Law:Autumn Constitution
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Recognizing the intractable flaws of the previous attempt at constitutional government, the First Princess does hereby establish this new constitution as the highest law of the Principality, superseding the previous constitution in its entirety, and subject and subordinate only to the State Charter as per Article IX of that document. It shall come into force immediately upon promulgation.
Chapter I: State
I. The Principality of the Pillow Fortress is an independent, secular, constitutional monarchy, and no law, treaty, or royal decree may alter in any way the independent, secular, or monarchical character of the state.
II. Regardless of any of its aspects, features, or qualities, the Principality of the Pillow Fortress is a sovereign state entitled to all rights and privileges afforded to any other sovereign state, including but not limited to the right to exist, the right to self determination, and the right to defend itself, its citizens, and its interests.
Chapter II: Government
I. The government of the Pillow Fortress shall be comprised of three advisory councils, collectively known as the Directory, and an executive organization, which shall be known as the Throne.
II. The first advisory council shall be the Council of Labor, tasked with advising the Princess on matters of economic importance. It’s membership shall consist of guilds representing each major sector of the economy. No guild may be disestablished without both its consent and the consent of the Princess, and no guild may be established without both the two-thirds approval of the other guilds and the consent of the Princess.
III. Guild membership is restricted to those who work in professions that are determined by law to be within that guild’s sector of the economy, and no one may be a member of more than one guild concurrently, or be a representative of a guild if they themselves have been a member of that guild for less than five years.
IV. Guilds act as single, collective entities. Their representatives cast a single, collective vote, have a single, collective opinion, and make a single, collective choice when acting in their official capacity within the Directory. They are bound to follow the will of their guild as determined by the consensus of its members. Any representatives that do not do so may be recalled by their guild and replaced.
V. Guilds may set additional requirements for representatives so long as any additional requirements, either individually or in aggregate, do not have the effect of discriminating based on race, ethnicity, origin, gender identity, sexual orientation, disability, or religion.
VI. The second advisory council shall be the Council of State, tasked with advising the Princess on matters necessary for the maintenance of the state. These include matters of agriculture, civil rights, community peacekeeping, culture, defense, education, foreign relations, health, housing, immigration and emigration, infrastructure and energy, justice, public services, religious affairs, science and technology, sport, security, and transportation.
VII. The above listed matters necessary for the maintenance of the state are not exhaustive. Should other matters necessary for the maintenance of the state be determined to exist, and if they do not infringe on those matters delegated to the other advisory councils or royal prerogative, the Council of State may advise the Princess on those matters as well.
VIII. Membership in the Council of State shall be of individuals who are qualified experts in those matters determined to be necessary for the maintenance of the state, with the exact means of their selection being determined by law.
IX. The third advisory council shall be the Council of Territory, tasked with advising the Princess on matters regarding the effective and proper governance of the territories of the state.
X. All first level administrative divisions, those fully integrated and annexed into the state, shall have representation in the Council of Territory in order to facilitate mutual understanding and coordination between them.
XI. The creation of new territories, the dissolution of old territories, the changing of borders of existing territories, and how territories are internally governed are among those matters of which the Council of Territory may advise the Princess.
XII. Second level administrative divisions, third level administrative divisions, colonies, protectorates, client states, and any other territory of the state either annexed, occupied, or claimed, may have representation in the Council of Territory if so granted by law.
XIII. The head of the Throne shall be the reigning Princess.
XIV. Based on recommendations by the Directory regarding the matters of which they are delegated to give advice, the Princess shall appoint individuals to her cabinet, where each cabinet appointment is the head of a department that manages, oversees, and conducts the business pertaining to a broad but related matter of importance to the maintenance of the state.
XV. Cabinet appointments, while recommended by the Directory, serve at the pleasure of the Princess, and may be dismissed by her. If a cabinet appointee is so dismissed, the Princess is required to deliver a letter explaining her reasons for the dismissal to the advisory council that recommended the appointee.
XVI. The Princess may, in times of emergency, make temporary cabinet appointments based on her own judgment. After a period of no longer than six months, the temporary appointee is to be reviewed by the advisory council whose appointee they have replaced, and if it is determined that the emergency is over, the advisory council may make a recommendation for a new cabinet appointee.
XVII. The Princess may, at her own discretion, appoint individuals to the Throne in non-cabinet level capacities for the purposes of her personal advisement, care, enlightenment, entertainment, or for carrying out any tasks she deems necessary for the efficient and effective operation of the Throne.
Chapter III: Princess
I. The Princess is the head of state, head of government, and commander-in-chief of the armed forces.
II. In her role as head of state, the Princess is the physical embodiment of the state, its culture, its citizens, and all other aspects of it. She owns the state, its territory, the copyright on all government produced media, and the means of economic production.
