Arkadia Constitutional Law.pdf - Alex Courtney

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Made by the Ministry of Justice Version: 1.4 Last edited: 19/01/2020 Public Table of content 1. Constitution of the Kingdom of Arkadia 2 Preamble: 2 Chapter 1.1: General Provisions 2 Chapter 1.2: King 3 Chapter 1.3: Government 4 Chapter 1.4: The Council 4 Chapter 1.5: Senate 5 Chapter 1.6: Legislation 6 Chapter 1.7: Judiciary 7 Chapter 1.8: Duchies and Counties 8 Chapter 1.9: Mayors and Barons 8 Chapter 1.10: Military 9 2. Basic Rights 11 Preamble: 11 Chapter 2.1: Classic rights 11 3. Regulations of the Cabinet 4. Regulations of the Senate 5. Judiciary law 6. Announcement law 1 ​Back to Table of Content → Public 1. Constitution of the Kingdom of Arkadia Preamble: By the grace of the King, Raziel the 1st, the Kingdom of Arkadia has accepted, after hearing the Senate, Dukes, Counts, Mayors and all servants of the Kingdom, this constitution which applies to the entire Kingdom of Arkadia and its inhabitants. The Kingdom is one and indivisible. This Constitution is binding on the entire Arkadian people, composed of all citizens without distinction of origin, race or religion, and everyone is equal before the law. Chapter 1.1: The Kingdom Art. 1 - Kingdom The Kingdom will contain its rightful territory and will contain at least the lands of the Grand Duchy of Salernum, the Duchy of Kaleria, the Duchy of Latium, the Duchy of Lyrhia, the Duchy of Skuldheim, the Duchy of Wirtenberg and the Duchy of Wolfsden. Art. 2 - Crown The Kingdom of Arkadia is and will remain a Monarchy. The Crown of the Kingdom belongs to our King Raziel the 1st and will be transferred to any inherent of King Raziel the 1st. Art. 3 - Matters of the Kingdom 1. Regardless of what is mentioned elsewhere in a formal law, the following affairs will at least be seen as matters of the Kingdom: -a. The enforcement of the independence and the defence of the Kingdom. -b. Foreign affairs. -c. The Arkadian nationality. -d. Infrastructure within the Kingdom. -e. The treasury of the Kingdom. -f. The Arkadian judiciary system. -g. Education, research and development. 2. This is a non-limited numeration of subjects and other subjects can be seen as a matter of the Kingdom if the government decides so. 3. All these matters can be delegated. Art. 4 - Constitution and formal laws Any regulation that is not mentioned regarding the King, Dukes, Counts, Ministers or any other institution, will be seen for by formal laws or local laws. Art. 5 - Assistance, discuss and cooperation The King, every Duchy and County, the senate, the army and the navy, will not only assist each other in times of need, but will also discuss the matters of the Kingdom mentioned earlier to the best of their ability. 2 ​Back to Table of Content → Public Chapter 1.2: King Art. 6 - King 1. The King will reign over the Kingdom in its entirety, will make and approve formal laws or Royal Decrees in cooperation with his Ministers and will hear the senate. 2. The King will be represented by an appointed individual or by a group of people whenever the King is not at the place in time. 3. A representative or a group of representatives will be appointed by a Royal Decree. Art. 7 - Kingship The King shall be sworn in on the Constitution and promise that he will rule over Arkadia to the best of his ability. Art. 8 - Kingship succession The kingship will be succeeded, if the King dies, by a different character from Raziel or any successor named by him. Art. 9 - Marriage Upon marriage between the King and a woman, the woman will be seen as the Queen Consort. If the heir of King Raziel I is a daughter, her husband will be considered as Prince Consort. If the spouse or husband had titles otherwise, he or she will retain ownership and management of these territories. Art. 10 - Minimum age King The King will always be able to exercise his kingly authority without needing to reach a certain age. Art. 11 - Renouncing of Kingship Renouncement by the King of his Kingship will result into a succession similar to the articles mentioned above. Art. 12 - Provisional appropriation for the absence of a successor In the event of an absence of a lawful and rightful successor the Senate will come to a decision on who will be the next King. Art. 13 - Absence or incapacity of the King The exercise of the kingly authority will be done by the Cabinet whenever the King is incapacitated IRL, when the King is absent for a reasonable period of time for an IRL or In-game campaign reason. Art. 14 - King’s Court The King’s Court will consist out of those that are blood related to the King or have been appointed so by the King. Chapter 1.3: Government Art. 15 - King and Ministers 1. The government will consist out of the King and his Ministers. 