Parliamentary Bicameralism (Discussion Open)

[Purple State]

Current Vote Tally
Aye = 8 (Hashemite, Marokai, Dan, PiT, Franzl, Verily, afleitch, Lief)
Nay = 1 (MasterJedi)
Abstain = 0

Quorum: Not yet achieved
Time Remaining: >24 hours

[bgwah]

Nay

[dead0man]

Aye

[bullmoose88]

Aye

[Daniel Adams]

Satisfied with the clarification for Section 3 Clause 3, I vote Aye.

[Big DaddyTX]

ehh....aye.

[ilikeverin]

Then, um, what does Sec. 3 Part 3 do?  Nobody gets paid in Atlasia

Yup overall, I guess.

[Smid]

Aye.

[Purple State]

Final Vote Tally
Aye = 14 (Hashemite, Marokai, Dan, PiT, Franzl, Verily, afleitch, Lief, dead0, Smid, ilikeverin, AndrewCT, Daniel Adams, bullmoose88)
Nay = 2 (MasterJedi, bgwah)
Abstain = 0

Quorum: Achieved
Motion PASSES

[CultureKing]

FTR: NAY

[Purple State]

Any proposals for the Judiciary? I believe our current form is pretty good, but does anyone have other thoughts?

[Senator MaxQue]

FTR: Yes

The actual system is good.

The only thing who should be discussed is who nominate judges?

[Purple State]

FTR: Yes

The actual system is good.

The only thing who should be discussed is who nominate judges?

And their confirmation. Perhaps another way we can add prestige to the Senate.

[Devilman88]

FTR: Yes

The actual system is good.

The only thing who should be discussed is who nominate judges?

And their confirmation. Perhaps another way we can add prestige to the Senate.

That is a great idea, giving that power to the senate but not the house makes the Senate more powerful then the House.

[Purple State]

For review and discussion:

Article III: The President of Atlasia
Section 1: The Presidency
1. The President of the Republic of Atlasia shall serve as the Head of State of Atlaisa and be elected for a term of approximately four months.
2. No person shall be President who has not attained 250 or more posts, and is not a registered voter.
3. The President shall be Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of the Republic of Atlasia.
4. When vacancies shall occur on the Supreme Court, the President shall nominate a replacement with the advice and consent of the Senate.
5. The President shall nominate a neutral and active Game Moderator for the creation of world simulations in Atlasia. The GM shall be appointed with the advice and consent of the Senate. The President or the Senate shall have the ability to dismiss the GM for reasons of inactivity or gross partiality.
6. The President shall serve as the chair of any joint session of Congress, either formally distinguished in this Constitution or otherwise.

Section 2: Election to the Presidency
1. Presidential elections shall be held in the months of February, June and October. Elections shall be held from midnight Eastern Standard Time on the second to last Friday of a given month and shall conclude exactly 72 hours later.
2. The Senate shall have necessary power to determine regulations for the procedure of and the form of Presidential elections and shall have necessary power to determine a procedure for declaration of candidacy for such elections. All elections to the Presidency shall be by public post.
3. The President shall take office at noon Eastern Standard Time on the first Friday in the month after their election.

Section 3: Vacancy and Incapacity of the Presidency
1. If the Presidency shall ever fall vacant or temporarily incapacitated, the President shall have the option to recommend a successor for himself, by public post. If the Senate shall concur, by two-thirds vote, with the decision of the President, the successor shall serve the remainder of the President's term.
2. If the Senate does not concur, emergency elections shall be held on the second Friday following the vacancy of the office. The shall have necessary power to determine regulations for the procedure of and the form of Presidential elections and shall have necessary power to determine a procedure for declaration of candidacy for such elections.


Article IV: The Supreme Court of Atlasia

Section 1: The Supreme Court
1. The judicial power of the Republic of Atlasia shall be vested in one Supreme Court.
2. The Supreme Court shall consist of three Justices who shall all be registered voters, one of whom shall be the Chief Justice. Justices shall hold their office during good behavior.
3. The Supreme Court shall be the sole body in the Forum with the authority to nullify or void federal laws. The Supreme Court shall only be able to nullify or void a federal law in the event that the federal law explicitly contradicts this Constitution.
4. The Supreme Court shall have authority to nullify or void regional laws. The Supreme Court shall only be able to nullify or void a regional law in the event that the regional law explicitly contradicts this Constitution.
5. The Supreme Court shall arbitrate in all disputes concerning federal elections.

