Consider the following as what your history teacher would tell you, if he or she were speaking about the United Nations ca. 2215. I have tried to be concise; and in fact have left some things open. (Presumably, we can reasonably fill them in as necessary, when they come up.) Yes, this is very similar to the US governmental model. This analogy is consciously made, for four primary reasons that occur to me at the moment:
a) Many people on M3 are from the USA, and thus are familiar with this system.
b) A number of nations use a similar configuration.
c) It's a sensible system.
d) It's a system designed to unify a large group of semi-independent political units; obviously applicable to the UN of 2215.

Some links: (I take no responsibility for whatever libertarian nutcases wrote the rest of the page; just grabbed them from a search engine)
Modern-Day UN Charter
Modern-Day US Constitution (and Declaration of Independence)

Branches of the United Nations


The following is basically a list of the branches of the government; the officers within those branches; the general purposes of their officers; their terms; and the conditions for their expulsion.
There are three branches of the United Nations: The Legislative, Executive, and Judicial.

Legislative: There are two parts of the Legislative branch. The Senate, which is something like the 20th century General Assembly, and the Security Council, which has evolved from the 1945 institution of the same name.
Senate: Two representatives per nation. These Senators are elected by their home nations every 4 years, and have no limit upon the number of terms they may serve.
Security Council: All nations are rated according to a complicated but set formula, once per year. This formula takes into account the industrial (especially military-industrial) production capacity and population of each nation. The same formula determines voting power. Security Council members are called Delegates, and while many representatives are allowed to attend most meetings, each nation has only one Delegate, who actually casts the vote. Delegates are elected by the highest elected official in the nation in question, and may be removed and replaced at any time (most commonly, Delegates change when national leaders change).

Executive: The Secretary-General and his/her cabinet. The Secretary-General may be removed via a "No Confidence" vote, supported by a 60% majority in the Senate and a 70% majority in the Security Council. (Of course, the cabinet would leave with the Sec-Gen.) The cabinet is official, and the offices are as follows:
Secretary of State: In many ways, the Secretary-General's 'Vice President'. The Secretary of State is responsible for researching, assessing, and summarizing the activities and conditions of the member nations.
Secretary of Foreign Affairs: Much like the Secretary of State, except that the Secretary of Foreign Affairs is responsible for monitoring those countries which are not members of the United Nations.
Secretary of Defense: Monitors the status of the armed forces. Repliforce consumes the vast majority of his/her time, generally speaking, but he/she also deals with the United Nations Armed Forces, the various police agencies, etc.
Secretary of Finance: The economic advisor; in both domestic and foreign spheres.
Secretary of Science: The scientific advisor; monitors new technologies and often suggests how to best allocate the money and intelligence of the United Nations.
Secretary of Industry: Assists the Secretary of State by dealing with much of the data concerning the industry of the United Nations.
Secretary of Health: Manages the health care resources of the United Nations. In recent years, the Secretary of Health has also customarily dealt with Reploid/robot maintenence.
Secretary of Power: Manages the power production and distribution of the United Nations.
Secretary of Transportation: Manages transportation infrastructure.
Secretary of Agriculture: Manages agricultural resources.

Judiciary: 4 components:
The Supreme Court of the United Nations: The top of the judicial ladder. 1 Chief Justice, 6 High Justices, and 12 Justices. They are all selected by the Secretary-General, and selections must be approved by a 50% vote in the Senate. They have no term limits, and serve until resignation, death, or expulsion. Justices may be expelled if 90% of the Senate determines that they are incompetent and/or criminal.
The High Courts of the United Nations: The 6 High Justices each have jurisdiction of a part of the United Nations. The courts they preside over, the High Courts of the United Nations, may hear appeals from the National Courts of any member nation within their jurisdiction.
The Courts of the United Nations: The Justices of the Supreme Court of the United Nations preside over some of these courts, while other appointed officials fill the rest (meaning that there can be hundreds of United Nations judges, who preside over their local courts but do not sit on the Supreme Court). They are the highest Court of any member nation, but their original jurisdiction is very minute and their appellate jurisdiction is limited. Criteria for the hearing of a case under the original jurisdiction of the Courts of the United Nations are as follows:
a) The case involves citizens of two different member nations, or took place in two different member nations, or a similar such instance where the courts of two member nations could each make a reasonable claim of jurisdiction.
b) The case involves "common property"; e.g. sections of the open seas not owned by any party. Even in these situations, it requires demonstration that it would be unreasonable to have, for instance, the courts of the government of the individual(s) on trial preside over the case.
c) The case involves the property or personnel of the United Nations in a direct and significant way. E.g., the bombing of a United Nations building.

