The Constitution of The Republic of Developer Sanctuary

As modified up to Saturday, September 14th, 2024

Preamble

We, the people of Developer Sanctuary, do ordain and establish this Constitution for Developer Sanctuary in order to form an exceedingly perfect united nation, establish justice, ensure domestic tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general welfare, and secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity.

The people of Developer Sanctuary approved the Constitution in a public referendum on Thursday, June 6th, 2024. The Constitution was amended for text-proofing fixes on Tuesday, August 20th, 2024. Following the dissolution of the previous Constitution, the first edition of this document was accepted as the Constitution of Developer Sanctuary.

All past revisions to the Constitution will be included into future versions of this text, which will give an updated version of the Constitution.

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Article I

Section I: Official Naming

1. This document establishes this server to be know as "Republic of Developer Sanctuary", hereinafter referred to as "Developer Sanctuary".

2. Developer Sanctuary can also be referred to as "Dev Sanx" or "Dev Sanc" in official documents, barring this document where it shall be referenced as Developer Sanctuary. 

Section II: Rights of Individuals

3. All citizens, residents, expats, entities, and people within Developer Sanctuary have the right to equally access to all services without regard to color, ancestry, culture, age, ethnicity, species, gender identity, nationality, race, religions, sex, sexual orientation, genetic information, marital status, medical conditions, physical or mental disability, minority status, political affiliation, and criminal background. Discrimination based on these grounds constitutes a violation.

4. Freedom of assembly, association, speech, inclusiveness, equality, citizenship, consent of governed, voting rights, liberty, minority rights,right to life, movement, expression, information, thought, religion, rights to privacy and independent media are all constitutionally guaranteed rights to every individual within Developer Sanctuary without retaliation or censorship to the extent that the freedom does not affect other’s rights to exercise their own freedoms, harm others or harm national security.

Section III: Amendments

5. Any amendments to the constitution suggested by the people will be required to go through a vote with a 66% supporting majority constituting of atleast 10 unique voters. If approved, it will be sent to the parliament where another vote will be held.

6. To approve an amendment, at least 2/3 supporting majority will be required in the parliament, otherwise the suggestion will be discarded.

7. An amendment can edit multiple sections of an article or add new sections without editing the current articles unless they are interlinked.

8. All amendments must be accompanied by a timestamp at the end of this document of the day the amendment took place in the format: (Day, MM/DD/YY) along with the following details of the user that performed the amendment: Username (affiliation) #tag, as of the moment of the edit. The affiliation of any political party must be included in () brackets sufficing the name consisting of the full name of the party or Independent upon the lack of a party association.

9. General edits to fix linguistic errors do not require a vote if the changes are disclosed publicly and does not fluctuate the legal bearing of a clause.

Section IV: Ownership of the Server

10. The role of the "Server Owner" can be held by anyone as long as the individual is @firecubestudios or the elected Head of State.

11. If a vote by the elected Head of State for requesting server owner surpasses 2/3 majority in the Parliament and 60% of votes in a public poll, then the ownership gets passed to the Head of State.

12. If the Head of State is not participating in the next election or is willing toretire, the ownership shall get passed to @firecubestudios again.

13. The server owner must comply with all of the regulations comprised in the National System of Rules (NSR).

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Article II

Section I: Supreme Judges

1. Moderators are the equivalent of Supreme Judges, and they hold all judicial powers to settle legal disputes and interpretations of the constitution, defend, and apply the constitution in legal cases.

2. A Supreme Judge has indefinite terms and upon resignment of a Supreme Judge, a new one can be appointed by the Head of State and voted in by the people through a public vote (2/3 majority required).

Section II: Independent Courts

3. A court consists of at least 3 Judges. The approval of 2 Judges is required to pass a judgment. All the Judges must not be affiliated with any political party, thus being politically neutral.

4. There should be no political pressure on the Supreme Judges. If there is any political interference in the Court’s ruling, then the person pressurising the court shall be put on trial, and if found guilty, they shall be imprisoned for up to 30 days. In case of a government official, they will be impeached (explained in Article VI).

5. If the constitution is violated by a government official, they shall be impeached and be put on a trial (explained in Article VI).

6. If the National System of Rules (NSR) is violated by a citizen or any government official, the Court will punish them according to the moderation guidelines. When there is uncertainty about whether a person violated the NSR or not, they could be tried in the court.

7. Every citizen of Developer Sanctuary has the right to sue anyone in case of a legal dispute.

Section III: National System of Rules

8. The National System of Rules (NSR), with a clause of supremacy, takes precedence over the constitution, excluding the violation of the constitution which will be handled by the court.

