Charter of the Grand Commonwealth
The Charter of the Grand Commonwealth is the supreme law of the land throughout the Grand Commonwealth. It is the contract that unites together the nations five memberstates.
Contents
Preamble
We, the delegates of the Republic of Aerlig, the [[Kingdom of Alteria]], the Kingdom of Babkha, the Republic of Karnali, the Empire of Lemuria and the Sovereign Order of Treesia, do hereby ratify and confirm this Charter, and that
Article I
The name of this union shall be the Grand Commonwealth.
Article II
Each member of this Commonwealth retains every Part of its Sovereignty, Freedom, and Independence, and every Power, Jurisdiction, and Right not expressly delegated to the government of the Grand Commonwealth by this Charter. Member Nations shall, in turn, be expected to fulfil the obligations upon them expressed in this Charter of the Grand Commonwealth.
Article III
The said Member Nations hereby enter into a firm League of Friendship, for their common defence and mutual welfare, binding themselves to assist each other, against all force offered to or attacks made upon any member, irrespective of whatsoever might be their pretext.
Article IV
All Citizens of each Member Nation shall have the right to pass over state borders, without let or hindrance in any Member Nation they should enter. Each individual Member Nation shall have the right to receive prospective immigrants to the Commonwealth as it sees fit, and shall grant their Citizens the Rights to Freedom of Assembly, Communication and Expression, except where such Rights would result in Acts of Force or Fraud being committed against other Citizens.
Article V
The central body of State in this Commonwealth shall be the Majlis-i-Dharma of the Grand Commonwealth. Each Member Nation shall be represented in the Majlis-i-Dharma by a minimum of one Delegate, and a maximum of two Delegates. Delegates shall be chosen every three months in such a manner as each Member State shall individually determine. They shall assemble on the first day of the month that begins their term; Delegates shall have been selected at least one (1) week before this, at most three (3). There shall be no restrictions on the number of term for which each Delegate may sit. Each Delegate shall have one vote in all proceedings. Each Member Nation shall maintain its own Delegate in a meeting of the Majlis-i-Dharma, as well as when they act as Members of other Committees that may be established from time-to-time. Member Nations also have the right to recall their Delegates at any time and replace them as they see fit. Freedom of speech and debate in Majlis-i-Dharma shall not be abridged or otherwise threatened in any Court or Authority outside the Majlis-i-Dharma, and the Members of Majlis-i-Dharma shall be protected from arrest or imprisonment during their terms in Majlis-i-Dharma, except for cases of alleged treason, felony, or breaching of the peace. The titular Head of the Commonwealth shall be the Shahan-Ri. The scope and duration of the position shall be reviewed from time-to-time by the Majlis-i-Dharma. The Shahan-Ri shall generally have ceremonial powers on behalf of the Commonwealth, and shall ensure the impartial and equitable operation of all parts of the Commonwealth. The first Shahan-Ri shall be the Shah of Babkha.
Article VI
The Commonwealth represents the United Sovereignties of each Member Nation, and therefore may, with the consent of the Majlis-i-Dharma, send an Embassy to, or receive an Embassy from, or enter into any Treaty or Alliance with, any foreign power or assembly. However, each Member Nation has the right to individually exclude itself from any such Treaty or Alliance. Conversely, no Member Nation may, of its own accord, and without the consent of Majlis-i-Dharma, send an Embassy to, or receive an Embassy from, or enter into any Treaty or Alliance with, any foreign power or assembly. In the event that more than one Member Nation wishes to do so with the same foreign power or assembly, then it shall be proceeded with in the name of the Commonwealth as a whole instead. Each Member Nation shall only be allowed to keep and maintain a military force for the use of the Commonwealth, and no Member Nation shall have the power to engage in war independently of, and without the consent of all of the Member Nations, as represented in Majlis-i-Dharma. In the event that Member Nation is actually invaded or assaulted by a foreign power, the whole of the Commonwealth shall be required to come to its defence. The Majlis-i-Dharma shall alone hold the right to declare war, and this shall be accomplished through a unanimous vote of all Delegates.
Article VII
The Delegates of the Majlis-i-Dharma, shall, following their assembling on the first of the month, elect by a majority vote a Taoiseach from their numbers, who shall act as Speaker, and shall lose their vote in its affairs for the duration. If they be the only representative of any Member Nation, a replacement must be supplied, or else the Taoiseach must forfeit his post in favour of being his Nation's Delegate. The Taoiseach shall be the Commander-in-Chief of all Defence Forces: army, navy, and air-force, of the Grand Commonwealth, and shall hold the power to appoint or remove all personnel thereto and therefrom. The Majlis-i-Dharma shall furthermore have the sole power to determine the funding and departments of the military. The Taoiseach shall have the right to grant letters of marque on powers, which this Commonwealth is already at war with, and otherwise direct attacks. The Majlis-i-Dharma shall reserve the right to remove the Taoiseach by a vote of No-Confidence, which must pass by a two-thirds (2/3rds) majority to take effect. The Taoiseach shall direct all foreign relations, except those directly undertaken by the Member Nations and approved by Majlis-i-Dharma, and shall have the power to make and approve treaties, subject to Majlis-i-Dharma's approval before taking effect, as well as any department created by Majlis-i-Dharma which is not made a subcommittee of Majlis-i-Dharma. The Taoiseach shall be required each month to answer the questions of the legislature, and inform them about the Commonwealth's affairs. Every member nation shall abide by the determinations of the Majlis-i-Dharma and the Taoiseach in the areas from which they have ceded to their authority under this Charter.
Article VIII
The Majlis-i-Dharma shall have the power to request taxes from all the Member Nations with working economies as a whole for the purpose of the necessary funding all its functions and operations. The Majlis-i-Dharma shall have the right to regulate the values of the Currencies of the individual Member Nations, and to establish a Commonwealth-wide economic and monetary system, from which individual Member Nations may choose to exclude themselves.
Article IX
The Majlis-i-Dharma shall be the final mediator in all Disputes between Member Nations concerning boundaries, jurisdictions, or any other case whatsoever. A Dispute shall be presented by a Delegate of one of the concerned Nations in the form of a Petition, and upon hearing from all sides in the said Dispute, the Majlis-i-Dharma shall address the said Petition, and its decision shall be final. The decision must receive a two-thirds (2/3rds) majority to pass, and shall come into effect on a date specified therein.
Article X
The Majlis-i-Dharma may issue laws which shall be binding throughout the Commonwealth. Any Member Nation may opt out of any law passed by the Majlis-i-Dharma except insofar as they regulate relations among Member Nations or between the Commonwealth and third parties. If a Person is guilty of a Crime in one Member Nation, and flees to another Member of this Commonwealth, the State into which They have fled shall be required to return Them to the State wherein They has committed Their Crime. Full credit and faith shall be given to the Criminal Records and Acts of Court found in one State by all the others.
Article XI
The admission of additional Members to this Commonwealth shall be accomplished by a unanimous vote of a Committee of Nations.
Article XII
Secession from the Commonwealth, subject to the approval of two-thirds (2/3rds) of the Majlis-i-Dharma, may be accomplished by any Member Nation, provided a majority of its populace are in favour of it.
Article XIII
The Majlis-i-Dharma may appoint a Committee of Nations, which shall have one delegate from each state, to address the amending of any part of this Charter.
