Constitution of the Free Republic of Drusselstein

Drusselstein

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THE CONSTITUTION​

Preamble: We, the sovereign and powerful people of Drusselstein, imploring the aid of Almighty God and his saints, in order to build and preserve a Nation existing under the conclusion that all men are created equal, and that all men hold inherent and unalienable rights, do ordain and ratify this Constitution of the Free Republic.

Article I: NATIONAL TERRITORY

1. The territory of the Free Republic shall consist of the regions of Augsburg, Bamberg, Darmstadt, Lippe, Magdeburg, Nördlingen, Schwerin, Sigmaringen, Swabia and Trier. All the regions are equal, and no region shall be given priority in terms of economy, military, budget, and so on.

2. The City of Augsburg in the Augsburg Region shall be the capital of the Free Republic, from which all matters of state shall be discussed and deliberated. It shall be headed by a City Governor designated by the President, who shall hold the office at the President's pleasure. He shall be tasked to execute municipal law and ordinances.

3. The territories of the Free Republic shall be an integral part of the Nation, and they shall be indissoluble, as are the regional councils and the civilian national government. They shall be protected and supported by the national government at all costs.

4. All islands within the exclusive maritime zone of the Nation shall be a territory of the Free Republic unless otherwise prescribed by international laws or conventions. Territories acquired or annexed by the Nation shall be administered directly by the national government, not the regions. They shall be directly led by a Territorial Governor designated by the President, who shall hold the office at His Excellency's pleasure.

Article II: GOVERNMENT

1a. Absolute executive authority shall be vested in a President of Drusselstein. He shall hold absolute authority over the Nation. He shall be the symbol of the State and of the unity of the people. He shall protect, enrich and execute the laws of the Nation. He shall hold the office for a limited term of four years, but may seek one re-election.

1b. An Electoral College shall be tasked to elect the President. It shall be composed of all the Members of Parliament and the Prime Minister, who may only vote in the case of a tie or any unforeseen circumstances. Therefore, there will be 1,000 electors, excluding the Prime Minister. The President shall, as mentioned, be elected every four years, but on the fifteenth (15th) day of the eleventh month. He shall be inaugurated on the thirtieth (30th) day (excluding Sundays) of the same month and year, but the transitional process may be waived if deemed unnecessary.

1c. The procedures of the election shall be the same in the case of an intra-term election, which is an election held when a president dies, resigns or is forced to step down. The College shall be given seven days to convene in such a case. The election will be held in the seat or meeting place of Parliament. All Members of Parliament and the Prime Minister may be nominated for the position, or may nominate themselves. The procedures of the election shall be kept a secret, and all electors must administer a pledge of secrecy before voting.

1c. The regions shall be headed by Regional Commissioners. The Regional Commissioners shall be designated by the President, and they shall serve at His Excellency's pleasure.

2a. Powers of making and passing legislation shall be vested in a unicameral Parliament of the Free Republic, which shall be composed of 1,000 members elected by the people and confirmed by the Electoral Tribunal. 100 members shall be allocated to each region, regardless of population. The MPs shall be elected on the last day of the tenth month. All candidacies for those positions shall be reviewed by the Electoral Tribunal, and approved by the same. The Tribunal shall be composed of fifteen (15) Members, nominated by Parliament, and confirmed by the President.

2b. The Members of Parliament shall retain the office for two years and are not subject to term limits. Only a quarter of all MPs shall be up for (re)election every two years, and the order in which they will be elected will be arranged alphabetically. For example, the MPs from the first two states (Augsburg and Bamberg) will be up for (re)election, but half of the MPs from Darmstadt will be spared from re-election to fill the 250 seats up for (re)election. However, their seats will be up in the next election. The cycle shall restart once the final batch of MPs are (re)elected.

2c. The legislative elections shall coincide with the election of the President every four years. The sessions of Parliament shall open on the tenth day of the eleventh month every two years, as mentioned. In regions where half of the MPs up for (re)election, the first 50 MPs, arranged in alphabetical order, will be up for (re)election. The next 50 will seek (re)election in the next election.[/b]

3. Parliament shall meet to make laws only upon the convocation by the President. Legislative meetings outside the session halls require presidential consent. Parliament may also hold a recess if necessary. The recess, however, may not reach over thirty (30) days.

4. The President shall decide when the next session shall open, and may dissolve Parliament if it has been in session for at least 250 days. An election may be scheduled fourteen days after the dissolution.

5. All laws and resolutions passed by Parliament may be revoked with a veto by the President. Invalidating the veto is forbidden.

6a. Parliament reserves the exclusive right to try, impeach and convict a sitting president. A Member of Parliament may initiate or introduce articles of impeachment against the president, but these charges must receive the endorsement of at least one-fourth of all MPs, and must be reviewed by a special impeachment committee.

