CON:UFOP Constitution

IMPORANT: This page is part of the defunct Constitution Rewrite project from 2004. None of its provisions are in effect, but the contents are kept here for historical purposes and for reference as certain ideas are considered for implementation. The latest version of our constitution and its bylaws can be found here: UFOP Constitution.

Constitution Rewrite series

Current UFOP Con Original UFOP Con at time of project The drawing board/rewrite version Group Identification Mission Statement Inconsistency Preliminary Statements Amendments Membership Ship Organization Governing Bodies Executive Council Captain's Council Discipline Administration SOTFA FCA Federation Records Original Bylaws Command of Ships Promotion of COs Voting Procedure New Races Returning Officers Monthly Reporting Edit this nav

The UFOP Constitution

PREAMBLE: In order to assure efficient, fair and expedient administration of the UFOP, this CONSTITUTION is hereby ordained and established as the enabling and governing document of said UFOP, binding on all, high and low, consistent with the terms related herein. It is the supreme law of the UFOP and the source from which other related documents flow. This CONSTITUTION is ordained this day, December 17th, AD 2000, Stardate 237712.17.

ARTICLE I: MISSION STATEMENT

1. The UFOP RPG was established Stardate 237106.01 (AD1994) for the sole purpose of organizing a non-profit role playing collective, simulating characters, plots and story lines based upon the Star Trek Universe created by Paramount Entertainment. The UFOP has reached a sufficient size by the date of this document and experienced such needs as herein discussed that this CONSTITUTION has become necessary for the continued efficient, fair and expedient administration of the group consistent with the above stated purpose.
2. The UFOP shall always remain a not for profit role playing organization, regardless of venue or membership, and regardless of what changes have been amended to this CONSTITUTION consistent with the procedures related herein. If at any point in the future the UFOP shall become otherwise than a non-profit organization or otherwise than a role-playing organization first and foremost, it shall have ceased to resemble the organization for which this document is intended and this document shall be considered abolished.

ARTICLE II: INCONSISTENCY

1. If any act of a UFOP member of whatever rank shall violate the terms of this CONSTITUTION, it shall be considered repugnant of this CONSTITUTION and acted upon consistent with articles related to such matters, and in accordance with other documents or procedures not inconsistent with this CONSTITUTION.
2. If any rule, by-law, regulation or ruling, whether written or oral, shall appear to be inconsistent with this CONSTITUTION it shall be deemed violative of same and shall have no force or effect.
3. Such CONSTITUTIONAL questions shall be raised and resolved in the manner related herein and/or in such manner as is not inconsistent with this CONSITUTION.

ARTICLE III: GENERAL PRELIMINARY STATEMENTS

1. When the male pronoun is used, it shall be deemed to apply to all genders.
2. When notice of any kind or type is required, it shall be deemed to have been given if sent via email (and no error message is returned within one 24 hour period) and is there is not good cause to believe defect in the notice has taken place. While other forms of communication are contemplated and encouraged, electronic mail is the only one minimally required.
3. When time expressed in hours is relevant to any matter of UFOP business, or a particular hour of the day, all times related in official communication shall account for EST, American East Coast, or Greenwich Mean Time (GMT) minus five hours.
4. For purposes of determining simulation location, all locations, irrespective of whether they are starships, smaller spacecraft, planetary installations or starbases shall be referred to herein as "ships."
5. All officers placed in command of a ship are considered "captains" for purposes of command tradition and shall have the powers of captains as defined herein unless specific prohibitions or limitations are herein discussed limiting the powers of acting captains who have not formally achieved the rank. Notwithstanding this article and subsection, the acting captain must obtain the formal rank of captain through the normal course in order to have the full privileges of that rank.
6. Captain's Traditional Powers: Unless otherwise treated in this CONSTITUTION, and unless other specific powers of a captain are dealt with, any matters not herein discussed which arise on a ship are left to the sound discretion of the captain or acting captain or command officer. Exercise of such discretion, however, as well as all specifically granted powers, are subject to the disciplinary provisions hereafter related.

