[DEFEATED] International Transportation Preclearance Act

[South St Maarten]

Hello all, attached is the second draft for a General Assembly Resolution. Comments would be much appreciated. Thanks! - SSM

International Transportation Preclearance Act
A resolution to reduce barriers to free trade and commerce.

Category: Free Trade

Strength: Mild

Proposed by: The Constitutional Monarchy of South St Maarten

---

The World Assembly,

Understanding that many nations share international land, sea, and air routes, however, passengers of cross-border vehicles of transport often have to deal with wasting time at long queues at border control stations before arriving at their destination,

Believing that in some instances, international tourism and business could significantly increase between nations if the time crossing international borders was decreased,

Acknowledging that - by going through border clearance in the nation of departure, rather than the nation of arrival - passengers in such vehicles can be treated as domestic passengers upon entering the nation of arrival; saving time not only for those passengers by allowing them to bypass border control upon arrival in such nation, but also for passengers of other vehicles who can now utilize less congested border control facilities that are not being utilized by passengers who use preclearance stations, and

Realizing that preclearance stations could be useful to many member nations and believing that legislation regarding preclearance stations could be beneficial to such nations, hereby:

1. Defines a preclearance station as a zone in an airport, airfield, train station, port, or harbor where passengers traveling to another nation can be processed and admitted into that nation before physically arriving there;
2. Clarifies the distinction between:
   
   1. a preclearance station (which is wholly located inside the nation of departure), and
   2. a border control station (which is either located on the border of two independent nations or in the nation of arrival in the case of airports)
3. Rules that preclearance stations must only be used on routes that travel directly between two independent nations;
4. Clarifies the following:
   
   1. preclearance stations are not required between all member nations that share an international land, sea, or air route;
   2. if two member nations that do share an international land, sea, or air route agree to open preclearance stations on that route, they are under no obligation to open preclearance stations on all such routes that they share;
   3. the decision of a member nation to open a preclearance station in another member nation is an agreement between those two members;
   4. both nations are required to collaborate and adhere to each other's border control policies;
5. Requires that once a specific passenger has passed through the preclearance station for a foreign nation, that passenger is no longer required to go through border control upon arriving at that specific foreign nation;
6. Declares that, on an international route with a preclearance station where all passengers have been cleared, the vehicle of transport shall be empowered to stop at any international or domestic port located in the nation for which that preclearance station has been designated, and its passengers must be treated as if they were domestic passengers;
7. Acknowledges that many direct international routes between two nations have multiple stops in each of those nations, and thereby rules that:
   
   1. The preclearance station must be located at the endmost stop in a nation before entering the nation that the preclearance station is for;
   2. The vehicle of transport, once departed from the airport, airfield, train station, port, or harbor that the preclearance station is located at, must travel directly to the nation that the preclearance station has been designated for without stopping, pardoning a medical, mechanical, or political emergency;
8. Asserts that if either the host nation of a preclearance station or the nation of which that station is designated for sincerely desires the closure of that station, it shall be done as soon as possible;
9. Encourages member nations to open preclearance stations with other nations that they are eligible to open such stations with, in the interest of improving convenience for the patrons of international routes and in an effort to further diplomatic ties between member nations

The World Assembly,

Understanding that many nations share international land, sea, and air routes, however, passengers of cross-border vehicles of transport often have to deal with long queues at border control stations before arriving at their destination,

Believing that in some instances, international tourism and business could increase between nations if the time crossing international borders was decreased,

Acknowledging that - by going through border clearance in the nation of departure, rather than the nation of arrival - passengers in such vehicles can be treated as domestic passengers upon entering the nation of arrival; saving time not only for those passengers by allowing them to bypass border control upon arrival in such nation, but also for passengers of other vehicles who can now utilize less congested border control facilities that are not being utilized by passengers who use preclearance stations, and

Realizing that preclearance stations could be useful to many member nations and believing that legislation regarding preclearance stations could be beneficial to such nations, hereby:

1. Defines a preclearance station (or facility) as an area in an airport, airfield, train station, port, or harbor where passengers traveling to another nation can be processed and admitted into that nation before physically arriving there;
2. Rules that preclearance stations must only be used on routes that travel directly between two independent nations;
3. Clarifies the following:
   
