The Full Text

Everyone is entitled to sovereignty,
so long as they are benign.

A sovereign being may make any choice,
perform any action, or refrain from any action,
as long as they do not actively commit real, material, and unjustifiable harm.

Real and material harm is that which:

1. 1. Kills, maims, or inflicts pain on a living being;
2. 2. Degrades the ecosystems that sustain Life;
3. 3. Prevents someone from exercising their sovereignty, when they are doing neither of the above.

Unjustifiable harm is that which is:

1. 1. Not logically necessary for the attainment of the stated goal; and/or
2. 2. Rests upon the premise that the doer is fundamentally more important than, or endowed with special innate entitlements or privileges over, other people.

The determination between necessary and unnecessary,
as well as the satisfaction of all other conditions for the application of Law,
require strict adherence to Rationality.

The legitimacy of force is inverse
to the legitimacy of the will it opposes.

When a will is legitimate,
stopping it with force is illegitimate.
When a will is illegitimate,
stopping it with force is legitimate,
given that the force is rational and proportionate.

Force used in defense against harm
is the only force that can ever be legitimate.

Force is:
the deliberate obstruction of activity;
the confiscation, disabling, or destruction of property;
the infliction of pain, injury, or killing;
or the issuance of a threat to do any of the above,
in order to break, alter, or negate another's will.

A will is legitimate if it does no harm.

If it does harm, it may or may not be legitimate,
for it is impossible to exist in a physical, biological world
without doing any harm whatsoever.

Which harms are necessary and which are not
is determined through Rationality.

Defense is the protection of a fundamental right,
of oneself or of another,
when that right is under attack.

Defense exists only in response to attack:
to unjustifiable harm, or illegitimate force,
either present or genuinely threatened.
Without attack, there is no defense.

All non-defensive force is unlawful,
and all resistance to unlawful force is lawful.

Proportionate force
is that which does no greater harm
than the harm against which it defends.

When a person ceases to be benign,
the sovereignty they forfeit
is proportional to the harm they are doing,
and no greater.

Everyone has the right
to genuine self-defense.

Everyone has the duty
to protect another who is under attack,
especially one unable to defend themself.

Everyone has the duty
to protect the ecosystem
upon which all Life depends.

No force may be used against anyone
who is not harming anyone.

Before force is used,
at least one of these questions must be answered "Yes":

Has anyone been killed?
Has anyone been injured?
Has the ecosystem been degraded?
Are any of these in progress?
Have any of these been threatened?
Are any of these being actively planned?
Has anyone infringed another's fundamental right,
or tried, by threat of violence,
to intimidate or coerce anyone
out of freely exercising their liberty?

If there is no "Yes," there is no force.

When force is claimed as defense,
the act it defended against
must be put through the same questions.

If that act, too, is claimed as defense,
the inquiry continues
back to the original act of force
that was not in defense of anything.

That original act is illegitimate.
The force responding to it is legitimate.
The force against that response is illegitimate,
and so on down the line.

All force protecting the original illegitimate force,
or those who support it, is illegitimate.
All force defending against it,
or those who support it, is legitimate,
provided it is proportionate.

All applications of force for the upholding of Law
must be rational, in order to be legitimate.

Whenever Law is to be upheld,
the person upon whom it is to be upheld
may demand an arbitration
to contest the logical validity of the proposed upholding,
and the would-be upholder must engage,
and discuss the matter rationally.

The upholder must be able to prove
that the defendant's action caused, or would cause, harm,
and that the harm is unnecessary and unjustified,
in violation of Benign Sovereignty.

The burden of proof lies always with the upholder.
A defendant need not prove their action lawful;
the upholder must prove it unlawful.
If the upholder cannot prove this,
the action is illegitimate and unlawful.

This requirement may be postponed
in the event of immediate emergency,
in which case arbitration must still take place
once the emergency has subsided, and it is safe to do so.

An emergency is a situation with a specific threat of real harm,
imminent, and likely to occur before arbitration can conclude.

One who upholds Law under the premise of emergency
acts at their own risk.
If arbitration later finds the action unlawful,
the upholder is liable for the harm they caused,
unless their belief that harm was imminent
was itself reasonable, and can be proven so rationally.

An emergency may justify postponing arbitration,
but never avoiding it.

Rationality is
the ascertainment of truth
regarding the meaning or application
of any aspect of Law in a given situation.

All terms and conditions
for the application of force
must be assessed rationally.

Who May Reason

Anyone may arbitrate,
provided they are capable
of maintaining rational conversation,
and the protocols set out here are respected.

Only logic can defeat an argument,
not force, not ridicule, not a label, not the crowd.

A claim, once disputed, must be supported.
An argument unanswered still stands.
It stands as fact, for the length of the discussion,
so long as one supporting argument stands unrefuted.

A refutation is itself an argument,
and must withstand the same scrutiny it brings.
To debunk some supports is not to debunk all.

Argument has a fractal shape:
every support may itself be questioned as a claim,
and tested in its own right.

Logic is a chain of claims, each holding the next:
break one link, and all beneath it fall;
leave it whole, and all of it stands.

An assertion of fact is refuted
by a proven fact that negates it,
and a showing of how it negates it.

An assertion of logic is refuted
only by identifying its flaw,
never by an unrelated argument,
however emotionally compelling.

You cannot win an argument by ending it,
nor prove one true by repeating it,
nor make one false by giving it a name.

One may not dismiss another's argument
without knowing its content.

One cannot know the content of another's argument
until one has heard it.

An argument that has not been addressed
has not been refuted.

An unrefuted argument stands as fact
for the length of the arbitration,
until it is refuted.

An assertion is unrefuted
if it has at least one unrefuted supporting argument.

An argument made by one side
must be addressed, directly and specifically,
by the other.
Changing the subject is not a rational response.

Rational Responses

Questioning – in the form of a question;
Answering – in the form of a statement;
Concurring – "I concur";
Rebutting – with contrary evidence, or a logical flaw;
Conceding – "you are right."

How Rebuttal Works

Any claim or argument is open to rebuttal, by:
A. Refuting an argument –
making a new claim which, if true,
makes the other untrue;
B. Disputing a connection in logic –
showing that a supporting argument, though perhaps true,
does not actually support what it is meant to;
C. Naming a fallacy –
pointing out one of the fallacies listed below.

An unaddressed argument remains unresolved
until it is addressed,
and no arbitration may conclude
while unresolved arguments remain on either side.

Arbitration is a full, logical evaluation of a claim,
utilizing all the Protocols of Reason,
with a structure that governs how it proceeds
and how arguments are evaluated.

Whenever Law is being applied,
any party may demand arbitration,
and the other party must engage.

The Principles of Arbitration

1. Freedom of Speech –
each party may speak fully,
until finished, without interruption.
2. Open-Mindedness –
any idea may be presented,
no matter how "crazy" it may sound,
except ideas already presented.
3. Reason –
every argument must be evaluated rationally,
and pursued to its conclusion,
either proven or disproven.
4. The Golden Rule –
"Treat others as you would wish to be treated"
is the standard by which moral arguments are judged.

Types of Arbitration

Upholding Arbitration is held immediately,
wherever the Law is about to be upheld by force.
All activity is halted pending its outcome,
and it is open to all present.
Moral Arbitration is initiated at the Village Council,
for any question about how the Law applies.

An arbitration involves two parties:
a claimant, who makes the claim,
and a defendant, who disputes it.

A Rational Flow Chart is kept,
tracking every argument
and every supporting argument.
It may be kept entirely by memory and speech,
or on paper, if too complex to hold in mind.
Either party has the right
to a written chart, if they request it.

Constructing the Chart

The initial claim is written at the top.
Each supporting argument is written beneath it,
joined to the claim by a line.
Arguments may be abbreviated on the chart,
so long as they are fully discussed aloud.
For each support the defendant wishes to refute,
a separate sheet is used:
the refutation is written at the top,
treated as a claim in its own right,
and charted with its own supports beneath it.

