Isselmere
28-05-2004, 21:26
Robert the Sixth, by the Grace of God of the United Kingdom of Isselmere and Nieland and other Realms and Territories KING, of Glaines and Oldmarch LORD HIGH STEWARD, of Gudrof LORD PROTECTOR, Keeper of the Faith, Protector of Liberties.
To Our Loyal and Honourable Senators, and the Members of the House of Assembly, and to the people of Isselmere, Nieland, and of Our other Realms and Territories,
A Proclamation
WHEREAS We have decided, by and with the advice of Our Government, and in consultation with and on the advice of the Senate and of the House of Assembly, to consolidate within this Act certain statutes concerning the Constitution of Our Realms and Territories to provide good government for Our subjects;
AND WHEREAS the United Kingdom of Isselmere and Nieland and of Our other Realms and Territories form an indivisible union of the regions of Isselmere, Nieland, Detmere, and Anguist;
AND WHEREAS We wish to ensure the prosperity of Our Subjects, and that justice benefits all;
AND WHEREAS as heretofore such earlier legislation protected the liberties of Our subjects, established Our Realms and Territories as being under the rule of law, and recognised Our right and that of Our heirs and successors to the Crown, so shall this Act;
AND WHEREAS We and Our heirs and successors shall ensure this Act is held sacrosanct by Parliament, alterable only in accordance with the procedures defined herein;
AND WHEREAS We and Our heirs and successors united with the People through Parliament as Sovereign shall ensure the practice of good government, and the exercise of the liberties granted by God and confirmed by this Act;
NOW KNOW YOU that We, by and with the advice of Our Government, and in consultation with and on the advice of the Senate and of the House of Assembly, do by this Our Proclamation give assent to this Act.
IN TESTIMONY WHEREOF, We have caused this Our Proclamation to be published and the Privy Seal of Isselmere and Nieland to be hereunto affixed.
At Our Wentworth Palace, in Our City of Isling in Daurmont, this twenty-fourth day of March in the year of Our Lord nineteen hundred and eighty-six and in the third year of Our Reign.
Part I – Basic Provisions
Art. 1 – Title
An Act to proclaim to codify existing constitutional acts and other provisions concerning the United Kingdom of Isselmere and Nieland for the continuation of the cultural, legal, and political traditions.
Art. 2 – Short Title
This Act may be referred to as the Constitution Act, 1986.
Art. 3 – Lands and Peoples
(1) The United Kingdom of Isselmere and Nieland and His Majesty’s other Realms and Territories shall hereinafter be referred to as the “United Kingdom of Isselmere-Nieland” (Isselmere-Nieland), which shall be taken to mean the entirety of those Realms and Territories.
(2) Isselmere-Nieland is an indivisible union of the Regions of Isselmere, Nieland, Detmere, and Anguist, and of Territories administered by the Council of State and Parliament.
(3) His Loyal Subjects of Isselmere-Nieland shall hereinafter be referred to as “citizens”.
Art. 4 – Capital
The capital of Isselmere-Nieland is and shall be Daurmont until such time as Parliament declare otherwise.
Art. 5 – Official and Minority Languages
(1) The official language of Isselmere-Nieland is English.
(2) No government may legislate against the right of any linguistic or cultural minority to educate its children in the language of that minority, or bar any signage in which the official language is not predominant within a community wherein the official language is not predominant, notwithstanding:
a) that children must receive instruction in the English language from the fourth grade or its equivalent onward;
b) that the curriculum offered by such education must be chartered by a responsible educational authority;
c) that there may be a requirement that English be predominant in services provided by the government.
Art. 6 – Symbols
(1) The flower of Isselmere-Nieland shall be the yellow rose.
(2) The national animal shall be the hoary tern.
(3) The national motto is “Never so far as you wish it was.”
(4) The national anthem is “The Road to Prosperity.”
Isselmere
19-07-2004, 16:33
Part II – Parliament
Section 1 – Basic Provisions
Art. 7 – Composition
Parliament shall consist of the King acting by and with the advice of the Council of State (the King-in-Council), an upper house titled the Senate, and a lower house titled the House of Assembly.
Art. 8 – Elections and Procedure
(1) Each House of Parliament shall decide the laws governing election to and procedures within that House. Election to Parliament is founded on the principles of universal, equal, and direct suffrage by secret ballot.
(2) The right to review elections to a House shall reside in that House in an elections and boundaries committee presided by the respective House President, or the House President may refer a review of an election to an independent elections commission.
Art. 9 – Convening Parliament
(1) The King will convene Parliament the first Tuesday after the return of the writs of election for a House of Parliament.
(2) A session of Parliament shall last from the return of writs of election for House of Assembly until the end of the term of that House. The Senate shall be in permanent session.
(3) A session of a House of Parliament shall be adjourned by the House President with a resolution by a majority of the respective House. The House of Assembly may not be adjourned for more than one hundred and twenty days. The Senate may not be adjourned for more than sixty days. During a period of adjournment, the House President may convene a session of the respective House prior to the scheduled date to consider important business or at the request of the King, the Government, or one-fifth of the members of the respective House.
Section 2 – House of Assembly
Art. 10 – Members
(1) The House of Assembly shall be composed of Members elected directly from electoral districts, or “constituencies”.
