Established in Galactic Standard Year 20.0017 for the purpose of providing a deliberative venue between operators of trade routes and lanes, commercial hubs, and trade stations across the Galaxy, the Interstellar Trade Cooperative is a neutral, deliberative, supranational organization which seeks to broker legal regulatory regimes and trade-oriented diplomacy between nation-states and other, pertinent entities. To this end, the Interstellar Trade Cooperative (ITC) functions as an independent body, free from political machinations of its constituent membership, while simultaneously serving as a deliberative forum for international trade legation and discussion, aiming to maximize consumer confidence and security with regard to trade routes and lanes, ensure ease-of-access to markets and commercial complexes, and serve as a live registrar of functioning merchant stations.
Organization
The Interstellar Trade Cooperative is divided into three interdependent bodies: the Board of Trustees, Trade Assembly, and the Trade Network Directorate. Each body is comprised of elected, ruled-independent individuals from constituent states serving to uphold the auspices of the Cooperative and ensure continued functioning of its services and provisions - to the exclusion of the Trade Network Directorate.
Board of Trustees
Consisting of seven elected trustees drawn from the Trade Assembly, the Board of Trustees functions as the directorial executive of the Interstellar Trade Cooperative, ensuring the day-to-day functioning and upkeep is maintained efficiently and efficaciously. The Trustees function on a simple majority system, enacting executive policies as-required while executing the will of the Trade Assembly and its commercial resolutions regarding conduct, registration, and all mercantile affairs regarding registered trade lanes, complexes and stations. Trustees are elected once every two Galactic Standard Years.
The current membership of the Board of Trustees is as follows: Sytte Ranishi (Chairwoman of the Board, Solarian), Grayven Thorley (Terran), Desirina Rurett (Solarian), Aivor Hennam (Solarian), Riylen Tekar (Solarian), Vionola Baihl (Terran), and Berun Myrrot (Solarian).
- OOC: The Board of Trustees is an entirely non-player character entity, and constitutes characters yielded to the original poster (OP) account, Interstellar Trade Cooperative. It is a "lore" council that merely serves to provide In Character support to the actual functioning governance of the Cooperative: the Trade Assembly.
Comprising trade legations and delegates sent as representatives of the Interstellar Trade Cooperative's constituents, the Trade Assembly serves as the judicial and legislative backbone of the Cooperative. Charged with arbitration and making informed resolutions regarding the Cooperative jurisdiction, the Trade Assembly's actual membership fluctuates based upon current constituent entities. Working under the basis of a simple majority at all times (with single-vote apportion for legations), the Trade Assembly allows not only for resolutions regarding the functioning of the Cooperative, but also serves as the chief forum for arbitration between constituent members and their respective delegations - acting as a multilateral point of review for bi- and multilateral discussions regarding commerce and trade and their associated properties.
The current interim Speaker of the Trade Assembly is Brandar Halliard (Solarian), pending the election of a new Speaker.
- OOC: The Trade Assembly is where the bulk of both In Character and (off stage) Out of Character activities are conducted, in terms of roleplay, by the members of the Interstellar Trade Cooperative. It's thread is currently a work-in-progress and will be linked in the primary navigation once completed (above). The Speaker of the Trade Assembly is a player character elected by the Cooperative's members.
The Interstellar Trade Cooperative requires a considerable bureaucracy to support its services - chiefly maintaining adequate information regarding trade lanes and routes, commercial hubs, and trade stations. To that end, the Trade Network Directorate serves as the role of maintaining such information as accurate and safe for public consumption, as well as fulfilling secretarial roles for both the Board of Trustees and, primarily, the Trade Assembly. To this end, constituents often house Directorate offices within their localities, each inter-linked with the Cooperatives broad intranet (which, in turn, is utilized to provide GalNet-ready information and up-to-date navigation credentials and assessments to merchants and commercial pilots across the Galaxy).
Appointed by the Board of Trustees, the current Director is Roruzan Marcedaiji (Terran).
- OOC: Aside from Trade Assembly delegates, the Trade Network Directorate is the primary draw from which members of the Cooperative may draw characters. It is to be assumed that, as a member, your trade lane, commerce hub, or trade station houses an office or bureau dedicated to the Trade Network Directorate.
By-Laws and Resolutions
- Constituent members shall consist of national entities which have at least one established trade lane or route which otherwise transits interstellar space, one established commercial hub, or one established trade station or trade network. Constituent members must, further, be engaged in interstellar, international trade and commerce.