Debunking

When an argument is debunked,
it is crossed out.
Any argument left with no undebunked support
is itself crossed out, and so on, up the chart.

Adding Arguments

If either side thinks of a new argument,
it is added to the chart, whatever the phase,
and the current phase resumes.

An arbitration has three phases:

Phase 1: Claimant-Directed

The claimant directs the discussion,
and the defendant follows the course the claimant sets.
The claimant presents their arguments,
which are recorded on the chart,
and may place the defendant on the Hot Seat.

Phase 2: Defendant-Directed

The defendant directs the discussion,
and the claimant follows the course the defendant sets.
The defendant may cross-examine every one
of the claimant's supporting arguments, one by one,
pursuing every avenue of inquiry they can think of,
and may present counter-arguments of their own,
which are recorded on the chart.
The defendant may place the claimant on the Hot Seat.

Phase 3: Resolution

The parties engage in mutual dialogue,
alternating who speaks,
pursuing every unresolved argument on the chart.
The arbitration does not conclude
until every argument has been properly evaluated.

On the Hot Seat, one party asks questions of the other
to examine their logic.

The questioner directs the flow of the conversation,
and the one on the Hot Seat must follow it,
responding to what is asked, and only what is asked,
without evading, changing the subject,
or adding material beyond what was asked.

Answers must be as simple as possible,
followed by silence, so the questioner may proceed.
The questioner may ask as many questions as they wish
concerning the other's process of logic.

Purpose of the Hot Seat

The Hot Seat examines logic,
not knowledge of facts.
Questions concerning facts may be asked,
but answering them is optional.
Questions concerning the flow
of the other's logic must be answered.

An arbitration is won when:
1. the defendant debunks the claimant's claim,
by debunking all of its supporting arguments; or
2. the defendant runs out of undebunked arguments
against the claimant's claim,
and can produce no more to refute it; or
3. either party violates the rules of debate,
repeatedly and impenitently.

Winning an arbitration
is not about convincing;
it is about maintaining the principles of Reason
the longest.

Any party who:
habitually interrupts the other's speaking;
habitually makes personal attacks against the other;
physically attacks, threatens, or tries to intimidate the other;
refuses to offer support for their claim;
refuses to answer cross-examination;
refuses to concede a refuted argument;
insists on adding new arguments
before previous ones are evaluated;
repeatedly changes the subject or attempts distraction;
or simply refuses to engage in reasoned discussion,
forfeits their entire claim,
and loses the arbitration.

Ignoring someone does not prove them wrong.
Ending a debate is not winning it.
Ignoring an argument is not refuting it.
Changing the subject proves and disproves nothing.
Feeling offended does not make one correct.
Causing offense does not make one wrong.

Powerful does not equal correct.
Armed does not equal correct.
Loud does not equal correct.
Witty does not equal correct.
Angry does not equal correct.
Judgmental does not equal correct.
Good-looking does not equal correct.
Well-dressed does not equal correct.
Popular does not equal correct.
Customary does not equal correct.
Consensus does not equal correct.
Official does not equal correct.
Profitable does not equal correct.
In-demand does not equal correct.
Intimidating does not equal correct.
Skill with insults does not equal correct.
Emotionally compelling does not equal correct.

What happens later in time
cannot be the cause
of what happened earlier.

Since no writing can cover
every detail of every possible situation,
it is essential to listen
to empathy and common sense.

All human rights
are derived from one:
the right to Benign Sovereignty.

Since all rights derive from Benign Sovereignty,
all rights can be extrapolated from it,
and do not intrinsically require enumeration.

However, throughout history,
the right to Benign Sovereignty
has been violated in several specific ways.

For every way in which Benign Sovereignty
has faced widespread historical violation,
a corresponding Human Right is enumerated,
to prevent ambiguity
in the application of Law in that situation.

1. The Right to Benign Sovereignty

Everyone, without exception,
has the natural right, automatically and inalienably,
to be or do absolutely anything,
anywhere, at any time,
provided they do no harm to anyone else.

2. The Right to Physical Integrity

A. To be physically whole, and free from all forms of assault,
unless non-defensively assaulting another;
B. To be free from nonconsensual sexual contact;
C. To be free from nonconsensual anatomical alteration,
except in cases of diagnosed disease or medical emergency
in which consent cannot be discerned.

3. The Right to Freedom of Expression

To ask any question,
to report any observation,
to speak about any experience,
to peacefully express any idea or feeling,
and to criticize any person, opinion, or idea,
without reprisal, retribution, or punishment, nor fear of such.

4. The Right to Freedom of Movement

To be anywhere on Earth,
at any time, for any amount of time,
as long as one's conduct is peaceful.

5. The Right to Freedom of Relationship

To relate with any person
in any mutually consensual way,
in any place or setting, at any time,
with or without the approval of anyone else.

6. The Right to Freedom of Dress

To wear any type of clothing,
to cover any part of one's body,
and to bare any non-infected part of the body,
in any place, setting, or company, at any time.

7. The Right to Freedom of Faith

To practice any faith, religion, or tradition,
in any place, at any time, and in any company,
provided it does not violate the rights of another being,
nor reduce the integrity of the ecosystem.

8. The Right to Freedom of Mind

To cultivate or experiment with
any mental, emotional, or spiritual state,
through personal practice, ritual, or group ceremony,
or by personal ingestion of any mind-altering substance,
provided one performs no action that endangers the safety of others.

9. The Right to Freedom of Medicine

To practice, provide, administer, or instruct
any type of medicine or healing modality
to anyone consenting to receive it,
including the growing, storage,
and responsible distribution
of any species of plant or herb,
or its original, unadulterated extract.

10. The Right to Peace

To be free from:
continuous, abrasive, unnatural noise;
external disturbances to the circadian rhythm;
foul odors in unnatural concentrations;
harmful electromagnetic fields and radiation;
nonconsensual emotional manipulation;
and fear of illegitimate force or violence.
To enjoy continuous peace, in mind and senses,
without interruption, except amid genuine necessity.

11. The Right to Relax

To sit, rest, stretch, recline, lie down, nap, sleep,
meditate, and practice quiet movement meditation,
in any place, in any setting, at any time, in any company,
without harassment or needless interruption.

12. The Right to Take Shelter

To take shelter from the wind, rain, and cold:
A. To use existing shelters when in need;
B. To construct a shelter for oneself and family,
of minimal impact on the ecosystem around it,
adequate in size for the genuine necessities
of sleeping, cooking, bathing, relieving, and storing food.

13. The Right to Clean Water

To drink abundantly
from any body of water,
without fear of pollutants.

14. The Right to Draw Sustenance

A. To responsibly plant, harvest, and store
enough food to meet the nutritional needs
of oneself and one's family;
B. To responsibly forage from non-endangered plants.

15. The Right to a Natural Habitat

To breathe air that is free from pollutants,
and which contains the same chemical ratio
as the atmosphere of the first humans;
and to walk upon a landscape
that is natural to the human species.

16. The Right to Privacy

A. To be secure in one's person and personal effects,
and free from unreasonable searches and seizures;
B. To be free from uninvited and needless intrusions
into one's dwelling.

17. The Right to Property

To own, keep, use, and guard
any artificial object
fashioned by one's own hands,
or acquired honestly and consensually
from the person who fashioned it,
and which does not subject others
to danger, scarcity, or rights-violations.

18. The Right to Equal Opportunity

To have the same access
to arable land and natural resources
as any other individual.

19. The Right to Transparency

To be fully informed and aware of the actions
of anyone whose actions are likely to affect one,
and to be informed of any events or circumstances
that threaten one's rights.

20. The Right to Defense

To use force to protect and defend the basic rights
of oneself, and of any who are unable to defend themselves,
in a situation of already-transpiring rights-violations.

