Wintercrest

• Definitions

• Preamble

• Chapter I - Mandate

• Chapter II - Membership

• Chapter III - Government

• Chapter IV - Alliance Cabinet

• Chapter V - Civil Council

• Chapter VI - Departments

• Chapter VII - Founder

• Chapter VIII - Miscellaneous

Defines, for the purpose of this Charter:

• Alliance as the entity of the United Regions Alliance. Also referred to as the URA, or simply the Alliance.

• Citizen as any World Assembly member nation residing in an Alliance member region.

• Executive as the collective name for the positions of the Founder, the President, and the Vice President.

• Founder as the individual responsible for the creation of the Alliance, specifically accredited to Ellenburg or Free Azell.

• Member as a region that has, through resolution, referendum, or executive decision, chosen to become a party to the Alliance.

• Resident as any nation residing within a member region, regardless of World Assembly Membership.

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WE THE MEMBERS OF THE UNITED REGIONS ALLIANCE UNDERSTANDING

• The vast disparities in strength of regions within the World Assembly, and

• The collective strength that User Created Regions can and should hold within the World Assembly, and

• The power of User Created Regions under enhanced levels of cooperation, and

• The need to protect and support regions that are less fortunate than our own,

AND FOR THOSE ENDS

• To use our combined strength and abilities to generate a force of influence within the World Assembly, and

• To unite those that wish to promote the advancement of new ideas and innovation within the World Assembly, and

• To change for the better all member nations with respect to their activity, population, and influence,

HAVE RESOLVED TO COMBINE OUR EFFORTS FOR THESE AIMS

Accordingly, our respective governments, through communication and organization, who have and will exhibit their powers in good and due form, have agreed to the present Charter of the United Regions Alliance and hereby recognize this document as the governing rule of the interregional organization known as the United Regions Alliance.

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Article 1

The United Regions Alliance shall be a sovereign alliance known by its name, the abbreviation “URA”, or as “The Alliance”.

Article 2

The purposes of the Alliance are:

1. To vocalize the opinions of User Created Regions within the World Assembly, allowing better avenues for the discussion of resolutions and proposals, as well as provide opportunities to draft and submit proposals to the World Assembly;

2. To develop friendly relations between the URA and other regions or organizations with the goal of fostering good interactions;

3. To achieve interregional co-operation in assisting struggling regions in areas of recruitment, population, activity, and community; and

4. To be a centre for harmonizing the actions of nations and regions to those ends.

Article 3

The Alliance shall ensure, through careful investigation, that no region or organization that works counter to any of the aforementioned purposes shall be associated in good standing with the Alliance.

Article 4

In order to accurately carry out these purposes, this charter may be required to be amended. The provisions of this charter may be amended, changed, or removed according to the process below:

1. In order to amend, change, add, or remove any articles to this Charter, an amendment may be proposed to the Civil Council to be considered.

2. If the amendment receives a two-thirds majority of present voters, then it is passed to the Alliance Cabinet for signature.

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Article 5

In order to be accepted as a member of the United Regions Alliance, a region must meet the following requirements:

1. Must have a World Assembly Delegate, and

2. Must not work against the purposes of the Alliance.

Article 6

A region meeting all the requirements in Article 5 may still be rejected by the Alliance at the discretion of the Alliance Cabinet or the Civil Council.

Article 7

1. No member of the Alliance is to be subjected to threats on their sovereignty by the Alliance as a whole, a group of member regions, or an individual member region.

2. It is the responsibility of the Alliance to protect the sovereignty of its fellow members.

Article 8

As a member, a region and its citizens are afforded the following rights:

1. Ability to partake in Alliance elections, including but not limited to:

   1. Running for office,

   2. Participating in debates, and

   3. Voting.

2. Ability to partake in World Assembly Affairs, including but not limited to:

   1. Participating in discussions,

   2. Utilising the Resolution Writing Committee, and

   3. Voting on Resolution Recommendations.

3. Ability to partake in Civil Council Affairs, including but not limited to:

   1. Voting on internal Alliance Legislation, and

   2. Discussions on Internal Alliance Legislation.

4. Ability to participate in general discussion on all applicable URA platforms,

5. Ability to participate in all URA activities, and

6. Access to URA programs and services.

Article 9

As a member, a region and its citizens are required to fulfill the following responsibilities:

