Post by Nyelant on Jan 10, 2018 1:04:42 GMT
The Constitution of the Union of Londinium
We, the nations of the Union of Londinium, seeking to form a government for the benefit and advancement of all members, hereby ordain and establish the following Constitution of Londinium.
Article I: Definitions.
[§1.] The terms “Union of Londinium”, “Londinium”, and “the region” in this document all refer to the NationStates region Londinium, located at nationstates.net/region=londinium.
[§2.] The term “government official” refers to any member of the Executive, Judiciary, or the upper house of the Legislature.
[§3.] The term “law” refers to any bill regulating the region that has been passed by the Legislature.
[§4.] The term “executive action” refers to an action taken by the Monarch or Prime Minister without approval from the Legislature.
[§5.] The terms “citizen” and “member” refer to a player maintaining at least one nation in the region.
[§6.] The terms “in-game” and “gameside” describe actions, positions, etc. exclusive to the NationStates region.
[§7.] The term “offsite” describes any supplementary website established for the region, including but not limited to the official forum.
[§8.] All units of time in this document refer to “real-world” time.
[§9.] The term quorum refers to fifty (50) percent of a legislative body.
[§10.] The term, “neglecting to vote” refers to a situation in which a member does not submit any vote, including a vote of present or abstain, on a bill.
[§11.] The term leave of absence refers to a period of time, designated by the Speaker or President of each house, in which a member is not required to discharge the duties of their office, for reasons signified to the Speaker or President by the member.
Article II: The Executive.
Section I: The Monarchy
[§1.] The chief authority of the region shall be vested in a Monarch.
[§2.] The Monarch shall serve until they resign, cease to exist, or are recalled by the Legislature. The Legislature can only remove the Monarch from power by a three-fourths majority.
[§3.] The Monarch holds power to declare war, discipline nations in-game, call special elections, and, in extreme circumstances, dissolve the government entirely.
[§4.] The Monarch holds exclusive power to grant honorary feudal titles to citizens as they see fit.
[§5.] The Monarch shall be entrusted with all possible regional officer power in-game.
[§6.] The Monarch may at any given time appoint a successor to the position. In the event of a vacancy in the Monarchy, the Prime Minister shall take over the responsibilities until a new Monarch is selected. In such circumstances, the Cabinet will be responsible for determining how the successor will be chosen.
Section II: The Prime Minister
[§7.] The Assembly of All shall, every three (3) months, elect a citizen by popular vote to serve as Prime Minister of the region.
[§8.] A citizen may serve as Prime Minister for any number of terms, but may only serve two (2) consecutively.
[§9.] The Prime Minister shall serve as the presiding officer of the Parliament, but shall not hold a vote unless the Parliament is equally divided on an issue.
[§10.] The Prime Minister shall have the power to veto legislation passed by the Legislature.
[§11.] The Prime Minister shall appoint a Cabinet, composed of citizens they deem qualified. The positions shall include:
• [11.1] a Minister of Population, responsible for recruiting new members for the region,
• [11.2] a Minister of Development, responsible for internal regional affairs, such as encouraging regional involvement in government or other regional events,
• [11.3] a Minister of Security, who shall hold gameside Border Control authority and maintain order,
• [11.4] and a Chief Diplomat, responsible for representing Londinium in other regions and appointing assisting diplomats as necessary.
[§12.] The Prime Minister may appoint and dismiss additional Cabinet ministers as they see fit.
Article III: The Legislature.
Section I: Overview
[§1.] The Legislature has sole authority to pass laws governing the region, and shall be composed of two houses, the Upper House and the Assembly of All.
[§2.] No bill shall achieve passage without the consent of a quorum of both houses of the legislature.
[§3.] Each house of the legislature may determine the rules of its proceedings through the adoption of a standing rules of order.
[§4.] The Legislature shall have the power to override the veto of a Prime Minister provided two-thirds of both houses give their consent.
Section II: Parliament
[§5.] The Parliament shall have the power to approve or deny bills passed in the Assembly of All, as well as the power to pass bills and send them to the Assembly of All for approval or denial.
[§6.] Proposed legislation and approvals from the Assembly of All shall be considered passed when they achieve the consent of a quorum of members.
[§7.] The Parliament must confirm all appointments to the Judiciary by a two-thirds majority.
[§8.] The Parliament shall meet and conduct business in a designated offsite location.