21. The Right to Unconditional Peaceful Liberty

To perform any action one wishes,
whether enumerated in this list or not,
as long as it does not harm
other people, animals, land, water, or air.

Human Rights apply to every person on the entire planet,
whatever their race, color, ethnicity,
sex, age, stature, appearance, ability,
developmental stage, dependency status,
nationality, caste, class, rank, social status,
identity, orientation, religion, creed,
personal preferences,
or any other factor.

When two or more people's rights
appear to conflict with one another,
the more fundamental takes precedence.

The Scale of Fundamentality

from most fundamental to least:

Biological –
oxygen, warmth, water, medicine, food, sleep

Energetic –
cleanliness, rest, tranquility, exercise

Social –
communication, companionship, transportation

Intellectual –
privacy, novelty, entertainment

Definition of Property

A non-sentient object
fashioned by human labor.

Ownership

Ownership originates from creatorship.
Whoever fashions a product is its owner,
until a valid transfer of ownership occurs.
If several people are involved in its production,
each has a share of ownership
equal to their share of the labor.

Ownership Is Relative

No person is an absolute creator of anything,
and with no absolute creatorship,
there is no absolute ownership.
The most that can be said
is that one person's claim to an object
outweighs another's,
under the given circumstances.

Unbroken Sequence of Legitimacy

A person can only give what they have.
One who does not own a thing
has no authority to grant ownership of it to another.
A theft, or any invalid transfer,
occurring anywhere in the sequence of ownership,
voids the legitimacy of all subsequent owners,
even if the later transfers were conducted honestly.

Absolute Non-Ownership

There are three things that no person
may ever, under any circumstance, claim to own:
other people, animals, and land.
No person created any of them,
and so no person was ever their original owner.

Rights of the Owner

The owner of an item of property has the right:
to relocate it, out of shouting distance
from where it was picked up, without anyone's permission;
to hide it, only amid reasonable expectation of theft;
to exclude it from the touch of others,
if, and only if, there is genuine risk of abuse or damage;
to destroy it, only if it is of no practical necessity;
and to transfer its ownership to another.

Shared Tool Usage

Any person who
is known to the owner of a tool,
is competent to use it,
and has shown no disposition to abuse it,
has the right to use it while its owner is not,
so long as they do not deprive the owner of its use,
nor relocate it without the owner's permission or knowledge.

Voidance of Property Rights

Ownership of any object is null, void, and forfeited
if that object's principal function, in theory or in practice,
is to violate the Law.

Automatic Disposal Right

Every person on Earth has the right
to dismantle, destroy, and dispose of
any non-volatile contraband.
Every person competent in the relevant scientific field
has the right to dismantle and dispose of volatile contraband.

Non-Volatile Contraband

Hydraulic fracturing (fracking) equipment;
machines for mountaintop removal;
equipment for adding fluoride to drinking supplies;
shackles, torture devices, cages, barbed wire, prisons;
animal traps that involve cruelty;
automated slaughterhouse machinery;
electric or fuel-powered timber equipment;
lawnmowers (see Title 3: Ecology);
and facilities for manufacturing any contraband object.

Volatile Contraband

Nuclear weapons;
cluster munitions and land mines;
radioactive, chemical, and biological weapons;
facilities for producing bomb-grade plutonium;
laboratories that produce or research bioweapons.

Prohibition on Patents

An invention truly beneficial to society
would be made from care for the community,
whether or not the inventor has a monetary incentive.
An invention made for money
was not made to serve society,
is as likely to degrade society as to help it,
and should not be deliberately incentivized.
Whereas patents infringe upon the rights
to Freedom of Expression and Freedom of Relationship,
and whereas patents serve no positive use,
the restriction of ideas as property is unlawful.

Prohibition on Copyright

Music made with love
touches the eternal soul,
and stays beautiful forever.
Music made for money
grabs attention briefly,
then turns to clutter.
Music made with love
emerges spontaneously,
needing no financial incentive.
There is no benefit to society
in offering monetary incentives
to stimulate the making of music,
and copyright infringes upon the basic rights.
Therefore copyright has no foundation in law.

Definitions

A Personal Territory is a location
in which an individual may lawfully demand privacy.
A Habitation is the basic living facilities
adjoining one or more Personal Territories.
A Dwelling Right is the right to use a Habitation's facilities
continuously, without ongoing negotiation.

Origin of Dwelling Right

Dwelling Right originates from having already dwelt.
A person has the right to continue dwelling
in whatever Habitation they are currently dwelling in,
and the right to dwell
in whatever Habitation they have dwelt in the longest.

Choosing a Personal Territory

A person may choose their own Personal Territory,
provided that it:
1. is not already another person's Personal Territory;
2. is not a shared facility;
3. does not exceed the space needed
for a bed, toilet, shower, and wardrobe,
and room for stationary movement practice
(roughly three times the person's height on each side);
4. does not sit upon an ecologically sensitive patch of flora.

Use of Habitation

Habitation facilities are not Personal Territory,
and are open to all adjoining Personal Territories.
A person may use the facilities
of the Habitation nearest their Personal Territory.

Abandonment and Transfer

If a person is away from their Personal Territory
for longer than they have dwelt in it,
their Dwelling Right to it is forfeited.
A person may transfer their Dwelling Right
by a valid contract, upon which their own right ends.

Definition

A contract is a pair of simultaneous promises,
the binding force of each
conditional upon the fulfillment of the other.

Requirements for All Contracts

1. Conscious: each party is legally sane, lucid, and sober,
having abstained from inebriating substances
for at least twenty-four hours.
2. Informed: each party has all relevant information
known to every other party,
and no pertinent information has been willfully withheld.
3. Voluntary: the contract is not made under any form of duress;
no party threatens or intimidates another,
nor employs anyone to do so,
and no party holds existing power to coerce the other.
4. Appropriately Applied: the contract applies only to those
who are willing parties to it.
A contract is made with someone, not on someone.
5. Lawful: the contract claims no authority
for any activity that is unlawful.

Property Contracts

A contract to transfer ownership of lawful property
may be made verbally or in writing.

Right-Waiver Contracts

A contract to limit or waive the rights of one or more parties
must also be:
written on physical paper, presenting all terms
without arcane or misleading language;
signed and dated by every party it affects;
and limited in time, after which it expires.

Limitations

No contract may waive anyone else's rights,
nor animal rights,
nor the responsibility to respect the Earth.
Contracts regarding alterations to the land are not binding,
for the land is party to no contract.

Nullification

If it is discovered that any required condition
was not fulfilled, the contract is null and void.

Sexual consent is presumed absent unless given.
Once given, it is presumed present unless revoked.
Consent may be revoked at any moment.

The Scale of Contact

1. Entering physical proximity (arm's reach) electively;
2. Conversing electively;
3. Light touch;
4. Fluid contact, including kissing;
5. Intimate touch, for non-medical purposes;
6. Coitus.

When Consent Is Required

Between people who do not know each other's names,
consent to levels 1 and 2 is presumed unless revoked,
and is required for level 3 and beyond.
Between people who know each other's names,
consent to levels 1 through 3 is presumed unless revoked,
and is required for level 4 and beyond.
Between people who have already shared a level with each other,
consent to that level is presumed unless revoked.

How Consent Is Given

Consent is given verbally, by a request or a "yes"
from the one receiving the advance;
or implicitly, by testing the next level
while maintaining eye contact,
from the level immediately preceding it,
the receiver not protesting.

Consent Impossibilities

A prepubescent person cannot consent
to any sexual contact from a postpubescent person.

Definition of Marriage

A sentimental condition,
with no legal or economic ramifications,
wherein a person considers themself married
to another person who shares this consideration.
No one needs anyone's permission to marry,
except the person they are marrying.
Marital status shall not be grounds
for receiving extra economic benefit at the expense of society.

Non-Forcible Opinions

No person is required to recognize any marriage
their conscience does not consider valid,
and no person may force or coerce anyone
into recognizing a marriage.

