The entire text of the Constitution of the Republic of Melonia is printed below. To make sure you have the absolute latest version, however, compare the date listed on this page with the official Google Docs document.

Written August 16, 2022. Last amended November 11, 2022.

PREAMBLE

We, the people of Melonia, hereby establish a free, independent, and sovereign state that shall be known as the Republic of Melonia. It shall be based on the principles of democracy, justice, and equality. The Melonian people recognize the inherent dignity and worth of every individual, and pledge to create a just and compassionate society in which all can reach their fullest potential. The Republic of Melonia shall have a semi-presidential system of government, and its Constitution shall be the supreme law of the land, upheld by all citizens and officials.

ARTICLE I — Establishment of the Republic of Melonia

SECTION I — National Sovereignty

Clause I - The Republic of Melonia, which may be referred to as simply Melonia, shall be a sovereign abstract nation controlled by the government of the Republic of Melonia.

Clause II - The Republic of Melonia shall be able to declare war, make peace, and enter into treaties and alliances with other abstract nations. An abstract nation is any online group who governs itself similar to an actual nation. It will usually have an online multiplayer video game that the group belonging to that nation plays together. In the case of the Republic of Melonia, that game is Minecraft.

Clause III - The Republic of Melonia shall have a treasury, and it shall be able to own, collect, and distribute properties and assets akin to an organization.

SECTION II — National Symbols

Clause I - The national flag of the Republic of Melonia shall be a white cross and roundel over a lime background.

Clause II - The seal of the President of the Republic of Melonia shall be a white cross and roundel over a lime and red background. The left side of the background will be lime, and the right side of the background will be red, split vertically along the halfway point.

Clause III - The national language of the Republic of Melonia shall be Melonyc. It shall also be an official language. The President of the Republic of Melonia may establish other languages as official languages as well.

ARTICLE II — Land, Ocean, and Lower Governments

SECTION I — National Land

Clause I - All land and ocean in all dimensions of the Melonian world shall belong to the Republic of Melonia, except for all land owned by foreign colonies, or specified to not belong to the Republic of Melonia by treaty or law.

SECTION II — Cities

Clause I - A city is defined as a geographical area with citizens and internal infrastructure that is handled by a government within the borders of the Republic of Melonia.

Clause II - The Republic of Melonia will have a capital city. This city will be determined by Parliament and approved by the President, and may be changed later by a majority vote in Parliament and no veto. This city will also be directly ruled by the Republic of Melonia, and will not have a lower government.

Clause III - If multiple cities border each other, their borders will be defined by the area enclosed within signs stating that the territory inside of the area belongs to the city. These signs are required to be at most 7 blocks apart, except for where there is a river, lake, or ocean.

SECTION III — Lower Governments

Clause I - In order for a city to exist legitimately in the Republic of Melonia, it must have a separate government, consisting of, at the very least, a Mayor and a treasury. This lower government must respect and obey all laws in the greater Republic of Melonia, but may establish city ordinances that only apply in its city. These city ordinances may be overridden by the Parliament of the Republic.

SECTION IV — City Funding

Clause I - Cities in the Republic of Melonia are required to receive at least 32 Melings per month of funding, the actual amount per city being determined by the Executive Branch.

Clause II - Cities in the Republic of Melonia may impose taxes on their citizens that are separate from the taxes imposed by the Republic.

ARTICLE III — Executive Branch

SECTION I — Overview of the Executive Branch

Clause I - The Executive Branch will contain an elected President and their appointed positions, which are the Prime Minister, and by extension, the Cabinet of Ministers. Ministers will be appointed by the Prime Minister, and then approved by a majority vote in Parliament, and an approval or rejection by the President.

SECTION II — President

Clause I - The President of the Republic of Melonia is the head of state. It is the duty of the President to command the military, handle foreign affairs, and host national ceremonies. They appoint Judges and the Prime Minister, and approve the Prime Minister’s nominees for the Cabinet.

Clause II - “Line of Succession Clause” - If the President is determined to be not active (i.e. not able to perform their duties for 5 days) in order to do their duties, their powers will be transferred to the Prime Minister, and if the Prime Minister is determined to be not active in order to take the Presidential powers, those powers will be transferred to the Ministers, in order of appointment. If none of the Ministers are determined to be active in order to take the Presidential powers, those powers will be transferred to the Speaker of the Parliament. If there is still no-one to take the Presidential powers, all government activities will be paused until somebody can take the Presidential powers.