(2) An independent parliamentary body responsible for administering elections will determine the boundaries of the constituencies. These constituencies will be determined by independent parliamentary bodies responsible for taking the census and for ensuring that elections are fair and occur according to statute.
(3) No more than one Member may be elected from each constituency.
(4) Candidates shall be elected in accordance with the single-member majoritarian two-ballot system.
a) Should no candidate receive a majority of votes, a second election involving only the two candidates who received the most votes cast will occur no less than five days and no more than two weeks after the first election.
b) No further campaigning may take place during this period between the first and second elections.
c) The candidate receiving the majority of votes in the second election, should one be required, will be the Member for that constituency.
Art. 11 – Eligibility of Members
Any person who is a citizen of Isselmere-Nieland, whether native-born or naturalized, who has attained the age of nineteen years and who has been resident within the region in which the constituency is located for at least one year, and is not:
a) a bankrupt;
b) a convicted felon;
c) currently imprisoned for a crime or misdemeanour for which the penalty is at least one year imprisonment or a fine of £5,000 (1986 valuation);
d) the citizen, subject, or in the service of a foreign power
may be a candidate for a seat in the House of Assembly.
Art. 12 – Duration
(1) The House of Assembly shall sit for no longer than five years from the return of the writs of election, subject to prorogation by the King-in-Council after one year.
(2) The House of Assembly must sit for at least one session of sixty days each year.
Art. 13 – Vacancies
(1) Should a vacancy occur in the House of Assembly, whether by resignation, or be dismissed by the Speaker of the House of Assembly for a grave violation of procedural rules as delineated in clause 22(7)d) of this Constitution, or by other means specified by elections and procedure laws, the seat shall immediately become vacant.
(2) Writs of election shall be issued by the House of Assembly for that constituency no less than twenty days and no more than forty days from the beginning of that vacancy.
(3) A Member of Parliament thus elected shall serve until the House of Assembly is dissolved.
Art. 14 – Functions
(1) The House of Assembly may initiate all types of legislative measures.
(2) The House of Assembly alone initiates money and supply bills, bills of impeachment, declarations of war, and international agreements.
Art. 15 – Dissolution
The House of Assembly shall be dissolved by the King-in-Council:
a) at the end of the term of the House of Assembly;
b) at the request of the Prime Minister with the concurrence of the Speaker of the House of Assembly;
c) at the request of the Speaker of the House of Assembly if deeming that House to be irredeemably deadlocked or otherwise unable to fulfil its functions;
d) should the Government lose the confidence of that House;
e) if the House has been adjourned for longer than specified by this Constitution, or;
f) if the House has been unable to reach a quorum for three months.
Section 3 – Senate
Art. 16 – Senators
(1) The Senate shall be composed of Senators elected proportionally from electoral regions.
(2) Three Senators shall be elected from each electoral region as determined by the number of votes cast divided by the number of seats plus one and one will be added to the quotient (“Droop quota”). The electors shall rank three candidates in order of preference. The candidate with the most votes above the threshold at each stage shall be declared elected.
(3) Electoral regions shall consist of an equivalent number of constituencies within a Region, to be specified in Schedule 1 of this Act, conforming insofar as possible to provincial boundaries.
(4) The Senate shall be divided into three equivalent classes.
Art. 17 – Eligibility of Senators
A citizen of Isselmere-Nieland who has attained the age of thirty years and who has been resident within the Region in which the electoral region is located for at least one year, and who is otherwise eligible for election to the House of Assembly, may be a candidate for a seat in the Senate.
Art. 18 – Duration
(1) Senators shall be elected for terms no greater than nine years from the return of writs of election.
(2) Subsequent to the first Senate election after the promulgation of this Act and of the division of the Senate into three equivalent classes, the first class will be elected for three years, the second class for six years, and the third class for the full nine years. In following Senate elections, barring by-elections for vacancies, Senators shall all be elected for a term of nine years.
Art. 19 – Vacancies
(1) Should a Senator resign, be dismissed by the President of the Senate for grave violations against the procedural rules of the Senate as noted in clause 22(7)d) of this Constitution, or be declared incapacitated by a plenary session of the Council of State of Isselmere-Nieland, the seat shall immediately become vacant.
(2) An election for the vacant Senate seat shall occur nor less than twenty-one days and no more than forty days from the beginning of the vacancy.
(3) The succeeding Senator shall serve until the end of the term of the predecessor.
Art. 20 – Functions
(1) The Senate may initiate legislative measures other than those expressly denied that House by this Constitution, including money and supply bills, declarations of war, international agreements, and bills of impeachment.
(2) The Senate shall try officers of the Federal Government in impeachment proceedings.
(3) The Senate has the right to approve or reject appointments by the King as stipulated by this Constitution and constitutional amendments.
Section 3 – Officers of Parliament
Art. 21 – House Parent
The longest serving member of a House will be the Father or Mother, as the case may be, of that House.