1. Partaking in World Assembly Affairs by voting on Resolution Recommendations at least once every six votes,

2. Appointing a Voting Member to represent their region in World Assembly Affairs and Civil Council Affairs,

3. Communicating in an appropriate manner to the Alliance major changes in government, including but not limited to:

   1. Dismissal or changing of Voting Member,

   2. A referendum to leave the Alliance,

   3. Entering into a treaty or another alliance of similar or greater strength as the URA, and

   4. A merger or closing of a region.

Article 10

1. Regions may be removed from the Alliance if, at any point, they meet the following requirements:

   1. Not having a World Assembly Delegate,

   2. Actively working against the goals or purposes of the Alliance,

   3. Threatening the sovereignty of another URA member region without explicit consent,

   4. Not voting on WA Resolution Recommendations in excess of six times in a row, except in special circumstances,

   5. A region's WA Delegate not voting in line with URA Recommendations, except in special circumstances,

   6. Not voting on Civil Council Legislation in excess of three times in a row, except in special circumstances, and

   7. Actively working to undermine the United Regions Alliance in the pursuit of its goals, or collaborating with regions or individuals doing so.

2. Regions are to be removed by the Internal Affairs Department in the event of inactivity with regards to voting on WA Resolution Recommendations, or by the Alliance Cabinet in any other case.

   1. The Civil Council may present an objection to the removal of a member region, and move to debate and vote upon the matter.

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Article 11

In order to effectively manage the Alliance, there shall be an Executive Government elected by the members of the citizens of the member regions.

Article 12

1. The Executive Government shall be made up of several Departments, detailed in Article twenty-seven, each headed by an elected Director.

2. All elected Directors shall make up the Alliance Cabinet, detailed in Chapter IV.

Article 13

1. In addition to the executive branch of government, there shall also be a Civil Council, made up of one Voting Member from each member region.

2. The Civil Council is responsible for the following:

   1. Voting and debating on all internal Alliance legislation on behalf of their respective region,

   2. Advising, debating and voting on the admission of new member regions, and

   3. Voting and debating on World Assembly Legislation on behalf of their respective region.

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Article 14

1. The Alliance Cabinet shall be made up of several individuals, including:

   1. The Founder of the Alliance,

   2. The President of the Alliance,

   3. The Vice President of the Alliance,

   4. The Departmental Directors of the Alliance,

   5. The Field Marshal of the United Regions Alliance Armed Forces (URAAF), and

   6. Any others as deemed by future legislation.

2. All members within the Alliance Cabinet are to meet the following requirements:

   1. Be a member of the World Assembly,

   2. Reside in a URA Member region,

   3. Be active and able to participate in Cabinet discussions if needed,

   4. Hold no more than one position within the Alliance Cabinet, and

   5. Hold no other positions within the various departments of the Alliance.

3. In addition, all voting members will be permitted to view the main Alliance Cabinet chat on Discord.

Article 15

1. The Alliance Cabinet shall be responsible for the central organization and governance of the Alliance.

2. Each position in the Alliance Cabinet shall have a specific responsibility both within the Alliance Cabinet and the Alliance as a whole.

Article 16

1. The President of the Alliance is to be responsible for governing the Alliance.

2. The President is given purview by the Alliance Cabinet to utilize their own discretion in the management and oversight of all Alliance functions, programs, initiatives, and others.

   1. In pursuit of this, the President has the executive power to pass emergency legislation in the form of an Executive Order, should the need arise.

      1. The President must justify the executive order to the Civil Council if asked to do so.

      2. The Civil Council may overturn an Executive Order at any time. Similarly, the sitting President may revoke an Executive Order at any time.

   2. The President is also granted the power to appoint any positions on the Alliance Cabinet in the case of resignation or removal until a byelection or scheduled election is held.

3. The President of the Alliance is a signing authority on all Foreign agreements and treaties.

4. The President must submit a monthly report on the activities of the executive to the Civil Council.

   1. Missing 2 reports consecutively without reasonable excuse can lead to requests for resignation upon the basis of inactivity.

Article 17

1. The Vice President of the Alliance functions as an assistant and successor to the President.

2. The Vice President is responsible to assist the President in the execution of their duties throughout their term, as well as assisting all Departmental Directors in the execution of their duties.

   1. In assisting the President, the Vice President is permitted to pass emergency legislation in the form of an Executive Order, with all the powers and limitations as referred to in Article 16.

3. The Vice President, in case of absence of the President for longer than fourteen days, is to serve as Acting President.

