The Charter of the Cupertino Alliance, 2021
Statues of the Cupertino Alliance, 2021 Published by Authority Written by Carson Snyder, Superior Judge
Based on the 2020 edition written by Jayden Lycon Edited by Tyler Mullins, Daniel Hamilton, and Charles Burgardt
Copyright Statement The Cupertino Alliance Printer holds copyright on behalf of the Government of the Cupertino Alliance and her member states. The Cupertino Alliance Printer permits any person to reproduce this act without asking for permission and without charge, under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (CC BY-SA 4.0). You will be required to attribute the author, for which the name of the author is:
CARSON SNYDER, SUPERIOR JUDGE OF THE CUPERTINO ALLIANCE
Preamble Adapted works The following items have been adapted into or have inspired the contents of this document, listed is the item name, author, and what portion of this document it affected:
“The Charter of the Cupertino Alliance, 2020” by Jayden Lycon, entire document. “Chair Veto Act” by Logan Ross, §9.1. “Fair Voting Act” by Tyler Mullins, §26. “Urgent Proposal Act” by Jayden Lycon, §27.3.1 & §27.4.1. “Parliamentary and Legislative Procedures Act, 2021” by Sertor Valentinus, §27.4. “Amendment to Public Viewing of Sessions” by Jayden Lycon, §33. “Campaign Behavior Act” by Tyler Mullins, §46 “Amendment to the Safeguarding Act” by Dhrubajyoti Roy, §60.
Multiple amendments included in The Charter of the Cupertino Alliance, 2020 by various authors also served as a basis for this document.
Citation This act may be referred to as any of the following names:
“Charter Act, 2021” “Charter Act (Cupertino Alliance), 2021” “Charter of the Cupertino Alliance, 2021” “The Charter of the Cupertino Alliance, 2021”
Chapter 1 - Membership
§1 Article 1 The following requirements and statuses are to be met in order for a nation to join and be part of the Cupertino Alliance in any status:
The ratification of this document, the Charter of the Cupertino Alliance, 2021, by the nation. A present constitution or other document outlining the systems and procedures of the government of the nation. A present and occupied government administering the nation. A stable government which has proven itself to be, and seems to continue being, enduring. A government and citizenry who do not pose a safeguarding risk or other risk towards members of the Cupertino Alliance. Be a nation not under the control of or authority of another nation or entity. Must not be in a war or major conflict with any other member state. At least one available and willing representative to act as a delegate for the nation.
§2 Article 2 No applicant nor delegate may engage in a deal for any support, oppose, or abstain vote for any political incentives, monetary or physical gains, or coerced actions.
§3 Article 3 No applicant nor delegate may engage in harassment within any staff in the Cupertino Alliance in regard to membership voting.
§4 Article 4 If, by any chance, the Ministry of Membership Attainment deems that a nation has already applied for an application too recently, may reject the application. This requires that over two (2) applications were sent during a period of two (2) months, with each time the Ministry did not see any significant improvement during the two (2) applications. This can be overturned with a fifty-one percent (51%) majority vote in Parliament. Though, a rejected member state can reapply anytime in a reasonable matter.
§5 Article 5 There will be varying degrees of membership of which a nation may hold within the Cupertino Alliance, which must be as follows:
Observership Provisional membership Full membership
§6 Article 6 Observership will be a degree of membership to allow nations a certain amount of association with the Cupertino Alliance while not seeking full membership.
§6.1 Nations holding observership in the Cupertino Alliance, also called observer nations, must be permitted to have two delegates to the Cupertino Alliance Parliament. Observer nations must not hold voting rights in the Cupertino Alliance outside of instanced procedural motions relating to parliamentary processes such as ending a session early, removing a delegate from the session, or moving on to another agenda topic. Observer nations must not be automatically permitted to participate in Cupertino Alliance programs, Observer nations must rather only be permitted into programs specified by the Cupertino Alliance Parliament.
§6.2 Nations who seek to be observers will need to petition the Chair of the Cupertino Alliance to join as observers, and upon confirmation for eligibility by both the Chair and the Safeguarding Officer be granted the membership. The Cupertino Alliance Parliament will be able to rescind a nation’s observership by a majority vote of Parliament, and that nation will not be able to petition for observership again for a period of sixty days.
§6.3 Nations holding full membership or provisional membership in the Cupertino Alliance may, by requesting such of the Chair of the Cupertino Alliance, have their membership status changed to that of an observer.