   1. preclearance stations are not required between all member nations that share an international land, sea, or air route;
   2. if two member nations that do share an international land, sea, or air route agree to open preclearance stations on that route, they are under no obligation to open preclearance stations on all such routes that they share;
   3. the decision of a member nation to open a preclearance station in another member nation is an agreement between those two members;
   4. both nations are required to collaborate and adhere to each other's border control policies;
4. Requires that once a specific passenger has passed through the preclearance facilities for a foreign nation, that passenger is no longer required to go through border control upon arriving at that specific foreign nation;
5. Declares that, on an international route with a preclearance station where all passengers have been precleared, the vehicle of transport shall be empowered to stop at any international port located in the nation for which that preclearance station has been designated, and its passengers must be treated as if they were domestic passengers;
6. Acknowledges that many direct international routes between two nations have multiple stops in each of those nations, and thereby rules that:
   
   1. The preclearance facility must be located at the endmost stop in a nation before entering the nation that the preclearance facility is for;
   2. The vehicle of transport, once departed from the airport, airfield, train station, port, or harbor that the preclearance facility is located at, must travel directly to the nation that the preclearance facility is for without stopping, pardoning a medical, mechanical, or political emergency;
7. Asserts that if either the host nation of a preclearance facility or the nation of which that station is designated for sincerely desires the closure of that station, it shall be done as soon as possible;
8. Encourages member nations to open preclearance stations with other nations that they are eligible to open such stations with, in the interest of improving convenience for the patrons of international routes and in an effort to further diplomatic ties between other nations

Transportation Preclearance In Member Nations
By South St Maarten
Free Trade - Mild

The World Assembly,
Understanding that many nations share international air, land, and sea routes,
Acknowledging that passengers of planes, trains, and ships are often forced to spend hours queuing in border control facilities en route or at the destination,
Expecting that tourism and business could increase between nations in specific cases if the time crossing international borders was decreased,
Considering that in some situations time-consuming border crossing stations could be eliminated in favor of preclearance stations,
Acknowledging that by going through border clearance in the nation of departure rather than the nation of arrival, passengers on a plane, train, or ship can be treated as domestic passengers once entering the nation of arrival, and in doing so saves time for the passengers of said plane, train, or ship by allowing them to bypass border control upon arrival, saves time for passengers of other international flights, trains, or ships by allowing them to use less congested border control facilities as the precleared passengers of other flights, trains, or ships will not go through them, and allows international routes to terminate at non-international terminals after going through preclearance,
Realizing that preclearance stations could be useful to many member nations, hereby:
1. Defines a preclearance station (or facility) as an area in an airport, airfield, train station, port, or harbor where passengers traveling to another nation can be processed and admitted into that nation before physically being there;
2. Requires that preclearance facilities can only be used on routes that travel directly between two independent nations;
3. States that preclearance facilities are not required between all World Assembly nations that share an international air, land, or sea route;
a. Additionally, World Assembly nations that share multiple international air, land, or sea route that do agree to open a preclearance facility do not have to open preclearance facilities at all departure points for all international routes;
4. Recognizes that the decision of a World Assembly nation to open a preclearance facility in another World Assembly nation is an agreement between the two such nations and they must collaborate and follow one another's border control policies;
5. Certifies that once a specific passenger has passed through the preclearance facilities for a foreign nation, that passenger is no longer required to go through border control upon arriving at that specific foreign nation;
6. Acknowledges that many international routes, particularly regarding trains and ships, have multiple stops in each of the two nations, and thereby rules that
a. The preclearance facility must be located at the last stop in a nation before entering the nation that the preclearance facility is for and
b. The vehicle of transport, once departed from the airport, airfield, train station, port, or harbor that the preclearance facility is located at, must travel directly to the nation that the preclearance facility is for without stopping, pardoning an emergency;
7. Certifies that international routes whose passengers have been precleared are eligible to land/stop/dock at national and international airports/train stations/ports, and are to be treated as domestic passengers;
8. Affirms that if either the host nation of a preclearance facility or the nation that the preclearance facility is for wishes it to be removed, it shall be done immediately;
9. Encourages member nations which are eligible for preclearance stations with other nations to put them in place for the convenience for the patrons of international routes and in an effort to further diplomatic ties with other member nations.

[Poland-Kaliningrad]

This proposal seems valid enough to me. Well worded, and well explained. It's a smaller issue that I don't think many nations think about, and it would be a good step forward. It's got my approval.

