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Preamble
We seekers of truth, in order to engage in a more perfect Non-Partisan Pursuit of Truth®, establish justice, insure comprehensive insight into issues of concern to members of the community, provide for common understanding, promote the general welfare through advancing the best solutions to problems, and secure the blessings of freedom and liberty for all in perpetuity, do hereby agree to abide by the Chronicles Territorial Bylaws.
Article I
Section 1.
All powers of governance of this Chronicles Territory, and the territory's internet presence shall be vested in a Territorial Governing Body, which shall consist of a House of Representatives of Registered Users, a Senate, an Executive Office (hereinafter the "Publisher") and a Board of Directors.
Section 2.
The House of Representatives shall be composed of Representatives chosen every second year by the registered users of the territory.
No person shall be a Representative of the House who shall not have attained to the age of sixteen years, and been seven months a registered user of the territory's website and who shall, when elected, be an inhabitant of that territory for which chosen. All Representatives who have not attained the age of twenty-one by the date of their first term of office shall require parental or legal guardian consent before engaging in the activities of a duly elected Representative of the House of Users.
Representatives shall be elected from the Territory according to the number of unique users registered with the territory. The number of persons representing a territory shall be based upon the average number of registered users for the territory during the ninety-days preceding Election Day. The number of Representatives shall be one for every five thousand registered users, and every territory shall have at least one Representative.
Until the first election is held, every territory will have one representative appointed by the Publisher of the territory. Said appointment shall occur within seven days of the Publisher's receipt of a duly authorized License to Publish from the World Chronicles licensing body.
When vacancies happen in the House of Representatives of the territory, the territory's licensed Publisher shall issue writs of election to fill such vacancies. The House of Representatives shall choose their speaker and other officers; and shall have the sole power of impeachment of the Publisher. Each Representative shall have one vote. No member of the House of Representatives shall serve more then three consecutive terms.
Section 3.
The Senate shall be composed of Senators chosen by the registered users of the territory. Senators shall serve for three years; and each Senator shall have one vote. No Senator shall serve more than three consecutive terms.
Senators shall be elected from the Territory by the Territory's registered users. The number of Senators shall be Three for every duly Licensed Territory.
Until the first election is held, every territory will have one Senator appointed by the Publisher of the territory to serve as Senator for that territory. Said appointment shall occur within seven days of the Publisher's receipt of a duly authorized License to Publish from the World Chronicles licensing body.
When the Senators are assembled in consequence of the first election, they shall be divided as equally as possible into three classes drawn by lots. The seat of the Senator of the first class shall be vacated at the expiration of the first year, of the second class at the expiration of the second year, and the third class at the expiration of the third year, so that one third may be chosen every year.
When vacancies happen in the Senate, the territory's licensed Publisher shall issue writs of election to fill such vacancies. If vacancies happen by resignation, or otherwise, during the recess of the governing body of the territory, the Publisher thereof may make temporary appointments until the next scheduled election.
No person shall serve in the Senate who shall not have attained to the age of eighteen years, and been seven months a registered user of the territory's website and who shall, when elected, be an inhabitant of that territory for which chosen. All Senators who have not attained the age of eighteen by the date of their first term of office shall require parental or legal guardian consent before engaging in the activities of a duly elected member of the Senate.
The Senate shall choose their President and other officers. The Senate shall have the sole power to try all impeachments. When sitting for that purpose, they shall be on oath or affirmation. When the Publisher of the Territory is tried, the Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Territory shall preside or appoint a presiding officer: And no person shall be convicted at the Territorial level without the concurrence of all three Senate members.
Judgment in cases of impeachment shall not extend further than removal from office, and disqualification to hold and enjoy any office of honor, trust or profit under the United Publisher Territories: but the party convicted shall nevertheless be liable and subject to indictment, trial, judgment and punishment, according to law of the appropriate jurisdictional territory.
Section 4.
The Territorial Governing Body shall assemble at least once in every year, and such meeting shall be on the first Monday in December, unless they shall by majority consent, appoint a different day or days. Meetings need not be held in a physical space but all proceedings shall be open to observation by any and all registered users of the territory on the territory website and thorough records of all proceedings shall be maintained and made available on the Internet or its equivalent to registered users of the Territory.
Each House of the territorial governing Body shall be the judge of the elections, returns and qualifications of its own members, and a majority of each shall constitute a quorum to do business; but a smaller number may adjourn from day to day, and may be authorized to compel the attendance of absent members, in such manner, and under such penalties as each House may provide.
Each House may determine the rules of its proceedings, punish its members for disorderly behavior, and, with the concurrence of two thirds, expel a member.
