Criminal Code 2020

Criminal Code 2020

Last updated: 19 March 2025

Part 1 Criminal Process

Article 1. Criminal Jurisdiction

§1. A person may only be prosecuted for crimes committed in r/SimDemocracy and its associated Discord server.

§1.1. This section does not apply if a person acts on behalf of SimDemocracy and is an elected official, or legally represents SimDemocracy.

§2. A person may be prosecuted for crimes committed in direct messages with another person, if both are citizens of SimDemocracy.

§3. A person cannot be tried for acts committed outside the jurisdiction of SimDemocracy if already tried in a foreign court formally recognized by SimDemocracy through treaty or law.

§4. A person is defined as any user who has, or had, the capacity and intention of participating in SimDemocracy.

§5. If a crime, which directly affects SimDemocracy or persons in SimDemocracy, is committed outside of the jurisdiction given in this article, it may be prosecuted regardless, provided the person under prosecution satisfies the principles laid out in §4.

Article 2. Burden of Proof

§1. The prosecution has the obligation of proving each element of an offense beyond a reasonable doubt. If any element of an offense cannot be proven beyond a reasonable doubt, the defendant cannot be found guilty of that crime.

§2. The accused has the obligation of proving any defence or mitigating circumstance raised on the balance of probabilities, unless otherwise specified.

§2.1. The prosecution has an obligation of disproving any defence or mitigating circumstance successfully raised under §2 beyond a reasonable doubt, unless otherwise specified.

§3. A rebuttable presumption is taken as true until proven false. It may be rebutted on the balance of probabilities, unless otherwise specified.

Article 3. Criminal Charges

§1. The prosecution shall seek charges most applicable for the facts presented.

§2. In a case where one action fits many crimes, only one crime may be charged based on these facts; which shall be decided by the prosecution accordingly.

§2.1. An inchoate crime along with any other criminal offense shall be a valid charge.

§3. If a charge is not appropriate for a given action, yet may qualify as a criminal offense regardless, the judge may inform the prosecution and declare a mistrial.

§4. If there are multiple criminal actions committed by an accused person, they may be (but not necessarily must be) tried in a single criminal trial.

§4.1. The sentence is to be individually determined for every charge the accused is guilty of and the sentence is to be all of the sentences for all of the valid charges added together, unless special circumstances justify parts of the sentences being served simultaneously.

§5. Unless a contrary intention is expressed, the statute of limitations for all offenses shall be the duration of the maximum sentence for said offense, or six (6) months, whichever is greater.

§5.1. The statute of limitations for crimes with a maximum sentence of a permanent ban shall be eighteen (18) months.

Part 2 Sentencing

Article 4. Sentencing Specifications

§1. A mute is to be defined as the inability to comment or message on either Reddit or Discord.

§1.1. A mute on Discord requires to change all visible channels for a given user to “Read only”.

§2. A ban shall be considered a ban from all territories of SimDemocracy, including the Discord server and the Subreddit.

§3. The presiding judge is to follow the bounds of the sentence as specified per crime in the Criminal Code, unless a special plea deal is entered.

§3.1. Any verdict which applies a punishment not available for the specific crime is to be declared invalid by appeal or other means.

§3.2. In cases where the entered plea deal is clearly egregious and disproportionate, the judge may ignore the plea deal.

§4. Available sentences specified per crime in the Criminal Code apply once per count of a given charge.

§5. All crimes should specify sentencing guidelines; if they are not specified a maximum sentence of a ban of up to one (1) month is to be assumed.

§6. A punishment shall count from the time of appliance of the punishment. The appliance of the punishment should be done as quickly as possible after the declaration of the punishment.

§7. If no time after which the punishment comes into effect has been specified in the verdict or the plea deal, the punishment is to apply after twenty-four (24) hours.

§8. If the determined sentence is equal to, or less than the amount of time that the defendant had already served in a mute, arrest, or pre-emptive ban it is to be determined that the defendant had already served their sentence, and the defendant is to be released.

§8.1. If the determined sentence is greater than two (2) weeks, and the defendant has already served more than half of the determined sentence in a mute, arrest or pre-emptive ban, then the length of time served shall be deducted from the sentence.

§9. The court may include an injunction in the sentence if one is necessary for the proper enforcement of the law.

§10. A month shall equal thirty days, unless the sentence is higher than two months, in which case they shall count as one calendar month.

Article 5. Termination or Forbiddance from Office

§1. If specified by the offense, a court may sentence a person to be terminated from or forbidden from holding certain public and private offices for a specified period of time.

§1.1. Such termination must be proportionate and relevant to the crime under trial, and preventative rather than punitive in nature.

§2. Sentences terminating or forbidding a person from holding a public office must be ratified by the Senate in a simple majority vote.

Article 6. Rules of Punishing a Criminal Offense

§1. The court shall rely on their best professional judgment to punish a criminal offense, within the bounds set by legislation; the punishment shall be fair and proportional to the offense committed.

§2. While determining the sentence, the court should consider the severity of the offense, the social harm caused, the damage caused to the victim (if applicable), the motivations of the offender, and the intent with which the offender has committed the offense, and any defenses invoked.

§3. The governmental position of a person shall in no way influence the criminal penalty imposed, except in the specific punishment of termination from office. This shall not bar a court from imposing a ban or any other punishment on such officials. The court may, however, choose to delay the implementation of the sentence by an amount up to the normal termination of the office, or two weeks, whichever is greater, for public interest reasons.

§4. Notwithstanding cases described in §3, a punishment may not come into effect later than three days after the conviction.