2. The King is inviolable and the Ministers will be responsible for the actions of the King. Art. 16 - The Cabinet 3 ​Back to Table of Content → Public The Cabinet will consist out of all the ministers combined and shall be presided by the Prime-Minister. Art. 17 - Appointment and Dismissal Ministers 1. The Prime-Minister and other Ministers will be appointed and dismissed by a Royal Decree from the King. 2. Upon appointing a Minister, the King and the Minister in question will sign the Royal Decree. Art. 18 - Ministeries 1. By Royal Decree, every Minister will have their own ministerial department located in the capital. 2. Every ministerial department could have a Secretary at every Duke court. 3. Any person working for a Ministry cannot also hold any Nobility or Aristocracy titles. 3. The Secretary will help relay messages and help serve in the interests of the Duke as well as the interests of the ministerial department. Art. 19 - The Church 1. The governing of the Church will be a pyramid structure containing the following list of titles: -a. Archbishop -b. Bishop -c. Priest 2. The sum of all the religious people shall be called the Clergy. 3. There should be 1 Archbishop per duchy and 1 Bishop per every cathedral. 4. Any other religious structure will be handled by a Priest. 5. The head of the Church should be called the Oracle he will be the Bishop of the Capital cathedral. 6. The role of the Church shall be the maintaining of religious structures and management of diplomacy, both internally as externally. Clergy members shall assist in discussions and tensions management within our Kingdom to serve as a first resort to resolving disputes. Art. 20 - Proposal of laws Every Minister will be able to set up and propose a law, which can be immediately approved by the King or voted on in the Senate. Art. 21 - Signing of laws Every formal law and Royal Decree shall only need to be signed by the King in order to go into effect. Chapter 1.4: The Council Art. 22 - The Council 1. The Council will consist out of the King, all the Dukes, all the Barons within the Kingdom and the Minister of Defence. 2. If for any reason a Duke cannot be trusted, the King will be able to refuse the Duke in question to take part in the Council. Art. 23 - Military Council 1. The purpose of the Council is to give advice to the King regarding military matters. 2. The Military consists of all forces that fall under direct command of the King and Dukes, including but not limited to the Army and the Navy. 4 ​Back to Table of Content → Public 3. The Council shall make their own document on how they operate. 4. The Council will be solely responsible for declaring wars, signing peace treaties and all matters regarding the security of the Kingdom and the well being and funding of the army. Art. 24 - Proposal of a military law The Council is able to propose military laws and shall only need to be approved by the King. Art. 25 - Signing of a Military law After having been approved according to the previous article, the military law shall need to be signed by the King. Art. 26 - Representatives The King, as well as any Duke that is part of the Council, shall be able to appoint a representative who will handle specific matters in his place. Chapter 1.5: Senate Art. 27 - The Senate The Senate will represent the people of the Kingdom as a whole. Its mission is to propose laws themselves. Next to this, the Senate will appoint the new King in the case of a vacancy in the succession. Art. 28 - Senate structure The following titles exist within the Senate: -a. Senators -b. Tribunes Art. 29 - Dukes appointment to Senator 1. All Dukes will be permanent members within the Senate, will receive the title Senator and keep that title permanently. 2. Upon losing their nobility title or aristocracy title, they will keep the Senator title as long as they aren’t convicted of a capital crime or dismissed by the King. Art. 30 - Counts and Mayors appointment to Senator 1. Counts and Mayors have the possibility of becoming a Senator if they are chosen by their Duchy via an election. 2. Every Duchy may elect 1 Count and 2 Mayors. 3. From these elected people, the King will choose the 2 persons from every Duchy to become Senators. 4. If a Duke presents 2 or less candidates, the extra needed candidates should be chosen by the Cabinet. The 2 making it in the Senate will be chosen by the King. 5. The extra needed candidates will always be chosen among the nobility and aristocracy of the Duchy in question. Art. 31 - Tribunes proportional representation 1. Every person of the Tribunes will be directly chosen by the Emeritus of a Duchy via an election. 