Terran Alliance Charter

Article I - "Mission Statement"

• Section I - "Purpose of the Charter"
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• Section II - "Purpose of the Terran Alliance"
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Article II - "Legislative Branch"

• Section I - "Purpose of the Legislative Branch"
  • The legislative authority of the Terran Alliance shall be vested in the two Chambers - one of the People and one of the States.
• Section II - "The People's Chamber"
  • The representatives of the People's Chamber act on the behalf of the citizens of the Terran Alliance, with each autonomous member state electing a number of representatives commensurate to their population, but no more than three and no less than one representative shall represent a given member state. These representatives shall serve for a term of three years and may serve up to three terms. For states with more than one representative these terms shall be staggered ensuring that only one representative is up for election each year. Colonies under the jurisdiction of the Colony Board which are not a member of a pre-existing autonomous state shall elect a single representative to the People's Chamber.
• Section III - "The State's Chamber"
  • The representatives of the State's Chamber act on behalf of the governments of the member states of the Terran Alliance, with each autonomous member state's government appointing a single representative by a method of their choice. Non-governmental organizations can petition the People's Chamber for a seat in the State's Chamber. Colonies under the jurisdiction of the Colony Board which are not a member of a pre-existing autonomous state shall appoint a representative to the State's Chamber. Representatives to the State's Chamber serve three year terms and can serve as many terms as desired.
• Section IV - "The Corporate Council"
  • In an effort to provide for corporations to voice their opinion on the legislative process without creating the dubious ethical morass that is financial lobbying, the Corporate Council is formed by this document to allow for a form of non-financial lobbying and input on the process. Any corporation that does business in more than one member state can petition the People's Chamber for a single seat on the Corporate Council. The method of appointing the representative that fills this seat is up to the corporate governance policies of the corporation in question, and there is no limit on the length of time that the representative can remain in that seat.
• Section V - "The Colony Board"
  • Due to the unique nature of governing colonies, additional legislative authority specific to the Terran Alliance's colonial holdings is vested in the Colony Board. Each colony receives a number of seats on the board commensurate with their population, but no more than three and no less than one representative shall represent a given colony. These representatives are appointed by popular vote within the colony. In addition to providing legislative authority specific to colonial holdings, the Colony Board is also responsible for appointing colonial governors and managing Alliance-sponsored colonial initiatives.

Article III - "Executive Branch"