§5. If a definition or elements of a crime have been amended between the trial of a person and the commission of a criminal act, then the definition that was enacted at the time of the commission of the crime is to be the one the person is tried for.

§6. Where an Article supplies a minimum punishment, a Judge shall have discretion to impose up to half of the minimum sentence as a suspended sentence, unless the Article is listed in the First Schedule.

§6.1. No person shall serve a suspended sentence unless a finding of Probable Cause has been made against them for crimes committed up to 3 months after the person is sentenced, at which point they shall immediately serve the suspended sentence.

Article 7. Ignorance of Law

§1. Ignorance or mistaken interpretation of law does not deprive a defendant of liability for a crime.

Article 8. Tickets

§1. Any criminal offense may be summarily punished with a Ticket, which provides for the muting of any person for no more than 48 hours on the first offense, and up to 96 hours for subsequent offences under the same Article;

Provided that –

A. Tickets may be issued by any law enforcement officer;

B. Tickets may be refused by the person it is issued to, in which case the person must be unmuted;

C. No charges may be brought against a person whom a ticket is issued to, unless the person refuses the ticket;

D. No tickets may be issued more than 3 days after the commission of an Offense; and,

E. No tickets may be issued for offences specified in the First and Second Schedule.

Part 3 Statutory defenses

Article 9. Necessity

§1. Necessity may be a possible defense in cases where a criminal offense has been committed in order to prevent greater harm.

§2. In order for the defense to be applied, the defendant shall prove that:

§2.1. The social harm of the prohibited offense they sought to avoid is higher than the social harm of the offense they have been charged with; and

§2.2. They had no reasonable alternative; and

§2.3. They have ceased to engage in the prohibited conduct as soon as the danger passed; and

§2.4. That they did not themselves create the danger they sought to avoid.

§3. If the defense is applied, the sentence for a crime may be nullified entirely or reduced.

§3.1. If deemed proportionate, the sentence may be reduced to below the minimum available sentence for an offense.

Article 10. Provocation

§1. Provocation is to be when a person has committed a criminal act partly because of a preceding set of events that might cause a reasonable person to lose self control.

§1.1. The defendant must not have contributed in escalating the preceding set of events to such a level.

§2. Proof of provocation occurring shall be considered a mitigating factor during sentencing.

Article 11. Consent

§1. If the victim affected by the criminal act done by the accused has voluntarily consented to it; then it may be considered a mitigating factor; or if explicitly consented, nullify the charges entirely.

§2. Consent may be used as a defense only for a crime with a definable victim; crimes with multiple victims require the consent of all relevant victims.

§3. If a given person voluntarily consents to the act before its commitment, and then withdraws their consent after the commitment, then the defense shall still apply.

§4. Consent may be a defense for all crimes against privacy.

§5. If the defense is applied, the sentence for a crime may be nullified entirely or reduced.

§5.1. If deemed proportionate, the sentence may be reduced to below the minimum available sentence for an offense.

Article 12. Coercion

§1. A person coerced into committing a criminal act shall be considered not guilty.

§2. Coercion may be either done through threats to harass, violate privacy, or otherwise harm or threaten to harm the coerced person.

§2.1. The perceived and possible harm must be proportionate to the social harm caused by the crime committed. Persons have a responsibility not to commit a crime if at all avoidable.

§3. If the defense is applied, the sentence for a crime may be nullified entirely or reduced.

§3.1. If deemed proportionate, the sentence may be reduced to below the minimum available sentence for an offense.

Part 4 Inchoate Offenses

Article 13. Conspiracy

§1. A person shall be considered to engage in a conspiracy, when they order or request, or otherwise direct a person to commit a criminal offense; or to assist or offer material assistance in committing a crime.

§2. The available sentences for conspiracy shall be the same as for the crime that was conspired.

§3. Conspiracy to commit a crime is to be charged under “conspiracy to commit [the criminal offense]”.

§4. A person shall not be subject to charges of conspiracy if they intentionally prevented the commitment of a crime.

§4.1. The court may show clemency to those who intentionally tried to prevent the commitment of a crime.

Article 14. Attempt

§1. A user shall be considered to attempt to commit a criminal offense, if they with their behavior directly attempt to commit a criminal offense yet do not succeed.

§2. An attempt shall also happen when the criminal does not realize they cannot commit a given criminal offense due to lack of permissions or otherwise.

§3. Exempt from being tried for attempt shall be those who intentionally ceased or prevented consequences of a certain criminal offense.

§4. The available sentences for attempt shall be the same as for the crime that was attempted.

§5. Attempts to commit a crime are to be charged under “attempt to commit [the criminal offense]”.

Article 15. Incitement

§1. A user shall be considered to incite a criminal offense, when they directly encourage or otherwise lead someone to commit a criminal offense.

§2. The available sentences for incitement shall be the same as for the crime that was incited.

§3. Incitements of a crime are to be charged under “incitement of [the criminal offense]”.

Article 16. Abuse of Alternate Accounts

§1. The person managing the alternative account shall be held criminally liable if an offense has been committed:

§1.1. Through an alternative account or,

§1.2. Where the alternative account was otherwise involved in the commission of the offense.

§1.2.1. Where the actions of the alternate account satisfy another inchoate offense, the person managing the alternate account may also be charged with the corresponding inchoate offense.

§2. An alternate account is defined as an account belonging to a person of SimDemocracy that is not the main one used for regular business.

