Proculian Constitution
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Proculian Constitution
Contents |
Preamble
In light of the growing population of our nation, the necessity of establishing a good, working government respectful of the rights of sapient beings, for Proculia, has been long established by consensus of the resident population. To achieve these ends, we, the residents of Proculia, hereby as a means to this enact the Proculian Constitution.
Article I: Cabinet
Section I
There shall be established a Cabinet of Proculia, whom shall have the following powers:
- a) To levy taxes upon incomes, transactions, and other items, so long as such tax is uniform throughout the geographic area of Proculia, and that such tax does not exceed 10 percent for transactions, and 25 percent for all other purposes.
- b) To borrow currency from other states, corporations, and persons, so long as the total amount borrowed does not exceed total tax revenue for the prior fiscal year.
- c) To regulate the conduction of commerce within Proculia and between Proculia and other states.
- d) To establish uniform procedures relating to bankruptcies of corporations and personal assets.
- e) To establish a legal tender currency, to print and/or coin such currency, and to regulate the value thereof.
- f) To enter into treaties and agreements with foreign states.
- g) To create and maintain essential public infrastructure, and, in the event that acquisition of property is required for executing this power, to negotiate with owners for the purposes of acquiring the property.
- h) To establish uniform rules concerning intellectual property rights of the authors of such intellectual property.
- i) To establish courts inferior to the Supreme Court, and regulate the jurisdictions thereof.
- j) To raise and support a military for the purposes of defending the territory of Proculia from foreign attack, and to establish a police force for the purposes of law enforcement.
- k) To declare war against foreign states, and to direct the military to conduct operations to this end, so long as such operations’ primary purpose is against the foreign state itself and its military, and not the citizenry.
Section II
The Cabinet may, by approval of more than half of Cabinet Officers, enact all laws necessary to carry out the powers vested to it under this Constitution.
Section III
The powers of the Cabinet enumerated in Section I may be delegated by law to a specific Department of the Cabinet.
Section IV
There shall be established the following Departments of the Cabinet:
- a) Foreign Affairs
- b) Treasury
- c) Defense and Public Safety
- d) Justice
- e) Commerce
- f) Transportation
Section V
The Cabinet may, by law, create additional Departments, which shall be subject to the identical Constitutional procedures applied to the other Departments.
Section VI
Each Department shall be headed by a Secretary, whom shall have the power to appoint persons to fill subordinate offices by whatever method is dictated by law.
Section VII
Each Secretary shall be chosen in an election, in which all citizens of Proculia shall have sufferage. Such elections shall take place twice each year, on the first Tuesday of May, and on the first Tuesday of November. All citizens shall be eligible to place their name on the ballot as a candidate, so long as such placement is executed prior to one week prior to the election.
Section VIII
A candidate shall be certified as having won the election, and thus Secretaryship, if the candidate obtains a majority of total votes in the election. If a candidate does not obtain a majority of votes, a run-off election shall be held two weeks after the first election, in which the two candidates who received the most votes shall be placed on the ballot. The winner of the run-off election shall be certified as Secretary.
Section IX
Each candidate may only place him or herself on the ballot for one office, and may not hold two offices at the level of Secretaryship at one time.
Section X
The Cabinet selected in such election shall assume office two days after being certified as the winners of their respective elections.
Section XI
Determinations as outlined in this Constitution concerning Secretarial elections shall be made by the Supreme Court.
Section XII
The Cabinet may, at the discretion of a majority of Secretaries, refer such bills as they see fit for a referendum, in which all citizens shall have suffrage, the results of which shall determine the bill’s passage into law. The time of such vote shall be dictated in the motion to refer a bill to referendum.
Section XII
The Cabinet shall select by majority vote a consenting citizen who shall be the Chairman of the Cabinet. Such Chairman shall be retained until the Cabinet directs otherwise, and appoints a new Chairman. The Chairman shall have the right to resign at any time, and possess the following powers:
– In case of death or resignation of a Secretary, the Chairman shall have the power to select, with the concurrence of a majority of remaining Secretaries, a person to act as Secretary until the term of such Secretary expires.
– The Chairman shall have the power to call sessions of the Cabinet, to adjourn such sessions, provided a majority of Secretaries do not object, and to coordinate such sessions as the chair.
– To act as representative of the Cabinet at Summits and other similar meetings with foreign states.
Article II: Judiciary
Section I
Aside from juries and their presiding judges, which shall constitute the lower level of courts, and a Supreme Court of Proculia, which shall be the sole appellate court of Proculia, to be collectively referred to as the Judiciary.
