If you're like me, then you're always on the edge of your seat to find out the latest news about what's going on in our Senate. Also, you fall off your seat a lot, because you sit on the edge, a traditionally unstable seating arrangement. Currently, one of the things being considered by them is: The Criminal Code (2012). The Criminal Code is a massive act that, as it states, is "An Act to impose Law and specify crimes for the maintenance of peace, order and democratic Government within the Republic."
What this means is, if you want to find out how to break Europeia's law, and how long you will be punished for breaking it, then this is the act for you. However, like all massive things that tell people what not to do, (I'm looking at you, police officers that have had too many doughnuts) it is in need of an overhaul (or in the case of the police officers, diet and exercise). Luckily for us, our Senate has been hard at work since March, analyzing this act piece by piece and then deciding whether or not the piece is in need of change. If it is not, then we are free to pass "go" collect $200 and be on our merry way. If there is a problem, though, the Senators buckle down and get to work changing that (unless you are one of those police officers, because I'm guessing your belt buckles have been abandoned long ago, traded in for the less judgmental suspenders, knowing that no belt could possibly find its way around the gelatinous tub of lard you used to call your stomach). The point of this article will be to provide as much information about the Criminal Code, all 34 articles of it, as well as the ongoing attempt by the Senate to cure any of its ailments, as I can (as opposed to the police officers' list of ailments which is so expansive it would fill the pages of Atlas Shrugged. My point is, if you are a police officer, don't eat a lot of doughnuts, because you will get fat and die. Okay?).
Now, because of the massive scope of this act and its revision, I could not possibly hope to contain all the information I would like to in one article. I mean, I could, but nobody would read through the whole thing, and let's be honest, we'd all prefer to be reading that article in The Zenyan entitled "Boobs, Boobs, Boobs!" at this point as it is. Instead, I will be addressing the act in pieces, similar to how the Senate is tackling this issue. There will be three sections: High Crimes, Felonies, and Misdemeanors. There are other parts of the act, (namely, definitions and statute of limitations) but, they're about as interesting as Taylor Swift's first album, and not really an issue (unless the Senate decides otherwise), so they will not be discussed in as much detail.
To begin, the "High Crimes" part of the Criminal Code contains four articles: Treason, Sedition, Offsite Terrorism, and Lying on a Citizenship Application. These all carry the possible punishment of an indefinite ban, except for the last article, which carries a possible punishment of a six month ban. In short, if you commit one of these crimes, you might as well legally change your name to Hitler, because you are one bad dude. However, it should be noted, if you fill out a citizenship application, and lie that your name is Hitler, then you can just jump off a cliff.
Our first article of note, Article 2 of The Criminal Code (2012), states:
"Anyone who knowingly:
(i) levies, attempts to levy, incites others to levy, or attempts to incite others to levy war against Europeia;
(ii) seizes, attempts to seize, incites others to seize, or attempts to incite others to seize a position in any fashion other than a lawful election or appointment; or
(iii) uses, attempts to use, incites others to use, or attempts to incite others to use the powers of any position not gained by a lawful election or appointment.
is guilty of the offense of Treason under this law and liable to punishment up to a maximum sentence of an indefinite ban."
In simpler terms, if you are involved in trying, or actually succeeding, in launching war on Europeia, that's treason. If you try, or succeed, in taking a position that you did not get democratically bestowed on you, that's treason. If you try, or succeed, in using any powers of a position you did not get democratically bestowed on you, that's treason. If you insult panda bears, or attempt to, within the earshot of Calvin Coolidge, that's treason. If you are a police officer and you eat too many doughnuts, that's-! ...I mean... well, you get the idea.
As far as any changes that the Senate is considering, treason was moved to "Crimes Against the Republic." Also, "Crimes Against the Republic" is now a thing. A lengthy debate erupted over Cormac's suggestion to expand the definition of "Treason" to include war against allies. Another question arose over whether treaties cover citizen's actions as well as state action. Drecq proposed that only laws meant to bind citizens will bind citizens, and as treaties bind state action, they should not be used to limit citizens' actions. It was later agreed upon that unless a treaty specifically mentions citizens, citizens are not bound by treaties, keeping Europeia in line with its stance on open democracy. Note: members of the Navy must follow orders, therefore any orders in relation to war and international attacks would be unrelated to this discussion. Back to work: Cormac conceded his proposal did not have enough support, and the Senate moved on.
Next, Article 3 of the Criminal Code (2012) states:
"Anyone who knowingly:
(i) aids, attempts to aid, incites others to aid, or attempts to incite others to aid enemies of Europeia in a time of war;
(ii) rebels, incites or attempts to incite rebellion against Europeian civilian government or the chain of command of the Europeian Republican Navy from within Europeia or outside of it;
is guilty of the offense of Sedition under this law and liable to to punishment up to a maximum sentence of an indefinite ban."