• Section I - "Purpose of the Executive Branch"
  • The executive authority of the Terran Alliance shall be vested in the Executive Council, comprising the Head of State, and the Double Triple Consuls, and the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and a representative from the Supernatural Defense Agency's High Council.
• Section II - "The Executive Council"
  • The executive authority as a whole belongs to the Executive Council itself, while individual executive privileges are delegated to members of the Council as defined below. The executive power to approve legislation that has been passed by both the People's Chamber and the State's Chamber is vested in the Executive Council as a whole. For legislation to be approved the Council must pass it by a simple majority vote.
• Section III - "Office of the Head of State"
  • The Office of the Head of State, the occupant of which shall be referred to by a title of their own choosing, is granted the authority to represent the unity and legitimacy of the Terran Alliance. They are the head of the Executive Branch and possess the authority to appoint and remove the non-Consul members of the Executive Council with the permission of the People's Chamber. The Office of the Head of State additionally serves as the head of the Alliance Diplomatic Corps and can be considered both the accreditor of the Terran Alliance's ambassadors and an ambassador themselves. The occupant of the Office of the Head of State is appointed via Alliance-wide popular vote and they serve for a two-year term with no limit on the amount of terms they can serve.
• Section IV - "The Dual Triple Consuls"
  • The Dual Triple Consuls comprise the Consul of the People and, the Consul of the States, and the Consul of the Colonies. The Consul of the People is selected by Alliance-wide popular vote and serve a single six-year term during which time they preside over the State's Chamber with a double vote in the voting matters of the Chamber - they are expected to serve in the interests of the people and can be removed by a vote of no confidence in them by the citizens of the Alliance. The Consul of the States is selected by the State's Chamber and presides over the People's Chamber, serving a single three-year term during which time they are granted a double vote in the voting matters of the People's Chamber - their vacated seat in the State's Chamber is replaced with an appointee from the member state they represent. The Consul of the Colonies is a chosen representative of the Colony Board that presides over the Colony Board and represents the viewpoints of the colonies on the Executive Council.
• Section V -"The Joint Chiefs of Staff"
  • The executive authority of Commander in Chief is vested in the Joint Chiefs of Staff of the Terran Alliance Armed Forces (hereafter referred to as the Joint Chiefs). The Joint Chiefs are defined as the Admiral of the Navy, the General of the Army, the Brigadier of the Marine Corps, the Postmaster General, and a single representative from the Combat Engineer Corps General's Council. The Joint Chiefs of Staff receive five votes when voting on military matters, but only a single vote when voting on non-military matters - this vote is cast by the senior-most member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, referred to as the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Collectively the Joint Chiefs oversee all the Administrative branch of the Terran Alliance Armed Forces, and each of them is responsible for overseeing their own service branch.
• Section V VI - "The Alliance Diplomatic Corps"
  • Acting under the authority of the Office of the Head of State, the Alliance Diplomatic Corps is responsible for advising the Executive Council on foreign policy and international relations. The Alliance Diplomatic Corps shall maintain an embassy in every member state and additional consulates if possible and necessary, in addition to endeavouring to establish embassies or diplomatic missions in non-member states and foreign powers.
• Section VII - "Supernatural Defense Agency Representation on the Executive Council"
  • The Supernatural Defense Agency is granted a non-voting seat on the Executive Council to express the viewpoints of that organization and the community which it is responsible for overseeing. The Chief of the 2nd Directorate is barred from representing the Supernatural Defense Agency in voting matters due to that Directorate's viewpoint being better represented by the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

Article IV - "Judicial Branch"

• Section I - "Purpose of the Judicial Branch"
  • The judicial authority of the Terran Alliance shall be vested in the three Courts - one of Commons, one of Corporations, and one of Concepts. The Judges that comprise these courts shall be appointed by the Executive Council and will serve for a single term of no more than nine years. Judges can be removed by the Executive Council or by majority vote of the People's Chamber.
• Section II - "The Court of Commons"
  • All cases that require the jurisprudence of the Terran Alliance which involve a citizen of the alliance or a non-Alliance citizen seeking legal action against a corporate entity based in the Alliance shall fall under the jurisdiction of the Court of Commons. The duty of the Court of Commons is to protect personal liberties and the rights of citizens of the Alliance.
• Section III - "The Court of Corporations"
  • All legal matters in which both parties are either a corporate entity based in the Alliance or are the Alliance itself are under the jurisprudence of the Court of Corporations. The Court of Corporations is also responsible for the granting of and oversight of corporate extraterritorial rights, though the enforcement of the Decision Against Corporate Militias itself falls under the Terran Alliance Judicial Bureau.
• Section IV - "The Court of Concepts"
  • All legislation passed by the Legislative Branch of the Terran Alliance must pass through the oversight of the Court of Concepts, who exists to ensure that all laws are in compliance with this Charter. Additionally, the Court of Concepts may be called upon to hear matters which are not under the jurisprudence of the Courts of Commons and Corporations.
• Section V - "The Terran Alliance Judicial Bureau"
  • In order to maintain compliance with Alliance-wide policies and ensure a standard of enforcement and behavior of law enforcement, the Terran Alliance Judicial Bureau will be established and tasked with this duty. They shall be responsible for law enforcement which must take place at an Alliance level, that is law enforcement matters which cross jurisdictional boundaries of member states. The Bureau shall be headed by the Minister of Justice who his appointed by the Head of State, and they shall be assisted by the Secretary of Justice. They shall employ Solicitor Generals to represent the Alliance before the Court of Commons and the Court of Corporations.