Section II
Proculian territory shall be divided into judicial districts, as determined by the Cabinet with the concurrence of a majority of citizenry in a referendum. Each district shall contain 100 citizens, as determined by an annual census conducted each June by an agency of the Department of Commerce. There shall be one judge per district, elected by the citizenry of such district, for an identical term as that of the Cabinet. Such judges and the juries they preside over shall have both civil and criminal jurisdiction. Juries shall be composed of 10 consenting citizens, who shall not have been found by the Supreme Court to be biased in the case. Each case shall have a separate jury, and no person may serve on more than one jury at one time.
Section III
There shall be established a Supreme Court of Proculia, which shall be composed of five judges appointed by the Cabinet with the concurrence of the citizenry in a referendum. A person may appeal a determination made by a lower court to the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court may not reexamine findings of fact by lower courts, and shall determine if the lower court’s decision was correct or not. If the Supreme Court finds that the decision was incorrect, it shall render its own decision on findings of law, and sentencing or compensation as it determines. No decision may be made without the concurrence of three out of five judges.
Section IV
If a determination of guilt is made by the Supreme Court of a holder of office violating a law concerning conduct of a holder of office only, then the court shall sentence the holder of office to expulsion from the office. The Supreme Court shall have original jurisdiction in such cases.
Section V
The Judiciary shall have sole power to interpret the law and Constitution, and such interpretations shall have the force of law.
Article III: Populace
Section I
The provisions below shall apply to all persons on the territorial jurisdiction of Proculia, unless explicitly stated otherwise in the relevant provision.
Section II
The state may not abridge or deny freedom of expression regardless of content or medium of communication.
Section III
The state may not abridge or deny freedom to hold opinions and beliefs, and to practice such opinions and beliefs, so long as such practice does not infringe on other rights as mentioned in Article III.
Section IV
The state may not establish a religion, aid in religious activities in any way, shape or form, or disseminate religious propaganda.
Section V
The state may not abridge or deny the right of persons to associate or disassociate themselves from other persons and organizations.
Section VI
The right of persons to maintain their life, or to terminate their life if the person chooses to do so, or to take such necessary actions to protect themselves from infringement of this right, shall not be abridged or denied by the state, any person, or any legal entity.
Section VII
The right of persons to possess property, and to protect it from theft by the state or any person or entity, shall not be abridged or denied by the state, any person, or any legal entity.
Section VIII
The state shall not abridge or deny the right of persons to, upon detention, holding, or imprisonment by the state, know the accusations against them, their rights under the Constitution and law, and have access to a legal counsel designated by the person. The state must file criminal charges with the Judiciary within 2 days of imprisonment, detention, or holding.
Section IX
Such charged persons shall be subjected to a trial by jury within 30 days of charges being filed. The jury shall presume that the charged person is innocent until proven guilty, and if found guilty, such person shall be subject to a sentence as determined by the jury, not to exceed 10 years without the possibility of parole or other similar action.
Section X
In court proceedings, parties shall have the right to compel witnesses to testify before the court on matters concerning the charges brought against the accused person. Such witnesses shall take an oath to express non-false information relating to the case, under penalty of perjury, and shall retain the right to decline to answer questions if such answers will incriminate the witness.
Section XI
The state shall not abridge or deny the right of persons to be protected from arbitrary state searches and seizures of the person and the person’s property. A search or seizure is not arbitrary if the Judiciary has issued a warrant, based on probable cause that a crime has been committed, describing the specific property or persons to be searched or seized.
Section XII
The terms of court sentencing shall not infringe on a sentenced person’s rights as a person, but may infringe on rights as a citizen for the duration of such sentencing.
Section XIII
No person detained, held, or imprisoned, shall be subjected to any action which inflicts severe mental or physical pain or punishment upon the person.
Section XIV
No person shall be forced by the state, any entity, or any person, to perform labor or duties without their consent.
Section XV
A person shall be considered a citizen if they have resided upon the jurisdiction of Proculia for more than 1 calendar year. A person’s citizenship may only be terminated if the person has attained citizenship in another state, or self-terminated status as citizen in a statement filed with the Judiciary.
Article IV: Amendment
This Constitution may be amended with additional articles one of two methods:
- a) A proposal for amendment proposed by a Secretary or Chairman attains a majority of votes in the Cabinet, and a majority of votes in a referendum in which all citizens shall have suffrage.
- b) A petition for amendment proposed by a citizen receives the valid signatures of more than 10 percent of citizens, and attains a majority of votes in a referendum in which all citizens shall have suffrage.
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