in question and all punishments shall be lifted immediately.
ii. Mistrials
a. Following the completion of a trial, should the defendant, plaintiff or any resident feel that the ruling or process by which the trial was conducted violated the constitutional rights of either the defendant or the plaintiff or otherwise significantly undermined fair treatment or due process under the law, they may initiate a vote to declare it a mistrial. The request should be made in the trial's verdict thread should it still be accessible, otherwise a new thread should be created on /r/MtAugusta or /r/mtaugustajustice
b. The vote will be held by the current Judges and the Mayor, excluding the individual who issued the verdict. Votes will be cast on the subreddit in reply to the mistrial request and will require greater than 50% of eligible votes in favour for the trial to be declared a mistrial. A lack of response within 48 hours will be recorded as a vote against the mistrial request. Sentences are assumed to remain valid during voting.
c. After a trial has been declared a mistrial, all proceedings of the trial and any rulings are declared invalid and a new trial is held. The individual who issued the verdict of the previous trial may not again determine the outcome of the retrial.
##F. Pardons
i. Pardons for any individual convicted of a crime within Mount Augusta may be granted by popular vote, with a majority of at least ¾ of all votes cast needed for the pardon. Any individual so pardoned shall not be tried again for the crime in question and all punishments shall be lifted immediately.
##G. Extraditions
i. Where claims exist outside of Mt.Augusta's borders, the claimant may post a claim for the pearl on the Mount Augusta subreddit with evidence. A vote will be held among registered voters of Augusta. A two-thirds vote in favour of extradition is required, at which point the Mayor or Judges are responsible for the handing over of said pearl to the claimant.
ii. Only time spent pearled within Mt.Augusta's borders shall count as time served for a Mt.Augustan criminal sentence.
#Article IV. Property
##A. Definition of property
i. Any structure or development of the land that does not conflict with existing ownership of property.
ii. A buffer is defined as a space of two (2) blocks extending out horizontally from the edge of any structure. The buffer shall be deemed part of the property and serve as a separation between builds.
iii. Property ownership will extend from sky to bedrock above and below all parts of the property. If a new structure shall be erected next to an existing one, there shall be a four (4) block horizontal space between the two structures, which is comprised of the buffer for each of the two structures.
a. A property owner may choose to relinquish their right to their own buffer, for example by consenting exchange/contract with the adjoining property's owner.
iv. Anyone who places a structure which violates a law reliniquishes all property rights to the violating portion of that structure immediately, with only the following exception(s):
a. If the violation is only due to a pre-existing structure that is not obvious from the surface level.
v. In case of the exceptions defined above, the owner of the new structure shall be given notice and forty-eight hours to correct it before ownership is automatically relinquished and the offending aspects of the structure may be destroyed.
a. Failure to properly notify the owner or wait the allotted forty-eight hours before altering the offending property will be a violation of Section 100.01 of the Augustan Criminal Code.
b. A post on the MtAugustan subreddit containing "[Building Violation]" in the title and including a clear picture of the existing structure, the offending structure, and a description of the offending portion, may serve as adequate notification under this law, should other means of notification be impractical or unsuccessful.
c. If the offending aspects are only within the new structure's buffer, the owner forfeits their right to only that portion of their buffer.
##B. Property rights
i. Property may not be modified, moved, or destroyed without the consent of the property owner unless such action is the minimum required to bring such property within legal bounds.
ii. Property owners confer the right to map and world download all owned property in the City of Mount Augusta, given the actions are not used to reveal sensitive information, viz. information that cannot be gleaned from viewing the property with a vanilla client from a public space.
iii. Taking ownership of property within the City of Mount Augusta or any outlying Augustan territories does not grant the power to release the property to other sovereign entities, or to form a new sovereign entity (City, nation, supra-national entity, or any other definition that confers independent sovereignty) within that property.
##C. Dereliction
i. Property that has shown no signs of improvement in at least 7 days shall be considered eligible for dereliction.
ii. Those seeking ownership of a property eligible for dereliction will:
a. Place a sign at the property with their in-game name, the current date, and the word “Dereliction”, with the sign being unreinforced or stone-reinforced, and accessible for removal by the public. The placed dereliction sign is not to be considered the property of anyone.
b. Make a post on the subreddit r/MtAugusta declaring intention of dereliction, with the post containing [Dereliction] in the title, the coordinates of the sign, the coordinates of the property, and a link to one or more screenshots of the property, showing relevant structures and the dereliction sign.
iii. For 7 days after the post declaring intention of dereliction is made, any participant in Mount Augustan affairs as defined by the Constitution of Mount Augusta, Article I. Voting, A. Voting Eligibility and Registration, iii. Gaining voter registration, may object to the dereliction by commenting on the post stating their objection, and their reason for it.
iv. If the initiator of a dereliction believes an objection to their dereliction to be frivolous or unjustifiable, they may have the Judges review the objection. The Judges will then vote to sustain or overrule said objection, with a majority vote deciding the outcome. Should there be a tie amongst the vote of the Judges, the vote of the Mayor will count as the tiebreaker. If an objection is overruled, the objection is invalid. Derelictions are assumed not to have gone through while voting is underway.
v. Objections made by the owner of the property which is having dereliction attempted upon cannot be overruled.
vi. If an objection is made and not overruled, the dereliction sign must be removed within 14 days from the initial date of the r/MtAugusta dereliction post or 7 days after the objection was sustained by a vote of the Judges (and Mayor if applicable), whichever is later. If this is not done, the objection will not be valid.
vii. If there is no valid objection within the 7 day waiting period, the property which was the subject of dereliction proceedings, along with the structures and items within, will become the property of the initiator.
viii. If a property owner will have an extended absence from CivClassic or Reddit, both the posting of a sign on their property declaring this absence, or a post to r/MtAugusta specifying their property and declaring this absence, will exempt the posted property from dereliction for a period of 3 months.
