6/8/20233:Twenty-something years ago, just for fun, I drafted a little constitution-style document. It was based on L. Neil Smith’s Covenant of Unanimous Consent (which fictionally replaced the Bill of Rights in his “Probability Broach” alternate universe). In a later novel, some potential loopholes in the Covenant were mentioned. My little document was an attempt to close those, and maybe some other problems confirmed statists might try to exploit.
ARTICLES
Whereas we wish to establish that individuals can only be ruled by
themselves individually, and that the only acceptable role of
government is advisory in nature, we ally in common interest as
individuals and accept these articles, and establish ourselves as
the Confederacy.
Article I. Statement of Principles
1. No individual, group of individuals, or other organization has
the right to initiate force or coercion against another person for
any reason.
2. All individuals have the right and responsibility of self
defense, by any means they deem necessary, against initiated force
or coercion.
3. All individuals are encouraged, but not obligated, to aid other
individuals in their defense against initiated force or coercion.
4. All rights are individual rights, neither collective nor
additive, and those rights are any and all necessary to allow
individuals to live their lives as they see fit, regardless of age,
gender, race, or any other distinguishing criteria.
5. All individuals have the sole responsibility for their actions in
exercising their rights, and the responsibility to accept that all
other individuals possess the same rights.
6. All individuals must strive to be independent, self-supporting,
and responsible for their own actions.
7. While charity is encouraged, no individual, group of individuals,
or other organization is entitled to support by any other; the sole
exception being that any parent or guardian must accept the
responsibility of caring for all children whom he or she has
parented or voluntarily chosen to act as parent or guardian for,
until such time as the child can be reasonably expected to assume
for his or her own self the rights and responsibilities of an
independent individual, or until he or she voluntarily chooses to
accept those rights and responsibilities.
Article II. Limits of Authority
1. All authority resides within individuals, and extends only to the
originating individual and any other individual voluntarily
accepting that authority.
2. The Confederacy as a whole has no authority.
3. The Confederacy as a whole may take on only those functions
specifically and explicitly delegated to it by these articles.
4.The Confederacy as a whole is forbidden to collect taxes, tarrifs,
duties, or fees of any kind.
5. The Confederacy as a whole is forbidden to license or regulate
any activity.
6. The Confederacy as a whole is forbidden to raise or maintain any
military or police force.
7. The Confederacy as a whole has no executive, legislative,
regulatory, or judicial authority except that specifically delegated
to it by these articles.
Article III. Arbitration
1. Individuals, or groups of individuals, unable to otherwise settle
any dispute are encouraged to employ a neutral party as an
arbitrator.
2. An arbitrator is any individual who chooses to referee a dispute.
He or she may choose to charge a fee for arbitration services.
3. Arbitration may be binding or nonbinding as agreed to by all
parties to the dispute. In the event that any party to the dispute
chooses not to participate in the arbitration process, the
arbitration is nonbinding.
4. An arbitrator may conduct the arbitration proceedings in any
manner he or she wishes, so long as it is consistent with these
articles.
5. No decision by any arbitrator shall be used as a binding
precedent for any other proceeding. But any arbitrator privy to the
results of any arbitration may choose to take said results under
advisement.
6. No individual is required to be a member of the Board of
Arbitrators in order to act as an arbitrator.
7. In the event that any party to dispute is not satisfied with the
arbitrator’s decision, a second arbitrator, whose fee if any shall
be paid by the first arbitrator, shall be engaged to conduct new
arbitration proceedings. Any binding decision rendered by the second
arbitrator is final, with no further appeal.
Article IV. Board of Arbitrators
1. The Board of Arbitrators is the only entity allowed to represent
the Confederacy as a whole. While so acting, the Board has no
binding authority over the Confederacy as a whole or any individual.
While representing the Confederacy as a whole, the Board has only an
advisory role. This advisory role may be filled by any one member of
the Board or by any number of members, up to and including their
entire number.
2. The Board of Arbitrators shall consist of any individual wishing
to act as an arbitrator in accordance within these articles, and who
agrees to share in the financial support of the Board’s required
activities. The Board is forbidden to obtain financial support from
any entity not a member of the Board.
3. The required activities of the Board are:
To maintain a permanent record of all proceedings
in which the Board represented the Confederacy as
a whole. All individuals in the Confederacy will
have unrestricted access to these records.
To main a permanent record of all arbitration
proceedings conducted by members of the Board.
Access to each of these records is limited to the
records archivist selected by the Board, the
arbitrator, all parties to the dispute, and
anyone granted access by any party to the dispute.
To publish a public directory of all member
arbitrators, to aid individual desiring
arbitration in locating an arbitrator.
To maintain a permanent public register, by name
only, of any individual signatory to these
articles who wishes the Board to so record.
Article V. Inviolability of Articles
These Articles of Confederation may not be added to, subtracted
from, modified, or otherwise amended without the unanimous consent
of all living individuals signatory to these articles.
We accept all rights and responsibilities laid out in these Articles
of Confederation.
________________________________________________