§3. Article 16a notwithstanding, mere possession of an alternate account, or its use, shall not be prohibited if no abuse has occurred.

§4. The available sentences for abuse with alternate accounts shall be the same as for the crime that has been assisted, committed or otherwise involved in the commission of a crime.

Article 16a. Unlawful Use of Alternate Accounts

§1. A person commits the offence of unlawful use of an alternate account if they possess an alternate account on SimDemocracy’s associated Discord server with malicious intent

§2. Malicious intent shall include, but is not limited to, a purpose to circumvent punishment or evade rules.

§3. A person who uses an alternate account on the associated Discord server is rebuttably presumed to have malicious intent.

[F2 §4. A person charged with an offence under this Article is deemed to have an absolute defence if they:

§4.1. Were a Discord Supervisor, Deputy Discord Supervisor or moderator while the alternate account was used,

§4.2. Used the alternate account solely for testing technology or for some other statutory purpose or purposes, and

§4.3. Disclosed such usage publicly within a reasonable timespan

§5. Any competent authority may summarily eject or ban alleged unlawfully used alternate accounts from the SimDem Discord Server.

Repealed

§5.1. Summarily eject or ban alleged unlawfully used alternate accounts from the associated Discord server, and

§5.2. Summarily issue the accused person a ticket.

§6. Tickets issued for the offences under this Article shall result in a muting of no less than thirty (30) minutes and no more than one (1) day.

Article 17. Coercion to Commit a Crime

§1. A person who has coerced a person into committing a criminal act is to be guilty of coercion to commit the criminal offense that has been coerced.

§1.1. The definition of coercion shall match that found in Article 12.

§2. Coercion to commit a crime is to be charged under “coercion to commit [relevant criminal offense]”.

§3. The available sentences for coercion shall be the same as for the crime that was coerced.

Article 18. Automated Crimes

§1. If a criminal act is committed by a bot; then the person responsible for addition of the bot; or the creator of the bot if such is a SimDemocracy citizen, shall be held responsible for the committed crime, provided one of the following conditions is met:

§1.1. The creation or the addition of the bot was done with the intent for the bot to commit a specific crime;

§1.2. The creator or adder of the bot did not take minimal precautions to prevent the bot from committing crimes, or was negligent in assigning powers to it;

§1.3. The creator or the adder of the bot exercised direct control over the bot, or its source code, in order to cause it to commit a crime.

§2. If a person abuses their powers to cause a bot to commit a crime, and the bot had legitimate reasons to allow the person with said power to access the offending functions of the bot, then the person abusing their power and not the creator or adder of the bot is to be held responsible.

§3. The available sentences for automated crimes shall be the same as for the crime that was automated.

Part 6 Perversion of Justice

Article 19. Perjury

Repealed

§1. The crime of perjury shall be providing a false testimony, statement, or deposition relating to the investigation to a lawful investigator, judge, justice, panel of justices, or panel of judges while believing the statement was false or having complete disregard to the accuracy of the statement.

§2. The sentences available for perjury shall be an unlimited fine and a mute of up to one (1) month.

§1. Whoever, being legally bound by an oath or by any express provision of law to state the truth, or being bound by law to make a declaration or certification on any subject, makes a false statement, which they know or believe to be false, or do not believe to be true, commits the offense of perjury.

§2. A person is said to be legally bound by an oath if they –

(a) Provide a testimony, statement, or deposition to a member of the Department of Justice, or legally recognized investigatory body, judge, justice, panel of justices, or panel of judges;

(b) Provide information to a law enforcement officer for the purposes of an investigation; or,

(c) Have sworn or affirmed, under penalty of perjury before any legally recognized government body, having been informed that the body is a legally recognized government body, to tell the truth.

§3. The sentences available for perjury shall be an unlimited fine and a mute of up to one (1) month.

Article 20. Obstruction of Justice

§1. The crime of obstruction of justice shall be knowingly engaging or attempting to engage in actions with the intent to impede the prosecution or investigation of someone’s crimes.

§2. Knowingly giving false or misleading information to any law enforcement officer during an investigation is to be prosecuted under this article.

§3. The sentences available for obstruction of justice shall be an unlimited fine and a mute of up to one (1) month.

Article 21. Contempt of Court

§1. The crime of direct contempt of court shall be acting in a manner that disrupts judicial proceedings or prejudices the administration of justice.

§2. The crime of indirect contempt of court shall be intentional non-compliance with a court order.

§2.1. For a person to be held in indirect contempt, the court order must be publicly promulgated and clearly known to that person or entity.

§3. A judge or justice may find an individual guilty of contempt of court at any point during a proceeding, or outside a proceeding in a case of indirect contempt.

§4. The sentences available for direct contempt of court shall be an unlimited fine and a mute of up to one (1) week. This sentence shall always go into effect immediately.

§5. The sentences available for indirect contempt of court shall be a punitive punishment of an unlimited fine and a mute of up to one (1) month, and a coercive punishment of up to one (1) month or until the relevant court order is complied with, whichever is shorter.

§6. Evading a pre-trial, a trial, or court hearing without proper and proportionate justification shall be grounds for conviction for contempt of court.

Article 22. Making a Frivolous Claim

§1. A person commits the offense of making a frivolous claim if they:

§1.1. Make an officiated legal claim, such as a lawsuit or legal advice in an official capacity, which is manifestly without legal merit and,

§1.2. The person making that claim knows or has the duty to know that the claim they make is manifestly without legal merit.

