Covenant

Introduction

Established in 1996, the Dark Jedi Brotherhood is a fan-driven organization that brings the Star Wars experience to the world that so enjoys it. Having grown from a handful of members to a membership base numbering in the thousands, the Dark Jedi Brotherhood has become the premier Star Wars fan club on the internet.

Up until April of 2003, the Dark Jedi Brotherhood was a sister organization to another club known as the Emperor’s Hammer. Due to the unacceptable actions of the Emperor’s Hammer’s leaders, the Dark Brotherhood broke off in search of a structure that both ensures the rights of its members and protects those members from harm.

The Dark Covenant is the culmination of the dream and the fruit of that labor that began the 12th day of April, 2003. The members adopted this Covenant to detail the structure of this organization, to protect members’ rights, and to ensure that this Club remains the respectable, enjoyable organization that it has been for so many years. Members are expected to be familiar with and abide by the rights and regulations of this Covenant. The Dark Jedi Brotherhood maintains a high standard of integrity, intellect and achievement for itself and its allied Clubs, providing the highest forms of entertainment value, social interaction and fun for the online friends and fans of Star Wars.

Article I: The Covenant

Section 1.01: Purpose

(a) This Covenant details the systems and proceedings within the Dark Jedi Brotherhood. It serves to guide the Brethren in knowledge of the Brotherhood’s basic structure and illustrate its policies and procedures. The Covenant is the written authority that establishes the basic organization, the powers and limits of the leaders, and the rights of the Brethren.

Section 1.02: Amending the Covenant

(a) The Grand Master can freely amend the Covenant, except for Article I - Section 1.05, Article II, Article III, Article IV, Article VIII - Section 8.02, and this section with prior and appropriate notification made to the Electorate.

(b) The Justicar can amend Article VIII, except for section 8.02 on the Rights of the Accused, with approval by either the Grand Master or three-fourths of the Electorate.

(c) By motion of any of its members, the Electorate can amend the Covenant without the Grand Master’s approval by a three-fourths vote, except for Articles II, III, IV and this section.

(d) Article I - Section 1.05, Article II, Article III, Article IV, Article VIII - Section 8.02, and this section may only be amended by a three-fourths vote of the Electorate.

(e) All amendments made to the Covenant must be documented and announced to the membership.

Section 1.03: Interpretation of the Covenant

(a) The Chamber of Justice is the interpreter of the Covenant. In matters of review, the Chamber will convene as a tribunal consisting of the Justicar, Right Hand of Justice and Left Hand of Justice to offer the final interpretation and set precedents.

Section 1.04: Decrees and Regulations

(a) The Covenant provides a basic outline for all structures within the Brotherhood. The details of the daily process for running the Brotherhood within those structures are outlined by the leaders of the Brotherhood through various decrees and regulations. These decrees and regulations may be freely changed by the leadership of the Brotherhood provided that the rules (i) do not conflict with the Covenant; and (ii) are clearly delineated and posted for the Brethren’s reference.

Section 1.05: Voting

(a) All votes called for under the Covenant will be votes among the Electorate. The Electorate consists of (1) the Grand Master; (2) the full-time Dark Council members; and (3) the leader of each independent unit of the Brotherhood.

(b) Any vote required by this Covenant must be preceded by a 48-hour discussion period. During the discussion period, the voting members are free to ask any questions they may have, state any concerns or opinions, or ask to see the other applications for comparison.

(c) Unfilled positions are not tallied in the voting totals in any fashion. If a position is empty, the total number of votes needed to pass a measure is reduced by one.

(d) Members are free to abstain from voting. Should a member abstain from voting, the required number of votes to pass the measure is not reduced.

(e) The provisions of this section do not apply to any of the voting procedures used within the Chamber of Justice, its juries or the appeals panel.

Article II: The Brethren

Section 2.01: Rights of the Brethren

(a) The Brotherhood recognizes and acknowledges that, first and foremost, the organization is an amalgamation of its members. The most important aspect of the Brotherhood, as well as its most valuable resource, is the membership. The first goal of the Brotherhood’s leadership should always be to protect and serve the members, followed closely by a drive to meet the membership’s needs and wants as much as possible.

(b) Every member is valuable, and has a right to be treated as such, free of undue bias and disregard. So long as they desire to remain a valuable addition to the organization and do not abuse the right, then every member has the right to be here.

(c) All members regardless of rank or position shall be held accountable under the same standards of conduct. All indictments, trials and subsequent punishments will make no distinction between members based on rank, position or tenure within the Brotherhood, except in such cases that the Covenant has special provisions outlined for certain ranks, positions or tenures.

(d) Members of the Brotherhood have a right to free speech and expression, but must also have respect for and protect the rights of other members and members who are minors.

(e) Every member shall be free to choose which unit they wish to belong to, except in cases where members have been banned from a unit for disreputable conduct or behavior.

(f) Any member may approach his superiors with issues and complaints he is currently facing without harm. Complaints can always be sent to the direct superior of the member. If the complaint involves that superior, the complaint should follow the chain of command.

(g) Every member has the right to a fair and impartial system of justice.

(h) Every member has the right to be adequately acknowledged and rewarded for time, activity and efforts, and shall not be denied adequate and timely recognition based on personal bias and prejudice of their superiors. All rewards and recognitions are given according to merit.

(i) Any member regardless of position, rank, class, or tenure within the Brotherhood has the power to recommend another for elevation, orders, awards or other honors. All recommendations must be made to the direct superior of a member, with independent unit leaders sending appropriate recommendations to the Master-at-Arms.

(j) Every member of the Brotherhood, except for Rogue Members, is entitled to a representative vote on the Electorate.

Article III: The Grand Master

Section 3.01 Authority of the Iron Throne

(a) The Grand Master holds the highest authority in the Brotherhood, as granted to him by the membership through this Covenant.

(b) Authority not clearly delineated or reserved by this Covenant is reserved for the Grand Master.

