by Max Barry

Latest Forum Topics

Advertisement

2

DispatchFactbookPolitics

by The Confederacy of CoFN Office of the Speaker. . 724 reads.

The Constitution

.\

Founded October 26, 2016




ARTICLE 1 - BILL OF RIGHTS

    I. Parliament shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion in the government, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; the right of citizens to peaceably assemble, to petition the government for a redress of grievances, and citizenship confidentiality.

    II. The right of the citizens to be secure in their persons, their NS nations and puppets and property against unreasonable searches and seizures and questioning shall not be violated, and no warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, or means of national security, supported by oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.

    III. No citizen shall be held to answer for a capital, or otherwise infamous crime, unless on a probable charge of the such or formal indictment by the government on which they must show probable cause, except in cases arising in the regional military and national security agencies. Nor shall any citizen be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against themselves.

    IV. In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial, and to be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation; to be confronted with the witnesses against him; to have process for obtaining witnesses in his favour, and to have the assistance of counsel for his defence.

    V. There shall be no emotionally cruel and unusual punishments inflicted by the region on any person in any circumstance.


ARTICLE 2 - GOVERNMENT MECHANISMS

    II. The Executive Veto is to be granted to both Consuls. Any bill which has passed within the last 72 hours may be vetoed directly by mutual agreement of the presiding Consuls. However, should Parliament arrive at 60% majority of all voting members with at least 10 MPs voting, following the use of the veto, then the veto shall be overruled. An overruled veto cannot be reinstated under any circumstances.

    III. The Referendum is a public vote which all registered citizens are able to partake in. It shall take place in the form of a regional poll administrated by the Secondary Consul. Referenda shall have a simple two options of yes and no, be open for 5 days, and may only be called for by a group of 5 citizens, or by either Consul. If any option achieves a result above 51%, then it must be carried out.
    Ss2. Article 3 of the Constitution shall be amended to the following:

    IV. The Parliament's check on the power of the Consulship lies in its ability to remove either Consul. A motion of impeachment for the removal of a Consul is required to be introduced to the legislature, voted on for a period of one week, and attain at least a 70% endorsement rating where at least 10 MPs have registered their vote so as to be successful. Any Consul in the process of undergoing impeachment shall not be allowed to vote within the legislature on matters pertaining to their impeachment. A successful impeachment shall trigger a by-election for the impeached Consul’s position.


ARTICLE 3 - THE CONFEDERATE PARLIAMENT

    I. A Member of Parliament, to be known as an MP, is an individual responsible for generating proposals and representing the general public within the Confederacy. To qualify for the role of MP, one must have a listed WA nation, apply for citizenship with the Minister of Internal Affairs, and be accepted into the citizenry.

    II. The Speaker is established as the leader of the Parliament. Their role is to maintain order and organisation within Parliament as well as preserving Parliamentary authority. The Speaker is tasked with organising voting in regard to legislation and other matters as Parliament. The Speaker is elected every 2 months in a standard election.

    III. In the absence of the Speaker, the Deputy Speaker will be empowered to preside over Parliamentary meetings, collect votes, and preside over debate.

    IV. The Speaker of Parliament will also allowed to appoint a maximum of two Parliamentary Clerks. Parliamentary Clerks shall advise and offer limited assistance to the Speaker and Deputy Speaker, but the Clerks may not collect votes or preside over debate.

    V. The Parliament's primary purpose is to be a forum of legislation for the Confederacy. Any MP may submit proposals and vote on other proposals. Legislation is passed through the Parliament into law if after a one-week period that legislation holds a 51% or above majority endorsement rating.If the legislation does not reach a 51% or above endorsement rating, then it is considered to have failed.

    VI. The Parliament's check on the power of the Cabinet lies in its ability to remove Cabinet members. A motion of impeachment for the removal of a Cabinet member is required to be introduced to the legislature, voted on for a period of one week, and attain at least a 70% endorsement rating where at least 10 MPs have registered their vote so as to be successful. Any Minister in the process of undergoing impeachment shall not be allowed to vote within the legislature on matters pertaining to his or her impeachment.

    VII. There is to be no limit on the number of MPs or pieces of legislature on the floor at one time.

    VIII. No law passed by Parliament is retroactive. An act committed may only be punished according to the provisions of a law that was fully in force at the time the act was committed.