Art. 22 – House Presidents
(1) Both Houses will appoint from their members a principal representative, or House President, and at least three deputy representatives, or House Vice-Presidents, for their respective Houses. Candidates for those positions must receive the concurrence of an absolute majority of their respective House and of the leaders of the Government and senior-most Opposition parties. The election of the House Presidents and Vice-Presidents will be conducted by the Parent of the respective House.
a) A House President must resign as a member of a political party but will remain the representative of the respective constituency. Should a House President run for re-election, such must be done as an independent candidate.
b) House Vice-Presidents may retain both their membership in a political party and their respective constituency but must uphold the established standards of impartiality when conducting the business of their respective House.
c) House Vice-Presidencies will be divided equally between the Government and Opposition benches of the respective House.
i) In the House of Assembly, the senior House Vice-President will be from the Opposition.
ii) In the Senate, the senior House Vice-President will be from the benches of the group with the second largest number of seats.
(2) The House President and Vice-Presidents of a House will herein be referred to collectively as the House Presidency of that House.
(3) The House President of the House of Assembly will be the Speaker of the House of Assembly. The House Vice-Presidents of that House will be the Deputy Speakers of the House of Assembly.
(4) The House President of the Senate will be the President of the Senate. The House Vice-Presidents of that House will be the Vice-Presidents of the Senate.
(5) A House President or sitting House Vice-President may not vote in any division unless the vote is deadlocked, in which instance the President or Vice-President may cast the deciding vote.
(6) Should a House President or Vice-President resign, be dismissed, or become permanently incapacitated, the respective House will elect another of its members to the vacated post.
(7) A House President or sitting Vice-President:
a) adjourns sessions of the respective House if that House so resolves;
b) convenes sessions of that House at the end of the adjournment period, at the request of the Monarch on the advice of the Prime Minister, or of one-fifth of the members of that House before the end of the adjournment period, or by the initiative granted to the office before the end of the adjournment period to consider subjects of grave national import;
c) keeps order in that House;
d) censures, expels, or fines members of that House who do not follow the rules of procedure of that House;
e) dismisses a member of that House who has committed grave infractions against the rules of procedure with the consent of forty percent of the absolute membership of the respective House, or who has failed to attend meetings of that House for thirty consecutive days without just cause and without informing the House Presidency.
(8 ) House Vice-Presidents may not convene Parliament prior to the date of adjournment unless the one or more of the parties mentioned in clause (7)b) of this article so requests and the Chamber President of that House is incapacitated or otherwise unavailable.
Art. 23 – Keepers of House
(1) Each House will appoint by an absolute majority of all of its members its Keeper to secure its deliberations and proceedings, maintain order within the House, and to execute orders of the House outwith the purview of other Parliamentary officers or bodies.
(2) Each Keeper of House, with the approval of an absolute majority of all members of the respective House, will appoint agents to protect the privileges of that House and its constituent members.
a) The Keeper of House, in conjunction with the respective House President, will administer the agents so appointed.
b) A Keeper of House may appoint deputies to assist him or her in the administration of such duties.
(3) As the officer responsible for the maintenance of order within the House, the Keeper of House will be the Mace-Bearer and Keeper of other Symbols of State for that House.
(4) The Keeper of House of the House of Assembly will be the Sergeant-at-Arms.
(5) The Keeper of House of the Senate will be the Gentleman Usher of the Silver Rod.
(6) The alterations to and substitution for the symbols of office of both Keepers of House may only be made in accordance with the wishes of an absolute majority of the respective House and its Keeper.
Art. 24 – Other Officers
(1) The Clerk and Assistant Clerks of a House of Parliament shall be chosen by that House from a list of candidates provided by the Court of Four Regions of Isselmere-Nieland or by other means stipulated by law. The Clerk of the Senate shall be the Clerk of Parliament.
(2) Other officers of a House of Parliament shall be chosen by that House in a manner specified by procedural custom and law.
Section 4 – Sessions
Art. 25 – Quorum, Majorities
(1) A Member of either House of Parliament is entitled to a single vote in a resolution or division of the House in which the said Member has a seat.
(2) A minimum quorum of one-fifth of the Members of Parliament or Senators, including the respective House President, are required to constitute a meeting of a House of Parliament.
(3.1) Unless otherwise noted within this Constitution, a minimum quorum of two-fifths of the absolute membership of the House of Assembly or of the Senate, including the respective House President, are required to make resolutions and for divisions.
(3.2) Except as otherwise noted within this Constitution, the required majority to pass legislation shall be fifty-percent plus one of the members present within that House of Parliament.
(4) A Member of either House of Parliament may be fined by the respective House President for being absent from meetings of that House for ten consecutive days.
Art. 26 – Committees and Commissions
(1) Both Houses of Parliament may establish committees and commissions to investigate Government actions and to ensure accountability of the King and of the Government to the people of Isselmere-Nieland.
(2) Members of Government may not be a member of a committee or commission of Parliament.
Art. 27 – Joint Sessions
(1) The King may request a joint session of Parliament to address matters of national import. Such a petition will be acceded to as the first order of business.
(2) The Speaker of the House of Assembly may request a joint session of Parliament to debate matters of national import, including constitutional amendments and international agreements. Such a petition requires the consent of the President of the Senate.
(3) Joint sessions of Parliament shall be held in the chamber of the Senate and shall be governed by the rules of the House of Assembly.
Art. 28 – Interpellation
(1) A member of Government who is also a Member of either House of Parliament shall be present within the respective House of Parliament at least twice per week as established by a standing order of procedural rules for that House to answer questions from the respective House in which the member of Government holds membership. A member of Government, if excused from Parliament by the respective House President in which said member is a Member, may instead have such questions responded by the deputy of the respective office.
