Assembly of the South Pacific
The Assembly of the South Pacific is the supreme legislative authority in the South Pacific. It has existed in some form since 2003. Members of the Assembly vote on the laws and representative officials of the South Pacific.
Role
The Assembly of the South Pacific is made up of legislators. Legislators may propose and vote on bills concerning the governance of the South Pacific, though they cannot vote on bills that would affect only the on-site community. Legislators vote in the Cabinet, Delegate, and Chair elections and legislator status is required to run for these positions. The Assembly also votes on appointments made by the Cabinet, such as nominations for the Legislator Committee and the High Court. The Assembly may recall officials for dereliction of duty, abuse of authority, or violations of the law.
Any legislator can propose a bill to the Assembly. There is a debate period of three days for bills on general laws and five days on constitutional laws; after this, bills may be moved to a vote if there is a motion and a second from separate legislators.
The Chair of the Assembly
The Assembly elects a Chair of the Assembly for a term lasting four months. The Chair is responsible for maintaining order and decorum in the Assembly, guiding debate into bills, bringing bills to vote, and recording changes to law.
History
The legislative body known as the Assembly was founded in late June or early July 2003, when it was known as the General Assembly of the South Pacific.[1] The name was changed to Council of the South Pacific in July. In the Great Council of January 2006, the name of the Council was changed to the Assembly.[2]
Until the Great Council of 2016, members of the Assembly were known as Citizens rather than Legislators.[3] Currently, legislators refers to members of the Assembly while citizens refers to all members of the South Pacific.
Membership
Legislators are admitted to the Assembly by the Legislator Committee. They may lose legislator status if their nation leaves the South Pacific or if they do not meet the voting requirements (a legislator must vote in at least half of the votes in a month where a minimum of two votes are held).
The roster of legislators is publicly viewable here.
Further Reading
References
- ↑ Slackervania, 7 July 2003. https://www.tapatalk.com/groups/thespacific/new-name-t5.html#p27
- ↑ Fudgie, 19 January 2006. https://www.tapatalk.com/groups/thespacific/council-results-t4148.html#p116933
- ↑ Assembly Resolution on Citizenship Continuity, 3 July 2016. https://tspforums.xyz/thread-4282.html