PREAMBLE
That those peoples may become united, who speak the language of Silōs or Latina Cemellāna, for their mutual benefit and against their common enemies;
That the nation may become a state in which the same retain their inherent independence, and enjoy the benefits and aid of Citizenship;
That the state may become recognized, respected and trusted, during the course and development of interstate connections, in politics, economics and art;
That those Citizens may have public order, maintain the general welfare and principles of justice, and protect for themselves their inherent Liberties, Rights and Privileges;
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT KNOWN THAT WE, the undersigned representatives, do ordain and establish for the nation of Silōfais this Constitution, whereupon the value of Sovereignty, the foundation of Law and the preservation of Tranquility are laid down and become a binding force for all Citizens thereof.
Chapter One: Foundations
§1. The State shall be styled as “The Republic of Silofais”, or respectively “Silōfais Res Silōt”.
§2. The State, being inherently sovereign and whole, is realized through this Constitution, and derives itself from its three bodies:
The common Law, by which the whole of the State governs itself;
The Government, to which the Sovereignty and Governance of the State are delegated, on condition of integrity and honor; and
The People, who are the Citizens of the State, and by whom the State is established and the Government maintained responsibly.
§3. The Government and the People, and the Law as they shall make in union with accordance to this Constitution, shall be always inferior to the same.
§1. The Government shall undertake and realize the Law, and shall be for the purpose divided equally and separately between a President and the Legislative, Executive and Judicial Branches.
§2. Neither the President nor the other Branches shall exercise those Powers and Duties which may belong properly to another.
§3. The Officers of the Government, and all others who may bear or represent the Authority thereof, shall mistake never the same for, nor tolerate ever in any manner, treason, malfeasance, fraud, bribery, or other forms of corruption, nor any infringement of this Constitution or of the Rights of the People.
§4. No person holding one position of Power, Trust or Profit, of the Government, shall be eligible during his tenure to hold any other such position thereof, unless so authorized expressly by this Constitution or by statute.
§5. The Powers and Duties of the Government may be delegated, and resumed thereafter, to and from international bodies by Treaty: provided, that the Power of taxation and to appropriate public money shall be vested only in legislatures accountable directly to the citizenry; and, further, that the Separation of Powers between Branches, of this Government or another, shall be not violated in this State, in another state, or in any association of states.
§1. The People shall be bound by the Law, and the Government shall be constituted by them; but they shall, in all cases whatever, swear or affirm loyalty not to the Government, but to this Constitution and the State.
§2. Citizenship of the State is not inherent, but shall be given with accordance to the Law; and shall entitle those Privileges which shall be revocable otherwise, especially to live, work and move freely.
§3. The People shall reserve certain Rights natural, civil and criminal; but the enumeration whereof shall be never so construed as to deny or disparage those other Rights, which are unnamed herein but retained nonetheless by the People.
§4. The Right to vote, and the eligibility for public positions of Power, Trust or Profit, shall be exclusive to Citizenship; and the Citizens shall reserve universally one Vote for each of them, by which they may influence and guide the Government.
Chapter Two: Powers and Duties
§1. The President shall be the Head of State, who shall be the guarantor of the Sovereignty, Law and Tranquility thereof; and he shall take care that this Constitution be enforced and preserved in due respect, and that, for all persons, justice be ensured and the general welfare be promoted.
§2. The President shall be styled fully as “The President of the Republic of Silofais”.
He shall be elected directly by all the People, at home and abroad, for a Term of five years, which shall end at noon on the twentieth day of September and begin then for his successor.
He shall take his Oath of Office in public, and in witness of the Speaker of the Chamber of Delegates, the Marshal of the Senate, and the Chief Justice of the State; and the same Oath shall be administered by the latter in a solemn atmosphere.
He shall enjoy personal Immunity for actions made in the official capacity of his Office, and his person shall cease during his tenure to be the object of any judicial process; but his Term shall have no effect in cases of limitations or repose, as if he shall have never served, and any proceedings may be reactivated, and new actions brought, after Office.
He shall receive for his services a Compensation at stated times, which shall be ascertained by statute and paid from the Treasury of the State, and be neither increased nor diminished during the Term for which he shall have been elected; and, during the same Term, shall receive no other public Emolument, nor hold or be appointed to any other public position of Power, Trust or Profit, from or within the State.
No person shall be the President, who shall have not attained thirty-five years of age; not been fourteen years a resident within the State; not been natural-born, or been naturalized within fifteen years of the Ratification of this Constitution; and, at the time of Election, served or acted in the same Office longer than seven of the preceding fifteen years.
§3. The President shall be the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, and secure the protection and peace of the State against all threats foreign and domestic;
Lead the foreign policy, and be the chief diplomat among the other nations; receive and accredit foreign Ambassadors, and other foreign heads, officers and agents; come first for purposes of precedence and protocol;
Be the Chairman of any national defense or security councils, as well as any diplomatic corps;
Make Treaties for the Good of the State, by the advice of the Senate and with the consent of two thirds of their entire membership;
Present and adorn the Awards, Honors and Titles of the State, as shall direct the Law; and
Have Power to issue decrees and orders with the force of the Law, in pursuance and with accordance to the Powers and Duties vested in him by this Constitution, or by statute.
He may, in such manner as find he proper, grant pardons, commutations, reprieves or respites for criminal convictions, except in cases of treason, or of impeachment; but may, with the consent of two thirds of the entire membership of the Senate, grant such clemency for treason, as well as personal or general amnesties.
§4. The President shall nominate and, by and with the advice and consent of the Chamber of Delegates, appoint the Admirals and General Officers of the Armed Forces, as well as the Ambassadors and other envoys and consuls of the State; and he may dismiss them at will.
§5. The President shall be the custodian of the Seal of the State, and shall commission all the Officers of the Government, of the Armed Forces, and of such other bodies within the State as may be required of him by the Law.
§6. The President shall form and direct the Administration of his Office.
§7. The President, a Chief Secretary of the State, the Heads of the Executive Departments, the highest-ranking Admirals and General Officers, and the Ambassadors shall constitute altogether a Council of State; and the President shall be its Chairman, and the Chief Secretary its Vice-Chairman.
The Council shall advise and deliberate on the general matters of the State; coordinate among themselves the execution of the domestic and foreign policies, and take care that Treaties be executed faithfully; and, from time to time, transmit to the National Assembly information on the state of the State, and of the Government, which shall be delivered by the President.
§8. The President may, upon probable cause, bring and effectuate a special investigation into the official Conduct of any person who hold a public position of Power, Trust or Profit, except of any Judge, and of those under and within the National Assembly.
Such investigations shall be realized with accordance to the Law, receive Testimony and Evidence in public and under Oath, and extend never to private, personal or nonofficial affairs; and the findings thereof may be referred to the Chamber of Delegates for impeachment, or may cause accusation in a Court or other Tribunal, or both.
Such Power shall be not construed as to limit or prohibit normal investigations of Misconduct, nor normal Enforcement of the Law.
§9. The succession of Office, of the President of the State, shall be ruled by this Constitution, as follows:
(a) The Council of State shall, within two days after the President shall have died, resigned or been removed from Office, transmit a written declaration of such Vacancy, or confirmation, to the Speaker of the Chamber of Delegates, the Marshal of the Senate, and the Chief Justice of the State, whereupon the latter shall issue a Writ of Election in order to fill the Vacancy; and the Speaker shall serve in the interim as Acting President until the successor be duly sworn thereto, provided that he satisfy the Qualifications thereof.
(b) If at the fixed time of the start of a new Term the President-elect shall have died or failed to qualify, or no person shall have been elected newly as the President, then, in either case, the Term of the President already in Office shall expire naturally; whereafter, the Speaker shall act in the interim with the Powers and Duties of the President, until the successor be duly sworn thereto.
(c) If the President transmit to the Speaker, the Marshal, and the Chief Justice his written declaration that he be incapacitated or unable to discharge the Powers and Duties of his Office, and until he transmit to the same his written declaration to the contrary, the Speaker shall act in the interim with the Powers and Duties thereof.
(d) If the Chief Secretary and a majority of the Heads of the Departments transmit in writing to the Speaker, the Marshal and the Chief Justice a declaration that the President be incapacitated or unable to discharge the Powers and Duties of his Office, then the Speaker shall act in the interim with the Powers and Duties thereof.
Thereafter, whenever the President may declare in writing to the Speaker, the Marshal and the Chief Justice that he be recuperated, or that no inability have existed, he shall resume the Powers and Duties of his Office, unless the Chief Secretary and a majority of the Heads of the Departments transmit within four days to the same a written declaration to the contrary, whereupon the Supreme Court, en banc and without secrecy, shall adjudicate the Controversy and try the Facts: and if two thirds of the fixed number of Justices thereon determine and agree within fourteen days that he be incapacitated or unable, then the Speaker shall continue to act therein; otherwise the President shall resume the Powers and Duties of his Office.
