Saving South Sudan

The proposed Constitution of the United Tribes of South Sudan (UTSS)

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This is a proposed new Constitution for South Sudan, where you can discuss it, change it, and discuss your changes.

This is an adaption of the U.S. Constitution. After each paragraph there is a link to (1) the corresponding paragraph of the U.S. Constitution, so you can see how it was changed, (2) discussion of how much sense it makes for South Sudan, and (3) relevant Scripture.

The beginning section is a statement of intent that summarizes what government should do, and what it should not be allowed to do.

The last section explains what the residents of South Sudan need to do to make this Constitution the law of the land: Tribes need to hold public meetings to discuss and vote on the options in a new government, in their tribal councils, churches, and/or other large gatherings.

But since it is not safe to do that in South Sudan while a dictator cancels elections, closes newspapers, arrests if not murders reporters, and changes the Constitution that already made him a dictator, the last section also explains what Refugees need to do to create the safety necessary for South Sudan residents to hold meetings. Refugees need to discuss the options privately with their resident families as they meet with other refugees to pool information and unofficially confirm support for a new constitution. Refugees need to report these results to NGO's, investors, and other international authorities who have an interest in a stable South Sudan.

Your contribution is welcome. Sign your contribution with 4 tildes (~~~~). The simplest way to contribute is on the "Discussion" page, which is like a place to leave comments. Or you can clarify something on this page, from fixing typos to adding a paragraph, or a section, or a whole new article. For suggestions how, please see The Forum#Ways you can contribute. For sample verbiage and codes to help you do this, that you can copy, paste, and adapt, see Template.

Preview - Declaration of Intent

We the people, of the United Tribes of Sudan, create this Constitution and limit it to the following purposes:

(1) to create a framework of cooperation between tribes that is fair to all Tribes, without interfering with how tribes choose to manage issues and commerce between their own members, especially within their own borders.

(2) to set up courts and police to deal with crimes and injustice across tribal boundaries, but without jurisdiction over crimes between a tribe’s members.

(3) to provide armed forces ready to defend the UTSS from external military threats, and to mediate conflicts between tribes when asked, but without legal authority to invade any tribe, or to arrest or execute any individual.

(4) to support infrastructure like roads, utilities, currency, and communications which cross tribal boundaries and which are for the use of all tribes. (Including matters like managing water quality, or access to natural resources, but without robbing natural wealth to enrich leaders and employees of the federal government.)

(5) to protect small tribes from being overpowered by large tribes by giving a nearly equal voice to every tribe, regardless of size, in the Senate – while protecting large tribes from having their votes canceled by small tribes by allotting them representatives, in the House, proportionate to population – and requiring the agreement of both the House and the Senate before any law can pass. (This balance was explained in 1833.)

(6) To balance the interests of small and large tribes (or, small and large populations) by having the President elected, neither directly by the people (which would leave small populations no real voice), nor directly by Tribal Councils (which would give small populations a disproportionate voice), but by Electors designated from their tribes, equal in number to the number of their tribe’s Senators and Representatives.

(7) To give an equal vote to every adult regardless of education or political experience in selection of Representatives to the House, while tapping the best wisdom and political experience of Sudanese by having Tribal Councils, composed of the most involved, most concerned, citizens, select Senators.

(8) To give voters frequent opportunity to replace leaders not leading as voters desire, by letting voters completely replace Representatives in the House every 2 years, while allowing leaders to acquire experience, and to pursue projects whose benefits may not be immediately clear to the public, and to better survive popular but fickle passions, by giving Senators staggered 6 year terms so that every two years, the most that voters can remove of them is one third.

(9) To let voters be honest in their choice for leaders by using a secret ballot, in the selection of Representatives to the House, to eliminate fear of retaliation as a factor – while tapping the courage and convictions of those most willing to speak openly in Tribal Councils, regardless of cost, in selection of the Senate. (Wisdom shines brightest when people who disagree can reason together, face to face, not hiding behind anonymity. Proverbs 15:22 “Without counsel purposes are disappointed: but in the multitude of counsellors they are established.” But truth and honesty always cost.)

(10) to protect South Sudan from dictatorship by not allowing the President to write laws, judge violations of laws, appoint lawmakers, or remove lawmakers.

(11) to protect freedom of religion, which means there can be no federal law, passed by Congress, forcing anyone to attend, give to, agree with, or pay taxes to, any religious organization.

Nor any law that limits the free expression by any citizen or government official of any religious view, but especially these principles found exclusively in Christianity: abhorrence of slavery, of torture, of war (except in self defense), of less than equal protection of the laws for the most vulnerable (women, children, orphans, immigrants), of bribes, and of sexual violence.

However, federal laws may restrict speech – even religious speech – which persuasively calls people to commit crimes as defined by the laws of Congress, (which represent the majority of South Sudanese voters), on communication platforms which cross tribal boundaries.

(12) Examples of purposes and powers not held by the federal government, but that are left with states, churches, and individuals: welfare, marriage, divorce, education, general scientific research (on matters outside its jurisdiction).