Clause III - The President can write executive orders to the Cabinet. These orders direct the Cabinet on a specific situation and require them to act in a certain manner. If a party feels that the executive order violates this Constitution or any enacted laws, they may sue the Republic of Melonia for violating such laws. Judges have the power to overrule executive orders if they truly violate the Constitution or any enacted laws.

Clause IV - After Parliament has voted on a bill, the President must approve or veto the bill in 7 days time. If the President fails to do so in time, the bill will automatically be vetoed.

Clause V - When bills are passed by the Parliament and approved by the President, the Executive Branch must begin enforcing the law in 7 days time. If the Executive Branch fails to enforce a law after 7 days' time, they can be sued by any party to be required to enforce a law.

Clause VI - If the President feels the need to resign, they should write a formal statement of resignation, sign it, and release it to the Melonian public. From there, the Prime Minister would take over the President’s duties and be named Acting President until a special election for President is called, in which the previous President is banned from being a candidate. If the Prime Minister is unable to do so, the Presidential duties would be passed down the line of succession as described in the Line of Succession Clause (Art. III, Sec. II, Cl. II).

SECTION III — Prime Minister

Clause I - The Prime Minister is nominated by the President and approved by the Parliament with a majority vote. The Prime Minister nominates Ministers for the President to approve or deny, and oversees the Cabinet of Ministers.

Clause II - The Prime Minister is responsible for overseeing the execution of the significant tasks of the Executive Branch, such as, but not limited to, tax collection, law enforcement, budgeting, etc.

Clause III - If the Prime Minister feels the need to resign, they should write a formal statement of resignation, sign it, and release it to the Melonian public. From there, the President would take over the Prime Minister’s duties and be named Acting Prime Minister. The President is then required to make a new nomination for Prime Minister for Parliament to approve with a majority vote. If the President is unable to take on the Prime Minister’s duties, the duties would be passed down the line of succession as described in the Line of Succession Clause (Art. III, Sec. II, Cl. II).

SECTION IV — Cabinet of Ministers

Clause I - Ministers are nominated by the Prime Minister and approved by the President. Minister nominees may not be members of the Executive Branch, but they may be members of the legislative branch or the judiciary branch.

Clause II - Ministers are responsible for leading a subset of the Executive Branch’s execution of the laws. This Ministry would be determined by the Prime Minister before the appointment is made. Ministers may hire workers to do the jobs required by each ministry.

Clause III - If a Minister feels the need to resign, they should write a formal statement of resignation, sign it, and release it to the Melonian public. From there, the Prime Minister would oversee their Ministry until they nominate a new Minister and that person is approved by the President.

SECTION V — Powers of this Branch

Clause I - All members of the Executive Branch have the authority to make arrests, carry fines, impose taxes, and enforce laws.

Clause II - The President has the authority to overrule the orders of the military, pardon criminals, and veto bills written by Parliament.

Clause III - The Prime Minister has the authority to create and dissolve Ministries.

SECTION VI — Emergency Powers

Clause I - The President, whenever they feel it is necessary, may declare a state of emergency, which gives the Executive Branch emergency powers for the duration of the state of emergency.

Clause II - While emergency powers are in effect, the President may approve or veto bills before Parliament votes on the bill. Elections will be delayed until the end of the emergency.

Clause III - If a state of emergency is called in the case of war or civil unrest, the Executive Branch may suspend Article XI of this Constitution if they deem it necessary. Civil court cases will also only require one Judge on their panel.

Clause IV - A state of emergency’s maximum duration is 4 days. After 4 days have passed, the President would have to renew the state of emergency in order to maintain emergency powers.

Clause V - Parliament may end a state of emergency with a two-thirds supermajority vote on the measure.

ARTICLE IV — Legislative Branch

SECTION I — Overview of the Legislative Branch

Clause I - The Legislative Branch will contain the Parliament, which consists of a number of Members of Parliament who will vote among themselves on bills and measures that will be passed, at which point the President will either approve or veto the passed law or measure. For a law or measure to be passed, it needs to be approved by a majority of Parliament. If a tie occurs during this vote, the Speaker of Parliament will cast a tie-breaking vote.

Clause II - There will be one Member of Parliament per five citizens of Melonia, not including the Speaker of Parliament, with an overall minimum of two Parliament members for all of Melonia. If the population increases or decreases, the number of Parliament members will not be adjusted until the following election.