§2. In making a determination whether the person knew or ought to know that their claim was manifestly without legal merit, the court must consider whether the person has legal experience and expertise, and whether the position the person was in or the context in which the claim was given implied the person had the duty to know that their claim was without legal merit.

§3. A judge in dismissing a frivolous claim may summarily find a person guilty of making a frivolous claim.

§4. The sentences available for making a frivolous claim shall be a mute of up to six (6) hours.

Article 23. Resisting Arrest

§1. The crime of resisting arrest shall be defined as using any means to circumvent or otherwise avoid the lawful arrest of oneself or someone else.

§1.1. Using one's position to argue against or deny the arrest of a person in an attempt to avoid a perceived case of police brutality shall not constitute resisting arrest.

§2. Use of an alternate account to circumvent one’s arrest, without a legitimate and proportionate reason such as to seek appeal or bail when no other communication is possible, shall be prosecuted under this article.

§3. A summary ban may be used in cases of resisting arrest, but must be lifted for the defendant to be able to attend trial, as soon as the defendant has demonstrated that they have ceased to resist arrest, or if the department with the justice portfolio chooses to stop seeking prosecution of the defendant.

§4. Sentences available for this offense shall be a mute of up to one week.

Article 24. Witness and Evidence Tampering

§1. The crime of witness tampering is to occur when anyone uses harm or a threat of harm or intimidation against a person, or corruptly persuades another person, or engages in misleading conduct towards any person, or attempts to do so, with intent to influence, delay, or prevent the testimony of any person in legal proceedings, or to prevent or influence a person legitimately seeking the arrest or filing charges against another person.

§2. The crime of evidence tampering is to occur when anyone uses harm or a threat of harm or intimidation against a person, or corruptly persuades another person, or engages in misleading conduct towards any person, or attempts to do so, with the intent to cause one of the following:

§2.1. Cause a record, document or other piece of evidence to be withheld from the proceedings;

§2.2. Evade legal process producing a record, document or other evidence in a legal proceeding;

§2.3. Hinder, delay, or prevent the communication to any legal authority of information relating to the commission or possible commission of a criminal offense.

§3. The sentences available for witness and evidence tampering shall be a mute or ban of up to six (6) months.

Article 25. Witness Retaliation

§1. No person may intentionally cause harm or damage to a person who has been a witness in a case against the interests of said person.

§2. An employee who has been a witness of or who has taken legal action against their employer may not be terminated from their employment without the employer giving a lawful reason.

§2.1. A judge may issue an injunction to prevent the termination of employment of a person if they believe or have reason to believe that this section applies.

§3. The sentences available for witness retaliation shall be a mute or ban of up to six (6) months.

Article 26. Police Brutality

§1. A law enforcement officer, or a person empowered to exercise such powers, commits the offense of police brutality if they:

§1.1. Arrest or detain a person on fabricated charges, with the intention to arrest or detain based on knowingly fabricated charges or,

§1.2. Arrest or detain a person without appropriate reasoning, with either the intention to arrest or detain without appropriate reasoning, or with recklessness as to whether or not appropriate reasoning was given.

§2. A person commits the offense of police brutality if they arrest or detain a person without authorization by law.

§3. The sentences available for police brutality shall be a mute or ban of up to three (3) months.

Article 27. Framing

§1. Framing is to be an act of knowingly providing false evidence or false testimony, or coercing others to do the same, in order to falsely convict or attempt to convict someone’s guilt of a crime, or to provide grounds for accusation for a criminal offense.

§2. The sentences available for framing shall be a mute or ban of up to one (1) year.

Part 7 Abuse of Authority

Article 28. Discrimination

§1. No government official or a private individual may deny, restrict, preferentially provide or otherwise unfairly execute their duties or provide services because of a person's protected characteristics.

§2. Protected characteristics shall include, but are not limited to, race, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity, national or social origin, ethnicity, age, disability, religion, and political beliefs, or any other characteristic listed in Article 13 of the Constitution.

§3. The sentences available for discrimination on the basis of protected characteristics shall be an unlimited fine, a mute of up to three (3) months, and termination or prohibition of holding certain private or public offices for a certain period of time not exceeding three (3) months.

Article 29. Abuse of Power

§1. A government official commits the offense of abuse of power if they commit an act which they had no legal right or authority to commit with malicious intent and causing social harm, knowing they had no legal right or authority to do so, or with recklessness as to whether or not they had the legal right or authority.

§2. The sentences available for abuse of power shall be an unlimited fine and a mute or ban of up to one (1) year, and termination or prohibition of holding certain private or public offices for a certain period of time not exceeding six (6) months.

§3. Abuse of power must be committed through the official capacity of one’s office.

Article 30. Abuse of Discretion

§1. Abuse of discretion is to be misuse of one’s powers to inappropriately and maliciously benefit private or personal interests, to the detriment of the public interest.

§2. The sentences available for abuse of discretion shall be a mute or ban of up to one (1) month, and termination or prohibition of holding certain private or public offices for a certain period of time not exceeding three (3) months.

Article 31. Abuse of Permissions

§1. Whoever knowingly and intentionally uses their permissions and powers inappropriately and maliciously, in a manner not related to the official work for which the permissions and powers are given, commits the crime of abuse of permissions.

§2. The sentences available for abuse of permissions shall be a mute of up to one (1) week.

Repealed §3. Without prejudice to the accused person’s right of appeal, a law enforcement officer may, for the alleged commission of the offences under this Article, summarily issue the accused person a ticket.

§4. Tickets issued for the offences under this Article shall result in a muting of no less than thirty (30) minutes and no more than one (1) day.

