By: Glen T. Martin
Glen T. Martin, Ph.D., is an author, lecturer, and professor of philosophy emeritus at Radford University in Virginia. He is Director of the Earth Constitution Institute (ECI) and President of the World Constitution and Parliament Association (WCPA), organizations that sponsor the Constitution for the Federation of Earth.
The first and most important feature of the “Earth Constitution” is that it is founded on the common dignity and humanity of the people of Earth, not on territorial sovereignty, militarism, nor nation-state power. Its Preamble states correctly that “humanity is one, and the principle of unity in diversity is the basis for a new age when war shall be outlawed and peace prevail.” Its “broad functions” (Article 1) include ending war, protecting universal human rights, promoting social justice, and creating ecological sustainability. These functions are the responsibility of all agencies of the democratic world government. The law-making authority for the Earth Federation is the World Parliament composed of three houses: Peoples, Counselors, and Nations.
Its “broad functions” (Article 1) include ending war, protecting universal human rights, promoting social justice, and creating ecological sustainability. These functions are the responsibility of all agencies of the democratic world government. The law-making authority for the Earth Federation is the World Parliament composed of three houses: Peoples, Counselors, and Nations. The House of Peoples has 1,000 representatives elected directly from 1,000 World Electoral and Administrative Districts (WEADs) substantially equal in population. As Administrative Districts, these 1,000 localities worldwide will have offices from all branches of government, staffed by people from each district, thereby mirroring the structure of the whole at the level of direct, local participation. They represent the people of Earth directly. The House of Counselors will have 200 representatives nominated by students and faculty from higher education in 20 world regions with 10 from each region elected by the other two houses of the Parliament in joint session. While the three Houses of Parliament vote in joint session on many occasions, a specific function for the Counselors will be to elect nominees to head many government agencies who are then selected by vote of the entire Parliament in joint session. They represent “the common good and best interests of humanity as a whole” (Article 5.2.1).
The House of Nations is composed of all nations on Earth, with one, two, or three representatives each depending on population. The Constitution does not predefine “nations” in terms of today’s existing group of nearly 200 nations. Thus, it leaves the law open to include new nations, such as “Palestine,” the Kurds, or Puerto Rico, etc. The internal affairs of nations are protected under Article 14 and must include conformity to the universal human rights given in Articles 12 and 13. The three Houses of the World Parliament will therefore embrace the entire diversity of humankind. To chair sessions, the Parliament will elect a panel of five Chairpersons, one from each Continental Division of Earth, who will rotate annually as Chief Presiding Officer. This pattern, of having organs of the Earth Federation government headed by groups of five with one from each Continental Division, applies to all main agencies and organs of the government, thus institutionalizing the “unity in diversity” declared in the Preamble.
Under the World Parliament will be the four main agencies: the World Judiciary, the World Attorney -Generals and Police, the World Ombudsmus, and the World Executive. The Collegium of World Judges will be made up of some 20 to 60 of the highest qualified justices on Earth, vetted by strict civil service qualifications and then nominated by the House of Counselors and Elected by the World Parliament, with an equal number in the Collegium from each of the Earth’s 10 Magna-regions. Judges will staff the eight benches of the World Supreme Court, with lower court federal judges, as mentioned above, in each of the 1,000 WEADS.
The World Attorney Generals and World Police will be likewise headed by a presidium of five, one from each Continental Division and shall have lower-level offices in each of the 1,000 WEADS. The World Ombudsmus will similarly be headed by a counsil of five and have offices worldwide. The World Police will be “nonmilitary” and as much as possible use “non-lethal” means of apprehension. The World Ombudsmus will be responsible for protecting the human rights of the people of Earth and of serving as a “watchdog” on all the agencies of government to be sure human rights are not being violated. The World Executive, headed by a Presidium of five, will be in charge of the eight agencies in the Integrative Complex and the 28 departments of the World Administration. It will have no police powers, no veto powers over the Constitution or World Parliament, and is required to faithfully execute the budget assigned to it by the World Parliament. While its 28 departments will run the affairs of the Federation with respect to education, transportation, labor, health and nutrition, energy, settlements, commerce and industry, etc., the eight Agencies of the Integrative Complex will be available to all branches of government in terms of resources, advisory, and administrative functions.
For example, the World Civil Service Authority will set standards and wages (with approval of Parliament) for all government areas. The World Boundaries and Elections Administration will conduct safe, secure elections worldwide. The Agency for Technological and Environmental Assessment will make sure industrial and technical applications worldwide do not damage our planetary ecosystem and the World Financial Administration will offer debt-free public banking in currency valued the same everywhere for truly ecologically sound development.
Additional design features that help bring humanity to a truly new level of existence: 1. Sovereignty belongs to all people who live upon the Earth (Article 2). 2. The Earth Federation is “non-military and “democratic in its own structure” (Article 2). 3. The global commons (the oceans, atmosphere, and essential natural resources such as the rain forests) belong to the people of Earth and are protected for planetary ecological health (Article 4). 4. In sum, all the people of Earth now participate in directly governing themselves through all these Earth Constitution design features synergistically operating together.