(e) In such cases when the Speaker shall have not qualified or been capable to serve as Acting President, the Marshal of the Senate shall discharge the Powers and Duties of the Office until the successor be duly sworn thereto; and otherwise the National Assembly shall ascertain by statute which civil Officers, from the Council of State, shall serve for this purpose in the interim: but, in all cases, no person who fail the Qualifications of the Office shall act or serve as the President.
§1. The Legislative Power of the State shall be vested in a National Assembly, which shall consist of a Chamber of Delegates and a Senate.
§2. The National Assembly shall lead the domestic policy, and may ensure this Power by appropriate Legislation.
§3. The Chamber of Delegates shall serve the Good of the People, and undertake in good Conduct the Legislation of the State.
Each Delegate shall attend and represent the interests of one District; and shall be elected directly for a Term of three years, by the People who shall inhabit the same District.
Each Delegate shall have attained twenty-one years of age; have been three years a Citizen of the State; and be, at the time of Election and throughout the Term for which he shall have been elected, an inhabitant and qualified voter of that same District; or elsewise shall forfeit his Seat.
The Chamber of Delegates shall choose wholly a Speaker, who shall preside over them; a Speaker Pro Tempore, who shall preside during the absence of the Speaker, and shall discharge the Powers and Duties thereof while the same serve as Acting President; and then their other Officers.
§4. The Senate shall serve the Good of the State, and undertake with sober thought the Legislation thereof.
Each Senator shall be elected directly from a District for a Term of six years, by the People who shall inhabit the same District; but the Senators shall attend and represent the State as a whole, and be unbound from any instructions or whims of the People.
Each Senator shall have attained twenty-five years of age; have been five years a Citizen of the State; and be, at the time of Election and throughout the Term for which he shall have been elected, an inhabitant and qualified voter of that same District; or elsewise shall forfeit his Seat.
The Senate shall choose wholly a Marshal, who shall preside over them; a Vice-Marshal, who shall preside during the absence of the Marshal, and shall discharge the Powers and Duties thereof while the same serve as Acting President; and then their other Officers.
The Senate shall divide themselves into three classes as equally as may be, and as soon as they shall be in session for the first time; and the Seats of the Senators shall be vacated accordingly, so that one third of the Senators be elected newly every second year.
Former Presidents of the State who remain in good standing shall have a Right to speak and debate equally in the Senate, except while they may be a member of the Chamber of Delegates, or of the Cabinet of the State; but shall have no Vote therein, unless so elected as a member of the Senate.
§5. The Term of Office, of the Delegates and the Senators, shall end at noon on the third day of September, and begin then for their successors; and no member of one House shall be a member of the other.
The Delegates and the Senators shall receive for their services a Compensation at stated times, which shall be ascertained by statute and paid from the Treasury of the State; but no Law varying any compensation for their services shall take effect, until a general Election of the Delegates shall have intervened.
They shall, in all cases except for treason, felony, or breach of the peace, be privileged from arrest during their attendance at the session of their respective Houses, and in going to and returning from the same; and shall, for any Speech or Debate in either House, be questioned in no other place.
They shall remain ineligible during their membership in one House to hold within the State any other public position of Power, Trust or Profit; and, during the Term for which they shall have been elected, no Senator or Delegate shall be appointed to any such positions which have been created, or the Emoluments whereof have been increased, during the same Term: excepting, however, the procedural or administrative roles of each House respectively, and those of a joint procedural or administrative body between the two.
§6. The National Assembly shall convene at least once in every year on the third day of September at noon, or on such other day at noon as may they fix by statute; and shall be adjourned sine die, not later than on the second day of September.
A Quorum, necessary to do business, shall be constituted respectively by a majority of the fixed membership, in each the Chamber of Delegates and the Senate; but a smaller number in either House may adjourn from day to day, and may, in such manner and under such penalties as shall provide each House, compel the attendance of absent members.
Each House shall ascertain the Rules of its proceedings, and may ascertain joint Rules with the other; shall keep a Journal of its proceedings and publish the same from time to time, excepting such parts as may in their judgement require secrecy; and shall, after any general Election of them by the People, reorganize itself upon the new Term.
Each House shall keep its doors and committees open, except when the general welfare may require secrecy.
Each House may punish its members for disorderly Conduct and, with the concurrence of two thirds of their entire membership, expel a member, but not a second time for the same offense.
Each House shall be the judge of the Elections, Returns and Qualifications of its own members.
§7. The Speaker or the Marshal, whenever a Seat of the respective House become vacant, shall notify the Chief Justice thereof in writing, who shall issue then a Writ of Election in order to fill the Vacancy.
§8. Neither House shall, without the consent of the other, adjourn longer than three days, nor to any other place than that in which the two Houses shall be sitting.
The President of the State may, when on the time of adjournment the Houses of the National Assembly disagree, adjourn both Houses to such time as may find he proper.
§9. The President of the State may convene by decree on extraordinary occasions both Houses, or either of them; or shall convene by decree both Houses, upon a petition signed by two thirds of the fixed membership of each House.
He shall specify in such decree the cause of the special session and the matters for their Consideration, to which neither House shall introduce during such session any measure unrelated; and one or both Houses, as may be the case, shall be adjourned upon the conclusion of such Consideration.
§10. Legislation may originate in either House, and be approved or rejected by the other; and may be amended by either, with the concurrence of the other.
Members of the National Assembly, as well as the Chief Secretary of the State, shall reserve exclusively the Right to introduce Legislation; and may exercise this Right only in their respective House, or in either House in case of the latter.
§11. Every Bill, before it become a Law, shall have earned the concurrence of a majority of the entire membership, in each the Chamber of Delegates and the Senate, and shall be presented then to the President of the State: if he approve, he shall sign it and the Chief Secretary shall promulgate it; but if not, he shall return it with his Objections to that House in which the Bill shall have originated, who shall enter the Objections at length on their Journal and proceed to reconsider it. If after such Reconsideration two thirds of the entire membership of that House concur on the Bill, it shall be sent together with the Objections to the other House, by which it shall be reconsidered likewise; and if two thirds of the entire membership of that other House concur on it, then the Chief Secretary shall promulgate it without the signature of the President, and it shall become a Law.
Any Bill, which be neither signed nor returned by the President within fourteen days after it shall have been presented to him, shall be promulgated on the fifteenth day thereafter by the Chief Secretary and become then a Law, unless the National Assembly, by their adjournment, have prevented its return: in which case, it shall become not a Law, but the President shall return it with his Objections to the House of origin for their Reconsideration, when both Houses be next in session; or it shall be nullified, if the next session of both Houses should occur after an adjournment sine die.
The foregoing rules and limitations, in the case of a Bill, shall apply likewise to every Resolution, Order or Vote to which the concurrence of both Houses of the National Assembly may be necessary, except on a Question of adjournment, on a Resolution to amend this Constitution, or on other measures without the force of the Law.
§12. The Speaker and the Marshal or their authorized designees, whenever the respective House pass a singular measure, or after a joint measure have passed both Houses, shall sign the same in presence of their respective Houses, and a confirmation thereof shall be entered on the Journal; and no Legislation shall become a Law without bearing the same signatures.
§13. No measure of the National Assembly, which have the force of the Law, shall take effect unless it shall have been duly promulgated and subsequently published at length.
§1. The Executive Power of the State shall be vested in the Chief Secretary thereof, who shall be the Head of Government and shall, in such capacity, take care that the domestic policy be realized and the Law be executed faithfully.
§2. The President of the State shall appoint the Chief Secretary at his pleasure, and shall administer his Oath of Office in witness of the Speaker of the Chamber of Delegates, the Marshal of the Senate, and the Chief Justice of the State.
The Chief Secretary shall receive the same Compensation of the President at the same times: and, during his tenure, shall be ineligible to receive any other public Emolument, or hold or be appointed to any other public position of Power, Trust or Profit, from or within the State; or to serve or act in, or succeed to, the Office of the President, excepting candidacy at a general Election.
He shall have Power to issue decrees and orders with the force of the Law, in pursuance and with accordance to the Powers and Duties vested in him by this Constitution, or by statute.
No person shall be the Chief Secretary, who shall have not attained thirty years of age; have not been seven years a resident within the State; be not an inhabitant of the State at the time of Appointment, and throughout his tenure; and, at the time of Appointment, have served or acted in the Office of the President longer than three of the preceding ten years.