Article 1: Congress

Section 1: The House

The Legislature of the United Tribes of Southern Sudan, consisting of a Senate and House of Representatives, is the only body authorized by this Constitution to create laws. Adapted from Article 1, Section 1, U.S. Constitution

Composition and Election of Members

(Article 1, Section 1, Clause 1) Members of the House of Representatives will be elected every two years, from each tribe, by the adults of that tribe, by secret ballot. Candidates must be as qualified as leaders of their Tribal Council. The President has no legal power to appoint Representatives, remove Representatives, or to influence elections by any exercise of law. Adapted from Article 1, Section 1, Clause 1, U.S. Constitution

Qualifications of Members

(Article 1, Section 1, Clause 2) Representatives must be at least 25 years old, a citizen of South Sudan at least 7 years, and must live in the Tribe where he was elected, at the time of the election. Adapted from Article 1, Section 1, Clause 2, U.S. Constitution

Apportionment of Members and Taxes

(Article 1, Section 1, Clause 3) The populations of the Tribes will determine how many Representatives they have in Congress, and how much tax each Tribe owes directly to the UTSS. Adapted from Article 1, Section 1, Clause 3, U.S. Constitution (That clause from the U.S. Constitution matches from here through the end of the following chart.)

Refugees in the Bush and in refugee camps, who do not pay taxes to the Tribes, and do not participate in elections, will not be counted as part of the populations of the Tribes.

The Census, which shall record only the NUMBER of eligible voters – not names, addresses, or children – shall be made within three years after the first meeting of the Congress of the United Tribes, and every 10 years afterwards, as Congress directs by law.

There will be one Representative for every forty thousand population, using rounding to establish the number. Until the first census is conducted, the following chart shows the Representatives allowed each tribe. Representatives of tribes numbering less than 10,000 will have 1/2 vote and 3/4 the expense account of other representatives; representatives of tribes numbering less than 5,000 will have 1/4 vote and 1/2 the expense account. Their tribes may make up the differences, and their representative will have the same right to speak as others, or may combine with other small tribes to reach a total 10,000 population and elect someone to represent them.

Tribe	Population	Representatives	Senators
Acholi, Shuli	66,000	2	2
Ageer	30,000	1	1
Aja	300	1/4	1/4
Anuak, Yambo	99,000	2	2
Arab, Mongallese	86,000	2	2
Arab, Sudanese	458,000	11	2
Avukaya	56,000	1	2
Azande, Zande	808,000	20	2
Bai, Bari	8,600	1/2	1/2
Banda, Mid-Southern	3,400	1/2	1/4
Banda, Togbo-Vara	2,800	1/4	1/4
Banda, West Central	7,500	1/2	1/2
Banda-Banda	4,900	1/4	1/4
Banda-Mbres	9,900	1/2	1/2
Banda-Ndele	2,300	1/4	1/4
Bari	575,000	14	2
Baya, Gbaya	15,000	1	1
Belanda Bor	19,000	1	1
Beli, Jur Beli	74,000	2	2
Biykol	700	1/4	1/4
Bongo	16,000	1	1
Bug, Mangayat	900	1/4	1/4
Buldit	6,000	1/2	1/2
Chinese, general	2,100	1/4	1/4
Daanasach	5,600	1/2	1/2
Deaf	?	?	?
Dhr Thuri, Wada	8,900	1/2	1/2
Di'dinga, Xaroxa	76,000	2	2
Dinka, Central	66,000	2	2
Dinka, Northeastern	906,000	23	2
Dinka, Northwestern	95,000	2	2
Dinka, South Central	797,000	20	2
Dinka, Southeastern	286,000	7	2
Dinka, Western	3,205,000	80	2
Dongotono	5,700	1/2	1/2
Gweri, Mo'da	1,700	1/4	1/4
Homa	5,500	1/2	1/2
Indri, Yanderika	1,500	1/4	1/4
Ingessana, Gaam	33,000	1	1
Jumjum	8,100	1/2	1/2
Jur Modo	135,000	4	2
Kakwa, Bari Kakwa	112,000	3	2
Kaligi, Feroge	20,000	1	1
Kaliko	12,000	1	1
Koguru	600	1/4	1/4
Koma	4,600	1/2	1/2
Kresh, Kparla	4,000	1/4	1/4
Kuku, Bari	39,000	1	1
Lafon, Pari	60,000	1	2
Langgo	48,000	1	2
Lokoya, Owoi	64,000	2	2
Lopid, Lafit	88,000	2	2
Lotuho, Latuka	234,000	6	2
Luo	193,000	5	2
Ma'adi	26,000	1	1
Maaban	2	2
Mondari, Chir	80,000	2	2
Morokodo, Ma'di	57,000	1	2
Moru, Kala Moru	173,000	4	2
Mundu	57,000	1	2
Murle	148,000	4	2
Narim, Lariminit	8,800	1/2	1/2
Ndogo	23,000	1	1
Njalgulgule	2,600	1/4	1/4
Nuer, Naath	2,060,000	51	2
Nyamusa-Molo	1,900	1/4	1/4
Nyangatom	15,000	1	1
Olubogo, Ondoe Luloba	25,000	1	1
Opuuo, Shita	4,000	1/4	1/4
Reel, Atwot	87,000	2	2
Shilluk, Dhocolo	432,000	11	2
Suri, Kacipo-Balesi	5,700	1/2	1/2
Taposa	234,000	6	2
Tara Baaka, Mbaka	46,000	1	2
Tennet	11,000	1	1
Uduk	5,300	1/2	1/2
Viri, Belanda Viri	55,000	1	2
Yulu	3,400	1/4	1/4

Vacancies

(Article 1, Section 2, Clause 4) When Representatives die or quit, the Chiefs of their tribes shall call an election to replace them. No part of the federal government shall have any authority over their selection. Adapted from Article 1, Section 2, Clause 4 of the U.S. Constitution

Speaker and Other Officers; Impeachment

(Article 1, Section 2, Clause 5) The House of Representatives shall choose its own officers. Only the House has authority to initiate an “impeachment”, which means to charge the President, a federal judge, a Senator, a Representative, or a department head, for noncriminal offenses. The House cannot convict, but only “impeach”; it is the Senate which must then hold trial, with the power to convict and remove from office. Adapted from Article 1, Section 2, Clause 5 of the U.S. Constitution