#Article V. Government offices
##A. Protection of the Popular Vote
i. All government offices with powers beyond those of ordinary residents shall be created and filled by popular vote. No office may have the power to contradict or override a popular vote for any reason.
##B. The Mayor's Powers
i. The Mayor will have the responsibility of adding bills that have passed to the Constitution and keeping it up to date during their term.
ii. The Mayor will function as the highest ranking arbitrator.
a. Any parties in conflict can name any third party as their arbitrator, however any and all appeals go to the Mayor.
b. If the Mayor is a party in any arbitration or judgment appeal, they cannot act as their own final arbitrator. Both parties, in this case alone, may agree to a third party to act as final arbitrator, waiving their rights to further appeal. If neither party can agree to a third party arbitrator after 7 days, the Judges must appoint by unanimous decision a third party arbitrator, and both party's right to further appeal is waived.
iii. The Mayor is in charge of foreign policy.
a. The Mayor is responsible for nominating a Diplomat. If a Diplomat is elected by the people, this supersedes the Mayor’s decision.
b. The Mayor may delegate decision-making powers on matters of foreign policy to the Diplomat on a case-by-case basis when faced with international issues.
c. No treaties or agreements made with any foreign entity shall violate this constitution or the Bill of Rights.
iv. The Mayor is in charge of creating and appointing citizens to the Cupboard Offices of their choosing, as outlined in Article V, Section D of the Constitution.
v. The Mayor's term of office shall be three months long. Beyond its natural expiration, the Mayor’s term can be terminated by either the Mayor's resignation or by a passing recall vote.
vi. No person shall hold more than two terms (or 6 months) as Mayor within a 8 month period.
vii. Citizens may hold more than two terms total, so long as no more than two terms are served consecutively.
##C. The Diplomat’s Responsibilities
i. The Diplomat acts as the Mayor’s aide on matters of foreign policy.
ii. The Diplomat can act as a ceremonial representative of Mount Augusta abroad on the Mayor’s behalf.
iii. The Diplomat is responsible for overseeing the creation and maintenance of Embassies of the City State of Mount Augusta abroad.
iv. The Diplomat is responsible for forming and maintaining connections with foreign states, and maintaining communication with them.
v. The Diplomat is responsible for maintaining an awareness of the public image of Mount Augusta abroad and working towards improving and maintaining it in cooperation with the Mayor.
vi. The Diplomat's term of office is indefinite, and can be terminated by either the Diplomat’s resignation, by the Mayor's decision, or by election of a new Diplomat.
vii. The Diplomat is appointed by the Mayor.
viii. The Diplomat is subject to the approval of the citizenry and is therefore open to recall upon a passing recall vote.
##D. Cupboard Offices
i. The Cupboard Offices are created and filled at the discretion of the Mayor.
ii. These officers may not be granted any powers beyond those of an ordinary resident.
iii. These officers are subject to the approval of the citizenry, and are therefore open to recall upon a passing recall vote.
iv. Cupboard offices are not exclusively responsible for the duties listed, and no resident should be barred from participation without just cause; holders of these offices are merely the person directly responsible for their duties.
v. Cupboard offices all serve an indefinite term until replaced.
##E. Shared Government Positions
i. No resident will simultaneously hold multiple government offices or positions including but not limited to the positions of Mayor, Judge and Diplomat at any one time. In the event of a resident simultaneously holding multiple government offices or positions said resident will resign until they only hold one such office or position.
#Article VII. Officially Recognized Flag and Holidays
##A. Flag Design
i. The flag of Mount Augusta shall consist of a blue rectangle with a red square in the top left corner or, If on a flagpole, on the top corner on the side touching the pole. The red square shall be of such a size that its side extends halfway across the smaller dimension of the flag.
##B. National Holidays
i. June 30th shall be known as the Day of Dan, in commemoration of the mayorship of ProgrammerDan. Festivities will be coordinated by the current Mayor.
ii. The day on which Mount Augusta is officially founded in CivCraft’s third iteration will be edited into this document, and will mark the date of Foundation Day (August 14th), a holiday to commemorate the perseverance of the Augustan people through three eras of CivCraft. Festivities will be coordinated by the current Mayor.
iii. In recognition of his service to the city and his sacrifice against those menacing our beautiful Augusta, July 31st shall forever be Henry Draton Memorial Day.
Suggested celebrations would be for all Augustans to place a hopper outside their home and to play violins softly as the sun sets. Of course all may celebrate the brilliant life of this glorious man however they wish.
iii. Further holidays may be recognized via a popular vote.
#Article VIII. Ratification, Signing, and Amendments to this Document
##A. Ratification and Signing
i. This document will be publicly posted on the /r/MtAugusta subreddit. Commenters may declare that they have signed the document with their ingame name and reddit username, signifying their commitment to the fifth iteration of Mount Augusta and intent to participate. New signatories can sign the constitution for a period of 7 days.
ii. Following the ratification of the Constitution, the names of the signatories will be appended to the end of the Constitution.
##B. Amendments to the Constitution
Amendments to this document shall be treated in the same way as amendments to other laws created under this document.
#Founders
ProgramMC
StateApparatus
VuvHerrara
Ahrimanne
Lazersmoke
ComradeNick
Masterful921
Tvman999
Trevie303
PhlspherSt0ned
LordOfMarzipan
Ladezkik
HenryDraton
Muffinbomb97
Tabbynya
Greenkitten
Calico77
DroidJoe
ReasonableHero
Djc_2012
Daddy1015