Ceremonies and Divorce

A valid wedding fulfills the requirements for all contracts.
Any further agreements the couple wishes to carry into marriage
must meet the requirements of a Right-Waiver Contract.
A married person may divorce their partner
with or without anyone else's permission,
upon fulfilling the requirements for all contracts,
unless further conditions were stipulated at the wedding.

No person owns any other person.
Parents do not own their children.
Children are individual, sovereign beings.

It is unfair to place any individual
entirely at the mercy of any other individual.

Caretakers

Children have the right
to be raised by anyone they choose
who agrees to raise them.

Economic Responsibility

The economic responsibility for raising a child
belongs to the entire Village.

Responsible Reproduction

Every person is entitled to bear or sire
enough children to keep the population steady.
Every person is also responsible
for keeping their offspring within the limits
of what Nature can sustainably provide.

Personhood is attained when
a living organism of the human species
develops a nervous system
advanced enough to experience
thought and emotion.

At whatever stage of development
the nervous system attains this,
there is now a new person.

Every person is entitled to all Human Rights.

Rights come from consciousness,
also known as awareness, and life;
being alive means having rights.

Animals are living beings
with a capacity to sense and feel.
They are conscious, and thus, have rights.

All such rights derive from one,
the basic right of all consciousness:
the right to freedom from
deliberate and unnecessary
infliction of suffering
by other beings.

Deliberate – acting with will and intent.
Unnecessary – not required for biological health.

All specific rights of animals
can be logically extrapolated from this right.

A being has as many rights
as types of suffering its species can experience.

Every dimension of perception
a being is capable of experiencing
entitles it to a corresponding right
to protection from suffering in that dimension.

As with human rights,
the enumeration of specifics
is not intrinsically necessary,
but is useful to prevent ambiguity.

The List of Animal Rights

Each right applies to every kind of animal
that would suffer by its violation:

Access to normal food;
access to normal habitat;
freedom to roam, fly, or swim;
the ability to socialize with its own species;
continual access to pair-bonded individuals;
the ability to engage in courtship and mating;
the ability to form the social structure normal to its species;
and freedom from any suffering that would not occur in the wild.

The Law requires us to refrain
from intentionally harming any animal,
unless survival, safety, or health
genuinely necessitate it.

Genuine necessity means:
1. the action is necessary for meeting a real need; and
2. no less harmful way of meeting that need is available; and
3. information concerning the truth of the first two
flows freely.

Non-Needs

Fun, habit, taste,
fashion, prestige,
pleasure, curiosity,
tradition, preference,
social status, and entertainment
do not constitute genuine necessity.

For the Compassionate Imperative to be satisfied,
three criteria must be met:

1. Honest Evaluation

Anyone exploiting an animal from necessity
must, to the best of their ability, know:
A. the experience of the animals involved.
One who harms an animal
may not willingly shield themself
from knowledge of the suffering they cause,
and must make a good-faith effort, on an ongoing basis,
to witness and learn about that suffering,
for as long as they continue to take part in it;
B. the authenticity of the claimed necessity.
One who harms an animal
may not willingly shield themself
from the arguments calling that necessity into question.

2. Choice of Least Harm

If exploitation is genuinely necessary,
one must choose the option with the highest ratio
of need fulfilled to suffering caused.
This involves:
A. using the least neurologically advanced species;
B. choosing the least painful and restrictive conditions;
C. consuming only the amount truly necessary;
D. searching, all the while, for ways to meet the need
with less suffering, or none.
These may at times pull against each other,
but a good-faith effort must be made
to find the combination that causes the least suffering.

3. Transparency to Investigation

While engaged in any activity
that causes, incentivizes, or benefits from
the harmful exploitation of living creatures,
a person's right to privacy concerning that activity
is suspended, and they must answer questions
about their Honest Evaluation
and their Choice of Least Harm,
adhering to the protocols of Rationality.
Such questioning may be performed by anyone
who follows the protocols of Title 4: Upholdment.
All exploitation of animals
is automatic grounds for Investigative Reminding.

One simple rule:
you may if you need to,
but you have to try not to.

The natural diet of humanity is plants,
unless there is a nutrient that cannot be acquired
sufficiently from the plant sources available.

This determination may be made by you, the individual,
but only with open information,
and without censorship of ideas
that call the determination into question.

If you believe you need animal products
for adequate nutrition, you may use them,
but must also, at the same time:
1. remain open to information that disputes that belief;
2. choose sources that involve the least suffering;
3. search for plant-based ways to obtain what you need.

Overconsumption

It is unlawful to consume more meat
than is genuinely useful for nutrition.
Whenever you want to eat meat, ask yourself:
does this desire come from my body (need)
or from my mind (want)?
If it is only a want, eating it is unlawful.
If it is a need, eating it is lawful, provided
you consume no more than you need,
and choose the least neurologically evolved species
whose meat can fulfill that need.

Whereas it is unlawful
to inflict harm or pain
voluntarily and deliberately,
except from utmost necessity:

Animal Fighting

Fighting animals for sport is unlawful.

Racing and Performing

It is unlawful to race animals or use them for entertainment,
if the discipline required for their performance
involves the infliction of pain, physical or emotional.

Zoos and Aquariums

Zoos, aviaries, fishtanks, and aquariums are unlawful,
except where the species is endangered,
and confinement is necessary to protect it
and to breed and replenish its population.

Sport Hunting

The purpose of hunting and fishing
is to fulfill nutritional needs
that cannot otherwise be fulfilled.
Any other reason is motivated by sadism,
and so hunting for sport or trophies is unlawful.
Driving hooks through the mouths of fish
as a pastime, with no intention to eat them,
is unlawful.

Skins and Furs

It is unlawful to incentivize
the taking of animal skins or furs
where other affordable materials
are available and adequate to the same function.

For whatever purpose an animal is raised or kept,
it must be treated with respect and honor.
Whether for eggs, dairy, labor, or any other purpose,
the animal must be treated as a family member,
its comfort taken into serious account.
Uncomfortable living quarters must be avoided,
and the animal must be able to engage
in all behaviors natural to its species.

Cages

Long-term confinement in a cage is unlawful.
Cages may only be used for short-term needs,
such as carrying an animal on public transportation,
and the animal must be accompanied by its caretaker,
never left alone.

Chains and Rope

A chain or rope earns the same status as a cage
the moment it restricts a living being.
Any rope tied to a living being nonconsensually
warrants being cut.

Fences and Pens

A pen must hold a full social unit,
at a density low enough to keep its grass cover.

Social Integrity

It is unlawful to forcibly separate and keep apart
a mammal or bird from its bonded social unit,
be it flock, herd, pack, pride, family, or tribe.

Animal-Based Food Production

All animal-based food production
is managed at the village level,
one herd per species per village.
It is done by personal care, never by automation;
on public land, never in secret,
open at all times to public visitors.
Every animal product is labeled
with how much of the animal's life
each serving represents.

Vivisection

Human vivisection is universally recognized as torture.
Animal vivisection is therefore also torture,
and is unlawful.

The quality that makes animals valued as test subjects
is their likeness to us,
but that likeness means they share our rights.
The argument for testing is: "They are similar."
The argument for ignoring their pain is: "They are different."
To the extent that they are useful subjects,
they are possessors of rights;
to the extent that they are not possessors of rights,
they are not useful subjects.
The logic of vivisection contradicts itself.

Corrosivity Experiments

If a substance is corrosive,
we already know that contact with it should be avoided.
No useful knowledge comes from such experiments,
and they are unlawful.

Drug Experimentation

The biochemistry and anatomy of animals
differ from those of humans in unpredictable ways,
so information from testing drugs on animals
is not reliable.

Research by Observation

Observation is lawful, when done in the animal's natural habitat.
Taken out of its habitat, an animal's behavior becomes unnatural,
and no longer useful for research.