(2) If a member of Government is not a Member of either House of Parliament, the member of Government shall appear before the House of Assembly for interpellation.
Art. 29 – Publicity, Journals
(1) Most meetings of Parliament shall be open to the public. A motion by the Government or one-tenth of the members of a House to close a meeting of that House to the public requires a two-thirds majority in that House to pass.
(2) The House President may exclude of the public from a meeting of that House for interfering in debates with the acceptance of two-fifths of the absolute membership in that House.
(3) Each House of Parliament must produce true and accurate journals of the meetings in that House to be made public with the exception of such matters deemed necessary to remain secret as noted in subsection (1) of this article. The meetings of members and committees within those journals shall not be subject to liability.
(4) No subject shall remain secret for more than thirty years unless that subject is still considered necessary for national security, in which case the subject shall remain secret for fifty years.
Section 5: Legislation
Art. 30 – Initiation
(1) Parliament alone may initiate legislation. The legislative process may be commenced in either House of Parliament, with the exception of such matters delineated within this Constitution or by constitutional amendments. The House of Parliament initiating the legislation shall hereinafter be the first House, and the House to which the bill is passed if accepted by the first House shall hereinafter be styled the second House.
(2) A bill requires three readings in the first House before being passed to the second House unless otherwise stipulated by law. Amendments to the bill may not be proposed in the first reading.
(3) If the required majority in the first House approves the bill, it shall be presented to the second House.
Art. 31 – Resolution by Second House
(1) A bill passed by the first House requires three readings before the second House prior to being passed to the King-in-Council. Amendments to the bill may not be proposed in the first reading.
(2.1) Bills passed to the second House, with the exception of such bills as mentioned within this Constitution or as otherwise stipulated by law, must be decided upon within twenty-one consecutive days of advancement to that House.
(2.2) Should the second House resolve to ignore the bill or should the second House be unable to decide upon the bill within the time limit delineated within subsection (2.1) of this article, the bill shall be deemed to have been passed unless otherwise noted in this Constitution.
(3.1) Other than such bills as stipulated within this Constitution, the second House may amend bills presented by the first House. Alternately, the second House may approve the bill without amendments, to reject the bill, or to declare no intention to debate the bill.
(3.2) Bills initiated by the Senate amended by the House of Assembly shall be considered to have been bills initiated by the House of Assembly.
Art. 32 – Rejected Legislative Measures
(1) Rejected bills shall be returned to the initiating House. The first House may not then amend the bill.
(2) Other than such bills as stipulated within this Constitution, if the first House is the House of Assembly, the first House may resolve with three-fifths of the votes cast consisting of an absolute majority of the House of Assembly to approve a bill rejected by the Senate. A bill thus approved shall be considered to have passed both Houses.
(3.1) Should a bill fail to pass through three readings in the first House, or should a bill fail to pass through three readings in the second House and should the rejected bill either be ineligible for return to the second House by the first House or should the bill fail in a motion of the first House as stipulated in subsection (2) of this article to return the rejected bill to the second House, the bill shall be considered to have died on the order paper.
(3.2) A bill that has died on the order paper shall be returned to the first House and may not be reintroduced in the current session of Parliament. A bill that has died on the order paper may be reintroduced in the next session of Parliament as a new bill.
Art. 33 – Royal Assent
(1.1) A bill that has been approved by both Houses shall be presented to the King-in-Council.
(1.2) Any bill presented to both Houses of Parliament shall be subject to review by the King-in-Council.
(2.1) The King has twenty-one consecutive days in which to review legislative measures passed by both Houses of Parliament. Within that time, the King-in-Council must decide whether to approve the bill, reject the draft law, to recommend amendments to the bill, or to ignore the bill.
(2.2) Should the King-in-Council approve the bill or other legislative measure, the bill or other legislative measure shall be signed in the hand of the King and shall be immediately in force. The approved bill shall become an official act or statute upon official assent of the legislative measure.
(2.3) Rejection of a bill by the King-in-Council, whether of specific clauses within the legislative measure or with its entirety, shall result in the bill being returned to the first House.
(3) Within ten days of the advancement of the legislation to that office, the King-in-Council may request the review of the legislation by the Supreme Court of Isselmere-Nieland.
(4) If the first House approves of the deletion of specific clauses rejected by the King-in-Council, the bill shall have passed.
(5) Should the King-in-Council decide to ignore the legislative measure, the bill shall have passed.
Art. 34 – Signatures and Countersignatures
(1) For a legislative measure to be binding as law, the document must be signed in the hand of the King for assent and promulgation.
(2) Ministerial decrees and ordinances require signature by the competent Minister or Ministers and a countersignature in the hand of the King for such legislative measures to be binding as law.
(3) Agreements between the Federal Government and provincial governments shall require the signature of the First Minister of the respective Province or Provinces, of the Prime Minister, and of the King for such legislative measure to be binding as law.
(4) Treaties and agreements between the Federal Government and an Aboriginal people or government shall require the signature of the head of government of that Aboriginal authority, of the Minister of Aboriginal Affairs or an equivalent office, of the Prime Minister, and of the King.