[Tinhampton]

It apears that you have learned your lesson from submitting the Freedom of Language Act without drafting. The "list" tag (etc.) exists; please do consider this retooling of your draft (NOT A REWRITE, do not credit Tinhampton as a co-author):

International Transportation Preclearance
A resolution to reduce barriers to free trade and commerce.

Category: Free Trade

Strength: Mild

Proposed by: South St Maarten

---

Recognising not only that many nations share international land, sea, and air routes, but also that passengers of cross-border vehicles of transport often have to put up with hours-long queues at border control stations before arriving at their destination,

Believing that, on at least some occasions, international tourism could be improved and barriers to trade reduced if time-consuming border control stations were (for instance) replaced by preclearance stations,

Acknowledging that - by going through border clearance in the nation of departure, rather than the nation of arrival - passengers in such vehicles can be treated as domestic passengers upon entering the nation of arrival; saving time not only for those passengers by allowing them to bypass border control upon arrival, but also for passengers of other vehicles who can now use less congested border control facilities that are not being utilised by passengers who use preclearance stations, and

Satisfied that preclearance stations could prove sufficiently beneficial to enough World Assembly member nations to warrant its being subject to international legislation, hereby:

1. Defines a "preclearance station" as a zone in an international port where passengers travelling to another nation can be processed and admitted to that nation before physically arriving there,
2. Clarifies that:
   
   1. preclearance stations must only be used on routes that travel directly between two independent nations,
   2. preclearance stations are not required between all member nations that share an international land, sea, or air route,
   3. if two member nations that do share an international land, sea, or air route agree to open preclearance stations on that route, they are under no obligation to open preclearance stations on all such routes that they share,
   4. the decision of a member nation to open a preclearance station in another member nation is an agreement between those two members, and that they must collaborate and adhere to each other's border control policies, and
   5. if either the host nation of a preclearance station or the nation which that station is designated for sincerely desires the closure of that station, that station must be closed as soon as possible,
3. Urges member nations to open preclearance stations with other nations that they are eligible to open such stations with, in the interest of improving convenience for passengers on international routes and diplomatic relations between other nations,
4. Requires that - once a specific passenger in a particular nation has passed through a preclearance station designated for another nation - such a passenger be treated as exempt from undergoing border control checks upon arriving at that other nation,
5. Declares that, on an international route with a preclearance station where all passengers have been precleared, the vehicle of transport shall be empowered to stop at any international port located in the nation for which that preclearance station has been designated, and its passengers must be treated as if they were domestic passengers, and
6. Mandates that, in light of the reality that many direct international routes between two nations have multiple stops in each of those nations:
   
   1. a preclearance station be located at the last stop in the host nation before entering the nation which that station is designated for, and
   2. once it departs the international port that the preclearance station is located in, the vehicle of transport travel directly to the nation which that station is designated for without stopping, unless a medical, mechanical, or political emergency arises.

[South St Maarten]

It apears that you have learned your lesson from submitting the Freedom of Language Act without drafting. The "list" tag (etc.) exists; please do consider this retooling of your draft (NOT A REWRITE, do not credit Tinhampton as a co-author):

(Image)
International Transportation Preclearance
A resolution to reduce barriers to free trade and commerce.

Category: Free Trade

Strength: Mild

Proposed by: South St Maarten

---

Recognising not only that many nations share international land, sea, and air routes, but also that passengers of cross-border vehicles of transport often have to put up with hours-long queues at border control stations before arriving at their destination,

Believing that, on at least some occasions, international tourism could be improved and barriers to trade reduced if time-consuming border control stations were (for instance) replaced by preclearance stations,

Acknowledging that - by going through border clearance in the nation of departure, rather than the nation of arrival - passengers in such vehicles can be treated as domestic passengers upon entering the nation of arrival; saving time not only for those passengers by allowing them to bypass border control upon arrival, but also for passengers of other vehicles who can now use less congested border control facilities that are not being utilised by passengers who use preclearance stations, and

Satisfied that preclearance stations could prove sufficiently beneficial to enough World Assembly member nations to warrant its being subject to international legislation, hereby:

1. Defines a "preclearance station" as a zone in an international port where passengers travelling to another nation can be processed and admitted to that nation before physically arriving there,
2. Clarifies that:
   