Article V - "Recognition of Member States"

• Section I - "Definition of a Member State"
  • The Terran Alliance shall comprise of individual member states who retain their own sovereignty from one another and are free to pass judgement and laws within their own borders provided they do not break any Alliance regulations in the process. Individual exceptions to this can be granted at the discretion of the Court of Concept.
• Section II - "Duties of Member States"
  • Member states shall contribute an amount of funding to the operation of the Terran Alliance, the amount shall total a sum determined on an annual basis by the People's and State's Chambers. Additionally, member states shall provide space in their territory for at least one Terran Alliance embassy. Furthermore, member states shall endeavor to not war upon one another and submit to the judgement of the Terran Alliance to avoid any international conflict.
• Section III - "Privileges of Member States"
  • In return for going through with their duties, member states are guaranteed the protection of the Terran Alliance from external threats and each other. Furthermore, citizens all member states shall have equal opportunity when competing for Alliance employment and all member states shall be on equal footing when bidding for Alliance contracts.
• Section IV - "Process for the Censure or Removal of a Member State"
  • In the event that a member state has gone against the better interests of the Alliance, they may be censured per a supermajority vote of both the People's and the State's chambers. In the event of a heinous incident that requires further punishment, another supermajority vote and the consent of the Executive Council may be used to expel a member state from the Alliance. A censured member state cannot compete for Alliance contracts for a period of one year. An expelled member state is immediately removed from all trade agreements and its citizens may apply for asylum with the Alliance.

Article VI - "Non-National Member States"

• Section I - "Recognition of Non-National Entities"
  • The Terran Alliance recognizes that multinational corporations and non-governmental organizations are just the first in a wave of non-governmental expansion of humanity. Already there are corporate entities which span three worlds and there is a growing amount of interest in the asteroid belt. Therefore, a process will be created to afford these large non-national entities some of the same privileges as member states.
• Section II - "Privileges of Non-National Entities"
  • As detailed in Sections III and IV of Article II, non-national entities can petition for representation in the State's Chamber or the Corporate Council depending on the nature of each entity. Additionally, corporations that have been afforded representation on the Corporate Council can make bids for Alliance contracts independent of their nation of origin. Should their nation of origin be censured or have their status as a member state removed, the corporation will not suffer the consequences of this unless they are determined to be complicit in the actions of their nation of origin. Furthermore, non-national entities are afforded the right to self-govern when claiming territory that does not currently belong to any other member state or non-national entity, however such self-government is still under the oversight of the Terran Alliance and the laws of the Terran Alliance shall be the laws within such a territory. Lastly, recognized non-national entities are hereby permitted to maintain standing militaries as if they were a nation-based member state and may use these militaries in the same fashion as nation-based member states only for the purposes of defense of their operations and facilities. Use of these militaries by a non-national entity against their own employees, against another non-national entity, or against a national entity, are all grounds for censure or removal of status of the non-national entity using such militaries in a non-approved manner.
• Section III - "Duties of Non-National Entities"
  • In return for the privileges afforded to them, non-national entities must likewise contribute an amount of funding to the operation of the Terran Alliance, the amount shall total a sum determined on an annual basis by the People's and State's Chambers. Additionally, non-national entities that maintain standing militaries shall pledge to use them only for self defense, not to wage war upon other member states or engage in acts of corporate espionage.
• Section IV - "Process for the Censure or Removal of a Non-National Entity"
  • In the event that a non-national entity has gone against the better interests of the Alliance, they may be censured per a supermajority vote of both the People's and the State's chambers. In the event of a heinous incident that requires further punishment, another supermajority vote and the consent of the Executive Council may be used to strip an organization of their status as a recognized non-national entity. A censured non-national entity cannot compete for Alliance contracts for a period of one year. A non-national entity whose status has been stripped reverts back to the status they had before being recognized as a non-national entity.