2. Only one person shall be elected from a Duchy to take part as a full member in the Senate. Art. 32 - Duration 5 ​Back to Table of Content → Public 1. Members of the Tribunes shall hold their title on the Senate for six months IRL. 2. Tribunes are allowed to run for an election twice in a row. After their second term they should wait for six months IRL before being eligible for the title again. 3. Senators and Tribunes can be stripped of their title by the King via a Royal Decree if and shall be replaced by a new election. Art. 33 - Tribunes Elections 1. Elections for the Tribunes will be done in a fair and proper manner where every voter has the right to secrecy to who he voted on. 2. Every Duke is responsible for the elections of the Tribunes in his Duchy. 3. Only people that have the Emeritus rank within the Kingdom are eligible to vote and participate. 4. Any person that has been found guilty of any capital crime will be excluded from the elections. Art. 34 - ​Incompatibilities 1. No member of the Senate can also be part of a Ministry. 2. A member of the Senators can not be a member of the Tribunes as well and vice versa. Art. 35 - Representatives 1. Every member of the Senate can send a representative in his stead. 2. The representative should have the Emeritus rank and are not allowed to vote. 3. This representative will be allowed to state his opinion on matters of the Kingdom. 4. A Senator or Tribunes accumulating absences can be stripped of his seat by the King. Art. 36 - Dismissal of the Tribunes 1. Any Tribune can be dismissed by a Royal Decree. 2. Upon dismissal, new elections will be held for the Duchy in question within a week from the the day the Royal Decree was published. 3. The dismissal will go into effect when the Duchy has elected the new member of the Senate. Art. 37 - Public sittings 1. The King and or the Chancellor presides over the Senate. 2. Every sitting will be announced beforehand and should occur at least once a month. One month should be considered the usual sitting period for the Senate. 3. The Chancellor will be allowed to stream and or record the Sessions. Art. 38 - Voting on laws 1. Laws and any other decisions shall be voted upon and it shall only pass with a majority of the vote. 2. Every vote from a Senator will count for 1 vote. Every vote from a Tribunes will count for 2 votes. 3. Upon voting, the Dukes within the Senate shall vote first, after that the Counts, then the Mayors and lastly the Tribunes. 4. Additions, changes or removals in the constitution should be proposed to the King. 5. The Tribunes as a group have the right to veto a Law or any other decision. 6. The King has the right to Veto any Law at any moment. That law should not be voted on again until the second next usual sitting of the Senate. Art. 39 - Ministerial attendance 6 ​Back to Table of Content → Public 1. A Minister or a Secretary is allowed to ask for the right to speak on a specific matter in front of the Senate. 2. The King, the Chancellor or any Senator can present a Minister or Secretary to speak in front of the Senate. Art. 40 - Parliamentary immunity 1. Every member of the Senate should not be held responsible for their words within the Senate. 2. Words and deeds outside of the Senate will be dealt with accordingly to the Arkadian law. Chapter 1.6: Legislation Art. 41 - Royal Decrees A Royal Decree shall be signed by the King and made by other Ministers that are associated with the Royal Decree in question. Art. 42 - Formal laws Formal laws shall be made by the cabinet and approved by the King. Art. 43 - Local laws Local laws shall be any law that is not a formal law or a Royal Decree. Art. 44 - Changes in proposed law Any proposal made by the Senate that has not been voted upon by the Senate yet, can be changed by any member of the Senate. Art. 45 - Withdrawal of proposed law Any proposal for a formal law that has not been approved by the Senate yet, can be withdrawn by the members that have proposed the law. Art. 46 - Ratification After a formal law has been approved by the Senate, it shall be ratified after the King has approved and signed it. Art. 47 - Announcement and commencement The formal law itself will state on which date the formal law has been announced and on which date it will go into force. Art. 49 - Relation formal law and local law Any local law shall not contradict any formal laws. Chapter 1.7: Judiciary Art. 50 - Judicial power The judicial power will consist out of all the judges, who will make court rulings on civil, administrative and criminal law. Art. 51 - Courts 1. At least every Duchy will have a King’s court, that can address capital crimes, and common courts that can address lower crimes. 