NationStates Jolt Archive

OOC: This thread takes place after A New Order Rising in the Excalbian Isles (http://forums.jolt.co.uk/showthread.php?t=354264). The treaty being ratified is on the NSwiki at http://ns.goobergunch.net/wiki/index.php/Treaty_of_Courtland. I'd encourage all signatories to post whatever ratifications are necessary in this thread should they so desire, along with any other immediate aftermath of the treaty which doesn't more properly belong in Saxmere's coronation thread!

IC:

Palais du Parlement, New Rome

The Imperial Parliament was about to be in session again for the first time since the Treaty of Courtland had been signed in Upper Virginia, and there was a peculiar air to the place. The members mingled and talked with each other, some more or less in their ordinary seats, others all over the chamber far from their proper places.

The United Christian Front had elected a new deputy leader, ousting the previously well-liked Prince Constantine from the job. Constantine still sat on the front bench on the Opposition side, although he was now fairly far away from his uncle, party leader Prince Basil, and the new deputy leader Isaac Comnenus. Constantine and his "young blood" supporters had been placed on ice for a while as the old guard reasserted itself.

On the Government benches, the uneasy nature of the coalition between the Socialists and the Constantinople Party was once again visibly evident as it was all too often these days. The Socialist Chancellor, Dr Thibault Drapeur, and his boisterous right hand man and Foreign Minister, Demetrios Raoul, were back from Upper Virginia and had secured the support of the Pantocratorian Socialist Alliance caucus on the Treaty of Courtland - although that support had never really been in doubt, hesistant though some of the further left members usually associated with leadership-aspirant Treasurer Isabelle Folquet had been about what they had described as the "neoliberal agenda" of Article Nine. The Constantinople Party leader and Deputy Chancellor Spiro Bolkus was moving about the chamber, having a last minute chat to some of his backbenchers. The Constantinople Party was generally content that the Treaty of Courtland was relatively toothless, although none of them were truly in favour of it. Bolkus had spent several hours reassuring the hardliners, just in case they were thinking of embarrassing the Government.

The bronze double doors of the Speaker's Entrance flew open and a Varangian Guardsman entered the chamber carrying a solid silver Imperial Mace. He wore the Emperor's livery over his dress uniform, and his heavy boots crashed against the marble floor as he marched before the empty Speaker's chair. He was followed by the clerks of the Parliament, and then the ancient robed and periwigged figure of the Speaker himself.

"Monseigneur l'Orateur!" announced a clerk of the Parliament in a loud, clear voice.

The chatter of the MPs stopped, and the members bowed to the Speaker as he stepped up to his marble seat on its slightly raised podium. Prior to the passage of the Parliamentary Reforms Act of 2005, there would now have been an opening prayer. The Speaker even opened his mouth as if to start, before catching himself. Instead, he sat down, as did the assembled members.

"Are there any apologies?" the Speaker asked. "The Leader of the House."

Demetrios Raoul rose to his feet and bowed to the Speaker.

"No apologies on this side of the house, my Lord Speaker." Raoul noted. No Government MPs were absent.

"The Manager of Opposition Business." summoned the Speaker.

Frederic d'Alpuget rose to his feet and bowed to the Speaker.

"Thank you, my Lord Speaker, Her Imperial Highness the Right Honourable the Member for the Deanery of Saint Louis (New Rome) sends her apologies. She will not be able to attend the session." d'Alpuget advised. Princess Irene rarely attended Parliament these days. He sat down.

"I call the Right Honourable the Imperial Chancellor, Doctor Thibault Drapeur." the Speaker said.

Drapeur rose to address the house.

"Thank you, my Lord Speaker." the Chancellor began. "If it please the house, I am submitting the agenda of bills being proposed by the Imperial Government this session, including the Treaty of Courtland, which His Majesty asks that this house consider so that its deliberations may enter into His Majesty's consideration."

Drapeur turned and handed the agenda to the Speaker, who looked over it, and nodded.

"The Government's agenda has been accepted by the chair." the speaker replied, and Drapeur resumed his seat. "I command the clerk of the house to read the first item on the Imperial Government's agenda, the Treaty of Courtland."

"Shame!" called Sir Cyrus Fastonville, the Shadow Foreign Affairs Minister. He was soon joined by most of the United Christian Front.

"Order!" bellowed the Speaker. "The clerk of the house!"

The Danaan Parliament was halfway through the day's proceedings when the Treaty of Courtland was introduced. It had been a somber day so far, mostly dedicated to mourning MP Rast. When the Treaty was announced, two or three MPs rose to speak. "The Speaker recognizes the honorable gentlewoman for the people of Amory."

Janet Wolfe remained standing while the others resumed their seats. "My lord Speaker, I move that we suspend debate and proceed to an immediate vote."

"There hasn't been any debate!" called out Rose Roosevelt, the Member for the First District of Wintermore.

"Is there a second?" the Speaker continued, ignoring Roosevelt.

"Second!" called out Kate Kaufman.

"All those in favor?" asked the Speaker.

"Aye!" cried out most of the assembled MPs.

"All those opposed?" he continued.

"Nay!" cried out a few voices.

"The ayes have it. We shall now proceed to a vote..."

Parliament voted to ratify the Treaty of Courtland 294 to eight. The information was then relayed to Viscountess Kairis and Adair Scott in Agwenstadt. High King Owain was privately informed and summoned his Council of Ministers for the next afternoon. At this meeting, the Treaty of Courtland was submitted for his assent, which was promptly granted. Notice was then sent through the Danaan embassies in all the other signatory states that the Resurgent Dream had officially ratified the treaty. Now it remained to be seen what the other six signatories would do, although it was assumed they would ratify without much serious difficulty.