ARTICLE IV: AMENDMENTS

1. This CONSTITUTION shall be amended only in the following manner and in no other.
2. A call for an amendment shall be deemed raised when made to any officer of captain rank or above who shall learn of such a request, in whatever manner. Said officer shall in turn inform the EC (Executive Council) in writing of the nature of the request. Such notice shall be deemed to have taken place if passed to an acting EC member if not to the entire committee.
3. When such a request has been made to the EC, it shall, within 72 hours and barring extraordinary emergency affecting a majority of its members, propose the matter for formal discussion amongst it's membership for a period not to exceed 21 calendar days. The EC shall then vote on the matter.
4. Before such vote takes place, the EC shall by any procedure it deems appropriate assure itself that, irrespective of comments received, at least three fifths of its membership have either commented or had the opportunity to comment by having received and acknowledged notice of the discussion. If fewer than three fifths of the EC have not thus debated or given written notice of their declination to do so, the 21 day time period shall not begin until three fifths can so assemble via electronic mail and remain so for the requisite time period.
5. At the close of the above period, a vote shall take place. The amendment shall advance if four fifths of its membership shall favorably vote. The form of the proposed amendment shall be as closely related to the raised request as practicable and as enlarged or modified by discussion in the EC.
6. If the vote passes the amendment, the matter shall proceed to a vote by the assembled captains and full commanders, which vote shall take place as soon as is practicable after the vote passes the EC but shall commence in no event later than 60 days from the entry and recordation of the EC vote. The vote shall be deemed a full vote if at least four fifths of the said captains and full commanders shall register their votes after receiving effective notice of the amendment vote by the end of the voting period.
7. The amendment shall be deemed fully passed if it shall be favorably voted upon by four fifths of the voting total of captains and full commanders. If it shall not so pass, the amendment shall be deemed voted down.
8. In no event shall an amendment have official effect unless and until it is passed by the procedure above. It shall not apply to events or acts which took place prior to its enactment.

ARTICLE V: MEMBERSHIP

Preliminary Statement: Given that the UFOP is composed by and for the members, it is herein stated the composition and behavior of said membership is of the HIGHEST CONCERN to the UFOP and that concerns so related are of primary importance. It is SPECIFICALLY desired that at no time shall the membership act in a way which avoids, nullifies or offends this CONSTITUTION or any part of it.

It is also SPECIFICALLY noted that, left unchecked, clandestine operation of multiple identities may allow artificial collection and use of power to affect the UFOP and its members, and, to the extent possible given considerations of due process and fairness, such practices are to be strictly proscribed by this article and relevant articles.