§3. The organs and instruments of the Executive Branch shall be by statute established and allocated among and within relevant and principal Departments.
Each Department shall be headed by a single Executive Officer, other than the Chief Secretary, who shall be styled as the Secretary thereof; and may have for its assistance a number of Deputy Secretaries and Under Secretaries, as provided by statute.
The President, on the recommendation of the Chief Secretary, shall appoint and dismiss the Heads of each Department, as well as their respective Deputy Secretaries and Under Secretaries; and, in witness of him, shall administer their Oaths of Office.
§4. The Chief Secretary, the Heads of the Departments, and the various Deputy Secretaries and Under Secretaries under them shall constitute a Cabinet of the State, wherein they shall deliberate the general matters and policies of the Executive Branch, and coordinate among themselves their respective Powers and Duties.
The Cabinet, in whole, may issue rules and orders with the force of the Law, for the management and implementation of their program, and for the Administration of the Executive Branch; and shall formulate and propose annually to the National Assembly a budget for the functions of the Government.
The Cabinet, in whole or in part, may recommend such measures to the Consideration of either or both Houses as find they necessary and expedient, and may attend public sittings and committees thereof; but none of them shall have a Vote therein, nor any exclusive Privilege to speak, debate, or otherwise affect the business of the National Assembly.
The Chief Secretary shall be the Chairman of the Cabinet and sign the decisions, rules and orders thereof, which shall be countersigned, where necessary and required, by the Secretaries responsible for their implementation; and he may require of the other members of the Cabinet a written opinion or report, on any matter related to the Powers, Duties or Expertise of their respective Offices.
The Chief Secretary may, by an order issued publicly, deputize for himself one or two of the Heads of the Departments at his pleasure.
§5. The Chief Secretary, until the National Assembly vest by statute such Duties in a national archivist, shall be the custodian of the public records of the Council of State and the Cabinet, and of such other records as may be required by the Law; and shall codify and publish the Law at large, in junction with the National Assembly and the Judiciary.
§6. The Cabinet, for the execution of their program, the domestic policy and the Law, shall be collectively responsible to the Chamber of Delegates; and the Chief Secretary shall hold his Office while he and the Cabinet have the Confidence thereof.
Each other member of the Cabinet shall hold his respective Office unless the President, on the recommendation of the Chief Secretary, shall dismiss him; but, in any case, his tenure shall expire also upon the Resignation, Death or Removal of the Chief Secretary.
§7. The Chief Secretary, after deliberation by and with the Cabinet, may make their program, or possibly a general policy statement, an issue of Confidence before the Chamber of Delegates, in which case a Resolution of Confidence shall be introduced on the matter.
The final Vote on said Resolution shall take place no fewer than forty-eight hours, nor more than seven days, after its introduction; and if the sum of the Nays, in this case expressing no Confidence, be greater than half of the fixed membership of the Delegates, then the Chief Secretary shall tender his Resignation to the President.
§8. The Chamber of Delegates may call the Cabinet to account by a Resolution of No-Confidence; but such Resolution shall be not introduced unless one fifth of the fixed membership of the Delegates have signed it.
The final Vote thereon shall take place no fewer than forty-eight hours, nor more than seven days, after its introduction; and if the sum of the Yeas, in this case expressing no Confidence, be greater than half of their fixed membership, then the Chief Secretary shall tender his Resignation to the President.
No Delegate shall sign more than two such Resolutions during any given period of one year; but, if during the same period three Resolutions of No-Confidence shall have passed, then the President shall appoint the next Chief Secretary on the recommendation of the Speaker of the Chamber of Delegates.
§9. The Chief Secretary may request of the Senate, or the Senate may pass on its own initiative, a nonbinding Resolution approving or disapproving the program of the Cabinet, or a statement of general policy.
§10. The Chief Secretary or other members of the Cabinet, upon their own initiative or the request of a parliamentary group, may make a declaration before the Delegates on a given subject, whether giving rise to a Debate or a Vote, without making it an issue of Confidence.
§11. In case of Resignation of the Chief Secretary, or when he or the Cabinet shall have lost the Confidence of the Delegates, the outgoing Chief Secretary and his Cabinet shall be discharged from Office upon the installation of the new Chief Secretary; and, in case of Death or Removal, the Chief Secretary shall be discharged thereupon, but his Cabinet upon the installation of his successor.
§1. The Judicial Power of the State shall be vested in one Supreme Court, and in such inferior Courts and other Tribunals as may the National Assembly ordain by statute from time to time.
§2. The Courts shall be the principal places of Justice; and other Tribunals, notwithstanding their style, shall serve a regulatory, administrative or ancillary purpose.
§3. The Judicial Power shall extend to all Cases or Controversies, at Law and at Equity, which arise within or affect the Sovereignty of the State; and the Courts shall reserve naturally the Power of Review, in order that no statute, decree, order, ordinance, or any other part or manner of the Law violate or be inconsistent with this Constitution.
§4. The Judges on the Supreme Court and any inferior Courts shall be nominated and, by and with the advice and consent of the Chamber of Delegates, be appointed by the President of the State, but shall hold their Offices during good Conduct; and the same shall receive for their services a Compensation at stated times, which shall be ascertained by statute and paid from the Treasury of the State, and shall be never diminished during their respective continuances on the same Court.
The Judges on other Tribunals than the Courts shall have in all cases no Power to deprive life, liberty or property; and their final judgements may be appealed to such Court, as shall be directed by the Law.
Judges of all kinds shall be retired at noon on the last day of the calendar year during which they attain the age of seventy-five years, and the Seats on any Court or other Tribunal shall be incompatible with any person who shall have attained the same age; but the preemptive Appointment of a qualified successor may be made during the same calendar year, and the Commission whereof shall be abeyant until the predecessor be retired, resign, or be otherwise removed from Office.
§5. The Supreme Court shall exercise general administrative and supervisory Authority from day to day over the Judiciary.
The said Court shall make with the force of the Law those Rules of the Governance and Administration of the Judiciary, and those Rules of Practice, Procedure and Pleading, which are by this Constitution not provided; and all such Rules shall be codified and published at length, be as uniform as practical, and take effect not sooner than the ninetieth day following publication.
The Rules of the Judiciary shall be not in conflict with the general Law, as may be established in statute from time to time by the National Assembly; and any such Rule may be annulled or amended, in whole or in part, by a statute limited to the purpose.
§6. The Supreme Court shall have Power of the common Law and of Equity, and shall be a court of record.
The said Court shall have original Jurisdiction whenever any Treaty be concerned, the Ambassadors and other envoys and consuls of the State or of other nations be affected, the State be a party, and a Writ of Quo Warranto, Mandamus, Prohibition, or Habeas Corpus be sought; and shall have appellate Jurisdiction in the last resort on all other Cases or Controversies.
Said Court shall consist of such number of Judges as shall be ascertained by statute, but no fewer than three; and they shall be styled as Justices of the State.
Two thirds of the fixed number of Justices on said Court shall constitute a Quorum to do business; and no less than a majority of their fixed number shall be necessary in order to render any final judgement, which shall be upon its issuance final and conclusive throughout the State, and binding on all other Courts and Tribunals within the same.
The Justice who be senior in continuous years of service on said Court, and be senior in age if two or more have served continuously for an equal period, shall be the Chief Justice of the State, who shall be first among equals and preside over said Court; and the Powers and Duties of the Chief Justice, while the same be incapacitated or unable to serve, shall be discharged by the Justice next senior in continuous years of service.
A Justice may decline or resign from the Office of the Chief Justice, without obligation to resign from the Court itself; in which case, the Justice who be next senior in continuous years of service on said Court shall become the Chief Justice.
§7. The National Assembly shall prescribe in the ordainment of a Court or other Tribunal its respective Jurisdiction, outside of which no Case or Controversy shall be heard thereby.
Final judgements shall be binding within the same Jurisdiction on any lower Court or other Tribunal, and shall be persuasive otherwise.
Courts and other Tribunals with both original and general Jurisdiction, those with appellate Jurisdiction, and such others as designated by the Law, shall be courts of record.
§8. Each Court may appoint, by concurrence of a majority of the Judges thereon, or by the chief Judge thereon in cases without such concurrence, a Clerk and a Reporter, each severally for a Term of three years; and a majority of the Judges thereon may dismiss the same prematurely.
§9. An original action filed in one Court or other Tribunal, which lack Jurisdiction or Venue, shall be transferred appropriately; and a Want of Jurisdiction or Venue shall be never a reason for dismissal where an appropriate transfer may be done.
