Amendment to Article XXI: War and Enemies of State

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Amendment to Article XXI: War and Enemies of State

Post by Lord DaKaren » Fri Feb 02, 2018 10:10 pm

This article outlines how individuals and groups "earn" EoS status, but it lacks a codified method for that status to be rescinded. This is an oversight which needs to be corrected.

The Minoc Adjutant, John Knighthawke, has volunteered to draft an amendment to Article XXI to address this issue.

If anyone would like to have input into the text of draft on which the Council will eventually vote, please do so here.
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Re: Amendment to Article XXI: War and Enemies of State

Post by Lord DaKaren » Sun Feb 04, 2018 6:21 pm

(This was submitted by John Knighthawke)

Notes on the intent of this amendment

This amendment is intended to clarify how Enemy of State status may be rescinded. As the 7th Constitution currently is phrased, there is no explicit ability to lift that status. While as a general principle of law and political procedure an act of any legislature can undo or repeal an earlier act of the same legislature, and thus it is likely that the Council could rescind Enemy of State status by a vote, clarity seems prudent.

The procedure this amendment enacts is as follows. When Enemy of State status is declared by declaration of war, then the ending of the war also ends the status. When such status is declared by act of the Council other than a declaration of war, then an act of the Council may end that status. The Council shall be allowed to establish procedures for considering an act to end Enemy of State status. The amendment deliberately offers no explicit restriction on what procedures may be established and does not require the Council to establish such a procedure.


[Bracketed text] is old language, to be deleted.
Underlined text is new language, to be added.

AN ACT to Amend the Constitution of the High Council of Britannia

Article XXI Section D of the Constitution shall be amended to read as follows.

Any individual or group may be declared an Enemy of State due to hostile actions against Britannian citizens upon the recommendation of the Chancellor of Virtue, Chief Justicar of Virtue, a High Justicar of Virtue, the Grand Marshal of Virtue and his or her War Cabinet, or from a hearing of the Security Committee, ratified by a majority vote of the High Council. A declared war automatically makes the enemy combatant entities an Enemy of State.

1. A list of Enemies of State is to be maintained by the Chief Justicar in the High Court of Britannia.

2. Enemies of State are granted the same legal protections as any Britannian citizen with regards to trial.

3. A declaration of Enemy of State by declaration of war shall continue until the High Council ceases the state of war. A declaration of Enemy of State by act of the Council other than a declaration of war may be removed by an act of the Council. The Council may establish procedures for consideration of such an act to rescind declarations of Enemy of State status.
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Re: Amendment to Article XXI: War and Enemies of State

Post by Lord DaKaren » Sun Feb 04, 2018 6:51 pm

(This was submitted by John Knighthawke)

All services and requirements as described below must be free of humiliation, degradation, or anything along those lines. Note that this means something most people would find humiliating or degrading or anything along those lines. It is to be expected that some Enemies of State may find some of this humiliating or degrading simply because of their warped, inappropriate sense of dignity or decorum may be dependent upon false values or evil gods.

Break with past
The individual, or a representative of the group if it's a group that's at issue, must express regret, in public, for his/her/their actions in a manner the High Council may find believable. As part of this, if it was a group that is at issue, that group must rename itself, come up with new uniforms or a new color scheme (if applicable), and/or in general take any actions that seem appropriate to indicate a break with the past.

Free from unsavory associations
No individual, nor any individual that is part of a group with Enemy of State Status, may associate with any other Enemy of State nor any convicted criminal, nor any other group recognized by the High Council through means of a vote as being an enemy, threat, nuisance, or anything else.

Willingness to serve the High Council
Must perform service to the Chancellor and Grand Marshal, of those officials' choosing. If there is an active High Justicar the Chancellor may elect to allow the High Justicar to also be served, separately from the Chancellor and the Grand Marshal. All of the above services must be consistent with the official duties of the officers.

Willingness to serve the Kingdom at large
Must take a loyalty oath (see below for some specifications) to Britannia, under pain of immediate reinstitution of Enemy of State Status should in the judgment of the Chancellor the oath be broken.

Note that “loyalty oath” in this context does not necessarily mean the same thing that a citizen or official might take. If one is a citizen of another country, for example, an oath not to harm Britannia or its people might suffice. Such an oath, however, must include a public, sworn renouncing of all dark gods, evil belief systems, and/or anything else that in the judgment of the Chancellor presents an obstacle to the following of the Virtues and the safety of the Kingdom and/or its people.

Note that this may include the requirement to denounce belief systems or gods normally not prohibited under law – the fact that these people made themselves Enemies of State to begin with means that they have foregone or renounced certain privileges and immunities that others may take for granted.

The list of gods or belief systems which need to be renounce will include, but not be limited to (this list is for example purposes only):

• Lloth, the Queen of the Demonweb Pits,
• The King that Crawls,
• Satan,
• Lucifer,
• The Witch King of Angmar,
• The Knight of the Black Rose,
• Lord Voldemort,
• The Dagamor,
• False King Casca,
• The Elemental Titans of Pagan,
• Sauron,
• Takhisis, the Queen of Darkness,
• Unicron,
• Cthulhu
• Ajunta Pall,
• Danzek, the Queen of the Borg,
• King Beleth,
• The First Evil,
• Loki,
• The Prince of Darkness,
• The Snake Cults of Set,
• Kali Ma, the Dark Mother,
• Tiamat of Baator,
• The Orange One of the Planet Beyond the Skies,
• Mondain,
• Virtuebane,
• The Shadowlords (Nosfentor, Astaroth, Faulinei, Ramuz, etc.)

and so forth.