III. In her role as head of government, the Princess is the supreme leader of the state, and has a duty to it and to its citizens to govern wisely, and to fulfill her promises as laid out in Articles IV and V of the State Charter.
IV. In her role as commander-in-chief of the armed forces, the Princess has total and ultimate control over military operations. Though she be a civilian, all officers, enlisted personnel, and conscripts shall be honor and oath bound to follow her orders, and the orders of those she may legally empower to conduct military affairs on her behalf.
V. The Princess must identify as female, be nineteen years of age or older, be of sound mind and body, be a citizen of the state, renounce any and all titles of nobility she may have been granted by foreign states prior to her assuming the throne, resign any position of power or prestige within any foreign governments she may hold, and be the legally designated heir to the throne as per the order of succession.
VI. In addition to any other power or prerogative laid out in either the State Charter or this constitution, the Princess shall also have the powers to give honors and grant titles of nobility, to appoint diplomats and to engage in diplomatic relations with foreign states and organizations, to issue letters of marque and reprisal, to remove individual members of the Directory, to grant pardons, to grant citizenship, to collect taxes, to acquire new territories, and to declare state holidays.
VII. The Princess may empower individual representatives or organizations within the Throne to exercise her powers in her name and on her behalf.
VIII. Such empowered individuals and organizations may have their powers revoked by the Princess at her discretion, and may only exercise their powers in a manner set by law.
IX. The reigning Princess may be removed from power and stripped of any and all titles if she has committed an overt and explicit act that any reasonable observer would conclude is likely to result in the imminent destruction of the state, or she has become permanently incapacitated or otherwise medically incapable of fulfilling her duties, or she has committed a heinous act such as murder, or she has voluntarily and without undue influence chosen to abdicate, or she has been found to have assumed the throne fraudulently or under false pretenses, or she no longer has all the qualities of a Princess as laid out in this constitution, or she has failed to fulfill her promises as per Articles IV and V of the State Charter.
X. In the event that there is a reasonable cause to suspect that any of the conditions for removal have been met, the Directory shall, upon a unanimous decision, convene a public hearing wherein any and all evidence shall be presented, witnesses shall be questioned, and the Princess shall be given the opportunity to defend herself. If after this hearing the Directory remains unanimous in its belief that any of the conditions for removal have been met, the members of the Cabinet shall hold a vote, with a four-fifths majority necessary to remove the Princess from power and strip her of her title.
XI. The First Princess, and only the First Princess, may not be removed from power or stripped of her title for any reason, except in the case of voluntary abdication.
XII. As soon as a reigning Princess has died, abdicated, become permanently incapacitated, or otherwise been removed from power and stripped of her title, a new Princess shall assume the throne in accordance with the line of succession laid out in this constitution.
XIII. As the founder of the Pillow Fortress and its First Princess as per Article I of the State Charter, Julia Platz-Halter is the starting point for the line of succession, which shall take the form of matrilineal female primogeniture.
XIV. All successors that are direct descendents [sic] of the First Princess must take Platz-Halter as their surname upon assuming the throne.
XV. No Princess other than the First Princess may hold the title First Princess, or be granted those powers explicitly and exclusively granted to the First Princess.
XVI. In the event that there are no viable heirs to the reigning Princess, and matrilineal female primogeniture on her line will not produce an immediate successor, then and only then may the Directory, in consultation with the Libertine Party, recommend a woman outside the line of succession to assume the throne. Upon unanimous approval by the cabinet appointees, she shall be granted the title of Princess.
Chapter IV: Regency
I. In the event that the reigning Princess dies, abdicates, is removed from power and stripped of her title, becomes permanently incapacitated, or the heir who would otherwise assume the throne is below the age of nineteen, the cabinet appointees shall establish a regency to act on the Princess’s behalf until such time that the heir is ready, willing, and able to assume the throne.
II. Should the reigning Princess become temporarily incapacitated, a regency shall be established until such time as the Princess is capable of exercising her powers again.
III. Upon the establishment of a regency, the cabinet appointees shall, through two-thirds majority vote, choose one from among them to serve as Regent. The Regent shall then act on the Princess’s behalf and with her powers as laid out in this constitution, except for the power to consent to constitutional amendments.
IV. No individual shall serve as Regent for more than seven consecutive months, and no individual shall serve as Regent if they served as Regent in the previous two years.
V. A Regent may be removed from power by unanimous decision of the Directory.
VI. In times of regency, no law, royal decree, constitutional amendment, treaty, or any other instrument may in any way abrogate, abolish, change, or diminish any power inherent to the Princess, or change the line of succession.