Each House shall keep a journal of its proceedings, and publish the same on the Internet in a timely manner, excepting such parts as may in their judgment reveal proprietary secrets or place in jeopardy a Chronicler or any content contributor who has provided news, information or content to the territory's domain or any affiliated domain(s). The yeas and nays of the members of either House on any question shall, at the desire of one fifth of those present, be entered on the journal. Neither House, during the session of the Territorial Governing Body, shall, without the consent of the other, adjourn for more than three days.
The Senators and Representatives shall receive compensation for their services, to be determined by a majority vote of the territory's registered users and paid out of the financial resources of the Territory.
Plans improving territorial governance and revenue generation may originate from any source and be taken up by either House. Every plan which has passed both Houses, shall be presented to the Publisher of the Territory. Upon the Publisher's signature the plan shall be implemented, but if not signed it shall be returned, with objections noted to that House in which it shall have originated, who shall enter the objections at large on their journal, and proceed to reconsider the plan.
If after such reconsideration two thirds of that House shall agree to approve the plan, it shall be sent, together with the objections, to the other House, by which it shall likewise be reconsidered, and if approved by two thirds of that House, the plan shall be implemented. However, in all such cases the votes of both Houses shall be determined by yeas and nays, and the names of the persons voting for and against a plan shall be entered on the journal of each House respectively and shall be available on the territory website.
If any plan shall not be returned by the Publisher within ten days (except Sundays) after it shall have been presented to the Publisher, the same shall be implemented, in like manner as if the Publisher had signed it, unless the Territorial Governing Body by their adjournment prevent its return, in which case it shall not be implemented.
Section 8.
The Territorial Governing Body shall have the power to establish classes of registered users with hierarchical access to content and set user fees by class; provided the fee for basic level access is set at zero and every registered user irrespective of class shall have the right to cast one vote for ever seat in the Territorial House of Representatives and one vote in the elections of members of the Territorial Senate.
Further, the Territorial Governing Body shall have the power:
1) To establish uniform territorial rules of website user conduct;
2) To establish uniform territorial content standards and standards of content delivery;
3) To establish uniform territorial standards of Privacy Protection;
4) To promote the inclusion of valuable Copyright, Creative Commons and Open Source content by implementing appropriate protections for property rights of authors and other holders of intellectual property;
5) To make all rules and regulations which shall be necessary and proper for carrying into execution the foregoing powers, and all other powers vested by these Bylaws in the governance of the territory.
No territorial License to Publish shall be revoked without due cause and a two-thirds majority vote of both Houses of the Territorial Governing Body. No fees or levies shall be imposed on the profits of any territory. No preference shall be given at the Territory's website toward content of one provider over that of another, except those preferences and ratings expressed by the Territory's website users.
No territory shall enter into any alliance, confederation, letters of intent or agreement with any third party that would bind any other territory without prior written consent of all territories involved including the consent of the governing bodies of both the pertinent Countrywide Chronicles and Worldwide Chronicles.
Article II
Section 1.
In recognition of the considerable investment made by the Publisher in obtaining the License to Publish from the World Chronicles Licensing Body, the executive power shall be vested in said Publisher. The Publisher shall hold office during the term of the Publisher's License to Publish and shall appoint an Associate Publisher to serve a term of the Publisher's choosing.
No person shall be granted a License to Publish who shall not have attained to the age of twenty-one years, and been an inhabitant for a minimum of three years of that territory for which the License to Publish is issued. No person can continue to function as Publisher who does not maintain a primary residence within the licensed territory.
In case of the impeachment of the Publisher and removal from office, or the death of the Publisher, resignation, or inability to discharge the powers and duties of the said office, the same shall devolve on the Associate Publisher, until the World Chronicles Licensing Body or its proxy shall appoint a new Publisher. In the case of removal, resignation, death, or inability of both the Publisher and Associate Publisher, the World Chronicles Licensing Body shall declare what officer shall then act as Publisher and Associate Publisher, and such officers shall act accordingly.
Before engaging in the activities of the office, the Publisher shall take the following oath or affirmation: "I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully execute the office of Publisher of the Territory, I will employ all the resources of the Territory toward Non Partisan Pursuit of Truth® in news gathering and reporting, and will to the best of my ability, preserve, protect and defend the Bylaws of the Territory."
Section 2.
The Publisher, as the Chief Executive Officer of the entity holding the Territorial License to Publish shall appoint and remove all Senior Executives.
The Publisher shall have power to fill up all vacancies that may happen during the recess of the Territorial Governing Body, by granting commissions which shall expire at the end of their next session.
Section 3.
At least once a year the Publisher shall give to both Houses of the Territorial Governing Body information about the Territory's Non Partisan Pursuit Of Truth® in news gathering and reporting, and recommend to their consideration such content creation and revenue plans as the Publisher shall judge necessary and expedient; s/he may, on extraordinary occasions, convene both Houses, or either of them, and in case of disagreement between them, with respect to the time of adjournment, s/he may adjourn them to such time as s/he shall think proper.