Section 3, Senate

Composition; Election of Senators

(Article 1, Section 3, Clause 1) The Senate of the United Tribes shall be composed of two Senators from each tribe with a population of at least 40,000, one senator from tribes with a population of between 10,000 and 40,000, and just as for the House, 1/2 vote for tribes between 5,000 and 10,000, and 1/4 vote for tribes less than 5,000. Adapted from Article 1, Section 3, Clause 1 of the U.S. Constitution

Classification of Senators; Vacancies

(Article 1, Section 3, Clause 2) Senators shall be chosen by the Tribal Councils of the tribes they represent, for six years; and each Senator shall have one vote. No part of the federal government has any legal authority over any part of the selection of any Senator. Adapted from Article 1, Section 3, Clause 2 of the U.S. Constitution (That section of the U.S. Constitution corresponds to this and the next paragraph.)

Immediately after they shall be assembled in consequence of the first election [by the tribal councils], they shall be divided as equally as possible, by lot, into three groups. The seats of the Senators of the first group shall be vacated at the expiration of the second year, of the second class at the expiration of the fourth year, and the third class at the expiration of the sixth year, so that one third may be chosen every second year; and if vacancies happen by resignation, or otherwise, during the recess of the Council of any Tribe, the leader thereof may make temporary appointments until the next meeting of the Council, which shall then fill such vacancies. Tribes having two senators will have them placed in different classes. After the first election all Senate seats will have six-year terms. Senate seats added after the first election will be placed in whatever is the smallest class, or by lot when their sizes are equal.

Qualifications of Senators

(Article 1, Section 3, Clause 3) No person shall be a Senator who shall not have attained to the age of thirty years, and been nine years a citizen of the United Tribes and who shall not, when elected, be an inhabitant of that Tribe for which he shall be chosen. Adapted from Article 1, Section 3, Clause 3 of the U.S. Constitution

Vice President as President of Senate

(Article 1, Section 3, Clause 4) The Vice President of the United Tribes shall be President of the Senate, but shall have no vote, unless they be equally divided. Adapted from Article 1, Section 3, Clause 4 of the U.S. Constitution

President pro tempore and other officers

(Article 1, Section 3, Clause 5) The Senate shall choose their other officers, and also a President pro tempore, in the absence of the Vice President, or when he shall exercise the office of President of the United Tribes. Adapted from Article 1, Section 3, Clause 5 of the U.S. Constitution

Trial of Impeachment

(Article 1, Section 3, Clause 6) The Senate shall have the sole power to try (conduct the trial of) all impeachments. When sitting for that purpose, they shall be on oath or affirmation (they shall swear to tell the truth). When the President of the United Tribes is tried, the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court shall preside: And no person shall be convicted without the concurrence of two thirds of the members present. Adapted from Article 1, Section 3, Clause 6 of the U.S. Constitution

Judgment in cases of impeachment

(Article 1, Section 3, Clause 7) Judgment in cases of impeachment shall not extend further than to removal from office, and disqualification to hold and enjoy any office of honor, trust or profit under the United Tribes: but the party convicted shall nevertheless be liable and subject to indictment, trial, judgment and punishment, according to law. Article 1, Section 3, Clause 7 of the U.S. Constitution

Section 4 Elections

Time, Place, & Manner

(Article 1, Section 4, Clause 1) For the first election, each Tribal Council may choose when, where, and how to hold the first elections for Representatives, and the selection of Senators. After Congress has gathered, it may later pass laws so that all federal elections are held at the same time and in the same way, although each tribe will still decide where to hold elections and selections. Adapted from Article 1, Section 4, Clause 1 of the U.S. Constitution

Sessions of Congress

(Article 1, Section 4, Clause 2) The Congress shall assemble at least once in every year, and such meeting shall be on the _________, unless they shall by law appoint a different day. Adapted from Article 1, Section 4, Clause 2 of the U.S. Constitution

Section 5 Procedure

Qualifications of Members

Section 5. Each House shall be the judge of the elections, returns and qualifications of its own members, and a majority of each shall constitute a quorum to do business; but a smaller number may adjourn from day to day, and may be authorized to compel the attendance of absent members, in such manner, and under such penalties as each House may provide. Adapted from Article 1, Section 5, Clause 1 of the U.S. Constitution

Rules

(Article 1, Section 5, Clause 2) Each House may determine the rules of its proceedings, punish its members for disorderly behavior, and, with the concurrence (vote) of two thirds, expel a member. Adapted from Article 1, Section 5, Clause 2 of the U.S. Constitution

Record of Proceedings

(Article 1, Section 5, Clause 3) Each house shall publish a public record of everything said and done, except for what they think requires secrecy; a record showing the votes of each member shall be kept whenever at least 1/5 of the members request it. Adapted from Article 1, Section 5, Clause 3 of the U.S. Constitution

Adjournment

Neither House, during the session of Congress, shall, without the consent of the other, adjourn for more than three days, nor to any other place than that in which the two Houses shall be sitting. Adapted from Article 1, Section 5, Clause 4 of the U.S. Constitution

Section 6: Pay, Immunity, 2nd Jobs

Compensation and legal protection

(Article 1, Section 6, Clause 1) Senators and Representatives shall be paid the amount they set for themselves by passing a law, paid out of the UTSS treasury. Adapted from Article 1, Section 6, Clause 1 of the U.S. Constitution

During sessions, and while traveling to and from sessions, they shall be immune from arrest for any crime except disturbing the peace, or any felony [serious crime]. (While at home they may be arrested and prosecuted for minor as well as for major crimes, just like anyone else.) They may not be interrogated, by any other government official, for any position they take during a session. They may be arrested for treason (for fighting, helping, or encouraging enemies of all the Tribes) but must be released if the House does not vote within 10 days to pursue impeachment proceedings.

