Description: Emphasizing the importance of openness, transparency and accountability in government,

Believing that every citizen should have access to the official documents and records of their government, within reason,

The General Assembly,

1. Mandates that all World Assembly (WA) member nations release any official government documents or records requested by their citizens at minimal or no charge;

2. Clarifies that WA member nations may fulfill these obligations either on a per-request basis or through the general availability of one or more publications containing this information, or some combination of the two, so long as the information remains easily and readily accessible;

3. Permits WA member nations and the WA itself to place restrictions on the release of official government documents or records based on reasonable, legitimate and non-arbitrary criteria, such as the protection of privacy or national security interests;

4. Requests that WA member nations redact information from documents or records restricted under the above clause rather than prevent their distribution to the public;

5. Requires WA member nations to implement a fair judicial appeals process where their citizens may challenge these restrictions.

Co-authored by: Quadrimmina

Votes For: 6,396 (55%)
Votes Against: 5,168 (45%)

Implemented: Tue May 8 2012

Description: THIS WORLD ASSEMBLY,

RECOGNIZING the loophole in international law regarding human rights, a loophole which allows for human rights to be violated by member nations by the simple transfer of individuals outside of WA territory.

FURTHER RECOGNIZING the treaties, alliances, and other associations made between WA and non-WA nations that could provide the means and opportunity for such violations to occur.

HEREBY bans in all member nations the willful, knowledgeable transfer of any individual from a member nation to another jurisdiction by an individual, organization, or member state for the purposes of denying or violating any of the political or civil rights that are guaranteed to that individual in the jurisdiction of the member state by law.

URGES member nations to take action to, in a way compatible with national security interests, the interests of the individual(s) involved, applicable law, and practicality, restore those rights that were denied due to the transfer with the consent of the individual in cases in which such a transfer has taken place prior to the enactment of this resolution.

Votes For: 7,810 (70%)
Votes Against: 3,278 (30%)

Implemented: Sat May 12 2012

Description: RECOGNIZING the significant financial and psychological burden that criminal trials cause to innocent defendants.

DEPLORING the practice of trying individuals repeatedly for a single offense without valid justification,

NOTING the potential for governments to use multiple trials as a means of harassing defendants.

SEEKING to create a balance between preventing unjustified multiple trials of individuals while allowing nations to ensure justice through fair retrial,

THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY

1. DEFINES "retrial", for the purpose of this resolution, as a prosecution-initiated re-trial of a defendant after a final verdict was previously passed on a legal case based on substantially the same alleged actions as the previous verdict.

2. OUTLAWS retrials except where significant and compelling miscarriages of justice can result from allowing the verdict previously reached to stand, such as when proper legal procedure was not followed in the course of the previous trial.

3. MANDATES that each member nation shall independently determine, for their nation's legal system:

   1. Specific circumstances, which qualify as significant miscarriages of justice, under which retrials are allowed.

   2. A reasonably low limit on the number of such retrials.
      

4. FORBIDS retrials under all circumstances within a given nation except as allowed under clause 3.

5. REQUIRES defendants to be provided with

   1. Written notification of the decision to seek a retrial and the reasons for doing so; and

   2. the right to appeal, before an impartial judge, the decision to retry the case.
      

6. FORBIDS the filing of new criminal complaints on an individual based upon substantially the same facts as a previously concluded trial for the purpose of circumventing restrictions on retrials.

7. CLARIFIES that nothing in this resolution shall affect a defendant’s right to appeal their conviction or sentence.
   

Co-Authored by Ossitania

Votes For: 7,757 (72%)
Votes Against: 3,078 (28%)

Implemented: Sun May 20 2012

Description: The World Assembly:

AWARE that fish and other aquatic species are important sources of food, economic growth, and revenue for many nations and their people;

CONCERNED that many aquatic ecosystems are over-exploited;

WORRIED that without proper safeguards, populations of aquatic animals may be harvested out of existence;

CONVINCED that imperilling or extinguishing whole populations of aquatic life would cause serious ecological problems and bring disaster to the people who rely on those populations;

DETERMINED to ensure the long-term viability of aquatic populations within the jurisdiction of Member Nations and - to the extent possible - international waters;

HEREBY:

1. DEFINES "Overfishing" (for the purposes of this Act) as: "Harvesting a population of an aquatic species in a manner that is impossible for that population to support over time, resulting in an overall decline in the health of the population and imperilling its long term viability."

2. DEFINES "Maximum Sustainable Yield" (for the purposes of this Act) as: "The maximum number of individuals - possibly within specified ranges for age and size - that can be harvested from a population without resulting in Overfishing."

3. DEFINES "Invasive Species" (for the purposes of this Act) as: "A species that is not native to a particular ecosystem whose presence has proven disruptive or harmful to the local ecology," and clarifies that actions taken to control Invasive Species do not fall under this Act's restrictions on Overfishing;

4. REQUIRES that Member Nations determine and publish the Maximum Sustainable Yield of aquatic species populations inhabiting their national waters and any international waters over which they have an internationally-recognized jurisdictional right.

5. PROHIBITS Overfishing in the national waters of Member Nations and in international waters over which Member Nations have an internationally recognized jurisdictional right.

6. REQUIRES Member Nations to prohibit Overfishing by their own people in all other waters if the other nations that harvest those particular waters agree to refrain from Overfishing in them as well.

7. ENCOURAGES Member Nations to prohibit Overfishing by their own people in all waters regardless of whether other nations agree to do so.

8. TASKS the World Assembly Science Programe (WASP) with the following duties: :

• To provide Member Nations with any and all assistance they require to determine Maximum Sustainable Yield of aquatic species populations in their national, territorial, and jurisdictional waters;

• To evaluate and determine the Maximum Sustainable Yield of aquatic species populations in unclaimed waters;

• To propose plans for sharing international stocks among nations in a way that will prevent Overfishing of those stocks.

10. CLARIFIES that Member Nations may temporarily permit Overfishing in order to meet the needs of an emergency, so long as (a) Overfishing is permitted only to the extent necessary to meet the emergency, (b) no populations are reduced to levels from which they would be unable to recover (in the WASP’s opinion), and (c) the Overfishing period is followed by a period in which the targeted populations are allowed to recover.

Co-authored by: Bears Armed

Votes For: 9,088 (84%)
Votes Against: 1,697 (16%)

Implemented: Mon May 28 2012

Description: The General Assembly,

Recognizing civil marriage as a secular institution that exists in many, if not most, member states,

Realizing that people who are married often migrate or travel to different member states,

Believing that such marriages should remain valid in foreign member states and that those people should not be burdened with having to remarry after moving to different member states,

1. Requires every member state to provide every foreign marriage that meets all of the following conditions the same legal recognition as a domestic marriage:

1. The marriage was performed legally under the jurisdiction of a foreign member state, and that marriage remains legally valid in that same foreign member state;

2. The marriage does not violate World Assembly law; and

3. The marriage would be legally valid if it had been performed domestically;

2. Declares that marriage, as used in this resolution, refers to civil marriages (social unions of individuals provided legal recognition by governmental authorities) as well as other sorts of civil unions or civil partnerships of similar legal effect;

3. Further declares that member state, as used in this resolution, refers to member states as well as their political subdivisions; and

4. Affirms that this resolution has absolutely no effect on religious practices and that member states are not required by this resolution to recognize marriage or similar unions.

Votes For: 6,045 (54%)
Votes Against: 5,079 (46%)

Implemented: Tue Jun 5 2012