SECTION II — Members of Parliament

Clause I - The Members of Parliament are elected by the citizens of the district that they represent. Their duty is to vote on bills and measures and are expected, but not required, to write bills.

SECTION III — Speaker of Parliament

Clause I - The Speaker of Parliament is elected by all citizens of the Republic of Melonia, and their duty is to lead Parliament meetings, keep the meetings orderly as per the Rules of Parliament, and cast tie-breaking votes.

SECTION IV — Powers of Parliament

Clause I - If the President vetoes a law or measure, Parliament may override the veto by voting with a two-thirds supermajority to start a referendum, in which citizens will be asked to cast their votes on whether or not the law or measure shall be passed. In an event where the citizens’ vote ties, the law or measure will not be passed.

Clause II - Currently enacted laws may be removed or amended by Parliament. If there is a majority vote to alter a law, and the President does not veto the measure, the law will no longer legally apply, it will be archived in the case of a complete removal, and either a replacement law or the lack thereof will be instituted in its place.

Clause III - Parliament may choose to impeach the incumbent President. To do this, they must vote with a two-thirds supermajority, and if that measure is passed by Parliament, then a referendum will begin. If citizens vote with a majority to impeach the President, they will then be removed from office, their powers will be transferred to the Prime Minister as described in the Line of Succession Clause (Art. III, Sec. II, Cl. II), and a special election for President will be called, in which the previous President is banned from being a candidate.

Clause IV - Parliament may choose to hold a vote of no confidence against the Prime Minister. To do this, they must vote with a majority, and if that measure is passed by Parliament, they will then be removed from office, and their powers will be transferred to the first appointed Minister as described in the Line of Succession Clause (Art. III, Sec. II, Cl. II) until a new candidate is confirmed. The President must nominate a new candidate for Prime Minister, in which the previous Prime Minister is banned from being picked for the nomination. The nominee then has to be approved by Parliament with a majority vote.

Clause V - Parliament may choose to hold a vote of no confidence against any Cabinet Minister. To do this, they must vote with a majority, and if that measure is passed by Parliament, they will then be removed from office, and their powers will be held by the Prime Minister until a new candidate is nominated. The Prime Minister may nominate a new candidate for that Cabinet’s Minister, in which the previous Minister is banned from being a nomination. The nominee then has to be approved by Parliament with a majority vote.

Clause VI - Parliament may vote to impeach a Judge. They must have a majority to pass the measure, and the President cannot veto this measure. Upon a Judge being impeached, the President is then obligated to nominate a new Judge in their place, in which the previous Judge is banned from being a nomination.

Clause VII - Parliament may choose to impeach the Speaker of Parliament. To do this, they must vote with a two-thirds supermajority, and if that measure is passed by Parliament, then a referendum will begin. If citizens vote with a majority to impeach the Speaker of Parliament, they will then be removed from office, their powers will be transferred to a Member of Parliament who has been voted for with a majority by the rest of Parliament, and a special election for Speaker of Parliament will be called, in which the previous Speaker is banned from being a candidate.

Clause VIII - Any government official may choose to call on Parliament to impeach one of their Members. To do this, they must vote with a two-thirds supermajority, excluding the vote of that Member, and if that measure is passed by Parliament, then a referendum will begin. If the citizens of the district the Member of Parliament represented vote with a majority to impeach that Member of Parliament, they will then be removed from office, and a special election for that Member of Parliament will be called in that district, in which the previous Member of Parliament is banned from being a candidate.

SECTION V — Meeting of Parliament

Clause I - Parliament may vote on bills and measures during Parliament meetings led by the Speaker of Parliament. During these meetings, the Rules of Parliament must be followed, and the Speaker of Parliament will be the enforcer of these rules.

Clause II - If all Members of Parliament cannot be present for a Parliament meeting, then the Speaker of Parliament will take the place of that Member of Parliament for that meeting. If more than one Member of Parliament is unavailable, Cabinet Ministers and Judges may take the place of the other missing Members of Parliament. The officials who take these places can contribute to discussions and vote. If the Speaker of Parliament takes the place of a Member of Parliament, the President will lead the meeting.