Independence from the executive

(Article 1, Section 6, Clause 2) No lawmaker may take any additional government job. Nor may he later take any government job that was created, or whose salary was increased, while he was a lawmaker. Adapted from Article 1, Section 6, Clause 2 of the U.S. Constitution

Section 7: Bills they pass, and we pay!

(Adapted from Article 1, Section 7, Clause 1 of the U.S. Constitution]) (A “bill” means a proposed law being considered by lawmakers) Only the House of Representatives may create a Revenue Bill. (A law that requires spending taxpayers’ money.) But once the House passes a Revenue Bill, and sends it to the Senate, the Senate can amend it just like any other bill. (Of course, if the House refuses to approve the amendment, the bill will die.) Adapted from Article 1, Section 7, Clause 1 of the U.S. Constitution

From Money to Law

(Adapted from Article 1, Section 7, Clause 2 of the U.S. Constitution) When a bill is passed by both House and Senate (and both pass the same version, including any amendments), the bill will go to the President. If he approves he will sign it and it will be law. Adapted from Article 1, Section 7, Clause 2 of the U.S. Constitution (Clause 2 corresponds to this and the next three paragraphs together.)

If the President doesn’t sign the bill into law, and Congress has adjourned, the bill will not be law.

But if Congress is still in session, then if the President doesn’t sign the bill into law, and doesn’t respond to it within 10 days (excluding Sunday), it will still become law, just as if he had signed it.

A complete vote record will be kept in the public record.

Presidential Veto

(Article 1, Section 7, Clause 3 ) If the President objects to the bill, he may return it with his objections within 10 days. This is called a “veto”. The chamber where the bill began will then enter the President's objections in its record, and will reconsider the bill. If that chamber approves the bill by a 2/3 vote, it will send the bill to the other chamber. If the second chamber also approves it by a 2/3 vote, the bill will become law. Adapted from Article 1, Section 7, Clause 3 of the U.S. Constitution (Clause 3 corresponds to this and the next paragraph together.)

Every other matter requiring approval of both Senate and House shall go before the President in the same manner as bills. The only exception is adjournment of Congress. The President will decide when the two chambers will adjourn, only when the two chambers can’t agree.

Section 8: What Congress CAN Do

(Article 1, Section 8, Clause 1 of the U.S. Constitution) Specifically, the power of Congress is limited to the following: Adapted from Article 1, Section 8, Clause 1 of the U.S. Constitution (The corresponding list in the U.S. Constitution is not numbered as the list here is. This entire numbered list is called "Clause 1" in the U.S. Constitution.)

1. Taxes.The Congress (the House & the Senate) shall have power to tax factories, natural resources, imports, and Tribal Councils in proportion to their tribal population. Tribal Councils will administer collecting the tax from their tribe; the federal government will have no authority to collect a Personal Income Tax – PIN – from individual citizens. The only lawful purpose for collecting taxes will be: to pay federal debts, to supply military forces during war, and to help tribes do together what they cannot do alone. All tax rates shall be uniform throughout the United Tribes, including the tax per person levied against tribes, which pay proportionate to their population but the rate per person is uniform. Taxes shall not be “graduated” according to income.

2. Borrowing. To borrow money, using, for collateral, its ability to collect future taxes.

3. Uniform Regulations. To negotiate uniform standards governing trade with foreign nations, trade that crosses Tribal borders, and trade with refugees in Refugee Camps and in the Bush (although Congress will have no jurisdiction over trade, or transportation, or any other commerce that takes place within a Tribe’s borders). The only legitimate purpose for regulations is to encourage technology, and make it available to all, with simple, uniform standards that make it easier for providers to provide it, for users to use it, and harder for monopolies to drive out competitors. Unnecessary, complicated, inconsistent, confusing regulations only strangle technology. A petition from half the Tribal Councils are sufficient to create a regulation, or to repeal one, unless that is then overcome by a vote of 3/4 of Congress.

4. Terrorists, Citizens, Voting.To establish security measures to identify and expel terrorists, and uniform laws about how soon, and under what conditions, immigrants may vote in federal elections as recognized citizens of the UTSS. Also, to establish uniform bankruptcy laws throughout the United Tribes;

5. Money, Measures.To mint metal money, regulate the value of money, fix the rate of exchange with foreign money, and standardize measurements of weight and distance so these may be uniform for all tribes;

6. Counterfeiting.To punish counterfeiting;

7. Communication, Transportation. To facilitate the greatest possible access to utilities such as electricity, internet, in grids which stretch throughout the tribes, with the fewest possible government regulation and subsidies - and to establish roads that link tribes;

8. Patents.To establish a Copyright Office that gives inventors and authors a monopoly on the use of their own creations, for a limited time;

9. To create and govern federal courts below the Supreme Court, to enforce federal laws.

10. War! To define and punish aggression against the UTSS outside its borders, or in the air.

11. Sole power to declare war. To formally declare war against foreign nations, before the President may order troops into battle other than for emergency, temporary actions until Congress can decide. To commission citizens or agents to satisfy wrongs committed by citizens of another nation (examples: to retrieve stolen property, arrest a spy, or defend a disputed border). To make rules defining how such actions should be conducted.

12. Arming Soldiers. To raise and supply armies (only when war is declared) consisting of full time soldiers; but no appropriation of money for the army shall supply them longer than two years.