Article VII - "Qualifications For and Duties of Citizenship"

• Section I - "Definition of a Citizen"
  • Citizens of the Terran Alliance are defined as those who were born within the member states of the Terran Alliance prior to its founding, and following that anyone born to citizens of the Terran Alliance. Citizenship is automatic and permanent unless revoked.
• Section II - "Duties of Citizens"
  • Citizens should seek to lead happy, productive lives and should not go against the better interests of the Terran Alliance.
• Section III - "Privileges of Citizens"
  • Citizens of the Terran Alliance are afforded a variety of rights to be announced at a later point in time. Additionally, citizens may apply for employment with the Terran Alliance.
    • [This section is so underwhelming because the process of determining what exactly constituted the rights of citizens was a subject of such furious debate that no progress was made on it for some time. These rights were finally laid down with the Alliance Declaration of Inalienable Rights in 2019.]

Article VIII - "Amending the Charter"

• Section I - "Purpose of Amending the Charter"
  • This charter is intended to be a fluid document, and should be amended as needed to adapt to changing situations as they arise.
• Section II - "Process for Amending the Charter"
  • Amendments to the charter can be introduced by members of the People's or State's Chambers. Amendments must be approved by a supermajority in each Chamber and by the Executive Council before they are sent to the Court of Concept to determine if they are legitimate and legal. If the Court of Concept decides that the proposed amendment is legitimate and legal, then it shall go into effect immediately, with an implementation time of no longer than one Earth year.

Amendment 1 - The Terran Alliance Defence Act (TADA) [Enacted: DD MM 2018]

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  • [The Terran Defense Act authorized the creation of the Navy, Marine Corps, and Army and Logistical Corps as standing militaries. The Terran Alliance Defence Act has itself been amended numerous times.]
• TADA Amendment 1 – In the event of large-scale military conflict, the Joint Chiefs of Staff of the Terran Alliance Armed Forces have the authority to call up soldiers from member states’ militaries to serve with the TAAF.
  • [This amendment was struck from TADA in 2024 when TAAF staffing levels were deemed sufficient]
• TADA Amendment 2 - asdf
• TADA Amendment 3 - asdf
• TADA Amendment 4 - asdf
• TADA Amendment 5 - asdf
  • [Amendment 5 established a unified system of qualifications to be used for TAAF personnel and the guidelines for determining what national-level armed forces qualifications equate to which TADA qualification.]
• TADA Amendment 6 - asdf
• TADA Amendment 7 - asdf
• TADA Amendment 8 - asdf
  • [Grants field commanders over the rank of O-4 the authority to act as a diplomatic representative of the Terran Alliance when out of contact with Fleet Command]
• TADA Amendment 9 - Field commanders of sufficient rank may temporarily assume command of troops ranked lower than they are, regardless of the service branch of the troops in question.
• TADA Amendment 10 - In situations where Amendment 9 comes into play, officers ranked O-3 or higher may assume command over non-military Supernatural Defense Agency personnel and Agents in the absence of an officer trained by that Agency.
• TADA Amendment 11 - In the event of extreme circumstances, civilians accused of Level 1 and Level 2 felony offenses and TAAF personnel undergoing disciplinary action for any offense of Class B or lower can be granted parole to participate in Defense Operations at the decision of the Joint Chiefs after consulting the rest of the Executive Council. Service shall be compensated with monetary compensation pursuant to services rendered, and with the possibility of eventual full pardon and possible removal of crimes committed from the record. Civilians and discharged TAAF personnel shall be treated as civilian contractors of the Alliance for the duration, but are not considered Armed Forces personnel.
  • [In all honesty I'm still wrapping my head around this one. The concept of Amendment 11 was created for the purpose of making a 'dirty dozen' style game that I ran where players would play characters who were ex-convicts who were put on parole for a secret mission.]
• TADA Amendment 12 - Effective 1 August 2024, Amendment 1 of the Terran Alliance Defence Act is hereby repealed at the order of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the People's Chamber, the State's Chamber, and the Executive Council.