(c) Actions taken by the Grand Master are executive in nature and do not affect or usurp the performance or jurisdiction of the Chamber of Justice

Section 3.02: Appointment of the Grand Master

(a) The Electorate is charged with verifying the adequacy of candidates for the position of Grand Master. No member who has been previously expelled by the Chamber of Justice is eligible.

(b) Upon leaving his position, the Grand Master can nominate a member to succeed him as the Grand Master. The Electorate will then vote to ratify the nominee by simple majority. Upon ratification, the successor shall undergo the Rite of Ascendancy.

(c) For the purposes of appointing a Grand Master, the Electorate includes the retiring Grand Master.

(d) If the Electorate does not ratify the initial nominee, the Justicar will hold an election. If the Justicar is candidate for the position, the most senior member of the Dark Council by rank and then time served on the Dark Council will hold the election.

(e) The Justicar will accept nominations from any member of the Brotherhood. All nominations must be accepted by the nominee and confirmed by a member of the Electorate.

(f) The Electorate will vote to name the next Grand Master. A majority of votes must be obtained to become Grand Master. If no member gains a majority, the candidate with the lowest vote count will be removed and a vote will be held on the remaining candidates. This will be repeated until a majority is gained by a candidate.

(g) A member abstaining from a vote is dropped from the Electorate for the remainder of the task at hand.

(h) The Star Chamber must approve of the new Grand Master. This approval will be assumed unless the Star Chamber vetoes within 48 hours of the election. After a veto, another election will be held without the formerly approved candidate.

(i) The Electorate may, with a unanimous vote, overturn a Star Chamber veto.

Section 3.03: Indictment of the Grand Master

(a) There is a four-step process for removing a Grand Master. These steps in order are The Charge, the Vote of Remand, the Trial of Peers, and the Vote of Condemnation. Removal of the Grand Master through the Electorate or the Star Chamber must follow all four steps in order.

(b) The Grand Master has no voting rights in the Electorate with regards to his own indictment.

(c) A charge may be brought by any member of the Brotherhood to the Justicar. The Justicar will determine if the claim is actionable under Brotherhood laws. An actionable claim is one that may be brought as a valid claim against any other member of the Brotherhood. A member may appeal to the Electorate on the Justicar’s ruling on whether the charge is actionable. The Electorate may overturn the Justicar’s ruling on the charge’s actionability by a majority vote. Members that bring charges which are unactionable may be prosecuted in the Chamber of Justice per the Justicar’s discretion.

(d) The Justicar will investigate all actionable claims that are brought before him. The Justicar must give the Grand Master notice of the investigation. Failure to do so will result in a mistrial. The Justicar must send all actionable charges to the Electorate and Star Chamber for the Vote of Remand.

(e) In a Vote of Remand, the Electorate or Star Chamber must decide on whether the charge warrants a trial. If a majority of the Electorate votes yes, or the Star Chamber so declares, the Grand Master will be sent to the Chamber of Justice for a Trial of Peers. If the claim is determined to be unworthy of a trial due to the charge being frivolous or with uncertain motives, the Electorate may, by a majority vote, send the submitting member to the Chamber of Justice.

(f) In a Trial of Peers, the Justicar will sit as judge over a jury of twelve randomly selected Equite or Elder members from the Brotherhood to determine the guilt or innocence of the Grand Master. Chosen members must be currently in an independent unit or holding another active position. The burden on the Jury will be a three-fourths conviction, supported by a preponderance of the evidence, of the accused on each charge presented.

(g) Members of the Electorate may not be chosen as jury members for the Trial of Peers.

(h) One week will be provided for discovery within the trial. Any evidence to be used by either party in their argument must be exchanged. Following discovery, the parties will have one week for the development of their case, at the end of which, arguments will be sent to the Justicar, jury and opposing party. The parties will each then have five days to develop a response to the opposing party’s arguments and send that to the Justicar, Jury and opposing party.

(i) The Grand Master is afforded the same right to appeal his case as given to all members as described below, however, his access will be removed and the Deputy Grand Master will be acting Grand Master during this time.

(j) If the Grand Master is found guilty after all appeals have been exhausted an immediate Vote of Condemnation must be initiated by the Electorate and the Star Chamber. The Vote of Condemnation is used to distinguish between charges that should result in the removal of the Grand Master and those that simply deserve standard punishments. The Justicar will present the results of the Trial of Peers to the Electorate. A three-fourths majority vote of Electorate is needed to condemn and remove the Grand Master from his throne. Alternatively, the Star Chamber may declare condemnation of the Grand Master and remove him.

(k) Upon removal, the Justicar will initiate the process of succession as described in this article.

(l) A Grand Master who has been so removed shall not have the ability to nominate a successor for ratification or vote in any further elections.

Article IV: The Justicar

Section 4.01: Authority of the Justicar

(a) The Justicar is the Chief Judge of the Chamber of Justice, and convenes the court as necessary. The Justicar is second to no one with authority in the execution of Justice.

(b) Actions taken by the Justicar or the Chamber of Justice are judicial in nature and do not affect or usurp the performance or jurisdiction of the Grand Master. Limitations and rules placed on the judiciary in this Covenant do not apply to the Grand Master unless the application is clearly stated.

Section 4.02: Appointment of the Justicar

(a) The Grand Master shall nominate a member to the vacant position of Justicar. (b) The Electorate must confirm the nomination with a three-fourths vote.

Section 4.03: Indictment of the Justicar

(a) The Grand Master may move for the Justicar's removal. The Justicar will then be removed if the motion is approved by two-thirds of the Electorate.

(b) The Justicar may otherwise be removed by a three-fourths vote of the Electorate.

(c) If, for any reason, charges are being brought against the Justicar, the Grand Master will appoint an acting Justicar from the Dark Council for handling that one case only.

Article V: Pillars of the Brotherhood

Section 5.01: The Dark Council

(a) The Grand Master has created a Dark Council to assist in the administration and ruling of the Brotherhood. The Dark Council derives its powers from the Grand Master.

(b) The Grand Master and the Dark Council have the authority to make policy and procedure decrees within the limits of their positions.