4. The Vice President of the Alliance is a signing authority on all Foreign agreements and treaties.

Article 18

1. The Departmental Directors of the Alliance are responsible for the management and oversight of each Department, which are detailed in Chapter VI.

2. Departmental Directors are responsible for the staffing of their respective departments, as well as appropriately setting out goals for their term, and working to accomplish them.

3. A Departmental Director may create or dismantle sub-departments within their department, if they feel that it is necessary, under approval of the Alliance Cabinet.

4. The Departmental Directors must work to accomplish the goals of the Alliance Cabinet over the course of their term as those goals relate to their specific department.

5. Departmental Directors are required to submit a monthly report to the Civil Council on the activities of their Department.

Article 19

1. The Field Marshal of the United Regions Alliance Armed Forces is responsible for the administration, planning, and general management of the URAAF.

2. The Field Marshal is responsible for all recruitment, maintenance, and operations that take place within the URAAF.

3. The Field Marshal may alter the structure of the URAAF with Alliance Cabinet approval.

4. The Field Marshal is responsible to provide advice and assist the members of the Alliance Cabinet in executing their duties as they relate to a military or foreign affairs perspective.

5. The Field Marshal must submit a monthly report to the Civil Council.

Article 20

1. Additional positions may be added to the Alliance Cabinet under the direction of the Founder, President, or Vice President, should they deem an additional position necessary.

2. The Executive may add no more than 2 positions to the Alliance Cabinet without approval from the Civil Council.

3. All additional positions will have the same general responsibilities as any other member of the Alliance Cabinet, as well as their specific responsibilities.

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Article 21

1. In order to appropriately represent the member regions of the alliance, the Civil Council will be a deliberative body, made up of one voting member from each member region.

2. The Civil Council will be responsible for the following:

   1. Providing deliberation and voting upon matters of internal legislation,

   2. Providing deliberation and voting upon World Assembly Vote Recommendations,

   3. Providing deliberation and voting upon the admittance of new member regions, and

   4. Providing deliberation and voting upon any matters as deemed by the Alliance Cabinet.

3. All members of the Alliance Cabinet are permitted to speak in the Civil Council in order to answer questions regarding their activities or other matters.

4. Members of the Civil Council can be removed or muted if they act with poor conduct.

Article 22

1. In all votes within the Civil Council, Voting members will be permitted to cast the following:

   1. Aye,

   2. Nay,

   3. Abstain, or

   4. Additional options as established through legislation.

2. Should a question receive a plurality of “aye”, it shall pass.

3. Should a question receive a plurality of “nay”, it shall not pass.

4. Should a question receive more than eighty five percent “abstain”, it shall be moved back to discussion.

Article 23

1. In matters of internal legislation, each voting member is to receive 1 vote.

2. Quorum for internal legislation is a minimum of thirty percent of the total number of voting members.

3. Internal legislation must receive a minimum of fifty percent of the total vote from present members to pass.

4. Legislation can be proposed by any member of the Civil Council or Alliance Cabinet for deliberation.

   1. Legislation may be debated for a maximum of forty-eight hours before it progresses to be voted upon.

      1. If necessary, voting or debate may be extended for an additional forty-eight hours.

   2. Legislation must be in voting for a minimum of twenty-four hours.

5. Votes within the Civil Council are to be managed by the executive of the Alliance, or an official that they designate.

   1. Votes may last no more than forty-eight hours.

   2. If quorum is not reached within forty-eight hours, or a majority of “Aye” votes is not reached, the legislation fails.

Article 24

1. On matters of World Assembly voting, each voting member is to receive a vote equivalent to that of the sum of a region's total WA members and their WAD endorsements, divided by the sum of the total WA member count and WAD endorsements within the URA, multiplied by 100.

2. There is no quorum requirement for votes on World Assembly Legislation.

3. WA Legislation votes must receive more than fifty percent in any one category of “Aye” or “Nay” to pass for that respective category.

   1. Abstentions are not included in this total.

4. All regional delegates must vote in line with the WA Voting Recommendation.

   1. In special circumstances, such as treaty obligations, Delegates may vote against the URA Recommendation.

Article 25

1. On matters of the admittance of new member regions, each voting member receives one vote.

2. Quorum for the admittance of new regions is to be thirty percent of voting members.

3. In order for a region to be admitted, the region must pass a majority vote.

4. Any region may be proposed for discussion of admittance, as long as the sub-department of recruitment has engaged said region in membership negotiations.

