View Topic

Decree 012 of the Monarch of Wintreath
Regarding the Structure of the Cabinet

For many years now, our community has been mature and stable. This is a good thing, and a requirement for having the warm and friendly community that we have. However, it also raises challenges such as how to keep things vibrant. It's important that we be able to come up with and consider new ideas and new ways of doing things, and that we don't lose either the drive to experiment with change or the hunger to keep advancing ourselves, our region, or our community to greater heights...a drive that has always led to our best accomplishments in years past.

Last month, I began a discussion in the Cabinet to address concerns I had about stagnation within it...a cycle that's existed for years where people join the Cabinet and then either go inactive or burnout, neither of which is good for the Cabinet or the individual person. This is the result of that discussion: a new experiment for electing thanes into the Cabinet.

Of course, we remember how the first attempt at thane elections failed back in 2014, so this time around we have made changes to improve the quality of the candidates and winners. Candidates for thane positions will be vetted by the Jarl of that ministry to make sure that they're contributors to the area they're running for, and only fellow people who have contributed in that area will be able to vote for the thane that will lead it.

Our hope is that this will provide a clear avenue into the government for those interested in helping to build the Wintreath of tomorrow, while also being an opportunity for us to develop a bench of talented and motivated leaders. We hope that this new system will encourage those with new and interesting ideas and in turn create a new sense of vibrancy throughout the community that keeps us getting better into the future.

Let's see how this experiment goes, shall we?

Cabinet Makeup, Structure, and Duties
1) The Cabinet of Wintreath shall be named the Riksråd, which shall be headed by the Monarch and consist of Citizens who have been delegated authorities by the Monarch.

2) The Riksråd shall be composed of ministries as defined in this document, led by Jarls who shall have the authority and responsibility to advance the portfolio of their respective ministries. Thanes shall assist the Jarls in advancing a defined portion of the ministry portfolio.

3) Jarls shall serve at the will and pleasure of the Monarch, who shall appoint and dismiss them as needed.

4) Jarls may create new thane positions within their ministries with the approval of the Monarch, and shall maintain a list of current thane positions that shall include at a minimum a description of the position's responsibilities and groups that may participate in the election of the position.

5) Thanes shall be chosen during elections that begin on the first day of December, March, June, and September.
a) To participate in thane elections, candidates must be vetted and approved by the the Jarl of the ministry that the position is within on the basis of activity and contribution to the region within the area the candidate wishes to run in. They must also be vetted and approved by the Monarch on the basis of fit within the Cabinet.
b) Once elected, Thanes shall serve at the will and pleasure of their Jarl and the Monarch. If dismissed from the Riksråd, the person who dismissed them shall notify the community of the reasons behind their dismissal.
c) In the event of a vacancy between elections, the Jarl of the ministry the position is within may appoint a thane with the approval of the Monarch to serve the remainder of the term.
d) An initial special election shall occur two weeks after publication of this decree to determine thanes until the March 2018 election. For the purposes of this election "last term" shall refer to the months of September, October, November, and December 2017.

6) The Delegate shall also be considered a member of the Riksråd, whose selection and duties are described in Decree 010.

7) In addition to the position-specific duties determined by the Monarch and Jarls, all members of the Riskråd shall be responsible for participating in Cabinet discussions, informing the rest of the Cabinet of topics and issues within their portfolio that may require discussion by the entire Cabinet, and engaging with Citizens and members of the community in general.

Cabinet Ministries
8) The Ministry of Culture shall assist the Citizens of the region in the development, maintenance, and advancement of discussions, games, and activities that are outside the purview of other ministries.
9) The Ministry of Foreign Affairs shall promote Wintreath and Wintrean interest by creating and fostering partnerships and communications with other communities.
10) The Ministry of Integration shall be responsible for initiatives and programs to improve the retention of Citizens in the region.

Modification of this Decree
11) The Monarch may modify this decree at any time, and shall notify the regional community of doing so by creating a new post in the topic in which the decree was published detailing the modifications made.

So decreed on this, the 1,523rd day of our region.

