Próspera ZEDE offers perhaps the strongest systemic guarantee of human rights in the world.
How do we know this?
Because the gold standard for enforceable human rights guarantees is the U.S. Bill of Rights; and Article XII of the Próspera Charter includes a Resident Bill of Rights that guarantees fundamental liberties at U.S. Bill of Rights level (as of June 30, 2019) or better.
By virtue of Section 12.01(1) of the Charter, this guarantee is included in every (e)Resident Agreement of Coexistence, so it is both law and an enforceable contractual obligation. Not only that, but full-time Residents (physical Residents - both natural person and legal entity) have a robust legal stability guarantee in Article IV of their Agreement of Coexistence that precludes retroactive changes in Próspera law to undermine those rights. Equally important: The Próspera Charter's guarantee of rights protections extends to any entity that is acting under the "color of law," including any private partner among the "Próspera Group" who may be participating in furnishing municipal services, any future special district, and any common interest community that is the functional equivalent of a governmental body. This mitigates any special risk to human rights that might arise from reliance on public-private partnerships in Próspera ZEDE.
But how could the protection of human rights in Próspera be even better than what is protected by the U.S. Bill of Rights? There are at least six more reasons.
First of all, personal accountability is a way of life for Próspera public officials. Sections 2.04(9), 3.11(3), 11.11(1) of the Próspera Charter, as well as paragraph 4 of Council Action No. 3, conceptualize public officials as literal trustees of a public trust, with actual and enforceable fiduciary duties to each (e)Resident. Próspera public officials also do not have sovereign immunity vis a vis (e)Residents (there is only intergovernmental sovereign immunity to guard against monetary liability that might be imposed by non-ZEDE governmental bodies). Further, under Section 11.11(1) of the Próspera Charter and the Prospera Liability Shield Resolution, liability limitations enjoyed by Próspera public officials apply only to unintentional acts or omissions, and only to the extent such liability might exceed available insurance or a sustainable payout from public revenues (aggregate annual liability is limited to the greater of available insurance limits or 15% of aggregate tax revenues per annum). The only broad liability limitation that exists for public officials is in regard to protecting Próspera public officials when defending Próspera ZEDE from rogue efforts by external governments to undermine legal stability guarantees.
Second, under Section 12.01(3) of the Próspera Charter, every (e)Resident has standing to sue to protect their rights (and those of others) through both injunctive relief and compensatory damages. And once 1,000 natural persons establish their full-time (physical) residency in Próspera ZEDE, the office of the Ombudsman must be populated under Section 9.03 of the Próspera Charter. The Ombudsman is given institutional power to enforce the Resident Bill of Rights, as well as investigatory authority to support such enforcement.
Third, the human rights guarantees contained in the Honduran Constitution as well as international treaties (which are consistent with the zone's special regime status) also apply in Prospera. These legal instruments typically contain guarantees that exceed the baseline of the U.S. Bill of Rights.
Fourth, the Próspera Council of Trustees recently established the Human Rights Defense Committee, which provides a forum to entertain and investigate claims by (e)Residents of human rights violations by governmental bodies.
Fifth, as revealed below (with only two exceptions), the text used in the Resident Bill of Rights was designed to be more clear and more protective than that found in the U.S. Bill of Rights (after all, we stand on the shoulders of giants, so we have the benefit of hindsight). There are only two exceptions to this rule: (1) due to the way that the Honduran Constitution conceptualizes firearms ownership as a national military authority, the right to self-defense does not include a right to keep and bear firearms free from infringement; and (2) until August 23, 2030, the right of foreign (non-Honduran) residents to advocate the undermining of Prospera ZEDE's legal authorities (or criticize the Honduran government) may be limited by narrowly tailored rules.
But apart from these two exceptions, the guarantees of human rights in Prospera ZEDE in Section 12.01(2) of the Próspera Charter clarify and strengthen the parallel guarantees of the U.S. Bill of Rights as shown below:
"Right to Life . . . Próspera Group individually and collectively shall not intentionally deprive the life of any natural person Resident, e-Resident, or lawful visitor except as a reasonable and proportionate response to defend against that person’s unlawful initiation of violence or an imminent threat of violence against another person . . .
