Annotated and Abridged JLA Charter

Purpose

The purpose of the Justice League of America (JLA) is to handle threats to Earth's security - both terrestrial and extraterrestrial - beyond the power of conventional enforcement groups. If requested to do so by concerned parties, the JLA will undertake certain missions that aid those of other planets. However, the JLA's major responsibility is the peace and welfare of Earth. The JLA will also participate in public service and charity functions when not involved in higher priority duties (Justice League of America #36 ).

The mission statement of the classic League was identical to the current League, however there were differences under the Justice League International (JLI) era. Under the guidance of Maxwell Lord (JLI #7) the JLA was restructured into the JLI - a formal branch of the United Nations - with the responsibilities of an "International Peacekeeping Force" and the status of an independent city state.

The original League was also prohibited from interfering in interplanetary matters unless under the guidance of the local authorities or the Guardians of the Universe. There was a strong element of cooperation with the Guardians in the original charter and they would occasionally call on the Justice League to undertake missions that were outside of the remit of the Green Lantern Corps (Justice League of America #140-141). However the modern League is not under some form of the "Prime Directive" and will undertake missions on other worlds if they believe it will help the greater good (i.e. Earth 2), but this seems to be a matter for debate amongst members (Batman once stated that "We're not an inter-dimensional police force.")

If the modern League ventures off planet it is most often due to the interference of other agencies (i.e. kidnapped by Adam Strange, the Quantum Mechanics or even their descendants.) A side effect of the League's position is that it is the Solar System's first (and often last) line of defense against extraterrestrial and pan-dimensional threats. Unofficially the League also defends the Earth from time travel threats and is one of the few modern day organizations with the knowledge of the existence of Hypertime.

Funding

The JLA is a non-profit organization incorporated in the United States of America (ergo the word America in the title) and is funded by a trust established shortly after its creation. Further funding is supplied by the Wayne Foundation and the United Nations (UN). Contributors to League funds can have no say over the usage of those funds. The League can use the funds for the maintenance of its facilities, but cannot compensate members for their services.

In the Silver Age the JLA was funded exclusively by the Wayne Foundation - which of couse was run by the Batman (Bruce Wayne) who was then a founding member of the Justice League. In post-crisis continuity Batman was not a founding member and the JLA YEAR ONE series established that Oliver Queen (Green Arrow) had acted as the League's mysterious backer in the early years. His liaison with the League was Simon Carr (uncle of League mascot Lucas "Snapper" Carr). Queen joined as the League's first non-founding member and when his financial empire was threatened he convinced Bruce Wayne to take over the funding. Later when the UN recognised the League they started contributing to the funding.

A major shift in League funding occurred when the UN created the JLI. At that time Maxwell Lord, one of richest men in the world, became the League's UN liaison and effective chief executive. The JLI was entirely funded by the UN during this period and it was implied that Max's company, Innovative Concepts, was subcontracted to handle the League's publicity and paperwork. Unlike the previous and later League's this League took members on as salaried employees and operated its own credit card system. The JLI was almost bankrupted at one stage by Ted Kord (Blue Beetle II) and Michael Carter (Booster Gold) when they set up the Club JLI venture. Eventually when the UN revoked the JLI charter all facilities and resources were handed back to the UN.

It has not been revealed who manages the current JLA finances, but it is safe to assume that their under the watchful eye of Bruce Wayne.

Active Membership

Membership Clauses

• All active members will attended JLA organizational meetings held on the last Saturaday of each month (just in time for the publication of each issue ).
• No JLA member may be paid for his costumed services (see comments on the JLI funding )
• Each active member must keep a record of his activities for the JLA archive.
• Each active member must account for any absences from League business and must notify the chairman of any extended period of absence (it is unlikely that anybody has even tried enforcing this against the Batman ) so that he may notify alternatives if necessary (in the past Hippolyta has stood in for Diana as Wonder Woman, Walter West has stood in for Wally West as the Flash and Hourman III stood in for the Martian Manhunter for a time ).
• No active JLA member has to reveal his secret identity. (As of JLA #50 all current League active members know each others secret identities - even Batman's. It has been implied by Grant Morrison that the League has their own set of secret hand shakes and code words which they can use to identify themselves to each other. In the Silver Age it was a stipulation of membership that members HAD to reveal their secret identities to the their teammates for security reasons as shown in Justice League of America #122. )
• JLA members will not reveal League secrets to non-members or spouses.
• All active members will be available, for service 24 hours a day and will carry their JLA signal devices at all times. (Signal devices have undergone a number of changes. Originally they were incorporated into members costumes, i.e. belt buckles, special arrows, ear-rings, etc. During the JLI era they were pager sized devices. More recently the JLA have used the telepathic abilities of the Martian Manhunter as a communications route, however Oracle maintains the Signal Device network as a backup ).

