Grant of Power. The power of the High Council of Britannia ("the council") derives directly from the Throne of Britannia. As advisors to the king, the council is answerable to his person and his laws, and is expected and authorized to speak on his behalf when he is unavailable.
Authority. The council assists and supports The king in his daily management of the realm. Specifically, the council is authorized to pass laws that do not contradict the basic tenets set forth by Lord British. Additionally, the council may authorize and oversee the operation of local governments in any of the cities represented by its councilors.
Responsibilities. The council serves as advocate for the needs of Britannia's citizens, to uphold and support the rule of the King, and to promote the eight Virtues. The council is also expected to preserve, promote, and enhance the unique cultural heritage and identity of the realm.
The council shall consist of nine voting members and three non-voting members.
Eight voting members shall represent the virtues and associated cities, collectively are called the Advocates of Order, and have duties as described in Article 5.
One voting member shall represent Balance, shall be known as the Advocate of Balance, and have duties as described in Article 6.
The voting members of the council shall be granted titles called "seats" tailored to the Virtue or ideal each represents, as follows:
First Seat, representing Sacrifice and the city of Minoc
Second Seat, representing Honor and the city of Trinsic
Third Seat, representing Justice and the city of Yew
Fourth Seat, representing Humility and the city of Magincia
Fifth Seat, representing Valor and the city of Jhelom
Sixth Seat, representing Compassion and the city of Britain
Seventh Seat, representing Honesty and the city of Moonglow
Eighth Seat, representing Spirituality and the city of Skara Brae
Ninth Seat, representing Balance
The council shall have a non-voting member entitled The Chancellor of Virtue, whose duties are described in Article 7.
The council shall have a non-voting member entitled The Justicar of Virtue, whose duties are described in Article 8.
The council shall have a non-voting member entitled The Grand Marshall of Virtue, whose duties are described in Article 9.
The voting members of the council, by simple majority, may elect to create or abolish additional non-voting positions within the council.
The council shall actively cultivate relations with all provinces not represented directly on the council. This includes all towns, cities, or other organizations without a voting seat on the council.
The definition of Ambassador in this instance also refers to official representatives of foreign nations who have been appointed and accepted by both the council, and the leadership of their originating government.
Before a Foreign Ambassador may be recognized by the council, the nation-state they belong to must have first established an embassy in one of the 8 cities represented by the Advocates.
In order to facilitate these relations, the council shall recognize one or more ambassadors from these organizations. The council may refuse to recognize known criminals as ambassadors.
Recognized ambassadors are granted immunity privileges described under Article 11.
An individual must be a citizen of Britannia proper to be considered for council membership.
An individual must have reached the age of majority, fourteen years, before they may be considered for membership.
An individual must have no outstanding warrants for his arrest to be considered for council membership.
To avoid conflicts of interest, a voting member of the council may not also be a member of the High Court or the Military. This restriction does not apply to non-voting members of the council.
The Advocates of Order are expected to maintain a visible presence in the city of virtue they represent. This requires that they be publicly available in that city to address the needs and concerns of citizens for at least one hour per week.
Whenever possible, each Advocate of Order shall seek to establish a local city council with the intent of promoting awareness of the associated virtue. These councils need not, but may, be part of the local city government.
Each Advocate of Order is required to report back to the council the needs and/or status of his represented city. Such reports must be given no less than once every four public meetings of the council.
Each Advocate of Order shall wear the patron color of their representive virtue prominently during council sessions or when otherwise acting in their capacity of Advocate.
Councilors on leave of absence are granted leeway in execution of duties.
Repeated failure to carry out these duties is grounds for censure and removal from the council.
The Advocate of Balance is expected to maintain a visible presence throughout the realm. This requires that he be present and publicly available to the citizens of the realm for at least one hour per week.
The Advocate of Balance shall seek to promote the philosophy of Balance.
The Advocate of Balance is required to report back to the council any issues or views on the status of the realm from his perspective. Such presentation must be made no less than once every four meetings of the council.
Councilors on leave of absence are granted leeway in execution of duties.
Repeated failure to carry out these duties is grounds for censure and removal from the council.
The Chancellor of Virtue, or chancellor, is responsible for assisting in the daily operations of the council.
The chancellor will lead all public meetings of the council.
The Chancellor may appoint a vice-chancellor with the sole authority to lead public meetings of the council.