    IX. Unless specified in the body of a bill, individual may be held accountable to a law even if its provisions expired or were repealed so long as the act can be proven to have been committed during a time when the law was in force.

    X. Bills proposed to Parliament are considered to be static at the moment of their proposal. No changes beyond grammatical, spelling or minor structural edits can be made to a bill once it has been proposed. These edits can only be made at the discretion of the Speaker.


ARTICLE 4 - THE CONSULSHIP

    I. The Consulship is a democratically elected executive branch made up of two Consuls who are Members of Parliament and serve 4 month terms on a rotational basis. The Consuls take turns serving terms as the Primary Consul whilst the other serves as the Secondary Consul, swapping after a period of 30 days until the end of their terms in office. The Consuls may rotate early, rotate late or choose not to rotate by mutual agreement. To become a Consul, one must be a citizen with a listed WA nation and be voted into the position during a general election.

    II. The Consulship shall help decide the direction of the Confederacy in executive, internal, and foreign affairs.

    III. The members of the Consulship shall each individually be able to appoint their own private staff team of up to 5 citizens. These staff members shall be bound by law to keep in confidence what he or she learns of classified information. Consuls may appoint and dismiss their staff teams at will.

    IV. In the case that the Primary Consul resigns, is impeached, is inactive for longer than 14 days, or otherwise removed from office, the Secondary Consul shall immediately assume the position of Primary Consul. They will serve in this role for 30 days, rotating as normal with the new Secondary Consul, or until the end of their term in office, whichever comes first. In the case that the Secondary Consul resigns, is impeached, is inactive for longer than 14 days, or otherwise removed from office, a by-election shall be called in order to fill the office for the remainder of the term.

    V. The terms of both Consuls shall end if either Consul serves a term of 4 months.

    VI. No Consul may serve more than 3 concurrent terms. After serving 3 concurrent terms, a Consul may not run again for a period of 1 Consular term.

    VII. Consuls who have served 3 concurrent terms may use the title ‘Consul Emeritus’ for life.

    VIII. Article 4, Section 6 will be subject to a referendum following the end of the third Consular elections. This referendum will put the question of ‘Should the Consulship be subject to a term limit as written in Article
    4, Section 6 of the Constitution?’ to a regional vote. At the conclusion of this referendum Article 4, Section 8 shall be stricken from the Constitution.


ARTICLE 5 - FUNCTIONS OF THE CONSULSHIP

    I. The Primary Consul is the head of government and joint head of state of the Confederacy alongside the Secondary Consul. The Primary Consul leads the Consulship and may direct foreign and internal policy. Furthermore, they carry the right to establish embassies and diplomatic relations between the Confederacy and other regions, possess diplomatic staff, veto Parliamentary legislation with agreement from the Secondary Consul, and carry out intelligence queries. All officer rights are given to the Primary Consul.

    II. The Secondary Consul is the joint head of state of the Confederacy alongside the Primary Consul. Their primary responsibilities are maintaining the citizenship roster, managing recruitment for the region and acting as the region’s chief prosecutor. Furthermore, they carry the right to veto Parliamentary legislation with agreement from the Primary Consul. All officer rights are given to the Secondary Consul.


ARTICLE 6 - THE CONSTABULARY

    I. The Constabulary is established as the law enforcement agency of the Confederacy. It reports chiefly to the Cabinet.

    II. The Constabulary is led by the Chief Constable who reports directly to the Cabinet. Their primary role is to organise and manage the Constabulary whilst keeping the government informed of its activities. The Minister of Justice shall serve as the Chief Constable.

    III. The Chief Constable may organise and modify the structure of the Constabulary as they see fit, establishing any number of sub-departments or agencies.

    IV. The Constabulary's primary duty is to uphold and enforce common law within the region. To allow this to occur, the Chief Constable is given the right to establish an alternative region for the purposes of detaining citizens suspected of violating the law or disrupting the peace. Citizens detained under this measure must be charged with a crime publically within 24 hours of their detainment or be released. Detainees also have the right to consult legal counsel, consult a representative of the Justice Ministry and/or to file a complaint against the Constabulary to be investigated by the Judiciary.