§10. It shall be written and then filed in the respective causes, become a part of the public records thereof, and be made available for publishing: any final judgement of original Jurisdiction; any reversal, modification or affirmation of a judgement; and any action, and the reasons of action, by the Supreme Court.
§11. Final judgements, which shall have resulted in a miscarriage of Justice, shall cause remand for a trial de novo, or shall cause exoneration, as according to the Law.
§12. Verdicts by Jury shall be supported in criminal proceedings by unanimity among no fewer than nine, and in civil proceedings by three fourths among no fewer than six; and indictments by Grand Jury, by a majority among no fewer than twelve.
No Judge within the State shall charge Juries with respect to matters of Fact; but may state the questions of Fact in issue, and shall declare exclusively matters of the Law.
No Fact tried by a Jury shall be reexamined, unless the verdict be clearly contrary to the Evidence or the Law, or otherwise have resulted clearly in a miscarriage of Justice; in which case, a Writ shall issue for a venire facias de novo, or the convicted shall be exonerated, as according to the Law.
A Jury may be waived in any judicial proceeding if the parties agree so together; whereupon, the same shall be tried solely by the Court or other Tribunal, both as to Law and Fact, and the final judgement shall be rendered as if there have been a Jury.
§13. Any decrease of the fixed number of Judges on a given Court shall work by attrition; and the number necessary to satisfy a Quorum, or to render final judgements, shall be reduced gradually and proportionally in such cases.
Any Judge appointed to a Seat made in consequence of an increase of the fixed number of Judges on a given Court, or any ordainment of a given Court or the alteration or abolishment thereof, shall have no effect, whether by opinion, judgement, Quorum or otherwise, in those Cases or Controversies which shall have been brought to the same Court before the effectuation of such changes.
§14. No Judge of any kind whatever, or other Officer whose principal Powers and Duties lie in the Judicial Power of the Government, shall give an advisory opinion on the matters of the Law or this Constitution; make any monetary contribution to, or hold any role in, any political party, political organization, or political campaign; act as Counsel, or engage in the private practice of an attorney; nor receive fines or fees for personal use.
§15. No Judge of any kind whatever shall be eligible, while he hold a Seat on one Court or other Tribunal, to hold any other Seat on the same or another; nor shall sit on any Case or Controversy in which he have a conflict of interest or other impropriety, but the Chief Justice of the State shall assign ad hoc another Judge, from an equal or superior Court, in lieu thereof.
§1. Those organs and instruments of the Government, which establishment or organization is by this Constitution not provided, shall be filled by Appointment, and shall be so established or organized by statute as may the National Assembly find proper from time to time.
§2. The National Assembly shall vest by statute the Appointment of those Officers of the Government whose Appointments are herein not otherwise provided, as may find they proper, in the Chief Secretary alone, in one or more of the Heads of the Executive Departments, or in one or more of any Court of Law; and each such inferior Officer, by the respective appointing authority, may be dismissed prematurely for such causes as provided by the Law, or, without such causes, at will.
§3. The National Assembly shall have outside the Legislative Branch no Power of Appointment, nor of Removal except by impeachment; and no Appointment or Removal outside their Branch, except where permitted by this Constitution, shall be subject to their consent.
§4. The President of the State shall deny the Commission of any Appointee who fail to satisfy such Qualifications of Office as may provide the Law.
§5. Those positions of the Government which have no principal Power, or have no substantial or final effect in the Legislation, Execution or Judgement of the Law, or of the domestic or foreign policies, shall be separate from and subordinate to the Officers thereof, a like style notwithstanding; and altogether shall constitute a civil service, which shall aid the same and be at their disposal for the execution of their respective Powers and Duties.
Appointments and promotions in the civil service shall be made with accordance to the Law, without politicization or partisanship, and in consequence of merit and fitness as ascertained, so far as practical, by either competitive or selective examinations.
A civil servant shall hold Trust and, if an Officer be authorized by statute to delegate some or all of his Powers to the same, may exercise those Powers; and shall be immune to impeachment and arbitrary Removal, but be removed for good cause and by such manner as may direct the Law.
§6. Each Officer of the Government may be authorized by statute to have a personal staff, who shall be appointed and serve at his pleasure; but all such staff shall remain bound by the Law, and shall have no other role of the Government.
§7. Vacancies arising during an adjournment, in those Offices which be filled by an Appointment subject to the consent of either House of the National Assembly, may be filled temporarily via a Commission which shall expire at the end of their next session.
§8. No Appointment subject to the consent of the National Assembly shall be valid, unless the sum of the Yeas, on the final Question of consent, be greater than half of the entire membership of the one House, or of both Houses respectively, as may be the case.
§9. No person whose Appointment shall have been rejected by either House of the National Assembly, except at their request otherwise, shall be nominated again during the same session for the same Office, nor be appointed to any Office of the Government until their next session expire.
§1. The Legislative Power of the State shall extend to all subjects which are herein not forbidden or restricted, and which be otherwise not in violation of the principles of this Constitution.
§2. The National Assembly shall reserve against the President such Power to declare War; to make Rules for the Operation and Regulation of the Armed Forces; and to provide for the supply and arming of the same, provided that no Appropriation of money to that purpose shall be authorized for a term longer than two years.
§3. The National Assembly shall reserve against the Executive such Power to lay and collect taxes, duties, imposts and excises, in order to pay for the debts of the State and to provide for the common defense and general welfare; and such other Powers to regulate commerce within and between the State, to control the credit and the debt thereof, and to issue and regulate currency; provided, that all such measures shall be so uniform and deferential throughout the State as may be practical.
§4. The National Assembly shall have such Power to make all Laws which shall be necessary and proper, in order that the President of the State, the Chief Secretary thereof, and all other Officers of the Government have the Means to execute the Powers and Duties vested in them respectively by this Constitution.
§5. No money shall be drawn from the Treasury of the State, but in consequence of Appropriations made by statute; and a regular Statement and Account, of the receipts and expenditures of all public money in such Treasury, shall be published from time to time.
§6. The National Assembly may summon the President of the State, the Cabinet in whole or in part, and any other person subject to the Law, in order to inquire on the matters or the execution, and within the scope, of the Law, of the domestic and foreign policies, or of their respective Powers, Duties or Expertise.
§7. Contempt of the National Assembly shall be so punishable as provided by the Law.
§8. The President, the Chief Secretary, the Judges, and all other civil Officers of the Government shall be removed from Office on impeachment for, and conviction of, treason, malfeasance, fraud, bribery, or other high crimes and misdemeanors.
The Chamber of Delegates shall have solely the Power of impeachment; and the Senate solely the Power to try all impeachments, which shall, when sitting for the purpose, undertake such trial under Oath.
No article of impeachment by the Delegates shall be valid unless each such article be answered separately from another, and unless the sum of the Yeas, on the final Question for each article, be greater than half of their entire membership.
All trials of impeachment shall demand throughout their course the total attendance of every Senator; and no person shall be convicted by the Senate without the concurrence of two thirds of their entire membership.
The Chief Justice of the State shall preside over trials of impeachment, whenever the President or the Chief Secretary shall have been impeached.
Judgement in cases of impeachment shall extend not further than to Removal from Power and Disqualification to hold or enjoy within the State any public position of Power, Trust or Profit; but the person convicted shall be nevertheless liable and subject to accusation, trial, judgement and punishment, as according to the Law.
§9. No person holding a public position of Power, Trust or Profit, from or within the State, shall accept without the consent of the National Assembly any Emolument, Present, Benefit, Office, or Title of nobility, of any kind whatever, from any foreign state or its officers or agents, or from any king or prince.
§1. No Vote shall be cast in either House by proxy, or by one member for another; nor, except where otherwise authorized expressly by this Constitution, by any member in absence of a sitting.
§2. No Officer of either House shall be chosen unless they have a call to Quorum, and a Quorum remain undoubtedly present thereafter.
§3. No Bill or Resolution, or other like object of Legislation, shall concern more than one subject, except for general Appropriations, or for the codification, revision or compilation of the Law, or a part of the Law; and the subject thereof, in all cases, shall be indicated and expressed clearly in its title.
§4. No Bill or Resolution, or other like object of Legislation, shall be ever so amended on its passage through either House as to alter its original intent or purpose.
§5. No Law shall be revived, amended, or the provisions thereof extended or conferred, by reference to its title only; but so much thereof, as may be revived, amended, extended or conferred, shall be reenacted and published at length.
§6. The Yeas and Nays, as well as any Absences or Abstentions, shall be entered on the respective Journal and identified by Name, during and after the final Vote on the following matters, or on any other Question at the request of one fifth of those present:
(a) Ratification of a Treaty.
(b) Consent of amnesty or other clemency.
(c) Expulsion of a member of the National Assembly.
