Articles of the Imperial Union
OBSOLETE - Needs update
Preamble:
We the people of the Imperial Union of Planets establish this constitution to protect the rights and culture of the people within our empire. To establish an empire which will the stability and security of this galaxy and beyond.
Article I: Civilians
A. Civilians are defined as those whom have not worked within any branch of the Imperial Military or Imperial Public Sector Service. Civilians have less rights than those whom are granted the privilege of the title of Citizen, service in any branch of the military of Imperial of the Union of Planets guarantees citizenship.
B. Civilians are granted basic rights, they may not vote for senators nor for committee or presidium matters, this however does not exclude them from the democratic rights that are unique to their own homeworld's policies.
C. Civilians may not falsely claim that they speak for The Imperial Union of Planet's governing body especially if their message is slanderous or insulting as this will be considered an act of high treason.
D. Willingly making use of government provided public sector services such as social welfare and healthcare, implies consent with the monarchy and structure of the government as a whole.
Article II: Citizens
A. Anyone wishing to become a citizen of must serve in the military of Imperial of the Union of Planets or Imperial Public Sector Service in some form, service guarantees citizenship.
B. Citizens may vote for senators within the Imperial Senate.
C. Citizens may run for the position of Senator within the Imperial Senate, further they may also serve on committees and the presidium.
D. Citizens may not falsely claim that they speak for The Imperial Union of Planets especially if their message is slanderous or insulting as this will be considered an act of high treason.
E. Willingly making use of government services such as social welfare and healthcare, implies consent with the monarchy and structure of the government as a whole.
Article II: The Monarchy
Sub-Section 1. The Monarch
A. The Emperor (or Empress) is the ceremonial Representative of the Empire. The Emperor (or Empress) serves until retirement or death. Every Monarch is appointed by their predecessor and ascends to the office upon the termination of the latter's reign. In the absence of the Monarch, the Crown Prince(ess) shall execute the duties of the Monarch.
B. The Emperor (or Empress) shall have the power to veto treaties with foreign entities and to veto ministerial & committee programs.
C. The Emperor (or Empress) shall have the power to forward declarations of war to the Imperial Senate.
D. The Emperor (or Empress) shall have the honorary title of Shogun of the Union, the Shogun is the ceremonial head of all military forces within the Empire.
Sub-Section 2. Crown Prince(ess)
A. The Crown Prince(ess) will serve for life or until dismissal by the Monarch. B. The Crown Prince(ess) will have all the powers of the Monarch when the Monarch has posted a leave of absence lasting more than 3 days. This does not include the signing or cancellation of treaties. C. If the Crown Prince(ess) is unavailable along with the Monarch, the Senate is declared regent until either the Monarch or the Crown Prince(ess) returns.
Sub-Section 3. The Viceroy
A. The Viceroy, speaks for the monarchy when the monarch or crown prince(ess) is otherwise unavailable.
Article III: Executive and Judicial System
A. The Presidium of the Empire
The Presidium of the Empire is the head of government in The Imperial Union of Planets. It is made up of the President, Vice-President, The Secretariat of the Empire & the Committee of Internal Affairs. Members of the Presidium cannot hold the office of senator or lord at the same time as the office of Presidium. The Presidium may veto bills that have passed through Imperial Senate if the bill has not been vetoed once before. The Presidium may also declare bills that have passed through Imperial Senate “on hold” for up to one week, the same bill cannot be put on hold twice. The Presidium shall be overseer of the Imperial Senate, but shall have no Vote, unless it is a tie or a stalemated vote at which time they may cast one vote.
B. The President
The President of the Empire is the cohead of the Presidium of the Empire, they act as prime minister of congress and as a foreign affairs official when called for. The President is elected once every 5 cycles, they may only be elected two terms in a row. The President has one vote within the Presidium.
C. The Vice-President
The Vice-President is chosen by the current president. The Vice-President shall take the place of the President should the president during their term become impeached or otherwise be unable to conduct their duty.
D. Secretariat of the Empire
The Secretariat of the Empire is headed by the General Secretary and the title of General Secretary is granted to the Monarch, their job within this role is to advise the central government on the interests of the Monarchy. The Secretariat of the Empire gets one vote in constitutional amendments.
E. Imperial Directors
Imperial Directors are appointed by the Presidium and serve until they retire or are dismissed. An Imperial Directors primary job is keeping their specific are of government functioning and to work with the Presidium to accomplish goals decided by the Imperial Senate. Imperial Directors may also go in the place of the Presidium to political or diplomatic meetings if ordered to do so, although their authority to speak for the Presidium is limited as they may not make any agreements to treaties or diplomatic accords with out the express permission of the Monarch.
