A Constitution Of, By, And For The People. Really. - The Battlegrounds - Forums

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1 1:56am 07/06/04

Return of the King of the Cafe!

As Regrad returned from the first and very successful meeting of the New Coalition House of Representatives, the first thing he did was take off his boots, sit in his comfy chair with a glass of water, and pick up his old dictionary. It was with this he had learned the basic language of the galaxy, which he had found to be very patchwork, but servicible. Flicking to the Cs, he went down to "Constitution".

"Ah" he said "We'll need one of these."

***

Although the Representatives had supposedly threshed one out in a break for lunch, Regrad reflected that a constitution written on a napkin just didn't seem right. So, as Head of the House, or at least as the loudest person in the House, he took it upon himself to write the draft. But he'd need help.

He pressed the blue button on his desk. "Master Yuk'kon" he said aloud "If you could send up Minister Quell, I'd be most grateful"

Seemingly from nowhere in particular, a voice responded "Of course, Master Regrad."

Regrad fished a pad of paper and a pen, and placed them on his desk. He booted up his computer, and brought up the New Coalition database - freshly minted. Then he waited.

Eventually, a knock came at his door. "Come in, Minister Quell, the door is unlocked." Viren opened the door and scowled.

"Stop calling me Minister Quell, I feel weird."

"Ah, well, as you wish" said Regrad "Now, I know you've just got back, and you must be anxious to get some rest, but I wonder, what do you know about the New Coalitions' constitution?"

Viren paused "I heard the Reps talking about it at the meeting, but it was hard to hear what they were saying. Um... Isn't there a clause with a..." He fell silent.

"We havn't got one, Mr. Quell."

"What!? But-"

"I know, I know, in the chaos of government merger, reform, a couple coups, I guess it just sort of slipped our minds. But I know we need one, and the sooner we've got one the better, before someone starts asking questions. As Minister of Ethics, you're most qualified to help me write it."

"But what about the House" said Quell, in surprise "What about Jan and Meer, and the others? Won't they be angry to be left out of the loop?"

"Oh don't get what we're doing here confused, Mr. Quell" Said Regrad "This is only the first draft. Once you and I have written something for them to work with, they'll be free to do some tweaking, and it'll all be finished with the end of the meeting a week from now."

'Well" said Viren "All right. But we're going to need something to drink."

"I'll have Master Yuk'Kon bring us something when we get to the Judicial Branch, eh? Now, get a pen, and we'll get started."

Dolash02

2 3:19am 14/06/04

Return of the King of the Cafe!

"We, the People of The New Coalition, Hearby Declare this Constitution to be the basis of the New Coalitions' government,

and it shall detail the operation of said government, along with the Judiciary branch, and the rights granted to all

under this government.

SECTION ONE: Government

1. The Federal Government body of the New Coalition shall be made up of a house of representatives, who will vote on

international issues, inter-state issues, and issues that affect the whole Coalition. Each representative can bring an

issue or a piece of legislature to a vote if they can acquire ten percent of the house's signitures in favour of the

issue being brought before the rest of the house. Every representative has one vote on each issue, and each issue will be

decided by the majority vote. In the case of a draw or a split decision (a.k.a. there are three or more options and the vote

results in no majority) a revote may be issued, or the judiciary branch may intervene.

2. Every member state of the Coalition sends a number of representatives to the house depending on the sentient population

of said planet. While droids which meet the required AI requirements are allowed to vote and hold office, they do not count

for the purpose of determining the number of representatives per state, lest droids are mass produced to increase the

number of representatives a state may send. The number of representatives in the house may never exceed six hundred, nor

may it be less then one hundred, however, within that the number may fluctuate depending on the nessecity of members, as

determined by the last house before the end of the term.

3. Every four years, a new election is held for representatives to the house. The last house must determin the number of

representatives, followed by splitting the regions from which each representative will come from based on population and

area. The Judicial branch may intervene in this stage in case over twenty five percent of the house does not agree with

the chosen method of representative division.

4. The representatives may vote amongst themselves at the beginning of the term who is to be the Head of the House. That

person goes on to name his ministers. There are to be six ministers in the house: Minister of Peace, Minister of Ethics,

Minister of Defence, Minister of finances, Minister of Health and welfare, and Minister of Intelligence. Each minister is

responsible for informing the house about its' field of speciality. Each also has all the powers of a represntative. These

Ministers are also responsible for bringing policy concerning their field into working order and reporting on their progress.