(d) Reconsideration of a measure returned by the President of the State.
(e) Resolution of Confidence or No-Confidence.
(f) Impeachment.
(g) Conviction of an impeachment.
(h) Consent of an Appointment.
(i) Changes in the number of Districts or Delegates, or in the Delimitation of any District.
(j) Resolution to amend this Constitution, or to call a Convention for that purpose.
§7. The final Vote on a Bill or Resolution, or on any one matter above enumerated, may, at the request of one third of those present, be referred to be done by public ballot: in which case, members of the same House, within a specified period of time not longer than the third calendar day next following that request aforesaid, shall cast their Votes on that Question in writing, whether at a sitting or otherwise, and the same measure shall cease thereupon to be the object of any subsequent Debate, Amendment, or other such action; and, in the presence of a Quorum, the results whereof shall be officiated in a prescribed manner and at a specified time, and the Yeas and Nays, as well as any Abstentions or failures to vote, shall be entered on the Journal and identified by Name.
§8. Any member of either House may make written protest against any Bill, Resolution, or other like object of Legislation; and the same shall be entered on the respective Journal without delay or alteration.
§9. No member may abstain on the final Vote in the Reconsideration of a measure returned by the President of the State.
Chapter Three: Subnational Bodies
§1. The Government shall be unitary; but may, where its Powers and Duties be exercised best at such level, delegate and resume the same to and from subnational bodies.
§2. All such bodies shall be never sovereign, and shall be distinct from the Government, its Branches, and its other organs and instruments.
§3. All such bodies shall be established and dissolved in such manner, and shall have only such Powers, Duties, Liabilities and Rights, as shall have been defined and delegated especially according to their respective Charters, or else generally according to statute.
§4. All such bodies shall govern themselves through directly elected councils or commissions, which, under such conditions as provided by their respective Charters or else generally by the Law, may:
Pass ordinances with the force of the Law, on those matters arising within their respective jurisdictions;
Establish a local Executive, which Authority shall be bound within the same; and
Establish local Tribunals, which Jurisdiction shall be bound likewise, and which shall be part of a unified Judiciary of the State, subject to the same Rules of Practice, Procedure and Pleading.
§5. No such body may exercise Authority over another; but one of them, or an association of them, may be authorized by statute to organize such combined action as when the exercise of a Power require cooperation per se.
§1. No person holding a position of Power, Trust or Profit, of one subnational body, shall be eligible during his tenure to hold any such position of the Government, nor, without the consent of the National Assembly, any such position of another subnational body.
§2. No ordinance shall be passed, unless a majority of the entire membership of the respective council or commission shall have concurred; and, before it take effect, the same shall be published at length.
Where the power of veto exists, and in case of a veto of an ordinance, the respective council or commission may repass thereafter into ordinance the same measure, if two thirds of the entire membership thereof concur on it.
The Yeas, Nays, Absences and Abstentions on the final Vote, concerning passage or Reconsideration of any ordinance, shall be recorded, identified by Name, and made available at large.
§3. No unfunded mandate shall be enacted or enforced on or by any subnational body, except where the Rights of the People be concerned.
§4. No Law shall work to impair the obligations of a Charter made between the Government and a subnational body; but, in all other cases, statute shall prevail over ordinance.
Chapter Four: Franchise
§1. The National Assembly shall, for purpose of Elections and to cast ballots therein, provide by statute the form of ballots, as well as the procedures, requirements and penalties for registration of candidates, registration of voters, proof of residence, proof of identity, and absentee voting; provided, that all such measures shall be as uniform as practical, and shall cause no undue burden on the Right to vote.
§2. Each Citizen of the State who have attained eighteen years of age, and who satisfy such aforementioned requirements as provided by the Law, shall be qualified and entitled to cast his Vote.
§3. The procedures and requirements for the registration of voters, where provided, shall enable that a Citizen may register himself so on the day of an Election, and at the places thereof or elsewhere.
§4. The Right to vote shall be in no cases deprived, disparaged or burdened unduly for failure to pay a tax or to pass a test; on account of race, sex, language, faith, religious or political opinions, disability, or origin of birth; nor as punishment for any crime, except for treason during the time of punishment.
§5. No Citizen shall, on the day of any Election at which he be entitled to vote, be compelled to perform military service, except in time of war or public danger; nor to attend any Court or other Tribunal as Suitor, Juror or Witness; nor be subject to arrest, except in cases of treason, felony or breach of the peace, at the places of Election, and in going to and returning from the same.
§6. Those Citizens, who shall have been deemed by a Court to be insane, unsound or incompetent of mind, in a manner directed by the Law, shall be ineligible to hold public positions of Power, Trust or Profit, until their sanity, soundness or competence of mind be reaffirmed.
§1. General Elections shall be held regularly at fixed intervals, next before the expiration of a given Term, in order to renew elective Offices from time to time, as follows; and the candidate or candidates, duly elected and sworn, shall serve for the whole Term thereafter:
(a) The President, the Delegates and the Senators shall be elected naturally, and representatives to constitutional Conventions elected and submissions of Amendments hereto placed, at a general Election held annually, or less often as may be the case, on the second Saturday of July.
The time, places and manner thereof, no fewer than sixty-two days before the day of the Election, shall be prescribed by statute and published, provided that such measures shall be as uniform as practical throughout the State.
(b) The elective Officers of a subnational body shall be elected naturally at the same general Election as that of the national Government, on the second Saturday of July and at the same time and places, unless the National Assembly or an authorized delegate shall have made in each case other days, times or places therefor.
Of any general Election for an Office of a subnational body, the day shall be such Saturday as shall be, no fewer than ninety-two days before the end of the Term of the incumbent, prescribed by the Law and published; and the time, places, manner and method, no fewer than sixty-two days before the day of the Election: provided, that all such measures shall be as uniform as practical throughout the respective jurisdiction.
§2. Special Elections shall be called by Writ, in order to fill a Vacancy which shall have arisen during an unexpired Term but before the six calendar months next preceding a general Election for the same Office; or to replace a candidate-elect, who shall have died or been disqualified between a general Election and the following Term; or for such other good and extraordinary causes as ascertained by the Law: and the successor, duly elected and sworn, shall serve then for the remainder of the same Term, for which his predecessor shall have been elected under natural circumstances.
A special Election shall, in all cases, be held on a Saturday no fewer than forty-five days, and no more than ninety-two days, after the start of the respective Vacancy, Death or Disqualification; in such manner and by such method as shall have been ascertained by the Law; and at the same time and places as those of the next preceding general Election for the same Office.
§3. Primary Elections may be held in order to nominate and register partisan candidates for a general or special Election, but for no other cause.
A primary Election shall occur only by statute: and, when and where so authorized, the same shall be a private affair conducted by the respective political party or other like factional group, by its own rules and with its own resources; and the results whereof shall be officiated or rejected for the general or special Election, as according to the Law.
§4. All public Elections shall be realized by equal and universal suffrage, and by secret ballot; the time, places and manner thereof shall be never so enacted or enforced as to deny or burden unduly the Right of any Citizen to vote; and the method thereof shall, in the strictest sense, comply with and be based upon the principle of majority rule, or of proportional representation.
§5. No person within the State shall stand at one and the same time for Election, nor be elected, to more than one Office of the national Government.
§6. No Judge within the State shall be elected directly by the People.
§7. The National Assembly shall ensure by appropriate Legislation the purity of Elections, against abuse and corruption of the electoral process.
§1. The method of Election, for the Office of the President of the State, shall be ruled by this Constitution, as follows:
Each Vote by a Citizen for the said Office shall be cast at a general or special Election for one candidate and no other; and a candidate for said Office shall earn an absolute majority of the Votes cast in his respective Election, in order to become the President.
If no such majority be obtained on the first ballot, then a second ballot shall take place on the fourteenth day following the first; and the two candidates, who shall have earned the greatest number of Votes on the first ballot, shall stand on the second, after any better-placed candidates may have withdrawn.
§2. If after the deadline for registration of candidacy for the Office of the President, and before the first ballot, a candidate for said Office shall have died, then the Chief Justice, or a majority of the fixed number of Justices on the Supreme Court, may issue a remedial Writ, which issuance and remedies shall be directed by the Law.
§3. If after the first ballot and before the second ballot one of the two candidates for the Office of the President shall have died, or if after the second ballot and before the start of a new Term the President-elect shall have died or failed to qualify, or no person shall have been elected newly as the President, then the Chief Justice shall issue a Writ in order to repeat in full the Election of the President.
§1. The National Assembly shall be elected from Districts by ranked or preferential voting, according to such method as shall be directed by the Law and otherwise shall conform with this Article.
