Article 2: Corrolary Powers
Article 3: Rights and Freedoms
Article 4: New Law and Amendments to the Constitution
Executive and legislative power is held by the Senate.
Section 2: The Senate
The Senate is the high government of the Aerican Empire, above and in some cases overriding the constitutions of individual colonies.
Clause 1: Senators are to be elected by colonies which they represent.
Clause 2: No colonies may have more than 2 members in the Senate.
Clause 3: Individuals shall not be barred from the Senate for reasons of age or creed, but all Senators must be elected knowingly by their constituents.
Clause 4: The Senate sits for a four year term. At the end of these four years, all Senate seats must be vacated, and new representatives elected in each colony. Senators who assumed their seats partway through this four year term must vacate their seats at the same time as all other Senators.
Clause 5: An election may be called before the end of a four year term by either the Emperor or the President of the Senate, at a time agreed upon by both parties, with three months notice. An election may be called with only one week's notice by the President to fill the empty seats of a colony.
Clause 6: If a Senator transmits to the Emperor or Senate his written declaration that he or she is unable to discharge the powers and duties of his or her office, and until he or she transmits a written declaration to the contrary, the responsibilities of that office shall be discharged by an Acting Senator, elected by the Senate.
Clause 7: A Senator may be removed from power by their constituency by a referendum thereof. Such a referendum will be scheduled by the Emperor upon the presentation to the Senate of a petition requesting a given Senator's removal, signed by twenty citizens within the constituency of the said Senator, or one sixth of the constituency's population, whichever is lesser. Upon the removal of a Senator from power, the President will, in consultation with the Emperor, schedule an election in the affected colony as soon as is practicable to elect a replacement Senator, as allowed by Article 1, Section 2, Clause 5.
Clause 8: No member of the Senate shall hold a position in the government of another micronation.
Clause 9: One Senator shall be elected by the Senate to act as President of the Senate. This member shall moderate discussion and manage activity and voting.
Clause 10: The Emperor shall act as Vice-President of the Senate, fulfilling the duties of the President when there is no President or the President cannot fulfill his or her duties.
Section 3: The President
The President shall act as the moderator of the Senate.
Clause 1: The President will be a Senator. At the start of each four year term, the Senate will elect one member to act as President in addition to retaining their elected seat.
Clause 2: At the end of the Senate's four year term, the President shall vacate this position. The departing President may be re-elected by the Senate if he or she retains a Senate seat.
Clause 3: The duties of the President shall be to log all motions, to moderate all discussions within the Senate, and to promptly bring all motions to vote.
Section 4: The Secretary
The Secretary's duty shall be to maintain an accurate record of issues before the Senate, ensure that all issues are acted upon in order, and facilitate the Senate proceeding in a timely manner.
Clause 1: The President may appoint a Secretary from amongst the Senators.
Clause 2: It is the duty of the Secretary to take note of all proposals before the Senate and to help the President track which motions require attention.
Clause 3: The Secretary shall furthermore be responsible for tracking when discussions or voting periods have elapsed and bringing such lateness to the attention of the President and Senate.
Section 5: The Emperor
The Emperor will be the chief of state of the Aerican Empire.
Clause 1: The Emperor shall be chosen from amongst the Senate by majority vote of all Senators. When a Senator is proclaimed Emperor, he or she ceases to represent a colony, and their seat becomes vacant. The Emperor is considered to represent the whole of the Empire and receives one vote.
Clause 2: The Emperor may be selected from outside the Senate if two thirds (rounded down) plus one of all Senators vote in favour of this.
Clause 3: The position of Emperor will be held until death, abdication, or impeachment.
Clause 4: The powers of the Emperor shall be as follows:
1) In cases of deadlock, the Emperor may cast a second vote
2) In cases of war, the Emperor may supersede any military action
3) In cases of diplomacy, the Emperor may override the judgment of a Minister
4) The Emperor shall have the sole power to appoint Ministers
Clause 5: The Emperor may be impeached by the Senate if there is a greater than 75% majority in favor.
Clause 6: To be elected emperor, a candidate must have been a citizen for no less than five years without interruption. This clause shall not come into effect in the event that no citizens meet this
criterion at the time of a vacancy for the position of emperor. The outgoing emperor may name a chosen successor as a candidate for election who does not meet this qualification.
Section 6: Senatorial Conduct
Senators deemed by a two thirds (rounded down) plus one of the Senate to be acting in an improper manner shall lose their seat. Improper behaviour shall be defined as publically-made and recorded comments of a racist, sexist, or hateful nature which elicits complaints from no fewer than ten citizens made to their Senators or commission of and conviction for a criminal offense.
Section 7: Order of Action
Clause 1: The president of the Senate will present all motions for voting in the order in which they are proposed.
Clause 2: Motions deemed by the Senate to be urgent and motions relating to war, disaster, or diplomacy shall take precedence.
Section 8: Senatorial Powers
The powers of the Senate shall be as follows:
Clause 1: The Senate will have the power to: Coin money, control the military, control disaster relief, control intercolonial law, regulate intercolonial travel, control civilian ownership of armed vehicles and weapons, and set or abolish taxes.