§6.4 Observer nations that have held their observership in good standing for at least ninety days and meet the requirements to hold provisional membership must, upon meeting the requirements to apply for provisional membership, be automatically granted provisional membership upon formal petition of the Chair of the Cupertino Alliance to acquire such status via a chairmanship order with the signature of the Safeguarding Officer. The Chair of the Cupertino Alliance may grant the petition or reject the petition with rationale through Chair order, upon which the petitioning nation may apply for provisional membership through the Cupertino Alliance Parliament.
§7 Article 7 Provisional membership will be a degree of membership for nations who are seeking to gain full membership in the Cupertino Alliance.
§7.1 Nations holding provisional membership, also known as provisional members, must be permitted to have, at most, three delegates to the Cupertino Alliance Parliament. Provisional members must not hold voting rights in the Cupertino Alliance outside of instanced procedural motions relating to parliamentary processes, such as ending a session early, removing a delegate from the session, or moving on to another agenda topic. Provisional members must not be automatically permitted to participate in Cupertino Alliance programs, provisional members must rather only be permitted into programs specified by the Cupertino Alliance Parliament.
§8 Article 8 Upon holding provisional membership in good standing for at least twenty-eight days, attending at least two sessions of the Cupertino Alliance Parliament, and receiving a sponsorship of a full member during a session, nations may apply for a membership upgrade through an application form made by the Ministry of Membership Attainment.
§8.1
Should a nation be eligible to apply for a membership upgrade for a week without applying for one, the Ministry of Membership Attainment must notify a delegate of the nation to have their nation apply for a membership upgrade. Should the nation not apply for membership upgrade or provide sufficient reason for delay to the Ministry’s satisfaction after ten days of receiving the notification, the nation may have their membership status changed to holding observership.
§9 Article 9 Nations applying for any level of membership or a membership upgrade within the Cupertino Alliance must complete an appropriate application form made by the Ministry of Membership Attainment which, to the satisfaction of the Cupertino Alliance Parliament, collects relevant information, under the judgment of the Cupertino Alliance Parliament and Ministry of Membership Attainment, pertaining to determining whether or not a nation is suitable for membership or membership upgrade.
§9.1 Should an applying nation be found to not be suitable, beyond a shadow of a doubt, for their desired membership status or membership upgrade, the Chair of the Cupertino Alliance may unilaterally decline the bid through Chair order which can then be overturned by means described in §40.3.2 or can be challenged by the affected applying party in the Superior Court.
§10 Article 10 Nations, upon applying for any level of membership or a membership upgrade, must be deliberated upon by the Cupertino Alliance Parliament in no fewer than one session for each region in the Cupertino Alliance.
§11 Article 11 Upon conclusion of deliberation, membership applications and upgrades must be put to be voted upon by all eligible delegates of the Cupertino Alliance Parliament for no less than seventy-two hours, or three days.
§11.1 Eligible delegates will be able to vote either “in favor” or “against” or “abstain” in a vote for the admittance of a nation for membership. Should the vote finish with a majority voting “in favor”, the nation must be admitted as a member at the degree they applied for, and should the vote finish with a majority voting “against”, the nation must not be admitted as a member.
§11.1.1 Should a nation not be admitted to the Cupertino Alliance as a member they may reapply for membership in the Cupertino Alliance under the same stipulations as a new member as long as thirty days have passed since their expulsion or denial and as long as the Ministry of Membership Attainment believes the reason they had been originally declined membership has been properly addressed and rectified.
§11.2 Eligible delegates must be able to vote either “promote” or “retain” or “abstain” in a vote for the upgrade of a nation to full membership. Should the vote finish with a majority voting “promote” the nation must be promoted to full membership in the Cupertino Alliance, and should the vote finish with a majority voting “retain”, the nation must remain with provisional membership.
§11.2.1 Should a nation be retained with provisional membership, the nation must be eligible to reapply for a membership upgrade thirty days after the conclusion of their most recent membership upgrade vote.
§11.2.2 Should a nation not seek to retain their provisional membership, they may request the Ministry of Membership Attainment to have their membership status changed to holding observership.
§12 Article 12 Nations must be liable to lose their membership status automatically, by order of the Chair of the Cupertino Alliance and approval of the Superior Court, should the nation meet any of the following criteria:
Not having any delegates to the Cupertino Alliance for an extended period, no less than seven days. Not attending any sessions of the Cupertino Alliance Parliament for an extended period of time, missing no more than six sessions out of the last ten hosted of regions for which the nation in question has a delegate assigned. Having been dissolved as a nation or absorbed into another nation. Becoming part of or a subsidiary of another nation or entity in which the independence of the nation is lost. No longer meeting the criteria for being a member of the Cupertino Alliance listed in §1
§12.1 The Chair of the Cupertino Alliance must be required to notify the nation of their loss of membership and the delegates of the Alliance as a whole.