Founding Membership and the Chairman

The five most senior members of the Justice League have a special status as Founding Members. They serve as the League's executive (replacing the functions previously held by Simon Carr or Maxwell Lord ) and are the League's liaison to the UN. They act as the League's disciplinary commette and have a single vote as a group when other votes are tied. The chairman of the League (presently Superman ) is elected by two-thirds majority vote and it is open to any member. If the chairman is not present the leadership of the League defaults to the next most senior member (normally one of the founding members ). The founding members have the power to disband the League via a unanimous vote (in emergencies the chairman may disband the League for tactical reasons - JLA #27 ).

Founding membership as such did not exist for the original League whose founders were Aquaman, Black Canary II (Dinah Lance), Flash II (Barry Allen), Green Lantern II (Hal Jordan) and the Martian Manhunter. Any of them had the power to disband the League (Aquaman disbanded the League in Justice League of America Annual #2 while the Manhunter did the same just before the JLI incarnation in Justice League of America #261). The League could also be disbanded by a unanimous vote of the entire active membership.

Under the JLI charter founding members were recognised more formally and its safe to assume that Batman replaced Barry Allen as a "founding member" during this period. Superman first became a member of the League just before his death and it seems logical that he would have replaced Black Canary as a founding member (the JLA Sourcebook says she voluntarily gave up her position when she quit). It also seems logical to assume that Wonder Woman (who was leader at the League at the time) became a founding member to replace Hal Jordan when he went rogue.

In the Silver Age the chairmanship of the League was on a monthly basis with each active member taking their turn. At this stage the chairman was more of a manager and had little real power. The first chairman of the League was Barry Allen (as shown JLA Year One and is also a nod to the JSA where the first Flash was their first chairman). In the JLI days Maxwell Lord served as head of the entire organization with Captain Atom and the Martian Manhunter acting as field commanders for the European and American groups respectively. Under the current League Superman is the unanimous chairman and leader, however his style is very inclusive and he will often defer to Batman. Technically he can give Batman orders and Batman was at times invited him to try (JLA #27).

Reserve Membership

Reserve members are held to the same conditions and bylaws as the active members except they are not bound by the necessity to be on 24 hour call, nor are required to attend JLA meetings and they do not have voting rights. Reservists must have assisted the League on at least one mission. Reserve members are entitled to attend JLA meetings and are given signal devices. If a reservists misses three summons for help then they are removed from reserve membership.

In the classic League Zatanna started as a reservist and Metamorpho was another reservist. In the revised continuity Superman must also be counted as a League reservist for much of its history. Under the JLI reserve status was generally applied to heroes who assisted on mission a but were never part of a salaried group structure. This would include Superman, Wonder Woman, Captain Marvel and later the Batman.

Under the modern League reserve status is a little more fluid. Effectively any active mainstream DC hero who is not a member of another team could be considered a reservist. The fully reserve of the JLA is rarely called into action - most recently against Amazo (JLA #27) and during the JLA Verus Titans mini-series. Normally the JLA relies on a hand full of more select reservists including Steel, the Atom and Oracle. Reserve status was also conferred upon a young time travelling Hal Jordan when he visited this era.

Honorary Membership

Honorary membership is given to any hero who assists the League, but declines active or reserve membership. Honorary members have no duties, must go through an active member to contact the League and may attend social functions.

The original honorary member of the League was Snapper Carr, nephew of Simon Carr the League's funding liaison. Other honorary members of the classic League include Adam Strange, Batgirl, Sargon the Sorcerer, Green Lantern (John Stewart) and in pre-Crisis continuity Supergirl. There is, and always has been, a question over the membership of the Phantom Stranger. He was elected to active status in Justice League of America #103, but seems to have been unavailable for subsequent missions. This means that he would have automatically slipped into reserve status. The 1990 JLA Sourcebook lists him as an honorary member, but he seems to have been more than this.

Monitor Duty

Each active member must take their turn monitoring the JLA Monitor Womb for a 24 hour period (with concessions for sleep). They are allowed to have one visitor with them. Founding members are not required to under take monitor duty.