   1. preclearance stations must only be used on routes that travel directly between two independent nations,
   2. preclearance stations are not required between all member nations that share an international land, sea, or air route,
   3. if two member nations that do share an international land, sea, or air route agree to open preclearance stations on that route, they are under no obligation to open preclearance stations on all such routes that they share,
   4. the decision of a member nation to open a preclearance station in another member nation is an agreement between those two members, and that they must collaborate and adhere to each other's border control policies, and
   5. if either the host nation of a preclearance station or the nation which that station is designated for sincerely desires the closure of that station, that station must be closed as soon as possible,
3. Urges member nations to open preclearance stations with other nations that they are eligible to open such stations with, in the interest of improving convenience for passengers on international routes and diplomatic relations between other nations,
4. Requires that - once a specific passenger in a particular nation has passed through a preclearance station designated for another nation - such a passenger be treated as exempt from undergoing border control checks upon arriving at that other nation,
5. Declares that, on an international route with a preclearance station where all passengers have been precleared, the vehicle of transport shall be empowered to stop at any international port located in the nation for which that preclearance station has been designated, and its passengers must be treated as if they were domestic passengers, and
6. Mandates that, in light of the reality that many direct international routes between two nations have multiple stops in each of those nations:
   
   1. a preclearance station be located at the last stop in the host nation before entering the nation which that station is designated for, and
   2. once it departs the international port that the preclearance station is located in, the vehicle of transport travel directly to the nation which that station is designated for without stopping, unless a medical, mechanical, or political emergency arises.

... we won't talk about that act ...

But in all seriousness, thanks for the feedback. I'll be sure to incorporate some of your suggestions into the next draft I'll make.

[Araraukar]

"What have you been smoking, ambassador? How the fuck do you think that some other nation clearing passagers to leave their nation, would be equivalent of us letting them arrive in our nation? Unless they apply Araraukarian border security practices and laws, then it's entirely meaningless. Also, I don't know where you're getting this idea that our own citizens - "domestic travelers" or whatever way you put it in the text - would get free pass to sail past customs and checks, but it's most certainly not the case. As long as nations are allowed to have a say of who comes in and who doesn't, any "pre-checks" are just a waste of everyone's time, unless the same measures are applied on the leaving end as would be on the arrival, and in practice that would extend our border into the territory of a foreign nation, and vice versa, which I doubt any sensible nation is going to agree to!"

OOC: Do read the above entirely as IC from a character who was brought up to believe that her homenation is better than any poxy foreign nation, and that the draconian screening to be allowed into Araraukar even as a tourist, is entirely sensible. But that doesn't mean that the points she raises weren't accurate.

[South St Maarten]

"What have you been smoking, ambassador? How the fuck do you think that some other nation clearing passagers to leave their nation, would be equivalent of us letting them arrive in our nation? Unless they apply Araraukarian border security practices and laws, then it's entirely meaningless. Also, I don't know where you're getting this idea that our own citizens - "domestic travelers" or whatever way you put it in the text - would get free pass to sail past customs and checks, but it's most certainly not the case. As long as nations are allowed to have a say of who comes in and who doesn't, any "pre-checks" are just a waste of everyone's time, unless the same measures are applied on the leaving end as would be on the arrival, and in practice that would extend our border into the territory of a foreign nation, and vice versa, which I doubt any sensible nation is going to agree to!"

OOC: Do read the above entirely as IC from a character who was brought up to believe that her homenation is better than any poxy foreign nation, and that the draconian screening to be allowed into Araraukar even as a tourist, is entirely sensible. But that doesn't mean that the points she raises weren't accurate.

IC: It is not equivalent. But that is not what preclearance stations are for. Let us say the UK has a preclearance station for travellers to the USA in London. The preclearance station there would be controlled by the USA, not UK. Therefore, when passengers pass through that station they have already been cleared by the US's border control and therefore, by definition, are to be treated as if they passed through the home nation's border control (because they did)

[WayNeacTia]

"This has potential."

Wayne

[Araraukar]

"Like I said, it would equal expanding our border into their territory, and vice versa."

[Tinfect]

"This legislation is patently unnecessary; Member-States are free to make such agreements on their own terms, and there is simply no need for the World Assembly to interfere with such arrangements."

[South St Maarten]

A second draft has been posted. Again, would appreciate any further comments or concerns with the resolution.

Thanks,
SSM

[Tinhampton]

You use the terms "preclearance station" and "preclearance facility" interchangeably. Is there any reason why you could not just pick one term and stick to it?

