International Concord Charter

The International Concord Charter is the founding document of the International Concord, ratified in August, 2457 at the conclusion of the Concord Conference.

The Charter is divided into Eight Sections, and some of those Sections are further divided into Subsections, which are broken down informally into articles. This Section/Subsection format would become key to the International Concord, becoming the de facto format for all major treaties and agreements outlined by the body, and was proposed by the Jimarian representative to the Conference after the rejection of the Kiavari proposal, which used a format of Chapters broken down into Articles.

Text

Preamble

We the sapients of the International Concord determine to:

- Save future generations from the sorrows of war

- Reaffirm Sapient rights, assuring that everyone has the dignity and worth deserved to them

- Establish respect and enforcement for the various treaties, and for any other form of international law

- Unite our strength to maintain international peace and security

- Employ International Force to ensure the following of international law and protection of rights

Section One: Functions

The functions of the International Concord are:

1. To maintain International Peace and Security through collective measures to the removal of such threats

2. To ensure that the principal of equal rights and self-determinations of the sapients is ensured

3. To achieve international Co-Operation in solving international Problems of any form, promoting and encouraging respect for human rights and for fundamental freedoms;

Section Two: Principles

The principles of the International Concord are:

1. Sovereign equality upon all the members of the International Concord.

2. All members shall fulfil in good faith the obligations assumed by them in accordance with the present Charter.

3. All members shall settle their international disputes by peaceful means, in order to ensure that the international peace, security and justice is not endangered, excepting in instances as determined by international law to justify the use of force.

4. All members shall refrain from the use of threat or use of force against the political independence of any state.

5. All members shall give the International Concord assistance in any action it takes in accordance with the current Charter, refraining from giving assistance to anything that goes against it.

6. The International Concord Members need to ensure that the nation states which do not participate in the International Concord still abide by these principles, and so all members shall limit relations with non-members, and non-members shall remain subject to enforcement.

7. Nothing in the Charter shall authorise the International Concord to go and intervene against domestic jurisdiction and law of any Member, except in such cases as otherwise specified.

Section Three: Membership

A nation state which is deemed legitimate by the majority consensus of the members within the International Concord, as determined by a public vote called during general assembly, may be admitted to the signatory of this charter and thereby formally recognized a member.

Section Four: Committees

In the International Concord shall be henceforth established the following Committees:

Subsection One: General Assembly

Acceptably referred to as The General Assembly or The Assembly The Assembly is composed of a seat for every member of the International Concord, being the only body in the IC with universal membership, and it decides, by a plurality vote:

- The Four (4) Temporary members of the Security Committee

- All of the members of the Other Committees

- All of the judges in the International Court (With assent from the Security Committee)

- The Ratification of New Members

- The Ratification of General Treaties and Measures

Subsection Two: Security Committee

The Security Committee is composed of nine (9) members, four (4) of them being temporary (non-permanent) and elected by the Assembly and the other five (5) being composed of the the permanent members consisting of the following nations: Sutonnese Republic; Ceironian Union; Fazarian Kingdom; High Kingdoms of Alaxia; Holy Tempest Empire. Should any of these nations collapse or otherwise exit the body, the assembly may recognize a successor or vote to replace the committee seat from nominees chosen by the Security Committee at time of decision. The four (4) non-permanent members have two (2) year terms with a two (2) consecutive term limit.

The Security Committee will contribute a number of soldiers and supporting equipment equal to a percent of the nation’s military to a standing peacekeeping force. This percent is to be decided by a vote per member every two (2) years by the Security Committee. This force may be deployed at a majority vote by the Security Committee in accordance with all ratified agreements of the IC for the enforcement of international law and to offer civilian aid or protection of refugees.

A member of the security committee may abstain from sending their components of the peacekeeping forces to the enforcement of a given resolution, should that member state decide as such when the security committee votes to deploy forces.

Any single member of the security committee may veto measures relating to military activities and International Concord interventions into member states.

Subsection Three: Economic Committee

The Economic Committee is to be composed of ten members who shall appoint, on majority agreement of the constituent members, ten (10) representatives. It shall be the duty of these ten (10) to oversee the regulation of trade in international waters, ensure the relative value of the currencies of different nations be recorded consistently and accurately, and to solve any disputes arising therein.

