Archive:Legal Format Act

**THE UNIVERSAL TRIUMVIRATE LEGAL FORMAT ACT**
**1.7.12 | 2.12.14**
Arnold Ogamon, Major Executive, Chief Attorney, Senior Executive

**A Law** to create reasonable rules for the organization of legislation passed in the Triumvirate so that it may be easier to reference and view.

All laws in the Triumvirate passed by the Executive Branch, excluding the Constitution and all amendments to it, treaties, and minor documents, shall observe the following method of organization and format. The Major Executive or acting Major Executive shall, as the legislative recorder and editor for the entire Universal Triumvirate, format the laws passed in accordance to this law.

The name of the law shall be named first, followed by the date first passed and most recent edit date.

**Framer, Sponsor, Co-Sponsor, and Co-Framer**

After the name and dates the original sponsor/framer of the law (Executive or Administrator) with all of the titles they possessed at the passage of the original law. Below this shall be any co-sponsors of the law with only their Executive office named, or, should be an Administrator, solely their name (unless they hold a position within the Administration). Co-framers and co-sponsors shall be defined as those who were secondary in aiding in the crafting of the legislation, but not to a minor degree. The Executive who tabled the legislation originally, unless it clearly be the work of another that one is attempting to take undue credit for, must be listed as either the primary framer or as a co-framer or co-sponsor.

At the end of the title a bar should separate the title from the description of purpose. Every law must have a title.

Directly after the titles of each law, a short description of the purpose of the law should be presented. It should open with the words "A Law" and then continue to say for what the law is intended to provide for and its purposes. After this should be a bar separating it from the text of the law. Every law must have a description of purpose.

Laws that are lengthy should, directly after the description of purpose, not preceded by an introduction or anything else, have a contents section where all parts, sections, and main points of the law are listed in order. At the end of the contents a bar should be used to separate the contents from the text of the law.

An introduction to the law, generally for long laws, may be put first before any section or other part of the law but following the titles, contents, and description of purpose. All laws of a relatively lengthy size or with complex and uncommon or new words used in them must have a section after the introduction (or if no introduction exists, directly after the title ending) referred to as definitions. Once all the necessary opening segments are in the opening of the law after the title, the text of the law should commence.

The text in a law may be oriented in one of two ways: general form or section form. General form shall be defined as straight paragraphs, not divided into sections, one long dialogue of legal text. Each paragraph should generally refer to a specific of the law. General form should be reserved for primarily short laws. Section form shall be defined as those laws with sections making navigation easier. Sections, subsections, and different chapters of the law should cover varying topics or specifics. Section form should be reserved for long laws but may also be used for short laws if it makes editing and reference easier.

Nothing besides the law itself should ever be presented on the same page where the law is officially recorded and kept for public viewing.

**Rules On Treaties:**

Treaties between the Triumvirate and other foreign parties should be displayed in the exact same fashion as a standard law with several exceptions. Instead of the words "A Law" in the overview, it should say "A Treaty". It should also include the foreign party as the framer/sponsor of the treaty along with the Triumvirate Executive who tabled the law to the Executive Branch (generally the Chief Ambassador).

**Rules on Declarations of War:**

Declarations of war made by the Triumvirate should be displayed in the exact same fashion as a standard law with several exceptions. Instead of the words "A Law" in the overview, it should say "A DECLARATION OF WAR against \*whomever the subject(s) is\*".