§13 Article 13 The Cupertino Alliance Parliament must hold the authority to expel a nation as a member of the Cupertino Alliance for any reason.
§13.1 Should the Parliament seek to expel a nation as a member, the delegates seeking to expel a nation must bring forward a justification for the expulsion of the nation in question to be presented to and deliberated upon by the Cupertino Alliance Parliament in no fewer than one session for each region in the Cupertino Alliance.
§13.1.1 Upon conclusion of deliberation expulsion votes must be be voted upon by all eligible delegates of the Cupertino Alliance Parliament for no less than seventy-two hours, or three days. Eligible delegates must be able to vote either “expel” or “retain” or “abstain” in a vote for the expulsion of a nation from membership. Should the vote finish with a majority voting “expel”, the nation must be removed as a member of the Cupertino Alliance, and should the vote finish with a majority voting “retain”, the nation must not be removed as a member.
§13.2 Should a nation be recommended for expulsion and not be expelled, the nation in question must be exempt to being expelled from or be deliberated on being expelled from the Cupertino Alliance by the Cupertino Alliance Parliament for a period of no more than thirty days.
§13.2.1 Nations must still be liable to be expelled automatically by the Chair of the Cupertino Alliance as outlined in §12.
§14 Article 14 Nations that are expelled from the Cupertino Alliance may reapply for membership in the Cupertino Alliance under the same stipulations as a new member as long as thirty days have passed since their expulsion and as long as the Ministry of Membership Attainment believes the reason they had been expelled has been properly address and rectified.
§15 Article 15 Nations must hold the sovereign authority to, through their own legitimate legal processes, withdraw from the Cupertino Alliance as a member upon notifying the Ministry of Membership Attainment.
§15.1 Nations that withdraw from the Cupertino Alliance must be eligible to reapply for membership in the Cupertino Alliance after a period of thirty days after their withdraw is recognized.
§15.1.1 Nations that withdraw from the Cupertino Alliance are ineligible for the degree of membership they had when they withdrew, and will instead need to reapply under the same stipulations as a new member.
§16 Article 16 The legal successor state of a micronation that held Cupertino Alliance membership up until its dissolution may, with permission from the Ministry of Membership Attainment, the Chair of the Board, and the Superior Court, assume the obligations formerly held by said micronation as a member of the Alliance.
§16.1 If a micronation with membership splits into two or more states, none of the states may assume the seat formerly held by the member state they are succeeding; such states may apply for membership as described earlier in this chapter. Micronations that secede from a member state that has not dissolved are ineligible for automatic membership.
Chapter 2 - Delegates
§17 Article 17 Delegates are the legal representatives of member nations to the Cupertino Alliance Parliament.
§17.1 The head of state, head of government, government, and primary delegate of nations must have the authority to appoint or remove delegates of their own nation. The Minister of Membership Attainment must be made aware of any changes to delegations.
§18 Article 18 A delegate may be relieved of their duties at any time by any reason by A head of state of their member nation; A head of government of their member nation; The government of their member nation; The primary delegate of their member nation; Seventy percent (70%) supermajority vote of the Cupertino Parliament; Chair order with the agreement of the Superior Judge upon a valid violation of this Charter or other Cupertino Alliance document.
§19 Article 19 To be a delegate, an individual must meet the following requirements or prerequisites:
Be a citizen of the member nation they will be representing. Be capable of independent sentient thought and consciousness comparable to that of a human. Not pose a safeguarding risk or other risk towards members of the Cupertino Alliance. Agree to the requirements and statues of this document and other legislation of the Cupertino Alliance. Not already be a delegate for another nation within the Cupertino Alliance. Be at least 13 years of age. Have a Discord account older than one (1) month old.
The Chair of the Board with approval from the Superior Judge may deny a member nation to appoint a delegate for violations of these reasons.
§20 Article 20 Delegates must reserve the independent right to resign as a delegate for their nation in the Cupertino Alliance.
§21 Article 21 Delegates will be defined as being delegates in multiple degrees.
§21.1
Delegates for nations holding observership in the Cupertino Alliance will be considered observer delegates.