Should the chancellor or vice-chancellor be unavailable, the council may ask another member or citizen of the realm to temporarily substitute as acting chancellor.
If a situation arises where the council becomes deadlocked on a vote and cannot resolve the issue, the chancellor shall-and must-serve to cast the deciding vote.
Repeated failure to carry out these duties is grounds for censure and removal from the council.
There shall be a High Court, charged with interpreting the law of the land and rendering judgment of cases brought before it.
The High Court shall be based in Yew, the city of Justice.
The Justicar of Virtue will be commonly known as the High Justicar, and shall be responsible for operating the High Court as defined in its own charter.
If no living High Court members may be contacted, the council may appoint a High Justicar by a two-thirds majority vote.
The High Court is empowered and entrusted with the responsibilities of ruling on the validity of laws and their enforceability, and hearing criminal cases.
The High Justicar is empowered with the responsibility of issuing warrants for the arrest of individuals as specified in the High Court's charter.
The High Justicar and High Court are vested with greater authority than any local local town courts and officials.
The High Council shall pass no law, nor take any action, which diminishes or supercedes the authority of the High Justicar and High Court.
Repeated failure to carry out these duties is grounds for censure and removal from the council.
There shall be a Britannian Military, formed by a conglomeration of virtuous guilds.
The composition of the Military shall be decided by a two-third majority vote of the High Council.
The Military shall not contain persons who are ineligable for service as described in Article 4.
All Military forces are answerable to the Grand Marshall.
The Military shall Operate from the city of Trinsic, with branches stationed at the Grand Marshall's discretion.
The Grand Marshall of Virtue will be commonly known as the Grand Marshall, and shall be responsible for operating the Military as defined in its own charter.
Each Branch of the Military shall have a charter which clearly defines its responsibilities.
The Military is empowered and entrusted with protecting Britannia from her enemies, arresting of individuals with outstanding warrants, and guarding the members of the High Council and High Court.
The Grand Marshall is empowered with the responsibility of arresting individuals without warrant if their criminal activities are directly observed, or if the security of the High Council or High Court is threatened. Such arrests are subject to review by the High Justicar.
The High Council shall pass no law, nor take any action, which diminishes or supercedes the authority of the Grand Marshall or the Military.
The Grand Marshall and the Military are vested with greater authority than any local town guards or officials.
Repeated failure to carry out these duties is grounds for censure and removal from the council.
Each voting member of the High Council may appoint an individual in capacity of official assistant, granting the title "Adjutant", as in "Adjutant of Honor", and so forth.
An Adjutant may be removed from position by decision of the sponsoring councilor.
If a councilor is removed from the council, voluntarily or involuntarily, the Adjutant must immediately tender resignation. This resignation may or may not be accepted by the next councilor.
If a councilor is unavailable, an Adjutant may sit at the councilor's seat and cast his vote, provided that councilor has stated his desire for his to happen. Extended absences will be considered failure to carry out duty, even if the Adjutant is present.
A member of the High Council, High Court, or Military may only be legally detained, arrested, or charged with criminal activity by a member of the Military.
Members of the High Council are granted immunity from legal prosecution until and unless they are censured for that explicit purpose by the High Council.
Members of the High Court and Military are granted limited immunity, in that they may only be tried in the High Court of Britannia; that is, no local government may place them on trial.
If intentional abuse of immunity can be proven, it may be considered high treason.
Ambassadors recognized by the council are eligible for immunity under the same terms as members of the council itself.
Any member of the council must be censured before legal action may be taken against him .
Censure may also be used as a condemnation of activity, or demand for action.
Any member of the council may request a writ of censure, and must explicitly state the purpose of the censure at the time the writ is requested.
When censure is requested, the voting members of the council may grant it by a two-thirds majority vote.
If censure is granted, the voting members of the council may specify a penalty up to and including full liability under the law; such penalty requiring a simple majority for approval.
Actual removal of a council member is a special case and requires grant of censure followed by a two-thirds majority vote in favor of removing the member.
When voting members are censured, they retain their voting powers until and unless they are removed from the council.
A member may tender his resignation to the chancellor, or if unavailable, to any voting council member. Such resignation is effective immediately upon acceptance.
A voting council member who resigns voluntarily may appoint a replacement. This appointment must be confirmed by a simple majority of the council.
If a voting council position opens for any other reason, including no appointment under section A, the council must hold an internal nomination and election process. Such process will consist of the following steps
.The position shall be publicly announced, with all eligible citizens granted an opportunity to tender declarations of candidacy.