Clause 2: The Senate will assume new powers as the need arises.
Section 9: The Ministries
The ministries shall be offices maintained by citizens appointed by the Emperor, which will fulfill standard government duties on behalf of the Emperor and Senate.
Clause 1: A minister shall be appointed by the Emperor for each ministry. This minister will have full control of the ministry, and is answerable to the Emperor and Senate.
Clause 2: The following ministries will exist:
Diplomacy and Foreign Affairs
Trade and Economics
Public Relations
Military Affairs
Information
Silly Things
Intergalactic Development
Clause 3: The Emperor may form or dissolve ministries and may choose to leave a ministry vacant if it is deemed temporarily unnecessary or no qualified candidates are available.
Each colony has the right to regulate the establishment of churches as it sees fit. No more than 3 members of a high rank of a given faith may sit in the Senate.
Clause 1: Any preacher, priest, rabbi (ad infinitum) must hold a Preacher's License to preach outside of their respective places of worship. No individual shall have the right to force their religious teachings upon an individual who is not a member of their congregation.
Section 2: Judicial Power
Each colony has the right to establish codes of law and justice.
Clause 1: Legal and judicial cases shall appear before the Supreme Court of the Empire.
Clause 2: The Supreme Court shall consist of members selected by the population of the Empire as a whole. The number of judges to sit on this court shall be no less than five, and as large as the population wishes to make it.
Clause 1: Citizens will have the rights to: Health care if not given by the respective government, funding for education if not given by the respective government, and funding for science if not given by the respective government. All citizens have the right to freedom of speech, the right to gather in groups, the right to non-violent protest, the right to political satire, and all basic rights and freedoms recognized by the United Nations.
Clause 2: No law shall have retroactive effect to the detriment of any person. No person shall be found in violation of any law of the Empire for an act committed before the ratification of such law, nor shall any penalty be imposed for an offense greater than the penalty prescribed by law at the time the offense was committed. Should any law be amended to provide for a lesser penalty for a given offense, the lighter penalty shall be applied to those previously or subsequently found in violation of the law; or if a law is amended so that a given act does not constitute an offense, no person shall be found in violation of the law for an act committed which no longer constitutes an offense.
Section 2: Requirements to Remain a Citizen
Citizens will be required to: be registered as a citizen of a registered world in the Empire, acknowledge the Senate and its power, and follow the dictates of their respective government unless otherwise dictated by the Senate.
Section 3: Equality
All citizens are equal. No race, religion, gender, society, political group, economic group, or social group shall be treated better than another.
Section 1: Laws
Clause 1: Each Senator has one vote. In cases where there is no Senatorial representation, or an area has only one Senator, empty seats are counted as abstentions. In the event of a tie, the Emperor may cast a second vote to break it.
Clause 2: For Senate votes, "majority" shall be considered to be a plurality, as defined as "an excess of votes over those cast for an opposing candidate." If the number of votes cast in favour of a motion exceeds the number cast in opposition, the motion will be considered to have passed by majority vote. A Senator who abstains in a vote is not counted towards the number who voted.
Clause 3: Any Senator may sponsor a motion. A second Senator must second this motion before it is considered for voting. If the Senate is not occupied with other business, yhe president of the Senate will call a vote on the motion within one month of seconding. If the Senate is occupied by other voting, the President may initiate a new vote or may delay voting on new motions until current votes are completed. All votes must last for a minimum of one week and a maximum of one month and may be concluded early if all Senators have cast their vote.
Clause 4: The People may veto a law by petitioning the Senate. A petition of no less than one half the total population of the Empire (rounded down) must be presented to the Senate to veto a motion which affects multiple colonies, and a petition of no less than one half the total population of a colony (rounded down) must be presented to the Senate to veto a motion affecting only a single colony.
Clause 5: Any Senator who fails to vote during the assigned time shall be counted as an abstention.
Clause 6: A Senator may request that an upcoming or ongoing voting period be delayed or extended for up to fourteen days, not including weekends and Public Holidays, for any reason. A Senator may request this delay once for a given motion, and after the stated time is up, the Senator must vote or abstain.
Section 2: Amendments to the Constitution
Amendments to the Constitution shall be proposed to the Senate via the same procedure as new laws. The Senate shall have no less than forty-eight hours in which to decide if an amendment constitutes a major change to the constitution or a minor one.
Clause 1: If an amendment is deemed to be a minor change, the proposal is announced to the populace at large. The population shall have a minimum of 48 hours and a maximum of seven days in which to comment or object. If five non-Senator citizens or five percent of the population (whichever is more) object within that time, the amendment cannot be put forward for voting by the Senate. The amendment shall require a two-thirds majority in the Senate to be adopted.
Clause 2: If one-third of all Senators vote that an amendment is a major change, the proposal shall be announced to the populace at large and the populace shall have a period of no less than two weeks and no more than one month to comment or object. During and after this time, the Senate shall be free to attempt to address any such comments or objections and resubmit the proposal to the populace for no less than one additional week. At the end of this week, a referendum shall be held during which all citizens may vote to adopt or not adopt the amendment, and a plurality (as defined in Article 4, Section 1, Clause 2) shall be required for the amendment to be adopted.
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