9. The National System of Rules are publicly available to read in the “Rules” channel, along with a copy of this document.

10. The intentional ruining of “counting” is considered to be a serious crime and the responsible person shall get banned from the channel for an indefinite interval of time, unless appealed for an unban.

11. Deletion of a project channel without the consent of the project owner, even if they have left the server, is illegal and can lead to permanent suspension, imprisonment or impeachment of the Minister of Development or the responsible government official.

12. Deletion of "protected" channels and roles is considered to be a serious offence and can lead to impeachment if it is carried out by a government official.

• The channels include all server logging channels, the general chat and #meta channels.

• The roles include some historic roles (such as the E role, "THANOS" and "RAGE") and the "Supreme Judges" role.

• Creating roles that are intended to closely resemble the original is not allowed.

• Channels and roles can be added or removed to this list via future amendments.

• Protected roles shall not be freely obtainable by the public and must only be given by the government, judiciary or @firecubestudios on a case-bycase basis. If a protected role is found to have been given out undeservingly, the responsible members may receive a punishment decided by the judiciary.

• Protected parts of the server may be modified if a Supreme Judge determines that the modification does not significantly alter its functionality and does not compromise its recognizability.

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Article III

Section I: Press Content Rights

1. Media organizations and journalists hold exclusive rights to publish, reproduce, distribute, and display their original news content. They have control over how their content is used and by whom.

2. Limited use of press content is permitted for purposes such as reporting, commentary, and research under "fair use". Such use must not unfairly harm the press organization’s rights or financial interests.

3. Media organizations and journalists can transfer or license their copyright rights through written agreements. Agreements must specify the terms and scope of the transfer or license.

4. Media organizations and journalists can seek legal remedies if their content is used without permission or if their copyright is infringed upon.

Section II: Press Branding Rights

5. Media organizations have exclusive rights to use and protect their branding elements, such as logos, names, and trademarks. These elements are crucial for maintaining the press's identity and reputation.

6. Use of press branding elements for purposes like comparative advertising or commentary may be allowed under "fair use." It must not cause confusion or harm the brand’s reputation.

7. Trademark rights can be transferred or licensed through written agreements. Agreements must clearly outline how the branding elements may be used and ensure that the brand's integrity is maintained.

8. Media organizations can enforce their trademark rights through legal action if their branding elements are used without authorization or if their trademarks are infringed upon or diluted.

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Article IV

Section I: Political System of Governance

The political system of governance which defines members of the body that make up the government and the process for making official governmental decisions follows a type of parliamentary government that incorporates a series of procedures for operating a legislature. The following sections and Article IV and V define the rules and conditions of maintaining this system.

Section II: The President

1. The President, who is the Head of the State, holds the executive powers.

2. These powers are defined as enforcement of the law, governing the nation, appointing Supreme Judges and declaration of war. The Head of State also has the authority to veto legislation passed by the Parliament.

3. The Head of State can give executive orders, without requiring any input by the legislature to take effect.

4. The President shall serve for exactly 2 months (the time period between the 17th and 17th of 2 Gregorian Calendar months). During the State of Emergency, the term can be extended for an additional 21 days, but it cannot be extended permanently.

5. The Parliament can vote for further extending the term for 7 days during the State of Emergency, at least 3/4 supporting majority would be required in that case.

6. The Head of State is allowed indefinite number of terms but can only run in a General Election two times in a row.

Section III: The Administrator

1. The Administrator is the equivalent of a Prime Minister, and is the Chief Executive of the Country and has some executive powers. The PM is the principal government figure in the Parliament.

2. These powers include: Responsibility to implement policy initiatives either voted directly by the populace or the parliament, management of channels and districts, enforcement of law, overseeing the operation of ministries, appointment of ministers and determining their responsibilities.

3. The Administrator has the authority to decide whether and when to declare a State of Emergency or not.

4. The Administrator is considered to be the head of all ministers and is responsible for all the decisions and policies of the government.

5. The Administrator shall serve for exactly 2 months (the time period between the 17th and 17th of 2 Gregorian Calendar months).

6. The Administrator is appointed via a parliamentary vote, in which candidates are nominated by the elected parties in the parliament. At least 9 out of 16 votes are required to appoint a candidate as the Prime Minister.

7. The candidates are nominated by the elected parties in the parliament. Nominees don’t necessarily have to be members of parliament.

