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Constitution of Whales

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The Constitution of the Principality of Whales (1687:001–M), adopted in 1687 by the House of Nobles following the lengthy constitutional convention of Two Martyrs, entered force in 1688 AN. The constitution was withdrawn for revision in 1719 AN.

Full text

Preamble

CONSTITUTION OF THE PRINCIPALITY OF WHALES
鯨國公國憲法
VERFASSUNG DES FÜRSTENTUMS WALSTAATS

We, the Lords and Ladies of the Two Martyrs, convened by the glorious command and mere motion of Her Imperial Magnificence Lady Salome Ylva Octavia, Kaiseress of Shireroth, Matriarch of the House of Ayreon-Kalirion, Lady of Senkyōwan/Zauberförde, Progeny of the Once-Living God, etc., and, by the Caprine Code, Head of these Lands, recalling the Caprine Code (Chapter XI, Section 1), which states that "The Viceroyalty of the Two Martyrs is governed under a constitution that the Nobles of the Two Martyrs shall write and adopt", and having met and discussed all issues of governance, We have agreed to a set of rules for the governing of these lands, and we have therefore written and adopted the following Constitution of the Principality of Whales:

ARTICLE 1. ON THE PRINCIPALITY

  1. The land heretofore known as Two Martyrs shall be renamed “Principality of Whales” in Natspeak, 「鯨國公國」 or “Kujiraguni Kōkoku” in Sangunese, and „Fürstentum Walstaat“ in Saxon.
  2. The capital of the Principality shall remain at Asara Eliana, which shall be renamed 「鯨京」 or “Kujira-kei” in Sangunese, and „Hauptstadt Walstadt“ in Saxon.
  3. The symbols of the Principality shall be as determined by law.
  4. The official languages of the Principality are Sangunese and Saxon, which shall enjoy co-equal status. Natspeak, when written in the Istvanistani script, may be used cross-communally. A local lord may provide for the protection, education, and usage of other languages in complement to the Sangunese, Saxon and Istvanistani languages.
  5. The total expenditures made by the Principality in a fiscal year shall not exceed the total receipts made by the Principality in that the preceding fiscal year.
  6. The Principality forsakes for itself and its lordships the right to take on debts and loans that require more than one fiscal year to repay.
  7. The Principality forsakes for itself and its lordships the right to assess the death penalty.
  8. The writ of habeas corpus shall not be suspended except when, in cases of dire insurrection or invasion, the public safety may require it.
  9. No law shall forbid the free exercise of religion, or abstinence from religion.

ARTICLE 2. ON THE EXECUTIVE POWER

  1. The Principality shall be governed by a monarch, titled “Prince of Whales”, or “Princess of Whales” if female, in Istvanistani, 「鯨公」 or “Kujira-no-ōyake” in Sangunese, and „Fürst der Wale“ or „Fürstin der Wale“ in Saxon, in whom the executive power shall be vested.
  2. The style of the Prince of Whales shall be “His Grace”.
  3. The title of Prince of Whales shall be governed by the law of absolute primogeniture among a late Prince's legitimate descendants, with respect to the primacy of a late Prince of Whales' will. Without a will, and without legitimate descendants, the title shall pass to Prince Kir's father's descendants under the same law of absolute primogeniture.
  4. A regent shall be appointed to provide for the Prince of Whales before they attain the age of twenty-five years, or when two thirds of the House of Lords, by division, judges them unable to discharge the executive power, or upon proclamation of the same by the Prince of Whales in their own hand.
  5. The Prince of Whales shall serve as commander in chief of the naval and land forces of the Principality.
  6. The Prince of Whales shall have the duty and power to create, appoint, and dismiss Officers of the Principality, on commission, and to request their opinion, in writing, on any subject relating to the duties of their offices.
  7. The Prince of Whales shall have the power to grant pardons for offenses against the Principality, except in cases of impeachment.
  8. The Prince of Whales shall have the power, with the advice and consent of the House of Lords:
    1. To make agreements with other powers, entities, organizations, companies, states, and governments;
    2. To provide charters for principality-owned companies outside the competences of the lordships;
    3. To provide for noble, chivalric, and honorable orders;
  9. All such areas of law that are not granted to the Bovic Empire of the Natopian Nation, the provinces, or the lordships belong exclusively to the Principality. In particular, it is incumbent on the Principality to regulate, fund, and maintain:
    1. The enforcement of laws and judgments;
    2. The demesnal courts;
    3. The demesnal police;
    4. The naval and land forces;
    5. Specialist health care services;
    6. Post-secondary education;
    7. Intercity, interprovincial, and international public transport;
    8. The airports, spaceports, and harbors;
    9. Environmental regulations; and
    10. The retirement of civil servants.
  10. The Prince of Whales shall retain the Principal Prerogative in all its forms, provided its use is not repugnant to this Constitution.
  11. The Prince of Whales must take care that the laws and decrees be faithfully executed.

