Sunday, 11 April 2010

Draft of a new Constitution

TITLE II : The Institutions of State

General Remarks

1.The State comprises those institutions set up by general consent of the citizens of the Talossan Republic, to embody the collective will and act in the collective interests of those citizens.
2. a) The functions of the State are divided between the President, the Government, the Chamber of Deputies, the Senäts, and the Secretary of State.
b) Any person performing a role under this Constitution may resign their post by publically informing one or more of the President, Parlamînt and/or Secretary of State. Any person performing a role under this Constitution who is absent without explanation for one full calendar month or more shall be deemed to have resigned.
3. The Law of the Talossan Republic shall consist of the following, in order of priority:
(a)this Constitution;
(b)legislation passed by Parlamînt according to this Constitution;
(c)decisions of the Court of Justice;
(d)Executive Orders.
4. The Law of the Talossan Republic must be clear and comprehensible to the average citizen.

ARTICLE 1: The President of the Republic

1.The President of the Republic (in the national language: el Prüm Citaxhien) is the Head of the State and provides strategic and long-term leadership for the Republic.
2.The President has the power and responsibility, subject to the Law of the Republic:
(a)to defend the Republic, its Constitution and laws, and the institutions established by the Constitution and laws;
(b) to supervise the actions of the Government;
(c)to put into effect the laws passed by Parlamînt;
(d)with the advice and consent of the Government, to represent the Republic to foreign entities, and accredit ambassadors and other representatives of the Republic to such entities;
(e)to pardon those convicted of a crime by the judicial powers, subject to confirmation of any pardon by a referendum;
(f)to make a "State of the Republic" speech to a joint session of Parlamînt, at the first meeting of Parlamînt after the President's election;
(g)any other responsibilities which are granted by law.

Election of the President

3.The President is chosen by all Talossan electors, by universal, direct, free, equal and secret preferential ballot. Details of the conduct of such elections shall be established by law.
4.Every Talossan citizen of eighteen full calendar years of age or older who has fulfilled one or more of the following criteria is eligible for election as President of the Republic:
(a)He or she has been a Talossan citizen for a total of at least two years, or:
(b)He or she has served as a Member of either house of Parlamînt for a total of at least one year, or:
(c)He or she has served for a total of at least six months as any of the following: Seneschál, a Minister, Secretary of State, Mençei, Túischac'h or Justice of the High Court.
5.The President may not be a member of Parlamînt.
6.The office of the President of the Republic shall become vacant on the first day of June every year. The Secretary of State shall arrange for the election of a new President to be completed between May 1 and May 31.
7.No person may be re-elected to more than two consecutive terms as President.

ARTICLE TWO. The Parlamînt

1.The legislative power of the Republic of Talossa shall be exercised by a Parliament (in the national language, el Parlamînt).
2.The Parlamînt consists of a Chamber of Deputies (in the national language, la Camera dels Deputats), representing the democratic will of the Talossan nation; and a Senate (in the national language, el Senäts), representing Talossan tradition and the collective memory of long-term Talossans. Members of the Chamber of Deputies shall be known as Deputies (in the national language, Deputats). Members of the Senäts shall be known as Senators (in the national language, Senatôrs).
3. No Deputy shall at the same time be a Senator.

The Chamber of Deputies

4.The Chamber of Deputies shall be elected by all electors voting as a single electorate, by a method of proportional representation. Elections shall be universal, direct, free, equal and secret, and the details of their conduct shall be established by law.
5. The Chamber of Deputies shall be elected to a six month term. The Secretary of State shall commence preparations for a new general election immediately upon the dissolution of the Chamber.
6.(a)The President of the Republic shall dissolve the Chamber no later than six calendar months after the election of that Chamber, and summon the new Chamber to meet as soon as practicable after its election.
(b)The President may dissolve the Chamber at an earlier date than specified in section a) above, by means of an Executive Order co-signed by the Seneschál.
(c)The President may dissolve the Chamber at an earlier date than specified in section a) above without the consent of the Seneschál, if the Seneschál has lost the confidence of the Chamber of Deputies.
7. Any elector of the Republic not otherwise disqualified by this Constitution can be elected to the Chamber of Deputies.
8.Until Parlamînt otherwise decides, the number of seats in the Chamber of Deputies shall be five.
9.Parlamînt may by law establish procedures for elections to fill vacancies that occur from time to time in the Chamber, to be known as “by-elections”.
10. No seat in the Chamber shall be filled by a candidate who has not been directly chosen by the voters, either individually or as a named member of a party list.