13. Air Force. To provide and maintain an air force;

14. Regulating Forces. To regulate land and air forces;

15. Tribal Militias. To provide for deputizing and arming tribal militias, consisting of part-time soldiers who prepare for emergencies, to enforce laws, stop rebellions (of UTSS citizens), and repel invasions (of foreign troops).

16. Uniform Standards for Training Tribal Militias. To provide rules for organizing, arming, and disciplining a part-time citizen militia, and for commanding those serving the United Tribes. But the individual Tribes retain all authority to appoint officers of their own troops, and to train their own troops, by standards ordered by Congress, using weapons supplied by Congress;

17. Government Land. To enact all laws governing all UTSS land: including (1) whatever area may become the seat of the government of the UTSS (not exceeding two square miles) with the approval of Congress and the Tribe(s) providing the land; (2) other lands purchased by Congress, with the approval of the Tribes providing the land, for military bases, munitions factories, airports, and other needed buildings.

18. Enforcement. To make whatever laws are required to carry out the preceding responsibilities, and all other responsibilities created, by this Constitution, for the UTSS Government, or any department of the government, or any bureaucrat of the government.

Section 8.5: Natural Resources

(This section has no counterpart in the U.S. Constitution. Alaska has the only state Constitution with a separate section dealing with Natural Resources. These provisions are adapted from it.) Natural Resources. Congress shall help develop and protect South Sudan’s natural resources.

Intent: The future wealth of South Sudan will depend largely on how it administers its immense and varied resources, encouraging the development of its resources by making them available for maximum use consistent with the public interest.

The UTSS shall regulate the use of South Sudan’s natural resources from animals to minerals to water, sharing profits between the tribal stewards of the resources, all Sudanese, and investors, so as to maximize the incentives of everyone to encourage their development, without endangering their preservation (especially in the case of animals and water), with only such fees and taxes extracted by the federal government as the people’s elected representatives establish by law.

In setting prices, charging fees, and enacting regulations, Congress shall consider:

(a) prices must be low enough that the market will pay them, yet high enough to cover the costs of making the resources available.

(b) the regional stewards of a resource – the tribe in whose land a resource is – must be justly compensated for any harm to their usual use of the land, including any costs of protection from any increased violence, so that they will not resist development but instead will be motivated to maintain cooperative, friendly relations with the developers; they must be paid in addition for any development – roads, wells, buildings, utilities – they are willing to provide that will pay for itself in future development profits. Laws must well reward those who discovered the resource, and their tribe which encouraged its early development, so that other South Sudanese and other tribes will be highly motivated to make discoveries of their own.

(c) infrastructure across South Sudan – roads, electricity, cell towers – will enable development of more resources, and must be funded from the profits. Manufacturing, so that South Sudan will export not just raw products but also finished products, will be encouraged by friendly, simple, minimal regulations.

(d) All South Sudanese must see benefits from development, whether through use of improved infrastructure, reduction of taxes, and/or direct cash payments, so that they will elect Congressmen who will continue to encourage development.

(e) The Federal UTSS government will encourage development by getting out of its way, by keeping regulations effective, but few, and simple. The first duty of the Federal UTSS government is peace: to forever end the wars that have strangled development in South Sudan for generations. Peace will come sooner when no government leader or employee can take more, from his involvement in development, than his salary set by law, without being prosecuted; and when no government job is created that will not benefit all South Sudanese.

Congress shall issue leases and permits that specify their duration, how exclusive a developer’s right is to an area of a land, how much development must occur to hold that right, accommodation required for developers of other resources on the same land, responsibility for any damage to neighboring land, transferability of licenses to other parties, fees, rents, and royalties.

Surface uses of land by a mineral claimant shall be limited to those necessary for the extraction or basic processing of the mineral deposits, or for both. Any additional use of land must be negotiated with the tribe holding such land.

Whoever first discovers a resource will have the first right to the permits needed to develop it.

No citizen shall be involuntarily divested of his right to the use of waters, his interests in lands, or improvements affecting either, except for a superior beneficial use or public purpose and then only with just compensation and by operation of law [which applies equally to everybody]. Free access to the navigable or public waters of the UTSS, as defined by the legislature, shall not be denied any citizen of the UTSS, except that the legislature may by general law (that applies equally to everybody) regulate and limit such access for other beneficial uses or public purposes.

Section 9: What Congress CAN'T Do

1. (The first item in the corresponding list in the U.S. Constitution doesn't belong in a South Sudan Constitution. It tells Congress how long they have to let the Southern states import slaves! Other than that,) This list corresponds to Article 1, Section 9 of the U.S. Constitution.

2. Right to Trial. Congress can't suspend the right of every person to a fair and speedy trial, before he may be held in prison for longer than necessary to process his trial, except when rebellion or invasion makes the calling of witnesses, and the assembling of jurors, unsafe.

3. Attainder, Ex Post Facto. Congress shall never pass a law ordering someone to be punished who hasn’t been found guilty in a fair trial, and Congress shall not pass any law which punishes what people did before the law was passed.

4. Certain kinds of Taxes The only tax collected directly from all individual citizens will be a fixed amount per person, to be paid in each tribe by its voters who are gathered by their tribal leaders to pay and to be counted on the same day. Each person, whether rich or poor, will pay the same amount. A UTSS representative will be present to count the money, whose total will double as a census, but not to keep a record of names, addresses, photos, or any other identifying information.

Tribal leaders are the only ones who need to know all their people. They will be motivated to get all the young men to report for the census, because the census will be the basis for how many Congressmen they will get. There will be no “graduated” federal taxes based on a tribe’s wealth or on any person’s wealth. No tribe shall pay more, or less, per person, than any other tribe.