[§9.] The Parliament shall select, at the beginning of the legislative term, a President Pro Tempore to preside in the absence of the Prime Minister.
[§10.] The parliament may remove one of its members by a two-thirds majority vote. The Assembly of all may remove one of the Members of Parliament by a two-thirds majority vote, provided a quorum of representatives have voted.
[§11.] The parliament shall have the sole power to try all impeachments. When sitting for that purpose, the Lord Chancellor shall preside. No individual shall be convicted or removed from office without the consent of two-thirds of the Parliament.
[§12.] The Parliament shall consist of five (5) members, elected by popular vote by the Assembly of All every three (3) months. Members may serve no more than two (2) consecutive terms, however, there shall be no limit for the number of non-consecutive terms a member may serve. The Prime Minister may add or remove additional seats to the Parliament as they wish.
[§13.] Shall there remain vacant seats in the Parliament for a time period exceeding seven days and the requisite number of citizens have not stood in a special election to fill said seats, the Monarch may, in his wisdom, appoint citizens to serve in the Parliament until said term naturally expires.
Section III: Assembly of All
[§14.] The Assembly of All (“Assembly”) shall consist of all citizens of Londinium in good standing provided they have not
• [14.1] Achieved membership in Parliament
• [14.2] Abstained from voting on more than three bills submitted to the Assembly of All.
[§15.] The provisions of [§14.2] shall not apply to members having requested a leave of absence from the Assembly of All.
[§16.] A member removed due to non-compliance with [§9.2] may be reinstated by lodging a formal request with the Speaker.
[§17.] Proposed legislation and approvals from the Parliament shall be considered passed when they achieve the consent of a quorum of members.
[§18.] The Assembly shall elect a Speaker every three (3) months through a popular vote achieving the consent of a quorum of the membership. The Speaker shall preside over the Assembly and represent its interests in Parliament and to the Executive.
[§19.] The Assembly may call for a referendum on any regional law, executive action, or issue. Any changes proposed must be passed by a two-thirds majority.
[§20.] The Assembly will vote on legislation through use of the in-game poll system. The Executive shall be charged with maintaining the poll and with verifying results. Each poll shall run for a period of three (3) days, unless the Executive sees fit to make it longer.
[§21.] Any citizen found attempting to vote with multiple nations shall have all their votes discounted. They may receive additional discipline if deemed necessary by the Judiciary.
[§22.] The Assembly of All shall have the power to approve or deny bills submitted by Parliament, as well as the power to pass bills and submit them to Parliament for approval.
[§23.] The Assembly of All shall hold the sole power of impeachment. If achieving the consent of a quorum of the membership, the articles of impeachment introduced shall be brought before the Parliament for trial.
Article IV: The Judiciary.
[§1.] The Judiciary shall consist of a Lord Chancellor, appointed by the Monarch, and a minimum of two Justices, appointed by the Prime Minister. These must not concurrently be members of the Executive or the Parliament.
[§2.] Members shall hold the position from their appointment until they resign, cease to exist, or are removed from office by the Monarch or Parliament.
[§3.] The Judiciary shall review and determine the legality of all laws, executive actions, and appointments as deemed necessary. They have the authority to reverse any decision on reasonable grounds.
Article V: Rights of Citizens.
[§1.] No citizen of Londinium shall be denied the following rights: the right of free press, the right to protest, the right to a fair trial, the right to freely practice religion, and the right to believe and express their own opinion.
Article VI: The Constitution
[§1.] All legislation and executive action are subject to this document, and must be verified to be in compliance with it as detailed in Article IV, Clause 3 of this document.
[§2.] This document may be amended by a two-thirds majority vote of the Assembly of All. Before it is brought before the Assembly, the amendment must be (1) approved by a two-thirds majority of all Upper House members and (2) approved by either the Monarch or the Prime Minister.
[§3.] In the event that an amendment bill is urgent, and that both the Monarch and the Prime Minister are unable to either approve or reject an amendment bill, the rest of the Cabinet may approve a bill for vote by a two-thirds majority. In this case, the Judiciary maintains the right to challenge the authority of the Cabinet to act in any given case.
Ratified September 9, 2017. Amended November 1, 2017 (added Article III §8), November 4, 2017 (added Article VI), December 2, 2017 (too many amendments to list here, check the link).