Article 32. Public Misinformation

§1. The crime of public misinformation is to be intentionally, negligently and maliciously relaying false or otherwise incorrect information to the public by a government official in order to cause social harm; be it through official documentation of SimDemocracy, or through public statements, or through other means where the place where false or otherwise incorrect information is used for informational or documentation purposes.

§2. A public statement shall be defined as a statement aiming to provide information to the general population made in an official capacity with the authority of and released by a government official.

§3. Classified information shall be considered unknown to any official, unless otherwise proven on balance of probabilities.

§4. The sentences available for public misinformation shall be a mute of up to one (1) week.

RepealedPenalties and Tickets Act §5. Without prejudice to the accused person’s right of appeal, a law enforcement officer may, for the alleged commission of the offences under this Article, summarily issue the accused person a ticket.

§6. Tickets issued for the offences under this Article shall result in a muting of no less than thirty (30) minutes and no more than one (1) day.

Part 8 Crimes Against Public Interest

Article 33. Dereliction of Duty

§1. The crime of dereliction of duty shall be willfully refusing to perform the required duties of a governmental position or intentionally incapacitating oneself in such a way that one cannot perform their duties, without a proportional reason and without making an attempt to notify the relevant officials or resign from their post..

§2. In order for an official to be convicted for dereliction of duty; they must be in a position where no official has authority to terminate their employment, and they must be notified prior to their conviction that their actions constitute dereliction of duty.

§3. The crime of dereliction of duty is to be punished with removal from the relevant public office if at all possible under Article 4. Should this not be possible, a mute of up to one (1) week may be applied.

Article 34. Dereliction of National Interest

§1. Whoever, in the course of performing duties on behalf of the State of SimDemocracy, whether within the state or officially representing it outside of the state, wilfully and negligently behaves in such a way as to cause serious harm to the national interest of the state, is guilty of the crime of dereliction of national interest.

§1.1. In order for a person to be guilty of dereliction of national interest, they must be acting in the capacity of or have received the legal delegation from a government official.

§2. The crime of dereliction of national interest is to be punished with removal from the relevant public office, if any, and a mute of up to one (1) week.

Article 35. Political Coercion

§1. Whoever willfully, intentionally and maliciously uses harassment, intimidation or corruption in order to expressly change the decisions of directly elected officials for their own personal gain, or engages in criminal harassment towards a directly elected official explicitly as a result of their decision and with the express intent to force the official to reverse such for their own personal gain, commits the crime of political coercion.

§1.1. In order for a person to be guilty of political coercion, they have to first satisfy the criterion laid out in Article 52, and be working for their own personal gain.

§1.2. The civil lobbying of individuals or interest groups for elected officials to make decisions in their favor shall not be construed to violate this article.

§2. The crime of political coercion is to be punished by a mute or ban of up to one (1) year, and a ban from public office for up to one (1) year.

Part 9 Electoral Crimes

Article 36. Electoral Crimes

§1. Offenses listed under this part are to be categorized as electoral crimes.

§2. Elections are used in reference to all elections, referendums or other public democratic voting processes done by the government, which are established by statute and legally binding.

§3. All electoral crimes shall be considered committed under SimDemocracy jurisdiction.

Article 37. Election Fraud

§1. Election fraud is the crime of unlawfully interfering in an election by the use of alternate accounts or other methods of producing illegitimate votes which are not cast legally by citizens of SimDemocracy, in order to influence election results.

§2. The sentences available for election fraud shall be a ban of between two (2) weeks and one (1) year.

Article 37a. Fraudulent Voter Registration

§1. A person commits fraudulent voter registration if they:

§1.1. Registered to vote while already being registered, and either

§1.2. Intended to register while being registered to vote, or

§1.3. Had no intention to register while being registered to vote, but nevertheless:

§1.3.1. Did not give prompt valid notification to the Electoral Commission once they knew or ought to have known that they had erroneously re-registered, and

§1.3.2. Did not promptly deregister in the case of automatic registration once they knew or ought to have known that they had erroneously re-registered.

§2. A notification to the Electoral Commision under §1.3 of this Article shall only be considered valid if it is accompanied with clear and convincing evidence that the person owns the erroneously registered account.

§3. The sentences available for fraudulent voter registration shall be a ban between two (2) weeks and one (1) year.

Article 37b. Misrepresentation to the Electoral Commission

§1. A person commits misrepresentation to the Electoral Commission if they give false or misleading information to the Electoral Commission.

§2. A person commits fraudulent misrepresentation to the Electoral Commission if they:

§2.1. Give false or misleading information to the Electoral Commission and,

§2.2. Either know the information was false or misleading, or are reckless as to whether the information was untrue or not.

§3. It shall be an absolute defence to a crime under §1 of this Article if the accused person:

§3.1. Acted with reasonable due diligence and good faith in giving the false or misleading information, and either

§3.2. Promptly notified the Electoral Commission of the false or misleading information once they knew it was false or misleading, or

§3.3. Did not know that the information was false or misleading.

§4. The sentences available for misrepresentation to the Electoral Commission shall be a mute or ban between one (1) day and three (3) months.

§5. The sentences available for fraudulent misrepresentation to the Electoral Commission shall be a ban between two (2) weeks and one (1) year.

Article 38. Claiming Election Fraud

§1. Claiming election fraud is the crime of claiming to have committed election fraud in a manner and context that makes it unambiguously serious.

§2. The sentences available for claiming election fraud shall be a ban of between one (1) week and two (2) months.