6b. If the president is convicted, he is automatically unseated from office, and is forbidden to seek re-installation to the presidency. High treason, corruption, culpable violation of the Constitution are the legal grounds for any impeachment cases initiated. Parliament may also establish another ground for the impeachment, if necessary.

7. The President reserves the exclusive right of forming ministries, appointing ministers, who shall serve at his pleasure, appointing and receiving ambassadors and diplomats, and exclusively signing decrees, proclamations, and executive actions. The President's executive actions shall be below the Nation's laws, and shall only be revoked by a succeeding president.

8. The Prime Minister shall be the head of political affairs. He/She shall be in charge of carrying out the following duties:




    • • announcing executive decrees to Parliament
      • giving warnings, advice, and recommendations to the President concerning military, economic, and social policies
      • being the President's representative to foreign nations during the time of the President's absence, incapacity, death, and so on
      • being the President's speaker and delegate to public meetings or press conferences
      • administering the oath of office to public officials
      • nominating members of the executive ministries to the President if he/she wishes
9. The Prime Minister shall serve at His Excellency the President's pleasure, and shall have no nominal colleagues. The Prime Minister must be of unassailable integrity and righteousness, and must not have been placed under prosecution or any criminal proceedings.

10a. There shall be a Lord Speaker who shall be the presiding officer of Parliament, and who shall come from within the body itself. He/She shall command loyalty in Parliament, and tasked to maintain order during the sessions. He/She shall also represent the body as a whole, and must be the guardian of the ceremonial mace, which shall be the symbol of the Parliament's power.

10b. He/She shall be elected in every opening of the new session of Parliament, but may seek unlimited re-elections. A motion and vote of no confidence may be called at any time, and must require a two-thirds of all members' votes to be adopted.

11a. The regions shall each have a unicameral Regional Assembly, composed of ten members designated by the Regional Commissioner, and the government of the regions are to be called Regional Councils. They (the aforementioned ten members) shall be chosen coincidingly with the presidential election.

11b. The Regional Assembly shall unanimously instruct the delegates sent by their region to Parliament on how to vote in certain legislation, but obedience of the members on their Regional Assembly's instructions shall not always be required, as the method of voting in bills and resolutions shall be determined by Parliament itself.

12a. There shall be a High Court of Drusselstein, which shall be the highest judicial body in the Nation. The Court shall be composed of ten (10) Associate Justices, with one (1) Presiding Justice. All shall be designated by the President and serve for life. There is also a Regional Appellate Court for all regions, which shall be the highest judicial body in the regions. It shall also be composed of fourteen (14) Associate Judges and one (1) Presiding Judge, designated by the Regional Commissioners and holding the office for ten (10) years. Each city also has its own Municipal Trial Courts, composed of four (4) Associate Judges and one (1) Presiding Judge, designated by the mayor of these said cities or towns. Due process in the delivery of justice shall be observed.

12b. A Holy Office of the Inquisition shall be a quasi-judicial body tasked to hear cases of heresy, blasphemy and other religious offenses. It shall be composed of fifty-nine (59) Associate Magistrates and one (1) Chief Magistrate, designated by the highest episcopal authority (most likely the archbishop) of the capital and shall hold the office for life.

13. All government officials, elected or appointed, must possess a college degree/diploma, and must have passed the civil service examination with a score of no lower than 95.50%.

Article III: MILITARY

1. The President shall be the Commander-in-Chief of the armed forces, which shall be known as the National Defense Force, consisting of a National Army, National Air Force, National Navy, and a Civil Guard, a special unit directly under the command of the President, but may be placed under the watch of a general in the Army. It shall be tasked to perform any specific responsibilities it may be ordered to carry by the President.

2. The Chief of the General Staff shall be designated by the President. He/She must command the National Defense Force in accordance with the President's orders or wishes.

3. The right to declare war is reserved to Parliament. Any declarations, however, shall require the consent of the President. The state of war may be terminated when a peace treaty shall be signed or when Parliament adopts a resolution proclaiming so.

4. Compulsory service for able-bodied men aged 16 shall be enforced, and such compulsory military service shall end once the person reaches the age of 26. After the end of their active service, they shall remain in the reserves until they reach the age of 56. Upon retirement, they shall be given accolades and recognitions for their service, unless they were prematurely dismissed from service. They shall also be given lifetime pensions.

5. A state of martial law may be proclaimed by the President but only upon the recommendation of the General Staff, which shall be composed of the commanding officers of the branches of the armed forces. Any declarations of martial law must be on the grounds of invasion, rebellion, or national emergency.

6. Martial law shall effective dissolve the civilian government, and install the President as the sole decision-maker of the Free Republic. If required, powers to govern may be distributed amongst the General Staff, effectively devolving or dividing governing powers. The state of military rule may not be longer than 250 days. Each region must comply with the declaration.

