THE CONSTITUTION OF CALAVERDE
Preamble
We the People of Calaverde do hereby institute this national constitution in order to bring peace and prosperity to our plurinational body politic. We recognise that each citizen is created equal, and endowed by their creator with certain inalienable rights, but also that each citizen has duties and responsibilities towards their nation.
I - The Nation
1) The territory of the nation of Calaverde is as defined by the 1901 Act of the British Parliament granting Calaverde self-government, and the 1971 Treaty between Calaverde and the United Kingdom granting the former full independence.
.....a) No change may occur in the territory of Calaverde without two thirds approval of the Legislative House and majority vote of the Executive Council; the latter must include the vote of the President in favour.
..........i) If a territorial change impacts the territory of an autonomous territory, the territorial legislature must also vote in favour of that change.
2) The city of San Crìstobal is the capital of Calaverde.
3) Anyone born in the current territory of Calaverde is a citizen of Calaverde.
.....a) Anyone born to two citizens of Calaverde outside of the territory of Calaverde is also a citizen.
.....b) The national government shall establish procedures for non-citizens to acquire citizenship within one year of the ratification of this constitution.
4) The official languages of Calaverde are Spanish, French, Dutch and Misulmalpan.
.....a) All national government legislation must be translated into the official languages
II – The Legislative House
1) The Legislative House represents the people of Calaverde.
2) Members of the Legislative House are elected in a simultaneous election for five-year terms.
.....a) Future elections must take place within seven days (before or after) of four years and eleven months of the previous election.
3) The first election for members of the Legislative House will take place 30 days after the ratification of this constitution.
4) All citizens of Calaverde are eligible for election to the Legislative House.
5) The first election to the Legislative House shall be on the basis of single transferable vote proportional representation, with ballots offering the option of both individual ranked voting and party block voting; each of the existing 10 provinces electing 15 members, and the two autonomous territories electing 17 members.
.....a) The Legislative House may opt for different methods in subsequent elections, but there shall not be fewer than 150 members of the House, and the autonomous territories shall not provide fewer than 25% of the members of the House.
6) A minimum of 50 members of the Legislative House must meet to form a quorum.
7) All citizens of Calaverde above the age of 18 may vote in elections to the Legislative House.
8.) The powers, rights, and duties of the Legislative House are to:
.....a) Elect the members of the Executive Council
.....b) Propose laws to the Executive Council
.....c) Choose the method of election of members of the Legislative House
.....d) Ratify annual budgets passed by the Executive Council
.....e) Remove members of the Executive Council from office, as specified in Part III of this constitution.
.....f) Decide whether a national state of emergency can be extended beyond six months, as specified in Part III of this constitution.
.....g) Elect the judges of the National Court during a national state of emergency
.....h) Ratify decisions of the National Court on the constitutionality of Executive Council legislation, as specified in Part IV of this constitution.
.....i) Decide whether national or autonomous territory law prevails where the National Court rules that these are in conflict, as specified in Part V of this constitution.
III – The Executive Council
1) The Executive Council is the supreme law-making authority of Calaverde.
2) The nine members of the Executive Council are elected by two-thirds vote of the Legislative House.
3) The first Executive Council shall be elected within one week of the opening of the first sitting of the Legislative House.
4) All citizens of Calaverde above the age of 35 are eligible for election to the Executive Council.
5) Election to the Executive Council is for life, retirement, or removal by the Legislative House.
6) At least five members of the Executive Council must meet to constitute a quorum
7) The Legislative House may remove a member of the Executive Council via a two-thirds majority vote.
8.) At least one member of the Executive Council must be a resident of one of the autonomous territories.
9) The Chair of the Executive Council is chosen for a term of one year by random lot among the members of the Council.
.....a) A Chair may serve consecutive terms
.....b) The random lot must take place in public, in the presence of the justices of the National Court, with all of the members of the Executive Council swearing an oath or affirmation to uphold the results of the ballot, and the constitution and laws of Calaverde
.....c) The Chair serves as Head of State and Commander in Chief of the armed forces during their term.
.....d) Where there is a tie in a vote of the Executive Council due to absence of a member, the Chair’s vote breaks the tie.
.....e) The Chair must be one of the members of the Governing Triumvirate during a national state of emergency
.....f) At the conclusion of an annual term, the Chair shall present a statement on the progress of the nation to the members of the Legislative House
.....g) The Chair otherwise has no powers over and above the other members of the Council.
10) The powers, rights, and duties of the Executive Council are:
.....a) To be the sole body to approve laws in Calaverde, except the annual national budget, and as otherwise constrained by this constitution.
..........i) The Executive Council may initiate legislation, including budgets.
..........ii) Where a law has been proposed by the Legislative House, the Executive Council must vote to approve or deny that proposal within one month of its receipt.
..........iii) The annual national budget must be both passed by the Executive Council and ratified by the Legislative House.
.....b) To be the sole body to sign treaties with, or declare war on, foreign powers.
.....c) Elect the members of the National Court
.....d) Remove members of the National Court as specified in Part IV of this constitution.
.....e) In times of pressing national need, declare a state of national emergency for a period of no more than one year.
..........i) During a state of emergency, the rights and duties of the Legislative House are suspended except to elect a new member of the Executive House, and to decide whether the state of emergency can be extended beyond an initial six months.
..........ii) The power to elect the members of the National Court is, however, transferred from the Executive Council to the Legislative House during a state of emergency
..........iii) During the state of emergency, all powers, rights, and duties of the Executive Council shall otherwise be exercised by a triumvirate of three members of the Council, as elected by the Council.