The Senäts

11.The Senäts of the Republic shall consist of all former Presidents, Senescháis and High Cort Justices who have held that office for at least one half of a full term, who do not currently hold elected office, and have not been impeached or otherwise judicially barred. The current Secretary of State will be a non-voting member.
12. Not including the sitting President and the Deputies, other citizens may be named to the Senäts by law. Any law appointing a Senator shall mandate a term of office for that Senator of no more than 2 years, and be endorsed in referendum.
13.The Senäts shall be in continuous session, as long as it has a quorum.

Both Houses

14. Changes in the size of either House of Parlamînt shall only come into effect at the next election of that House.
15. The quorum for both Houses shall be 3 members.
16. The Chamber of Deputies and the Senäts shall each elect a Chair (called the Túischac'h and Mençéi respectively) from among their members who will organise the business of that house, keep a published archive of the proceedings and decisions of that House, and enforce the Standing Orders of that House. Neither Chair shall be a member of the Government.
17.The Chamber of Deputies and the Senäts may discuss their business in person, by mail, by telephone, by electronic messaging, or by any combination of the above. All discussions of the Chamber and Senäts shall be public, unless there is a proven reason to keep them secret for reasons of national security.
18.Each House is sovereign in the conduct of its business. Each House shall conduct its business in accordance with its own Standing Orders, which shall be adopted by majority vote of that House and made public.
19.The meetings of both Houses of Parlamînt, and the votes cast by all members in those Houses, are public. Decisions of each House require a majority of votes cast unless this Constitution provides otherwise.
20.Factual and precise reports of the public meetings of the Houses of Parlamînt and of their committees shall not give rise to any liability.
21. The Chamber of Deputies and Senäts and their committees can require the presence of the Seneschál and any minister or secretary of the Government. The Seneschál, the ministers, and secretaries have the right to be present at the sittings of the Chamber of Deputies and Senäts and their committees.

Joint Sessions

22. The Túischac'h and Mençéi may by agreement call a Joint Session of Parlamînt for those purposes set out elsewhere in this Constitution, and for any other purpose. Members of both Houses shall be provided with one week's notice of any Joint Session.
23. The Joint Session may elect a Chair Pro Tempore. Unless and until a Chair Pro Tempore is elected, the Joint Session shall be chaired by the Túischac'h.
24. Unless Parlamînt otherwise decides, Joint Sessions shall be held under the Standing Orders of the Chamber of Deputies. The quorum of a Joint Session shall be half of the Deputies, and three Senators.

Legislation

25. A proposal for legislation (or bill) shall pass both the Chamber of Deputies and the Senäts by simple majority vote, except for constitutional amendments, which shall be dealt with as below.
26. The Constitution can be amended only by a law that expressly amends or supplements the text thereof. The amending bill must specify which portion or portions of the Constitution it is amending. Such law requires the affirmative vote of two-thirds of the members of the Chamber of Deputies.
27. Bills which authorise taxation of the citizens of the Republic, or spending of public money, must originate in the Chamber of Deputies.
28.A bill (other than a Constitutional Amendment) introduced in, and passed by, the Chamber of Deputies shall be passed to the Senäts, who may:
(a)return the bill to the Chamber with suggested amendments;
(b)pass the bill to the President, with a recommendation that it either:
i.be promulgated;
ii.be put to referendum;
iii.be rejected.
29.A bill (other than a Constitutional Amendment) introduced in, and passed by, the Senäts shall be passed to the Chamber of Deputies, who may:
(a)return the bill to the Senäts with suggested amendments;
(b)reject the bill;
(c)pass the bill to the President, with a recommendation that it either:
i.be promulgated;
ii.be put to referendum.
30. A bill adopted by one House, returned to that House by the other House for amendment, and then passed again by the original House without amendment may not be returned, but shall either be passed to the President or (in the case of a bill originating in the Senäts) rejected.
31. A bill to amend the Constitution shall be debated according to sections 28-30 above, except that instead of being passed to the President by one House after being adopted by the other House, it shall be passed to the Secretary of State who will put the bill to referendum.
32. A bill (apart from a bill to amend the Constitution) shall become law once the President promulgates it (that is, publicly announces his assent) and the Secretary of State shall thereupon publish it as law. The President shall have deemed to have promulgated any bill on which he takes no action for seven days.
33. If the President refuses to promulgate a bill, the Secretary of State shall pass that bill back to Parlamînt for amendment. If Parlamînt passes the bill once again unamended, and the President still refuses to promulgate the bill, the Secretary of State shall present that bill to the people in a referendum as provided by law.
34. Legislation approved in a referendum shall be deemed to have been promulgated without need for the President's signature, and shall be published as law by the Secretary of State.
35. The Seneschál may from time to time instruct the Secretary of State to publish texts of the Constitution and Laws, updated with all amendments.