Article 39. Voter Suppression

§1. Voter suppression is the act of coercion or criminal threatening in order to force a person to vote for a given candidate or change their vote, or criminal threatening and harassment as a result of a person’s vote for a given candidate.

§1.1. Lobbying and campaigning on behalf of a candidate shall not be construed as a violation of this article.

§2. The sentences available for voter suppression shall be a ban of between two (2) weeks and six (6) months.

Article 40. Incumbent Election Interference

§1. The crime of incumbent election interference is to be promoting, encouraging, or otherwise influencing an election campaign through the illegitimate abuse of a governmental office.

§2. Incumbent election interference includes the use of public announcement channels for election campaigning.

§2.1. The announcement of support of a particular candidate by the incumbent, without additional campaigning material, shall not be restricted under this article.

§3. The sentences available for incumbent election interference shall be a mute or ban between one day and one month.

Part 10 Crimes Against The State

Article 44. Treason

§1. A person commits treason if the person conspires or attempts to overthrow the government and the constitutional-democratic order of SimDemocracy illegally.

§2. Treason committed by a person outside of the jurisdiction of SimDemocracy shall be prosecuted regardless.

§3. The sentences available for treason shall be a ban of duration above one (1) month.

Article 45. Destruction of National Documents

§1. Destruction of national documents is to be intentional destruction, deletion or otherwise removal of documents produced under official capability of a governmental office, or where the preservation of the documents are established through law.

§2. Any documentation produced under a governmental office is to be under SimDemocracy jurisdiction.

§3. In order for deletion of national documents to be lawful there needs to be either a relevant statute relating to such; or authorization from a relevant authority.

§4. The sentences available for destruction of national documents shall be a ban of between one (1) day and a lifetime ban.

Article 46. Impersonation of an Official

§1. Impersonation of an official is maliciously pretending to be another person or maliciously acting in order to mislead another person of one’s possessed offices, authorities or other permissions.

§2. The sentences available for criminal impersonation shall be a mute or ban between one (1) week and six (6) months.

Article 46a. Stolen Valour

§1. A person commits stolen valour if they:

§1.1. Act or present themselves in a way which would mislead a reasonable person into believing that they possessed an honour or commendation which they did not have, and

§1.2. Did so with the intention to mislead people into believing that they possessed such an honour or commendation.

§2. A person charged with an offence under this Article is deemed to have an absolute defence if they committed the act for the purposes of jest or satire.

§3. The sentences available for stolen valour shall be a mute of up to one (1) week.

Repealed §4. Without prejudice to the accused person’s right of appeal, a law enforcement officer may, for the alleged commission of the offences under this Article, summarily issue the accused person a ticket.

§5. Tickets issued for the offences under this Article shall result in a muting of no less than thirty (30) minutes and no more than one (1) day.

Article 47. Embezzlement

§1. Whoever as an official utilizes or obtains government property or resources, monetary or otherwise, for private purposes outside of the legal powers given to them by the official position, commits the crime of embezzlement.

§2. The sentences available for embezzlement shall be a mute or ban between one (1) day and one (1) month.

Article 48. Revealing State Secrets

§1. Whoever releases to the public information held as classified state secrets by the appropriate authorities, and therefore causing social harm by the release of such information, commits the crime of revealing state secrets.

§1.1. Whistleblowing, or the releasing of such documents for the purpose of public interest, shall not constitute a violation of this article.

§2. The sentences available for revealing state secrets shall be an unlimited fine and a mute or ban between one (1) day and one (1) month.

Article 49. Brigading and Raiding

§1. Whoever posts in the SimDemocracy Discord server or subreddit or utilizes its political processes with the sole intent to cause disruption and distress to the community at large, without a wish to earnestly participate in any activities and processes within SimDemocracy, commits the crime of brigading and raiding.

§2. The sentences available for brigading and raiding shall be a ban of duration above three (3) months.

Article 50. Spamming and Brigading

§1. Whoever creates a large amount of posts of text, images, role pinging, and other materials in the SimDemocracy Discord or Subreddit for no purpose other than to annoy, disrupt and obstruct daily activities in SimDemocracy, of no genuine content, commits the crime of spamming.

§2. The sentences available for spamming shall be a mute or ban between six (6) hours and one (1) year.

Repealed §3. Without prejudice to the accused person’s right of appeal, a law enforcement officer may, for the alleged commission of the offences under this Article, summarily issue the accused person a ticket.

§4. Tickets issued for the offences under this Article shall result in a muting of no less than thirty (30) minutes and no more than one (1) day.

Article 50a. Voice Chat Disruption

§1. A person commits the offence of voice chat disruption if they scream or play obscene sounds in a voice chat of SimDemocracy’s associated Discord server with the purpose of causing annoyance, disruption, or obstruction of legitimate voice chat activity.

§2. The sentences available for voice chat disruption shall be a mute or ban between six (6) hours and one (1) year.

Repealed §3. Without prejudice to the accused person’s right of appeal, a law enforcement officer may, for the alleged commission of the offences under this Article, summarily issue the accused person a ticket.

§4. Tickets issued for the offences under this Article shall result in a muting of no less than thirty (30) minutes and no more than one (1) day.