1. The UFOP shall be open to membership by any person of any color, race, creed, nationality, religion, health status, culture, form of birth, educational level, age, genetic heritage or native language, provided that they meet and satisfy, and continue to satisfy, the criteria of admission and performance herein related and otherwise established in documents not inconsistent with this CONSTITUTION, such as by-laws or administrative regulations.
2. Membership shall formally begin after a candidate shall have completed a training period conducted by a designated training officer and obtained the rank of ensign. Whatever the source of the contact with the UFOP, the member candidate must complete whatever application forms are applicable and complete the training to be deemed an active member in good standing and to avail themselves of the rights, privileges and responsibilities of membership.
3. All UFOP members shall have a rank at all times, though they may serve in capacities other than officers on vessels or installations, or may perform administrative tasks of various types. Such officers shall be, regardless of rank or station, members in good standing. If for whatever reason a member desires an identity regarded as "civilian" that person shall still carry an unused but official rank as they continue to participate. (i.e.- a civilian engineer character may be a Lt. or a Commander for purposes of determining their rights, disciplinary issues, etc.)
4. Such a member may petition the EC for status as an inactive member in good standing or as a non-stationed member in good standing, in which case said member shall be entitled to all the rights, benefits and privileges of membership until their status changes.
5. An inactive member in good standing is one for whom various conditions are present which prevent active participation in the UFOP at certain times. Such an inactive period may extend for up to one standard year from the date it begins; before such a time period lapses, the member shall inform his commanding officer (and through said officer the EC) of whether he wishes for the period to continue, alter or end. If no such contact is so initiated by the expiration of one standard year from the official start date of the inactive period, the member shall be deemed to have resigned from the UFOP and re-admission shall proceed in accord with article V, section 12. If the contact is made, the member's wishes shall be honored without impairment absent good cause for otherwise, at the discretion of the commanding officer and with due regard to this CONSTITUTION. However, the only thing preserved by inactive status in good standing is rank and placement on a vessel, not a particular position on any said vessel.
6. A non-stationed member in good standing is one for whom various conditions are present which prevent full participation in the UFOP as either a member of a vessel or installation or as an active administrative member (ie, a nonassigned Lt who assists the Admiral in charge of training but does not also serve on a crew). Such status may begin, alter and end as described in section 5, above.
7. Nothing in this article shall be deemed to preempt those portions of this CONSTITUTION which shall apply to dealing with the real people attached to character and officer ranks.
8. No real person who maintains a member identity within the UFOP shall maintain an active character on more than two ships at any given time, under any circumstances whatsoever. If such a condition is discovered the primary character identity of the member shall be disciplined in accord with relevant articles of this CONSTITUTION. No person shall have more than one active character of the rank of captain or higher at any given time. No real person may ever have more than one character of "flag" rank, irrespective of active or not active status. The only exception to this section is related in section 9.
9. From time to time, vessel command needs or administrative needs or simulation conditions may require the "creation" of a character identity of whatever rank is necessary to deal with said condition. If the member so creating already maintains two active character identities on two ships, the third shall be made known to all full captains and flag officers immediately. The character so created shall specifically be deemed temporary and shall cease operation as soon as is practicable given the needs which created it. In no event shall it ever be passed to another player or inherited. The matter of secondary civilian or familial characters on a ship shall be left to the sound discretion of the captain or acting captain, which discretion shall neither be abused nor be exercised in a manner inconsistent with this CONSTITUTION.
10. In no event shall a character identity be passed from one real person to another real person of lesser rank other than a temporary basis, such as where a real person is retiring from service and wishes another real person to assume the character. Such transfers must meet with the approval of the captain or acting captain. Said new real person may create a related character and in all ways call attention to that relationship between the new and old characters if so desired. The intent of this section is to prevent a real person from inheriting a rank beyond that currently attained or held by his highest ranking character.
11. A member character or real person may be disciplined up to and including expulsion in accord with other articles of this CONSTITUTION. While acknowledging that the nature of the UFOP and the manner in which it functions day to day cannot effectively prevent such people from re-entering the group under a different identity, such practice is undesirable and considered dishonest in the extreme. If such is discovered and brought to the attention of the relevant arms of the UFOP, such SHALL be cause for immediate discipline irrespective of the conduct of said person otherwise. If the real person who, having been expelled or deemed "forced retired" for whatever reason, wishes to re-enter the UFOP, they must do so in accord with section 12, below, not by clandestine creation of an apparently unrelated identity.
12. A member expelled for cause or deemed retired by operation of sections 5 and 6 above shall at all times have the opportunity to place before the EC either directly or indirectly, however practicable, a petition for re-entry, which shall contain in addition to any other information offered an explanation of why the reasons resulting in the earlier termination have either ceased or shall not repeat themselves. The EC shall act on the petition within 20 calendar days and resolve the matter by majority vote. In such vote, the commanding officer of the petitioner at the time of his leaving the UFOP shall also have a vote. If said commanding officer is not available, any commanding officer who wishes to do so may comment upon said petition but shall not take part in the vote. The EC must make every effort to identify and inform said officers of this opportunity. A majority of EC members (including the commanding officer) must vote for the vote to be binding, and a majority in favor will effect reinstatement of the petitioner. The petitioning member shall be notified of the decision in writing within five days of the issuance of same, either directly or by the most expedient method available. The reinstatement, if allowed, may be full reinstatement of the character at the departing rank, a lower rank, or as a new character identity, as the EC dictates in its discretion.
13. When a real person properly maintains more than one character of differing ranks, the real person, for purposes of voting and in all other matters shall be deemed to have the higher of the several ranks.
14. Nothing in this section shall limit the right of a captain to destroy or otherwise eliminate a second character on the same ship when discovered if heretofore concealed.