    V. The role of Constable is to be established as a position within the Constabulary appointed by the Chief Constable. Individuals within this role are to be afforded the right to border control and communications. Constables are tasked with upholding law and order within the region and are authorised to compel citizens into ceasing their behaviour and/or entering detainment if there is cause to suspect that a crime has been committed. Constables are authorised to eject citizens who resist cease and desist warnings or detainment. Temporary banjection exceeding no more than 24 hours may also be used by Constables as a last resort measure in the case that a citizen repeatedly resists.

    VI. The Constabulary is to be placed under the scrutiny of the Judiciary which is tasked with regulating its activities. In the case that the Supreme Court has reason to believe that the Constabulary has been compromised and is no longer fulfilling its primary duty they may suspend its operations for a period exceeding no less than 2 weeks and commence an investigation. The suspension period may be extended if authorised by a vote of the Supreme Court.


ARTICLE 7 - THE JUDICIARY

    I. The Judicial Branch of the Confederacy is established apart from the Consulship and Parliament to secure and ensure justice in the Confederacy and its government.

    II. The Judiciary is comprised of a single court; the Supreme Court. This Court will oversee all cases within the region.

    III. The Supreme Court is comprised of 3 Justices who are democratically elected and serve 4 month terms with new elections being held at the nearest corresponding general election following the end of a Court term. All Justices start and end their term at the same time. The Justices are all equal and no one individual holds authority over any other.

    IV. On all proposed cases of a criminal and/or civil nature the Court will meet before trial and delegate a single Justice to preside over the case. The rulings and decisions of this trial may be appealed by the request of either the prosecutor or the defendant. Appeals are heard by all Justices who will then come to a final ruling.

    V. On cases concerning the government and legislature, constitutional interpretations, and cases of treason all Justices will preside.

    VI. The decisions and rulings of the Supreme Court made inside a Court of Law are the highest interpretation of the Constitution, and cannot be stricken down or amended by any other body other than the Supreme Court.


ARTICLE 8 - ELECTION PROCEDURE

    I. Democratic elections are eligible to be voted in by all registered citizens. Positions that are democratically elected are the Consulship, the Supreme Court Justices, the Speaker, and the Chief Constable. Elections are to be held at the ending of an office's term.

    II. Both Consuls are responsible for recording the candidates for each position in the prelude to an election.

    III. To ensure that data collection is provided safely, it will be necessary for the Election Committee of the Confederacy to be established in order to collect votes through telegram. The committee shall be comprised of both Consuls and one Justice nominated by the Supreme Court.

    IV. In order to vote, a nation must be a registered citizen, with no suspension of citizenship during the election time.

    V. The voting system for the Speaker, Supreme Court Justices, and the Chief Constable will be a simple first-past-the-post system performed via telegram, in which every registered citizen may vote for each position with one vote. Votes may only be cast once and only once.

    VI. Elections for the Consulship are to be performed using an instant runoff voting system. Under this system, candidates for the Consulship are ranked on the ballot in order of preference. The candidate who achieves 51% of the first-choice vote will be elected Primary Consul for the first rotation, with the candidate who achieves a plurality of the votes being elected Secondary Consul for the first rotation. If no candidate achieves 51% of the vote, the candidate with the lowest share of the vote shall be eliminated and their votes redistributed according to the ranking on the ballots. This will continue until a candidate achieves 51% of the vote.

    VII. In the case that the Consulship elections are tied, a new election shall be held in the form of a regional poll using the first past the post voting method. The winning candidate shall be elected as the Primary Consul and the losing candidate elected as the Secondary Consul.

    VIII. Voters may choose to rank as many or as few of the candidates on Consulship ballots as they wish.

    IV. Election results must be kept secret until the conclusion of the election apart from in the case of a Consular stalemate resolution election. All election results shall be announced at the same time and winning candidates shall be given regional authorities concurrently.


ARTICLE 9 - RATIFICATION, REPEAL, AND AMENDMENTS

    I.This document is ratified by an 80% majority of the delegates voting, including consent from the current Speaker.

    II. Upon ratification all previous constitutional documents shall be repealed and rendered void.

    III. The current law code of the Confederacy shall be rendered void at the passage of this document.

    IV.This document may be amended via an amendment gaining more than an 80% endorsement rating from Parliament, referenda, or ruling from the Supreme Court.

    V. Repeal of this constitution may occur via referenda with agreement from the Speaker and both Consuls.

RawReport