Meaning, if you help someone, or try to, who is fighting an enemy of Europeia, when we are in a war, or if you rebel, or try to, against our Navy, regardless of whether or not you are in the Navy, you just committed sedition.
Looking at what the Senate changed about it, sedition was moved to "Crimes Against the Republic." Also, a brief discussion between Drecq and Elias Greyjoy was held over whether or not to include disobeying a direct order in the Navy as part of this article, expanding on section ii, but it was decided that the definition should be left slightly blurred, to leave the judgement call up to the courts.
Our next point of interest, Article 4 of The Criminal Code (2012), states:
"Any citizen, resident, or member of Europeia who knowingly crashes, spams, phishes, or hacks any off-site property belonging any NationStates region, or attempts to do so, with the intent to damage or destroy the off-site property is guilty of the offense of Offsite Terrorism and is liable to punishment up to a maximum sentence of an indefinite ban."
This one is actually pretty clear: If you don't want to be an offsite terrorist, don't damage any offsite property, or try to.
The Senate moved this to "Crimes Against the People." Also, "Crimes Against the People" is now a thing. In addition, a discussion was held over whether the Courts have jurisdiction over actions taken by citizens when they are not in the region, and it was decided that the safety of the region comes before jurisdiction, and as this crime (includes the destruction of a NationStates forum) was decided to be equivalent to real-life nuclear warfare, the article was left in place.
The last article to be dealt with here is Article 5 of The Criminal Code (2012), which states:
"Anyone who knowingly:
(i) conceals previous regional affiliations on their citizenship application;
(ii) conceals previous aliases used in other regions or in Europeia when applying for citizenship
is guilty of the offense of Lying on a Citizenship Application under this law and liable to a punishment at judicial discretion not exceeding an six (6) month ban."
So, if you hide your past in regards to your previous regions, or previous aliases (such as Hitler) when you are applying for citizenship, then you have lied on your application, and that's a high crime. Nice going.
What the Senate did with this article is that they moved this to "Crimes Against the State." Also, "Crimes Against the State" is now a thing. On top of that, the section of "Deceiving the Public" (Article 12) that involves having multiple citizenships was suggested to be moved to this article.
Well, there you go, people of Europeia. That is the first installment of this series of articles on The Criminal Code (2012) and the ongoing Senate revision. If you have any questions or concerns, or you just want to learn more, feel free to go to the Law Index and look at this law, or, if you dare, check out the debate in the Senate under the topic name "Criminal Code Overhaul" or the Citizens' Assembly discussion topic, under the same name. I look forward to posting more updates on this issue as it continues, but for now, I'm Calvin Coolidge, avoiding overweight police officers with guns.
What this means is, if you want to find out how to break Europeia's law, and how long you will be punished for breaking it, then this is the act for you. However, like all massive things that tell people what not to do, (I'm looking at you, police officers that have had too many doughnuts) it is in need of an overhaul (or in the case of the police officers, diet and exercise). Luckily for us, our Senate has been hard at work since March, analyzing this act piece by piece and then deciding whether or not the piece is in need of change. If it is not, then we are free to pass "go" collect $200 and be on our merry way. If there is a problem, though, the Senators buckle down and get to work changing that (unless you are one of those police officers, because I'm guessing your belt buckles have been abandoned long ago, traded in for the less judgmental suspenders, knowing that no belt could possibly find its way around the gelatinous tub of lard you used to call your stomach). The point of this article will be to provide as much information about the Criminal Code, all 34 articles of it, as well as the ongoing attempt by the Senate to cure any of its ailments, as I can (as opposed to the police officers' list of ailments which is so expansive it would fill the pages of Atlas Shrugged. My point is, if you are a police officer, don't eat a lot of doughnuts, because you will get fat and die. Okay?).
Now, because of the massive scope of this act and its revision, I could not possibly hope to contain all the information I would like to in one article. I mean, I could, but nobody would read through the whole thing, and let's be honest, we'd all prefer to be reading that article in The Zenyan entitled "Boobs, Boobs, Boobs!" at this point as it is. Instead, I will be addressing the act in pieces, similar to how the Senate is tackling this issue. There will be three sections: High Crimes, Felonies, and Misdemeanors. There are other parts of the act, (namely, definitions and statute of limitations) but, they're about as interesting as Taylor Swift's first album, and not really an issue (unless the Senate decides otherwise), so they will not be discussed in as much detail.
To begin, the "High Crimes" part of the Criminal Code contains four articles: Treason, Sedition, Offsite Terrorism, and Lying on a Citizenship Application. These all carry the possible punishment of an indefinite ban, except for the last article, which carries a possible punishment of a six month ban. In short, if you commit one of these crimes, you might as well legally change your name to Hitler, because you are one bad dude. However, it should be noted, if you fill out a citizenship application, and lie that your name is Hitler, then you can just jump off a cliff.