Chapter V: Libertine Party
I. The Libertine Party, as established by the First Princess, is the only legal political party of the state, and all cabinet appointees, members of the Directory, high level civil servants, and the Princess herself must be members in good standing.
II. The Libertine Party will maintain its privileged position within the state so long as the Princess is its leader, holding real and absolute authority within the party, and so long as it serves the state in accordance with the promises laid out in the State Charter.
III. In the event that the Libertine Party becomes hostile, overtly or covertly, to either the Princess or the state, it shall be disbanded, its members removed and barred from serving in any and all government offices or appointments. A new political party with the Princess as its leader shall be formed that may better serve the Princess and the state.
IV. Active duty officers and enlisted personnel within the armed forces are banned from membership in the Libertine Party, excepting those that have been conscripted. Retired armed forces personnel may only join no less than five years after their retirement.
Chapter VI: Citizens
I. All individuals that were born within the territory of the state, or have lived within the territory of the state for no fewer than twelve consecutive years, or have at least one parent who is a citizen of the state, or became citizens through means set out by law, or were granted citizenship by the Princess, are citizens of the state.
II. Once granted, citizenship cannot be revoked by the state, except in the case of treason against the Princess.
III. There is only one class of citizenship, and all citizens are equal in their rights, freedoms, and obligations regardless of the method by which they acquired citizenship.
IV. As per Article VI of the State Charter, citizens are bound to accept the social contract. And as per Article VIII of the State Charter, rejection of the social contract is tantamount to the renunciation of citizenship and may result in the loss of any and all benefits, rights, freedoms, or protections afforded to citizens.
V. All citizens have a right to renounce their citizenship freely and at any time, except in the event that such renunciation is an obvious and unambiguous attempt to avoid legal judgment, or if they are currently serving in the armed forces.
VI. All citizens are equal under the law regardless of race, ethnicity, origin, gender identity, sexual orientation, disability, or religion.
VII. All citizens shall have the right of free association, freedom of bodily autonomy, freedom of assembly, freedom of expression, freedom to petition the government for a redress of grievances, and freedom of movement within the territory of the state.
VIII. All citizens shall be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects against unreasonable searches and seizures, and no warrants shall be issued except with probable cause supported by oath and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.
IX. All citizens shall have the right to a speedy and public trial by an impartial panel of judges, and be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation, and to be confronted with the witnesses against them, and to have compulsory process for obtaining witnesses in their favor, and to have the assistance of counsel for their defense.
X. No citizen shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against themselves, or be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law, neither shall personal possession be taken for public use without just compensation.
XI. All citizens shall be free of the threat or use of excessive bail, excessive fines, cruel and unusual punishment, and execution.
XII. All citizens aged sixteen and older shall have the right to marry regardless of race, ethnicity, origin, gender identity, sexual orientation, disability, or religion.
XIII. All citizens shall have the right to change their name and their gender.
XIV. All citizens shall have the right to birth control up to and including abortion, and all citizens so afflicted by diseases and conditions of which there are no medically viable treatments shall have the right to take their own life with dignity.
XV. All citizens shall have the right to be free from slavery and involuntary servitude.
XVI. Citizens have the rights and freedoms laid out in this constitution only in their capacity as individuals. No organization, regardless of its form, function, age, size, membership, or any other distinguishing features, shall have the rights and freedoms laid out in this constitution, but only those rights and freedoms granted by law, and only if those rights and freedoms do not result in the gross and unacceptable infringement on the rights and freedoms of individual citizens.
XVII. As per Article VI of the State Charter, citizens are bound to accept those roles which the First Princess and future Princesses may establish. Such roles include but are not limited to the obligations in this constitution.
XVIII. All citizens are obligated to be loyal to the Princess, those individuals she has empowered and appointed, and the state.
XIX. All citizens are obligated to obey the State Charter, this constitution, and the laws, rules, and regulations of the state.
XX. All citizens are obligated to, if so called upon, aid in the defense of the Princess and the state in whatever capacity may be asked of them.
Chapter VII: Law
I. The Directory shall have the ability to propose laws. Laws so proposed require the explicit consent of the Princess to enter into force.
II. The Princess may withhold her consent on any law, either in whole or in part.
III. The Directory shall propose no ex post facto law, neither shall the Directory propose any bill of attainder, or any other law that is in conflict with or contradicts either the State Charter or this constitution.
IV. Regulations and policies set by the various cabinet departments and their subordinated entities shall have the force of law so long as they are themselves set in accordance with law and do not otherwise conflict with or contradict either the State Charter, this constitution, or laws previously proposed by the Directory and given consent by the Princess.