Right to Property . . . Próspera Group individually and collectively shall not exercise or delegate the exercise of its power of eminent domain or any other coercive sovereign power to take all or any part of any Resident’s or e-Resident’s vested liberty or property interests without first paying each such owner of the targeted interests an award of compensation in an amount that is equivalent to 200% of the greater of the (I) fair market value of the interests targeted for the taking immediately before the taking and without deducting any loss in value occurring because the intended taking had become known earlier, or (II) the monetary value of the loss sustained by the Resident or e-Resident as a result of the taking; plus interest at a commercially reasonable rate accrued on the amount of such award from the date of the announced intended taking until the date of payment, together with each such owner’s reasonable attorneys’ fees, litigation expenses and costs, whereupon title to any such taken property shall be transferred to Próspera or its nominee . . .
Freedom of Thought, Speech, Conscience and Religion . . . Próspera Group individually and collectively shall not deprive any Resident, e- Resident or lawful visitor of freedom of thought and expression, which includes the freedom to seek, receive, and impart information and ideas of all kinds, commercially or noncommercially, regardless of frontiers, either orally, in writing, in print, in the form of art or through any other medium of one’s choice . . . [and] shall not deny any Resident, e-Resident or lawful visitor freedom of conscience and of religion.
Freedom of Contract . . . Próspera Group individually and collectively shall not deprive any competent Resident or e-Resident of majority age of the right to freely enter into contracts to exchange, condition, restrain, subdivide or otherwise obligate, release, waive, burden or bind, in whole or in part, the exercise of any right or legally protected interest for any lawful purpose . . .
Procedural Due Process . . . Próspera Group individually and collectively shall not deprive any Resident, e-Resident or lawful visitor of life, liberty or property without closely following all applicable procedures established by Applicable Law within Próspera.
Freedom from Ex Post Facto Laws . . . Próspera Group individually and collectively shall not request, direct or authorize any criminal prosecution of any Resident or e-Resident for any act or omission that did not constitute a criminal offense: (I) at the time it was committed; and (II) under the criminal laws of the Republic of Honduras as of August 23, 2018 . . . shall not enact or impose upon any Resident or e-Resident a heavier criminal penalty than the one that was: (I) applicable at the time the Resident or e-Resident committed the criminal offense; and (II) applicable under the criminal laws of the Republic of Honduras as of August 23, 2018 . . . [and] shall not enact or impose upon any Resident, e-Resident or lawful visitor any civil penalty or liability for any act or omission that was not subject to such penalty or liability at the time it was committed.
Right to Security in Privacy . . . Próspera Group individually and collectively shall not deprive any Resident or e-Resident of security in their person, personal effects, communications or property from any search, surveillance, interception or seizure by Próspera Group individually or collectively unless authorized in doing so by . . . warrant or court order specifying the thing to be searched, intercepted or seized issued by Próspera Court based on probable cause that a serious crime has been committed . . . an authorizing decision of the default Arbitration Service Provider, provided that the Resident or e-Resident had previously agreed to be legally bound by the same in a written arbitration agreement, or . . . the knowing and voluntary consent of the Resident or e-Resident.
Presumption of Liberty . . . Próspera Group individually and collectively shall not infringe upon any Resident’s, e-Resident’s or lawful visitor’s freedom to act or refrain from acting in any manner that, at the time, is not prohibited, restricted, restrained, penalized or incurring liability under Applicable Law . . ."
Sixth, and last, the "First Principles" of Section 1002 of the Roatan Common Law Code enshrines a deep and reciprocal respect for human rights in the "private" default civil law applicable to all persons in Próspera ZEDE. It does this by declaring: "All competent natural persons of majority age governed by the RCLC shall be protected under the law as independent and self-responsible individuals who are entitled to freedom of action and enjoyment of their property subject to the like freedom of others." This is reinforced by provisions in each Agreement of Coexistence that require (e)Residents to promise not to violate the legal rights of others.
In conclusion, respect for and the protection of human rights is deeply embedded throughout the Próspera governance system both as direct guarantees and through strong incentives created by corresponding legal rights and duties.