Amendment 2 - Alliance Declaration of Inalienable Rights (ADIR) [Enacted: 15 January 2019]

• The Terran Alliance hereby declares the following rights to be in effect, effective 15 January 2019.
  • [Perhaps one of the more controversial segments of the Charter, ADIR lays down a code of rights guaranteed to all Alliance citizens. Conflicts between member states over what exactly was an 'inalienable right' led to ADIR being removed from the original text of the Charter and put into debate for well over a year until it was finally placed into law as an amendment to the Charter. Worth noting was the controversy surrounding the discovery of psionic capability and the Mage Exposure which took place in 2019. The original text of ADIR was actually the ADHR, and since there was still so much debate going on about whether or not the psionically-talented and magically-talented genelines of humanity were 'human' (a debate which continues to this day) the decision was made to just make the rights 'inalienable' and remove all references to any specific species. While this wording does allow ADIR to protect Teuthidoids as well, there has never been an opportunity to examine if such a claim would hold up in court and no Teuthidoid has ever pursued Alliance citizenship in the first place. Unexpectedly, this decision reared its head once again in 2030 with the discovery that some members of at least one species of extraterrestrial origin (the Yoitsuni) might have a legitimate claim to Alliance citizenship and therefore the protections it offers by virtue of being born within the Alliance to an Alliance citizen parent.]
• Right 1 - All citizens are equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of cooperation.
• Right 2 - All citizens are entitled to all the rights and freedoms set forth in this Declaration, without distinction of any kind. Furthermore, no distinction shall be made on the basis of the status of the member state to which a person belongs.
• Right 3 - All citizens have the right to life, liberty and the security of person.
• Right 4 - No sentient being citizen shall be held in slavery or servitude; slavery and the slave trade shall be prohibited in all their forms.
  • [Right 4's original reference to 'sentient being' was replaced with the word 'citizen' after a near-disaster in diplomatic relations with the Proximan Suzerainty when it was found that several of the Proximan Vassal States had legalized slavery. Because this had to be done in a timely fashion, it was done via a standard bill instead of an amendment to the Charter. The bill effectively alters this right to use the phrase 'sentient being' when within the Alliance itself, and 'citizen' when outside the Alliance.]
• Right 5 - No sentient being shall be subjected to torture, 'enhanced interrogation techniques,' or to cruel or degrading treatment or punishment.
  • [There is an ongoing legal battle to expand Rights 4 and 5 to cover non-sentient beings.]
• Right 6 - Every citizen has the right to recognition everywhere as a sentient being before the law.
• Right 7 - All sentient beings are equal before the law and are entitled without any discrimination to equal protection of the law. All are entitled to equal protection against any discrimination in violation of this Declaration and against any incitement to such discrimination.
• Right 8 - All sentient beings has the right to an effective remedy by the competent national tribunals for acts violating the fundamental rights granted him by the constitution or by law.
• Right 9 - No citizen shall be subjected to arbitrary arrest, detention or exile.
  • [Whether or not this should cover non-citizens or be suspended in times of war is a matter of some debate]
• Right 10 - All citizens are entitled in full equality to a fair and public hearing by an independent and impartial tribunal, in the determination of his rights and obligations and of any criminal charge against him.
• Right 11 - Any sentient being charged with a judicial offence has the right to be presumed innocent until proven guilty according to law in a public trial at which he has had all the guarantees necessary for his defence. No sentient being shall be held guilty of any judicial offence on account of any act or omission which did not constitute a judicial offence, under national or international law, at the time when it was committed. Nor shall a heavier penalty be imposed than the one that was applicable at the time the judicial offence was committed.
• Right 12 - No citizen or representative of an allied power shall be subjected to arbitrary interference with his privacy, family, home or correspondence, nor to attacks upon their honour and reputation. Everyone has the right to the protection of the law against such interference or attacks. In the event of perceived attacks upon their honour or reputation, adjudication by a court of law can be requested by the offended party.
  • [The references to attacks upon honour and reputation were removed after Right 12 was abused by those who wished to cover up their own misdeeds.]
• Right 13 - All citizens have the right to freedom of movement and residence within the Alliance itself, however movement and residence inside member states of the Alliance is subject to the laws of the member states in question.
• Right 14 - All sentients have the right to ask the Alliance for asylum from persecution. This right may not be invoked in the case of prosecutions genuinely arising from non-political crimes or from acts contrary to the purposes and principles of this declaration.
• Right 15 - All sentients have the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion; this right includes freedom to change his religion or belief, and freedom, either alone or in community with others and in public or private, to manifest his religion or belief in teaching, practice, worship and observance.
• Right 16 - All citizens have the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers.
• Right 17 - All citizens have the right to freedom of peaceful assembly and association. No one may be compelled to belong to an association.
• Right 18 - All citizens have the right to work, to free choice of employment, to just and favourable conditions of work and to protection against unemployment. All citizens, without any discrimination, have the right to equal pay for equal work. All citizens who work have the right to just and favourable remuneration ensuring for themselves and their family an existence worthy of human dignity.
• Right 19 - All citizens have the right to rest and leisure, including reasonable limitation of working hours and periodic holidays with pay.
• Right 20 - All citizens have the right to a standard of living adequate for the health and wellbeing of themselves and of their family, including food, clothing, housing and medical care and necessary social services, and the right to security in the event of unemployment, sickness, disability, old age or other lack of livelihood in circumstances beyond his control.

