Regulus Petraeus of House Guernicus will propose a few additions to the Charter as soon as possible. These relate to his personal objective of changing apprentice rights in the Order, and his first step is to have a Tribunal with additions to the Periphereal Code granting more rights to apprentices. He expects that including these in the charter can be used latter as a precedent that giving more rights to apprentices is viable and works, and will openly discuss this with anyone who asks.
Speaking as a player, there is no need for the members of the covenant to agree. This is Regulus' personal agenda. If the motion is failed he will take it as practice for the Tribunal and try to slowly make the other magi understand that this is for the benefit of the Order, and to understand what are the reasons for their disagreement so that he can address them as soon as possible. It is entirely possible that Regulus will ultimately fail in his objective, and that would be no problem to me.
These are (loosely) based on how things are done in Thebes. The intent is to protect apprentices and give incentives to the magi to not be jerks, without burdening them too much.
Apprentices of the Covenant
Should a member of the covenant find a Gifted child, he (the finder) will not claim her as an apprentice to himself, but instead convene the Council and present the child to the attending members. Any of the members present is in their right to talk to the child, ask questions and investigate their Gift. Any member without apprentices is in his right to offer himself as a potential master. He can explain his arts and interests and talk of what he will teach the child, but he can not use mundane or magical coercion to direct the child decision.
The child will chose which of the potential masters she accepts. If she does not chose the finder, the new master must provide a single season of service in benefit of the finder, with no cost to himself other than time, to be requested and accomplished in no more than seven years. If both parts cannot arrive at a consensus on the season of service, it shall be converted in seasons of service in benefit of the covenant, with the master accomplishing the finder’s duties until a full season of service is paid. If she chooses no one, the finder becomes the master.
If all the present members already have apprentices, any member may offer to be the child’s master. If no member of the covenant wants an apprentice, the Gifted child can be directed to a friendly covenant where she shall be respected and well treated.
An apprentice to a member of the covenant shall have the status of half-magus and half-member. As such, she is entitled to a half-vote on council, and to be paid half of the same amount his master receives. Any damages made against an apprentice, by any member of this covenant, shall be trialed in court as a high crime, as if conducted against a full magus.
An apprentice can lodge a complaint against his master to any magus of this covenant, who is legally obliged to present the complaint to the Tribunal for investigation. A member of this covenant is entitled to double of the vis grant in 7th year of his apprentice, if he trains his apprentice for 7 years without receiving complaints.
The apprentice is not, within the Order, a full magus. Any crimes committed by the apprentice are still the responsibility of the master. An apprentice cannot be taught the Parma Magica before his gauntlet is complete and he has swore the Oath of Hermes. An apprentice must abide by any reasonable teaching schedule his master decides.
A Bonisagus has the right to claim the apprentice for himself, but this does not excludes the necessity of a season of service in benefit of the finder. If a Bonisagus of this covenant claims an apprentice of a magus from another covenant, there is no season of service to be paid, but the apprentice still has the duties and rights of a half-member. The same is true if a magi that already has an apprentice joins the covenant.
Other parts of the Charter may need minor revisions if this additions are accepted.