(c) The Grand Master and the Dark Council have administrative authority over the independent units of the Brotherhood. Upon advice from and coordination with the unit leaders, the Grand Master and the Dark Council can administer changes.

(d) The Grand Master and the Dark Council have solemn charge to maintain justice and equality within the Brotherhood.

(e) With powers derived from the Grand Master, Dark Council actions are executive in nature and do not affect or usurp the performance or jurisdiction of the Chamber of Justice.

Section 5.02: The Star Chamber

(a) The Star Chamber is the Overclan of the Brotherhood, charged with safeguarding its long-term security.

Section 5.03: The Shadow Academy

(a) The Dark Council maintains the Shadow Academy of the Brotherhood under the administration of the Headmaster.

(b) The Shadow Academy serves as the training grounds for all Brotherhood initiates, preparing them for unit membership. It further serves as a source of continued learning for all regular members.

Section 5.04: The Paths and Orders

(a) Brotherhood members are permitted to choose the Path of their career. There are Dark Side and Light Side Paths, but other paths may be added at the behest of the Grand Master.

(b) The Dark Side Path is split into different Orders based on the powers, views, and interests of the members. There are three Dark Side orders. They are the Order of the Sith, Order of the Krath, and Order of the Obelisk.

Section 5.05: The Independent Units of the Brotherhood

(a) Members of the Brotherhood are either Rogue Jedi, a member of an independent unit, or in a non-unit leadership positions such as a Dark Council position. Independent units are typically either Clans or Houses. Clans may have adopted houses as sub-units, and Houses themselves are often divided into Battleteams

(b) The leadership of the independent units and their sub-units are charged with the administration and activity of the structure under the advisement of the Dark Council. They create and maintain the identity and culture of the structure.

(c) Independent unit leadership is appointed by the Grand Master under advisement from the members.

Section 5.06: Societies

(a) The Grand Master can establish societies for furthering specific activities in the Brotherhood.

(b) Society leaders may be afforded Dark Council status at the behest of the Grand Master.

Section 5.07: The Tribunes

(a) The Tribune positions are held by regular members and cover important non-Dark Council aspects of the Brotherhood. Tribunes are not members of the Dark Council.

Article VI: The Art of the Vendetta

Section 6.01: General Principle

(a) The Art of Vendetta governs the warfare among the members of the Brotherhood. It applies to all brotherhood members and structures.

(b) The three types of Vendetta are the Rite of Supremacy, Great Jedi War, and Feud.

(c) Unless otherwise specified by a specific Vendetta's rules, rogue members may not participate in the Arts of Vendetta.

(d) Feuds between units that involve major rewards and possessions must have the consent of the Grand Master.

Section 6.02: Use of Possessions and Honoraries

(a) Possessions or honoraries that have not been officially granted to a member may not be used during a Vendetta.

Article VII: Honors of the Brotherhood

Section 7.01: Ranks

(a) The Brotherhood is formed on a system of ranks. These signify the relative experience of the members.

(b) Grand Master is the highest rank and is reserved only for those who have served as Grand Master.

(c) The remaining ranks are split into three classes: the Elder Class, the Equite Class, and the Journeyman Class.

Section 7.02: Awards

(a) The Brotherhood distributes awards to Jedi deserving of recognition for various services.

(b) The awards are split into five categories. These include Sacramental Awards, Merit Awards, Vendetta Awards, Competitive Awards and Tertiary Awards.

Section 7.03: Other Honoraries

(a) Members are entitled to a Warbanner upon reaching the appropriate rank

(b) Members are entitled to owning a lightsaber, and customizing the saber at the appropriate ranks.

(c) Members are given robes to display their rank.

Article VIII: Justice

Section 8.01: The Chamber of Justice

(a) The Justicar appoints to the Chamber members as he sees fit to assist in the work of the court. The Right Hand of Justice, serving as prosecutor, and The Left Hand of Justice, serving as defense counsel, will be appointed by the Justicar for non-consecutive, twelve-month terms. Hands of Justice may return to serve in the same capacity after no less than eighteen months from the conclusion of their previous term. Hands of Justice may serve as counterpart Hand of Justice with no time restriction following the end of their previous term.

(b) The Chamber of Justice convenes to determine the guilt or innocence and appropriate punishment of a member accused of misconduct by his superiors.

(c) Any member may issue a complaint to the Justicar requesting an investigation. All investigations will be conducted by the Chamber of Justice unless otherwise decreed by the Grand Master or Justicar.

(d) The Chamber of Justice is dependent on the timely administration of all aspects of every case. The Justicar must be available on a regular basis. Provisions for his absence must provide for alternative methods of contact and the use of the Hands of Justice to administrate the Chamber. The Justicar must be aware of his important role in the Brotherhood and should resign if time constraints keep the court on a constant delay.

(e) The Justicar may create Chamber of Justice Policies and Procedures that are separate from and not in conflict with this Covenant. Such Policies and Procedure operate with the authority of this Covenant only in regards to judicial issues.

(f) The rules within the Covenant and the official Chamber of Justice Policies and Procedures exclusively govern all Chamber of Justice proceedings. No reference made to any outside rule of law will be honored.

Section 8.02: Rights of the Accused

(a) Members accused of a violation of these articles shall be presumed innocent until proven guilty, and no right granted by this Covenant may be revoked without due process.

(b) All members shall have the right to remain silent, and not offer incriminating evidence against themselves.

(c) All members shall be offered the right to assistance from members of the Brotherhood in assisting to defend them. The choice by default is the Left Hand of Justice, though the defendant possesses the right to seek aid from any parties willing to assist in their defense.

(d) All members are guaranteed freedom from punishments ex post facto.

(e) All members are afforded the right to choose between a Trial by Justicar or a Trial by Jury in their case as detailed in the following sections. The court shall not choose for them, unless the defendant refuses to select for themselves.

(f) All members are afforded the right to use the appropriate appeals process as described in the following sections.

(g) Members may not be convicted on evidence presented through hearsay testimony. Prosecution may only be based on emails, logs and other documents detailing the infringement as it occurred.

(h) All members shall have the right to know what charges are being laid against them, in addition to what penalties the prosecution is seeking to have placed against the defendant in the case of a conviction.