§21.2 Delegates for nations holding provisional membership in the Cupertino Alliance will be considered provisional delegates.
§21.3 Delegates for nations holding full membership in the Cupertino Alliance will be split into holding three further degrees, primary, secondary, and tertiary delegates under the umbrella of being full delegates. For which delegate holds what degree must be defined by the nation they act as a delegate for.
§22 Article 22 Delegates must be placed in one region of parliament of the Cupertino Alliance either by basis of their residency or their own personal request.
§23 Article 23 Delegates may be expelled from the Cupertino Alliance as delegates by order of the Superior Court due to repeated rule violation, complaints by other delegates, violations of Cupertino Alliance legislation including this Charter, or other incidents which would place the delegate in bad standing.
§23.1 Delegates may only return to act as a delegate in the Cupertino Alliance after being expelled only with permission of the Superior Court and the Safeguarding Officer.
§23.2 Delegates may be removed by the Chair of the Board and their cabinet if a prompt removal is considered necessary, these cases will be reviewed by the Superior Court after the incident.
Chapter 3 - Parliament
§24 Article 24 The parliament of the Cupertino Alliance is to be known as the Cupertino Alliance Parliament.
§25 Article 25 All delegates to the Cupertino Alliance will be members of the Cupertino Alliance Parliament.
§26 Article 26 Each full member of the Cupertino Alliance will be granted one vote to be used by it’s delegation.
§26.1 Observers and provisional members, and by extension observer delegates and provisional delegates, will not be granted a vote in the Cupertino Alliance Parliament.
§26.2 Primary delegates for full members will be designated to submit the vote for the nation they represent.
§26.3 If a primary delegate is to be unavailable to vote for an extended period of time, the primary delegate or nation they represent may, by requesting such of the Chair of the Cupertino Alliance, have the voting delegate changed to the secondary delegate, whereas if the same scenario occurs with the secondary delegate, the secondary delegate or nation they represent may also request to the Chair that the voting delegate be changed to the tertiary delegate.
§27 Article 27 Votes will be conducted in a voting hall separate from the Cupertino Alliance Parliament and will be conducted in a way to ensure the confidentiality of how delegates voted.
§27.1 No person, except those administering a vote, will in any way gain access to or distribute how delegates voted for matters in the voting hall, and doing so will be in violation of this act.
§27.2 Votes may be presented in the voting hall by the Chair of the Cupertino Alliance, session hosts, or other appropriate ministerial staff.
§27.3
Votes will be open for at least seventy-two hours (three days).
§27.3.1 Votes considered urgent or addressing an emergency will, after petition of and approval of the Superior Court, have their voting time shortened to twenty four hours, or one day.
§27.3.1 Should a vote fail to be presented when deemed appropriate, the Superior Court may intervene and put it to vote.
§28.4 Items may not be put to vote unless they have been presented to and deliberated upon by the Cupertino Alliance Parliament in no fewer than one session for each region in the Cupertino Alliance.
§28.4.1 Votes considered urgent or addressing an emergency will, after petition of and approval of the Superior Court, have their needed discussions before being put to vote be lowered to one session of any region.
§29 Article 29 Sessions will be hosted on a regional basis, with sessions specifically catered to allow delegates from those regions to attend. Regions will be specified by the Cupertino Alliance Parliament which will be centered around geography and time zones, and every delegate must be able to belong to a region that appropriately represents their situation.
§29.1 Sessions will be available to be attended by all delegates regardless of if the session is catering to their region or not.
§30 Article 30 Each region must be considered a ministry of the Cupertino Alliance with the duty of assisting in the scheduling of sessions for the region in order to properly represent the availability of the delegates in the region and hosting sessions intended for the region.
§31 Article 31 Sessions will be hosted by ministers for the region the session is intended for. If a minister or other appropriate member of ministerial staff is unavailable, an interim delegate will be appointed by the minister of that region, Chair, or Lieutenant Chair to host the session in their place.
§31.1
Session hosts will run sessions and have the authority to open sessions, take attendance, move through agenda topics, moderate discussion, execute instanced procedural motion regarding session, remove attendees from the session due to breaches of decorum or other bad behavior, and to close sessions.
§24.2 Session hosts will have the authority to conclude sessions early if they feel an insufficient amount of people are present for a cohesive discussion to take place.
§32 Article 32 Each session will have an agenda that will include a list of items for discussion for the session it is intended for.
§32.1 Agendas will be produced before the session it will be used for takes place.