From the centrist daily Trouw ('Loyality')

Knootoss ratifies Treaty of Courtland

THE HAGUE – the Treaty of Courtland, which settles relations between several nations with holdings in the North Atlantic Ocean, was ratified today by the Staten-Generaal. The treaty entails diplomatic cooperation, trade and conflict resolution between the nations of the Excalbian Isles, Knootoss, Pantocratoria and The Resurgent Dream.

The ratification came down to a flat vote between the left and the right. Government coalition parties Social-Liberal Party and Knootian Green Party as well as the socialist SP voted in favour of the treaty, which was negotiated by Prime Minister Jan Willem Daatman (SLP) and Foreign Affairs and Defence Minister Femke Vologdov (KGP). The treaty was opposed by the conservative RCPK and their junior partner, the Elvish interest party KEP.

In the parliamentary debate prior to ratification, which was characterised by observers as dull and predictable, there were complaints by the right opposition that the treaty would tie down Knootian interests far too much without reigning in on "Pantocratorian aggression". In her lengthy exchange with opposition leader Hugo Deburghraeve, the foreign minister defended the treaty as central to the government policy of “restoring trust of the international community” in Knootoss after the controversial policies of former Prime Minister Galadriel Táralóm nos Círdan.

Opinion polls suggest that the population is largely apathetic to ratification of the treaty, which settled the heated conflict around the Excalbian isles several years ago. When asked, 43% of the Knootian population answered to be “somewhat to very much” in favour of the treaty, whereas 19% of the population was “somewhat to very much” opposed. The remainder expressed no opinion.

Palais du Parlement, New Rome

"My Lord Speaker, on a point of order..." said Isaac Comnenus, the Deputy Leader of the Opposition, rising to his feet.

"The Leader of the House will resume his seat." the Speaker told Demetrios Raoul, who nodded and sat down. "The chair recognises the Honourable the Deputy Leader of the Opposition."

"Thank you, my Lord Speaker." Comnenus nodded. "The point of order is procedural, my Lord Speaker, a private member's bill was lodged and placed on the agenda of the house before the Government's first bill was placed on the agenda of the house. I ask that the bill be put."

"Hear, hear!" echoed the United Christian Front as Comnenus sat down.

"The Deputy Leader of the Opposition is correct." the Speaker conceded. "The clerk of the house!"

The clerk of house read the private member's bill:

PRIVATE MEMBER'S BILL - The Right Honourable Isaac Comnenus, Member of the Imperial Parliament for the Abbey of the Theotokos (New Rome)

An Act Proscribing the Order of the Invisible Hand
or
An Act Amending the Proscribed Societies and Organisations Act of 1799, Amended 1823, 1887, 1912, 1943, 1977, 1994, 2002


Whereas the so-called Order of the Invisible Hand and the Church of Freedom are responsible for the destabilisation of the Excalbian Isles and the consequent escalation of military tensions in the Atlantic, bringing the Empire to the brink of war; and

Whereas the two aforementioned organisations threaten to destabilise the Empire itself just as they have done in the Excalbian Isles;

Let the Proscribed Societies and Organisations Act of 1799, amended 1823, amended 1887, amended 1912, amended 1943, amended 1977, amended 1994, amended 2002, be amended to include in the list in section III subsection ii, entitled "Proscribed Societies and Organisations", the two aforementioned organisations, the Order of the Invisible Hand and the Church of Freedom. Further, let the first appendix to the act be amended to include the definitions in appendum to this act.


An appendix was circulated to the members along with a copy of the bill which defined exactly what constituted the Order of the Invisible Hand and the Church of Freedom. The readings of the Government's agenda then resumed. After several days debate on the various bills, each were put to the vote.

The Treaty of Courtland was ratified with 311 votes to 176 (all of which were United Christian Front votes), with about half of the Constantinople Party abstaining, and Princess Irene absent. The Act Proscribing the Order of the Invisible Hand passed with 271 votes to 269, with the United Christian Front and the Constantinople Party both voting in favour and the Socialists against. Princess Irene appeared for the vote, since it was going to be so close, and since the Imperial Parliament's rules required an absolute majority of all 540 seats (which is to say 271 votes) in order for a bill to be passed. She left immediately afterwards.

OOC: We should probably all specify to which tier our nation belongs, according to Article 9, section 2.


2. Trade amongst signatories

a. All signatories agree to participate in trade with each other (except in the case of sanctions or boycotts authorised by the CRC as per section 1, subsection a).

b. There shall be two tiers of trade between signatories within the North Atlantic signatories. Signatories shall sign this treaty as either free trade signatories or special trade relationship signatories:

i. Free trade signatories commit to a multilateral free trade agreement with all other free trade signatories. The exact terms of the multilateral free trade agreement will be determined by the free trade signatories at a subsequent economic summit.

ii. Special trade relationship signatories undertake, in general terms, to investigate the possibility of gradually reducing tariffs on imports from other signatory nations.

c. Signatories shall be allowed to move between tiers at their prerogative should they so desire.

Pantocratoria is a special trade relationship signatory. In the spirit in which the special trade relationship teir was devised by the Pantocratorian negotiators, Pantocratoria has taken no practical action at all to foster increased trade with other signatories, except through the trade agreements it already had with Excalbia and the Resurgent Dream.

The Resurgent Dream is a free trade relationship signatory. In addition to abiding by the precise terms of the free trade relationship stipulations in Treaty itself, it has taken active steps to increase trade with Upper Virginia and the Confederation. It has continued its favorable trading policies with Pantocratoria, Excalbia, and Knootoss.