NationStates | Dispatch | URA Recommendation: Vote AGAINST "Equal Justice Under Law"

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by The Federation of URA World Assembly Affairs. 2 years 255 days ago. 276 reads.

URA Recommendation: Vote AGAINST "Equal Justice Under Law"

URA World Assembly Recommendation

Equal Justice Under Law

Cognizant of the recently repealed GAR #374 “The Rule Of Law” that mandated liability and responsibility for the actions and decisions of government officials and institutions of member nations before the law,

Adamant to restore the principles of the rule of law in a manner that truly embodies the spirit of this noble ideal, so as to ensure that this fundamental component of governance will stand firm on pillars of fairness and justice, and will ward off both arbitrary or discriminatory punishment,

The General Assembly hereby:

Defines "legislative immunity" as immunity from prosecution or litigation for actions conducted in the context of legitimate legislative activity such as the casting of votes or the debating of legislation,
Establishes that all private and public individuals, officials, entities, and institutions, as well as the state itself and its administrative and political subdivisions are to be held accountable for the acts and decisions that have been made during the employ, tenure, appointment or existence of the aforementioned. Such accountability shall be under either the national, regional, and/or local laws of member states, where applicable, as well as under any guidelines and/or disciplinary measures that may be in use by a particular organization,
Requires that all member nations have the principles of the supremacy of the law and accountability to the law enshrined in the highest form of their national law,
Clarifies that:
1. member states may extend legislative immunity to individuals empowered to conduct legislative activity; and that
2. officials or institutions empowered to do so may carry out acts of clemency such as pardons and commutations, provided that such acts comply with extant or future General Assembly legislation and the spirit of this resolution.

Co-authored with Greater Cesnica.

This General Assembly resolution was written by Daarwyrth and Greater Cesnica to reinforce the rule of law. You can find the forum thread here.

The United Regions Alliance recommends that you vote AGAINST the resolution

This resolution, in support of the principles of the rule of law, requires all individuals and institutions to be held accountable for any actions they take based on all applicable laws in their jurisdiction. Member states are also required to "have the principles of the supremacy of the law and accountability to the law enshrined" in their law. Lastly, this resolution allows the extension of legislative immunity to anyone responsible for conducting "legislative activity" and the issuing of clemency towards people or institutions. The Alliance takes issue with the wording of the final clause of this resolution. Allowing full legal immunity for those involved with vaguely defined "legislative activity" simply enshrines the protection of corrupt politicians under the law. Additionally, lobbying organizations (such as corporations, powerful private individuals, etc.) could be considered to conduct legislative activity, thereby extending such immunity to them as well. For that reason, the URA cannot support this resolution.

The following comments were given on the Link URA Discord server:

Sonindia voting member Quinceria wrote,

Quinceria wrote:

Ah yes. I’m sure this one would never be abused by politicians. Giving people with legislative powers legal immunity will not only allow but breed corruption. Furthermore, the lack of definition of people who participate in legislative activity means that people who aren’t politicians but instead pressure groups which can range from charities to corporations to terrorist groups as an argument can be made that all of these pressure politicians and so do participate in legislative activity.

Mariner Trench voting member Calamari lands wrote,

Calamari lands wrote:

Wouldn't reasonable nation theory apply to this? I've seen it mentioned with other resolutions and it'd mean that the WA relies on nations to interpret it in ways that wouldn't go against their interests. And I'm pretty sure legislative immunity is pretty vital to keep democracy working so that a political faction doesn't exploit the law against their opponents.

Lands End voting member TESDAI asked,

TESDAI wrote:

Wouldn't the political faction in power be the one's that interpret the WA laws, and therefore be the ones exploiting the laws?

To which Mariner Trench voting member Calamari lands replied,

Calamari lands wrote:

I mean exploiting the law in cases like incriminating the opposition of something, which can be done... if they don't have legal immunity. If they do, then they can't be incriminated with the law for political purposes. And as for the "applying it to pressure groups", that's where the reasonable nation argument comes in. Yes, the faction in power is the one interpreting the law, and assuming that they're reasonable and won't work against their own interests, they won't make the definition apply to everything that was mentioned. That way legal immunity is guaranteed so there is no exploitation in that sense, and being reasonable makes it so the definition isn't applied super broadly. I think that makes sense.

Internal voting results

Turnout: 19/26 members
Weighted turnout: 88.15%