..........iv) After six months of a state of emergency, the Legislative House may vote to end the emergency or to extend it to a full 12 months by a simple majority vote.
..........v) The National Court may rule at any time during the state of emergency whether the declaration of a state of emergency was justified; this declaration need not be ratified by the Legislative House.
..........vi) The laws of the national government take precedence over those of the autonomous territories during a state of emergency where these have previously been ruled in conflict, or where a decision on which takes precedence is pending; the governance of the autonomous territories is otherwise unaffected.
IV – The National Court
1) The National Court protects the laws of Calaverde.
2) The 5 members of the National Court are elected by majority vote of the Executive Council.
3) The first National Court shall be elected within one week of the first sitting of the Executive Council.
4) All citizens of Calaverde above the age of 50 are eligible for election to the National Court.
5) Election to the National Court is for life, retirement, or removal by the Executive Council.
6) The Executive Council may remove a member of the National Court so long as no more than one member of the Executive Council votes against removal.
7) Decisions of the National Court are made by a simple majority of the court, but all current active non-recused members of the court must be party to a judgement or ruling for it to be valid; an abstention counts as being party to a ruling.
8.) The powers, rights, and duties of the National Court are to:
.....a) Serve as the final court of appeal in the national court system of Calaverde
.....b) Hold the right to rule by majority vote that laws passed by the Executive Council are unconstitutional, subject to the ratification of that ruling by a majority vote of the Legislative House.
.....c) Hold the right to rule by majority vote that a declaration of a state of emergency by the Executive Council is unjustified and must immediately cease. In a case of a tied vote, the state of emergency is valid.
.....d) Rule on request of either the Executive Council or autonomous territory governments whether national and autonomous territory law is in conflict, as specified by Part V of this constitution. In the case of a tied vote, the laws are held to be ruled in conflict.
V – The Autonomous Territories
1) The autonomous territories of the nation of Calaverde are Adrius and Misumalpan.
.....a) No less than two years after the ratification of this constitution, the territories of the existing autonomous territories must be defined in joint legislation passed by the legislatures of the territories and the national Executive Council.
.....b) The national government of Calaverde may create new autonomous territories.
.....c) The national government of Calaverde may not abolish existing autonomous territories, except at the request of a territory.
2) Within three weeks of the ratification of this constitution or the declaration of a new autonomous territory, the autonomous territory shall elect a constitutional convention of 100 members by single transferable vote proportional representation, with ballots offering the option of both individual ranked voting and party block voting.
.....a) The constitutional convention is empowered to act as the responsible government and representative of the territory in discussions with the national government until a territorial constitution is approved.
3) Within one year of its election, the constitutional convention shall submit a territorial constitution to a referendum of the citizens of the territory.
.....a) The territorial constitution must not conflict with the national constitution
.....b) The territorial constitution must provide for a legislature, an executive, and a judiciary.
.....c) The executive must not be hereditary.
.....d) The franchise for the referendum shall be all citizens over the age of 18 residing within the territory of the autonomous region as defined by the current laws of Calaverde
4) Unless consent is given by the national government, a territorial government may not raise its own armed forces other than a territorial police force, or tax the property of the national government.
5) Unless consent is given by the national government, a territorial government may not raise internal tariffs to trade with the rest of Calaverde.
6) Unless consent is given by the national government, a territorial government may not sign treaties with, or declare war on, foreign powers.
7) Except as restricted by clause 4 & 5, the territorial government is otherwise free to raise monies within its own territory in addition to those monies assigned by the national government, and to budget how to spend those monies raised on its own authority.
8.) On request of either the Executive Council or autonomous territory governments, the National Court shall rule on whether a law passed by a territorial government is in conflict with national law.
.....a) Where the Court rules that a conflict exists, the Legislative House shall then rule whether national law or territorial law takes precedence in a specific case by a simple majority vote.
VI – Rights of the Citizenry
1) Citizens of Calaverde enjoy the following rights without distinction of any kind, such as race, colour, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status.
2) The rights of personal expression and freedom of speech shall not be abridged.
3) The right of each citizen to vote shall not be abridged.
4) The rights of freedom of movement and assembly can only be abridged for the duration of a national emergency as specified in this constitution; and no citizen shall be required to join an organisation.
5) The right to a free press and a free digital media can only be abridged for the duration of a national emergency as specified in this constitution.
6) While recognising the special role of the Roman Catholic Church and the Dutch Reformed Church in the history of Calaverde, the right to freedom of religious expression shall not be abridged, nor may the state pass laws to establish or favour a particular religious belief or lack thereof.
7) The right to securely own property, free from unreasonable search and seizure, shall not be abridged, and even in a national state of emergency a warrant to search private property can only be issued with due cause.
8.) The rights to a fair trial, to avoidance of double jeopardy, and to avoidance of self-incrimination, shall not be abridged.
9) The listing of specific rights in this constitution shall not be construed to deny or restrict other rights that may be held by the citizens of Calaverde.
VII – Amending the Constitution
1) Amendments to the constitution may be submitted by the Legislative House, the Executive Council, and the governments of the autonomous territories.
2) To become law, an amendment must be passed by a two-thirds majority of the Legislative House, a majority of the Executive Council, and at least half of the territorial governments.
VIII - Ratification of the Constitution
1) This constitution shall be considered ratified following a two-thirds vote in favour at the current national constitutional convention.
2) The existing laws of Calaverde shall remain in effect, except where replaced by this constitution, until such time as the Legislative House, Executive Council, National Court, and Constitutional Conventions of the autonomous territories have been elected, at which point the state organs may replace those laws and pass new laws as specified by this constitution.
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