§2. The Districts shall be delimited contiguously, as compactly as practical, and in consequence of significant cultural or geographical units of the State.
§3. Each District shall elect one Senator at large, and generally by the method known as instant runoff voting; and no Citizen may be obligated on such ballot to cast a number of preferences more than two.
§4. The Delegates shall, by the method known as equal proportions and rounding to the nearest whole number, be apportioned among the Districts according to their respective populations, counting the whole number of lawful residents in each District; but no District shall have fewer than three Delegates, nor more than seven.
Each District shall elect at large such number of Delegates as shall be they entitled to elect following Apportionment, and generally by the method known as single transferrable vote and using the Hare quota; and no Citizen may be obligated on such ballot to cast a number of preferences more than three.
§5. The Enumeration of lawful residents in each District, and of Citizens throughout the State and abroad, shall be made within three years after the first session of the National Assembly, and within every subsequent period of ten years, in such manner as shall be directed by the Law; and a Reapportionment of the Delegates shall occur at least after each such Enumeration.
§6. The number of Districts, and that of Delegates, shall be fixed by statute; but the former shall be no fewer than three, and the latter no fewer than three times, nor more than four times, the number of Districts.
§7. If the equal Apportionment of the Delegates cause that a District be entitled to two or fewer Delegates, then the same District shall be so combined with an adjacent District as to entitle them both to three Delegates at least, but no more than seven; and, if entitled to eight or more, then the same District shall be so divided as to entitle each of the resulting Districts to seven Delegates at most, but no fewer than three: and such adjustments shall be undertaken in all cases without delay or obstruction.
§8. Changes in the number of Districts or of Delegates, or in the Delimitation of any District, shall be invalid without the concurrence of three fifths of the entire membership, in each the Chamber of the Delegates and the Senate; and, next after the two-hundredth day following promulgation thereof, shall take effect for the Terms of Office chosen at the succeeding general Elections of each House respectively, and for the subsequent Terms thereafter.
Those Senators, who shall have been elected before such changes take effect, shall finish naturally the Terms for which they shall have been elected, as if no changes have occurred.
§1. No Delimitation of any electoral district within the State whatsoever shall be so made as to provide an electoral advantage or disadvantage for any class of persons, nor for any political party, political organization or political campaign.
§2. No electoral Delimitation or Apportionment within the State whatsoever shall survive beyond the second year following each national Enumeration of persons, without an actual and affirmative renewal during such period of time.
§3. A change in the Delimitation of any electoral district within the State whatsoever shall require thereafter a Reapportionment of representation.
§4. A Suit shall lie on behalf of any Citizen in order to compel fair and reasonable Delimitation or Apportionment, or elsewise to compel compliance with this Constitution, whenever the foregoing Sections of this Article, or any other Section of this Chapter, be violated.
The National Assembly shall provide by statute the procedures and other causes, by and for which any Election, Delimitation, or Apportionment may be disputed; and all such disputes shall originate in a Court of the State, provided that each House shall remain the judge of the Elections, Returns and Qualifications of its own members.
Chapter Five: Rights of the People
§1. All persons shall enjoy equal protection of the Law; and none shall be favored or disfavored on account of race, sex, language, faith, or opinions religious or political, nor disfavored on account of disability.
§2. Right and Justice shall be administered without sale, denial, or delay; and no person shall be deprived of life, liberty or property, without due process of the Law.
§3. No person shall be a slave; nor shall be forced into involuntary servitude, except as punishment for a crime whereof the same shall have been duly convicted.
§4. All persons may practice faith in a manner agreeable to the dictates of their own conscience, and none shall be compelled to attend or support any form of worship; nor shall the control or hindrance of the privacy of conscience be permitted.
No Law, which respect an establishment of religion or prohibit the free exercise thereof, shall be enacted or enforced; nor shall a religious test be ever required as a Qualification to hold any public position of Power, Trust or Profit within the State.
§5. All persons may speak, write, and publish freely their sentiments on all subjects, but shall be responsible and liable for the abuse of this Right.
No Law shall be enacted or enforced which abridge the freedoms of speech, of the press, to assemble peaceably, or to petition the Government or other public bodies for the redress of grievances.
§6. All persons shall have a Right to privacy, and shall be secure in their persons, homes, papers and possessions against unreasonable searches and seizures.
No Warrants shall issue but upon probable cause, supported by Oath, and particularly describing the place to be searched, the persons or things to be seized, and the lawful purpose or reason for the search.
§7. No person, for the purpose to secure Testimony, shall be detained, arrested or imprisoned longer than may be necessary in order to take or receive the same.
§8. No private property shall be taken or damaged for public use, unless just compensation shall have been first paid into a Court for the owner; nor shall be forfeited, except in consequence of a conviction related to the offense and made in personam; but may be seized in order to compel attendance at trial, with accordance to the Law.
§9. No person shall be imprisoned for debt or tort, except in cases of fraud; nor, in time of peace, for a militia fine.
§10. No conviction of a crime, nor any remedy in Suit, shall work corruption of blood.
§12. The estates of Suicides shall descend or vest as in cases of natural Death.
§13. No Title of nobility; Bill of Attainder or granting judicial relief; Law ex post facto; Law impairing the obligation of Contracts; or Law granting any special or exclusive Privilege, Franchise or Immunity, shall be enacted or enforced.
§14. No public Emolument, Award, Honor, Title, or Privilege shall be ever hereditary.
§15. Natural resources being the common property of all persons and their progeny, then clean air, pure water, unpolluted soil and land, and the natural, historic and aesthetic values of the environment shall be conserved and maintained reasonably by the State for their benefit.
§1. Citizenship shall be irrevocable without due process of the Law, and when such revocation render a person stateless.
§2. Speedy remedy shall be afforded by due course of the Law, for injuries suffered in person, reputation or property.
§3. Suits at Law, where the injury or the value in controversy exceed a petty nature, shall be tried by Jury.
§4. Suits may be brought against the State in such manner and for such causes as prescribed by statute.
§5. In all Cases of slander or libel, the Truth shall be given in Evidence to a Jury; and, if it appear that the allegedly slanderous or libelous matter be true in Fact, and have been made with good motives and for justifiable ends, then the accused shall be acquitted.
§6. Any Citizen may examine the records of the Government and other public bodies, and may observe the deliberations thereof, except where the privacy of individuals or the public safety exceed clearly the merits of public disclosure.
§7. Any Citizen may keep and bear arms for his safety and legitimate defense, for a lawful and well-maintained militia, and for lawful hunting; but the manufacturing and sale of arms, as well as the possession and use thereof outside the home, may be regulated, and the concealment of arms may be prohibited.
§8. Any Citizen may hunt, fish, and harvest game, subject to such regulations and restrictions as may be ascertained by the Law.
§9. No Law abridging the Privileges or Immunities of Citizens shall be enacted or enforced.
§1. The trial of all crimes shall be by an impartial Jury of the vicinage in which the crimes shall have been committed; except in cases of impeachment, and except that, where so authorized by statute, a petty offense may be tried solely by the Court or other Tribunal.
§2. The Venue of criminal prosecutions, except in cases of impeachment, shall be held in the same vicinage as where the crimes shall have been committed, or at such place or places as may be ascertained by statute when not committed within the State.
§3. No person shall be held to answer for an infamous crime unless on indictment of a Grand Jury, or on information examined by a Judge in witness of the accused and his Counsel.
§4. The accused shall enjoy a speedy and public trial; be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation; be confronted with the Witnesses and Evidence against him; have compulsory process for obtaining Witnesses and Evidence in his favor; and have the assistance of Counsel for his defense.
§5. The indigent, when charged with an infamous crime, or with a crime punishable by imprisonment longer than one year, shall have the assistance of such effective Counsel as shall be appointed by a Court.
§6. All persons shall be bailable by sufficient sureties, except for violent offences when the facts be evident or presumption great; but no excessive bail shall be required.
§7. No person shall be put a second time in jeopardy for the same offense, except on his application for a new trial, when a mistrial be declared, or when a motion in arrest of judgement be sustained.
§8. No person shall be compelled in criminal prosecutions to be a Witness or give Evidence against himself.
§9. Any person, when he shall have been detained or arrested in consequence of the investigation or commission of any offense, shall be advised fully of the reason for his detention or arrest, his Right to remain silent, his Right against self-incrimination, and his Right to Counsel; and his friends and Counsel shall have access to him at proper and stated times.
§10. Punishment of crime shall be founded on the principles of prevention and reformation, without retribution; and no cruel or unusual punishments shall be inflicted, nor excessive fines imposed.
