Bylaw

Intent

THE FIRST LAW
The Justicars shall never be known "by the worst of our members."

History has revealed that Amtgard Companies are often known by the worst of their members. That it doesn't matter, how good, nice, or respected everyone else is... non-members will judge a company based on their perceptions of the "worst" member. It is our goal to avoid the negative connotations that this implies, even if it means excluding or ejecting players we would otherwise like to wear our colors.

THE SECOND LAW
All members agree to work toward our stated purpose of becoming "Amtgard's premier battlefield presence."

Premier doesn't mean that the Justicars have to win; it means that when we field others look at us and think, "I want to be like that." Honor, fair play, practice, planning, preparedness, having fun, and cooperation (both internally and externally) are all essential toward meeting our goals. Winning, when it happens, is a side effect of the preceding.
 
Battlefield means just that, as a member, you must play or in some way contribute to our presence on the field. This is not a company where you can only pass out sign-ins, give reeve tests, attend court, and get drunk at bardic and remain a Justicar. This is not a household.

FOUNDERS

• The Justicars are led by the Founders: Logan, Rath, and Sparhawk. The Founders lead the Justicars using a form of government known as “benevolent Oligarchy.”
• Founders may participate in any vote or election they choose to—even in non-local chapters.
• No major decision (such as granting membership or petitioner status) may be made without the participation of a least 1 Founder (normally the Justicar Captain).
• Each Founder may choose to veto or negate any one non-founder vote (each) in any vote or election.

Benevolent Oligarchy… Not a democracy (nor even a representative democracy). The founders formed this company with the understanding that we are ultimately responsible for its success, growth, and vision. If you cannot trust in the Founders—both collectively and separately—to act in the best interests of the company, the Justicars are not for you. All members must understand that any other rules, guidelines, and policies stem directly from the Founders. Like any organization, rules are written to assist with providing its members with expectations and parameters to operate under... the rules are only binding for as long as they provide the structure needed to move the company toward its goals and can be unilaterally changed as needed by the Founders.
Founders as a group, have their own way to making decisions. You can assume that when in the presence of any Founder they are speaking on behalf of all of them.

STEWARD

• A Founder who finds that they need to take an extended leave of absence from the game may designate a Steward.
• The Steward acts in the role of Founder and for all purposes are considered a founder until such time as the founder returns and resumes their role as founder.

 Sparhawk

    has designated ICE as his STEWARD

 Rath

    has designated TUGEN as his STEWARD

Logan 

    has designated AXIDENT as his STEWARD

JUSTICAR CAPTAIN

• The position of Captain will be chosen by the Founders in any way they see fit and announced when necessary.
• When at an event or game, if the current Captain is unavailable, another Founder (if available) will act on his behalf.
• If the situation requires a Captain to be present where no founder is available, we may designate a non-Founder as the Captain for that purpose.

As time has passed it's become obvious that all three Founders cannot maintain 100% participation at all times. However, we promise that at least one of us will be active and engaged enough to led and ensure that the Justicars remain true the original vision of the company.

CHAPTER LIEUTENANTS

• Each chapter shall have two Lieutenants. Together with the Captain they are responsible for the routine operation of the chapter. Collectively these three are known as the Chapter Leaders.
• At a minimum, Leaders shall be announced and affirmed (and potentially voted upon) each January.

This provides for leadership whenever and wherever a Founder cannot. In a perfect world, the Founders would do it all, all the time. In practice, the burden must be shared. Especially in locations where a Founder does not reside.

PETITIONERS

• A non-Justicar who has indicated a desire to be a member will be evaluated by the local Chapter members. If the local Chapter members believe that the non-Justicar has potential, he/she may be accepted as a "Petitioner."
• Petitioners are made with at least 75% assent of all active Chapter Full Members, the Founder Captain, and any other Founder that chooses to participate.
• The Garb of a Justicar Petitioner is a Tan, Black, and White belt. If the company provided the belt, it is to be returned in the event Petitioner status is revoked or Member status is achieved.

Petitioners are potential company members; they are not slaves, toadies, or servants to the Justicars. While not required, we encourage all petitioners to wear the Justicar Petitioner Belt. This will allow non-members the opportunity to recognize and provide feedback to members. Anyone desiring to become a Justicar should realize that they must spend time (and it may be quite a while) being evaluated as a Petitioner (normally between 3 and 18 months). They should also understand and respect the First Law, the Second Law, and the Founders (as noted above). Petitioners are allowed and encouraged to request feedback regarding their status at anytime.