The Head of the House organizes all these ministers and may ask about and seek information from any of them. He is also

capable of wielding emergancy powers should the House vote in favour of declaring a state of emergancy. During an emergancy

the Head of the House may introduce legislature for the purpose of combating that which causes the emergancy, however, it

must still fit within the constitution.

5. State governments are free to take whatever form and style they wish, so long as they do not exceed the constitution.

All rights guarenteed in the constiution and all policy passed down from the House must be accepted, however, should a state

feel displeased with a particular piece of legislature or has difficulties with another state, they may take it before the

Courts of the Judiciary branch.

6. Votes of no-confidence in the Head of the House and his/her ministers may be declared so long as thirty percent of the

house sign a petition of no-confidence. It is then open to debate, followed by a vote to replace the Head and his/her

Ministers. Should there be enough evidence to declare that a representative has breached the constitution or the law,

they may be stripped of their post and taken before a Court.

7. The House may call upon and deploy the military in emergancy situations, so long as the risk is dire to the Coaltion's people and there

is no obvious non-military solution.

SECTION TWO: The Judiciary Branch

1. The Judiciary Branch is not a part of the government, in that although it recieves funding from the government,

interaction and connections between the two bodies are to be kept at a minimum. The Judiciary Branch is also selected by

election once every five years, however, candidates must posess a legal degree or the equivalent, and must pass a standard

legal proficiency test to be considered for a post.

2. Judges are to enforce the Constitution and the Law, and the Constitution overrules the Law in conflicting cases. Should

a law be considered unconstitutional, or a representative betray the public trust in government, then the Supreme Court is to

Intervene.

3. The Courts are split into three levels: Municipal Court, State Court, and Federal Court. There is also the Supreme Court,

Whos' job it is to watch over and investigate all laws and government activities for signs of corruption or unconstitutional

behaviour. Judges are - whenever possible - posted to locations from which they were elected. In an emergancy, a judge

may be passed up the chain of courts temporarily.

4. Should a Judge act in an unconstitutional way, determined by the judges' colleagues, then that judge may be removed by

a vote within the Judiciary system, however, the person may run again next term. Should the people reelect a person who

was removed due to unconstitutional or unlawful behaviour, that person may not be removed again unless they perform another

unconstitutional or unlawful act.

SECTION THREE: The Charter of Rights and Freedoms

The following Rights and Freedoms apply to everyone within the Coalition, regardless of race, species, creed, religion, gender,

or age.

-Free Speech is a sacred right, inviolatable by the government, the Judiciary Branch, or anyone within the Coalition.

-People are free to worship, think, speak, act, and work in their own way, unmolested, so long as they do not put others at risk by doing

so.

-The People are free to assemble none-violently, to own property, and to enter and leave the country unmolested.

-The People have the right to obtain an education, to recieve medical attention sufficient to their afflictions, and to

better themselves.

-The People have the right to basic nessecities of life, such as food and shelter.

-The People have the right to defend themselves should they be put at risk they did not accept or understand.

-The People have the right to form unions, recieve a minimum living wage for full time work, and to be considered fairly

for work.

-Every citizen of maturity, no matter the race, species, gender, creed, or opinion, may have one vote in every public election, and run in any such elections. This may only be barred from them if they suffer serious insanity or are felons serving a term. Droids who meet the required AI standards and have citizenship are also permitted to vote or hold office.

We, the people, hold this constitution sacred to the state, and shall see to it that it be kept in mind at all times during the government process. We shall ensure freedom and justice for all by making use of the rights and processes outlined in this constitution, and shall heed it in matters of state. With these last strokes of the pen, the New Coalition shall rise once more."

The words brought a hail of applause from the assembled representatives and audience. The reading of the constitution had been on national Holo-net News, and as Regrad sat down again, he let out a deep breath. Jan patted him on the back.

"Good work there, Regrad. And good work Viren. An excellent job. I've never seen such excitment about government affairs before."

"Well it is the first reading of a document that spells out the way the country they live in will operate from now on. It is rather, oh, I don't know, important?" Said Viren, who drank deeply from his glass of water afterwards.

"Itsa good constitutiontist" said Fraktusk "Mesa like alla da wordings."

"Easier said then done though, eh?" Said Marth.

Regrad smiled to him "We shall see, Mr. Meer."