# The Unwritten Charter The Unwritten Charter is a legal, political, and philosophical concept developed by the Chief Justice of D.A.M Roger Howell-Pratcshler's (b. 52374, d. 53110; DAM. 52502-53108) Supreme Court, Justice Margret Pawluk-Dickinson (b. 52227, d. 53026; SC. 52400-53000, CJ. 52600-52800), first articulated in her Opinion on *The Nyman Sovereignty V. Bajus, 52703*, but truly refined in her highly influential and long lasting article *The Unwritten Charter of the United Federation of Earth*, Justice Pawluk-Dickinson argues that President Owen Dyson's transformative shift in understanding of the government structure of Federation during his founding of the Third Federation in 13683 was based on an implicitly understood 'unwritten charter' which united the Federation. Her argument continued that this charter was not a unique invention of Dyson's thought, rather it was a widely understood legal and cultural conception which underpinned the culture of the Federation throughout the Second Federation. She further argued that this unwritten charter was itself composed of the shared remnants of First Federation law which united the various sovereignties of the Second Federation and its Supreme Court. She further argued that it was this basis of Federal law and legislation, court rulings dating back to before the First Federation, and notes which went with them which throughout the Second Federation houses' of commons and supreme courts had to read and learn from, thus developing a common body, understanding, and tradition of law. This common law tradition was the basis of federal authority within the Federation, and it was from this, and a common understanding developed over millenia inline with old First Federation laws preserved by Lord Thomas McIntosh and expanded on throughout the Second Federation which served as the true, unwritten as a single document, charter by which the Federation was governed. The result of this was that under president Dyson, as into then increasingly coming into view 'Forth Federation' as a distinctly separate entity from that created by President Dyson's Federation - one which had developed through a natural course of history rather than violent revolution, conquest, or destructionary events - even if it did retain much of the same political, economic, social, and cultural institutions. The people knew it was different than what had come before. They could feel it in the air. Most importantly, it was widely thought that the Third Federation had been superior, a better place than the Forth. That the Forth was the result of degradation, not expansion as had been occurring under the Third. The serious question raised was thus, what had changed, or alternatively, what had failed. In turn, the harsh Conservative counter-response was that nothing had failed, all was well, and nothing needed changing. This is the Environment Chief Justice Pawluk-Dickinson's was writing in. Her argument was invented to justify how the Federation could reform, change, etc. without collapsing or needing violent revolution. Her core argument was that unlike Sovereignties, which increasingly were falling to revolution, violent oppression, inter-sovereignty warfare, exploitation of the people, failures of democratic institutions, decreasing productivity, increasing wealth inequality, etc., the Federation was safe. This was because, she argued, the overly legislatively-conservative House of Lords refused to reform Charters until they were forced to the people of the Sovereignty under charter, by revolution, coup, invasion, or revolt. Meanwhile, the Federation, because it was not wholly bound by a written Charter, was always free to reform whatever parts of its constitution it would like, while being able to rely on the great tradition of Common Law to provide a basis for legal issues should said reform prove overly harmful. This was an articulation of her philosophy, both legal and political. It contained her political goals, and she developed the legal philosophy and tradition of the Unwritten Charter, which she sought to integrate into the Traditionalist, and Charter-Reformist traditions. She sought to argue against the Progressivist and Federal-Constitutionalist traditions. Her work would prove highly influential in causing a great wave of Charter Reform, culminating in the House of Lords conducting the Arch-Duke Baxtford Reforms. These reforms created a implicit power for the legislative/political bodies of all Soverignties to reform their Charter under their own free will, pending confirmation and judgement-by-peers in the House of Lords, the reforms also included an explicit call on the D.A.M to privately back popular Soveignty started charter-Reforms. This philosophy is said by historians of ideas to be the founding of the Forth Federation, as it was the Unwritten Charter philosophy which fixed for thirty thousand years that there was no fixed way to determine who the D.A.M should be and to impose one would, to quote Chief Justice Pawluk-Dickinson herself: "fundamentally undermine the idea of the Unwritten Charter. The fundamental, core, true, value of the Unwritten Charter concept which lies at the heart of the Federation, giving the Federation its great adaptability, is that we do not have a set in stone way of doing things. ... If one were to create such a system, it would be the first responsibility of this court (the Supreme Court of the United Federation of Earth; the court of the D.A.M's bench) to uphold the rights of the Federation's institutions to change that system of deciding who our D.A.M. is if they so choose. ... To impose too great a set of rules or conditions on changing such an implemented system would fundamentally undermine the Unwritten Charter, and provide an explicit justification for political violence. The Unwritten Charter allows for whoever is most just, Lord, President, Prime Minsiter, Eklord, Merchant-Prince, or Philosopher, Historian, Humble Trader, or Common Person working in an office, a lab, or a factory to be D.A.M. if the situation calls for it. To implement some other system would be prevent that from happening and undermine all the advantages this ability to bring the most competent commander possible to any situation grants to us." What she could not have known was that until D.A.M Emily Goodwin implemented her reforms, this philosophy and concept would underlay much of Federation history. It would provide the ultimate high justification for anyone seeking to rise to the Position of D.A.M. to not provide a more definitive system. Progressives, liberals, reforms, and revolutionaries justified their lack of political action on this topic because of an idealistic belief that if they could just inspire enough people, they could become D.A.M. and bring in all the reforms they would like. This philosophy was the constant justification which underlay the Golden Age, and the Darkest D.A.M.s. It was only because D.A.M **Emily** Goodwin, not John who has continuously sought to uphold this philosophy even after his time in office (right down to his actions regarding the creation of a Stellar-Sovereignty for himself as grand-D.A.M., nearly causing an economic meltdown and collapse in the meantime), reformed away the argue that we had an Unwritten Charter. The Unwritten Charter is not gone, but the argument that we could not have a set succession system has been swept aside, and with it the false notion that Federation is without constitution. \- By: Cecil Dooley-Sarrason, Cicero School of Law, University of New Rome located on new Latinia, in the Italiana System of the Dalford Sector, a part of the Barony of Bicall, part of the County of Ovdut, in the Mueller-Lewer Sovereignty of United Federation of Maldeth, Maldeth Galaxy, a part of the United Federation of Earth and Her Colonies Among the Stars. \- - In: Tylson Roy-Laurencelle *New Thoughts on Transformations in Federation Political Philosophy: Views from the Fifth Federation*, published in 83397 --- ## Appendix ![[Dispute Between Pan-Federation Citizenship & Sovereignty-Citizenship in Milky Way]]