Inric Nordrim Kestar (Wintermoot I of Wintreath)
Monarch and Founder of Wintreath
Suzerain of New Hyperion
Regent of Nowhere

For anyone wondering what the thane election schedule will be and what it will entail, here it is:

Monday, December 25th
Nominations and campaigning starts. Jarls must have final public list of thane positions along with requirements and groups eligible to vote for each position by this date.

Saturday, December 30th
Nominations and standing closes to give Jarls time to vet all candidates.

Monday, January 1st
Elections begin. Jarls must have vetted all candidates and published voter rolls for each of their thane positions by this date.

Monday, January 7th
Elections end, winners announced.

(snip)

I think this sounds great, at least as an experiment. If it doesn't work well, we can always go back to how things were. I noticed some grammar mistakes, so expect a grammar report soon .

2) The Riksråd shall be composed of ministries as defined in this document, led by Jarls who shall have the authority and responsibility to advance the portfolio of that ministry. Thanes shall assist the Jarls in advancing a defined portion of the ministry portfolio.

Not a grammar mistake; I just think this would sound better as something like, "their respective ministry."

4) Jarls may create new thane positions within their ministries with the approval of the Monarch, and shall maintain a list of current thane positions that shall include at a minimum a description of the position's responsibilities and groups that may participate in the election of the position.

This is an appositive that should be surrounded by commas.

a) To participate in than elections, candidates must be vetted and approved by the the Jarl of the ministry that the position is within on the basis of activity and contribution to the region within the area the candidate wishes to run in. They must also be vetted and approved by the Monarch on the basis of fit within the Cabinet.

"Than" should be "those" or something similar, and the second mistake is self-explanatory.

b) Once elected, Thanes shall serve that the will and pleasure of their Jarl and the Monarch. If dismissed from the Riksråd, the person who dismissed them shall notify the community of the reasons behind their dismissal.

I think you meant for this to be "at"?

d) An initial special election shall occur two weeks after publication of this decree determine thanes until the March 2018 election. For the purposes of this election "last term" shall refer to the months of September, October, November, and December 2017.

To be honest, I'm not sure what the intended meaning of this section is, and it doesn't sound quite right. Could you make its meaning a bit clearer?

11) The Monarch may modify this decree at any time, and shall notifiy the regional community of doing so by creating a new post in the topic in which the decree was published detailing the modifications made.

This should be "notify." I think this was as a result of a typo that you've copied and pasted from Decrees 008 and 010.

@taulover could you please look into this too?

I would note that, as far as I'm aware, Wintermoot hasn't implemented the grammar fixes in the earlier Royal Decrees, so I'm not sure if he'll make edits to this one either.

Whoops, forgot that you asked for my thoughts.

2) The Riksråd shall be composed of ministries as defined in this document, led by Jarls who shall have the authority and responsibility to advance the portfolio of that ministry. Thanes shall assist the Jarls in advancing a defined portion of the ministry portfolio.

Not a grammar mistake; I just think this would sound better as something like, "their respective ministry."

Since we're talking about Jarls and not one Jarl, it'd be "their respective ministries," no?

4) Jarls may create new thane positions within their ministries with the approval of the Monarch, and shall maintain a list of current thane positions that shall include at a minimum a description of the position's responsibilities and groups that may participate in the election of the position.

This is an appositive that should be surrounded by commas.

No, this is a prepositional phrase that doesn't need to be separated by commas.

a) To participate in than elections, candidates must be vetted and approved by the the Jarl of the ministry that the position is within on the basis of activity and contribution to the region within the area the candidate wishes to run in. They must also be vetted and approved by the Monarch on the basis of fit within the Cabinet.

"Than" should be "those" or something similar, and the second mistake is self-explanatory.

b) Once elected, Thanes shall serve that the will and pleasure of their Jarl and the Monarch. If dismissed from the Riksråd, the person who dismissed them shall notify the community of the reasons behind their dismissal.

I think you meant for this to be "at"?

11) The Monarch may modify this decree at any time, and shall notifiy the regional community of doing so by creating a new post in the topic in which the decree was published detailing the modifications made.

This should be "notify." I think this was as a result of a typo that you've copied and pasted from Decrees 008 and 010.

Good catches.

d) An initial special election shall occur two weeks after publication of this decree determine thanes until the March 2018 election. For the purposes of this election "last term" shall refer to the months of September, October, November, and December 2017.