(5) International accords shall require the signature of the Prime Minister and of the King to become binding as law.
(6) The King is required to sign each legislative measure requiring promulgation, as are the responsible officers of Government.
Art. 35 – Money and Supply Bills
(1) A money or supply bill shall be any legislation considering matters of taxation or other means of collecting revenue for the State, of the budget as proposed by the Government, or of procurement of goods or services for the use of the State.
(2) Initiative for money and supply bills resides solely in the House of Assembly.
(3.1) Should the Senate remain inactive on a money or supply bill for more than thirty days, the bill shall be considered to have passed that House.
(3.2) The Senate may not amend a money or supply bill.
(4) Should the King-in-Council leave a money or supply bill inactive for more than thirty days, the bill shall be considered to have been signed by the King and shall be promulgated.
Art. 36 – War and State of Emergency
(1.1) A declaration of war or of a State of Emergency must be initiated by the House of Assembly, excepting the circumstance noted in subsection (1.2) of this article. The King may address a joint session of Parliament to request a resolution for the formal declaration of war. A three-fifths majority in the House of Assembly is required to pass a bill for the declaration of war to the Senate.
(1.2) Should the House of Assembly be adjourned and should the territory of Isselmere-Nieland be attacked by a hostile foreign power or a state of apprehended insurrection be considered to exist, the Senate may initiate a declaration of war thereby convening the House of Assembly.
(2) The Senate may not amend a bill for the declaration of war, nor may the Senate let the bill remain inactive.
(3) An absolute majority in the Senate is required to pass the bill to the King-in-Council.
(4.1) Should the Senate resolve against a bill for the declaration of war, the bill shall be returned to the House of Assembly. In a resolution against the bill, the Senate may recommend amendments to be made by the House of Assembly.
(4.2) Should the House of Assembly return the bill to the Senate without alteration or amendment by an absolute two-thirds majority of the Members of Parliament, the bill shall be considered to have been passed by the Senate and shall be presented before the King-in-Council.
(5) The King-in-Council shall accept and sign a declaration of war that has been passed by both Houses of Parliament.
Art. 37 – Constitutional Amendments
(1) Constitutional amendments are initiated solely by the House of Assembly. A bill to amend this Constitution requires two-thirds of the votes cast by an absolute majority of Members of Parliament to be passed to the Senate.
(2) The Senate may not amend the proposed constitutional amendment presented by the House of Assembly, nor may the Senate let the bill remain inactive.
(3.1) A bill to amend this Constitution requires two-thirds of the votes cast by an absolute majority of Senators to be passed to the King-in-Council.
(3.2) Should the Senate resolve against the constitutional amendment, the bill shall be returned to the House of Assembly. The Senate may in its rejection of the bill, propose but not enact amendments to the bill to the House of Assembly.
(4) The King-in-Council may return the bill with recommendations for amendment to the first House once, and must otherwise accept and sign a constitutional amendment that has been passed by both Houses of Parliament.
(5) Constitutional amendments affecting changes in provincial powers or in intergovernmental relations:
a) shall require the consent of the majority of provincial legislatures, or;
b) Parliament may request the King present the legislation before the people of Isselmere-Nieland in a referendum.
(6) The constitutionality of a constitutional amendment shall be reviewed by the Supreme Court of Isselmere-Nieland before being presented to the House of Assembly. The Supreme Court shall then review a constitutional amendment after it has been promulgated by the King-in-Council.
(7) The Supreme Court of Isselmere-Nieland shall be the ultimate authority on the constitutionality and legality of all Federal legislation.
Art. 38 – International Accords
(1.1) The House of Assembly initiates review of international agreements and Aboriginal treaties without which such agreements are null and void. Should the proposed agreement secure the majority of votes cast in the House of Assembly, the agreement is passed to the Senate. Should the House of Assembly resolve to leave the legislation inactive for thirty days, the legislation shall be considered to have failed.
(2) Should the Senate resolve to leave the legislation inactive for twenty-one days, the legislation shall be considered as having passed the Senate and shall be presented to the King-in-Council.
(3) Parliament may request the King to place international and intergovernmental agreements before the people of Isselmere-Nieland in a referendum.
Art. 39 – Impeachment
(1) Impeachment proceedings shall be initiated by a resolution of one-fifth of the absolute membership of the House of Assembly against an officier of the Federal Government for maladministration or misconduct resulting from the commission of bribery, fraud, treason, or other high crime or misdemeanour.
(2) Frivolous resolutions of impeachment by Members of Parliament shall result in the offending Members being fined an amount stipulated by law and may be suspended from the House up to ten consecutive days.
(3) The Members of Parliament issuing the resolution shall present before the House of Assembly articles of impeachment to be voted upon by that House. A resolution by an absolute majority of the House of Assembly is required to initiate debate on the articles.
(4) Articles of impeachment may not be amended.
(5.1) An article of impeachment must receive two-thirds of the votes case by an absolute majority of Members of Parliament to be passed to the Senate. Any article that is not passed by the House of Assembly shall not be presented before the Senate.
(5.2) If by the cessation of debate an article or articles of the impeachment resolution has been passed by the House of Assembly, the bill of impeachment shall be presented to the Senate. The House of Assembly shall then select a maximum of five Members of Parliament, who shall be styled House Advocates, to present the case for impeachment to the Senate.