SECTION VI — Emergency Meetings of Parliament

Clause I - If Parliament has not met within the period of a week, or if the Speaker of Parliament calls for it, an emergency Parliament meeting shall be called. If all Parliament Members cannot be present, the Parliament meeting will continue without all members. During emergency meetings, the Speaker of Parliament may enforce the Rules of Parliament without warnings.

ARTICLE V — Judicial Branch

SECTION I — Overview of the Judicial Branch

Clause I - The Judicial Branch oversees criminal and civil court cases, and interprets the law. It is made up of a number of Judges.

SECTION II — Judges

Clause I - The position of Judge is an appointed position. Judges have no term limits, but may be removed by a majority vote in Parliament. While overseeing court cases, they must debate and vote among themselves on different matters of the case. They are also required to be neutral while judging cases, and may not be biased towards a specific side. If there is an even number of Judges, the Speaker of Parliament must attend civil trials in order to act as tie-breaker.

SECTION III — Appointment of Judges

Clause I - Judges are nominated by the President and approved by a majority vote in the Parliament. Any citizen, except for the President, Prime Minister, and Speaker of Parliament, may be nominated to be a Judge, as long as they have shown that they have studied all laws in effect, including this Constitution.

Clause II - If a Judge feels the need to resign, they should write a formal statement of resignation, sign it, and release it to the Melonian public. The President can then choose to nominate a Judge to fill in the position. If the only Judge resigns, the President is then obligated to nominate a new Judge.

SECTION IV — Powers of Judges

Clause I - While overseeing a civil court case, the panel of Judges will manage the hearings and determine the terms for the defendant, and the terms for the plaintiff/victim. After each case, at least one of the Judges is required to write a document explaining the branch’s interpretation of the laws at hand. This will be publicly available to all Citizens.

Clause II - While overseeing a criminal court case, only one Judge will manage the hearings and determine the terms for the defendant, and the terms for the plaintiff/victim. After each court case, this Judge is required to write a document explaining the interpretation of the laws at hand. This will be publicly available to all Citizens.

Clause III - While overseeing an appellate trial, only one Judge will manage the hearings and determine the ruling. After each court case, this Judge is required to write a document explaining the interpretation of the laws at hand. This will be publicly available to all Citizens.

ARTICLE VI — Criminal Trial Procedure

SECTION I — Criminal Investigation

Clause I - A person living in Melonia may report a crime to any military/police force or any government official. Upon receiving a criminal report, an arrest may be carried out. Upon arrest, a list of charges will be compiled, and an investigation will commence. All witnesses are recommended to provide as much information as possible about the charges during reports.

Clause II - Evidence from as many sources as possible need to be compiled before a trial can start. Such sources include chat logs, information gathered from surveillance plugins, video recordings of the event, screenshots, eye-witness testimony, and anything else that can benefit the investigation. However, such sources may not include information that infringes on the privacy of any citizen’s non-Minecraft life.

SECTION II — Trial Preparation

Clause I - After all evidence has been filed into one place, a trial will begin at the earliest time that complies with every trial member’s availability, and the location of the trial will be decided. The trial will be overseen by one of the available Judges, chosen at random. If no Judge is available to oversee the trial, a Member of Parliament will be chosen at random to act as Judge.

Clause II - The defendant and the plaintiff are required to have a lawyer each. If they cannot supply their own lawyers, the government is obligated to hire lawyers for the case, and may be sued if they do not.

Clause III - Criminal trials require only one Judge to oversee the trial, keep the court civil and on-topic, and on the conclusion of the trial, decide the sentence of the defendant, if any, and the compensation for the plaintiff, if any.

Clause IV - Criminal trials require a jury to listen to all of the evidence and argumentation, then decide if the defendant is innocent or guilty in a vote among themselves for each charge. This jury will consist of at least 3 of the defendant’s closest neighbors, and always an odd number of jury members. If some of the defendant’s closest neighbors are already the Judge, one of the lawyers, or the plaintiff, they are not considered when forming the jury.

Clause V - If the defendant and/or plaintiff can’t or doesn’t make themselves available for the trial, their lawyers will represent them in court. This is to prevent them from delaying the trial by making themselves busy or feigning unavailability. If both the defense and prosecution cannot or do not agree to a date and time, a date and time will be decided by the Speaker of the Parliament.

SECTION III — Trial Stages

Clause I - Criminal trial shall have four stages. Each stage may take place at a different date, time, and place, but if a stage of trial is started in one session, it must be finished during that session.