Section 8.03: Process of Adjudication

(a) To begin the process of adjudication, a member must submit a formal complaint to the Chamber of Justice. The complaint must indicate the parties to the action, must give a brief statement of the facts, and must clearly delineate that the member requires formal action from the Chamber of Justice rather than other action such as mediation. Sufficient for the last requirement are phrases such as "I present a formal complaint," "I officially request action be taken," or an email subject of "Formal Complaint against XXXXX."

(b) Once a complaint is submitted, the member's rights in that complaint shall not expire until a full conclusion of the case through trial, settlement or dismissal. The Justicar must give the complaining member notice of the finality of the case.

(c) The Chamber has its own investigatory and complaint powers. The Chamber may proceed with its own investigation and complaint at its own discretion without the need for a member submission.

(d) After receiving a complaint, the Chamber of Justice investigates the merit of the accusation and informs the Grand Master of the commencement of an investigation.

(e) The Justicar, the Grand Master or a Hand of Justice, upon receiving a formal complaint, may attempt to mediate the dispute to arrive at a settlement. Attempted mediation does not bar the member from continuing the adjudication under their complaint if mediation fails. At the end of a successful mediation, the Justicar may ask for a withdrawal of the complaint or, if three months have passed since the end of mediation without any further inquiries by the complaining member, the Justicar may dismiss the complaint himself.

(f) If the Chamber finds merit to the claim, the case will be pursued. The Justicar or the Right Hand of Justice will prepare the slate of charges against the accused. Prior to giving his final approval, the Justicar will present the charges to the complaining party, if applicable, and the Grand Master for comments. Once a final slate of charges is approved by the Justicar, it will be sent to the appropriate parties to the case.

(g) The Chamber of Justice must issue a summary of charges to the accused, and offers the accused the opportunity to enter a plea of innocence or guilt. If they plead innocent, the Chamber of Justice initiates either Trial by Justicar or Trial by Jury, as outlined in the following sections. If they plead guilty, the Justicar imposes a sentence. If the member fails or refuses to enter a plea within the stipulated timeframe, the case will automatically move to a trial by Justicar. A member failing or refusing to enter a plea waives his right to submit evidence on his behalf.

(h) For all trials in which the proposed penalty is a one-grade Equite or Elder demotion, a two-grade Journeyman demotion, a Letter of Reprimand, one year probation, or a combination of the above, the Justicar, with the advice of his Hands, will determine the guilt or innocence of the accused.

(i) For all other charges, the accused shall choose between Trial by Justicar or Trial by Jury to weigh evidence and determine guilt or innocence.

(j) The Justicar shall impose sentences for the Chamber with the advice of the Hands of Justice.

(k) No offense in the past will have any bearing on the guilt or innocence of a member in any subsequent case. However, the Justicar, in determining the punishment for a guilty member, may consider the prior record of the accused to include convictions. No acquittal shall be used in the consideration of punishment for current offenses.

(l) Upon conclusion of the trial, the Justicar shall post the results in a Chamber of Justice Communique. This Communique shall contain a summary of the trial, the result, and the Justicar's opinion. For cases decided by Justicar, this opinion shall contain official explanation for the Chamber's decision. For cases decided by jury, it will contain the reasons for the specific sentence and any other comments the Chamber wishes to include.

(m) If the member is acquitted of all charges, the accused member may not be retried for the offense that was acquitted, even upon the revelation of new evidence, unless the verdict was delivered through a miscarriage or defamation of the judicial process as determined by the Appeals Panel. This does not apply to admissions of guilt. Any member that admits guilt post-trial may be re-tried and sentenced per that admission.

(n) The Chamber of Justice shall keep records on the members for use in cases of repeat offenses. In addition, the Justicar is responsible for archiving and protecting all Chamber information for future reference.

(o) Statute of Limitations: All complaints must be received within three months of the discovery of the underlying event or else they will be dismissed as time-barred. If the complaint is derived from a series of events, the three month time period will begin tolling from the last known event

(p) The Justicar, with approval from the Grand Master, may summarily dismiss charges regardless of the stage in the proceedings. Charged that have been so dismissed are not barred from retrial through double-jeopardy.

Section 8.04: Juries

(a) The Jury consists of one member of the Dark Council and five other random Equite or Elder members. In addition, two alternates will be selected in case a juror recuses himself or is absent without leave. The Grand Master shall independently verify that the jury was selected at random.

(b) No member may sit on a Jury deciding his own case.

(c) Jury members should recuse themselves from the trial if they feel they cannot judge the action impartially

(d) The burden of the Jury will be to reach a unanimous decision on the innocence or guilt, supported by a preponderance of the evidence, of the accused on each charge presented.

(e) The accused may waive his right to review by the Jury, choosing deliberation by the Justicar instead.

(f) The Jury will vote on the guilt or innocence of the member only. The punishment is determined by the Justicar as based on the laws of the Brotherhood and previous precedent. However, in cases where expulsion is a possibility, the Justicar will convene a new Jury (consisting of the same make-up of six members) to vote on whether the charges warrant expulsion. A 4/6 vote will result in expulsion.

(g) All Juries must give logs and emails of all deliberations on the decision to the Justicar for archiving

Section 8.05: Appeals Panel

(a) An Appeals Panel will exist to examine all issues brought by appellants. The Panel consists of three active members selected from amongst the independent units of the Brotherhood. The Justicar will have a brief application and investigation period to obtain members who wish to participate and will be positive additions to the Panel. After the selections are made, the three Appeals Panel members will serve for six months, after which time another trio will be selected. A Panelist may return to the Appeals Panel after no less than six months after the end of their previous term.

(b) If the defendant or prosecution feels that an error has been made, he can write an appeal and present it to the Justicar, who will in turn bring it before the Appeals Panel. Appeals cannot be trivial in nature, and must specifically point to the error(s) made. The appellant must find either a Covenant issue or judicial process error.