(6.1) The Senate shall consider impeachment proceedings as the first order of business.
(6.2) The Senate acts as jury and court in impeachment proceedings.
(6.3) Impeachment proceedings in the Senate shall be presided by the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Isselmere-Nieland. The Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Isselmere-Nieland does not receive a vote.
(7.1) A bill of impeachment requires an absolute two-thirds majority of the Senate to be passed.
(7.2) Should the Senate pass the bill of impeachment, the Senate shall decide the punishment for the offending officer of the Federal Government.
(8) Punishment shall not exceed forfeiture of the office, ineligibility to hold any other public office, and of the possibility of holding any office of trust within Isselmere-Nieland.
Art. 40 – Promulgation
(1) All bills and other legislative measures require the signature of the King and of the responsible member of Government if applicable to come into force. Once the legislation is signed by the King, it shall be immediately in force.
(2.1) Upon approval of a bill or other legislative measure by the King, the legislative measure shall be presented to the Registrar of the Supreme Court of Isselmere-Nieland in preparation for publication in Statutes of Isselmere-Nieland.
(2.2) Should a bill or other legislative measure be refused by the King, the rejected legislative measure shall be presented to the House President of the first House.
(3.1) The King, or an official representative chosen by the King, shall provide assent to a legislative measure in a public declaration within a joint session of Parliament as the first business on the following Monday after the legislative measure has been presented to the Registrar of the Supreme Court in preparation for publication as specified in subsection (2.1) of this article. When assent is given, the legislative measure becomes law and the new law is given a chapter number, and thus published, in the Statutes of Isselmere-Nieland.
(3.2) Should the King refuse the legislative measure, the King, or an official representative chosen by the King, shall announce the return of the legislative measure to the first House in a joint session of Parliament as the first business on the following Monday after the legislative measure was returned to the Presiding Officer of the body from which the legislative measure originated.
(4) Bills of Impeachment passed by both Houses of Parliament shall be promulgated by the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Isselmere-Nieland in accordance with subsection (2.1) of this article.
Section 6: Rights and Responsibilities
Art. 41 – Oaths
Members of either House of Parliament must swear an oath before accepting a seat within the respective House to protect the Constitution and to serve the best interests of their constituents.
I, (name of candidate), pledge allegiance to the Constitution of the Republic of Isselmere-Nieland. I shall endeavour to improve the fortunes of citizens of Isselmere-Nieland, to protect the Constitution and laws of Isselmere-Nieland, and to act in accordance with the Code of Ethics to the best of my conscience.
The said Member may, but is not required to add: So help me God.
Art. 42 – Incompatibilities
A Member of either House of Parliament must be eligible to vote in a federal election, and may not concurrently be a member of the other House of Parliament, or of a Provincial Legislature, or any other regional government, or a serving member or officer in a police force or in the armed forces, or a member of clergy, or a member of management or on the board of directors of an organization operating with the intent to gain profit.
Art. 43 – Resignation
(1) A Member of either House of Parliament may resign membership within the respective House by presenting a letter of resignation in the hand of the said Member to the King, and by address by the member in question or, if the member in question is incapable, by the Chair of the respective House, to the respective House in which the member held a seat.
(2) A resignation shall come into effect upon the address to the respective House, and the seat shall be vacant.
Art. 44 – Independence
Parliament shall be free from interference by the executive or by the judiciary, with the exception of the right of judicial review of legislation approved by Parliament and of such measures noted within this Constitution.
Art. 45 – Indemnity, Immunity
(1.1) A Member of either House of Parliament shall be immune from detention or arrest within Parliament.
(1.2) A Member of either House of Parliament shall be immune from prosecution for acts committed in the lawful execution of the office as a Member of the respective House of Parliament.
(2) A Member of either House of Parliament may not be charged for any statement or actions made within Parliament, though the respective House President may fine the member for utterances and actions made in contradiction to the procedural rules governing that House, excepting such provisions as stipulated by law.
(3.1) A Member of either House of Parliament shall be subject to detention or arrest for a criminal offence only with the consent of the respective House.
(3.2) A Member of either House of Parliament shall be subject to detention and arrest if caught in the commission of a criminal offence or immediately thereafter. The detaining authority shall immediately inform the respective House President who shall summarily convene the respective House.
(3.3) The respective House may, with the approval of an absolute majority of that House, either consent to release the member for prosecution, or decide to retain the member. Should the House resolve to retain the member, future criminal prosecution for that specific offence by the member shall be impossible.
(i) An appeal of a decision for retention of an accused member may be sought through the King-in-Council.
(ii) Should a review by the King-in-Council find against retention, the retained member shall be removed.
Art. 46 – Remuneration
Members of either House of Parliament are entitled to remuneration and allowances from the Consolidated Revenue Fund as determined by Parliament.
Isselmere
21-08-2004, 19:25
Part VII: Charter of Rights and Freedoms
Article 156: Statement of the Charter
(1) Be it established beyond doubt that all people are created equal and are all entitled to certain inalienable and incontrovertible rights and freedoms to be guaranteed by Parliament and the Government of Isselmere-Nieland to all citizens of this United Kingdom and to legal visitors thereof. The Charter of Rights and Freedoms, or Part VII of this Constitution, ensures the inviolable and unamendable nature of these certain liberties and secures that no legislative body nor government thereof, nor citizen, nor visitor, nor group or groups thereof within Isselmere-Nieland shall infringe upon these rights and freedoms.
