The Novus Carta was the second constitution of the LittleBigPlanet Union. It played a very important role in the structure of the Union from the Spring of 2015 onward and replaced direct democracy with representative democracy by establishing the Union Parliament and was much more specific than the original constitution. It can be viewed here.
Origin and History[]
Origin[]
In order to pass the LittleBigPlanet Union Legal System Protocol in response to the 2015 April Judicial Crisis, drastic measures had to be taken to get around the massive problems that the direct democratic system imposed by the original Constitution posed. Political apathy of common members of the Union was the most pressing issue, requiring the Protectors to eject many clans from the Union for inactivity and because members simply wouldn't vote. The damaged Union saw that its constitution was failing and M88youngling drafted the Novus Carta with the consultation of other leaders on April 16th, 2015.[1]
The document was finally completely ratified on April 18th 2015.
The Novus Carta was ratified into effect by the following,
- M88youngling - President
- Lgmpm - Union Vice President / New California Republic President
- GreenWolff - Leader of the Atlas Special Agency
- TOXIC-RAGE-2002 - Chancellor of New Germany
- Glass-_-Crane - Leader of the Master Creators Society
- MidnightLights1 - Mandalore of the True Mandalorian Empire
- JediJosho - Grandmaster of Organization XIII
Commissioner Accord[]
The Commissioner Accord was the only amendment to be made to the Novus Carta.
Access Restriction[]
Access to the Novus Carta was later restricted by M88youngling in an attempt to prevent the Visarian Mandate and Primevaliam from taking control of the Union. Access has since been restored as of March 22nd, 2017.[2]
Details[]
The greatest changes made from the original Constitution were that representatives are now the only ones who can vote on proposals as opposed to the entire Union, and that clans can now have up to three representatives if they'd like. This legislative system was known as the Union Parliament, which retained the General Assembly and Security Council but only as categories for proposals. This constitution also introduced minor elections for General Assembly and Security Council figureheads, known as the Speaker of the General Assembly and the Chairman of the Security Council. These two positions only had the power to count votes and endorsements as well as organize the documents in their respective Google Drive folders.
The Novus Carta also established clear definitions of executive ministries as well as a strict activity quota for clans. This requires clans to attend monthly summits or leave an excuse as to why they cannot come prior to the summit or their clan will be removed for inactivity. Additionally, the Independent States Allied Forces were also officially established as a Union defense coalition.
The Novus Carta also greatly expanded on the judicial system, complementing the LittleBigPlanet Union Legal System Protocol.
While perhaps obsolete, many amendments of the United States of America's constitution were included to grant members rights to freedom of speech, as well as other rights. These have been modified for relevance.
The document was fully ratified and put into effect on April 18th, 2015.
Contents[]
Preamble[]
The Novus Carta's preamble reads,[3]
Addressing the failures of the Union’s previous Constitution, it is our utmost belief that in order to protect the security, well being and cooperation of organizations that reside on this game, we must establish a new charter that will further advance us towards the goal of creating a community where players can Play, Create, Share, and Unite with one another in peace through the efforts of the LittleBigPlanet Union.
The preamble of the Novus Carta formally recognized that the previous constitution of the LBP Union had failed. The preamble outlined the goals of the Union and of the Novus Carta itself.