Impeachment

36. The Chamber of Deputies may impeach the President, the Secretary of State or any Senator before the Court of Justice for wilful violation of the law, or for conduct which brings the Talossan Republic into disrepute. At least one-fourth of the Deputies must bring the motion for impeachment forward. The decision to impeach requires a majority of two-thirds of the Deputies. A person appointed by the impeachment conducts the prosecution.
37. If the Court of Justice finds the defendant guilty of a wilful violation of any law, it may declare him or her to have forfeited his or her office. After impeachment, it may issue a temporary order barring the defendant from exercising the powers of his or her office, or from being elected, re-elected or appointed to any public office for a period no greater than one year.

Referendums

38.Referendums are the procedure by which the people of the Republic as a whole endorse or reject extraordinary decisions of the institutions of state, including but not limited to constitutional amendments, pardons, the resolutions of legislative deadlocks, or the appointments of extraordinary Senators.
39.Referendums shall be open to participation by all Talossan electors, and conducted by a secret ballot. The details of their conduct shall be established by law, including provisions for both two-choice and multi-choice ballots.
40.A binding or advisory referendum may be declared on any subject by Executive Order.

ARTICLE THREE. The Government and the Secretary of State

The Government

1.The executive power of the Republic shall be exercised by the Government (in the national language, el Governmaíntsch).
2. The Government consists of a Prime Minister (in the national language, el Seneschál) and a number of Ministers. The President and the Secretary of State shall not be members of the Government.
3. The Government has the power and responsibility, subject to the Law of the Republic, to:
(a) ensure that the laws of the Republic are carried out;
(b) administer the common property, intellectual, financial, digital, physical and otherwise of the Republic;
(c) set policy and provide day-to-day leadership and for the Republic;
(d) carry out any other responsibilities which are granted by law.
4.The Seneschál is the Head of the Government. He or she is appointed and dismissed by the President of the Republic, and shall appoint the other members of the Government, known as Ministers. The Seneschál may also delegate Government functions to civil officials outside the Government, known as Secretaries.
5.The Seneschál has power and responsibility, subject to the Law of the Republic, to:
(a)appoint and dismiss the Ministers and any Secretaries;
(b)chair meetings of the Government;
(c) make sure that the Government and all its members, as well as Secretaries, carry out their functions;
(d) take the leading role in establishing Government policy;
(e) define the roles of individual Ministers and Secretaries, to the extent that they are not already defined by law;
(f) approve the text of all Government-sponsored bills;
(g) account to the President and Parlamint for the general performance of the Government, and for that of Secretaries;
(h) perform the functions of any Minister or Secretary who fails to carry out that function, whether because of absence, negligence, or any other reason;
(i) carry out any other responsibilities which are granted by law.
6. Each Minister shall have the power and responsibility, subject to the Law of the Republic:
(a) to carry out the functions assigned to them by the Laws of the Republic and by the Seneschál;
(b) to participate in the functions of the Government as a whole, as described in section 3 above;
(c) to account to Parlamint for their individual performance.
7.The Government of the Republic is collectively and individually responsible to both the President and Parlamînt. The members of the Government hold office while they retain the confidence of the Chamber of Deputies. The Government and any individual members thereof may be censured by the Chamber of Deputies or the Senäts.
8. Any power granted by the laws of the Republic to the Government, to the Seneschál or to an individual Minister may be exercised instead by a civil official outside the Government designated by the Seneschál, known as a Secretary. Secretaries may not set policy, nor exercise any powers not specifically granted by law to the Minister whom they take the place of. The Seneschál shall be responsible to Parlamînt for their performance. They may be censured by the Chamber of Deputies or the Senäts.
9. If the Seneschál resigns or is dismissed, all the Ministers and Secretaries shall also be deemed to have resigned.
10. The Seneschál and the other ministers may recommend and appoint Deputy Ministers to exercise specific delegated functions. The Deputy Seneschál shall be called el Distáin in the national language. Deputy Ministers shall be Acting Ministers in the absence of the primary Minister. Outgoing ministers may recommend their successors.
11. Executive Orders must be co-signed by both President and Seneschál. They may be overturned by the Chamber of Deputies.
12. The Government shall regularly confer in person, by mail, by telephone, by electronic messaging, or by any combination of the above.
13. The Government makes its decisions by majority vote. In case of a tie, the vote of the Seneschál shall be decisive.
14. Every new Seneschál shall, within a week of assuming office, give an "Address from the Incoming Government" to a joint session of Parlamînt.
15. Parlamînt may set age limits by law to exercise any function or role of the Government, its members or subordinates, which requires handling money or conformity with the law of other jurisdictions.