ARTICLE VI: THE EXECUTIVE COUNCIL

1. The governing body of the UFOP is composed of the Executive Council and the Captain's Council, which shall determine and administrate such matters as from time to time may be required to operate the UFOP and effectuate the purposes of this CONSTITUTION in the manner hereafter related.
2. The EC shall be composed at all times of five members. If at some future time the UFOP has grown to the point where fairness and demographic considerations suggest additional members, the number shall be increased by amendment of this CONSTITUTION in accord with article IV.
3. The Membership of the EC shall be composed only of flag officers, to wit, admirals (any), fleet captains or commodores, or by captains with at least one full year of service at that official rank.
4. The EC shall appoint during each year a "captain at large" from the CC which captain shall retain his position in the CC and so perform his duties therein. The CC member at large shall be selected by majority vote of the EC in the event of more than one interested candidate.
5. Except as specifically related herein otherwise, all votes of the EC shall be by majority (3 of 5) and no vote shall be deemed valid unless at least three voters have participated. In the event that only four member voters can participate and after all due diligence the fifth member cannot be contacted to so participate, the CC member at large shall vote to break any tie, and only in that event.
6. While the member at large may freely opine and participate in any process or discussion or other business of the EC, they shall not vote otherwise than as outlined in section 5.
7. No CC member at large shall serve in such office more than two years in five as a captain.
8. While all members of the EC must be flag officers, not all flag officers shall be members of the EC unless the EC is expanded or an EC member retires or is expelled.
9. Once a flag officer becomes a member of the EC, he shall remain a member of the EC until such time as he shall be removed in accordance with Article VIII hereafter or until he retires.
10. Reserved Powers: The EC reserves to itself the following powers which can be exclusively exercised only by the EC by majority vote or by other such vote as may be called for elsewhere in this CONSTITUTION:
    1. Commissioning a new starship installation or base;
    2. Decommissioning a starship installation or base;
    3. Bestowing upon a captain any flag rank or upon a flag officer a higher rank and bestowing upon a full commander the rank of captain;
    4. Administrating the discipline of captains;
    5. Administrating the discipline of flag officers;
    6. Serving as the appeals body for discipline of commanders and junior officers;
    7. Enacting or altering by-laws, rules or regulations;
    8. Creation and appointment of committee membership and committee chairpeople to address the needs of the UFOP as those needs arise and decommissioning said committees when appropriate;
    9. The appointment of a new EC member when an EC member retires, places himself on administrative leave or is expelled;
    10. Creation, alteration or amendment of the requirements for promotion to the rank of Captain and above.
    11. Creation or alteration of awards applicable exclusively to flag officers only.
    12. Majority Veto of any action undertaken by the CC (4 of 5 or 3 of 4 required).
    13. Voting for the EC and CC apart from emergency votes: In order for a vote to pass by "majority" on either the EC or CC, and unless otherwise stated in this CONSTITUTION or any bylaw, rule or regulation, voting shall be conducted in the following manner:
11. The vote shall be deemed passed if and only if the vote is by 51% or greater majority. The vote shall only be valid if at least 60% of the members of said committee have participated in the vote.
12. Each calendar year, the CC and the EC shall each designate a magistrate from one of its membership to serve the function of administrating votes on all issues. The magistrate shall serve for the calendar year. He shall appoint his or her successor before the close of the year and may appoint any assistants or substitutes to stand in their place during the year for any temporary period. He may serve consecutive terms if he so desires and if no other candidate comes forward. In the event of two or more candidates interested in the same magistrate position, the winner shall be by majority vote, the vote administered by the current magistrate.
13. The function of the magistrate for each year shall be to administrate votes and assure that first, sufficient numbers of the council in question have participated; and, secondly, that the votes were validly counted.
14. The magistrate shall in the exercise of their discretion set a specific time period during which all votes are to be transmitted via e-mail on any issue and the time by when if not received, no further votes will be counted. Once the tally is completed, the magistrate shall inform the council in question of the final decision and shall make a notation in a permanent log the entirety of which shall be turned over to the executive council at the end of each year for permanent storage.
15. During the period of the time set by the magistrate for the purpose of the vote, which in the exercise of discretion should be no more than twenty days, nor less than ten, any and all members of the involved council may comment as often as they deem necessary and proper and may exchange ideas and debate the matter as fully as they may deem proper. Any votes may be officially transmitted by any voting member during that time period for recordation and may be changed before the deadline as often as desired. A vote shall be distinguished from a colloquy or commentary on the issue by utilizing the specific format of: "(member) votes 'yes' or votes 'no' on the question" shall be utilized so that there is no confusion.
16. The magistrate shall assign a sequential number to each separate question or issue which is to be subject to a vote, and the number sequence shall progress from year to year for the purpose of accurate history.
17. When there is a vote called for, the magistrate shall inform the assembled membership of the council in question via electronic mail and shall announce the time during which the tabulation and registration of all votes shall begin and end.
18. Framing of Questions for vote: It is the function of the magistrate to make every effort to accommodate the agreed upon phrasing of a question for vote and to first obtain majority consensus on the phrasing of the question before formal debate and voting begins. If, after consultation and informal comment among the voting members of the relevant committee the phrasing of the question cannot be agreed upon (which period shall not last more than ten days), the magistrate shall have the discretion to adopt such phrasing as he feels most accurate.
19. All captains or higher ranks properly on leave or inactive (and not AWOL) have the power to vote.