§32.2 Agendas will be permitted to be produced by the Chair of the Cupertino Alliance or another appropriate ministerial staff.
§32.3 Delegates for nations holding full membership in the Cupertino Alliance will be permitted to request items be added to the agenda.
§32.3.1 Items requested to be added to the agenda may be legislation, topics for discussion, or any other appropriate matter for the Cupertino Alliance Parliament.
§32.3.2 Items requested to be added must be added to the agenda for the next session by those producing agendas, if an item is not added to the agenda before the session begins the requesting delegate will be permitted to request that the Superior Court force the addition on the next agenda.
§32.3.3 Items requested to be added to the agenda will be on the agenda for at least one session of each region represented in the Cupertino Alliance. If an item is requested to be added to the agenda during a session, that discussion of the item, assuming it is full and available discussion, will be considered on the agenda for the region that session was intended for.
§32.3.4 Items may be declined to be added to the agenda should they be repeated items or inappropriate for the Cupertino Alliance Parliament, the decision to not add an item may be challenged in the Superior Court.
§33 Article 33 Sessions, both ongoing and concluded, must be available to be viewed by the public.
§34 Article 34 All powers not regulated or delegated to other organs of the Cupertino Alliance will be held by the Cupertino Alliance Parliament.
§34.1
This includes the ability to dismiss anyone holding a position in the Cupertino Alliance, including the Chair of the Cupertino Alliance, with an act of no confidence with seventy percent (70%) or more votes in the Cupertino Parliament. An act of no confidence can only be tabled with three signatures from separate delegates being on the act and supporting the act. If an act of no confidence passes, either the deputy to the position will come into power, or a new holder of the position will be appointed or elected following the provisions laid out in this document for those positions.
Chapter 4 - Chair of the Cupertino Alliance
§35 Article 35 The head executive of the Cupertino Alliance will be known as the Chair of the Cupertino Alliance, or, when referring to the Cupertino Alliance, colloquially as the Chair of the Board or the Chair.
§36 Article 36 The Chair of the Cupertino Alliance must be a full delegate and must not hold a position within the Cupertino Alliance other than that of a delegate during their tenure. If a Chair loses their status as a full delegate, they must have two weeks to regain such status otherwise they must resign or be removed from their position.
§36.1
If a Chair is removed for any reason, the Lieutenant Chair will become Chair until the
next chair election. If the Lieutenant Chair is unavailable to become chair, the Superior Judge will become Chair, followed by, if the Superior Judge is unavailable, the senior most cabinet member will become Chair. If no one is available to become Chair, a snap election lasting three days must be held by the Superior Court.
§37 Article 37 The Chair of the Cupertino Alliance must be an elected position.
§37.1 Any person who is eligible to be the Chair of the Cupertino Alliance must be permitted to run to be the Chair.
§38 Article 38 The Chair of the Cupertino Alliance must fulfill the following responsibilities:
Ensure the occurrence of sessions of the Cupertino Alliance Parliament. Ensure the enforcement and implementation of legislation and programs implemented by the Cupertino Alliance Parliament. Ensure the maintenance and longevity of the Cupertino Alliance.
§39 Article 39 The Chair of the Cupertino Alliance must hold powers, alongside any outlined in this and other documents, that enable them to fulfill their responsibilities as outlined in §38.
§40.1
The Chair must hold the power to veto legislation, excluding votes of no confidence and overruling of vetoes, passed by the Cupertino Alliance Parliament. These vetoes may be overruled by the Cupertino Alliance Parliament by a vote in which support to overrule the veto exceeds 75%.
§40.2 The Chair must hold the power to call extraordinary sessions of the Cupertino Alliance Parliament at necessity.
§40.3 The Chair must hold the power to issue Chair orders which will be acts that do not need to go through the Cupertino Alliance Parliament for approval.
§40.3.1 If a Chair order violates this document or other documents passed by the Cupertino Alliance Parliament it may be rescinded by the Superior Court.
§40.3.2 The Cupertino Alliance Parliament may vote to revoke any Chair order, after which, if successful through a majority vote, the Chair order may not be reissued for a period of no less than twenty-eight days.
Chapter 5 - Lieutenant Chair of the Cupertino Alliance
§41 Article 41 The Chair of the Cupertino Alliance will serve alongside the Lieutenant Chair of the Cupertino Alliance, a position which will be, when referring to the Cupertino Alliance, known colloquially as the Lieutenant Chair of the Board or the Lieutenant Chair.