The UTSS does not need to see in everyone’s wallet. Neither does it need a national database to help track everyone. It does not need everyone’s name and address so it can go confiscate weapons, or call up troops to battle directly, without going through tribal leaders.

5. Tariffs No tariff (tax on imported products) shall be taxed on products exported from any Tribe.

6. Tribal borders No preference shall be given by any regulation of commerce or revenue to the airports of one state over those of another: nor shall vehicles bound to, or from, one state, be obliged to enter, clear or pay duties in another.

7. Budget No money shall be drawn from the treasury, but in consequence of appropriations made by law; and a regular statement and account of receipts and expenditures of all public money shall be published from time to time.

8. Lifetime Appointments No title of nobility [ie. king, queen, knight, ayatollah] shall be granted by the United Tribes: and no person holding any office of profit or trust under them, shall, without the consent of the Congress, accept of any present, emolument, office, or title, of any kind whatever, from any foreign leader.

Section 10: What TRIBES Can't Do

No Tribe shall sign a treaty, or become an ally, with a foreign nation. No Tribe shall commission citizens or agents to satisfy wrongs committed by citizens of another nation. [Although they may do so to negotiate with other tribes.]

No Tribe shall print paper or mint metal money, go into debt, allow debts to be paid by paper money unbacked by silver, gold, or cows...pass a law that cancels contracts, or give anyone privileges beyond what all men have the potential to earn as a reward for their service.

No tribe shall, without the consent of the Congress, lay any imposts or duties [tariffs] on imports or exports, except what may be absolutely necessary for executing it’s inspection laws: and the net produce of [profit from] all duties and imposts, laid by any state on imports or exports, shall be for the use of the treasury of the United Tribes; and all such laws shall be subject to the revision and control of the Congress.

No tribe shall, without the consent of Congress, ...keep troops, ... enter into any agreement or compact with another state, or with a foreign power, or engage in war, unless actually invaded, or in such imminent danger as will not admit of delay.

Unconstitutional laws [Provisions not in the U.S. Constitution:] When one third of either the Representatives or the Senators who are considering a bill state by petition, giving their reasons, that the bill is clearly unconstitutional, that bill shall be ruled unconstitutional and shall not pass.

When 1/3 of the Tribal Councils pass a resolution giving clear reasons, documented by constitutional authorities, why any federal law is unconstitutional, then enforcement of the law challenged shall be suspended for two years. After two years, the law shall be permanently revoked, unless before that time 2/3 of the members of the House and Senate approve a resolution to overturn the tribes’ finding, that gives clear reasons documented by constitutional authorities. Either the tribes or Congress may, during those two years, hold a hearing, and compel the attendance of the other, where the constitutional issues may be debated, and a public record made.

Article 2: President

Section 1. The President of the UTSS, and a vice president, shall be elected to a four year term, not by voters directly, but by electors elected by voters, in this way:

Each Tribal Council shall be allotted the number of “Electors” as the number the Tribe has of UTSS Senators plus Representatives.

No UTSS elected official or employee or officer may be an Elector.

Each Tribal Council shall decide how its electors are to be selected – whether in an open council meeting or by secret ballot of all the voters in the tribe.

Intent: The same concern applies to selecting a president that guides the makeup of the House and Senate: it is despotism, to let majorities snuff out the voice of minorities; yet it is unjust for minorities to have an equal voice with majorities.

This concern is perfectly addressed with the House and Senate, since no law can be passed without the support of both minorities and majorities. But with only one President, this concern can only be addressed by compromise between the needs of majorities and minorities.

This concern is addressed, in the selection of the President, by giving each tribe Electors – who will elect the federal President – equal in number to the number of its Senator(s) and Representative(s).

Electors serve the additional purpose of choosing a president by the wisdom of very politically informed observers who themselves hold no political office that would color their judgment, if their tribe lets them, rather than binding their vote to the popular vote results.

Yet another purpose of people being electors, versus a formula, is the ability to vote for someone else, if something happens too late for voters to take into account. Such as a candidate’s helicopter crashing on the night of the election.

Each tribe shall select its Electors as it chooses. For example:

• through a public discussion in a Tribal Council.

• by letting all voters in the tribe vote in a secret ballot.

• by designating a formula, rather than by selecting persons, by which, as in the U.S. system, the tribe’s electoral votes are determined by the “popular vote” (the majority of the votes of all voters)

Each Elector shall vote for both President and Vice President. He may not cast both his votes for a candidate from his own tribe. He may cast his vote for president and vice president candidates running as teams, as in the current U.S. system, or he may vote for two candidates who are not necessarily allies, as in the original U.S. system.

If one candidate has a majority (over 50%) of the votes, he shall be President.

If no candidate for President wins a majority, the House shall select which of the three highest vote-getters shall be president, but without giving large tribes an advantage over small tribes, because each Tribe’s representatives, all together, will cast only one vote.

If no candidate for Vice President wins a majority, the Senate shall select which of the two highest vote-getters shall be vice-president, with each tribe’s senators having, together, one vote.

The Congress may determine the time of choosing the electors, and the day on which they shall give their votes; which day shall be the same throughout the United Tribes.

No person except a natural born citizen, or a citizen of the United Tribes, at the time of the adoption of this Constitution, shall be eligible to the office of President; neither shall any person be eligible to that office who shall not have attained to the age of thirty five years, and been fourteen Years a resident within the United States.

If the President dies, resigns, or cannot serve for any reason, the Vice President shall take over until the President can resume his duties or a replacement is elected. If the Vice President becomes unable to serve, Congress may designate a replacement until he can resume his duties or a replacement is elected. Congress may enact laws providing for such situations.