ARTICLE VII: CAPTAIN'S COUNCIL

1. The CC shall be composed at all times of all officers who have formally been frocked as a captain, which is defined as having passed the captain's exam and having been officially recognized and awarded said rank.
2. The CC shall allow at all times all individuals who have been officially frocked with the rank of commander, access to all votes and debate of its deliberations on any matter but shall make clear to the assembled commanders that while they may feel free to comment or participate in any debate or discussion, they may not vote on any matter.
3. Reserved powers for the CC. These powers have been reserved specifically to the CC and may be exercised by majority vote as described hereafter but be it known that an exercise of any of these granted powers may be vetoed by the CC if four fifths of the EC membership so desire as related heretofore:
   1. Creation of "official" alien races;
   2. Recognition of plants, races, concepts, weapons, scientific advances, religions, political movements or developments, philosophies or other things or ideas as being an official part of the UFOP milieu once those ideas, concepts or things have been discussed in simulated plots;
   3. Serving as the first appellate forum for discipline of commanders and junior officers;
   4. Creation of new awards or discontinuance of old awards except those applicable to flag officers only;
   5. Creation, alteration or amendment of the requirements for advancement to the rank of full commander.
   6. To call upon the EC by majority resolution to act on any issue. If the EC shall not act within 30 days of the EC magistrate receiving word of the resolution from the CC magistrate, the right to act shall return to the CC who shall act subject to the other articles of this CONSTITUTION (including EC veto powers and discipline). If the CC does not act within 30 days of the resolution return, the resolution becomes null and void as if never passed.