(c) If a defendant or the Left Hand of Justice (acting as defense counsel) finds fault with a procedural or Covenant issue while the trial is on-going, they may either bring that issue to the immediate attention of the Appeals Panel, who will expedite a ruling on that single issue, or (if that is not possible) they may make note of the issue during the case so it will automatically be brought before the Appeals Panel post-decision.

(d) Once an appeal is accepted, the Panel will examine the case and debate the points brought by the appellant. The Panel will only examine the written appeal to make its decision taking into account the deliberation logs and emails, the original case statements and any other document relating to the case. The Panel must reach a unanimous decision to overturn the original court’s decision, any stalemate or lack of unanimous vote will cause the decision to stand.

(e) If the panel finds in favor of the appellant, a new jury is assembled and the case is re-tried, being sure to instruct the new jury of the appealed issues to ensure they are not repeated. If the defendant is found guilty in the second trial, he/she does not have a right to an appeal; they are immediately put before the Justicar for sentencing.

Section 8.06: Specific Articles of Conduct and Reprimand

(a) These articles of conduct and reprimand do not limit the authority of the Justicar. Covenant Amendments, Judicial Decrees and Sovereign Amendments may be used to create new articles. The term “Brotherhood proceeding,” as used in this section refers to actions taken under this Covenant, including, but not limited to, any executive action by the Grand Master, any action by the Dark Council, or any judicial action by the Chamber of Justice.

(b) Discrimination: No member shall discriminate against another member in regards to promotions, medal awards, praise and acknowledgement, or positions on the basis of real-life political affiliation, gender, race, color, age, disability, creed, heritage, nationality or sexual orientation.

(c) Sexual Favors: No member shall accept, promote or solicit sexual favors in exchange for elevation, award, citation, or other honor.

(d) Crude Behavior: No member shall engage in crude behavior in any mode of communication. Crude behavior includes, but is not limited to: the excessive use of swear words; provocative speech; excessive sexual discussions; and unabated insults toward another’s real-life political affiliation, nationality, gender, race, color, age, disability, creed, heritage, or sexual orientation.

(e) Abuse of Power: No member shall use their position, rank, tenure or any other membership status to unfairly benefit themselves or others with rewards or promotions; or to unfairly influence any Brotherhood proceeding.

(f) Verbal Abuse: No member shall engage in the excessive verbal abuse of another, including, but not limited to: insults regarding a member’s real-life political affiliation, gender, race, creed, heritage, nationality or sexual orientation; character assassination; or unjust use of Brotherhood resources to attack another through defamatory statements.

(g) Disreputable Behavior: No member shall partake in any action that brings disrepute onto themselves, the Brotherhood as a whole, or any Clan, House, Battle Team, or individual member. Actions include those done by a member, either within or outside traditional Brotherhood activities and communication channels, that reflect on the above parties, such as: treason, acts to sabotage, stealing of property, or any conduct forbidden by these articles.

(h) Cheating: No member shall willfully or knowingly exploit, abuse, or otherwise tamper with official game play or official activity in the form of competitions, tests, or other activities.

(i) Cloning: No member, without prior approval of the Justicar, shall have more than one persona in a single household. Any offense committed by such an unauthorized clone shall be attributed to the original member. Matching IP addresses create a presumption of cloning that can only be rebutted by evidence beyond a reasonable doubt that two people exist.

(j) Plagiarism: No member shall submit any plagiarized work as his own or fail to give appropriate credit to the author of any work.

(k) Rites of Combat: The Rites of Combat govern the conduct for all Gaming Competitions. Every article of conduct listed herein still applies.

(l) Tampering with Evidence: No member shall forge, alter or otherwise tamper with evidence to be used in any Brotherhood proceeding.

(m) False Statements: No member shall make false statements with the intent to change the outcome of a Brotherhood proceeding.

(n) Harassment: No member shall engage in persistent harassment or torment, or outrageous attacks on any other member. This includes statements and actions taken to attack a member’s real-life political affiliation, family or significant other, gender, race, color, age, disability, creed, heritage, nationality or sexual orientation. This article extends to cover harassment through the distribution of personal information, the creation of groups or modes of communication for the purpose of attacking the member, and unwanted contact with the member through non-internet means of communication. Harassment punished under this article must be to the extent and of the form that would injure a reasonable person of normal sensibilities; mere mocking does not suffice.

(o) Hacking: No member shall access, without the proper permission and authority, any unauthorized section of the Brotherhood website. No member shall misappropriate the dossier of another member.

Section 8.07: Penalties

(a) Penalties may only be administered within the processes outlined in this Covenant.

(b) The Justicar has the authority to issue public and private Official Letters of Reprimand.

(c) The Justicar has the authority to impose upon the members a specific period of probation. During a probationary period, the member can not receive promotion, appointment to position, or any citation or honor of merit without the explicit permission of the Justicar.

(d) The Justicar has the authority to rescind access to all official communications media within the Brotherhood.

(e) The Justicar has the authority to revoke medals and citations awarded to the member in whole or in part.

(f) The Justicar has the authority to impose any demotion of rank.

(g) The Justicar has the authority to impose expulsion from the Brotherhood.

Section 8.08: Order of Advanced Incarceration

(a) The Grand Master or Justicar is entitled to special executive powers in times of crisis, when the security of the Brotherhood is at risk, or when a member has become an immediate threat to themselves or other members. The Grand Master or Justicar may enact an Order of Advanced Incarceration pending the trial of the accused which allows him to suspend the accused from all positions within the Brotherhood, deactivate the accused member’s dossier and remove access to the database, ban the accused from all DB IRC Channels or other related communications media (such as gaming servers), or enact other forms of control not listed here to ensure the security of the Brotherhood.

(b) Because an Order of Advanced Incarceration can immediately assign assumed guilt to the member, it should be used with caution and as a last resort.

(c) Upon such an order, the Appeals Panel must immediately convene and determine the order’s necessity. Should the panel deem such an order inappropriate by a unanimous vote, they may override the Grand Master or Justicar and nullify the order. Otherwise, the order will stand until the end of the trial or until the threat has passed as determined by the Grand Master or Justicar.