   1. Some regions, as designated by the Alliance Cabinet, shall not be permitted to be brought up for debate because of ideological or OOC problems within those regions.

5. Discussion may last for a maximum of forty-eight hours before the admittance of a member region is voted upon.

   1. If necessary, discussion and debate can be extended by an additional forty-eight hours.

6. Discussion may be skipped if a motion is passed with a unanimous vote.

Article 26

1. On any other matters as deemed necessary by the Alliance Cabinet, each voting member receives one vote.

2. There is a thirty percent quorum requirement on these votes.

3. Any other matters as deemed necessary by the Alliance Cabinet must pass through a majority vote.

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Article 27

1. In order for the functions of the Alliance to be appropriately handled, there shall be several departments to handle each respective function.

2. These departments are as follows:

   1. Department of Foreign Affairs,

   2. Department of Internal Affairs, and

   3. Department of Culture.

3. Additional Departments may be created through a constitutional amendment.

Article 28

1. Departments are to be structured with several sub-departments within them, each specialized to a specific aspect of the overall department.

2. Directors are required to appoint Deputy Directors to head up each sub-department at the beginning of their term, with each appointment under approval from the Civil Council.

   1. The Civil Council is to hold the debate and vote on all Deputy Director Appointments simultaneously, although they must provide a vote for each individual nominee.

3. Directors may choose to incorporate additional sub-departments within their department, but require Civil Council approval to do so.

Article 29

1. All Departments are to be led by an elected Director, as outlined in Article twelve and Article eighteen.

2. Directors are to be elected every six months, with general elections occurring every January and July, with inauguration to occur on the first day of February and August.

3. All Directors have a term limit of four consecutive six-month terms, but there is no overall term limit.

Article 30

1. The Department of Foreign Affairs is responsible for all aspects of Alliance Administration related to foreign regions and organizations.

2. Within the Department of Foreign Affairs, there are also the sub-departments of Public Relations and Recruitment.

   1. The sub-department of Public Relations is responsible for all documentation and announcements to non-URA regions and entities, as well as all news publications from the Alliance as a whole.

   2. The sub-department of Recruitment is responsible for reaching out to and performing preliminary discussions with potential member regions. They are also responsible for drafting a recommendation to the Civil Council before the Civil Council votes on the admittance of any new member.

3. The Director of Foreign Affairs is responsible for establishing a comprehensive Foreign Affairs strategy for their term, as well as directing the sub-departments in working towards that strategy.

4. The Director of Foreign Affairs is also responsible for ensuring that all foreign negotiations are appropriately handled, either by themself or their designate.

5. The Director of Foreign Affairs is a signing authority on all foreign agreements and treaties.

   1. All foreign agreements and treaties must receive approval from the Alliance Cabinet.

   2. All foreign agreements and treaties may be objected to by the Civil Council, where they will then be appropriately debated and voted upon.

Article 31

1. The Department of Internal Affairs is responsible for all internal administrative aspects of the Alliance.

2. Within the Department of Internal Affairs, there shall also be the sub-departments of World Assembly Affairs and Outreach.

   1. The sub-department of World Assembly Affairs is responsible for all matters related to the World Assembly discussion and voting process within the Alliance. They are responsible to organize and facilitate all WA legislation discussions, organize and record the voting process, and publish voting recommendations for the entire Alliance, as well as managing the Resolution Writing Committee.

   2. The sub-department of Outreach is responsible for facilitating strong relationships between the Alliance and its member regions. This includes working as a mediator for regional conflicts as well as assisting in recruitment and efforts to improve activity within a member region. The Outreach sub-department may issue recommendations of action for each region, and may directly assist if asked.

3. The Director of Internal Affairs is responsible for establishing a comprehensive Internal Affairs strategy for their term, as well as directing the sub-departments in working towards that strategy.

4. The Director of Internal Affairs is also responsible for ensuring that all internal disputes are appropriately handled, by themself or their designate.

Article 32

1. The Department of Cultural Affairs is responsible for all cultural aspects of the Alliance.

2. Within the Department of Cultural Affairs, there shall also be the sub-departments of Roleplay and Events.

   1. The sub-department of Roleplay is responsible for organizing and facilitating all general Alliance Roleplay activities. This sub-department is to specifically focus on long-term activities, such as traditional role-plays and other consistent roleplays.