To be honest, I'm not sure what the intended meaning of this section is, and it doesn't sound quite right. Could you make its meaning a bit clearer?

Not sure why you found this to be unclear; it's a transitory provision to define the first thane election.

Since we're talking about Jarls and not one Jarl, it'd be "their respective ministries," no?

Yeah, good catch.

No, this is a prepositional phrase that doesn't need to be separated by commas.

Oops. Even so, I think that sentence sounds weird and maybe run-on, but I guess it's okay.

Not sure why you found this to be unclear; it's a transitory provision to define the first thane election.

I see now. What made me confused was the following mistake:

d) An initial special election shall occur two weeks after publication of this decree determine thanes until the March 2018 election. For the purposes of this election "last term" shall refer to the months of September, October, November, and December 2017.

This should be "decree to determine."

Even if Wintermoot doesn't usually correct these errors, I think this one should be an exception due to its large amount of mistakes, especially the one at d), which makes it confusing.

Thanks, the issues brought up have been corrected.

May I suggest that either @Wintermoot or @Aethelia (as Underhusen Speaker) update the Laws page with this Decree?

As specified in Section 11, I'm updating the community on changes we are making to the Cabinet ahead of the upcoming Thane elections. Specifically, we are:

1) Adopting a new rule that allows for one person to hold no more than one Jarl and one Thane position or two Thane positions. In the event that someone is elected to more positions than they are allowed to under this policy, the winner will select the ones they want to accept up to their limit, and the remaining positions will go to the candidate with the next most votes or become vacant if there were no other candidates.

2) Creating a new ministry, the Ministry of Regional Affairs, which will be responsible for the NationStates region page...specifically, keeping the WFE up to date and building and moderating the RMB community. The delegate will become a thane of this ministry, and will continue to be elected as thane.

3) Eliminating the Ministry of Integration...however, the work of the Ministry of Integration will continue on in a new Thane of Integration position, which will be part of the Ministry of Culture. (This will take effect at the conclusion of the next election).

4) Established a section for advisory members.

Thane elections are an idea that has shown a lot of promise in the last few months, and has already helped to revitalize the Cabinet. I hope these changes will help make future Cabinets even more vibrant and able to forge ahead with new ideas, build Wintreath even greater, and ultimately work for the community that in the end we do all this for.

You can read the specific changes to the decree below:

Cabinet Makeup, Structure, and Duties
1) The Cabinet of Wintreath shall be named the Riksråd, which shall be headed by the Monarch and consist of Citizens who have been delegated authorities by the Monarch.

2) The Riksråd shall be composed of ministries as defined in this document, led by Jarls who shall have the authority and responsibility to advance the portfolio of their respective ministries. Thanes shall assist the Jarls in advancing a defined portion of the ministry portfolio.
a) Members of the Riksråd shall simultaneously hold no more than either one Jarl position and one Thane position or two Thane positions unless they were appointed to additional positions in order to fill vacancies.

3) Jarls shall serve at the will and pleasure of the Monarch, who shall appoint and dismiss them as needed.

4) Jarls may create new thane positions within their ministries with the approval of the Monarch, and shall maintain a list of current thane positions that shall include at a minimum a description of the position's responsibilities and groups that may participate in the election of the position.

5) Thanes shall be chosen during elections that begin on the first day of December, March, June, and September.
a) To participate in thane elections, candidates must be vetted and approved by the the Jarl of the ministry that the position is within on the basis of activity and contribution to the region within the area the candidate wishes to run in. They must also be vetted and approved by the Monarch on the basis of fit within the Cabinet.
b) In the event that a candidate is elected to more positions than allowed under Section 2a, the candidate shall accept the positions they prefer up to the limits allowed. The remaining positions shall go to the person with the next most votes unless there are no other candidates, in which case the position shall be considered vacant.
b c) Once elected, Thanes shall serve at the will and pleasure of their Jarl and the Monarch. If dismissed from the Riksråd, the person who dismissed them shall notify the community of the reasons behind their dismissal.
c d) In the event of a vacancy between elections, the Jarl of the ministry the position is within may appoint a thane with the approval of the Monarch to serve the remainder of the term.
d e) An initial special election shall occur two weeks after publication of this decree to determine thanes until the March 2018 election. For the purposes of this election "last term" shall refer to the months of September, October, November, and December 2017.