The President's salary shall not be increased or decreased during his time in office. Besides his salary and legitimate office expenses, he shall receive no other gifts from the UTSS, or from any Tribe.

Before he enter on the execution of his office, he shall take the following oath or affirmation:--”I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully execute the office of President of the United Tribes, and will to the best of my ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United Tribes.”

Section 2. The President shall be Commander in Chief of the Army, the Air Force, and the citizen militia of all of the Tribes, but only when either of these are called by Congress into actual fighting for the UTSS.

The President may require the heads of executive departments to submit written reports on any aspect of their responsibility.

The President shall have power to pardon people convicted of federal crimes, although he may not pardon someone who is impeached by Congress.

The President may make treaties with other nations, which will not have force until they are ratified by 2/3 of the Senate. Ambassadors, Supreme Court Judges, Federal Department Heads, and any additional offices which Congress by law requires to be selected in the same manner, will be nominated by the President and approved by 2/3 of the Senate. Congress may by Law, as it thinks proper, delegate appointment of lesser officers, in courts of law, or in the heads of Departments, in the President alone.

When a vacancy requiring Senate confirmation occurs while the Senate is in recess, the President may temporarily fill the position with an appointment that expires at the end of the next session of the Senate, or until the Senate acts on the nomination.

Section 3. He shall from time to time give to the Congress information of the state of the union, and recommend to their consideration such measures as he shall judge necessary and expedient; he may, on extraordinary occasions, convene both Houses, or either of them, and [when the House and Senate can’t agree when to adjourn] he may adjourn them to such time as he shall think proper; he shall receive ambassadors and other public ministers; he shall take care that the laws be faithfully executed, and shall commission all UTSS officers.

Section 4.The President, Vice President, and any other top federal officer, shall be removed from office after being impeached (charged, or indicted) by Congress and convicted by the Senate of anything from treason to bribery to crime.

Impeachment is appropriate also for political offenses such as personal misconduct, gross neglect, usurpation of authority (acting beyond one’s authority), or habitual disregard of the public interests.

Article 3: Courts

Section 1. The prosecution of federal laws shall never be by a President, General, or by Congress, but by a Supreme Court, and whatever lower courts (and court officers) Congress creates. Their judges shall hold office only as long as they remain ethical, moral, and just. Their salary shall not be decreased while they remain in office.

Section 2. Federal court jurisdiction shall extend to all violations of this federal Constitution, the federal laws of the UTSS, or treaties which the Senate has ratified.

It shall hear not only cases where the letter of a law has been violated, [a “crime”], but also where a wrong has been done which violates the spirit of a law, and where the party which was wronged seeks an injunction to prevent the wrong from being repeated. (A court considering an injunction is called a “court of equity”).

It shall hear cases involving ambassadors, department heads, actions outside Sudan’s borders -- controversies in which the UTSS is either the plaintiff or the defendant, controversies between Tribes, or between the citizens of different Tribes, or between a Tribe or its citizens and foreign countries or citizens. But it shall not have jurisdiction over any issue within any tribe, affecting only the tribe, and violating the laws of only the tribe.

In all cases involving ambassadors, department heads, or Tribes, the Supreme Court will be the first and only Court that will hear the case.

Intent: Courts and tribes need to be able to stop unconstitutional laws of Congress, and Congress and tribes need to be able to stop unconstitutional rulings of Courts. When there is doubt whether a law or ruling is unconstitutional, that doubt should be mitigated by requiring greater consensus among UTSS authorities, that it is safe, before it can take effect. When there is disagreement, more wisdom will mean less fighting. But when courts, Congress, and Tribal Councils won’t agree on what is Constitutional, even after public hearings, voters should make the final decision themselves, after the reasoning of all authorities has been broadcast to the nation through vigorous debate.

Therefore The People’s representatives in Congress and in Tribal Councils need the final say over judges, because if they do not serve the People well, they are the ones voters can remove in elections.

In all other cases, [controversies to which the United States shall be a party;--- between citizens of different states;--between citizens of the same state claiming lands under grants of different states,] the Supreme Court may review an appeal from a lower federal or tribal court ruling involving violations of federal or tribal laws, since in such cases, the effect of tribal laws has reached beyond the tribe’s borders.

When the Supreme Court reviews a case, it may review both the law (whether the law ought to be applied in the situation before it) and the facts (what really happened). It may also rule, but only tentatively, on the very constitutionality of the law, if it is a federal law. (If it is a tribal law, the Court may only review its constitutionality insofar as its effect reaches beyond its borders.) Otherwise a Supreme Court ruling applies only to the parties to the case; it has no force of law outside the case.

When the Supreme Court finds that a law violates this Constitution, its finding shall trigger no action unless 70% of the justices agree. If they do agree, then enforcement of the law challenged shall be suspended for two years, and then the law shall be permanently revoked, unless before that time 2/3 of the tribes, or 2/3 of the members of the House and Senate, overturn the Court’s finding with a resolution giving clear reasons, documented by constitutional authorities, that are responsive to the Court’s finding.

Either the tribes or Congress may, during those two years, hold a hearing, and compel the Court’s justices to attend, where the constitutional issues may be debated, and a public record made. Should any question arise whether attendance may be compelled, the nature of the hearing may be presented as to “show cause” whether impeachment is warranted for unconstitutional rulings.

All federal crimes, (violations of federal laws), tried in federal court, shall be tried by jury, in the Tribe where the alleged crimes were committed. If they were committed outside the UTSS, they will be held where Congress has set by law. (Tribes may prosecute violations of their own laws by whatever procedures they think proper.)

