I've been reading the discussion of the BoD and it's concerns with signing the required insurance forms for Darkshore. I have some thoughts and concerns about what's going on.
I want to preface that my goal in this discussion is to have a discussion. I am sensitive to everyone's feelings on the issue and have no problem seeing how everyone's concerns are valid. The discussion so far has raised a number of parliamentary questions for me that I feel are important to work out, specifically in how different bodies are empowered.
The impass that has formed on the BoD is that Euric and Nakita do not feel comfortable signing documents that, they feel, might put them in a position of liability. Their stance seems to be that they cannot be compelled to sign documents without having their concerns dealt with and if those concerns aren't dealt with they don't have to sign.
As I see it, their concerns are important. People may not feel they are valid, but that's beside the point. If they are uncomfortable then they are uncomfortable and no one should be judging them for that. The question I have is, do they have the right to refuse to do that and stay on the BoD?
According to the Corpora, the BoD has no authority over the in-game running of Westmarch. If the BoD objects to the chosen autocrats of an event, they have no power to change who those autocrats are, beyond objecting to the monarchy as citizens of their lands. As such, by essentially refusing to sign the needed documents for a Westmarch event, they are affecting the in-game processes of Westmarch, which puts them in violation of the Corpora.
To me, the BoD exists to enact the will of the monarchy when interaction with mundane agencies is required. The Corpora supports this. They have the ability to apply oversite in the form of audits of financials and other records, but even then the BoD lacks the authority to alter a land's status or vote to impeach a monarch. That power still rests with the Althing.
This creates what is essentially a consitutional dilemma. On paper, the BoD lacks the ability to tell the monarch no when it comes to enacting the crown's policies. In my opinion, if Euric and Nakita are unwilling to sign the documents because they are uncomfortable, then they have a duty to step down from their positions. They are not empowered to take that level of authority, per Corpora, so if they object that strongly then they should resign in protest.
Okay, there's my stance, but I feel it's important to talk about the other side of the equation. Euric and Nakita have a right to object to what's happening and if the BoD is just required to rubberstamp everything sent its way then there's not much reason to have the body at all. We could elect a Liason Officer as part of our regular election cycles and empower that person to work with the monarchy and sign appropriate documents. We don't do that, however, to insulate the monarchy from the mundane. While the BoD isn't given the authority to block the will of the monarchy in the Corpora, is that something we want? Do we want those officers to have the ability to act as a check?
As an example, if the King found an opportunity to purchase land for Westmarch to own and convinced the Althing to authorize funds, do we want the BoD to have the ability to look at the contracts and stop a potentially bad sale? The issue before the BoD right now is essentially a basic version of this premise. How do we, as citizens, want our government to function?
Sorry for this post being long. I've been considering it for awhile and wanted to make a good post that would get the discussion going. I hope people will read this and we can have a good, honest, and open conversation about how our government should function.