6) The Delegate shall also be considered a member of the Riksråd, whose selection and duties are described in Decree 010.

6) The Monarch may also appoint advisory members who shall hold no duties and responsibilities beyond advising the Monarch and Cabinet in a specific area.

7) In addition to the position-specific duties determined by the Monarch and Jarls, all members of the Riskråd shall be responsible for participating in Cabinet discussions, informing the rest of the Cabinet of topics and issues within their portfolio that may require discussion by the entire Cabinet, and engaging with Citizens and members of the community in general.

Cabinet Ministries
8 ) The Ministry of Culture shall assist the Citizens of the region in the development, maintenance, and advancement of discussions, games, and activities that are outside the purview of other ministries.
9) The Ministry of Foreign Affairs shall promote Wintreath and Wintrean interest by creating and fostering partnerships and communications with other communities.
9) The Ministry of Integration shall be responsible for initiatives and programs to improve the retention of Citizens in the region.
10) The Ministry of Regional Affairs shall be responsible for maintaining and improving the NationStates region page and RMB community.
a) The Thane of World Assembly Affairs shall be the legal World Assembly Delegate under the Ministry of Regional Affairs.

Modification of this Decree
11) The Monarch may modify this decree at any time, and shall notify the regional community of doing so by creating a new post in the topic in which the decree was published detailing the modifications made.

Please note that I have added Section 1b to this decree:

b) Members of the Riksråd shall maintain an account on the main Wintreath Discord server which is linked to their Wintreath website account.

The reason for this is because virtually all Riksråd and Ministry discussions take place on Discord these days, to the point that it would be difficult for someone to be part of it without at least being on the server to see what's going on.

I did a near rewrite of the entire decree. Besides making into something that's better organized and easier to understand, I've made the following changes to the substance of the decree:

1) I have changed the name of the Cabinet from Riksråd to Riksraad, to match the formatting that was selected by Citizens when they chose a new name for the upcoming legislature.

2) The decree now includes a section about Alders, who will be elected directly to the Riksraad and replace the Citizens' Council at the end of the upcoming elections.

3) Jarls no longer need to explicitly approve Thane candidates. The new text allows myself or the Jarl over the position to reject a candidate with reason, and if the candidate is not rejected then they are implicitely approved.

4) Removed the section about the first Thane elections, because it is no longer relevant to current law.

Modificaitons

Spoiler

Cabinet Makeup, Structure, and Duties
1) The Cabinet of Wintreath shall be named the Riksråd Riksraad, which shall be headed by the Monarch and consist of Citizens who have been delegated authorities by the Monarch.

2) The Riksråd shall be composed of ministries as defined in this document, led by Jarls who shall have the authority and responsibility to advance the portfolio of their respective ministries. Thanes shall assist the Jarls in advancing a defined portion of the ministry portfolio.
a) Members of the Riksråd shall simultaneously hold no more than either one Jarl position and one Thane position or two Thane positions unless they were appointed to additional positions in order to fill vacancies.
b) Members of the Riksråd shall maintain an account on the main Wintreath Discord server which is linked to their Wintreath website account.

2) The Riksraad shall include the following ministries:
   a) The Ministry of Culture shall assist the Citizens of the region in the development, maintenance, and advancement of discussions, games, and activities that are outside the purview of other ministries.
   b) The Ministry of Foreign Affairs shall promote Wintreath and Wintrean interests by creating and fostering partnerships and communications with other communities.
   c) The Ministry of Regional Affairs shall be responsible for maintaining and improving the NationStates region page and RMB community.

3) Jarls shall serve at the will and pleasure of the Monarch, who shall appoint and dismiss them as needed.

3) Each ministry shall be led by a Jarl, who shall have the authority and responsibility to advance the portfolio of their respective ministries. Jarls shall serve at the will and pleasure of the Monarch, who shall appoint and dismiss them as needed.

4) Jarls may create new Thane positions within their ministries with the approval of the Monarch, and shall maintain a list of current Thane positions that shall include at a minimum a description of the position's responsibilities and groups that may participate in the election of the position.