Not Property

Living beings are not property,
so it is unlawful to consider oneself the owner of an animal.
It is lawful to consider oneself
its friend, guardian, caretaker, steward, or custodian,
in service to the animal's wellbeing.
As only property can be sold,
it is unlawful to sell an animal.
Shelters for lost or abandoned animals
may charge adoption fees to cover their costs.

Voluntary Relationship

Do not keep a companion animal imprisoned in a cage or pen.
Keep its nearness through mutual affection only.
If this does not work, the animal does not belong with you.

Adoption

When adopting, do not separate families by force;
there is a difference between adoption and abduction.
Treat adoption as an offer to the animal.
First, befriend it, and see whether it likes you,
before planning the rest of its life.
Next, lead it to your home on foot,
so that it knows the way back to its home and family,
and can return there whenever it wishes.
Finally, keep your home open for the animal to leave.
If an animal in a shelter or store has no family,
you may take it directly home,
but must still leave it free to go.

The planet is an organism.
Like any organism,
it is self-regulating,
and able to heal itself.

But resilience is not invincibility.
There are parameters and conditions
necessary for its survival and stability.
The parameters necessary for a planet's survival
are intrinsically and automatically
Law upon that planet.

A planet is a Host.
A civilization is a Guest.
A guest must respect their host
to remain worthy of hospitality.

No person, group, or institution
can ever hold any authority to override
the Law of the planet on which they reside.

The Prime Directive

Let it be.
Let the planet be.
Do not reduce Ecological Integrity
unless absolutely necessary.

Ecological Integrity

In all decisions affecting the Earth's biological systems,
the Law requires the course of action
that maximizes Ecological Integrity,
which has three factors:
1. Animate surface area –
the area of ground on which flora can grow;
2. Biodiversity –
the number of species interacting in the ecosystem;
3. Purity –
the absence of unnatural contaminants
in soil, water, and air.

The Three Forms of Ecological Degradation

1. Dis-animation –
converting a surface from animate to inanimate;
2. Eco-reduction –
reducing the number of species in the ecosystem;
3. Pollution –
contamination, chemical or otherwise,
that damages the ecosystem.

Since survival requires some degree of ecological impact,
exemption from the Three Factors may be warranted
if all three Exemption Criteria are met:

1. the proposed action is necessary
to meet genuine needs;
2. no less harmful alternative exists;
3. council has been held, with the people of the place,
to determine the truth of the first two.

Genuine Needs

These are the needs that can potentially justify
the alteration of land:
full nutrition; clean, accessible water;
adequate temperature; comfortable sleeping;
convenient defecation; cleanliness and bathing;
protection from predators and insects;
medicine; social gathering;
and facilities for producing the tools or energy
necessary to fulfill these needs.

Land shall only be altered if doing so is wise.
To determine whether an alteration is wise,
council must be held to debate it.

Where

A Land Council is held
at the location of the proposed alteration.

Who

Decisions about land
rightfully belong to those
who are closest to the land.
In matters of land use, the land itself has the final say,
and those with the closest relationship to the land
have the final say in interpreting what that is.

Requirements

Anyone likely to be affected
is informed of the council, with ample notice.
Minds must be as clear as possible
before deliberation begins.
All arguments must be rationally evaluated.
Speech must be free, open, and uninterrupted.

In chronological order:
1. The time and location are announced in the local Village.
2. The council meets at the site of the proposed alteration.
3. Attendance is open to all.
4. Group meditation, seated in a circle on the ground,
to clear minds and get in touch with the Earth
before making decisions about the Earth.
5. An expression of reverence for the Earth,
such as kissing the ground or embracing a tree.
6. Discussion:
a. The proposer explains the proposal,
with time to explain all they believe needs explaining.
b. Questions are taken, as many as anyone has,
until all have been asked.
c. The chair asks: Is this alteration eco-benevolent?
Does it re-animate or dis-animate land?
Does it increase or decrease biodiversity?
Does it keep the land pure, or pollute it?
d. These are answered by arbitration,
according to the protocols of Rationality.
If eco-benevolent, proceed to the vote.
If degrading, continue:
e. Is the degradation necessary for meeting genuine needs?
Arbitration. If no, the project is rejected, and the council ends.
f. Is there a less harmful way to meet these needs?
Arbitration. If yes, the project is rejected, and the council ends.
If no, proceed to the vote.
7. A concluding meditation.
8. The vote is taken.

For a council's approval to be valid,
every step must be followed.

The people who live closest to a place
are the most intimately familiar with it,
and thus most qualified to evaluate proposals affecting it.
Voting power is a function of proximity:

V = T ÷ D

V – the number of points a person's vote is worth;
T – the length of time they have dwelt nearby;
D – the distance of their dwelling from the place.

Supermajority

Land alterations require a two-thirds supermajority;
without it, no alteration is made.
All decisions must respect the Earth.
No person or group, not even a Land Council,
has any authority to violate the Hard Rules.

Appeals

Land Council decisions may be appealed
to the Village Council, at its regular meeting,
and from there to the Township, City, Regional,
and finally the High Council,
as each is willing to hear the dispute.
Only approvals of alterations may be appealed.
Rejections may not.
No greater level of social organization
may impose a land alteration upon an unwilling Village,
though it may overrule a Village's desire to alter the land.
If a higher council overrules a Village's plan
to alter land to meet its needs,
it must provide an alternative
that meets those needs with less ecological harm;
otherwise, it may not overrule.

Whereas the Hard Rules are non-negotiable,
exceptions may be made to the Soft Rules,
but only with the approval of a Land Council.

Trees

It is unlawful to fell any tree without Land Council approval.
Such council must be held at the foot of the tree in question.
No Land Council may approve the felling
of more than one tree per meeting.
Felling means cutting the trunk or any major branch,
digging that gravely disrupts the root system,
or building a structure that blocks most of its sunlight.

Construction

Except for temporary dwellings, such as tents and yurts,
it is unlawful to build anything upon living soil
without Land Council approval.

Digging and Mining

No material may be removed from the ground
without Land Council approval.

Water

It is unlawful to alter the course of any river or stream
without Land Council approval.

Any activity that endangers the whole planet,
or eliminates entire ecosystems,
is universally unlawful, anywhere, at any time,
and beyond the authority of any Land Council to approve.

Fracking

It is unlawful to inject chemicals into the ground,
or to attack the structural integrity of the planet's crust.
All hydraulic fracturing equipment is contraband.

Strip Mining and Mountaintop Removal

It is unlawful to destroy the land's ability to support life.
All equipment for this purpose is contraband.

Dams

It is unlawful to dam a river so far
that entire ecosystems or villages are flooded and eliminated.
Existing dams must have fish ladders
that accommodate the largest aquatic animals
historically known to travel the river;
if this cannot be done, the dam must be dismantled.

Slashing and Burning

It is unlawful to deliberately set fire
to any forest, grassland, or brushland,
for any reason whatsoever.

Clear-Cutting

It is unlawful to cut two or more adjacent trees,
or any tree on the edge of the forest canopy.
It is unlawful to produce, distribute, or possess
machinery that expedites such destruction,
including all electric or fuel-powered timber machinery.

Backbone Species

It is unlawful to cut a healthy, mature, native tree
of a species that forms the backbone of its ecosystem.

Endangered Species

It is unlawful to harm any animal or plant
of any conservation status beyond Least Concern
on the IUCN scale.

Weapons of Mass Destruction

It is unlawful to knowingly participate in, or support,
the construction, assembly, research, development, or testing
of nuclear, chemical, or biological weapons, or their parts.
All facilities used for this purpose
are mandated for immediate dismantling.

Nuclear Reactors

It is unlawful to construct new nuclear reactors,
or to mine or refine nuclear fuel.
Existing reactors may continue to use existing fuel,
until it is spent, or until safe sources mature to replace them.