(2) Part VII of this Constitution comes into effect on ratification and shall remain in effect in perpetuity. The rights and freedoms established in this Charter apply to all natural persons, domestic and foreign, to the fullest extent of the law in accordance with this Constitution.
(3) A rightholder may make a free, responsible, and voluntary declaration of waiver of particular rights and freedoms established in this Constitution in single instances, but such declaration of waiver is never binding in future instances.
(4) Part VII of this Constitution is subject to certain reasonable limits as prescribed by laws common to all democratic nations and not infringing on the Universal Declaration of Human Rights of the United Nations of which Isselmere-Nieland is a signatory.
Article 157: Freedom of Expression
(1) Every person possesses the freedom of conscience and religion on which Parliament or other legislative body and the Government may not infringe, nor may Parliament, or other legislative body, or the Government:
a) declare any religion to be the National or Regional religion;
b) create a religion by legislation or by executive order; or
Until 17 October 2004, these two clauses read as follows "a )enforce worship of the established Reformed Church of Isselmere; b ) declare any other creed to be the National or Regional religion;"
c) prohibit the free exercise of religion.
(2) All persons are guaranteed the freedom of expression, of thought, of belief, and of opinion, and may disseminate such in the press or other media of communication.
a) Parliament may legislate restrictions on the publication or other mode of diffusion of material advocating ethnic superiority or other form of inequality, or advocating sedition after consultation with the Council of State and subject to review by the Supreme Court.
Article 158: Freedom of Assembly and Association
No citizen or other legal resident of Isselmere-Nieland may be denied the freedoms of:
a) peaceful assembly;
b) association; and
c) to present a written petition to the competent body or bodies, legislative, or executive, or judicial, or other, for a redress of grievance.
Article 159: Rights of Suffrage
(1) All resident adult citizens of Isselmere-Nieland have the right to vote and to be elected in Federal and Provincial elections.
(2.1) All elections shall be free and equal on the basis of a single transferable vote.
(2.2) Elections shall be universal, direct, and secret in the absence of special provisions as stipulated in this Constitution.
(3) A person who has attained the age of eighteen years is an adult.
a) The age of majority within a Province shall be determined by the Legislature of that Province but shall be no less than eighteen years of age and no more than twenty years of age. Parliament may with the consent of the Provincial Legislatures establish the Federal age of majority as the national age of majority.
(4) An adult citizen who:
a) has not sufficient mental capacity for any legal responsibility as determined by accredited physicians;
b) is a permanent resident of a foreign nation; or
c) has been sentenced to at least one year of imprisonment
does not have the right to vote or to be elected unless otherwise stipulated by the Supreme Court.
(5) No citizen nor resident of this United Kingdom may be compelled to vote or to stand for election.
Article 160: Rights of Movement
(1) All citizens have the right to enter, to remain in, and to leave Isselmere-Nieland.
(2) Every citizen and person with the status of permanent resident has the right to move into and to take residence in any Region, Province, or Territory of Isselmere-Nieland, and to pursue any lawful and gainful employment therein subject to:
a) any laws or practice of general application that do not discriminate among persons primarily on the basis of Province of present or previous residence; and
b) any laws providing for reasonable qualifications of citizenship for the receipt of public funds and to be provided social services.
(3) Regions, Provinces, or Territories suffering a higher rate of unemployment than the national average rate of unemployment may legislate laws, programs, or activities which attempt to alleviate the conditions of resident citizens or resident persons with the status of permanent resident who are socially or economically disadvantaged that may otherwise contravene with subsection (2) of this article.
Article 161: Rights of Individual
(1) All persons shall be considered equal before and under the law and shall have the right to equal protection and benefit of the law without discrimination on the basis of national or ethnic origin, colour, religion, sex, gender, age, or mental or physical disability, excluding such programs or legislation with the object of ameliorating the conditions of disadvantaged individuals or groups, including such persons or groups that are discriminated against due to national or ethnic origin, colour, religion, sex, gender, age, or mental or physical disability.
(2) All natural persons, domestic and foreign, who are legal residents of this United Kingdom, or who have the right to claim legal residence in Isselmere-Nieland, shall be entitled to remain free.
Article 162: Rights of Property
(1) All persons have the right to life, liberty, and bodily integrity.
(2) All persons have the right to acquire, possess, develop, exclusively use, and convey private property.
(3.1) No property may be searched nor seized without warrant freely authorized by a competent judge.
(3.2) The privacy of telecommunications and of the mail may not be violated without warrant freely authorized by a competent judge.
(4) No person may have property requisitioned without due notice and without due and fair compensation from the government or legislative body that has so requested such requisition.
(5) All persons have the right to secure intellectual property by copyright, patent, trademark, or other method of registration as stipulated in this Constitution or by Parliament.
(6) All persons have the right to testify and inherit.
Article 163: Rights to Education
(1) All parents and all children between the ages of five years and of sixteen years must ensure that such children must attend free public schools or equivalent accredited institutions.