   2. The sub-department of Events is responsible for organizing and facilitating all Alliance events. This includes events such as the URA Olympics, the URA Global Showcase, and the URA Anniversary Festival.

3. The Director of Cultural Affairs is responsible for establishing a comprehensive Cultural Affairs strategy for their term, as well as directing the sub-departments in working towards that strategy.

4. The Director of Cultural Affairs is also responsible for ensuring that all cultural events and programs are run smoothly with little to no disputes.

Article 33

1. All Deputy Directors are responsible for staffing their sub-department as they see fit, subject to approval from their respective Departmental Director.

2. Departmental Directors may appoint additional staff outside of any sub-departments to assist them in carrying out their duties, subject to approval from the executive.

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Article 34

1. The Founder of the Alliance, also known as Ellenburg or Free Azell, is entitled to a permanent position on the Alliance Cabinet.

2. The Founder is responsible for ensuring that all OOC aspects of the Alliance, including but not limited to discord moderation and compliance with the ToS of any URA platforms, are handled with the utmost care.

Article 35

The Founder is permitted to take any action they deem necessary in order to maintain the purposes of the URA and ensure its continued survival as an organization.

1. To that end, the Founder is permitted to pass emergency legislation in the form of Executive Orders.

2. The Civil Council may object to executive orders put forth by the Founder.

Article 36

1. The Civil Council may vote to remove the Founder from their authority according to Civil Council procedure if they deem the Founder unable to perform their duties to the expected standard.

2. In the event that the Founder is removed from their authority, an accredited third-party is to be consulted in order to appoint an individual to take up the maintenance of the various platforms previously maintained by the Founder.

Article 37

Should the Founder choose to retire, they may select any individual to replace them in carrying out their responsibility.

Article 38

The Founder, while holding a position on the Alliance Cabinet, is not restricted from running for office for any other positions as necessary, or holding positions within the various Departments.

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Article 39

1. Elections for all Directors, as well as the President and Vice President, are to occur during the months of January and July.

2. Elections are to be completed no later than the second day of February and August.

3. All citizens of the Alliance may run for any positions during elections.

Article 40

1. Elections are to be organized by an unbiased Elections Manager appointed by the Founder.

2. The Elections Manager must be a resident of the Alliance.

3. The Elections Manager is responsible for the management of all aspects of Alliance elections, including but not limited to:

   1. Organization of candidate debates,

   2. Drafting of the Ballot,

   3. Distribution of the Ballot both on the discord and through the NS Website to all member regions,

   4. Upkeep of candidate lists,

   5. Prompt distribution of election results,

   6. Moderation of all election-related discussion, and

   7. Consistent advertisement of any election.

4. The Election Manager is to be appointed one week before the election month.

5. The Founder, at their own discretion or in response to a request from the Election Manager, may appoint additional Elections staff, responsible for assisting the Elections Manager in their duties.

6. The Elections Manager is dismissed at the conclusion of the election.

Article 41

1. The President and Vice President have a term limit of four consecutive terms, but there is no total term limit.

2. The Founder, President, or Vice President may remove a member from their position either within a Department or the Alliance Cabinet if deemed necessary.

Article 42

1. The United Regions Alliance Armed Forces is required to act on behalf of the Alliance in the defense of all member regions.

2. In addition, the URAAF may perform operations with allied military organizations should those operations align with efforts to defend the member regions of the URA, or further the goals of the Alliance.

   1. The URAAF is not permitted to perform unprovoked military action.

Article 43

1. All members of the Alliance Cabinet, including the Founder, as well as Deputy Directors, may be impeached by the Civil Council.

2. Any members that may be impeached can be impeached for the following:

   1. Not performing their duties as outlined in this Charter,

   2. Performing their duties to a subpar standard as determined by the Civil Council,

   3. No longer meeting the requirements to hold a position in the Alliance Cabinet,

   4. Flagrantly disobeying the laws of the Alliance,

   5. Working against the purposes of the Alliance, or

   6. Destroying or attempting to destroy Alliance property.

3. Any member of the Civil Council or Alliance Cabinet may propose articles of impeachment for consideration.

4. The individual in question for impeachment is permitted to enter the Civil Council to answer questions fielded by the Civil Council.

   1. Should the individual in question not behave in an appropriate manner, they can be restricted from the Civil Council.

5. Should the individual in question be impeached, they are to be immediately removed from office, with all roles, permissions, and access to sensitive Alliance material immediately removed.

   1. Should an election be necessary to replace the position, it shall be held.

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