Our first article of note, Article 2 of The Criminal Code (2012), states:
"Anyone who knowingly:
(i) levies, attempts to levy, incites others to levy, or attempts to incite others to levy war against Europeia;
(ii) seizes, attempts to seize, incites others to seize, or attempts to incite others to seize a position in any fashion other than a lawful election or appointment; or
(iii) uses, attempts to use, incites others to use, or attempts to incite others to use the powers of any position not gained by a lawful election or appointment.
is guilty of the offense of Treason under this law and liable to punishment up to a maximum sentence of an indefinite ban."
In simpler terms, if you are involved in trying, or actually succeeding, in launching war on Europeia, that's treason. If you try, or succeed, in taking a position that you did not get democratically bestowed on you, that's treason. If you try, or succeed, in using any powers of a position you did not get democratically bestowed on you, that's treason. If you insult panda bears, or attempt to, within the earshot of Calvin Coolidge, that's treason. If you are a police officer and you eat too many doughnuts, that's-! ...I mean... well, you get the idea.
As far as any changes that the Senate is considering, treason was moved to "Crimes Against the Republic." Also, "Crimes Against the Republic" is now a thing. A lengthy debate erupted over Cormac's suggestion to expand the definition of "Treason" to include war against allies. Another question arose over whether treaties cover citizen's actions as well as state action. Drecq proposed that only laws meant to bind citizens will bind citizens, and as treaties bind state action, they should not be used to limit citizens' actions. It was later agreed upon that unless a treaty specifically mentions citizens, citizens are not bound by treaties, keeping Europeia in line with its stance on open democracy. Note: members of the Navy must follow orders, therefore any orders in relation to war and international attacks would be unrelated to this discussion. Back to work: Cormac conceded his proposal did not have enough support, and the Senate moved on.
Next, Article 3 of the Criminal Code (2012) states:
"Anyone who knowingly:
(i) aids, attempts to aid, incites others to aid, or attempts to incite others to aid enemies of Europeia in a time of war;
(ii) rebels, incites or attempts to incite rebellion against Europeian civilian government or the chain of command of the Europeian Republican Navy from within Europeia or outside of it;
is guilty of the offense of Sedition under this law and liable to to punishment up to a maximum sentence of an indefinite ban."
Meaning, if you help someone, or try to, who is fighting an enemy of Europeia, when we are in a war, or if you rebel, or try to, against our Navy, regardless of whether or not you are in the Navy, you just committed sedition.
Looking at what the Senate changed about it, sedition was moved to "Crimes Against the Republic." Also, a brief discussion between Drecq and Elias Greyjoy was held over whether or not to include disobeying a direct order in the Navy as part of this article, expanding on section ii, but it was decided that the definition should be left slightly blurred, to leave the judgement call up to the courts.
Our next point of interest, Article 4 of The Criminal Code (2012), states:
"Any citizen, resident, or member of Europeia who knowingly crashes, spams, phishes, or hacks any off-site property belonging any NationStates region, or attempts to do so, with the intent to damage or destroy the off-site property is guilty of the offense of Offsite Terrorism and is liable to punishment up to a maximum sentence of an indefinite ban."
This one is actually pretty clear: If you don't want to be an offsite terrorist, don't damage any offsite property, or try to.
The Senate moved this to "Crimes Against the People." Also, "Crimes Against the People" is now a thing. In addition, a discussion was held over whether the Courts have jurisdiction over actions taken by citizens when they are not in the region, and it was decided that the safety of the region comes before jurisdiction, and as this crime (includes the destruction of a NationStates forum) was decided to be equivalent to real-life nuclear warfare, the article was left in place.
The last article to be dealt with here is Article 5 of The Criminal Code (2012), which states:
"Anyone who knowingly:
(i) conceals previous regional affiliations on their citizenship application;
(ii) conceals previous aliases used in other regions or in Europeia when applying for citizenship
is guilty of the offense of Lying on a Citizenship Application under this law and liable to a punishment at judicial discretion not exceeding an six (6) month ban."
So, if you hide your past in regards to your previous regions, or previous aliases (such as Hitler) when you are applying for citizenship, then you have lied on your application, and that's a high crime. Nice going.
What the Senate did with this article is that they moved this to "Crimes Against the State." Also, "Crimes Against the State" is now a thing. On top of that, the section of "Deceiving the Public" (Article 12) that involves having multiple citizenships was suggested to be moved to this article.
Well, there you go, people of Europeia. That is the first installment of this series of articles on The Criminal Code (2012) and the ongoing Senate revision. If you have any questions or concerns, or you just want to learn more, feel free to go to the Law Index and look at this law, or, if you dare, check out the debate in the Senate under the topic name "Criminal Code Overhaul" or the Citizens' Assembly discussion topic, under the same name. I look forward to posting more updates on this issue as it continues, but for now, I'm Calvin Coolidge, avoiding overweight police officers with guns.