Clause II - In the first stage, the prosecution and the defense will each give an opening statement that describes what their case is about and what each side will be trying to prove.

Clause III - In the second stage, the prosecution will present their case and all of their evidence, and then the defense will have a chance to question the prosecution’s witnesses.

Clause IV - In the third stage, the defense will present their case and all of their evidence, and then the prosecution will have a chance to question the defense’s witnesses.

Clause V - In the fourth stage, the prosecution and the defense will each give a closing statement. This will be followed by the jury voting among themselves with a majority to determine guilt for each charge. After this, the jury will reveal the verdict, and the Judge will determine the sentence or lack thereof for the defendant, and the compensation or lack thereof for the victim. If the jury finds the defendant guilty, the Judge is then required to issue a sentence.

Clause VI - Either side of the trial may call on the Judge to declare a mistrial. If the Judge accepts the motion, then the trial will be restarted with all hearings being stricken from the record.

Clause VII - Either side of the trial may call on the Speaker of Parliament to declare a special mistrial in the case where the Judge is being partial to one side. If the Speaker of Parliament is not available at the time, the session will continue, but the jury may not determine guilt or innocence until the Speaker of Parliament is available to respond to the motion. If the Speaker of Parliament accepts the motion, then the trial will be restarted with all hearings being stricken from the record, and another Judge would be assigned to the case. If there is only one Judge, a new trial will begin overseen by Parliament.

SECTION IV — Criminal Punishment

Clause I - The Judge presiding over a criminal case must sentence the guilty party to a fair punishment relative to the severity of the crime. Each charge must contribute to the total sentence, as indicated in the law of the Republic of Melonia or the lower government in the city the crime was committed in.

Clause II - Each crime must have a minimum and maximum sentence, determined by Parliament in law.

SECTION V — Appeal Process

Clause I - After the initial trial has been concluded, either side of the case may appeal the ruling by filing an appeal with a government official. The appeal should include the following: The name of the person and the lawyer or prosecution appealing the case Why they believe the initial ruling was wrong, citing the relevant law(s)

Clause II - Once the appeal is filed, a randomly chosen Judge other than the one who presided over the original case will take on this trial. If there are no Judges left to take on this appellate trial, Parliament will take the trial instead. The regular criminal trial process will proceed, except that there will be no jury, and the Judge will rule on if the previous ruling was incorrect or not specifically. The opposing side will be immediately notified of the appeal, and both sides should set up the earliest time for the appellate trial that works for all parties involved.

Clause III - The Judge will then determine the punishment, if the previous ruling was in favor of the defense but should now be for the prosecution. If the previous ruling was in favor of the prosecution but should now be for the defense, all punishments should be lifted from the defense. If the appellate Judge feels that the first Judge’s ruling was correct, the previous trial’s decisions will be upheld. After this appellate trial is over, no further appeals can be made.

ARTICLE VII — Civil Lawsuit Procedure

SECTION I — Application

Clause I - Any person living in Melonia may file a lawsuit against another citizen, a company/organization, or a government (providing that the issue in question was committed by a member of that government while performing that government’s duties).

Clause II - Any person living in Melonia shall file a lawsuit by contacting a member of the Executive Branch to receive a lawsuit application form. The following information must be provided:

• Their name
• The entity they want to sue, such as a person, company/organization or government
• Why they want to sue this entity
• Damages that they are seeking

Clause III - Once this information has been filled out and submitted, their application for filing a lawsuit will be reviewed. If the lawsuit seems frivolous, such as if it does not have proper legal standing, or is unsubstantiated (i.e. without any form of evidence), it may be denied. However, lawsuits filed against the Republic of Melonia or lower governments may not be denied due to potential corruption involved in throwing out lawsuits against itself.

Clause IV - Once the lawsuit is accepted, then the other party will be immediately notified that they are being sued, and will have the opportunity to write a counterclaim. A counter claim will be as follows:

• Their name (i.e. the name of the defendant).
• For governments, the official that is representing that government should put their name followed by their title down as well.
• Their response to every claim made by the plaintiff.
• Any potential counter claims they would like to make against the plaintiff, such as what the plaintiff did, and damages the defendant is seeking.

Counter claims will not be thrown out by the Republic of Melonia or lower governments; it will be up to the Judges presiding over the case to accept the counter claims or not.

Clause V - The Republic of Melonia, in all civil lawsuits, as plaintiff or defendant, will be officially represented by the President. Other abstract nations that are sued can choose who they would like to be represented by, but representation is required.

