LegionCharter

From 501st Legion Databank

Legion Charter

Article I: Name

501st Legion (aka “the Legion”, “the 501st“, and “Vader’s Fist”)

Article II: Mission

  1. The 501st Legion is an international costuming organization dedicated to celebrating STAR WARS™ through the creation and use of quality costumes that portray the villainous, morally ambiguous, or non-partisan characters from the STAR WARS™ universe.
  2. The Legion promotes interest in STAR WARS and facilitates the use of these costumes for STAR WARS-related events as well as contributes to the local community through costumed charity and volunteer work.

Article III: Representation

The 501st Legion recognizes that the members of the Legion have no claim to the copyright and intellectual property of Lucasfilm Ltd. (LFL) except by the privileges authorized to the organization by LFL. Members acknowledge and accept that they, by authorization, portray the characters of STAR WARS when in costume and acting on behalf of the Legion. While representing the Legion, members agree to do so courteously, professionally, and responsibly at all times.

Article IV: Membership

  1. The 501st Legion is an inclusive, equal-opportunity, non-discriminatory club. Membership is open to persons 18 years or older who own a costume that meets with the standards of accuracy, completeness, and quality of construction as required by the Legion.
  2. Upon admission, a new member may choose or will be assigned a unique operating number. Two-letter code prefixes corresponding to approved costumes are associated with that number. The operating number is unique to the individual member and is non-transferable. Rights and privileges are granted to members according to their status as either active or otherwise.
  3. Members agree to use and wear their costumes in accordance with the participation requirements as set forth by the Legion.
  4. Members are expected to comply with their respective applicable local, regional, and national laws.
  5. The right to grant, deny, or suspend membership is reserved by and under the sole authority of the Legion Commanding Officer, Legion Executive Officer, and Legion Captain of the Guard and may not be superseded by any rules of any Legion subdivision or unit. Membership may be immediately and permanently revoked by the Legion Commanding Officer, Legion Executive Officer, and Legion Captain of the Guard in cases of undisclosed criminal history, conviction of violent crimes, or crime against children. All other disciplinary action follows the process outlined in the Operations Protocol.
  6. The 501st Legion reserves the right to deny or revoke membership at any time, based on any past criminal history as outlined in the Operations Protocol and in accordance with the laws of the applicable country or region within. Notice of such denial or revocation will be filed with the 501st Legion Council.

Article V: Organization

  1. The 501st Legion recognizes that most activities will be on the local level. For this reason, the club is organized into Garrisons, Squads, and Outposts (collectively referred to below as “unit” or “units”), based on geographical boundaries.
    1. The list of units and their boundaries are overseen by the Legion Captain of the Guard.
    2. The Legion Webmaster is responsible for maintaining the technical aspects of unit definitions and boundaries.
  2. Detachments are special Legion Units formed as resource groups that focus on a specific costume or costume category and are not bound by geography.
  3. Legion Officers, as well as their support staff, coordinate the overall administrative aspects of the global organization. See Article VI: Officers for specific roles and responsibilities.
  4. The Legion Council is a body made up of the Legion Officers and representatives from each Detachment, Garrison and Outpost.
    1. This Council is moderated by the Legion Commanding Officer.
    2. Legion members may bring issues of contention or concern before the Council through their Council representatives, or, in cases where their issues are with their Council representatives, through any other member of the Council (which includes Legion Officers).
  5. Units may optionally form Regional Alliances as deemed appropriate by the units.
    1. A Regional Alliance consists of two or more units which agree to collaborate on a regular basis for event planning, community building, or other purposes as deemed necessary.
    2. A Regional Alliance is a recognized administrative group, and not a Legion Unit.
    3. Participation in a Regional Alliance is purely voluntary; single units may opt-in or out at any time. Participation is at the discretion of the unit Commanding Officer and a simple majority vote in favor by poll of the unit’s membership. While all participating units must vote to form an alliance, once a unit has been established, single units are permitted to enter or exit the alliance.
    4. A unit may participate in more than one Regional Alliance.
    5. Regional Alliances may choose to designate one or more members as representatives for the purposes of event planning, communications, and other duties as determined by the Regional Alliance. These representatives are not named Legion positions, nor do they have any authority as representatives beyond what is granted to them as either members of their unit, or members of their unit’s command staff.
    6. Regional Alliances may choose to establish shared forums, distribution lists, chat groups, or other communications systems to facilitate cooperation and collaboration.