Section 3. Treason against the UTSS, shall consist only in levying war against them, or in adhering ["associating with, by conformity of faith, principle, or opinion"] to their enemies, giving them aid and comfort. No person shall be convicted of treason unless on the testimony of two witnesses to the same overt act, or on confession in open court.

Congress may convict someone of treason after a fair trial. Its penalty may include forfeiture of an inheritance, of other property, and/or execution. But if the accused still has property when he dies, that he has willed to his heirs, the penalty may not harm the property rights of his heirs after his death.

Ombudsman, interaction of tribes and UTSS

[Completely new government function:] An Office of Ombudsman, (Public Advocate) created, organized, elected, and funded by refugees living in diaspora, shall have power to hear complaints about any part of the UTTS federal government by South Sudan residents, to negotiate on their behalf with relevant federal officials, to compel testimony when necessary, and to appear in Court as a plaintiff representing the aggrieved resident when lesser measures fail.

Section 1: Each Tribe shall accept the official records, court orders, contracts, and money judgments of every other tribe, relating to members of a Tribe who travel or move to or do business in another, as evidence that those records were made according to the laws of the originating Tribe. Each Tribe shall also accept the authority of those records as binding in its own land, except when its own laws are in such conflict with the laws of the originating Tribe that they would have produced a different record. Congress may pass general laws regulating those situations, which encourage, but do not impose, uniform laws.

Section 2. The citizens of each Tribe, when traveling to or doing business in other tribes, shall have all the freedoms, rights of Citizenship, civil rights, and Constitutional rights, as the citizens of those tribes.

A person charged in any Tribe with treason, felony, or other crime, who shall flee from justice, and be found in another Tribe, shall on demand of the executive authority of the Tribe from which he fled, be delivered up, to be removed to the Tribe having jurisdiction of the crime.

No person who, by the laws of his Tribe, is obligated to serve in its militia, or who owes debts, who escapes to another Tribe with more lenient laws, shall, because of the more lenient laws, be relieved of his obligations; but shall be returned upon the legitimate request of the party to whom the service or debt is owed. But if the difference in laws is not merely a degree of leniency but involves a disagreement between the Tribes about God-given rights, the receiving Tribe may protect the refugee, appealing to a federal court if necessary.

Section 3. New Tribes may be admitted by the Congress into this union; but they may not be admitted from land outside South Sudan’s 2017 borders, without a referendum of the people living there, and a treaty with the national government having jurisdiction over the land. No new Tribes shall be formed or erected within the jurisdiction of any other Tribe; nor any Tribe be formed by the junction of two or more Tribes, or parts of Tribes, without the consent of the legislatures of the Tribes concerned as well as of the Congress.

Tribes may combine at their option; for example, tribes with fewer than 40,000 population may combine in order to simplify their representation in the House and Senate.

Congress shall have authority to buy, sell, and regulate UTSS property. Nothing in this Constitution shall be interpreted in a way that restricts the property rights of the UTSS or of any Tribe.

Section 4. No Tribe will be forced to join the UTSS, or even allowed, until a convention elected by its voters, having studied the opportunities and responsibilities, have petitioned to join. Once joined, the UTSS will help each tribe keep a tribal government approved by a majority of its people, by intervening but only as requested by a petition of a majority of its adults.

The UTSS shall protect the Tribes from invasion. The UTSS shall even protect a Tribe from violence within its own borders, upon the request of its Tribal Council, or of its Chief when the Council cannot be convened.

Article V: Amending the Constitution

The Congress, whenever two thirds of both houses shall deem it necessary, shall propose amendments to this Constitution, or, on the application of the legislatures of two thirds of the several Tribes, shall call a convention for proposing amendments, which, in either case, shall be valid to all intents and purposes, as part of this Constitution, when ratified by the legislatures of three fourths of the several Tribes, or by conventions in three fourths thereof, as the one or the other mode of ratification may be proposed by the Congress;

But no Amendment may deprive any Tribe of its senators, without that tribe’s consent.

Article VI: Debts, Oaths, Authority

All debts contracted and engagements entered into, before the adoption of this Constitution, shall be as valid against the UTSS under this Constitution, as under the dictatorship which it replaces. However, as reasonable investors understand, their investments in a tyranny were never as secure as they were claimed to be on paper, or as they should now be under a free government. The UTSS will negotiate with lenders to reach a reasonable, realistic repayment goal generous enough to prove more attractive than their pre-UTSS investment.

This Constitution, and the laws of the United Tribes which shall be made in pursuance thereof; and all treaties made, or which shall be made, under the authority of the United Tribes, shall be the supreme law of the land, insofar as they do not interfere in how the people of each tribe choose to manage their own affairs; and the judges in every state shall be bound thereby, anything in the Constitution or laws of any Tribe to the contrary notwithstanding.

The Senators and Representatives before mentioned, and the members of the several Tribal Councils, and all executive and judicial officers, both of the United Tribes and of the several Tribes, shall be bound by oath or affirmation, to support this Constitution; but no religious test shall ever be required as a qualification to any office or public trust under the United Tribes.

Article VII: Ratifying this Constitution

The ratification of the conventions of forty Tribes, composed of wise, experienced delegates known for their service to others, elected by majorities of the adults of their tribes, shall establish this Constitution between all Tribes which ratify (which vote to join the UTSS). Prior to sufficient peace for conventions to meet in safety, support for ratification may be unofficially assessed by refugees in communication with as many South Sudanese in South Sudan as possible, explaining the options for a Constitution as comprehensively as possible. The results of these unofficial surveys may be shared with NGO’s, governments, and others interested in a stable representative government in Sudan, to invite their help creating the conditions necessary for the safety of conventions.