§11. No person shall be imprisoned, or liable to imprisonment in cases of parole, longer than twenty years at once, or thirty years at once in cases of treason, unless a Court determine in the final year thereof, and within every subsequent period of three years, that the same person remain a likely danger to the public safety; but any person, if after the fulfillment of such punishment he commit another crime, may be imprisoned again, subject to the same limitations.
§12. No person shall be sentenced to Death.
§13. A proper regard to the health of prisoners shall be had in the construction and maintenance of jails and penitentiaries.
§14. Treason shall consist only in levying War against the Government or any other public body within the State, in adhering to the enemies thereof, or in giving them aid and comfort.
No Person shall be convicted of treason, unless on the Testimony of two Witnesses to the same overt act, or on Confession in an open Court; and the punishment of Treason shall be ascertained by statute.
§1. Special or private Legislation shall be never enacted or enforced on the following matters:
(a) Change of Venue in judicial proceedings; choosing, drawing, summoning or empaneling of Juries, petit or Grand; change of Rules or Jurisdiction in any judicial proceeding or inquiry; Punishment of crime; nor Enforcement of judgements.
(b) Assessment and collection of taxes, or extension of time therefor; nor exemption of property or persons from taxation.
(c) Remission of fines, penalties, forfeitures and other money, which have been lawfully paid into the Treasury of the State, or of any subnational body.
(d) Creation, rise or diminishment, or authorization thereof, of the salaries, fees, percentages, or allowances of public Offices or other public positions of Profit.
(e) Remission, release, postponement, or diminishment of any obligation or liability.
(f) Grant of any pension or other social support.
(g) Grant of marriage or divorce.
(h) Change in the Law of descent or succession.
(i) Regulation, or change in regulation, of fencing or the boundaries of land.
(j) Creation of private corporations; nor amendment, renewal, or extension of the Charters of private corporations.
(k) Regulation of labor, trade, mining or manufacturing.
§2. General Legislation, of uniform operation throughout the respective jurisdiction, shall be enacted in all the cases above enumerated, and in all other cases where general Legislation may be made applicable.
§3. No amendment or partial repeal of a Law shall work to enact, nor shall have the effect of enactment of, a special or private Law; but Legislation which repeal special or private Laws may be enacted.
§4. No private corporation, association or person shall be especially exempted from the operation of a general Law; nor shall the operation of a general Law be suspended for the benefit of any private corporation, association or person.
§1. The Armed Forces shall serve under direct supervision by civil Officers of the Government; and all martial Officers, martial noncommissioned Officers, and other martial personnel shall be in strict subordination to the civil Power per se.
§2. Any position of Power, Trust or Profit, of the Armed Forces, shall be incompatible with any civil Office of the Government; and shall be, without the consent of the National Assembly, incompatible with all other public and civil positions of Power, Trust or Profit within the State.
§3. The President of the State shall notify the National Assembly in writing whenever the Armed Forces intervene abroad, at the latest three days after the beginning of such intervention; and shall detail therein the causes and purposes of such intervention, which may cause Debate upon deliverance, but no Vote.
§4. The Armed Forces shall intervene abroad no longer than thirty days in a given conflict, unless the National Assembly authorize expressly ad hoc an extension thereof.
§5. States of siege shall be declared by an order of the President, but shall exceed not twelve days unless the National Assembly authorize expressly ad hoc an extension thereof.
§6. The Privilege of the Writ of Habeas Corpus shall be not suspended, unless in cases of rebellion or invasion the public safety require it.
§7. No soldier shall be quartered in time of peace in any home, without the consent of the owner; nor in time of war, except in such manner as shall conform with the Law.
§8. No person shall be compelled against his conscience to render military service involving the use of arms.
§1. Officers and other persons holding Power or Trust, of the Government and of other public bodies within the State, shall take the following Oath before they assume their Powers and Duties, with or without religious affirmation, and shall be bound by it during their tenures; and appendices thereto may be made with the consent of the National Assembly, excepting that taken by the President and the Chief Secretary:
“I swear solemnly that I take this obligation freely and purposefully, without mental reservation or purpose of evasion; that I will support and defend the Constitution against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true allegiance to the same; and that, on the Powers and Duties of the Office on which I am about to enter, I will serve faithfully and to the best of my ability. So help me God.”
§2. No person shall hold or enjoy within the State any public position of Power, Trust or Profit, who shall have taken previously an Oath to support this Constitution and, despite such Oath, shall have engaged in insurrection or rebellion against the State, or given aid or comfort to the enemies thereof.
The National Assembly may remove such Disqualification from a person ad hoc, if two thirds of the fixed membership in each House concur on it; but no member shall abstain, and the Houses shall take the final Vote by roll call, enter the Yeas, Nays and Absences on the Journal, and identify the same by Name.
§3. Neither the Government nor any other public body within the State shall assume or pay any debt or obligation which have been incurred in the aid of insurrection or rebellion against the State.
Chapter Six: Emergencies
§1. Neither this Constitution nor the Law shall be ever suspended in any manner or form, except in consequence of a state of rebellion, invasion, war, or other like force majeure, and except in such manner as shall be prescribed and construed strictly.
§2. Suspension hereof, or of the Law, shall be ruled by this Constitution, and no other source.
§3. No Amendment hereto, of this Section or of the foregoing Sections of this Article, or which may be contrary to the same, shall be valid.
§1. When the Sovereignty of the State, its independence, the integrity of its territory, or the fulfillment of its international commitments be under serious and imminent danger of enemy attack, and when the proper functioning of this Constitution be impractical, or cause undue delay of defense, the President of the State shall take such measures with the force of the Law as may be required by these circumstances, after he shall have deliberated formally on the matter with the Chief Secretary, the Speaker of the Chamber of Delegates, and the Marshal of the Senate; and he shall declare a state of emergency, and shall address the State at large and inform them of the measures taken.
The aforesaid measures shall be so designed, without delay or obstruction, as best to provide public authorities with the Means to carry out their Powers and Duties, to protect the continuity of the Government and other public bodies, and to secure protection and peace of the public.
§2. During such emergencies, and until the state of emergency be resolved:
(a) The National Assembly shall, without delay or obstruction, be convened and remain in session; oversee and hold accountable the measures taken by the President; and pass other like measures as may be necessary and proper.
A majority of those present, in either House, shall suffice in order to pass Legislation and present it to the President, and two thirds of those present in order to override his veto.
(b) The Quorum of the Supreme Court shall be reduced to any three of them, and the number to render final judgements reduced to a majority of those Justices able and available to sit.
(c) The Terms of elective Officers shall expire naturally, and Elections shall be held without delay or obstruction; and the National Assembly shall authorize measures in order to ensure that each Citizen remain able to cast his Vote.
(d) This Constitution shall be not amended, nor a submission of an Amendment hereto initiated or continued, but the latter shall be stayed.
(e) If the facts be evident or the presumption great, of corruption or abuse by the President, then three fifths of those Delegates present may suspend him temporarily from the Powers and Duties of his Office.
(f) No measure shall be taken by the President, nor introduced in or passed by the National Assembly, which be unrelated to the nature or state of the emergency.
§3. Measures taken by the President or passed by the National Assembly, during such emergencies, shall be made ad hoc and survive not beyond the resolution of the same, nor thereafter shall confer precedence or be binding.
§4. After thirty days of the exercise of such emergency powers, the matter may be referred to the Supreme Court by the Chief Secretary, the Speaker, the Marshal, one tenth of the Senators, or one tenth of the Delegates, so as to decide whether a state of emergency remain applicable; and if not, then the same shall be considered resolved for the purposes of this Article.
The said Court shall make its decision by public announcement, and without delay or obstruction; and shall carry out such examination and make its decision in the same manner, after sixty days of the exercise of such emergency powers, and within every subsequent period of twenty days.
§5. The National Assembly shall have the Power and the Duty, prior to the occurrence of such emergencies, to provide by statute for prompt and temporary succession to public Offices and other public positions of Power or Trust, whether filled by Election or Appointment, in such cases wherein an incumbent may become unavailable or unable to discharge his Powers and Duties during the same; provided, that no member of the National Assembly, the Council of State or the Cabinet, nor any such person who may resign or be removed from Office during such emergencies, shall serve for this purpose on the Supreme Court.
§6. In the exercise of the Powers above conferred by this Article, all Officers of the Government, and all other persons of public positions of Power, Trust or Profit, shall conform in all respects to this Constitution, except to such extent as in the judgement of the National Assembly may be impracticable or cause undue delay of defense; but shall be nevertheless responsible and liable for the abuse thereof after the resolution of such emergencies, both as individual persons and as individual actors of the State, notwithstanding any contrary Immunity.