(2) As established in article 150(2)c) of this Constitution, Parliament and the Federal Government have the right to enact guidelines for a national curriculum for education after consultation with the First Ministers and Ministers of Education or their equivalents of the Provinces, and with the approval of the Legislatures of the Provinces.
(3) Parliament and the Legislatures of the Provinces shall provide funds for competent prospective or current post-secondary students either in terms of loans, grants, allowances, or other means as established by Parliament and the Provincial Legislatures.
(4) Parents may send their children to a certified private school or a vocational school instead of a public school as stipulated in subsection (1) of this article.
(5) Parents have the right to decide whether their children shall receive religious instruction.
Article 164: Rights to Employment
(1) All citizens and persons with the status of permanent resident may freely choose their profession or occupation, their place of employment, and their place of study or training.
(2) Forced labour and slavery are prohibited.
(3) Every citizen of age shall be liable to service of one year in the armed forces, or in the unarmed civil services, or in another form of public service as established by Parliament.
(4) A citizen may refuse to serve in the armed forces for religious or moral reasons but may be liable to service in the unarmed civil services. Parliament establishes the reasons by which a citizen may refuse service.
Article 165: Right to Support
(1) All persons have the right to health care and of other social services for the preservation of life and well-being as provided by Parliament, the Union Government, the Regional or Provincial Legislatures, or the Regional or Provincial Governments.
(2) Mothers shall be granted special support by Parliament.
Article 166: Procedural Rights
(1.1) No person may be indicted or subpoenaed, nor may a warrant for arrest be issued for such person with free authorization granted by a competent judge. A person may be detained if found committing a violation of the law.
(1.2) In the absence of a national state of emergency, no person may be detained for whatever reason for more than twenty-four hours without being formally charged of an offence, or if not ordered to be detained further in a court hearing.
(2) All persons arrested or accused be informed of the right to:
a) be immediately informed of the reason for arrest or detention;
b) be promptly informed of the right to remain silent;
c) be permitted counsel of a legal, spiritual, or medical nature;
d) communicate with next-of-kin or partner; and
e) have such rights made comprehensible.
(3) All persons arrested or indicted of a crime shall have the right to:
a) a speedy and public trial;
b) defence counsel;
c) be presumed innocent until proven guilty;
d) not bear witness against themselves;
e) face their accusers; and
f) redress in case of false imprisonment or detention.
(4) All persons shall have free recourse to the courts.
(5) All persons have the right to a constitutional judge. Extraordinary courts are unconstitutional, illegal, and may not be established.
(6.1) All persons have the right to a fair trial presided by a constitutional judge. The accused and the defence counsel have the right of access to information provided against the accused and to challenge the legality of the means by which such information was obtained.
(6.2) No person may be deprived of life, liberty, or property without due process of law.
(7.1) Bills of attainder are illegal and unconstitutional.
(7.2) No law shall be passed stipulating regulations of the past without due compensation for all losses.
(8) No act may be punished unless it constituted a criminal offence under the law before having been committed. No individual may be punished for the same act more than once.
(9) All persons have the right to trial by jury.
(10) All persons arrested or accused in criminal or civil matters have the right to an interpreter.
(11) No citizen may be extradited to a foreign country except as stipulated in article 6(2) of this Constitution.
(12) No person may be subject to torture or unusual punishment. This right may not be waived.
Article 167: Political Rights
(1) All citizens have the right to civil disobedience and resistance against attempts to abolish this constitutional order should no other recourse be available.
(2.1) All citizens have the right to found political parties or organizations respecting democracy, the sovereignty of Isselmere-Nieland, and this constitutional order.
(2.2) All citizens have the right to involve themselves in political activities in or with political parties or organizations as stipulated in subsection (2.1) of this article.
(3) All persons persecuted for political reasons have the right to asylum.
Article 168: Rights of Minorities
(1) Laws passed by a Regional or Provincial Legislature in a local language or dialect shall be binding as law. Translations of laws passed by Parliament or by a Regional or Provincial Legislature into another language with the sanction of the respective legislative body shall be binding as law.
(2) The right to publish or diffuse media in a non-official language may not be denied unless in contravention of this constitutional order.
(3) All persons may be educated in non-official languages by private instruction, or in certified private schools, or in public schools in programs established by the relevant Provincial Legislature or Regional Government.
Article 169: Restrictions to Rights and Freedoms
(1) Persons, organizations, and political parties perpetrating acts abusing this constitutional order to reverse the free democratic basis of this United Kingdom and Isselmere-Nielander laws and institutions forfeit the rights within Part VII of this Constitution.
(2) The extent of this forfeiture of rights shall be established by the Supreme Court of Isselmere-Nieland upon referral by Parliament.
Article 170: Other Rights and Freedoms
Part VII of this Constitution does in no way enumerate all of the rights and freedoms, nor does it deny the existence thereof to any person, that existed or continue to exist within this United Kingdom and the security of those unmentioned rights and freedoms shall not be denied to any person irrespective of national or ethnic origin, religion, colour, sex, gender, age, or mental or physical disability.
Article 171: Application of Charter
(1) Part VII of this Constitution applies to all levels of government in this United Kingdom and to every matter of authority within the competency or the respective level of government.
(2) Any powers not distributed to regional governments are given to Parliament, the Union Government, and to the people of Isselmere-Nieland.