§41.1 The Lieutenant Chair will be eligible to be the Chair of the Cupertino Alliance. If they lose this eligibility they must have two weeks to regain such status otherwise they must be removed from their position.
§41.2 The Lieutenant Chair will be appointed by the Chair of the Cupertino Alliance upon their assumption of the position. The intended appointee may be announced prior to the Chair’s assumption of the position. If a Lieutenant Chair is not appointed within a week of the Chair’s assumption of the position of Chair, the appointment will need to be confirmed by a positive vote of the Cupertino Alliance Parliament.
§41.2.1
If a Lieutenant Chair is removed during their tenure, their replacement will be nominated by the Chair and confirmed by the Cupertino Alliance Parliament.
§41.3 The Lieutenant Chair will seek to assist the Chair with their duties and responsibilities.
§41.4 The Lieutenant Chair will be permitted to perform, upon permission to do so by the Chair of the Cupertino Alliance, any responsibilities or powers that the Chair holds.
Chapter 6 - Chair Election Procedure and Conduct
§42 Article 42 Elections for the Chair of the Cupertino Alliance must happen twice a year and must conclude on the last Tuesday of January and July.
§43 Article 43 The Chair election must be conducted by the Superior Court in a matter deemed fit and suitable to carry out the requirements of such an election in this document. If a member of the Superior Court is participating in the election, they must not be permitted to assist in the running of the election and may have their duties pertaining to the election be filled by another individual not participating in the election at the court’s leisure.
§43.1 The voting period for Chair elections must last seventy-two hours, or three days.
§43.2 All primary delegates must be eligible to vote in the Chair election and national voting must be ensured.
§43.3 The election must be conducted using the method of instant runoff.
§43.4 Upon the conclusion of the voting period, the winner of the election will be announced by the Superior Court and the winner must take office, replacing the preceding Chair, on the last day of the month the election concluded in.
§43.4.1
If only one candidate runs for the position of Chair and nominations have closed, they must automatically be the winner of the election.
§44 Article 44 Those eligible who seek to run for Chair of the Cupertino Alliance will be permitted to announce their bid for the election four weeks before the commencement of the voting period. The period to announce a bid to run for election will close two weeks before the commencement of the voting period. Both of these events must be publicized and proper methods for aspiring candidates to announce such must be provided by the Superior Court.
§45 Article 45 There will be a three week campaigning period starting three weeks before the commencement of the voting period and ending at the conclusion of the voting period. Proper venues for campaigning will be provided by the Superior Court.
§46 Article 46 The following actions will result in penalty for the party committing the action:
Slander, defined as false statements to damage a person’s reputation, of other candidates or those involved in a campaign. Harassment, defined as aggressive pressure or intimidation, of other candidates or delegates. Bribery of any kind in exchange for benefits to a campaign, including votes. Spying, defined as secretly collecting privileged information about opposing campaigns. Any violations of the Charter Act, 2021.
§46.1
The penalties for such actions will be determined by the Superior Court, and not holding to such penalties may result in the addition of further penalties, penalties may include, but are not limited to:
Temporary or permanent suspension of the offending individual from participation in a campaign. Temporary or permanent suspension of campaigning activities of the offending campaign.
Chapter 7 - Ministries and ministers
§47 Article 47 The ministries of the Cupertino Alliance will be the main bureaucratic organs of the Cupertino Alliance. The ministries are as follows:
Ministry of American Affairs Ministry of European and African Affairs Ministry of Asian and Oceanic Affairs Ministry of Membership Attainment Ministry of Statistical Affairs Ministry of Development and Interstate Cooperation Ministry of International Cooperation Ministry of Press and Promotion Ministry of Technology
§48 Article 48 Each ministry must have a clearly defined duty and purpose to be founded by the Cupertino Alliance Parliament.
§49 Article 49 Each ministry will be headed by a minister with optional assistance from a deputy minister.
§49.1
Ministers will be appointed by the Chair of the Cupertino Alliance.
§49.1.1
Upon appointment, the minister’s appointment will be discussed by the Cupertino Alliance Parliament and have a vote confirming the appointment. If the confirmation vote fails, the minister will be recalled and not reappointed to the position for no less than twenty-eight days.
§49.1.2 Ministers must be a full delegate and may not hold a position within the Cupertino Alliance other than that of a delegate during their tenure.
§49.1.3 Ministers may be recalled unilaterally by the Chair.