Section IV: The Federal Ministers

1. The Federal Ministers are entitled to do the tasks appointed to them.

2. The Ministers have the right to vote, speak and argue in the Parliament like any other Member of Parliament.

3. A Federal Minister has indefinite terms, and upon the resignation or the removal of a minister, the admin has to appoint a new minister to fill the position.

4. Following are the responsibilities of the Federal Minsters:

• The Minister of Justice has the responsibility of maintaining the National System of Rules (NSR) and enforcing it. If a member breaks any rule(s), the minister of justice must take an action against the individual.

• The Minister of Interior has the responsibility of keeping the "General Square" and the "Community" regions clean and welcoming, holding events that interest the public, informing the public through announcements, managing the system of "Direct Democracy", and assuming the duties of the PM in their absence.

• The Minister of Development has full control over the "Developers" region and has the responsibility of managing projects, helping the project owners, and archiving a project channel in case the owner leaves or requests this action.

• The Minister of Economy has the responsibility of managing the server's Social Media Accounts (Such as: Twitter, YT, Subreddit, etc.), monitoring the growth of the server, launching Social Media campaigns to increase the growth of the server, as well as boosting engagement to apps and projects in the server.

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Article V

Section I: The Parliament

1. The Parliament is the legislative (law-making) body of the government. It consists of 16 elected representatives and a Speaker of Parliament.
2. At least 9 out of 16 seats are required to form a government. The seats shall be allotted by using the number of votes in the general election through the D'Hondt method.
3. The Members of Parliament are appointed by the head of the party, thats has won seats in the Parliament as explained above.
4. In case of a hung Parliament, coalition between the parties and the independent candidates is allowed to achieve a majority and form a legitimate government.
5. There shall be a weekly session of Parliament, but emergency sessions can also be called by the Speaker of Parliament.
6. The term of a Parliament is 2 months long, and the same applies to all Members of Parliament and the Speaker of Parliament.

Section II: The Speaker of the Parliament

1. The Speaker of Parliament has full control over the parliament. Even though it is appointed by the ruling party, it must remain neutral.

2. The Speaker of the Parliament can hold sessions, dismiss sessions, block a ruling for up to 7 days, moderate the channel, oversee the voting procedure, and can only vote if the number of votes are equally divided.

3. A ruling made by the Speaker of the Parliament cannot be overruled or reversed by the Supreme Judges or the Court.

Section III: The Members of the Parliament

1. The Members of the Parliament (or MoP in short) have the legislative powers.

2. These powers include: Suggesting amendments to the Constitution, arguing about the future or current problems faced by Developer Sanctuary, withdrawing confidence from the President, Prime Minister or the Speaker of the Parliament and approving the suggestions by the people.

3. To pass a suggestion, amendment, or a bill, at least two-thirds (2/3) majority of supporting votes are required to pass it to the executive body where the Head of State makes the final decision

4. To block a suggestion by the public, 2/3 majority of votes are required against it. Otherwise, the suggestion will be approved and get implemented.

Section IV: No Confidence Motion

1. A motion of no confidence is a statement or vote about whether a person in a position of President, PM or the Speaker of Parliament is still deemed fit to hold that position.

2. To submit a request for a no confidence vote, the Parliament must pass it with 2/3 majority. If the bill is passed, then the Speaker of the Parliament must hold a parliamentary vote with-in the next 7 days.

3. To oust an official out of power, 10 votes out of 16 are required. After that, one candidate will be nominated by both the government and the opposition for the position of the ousted official.

4. A parliamentary vote will then be conducted by the Speaker after which the elected candidate will hold the position which was previously held by the ousted official.

5. If the President is ousted, then the Vice President will take control until the next President is elected through a parliamentary vote.

Section V: Dissolution of the Parliament

1. If the ruling party has a majority in the Parliament, then the PM can request the Head of State to dissolve the Parliament and call for an early election within 7 days.

2. An interim government will be set up for the interval of 7 days to prepare for an election, it will consist of the Head of State and the former PM.

Section VI: Direct Democracy

1. The legislative powers are also shared with the populace of Developer Sanctuary, thanks to Direct Democracy.

2. Direct democracy ensures that anyone has the right to suggest and vote on policy initiatives through the official “suggestions” system, to the extent that the individual does not abuse the system, in which they can be barred upon using it.

3. All policy initiatives are first sent to the Parliament where a vote is held as explained in Section III (d) of this Article. This is done to prevent the policies which are either not implementable or violate the Constitution.

4. After that it is sent to the public voting. If approved by the public, the President shall have to approve or deny that policy and if approved by the President, the PM has the responsibility to either implement it or request a Federal Minister to implement it.