- Constituent members shall have the right to a single vote in the Trade Assembly, and may send a delegation consisting of no less than three members, and no more than ten members, during any quorum. General delegations to the Interstellar Trade Network have no maximum limit outside of the Trade Assembly quorum call.
- Constituent members shall have the right to petition for a resolution to be voted upon by the Trade Assembly following a second by another constituent member's delegation. If no second is provided, said proposed resolution is killed on the floor. A simple majority is required to pass any resolution.
- Constituent members shall have the right to press for a vote of no confidence in the Speaker of the Trade Assembly following special procedures. A vote of no confidence may only succeed if seconded and if the vote receives a super-majority (to be considered sixty-six percent [66%] or greater) of the delegates present for quorum.
- Constituent members shall have the right to press for grievances and judicial proceedings through the Trade Assembly, to include bi- and multilateral arbitration during trade disputes or in the event there is potential evidence for a violation of the Interstellar Trade Cooperative's by-laws.
- Constituent members shall have the right to vote for members of the Board of Trustees as candidates drawn from the Trade Assembly. In the event a candidate is the primary delegate of a constituent's legation, said constituent shall have the right to replace said delegate.
- Constituent members shall have the right to vote for a Speaker of the Trade Assembly, based upon a system of nomination and simple acceptance. Voting will be conducted initially based upon plurality of the top two candidates; following such, a simple majority vote is to be held.
- Members of the Board of Trustees shall have the right to elect their own Chair and to appoint a Director of the Trade Network Directorate.
Resolutions - None...
Out of Character - The Interstellar Trade Cooperative, in an Out of Character capacity, functions based upon consensus, not the In Character votes of the Trade Assembly. This is why the Board of Trustees is an entirely non-player character entity. The original poster (OP) fundamentally reserves the right to conduct and change the nature and characteristics of the Cooperative. This division between Out of Character and In Character behavior is paramount.
- The Interstellar Trade Cooperative by-laws are a product of collaboration between its members and resolutions passed In Character. Changes deemed extraordinary to the by-laws by the OP account may be added as-needed.
- Understand the by-laws are largely for lore and "fluff."
- For an application to be accepted, the potential member must have means to establish that their trade route or lane, commercial hub, or trade station(s) exist In character. This may be provided in the form of a post, thread, or factbook entry, or otherwise any on-site proof as to the existence thereof.
- For a potential member to be accepted, Out of Character consensus as to their application must be achieved; absolute final say as to acceptance or rejection shall be vested in the OP account. If a potential member is accepted, having met such criteria, their nation's name is added to the "Constituents" listing, and their commercial asset(s) to the "Networked Locales" roster.
Application
National entities which seek to become a constituent of the Interstellar Trade Network must provide, completed, the following application to the nearest Trade Network Directorate office for processing. Processing may take time, up to ten Galactic Standard days, for the application to be reviewed and determined for consistency, adherence to the Interstellar Trade Cooperative's founding principles, and other legalities pertinent to interstellar commerce. An incomplete or faulty application is a valid consideration for its immediate rejection.
- Code: Select all
[blocktext][box][align=center][size=130][b][color=#004455][i]Interstellar Trade Cooperation Constituent Application[/i][/color][/b][/size][/align][hr][/hr][b]Official Name of Applying National Entity:[/b]
[b]Link to Flag:[/b]
[b]Economic System:[/b]
[b]Commercial Assets:[/b][list][*][i]Name and links must be provided for each. This can include trade routes/lanes, commercial hubs, and trade stations or station networks. Remove this disclaimer upon completion of application.[/i][/list]
[b]Primary Commercial Services/Goods:[/b][list][*][i]No less than three must be listed. Remove this disclaimer upon completion of application.[/i][/list]
[b]Trade Delegation:[/b][list][*][i]No less than three characters must be listed, along with their species and nation of origin. Remove this disclaimer upon completion of application.[/i][/list][/box][/blocktext]
Constituents
- Interstellar Trade Cooperative (Non-Player Character Account)
- Imperial Star Republic of Vocenae
- Imperial and Federal Union of States
- United Star Empire of Valinon
- The Serukta Sehkrisaal
- The Celestial Empire of the Faelanic Quietude
Networked Locales
- Offices of the Trade Network Directorate (ITC)
- Liu Xiu Special Economic Zone
- Twin Eagles Trade Corridor
- Port St. Maurice
- The Parthas Economic Zone
- The Pale Stars Trade Corridor
- The Northwest Passage
- Na'vasarai Trade Station Network
- Kha'resh Na'vasarai Trade Hub
- Lanthe Route
(Addendum) - Eucer Corridor
- Imperial Wormhole Network (IWN)