SECTION II — Trial Preparation

Clause I - All evidence should be submitted into the official Google Document that will be created for the lawsuit by the Republic of Melonia as directed in that document.

Clause II - Each side of civil cases must have a lawyer. Government entities, however, can decide to appoint their representative as their lawyer if they wish. Other entities must have a lawyer that is not themselves. They can choose a lawyer or be assigned one.

Clause III - Civil trials require that a panel of Judges oversee the trial, keep the court civil and on-topic, and on the conclusion of the trial, decide damages for either side, or no action. If no Judge is available, the trial will be overseen by Parliament, with each Member of Parliament acting as a Judge for the case.

Clause IV - The date and time of the trial will be determined as the earliest date and time that both parties agree to. If the parties cannot or do not agree to a date and time, a date and time will be decided by the Speaker of the Parliament.

SECTION III — Trial Stages

Clause I - Civil trials will have four stages. Each stage may take place at a different date and time, but if a stage of trial is started in one session, it must be finished during that session.

Clause II - In the first stage, the lawyers of the plaintiff and the defense will each give an opening statement that describes what their case is about and what each side will be trying to prove.

Clause III - In the second stage, the plaintiff will present their case and all of their evidence, and then the defense will have a chance to question the plaintiff’s witnesses, if any.

Clause IV - In the third stage, the defense will present their case and all of their evidence, and then the plaintiff will have a chance to question the defense’s witnesses, if any.

Clause V - In the fourth stage, the plaintiff and the defense will each give a closing statement. This will be followed by the Judges determining who is at fault, if any, and determining the compensation for the damages, if any. The Judges don’t have to find either party completely at fault; they may determine a percentage of fault for either party.

Clause VI - Either side of the trial may call on the panel of Judges to declare a mistrial. If the Judges accept the motion with a majority, then the trial will be restarted with all hearings being stricken from the record.

Clause VII - Either side of the trial may call on the Speaker of Parliament to declare a special mistrial in the case where a Judge is being partial to one side. If the Speaker of Parliament is not available at the time, the session will continue, but the Judges may not determine fault until the Speaker of Parliament is available to respond to the measure. If the Speaker of Parliament accepts the motion, then the trial will be restarted with all hearings being stricken from the record, and another Judge would be assigned to the case. If there is only one Judge, a new trial will begin overseen by Parliament.

SECTION IV — Appeal Process

Clause I - After the initial trial has been concluded, either side of the case may appeal the ruling by filing an appeal with a government official. The appeal should include the following: The name of the person and the lawyer appealing the case Why they believe the initial ruling was wrong, citing the relevant law(s)

Clause II - Once the appeal is filed, a randomly chosen Judge other than the ones who presided over the original case will take on this trial. If there are no Judges left to take on this appellate trial, Parliament will take the trial instead. and the regular civil trial process will proceed, except that the Judge will rule on if the previous ruling was incorrect or not specifically. The opposing side will be immediately notified of the appeal, and both sides should set up the earliest time for the appellate trial that works for all parties involved.

Clause III - The Judge will then determine who is at fault in this case, and award damages to the winning side, if necessary. If the appellate Judge feels that the first Judge’s ruling was correct, the previous trial’s decisions will be upheld. After this appellate trial is over, no further appeals can be made on this case.

ARTICLE IX — Citizenship

SECTION I — Naturalization

Clause I - In order for a person to become a citizen, they must meet eligibility for becoming a citizen by showing a government official that the following points are true:

• They know and understand the fundamentals of Melonian civics.
• They are a person of good moral character.
• They have taken an oath of allegiance to the Republic of Melonia.
• Once all of these points are shown to be true, they will be issued a Certificate of Citizenship, which is a written book that states the preferred name of the new citizen and the date of citizenship. The government will also keep a copy of this book for their own records.

Clause II - The oath of allegiance to the Republic of Melonia is as follows:

  “I hereby pledge my allegiance to the Republic of Melonia and to its Constitution and laws. I promise to uphold the values and traditions of this land, and to respect and assist the government. I will work diligently to make Melonia a better place for all.”

Clause III - Citizenship will be revoked automatically if a citizen does not log into the server for longer than one month without an exemption given by the Executive Branch, such as a physical inability to log in to the server.

SECTION II — Citizen Privileges

Clause I - Only citizens can vote in elections or referendums.