ARTICLE VIII: DISCIPLINE OF ALL OFFICERS

1. Discipline Generally: It is anticipated that from time to time, it will be necessary to discipline officers for both in-character (IC) and out-of-character (OOC) acts. Discipline is to be administrated and shall take place in accord with the provisions of this section. Failure to abide by the provisions of this section, either procedurally or substantively shall be grounds for review by the appropriate body or individual and itself an actionable offense if a particular individual is responsible for an intentional breach of this article in the administration or enforcement of discipline.
2. Discipline of Cadets, Ensigns, Lt. Jr. Grade, Lt., and Lt. Commanders (as well as all corresponding marine ranks): The discipline of such officers is left to the Sole Discretion of the vessel command officer, as long as said officer officially holds the rank of commander or above and has been officially recognized as being the command officer of said vessel. It is recognized that in the course of commanding vessels, such decisions must be made on an expedited basis to preserve discipline and for that reason the command officers are vested with extraordinary discretion in this regard. Discipline levied in this fashion is subject to the appeals processes discussed hereafter.
3. Discipline of Commanders. The discipline of a full commander is the sole province of the vessel command officer appointed above him unless the commander is himself solely in charge of a vessel or installation. In the former case, the appeals process is as discussed hereafter and as set forth in the subsection above. In the latter case, the discipline shall be in all manners conducted as if the officer in question held the rank of captain as discussed in subsections hereafter. Although formal approval or ratification by the EC of a disciplinary decision herein contemplated shall not be required, the actions of the captain shall themselves be subject to discipline if they so merit.
4. Discipline for Captains. The discipline of the captain shall be commenced by, administrated by and concluded by the EC.
5. Grounds for Discipline. All officers, irrespective of rank, may at the discretion of the appropriate individual(s) be disciplined for committing one or more of the following acts; however, it is recognized that, with specifically pre-arranged and duly recorded discussion, such acts may be purposefully committed for simulation plot purposes, in which case scrupulous and copious records shall be kept to protect the actor in such situations:
   1. Violation of the rules applicable to subsequent or additional characters as discussed in Article V.
   2. Discriminatory remarks, including but not limited to remarks directed at a persons inchoate qualities, such as race, religion, ethnicity, gender, blood status, sexual orientation, species, etc.
   3. Rude or abusive language disproportionate to the issue at hand and at the discretion of the disciplining authority.
   4. Intentional deceit in the course of conduct either IC or OOC.
   5. Public breaks with discipline, such as questioning the decisions of a superior officer in or out of character in an improper or disrespectful way at the discretion of the disciplining authority.
   6. Misrepresentation on any portion of the application for membership.
   7. Disobeying IC or OOC Orders.
   8. Being absent without leave, the manner and duration of which is left to the sole discretion of the disciplining authority.
   9. Other such acts as may from time to time be deemed inappropriate or incompatible with the philosophy and purposes of the United Federal of Planets;
   10. Any act which appears to or purports to violate any Article or subsection of this CONSTITUTION;
   11. Impersonation or purposeful misrepresentation of a rank inconsistent with ranks awarded.
6. Methods of discipline. Discipline may take one or more of the following forms at the discretion of the disciplining authority.
   1. Private letter of reprimand;
   2. Public letter of reprimand;
   3. Suspension from simulation for a set period;
   4. Involuntary transfer;
   5. Reduction in rank;
   6. Expulsion from the vessel or installation without expulsion from UFOP; and
   7. Expulsion from UFOP.
7. Characters expelled are, it is recognized, linked to real people and it is the real person as well as to the character that the admonitions in Article V apply.
8. Appeals may be made in writing via e-mail to either the disciplining authority who shall immediately and on his honor forward notice of said appeal to the appropriate reviewing individual or authority or such appeals may be made directly to the appeal authority if such is known to the disciplined individual. In the case of all officers of commanders rank or below, the appeal of a captain's decision to discipline shall be made to the captain's counsel.
9. For all officers below the rank of captain, appeal of first resort shall be to the CC, whose appeal decision shall not be disturbed upon further review by the EC unless it shall appear that the CC acted in a manner to create a clear and convincing miscarriage of justice.
10. For all captains (or commanders acting as captains but not under the direct command of a captain) who may be disciplined by the CC, appeal shall be to the EC. If said captain or commander acting as a captain has been disciplined directly by the EC, the appeal shall be to that body for a petition of reconsideration.
11. For all flag officers who have been disciplined by the EC, a petition for reconsideration shall be made once and only once, acted upon and finally disposed of.
12. There shall only be one appeal by any individual of any rank to one body. The appeal decision of the reviewing body shall be final and shall finally dispose of the matter without recourse to further appeals.
13. In the event of an appeal request either received by the disciplining authority and forwarded to the appeal authority or received directly by the appeal authority, the authority shall convene, discuss and resolve the matter in accord with the voting provisions set forth in earlier Articles.
14. Provisions concerning the discipline of flag officers: It is anticipated that the discipline of a flag officer shall be regarded as a significant event and any conduct which may occasion such disciplinary processes correspondingly dire. Any captain or lower rank may report conduct unbecoming a flag officer to the EC, which shall immediately convene and informal inquiry to determine the sufficiency of the allegation, formal vote sufficing if informal discussion cannot resolve the question. If the allegation shall be deemed Meritorious, i.e., there is no more than a scintilla of evidence to suggest the charge be true, then the EC shall have the option of voting to dismiss the charge and to ignore all further charges based upon the same operative facts. If the EC deems the charge to be clearly without merit and motivated either by carelessness as to that lack of merit or intentional conduct, the complainant may himself be disciplined in accordance with this article.
15. If, however, upon informal inquiry the EC shall decide the matter to have sufficient probable cause that it might be true, the EC shall convene to debate the matter and make inquiry of the charged party, the complaining party and all witnesses before privately retiring to deliberate and render a decision. The magistrate for the EC shall advise the charged party whether and if a decision is made. If the charged party is a member of the EC, the captain at large shall be vested with full voting powers concerning the charged EC member.
16. Petitions for Reconsideration: A petition for reconsideration is made when an individual of sufficiently high rank has been disciplined and there exists no higher appeal authority which may review the disciplinary decision. A petition may also be made on a one time basis to any lower body by a lower rank which shall be acted on as detailed in this article. Within twenty days of the disciplinary decision being appealed, the individual may transmit via e-mail to any member of the disciplining authority a petition for reconsideration stating what facts, information or arguments the disciplining authority failed to consider and may ask that the disciplining authority convene a formal debate and vote to consider the application. The vote on said application shall be conducted in accord with the voting provisions heretofore discussed and shall be deemed final upon completion. No further appeal is possible to any body.
17. In no event shall any act or omission be the grounds of a discipline which discipline is not commenced within thirty days from the date of discovery by any authority empowered to discipline.
18. In administering any discipline or in deciding any appeal or petition for reconsideration, the reviewing authority shall not only consider the record of the discipline and any discussion or findings relevant thereto, but also the past service record and past discipline record of the subject officer.