4) With the consent of the Monarch, Jarls may delegate clearly-defined portions of their portfolio to subordinate positions, which shall be held by Thanes. Jarls shall maintain a current list of Thane positions that include a list of duties and responsibilities for each position.
   a) Thanes shall be chosen during elections that begin on the first day of December, March, June, and September. Prior to the start of the election, candidates for Thane shall stand for election in the designated nomination topic and post a campaign topic addressing any questions listed for candidates in the nomination topic. Candidates who fail to do this shall be dropped from the election and not placed on the ballot.
   b) The Monarch or supervising Jarl may reject a candidacy for a Thane position by posting their decision along with the reasoning behind it in the candidate's campaign topic prior to the beginning of the election.
   c) Once elected, Thanes shall serve at the will and pleasure of their Jarl and the Monarch. If dismissed from the Riksraad, the person who dismissed them shall notify the community of the reasons behind their dismissal.
   d) Supervising Jarls may appoint members to fill vacant Thane positions for the remainder of a term.
   e) The duties and responsibilities of the legal delegate of the Wintreath NationStates region shall be vested in a Thane positions within the Ministry of Regional Affairs.

5) Thanes shall be chosen during elections that begin on the first day of December, March, June, and September.
a) To participate in Thane elections, candidates must be vetted and approved by the the Jarl of the ministry that the position is within on the basis of activity and contribution to the region within the area the candidate wishes to run in. They must also be vetted and approved by the Monarch on the basis of fit within the Cabinet.
b) In the event that a candidate is elected to more positions than allowed under Section 2a, the candidate shall accept the positions they prefer up to the limits allowed. The remaining positions shall go to the person with the next most votes unless there are no other candidates, in which case the position shall be considered vacant.
c) Once elected, Thanes shall serve at the will and pleasure of their Jarl and the Monarch. If dismissed from the Riksråd, the person who dismissed them shall notify the community of the reasons behind their dismissal.
d) In the event of a vacancy between elections, the Jarl of the ministry the position is within may appoint a Thane with the approval of the Monarch to serve the remainder of the term.
e) An initial special election shall occur two weeks after publication of this decree to determine Thanes until the March 2018 election. For the purposes of this election "last term" shall refer to the months of September, October, November, and December 2017.

5) Citizens shall elect three Alders to the Riksraad, who shall represent Citizens directly to the Riksraad.
   a) Alders shall be chosen during elections that begin on the first day of December, March, June, and September. Prior to the start of the election, candidates for Alder shall stand for election in the designated nomination topic and post a campaign topic addressing any questions listed for candidates in the nomination topic. Candidates who fail to do this shall be dropped from the election and not placed on the ballot.
   b) In the event of a vacancy, candidates who lost the last regular election for Alder shall have the opportunity to fill it in order of the candidate with the most votes to the candidate with the least votes. In the event that there are no remaining candidates, the vacancy shall be filled by special election unless there are fewer than 14 days left until the next regular election, in which case it shall remain vacant.

6) The Monarch may also appoint advisory members who shall hold no duties and responsibilities beyond advising the Monarch and Cabinet in a specific area.

6) The Monarch may appoint advisory members who shall hold no duties and responsibilities beyond those listed in Section 7.

7) In addition to the position-specific duties determined by the Monarch and Jarls, all members of the Riskråd shall be responsible for participating in Cabinet discussions, informing the rest of the Cabinet of topics and issues within their portfolio that may require discussion by the entire Cabinet, and engaging with Citizens and members of the community in general.

7) Members of the Riksraad shall:
   a) Hold no more than either one Jarl and one Thane position or two Thane positions at any one time
   b) Maintain an account on the main Wintreath Discord server which is linked to their Wintreath website account
   c) Participate in discussions in the designated Riksraad forums and Discord channels

Cabinet Ministries
8 ) The Ministry of Culture shall assist the Citizens of the region in the development, maintenance, and advancement of discussions, games, and activities that are outside the purview of other ministries.
9) The Ministry of Foreign Affairs shall promote Wintreath and Wintrean interest by creating and fostering partnerships and communications with other communities.
10) The Ministry of Regional Affairs shall be responsible for maintaining and improving the NationStates region page and RMB community.
a) The Thane of World Assembly Affairs shall be the legal World Assembly Delegate under the Ministry of Regional Affairs.