Part 11 Crimes Against The Person

Article 51. Poaching

§1. A person commits the offense of poaching if, on the joining of a new member to SimDemocracy they engage with them for the primary purpose of either convincing them to leave SimDemocracy or to join another, unrelated community

§2. poaching shall only be illegal during the first seven (7) days of the individual joining SimDemocracy

§2.1. the period of illegality starts based on the date which the member joined the part of SimDemocracy within which the poaching took place

§2.2. individuals rejoining the server after a period greater than one (1) year shall be considered new with regards to poaching

Repealed §3. Without prejudice to the accused person’s right of appeal, a law enforcement officer may, for the alleged commission of the offenses under this article, summarily issue the accused person a ticket.

§4. Tickets issued for the offenses under this article shall result in an arrest of no less than thirty (30) minutes and no more than six (6) hours for a first offense or an arrest of no less than thirty (30) minutes and no more than ninety-six (96) hours for subsequent offenses

Article 52. Violation of Privacy

§1. A person commits the offence of violation of privacy if they collect, retain, or process personal data without lawful basis.

§2. A person charged with an offence under this Article is deemed to have an absolute defence if they:

§2.1. Were given unlawfully collected, retained, or processed data by someone else which they did not explicitly or implicitly ask for,

§2.2. Promptly deleted all copies of the unlawfully collected, retained, or processed data, and

§2.3. Promptly notified the SDBI or other competent authority that they were given the unlawfully collected, retained, or processed data by someone else, specifically naming the person or people who handed them that data.

§3. The sentences available for violation of privacy shall be a mute or ban above one (1) month, and a ban from any office which allows them to access personal data of unlimited duration.

§4. There shall be no statute of limitations for violations of this Article.

Article 52a. Doxxing

§1. A person commits the offence of doxxing if they disclose personal data without lawful basis.

§2. A person commits aggravated doxxing if they disclose personal data without lawful basis and with malicious intent.

§3. Malicious intent shall include, but is not limited to, having a purpose to cause the victim to suffer harassment or some other real life consequence.

§4. A person who discloses personal data without lawful basis is rebuttably presumed to have done so with malicious intent.

§5. A person charged with an offence under §1 of this Article is deemed to have a mitigating circumstance if they:

§5.1. Had lawful basis to retain the otherwise unlawfully disclosed personal data,

§5.2. Had no intention to disclose the personal data without lawful basis,

§5.3. Promptly deleted all posts and messages containing the unlawfully disclosed personal data,

§5.4. Promptly notified the relevant data subjects of the unlawful disclosure,

§5.5. Promptly notified the SDBI or other competent authority that they had unlawfully disclosed personal data, and

§5.6. Had acted in good faith throughout.

§6. The sentences available for doxxing shall be a ban of duration above six (6) months.

§6.1. The sentences available for doxxing with a mitigating circumstance under §5 of this Article shall be a mute or ban between one (1) month and one (1) year, and a ban from any office which allows them to access personal data of unlimited duration.

§7. The sentences available for aggravated doxxing shall be a ban of permanent duration.

§8. There shall be no statute of limitations for violations of this Article.

Article 52b. Threats to Doxx

§1. A person who, having access or having claimed access to personal data, threatens to unlawfully disclose it commits the crime of making threats to doxx.

§2. A person who acts in a way which would give the reasonable person an impression that they had access to personal data shall be deemed to have claimed access to personal data for the purposes of this Article.

§3. The sentences available for making threats to doxx shall be a ban of permanent duration.

§4. There shall be no statute of limitations for violations of this Article.

Article 53. Harassment

§1. A person commits first degree harassment if they:

§1.1. Caused a person or group of persons to feel undue or unjustifiable apprehension, and

§1.2. Had the intention to cause apprehension, or acted with reckless disregard as to whether their actions would cause apprehension.

[F1 §1a. A person commits first degree harassment through deadnaming if they:

§1a.1. Refer to a person by a name they used prior to gender transition, with

§1a.2. The intention to deny, invalidate, or mock that person’s gender identity.

§1b. A person commits first degree harassment through misgendering if they:

§1b.1. Refer to or label another person with a gender that does not match their gender identity, with

§1b.2. The intention to deny, invalidate, or mock that person’s gender identity.

§1c. A reference to gender identity under this Article shall not be construed to include purported gender identities created for the purpose to cause upset, demean, or humiliate a person’s protected characteristics. ]

§2. A person commits second degree harassment if they caused a person or group of persons to feel undue or unjustifiable apprehension.

§3. A person who causes a person or group of persons to feel undue or unjustifiable apprehension shall be rebuttably presumed to have done so with the intention to cause apprehension.

§4. The sentences available for first degree harassment shall be a ban of duration above six (6) months.

§5. The sentences available for second degree harassment shall be a ban between one (1) month and one (1) year.

Article 53a. Hate Speech

§1. A person commits first degree hate speech if they:

§1.1. Submit, post, or relay speech that is upsetting, demeaning, or humiliating about a person’s or a group of person’s protected characteristics, and

§1.2. Had the intention to cause apprehension, or acted with reckless disregard as to whether their actions would cause apprehension.

§2. A person commits second degree hate speech if they submit, post, or relay speech that is upsetting, demeaning, or humiliating about a person’s or group of person’s protected characteristics.

[F1 §3. For the purposes of this Article, a person shall always be considered as submitting, posting, or relaying speech that is upsetting, demeaning, or humiliating about a person’s or a group of person’s protected characteristics if they:

§3.1. Use a slur, which is any derogatory or insulting term applied to a group of persons classed by a protected characteristic, or

§3.2. Claim to identify as a purported gender with the purpose to cause upset, demean, or humiliate a person’s protected characteristic. ]

§4. A person who uses private messages to relay, or uses private messages to ask another person to relay, shall be considered as relaying speech for the purposes of this Article.