Article VI: Legion Officers

The following Officers serve as part of the ‘Legion Command Staff’ (also called 'Legion Command')

  1. Legion Commanding Officer (LCO): The LCO is the top administrator and president of the club. The LCO appoints other Legion Command Staff to assist with club operations, which may include but are not limited to formulating policies, moderating the Legion Council, and organizing partnerships with outside parties.
  2. Legion Executive Officer (LXO): The LXO assists the LCO in club operations as vice-president. The LXO may perform duties as assigned by the LCO, and will act as club president in the absence of the LCO.
  3. Legion Membership Officer (LMO): The office of the LMO is responsible for reviewing and processing applications for membership and maintaining member information in the Legion database. The LMO drives costume policies, including acceptable costume types for membership and quality control of costume submissions. The LMO is the final arbiter of member costume issues and approvals. The LMO supervises and advises Detachments, Garrison Membership Liaisons, and Garrison Web Liaisons.
  4. Legion Merchandising and Branding Officer (LMBO): The office of the LMBO oversees all Legion merchandise operations, including those of local units. The LMBO ensures that all merchandise projects adhere to rules and guidelines that govern use of images, pricing, and distribution.
  5. Legion Public Relations Officer (LPRO): The office of the LPRO serves as the Legion's advocate and primary point of contact with the public and outside parties. The LPRO serves as the executive editor of all Legion publications and multimedia productions. The office of the LPRO also serves as the primary point of contact for celebrities and VIPs.
  6. Legion Charity Representative (LCR): The office of the LCR serves as the Legion's primary point of contact with outside charitable organizations. The LCR manages documentation of Legion charitable activities and may publish and promote the Legion's charity efforts to the membership and the public.
  7. Legion Event Coordinator (LEC): The office of the LEC serves as the Legion's primary support for Unit Event Coordinator(s). The LEC serves as liaison for events that span multiple Legion Units. The LEC is also a liaison with Lucasfilm Ltd / Disney fan relations office. The LEC manages documentation of Legion event activities and may publish and promote the Legion's trooping efforts to the membership and the public.
  8. Legion Charter Review Officer (LCRO): This officer serves as the Head of the Charter Review Committee, manages and oversees the Amendment Proposal workflow. This Officer is responsible for all communications between the CRC Team, the Legion Council and Legion Command.
  9. Legion Diversity Officer (LDO): The office of the LDO serves as the Legion’s primary contact and support unit for diversity and inclusion. The LDO serves as a liaison between Legion Command, Garrison Command, and the membership to advocate for diversity and inclusion issues. The LDO serves as an educational resource and develops information on how members of the 501st can treat each other with equity, dignity, and respect. Finally, if requested, the LDO may provide advice and consultation to Legion Counsellors, the LCO, and LCOGs on complaints of harassment, discrimination, and disparate treatment. An LDO cannot bring charges on behalf of the office but is not prohibited from participating in the hearing process as a member.

The following Officers serve as part of the ‘Legion Administrative Staff’ (also called 'Legion Administration')

  1. Legion Captain of the Guard (LCOG): The office of the LCOG interprets and enforces club rules. The office of the LCOG serves as an impartial mediator for disputes among members or officers, oversees disciplinary hearings, moderates Legion elections, and maintains the Legion map of units. The Lead LCOG appoints additional LCOGs to assist with the workload.
  2. Legion Webmaster (LWM): The office of the LWM manages all Legion Web resources and advises unit Webmasters. The Lead LWM appoints additional LWMs to assist with the workload.