Subsection Four: People's Rights Committee

The People’s Rights Committee is to be composed of ten (10) member nations who shall be obliged to manage, in the interest of global life, the raising and distribution of medical, food, and other aid and relief to those people who are suffering from crises, be they constructed, accidental, or natural.

Section Five: International Court

Subsection One: The Judges

The Court shall consist of eleven (11) judges which shall be elected by the majority of The Assembly, nominated by the Security Committee, and may be removed at any time by a two-thirds vote of The Assembly, or otherwise serve no longer than twenty years.

Subsection Two: Powers

The Court shall have the power to try, find guilty, and punish, any individual found to be in direct violation of international law. The punishment decided upon may not exceed the maximum sentencing of the nation from which the convicted originates, and all punishment must be proportional to the crime committed.

Subsection Three: Enforcement

People from any nation may, upon completion of rigorous training, be admitted into the International Concord Police, who shall, in cooperation with the law enforcement present in a given state as recognized by the IC, or, failing this, in cooperation with the peacekeeping forces of the security committee, apprehend and detain individuals accused of being in violation of any agreements which are enforced by the IC, that the accused may be brought to a fair trial.

Section Six: Treaties and Agreements

This body, the International Concord, shall recognize and enforce a number of treaties or other agreements, generally referred to as measures, as ratified by the security committee and/or the general assembly in accordance with the subject matter of the treaty and its concerns to the international community. Any measure passed only by the security committee may be overturned on a four-fifths vote of the general assembly. Any measure passed by vote of the general assembly may be overturned on majority vote of the security committee.

Section Seven: Signatories

[A list of current members of the international concord can be found here]

Section Eight: Amendments

Subsection One: (Approved, November 2503)

Any proposal or measure which has failed to be passed, either by veto or by losing a vote, may not be proposed again for a period of one year. This includes both proposals of identical wording, and those of wording as to produce the same outcome as the original proposal. The International Court will determine these later cases when applicable.

De Facto Amendments

While the International Concord Charter has only had a single official amendment (Section Eight, Subsection One), scholars often consider a number of proposals to be de facto amendments, mainly due to the additional powers granted to the International Court.

Proposal 2501-11-1

Section One:

The International Court be permitted to authorise investigations itself with the ICGA's approval being assumed unless a vote to the contrary is held.

Section Two:

The IC be granted the ability to determine cases between sovereign countries, dealing with subjects such as (among others) contract violations. The ICIC (International Concord International Court) however will leave the ICGA (International Concord General Assembly) to determine the consequences of a potential guilty verdict if the two sides cannot agree on them in court.

Proposal 2505-02-2

The International Court will be expanded with the addition of a dedicated Court of Interstate Disputes, which will be dedicated toward solving conflicts between member states of the International Concord.

Controversies

Sections One & Two

One of the largest controversies surrounding the International Concord Charter, after its implementation, was in February of 2505, when the International Court ruled that Sections One and Two of the Charter were not legally binding, in other words, that violations of the sections were not considered violations of international law. The conflict arose over the still controversial SC Proposal 2504-08-1, in which the Security Committee unanimously agreed to limit the number of proposals the Alsaran Representative could bring before the general assembly to one a month, as the Alsarans were viewed to be wasting the body's time with excessive votes.

The Alsaran Representative proceeded to plead their case before the International Court, arguing that SC Proposal 2504-08-1 violated the Charter, and should thus be removed. The judges argued, "the functions and principles have never been grounds for prosecution", adding "functions and principles are also not actual rights". Judges also commented how several Concord members were openly dictatorships, despite Article 2 of Section One; and often threatened force, despite Article 4 of Section Two. The court's final conclusion read; "the court rules that unless you can provide legal justification for [Sections One & Two] being relevant, or pass an IC resolution making them relevant, the court will not comment on your case.

This lead to Proposal 2505-02-1, which attempted to make violations of Sections One and Two violations of international law; and later Alsaran Proposal 2505-07-1, which attempted to amend the charter to remove Sections One and Two entirely. Both proposals failed, and thus the sections have remained in place as more of guidelines than actual rules.