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We the people of the third millennium of human history on Earth, representing governmental, industrial, educational, non governmental, and international organizations, assembled in the City of Geneva, and accounting for each region of human habitation; Recognizing the limitations of contemporary international institutions, and the absence of an intercontinental framework that is responsive to human demands placed upon planet Earth; Determined to safeguard succeeding generations from the destruction of air, land, and water wreaked by human activity throughout the closing century, to draw new meaning for human achievement at the dawn of the twenty-first century, to advance guidelines and parameters under which human societies may flourish while sustaining their life- generating and life-supporting systems, and to foster a planetary ethic that embraces fundamental ecological rights; Respecting the integrity of each creature inhabiting Earth, mindful of the interconnecting requirements of each specie, plant, and being, and acting to evolve the human habitation of Earth; Towards these ends, have resolved our efforts, to constitute an organization belonging to no existing state, union of states, or union of nations, to monitor the Earth-system, to maintain real- time Earth-system data, to provide natural resource planning in behalf of the continents, to maintain a legal forum that operates to resolve natural resource disputes between and among the continents in order to reinforce their collective ecological security and, within the bounds of Earth law, to guide their relations with each Earth sphere; Accordingly, we the delegate candidates to the Member Continents have agreed to the Charter of EARTH COUNSEL, including its constitutive accords, and do hereby establish a planetary trust and community of Continents known as EARTH COUNSEL. ARTICLE 1--EARTH COUNSEL shall: a. maintain a depository for Earth system data, including lithosphere, hydrosphere, atmosphere and magnetosphere data; b. provide its Members with environmental planning services related, inter alia, to energy, agriculture, transportation, coasts and reef systems, plant and animal species and waste management, and city planning; c. enable regional reclamation, biodiversification and afforestation programs; d. act in behalf of the Continents [Art. 3(c)] in order to maintain their integrity and their harmony with adjoining land forms, with the hydrosphere, and the atmosphere; e. maintain the magnetosphere to safeguard its Earth-sensing satellites and other orbital programs aimed at the peaceful uses of outer space; f. make available natural resource dispute resolution services including conciliation, mediation, and arbitration between and among the Members, and adjudicate intracontinental and intercontinental disputes in a forum in which environmental protection is the prime directive; g. encourage respect for all life, without distinction to life form; h. administer Earth Treaty [Art. 19(c), Art. 22(a)]; i. maintain environmental peace and earth Security through the employment of Continental jurisprudence, and use collective measures among the union of Continents to minimize threats to Earth's life-sustaining spheres. ARTICLE 2. The Organization, through its Members, and in pursuit of the Purposes stated in Article 1, are committed to the following Principles: a. The organization is dedicated to safeguarding the ecological integrity of each Continent and other habitats. b. EARTH COUNSEL provides protection to the Spheres in Trust [Art. 18(a)]. c. The present Charter shall authorize EARTH COUNSEL to act upon and to remedy any significant injury to a Member or to a Sphere in Trust. d. Neither the EARTH COUNSEL Charter nor any subsequent amendments thereto shall authorize EARTH COUNSEL to implement, condone, recognize, or to cooperate with an economic sanction upon a state or a region, or to engage in any form of political affront against a state, a government, or a Member. e. Earth Counsel shall require gender parity among Members' Delegates. ARTICLE 3 a. Membership in EARTH COUNSEL is open to all Continents as represented by their respective Nodes [Art’s. 6(f), 6(g), 6(h)]. b. EARTH COUNSEL consists of seven [7] Members. c. Members of EARTH COUNSEL are Continents. Continents are defined as follows: Africa, Antarctica, Asia, Europe, North America, Oceania, and South America. d. Each islands or island state is represented by its proximate Continent. ARTICLE 4 a. There are established as the principal organs of EARTH COUNSEL: The General Assembly, Earth Data Bank [Art. 23], Earth Policy Council [Art. 24], and Earth Court [Art. 25 - Art. 30]. b. Earth University [Art. 33] and Earth Press [Art. 34] are Institutes of the organization. c. The General Assembly may establish such subsidiary organs as necessary in accordance with the purposes and principles of the present Charter. IV. THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY ARTICLE 5 a. The General Assembly is established as the principal deliberative organ of EARTH COUNSEL. b. The General Assembly administers Earth Data Bank, Earth Policy Council, and Earth Court. Earth University and Earth Press [Art. 33 and Art. 34] are observers to the Assembly. ARTICLE 6--Delegates a. The General Assembly is comprised of