SHIELD Constitution

Article I: The Council

The Council shall consist of five (5) members at all times - the Council Chairman, the Council Vice-Chairman, and 3 At-Large Council Members. In order to be eligible to run for the Council, members must meet the following requirements: (1) Have properly completed all instructions from the welcome telegram, (2) Pass vetting by the Intelligence Division, (3) Be a member in good standing of either the Intelligence, Operations, or Recruitment Divisions. The window for interested parties to declare their candidacy for the Council begins 10 days prior to the election and ends 2 days prior to the election. Interested parties need simply to email the Director to declare candidacy for a position and the Director will respond in the affirmative or negative based on the party's completion of the 3 requirements listed above. The members of the Council shall be elected, by general poll of the region, to 60 day terms. All candidates shall appear in separate polls for each position (Council Chairman, Council Vice-Chairman, and 3 At-Large Members). In case of ties, a runoff election will be held exclusively between the members who are tied. If after any election there exists a vacant elected position, the Director shall appoint a member to serve in that role until the next election.

Article II: The Powers of the Council

The Council shall serve as the legislative body of the region. The Council shall appoint a member of the region, by simple majority vote, to serve as Director for an indefinite term. Individuals serving on the Council may not hold any other position, elected or otherwise, in the region. The Council may at any time impeach the Director and remove him/her from office with a unanimous vote. At-large members of the Council shall hold Clearance Level 7, the Vice-Chairman shall hold Clearance Level 8, and the Chairman shall hold Clearance Level 9. The Council may vote to create new rules or repeal existing rules by simple majority rule. The Council may overrule any of the Director's actions by a unanimous vote. Any officer appointed by the Director who will be granted Clearance Level 7 or higher must be confirmed by the Council in a simple majority vote. Council meetings shall be held at minimum once every two weeks. Council procedure will follow Robert's Rules of Order. A quorum for the Council to vote consists of at minimum 4 members. The Scribe shall record the Council meeting minutes and the Secretary will ensure they are made available to all member nations. Meetings or discussions involving topics above Clearance Level 7 will neither be recorded nor distributed to members.

Article III: The Director

The Director shall be appointed by the Council to an indefinite term by a simple majority vote. The Director may only leave office by resignation or a unanimous vote of the Council. The Director may veto any measure passed by the Council unless said measure is passed by unanimous vote. The Director does not have a vote on the Council, but may introduce a measure to the Council and request a vote. The Director has full executive power regarding the military and makes the final decision on all embassies, bans, and other day-to-day operations of the region.

Article IV: Removing the Director

In case of resignation or removal of the Director, the Council Chairman shall serve as Interim Director for a period of no less than 4 days and no more than 30 days. During this time, the Council Members will search for a permanent Director. The Interim Director forfeits their Council vote. The Council Chairman's position will be temporarily occupied by the Vice-Chairman, while the role of Vice-Chairman will be temporarily filled by an At-Large Council member. During this interim period, the Council shall be reduced to 4 members. Any Council Member may introduce a candidate for Director. The temporary term of the Interim Director may be extended by the Council by simple majority vote. Any candidate for Director who is rejected by the Council may not be considered for the same position for a minimum of 90 days.

Article V: Emergency Elections

In case of removal or resignation of the Director, as outlined above, the Council is temporarily reduced to 4 members. If the Council Chairman/Interim Director is selected as the new Director, the Council Vice-Chairman will assume the role of Council Chairman until the next election. The remaining members of the Council shall vote for a new Council Vice-Chairman to hold the role until the next election. The unfilled seat will then become an At-Large Council seat. If the next scheduled election is within 16 days, the Council shall remain at 4 members until that election. If the next scheduled election is beyond 16 days, an emergency election shall be held to fill the vacant position. Candidates will have 2 days to declare candidacy to the Director, then the election will be held. All additional procedures of Article I shall be followed in this scenario.