General Assembly Q&A

[Garyopolis]

And I believe that I am in violation of GA#438, because of a capital punishment decision I made long ago. Am I in trouble, until I get an issue where I can repeal it?

[Separatist Peoples]

And I believe that I am in violation of GA#438, because of a capital punishment decision I made long ago. Am I in trouble, until I get an issue where I can repeal it?

You're fine. Issues and the GA are unrelated other than sharing the statistical effects of the game code. There is no out of character punishment for choosing issues that contradict WA law. There may be nations that are upset with you In Character, but you didnt break any rules.

[The World Capitalist Confederation]

Is it legal to have a "series" of resolutions? Of course, each one would be standalone and make little reference to each other (and only make abstract references, rather than saying it as though it were approved), but each one would say something similar to

"International Convention on Examples Article 1"
"International Convention on Examples Article 2"

And so on..They would all be part of one coherent thing, but are standalone and can survive without each other, so the rest of the series would be fine if you got rid of, say, articles 1 and 3.

EDIT: The most illegal thing that might happen is the same organisation being used for more than one of them, but what will happen is this clause

"If the Example Committee of the International Convention on Examples does not exist by any prior act, then it shall be established by this act, with the following responsibilities..."

It would be put on every single one, as to ensure that the organisation would exist without the existence of all but one of the resolution series.

[Bananaistan]

Is it legal to have a "series" of resolutions? Of course, each one would be standalone and make little reference to each other (and only make abstract references, rather than saying it as though it were approved), but each one would say something similar to

"International Convention on Examples Article 1"
"International Convention on Examples Article 2"

And so on..They would all be part of one coherent thing, but are standalone and can survive without each other, so the rest of the series would be fine if you got rid of, say, articles 1 and 3.

EDIT: The most illegal thing that might happen is the same organisation being used for more than one of them, but what will happen is this clause

"If the Example Committee of the International Convention on Examples does not exist by any prior act, then it shall be established by this act, with the following responsibilities..."

It would be put on every single one, as to ensure that the organisation would exist without the existence of all but one of the resolution series.

We can't rule on hypothetical questions but it wouldn't be too hard to word them legally and it has been done before. See for example GAR#217, 218 and 219/, or the "rules of war" resolutions that Separatist Peoples wrote. The key rule to watch out for is House of Cards. One resolution cannot rely on another but you seem to heading that way anyway.

Regarding your edit. It is common practice to reuse committees, and once set up in an existing unrepealed resolution, it doesn't need to be reestablished. So say your first resolution establishes the "Apartment Department". The next can just say that x, y & z additional tasks are assigned to it without the "if it doesn't exist, it's established now" bit.

[The World Capitalist Confederation]

Is it legal to have a "series" of resolutions? Of course, each one would be standalone and make little reference to each other (and only make abstract references, rather than saying it as though it were approved), but each one would say something similar to

"International Convention on Examples Article 1"
"International Convention on Examples Article 2"

And so on..They would all be part of one coherent thing, but are standalone and can survive without each other, so the rest of the series would be fine if you got rid of, say, articles 1 and 3.

EDIT: The most illegal thing that might happen is the same organisation being used for more than one of them, but what will happen is this clause

"If the Example Committee of the International Convention on Examples does not exist by any prior act, then it shall be established by this act, with the following responsibilities..."

It would be put on every single one, as to ensure that the organisation would exist without the existence of all but one of the resolution series.

We can't rule on hypothetical questions but it wouldn't be too hard to word them legally and it has been done before. See for example GAR#217, 218 and 219/, or the "rules of war" resolutions that Separatist Peoples wrote. The key rule to watch out for is House of Cards. One resolution cannot rely on another but you seem to heading that way anyway.

Regarding your edit. It is common practice to reuse committees.

Oh, thank you. I was planning to draft 3-5 proposals on trade using the same committee. Some of them might be a bit controversial whilst others passed by a supermajority (tariffs vs fire standards, for example), so I decided to split them up to ensure that the less controversial ones get passed anyway.

[Imperium Anglorum]

Post them here. We have an existing set of legislation on tariffs other trade related things. They might be duplicatory or contradictory.

[The World Capitalist Confederation]

Past them here. We have an existing set of legislation on tariffs other trade related things. They might be duplicatory or contradictory.

I haven't done the meat yet. The first one will mostly be setting maximum tariffs, depending on industry and then with a bunch of exemptions such as trade sanctions, embargoes, etc...

[Imperium Anglorum]

viewtopic.php?f=9&t=30&p=10556924&hilit=Auralia+trade#p10556924

[Araraukar]

Past them here. We have an existing set of legislation on tariffs other trade related things. They might be duplicatory or contradictory.

I haven't done the meat yet. The first one will mostly be setting maximum tariffs, depending on industry and then with a bunch of exemptions such as trade sanctions, embargoes, etc...

If and when you do write them up, post them in their own threads (one proposal per thread), not this Q&A one. Also, read through the passed resolutions, they're collected in a single searcheable thread on this forum.

[Verdant Haven]

How stringent is the rule "Proposals must use understandable English" when it comes to determining legality? Just curious, as four out of the five presently submitted and "legal" proposals are such butcheries of the language that they lack all meaning. The words are real, and one can generally figure out what the author probably intended to say, but between dropped words, incorrect usages, homophones, and missing possessives, these really aren't meaningful English.

I realize it would take a miracle for any of them to achieve quorum, and an even greater miracle for any of them to receive a positive vote. As such, I don't want to waste anybody's time posting them to the illegal resolutions thread if this wouldn't actually be sufficient basis for flagging them as illegal.