Cases being appealed to the Courts of the United Nations must satisfy one or more of the following criteria:
a) If the case can be reasonably shown to relate to the legitimacy a piece of United Nations legislation, in the judgment of the Courts of the United Nations or superior courts of the same, then it may be immediately advanced by certiorari to one of the Courts of the United Nations, or High Courts of the United Nations.
b) The ruling can be shown to be unjust and in violation of the principles of the United Nations.
c) If the highest court of the nation is divided, it may be advanced to the Courts of the United Nations.

Courts-Martial of the United Nations: Major crimes committed within the armed forces of the United Nations are directed to a panel of officers, selected by the Chief Commanding Officer of Repliforce.

Powers/Functioning of the Branches

This is an enumeration of the powers and routines followed by the branches.
Legislative: In many ways, this is the most important branch. Laws are proposed and ratified here. A law can be proposed by any two nations in the Senate. It is then placed on the queue of bills-for-consideration, and when it reaches the top, discussion and examination formally begin. The bill then has 30 days to win 60% of the vote in the Senate. Upon this being completed, it is presented to the Security Council. The Security Council may veto the bill on a 75% vote. If vetoed, the bill is returned to the Senate, where it has 20 days to win 80% of the vote in both chambers (assuming that it does not already have that percentage approval) or be rejected. A 30% vote in the Senate is adequate at this stage to immediately reject the bill; this mechanism may be employed at any time during the 20 days if a significant portion of the Senate is set against the bill. This is an expediency. Repealing an existing law is treated as a bill. The legislative branch has other powers as well, such as those briefly listed below:
No Confidence: A vote of 'no confidence' is basically a way of throwing out an official that the rest of the government detests; it requires a 60% majority in the Senate, and a 70% majority in the Security Council. To remove a Justice, however, requires a 90% vote from the Senate. These motions are very rarely enacted, as they are extremely grave and disruptive actions.
Challenge: If 20% of the Senate agrees that a bill is illegitimate under the principles of the Charter, the approval process is immediately frozen and the bill is sent to the Supreme Court for review. (See 'Judicial'). A 30% vote is required to challenge a bill that has already been approved as law.
Ammendment: Ammendments to the Charter (or repeals thereof) are treated like bills; except that they require a 90% vote; unanimous if vetoed. Ammendments to a bill "on the floor" are generally made by common agreement; it is formally permitted to on a 60% vote alter the present bill.
Budgets: Yearly, budgets are submitted to the Senate in the manner of bills. A decentralized aspect remains here; the amount of voting power a nation has in determining budgets is directly proportional to that nation's wealth (determined by a set formula). Budgets require a 70% vote; if they fail to win that much, the previous year's budget is used.
Expulsion: A member nation may be expelled by a 90% vote against it. If the Security Council believes that the charge is falsely made, it may veto the Expulsion through a 60% majority, requiring a unanimous vote. The general offenses for which a nation may be expelled include:
a) Violence against the United Nations, or against a neutral party without the consent of the United Nations.
b) Refusal to comply with an edict, order (e.g., payment of taxes), treaty, law, or other agreement of the United Nations.
Admission: A nation may request to join the United Nations. A 60% vote in the Senate is needed to make them member nations; 75% if vetoed by a 60% majority of the Security Council.

The Security Council has absolute power over military matters, such as declarations of war. Delegates are immune to expulsion in the usual fashion. They must be either removed by their nation's leadership, or voted out in the Security Council through a 70% majority. Expelling a Delegate expels the member nation, and the next highest nation on the calculated index is given the spot. If the Council wishes to simply remove a Delegate him/herself, complaints directed to his/her national leader generally suffice; this is left to standard diplomacy rather than a formal vote. Powers of the Security Council:
Declaration of War: 80% of the Council's voting power is required to declare war on a nation. War may not be declared on a member nation.
Expulsion: An 85% vote is adequate to remove a member nation, for somehow threatening the safety of the United Nations. While this criterion cannot obviously be enforced by the letter of the law, it is clearly written, and to do otherwise would be a fairly obvious flaunting of the Charter.
Treaties: Treaties require a 75% majority. They may be vetoed by a 90% vote of the Senate, and if so vetoed require an 85% majority in the Security Council.