Amendment 3 - Establishment of the Terran Alliance Colonial Initiative [Enacted DD MM 2019]

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  • [Established the Colony Board (added Section V to Article II of the Charter. renamed Article III, section IV to Triple instead of Dual.). Creation of taxes and funding sources for the colonial initiative.]

Amendment 4 - Supernatural Defense Agency Act [Enacted 1 April 2019]

• SDA Amendment 1 [Enacted: 1 March 2024] - asdf
  • [adds Article III, Section VII to the Charter to allow for SDA representation on the Executive Council]
• SDA Amendment 2 [Enacted: X Y 20XX] - asdf
  • [Gives the SDA representative on the Executive Council voting rights]

Amendment 5 - Terran Organic Manufacturers And Tariff Ordinance (TOMATO) Act [Enacted 1 January 2020]

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  • • [The TOMATO Act establishes intra-Alliance tariffs for commerce (or at least enables a government agency to do that) between member states which helps to fund Alliance operations. Also, the tomato is legally a fruit because Nix v. Hedden was the epitome of legal stupidity.]

Amendment 6 - Artificial Intelligence Rights (AIR) Act [Enacted: 23 June 2020]

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  • [This was the first round in preserving rights for sentient AI. It required a battery of tests and evaluations to prove that an AI was sentient and sapient before citizenship would be granted. The phrase 'full of hot air' was often used to describe this hotly-debated piece of legislation. The AIR Act was struck from the Charter in 2026 and replaced with CONBI (Amendment 16).]

Amendment 7 - Human Organism Modification Edict (HOME) [Enacted: DD MM 2020]

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  • [Passed in 2020, this legislation allows for and provides an Alliance-backed funding pool for research into the genetic modification of humans to be more resistant to disease, radiation, and other factors. The original text of the proposal allowed for human cloning, but this was removed before it was passed into law. Since this law has passed, some progress has been made in developing genetic therapies to increase radiation resistance in humans, but it is nowhere near market ready. Every few years some politicians make a push to modify HOME to allow for cloning of human organs inside animals such as pigs for transplant purposes, but these attempts at amendment end up stagnating in subcommittees.]

Amendment 8 - NAME IS NAMING PLACEHOLDER NAME NAMES [Enacted: DD MM 202X]

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  • [Established the Office of Bounties and Inter-Planetary Enforcement]

Amendment 11 - Accountability in Journalistic Archiving (AJA) Act [Enacted: 1 June 2023]

• Effective 1 June 2023, the provision of Right 12 instituted by Amendment 2 to this Charter that provided for protection from attacks upon a citizen or representative of an allied power's honor or reputation is struck from the text of the Amendment. Additionally, the following text is amended to the end of Right 12: 'In the event of perceived attacks upon their honour or reputation, adjudication by a court of law can be requested by the offended party.'
  • [This struck the provision in Right 12 that protected citizens against attacks upon their honor or reputation after it was abused by those wishing to hide their misdeeds.]