F. The Supreme Court
The Supreme Court is the highest court in IUOP and is headed by the Judicial Fairness Committee, it also has the duty of interpreting the constitutionality of laws passed by the Imperial Senate and redirecting bills back to Senate which are not constitutional for rewrite. The Supreme Court may also call for investigations into perceived abuses of executive and congressional power at the behest of the Monarch or the Committee for State Security.
Subsection-A: Court Inquisitor
1. The Supreme Court shall appoint a court inquisitor to investigate all court cases. 2. The Court Inquisitor independently investigates all cases, presenting their findings to the judge.
G. Committees
The following four Committees are pre-established and cannot be abolished without a Congressional super majority and approval of the Monarch. All Committees are Chaired by the General Secretary who may vote in the committee as they please.
Subsection-A: Committee for Internal Affairs
A. The Director of the Committee for Internal Affairs is appointed by the House of Lords.
B. The Director of the Committee for Internal Affairs has one vote within the Presidium.
Subsection-B: Committee for State Security
A. The Director of the Committee for State Security is appointed by the House of Lords.
Subsection-C: Committee for Foreign Affairs
A. The Director of the Committee for Foreign Affairs is appointed by the Imperial Senate.
Subsection-D: Judicial Fairness Committee
A. The Director of the Judicial Fairness Committee is appointed by the House of Lords.
B. The Judicial Fairness Committee handles senatorial elections and holds the duty of ensuring a fair impartial review of votes from said elections.
Subsection-E: Amending the powers of the committees
A. The Imperial Congress may vote to amend the powers of the committees through creation of a sub-committee to define the new powers of said main committee, this committee upon creating a new outline for powers must get both chambers of Congress's supermajority approval. This subcommittee is disbanded upon either success or failure on current referendum.
Article IV: The Imperial Congress of the Imperial Union of Planets
Section-A. The Imperial Congress is the legislative & executive branch of the Imperial Union of Planets, Its primary duties are to mediate any disputes between various factions, to regulate trade between other nations and the Imperial Union of Planets, to run the day to day affairs on the empire, to protect and care for civilians & citizens in need and to provide mutual defense in the face of threats to the Imperial Union of Planets. The laws passed in the Imperial Congress, once signed by the Presidium, are considered binding to all Civilians & Citizens. The Imperial Congress shall also create yearly budgets and votes on general wages, with the exception of their own. The Imperial Congress of the Imperial Union of Planets is divided into two sections the Imperial Senate and the House of Lords. both work together to form coherent and efficient bills to better The Imperial Union of Planets as a whole.
Section-B. Imperial Senate
Senators are elected and serve until impeached, retirement or their term is up. Senate seats are established by each member-world by the laws, customs and population of said member-world. Each member-world is granted two seats in the Imperial Senate. A senator cannot hold the office of Presidium or lord at the same time as the office of Senator.
Other duties of the senate shall be as follows:
A. Review and debate all offers of international organization membership.
B. Review and debate the establishment of new government departments.
C. Review and debate the status of Special Administrative Districts within the empire.
D. Review and debate the status of the military of each member planet.
E. The duty of the impeaching inactive or corrupt members of the House of Lords by declaring a no confidence vote against said inactive individuals.
F. Promote higher standards of living, full employment, and conditions of economic and social progress.
G. Develop solutions to interplanetary economic, social, health, and related problems.
H. Promote interplanetary cultural and educational cooperation
Section-C. House of Lords
House of Lords members are chosen by the Monarch on the advice of the President. Lords serve until they are impeached or retire of their own volition. Each Lord gets one vote in the House of Lords. The be applicable for appointment to a seat within the house of lords one must be a Duke or greater within the nobility system.
Section-D. Voting Process Within The Senate And House of Lords
1. A bill may begin in either the House of Lords or Senate by their respective members.
2. Bills may be introduced into the House of Lords or Senate by their respective leaders, upon passing a bill the bill shall be sent to the opposing branch and must pass or it will return to the branch it started from. Bills may be altered by the opposing branch upon receiving it.
3. Bill discussion will take place for a period of no less than 8 hours, but no more than 7 days. If a majority (defined herein as 50% + 1) of the membership of the applicable body active during the time allotted voice support for the bill before the 7 day time limit is reached then the motion will be considered passed and carried. If it does not reach the majority before the 7 day limit, the motion will fail.
4. The same bill may only be brought to Imperial Senate twice.
5. The Presidium signs bills into law to make them enacted, after which the monarch may review them for final approval if they desire to-do so. If the Presidium does not sign the bill into law within 48 hours it automatically goes to the Monarch.
6. If in any situation the exact definition bears significance and arises doubt and/or controversy the Supreme Court may be consulted for a decision.
Article VI: Economic Structure
Section A - The economy of Imperial Union of Planets is to be based on a systematic and well thought-out combination of long term and short term plans as produced by Imperial Senate and to be worked out in cooperation with the free market.