§5. The fact that the upsetting, demeaning, or humiliating speech was not directed to a specific individual or group of individuals is immaterial to establishing criminal liability under this Article.

[F1 §5a. The fact that the upsetting, demeaning, or humiliating speech did not subjectively upset, demean, or humiliate a specific person or group of persons is immaterial to establishing criminal liability under this Article. ]

§6. A person who submits, posts, or relays speech that is upsetting, demeaning, or humiliating about a person’s or group of person’s protected characteristics shall be rebuttably presumed to have done so with the intention to cause apprehension.

§7. The sentences available for first degree hate speech shall be a ban of duration above three (3) months.

§8. The sentences available for second degree hate speech shall be a mute or ban between one (1) month and six (6) months.

Article 54. Sexual Harassment

§1. Whoever in an unsolicited manner sends or displays sexually suggestive material to another person without consent, including through text, voice or other media, or acts in such a manner as to solicit or be interpreted by a reasonable person to be soliciting sexually suggestive activities from another person without consent, commits the crime of sexual harassment.

§2. Whoever commits the acts detailed in §1 to a person claiming to be under 18 years of age commits the crime of child sexual harassment.

§3. The sentences available for sexual harassment shall be a ban of duration above one (1) year.

§4. The sentences available for child sexual harassment shall be a ban of permanent duration.

§5. There shall be no statute of limitations for violations of this article.

Article 55. Failure to Report Sexual Harassment

§1. Whoever holding a relevant official position, observing or having knowledge of activities that could be interpreted by a reasonable person as a violation of Article 53, and having the authority, ability or power to act against and prosecute the action, knowingly fails to do so, commits the crime of failure to report sexual harassment.

§1.1. Should acting against the relevant activity cause undue risk and harm to the official, or if the official is the victim of the alleged crime, then the person shall not be construed as violating this article.

§2. The sentences available for failure to report sexual harassment shall be a mute or ban of between one (1) week and six (6) months.

Article 56. Obscene Materials

§1. Whoever posts content in a venue that could be viewed by the public that consists of gore, violence, or other materials not suitable for viewing in a public place, and would cause distress to a reasonable person, commits the crime of posting obscene materials.

§2. The sentences available for posting obscene materials shall be a mute or ban of duration above one (1) week.

Article 57. Making Criminal Threats

§1. A person commits the offence of making a criminal threat if they:

§1.1. Threatened another person or group of persons with suffering or harm, and

§1.2. Had the intention to cause apprehension, or acted with reckless disregard as to whether their actions would cause apprehension.

§2. A person who threatens another person or group of persons with suffering or harm shall be rebuttably presumed to have done so with the intention to cause apprehension.

§3. The sentences available for making criminal threats shall be a mute or ban between one (1) month and one (1) year.

Article 58. Impersonation

§1. Whoever in a deliberate and malicious manner behaves in such a way as to cause the general public to believe that they are another person, and thereby assuming their identity and committing acts on their behalf, commits the crime of impersonation.

§2. The sentences available for impersonation shall be a mute or ban between one (1) week and two (2) months.

Article 59. Blackmail

§1. A person who, having access to privileged information about another, threatens to disclose this information as an incentive for the individual to perform or not perform an action commits the crime of blackmail.

§2. The sentences available for blackmail shall be a mute or ban between one (1) week and six (6) months.

Article 60. Abuse of Vulnerability

§1. A person commits the crime of abuse of vulnerability if they exploit another person’s vulnerable or fragile mental state with malicious intent.

§2. Malicious intent shall include, but is not limited to, having a purpose to cause the exploited person to feel apprehension, or having a purpose of personal gain.

§3. A person who exploits another person’s vulnerable or fragile mental state shall be rebuttably presumed to have done so with malicious intent.

§4. The sentences available for abuse of vulnerability shall be a mute or ban above one (1) month.

Part 12 — Terms of Service Violations

Article 61 — Terms of Service Violation

§1. Whoever breaches the Terms of Service, Community Guidelines, or other binding document of the platform where the crime is committed, in a manner in which SimDemocracy is expected and able to enforce, commits the crime of Terms of Service Violation.

§2. The sentences available for impersonation shall be a mute or ban of up to a lifetime and shall be individually determined in each case, taking into account the specific provision violated and the effects of the violatory action.

§3. This article may be prosecuted under retroactively, that is to say any act or omission which did not constitute a criminal offense in the Criminal Code at the time when it was committed may still be prosecuted if it falls under this article.

First Schedule

• Inchoate Offences;
• Article 52a Doxxing;
• Article 52b Threats to Dox;
• Article 53 §1. First Degree Harassment;
• Article 54 Sexual Harassment;
• Article 55 Failure to Report Sexual Harassment;
• Article 59 Blackmail; and,
• Article 60 Abuse of Vulnerability

Second Schedule

• Offences under Part 6 of the Act except for Article 22 Making a Frivolous Claim;
• Offences under Part 8 Crimes Against Public Interest;
• Offences under Part 9 Electoral Crimes; and,
• All articles under Part 10 Crimes Against the State with the exception of Article 50 Spamming and Brigading and Article 50a Voice Chat Disruption.

Textual Amendments

Only amendments passed on or after the 23rd July 2023 have been annotated.

F1 Amended on the 23rd July 2023 by the Criminal Code (Deadnaming and Misgendering) (Amendment) Act 2023.

F2 Amended on the 7th of February, 2024, by the Unlawful Alts Amendment.

Amended on the 19th of March, 2025, by the Penalties and Tickets Act