at least four hundred and twenty (420) Delegates. b. The exact number of Delegates for a Member is proportional to the Member’s land area. For representational purposes only, Antarctica's frozen hydrosphere shall be included in the definition of 'land area.' The Charter Convention and its General Assembly shall further delineate Oceania and other Members' 'land area.' c. Each Delegate represents one of the four Spheres in Trust. d. Each Delegate serves one four-year term and one subsequent four-year term as a member of the Delegate Advisory Council. e. The Delegate Advisory Council reviews the policies, procedures and actions of the Delegates and may amend documents by consensus. f. The Delegates of each Continent are nominated from among five organizational Nodes. The five Nodes include: Government (states and communities of states); Industry; Academia; International and Non-governmental organizations. Thus, each Node of each Continent sponsors a percentage of that Continent's lithosphere delegates, a percentage of its hydrosphere delegates, a percentage of its atmosphere delegates, and a percentage of its magnetosphere delegates. g. Each Node of a given Continent shall sponsor approximately twenty percent of that Member's total number of Delegates. h. Nodes shall be further defined through the Charter Convention. However, each Node shall, in any case, sponsor a specific percentage of Delegates to a given Member, and such Delegates shall be further delineated according to a specific percentage of Delegates to each Sphere. i. The General Assembly’s first body of Delegates are elected through the Charter Convention. Thereafter, the election of Delegates from among the nominees are conducted by the exiting General Assembly. ARTICLE 7---Federations a. The General Assembly is comprised of seven Federations of Delegates representing the Member Continents. b. Each Delegate shall be a domiciliary of a state within the represented Continent. A given Federation owes its primary allegiance to the given Continent. c. Initially, each Member’s Federation shall be comprised of between fifty and seventy Delegates. The exact number of a given Member's Delegates shall be in proportion to that Member's land area relative to the other Members' land area. d. Among the Delegates of a given Federation, approximately forty (40) percent shall be Lithosphere Delegates, thirty (30) percent Hydrosphere Delegates, twenty (20) percent Atmosphere Delegates, and ten (10) percent Magnetosphere Delegates. ARTICLE 8--Ambassadors a. Each of the seven Members shall maintain four Ambassadors. Each Ambassador chairs the Delegates to one Sphere, in behalf of a given Member. b. Each Ambassador is elected by the Delegates to his or her respective Sphere. c. Ambassadors serve one four-year term. ARTICLE 9--Planetary Confederation a. The four Ambassadors from each of the seven Members of EARTH COUNSEL form a twenty-eight (28) member Planetary Confederation. b. The Planetary Confederation administers the Ecosphere Trust System [Art. 18 - Art. 22 (Spheres in Trust)] and also serves as Earth Court technical master. c. The Planetary Confederation, in consultation with Earth Data Bank, issues guidelines pertaining to the Spheres in Trust and is authorized to further delineate all data spheres for Earth Counsel. ARTICLE 10--Congress of Emissaries a. Each Federation maintains one Emissary, elected by and from among the Delegate Advisory Council, to serve a four-year term. b. EARTH COUNSEL's seven Emissaries form the Congress of Emissaries, who report directly to the Secretary General of EARTH COUNSEL. c. The primary function of the Congress of Emissaries is to provide emergency sessions concerning disaster mitigation, and to advise on projects aimed at remediation of injuries to Continents and to the Spheres in Trust. d. The Congress of Emissaries shall be authorized by consensus to refer Members to the services of Earth Policy Council and Earth Court. e. The first Congress of Emissaries is elected by and from among the first standing Delegates. ARTICLE 11--Secretary General a. The General Assembly shall select from among the Delegates of a Continent-Elect, a Secretary General to preside over the Congress of Emissaries. b. The Continent-Elect rotates every three years, alphabetically from Africa to Antarctica to Asia to Europe to North America to Oceania to South America. The first Continent-Elect is drawn by lot. c. The Secretary General presides for one four-year term. ARTICLE 12--Functions and Powers a. The General Assembly may discuss any questions or any matters within the scope of the present Charter or relating to the powers and functions of any organ provided for in the present Charter. b. The General Assembly shall meet regularly each year, and shall maintain electronic and video conferencing monthly. It has specific responsibility for electing members of EARTH COUNSEL’s principal organs, and for approving EARTH COUNSEL’s budget. c. The expenses of the organization shall be borne by the Members through a Fund established within a country of each Member Continent. ARTICLE 13 a. The General Assembly utilizes the principles of cooperation in the maintenance of ecological security. b. The General Assembly, through its Congress of Emissaries, may issue Declarations concerning a Member or, through its Planetary