Section B - Citizens have the right to form and maintain their own Corporations within The Imperial Union of Planets so long as they are approved the Imperial Congress.
Section C - All unclaimed property is viewed as being in the possession of the Monarch but may be contracted out to anyone seeking to use it for the betterment of the Imperial Union of Planets, however Individuals that have laboured on a certain unclaimed property may claim ownership of said property unless contractually obligated to else-wise.
Section D – The Imperial Congress & Presidium shall work together and have the power to conduct taxation and establish and raise an Imperial Tithe.
Article VII: The Rights and Rules of Member Worlds & Special Administrative Districts
1. Member Worlds & Special Administrative Districts may structure their own local government so long as it does not oppose the imperial government or act against the constitution of the Imperial Union of Planets.
2. Member Worlds & Special Administrative Districts may not make alliances with foreign entities on their own in such a way as to act outside the Imperial governments jurisdiction.
3. Member Worlds & Special Administrative Districts may not make their own war declarations independent of the Imperial Government.
4. Member World's legal representative(s) may negotiate on their own with other Member Worlds & Special Administrative Districts for economic agreements, infrastructural cooperation and with the Imperial government so as to implement these agreements.
5. All Member Worlds & Special Administrative Districts must keep the Imperial government informed of major changes within their structure, such as elections, government changes, and changes in economic policies.
6. All Member Worlds & Special Administrative Districts are bound by laws passed by the Imperial Congress.
7. A person charged in any state with treason, felony, or other crime, who flees from justice into another Member World, shall on demand of the executive authority of the Member World from which the criminal fled, be delivered to the Member World having jurisdiction of the crime.
Article VIII: Rights of Citizens
A. The Imperial Congress shall make no law respecting a state religion, nor prohibit the free exercise of any religion which does not harm without consent. The Imperial Congress shall also make no law restricting the rights of non-religious persons for reasons relating to their non-religiousness.
B. The Imperial Congress shall make no law which prevents peaceful assembly of the people for protesting and solidarity purposes.
C. A well regulated Planetary Guard, being necessary to the unity and security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms when serving in the Planetary Guard shall not be infringed.
Article IX: Imperial Starfleet
A. Imperial Starfleet is the armed peacekeeping forces of the Imperial Union of Planets.
B. The operations and actions of Starfleet shall at all times be under the direct cognizance of the Imperial Senate and the Presidium which shall also prepare and approve the budget for Starfleet operations.
C. The Imperial Senate shall review and approve expansions of starbases and other facilities as shall seem appropriate from time to time in the maintenance of interplanetary peace and security.
D. The Imperial Senate shall establish the standards for training officers and personnel of Starfleet.
E. Further, Imperial Starfleet shall be entrusted to ensure the loyalty of member worlds.
Article X: People's Imperial Defense Force – The Mobile Infantry, & Planetary Defense Forces of the Empire
A. The armed forces of The Imperial Union of Planets tasks are to strengthen national defense, resist aggression, defend the motherland, participate in national reconstruction, and work hard to serve the people. The Central Government supports the rapid advancement of military technologies, both defensive and offensive, and the revolutionizing, modernization, and regularization of the armed forces in order to increase the national defense capability.
B. With the structure of the People's Imperial Defense Force shall be a planetary defense regiment known as the Imperial Guard, each planet shall have a defense regiment assigned to it. The Imperial Guard shall be made of volunteers from the member world said unit is established on, though with congressional approval in cases of emergency conscription can be permitted.
Article XI: Cultural Definitions
A. The most important holiday in the Imperial Union of Planets is Liberation Day. Liberation Day celebrates the July Revolution wherein the Imperial Union of Planets was officially founded with the signing of the Articles of the Imperial Union on July 9th, 2379.
B. The official symbol of the Imperial Union of Planets is the milky-way galaxy with a sword through it.
Article XII: Imperial Tithe
A. The Imperial Tithe is a complicated contract worked out according to each planet's ability to pay. The Imperial Congress and Presidium are involved in the process. Smaller planetary committees may be tasked with duties such as assessing tithe rates, measuring collections, and monitoring any fluctuations. It is the duty of each planetary governor to ensure the Imperial Tithe is paid. Willful breach of Tithe payment is to be investigated and parties found guilty in a court of law are to be punished harshly with exile or execution.
Article XIII: Amendments to the Constitution or Law Creation
Any member of Imperial Senate can submit a motion to the Imperial Senate Floor. Discussion will take place for a period of no less than 8 hours but no more than 10 days. If a supermajority (defined herein as 75% + 1) of the voting Imperial Senate membership voice support for the amendment before the 10 day time limit is reached then the motion will be considered passed and carried. Each change to the constitution requires a separate vote for each change to be considered passed and carried.
Enacted, July 9th, 2379. Revised August 14th, 2379.