The council shall interview, meet, or otherwise learn about the candidates. The exact method is to be decided by the council, but each candidate must have a fair and equal opportunity in the process.
The council, in private session, shall vote on the candidates; a candidate must receive a majority vote of all voting members in order to take office.
The council member whose seat is now vacant does not receive a vote, as in effect he is no longer a member of the council.
Should there be a tie, the Chancellor of Virtue must cast the deciding vote.
A quorum of members shall be defined as two-thirds of the voting members of the council. Should a Seat be absent, the Adjutant for that Seat may be considered toward the quorum.
Votes requiring a two-thirds majority require that a quorum be present, and that the two-thirds majority be of all present members. Abstentions, in this case, are equivalent to a "nay".
Votes requiring a simple majority require that a quorum be present, and that the simple majority of votes cast "aye" or "nay" be for "aye". Abstentions, in this case, remove the voting member from consideration as to whether or not a majority has been reached. The member is still considered for purposes of determining that a quorum is present, however.
In the case of voting to replace an outgoing council member, the departing member has an option to vote, provided that his departure was voluntary. Should there be a tie when a replacement is sought, any active Adjutants may cast a vote provided their council member also voted. If a tie still results, it shall be broken by the vote of the Chancellor.
If desired by any voting member, a vote may be called privately, in which case the Chancellor shall tally the votes and announce the result. In the case of voting to replace an outgoing council member, a private vote is mandated, and in this one exceptional case, the High Justicar will serve to tally the votes to avoid a conflict of interest.
This charter may be modified or amended by a two-thirds majority vote of all voting members.
Addendums may be added to this charter to detail rules, regulations, and procedures. Such addendums require a simple majority for approval.
The council may pass laws with a majority vote.
The council may issue decrees with a majority vote, the purpose of such decrees being to "order" an individual or organization to comply with the wishes of the council. Failure to obey a direct decree can be construed as treason.
All amendments, laws, and decrees are subject to review by the High Court, which may vacate the item (in full, not in part) if it is determined to violate the higher laws of Lord British.
The Date, Time, and Location of all meetings shall be decided upon by Chancellor. the Chancellor shall do his best to choose a Date, Time, and Location which best suits the participants.
The High Council will hold both public and private meetings.
The Council shall have a recurring schedule of 4 private meetings. Collectively, this schedule is referred to as a session.
Council Sessions shall occur once every third calendar month.
Emergency Private meetings may be called by any member of the council, but only when a clear and present emergency situation exists.
Emergency council sessions may be called by the Chancellor. Emergency sessions shall never replace any regularly scheduled session.
The council shall only vote on issues during private meetings.
The general public may attend private meetings and sessions, but may not participate or speak, except where provided for as a special speaking guest.
There shall be no private council meetings when the council is not in session, except as provided for by Emergency meetings and sessions.
During a Private meeting, Councilors who so desire may speak in the order of the seats in which they hold. A Councilor may bring a special guest to speak before the council during a private meeting, but the time he uses shall be considered the councilors own.
Public Council meetings shall occur regularly, at a rate to be determined by the Chancellor. The frequency of public meetings shall not be less than 7 days in length.
A procedure shall be followed to maintain the order of all public council meetings. This procedure is:
It has been so decreed that the Kingdom of Britannia requires a military force. The purpose of this force is to protect Britannia from its enemies both foreign and domestic through appropriate use of force.
The Military shall also encourage and support the use of the virtues, but at no time shall the military enforce the rule of virtue through force, nor shall the military oppress any sentient being on the basis of belief system, race, age, or sex.
It has been decreed that the Military shall consist of multiple organizations, each deriving its authority from the Grand Marshall himself. Individually, these organizations will be referred to as branches.
The Branch Leaders will serve also as an advisory council to the Grand Marshall. The Advisory Council shall advise the Grand Marshall on their branch status, and other military matters.
The Grand Marshall shall have no authority or influence to affect the internal workings of each branch.
The Grand Marshall may not also be a Branch Leader during his tenure, nor may he be a subordinate member of a branch.
The Grand Marshall may demand that any individual be dismissed from any branch, but only when clear evidence is presented that the member has committed some violation.
The Grand Marshall has authority to remove branches of service from the military, but this may be vetoed by the council or by the High Justicar.
No member of the military may be a criminal. If a member becomes a criminal while in service, they must be removed immediately.