Article IV: AMENDMENTS

1a. The Constitution may be amended with a two-thirds vote in Parliament, with each member being granted the privilege to propose specific changes, such as omissions or additions, to the Constitution. A Committee on Constitutional Affairs shall be formed, headed by the Deputy Speaker (who shall assist the Lord Speaker in the execution of his/her duties and is elected in the same manner as the Lord Speaker), composed of fifty regular members, and tasked to hear and review such proposals. The Committee shall edit such proposal if necessary.

1b. If the proposal is deemed sufficient, the Committee shall transmit the proposal to the floor, where it will be debated and decided. The President shall consent to any amendments if he wishes, but dissent to the proposal may be invalidated only if all of the members unanimously agree to abrogate the veto.

Article V: UNENUMERATED SECTIONS

1. Capital punishment shall be enforced nationally. Electrocution, fusillading, asphyxiation, decapitation and lethal torture shall be the legal techniques in capital punishment. These shall be performed only by duly-selected authorities.

2. The Free Republic shall be indissoluble. All its regions shall not sponsor or acknowledge any natures of rebellion or civil disobedience. No region shall secede from the Free Republic, and any efforta in secession must be met with lethal force and direct subjugation.

3. Christianity shall be the official religion. Protestantism, Judaism, Islam, or any other religions are considered religious minorities and shall pay taxes to the State, but only if necessary (i.e. in a state of war or famine, etc.)

4. German, English and Latin shall be the official languages. In addition, Latin shall be promoted as the only language of the national religion, and the language of English and German shall be the official language of the President's Executive Office.

5. Slavery and child labor shall be legal nationally.

6. The State shall provide free and quality public education for all Drusselsteinians.

7. A mixed and competitive economy shall be pursued by the State.

8. The absence of social or economic classes shall be unassailable.

9. The Nation and the states shall foster the preservation, enrichment, and dynamic evolution of a Drusselsteinian national culture based on the principle of unity in diversity in a climate of free, artistic and intellectual expression.

10. The State shall protect the rights of labor, particularly the right to just and living wages, security of employment, organization, and redress of grievances.

11. Immigration shall be forbidden.

12. The right to free movement of citizens to foreign nations shall not be infringed.

13. The maximum time a Drusselsteinian citizen or diplomat may sustain in foreign soil is three months for business trips, six months for diplomatic missions, and a length of stay dependent on the regulatory measures passed by Parliament (for example, an international sporting event).

14a. All individuals born in Drusselsteinian territories shall automatically become citizens regardless of the nationality of their parents.

14b. If a person is born outside of Drusselsteinian territory has a parent who is a citizen or national of Drusselstein, the person shall decide what citizenship and nationality to adopt when they reach the age of twenty-one (21). If they choose to adopt the citizenship/nationality of the other parent, they shall be forbidden to enter Drusselstein for eternity. If both parents are Drusselsteinian citizens/nationals in foreign soil, the person shall automatically become a citizen and national of Drusselstein.

14c. Revocation of citizenship may be pressed by the President upon any individual possibly associated and supportive of rebellion or high treason. Individuals whose citizenships were revoked shall be expelled for eternity and forbidden to step foot on Drusselsteinian soil in the same manner, without exceptions.

15. A well-regulated militia, being necessary to the security of the regions, the right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall not, under any circumstances pertaining to the deliberate intention to dethrone the freedom to take up arms against tyrants and usurpers, be infringed.*
  • *. Laws to manage unforeseen abuses or exploitations of the right to keep and bear arms, however, may be passed by Parliament at any time.

16. The State shall protect and promote the right to health of the people and instill health consciousness among them.

17. The State acknowledges the role of women in our society, and shall enact laws protecting the fundamental equality of men and women, and shall protect the rights of women.

18. Subject to reasonable conditions prescribed by law, the government enforces a policy of full disclosure of all its transactions to the public involving national interests.

19. Any copies of this Constitution of the Free Republic, and of course the signed document and all documents pertaining thereto, must ouch the ground. Proper disposal of copies of this Constitution must be by means of setting fire.

20. The flag of the Free Republic may be changed or modified by executive decree or law. Like the aforementioned conditions, the flag of the Nation shall not touch the ground and must be properly disposed by means of setting fire. All flags must not reach over five (5) years old.

21. Whenever the national hymn or anthem is performed, all must look toward any flags within the vicinity and immediately salute with the right hand, with the longest finger placed above the right brow.

(Signed)

(end of document)
 
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Don't you think Conscription can cripple your Economy?
Definitely not. The Conscription Provision is very much ambiguous about how strict the conscription will be enforced. Plus, Drusselstein has a rather laughable history about wars, so most conscripts are almost always civilians merely prepared by the military for any conflicts. Life goes on normally for them. In terms of economic matters, as mentioned, business as always. When there is a conflict, most citizens run in support of their nation. So, instead of having them cheer for the army, a useful and efficient policy is to have them fight.
 
I think I may have to amend some parts, and maybe extend the Constitution. I shall also divide up some longer provisions.
 
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