Hazardous Waste

It is unlawful to export hazardous waste for storage.
All nuclear waste must be stored within the district
for which it provided energy.
All exported nuclear waste shall be returned
to the district that used it,
which is responsible for its storage in perpetuity.

Genetic Corruption of Organisms

No organism may be genetically altered
if it could contaminate the gene pool
of non-modified individuals
by breeding with them without further human assistance.

Particle Experiments

Any device capable of producing black holes or strangelets
shall be considered a weapon of mass destruction,
and placed under planetary custody.
No such experiment may be performed
without approval by a majority of the human population.

Pollution

It is unlawful to dump artificial or dangerous chemicals
into the water or the soil.
Any facility that deliberately does this
is warranted for immediate dismantling.

Crimes Against Nature

Whoever deliberately violates any Hard Rule
is guilty of a Crime Against Nature.

Land is our home, not our property.

A member of an organization
cannot own the organization of which they are a member.
As a member of the ecosystem,
a human being may not own the ecosystem.
The finger cannot own the hand;
a person cannot own the land.

The greatest legal authority
anyone may unilaterally exercise upon land
is that of a Steward,
guarding and caring for the land's health.

Instead of ownership,
there are specific rights for specific uses,
from most universal to most specific:
1. Presence
2. Foraging
3. Hunting
4. Stewardship
5. Agriculture
6. Territorialization
7. Construction
8. Extraction

All of these, except Presence and Foraging,
are determined by the local Village.
Minerals, once extracted, belong to the human race.

Presence

A person may walk anywhere on Earth, so long as they
do not trample plants clearly planted by someone,
take genuine care not to step on sensitive plants,
do not walk on an especially sensitive patch of ground,
and do not enter anyone's legitimate Personal Territory.

Foraging

Foraging is picking and eating directly,
carrying nothing away, except in one's stomach.
All people have the right to forage any botanical fruit,
meaning any part of a plant that is botanically a fruit,
even if it is eaten as a vegetable.
All people have the right to forage any other part of a plant,
so long as the species is not endangered,
and no crippling amount is taken from any one plant.
After foraging from a plant someone else planted,
the forager must make a good-faith effort
to help replenish what was taken,
unless meeting the planter would endanger the forager
because the planter does not acknowledge the Law.

Plucking

Plucking is foraging that seriously damages or kills a plant.
A person may pluck a food plant only if
they have the right to harvest it,
or they are starving, and no ordinary forage is available.

Hunting

The local Village decides whether hunting is allowed,
and if so, how much.
If a species is in danger of being extirpated from an area
by excessive hunting or gathering,
a system of regulation and licensing may be used.
If such a system already exists and is not corrupt,
it may continue, with lawful authority.

Land Stewardship

Stewardship is deliberate but non-destructive change to land
that is not dis-animation, eco-reduction, or pollution,
and does not impede the movement of people or animals:
moving or carving rocks by hand;
shaping soil without powered machines;
chopping naturally fallen trees;
planting flora that does not reduce biodiversity;
caring for trees and shrubs;
keeping up existing footpaths;
making bridges of organic material;
making decorations and small shrines.
Stewardship involves no machines.
If machines are involved, the activity is a major alteration,
subject to Land Council.

Origin of the Stewardship Right

This right belongs to one person:
whoever has shown the most love for the land,
and the most competence in caring for it.
If more than one person claims it, these are weighed:
the length of time dwelling near the place;
the closeness of their sleeping space to it;
actions displaying love, such as planting or cleaning litter;
the condition of the land under their care;
and respect for the land, shown by keeping the Law.
Stewardship applies only to the area
immediately adjacent to one's dwelling.

All food production shall follow
Maximum Localization and Maximum Diversification.

Maximum Localization

All food shall be grown as near as possible
to where it is to be eaten.
Every household shall have its own garden
sufficient for its nutritional needs,
or be within walking distance of a shared garden that is.
Food shall not be transported long distances, except:
food that cannot grow in the local climate,
not even in a greenhouse;
while waiting for local crops of the same kind to mature;
or in famine, disaster, or humanitarian emergency.

Maximum Diversification

If a row of crops is so long and tedious
that heavy machinery is needed to farm it,
there are too many crops in a row.
It is unlawful to design farms as monocrops.
Food shall be grown in forest-garden arrangements,
different plants interspersed with one another,
woven between dwellings, throughout the village.
All existing monocrop fields shall be reduced in size each year,
and either converted into forest gardens
or regenerated into natural, mature forest.

Planting and Harvesting

Any person may plant any food plant
anywhere it will not harm or compete with another's planting,
unless that person gives permission.
A person may tend any plant they planted,
or have permission to tend.
Harvesting is picking and storing for later.
The right to harvest a plant comes from having planted it.

Territorialization is the right to decide
who may enter or tread upon a piece of ground,
and to remove anyone who does not respect this.

The size of a territory
is the area of a circle of diameter V × H,
where H is one's height, from toe-tips to fingertips,
and V is a number set by the Village,
at least 1.5 and no greater than 5,
applying equally to all its residents.
Where territories are stacked in storeys,
the area may be multiplied by S,
the number of storeys.

A person is entitled to one territory.
It must be contiguous,
but need not be round.
A person may choose any location
not already claimed as another's territory,
and not designated a Sacred Space.
A Council at any level may declare
a Sacred Space within its jurisdiction.

Definition of a Building

Any affixment to land
of artificial products or substances
that cover the soil and deprive it of flora.

All architecture on Earth
must use the most advanced ecotechnology
available at the time of planning:
the art of providing for human needs
with as little impact on Nature as possible.

Every new building must meet these conditions:

1. Necessity – land is dis-animated only if the building
serves a genuine need.
2. Surface-Area Efficiency – it dis-animates no more land than its function requires,
or its function allows more land to be reforested.
3. Energy Efficiency – it uses natural heating and cooling,
shares climate control, and uses water efficiently.
4. Efficiency of Materials – it is built of the least damaging materials,
recycled and reused wherever possible.
5. Blending In – it blends with the ecosystem around it,
cuts no mature trees, and disturbs no sensitive area.
Build in the ecosystem, not on it.
6. Beauty – it aligns with the surrounding energy of the place,
draws on the building wisdom of the ancients,
and is pleasing to behold, pass by, and live in.
7. Green Roofing – it is small enough not to break the forest canopy,
or its unused roof is covered with soil and plants.
8. Shareability – it is open to be shared by as many as possible,
minimizing the need to build duplicates.

Building Space Allocation

Unnecessary duplication of facilities
strains the ecosystem,
so all facilities shall be shared to the extent reasonable,
and it is unlawful to use land surface
for a facility that is unnecessarily duplicative.
Facilities stacked in storeys upon others
use no extra land, and are not so restricted.

Location and Waiting Period

A building's location requires the approval
of both the Village Council and a Land Council.
Before building any permanent dwelling,
a person must first live on their territory
in a tent, yurt, or tipi for at least one season.

Footpaths

Footpaths are the paths most natural to humanity,
and most preferred by the planet.
They are made by walking, and need no machinery.
Wherever enough people walk, footpaths form.
If a path requires machinery to make,
it is by definition not a footpath.
Tools may be used to smooth existing footpaths.
A village is, by definition, compact enough to walk,
so the only pathways within a village are footpaths.

RoadRails

All new roads must combine several kinds of transit,
layered over the same space.
A RoadRail is an elevated railway
over a paved way for bicycles, scooters, and vehicles.
Every RoadRail shall be:
elevated; quiet; paved underneath;
fitted with chargers at every stop;
narrow enough for an unbroken tree canopy above it;
shaped to the contours of the land;
non-intrusive, felling no large mature trees,
crossing no old-growth forest,
and passing around villages, never through them;
consensual, approved by every steward
of the land it crosses;
and, where funds are short,
built in stages, the lower way first.
Wherever fenced, it must let small animals pass freely,
with living land-bridges for large animals
at every kilometer.

