AVL Constitution, 2001

AVL’s constitution was drawn up in consultation with the Dutch lawyer Gerard Spong for AVL-Ville and was displayed in the Hall of Delights. The Free State’s constitution guarantees many of the rights and freedoms guaranteed by the charter of a democratic state. The major difference is that AVL’s founding laws are absolute and without exceptions. By removing the possibility of exceptions, AVL keeps legislation to an absolute minimum. Article 11 states that individuals must solve any conflicts within AVL-Ville or leave the compound – a clause that renders judges, lawyers and police superfluous. The constitution opens by guaranteeing each individual’s right to absolute freedom of expression since AVL has often been confronted with limitations imposed by the law. While eliminating restrictions imposed by the authorities, the first article prevents AVL citizens from censoring themselves.

Constitution AVL-Ville
Introduction
In a constantly developing society, the artist plays an important stimulating role. Development implies breaking away from existing structures. To reach optimal artistic expression, it is crucial for the artist to be able to deploy himself or herself without being subject to the restrictions of civil morality. The objective of AVL-Ville is to create an environment where this is possible. To reach this goal, the rights formulated below are to be seen as absolute, without any exceptions. Living at AVL-Ville can be experienced as a hard and confrontational artistic life. However, this is the ultimate consequence of an honest and uncompromising existence.
Text of the Constitution
1) Everyone has the right to freedom of artistic expression and design.
2) Everyone has the right to freedom of expression, which is to say revealing and receiving thoughts or feelings other than artistic.
3) Every participant of AVL-Ville is equal and is entitled to be treated without discrimination on account of race, colour, sex, language, belief, political, artistic and philosophical ideas, nationality, possessions, or any other ground.
4) Everyone is entitled to gather with others and to demonstrate.
5) Everyone has the right to freedom of religious expression, including idolatry, polygamy and forming a sect.
6) Everyone is entitled to have an education, including an artistic education.
7) Everyone has the right to immunity in privacy and artistic lifestyle, as well as communication in any way with third parties.
8) Everyone is allowed to wander freely within the AVL-Ville area.
9) Everyone is entitled to create independently his or her own housing within the AVL-Ville territory.
10) Everyone has the right to have immunity over body and spirit, which also includes being able to dispose of one’s body and spirit according to one’s own wishes, with or without help of artificial means.
11) All AVL-Ville participants are obliged to treat any other member with absolute honesty and respect; it is compulsory to solve any conflict within AVL-Ville.
12) A) All AVL-Ville participants accept that management will be decided by the general committee, which is composed of an as of yet unspecified supervising board, to be formed by members of the general committee along with others.
 

B) The general committee is qualified to expel participants, if no amicable settlement can be agreed upon in conflicts.