Chapter Seven: Amendments Hereto
§1. The National Assembly may propose Amendments to this Constitution by concurrent Resolution.
§2. When three fifths of the entire membership, in each the Chamber of Delegates and the Senate, shall have concurred on a Resolution to amend this Constitution, then the same shall be entered on their respective Journals and be referred for Reconsideration at the session upon the new Term, immediately following the next general Election of the Delegates: and if at the aforesaid session or any subsequent session, but before the succeeding general Election of either House, the same Resolution shall earn without alteration the concurrence of two thirds of the entire membership in each House, then it shall be promulgated by the Chief Secretary and, within seven days, be published at large by the Officer so responsible, who in turn shall, at the general Election next after the ninetieth day following publication, submit the same to the Citizens for their approval or rejection.
§1. The National Assembly may call by joint Resolution for a popular Convention, in order to propose Amendments to this Constitution.
Such Resolution shall earn the concurrence of two thirds of the entire membership, in each House of the National Assembly respectively; and shall specify the cause of Convention and the matters for Consideration, to which the representatives at such Convention shall make no proposal unrelated.
Such Conventions may be called for a general purpose, in order to deliberate on this Constitution as a whole, or to propose a new Constitution altogether.
§2. Representatives at such Conventions shall be chosen at the general Election next after the ninetieth day following publication of the call.
Their number shall be equal to that of the Delegates, and they shall be elected in like manner and by like method as the same, including to be apportioned among the Districts and elected proportionally therein; but they shall be nonpartisan, and shall receive no support or opposition, of any kind whatever, from any political party or like factional group.
They shall have the same Qualifications as the Delegates, but their position shall be compatible with membership in either House of the National Assembly; and they may receive such Compensation, and a Vacancy shall be so filled, as ascertained by statute.
§3. Each such Convention shall convene at noon in the national capital, or at least in a predetermined place of national significance, on the first day of October next following the Election of its representatives.
They shall determine their Rules of procedure; choose a Chairman, Vice-Chairman, and other necessary officers; judge the Qualifications of their own members; undertake their business in good Conduct; and remain open to the public.
§4. The President of the State or his designee, throughout each such Convention, shall be the guarantor of its Rules, its good Conduct, and its independence from undue influence.
§5. Each such Convention shall prepare a proposal, which shall be invalid unless it shall have been available to all the representatives in final form at least three days on which the Convention be in session, and unless two thirds of the fixed membership of the representatives shall have concurred on it thereafter.
They shall take the final Vote on each such proposal by roll call, and without abstention; and shall record the Yeas, Nays and Absences on the Question and identify them by Name.
§6. Each such Convention shall, after validation of a final proposal, present the same at length, as well as the record of the final Vote thereon, to the President and the Chief Secretary of the State, whereupon they shall be dissolved; or shall dissolve themselves without a replacement, if after a year they shall have failed to validate such a final proposal.
The Chief Secretary shall promulgate both items, and the President shall place them together in the records of the State, under the custody of the Officer so responsible; and, in turn, the latter shall publish them at large within seven days and, at the general Election next after the ninetieth day following publication, shall submit the final proposal to the Citizens for their approval or rejection.
§1. Submissions of an Amendment to this Constitution shall be presented to the Citizens, both by a title and by the text at length; and such title shall be specified in the Resolution making the submission, or by a Convention in its final proposal, and shall be a brief nontechnical statement which express the intent or purpose thereof, as well as the effect of a Vote for, and a Vote against, the same.
§2. If fifty-six percent of the votes cast by Citizens on any one Amendment hereto be in favor of it, then the same shall become valid to all intents and purposes as a part hereof.
§3. When more than one Amendment to this Constitution shall be submitted at the same Election, they shall be so submitted that a Citizen may vote on each such Amendment separately.
§4. The republican form of government shall be not the object of any Amendment to this Constitution; nor a transfer, from the National Assembly or any other legislative body within the State, of their Power of taxation and to appropriate public money.
Chapter Eight: Schedule
§1. Ratification of this Constitution by fifteen persons suffices for the Establishment, Empowerment and Enforcement hereof, between the same persons, their progeny, and all other subsequent Citizens.
§2. Upon certification of the fifteenth signature, the first signee shall call for a joint convention of all the signees and be its presiding officer, and a majority of them shall constitute a Quorum; and before them shall lie the following matters, among others, in sequential order of consideration:
(a) They shall, by a Vote of two thirds of those present in plenary session, choose a number of electoral Districts, either three or four, and delimit each District from which area they shall inhabit, but each containing four signees at least; and such Delimitation shall have the effect of statute upon the dissolution of their convention, but expire one year after the first national Enumeration of persons, or sooner.
(b) They shall elect among themselves in plenary session a President, and then a Chief Secretary who shall take Office as if the President have appointed him; and both shall earn such number of affirmative votes as shall equal a majority of all the signees.
(c) They shall, by a Vote of majority of those present in plenary session, decide a number of Delegates to be elected, no fewer than nine nor more than twelve, and thereupon shall break into caucuses corresponding to each previously delimited District, among which the number of Delegates shall be apportioned according to population; and, in each caucus, a majority shall elect among themselves a joint slate of such number of Delegates as shall have been apportioned to them.
(d) They shall, by a vote of majority of those present in plenary session, certify the results of their business, whereafter their convention shall be dissolved and the certification shall become a record of the State.
§3. Those persons, so elected at the above mentioned convention, shall form the Government; and their Terms of Office shall commence at the dissolution of the same, but expire in the year next divisible by five, which in turn shall constitute the “zeroth year” for purpose of Elections.
§4. At the above mentioned convention, upon its dissolution, and until the tenth year following the zeroth year, the Right to vote may be exercised, and the Office of a Delegate may be held, by those having attained fifteen years of age; and the Office of a Senator at eighteen years, and that of the President and the Chief Secretary also at eighteen.
§5. The Senate shall lie abeyant, and any Powers reserved thereto exercised by the Chamber of Delegates, until the State have thirty Citizens; and, upon the naturalization of the thirtieth Citizen, the Senate shall be elected wholly at the next general Election of the Delegates, and shall have upon the new Term thereafter full force and effect as prescribed herein.
§1. The President shall convene the National Assembly for the first time, no more than sixty days after the dissolution of the aforementioned convention.
§2. The National Assembly, at their first session under this Constitution, shall provide by statute a permanent location for the Seat of Government.
§3. The President shall use his private seal until a Seal of the State be provided by statute.
§4. The National Assembly, upon completion of the first national Enumeration of persons, shall delimit new Districts with accordance to this Constitution, and may refix the number of Delegates; and, though this exception shall apply only once, both such measures shall take effect for the Terms of Office chosen at the immediately succeeding general Elections of each House respectively, and for the subsequent Terms thereafter.
§5. During and following the zeroth year, the President shall be elected naturally for successive Terms of two years, and the Delegates for successive Terms of one year; but in the tenth year following the zeroth, and in subsequent years, the President shall be elected naturally for Terms of five years, and the Delegates for Terms of three years, as prescribed in this Constitution.
§6. As soon as the Senate lie no longer in abeyance, the Senators shall be so elected naturally as follows:
(a) If the first election of the Senate should occur before the tenth year following the zeroth, then the Senators shall be elected naturally for successive Terms of three years, without staggering; but, this notwithstanding, the Seats of every class of the Senate shall be vacated and renewed altogether in the tenth year aforesaid, whereafter the Seats of the Senators of the first class shall be vacated and renewed naturally in the twelfth year and every sixth year afterwards, those of the second class in the fourteenth year and every sixth year afterwards, and those of the third class in the sixteenth year and every sixth year afterwards, so that one third of the Senators be chosen every second year for Terms of six years, as prescribed in this Constitution.
(b) If the first election of the Senate should occur during or after the tenth year following the zeroth, then the Seats of the Senators of the first class shall be vacated and renewed naturally in the next year divisible by two following that first election aforesaid, and then every sixth year thereafter; those of the second class in the second year following the foregoing expiration of the first class, and then every sixth year thereafter; and those of the third class in the second year following the foregoing expiration of the second class, and then every sixth year thereaefter; so that one third of the Senators be chosen every second year for Terms of six years, as prescribed in this Constitution.
SIGNED BY UNANIMOUS CONSENT in the Year two thousand seventeen, we have subscribed hereunto our Names in testimony whereof.
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Spencer K. |
Andrew B. |
Sara K. |
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Caleb F. |
Cody M. |
Bharadwaj T. |
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Mark P. |
Alex D. |
Tim K. |
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Patrick R. |
Horatio E. |
Christopher W. |
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Mike L. |
David R. |
Logan W. |
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Zach F. |
Steve F. |
Mark A. |