Unit Officers

Garrison or Outpost Officers

  1. Garrison or Outpost Commanding Officer (CO): The CO is elected by the unit's membership. The CO is the chief administrator of the unit and is responsible for the operations of the unit and the coordination of events that occur within the unit's boundaries. The CO is responsible for maintaining communications with the Legion Council and Legion Command. The CO also appoints the unit officers and staff, and administers local forum rules. Where no officer is appointed for a role, the CO will execute the responsibilities and actions of that role. The CO is the principal representative of the unit’s membership on the Legion Council, and is responsible for assigning additional required Council representatives from their unit.
  2. Garrison or Outpost Executive Officer (XO): The XO is appointed by the CO. The XO may perform duties as assigned by the CO, and will assume leadership of the unit in the absence of the CO.
  3. Garrison or Outpost Membership Liaison (GML): The GML is appointed by the CO. The GML is responsible for maintaining the unit’s member activity status and costume approval information in the Legion member database. The GML processes, reviews and approves costumes used for applications for membership.
  4. Garrison or Outpost Public Relations Officer (GPRO): The GPRO is appointed by the CO. The GPRO assists the GCO in promoting the unit to the public and also may be called upon by the Legion PRO to assist in the public promotion of the Legion.
  5. Garrison or Outpost Web Liaison (GWL): The GWL is appointed by the CO. The GWL assists the GML in the preparation and management of the unit’s membership profiles and is directly responsible for the processing and management of the unit’s membership profiles images.
Squad Officers
  1. Squad Leader (SL): The SL is elected by the Squad's membership. The SL is the event coordinator for the local area in which the Squad operates. The SL reports directly to the parent Garrison's leadership.
  2. The Squad leader may appoint a Squad Executive Officer (SXO). The SXO may perform duties as assigned by the SL, and will assume leadership of the unit in the absence of the SL.

Detachment Officers

  1. Detachment Leader (DL): The DL is elected by the Detachment membership. The DL is the chief administrator of the Detachment and is responsible for the operations of the Detachment and managing research and information about costume creation and construction. The DL also appoints any necessary Detachment officers and staff. DLs are supervised by the LMO. The DL represents the Detachment's interests on the Legion Council. A DL has the following responsibilities:
    1. Verify membership status in the Legion with the approved costume, and grant the appropriate access for active Legion members in good standing to detachments areas.
    2. Monitor and moderate the Detachment forums, appointing additional moderators as needed.
    3. Ensure that the Detachment Web site is properly maintained and the content therein is accurate and up to date.
    4. Participate on the Legion forums and advise other DLs and GMLs as needed.
    5. Maintain contact with the LMO and report any issue or controversy related to costuming.
    6. Participate in Legion Council discussions to represent the detachment.

Article VII: Elections

  1. The LCO, a single Lead LCOG and a single Lead LWM, Garrison and Outpost COs, Squad Leaders, and Detachment Leaders are all elected positions in the Legion. All other positions are appointed by their respective supervising official.
  2. To be eligible to run for or hold an elected Office, a member has to meet the Qualifications listed in Section 3: Elections of the Operations Protocol.
  3. All elected offices serve one-year terms.
  4. The office of LCO is elected by majority vote of the active members of the Legion. The offices of Garrison and Outpost CO, Squad Leader, and Detachment Leader are elected by majority vote of the active members of each respective unit. The voting system is defined in the Operations Protocol.
  5. The Lead LCOG and Lead LWM are elected by majority vote of the Legion Council, using the voting system as defined in the Operations Protocol.
  6. Annual elections are mandatory for every unit, unless an incumbent official stands unchallenged, in which case an election may be waived.
  7. In the event a an officer, unit commander or leader is unable to continue in their office, that unit will follow the procedure in Section 3 of the Operations Protocol to determine a replacement. Inability to serve may be determined by either voluntary resignation of the office, a period of 30 days of unresponsiveness in office after all reasonable means of communication are exhausted, or an effective Administrative Leave (see Section 1 of the Operations Protocol).
  8. Any member of the Legion may address egregious problems in leadership by requesting a recall election of an officer or a unit's leader. Requests for recall elections will follow the procedure in Section 3 of the Operations Protocol for consultation, review, and approval before proceeding. Recall elections are not to be used to express dissatisfaction with the results of a properly conducted and legitimate election process (concerns with improperly conducted elections should be forwarded to the Legion COG, and are outside the scope of this provision).