Willingness to Serve the Governors and/or Individual Councilors and/or the Individual Cities
Must perform service to three sitting Governors, and/or Councilors', and/or cities themselves, at the choosing of the Governors, Councilors, or officials of the cities.

All of the above services must be consistent with the official duties of the officers. All services must be free of humiliation, degradation, or anything along those lines.

The three to be served shall be selected by the person or group being tested, with the approval of the Chancellor. (Note that it is to be expected that, at least sometimes, in this manner the Chancellor will in effect dictate whom the Enemy of State is to serve.)

Devotion to the Virtues
Must perform tasks specific to each of the Principles.
• Truth: Must perform a full airing of all of the sins and misdeeds that led to declaration of Enemy of the State status.
• Love: Must submit a detailed plan to compensate all victims, undo all wrongs, and the like. Must follow through on that plan and submit it within an agreed-upon period of time.
• Courage: Must design and perform a quest and/or set of deeds that furthers a cause directly opposed to whatever sin or misdeed led to designation of Enemy of State. (Note that this is different from the “compensation” described under “Love,” in that it goes beyond it.)
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Re: Amendment to Article XXI: War and Enemies of State

Post by Redlow » Mon Feb 05, 2018 7:44 pm

I would also propose that any time the High Council charter is amended, Enemy of State status must be re-ratified.
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Re: Amendment to Article XXI: War and Enemies of State

Post by UniversalBlue » Wed Feb 07, 2018 9:17 am

Thank you, John, for your willingness to write a proposed amendment to the issue of Enemy of State. I Agree with the following proposed wording:
Lord DaKaren wrote:(This was submitted by John Knighthawke)

(Explanation deleted)


AN ACT to Amend the Constitution of the High Council of Britannia

Article XXI Section D of the Constitution shall be amended to read as follows.

Any individual or group may be declared an Enemy of State due to hostile actions against Britannian citizens upon the recommendation of the Chancellor of Virtue, Chief Justicar of Virtue, a High Justicar of Virtue, the Grand Marshal of Virtue and his or her War Cabinet, or from a hearing of the Security Committee, ratified by a majority vote of the High Council. A declared war automatically makes the enemy combatant entities an Enemy of State.

1. A list of Enemies of State is to be maintained by the Chief Justicar in the High Court of Britannia.

2. Enemies of State are granted the same legal protections as any Britannian citizen with regards to trial.

3. A declaration of Enemy of State by declaration of war shall continue until the High Council ceases the state of war. A declaration of Enemy of State by act of the Council other than a declaration of war may be removed by an act of the Council. The Council may establish procedures for consideration of such an act to rescind declarations of Enemy of State status.
It is my opinion that the remaining suggestion of requirements should not be included in the Charter and should be simply dropped. Proof of Sincerity should never be a dictated list, but rather a personal choice and if offered is a form of evidence in itself.

Any orders of Reparation to victims should be reasonable, fit the crime and should be ordered by the High Court if deemed necessary.

Nevah'sen Blazefire
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Re: Amendment to Article XXI: War and Enemies of State

Post by Kaliksix » Sat Feb 17, 2018 7:46 pm

Lord DaKaren wrote:(This was submitted by John Knighthawke)

The list of gods or belief systems which need to be renounce will include, but not be limited to (this list is for example purposes only):

• Lloth, the Queen of the Demonweb Pits,
• The King that Crawls,
• Satan,
• Lucifer,
• The Witch King of Angmar,
• The Knight of the Black Rose,
• Lord Voldemort,
• The Dagamor,
• False King Casca,
• The Elemental Titans of Pagan,
• Sauron,
• Takhisis, the Queen of Darkness,
• Unicron,
• Cthulhu
• Ajunta Pall,
• Danzek, the Queen of the Borg,
• King Beleth,
• The First Evil,
• Loki,
• The Prince of Darkness,
• The Snake Cults of Set,
• Kali Ma, the Dark Mother,
• Tiamat of Baator,
• The Orange One of the Planet Beyond the Skies,
• Mondain,
• Virtuebane,
• The Shadowlords (Nosfentor, Astaroth, Faulinei, Ramuz, etc.)

and so forth.
I would like to know the active guilds that follow the above named deities. IMO, some seem pretty far fetched. Also, since Mondain is listed, would that not mean all the gargoyles are EoS as well?
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Re: Amendment to Article XXI: War and Enemies of State

Post by Lord DaKaren » Sat Feb 17, 2018 9:15 pm

Redlow wrote:I would also propose that any time the High Council charter is amended, Enemy of State status must be re-ratified.
This can be easily added to the currently proposed amendment.
UniversalBlue wrote:Thank you, John, for your willingness to write a proposed amendment to the issue of Enemy of State. I Agree with the following proposed wording:

It is my opinion that the remaining suggestion of requirements should not be included in the Charter and should be simply dropped. Proof of Sincerity should never be a dictated list, but rather a personal choice and if offered is a form of evidence in itself.