The Publisher shall receive Publishers of other Territories, Countrywide Publishers and the World Chronicles Publisher or their emissaries. The Publisher shall maintain cordial relations and function as an "ambassador-at-large" with civic, corporate, governmental, and religious leaders within the Publisher's territory. The Publisher shall take care that the Terms of the License to Publish are faithfully executed.
Section 4.
The Publisher or Associate Publisher of the territory, shall be removed from office on impeachment for, and conviction of, lack of fealty to Non Partisan Pursuit of Truth® in news gathering and reporting, crimes against the laws of the democratically elected state or country wherein the territory resides, intentional breach of the Terms of the License to Publish or other high crimes and misdemeanors.
Article III
Section 1.
The adjudicating power of the Territory shall be vested in the Board of Directors and in such subordinated Committees as the Territorial Governing Body may from time to time ordain and establish. The Board and any subordinated Committee shall consist of two members chosen by the House of Representatives, two members chosen by the Senate, two members chosen by the Publisher and a seventh member chosen by the first six members of the Board or, where applicable the subordinated Committee.
Board Members shall hold their offices during good behavior, and shall, at stated times, receive for their services, a compensation to be determined by a majority vote of the territory's registered users and paid out of the financial resources of the territory.
Section 2.
The adjudicating power shall extend to all cases governing the issuance of Sub-licenses to Publish within the territory, to controversies between two or more sub-licensees, to controversies between two or more registered users and to contracts and agreements made, or which shall be made, under the authority of the Territorial License to Publish.
The evaluation of all offenses, except in cases of impeachment, shall be by a jury of not less than seven registered users of the territory. Such evaluation shall be held in the territory where the said offenses are alleged to have been committed; but when the territory of commission of said offenses cannot be determined, the evaluation shall be at such place or places selected by the Territorial Governing Body which uncovered said offenses.
Section 3.
Betrayal of the tenets of the Territory's License to Publish shall consist of willfully obstructing Non Partisan Pursuit of Truth® or knowingly giving aid and comfort to those engaged in promoting or fomenting untruths.
No person shall be convicted of betrayal unless on the testimony of two witnesses to the same overt act, or upon public confession. The Houses of the Territorial Governing Body shall have power to declare the punishment of betrayal.
Article IV
Section 1.
It is expressly understood any territory may link to the content of another territory at no cost providing the source territory is given attribution. When a territory wishes to display content natively at its territorial website, it must give full faith, credit and a reuse fee to any content creator who has elcted to store said content in the ChroNewsRoom Repository. The price of content created by one territory and featured at another territory's domain is subject to negotiation between the parties involved. Any territory that willfully violates the intellectual property rights of any content creator is subject to fine(s), impeachment of the Publisher, or both.
Section 2.
The registered users of each territory shall be entitled to all privileges and resources of registered users in the several territories.
A person charged in any territory with betrayal, felony, or other crimes, who has been barred from registration and use of content from one territory shall be so barred from all territories.
Section 3.
New Sub-licensed Publishers may be licensed by the Territorial Publisher to publish within the territory using the Chronicles platform. No new territories or sub-licensees shall be formed or erected within the jurisdiction of any other territory; nor any territory be formed by the junction of two or more territories, or parts of territories, without the consent of the Territorial Governing Bodies of the territories concerned as well as consent of the World Chronicles Governing Body.
Section 4.
The Territorial Publisher shall guarantee to every Sub-licensee full and unfretted access to the Chronicles publishing tools and platform.
Article V
The Territorial Governing Body, whenever two thirds of both houses shall deem it necessary, shall propose amendments to these Bylaws. Alternatively, on the application of two thirds of the territory's registered users, the Territorial Governing Body shall call a convention for proposing amendments, which, in either case, shall be valid to all intents and purposes, as part of these Bylaws, when ratified by affirmative vote of three fourths of the territory's registered users.
Article VI
All debts contracted and engagements entered into, before the ratification of these Bylaws, shall be as valid against the Territory under these Bylaws after ratification
These Bylaws and any modifications which shall be made in pursuance thereof shall be the supreme bylaws of the Territory; and the Board Members of the Territory shall be bound thereby, anything in these Bylaws or laws of any Territory to the contrary notwithstanding.
The Senators, Representatives, Publisher and all Executives and Board Members of the Territory before mentioned, shall be bound by oath or affirmation to support these Bylaws; but no religious test shall ever be required as a qualification to any office or public trust under the Territory.
Article VII
The ratification of these Bylaws by a majority vote of the territory's registered users once the total number of registered users reaches ten thousand shall be sufficient for the establishment of these Bylaws. Until such ratification, the Territory shall operate as if these Bylaws had been ratified.
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