2. Civil and administrative cases shall be handled in first instance by the common courts. 7 ​Back to Table of Content → Public Art. 52 - Appeals 1. Any case, whether it is criminal, civil or administrative, can be appealed at the King’s court. 2. Whenever the appeal is unsuccessful, a fine or additional punishment may be imposed. Art. 53 - Position people of judicial power 1. Judges at a King’s court shall be appointed by a Royal Decree. 2. Judges at a common court shall be appointed by the Count in the County in which they reside. Art. 54 - Declaring laws invalid 1. Any judge on any area of law is not able to declare that a formal law is invalid based on any reason. 2. Local laws can be declared to be invalid by either the King’s court or a common court. Art. 55 - Public and motivation Court rulings or verdicts shall be done in public and shall have a motivation regarding to how the judge has come to said court ruling or verdict. Art. 56 - Pardons and amnesty Only the King is able to grant pardons or amnesty to specific individuals by Royal Decree. Chapter 1.8: Duchies and Counties Art. 57 - Borders Borders of Duchies and Counties are predetermined in the Kingdom and shall only change by decisions made within the Sedecim or between the involved parties. Art. 58 - Duchies 1. The Head of a Duchy will be a Duke or Duchess. 2. Every Duke will be able to make his own structure within his Duchy regarding to how it is governed. 3. To facilitate interaction and increase efficiency and coordination, every Duke will be asked to make his government and his institutions as uniform as possible according to the rules of the Kingdom. 4. Every Duchy within the Kingdom will consist out of a certain amount of counties. 5. The Duke is responsible for the safety of his or her subjects and must maintain an army which is also at disposal of the King in case of war. Art. 59 - Counties 1. The Head of a County will be a Count or Countess. 2. Every Count will able to make his own structure within his County regarding to how it is managed. The same applies to him as to the Duke regarding maintaining cohesion within the domains. 3. The Count is responsible for the infrastructure, the economy and the education of his or her subjects. Art. 60 - Appointment and dismissal 1. Dukes and Counts will be appointed by Royal Decree if they haven’t been predetermined already. 8 ​Back to Table of Content → Public 2. Whenever there are reasonable grounds, the King can dismiss a Duke or Count by Royal Decree. 3. Reasonable grounds include at least a declaration of war, treachery or rebellion from a Duke or Count towards the King or any other Duke or Count. Art. 61 - Autonomy The Dukes and Counts will be able to make their own legislation and structure within their respective borders without being forced by the King or any other institution to do so. Art. 62 - Local laws 1. Local laws should not contradict any formal laws or Royal Decrees, unless it is proven reasonable by the local authority. 2. The local laws of the Counties should not contradict local laws of the Duchies. Art. 63 - Ministerial aid Dukes should strife to appoint a person from a specific ministry to his court to work on the uniformity of the Kingdom regarding legislation and structure. Chapter 1.9: Mayors and Barons Art. 64 - Mayors 1. A Mayor will be the leader of a settlement. 2. Settlements can be qualified as a hamlet but also as a capital and everything in between. 3. Mayors are able to make their own local laws once a Tribunal is present and their town has reached the correct level to make use of it. 4. The borders of a settlement will be decided by the Count or by a Royal Decree. Art. 65 - Barons 1. A Praefect (Baron) will be a Mayor of a settlement that has signed a baron contract with his Duke. 2. Fortified settlements can be qualified as outpost but also as a castle and everything in between. 3. The Praefects are in charge of the security of the inhabitants and the safety of the trade routes of the Counties and the Duchy. They represent the local military power. 4. The Praefects will be helped financially by the Dukes and will have the responsibility to maintain a Cohort and fortifications in their settlements. Art. 66 - Appointment and dismissal 1. Mayors will be appointed by the people living in a settlement. 2. Praefects will be appointed by the Duke via a contract as long as they are a Mayor in that Duchy. 