[Separatist Peoples]

How stringent is the rule "Proposals must use understandable English" when it comes to determining legality? Just curious, as four out of the five presently submitted and "legal" proposals are such butcheries of the language that they lack all meaning. The words are real, and one can generally figure out what the author probably intended to say, but between dropped words, incorrect usages, homophones, and missing possessives, these really aren't meaningful English.

I realize it would take a miracle for any of them to achieve quorum, and an even greater miracle for any of them to receive a positive vote. As such, I don't want to waste anybody's time posting them to the illegal resolutions thread if this wouldn't actually be sufficient basis for flagging them as illegal.

If we can parse a meaning, it's ok. If it's in another language, not ok. Bad grammar gets a pretty broad pass because we dont want the game to be de jure inaccessible to most non native speakers.

[The World Capitalist Confederation]

https://forum.nationstates.net/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=30&p=10556924&hilit=Auralia+trade#p10556924

It mostly defines a % of maximum tariffs, so it works.

[Civitas Libertad]

Does the World Assembly have any rules relating to child soldiers?
What are they?

[Civitas Libertad]

Do any laws regulate working conditions and/or pay?

[Denathor]

Does the World Assembly have any rules relating to child soldiers?
What are they?

Yep.

[Tinhampton]

Does the World Assembly have any rules relating to child soldiers?
What are they?

Thou shalt not use them.

Do any laws regulate working conditions and/or pay?

A lot of them: GA#7 <<< this one especially!, GA#23, GA#43, GA#108(!), GA#179 (only regulating prostitutes), GA#302 (née HR#175), GA#344.
See also GA#35, where "unfair and unreasonable discrimination, on the grounds outlined in clause c) of article 1 of this resolution, in private employment... shall be prohibited by all member states."

---

Please refer to the pinned RexisQuexis before you ask such questions next time.

[Civitas Libertad]

Does the World Assembly have any rules relating to child soldiers?
What are they?

Yep.

Ok. With regards “armed conflict” we comply with the letter though arguably not the spirit of that.

Still we need to completely overhaul the fast-food, retail, hospitality and mass-production industries.

Do full-time apprenticeships as a replacement for middle-school violate the “don’t interfere with education” clause?

[Civitas Libertad]

Does the World Assembly have any rules relating to child soldiers?
What are they?

Thou shalt not use them.

Do any laws regulate working conditions and/or pay?

A lot of them: GA#7 <<< this one especially!, GA#23, GA#43, GA#108(!), GA#179 (only regulating prostitutes), GA#302 (née HR#175), GA#344.
See also GA#35, where "unfair and unreasonable discrimination, on the grounds outlined in clause c) of article 1 of this resolution, in private employment... shall be prohibited by all member states."

---

Please refer to the pinned RexisQuexis before you ask such questions next time.

Well now we need to complete overhaul the economy.
We don’t have slaves and we regulate prostitution, that’s more or less all of those we follow.

[Civitas Libertad]

Are there any WA laws about:

1. People signing a contract legally obliging them to work for the next 7 years?

2. People having to either pay taxes or be in the military to vote?

3. Child marriage (but both parties are over the age of consent)?

4. Classist laws?

5. Having a younger age for women to be in combat than men?

6. Having the school day 3 days a week in government schools so children can spend the other 4 days working?

[Civitas Libertad]

Can i have the death penalty for the following?:
Offences against the person: kidnapping, rape, forced marriage, forced prostitution, child molestation
Offences against the state: treason,
Various military offences, bribery, gangsterism
Offences against property: armed robbery

[Denathor]

1. As Tinhampton said, use the collection of passed resolutions for your questions on those topics.

2. You seem to be worried that your OOC nation doesn’t follow all the WA resolutions. This doesn’t matter, as WA resolutions are only an in-character thing. So don’t feel obligated to have all the resolutions memorized while answering issues.

[United States of Zambia]

How do I vote?

[Denathor]

How do I vote?

1. Go to the settings screen on the left side of the page and enter your email if you haven’t already.
2. Go to the link on the left side of the page labelled "World Assembly."
3. Somewhere hear the top of the page should be a button labelled "join the World Assembly," or something similar.
4. Hit the button, follow any relevant instructions and wait for the confirmation email.
5. Follow the instructions on the confirmation email. Congratulations, you’ve just joined the WA!
6. Go back to the WA page and look for the link that says "vote now."
7. Read the resolution and press either the "vote for" or "vote against" button. You can always change or withdraw your vote later.

Hope this helps!

[Araraukar]

How do I vote?

1. Go to the settings screen on the left side of the page and enter your email if you haven’t already.
2. Go to the link on the left side of the page labelled "World Assembly."
3. Somewhere hear the top of the page should be a button labelled "join the World Assembly," or something similar.
4. Hit the button, follow any relevant instructions and wait for the confirmation email.
5. Follow the instructions on the confirmation email. Congratulations, you’ve just joined the WA!

Hope this helps!

Only do that on a non-shared device! So if you log in from library or school, or if a family member of yours on the same computer also has a WA nation, you can both get in trouble over it.

[Wallenburg]

Can i have the death penalty for the following?:
Offences against the person: kidnapping, rape, forced marriage, forced prostitution, child molestation
Offences against the state: treason,
Various military offences, bribery, gangsterism
Offences against property: armed robbery

The death penalty is currently regulated to such an extent that it cannot be applied as punishment for any crime.

Yep.

Ok. With regards “armed conflict” we comply with the letter though arguably not the spirit of that.

Still we need to completely overhaul the fast-food, retail, hospitality and mass-production industries.

Do full-time apprenticeships as a replacement for middle-school violate the “don’t interfere with education” clause?

Probably.