Automobile Roads

It is unlawful to build new stand-alone automobile roads.
Existing roads of two lanes or fewer may be maintained.
Highways of three or more undivided lanes
are scars upon the Earth,
unlawful to build or maintain,
and shall be dismantled or reduced to two lanes.

Air Travel

The purpose of air travel is to cross large bodies of water.
All new routes over dry land
shall be footpaths or RoadRails.
Existing air routes over land may continue
during the transition to surface travel,
but no new routes over land shall be established.
New airports may be built only beside the shoreline
of the water they are meant to cross.

Sustainable Management

As resources are finite,
a community may establish a Sustainable Management Authority,
elected by all who depend upon the resource,
to manage its use on behalf of them and their posterity.

Water

It is unlawful to irrigate in a way
that permanently depletes existing bodies of water.
Anyone who depends on a body of water
has a say in its use.

Energy

People may install renewable, non-disruptive energy devices
on, or within a stone's throw of, their own habitation.
Villages may build energy infrastructure for their own use,
and every village shall aim to be energy self-sufficient.
Existing long-distance grids may be maintained, but not expanded.
All power lines run along RoadRails,
and underground within a village.

Fossil Fuels

The purpose of fossil fuels
is to power civilization temporarily,
until clean, renewable energy matures.
Fossil fuels are not for economic growth.
Unsustainable, fossil-fuel-based growth
shall cease immediately and completely,
and shall not resume until it can be sustained.
Meanwhile, existing energy and farming networks
may continue, to keep society stable.

Planetization of Fossil Fuels

The planet's remaining fossil-fuel resources and infrastructure
are placed under the collective management of the human race,
on behalf of all people on Earth.
This is not an entitlement to use them,
but to an equal share of the benefit, if they are used.
All future revenue from fossil fuels
shall go to the research, development, and production
of clean, renewable energy.

Moratorium on Mining

No mineral may be mined
until it has been recovered from every accessible landfill,
and that supply is exhausted.
It is unlawful to open a new mine
for a mineral that can still be supplied by recycling.

Compulsory Recycling

All refuse shall be recycled;
there shall be no more dumps or landfills.

Responsibility for Recycling

Any company that sells non-biodegradable products
in an area without the means to recycle them
is responsible for collecting and recycling them.
If a product is too costly to recycle,
it shall not be manufactured in the first place.

Organic Waste

All non-hazardous organic waste
shall be returned to the soil,
unenclosed by any non-organic container.
Existing sewage systems may be maintained, but not expanded.

Suppression of Regeneration

It is unlawful to deliberately suppress
the natural regeneration of an ecosystem
for any reason other than genuine sustenance.
All land deprived of its natural forest,
and not serving a useful function for the community,
must be allowed to regenerate
into its natural mature forest.

Lawns

A lawn that people play on
needs no machine to keep it short,
because the playing does that job.
A lawn played on enough to justify mowing
needs no mowing, because of the playing.
If a lawn requires mowing,
it is not played on enough to justify it.

Anyone physically capable
may uphold the Law,
provided they follow the protocols set out here.

If a person upholds the Law improperly,
they are committing violence of their own,
are fully accountable for it,
and may themselves be placed under Protective Custody.

All upholding that uses force
is subject to rational arbitration,
before the action,
or after it, in emergencies.

The Degrees of Upholdment

Degree 1: Preemptive Reminding
Degree 2: Investigative Reminding
Degree 3: Active Deprogramming
Degree 4: On-Site Detention
Degree 5: Sequestration

Degrees 4 and 5
are the only degrees that use force.

Except in emergencies,
all upholding begins at Degree 1,
and progresses through the degrees,
one by one, as necessary.

When

Under general suspicion
that a person does not acknowledge the Law,
or some part of it.

How

Steer an existing conversation toward the subject,
or raise it by asking an opener question:
"Where does law come from?"
"What is the source of morality?"
"Have you heard of natural law?
What do you think about it?"

Give them a written copy of the Law,
and invite them to read it.
Ask them what they think of it.

Remember to smile.

When

If a person is suspected
of a specific intention and plan
to violate the Law.

How

First, learn the nature of the action:
1. Approach politely and respectfully,
with empathic awareness.
2. Ask them to explain what they are doing,
have done, or intend to do.
3. Remind them of the part of the Law
they may be intending to violate.
4. Allow them to explain their justification.
5. Arbitrate, if either party requests it.

If the person acknowledges the Law,
but the lawfulness of their intention is unclear,
the matter shall be arbitrated,
and the activity halted until it has passed arbitration.

If their action is unjustified,
explain the Law and its purpose,
ask them to stop,
and, if possible, offer them an alternative.

If they refuse to wait for arbitration,
or refuse to acknowledge the Law at all,
or refuse even to discuss the matter rationally,
proceed to Degree 3.

When

If it is certain that a person intends
to violate the Law in a specific way,
but has not yet done so;
or if a person refuses to cooperate with investigation.

How

Remind them of the Law, repeatedly,
both in speech and in writing,
without force or intimidation.
Be respectful, but firm.
Give them written copies of the Law.
Speak to them as they come and go.
Call upon them at their home,
no more than once in a day.
Deliver respectful, personally written letters to them.

The Deprogrammer's Etiquette

1. Do not interrupt their sleep or their meals.
2. Do not intrude on intimate moments.
3. Do not enter their bodily space;
stay beyond arm's length.
4. Do not glare, shout, insult, threaten,
or deliberately make them uncomfortable in any way.
5. Obviously, do no harm.

If they maintain their intention,
continue until they acknowledge the Law.
If they go ahead and commit the violation,
verifiably, or its commission is imminent,
and no time remains to talk,
proceed to Degree 4.

(brief Protective Custody)

When

If a person actually commits violence;
or if a person threatens to use illegitimate force
that would cause irreparable physical injury to another.

How

1. Speak these words:
"By the authority of Planet Earth,
and on behalf of all Life hereupon,
I am placing you under Protective Custody.
All of your basic rights will be respected,
but you may not roam at large
until you acknowledge the Law of the Earth."
2. Use proportionate force,
sufficient to secure their surrender.
The force used must not exceed
what is necessary to secure surrender,
nor be disproportionate
to the severity of the act it answers.
(Steps 1 and 2 may be performed together.)
3. Bring them safely to a quiet place nearby, if necessary.
4. Deprogram them, by rationally explaining the Law,
and why it is necessary.

If they do not respond to deprogramming,
still constitute a danger to others,
and all conversation has been exhausted,
proceed to Degree 5.

(extended Protective Custody)

When

If all efforts to deprogram on site are exhausted;
or if the place is no longer suitable to hold them safely.

The Custodial Village

Sequestration takes place in a Custodial Village:
a protected area, resembling a traditional village,
inhabited by others also under Protective Custody.
Every Township should have one.
A person is held in the Custodial Village
of the Township where the violation occurred,
not transferred far away.
Its lifestyle is simple and natural,
lived outdoors, except in dwelling spaces.

Its Purpose

To give the opportunity
to keep living and evolving,
without access to the means of violence.

What Happens in Sequestration

1. All Human Rights are respected.
2. All basic needs are provided for.
3. Living conditions are warm and comfortable.
4. The environment is quiet, serene, and natural.
5. Food is healthy, organic, and nutritionally balanced.
6. Socializing with fellow residents and visitors is unrestricted.
7. There are no punishments, no forced labor,
and no degrading treatment of any kind.
8. Residents keep their own living spaces,
and grow their own food, if able-bodied.
9. The Bill of Human Rights is displayed at the center,
so no one forgets their rights,
and no guardian commits abuse.
10. Life is relearned in a safe, natural environment.

The goal is healing, not punishment.

A person is held until it is safe to release them,
as set out in Grace.

When the victim is human,
restitution goes to the victim.