ARTICLE IX: ADMINISTRATION OF THE UFOP

1. From time to time, the EC may vote to expand any reserved function to include the meaningful participation and affectation by voting of the CC if it so desires. If this shall occur, then the CC and the EC shall all have one vote and the matter shall be resolved by a majority of 51% or greater.
2. The EC shall do this when and if, in its discretion, it feels that reasons of administration, fairness, comity, intellectual freedom or other concerns mitigate in favor of a more expansive voting treatment of any issue reserved to the EC.
3. The CC may likewise ask for the formal participation of the EC members in any vote concerning a reserved function. If this be the case, however, then the EC shall not have the power to veto the outcome of that vote if the EC by majority vote agrees to participate in the vote of the CC on that matter or question.
4. Either the EC or the CC may ask the other council for an "advisory vote" which shall have no binding effect but shall have persuasive effect and which vote shall be generated and conducted in all matters identically with formal votes.
5. Committees and Officers in Charge. Depending on which body is exercising its power and subject to any veto by the EC, either the CC or the EC may create and staff committees, subcommittees and "offices in charge" of various matters. These committees shall be chartered to exist for either: a set period of time, indefinitely or until a certain task is completed. They may then be dissolved or placed on an inactive list of committees. The committee may also be continued as the need arises and at the discretion of the enabling body. These committees and officers in charge shall include but shall not be limited to the following subjects and/or matters:
   1. Training (continuing);
   2. Awards ceremonies (continuing);
   3. Special events and functions;
   4. Public interaction and web management;
   5. Website construction and maintenance;
   6. Newsletter construction and maintenance;
   7. Investigative committees (to recommend changes to bylaws, to the CONSTITUTION, to Rules and Regulations or to any other matter);
   8. Addressing any special concern (lateral transfer of an officer from a ship from a different organization, chaperoning or shepherding junior officers who have no mentor, etc., lateral admission of a new vessel, etc.);
   9. Promotion testing;
   10. UFOP Records (continuing).
6. Promotions. Promotions (as opposed to demotions in conjunction with discipline) are the sole discretion of the promoting authority subject to special rules and considerations as hereafter follow:
   1. Promotion up to the rank of Lt. Commander shall be at the sole discretion of the command officer in charge of the vessel or installation, if the vessel commander is a full commander or a captain. If the vessel commander is in extraordinary circumstances a Lt. Commander, the Lt. Commander shall not have the power to promote others above the rank of Lt.
   2. Promotion to the rank of Full Commander shall be accomplished in the following manner:
      1. The Lt. Commander shall be formally proposed to the testing officer or committee which shall accept the proffer unless it appears there is good cause to refuse (in which case the proffered officer and proffering officer shall have the right to call for a majority vote of the CC to sustain or overrule the refused proffer;
      2. The Lt. Commander shall sit for the exam in an expeditious time and manner via email;
      3. The Lt. Commander shall pass a "Kobiashi-Maru" or some similar or like scenario, the conduct and evaluation of which is at the sole discretion of the proffering officer and;
      4. The Lt. Commander shall be promoted officially.
   3. Promotion to the rank of Captain shall be accomplished in the following manner:
      1. The candidate shall be proffered by any captain to the EC or any member, the refusal of such proffer being resolved substantially as related above except that it shall be accomplished by the EC;
      2. The candidate shall sit for the exam in an expeditious time and manner via email;
      3. The candidate shall pass a "Kobiahsi Maru" scenario or such other character and fitness review as may be required by the EC and administered by the EC or by a sitting captain, the evaluation of which is left to the sole discretion of the administering authority;
      4. The candidate shall be promoted officially.
   4. Promotion to the rank of Fleet Captain, Commodore, Rear Admiral, Vice Admiral or Admiral shall be accomplished in the following manner:
      1. The candidate shall be proffered by any flag officer of equal rank (to the candidate's current rank) or above to the EC;
      2. The EC shall convene a vote to decide the matter;
      3. The candidate shall be promoted officially.