The Secretary of State

16.The Secretary of State is the pre-eminent civil official of the Republic. The Secretary of State shall be nominated by the President and confirmed in office by a 2/3 majority of the Chamber of Deputies. He or she shall shall be of eighteen full calendar years of age or older and not be the President, or a member of the Government, the Chamber of Deputies, or the Court of Justice. He or she may participate in all the debates of the Senäts, but shall have no vote.
17. The President shall nominate a new Secretary of State on the first business day of January every year, and also whenever the office becomes vacant. A sitting Secretary of State may be re-nominated.
18. The Secretary of State shall have the power and responsibility, subject to the Law of the Republic:
(a) to conduct Presidential and Parliamentary elections in accordance with law;
(b) to keep a register of all citizens of the Republic, and of which citizens are qualified to be Senators;
(c) to act as chief legal advisor to the Government;
(d) to keep an updated public archive of the Constitution and Laws of the Republic.
(e) to carry out any other responsibilities which are granted by law.

ARTICLE FOUR: The Administration of Justice

1.The judicial power of the Republic shall be exercised by the Court of Justice (in the national language: el Cort dàl Xhuricinâ), and by any other courts of the Republic which shall be established as provided for in this Constitution.
2.The Court of Justice shall be composed a committee of Senators (known as Justices, or in the national language Cadìns) acceptable to both parties in any dispute that may arise. Other Courts, subordinate to the Court of Justice, may be established by law.
3.Parlamînt may establish by law:
a.a maximum number of Justices;
b.procedures for bringing cases to the Court of Justice, and for the conduct of hearings before that Court.
4.Unless overruled by law as in section 3 above, the Senäts shall determine procedures for bringing cases to the Court of Justice, and for the conduct of hearings before that Court.
5.The Secretary of State shall publish and archive the decisions of the Court of Justice, the reasons for those decisions, and any minority opinions. Any other Courts established by law shall nominate a Clerk to carry out the same function.
6. The Court of Justice shall have sole jurisdiction:
a.on the interpretation of this Constitution in the event of disputes concerning the extent of rights and duties;
b.in cases of differences of opinion or doubts on the formal and material compatibility of Republic law or provincial law with this Constitution;
c.in cases of differences of opinion on the rights and duties of the Republic and the provinces;
d.in cases where the decision is of basic value for the consistency of the management of justice;
e.as established otherwise in this Constitution.
7.The Government shall appoint a Minister, to be known as the Attorney-General, to represent it in any suits that may be brought in the Court of Justice.

Other Courts

8.Other courts may be established by law for the areas of ordinary, administrative, finance, labour, and social jurisdiction. Decisions of these courts may be appealed to the Court of Justice.
9. The judges of other Courts are subject only to the law, and can be removed from office only under authority of a judicial decision and only on grounds and in the form provided for by law.
10. Extraordinary courts are prohibited. No one may be removed from the authority of his or her lawful judge. Only a law may establish courts for special areas of jurisdiction.
11. No Court shall decree any punishment more severe than expulsion from the Republic. The Court of Justice alone may decree expulsion from the Republic.
12. All Courts shall make their decisions by majority vote.

ARTICLE FIVE: Emergency Procedures

1. While one House of Parlamînt is not in session, or is inquorate, the other House shall assume all functions of Parlamînt, given that it has a quorum itself.
2. In the absence of the President, the Senäts shall elect a President Pro-Tempore with a 2/3 majority and a quorum of at least 3. The term of the President Pro-Tempore shall last until the President returns, or until the next regularly scheduled Presidential election.
3. A petition of no less than 40% of current citizens of the Republic shall be sufficient to declare a General Assembly of the Republic, which shall have the power to suspend the Constitution and rule by direct democracy.
4. If there is neither an active President nor a quorate House of Parlamînt, and if there are still more than 5 active citizens, the citizens may elect a "Politbureau" consisting of three persons for the coordination of all adminstrative and other tasks.
5. Emergency provisions shall cease to have effect as soon as the Constitutional order is restored. If the Constitutional order is not restored by the time of the next scheduled election, a General Assembly of all citizens shall be convened as under section 3 above.