§49.1.4 Ministers will seek to perform the responsibilities and duties of their ministry as defined by the Cupertino Alliance Parliament.
§49.2
Deputy ministers will be appointed by the Chair of the Cupertino Alliance or by the minister of the ministry the deputy is being appointed to.
§49.2.1 Upon appointment, the deputy minister’s appointment will be discussed by the Cupertino Alliance Parliament and have a vote confirming the appointment. If the confirmation vote fails, the deputy minister will be recalled and not reappointed to the position for no less than twenty-eight days.
§49.2.2
Deputy ministers will be eligible to be a minister as described in §49.1.2.
§49.2.3
Deputy ministers may be recalled unilaterally by the Chair or by the minister of the ministry the deputy minister is serving in.
§49.2.4
Deputy ministers will seek to assist the minister of their ministry with their duties and responsibilities.
§49.2.5 Deputy ministers will be permitted to perform, upon permission to do so by the Chair of the Cupertino Alliance or the minister affected, any responsibilities or powers that the minister of their ministry holds.
§50 Article 50 Ministerial orders will be issued by ministries which will be acts relating to the issuing ministry’s duties that do not need to go through the Cupertino Alliance Parliament for approval.
§50.1 If a Ministerial order violates this document or other documents passed by the Cupertino Alliance Parliament it may be rescinded by the Superior Court.
§50.2 The Cupertino Alliance Parliament may vote to revoke any Ministerial order, after which, if successful, the Ministerial order may not be reissued for a period of no less than twenty-eight days unless significant amendments have been made.
§50.3 All Ministerial orders will be approved by the minister of the ministry issuing the order.
Chapter 8 - Superior Court
§51 Article 51 The Superior Court will be the superior judicial organ of the Cupertino Alliance.
§52 Article 52 The Superior Court will be independent and not liable to interference of other bodies of the Cupertino Alliance including the Cupertino Alliance Parliament and Chair of the Cupertino Alliance.
§53 Article 53 The Superior Court must consist of one Superior Judge and two Associate Justices.
§53.1
The Superior Judge will be nominated by the Chair of the Cupertino Alliance and approved by the Cupertino Alliance Parliament.
§53.1.1 The Superior Judge will be a full delegate and must not hold a position within the Cupertino Alliance other than that of a delegate during their tenure as Superior Judge.
§53.1.2 If a Superior Judge is not nominated within a week of the Chair’s assumption of the position of Chair, the Cupertino Alliance Parliament will nominate a Superior Judge in the Chair’s place.
§53.2 The Associate Justices will be nominated by the Superior Judge after their confirmation and approved by the Cupertino Alliance Parliament.
§53.2.1 The Associate Justices must be eligible to serve as Superior Judge as described in §53.1.1.
§53.2.2 If any of the required two Associate Justices are not nominated within a week of the Superior Judge’s assumption of the position of Superior Judge, the Cupertino Alliance Parliament will nominate the vacant Associate Justice positions in the Superior Judge’s place.
§54 Article 54 The Superior Court will be available to act as an available neutral mediation body open to any Cupertino Alliance member nation.
§55 Article 55 The Superior Court must enforce or ensure the enforcement of this document and any amendments to it.
§56 Article 56 The Superior Court will be led by the Superior Judge.
§57 Article 57 The Superior Court must make any decisions through a majority vote of the Superior Judge and Associate Justices. Any decisions made, upon request, will require justification by the Superior Court.
§58 Article 58 The Superior Court will be responsible to interpret this document and settle any disputes regarding the intended functions of it.
§59 Article 59 The Superior Court must hold the power to call extraordinary sessions of the Cupertino Alliance Parliament at necessity.
Chapter 9 - Safeguarding Officer
§60 Article 60 The position of Safeguarding Officer will be considered a non-ministerial position which works with the Superior Court.
§60.1
The Safeguarding Officer will be nominated by the Superior Court and approved by the Chair of the Cupertino Alliance
§60.1.1 The Safeguarding Officer must be a full delegate and must not hold a position within the Cupertino Alliance other than that of a delegate during their tenure. Further, the Safeguarding Officer must be over the age of eighteen, considered suitable to determine safeguarding risks, and not pose the potential to intentionally overlook or themselves be a safeguarding risk.
§60.2
The Safeguarding Officer must ensure a suitable environment for all people in the Cupertino Alliance at all times, including monitoring of Cupertino Alliance members to ensure such an environment is maintained and safeguarding risks are not present in the server.
