Ship Constitution

Ship Constitution[]

Below are the laws and rules of the ship, which were voted on by its residents.

Bill of Rights[]

Article 1 [Sentient dignity]

1. Sentient dignity shall be inviolable. To respect and protect it shall be the duty of all state authority.
2. The crew of the ship therefore acknowledge inviolable and inalienable Sentient rights as the basis of every community, of peace and of justice.
3. The following basic rights shall bind the legislature, the executive, and the judiciary as directly applicable law.

Article 2 [Personal freedoms]

1. Every Sentient shall have the right to free development of his personality insofar as he does not violate the rights of others or offend against the constitutional order or the moral law.
2. Every Sentient shall have the right to life and physical integrity. Freedom of the Sentient shall be inviolable. These rights may be interfered with only pursuant to a law.

Article 3 [Equality before the law]

1. All Sentients shall be equal before the law.
2. All Sentients shall have equal rights. The Council and the Command Staff shall promote the actual implementation of equal rights for Sentients and take steps to eliminate disadvantages that now exist.
3. No Sentient shall be favored or disfavored because of sex, parentage, race, species, special abilities, language, homeland and origin, faith, sexual orientation, or religious or political opinions. No Sentient shall be disfavored because of disability.

Article 4 [Freedom of faith, conscience, and creed]

1. Freedom of faith and of conscience, and freedom to profess a religious or philosophical creed, shall be inviolable.
2. The undisturbed practice of religion shall be guaranteed.
3. No Sentient shall be compelled against his conscience to render military service involving the use of arms—outside of missions implemented by Stacy.

Article 5 [Freedom of expression]

1. Every Sentient shall have the right freely to express and disseminate his opinions in speech, writing, and pictures and to inform himself without hindrance from generally accessible sources. Freedom of the press and freedom of reporting by means of broadcasts and films shall be guaranteed. There shall be no censorship.
2. These rights shall find their limits in the provisions of general laws, in provisions for the protection of young Sentients, and in the right to personal honor.
3. Art and scholarship, research, and teaching shall be free. The freedom of teaching shall not release any Sentient from allegiance to the constitution.

Article 6 [Freedom of assembly]

1. All Sentient shall have the right to assemble peacefully and unarmed without prior notification or permission.
2. In the case of outdoor assemblies, this right may be restricted by or pursuant to a law.

Article 7 [Freedom of association]

1. All Sentient shall have the right to form corporations and other associations.
2. Associations whose aims or activities contravene the criminal laws, or that are directed against the constitutional order or the concept of international understanding, shall be prohibited.
3. The right to form associations to safeguard and improve working and economic conditions shall be guaranteed to every individual and to every occupation or profession. Agreements that restrict or seek to impair this right shall be null and void; measures directed to this end shall be unlawful.

Article 8 [Privacy of correspondence, posts and telecommunications]

1. The privacy of correspondence, posts and telecommunications shall be inviolable.
2. Restrictions may be ordered only pursuant to a law. If the restriction serves to protect the free democratic basic order or the existence or security of the ship, the law may provide that the Sentient affected shall not be informed of the restriction and that recourse to the courts shall be replaced by a review of the case by agencies and auxiliary agencies appointed by the Council and Command Staff.

Article 9 [Occupational freedom; prohibition of forced labor]

1. All Sentients shall have the right freely to choose their occupation or profession, their place of work, and their place of training. The practice of an occupation or profession may be regulated by or pursuant to a law.
2. No Sentient may be required to perform work of a particular kind except within the framework of a traditional duty of community service that applies generally and equally to all.
3. Forced labor may be imposed only on Sentients deprived of their liberty by the judgment of a court.

Article 10 [Forfeiture of basic rights]

1. Whoever abuses the freedom of expression, in particular the freedom of the press, the freedom of assembly, the freedom of association, the privacy of correspondence, posts and telecommunications in order to combat the free democratic basic order shall forfeit these basic rights. This forfeiture and its extent shall be declared by the Council and Command Staff.

Article 11 [Restriction of basic rights]

1. Insofar as, under this Basic Law, a basic right may be restricted by or pursuant to a law, such law must apply generally and not merely to a single case. In addition, the law must specify the basic right affected and the Article in which it appears.
2. In no case may the essence of a basic right be affected.
3. The basic rights shall also apply to domestic artificial Sentients to the extent that the nature of such rights permits.
4. Should any Sentient’s rights be violated by public authority, he may have recourse to the courts. If no other jurisdiction has been established, recourse shall be to the ordinary courts.