CREATING MEMBERS

• Petitioners are made into Justicars by an acceptance vote.
  o The transition from Petitioner to Member must occur at a Regional Event.
  o The Chapter must provide (or arrange for) Justicar garb for the new member prior to the occasion (with the understanding that it be returned in the event the member is kicked out or quits).
• Vote policies and procedures:
  o Prior to the vote, the list of eligible voters is to be enumerated. By definition this list contains all of the Petitioner’s chapter’s active Members, the Founder Captain (or his stand in), and any Founder that chooses to participate.
  o At least 80% of the eligible voters vote “yes.”
  o There are zero (unnegated) “no” votes among the remaining eligible voters.
• The garb of a Member is a black and tan tunic with the Justicar symbol on it.

If you feel that the Justicars are potentially making a mistake in a Chapter where you don't have a direct voice, you should communicate your concerns to the Founders. If any one them chose to vote no based on your concerns the vote will be blocked. This is intended to provide a balance between chapter autonomy and the fact that every Justicar reflects upon all other Justicars.
 
Also note, originally it was considered unnecessary for members to actually get along or like each other… after all, if everyone lived by the First and Second Law and trusted in the Founders what difference does it make he was liked (kinda like the armed forces are supposed to be). History has proven this to not work among humans in general, much less voluntary participants in a game.

EXPELLING MEMBERS

• Any non-Founder may be expelled by unanimous agreement of the Founders.
• Any non-Founder may be expelled via vote where there is 60% assent from among the eligible voters excluding the Member in question (as denoted under Creating Members).
  Any vote of this type must have the Founder Captain (or his designated Founder stand-in) in attendance, even if the vote could pass without their participation.

In accordance with the First law, it is easier to be expelled than become a member.

INACTIVE MEMBERS
Due to lack of participation, from time to time a Member may be reduced to “Inactive” status.

• Inactive (or retired) non-Founders are not eligible to vote.
• A Member may voluntarily make himself inactive.
• If a Member, in the eyes of the chapter leaders, is in danger of being judged as inactive, they are to issue a warning. A warning must enumerate:
  o What the Member has failed to do.
  o What the Member can do to avoid becoming marked as inactive.
  o A deadline (at least 9 weeks after the warning is issued) for reviewing whether the goals were met.
• A Member who has been warned and failed meet the goals set by the deadline may be transferred to “inactive” via unanimous agreement of the Chapter Leaders.
• A Member who has “disappeared” so thoroughly that it is impractical to deliver the warning, may be marked inactive (without delay) via the unanimous agreement of the Chapter Leaders and Founders—combined.
• Chapter Leaders may reactivate an inactive Member if they unanimously agree that the Member has “been undeniably back” for at least 9 weeks.

The only “penalty” for being inactive or retired is the inability to vote and bearing the scorn of the active Justicars. Originally, it was believed that inactive Members should not exist. The goal was (and always has been) to avoid situations where “that guy from 10 years ago who no one remembers” starts showing up in garb in a faraway place where he reflects upon us without our knowledge. It also provided a “politic” way of removing members without singling out or making public their shortcomings (other than failure to play). However, experience has proven that such an absolute guideline is be unreasonable and contrary to the growth of the company. So please, don’t be that guy.
 
The reason for the delay in reactivating Members is two fold. One, to avoid last minute attempts at influencing a vote. And two, experience shows that it takes longer than a couple of weeks and good intentions to “actually be back.”

RETIRED MEMBERS

• Any non-founder who has been inactive more than 18 months is considered retired.
• Chapter Leaders may reactivate a retired member if they unanimously agree that the member has “been undeniably back” for at least 13 weeks.

NEW CHAPTERS
A new Chapter may be formed, if all of the following conditions are met:

• A minimum number of Members must reside in close proximity outside the direct supervision of any existing chapter.
• Minimum membership numbers (use either guideline below):
  o At least 4 Members and 1 Petitioner
  o At least 5 Members
  o If it’s unclear which chapter has authority over a potential Chapter member or petitioner, the Founder Captain will make the determination.
• The Founders unanimously decide to recognize these people as a new Chapter of the Justicars.

Once a chapter has been formed, its membership includes the local Justicars and the current Founder Captain.

The Justicars are envisioned as a national company. To this end, local Justicar Chapters may be set up in different locations in the United States. We’ve guessed that any less than the listed participation, is insufficient to allow a chapter to continue to grow while (relatively) autonomous (it seems to be working so far).  
Again, if there are concerns or potential problems with the direction the company is going, it behooves you to make your case to one or more Founders…especially if the problem is in or with another Chapter.

REGIONAL EVENTS
Each chapter must designate a (non-conflicting) Regional Event as its mandatory annual gathering. The following table details the current Justicar Chapters and their regional events:

Every attempt will be made to ensure at least 1 founder is present at each Regional event. This will allow at least a token attempt at remaining familiar with both the actual and potential membership. It is in the best interest of petitioners to attend Regional Events as it’s well nigh impossible to become a full member otherwise.






<-- Changed on 8/28/2013 from S=Banner Wars, N=Bridge Wars