New Constitution

[Platypus]

A good skeleton. My first suggestion is to scrap the bill of rights; my second to reform the method of appointing justices:

Article 3 Section 2: Justices of the High Court shall be appointed by the Speaker on approval by 2/3 of the parliament


Also, Article 2 Section 5: ...or until parliament is dissolved prior to an election.
Article 2 Section 7: The Speaker shall be responsible for the selection of cabinet upon advice from the Prime Minister
Article 2 Section 9: The Speaker shall execute laws as determined by Parliament
Article 2 Section 10: The Speaker may only refuse to execute a law if the Speaker resigns from the post or following a disollution of Parliament

_____________

Just some ideas. I'll come up with some more, i'm sure.

[Platypus]

The reason I think we should scrap the bill of rights is that everyone has different views as to what those rights should be and there is lots of room to debate them. I know that almost nobody will be completely satisfied by the above proposal, and whilst we can never make everyone satisfied I would like for a bill of rights to be put before parliament for extensive reworking. I personally would like to see one passed within the first term, and i'm sure the parliament as a whole will feel similarly.

I also think it is necessary to limit the powers of the Prime Minister, at least officially. Having two people with power, even if only one is expected to act upon it, is a good idea in my view, because it prevents one person from returning us to the dictatorship from which we have just escaped. There needs to be some limitation on the prime minister's power, and the Speaker is as good a role as any. I also think that 2/3 is the best figure to keep the judiciary neutral, but perhaps a sub-clause stating:

"If three nominees for the same position on the High Court of the Republic are rejected in turn, any of the three may be appointed with a basic majority of parliament and the consent of the Speaker. If no candidate is acceptable to the parliament, existing members of the High Court may select an associate."

[Platypus]

Using Xahar's framework:

CONSTITUTION OF THE REPUBLIC OF ANTILLIA

Article 1: Parliament
I.   Chief legislative authority in the Republic of Antillia shall be vested in the Parliament of the Republic.
II.   The Parliament of the Republic shall be composed of at least one member from each province.
III.           Elections shall be run in accordance to procedures determined by the Parliament of the Republic with a two-thirds majority of its members and the approval of the Speaker.
-----------IIIa. The first election shall be run using a mixed-member proportional system. This sub-clause shall hold no power following the first election.
IV.   The Parliament of the Republic shall make no law that is inconsistent with this Constitution.
V.   The Parliament of the Republic shall elect from among its members a Speaker, who shall only vote if the body is tied.
VI.   Any Antillian citizen qualified to vote may be elected to Parliament.
VII.            All adult citizens over the age of 18 posts are entitled to vote, unless banned from entering the Republic of Antillia.
VIII.   The Parliament of the Republic shall have the authority to determine the qualifications of its members, and may censure or expel any member with due cause and a two-thirds majority.
IX.   The Parliament of the Republic cannot carry out its duties without a quorum of two-thirds of all members.
X.   The Parliament of the Republic may dissolve itself by a majority vote if the session has lasted for at least one month prior to dissolution.
XI.   If the Parliament of the Republic sits for five months without dissolution, it shall be automatically dissolved.
XII.   When the Parliament of the Republic is dissolved, new elections must be held within two weeks of the dissolution.

Article 2: Executive
I.   The head of state of the Republic of Antillia shall be the Speaker of the Parliament of the Republic.
II.   The head of government of the Republic of Antillia shall be the Prime Minister.
III.   The Prime Minister shall be elected by a majority vote of the Parliament of the Republic.
IV.   The Prime Minister and the Speaker must not be the same person.
V.   The Prime Minister shall stay in office until a Measure of No Confidence passed by the Parliament of the Republic takes effect or until a new Prime Minister is appointed by the Parliament of the Republic.
VI.   A Measure of No Confidence passed by the Parliament of the Republic shall only take effect subject to the election by the Parliament of the Republic of a replacement Prime Minister.
VII.   The Speaker shall be responsible for the selection of ministers upon advice from the Prime Minister.
VIII.          The Prime Minister shall appoint a cabinet from the ministerial ranks.
IX.   One member of the cabinet shall be appointed Deputy Prime Minister.
X.             One member of the cabinet shall be appointed Chancellor of the Treasury.
XI.            One member of the cabinet shall be appointed Attorney-General.
XII.            The Prime Minister, the Deputy Prime Minister, the Chancellor of the Treasury and the Attorney-General must all be members of the Parliament of the Republic.
XIII.   Any Antillian citizen qualified to vote may be any other minister, except for the Speaker and judges in the court system.
XIV.   The Speaker shall execute laws as determined by the Parliament of the Republic.
XV.           The Speaker may only refuse to execute a law if the Speaker resigns from the post or following a dissolution of the Parliament of the Republic.
XVI.   If the Prime Ministership becomes vacant, the Deputy Prime Minister shall becomes temporarily the Acting Prime Minister, until the Parliament of the Republic appoints a new Prime Minister through the usual means.

Rest to come.

[Platypus]

Sounds interesting, though "Parliament of the Republic" is fairly wordy.

it is to seperate it from provincial parliaments.

You could have a definitions clause which lists 'Parliament' as the Parliament of the Republic of Antillia, along with some other stuff.

[Platypus]

I like the idea of provinces having real power and parliaments, but those parliaments and their membership being determined by the GM---who should be in the constitution somewhere, actually.