Civilian Council[]

• The Council will consist of a group of 9 members, elected by the crew. They'll be primarily responsible for writing ship laws that cover things like crew interaction, property rights, and the like. They'll also be responsible for crew education, resource acquisition and management, trade, and diplomatic negotiations.

• The crew themselves will be divided up into districts basted on away team set up. So, say, Teams Alpha, Bravo, and Charlie will be District 1; Delta, Echo, and Foxtrot will be District 2, and so on. Members of the command staff, since they aren't on teams, will be assigned a district at random. Newly assigned teams will be added to districts when created.

• Each member of a district is eligible to be nominated, but must receive 5 nominations (and at least 2 of those 5 must be from members considered adults) and must willfully and formally accept the nominations to appear on the ballot. Come election time, whoever has the most votes wins. In the event of a tie, a run off election will happen, until there is a single winner. If the nominee is currently serving as a member of the command staff or a department head, they must relinquish that position in order to serve on the council.

• Each Council member shall serve a term of "four years", relative time on the ship.

• Each member of the council can be removed via a recall election. For a recall, at least 50% of the district must petition for a recall election, and at least one other person must be nominated for the position. The person being recalled can choose to run or not, and does not need to be nominated. Whoever has the most votes wins the election. A council member, if they win their recall election, can not be recalled again for another 4 months.

• For all laws, a council member must introduce a bill. If it passes by a simple majority, then it will be sent forth to the Captain, who may approve or Veto it. If it is vetoed, the Council may vote on it again, and if it passes with 2/3's majority, then it is now law.

• A 60% vote from the crew can also repeal/overturn any law.

• The Council may create their own departments as needed, but the Captain must approve it.

Elections[]

• An independent group will be selected to run the actual election itself.

• Every crew member is allowed to vote, with no restrictions based on age, gender, religion, or species.

• Willfully not voting counts as a vote of "whatever you guys decide".

• Security will only be involved to the extent that they make sure that each crew member gets only one vote, and that each vote is properly counted.

• Anyone found committing election fraud will be banned from serving on the council, banned from serving on Command, permanently ineligible to serve as a Command Officer or Department Head, stripped of their position as away team leader (if applicable), and will serve a sentence in the brig of up to (but not to exceed) 180 days. (I know we joke about characters rigging elections a lot in chat, but ICly, some characters would try, so this is meant as a valid IC reason to discourage that behavior)

Command Staff[]

• Will oversee ALL military functions, and determine all rules and regulations relating to such. Also responsible for crew safety as a whole, maintaining the ship, keeping it in an operational capacity, and overseeing all day-to-day operations.

• Captain and First Officer are elected positions, voted on by the crew as a whole, and will retain that position for "6 years", relative ship time, or until voted to be removed by the crew.

• For the Captain or First Officer to be removed, the crew must petition the council to hold a vote of "No Confidence". If 2/3rds of the Council votes "No Confidence", the Captain or First Officer is formally relieved of duty, with the next highest ranking officer holding the position in the interim until a new one is elected by the crew. The Captain who is removed may run for re-election, and if successful, there may not be another vote of "No Confidence" brought up against them for a period of one year.

• At the Captain's discretion, information may be deemed as "classified", some crew members may be barred from certain areas of the ship, and non-essential resources (basically anything other than food, water, and clothing) can be held for military use. The Civilian Council can overturn this, but only by 2/3rds vote.

• The Captain is responsible for laying out operational rules and regulations for the following departments: Command, Training, Tactical, Engineering, Neuropathy, and Rogue Squadron.

• The Captain is responsible for laying out rules and guidelines for away teams and away missions.

• Lt. Commanders, Lieutenants, and Department Heads are NOT elected officers. They are appointed by the Captain to perform or oversee certain tasks related to the operation of the ship, but must be confirmed by the Civilian Council (similar to how the President can appoint the Secretary of State, but they still have to go trough Senate Confirmation Hearings). This is only for anyone newly appointed. Any department head that retains their position won't have to go through this.

• Only the Captain (or the highest ranking Officer on the ship at the time) can enact a status of "Red Alert", which a declaration of a State of Emergency, or the acknowledgment that there is a clear, present, imminent, and immediate danger to the crew. During a Red Alert, a temporary state of Martial Law is declared, the highest ranking Command officer on board may direct any person and any resource in whatever manner they see fit until such time as they issue an order to Stand Down from Red Alert. Failure to obey, pending review once the emergency has passed, may result in extensive time in the brig. If 2/3rds of the Council believe a Red Alert is not warranted, or that the emergency has passed and it is no longer warranted, they may issue an order to Stand Down from Red Alert.

