Summary

Greetings,

Following a discussion amongst the Council I proposed amending section 7.09 of the Covenant related to Independent Unit bans which did not provide a route for members to demonstrate their improvement within the Brotherhood and return to the Independent Unit of their choice.

Rajhin Cindertail acted upon this discussion by drafting the following amendment to the Covenant which was voted on by the Electorate as outline in Article 1, Section 1.02 Amending the Covenant.

Result

The amendment has been approved and passed by the Electorate. As of this evening at ~9:45pm Central (~3:45am Server Time) the Covenant has been updated with the following changes.

Amendment

Amendment Summary:

Unit bans are a sensitive topic that requires the balancing of the individual member’s right to be in the unit of their choice with the rights of the members of the unit to enjoy unit spaces free of undue disruption. Section 7.09 of the Covenant as it currently exists has two issues 1) it lacks transparency and consistency with other penalty provisions and 2) it lacks a procedure to lift a ban.

This amendment removes 7.09 and places Independent Unit removal/bans solely as a Judicial remedy normally issued as part of a case. The amendment both requires that new bans contain review/lifting terms and also sets up a procedure to review and lift existing unit bans. To address the “need” that 7.09 fills to cover disruptive behavior against an independent unit as a whole, this amendment adds a new offense to the Covenant of “Disruptive Behavior” with appropriate limitations to protect legal speech such as disagreements over unit policy.

Amendment:

1. Section 7.09 - Removal of Member from Independent Unit is removed from the Covenant in its entirety.
   

2. Section 7.07 - Penalties is amended to add the following section:

   Removal of Member from Independent Unit - The removal of a member from and banning transfer to an independent unit is a Judicial penalty. The length of time of a unit transfer ban and terms for its lifting must be listed as part of the penalty. No unit transfer ban shall be issued for an indefinite period of time without terms for the time period for elective review of the ban and the conditions required for the ban to be lifted e.g. required period of good behavior, completion of mediation, etc. Unit bans issued under prior versions of the Covenant shall remain in effect, however, the Justicar may, upon application of the member and for good cause shown, lift a unit ban issued under a prior version of the Covenant if the following criteria are met:

   (i) the Justicar determines that the member has been completely rehabilitated of the conduct that necessitated the ban;
   (ii) at least one year has passed; and
   (iii) the Justicar and the leader of the Independent Unit in question agree that there is no valid reason the transfer ban should continue.

3. Section 7.06 - Conduct of Members is amended to add the following section:

   Disruptive Behavior - Members shall not engage in a pattern of conduct that intentionally disrupts an independent unit members’ use and enjoyment of an avenue of communication or the functioning of that unit’s leadership. Mere differences of opinion or disagreements over unit policy in and of themselves do not constitute Disruptive Behavior. For the purposes of this section, Disruptive Behavior is a persistent and pervasive tendency to engage in negative and combative speech against other members of an independent unit to such a degree that a reasonable person of normal sensibilities would find disruptive to the use and enjoyment of the space. To sustain a charge of Disruptive Behavior the evidence must show that (i) multiple incidents of disruptive conduct occurred, (ii) reasonable attempts at mediation and/or moderation were made, (iii) the member persisted in the disruptive conduct, (iv) to the detriment of the members of the independent unit as a whole.

4. Section 7.05 - Appeals Panel is amended as follows:

   7.05 (c)(iii) orders penalties removing and banning members from a unit
   7.05 (d) (C) orders penalties removing and banning members from units

Outcome

During my tenure in the Chamber as Left Hand of Justice I have focused on improving the member experience and allowing a path for members to demonstrate they have grown and addressed behavior that led to action by the Chamber or Executive within the Brotherhood.

The now removed Section 7.09 was beneficial in allowing independent units (e.g., Clans) to protect their communities from disruptive behavior. However, if a member's behavior is disruptive enough to warrant a ban from that unit it should warrant the Chamber to take action.

Unlike a ban from the Brotherhood, which has not been changed by this amendment and is a permanent life-time ban, a member within the Brotherhood who is banned from an independent unit is given an opportunity to continue to participate in our community and, as such, can demonstrate they no longer display the behavior that led to the independent unit ban.

I want to thank Rajhin Cindertail for his eloquent drafting of the amendment based upon the conversation of the Consuls and Councilors.