Monitor Duty was a classic plot device in the Silver Age where one of the Leaguers would spot an emergency on the monitors and then contact the rest of the League. Monitor Duty remained under the JLI where the process was largely automated by the former Green Lantern Kilowog. During this period the duty was normally passed off to Oberon at the American branch or to Sue Dibny at the European branch. Currently most Leaguers undertake Monitor Duty and the stipulation for the founding members seems to be a get out clause for Batman who only seems to take over when he has an ulterior motive or the League is in the field and he serves as their advisor.

Punishment of Criminals

All Alleged criminals dealt with the JLA shall be brought to trial under which ever judicial body they are subject to, be it terrestrial, extraterrestrial, or extra-dimensional. Acts of interstellar agression and misconduct shall be punished in accordance with the mandates of the appropriate recognized interstellar law enforcement agency. The governing tribunal, not the JLA itself, shall determine the severity of a criminal's punishment. Imprisonment shall be handled by conventional institutions, except in cases where the criminal cannot be detained by existing facilities. In this case, the JLA is a liberty to devise their own form of detainment under the review of the United Nations or a recognized interstellar law enforcement agency.

During the classic League references to the "recognized interstellar law enforcement agency" was almost exclusively meant to be the Guardians of the Universe. Earth has or has had treaties with other interstellar powers, but has not (as far as I'm aware) been a member of any interstellar organization like L.E.G.I.O.N. It would seems therefore that the League is often at liberty to recognize other authorities such as the New Gods, Linear Men or Dream of the Endless. The Martian Manhunter has been recognized by the League as the last remaining legitimate Martian authority. The League must still recognize due process and must be able to present evidence of wrong doing (ergo their helplessness to detain Lex Luthor and his first Injustice Gang).

Often the League will act to neutralize a threat (e.g. Imprisoning the General with the Phantom Zone) rather than trying to bring said threat in for punishment. The last sentence above would provide for the UN to review these actions. In all cases the League always stands for the protection of a lifeforms "human" rights and will not take part in any capital punishment (Superman and Batman would never allow it). One can assume that the JLA has seen enough undead/spirit threats to know that killing an enemy does not necessarily mean an end of their threat.

Leaves of Absence and Resignations

Leaves of absence can be granted to any reservist or active member who requests them. Any member can also resign at any time. Any member who resigns or takes a leave of absence and remains in good standing may later return to the League (members who have resigned have to go through the standard election procedure ). Members can be discharged from the League if they are no longer able to serve and automatically become honorary members.

Originally a member had to give 72-hours notice for a leave of absence and if a member resigned then he could never be readmitted. However as the 1990 JLA Sourcebook points out what constituted formal resignation was never really made clear - "apparently, Green Arrow's waving his arms and loudly announcing, 'I quit!' wasn't good enough."

During the JLI era heroes would take leave of absences when events in their own books prohibited their membership (e.g. Animal Man took a leave of absence after the death of his wife and children - they later got better). More recently leaves of absence seem to be automatically triggered when a hero goes missing and their chairman calls in a reservist to act as a fill-in. The Martian Manhunter took a leave of absence to heal from injuries and returned to full duty during the Magaddon story-line.

Suspensions and Expulsions

Any member can be suspended by a majority vote of the founding members (originally this was all active members ). Suspensions can be issued for dereliction of duty, conduct unbecoming a JLA member (Plastic Man seems unaware of this ) or willfully disobeying the chairman. Suspensions are normally for one year, but can be overturned for "good behaviour" by a two-thirds vote of the active membership. The case for suspension must be brought by an active member.

Active, reserve and honorary members can be expelled from the League with no possibility of reinstatement by a unanimous vote of the tribunal.

None of the original Justice Leaguers were ever suspended. During the JLI days procedures were more fluid and disciplinary matters were handled directly by Maxwell Lord. He would often stop short of suspensions preferring to hand down other punishments (Beetle and Booster were ordered to do manual chores around the New York embassy as punishment for their involvement with the Club JLI incident). Guy Gardner had a suspension/expulsion charge against him from the Martian Manhunter at the time of the attempted assassination of Maxwell Lord.

During the current League the Huntress was expelled for the use of excessive force against the crippled Prometheus. Later the Batman was suspended by a simple majority vote for his actions during the "Tower of Babel" storyline. He was later readmitted to the League when he and Superman revealed their secret identities to the other Leaguers as a sign of trust.