(d) In cases of otherwise unavoidable, immediate grave danger; any Dark Council member may impose such measures for a non-extendable period of a maximum of 24 hours. He must immediately inform the GM and JST of this action and will be held accountable by the CoJ for any abuse of this power.

Section 8.09: The Shadow Academy

(a) The Headmaster retains the right to administer justice independently from the Justicar strictly in Shadow Academy related matters. Appeals can be made under the Appeals Panel as stated in this article.

Amendment History

1st Amendments

Approved: 7/20/06

• Added "Introduction"
• Added to Section 1.1a: "The Covenant is the written authority that establishes the basic organization, the powers and limits of the leaders, and the rights of the membership."
• Added to Section 1.2a: "...with prior and appropriate notification made to the Dark Council."
• Removed Article IX "The Brethren"
• Made Article II "The Brethren" moved the "Rights of the Brethren".
• Moved "Rights of the Accused" to Section 8.02
• Added Plagiarism and Rites of Combat to Section 8.06

2nd Amendments

Approved: 1/14/07

• Added Statute of Limitations and clarified adjudication process, did so by addition of following into 8.03:

“To begin the process of adjudication, a member must submit a formal complaint to the Chamber of Justice. The complaint must indicate the parties to the action, must give a brief statement of the facts, and must clearly delineate that the member requires formal action from the Chamber of Justice rather than other action such as mediation. Sufficient for the last requirement are phrases such as "I present a formal complaint," "I officially request action be taken," or an email subject of "Formal Complaint against XXXXX."”

“Statute of Limitations: All complaints must be received within three months of the underlying event or else they will be dismissed as time-barred. If the complaint is derived from a series of events, the three month time period will begin tolling from the last known event.”

“Once a complaint is submitted, the member's rights in that complaint shall not expire until a full conclusion of the case through trial, settlement or dismissal. The Justicar must give the complaining member notice of the finality of the case.”

“The Justicar, the Grand Master or a Hand of Justice, upon receiving a formal complaint, may attempt to mediate the dispute to arrive at a settlement. Attempted mediation does not bar the member from continuing the adjudication under their complaint if mediation fails. At the end of a successful mediation the Justicar may ask for a withdrawal of the complaint or, if three months have passed since the end of mediation without any further inquiries by the complaining member, the Justicar may dismiss the complaint himself.”

3rd Amendments

Approved: 2/5/07

• Changes to appointment voting and covenant amendment process
• Added new section 1.05 (Voting), containing the following:

"Any vote required by this Covenant must be preceded by a 48-hour discussion period. During the discussion period, the voting members are free to ask any questions they may have, state any concerns or opinions, , or ask to see the other applications for comparison."

"Unfilled positions are not tallied in the voting totals in any fashion. If a position is empty, the total number of votes needed to pass a measure is reduced by one."

"Members are free to abstain from voting. Should a member abstain from voting, the required number of votes to pass the measure is not reduced."

"The provisions of this section do not apply to any of the voting procedures used within the Chamber of Justice, its juries or the appeals panel."

• Changed section 1.02a to disallow Grand Master's ability to freely amend voting (1.05) and rights of the accused (8.02) sections
• Changed section 1.02d, added sections 1.05 and 8.02 to the list of articles requiring a three-fourths Dark Council vote for amending

4th Amendments

Approved: 2/21/07

• Reorganized Section 8.03 "Process of Adjudication" to better reflect actual process
• Added to 8.03: "In addition, the Chamber has its own investigatory and complaint powers. The Chamber may proceed with its own investigation and complaint at its own discretion without the need for a member submission."
• Reworded process in by which charges are prepared: "If the Chamber finds merit to the claim, the case will be pursued. The Justicar or the Right Hand of Justice will prepare the slate of charges against the accused. Prior to giving his final approval, the Justicar will present the charges to the complaining party, if applicable, and the Grand Master for comments. Once a final slate of charges is approved by the Justicar, it will be sent to the appropriate parties to the case."
• Reworded summary of charges, plea, and trial type: "The Chamber of Justice must issue a summary of charges to the accused, and offers the accused the opportunity to enter a plea of innocence or guilt. If they plead innocent, the Chamber of Justice initiates either Trial by Justicar or Trial by Jury, as outlined in the following sections. If they plead guilty, the Justicar imposes a sentence."
• Added trial by Justicar requirement: "For all trials in which the proposed penalty is a one-grade Equite or Elder demotion, a two-grade Journeyman demotion, a Letter of Reprimand, one year probation, or a combination of the above, the Justicar, with the advice of his Hands, will determine the guilt or innocence of the accused."
• Added trial by jury requirement: "For all other charges, the accused shall choose between Trial by Justicar or Trial by Jury to weigh evidence and determine guilt or innocence."
• Added a required public posting of Chamber of Justice Communique: "Upon conclusion of the trial, the Justicar shall post the results in a Chamber of Justice Communique. This Communique shall contain a summary of the trial, the result, and the Justicar's opinion. For cases decided by Justicar, this opinion shall contain official explanation for the Chamber's decision. For cases decided by jury, it will contain the reasons for the specific sentence and any other comments the Chamber wishes to include."
• Modified record keeping requirements: "The Chamber of Justice shall keep records on the members for use in cases of repeat offenses. In addition, the Justicar is responsible for archiving and protecting all Chamber information for future reference."
• Updated information for warbanners, lightsabers, and robes:

"7.03.a Members are entitled to a Warbanner upon reaching the appropriate rank"

"7.03.b Members are entitled to own a lightsaber at the appropriate rank, and to customize the saber at higher ranks."

"7.03.c Members are entitled to own a set of robes, and the ability to choose from options based upon their rank."

5th Amendment

Approved: 4/20/07

• Added tampering with evidence rule to section 8.06: "Tampering with Evidence: No member, under any circumstances, will forge, alter or otherwise tamper with evidence to be used in any executive or judicial decision-making process."