Clause II - Only citizens can register a company or organization in Melonia.

Clause III - Only citizens can join or be drafted into the military. However, non-citizens can participate in the military as mercenaries.

Clause IV - Only citizens can be candidates for any position in an election.

Clause V - Only citizens can be nominees for any appointed position in government.

SECTION III — Foreign Citizens

Clause I - A foreign citizen is somebody who is protected under the law of another abstract nation, but is not a proper citizen of the Republic of Melonia. They do not have any Melonian citizenship privileges, but they are still protected by the law of Melonia.

SECTION IV — Retraction of Citizenship

Clause I - Citizens can choose to retract their citizenship. Upon removal of citizenship, all of their properties and assets are transferred to the government, including, but not limited to, all items in the former citizen’s inventory and ender chest if they allow it.

ARTICLE X — Suffrage

SECTION I — Election Process

Clause I - The Executive Branch shall carry out all elections in the Republic of Melonia. An election will be held on the 15th of each month, except when a position needs to be replaced, in which a special election will be called as soon as the Branch can arrange it.

Clause II - A candidate may only run for one elected position at once. However, appointed positions, with the exception of the Prime Minister, can run for an elected position while retaining the duties of their appointed position. Additionally, a Judge cannot run for the elected position of Speaker of Parliament.

Clause III - On the 15th of each month, when an election takes place, voters will submit their votes for all elected government positions in a Google Form document. In the case of votes for Members of Parliament, only the citizens in the district the candidates represent will have access to that vote. Each citizen will rank each candidate numerically using multiple choice grids.

Clause IV - Votes will be invalid on the following conditions:

• No candidate is ranked.
• The voter’s name is incorrect.

Clause V - The elections will be held and concluded at a time that is seen fit by the Executive Branch. The Branch will open the election Google Form on the 15th of each month, in a regular election, or for a special election, whenever the Branch is able to. From there, people may vote within a period of 24 hours from that time. Once that has elapsed, the form will close.

Clause VI - Once voting ends, the Branch shall tally all of the votes in the highest rank. If there is a tie, add the votes in the second highest rank, and if there is still a tie, repeat this process until all ranks have been tallied. If there is still a tie at this point, refer to Clause VII. If there is no tie, then the winners of each election will be announced as soon as possible.

Clause VII - If there is a tie after the instant runoff voting process, the winners of each election where there is a tie will be decided by the Speaker of Parliament.

Clause VIII - Referendums will also be run by the Executive Branch. When one is set to take place, a Google Form document will be established by the Branch. The typical election process will take place, but instead of voting for candidates, the vote will refer to the referendum question.

Clause IX - If election fraud is determined to have occurred by a court of law, the election must be re-held by non-offending members of the Executive Branch.

SECTION II — Voting Districts for Members of Parliament

Clause I - Voting districts shall be created before each election and approved by the President. The district map shall split all residences in the Republic of Melonia into a whole number of districts that is equal to the population divided by five, rounded down.

Clause II - The district map should split these districts to contain the same amount of people in each district. In an instance where this cannot be done, it should be as close as possible.

Clause III - If districts have not been created and approved by the fifth day before the election, the government is required to meet so that they may create and approve them.

Clause IV - Once the districts have been approved, citizens will be notified of which district they live in, and what candidates are running for Member of Parliament in their district.

ARTICLE XI — Rights for Citizens

SECTION I — Freedom of Speech

Clause I - All Melonian citizens are entitled to the following freedoms, which shall be elaborated upon in the following clauses:

• Freedom of Speech
• Freedom to Petition

Clause II - Under the right of Freedom of Speech, citizens may verbally or in writing express their opinions freely without interference or retaliation from the government. This does not protect citizens who use clear slander or libel against another citizen or other organization.

Clause III - Under the right of Freedom to Petition, citizens may stage protests in order to push to change the policies of the government. This does not protect citizens who utilize violence in their protests or otherwise riot. This also does not protect rebellious groups.

SECTION II — Freedom of Self

Clause I - All Melonian citizens are entitled to the following freedoms, which shall be elaborated upon in the following clauses:

• Freedom of Religion
• Freedom of Political Opinion
• Freedom from Discrimination

Clause II - Under the right of Freedom of Religion, citizens may not be forced to practice a religion that they do not desire to believe in, nor may they be discriminated against if they practice their religion. This does not protect citizens who practice a religion that demands harm be done to others.