Article 1[]
The first article of the Novus Carta outlines the legislative powers and structures in the LBP Union. Section 1 established the LittleBigPlanet Union Parliament, which was composed of the General Assembly and the Security Council.[3] Section 2 defined that representatives from member states would be members of the parliament. This section defined the responsibilities of representatives and most importantly established activity quotas. However, after the passage of the Commissioner Accord, representatives would be replaced by Commissioners, who were a council of member state leaders.[4]
Sections 3 established the first elections for the LBP Union's core government, establishing the positions of the Speaker of the General Assembly and the Chairman of the Security Council. These two positions would be elected by the representatives.[4]
Sections 4 and 5 established a list of topical categories for proposals in the General Assembly and Security Council.[5]
Section 6 defined resolutions as Union law, requiring all Union member states to adhere to their contents once passed by the parliament. This section also outlined the methods for how proposals would be considered and voted upon.[6]
Section 7 required that the LBP Union Parliament must have two meetings per month: one for the General Assembly and the other for the Security Council.[7]
Article 2[]
Article 2 defined executive power in the LBP Union. Section 1 affirmed the existence and powers of the Protectors of the LittleBigPlanet Union. Sections 2-8 established the positions of the Vice President, Ministers of Domestic Affairs, Foreign Affairs, Defense, Security, and Intelligence.[8]
Article 3[]
Article 3 described the judicial powers of the LBP Union, particularly with the LBP Union Supreme Court. Section 1 established the Supreme Court and also authorized member states to establish their own LBP Union courts.[9]
Section 2 is a modified version of a section from the United States Constitution. It describes a few situations in which judicial power may be utilized.[10] Section 3 defined treason against the LittleBigPlanet Union.[11]
Article 4[]
Article 4 described rights and responsibilities of LBP Union member states and citizens. Section 1 affirmed the sovereignty of member states, but required them to adhere to Union law. Section 2 formally defined the term Citizen of the LittleBigPlanet Union.[12]
Section 3 required that the LBP Union host a summit meeting monthly. This was used to guage activity of member states. If they did not excuse themselves from the meeting or did not attend, then their member state status would be revoked.[13]
Section 4 described how clans could become member states of the LBP Union. Originally, the Novus Carta described that the LBP Union Protectors would make the decision with a simple majority vote. However, after the Commissioner Accord amendment was passed, a two-thirds majority vote from the Union Commission was added as a method of approving new member states.[14]
Section 5 established the Independent States Allied Forces. Section 6 prohibited member states from declaring war or attacking other member states or non-Union organizations. It also prohibited discrimination.[15]
Article 5[]
This article enabled the LBP Union Parliament via the General Assembly, and later the Union Commission, to pass amendments to the Novus Carta. amendments required a three-fourths majority vote from member state governments in order to pass.[16]
Article 6[]
The sixth article affirmed that the Novus Carta was the supreme law of the LBP Union.[17]
Article 7[]
The seventh article of the Novus Carta incorporated several amendments from the United States Bill of Rights.[18]
Article 8[]
The eighth article of the Novus Carta declared that the document would be valid upon being ratified by five clans.[19]
Amendments[]
Article 5 Section 1 of the Novus Carta allows for the passage of amendments.
Amendment 1 - The Commissioner Accord[]
This amendment was authored by M88youngling after his resignation as President of the LBP Union. The amendment replaced the Union Parliament with a council of leaders known as the Union Commission. It also established a system for democratic Presidential elections.
Trivia[]
- Contradictory to the actual date of ratification, the Union observed "Novus Carta Day" on April 20th instead and incorrectly regarded this as the date the document was ratified.
- The Novus Carta is the longest known constitution on LittleBigPlanet, having 4782 words and 26 pages.
References[]
- ↑ M88youngling's Journals (Entries 3/23/15, 3/29/15, 4/16/15
- ↑ Novus Carta Google Drive Changelog
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Novus Carta (p. 1)
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Novus Carta (pp. 1-2)
- ↑ Novus Carta (p. 4)
- ↑ Novus Carta (p. 6)
- ↑ Novus Carta (p. 7)
- ↑ Novus Carta (pp. 8-12)
- ↑ Novus Carta (p. 13)
- ↑ Novus Carta (p. 13)
- ↑ Novus Carta (p. 14)
- ↑ Novus Carta (p. 15)
- ↑ Novus Carta (pp. 15-16)
- ↑ Novus Carta (p. 16)
- ↑ Novus Carta (p. 16-17)
- ↑ Novus Carta (p. 18)
- ↑ Novus Carta (p. 19)
- ↑ Novus Carta (pp. 19-21)
- ↑ Novus Carta (p. 22)