ARTICLE X: STATE OF THE FEDERATION ADDRESS

1. It is required that between January 1 and January 30 of each calendar year the EC shall convene, debate upon and generate a State of the Federation address which shall be published in the newsletter and also transmitted via e-mail to all installation and vessel commanders for distribution to all officers under their command. The address shall include comment upon or notice of any matter of importance to the Federation, either internal or external, shall note changes in bylaws, regulations or the CONSTITUTION, the chartering or decommissioning of new vessels and installations, notable disciplinary events and any other matter the EC deems appropriate.

ARTICLE XI: FEDERATION COMMAND AUTHORITY

1. Under normal conditions, The Federation Command Authority (FCA) is the executive council, fully manned of record and minimally constituted for the exercise of valid voting power.
2. In the event of circumstances which prolong a condition whereby the EC is not able to muster three of five participating individuals to resolve by vote any important matter and if this condition exists for more than thirty calendar days, the reserve Federation Command Authority may exercise such extraordinary emergency powers as may be necessary to preserve the Federation and transact its business.
3. It is recognized, however, that inherent in the granting of such power lies the possibility of extraordinary abuse. It is therefore recognized that the power to so act granted to the reserve FCA is severely limited in its scope. It shall specifically not include the power to alter or amend the CONSTITUTION, discipline any officer, change any bylaw or rule or in any other way act in a manner inconsistent with the spirit and specific intent of this CONSTITUTION. The FCA may, however, for that thirty day period or for as long as the emergency condition persists, exercise the other powers normally reserved to the EC and/or CC (if it should be discovered that the CC too is without a sufficient numerical majority required at a minimum to exercise valid voting powers) until such time as the emergency condition concludes and a sufficient majority of the EC has reassembled to exercise valid voting powers. At that time, all powers may once again be exercised.
4. It is recognized that the FCA shall be constituted in order of priority and in the following manner:
   1. Fleet Admiral Wolf (or whatever titular holder of the nominally highest rank in the Federation or whatever individual who is the titular holder of the nominally highest rank in the Federation may hold such rank if such a time should come that Admiral Wolf no longer holds it) and then;
   2. Any full Admiral; and then;
   3. Any Vice-Admiral; and then;
   4. Any Rear-Admiral; and then;
   5. Any Commodore; and then;
   6. Any Fleet Captain and then;
   7. The Senior-most Captain (whether or not a member of the CC or the member at large of the EC).
5. The FCA shall assure itself that the emergency condition continues to persist and shall immediately yield FCA authority once the emergency condition ceases. The FCA shall report at all times to the assembled CC on the matters it is handling during the emergency operating condition and shall obtain the advice of the CC on all matters upon which the CC may feel it appropriate to comment.
6. It is specifically provided herein that, should it appear that, during a period of emergency condition, the FCA operates in a manner unbecoming, inconsistent with this CONSTITUTION or in violation of any standard of conduct, rule or regulation of the UFOP, the CC shall have the power to compel a disciplinary vote by the full assembled EC when the emergency operating condition ceases.

ARTICLE XII: FEDERATION RECORDS

1. In order to effect the efficient, just and fair administration of the UFOP, and to ensure compliance not only with this CONSTITUTION but also with the ideals of the UFOP, certain records must, at a minimum, be kept and stored in real and virtual form.
2. It shall be the responsibility of the magistrate of each council to, in whatever way is efficient, record all votes, appeals, disciplines and written exercise of granted powers in each calendar year. These records shall be passed to the next magistrate and also recorded and accumulated by an officer or committee designated by the EC.
3. With particular reference to disciplinary records, every effort shall be made to accumulate precedent such that, in administrating disciplines or appeals, there can be developed and adhered to specific and general precedent. When a disciplining or reviewing authority requests, these records may be made available.
4. With particular reference to matters of CONSTITUTIONAL interpretation and advisory opinions on same, the same rationale for records preservation shall apply for the purpose of consistent CONSTITUTIONAL interpretational precedent.
5. The State of the Federation address shall also be recorded and Preserved each year.