• New departments may be created by the Captain, but must be confirmed by the Council.

• Away Team Leaders are assigned by the Captain, but can be adjusted by Stacy at will.

• Unless they've been charged with a criminal act, appointed officers can only be removed by order of the Captain.

• If a new Captain is voted in, all appointed officers still retain their position, unless removed by the new Captain.

Joint Departments[]

• The Command Staff and the Council are jointly responsible for laying down the rules of the following departments: (Security, Science, Medical, and Mystical)

• Department Heads for the following Departments (Security, Science, Medical, and Mystical) must be agreed upon by a simple majority of the Council and approved by the Captain.

• Removal of a department head requires either a 2/3rds vote of the Council, the Captain and First officer to jointly order the department head removed, or a simple majority with the Captain agreeing to remove them.

Security/Away Teams/The Crew[]

• No member of the crew may be arrested, charged with, tried for, and imprisoned for any crime they committed on their homeworld prior to joining the crew. Regardless as to whether or not the crime was committed against current crew members.

• On ship, at all times (both on and off duty), all members of the crew are subject to all laws made by the Civilian Council. These laws will be enforced by ship Security.

• During shore leave, the crew is subject to all local laws on whatever planet they choose to take port in. The crew will have a chance to review and familiarize themselves with those laws before disembarking.

• Any crew member working for one of the following departments (Command, Training, Tactical, Engineering, Neuropathy, and Rogue Squadron), is subject to all rules and regulations as set forth by the Captain, but only while on duty. These will also be enforced by ship Security. Off duty, they'll be subject to civilian laws.

• Any crew member on an away mission is subject to all rules and regulations as set forth by the Captain. All away missions will be reviewed upon return of the away team, and any violations that occurred in the field will be dealt with by ship Security.

• During preparation/training for an away mission, team leaders may administer penalties to insubordinate team members, provided the penalty fits within the established guidelines set forth by The Captain. If the team leader feels a more severe penalty is warranted, they must report to Security.

• Crew members who are not part of one of the following Departments (Command, Security, Training, Tactical, Medical, Engineering, Neuropathy, Rogue Squadron, Mystical, Science) but are still on away teams are considered to be reserve officers. They may be called upon by the Captain to perform tasks and provide additional manpower if the situation is needed. (For example, if two-thirds of Engineering gets sent on an away mission, the Captain may pull members from a different away team to help out in Engineering and keep things running).

• Penalties for minor infractions (non-criminal rule violations, petty offenses, and misdemeanor crimes) can be dispensed by Security without trial, provided the penalty fits within established guidelines set forth by Command and the Council. Crew members may petition either Command or the Council (which ever is most appropriate) if they believe the penalty is excessive, or if they wish for a trial/hearing.

• Any member of Security who is charged with a crime will be relieved of duty pending an investigation.

• If a member of Security is being investigated, the Command Staff or the Council, at their discretion, or if requested to by the person being investigated, may appoint someone independent to investigate. If they choose not to, Security will handle the investigation.

• If a member of the Civilian Council is charged with a crime, they'll be relieved of duty pending an investigation, and all charges against them will be brought before the Command Staff.

• If a member of the Command Staff or any Appointed Officer is charged with a crime, they will be relieved of duty pending an investigation and all charges against them will be brought before the Council.

• Security, and all persons within, are the only ones authorized to conduct criminal investigations. If any crew member wishes to privately conduct a criminal investigation, they must obtain a license to do so from either Command or a majority of the Council. To obtain a license, they must explain why Security shouldn't be allowed to handle the matter. If obtained, the specific case that's being investigated is handed over to the license holder, and once the case is closed, the license is expired.

• Non-criminal investigations will be handled by the appropriate department. If any crew member wishes to privately conduct a non-criminal investigation, they must obtain a license to do so from either Command or a majority of the Council. To obtain a license, they must explain why the department handling the matter shouldn't be allowed to. If obtained, the specific case that's being investigated is handed over to the license holder, and once the case is closed, the license is expired.

• Search warrants may only be issued to Security (or, in the event Security is being investigated, the appointed investigator) by the Captain or by a majority of the Council, and the person(s) requesting the warrant must prove probable cause in order to be issued one. No one else may be issued a warrant.

Judicial Process[]

• For anyone on trial for violating a civilian charge, they will be tried by a jury of 6 peers, with a impartial member of the Council presiding over it, though the accused may opt to waive the Jury and let the Council member decide their fate. A representative of Security will be acting as the Prosecution, and the person(s) charged may either request someone represent them, have the Command Staff appoint a representative, or choose to represent themselves.