Clause III - Under the right of Freedom of Political Opinion, citizens may form, join, fundraise, and vote for any political party freely without interference or retaliation from the government. This does not protect citizens who do such for a political party that is determined to be a rebellious group or an active threat to peace and prosperity in Melonia.

Clause IV - Under the right of Freedom from Discrimination, citizens are entitled to the same rights and freedoms as each other, regardless of origin and economic status.

SECTION III — Freedom to Vote

Clause I - Under the right of Freedom to Vote, all citizens must have the opportunity to cast any vote they want in all situations freely without interference or retaliation from the government or any individuals or groups.

SECTION IV — Freedom to a Fair Trial

Clause I - Under the right of Freedom to a Fair Trial, all citizens are entitled to a speedy, unbiased trial, with a guaranteed lawyer to defend them, and a jury of the citizens’ closest neighbors.

ARTICLE XII — Amending this Constitution

SECTION I — Amendment Process

Clause I - If the Parliament proposes a Constitutional amendment, it must receive a two-thirds supermajority; the President must approve of the amendment; and in a referendum, the citizens must vote with a majority in order for the amendment to pass.

SECTION II — Amendment Application

Clause I - Once a Constitutional amendment has passed, it will be written into this Constitution. The original text of the Constitution will have a copy for the sake of preservation. If the amendment removes clauses, sections, or articles from the Constitution, the affected text will be removed from the updated Constitution.

ARTICLE XIII — Ratifying the Constitution

SECTION I — Ratification

Clause I - Once this Constitution is fully written, in order for it to apply and replace the current Constitution of the City of Melonia, Parliament must have a majority vote, which will then establish a referendum. Once the citizens find a majority vote on ratifying the Constitution, the writers of this Constitution must sign their names, and at that point, this Constitution will be in effect, the Constitution of the City of Melonia will no longer apply, and all bills written under that government will no longer apply after 7 days.

Ratified August 21st, 2022.

In order to officially declare the ratification of this Constitution, all contributors to this Constitution must sign their names on this page. (See original Google Docs copy for signatures.)

1st Amendment - November 11th 2022.

Article I - Purpose

This proposed amendment is intended to provide solutions for situations where not all members of government are able to participate in meetings and government duties. Along the way, this amendment will fix some smaller issues that the current government has with how the constitution is written at this point. Upon passing of this amendment, the government should be more able to perform legal and executive actions while members are inactive.

Article II - Amendment I

SECTION I — Vacancy/Inactivity Clauses

Clause I - For the purposes of the following clauses, inactivity is regarded as when a member of government has not contributed to a conversation in any Melonian Discord channel in more than one week. Inactivity will be determined by the President depending on how much the member contributed in that timespan.

Clause II - If a Member of Parliament is inactive or if any district did not have a candidacy declared, bills will be voted on by all available members of government, rather than just Parliament. Meetings in this case would be led by the President, or the Prime Minister if the President chooses.

Clause III - If the Speaker of Parliament is inactive or the Speaker’s seat is vacant, their duties shall be done by the Prime Minister until their return.

Clause IV - If any Minister is inactive or if a Ministry’s seat is vacant, their duties shall be done by either the Prime Minister or another Minister of the Prime Minister’s choosing until their return or a new Minister is approved.

Clause V - If the Prime Minister is inactive, their duties shall be done by the President.

SECTION II — Corrections

Clause I - The text of Art. III, Sect. IV, Clause I shall be replaced with the following text:

• Clause I - Ministers are nominated by the Prime Minister and approved by the President. If a Ministry exists without a Minister, the Prime Minister will lead that Ministry.
• Clause II - The text of Art. IX, Sect. I, Clause III shall be replaced with the following text:
• Clause III - Citizenship may be revoked manually by the government. In order to do so, Parliament must vote with a majority for it, and the President must approve this motion.

Clause III - The text of Art. IV, Sect. V, Clause II shall be replaced with the following text:

• Clause II - If all Members of Parliament cannot be present for a Parliament meeting, the meeting will go on with as many votes as there are present members.

Clause IV - The text of Art. IV, Sect. VI, Clause I shall be replaced with the following text:

• Clause I - If the Speaker of Parliament calls for it, an impromptu Parliament meeting shall be called. During impromptu Parliament meetings, the Speaker of Parliament may enforce the Rules of Parliament without warnings.