Amendment 12 - Decision Against Corporate Organized Militias (DACOM) [Enacted: 1 December 2023]

• Effective immediately and without the usual one Earth year implementation process, non-national entities possessing standing militaries or militias are no longer permitted to use these militaries in the same fashion as nation-based member states. The phrase '...use these militaries in the same fashion as nation-based member states...' is hereby struck from Article VI, Section II of this Charter and replaced with '...only for the purposes of defense of their operations and facilities. Use of these militaries by a non-national entity against their own employees, against another non-national entity, or against a national entity, are all grounds for censure or removal of status of the non-national entity using such militaries in a non-approved manner.' This change shall go into effect immediately upon 1 December 2023 and the Executive Council shall task the Terran Alliance Judicial Bureau with monitoring non-national member states use of their militaries.
  • [DACOM, as it is commonly known, was passed by the Terran Alliance (to the protest of the Corporate Council) in the wake of the Belt Rebellion. DACOM reiterated the importance of the role that corporate statehood has in preventing nation-on-nation conflict over resources, but at the same time criticized what happens when corporations have military force and use it – as was seen in the Belt Rebellion. DACOM rewrote the original rules put forth in Article VI of the Terran Alliance Charter that allowed for corporations to maintain their own militias, heavily restricting the force types that they can have at their disposal and limiting them to defensive and anti-espionage operations only. In essence, corporate militias were turned back into what they were originally intended to be – a replacement for private security companies – instead of being forces that corporations could use against their own employees or other corporations. The compromise that was made as part of this legislation was a drastic reduction in the restrictions against arms ownership in the Alliance, which led to the current Licensed/Restricted/Military/Illegal system of equipment licensing set into place by the PLACEHOLDER TEXT IS PLACEHOLDER (Amendment 13). An unintended consequence of DACOM was the return of deniable assets being used for shadowy operations by corporations, and the inevitable return of Private Military Companies to the fold.]

Amendment 13 - Unification of Item Restrictions (UIR) [Enacted: 01 April 2024]

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  • [licensed/restricted/military/illegal system of equipment licensing]

Amendment 14 - Government Registry of Abilities (GRAB) Act [Enacted: 01 January 2025]

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  • [Passed in 2025, the GRAB Act opened up the TAAF Armed Forces’ qualifications system (created by TADA Amendment 5) to civilians, allowing for the training and qualification of civilians in a wide range of skills. The reasoning behind this was that it would allow first responders to know exactly what skills they have on-hand from nearby civilians in a crisis situation in rural environments. Critics of the Act believe that it is a form of government monitoring for people who ‘might cause trouble.’ Participation in the qualification system by civilians is entirely optional. Military personnel and SDA Agents are automatically registered in the GRAB Database, however civilians registered with the SDA are not. The GRAB Database is maintained by the Alliance Department of Civil Contingencies (ADCC) a part of the Alliance Security Agency (ASA), which operates under the oversight of the Executive Branch.]

Amendment 15 - Terran Alliance Postal Service (TAPS) Act [Enacted 1 September 2025]

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  • [The TAPS Act was added to the Charter following the foundation of the Alpha Centauri colony, authorizing the creation of a government-run postal service to facilitate speedy communication between the Alpha Centauri colony and the Sol system. The TAPS Act modifies the text of Amendment 1 (TADA) to include references to the newly-created Terran Alliance Postal Service. While this technically did not have to be its own amendment, there was enough public demand for it that it was made its own amendment to allow for future amending of the rules regarding TAPS without having to modify the Terran Alliance Defence Act.]

Amendment 16 - Citizenship Of Non-Biological Intelligences (CONBI) [Enacted: 23 June 2026]

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  • [After a long, bitter legal battle in several courts across the Alliance, the Campaign for AI Rights finally won out, leading to the institution of CONBI, which modified Article VII, Section 1 of the Terran Alliance Charter and struck Amendment 6 from the Charter. CONBI declared that all sentient beings have a right to citizenship, regardless of their status as biological or non-biological entities. Additionally, due to an oversight in wording, CONBI also created a path to citizenship for sentient spirits - much to the chagrin of these entities. To date, the majority of the beneficiaries of CONBI have been AI, there are only 36 known spirits which have pursued a path to citizenship.]