[Platypus]

I like the idea of provinces having real power and parliaments, but those parliaments and their membership being determined by the GM---who should be in the constitution somewhere, actually.

GM=Chief (and probably only) Justice of the High Court.

We'll need to put more GM-related stuff in the constitution then.

As for ratification of the constitution, I would suggest this process:

1. Anyone can submit a constitutional plan
-----------submissions close May 12
2. The constitutional convention selects three plans for revision
-----------determined by May 20th
3. Each of the three plans is discussed, debated and modified until all three are returned to the constitutional convention
-----------process finishes by July 1st
4. Constitutional convetion votes on preffered plan
-----------detrmined by July 9th
5. Final amendments made to constitution before ratification
-----------process finished by August 1st

so our baby'll take 9 months to come into reality from conception

basically, i want the process to be as open as possible to as many people as possible, but to have set benchmarks for the completion of each task.

[Platypus]

it doesnt have to be from scratch, it could be exactly the same as yours but with the title of Speaker changed. It's fairly clear you'll have a big role to play n the creaion of our constitution.

[Platypus]

What should be under the jurisdiction of what?

Well, we'd want a pretty high degree of centralisation, which is why i think three tiers is a bit much. Local government should be less powerful than US counties, for example. My suggestion would be that we define the division between the powers of the Republic and those of the Province, and then local government should exist as an independent division of provincial government or something. I really dont think we've got enough room in the game for local government, but i'd like it to exist even if its not part of gameplay, so that it can ecome part of gameplay.

[Platypus]

I declare this Constitution approved.

Which constitution, with which bits?

If Antillia is to exist, we need a constitution, we do not have one. I'm going to pretty much copy-paste the separation of powers in Australia here, with a few tweaks, and then we can work on them. Eventually, we'll go through everything and come up with a final draft. Your initial draft has been the impetus, but it's not the Constitution.

[Platypus]

Article 6 (?)

I-Incidental powers shall be considered those of the Parliament of the Republic, should those incidental powers be directly relevant to the intention of that bodies' powers, with the advancement of time; those powers not given to the Parliament of the Republic shall remain powers of the provinces.

II-The Parliament of the Republic shall have the power to pass and enact legislation in the following areas, for the progress of the peaceful and well-intentioned governance, as do Provincial Parliaments; and shall supercede all Provincial Laws should a Legal Disagreement occur:

a) Trade and Commerce within the Republic and with Foreign Lands, including Tariffs;
b) Taxation, but not the ability to discriminate between Province in Taxation Affairs;
c) Borrowing Monies on the Public Credit of the Republic and all Monetary Reserves;
d) Communications: Postal, Telephonic, of the Internet or other like services;
e) The Defence of the Provinces and the Control of Military Services;
f) Shipping, Fisheries and Ports;
g) Quarantine, Customs, Borders and Immigration;
h) Census, National Statistics, the running of Free and Fair Elections and Meteorology;
i) Currency, Coinage and Legal Tender, both in Issuance and Certification;
j) Units of Measurement;
k) Patents, Copyrights and Trademarks;
l) Familial Partnerships and Child Welfare;
m) Governmental Welfare Support, not to the exclusion of Provincial Parliaments;
n) The Service and Execution of the Civil and Criminal Process of the Courts and their judgments throughout the Republic and where appropriate, Internationally;
o) The Recognition, throught the Republic, of the Laws, Public Acts and Judgments of the Republic and the Provinces;
p) External Affairs;
q) Colonies, Overseas Territories, and Antillian-administered lands not within the Provinces;
r) Construction and Maintenance of Inter-Provincial Transport Links, with the Permission of all Relevant Provinces;
s) The Acquisition, on Just terms, of Property, and the Maintenance of Public Lands;
t) Matters Referred to the the Parliament of the Republic by the Provinces; but not over Provinces that do not Refer to the Parliament of the Republic;
u)  Matters Incidental to the Execution of any Power vested by this Constitution in the Parliament of the Republic, or in the Government of the Republic, or in the Judicature, or in Any Department or Officer of the Republic.

III-Any other power declared by this Constitution as that of the Parliament of the Republic is an Exclusive Power of the Republic.

IV-The Parliament of the Republic shall have the exclusive right to make rules and orders with respect to:

a) The mode in which its powers, privileges and immunities may be executed and upheld, in accordance with all other Articles of this Constitution;
b) The order and conduct of its business and proceedings

[Platypus]

I don't like Article 3, Section II, Clause P; all land should belong to a province. I'd also like a safeguard of the rights of non-citizens, if at all possible.

Basically, the last part is areas that don't count as overseas territories (nor colonies) such as overseas military bases, embassies, etc.

[Platypus]

I don't like Article 3, Section II, Clause P; all land should belong to a province. I'd also like a safeguard of the rights of non-citizens, if at all possible.

Basically, the last part is areas that don't count as overseas territories (nor colonies) such as overseas military bases, embassies, etc.

That sounds fine. But I'm against colonies.

I don't believe we have any, and it's not like we're about to create one, but maybe Bermuda is a colony, or St. Helena, the Azores, Cape Verde or something.

[Platypus]

OK, so it's time to start hammering out the differences. If anyone has anything else to add to the proposed constitution, please do so now; then we can start the rather long process of amending it line-by-line as needed.

[Platypus]

OK, constitution time! Awesome! Yay! Etcetc

I'll start a new thread for passing/amending. No more section additions.