Article VIII: Policies and Amendments

  1. A committee will be formed each year at the beginning of the new term. This committee will be supervised by the Legion Charter Review Officer (LCRO) and consisting of various members of the Legion to oversee and manage amendments to the Charter and Operations Protocol (OP). This committee is called the Charter Review Committee (CRC).
  2. Amendments to the Charter or OP may be proposed by any active Legion member to the LCRO directly or via a Legion Council representative at any time.
  3. All proposed amendments to the Charter or the OP will be held at the stage they are currently in beginning on Day 11 of the elections (as outlined in Section 3), until Day 17 of the elections. New proposals submitted during this period will be held in Legion Council review.
  4. All proposals to either the Charter or the OP go through a CRC evaluation to ensure that each proposal is free of conflicting language that would require additional changes be made to existing policies in the Charter or OP.
  5. Upon reaching a satisfactory state of completion of the proposal, signified by passing a vote by participating Legion Council

members, Legion Council will present the completed proposal to the Legion members for ratification.

  1. Draft proposals will be submitted to the Legion Council for review. During review, the proposal may be further revised by the CRC with suggestions from the Legion Council. Legion Council members are authorized to share works in progress with their respective unit members for additional input. Completion of revisions is due no later than 10 days following submission of the draft.
  2. Upon reaching a satisfactory state of completion of the proposal, signified by passing a vote by participating Legion Council members, Legion Council will present the completed proposal to the Legion members for ratification.
  3. Charter proposals require a two-thirds majority of both the voting Legion Council members and the voting Legion membership to pass.
  4. Operations Protocol-only proposals require a simple majority of both the voting Legion Council members and the voting Legion membership to pass.
  5. If passed, the proposal becomes an Amendment and is effective immediately upon completion of the vote.
  6. Amendments that do not pass a vote by the Legion Council or ratification by the Legion Membership may not be voted on by that respective body again for a period of one year from the close of the relevant vote, unless new documented circumstances arise which may influence a discussion and vote. Allowance for a new vote within that 12 month window requires the agreement of the Legion Commanding Officer, Legion Executive Officer, and Legion Captain of the Guard.
  7. Changes to the Charter and Operations Protocol that involve only formatting, spelling, and punctuation corrections are permitted to be made outside of the formal amendment process. The Legion Council must be notified about the changes, which take effect after a 7 days waiting period with no issues raised.

Article IX: Merchandise and Branding

  1. The 501st Legion is a club based on a copyrighted property and is not authorized to profit from the sales of merchandise bearing images or ideas from the STAR WARS property.
  2. Merchandise or materials created to promote or advertise the 501st Legion (referred to herein as "merchandise") will be sold only to members of the 501st Legion and Rebel Legion and at cost. Merchandise is not to be sold to the general public unless authorized and be approved by Legion Command and Lucasfilm Ltd. All merchandise must meet Legion guidelines and approved by the Legion prior to production. Merchandise not abiding by these guidelines will be considered unauthorized and its sale shall be forbidden to members of the 501st Legion. Producing or distributing unauthorized merchandise may be subject to disciplinary action by the Legion.
  3. Any items bearing the words "501st Legion", "Fighting 501st", "Vader's Fist", the 501st Logo, URLs, or those of any sub-units of the Legion, or any other term or image that can be reasonably identified with the Legion or its sub-units are considered representative of the 501st Legion. Proposals for such items are to be reviewed by the office of the Legion Merchandising and Branding Officer, and approval must be granted by the LMBO prior to production.
  4. The Legion does not endorse or manage the creation or sale of props, costumes, or costume parts or materials by anyone for sale to others. The Legion will not intervene in private sales or transactions of non-Legion merchandise or products. Legion rules do not extend to any disputes related to these matters.