• If found guilty, sentencing will be decided by the jury, but can be modified by the Councilperson who presided. The guilty can make up to two appeals, but must serve the sentence handed to them until the appeal process overturns it.

• For anyone court martial for violating military regulations, they will be brought before a tribunal consisting of three senior officers. A representative of Security will be acting as the Prosecution, and the person(s) charged may either request someone represent them, have the Civilian Council appoint a representative, or choose to represent themselves.

• If found guilty, the members of the tribunal will decide sentencing. The guilty may appeal, but must serve their sentence until the appeal process overturns it.

Money[]

• Money in the ship treasury, normally in the form of a transdimensionally accepted electronic currency, is considered to be "Public Funds". It can be used by the Ships' treasurer to pay the crew, as well as purchase food, clothing, medical supplies, parts, and other supplies for the crew as a whole.

• Every member of the meatship will be given an account with the treasury. This account will hold a transdimensional electronic currency that can be exchanged for the appropriate amount local currency during shore leave and away missions.

• Everyone one the ship will be given a minimum allowance, one which is agreed upon by both the Senior Command and the Council. This allowance may be docked as a penalty for violating rules/laws.

• Everyone working for one of the following departments (Command, Training, Tactical, Engineering, Neuropathy, Rogue Squadron) will be assigned pay grades as set forth by the Captain, but agreed upon by the council and paid at regular intervals.

• Everyone working for the following departments (Security, Medical, Mystical, and Science) will be assigned pay grades as jointly agreed upon by both the Council and Command.

• Anyone sent on away mission will also be paid for their service.

• Council members may propose a pay grade for themselves, that must be approved by the crew first. The Captain must sign off on raises, however.

• Any non-Command/non-military related job that the council believes people should be compensated for (re: teachers, treasurer, diplomats), they may establish a pay grade for those positions, but it must be agreed upon by the crew. Any adjustments must be approved by the Captain.

• Neither the Council nor Command may use Public funds to start up a private enterprise.

• At this time, no one may institute any tax for any reason.

Property Rights/Bunks/Weapons & Possessions[]

• The Council is responsible for deciding as to whether any building or structure with the City is a place of worship, a park/recreational location, or a private building/office.

• All religious churches, temples, and places of prayer or worship within the City area, regardless of religion or culture of origin, shall be considered property of the community as a whole, and may not be claimed by any individual, nor by any group. Nor may any individual or group be barred from entering any place of worship unless their intent is to cause harm to either the location itself or someone within it, or otherwise disrupt the religious practices of anyone within.

• All parks and other recreational locations within the City area shall be considered property of the community as a whole, and may not be claimed be claimed by any individual, nor by any group. Nor may any individual or group be barred from entering any part of recreational area unless they have clear intent to cause harm to either the location itself or someone within it, or to otherwise disrupt the activities of others.

• All other office space, buildings, and residencies within the City area may be claimed by members of the crew on a first come first serve basis. In the event that someone tries to claim a building in which someone is currently taking up residence, the individual taking residence within will be granted the right of first refusal.

• Individuals are currently limited to claiming 1 place of residence and 1 place of business, though one may use the same address for both. Any group or organization, save for Command and its departments, is limited to claiming 1 address as either a place of residence, business, or both.

• All claims must be registered with the Council.

• The Bunks (re: the nostril cubbyholes) and Crew quarters are under the purview of the Command Staff.

• Each crew member is entitled to one bed, either in the Crew Quarters or the Bunks. While crew members may request specific quarters and roommates, Command may assign (or reassign) different quarters and roommates at their discretion.

• Each crew member (including those in podsleep) is granted a locker within Weapons & Possessions, and the contents of that locker is considered the crew member's personal property. The locker may not be searched and no items may be seized without a warrant or probably cause, though its contents are logged in inventory. Inventory logs may only be viewed by the Quartermaster, Security (but only after obtaining a warrant), and Command/Council.

• Any unclaimed weaponry, armor, or munitions in W&P are now considered the property of Command, and may be utilized by or redistributed among the crew at their discretion.

• Any unclaimed military vehicles, ship, or mech in the Hangar is now considered the property of Command, and may be utilized by, or redistributed among the crew at their discretion.

• All unclaimed tools are considered the joint property of Command and the Council, and may be utilized by or redistributed among the crew at their discretion.

• All other unclaimed property in W&P is now considered property of the Council, and may be utilized by or redistributed among the crew at their discretion.

• All property disputes will be settled by the Council.