Confederation, concerning a Sphere in Trust. ARTICLE 14 a. EARTH COUNSEL shall carry out its law-making and enforcement activities in consultation with, but not limited to, continent-wide trade regimes; the International Court of Justice; the World Trade Organization Dispute Settlement Body; the International Chamber of Commerce Court of Arbitration; the International Court of Human Rights; the World Bank Inspection Panel, states or community of states within the subject Members; and dispute resolution mechanisms of international environmental treaty regimes. ARTICLE 15 a. The General Assembly may recommend to the Secretary General that certain activities taking place within a Member territory be modified. b. The Secretary General shall take steps to secure the integrity of each Member and each Sphere in Trust [Art. 18 et seq.]. c. The General Assembly shall receive and consider reports from the principal organs of EARTH COUNSEL. d. The General Assembly shall perform such functions regarding the Ecosphere Trust System as are assigned to it in Chapter V, including the approval of trust agreements with respect to undesignated sub-spheres. ARTICLE 16--Voting a. Each Delegate to the General Assembly shall have one vote. b. Decisions of the General Assembly on important questions shall be made by a two-thirds majority of the Delegates present and voting. c. No Member may be expelled from the organization. No state may be expelled from a Member. ARTICLE 17--Procedure a. The General Assembly shall meet in regular annual sessions and in such special sessions as occasion may require. b. Special sessions, in the event of a human-made environmental disaster which materially impacts a Sphere in Trust, shall be called within forty-eight (48) hours by the Secretary General. Generally, special sessions shall take place through video conferencing or, when necessary and possible, on the Continent proximate to the disaster. c. The Planetary Confederation defines that which constitutes a ‘material impact.’ d. The General Assembly shall adopt its own rules of procedure and terms for consensus. V. ECOSPHERE TRUST SYSTEM ARTICLE 18 a. EARTH COUNSEL shall establish under its authority an Ecosphere Trust System for the administration and the supervision of the Spheres in Trust. b. The Spheres in Trust are: Lithosphere; Hydrosphere; Atmosphere; and Magnetosphere. c. The Ecosphere Trust System is a real-time archive of the Spheres in Trust and their sub-spheres. ARTICLE 19 a. The Ecosphere Trust System shall maintain the
scientific framework for Earth Treaty, borne under this Trust. ARTICLE 20 a. The Planetary Confederation shall operate with the principal purpose of establishing all science necessary for the execution of Earth Treaty. ARTICLE 21 The objectives of the Ecosphere Trust System, in accordance with the Purposes of EARTH COUNSEL laid down in Article 1 of the present Charter, shall be: a. to maintain real-time data concerning Earth's ecosphere, the Spheres in Trust and their sub-spheres. b. to facilitate knowledge of the planet in the context of its human habitation. c. to make comprehensible Earth-data available in forms ranging from elemental raw data to sophisticated value-added data for purposes of informing the human habitation of the Members. d. to develop the necessary intelligence to achieve environmental security at the present time, and to assist humankind in its stewardship of the planet on behalf of future generations. ARTICLE 22 a. The definitions and parameters of the Spheres in Trust and their sub-spheres to be placed under the trust system, including amendments, annexes or further delineations, shall be negotiated and ratified by consensus among Delegates to the Planetary Confederation. ARTICLE 23--Purposes & Functions a. Earth data is defined as information discerning the Spheres in Trust. b. Earth Data Bank administers all Earth data for the organization. c. Administration of Earth data entails securing raw data from each of the world’s space agencies and their subsidiaries, licensees, agents and affiliates; interfacing, formatting and universalizing such data; disseminating data to scientific and research institutions within each of the Members’ territories for analysis and value-adding; and on-site verification. d. Earth data are value-added in partnership with universities and public and private entities, emphasizing collaboration with institutions domiciled in the broadest possible geographical spectrum, inclusive of institutions within each Member's territory. e. The processed data is converted into forms which can be used to carry out the functions of Earth Policy Council and Earth Court. Earth Data Bank consults with the Planetary Confederation in all technical areas. f. Earth Data Bank may establish its own procedures and subsidiary organ(s) to protect proprietary data. a. The function of Earth Policy Council is to assist Members with environmental planning and reconstruction. The Policy Council addresses human habitation of the Continents, and the effect of that habitation on its natural resources, and on the communicating Spheres in Trust. b. Earth Policy Council provides planning guidance to Members in areas including, but not limited to, agriculture, biomes, education, energy, infrastructure, transportation, resource management, population, disposal and city