When the victim is an animal,
restitution is paid through service
to the general care of animals of that species.

When the victim is the ecosystem,
restitution is paid by undoing the damage,
and replanting the flora that were destroyed.

The Law of the Earth
applies to every single person
who lives, will live, or has ever lived.
Nothing can exempt a person from the Law.

Free Will

All persons are endowed with free will.
All persons are responsible for their own choices.
If an action is deliberate and voluntary,
it is, by definition, a choice,
and choosing to violate the Law
creates accountability for doing so.

Commanding, demanding, or ordering a crime
creates the same accountability as committing it.

Included in the accountability for any crime
is every person who gave willful assent to it.
Voting for the commission of a crime
is a form of willful assent to it.
Speaking in favor of a crime
is a form of willful assent to it.

Conditions that have at times been misconstrued
as granting exemption or immunity from the Law
shall no longer be so construed,
nor as granting any authority to violate it.

Such conditions include:
clothing, uniforms, badges,
membership in organizations,
offices, titles, names, identities,
documents, orders, instructions,
insignia, charms, wands, amulets,
traditions, customs, routines, habits,
appointments, elections, group consensus,
mass delusions, hysterias, belief systems,
and the like.

It is unlawful to claim,
or to teach others to claim,
that any of these conditions
exempts anyone from the Law.

Obedience Is Not an Excuse

"I was just following orders"
is not a valid excuse for abuse,
unless done under duress,
under a credible threat of retribution
equal to or greater than the crime itself
for refusing to carry out the order.

In all of history,
no act has ever been performed by
a nation, a government, a corporation,
or any organization.

Every act is performed by a person,
and whenever an unlawful act is performed,
the person who performed it is accountable for it.

The job of government
is to uphold the Law, not to create it.

A government is composed of people,
and people are not exempt from the Law;
therefore government is not above the Law.

Since government is not above the Law,
it may not compel or encourage
any violation of it.

If legislation violates the Law,
the legislation itself is unlawful,
and anyone enforcing it is in violation of the Law.

An arrest carried out on behalf of unlawful legislation
is a false arrest,
and anyone making a false arrest
may lawfully be placed in Protective Custody.

If a person is arrested
for an action that is not a crime,
it is not a crime to resist that arrest.

Power and Authority

Power plus morality equals authority.
If it is only power, it is not authority.
Respecting authority is not a moral obligation
when that authority is immoral.

Upholding the Law pertains
only to stopping crime from occurring,
not to punishing crimes already committed.

Lawful force
is always defensive,
a response to a present event.

And a committed crime
is, by definition, in the past.

Therefore, punishment for a past crime
is, by definition, non-defensive,
and non-defensive force is unlawful.

Nor does punishment deter future crime,
for fear does not eliminate malevolence;
it merely drives it from one place to another.

Thus, punishment has no basis in Law.

Vengeance is unlawful,
everywhere and always,
no matter who performs it.

Penitence cannot be forced.
Disrespect does not teach respect.
Indignity does not teach dignity.
Domination does not educate.
Fear does not rekindle empathy.
Isolation does not promote pro-social thought.
And the suffering of one
does not restore what was lost by another.

The only reason to take forceful action against someone
is to prevent them from violating the Law.
There is no other lawful reason.

What truly reforms
is not fear, but healing.

The occupation of a penitent
is to practice the Healing Process.
Correction and rehabilitation
come through the restoration
of the person's original spiritual blueprint.

Granted:
someone who commits a crime,
and is impenitent about it,
can be assumed willing to do so again,
and may thus present a danger to others.

And:
dangerous persons may be held in custody
to protect others.

But nevertheless:
such custody may involve no restriction,
pain, or suffering
beyond what is necessary to keep the person secure,
and every feasible means should be used
to facilitate and encourage the Healing Process.

Justice cannot be found in the past,
and can only be protected in the present.

Reimbursement, restitution, reparation,
and restoration to natural stations of equality
are within the purview of Law,
as they affect the present.

But punishment for punishment's sake
contributes nothing to any good in the present,
and so vengeance has no basis in,
or relevance to, the Law.

Execution Prohibited

Since execution is, by definition,
the killing of someone already in custody,
its purpose is not to prevent further violations.
The only purpose of execution is vengeance,
and so it is unlawful to perform.

Sentencing Prohibited

Since a sentence is meant to apply to the future,
regardless of the moral development of the person sentenced,
its purpose is not to prevent further violations.
A person could be held despite regaining sanity,
or released despite continued insanity,
and so a sentence has no relation to keeping anyone safe,
and its only purpose is punitive,
and therefore unlawful.

Those in Protective Custody are not "sentenced."
Custody ends
when the Conditions for Release are met.

A person who deliberately violates the Law
is, by definition, insane.
A person who is sane
will not violate the Law.
If a person regains sanity,
there is no further reason to keep them in custody.

The Three Affirmations of Sanity

Acceptance of all three Affirmations
is an uncompromisable criterion for legal sanity,
and so for the right to live among others unsupervised.

1. Everyone is sovereign;
no one owns anyone else;
no one is anyone's property;
no person is a deity over any other;
and no person has the authority to impose
their personal will or desires on others by force.

2. Animals are living beings,
with a capacity to sense and to feel.

3. The health of the ecosystem is paramount;
without it, its importance cannot even be debated,
because there would be no people to debate it.

Any person who denies any of the three Affirmations,
after being presented with them,
has shown themself to be legally insane.

A person in Protective Custody is released
when all of the following are fulfilled:

1. They affirm the Three Affirmations of Sanity.
2. They can explain why they did what they did,
in a way that makes sense,
though the logic behind it was necessarily flawed.
3. They can explain why it was wrong:
why the Law they broke is true and valid,
why it is necessary,
and why they must follow it from now on.
4. They genuinely understand,
and are not pretending.
5. They provide or promise restitution to their victims,
in full, or as fully as they are able.
6. They no longer constitute a danger to others,
and promise never again to commit the same violation.

The council of the community
in which the violation occurred,
and which was affected by it,
must debate the person's release,
with full Rationality,
at least once every:

week – for Class 1 violations
(petty theft, simple assault);
month – for Class 2 violations
(battery, reckless endangerment);
season – for Class 3 violations
(unauthorized ecological degradation, major battery);
year – for Class 4 violations
(homicide, torture, rape,
catastrophic ecological damage).

This is not a requirement to release,
but to debate release.
Debate may be held more often, at any time.

Custody for each class may last
no longer than ten times its review interval,
except for Class 4, which has no maximum.

Given that the human race
is emerging from a dark age
of great oppression and ignorance,
it is understandable that many people
now hold a distorted view of law and morality.

Whereas human beings have been
misled, deceived, and bombarded with propaganda,
threatened, traumatized, and divided,
and have had the Law obscured from their vision
from infancy through adulthood,
it is in the interest of the planet
to declare a one-time Global Jubilee.

All Debt Discharged

Every person is offered
a one-time jubilee of total forgiveness,
for all crimes and debts,
financial and karmic, public and private.

When the Jubilee Is Claimed

The Jubilee may be claimed once,
upon first receiving the Law of the Earth,
and formally declaring acknowledgement of it, in public.

The Period It Covers

From the day a person was born,
until the day they were first introduced to the Law.

The Jubilee does not release from custody
anyone whose freedom would endanger others.
It frees them from the debts
incurred from and during their insanity.

A person held in Protective Custody
must still fulfill the Conditions for Release,
but the restitution owed for violations
committed before their Jubilee
is discharged.

To Be Forgiven, Forgive

Since the Law includes the Jubilee,
accepting the Law includes forgiving the debts
of others who accept the Law.

After the Jubilee

A person is fully liable
for all debts and violations
incurred after their first introduction to the Law.

All future activities
shall be conducted in a spirit
of mutual cooperation.

Rekindle faith and trust
in the generosity of a healthy society,
and the bounty of the living soil.

Thank you for being sane.