Instant repeal

An instant repeal (or "insta-repeal," as it's commonly called) refers to a repeal submitted immediately after the passage of a resolution. Oftentimes multiple repeals of a recently passed resolution will appear on the proposal list, but the term "instant repeal" is usually limited to those proposals backed by a coordinated effort to reach quorum quickly so that the effects of a resolution will not be felt over the long term. Traditionally the instant repeal was only used against especially controversial resolutions, but its applicability has broadened in recent years. Despite the historical unpopularity of repeals -- particularly under the United Nations, when repeals were more common -- most instant repeals pass, and by larger margins than the original resolutions did. But this trend may not last if Glen-Rhodes has anything to say about it.

History

Just three resolutions were overturned by instant repeals under the UN, and numerous others since the switchover to the World Assembly. Two additional WA instant repeals failed.

United Nations

• Promotion of Solar Panels (September 2005) -- A requirement that all member states immediately halt all fossil-fuel consumption within 10 years caused such an uproar within the General Assembly that an instant repeal, at the time unprecedented, seemed inevitable. Numerous delegations demanded that a repeal be passed before the 10-year deadline passed, many threatening resignation. The eventual repeal, authored by Ficticious Proportions and submitted mere minutes after the resolution's final passage, won the support of even the author of the original resolution.

• Right to Divorce (December 2005) -- The Estereli resolution protecting the right of individuals to terminate their marriages contained a clause on child-visitation rights that, if strictly interpreted, would have required all parents to have access to their children, even violent criminals and child molesters. Reaction from the bill's opponents was swift -- the repeal was submitted just days after the resolution came into effect, but had to endure a legality challenge from the Esterelis (who contended that Gruenberg, then a non-member, could not be listed as a co-author) before reaching quorum and passing.

• Max Barry Day (October 2007) -- Game moderators came under heavy criticism when a blatantly illegal resolution honoring NationStates creator Max Barry came to vote before it could be deleted. While some nations feverishly dubbed the bill "the beginning of the end," others, notably the Kennyites, preferred to quote Saddam Hussein: "Hey, buddy...relax!" The Federal Republic submitted its much-touted "InstaRepeal™" minutes after the original was implemented. It passed easily, though by fewer votes than the original. It is the first instant repeal to pass and not garner more votes than the resolution it was repealing.

World Assembly

Over a dozen instant repeals have been considered under the aegis of the World Assembly. Notable examples:

• Veterans Reform Act (January 2009) -- The WA-sponsored program to fund the health care of veterans of all member states was too much for many WA members, the Froods in particular, who bemoaned the likely astronomical costs of the program and thus submitted a repeal immediately after passage was announced. It succeeded overwhelmingly.

• Access to Science in Schools (May 2009) -- Concerns about a newly established mandate for "peer reviewed" science to be taught in all public schools were many, including fears that public support for religious education would no longer be legal under WA law. Glen-Rhodes submitted a repeal hours after the resolution's passage; it proceeded to vote 10 days later, but failed by roughly the same margin as the original resolution passed. It is the first instant repeal to fail at vote.

• Condemn NAZI EUROPE (July 2009) -- Following the creation of the Security Council, the WA voted to Condemn NAZI EUROPE for its Nazi philosophy, despite the widespread controversy over whether a region could be condemned based on ideology alone. Again, Glen-Rhodes came to the rescue with a quickly drafted repeal, submitting just a few days after the condemnation passed. However, due to the fact that at the time the Security Council shared the WA queue with the General Assembly, it did not proceed to vote until nearly a month later. And it failed anyway, putting Glen-Rhodes in the running to unseat the Kennyites as the least successful repeal author of all time.

Other efforts

Several UN resolutions (all from 2005), including The Global Library, National Systems of Tax and Fossil Fuel Reduction Act, faced repeal just weeks after passage, but since the authors of these repeals waited weeks to submit, and not mere days or minutes, they are not widely considered instant repeals. Of these efforts, only Repeal "Fossil Fuel Reduction Act" failed. In 2010, Repeal "Disaster Preparedness Act" (submitted eight days after the original was adopted) almost suffered the same fate, but ultimately passed, as did the repeals of The Clean Water Resolution and Missing Minors Database some months later. Clean Water Act's and Space Station Research Program's "semi-instant" repeals failed.

Technical problems

Limitations of the game itself have been known to hinder instant repeal campaigns. Since many repeals of the same resolution have been known to appear on the proposal list within hours of passage, instant repeal sponsors could face difficulty telegramming for their proposal if they did not submit it right away. Prior to the introduction of proposal codes linking to specific queue items, authors had to link to key words in the title to refer delegates to their proposals. Since all repeals of the same resolution have the same title, links containing key words wouldn't work unless the repeal seeking approvals was first on the list. This created a minor problem during the campaign for Repeal "Right to Divorce."

A backlog in the proposal queue can also assure that the effects of instant repeals are not exactly instantaneous. All resolutions are given about four days at vote, so if there are several queued proposals ahead of a repeal, it can take sometimes weeks before it finally comes down the pipe. Repeal "Right to Divorce" and Repeal "Veterans Reform Act" both took nearly two weeks to get to vote, but even then, the shelf life of the targeted resolutions was just 15 days in both cases. Promotion of Solar Panels and Max Barry Day survived only ten.

See also

• Why repeal? - FAQ about repeals