Any orders of Reparation to victims should be reasonable, fit the crime and should be ordered by the High Court if deemed necessary.
Only the propsed amendment would be included in the 7th. The ancilliary text was intended to be a guideline for a quest of sorts, to atone for past misdeeds. It would not be included in the Constitution.
Kaliksix wrote: I would like to know the active guilds that follow the above named deities. IMO, some seem pretty far fetched. Also, since Mondain is listed, would that not mean all the gargoyles are EoS as well?
The list, as John explained to me, was made mostly tongue-in-cheek as the vast majority of the "deities" are wholly unknown to even the most learned Sosarian.

Mondain, Minax and Exodus, however, are quite known. The first being dead, though his skull still exists. Minax being bound to Shadowguard by Hawkwind. With only Exodus in the "questionable" category, as he was a tripartite being that can seemingly jump into a new techno-organic body...though it has been said that he is presently trapped in a closed time loop in the ruins of Ver Lor Reg. (He is also the one the gargoyles of Ilshenar were compelled to worship against their will.)

Since their defeat, the Shadowlords are seemingly limited to the wreck of the Ararat, with only brief sojourns to the Void. Virtuebane is trapped with Minax. The Titans are bound within blackrock effigies, also in the Void.

At any rate, forbidding religious worship would run afoul of Article XX, section E, subsection 1 of the 7th:
E. No citizen shall face persecution or challenge for their spiritual or religious beliefs that may vary from the Virtues, which are fundamental to Britannia, in so far as the practices of these beliefs do not exceed the laws of the land, nor cause any person to participate unwillingly in them, nor condemn a person for not openly espousing the Virtues.
1. No practice of a belief system may be used as defense for breaking a law of the land.
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Re: Amendment to Article XXI: War and Enemies of State

Post by John Knighthawke » Sat Feb 24, 2018 7:00 pm

The attached is a draft of what the amendment would look like following Redlow's suggestions.

There seems to have been a lot of confusion on the other document I drafted, the "atonement" document. That was a proposal for/example of what "atonement" procedures might look like, if my draft were enacted and if the Council agreed about the utility of formalized "atonement" procedures. Also as to the evil entities I listed: I was very clear that the list includes entities that it wouldn't normally be illegal to follow, but that Enemies of State have, through their actions, warranted special circumstances being applied. I was explicit on that point. Also, I note that there's no evidence gargoyles follow Mondain in any greater numbers than any other races do so I do not know why they would have been mentioned, at all, in this context.

And finally I must explain my role in this: I am a drafter of documents, upon the request of others' whose requests I, by choice or obligation, typically strive to fulfill.

-Sir John Knighthawke
Aide to Governor Tanda Knighthawke of Minoc
Knight of Minoc, late of Newcastle
Knighthawke Trading Company

Notes on the intent of this amendment

This amendment is intended to clarify how Enemy of State status may be rescinded. As the 7th Constitution currently is phrased, there is no explicit ability to lift that status. While as a general principle of law and political procedure an act of any legislature can undo or repeal an earlier act of the same legislature, and thus it is likely that the Council could rescind Enemy of State status by a vote, clarity seems prudent.

The procedure this amendment enacts is as follows. When Enemy of State status is declared by declaration of war, then the ending of the war also ends the status. When such status is declared by act of the Council other than a declaration of war, then an act of the Council may end that status. The Council shall be allowed to establish procedures for considering an act to end Enemy of State status. The amendment deliberately offers no explicit restriction on what procedures may be established and does not require the Council to establish such a procedure.


[Bracketed text] is old language, to be deleted.
Underlined text is new language, to be added.

AN ACT to Amend the Constitution of the High Council of Britannia

Article XXI Section D of the Constitution shall be amended to read as follows.

Any individual or group may be declared an Enemy of State due to hostile actions against Britannian citizens upon the recommendation of the Chancellor of Virtue, Chief Justicar of Virtue, a High Justicar of Virtue, the Grand Marshal of Virtue and his or her War Cabinet, or from a hearing of the Security Committee, ratified by a majority vote of the High Council. A declared war automatically makes the enemy combatant entities an Enemy of State.

1. A list of Enemies of State is to be maintained by the Chief Justicar in the High Court of Britannia.

2. Enemies of State are granted the same legal protections as any Britannian citizen with regards to trial.

3. A declaration of Enemy of State by declaration of war shall continue until the High Council ceases the state of war. A declaration of Enemy of State by act of the Council other than a declaration of war may be removed by an act of the Council. The Council may establish procedures for consideration of such an act to rescind declarations of Enemy of State status.

4. Upon the ratification of a new Constitution or Charter for the High Council, or any replacement of this document, all declarations of Enemy of State under this or previous Constitutions or Charters for the High Council shall be rescinded unless reinstated by the High Council through appropriate means under the new Constitution, Charter, or other replacement of this document.
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