Executive: The Executive acts as chief ambassador, etc. and is essentially responsible for coordination. He/she has many of the powers of the US President in 2002, such as the right to appoint Justices. The Secretary-General may issue formal Executive Orders; this is often how he/she officially carries out his/her duties. Executive Orders are not much limited, and have the force of law, although obviously abuse of this power would likely lead to the ejection of the Secretary-General. Generally, they fit into one of three categories. First, they may be simply a way for the Executive to formally order various tasks to be done, etc. - and can be quite mundane. Second, they may be used as "temporary laws", especially in a crisis, even when the matter the law concerns would normally be delegated to the Legislature. A 50% vote in the Senate or the Security Council, however, can veto them, and only a 20% vote is needed to challenge an order and send it to the Supreme Court. Third, Executive Orders can function as laws, allowing the Secretary-General to carry out his/her duties. For instance, agencies of various sorts can be created in this way, although their power is limited by the fact that it flows from the power of the Secretary-General. Executive Orders are the formal representation of the power given to the Secretary-General. Cabinets are purely advisory, although the Secretaries can generally count on the backing of the Secretary-General. Despite the centralization that has occurred, the Secretary-General is not quite as powerful as a 21st century US president; although the United Nations is a centralized entity, it is also primarily powered by the legislature.

Judicial: The Supreme Court of the United Nations may choose to review any law challenged by the Legislature. It is treated as a case. The Justices vote, and the case is decided on a simple majority. If the determination is to strike down the bill, it is discarded. This may also be done against Executive Orders (everything is the same, including the vote in the Legislature to challenge it).

Elections

How the various branches are elected.

Legislative: Direct popular vote. (Except in the case of Delegates, who are appointed by the leadership of their country.)

Executive: Direct popular vote. Votes from various nations are somewhat affected by a factor directly proportional to the wealth, etc. of that nation.

Judicial: Appointed by Executive; appointments must be approved by 50% of the Senate.

Principles and Philosophy

These are the principles expressed in so many words by the Charter, as its guiding philosophy. First, the opening, verbatim:

War has even now brought untold sorrow to mankind. We, the peoples of the United Nations, determined to save succeeding generations from this scourge, and to reaffirm faith in fundamental sentient rights, the dignity and worth of peoples both organic and mechanical, and the equal rights of men and woman and of nations large and small, have resolved to combine our effects to accomplish these aims. We resolve to establish conditions under which justice and respect for the obligations arising from treaties and other sources of international law can be maintained. We resolve to promote social progress and better standards of life in larger freedom. For these ends, we resolve to practice tolerance and live together in peace with one another as good neighbors. To maintain international peace and security, we resolve to unite our strength. We resolve to ensure, by the acceptance of principle and the institution of methods, that armed force shall not be used save in the common interest. For the promotion of the economic and social advancement of all peoples, we resolve to employ international machinery. We, the United Nations, dedicate ourselves to these aims.

List of basic rights guaranteed by the Charter:
Freedom of Expression: Restricted much as it is in the US; for example, "fighting words" are banned, and "time, place, and manner" restrictions are enforced. (Fighting words: "Words which by their very utterance are likely to inflict harm on or provoke a breach of the peace by the average person to whom they are directed." -- see "Merriam-Webster's Dictionary of Law", etc.)
Freedom of Assembly: Again, limited in a sensible fashion; e.g., the right to peaceably assemble.
Judicial Rights: The usual bunch. Habeas corpus (may be suspended by Legislature), due process, guaranteed counsel, protection from double jeopardy, etc.
Equal Rights: Extensive legislation exists to guarantee equal rights to all demographics.

Other principles:
Militia: Member nations may form militaries as they see fit. However, these militaries are of course ultimately under the command of the United Nations. (Not Repliforce, but the United Nations itself.)
Reservation of Powers: Assorted powers not granted to the UN are reserved by the member nations and their peoples.
Secession: Any member nation may leave the UN at any time, without incurring hostility.
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