[South St Maarten]

You use the terms "preclearance station" and "preclearance facility" interchangeably. Is there any reason why you could not just pick one term and stick to it?

Fair, it would probably be easier and eliminate the explanation. I'll change it in the next draft

[Araraukar]

OOC: Definition currently encompasses many RL bordercrossing places, since they're meant to sort you out on the border, before you physically enter the nation. (Such places usually have a "no-man's land" border zone between the adjacent nations' official borders.)

[South St Maarten]

OOC: Definition currently encompasses many RL bordercrossing places, since they're meant to sort you out on the border, before you physically enter the nation. (Such places usually have a "no-man's land" border zone between the adjacent nations' official borders.)

Understood, will edit.

[South St Maarten]

OOC: Definition currently encompasses many RL bordercrossing places, since they're meant to sort you out on the border, before you physically enter the nation. (Such places usually have a "no-man's land" border zone between the adjacent nations' official borders.)

Just checking, did the new version address the concern you brought to my attention?

[South St Maarten]

Hello Everyone,

The third version of the draft has been posted, I plan to submit it next week if there are no further comments. Thanks to all who commented and helped me out with it.

My best,
SSM

[Araraukar]

I plan to submit it next week

OOC: Time limits are bad. "Next week" is just a couple of days away. Not everyone logs on during weekends. Or not log on during weekends. Some people might log in once a week. Also, there's this thing called COVID-19 pandemia going on in RL that's causing RL eating people's time and energy in various ways, so they might be slow to react to GA drafts.

"Patience, grasshopper, patience."

[South St Maarten]

Proposal Submitted soon.

[Kenmoria]

“To me, the ‘understanding’ clause seems unnecessarily trivial. Long queues are hardly a reason for an international law to be passed. Consider replacing it with a more serious or wider-scope impact, or just stating that this results in wasted time.”

[Sierra Lyricalia]

Proposal Submitted soon.

OOC: ...and by "soon" you meant "immediately."

In Clause 7(b) I don't know why you didn't just say "barring an emergency." Listing specific types of emergency can be counterproductive. For example, the lack of "weather emergency" as a reason to divert means that the resulting mechanical emergency might not happen until it's too late to save the vehicle. Whereas if any type of emergency is fair grounds for diversion, pilots and traffic controllers have the flexibility to save lives.

[South St Maarten]

Proposal Submitted soon.

OOC: ...and by "soon" you meant "immediately."

In Clause 7(b) I don't know why you didn't just say "barring an emergency." Listing specific types of emergency can be counterproductive. For example, the lack of "weather emergency" as a reason to divert means that the resulting mechanical emergency might not happen until it's too late to save the vehicle. Whereas if any type of emergency is fair grounds for diversion, pilots and traffic controllers have the flexibility to save lives.

“To me, the ‘understanding’ clause seems unnecessarily trivial. Long queues are hardly a reason for an international law to be passed. Consider replacing it with a more serious or wider-scope impact, or just stating that this results in wasted time.”

Fair points. I wasn't planning to do this, but both are valid comments. So I'm going to take it down and edit it before putting it back up. Thanks again.

[Bananaistan]

OOC: How does this proposal strike down barriers to trade etc?

[South St Maarten]

OOC: How does this proposal strike down barriers to trade etc?

Alas, it doesn't fit the bill exactly, however, "Free Trade" and "mild" were what I and others I consulted felt was the most appropriate one. There isn't exactly a border control regarding passenger transportation section :-p

[WayNeacTia]

OOC: How does this proposal strike down barriers to trade etc?

Right here:

Requires that once a specific passenger has passed through the preclearance station for a foreign nation, that passenger is no longer required to go through border control upon arriving at that specific foreign nation;

Seeing as how they don't have to wait in line a customs upon arrival they are free to spend their currency in a foreign nation. Also business people will be able to conduct their "business" faster and thus it it likely that multinational business arrangements can be conducted with further expedience as they do not have to wait in line at customs.

[South St Maarten]

OOC: How does this proposal strike down barriers to trade etc?

Right here:

Requires that once a specific passenger has passed through the preclearance station for a foreign nation, that passenger is no longer required to go through border control upon arriving at that specific foreign nation;

Seeing as how they don't have to wait in line a customs upon arrival they are free to spend their currency in a foreign nation. Also business people will be able to conduct their "business" faster and thus it it likely that multinational business arrangements can be conducted with further expedience as they do not have to wait in line at customs.

Precisely ^