Section VII: Voting System

1. A vote is a method for a decision to be implemented or not. It is conducted through the Direct Democracy Policy Initiative System or public announcement channel.

2. All votes must not be tampered by the government or any voters. All voting interference should be reported to Supreme Judges to determine whether it constitutes a violation and to conduct procedures detailed in Article VI of this document.

3. Voters must have either an option to decide on implementation, or multiple options with at least one option to not choose from any of the options.

4. Anyone can vote including officials in the Government if multiple options are not voted unless specified otherwise.

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Article VI

Section I: Political Parties & Participation in Elections

1. Political parties are allowed to be formed and run-in multi-party elections for Head of State.

2. Only one member of a political party can run for Head of State representing that party.

3. The candidate running to get elected as the Head of State shall be in the server for at least 30 days and must have a message count of 250 or more.

4. Parties can also merge into coalitions however only a single member representing the coalition may run for Head of State.

5. A committee will be established for parties that have been accused of threatening national security. It will consist of the Supreme Judges, Minister of Justice, and Head of State.

6. If any tangible evidence of threatening of national security is found (explained in Article VI of this document), then the party will be disbanded after 2 out of 3 Supreme Judges decide in favour of disbanding the party.

Section II: Electoral System

1. Elections must be free and fair and should take place on the 17th, unless stated otherwise in certain scenarios specified in other sections of this document.

2. Elections can be conducted in any method if there is an independent observer to ensure no election interference from the government in power or any voters.

3. Election interference can include voting multiple times, ballot stuffing, deleting votes, changing votes, voting with alternative accounts, and pressurising individuals.

4. Anyone can vote barring members who joined within election day.

5. All reports of election tampering must be submitted to a Supreme Judge to decide whether it constitutes a violation, and a re-election must take place following the procedures detailed in Article VI of this document.

6. Coalitions with merged votes are ineligible during elections.

Section III: Preparation of Election

1. The preparation of for the election must begin on the 5th of third month of the term with party registration and a channel for candidates to kick off their campaigns.

2. Party registration must be opened for at least two days and no other party can register after the deadline. A registered party can drop out of election on their own will.

3. A special channel must be opened on the 15th for the public to discuss the election and other related topics.

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Article VII

Section I: Impeachment

1. Under the event of a constitutional violation, an impeachment request can be submitted to any Court to determine whether a violation has taken place.

2. If a violation has taken place, the official under impeachment must be revoked of all powers. The approval of at least 2 Supreme Judges is required to pass this judgement.

3. Furthermore, if the person under impeachment is the Head of State, an independent electoral committee must be appointed by the Supreme Judges to conduct elections within 10 days to ensure the stability of the server.

4. The Head of State, under impeachment is barred from running in the election but may run for subsequent ones in the future.

5. Threatening the National Security includes anything that threatens the sovereignty of Developer Sanctuary, such as raids on Developer Sanctuary, foreign or internal conspiracies to undemocratically overthrow the Government. Causing disturbance in the server either by spamming or provoking many members, threatening government officials.

6. In case of a government official, leaking of internal plans to the enemies of Developer Sanctuary, clear intention to harm the server such as bulk deletion of channels, severe violation of NSR, pruning members, undemocratically silencing many members to cause disturbance etc.

7. If a citizen, organisation, or a government official is accused of threatening the National Security, the individual or the head of that organisation is tried in Court.

8. If a violation has taken place, the official will be stripped out of powers and in worst cases, will get exiled. In case of an organisation, the head of that organisation will get punished and the organisation will be banned.

9. If the ruling Server Owner is not the Head of State or @firecubestudios and power abuse was done, ownership shall be returned to @firecubestudios or the Head of State if a referendum is done, and the Server Owner removed from his/her powers then after that the Server Owner get exiled and banned.

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Amendments

Enforcement of this document as the Constitution of Developer Sanctuary

Wednesday, June 28th, 2023 by @astrox809 (United Sanctuary Party)

Prevention of Server Owner abuse in the case it's not FireCube or the Head of State

Saturday, December 2, 2023 by SimpleBear (Apolitical)

Simplify the naming of Government Positions & the removal of EIC

Thursday, June 6th, 2024 by @astrox809 (United Sanctuary Party)

Minor spelling mistakes corrected

Tuesday, August 20th, 2024 by @dlphin (Aquatic Democrats Party)

Press copyright laws

Saturday, September 14th, 2024 by @astrox809 (Aquatic Democrats Party)