Modification of this Decree
11 8) The Monarch may modify this decree at any time, and shall notify the regional community of doing so by creating a new post in the topic in which the decree was published detailing the modifications made.

Updated Text

Spoiler

1) The Cabinet of Wintreath shall be named the Riksraad, which shall be headed by the Monarch and consist of Citizens who have been delegated authorities by the Monarch.

2) The Riksraad shall include the following ministries:
   a) The Ministry of Culture shall assist the Citizens of the region in the development, maintenance, and advancement of discussions, games, and activities that are outside the purview of other ministries.
   b) The Ministry of Foreign Affairs shall promote Wintreath and Wintrean interests by creating and fostering partnerships and communications with other communities.
   c) The Ministry of Regional Affairs shall be responsible for maintaining and improving the NationStates region page and RMB community.

3) Each ministry shall be led by a Jarl, who shall have the authority and responsibility to advance the portfolio of their respective ministries. Jarls shall serve at the will and pleasure of the Monarch, who shall appoint and dismiss them as needed.

4) With the consent of the Monarch, Jarls may delegate clearly-defined portions of their portfolio to subordinate positions, which shall be held by Thanes. Jarls shall maintain a current list of Thane positions that include a list of duties and responsibilities for each position.
   a) Thanes shall be chosen during elections that begin on the first day of December, March, June, and September. Prior to the start of the election, candidates for Thane shall stand for election in the designated nomination topic and post a campaign topic addressing any questions listed for candidates in the nomination topic. Candidates who fail to do this shall be dropped from the election and not placed on the ballot.
   b) The Monarch or supervising Jarl may reject a candidacy for a Thane position by posting their decision along with the reasoning behind it in the candidate's campaign topic prior to the beginning of the election.
   c) Once elected, Thanes shall serve at the will and pleasure of their Jarl and the Monarch. If dismissed from the Riksraad, the person who dismissed them shall notify the community of the reasons behind their dismissal.
   d) Supervising Jarls may appoint members to fill vacant Thane positions for the remainder of a term.
   e) The duties and responsibilities of the legal delegate of the Wintreath NationStates region shall be vested in a Thane position within the Ministry of Regional Affairs.

5) Citizens shall elect three Alders to the Riksraad, who shall represent Citizens directly to the Riksraad.
   a) Alders shall be chosen during elections that begin on the first day of December, March, June, and September. Prior to the start of the election, candidates for Alder shall stand for election in the designated nomination topic and post a campaign topic addressing any questions listed for candidates in the nomination topic. Candidates who fail to do this shall be dropped from the election and not placed on the ballot.
   b) In the event of a vacancy, candidates who lost the last regular election for Alder shall have the opportunity to fill it in order of the candidate with the most votes to the candidate with the least votes. In the event that there are no remaining candidates, the vacancy shall be filled by special election unless there are fewer than 14 days left until the next regular election, in which case it shall remain vacant.

6) The Monarch may appoint advisory members who shall hold no duties and responsibilities beyond those listed in Section 7.

7) Members of the Riksraad shall:
   a) Hold no more than either one Jarl and one Thane position or two Thane positions at any one time
   b) Maintain an account on the main Wintreath Discord server which is linked to their Wintreath website account
   c) Participate in discussions in the designated Riksraad forums and Discord channels

8) The Monarch may modify this decree at any time, and shall notify the regional community of doing so by creating a new post in the topic in which the decree was published detailing the modifications made.

Is there a reason why the clause about the Delegacy was removed?

Is there a reason why the clause about the Delegacy was removed?

I believe that's now in section 4e.

e) The duties and responsibilities of the legal delegate of the Wintreath NationStates region shall be invested in a Thane position within the Ministry of Regional Affairs.

Is there a reason why the clause about the Delegacy was removed?

Looks to me like that's because it's essentially replicated in clause 4e.

e) The duties and responsibilities of the legal delegate of the Wintreath NationStates region shall be invested in a Thane positions within the Ministry of Regional Affairs.

a) The Thane of World Assembly Affairs shall be the legal World Assembly Delegate under the Ministry of Regional Affairs.

Seems comparable.

EDIT: lol gerrick scooped me by five seconds