§60.3 For particularly egregious individuals which pose a safeguarding risk, or any other justifiable reason relating to ensuring the safety of Cupertino Alliance members, the Safeguarding Officer may unilaterally ban individuals from the Cupertino Alliance, an act which will be reviewed by the Superior Court.
§60.4 The Safeguarding Officer must provide an anonymous and confidential grievances system for the purpose of allowing members to independently report potential safeguarding risks or other issues.
Chapter 10 - Amendments
§61 Article 61 The Cupertino Alliance Parliament will be responsible for proposing and approving any amendments to this document.
§62 Article 62 Amendment proposals to this document will be liable to veto by the Chair of the Cupertino Alliance under all stipulations listed in §40.1.
§63 Article 63 Any amendments to this document will be, as soon as ratified, codified and added to this document by the Superior Court. The text of any changed sections will not remain in this document.
§64 Article 64 If an amendment creates a contradiction in this document, the Superior Court may reject the amendment and send it back to the Cupertino Alliance Parliament with note to what issue caused the rejection.
§65 Article 65 For a period of no less than sixty days, beginning immediately upon the ratification of this document by the Cupertino Alliance Parliament, the Superior Judge is permitted to make unrestricted changes to this document with the stipulation that delegates be informed of all changes, other than grammatical changes.
Chapter 11 - Miscellaneous provisions
§66 Article 66 Any current ministries and legislation that does not contradict this document at the time of the ratification of this document will be considered retained under this document.
§67 Article 67 Those holding positions at the time of the ratification of this document, such as the Chair of the Cupertino Alliance and Superior Judge, will retain their positions under this document.
§68 Article 68 The server owner of the Cupertino Alliance Discord server will be a separate independent account made solely to own the Cupertino Alliance Discord server, this will be under the management of the Cupertino Printer and must only be accessed to transfer the role of Chair of the Cupertino Alliance.
§69 Article 69 The Cupertino Printer will be responsible for producing and licensing official documents, logos, and other materials, issued by the Cupertino Alliance and must hold copyright of Cupertino Alliance documents on behalf of the Cupertino Alliance and it’s member states. Upon dissolution of the Cupertino Alliance, all copyrights will be returned to the material’s original creator.
§70 Article 70 Any observers of the Cupertino Alliance under the previous charter must, upon ratification of this document, be asked if they wish to gain observership or provisional membership, a request of which will be granted by the Chair of the Cupertino Alliance.
§71 Article 71 The rules of the Cupertino Alliance Discord server as listed in the Cupertino Alliance Discord server at the time of the ratification of this document will be retained and will be considered under the jurisdiction of the Cupertino Alliance Parliament going forward.
§72 Article 72 Any positions in the Cupertino Alliance must be able to be resigned from by the holder of the position.
§73 Article 73 The Cupertino Alliance may legally be dissolved by a vote of the Cupertino Alliance Parliament with a majority at least eighty percent being in favor of the dissolution or will be automatically dissolved when all member states have ceased being member states.
Chapter 12 - Ratification
§74 Article 74 This document must be ratified by a majority vote of the Cupertino Alliance Parliament.
§75 Article 75 Upon ratification of this document, “The Charter of the Cupertino Alliance, 2020” and the legislation listed below will be considered repealed, and null and void.
Amendment VIII (2nd Chairmanship Elections) Amendment VI (Act to Amend Chapter 1) Amendment to Public Viewing of Sessions Amendment to the Safeguarding Act, 2021 Amendment XI (Observer Delegates) Amendment XII (LGBTQ+ recognition) An Act to Establish the Office of the Prime Minister Amendment VII (Bir Tawil - Marie Byrd) Cabinet Reorganization Act Campaign Behavior Act Chair Veto Act Charter of the Cupertino Alliance, 2020 Cupertino Charter plan 2021 Amendment X (Deputy Ministerial) Fair Voting Act Amendment IV (Judicial Confidence) Amendment IX (Lundenwic) Membership (Reorganization) Act Ministerial Amendment Act Parliamentary Rights II Parliamentary Rights Procedures for Membership Attainment to the Cupertino Alliance Safeguarding Act Session Speaker Appointment Act, 2021 Standing Committee on the 2021 Revitalization of the Charter Act Urgent Proposal Act
§76 Article 76 This Charter shall have the supreme legal force of the Cupertino Alliance. Laws and other instruments of state bodies shall be promulgated on the basis of, and in accordance with, the Charter. Where there is a discrepancy between a law and the Charter, the Charter shall apply.