6th Amendments

Approved: 7/2/07

• Reworded many subsections in 8.06 "Articles of Conduct and Reprimand"
• Added this clarification to 8.06, "The term “Brotherhood proceeding,” as used in this section refers to actions taken under this Covenant, including, but not limited to, any executive action by the Grand Master, any action by the Dark Council, or any judicial action by the Chamber of Justice."
• Updated wording discrimination rule in section 8.06: "Discrimination: No member shall discriminate against another member in regards to promotions, medal awards, praise and acknowledgment, or positions on the basis of real-life political affiliation, gender, race, creed, heritage, nationality or sexual orientation."
• Changed "sexual harassment" to new "sexual favors" rule in section 8.06: "Sexual Favors: No member shall accept, promote or solicit sexual favors in exchange for elevation, award, citation, or other honor."
• Updated wording for crude behavior rule in section 8.06: "Crude Behavior: No member shall engage in crude behavior in any mode of communication. Crude behavior includes, but is not limited to: the excessive use of swear words; provocative speech; excessive sexual discussions; and unabated insults toward another’s real-life political affiliation, nationality, gender, race, creed, heritage, or sexual orientation."
• Removed Dereliction of Duty statute from section 8.06
• Updated Abuse of Power rule: "Abuse of Power in section 8.06: No member shall use their position, rank, tenure or any other membership status to unfairly benefit themselves or others with rewards or promotions; or to unfairly influence any Brotherhood proceeding."
• Updated Verbal abuse rule: "Verbal Abuse in section 8.06: No member shall engage in the excessive verbal abuse of another, including, but not limited to: insults regarding a member’s real-life political affiliation, gender, race, creed, heritage, nationality or sexual orientation; character assassination; or unjust use of Brotherhood resources to attack another through defamatory statements."
• Updated disreputable behavior rule in section 8.06: "Disreputable Behavior: No member shall partake in any action that brings disrepute onto themselves, the Brotherhood as a whole, or any Clan, House, Battle Team, or individual member. Actions include those done by a member, either within or outside traditional Brotherhood activities and communication channels, that reflect on the above parties, such as: treason, acts to sabotage, stealing of property, or any conduct forbidden by these articles."
• Updated cheating rule: "Cheating in section 8.06: No member shall willfully or knowingly exploit, abuse, or otherwise tamper with official game play or official activity in the form of competitions, tests, or other activities."
• Updated cloning rule in section 8.06: "Cloning: No member, without prior approval of the Justicar, shall have more than one persona in a single household. Any offense committed by such an unauthorized clone shall be attributed to the original member. Matching IP addresses create a presumption of cloning that can only be rebutted by evidence beyond a reasonable doubt that two people exist."
• Updated plagiarism rule in section 8.06: "Plagiarism: No member shall submit any plagiarized work as his own or fail to give appropriate credit to the author of any work."
• Updated Rites of Combat statement in section 8.06: "Rites of Combat: The Rites of Combat govern the conduct for all Gaming Competitions. Every article of conduct listed herein still applies."
• Updated tampering with evidence rule in section 8.06: "Tampering with Evidence: No member shall forge, alter or otherwise tamper with evidence to be used in any Brotherhood proceeding."
• Added false statements statute in section 8.06: "False Statements: No member shall make false statements with the intent to change the outcome of a Brotherhood proceeding."
• Added harassment statute in section 8.06: "Harassment: No member shall engage in persistent harassment or torment, or outrageous attacks on any other member. This includes statements and actions taken to attack a member’s real-life political affiliation, family or significant other, gender, race, creed, heritage, nationality or sexual orientation. This article extends to cover harassment through the distribution of personal information, the creation of groups or modes of communication for the purpose of attacking the member, and unwanted contact with the member through non-internet means of communication. Harassment punished under this article must be to the extent and of the form that would injure a reasonable person of normal sensibilities; mere mocking does not suffice."
• Added hacking statute in section 8.06: "Hacking: No member shall access, without the proper permission and authority, any unauthorized section of the Brotherhood website. No member shall misappropriate the dossier of another member."
• Added clarification of executive actions to 3.01: "Actions taken by the Grand Master are executive in nature and do not affect or usurp the performance or jurisdiction of the Chamber of Justice"
• Added clarification of judicial actions to 4.01: "Actions taken by the Justicar or the Chamber of Justice are judicial in nature and do not affect or usurp the performance or jurisdiction of the Grand Master. Limitations and rules placed on the judiciary in this Covenant do not apply to the Grand Master unless the application is clearly stated."
• Added clarification of council actions: "With powers derived from the Grand Master, Dark Council actions are executive in nature and do not affect or usurp the performance or jurisdiction of the Chamber of Justice."
• Updated Covenant introduction

7th Amendment

Approved: 7/8/07

• Modified the burden of proof in section 8.04: "The burden of the Jury will be to reach an unanimous decision on the innocence or guilt, supported by a preponderance of the evidence, of the accused on each charge presented."

8th Amendment

Approved: 7/14/07

• Changed section 3.03 (Indictment of the Grand Master) to match up with last group of amendments: "The burden on the Jury will be a three-fourths conviction, supported by a preponderance of the evidence, of the accused on each charge presented."

9th Amendments

Approved: 9/18/07

• Added subsection to 8.01 for Chamber policies: "The Justicar may create Chamber of Justice Policies and Procedures that are separate from and not in conflict with this Covenant. Such Policies and Procedure operate with the authority of this Covenant only in regards to judicial issues.”
• Added subsection to 8.01 concerning references: "The rules within the Covenant and the official Chamber of Justice Policies and Procedures exclusively govern all Chamber of Justice proceedings. No reference made to any outside rule of law will be honored. "
• Changed section 8.02 (Rights of the Accused) to reflect Chamber trial policy: "All members are afforded the right to choose between a Trial by Justicar or a Trial by Jury in their case as detailed in the following sections. The court shall not choose for them, unless the defendant refuses to select for themselves."
• Added subsection to 8.03 regarding case dismissal: "The Justicar, with approval from the Grand Master, may summarily dismiss charges regardless of the stage in the proceedings. Charged that have been so dismissed are not barred from retrial through double-jeopardy.”
• Added to section 8.04 for jury fairness: "The Grand Master shall independently verify that the jury was selected at random."

