Bowman Acts: Difference between revisions
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Another known section of the ''Acts'' is Article Two of the Bowman Act of 1982; it calls for and defines a 'mutual-defense treaty', in which all signatory nations have promised to provide information, materials and intelligence/military forces (as needed) for the purpose of defending the entire planet from imminent threats of natures specifically stated in the ''Acts''. Article Two also places specific restrictions upon military and intelligence assets of signatory nations from dissemination of information related to operations involving metahuman activities of which they have either participated in or become aware of without prior consent for said dissemination. (This is a noticeable point, as it sets in place greater restrictions beyond those enumerated in Article One.)
Other known statutes in the ''Acts'' are the specific regulations dealing with the use of mystical and telepathic citizens and their abilities by private companies/corporations and the governments of ''Bowman Act''-signatory countries, the conduct of mystical and telepathic citizens within their home societies and the specific laws and penalties involved with the illegal/unsanctioned usage of their abilities (the infamous ''Article Ten'' of the Bowman Act of 1982, later amended to encompass all metahumans and any use of advanced technology, regardless or the source and/or origin of said technology). An equally controversial (yet lesser-known) provision is ''Article Eleven'' of the Bowman Act of 1982, which sets up the framework for metahuman conscription provisions for involuntary federal/national service in both the civilian (including the intelligence services of the nation where the metahuman citizen hails from) and military sectors. (It must be noted that since this was ratified, no nation has attempted to use this for its stated purpose - primarily because doing so would require notification of the oversight committee (see below), and because attempting to do so would be seen as an overt act of military aggression by that nation.
The Bowman Acts also contain language that defines the legal rights and status of any metahuman citizens of any signatory nation, should they somehow come into situations where the Acts come into play, and the legal mechanisms that have been put into place to service these citizens. it should be noted that the rights, status and legal mechanisms put into play by a nation's signing of the Acts does not circumvent, restrict or remove any legal standing or civil rights that a citizen currently possesses and in many cases provides those citizens rights that they previously did not possess as regular citizens of their nation; for example, the rights guaranteed by 'Article Three' of the ''Bowman Act of 1982'' is fundamentally similar to [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Miranda_v._Arizona the rights afforded to American citizens in ''Miranda v. Arizona'' (the iconic '' 'Miranda rights'' ').] Further rights guaranteed by ''Article Three'' include the right of a metahuman citizen to not have his or her powers permanently disabled or removed without a separate trial (if the person is sentenced to long-term incarceration) to determine if this is warranted, justifiable, and if doing so constitutes 'double jeopardy'. ''Article Three'' also establishes a ''Commission for Oversight on Metahuman Rights and Legal Affairs''; the Commission is the judicial body that handles any questions on the legalities in enforcement of the Acts. Furthermore, Article Three establishes a set of international standards of various terminology used in dealing with metahumans; this also includes the Claremont/Byrne metahuman power rankings scale.
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