Article X: Disciplinary Action

When the Legion's standards of conduct are violated, it is an unfortunate necessity to address them. While the Legion recognizes that membership is voluntary and should be fun, it also recognizes that there must be some protection afforded its members from abuse and misconduct. To this end, the Legion adheres to the following prescription for disciplinary action.

  1. All commanders are expected to enforce the rules of the Legion in their respective jurisdictions. Any member behaving in an unacceptable manner or violating Legion rules or the tenets thereof is subject to disciplinary action. Disputes within any Legion subdivision are to be managed by the commander of the subdivision, unless the commander is involved in the dispute or there is any other clear conflict of interest on their part, in which case the dispute must be escalated to the Legion level.
  2. Complaints should be directed by members to their immediate commander. The commander is responsible for mediating the dispute. This action may take the form of an informal meeting between the parties, up to formal hearings.
  3. The Legion Captain of the Guard must be notified prior to commencing any hearing at any level and be granted the option to observe the proceedings or be otherwise included in communications related to the hearing.
  4. In the event a conflict or complaint involves members of different units, the commander of the primary complainant serves as the presiding officer and conducts a meeting or hearing with the defendant and the commander of the defendant's unit. If one of the parties involved in a dispute is an officer of a unit, the hearing will be overseen by the Legion Captain of the Guard or a designated representative.
  5. All hearings are conducted on the Legion forum, unless otherwise directed by the Legion Captain of the Guard.
  6. No member may be removed from the Legion without the knowledge and approval of the Legion Commanding Officer, Legion Executive Officer, and Legion Captain of the Guard.
  7. Following the resolution of a dispute or hearing, both parties in a disciplinary action have the right to appeal the decision to the Legion Captain of the Guard within 30 days. See operational guidelines for appeal procedures.

Article XI: Operational Protocols

  1. Operation Protocols are additional rules, processes, and procedures to manage regular operations, provide guidelines and instruction. The Operation Protocols set expectations of actions and behaviors in and for the Legion and its members and work in unison with the Legion Charter. The Operation Protocols are found in the document titled Operation Protocols.
  2. Amendments, alterations, or repeal of the Operation Protocols may be proposed by active Legion members to their Legion Council Representative.
  3. The Legion Council will review, accept/reject, and draft any proposed changes to the Operation Protocols.
  4. Completed proposals will be presented by the Legion Council to the Legion members for ratification.
  5. Amendments to the Operation Protocols require a simple majority of the voting members to pass.
  6. If passed, the proposal is incorporated into the Operation Protocols and is effective immediately upon completion of the vote.

Article XII: Handling of Donations

Where the 501st or any of its sub-units accepts and collects donations for charitable purposes, there must be a protocol for handling these donations, set up by the respective sub-unit. The protocol must be in accordance with the laws of the jurisdiction(s) applicable to the sub-unit that collected the donations. On request of the Legion Council (by a seconded motion with a simple majority vote), these protocols must be submitted for review. The Legion Council may (in a similar fashion) ask the Legion Captain of the Guard to participate in the review. The protocols are to be kept by the Legion Charity Officer, taking into account the prevailing laws of the jurisdiction(s).

The Legion Council and the Legion Captain of the Guard may temporarily revoke a sub-unit's ability to accept or collect donations in the event of abuse or wrong-doing. The recommendation to revoke must be made by the LCOGs and receive a simple majority vote by the Legion Council to suspend the sub-unit's ability to accept or collect funds, for a period of time to be determined by the Legion Council. This is to be done after a disciplinary hearing under Article X has concluded there was wrong-doing in the handling of donations by members of the sub-unit in question, regardless of any pending appeal. If a unit continues to accept or collect donations while under revocation, this shall be an offence actionable under Article X.

Donations collected for a particular charitable organization or cause must be transferred to that charitable organization or cause, as soon as practicable, according to the local laws.


Revised by Rhaethe 05-03-2023 Changed rev date code - KRK

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