Section 2: Trials
1. In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury of the region wherein the crime shall have been committed, which region shall have been previously ascertained by law.
2. If a trial does not occur within one month of the accusation for any reason, no trial shall be held and the accused will be declared innocent of the crime.
3. No person shall be subject for the same offense to be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb.
4. No person shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself.
5. The accused shall be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation; to be confronted with the witnesses against him; to have compulsory process for obtaining witnesses in his favor, and to have the assistance of counsel for his defense.
6. All trials shall be presided over by a Supreme Court Justice, who shall be selected by the Supreme Court itself.
7. A jury shall be selected according to the laws of the Region in which the crime was committed and each juror shall post their verdict publicly.

[Devilman88]

Looks very good to me.

[Senator MaxQue]

What would happen if a regional law breaks a federal law?

No VP? What would happen if a vote is tied?

[Fmr. Emperor PiT]

No VP? What would happen if a vote is tied?

      I echo this concern. Aside from that problem, it's pretty good though.

[Marokai]

Why not just give the President the tie breaking power? I see no reason to waste a position on a Vice President.

Also, I don't like the section about the Game Moderator, I think if it's a Presidential appointment then it should remain a Presidential responsibility to remove the GM from office.

[Devilman88]

Why not just give the President the tie breaking power? I see no reason to waste a position on a Vice President.

Also, I don't like the section about the Game Moderator, I think if it's a Presidential appointment then it should remain a Presidential responsibility to remove the GM from office.

I agree with this.

[Daniel Adams]

I agree that the President should have tie-breaking powers.

Regarding the GM, I think it's appropriate for the Senate to have the power to remove him. The GM has an extreme important role in keeping the game active and GMs that are clearly not willing or able to put in the time necessary for this need to be dealt with apace. The situation with Ebowed has shown that the President of Atlasia cannot always be trusted to do so.

[Senator MaxQue]

I agree that the President should have tie-breaking powers.

Regarding the GM, I think it's appropriate for the President of the Senate to have the power to remove him. The GM has an extreme important role in keeping the game active and GMs that are clearly not willing or able to put in the time necessary for this need to be dealt with apace. The situation with Ebowed has shown that the President of Atlasia cannot always be trusted to do so.

It is not the President of the Senate who is written, but the President or the Senate.

[Marokai]

I agree that the President should have tie-breaking powers.

Regarding the GM, I think it's appropriate for the President of the Senate to have the power to remove him. The GM has an extreme important role in keeping the game active and GMs that are clearly not willing or able to put in the time necessary for this need to be dealt with apace. The situation with Ebowed has shown that the President of Atlasia cannot always be trusted to do so.

What's the point of having a President if all his decisions can be overruled by the legislature? You may as well just make the Prime Minister head of the armed forces and abolish the Presidency altogether.

[Daniel Adams]

I agree that the President should have tie-breaking powers.

Regarding the GM, I think it's appropriate for the President of the Senate to have the power to remove him. The GM has an extreme important role in keeping the game active and GMs that are clearly not willing or able to put in the time necessary for this need to be dealt with apace. The situation with Ebowed has shown that the President of Atlasia cannot always be trusted to do so.

It is not the President of the Senate who is written, but the President or the Senate.

Sorry about that typo. Got distracted.

I agree that the President should have tie-breaking powers.

Regarding the GM, I think it's appropriate for the President of the Senate to have the power to remove him. The GM has an extreme important role in keeping the game active and GMs that are clearly not willing or able to put in the time necessary for this need to be dealt with apace. The situation with Ebowed has shown that the President of Atlasia cannot always be trusted to do so.

What's the point of having a President if all his decisions can be overruled by the legislature? You may as well just make the Prime Minister head of the armed forces and abolish the Presidency altogether.

We're only talking about the GM here, not "all his decisions". Let's not create a straw men. Atlasia's activity is an issue of paramount importance and if we are to have a GM we need to ensure that he is doing his job properly. I don't see the GM as a part of the Executive Branch, so there is no reason his permanence on the job should be exclusively up to the President. If the Senate believes the GM has become inactive, it must have the power to act. Are you satisfied with Ebowed's performance as GM?

[Marokai]

No, I'm not, but I also think we should abolish the position of game moderator and make a similar office that is an elected position.

But I still think if the President makes the appointment, he should end up being the one to determine whether or not he stays or goes. Since we're basically makes the rules here for a new system, if you're going to include provisions for removal of the GM, appointed by the President, for whatever reason the Senate determines, then we might as well include provisions for Senate removal of any other appointed official.

The President doesn't really have a great deal of power in these models anyway, so if we're going to be able to run over some of his decisions through legislative action, why have one?