10th Amendment

Approved: 2/23/08

• Refined the wording of section 2.01(i), changed to: "Any member regardless of position, rank, class, or tenure within the Brotherhood has the power to recommend another for elevation, orders, awards or other honors. All recommendations must be made to the direct superior of a member, with Clan leaders sending appropriate recommendations to the Master-at-Arms."

11th Amendment

Approved: 4/25/12

• Changed section 8.01a to "non-consecutive, twelve-month terms" for Hands of Justice.
• Added to section 8.01a: "Hands of Justice may return to serve in the same capacity after no less than eighteen months from the conclusion of their previous term. Hands of Justice may serve as counterpart Hand of Justice with no time restriction following the end of their previous term."
• Changed section 8.05a to clarify that Appeals Panel candidates are "selected from amongst the Clans, Houses, and Dark Council".
• Changed section 8.05a to "the three [Appeals] Panel members will serve for nine months".
• Added to section 8.05a: "A Panelist may return to the Appeals Panel after no less than six months after the end of their previous term."

12th Amendment

Approved 4/12/2013

Amendment Proposal

Amendment Redline

• Prompted by Jac Cotelin, the Covenant was amended for the purpose of obtaining retroactive continuity with changes implemented by the Grand Master previously which were not reflected in the Covenant.
• In particular, the amendment addressed the lack of votes for houses under prior versions of the Covenant. A new term, the "Electorate," was established that again permitted votes for houses.
• The language dealing with Orders was updated to allow for varying Paths.
• The language regarding the Decee system was updated.
• Other clerical and clarification changes were made to make the text of the Covenant clear.

Origins

The original version of the Dark Covenant was written by Telaris “Mav” Cantor and posted on the Brotherhood's message boards – it was merely the “Bylaws” or rules that the club would abide by. When Grand Master Firefox stepped down from his position, he made soon-to-be Grand Master Jac Cotelin promise to set up a process for the removal and appointment of Grand Masters. This was the beginning of the Dark Covenant project – which slowly grew until it encompassed every aspect of the Brotherhood, as our own Constitution.

The Covenant is the basic heart of the club – it lays the framework for all of our operations. The text was developed by Jac Cotelin and Trevarus Caerick. It took more than a year to develop, with many members contributing to the numerous drafts that circulated during the two major revisions and countless minor ones. The debates which took place were a clear demonstration of our members eagerness to ensure the future success of this club.

Some members might not realize how rare and special the Dark Covenant is. No other online club has such a detailed and solid framework, no other club outlines the rights of its members and actively seeks to protect them. Many of you don't remember, or didn't know at all, the situation under the Emperor's Hammer - but the word of the leaders there could be summed up in one word: absolute. That was what we left to escape - the absolute rule without regard to the membership. That's what this Covenant was created to cure.

On December 16, 2005 – the Dark Covenant was officially and unanimously ratified by the Dark Council. Since then it has served brilliantly as the guiding document of our Brotherhood, and shown it's flexibility through the numerous amendments listed in the section below. The Brotherhood has always been successful because of its members and the work they are willing to do – the Dark Covenant is the culmination of the work done by all, and it ensures that these efforts will not be wasted.

FAQ

Certain portions of the Dark Covenant can be confusing to read due to complicated language, lack of an adequate knowledge base, or simply lack of time to fully read and comprehend the entire document. Questions that are often sent to the Justicar have been posted here with answers. If you have another question concerning the Covenant, please post it in the "Discussion" tab for this page and the Justicar will answer it ASAP.

Executive/Judicial Actions?

• What is the difference between “executive” and “judicial” actions?

If you are reading the Covenant you will find these terms in sections 3.01(c) and 4.01(b), but the meaning may be unclear. Basically this is trying to define the separation between actions which are the responsibility of the Grand Master, and those which fall to the Chamber of Justice. The Grand Master is seen as the “executive” of the Brotherhood, and therefore is charged with all the administrative tasks involved with running the club (hiring/firing leaders, introducing new projects, etc.). The Chamber of Justice is charged with maintaining the rules of the Brotherhood, but does not take part in administration. Oftentimes these two areas may almost overlap – for example if a leader is found guilty during a trial, the Justicar will issue a punishment, and he may think the member should be removed from his leadership position. However hiring and firing leaders is an executive action, so the Justicar would have to go to the Grand Master and make his recommendation, and the Grand Master would decide. It works the same way for actions which are primarily judicial in nature – the Grand Master defers to the decisions of the Justicar.

GM Limits?

• Is the Grand Master limited to powers given to him in the Covenant?

In the past members have thought that the Dark Covenant limits what the Grand Master can do to only those tasks specifically outlined in the document. However, as section 3.01(b) indicates, any authority which is not specifically given in the Covenant is automatically given to the Grand Master. Therefore the Grand Master has the authority to do anything he wishes that is not specifically denied to him in the Covenant.

Prosecuting the GM?

• How can a Grand Master be prosecuted for violating the rules?

Section 3.03 deals with the process of indicting a Grand Master, that is, charging him with a crime and removing him from his position. The process looks fairly complicated but is actually pretty simple. Basically there are four main steps:

1) The Charge - Someone brings forth a charge against the GM, the JST investigates and determines merit, as in any other case. If he approves (or if the DC overrules his disapproval) it moves onto the next step.

2) Vote of Remand - The Dark Council or Star Chamber decides whether the charge warrants a trial - if either of them decide it does, the case moves onto the next step.

3) Trial of Peers - A jury of twelve members, lead by the Justicar as judge, determines the guilt or innocence of the GM.

4) Vote of Condemnation - After the GM has been found guilty and all appeals exhausted, the Dark Council and Star Chamber initiate a vote of condemnation. This vote is used to decide whether the charges should result in the removal of the GM, or simply standard punishments. Either 3/4 of the Dark Council have to vote to condemn, or the Star Chamber may decide he is to be condemned (lose his position).

Prior Versions

• Original Pre-Covenant - Effective May 16, 2003
• Version 1.0 - Effective December 16, 2005