planning. c. City planning and reconstruction programs shall respect the subject Members’ cultural identity, development status and economic needs, and all due care and consultation with public and private entities shall be taken. d. Earth Policy Council fosters Member compliance with the laws of the General Assembly and the rulings and opinions of Earth Court. e. Earth Policy Counsel shall, in consultation with the Congress of Emissaries, conduct or authorize other institutions to conduct regional environmental investigations, evaluations and reports. f. Earth Policy Council shall, upon request by the Congress of Emissaries, and in consultation with the Planetary Confederation, assist Earth Court in structuring opinions that promote sustainable development, habitat reclamation and preservation of the biodiversity of the subject continent. ARTICLE 25--Purpose a. The purpose of Earth Court is to resolve environmental and natural resource disputes between and among the Members of Earth Counsel. Dispute resolution may include facilitating negotiations, mediation, conciliation and binding arbitration. b. Earth Court interprets and rules with respect to the Earth Treaty and other international environmental treaties, agreements, understandings and norms governing the Spheres in Trust and their sub-spheres. c. Earth Court may also issue advisory opinions in conjunction with the referral of disputes to Earth Policy Council for remediation. Composition of Earth Court ARTICLE 26--Referees a. Earth Court is composed of sixty (60) judges or Referees. The number of Referees assigned by each Continent shall be proportional to said Continent's land area relative to the land area of all other Continents. b. Each Referee’s area of expertise shall reflect one of the four respective Spheres in Trust. c. Referees shall be apportioned by Sphere in a manner similar to that in which Delegates are apportioned. d. Except for Antarctica and Oceania, approximately forty (40) percent of the Referees from a given Continent shall be Lithosphere Referees, thirty (30) percent shall be hydrosphere referees, twenty (20) percent shall be atmosphere referees, and ten (10) percent shall be magnetosphere referees. e. Referees are elected by an absolute majority of the General Assembly. f. The major legal systems among the Continents are considered and utilized in establishing rules of the Court. g. Referees shall have training and expertise in the relevant areas of international law and Earth-system science. h. Referees are elected for one seven (7) year term. i. Judicial decisions are taken by a majority of the Referees present. j. The first Referees are elected from among the standing Delegates, the second generation from among the Delegate Advisors, and thereafter from among former Delegate Advisors. Jurisdiction of Earth Court ARTICLE 27 a. Earth Court is the judicial organ of EARTH COUNSEL. b. Earth Court has jurisdiction with respect to human activities which materially impact the integrity of a Member, a Sphere in Trust, or an international environmental agreement or treaty regime. c. Earth Court, through its Referees, rules with respect to Spheres in Trust, interprets Earth Treaty, and provides dispute resolution services to the Members of Earth Counsel. ARTICLE 28 a. Advisory opinions on legal questions may be requested by the General Assembly. b. Where Earth Court determines that a Sphere in Trust, a treaty regime or a Member is threatened, the Court may remand the issue to Earth Policy Council for mitigation, under the supervision of the Congress of Emissaries. ARTICLE 29 a. Earth Court operates in accordance with a Statute which is an integral part of the Charter of EARTH COUNSEL. b. Only communities of states, and Continents, as represented by their Emissary, may be parties to a dispute. c. Disputes are heard where they involve issues between communities of states of one Continent, and communities of states of another Continent. d. Those not party to the Statute may gain access to Earth Court in certain circumstances and under conditions laid down by the General Assembly. e. governments, industries, educational institutions, non governmental and international organizations may join a community of states or a Continent in prosecuting a claim through Earth Court. f. Newly elected Emissaries shall be freely substituted to represent Member Continents-in-interest to a given dispute. ARTICLE 30 a. The jurisdiction of Earth Court includes: 1. All cases which the parties refer to it by special agreement. 2. All matters concerning a Sphere in Trust, an Earth Treaty regime, or an international environmental agreement that provides for reference to the Court. 3. Legal disputes between Members which have recognized the jurisdiction of the Court as compulsory for specific classes of environmental disputes. b. Disputes as to whether the Court has jurisdiction are settled by the Court. c. Procedural rules of the Court are established by the Court under a power conferred by the Statute. IX. AMENDMENTS ARTICLE 31 a. Amendments to the EARTH COUNSEL Charter shall come into force for all Members when they have been adopted by consensus among the Members. X. RATIFICATION AND SIGNATURE ARTICLE 32 a. The Charter of EARTH COUNSEL shall be ratified by the Members according to procedures established by the General Assembly. |
