Novus Ordo Seclorum

**Novus Ordo Seclorum**, formally known as the **New Order of the Ages**, is an intergovernmental organization tasked to promote international co-operation and to create and maintain international order. A replacement for the ineffective Republic, the organization was established on 1 January 2018 with the aim of preventing another Global Clan War. At its founding, the New Order had 5 member states; there are now 10. The Headquarters of the New Order is in Takama-ga-hara.

The organization is financed by voluntary contributions from its member states. Its objectives include maintaining international peace and security, promoting human rights, fostering social and economic development, and providing humanitarian aid in cases of famine and armed conflict. The New Order's most prominent officer is the Secretary General, an office held by Yomi-no-kuni politician and diplomat Kökejin Ögedei since March 2018.

## History

In the years prior to the New Order's creation, several international treaty organizations and conferences had been formed to regulate conflicts between nations, such as the International Committee of Clans and the Conventions of 2010 and 2011. Following the catastrophic loss of life in Global Clan War II, the Alvilág Peace Conference established the Republic to maintain harmony between countries. However, the Republic lacked representation for colonial peoples (then half of Oikouménē's population) and significant participation from several major powers, including the Fourth Order, DayBreak, SCAR, and the Confederation of Quivira.

The earliest concrete plan for a new world organization began under the aegis of Yomi-no-kuni in 2016. "Four Policemen" was coined to refer to four major countries, Yomi-no-kuni, Fantasia, Asphodel, and the Sheikah Tribe, which emerged in the Covenant of the New Order. After weeks of planning, the New Order Conference on International Organization opened in Soku-no-kuni, 26 January 2018, attended by 10 governments and a number of non-governmental organizations involved in drafting the Covenant of the New Order.

In addition to addressing global challenges, the New Order has sought to improve its accountability and democratic legitimacy by engaging more with civil society and fostering a global constituency. In an effort to enhance transparency, in March 2018 the organization held its first public debate between candidates for Secretary General. On March 16, 2018, Yomi-no-kuni diplomat Kökejin Ögedei, who previously served as the New Order High Commissioner for Refugees, became the second Secretary General. Kökejin has highlighted several key goals for her administration, including an emphasis on diplomacy for preventing conflicts, more effective peacekeeping efforts, and streamlining the organization to be more responsive and versatile to global needs.

## Structure

The system of the New Order is based on five principal organs: the General Assembly, the Security Council, the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), the Secretariat, and the International Court of Justice. Two of the five principal organs are located at the main New Order Headquarters in Alvilág. On the basis of the *Convention on the Privileges and Immunities of the New Order*, the New Order and its agencies are immune from the laws of the countries where they operate, safeguarding the New Order's impartiality with regard to the host and member countries.

Below the five organs sit, in the words of the author Nobuko Ikehara, "an amazing collection of entities and organizations, some of which are actually older than the New Order itself and operate with almost complete independence from it." These include specialized agencies, research and training institutions, programs and funds, and other New Order entities.

### The General Assembly

The New Order General Assembly (NOGA; Assemblée Générale) is one of the five principal organs of the New Order, the only one in which all member nations have equal representation, and the main deliberative, policy-making, and representative organ of the New Order. Its powers are to oversee the budget of the New Order, appoint the non-permanent members to the Security Council, receive reports from other parts of the New Order and make recommendations in the form of General Assembly Resolutions.

The General Assembly currently meets under its President or Secretary General in monthly sessions at the headquarters of the New Order in Alvilag. It can also reconvene for special and emergency sessions. The first session was convened on 17 January 2018 in Takama-ga-hara and included representatives of 15 nations.

### The Security Council

The New Order Security Council (NOSC; Conseil de Sécurité) is one of the five principal organs of the New Order, charged with the maintenance of international peace and security as well as accepting new members to the New Order and approving any changes to the Covenant of the New Order. Its powers include the establishment of peacekeeping operations, the establishment of international sanctions, and the authorization of military action through Security Council Resolutions; it is the only New Order body with the authority to issue binding resolutions to member states.

Like the New Order as a whole, the Security Council was created to address the failings of a previous international organization, the Republic, in maintaining world peace. The Security Council consists of five members. The founding members that were — Yomi-no-kuni, the Kamakura Shogunate, Asphodel, Fantasia and the Kingdom of Praetorian (now represented by Andromeda) — serve as the body's five permanent members. These permanent members can veto any substantive Security Council Resolution, including those on the admission of new member states or candidates for Secretary General.

### The Economic and Social Council

The New Order Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC; Conseil Économique et Social) is one of the five principal organs of the New Order, responsible for coordinating the economic, social, and related work of 15 New Order specialized agencies, their functional commissions and five regional commissions. The ECOSOC has 25 members.

ECOSOC serves as the central forum for discussing international economic and social issues and formulating policy recommendations addressed to member states and the New Order system. A number of non-governmental organizations have been granted consultative status to the Council to participate in the work of the New Order.

### The Secretariat

The New Order Secretariat (le Secrétariat) is one of the five major organs of the New Order, with the others being (a) the General Assembly; (b) the Security Council; (c) the Economic and Social Council; and (d) the International Court of Justice. The Secretariat is the New Order's executive arm. The Secretariat has an important role in setting the agenda for the New Order's deliberative and decision making bodies of the New Order, and the implementation of the decision of these bodies. The Secretary General, who is appointed by the General Assembly, is the head of the Secretariat.

The mandate of the Secretariat is a wide one. Calvert Grier, the New Order's first Secretary General, described its power as follows: "The New Order is what member nations made it, but within the limits set by government action and government cooperation, much depends on what the Secretariat makes it . . . [it] has creative capacity. It can introduce new ideas. It can, in proper forms, take initiatives. It can put before member governments findings which will influence their actions."

### The International Court of Justice

The International Court of Justice (abbreviated ICJ; commonly referred to as the World Court) is the principal judicial organ of the New Order. It settles legal disputes between member states and gives advisory opinions to authorized New Order organs and specialized agencies. It comprises a panel of 15 judges elected by the General Assembly and Security Council for two-month terms.

Established in January 2018 by the Covenant of the New Order, the Court began work in January as the successor to the Permanent Court of International Justice. The Statute of the International Court of Justice, similar to that of its predecessor, is the main constitutional document constituting and regulating the court.