3. The Duke can dismiss a Praefect whenever they would deem it appropriate, no matter the reason unless their mutual contract specifies otherwise. Art. 67 - Local laws The local laws of a Mayor should not contradict local laws of the Duchy or County he is settled in, unless it is proven reasonable by the local authority. Art. 68 - Taking up arms 9 ​Back to Table of Content → Public 1. Mayors are not allowed to take up arms or have any army under them aside from the local guards that protects the settlement. 2. No Noble or Aristocrats is allowed to hire mercenaries to help him maintain order and / or fight within the Arkadian borders unless decided by the Council and approved by the King. Chapter 1.10: Military Art. 69 - Head of the Military 1. The Head of the Military, which will contain all land and sea armies, is the King. 2. The Council will oversee the general management and budget of the Kingdom. Art. 70 - Hierarchy Military The hierarchy of the Military will be as follow: -a. King -b. Legate -c. Praefect -d. Centurion -e. Optio -f. Princeps -g. Legio -h. Hastati Art. 71 - Legions and Cohorts 1. Every Legion is under the command of a Legate and will consist out of the all the Cohorts within a Duchy. 2. Every Cohort is under the command of a Praefect and will consist out of Soldiers. Art. 72 - Legate 1. The Duke is the Legate for his Duchy, he can appoint someone of his choosing for this position if he wishes so. 2. Every Ducal army will be under direct command of the King. Art. 73 - Praefect, Centurion and Optio 1. A Praefect is a Baron and shall be under direct command of the Duke he has signed a contract with. 2. Every Praefect shall appoint a Centurion as a second in command. The Centurion will represent the Praefect in his stead whenever the Praefect is not available. 3. Praefects shall be in command of a Cohort, which is a part of the Ducal Army. 4. Optios are sub officers in a Cohort and will be appointed by the Praefect for a maximum of one per ten soldiers. Art. 74 - Volunteering program and Emeritus rank 1. A citizen can choose to enrol in the army for twenty in-game years and he will become a Hastati. 2. At the end of his service years, the person will receive his Emeritus rank. After that he can choose to either become a legio within the army or become a citizen again. 3. The Emeritus title will be physically represented as a contract between the King, a Duke or a Baron and the person awarded with the title. 4. An Emeritus will be granted a parcel of land paid for by the Ducal army. 10 ​Back to Table of Content → Public 5. In the beginning some people will be named at positions that will later be restricted to the Emeritus rank only. Those people won’t automatically receive their Emeritus title and will receive it after the usual time of service stated above. 6. The Emeritus rank and recognition of loyal service to the state is not exclusive to fighters. Any type of profession, such as builders, farmers and gatherers, are welcome in the army and you will need to find a Barony in which you are needed to exercise this profession. Art. 75 - Soldiers 1. Within every Cohort, there are three forms of soldiers, namely the Princeps, the Legio and Hastati. 2. Princeps are veteran soldiers that have served at least 20 in-game years as a Legio. 3. Legios are soldiers that have finished their volunteering program. 4. Hastatis are volunteers within the army and can be seen as new soldiers. Art. 76 - Praetorian Guard 1. The Praetorian Guard (The Sheriffs) will only consist out of soldiers with the Emeritus rank and have a high reputation within the Kingdom. 2. They will be paid for and be under the direct command of the Ministry of Justice and his secretaries residing at each Duke court. 3. Every County will have at least one Preatorian and every Duchy will at least have one Barony that consist only out of Praetorians. 4. Praetorians will be charged with the collecting of taxes for the Dukes and for the King, act as a police force within the army and are able to arrest anyone, even state officials, if need be, in case of abuses of power and treason. 5. The Praetorians should follow the same ranking as the Army with the exception of Legates, whose position will be held by the Secretary of Justice or The Minister. They should only answer to the The King, The Dukes or the Members of the Ministry of Justice of the Duchy in which they are stationed. 11 ​Back to Table of Content → Public 2. Basic Rights Preamble: By the grace of the King, Raziel, the Kingdom of Arkadia has accepted, after hearing the Senate, Dukes, Counts, Mayors and all servants of the Kingdom, these basic rights will apply to the entire Kingdom of Arkadia and its inhabitants. Chapter 2.1: Classic rights Art. 1 - 12 ​Back to Table of Content →