V. Regulations and policies set by the various cabinet departments and their subordinated entities may be overturned by the Princess on the advice of the Directory or on her own judgment.
VI. The Princess may issue royal decrees which shall have the force of law so long as they do not conflict with or contradict the State Charter or this constitution. Any royal decree issued by the Princess is subject to the same restrictions as laws proposed by the Directory.
VII. The Directory may overturn a royal decree with a unanimous decision.
VIII. The Princess, with advice from the Directory, the cabinet, and any who she may choose to provide her with additional counsel, shall be the final arbiter of what is and is not constitutional.
IX. When adjudicating the law, judges shall take into account the spirit of the law in such instances that a technicality based upon plain reading of the law would otherwise result in a miscarriage of justice.
Chapter VIII: Civil Service
I. All civilian employees of the government, including members of the Directory and the Throne, but excluding the Princess, shall constitute the civil service.
II. Participation in the civil service is open to all citizens regardless of race, ethnicity, origin, gender identity, sexual orientation, disability, or religion.
III. Those who hold ideological beliefs that are antithetical to the values of the state, and which may, if acted upon, result in the abrogation of the rights of the individual, may be barred from participation in the civil service, regardless of how dearly such beliefs are held, or if such beliefs are held within a religious framework.
IV. The mandatory retirement age for the civil service shall be no greater than sixty-seven, excepting cabinet appointees, who shall have a mandatory retirement age no greater than seventy-six.
Chapter IX: Armed Forces
I. The Princess has the power to create armed forces for the purpose of defending the state against all threats, including but not limited to threats against its sovereignty, territory, power, position, or prestige.
II. The Directory may through unanimous decision and the consent of the Princess make declarations of war, and ratify treaties of peace.
III. All officers and enlisted personnel of the armed forces must swear an oath of loyalty to the Princess.
IV. The armed forces shall be subject to civilian command and oversight through a cabinet department within the Throne.
V. The armed forces shall not participate in civilian law enforcement or community peacekeeping operations within the territory of the state, except in such times as a state of emergency makes such participation necessary, and then only for a limited time to be set upon the initiation of any law enforcement or community peacekeeping operations.
Chapter X: Welfare
I. As per Article IV section iii of the State Charter, the government must provide for the welfare of the state and of its citizens.
II. Welfare provided must include robust and efficient networks of public transportation, a system of single-payer healthcare, access to a stable and network neutral internet, access to education, waste removal, fire fighting, electricity, water, and postal services, the distribution of food in amounts more than sufficient to stave off hunger, income assistance to the retired or those unable to work, and equal access to safe and livable shelters.
III. The above list of welfare provisions is not exhaustive, and the government may institute additional forms of welfare determined to be necessary for the stability of the state and the dignified lives of its citizens.
Chapter XI: Amendment Process
I. The Directory may, through unanimous decision, recommend specific amendments to this constitution. Any amendments so recommended must then receive at minimum a three-fourths approval in a referendum open to all citizens aged sixteen or older. If and only if that precondition is met, and with the consent of the Princess, may the amendment be made to this constitution.
II. No amendment to this constitution may conflict with or contradict the State Charter.
III. Any and all future amendments are to be placed within Chapter XII of this constitution.
Chapter XII: Amendments
I. Any law proposed by the Directory, and any royal decree issued by the Princess, shall automatically include within it the mechanisms required to fully fund any and all of its provisions, regardless of whether or not such mechanisms are explicitly included within the text of the proposed law or royal decree.
II. No territory or territorial subdivision of the Principality may unilaterally secede, and individuals acting on behalf of any secessionist movement by providing material or moral support, or by engaging in armed conflict against the Principality, are automatically guilty of treason against the state and against the Princess.
III. Any welfare provisions which take the form of cash payments may be halted in the event that the Pillow Fortress becomes an otherwise cashless society.
IV. Diplomacy and foreign relations are solely the prerogative of the Princess, and as such the corresponding Throne department, the Department of the Exterior, is hereby abolished. The Council of State may make recommendations regarding diplomacy and foreign relations, however such recommendations are not binding on the Princess.
V. The formal declaration of war is an outmoded concept which does not reflect the needs of contemporary state defense, thus the Directory’s power to declare war is superfluous and hereby abolished. The Directory’s ability to ratify treaties of peace between the Pillow Fortress and belligerent states, organizations, and individuals, is retained.
VI. Defense of the state, its territory, its citizens, and its interests, is the prerogative of the Princess, and exercised through her power to issue letters of marque and reprisal directing the Armed Forces.
VII. The advisory councils may, upon mutual agreement and consent of the Princess, transfer one to another the responsibility of recommending a specific cabinet secretary.