ARTICLE 3. ON THE LEGISLATIVE POWER

  1. Legislative power shall be vested in the Prince of Whales and in the Legislative Council, which shall consist of a House of Lords and a House of Assembly.
  2. No person shall be a member of either House who is not a citizen of the Principality, who has not attained the age of twenty-five years, and who is not ordinarily resident in the lordship for which they shall be chosen.
  3. When vacancies occur in the representation from any lordship, that lord shall issue writs of election to fill those vacancies.
  4. The presiding officer of neither House shall have a vote unless their House is equally divided.
  5. Each House shall be the judge of the elections, returns, and qualifications of its members, and a majority of each shall constitute a quorum.
  6. Each House may set its own rules and punish its members for unruly behavior.
  7. Each House shall keep and, from time to time, publish, a journal of its proceedings, including the yeas and nays of its members on any question.
  8. Neither House shall, without the consent of the other, adjourn for more than seven days, convene while the other is adjourned, or adjourn to any extraordinary place.
  9. Excepting high crimes and misdemeanors, members of each House shall be privileged from arrest during their attendance upon their respective Houses.
  10. The seat of any member of either House who is appointed or elected an Officer of the Principality shall remain vacant during their service in such office.
  11. Every Act of the Legislative Council shall, before it becomes a law, be presented to the Prince. If they approve, they shall affix the Principal Sign-manual; otherwise, they shall return it, with their specific objections, to the House in which it originated, which shall enter those objections on its journal and reconsider the Act. If, after reconsideration, two thirds of each House approves, by division, of the Act, it shall become a law.
  12. No ex post facto law may be laid before either House.
  13. No direct tax shall be assessed that is not apportioned proportionally to the census ordered by this Constitution.

ARTICLE 4. ON THE HOUSE OF ASSEMBLY

  1. The House of Assembly shall consist of representatives elected every third year by the common folk of the Principality. Their number shall be set by law, but shall never be less than one representative per lordship, and shall never be more than one for every ten thousand common folk.
  2. In furtherance of the above, a census of the common folk shall be conducted as soon as practicable, and every twelve years thereafter.
  3. The House of Assembly shall choose its Speaker, and shall have the sole power of impeachment.
  4. Representatives shall receive a compensation for their services, to be fixed by law and paid from the Principal treasury.
  5. No representative shall, during the term for which they were elected, be appointed or elected to an office of the Principality that was created or had its compensation increased during that term.

ARTICLE 5. ON THE HOUSE OF LORDS

  1. The House of Lords shall consist of all titled nobility in the Principality.
  2. The heir to the throne of the Principality or, whenever the heir is a minor, the eldest lord, shall act as president of the House of Lords, with a president pro tempore to be appointed from among the members of the House of Lords in their absence.
  3. The House of Lords shall have the sole power to try all impeachments. When sitting for that purpose, they shall be on oath or affirmation, and the Lord Chief Justice shall preside. No person so tried shall be convicted without the concurrence of two thirds of all members.
  4. Judgment in cases of impeachment shall extend only so far as to removal from office and disqualification to hold noble office or an Office of the Principality, but persons so convicted shall be liable under the law.

ARTICLE 6. ON THE JUDICIAL POWER

  1. The judicial power is vested in the Court of Cassation, the Court of Admiralty, and such inferior courts that may be established.
  2. Judges of these courts shall hold their offices at His Grace's pleasure, and shall be compensated for their service. This compensation shall not be decreased during their term in office.
  3. The judicial power shall extend to all cases, at law and at equity, arising under this Constitution and the laws of the Principality.
  4. The Prince of Whales cannot be brought before the court without their consent.
  5. In all cases to which an Officer of the Principality is a party, the Courts of Cassation and of Admiralty shall have original jurisdiction.
  6. The power of judicial review shall rest solely with the Court of Cassation.

ARTICLE 7. ON LORDSHIPS

  1. The Principality is divided into several lordships, each equal to the other in rank and dignity.
  2. The Prince of Whales may, whenever new land is acquired in the name of the Principality, divide such land into new lordships and decide upon their provincial belonging. Similarly, the Prince of Whales may assign lords to vacant lordships.
  3. The lord owns all land and natural resources within their lordship, and may also tax its resident inhabitants and legal persons.
  4. Each year, one third of all proceeds from a lordship shall be set aside and brought to the coffers of the lordship's provincial overlord.
  5. All powers not otherwise delegated to a province, the Principality, or the Bovic Empire of the Natopian Nation are reserved to the lordships themselves.
  6. The Prince of Whales may, with the advice and consent of the House of Lords, adjust or divide lordships, rename them, and declare their borders.

ARTICLE 8. ON PROVINCES

  1. Lordships are grouped geographically into provinces, headed by an overlord.
  2. The Prince of Whales will, from time to time, call upon a lord or lady within a province to act as that province's overlord. As such, the overlord will head the Council of Lords.
  3. One half of all tributes collected by the lordships will remain with the overlord for matters of provincial importance; the other half will be set aside to the Prince of Whales for matters of demesnal importance.
  4. Each province shall have a Conference of Tenants to advise the provincial overlord. This conference shall be elected by the people in regular elections in a manner decided by that province's Council of Lords.
  5. Each province shall have a Council of Lords, which shall, along with the Overlord, execute the legislative power of the province.
  6. Each lord within a province is responsible to execute the provincial decisions within his or her lordship.
  7. It is the duty of each province, within that province, to provide for:
    1. Primary health care;
    2. Social services;
    3. Elder care;
    4. Primary and secondary education;
    5. Construction and maintenance of roads; and
    6. Land transportation.

ARTICLE 9. ON AMENDMENTS

  1. The Legislative Council may propose amendments to this Constitution, as may the Prince of Whales by their own hand, or fifteen per cent of citizens, by petition; but no Act of Amendment shall be passed without the concurrence of two thirds of each House, by division, or without the Principal Sign-manual.
  2. No amendment to this Constitution altering the rights or powers of the Prince of Whales, or the Principal succession, may be made during a period of regency.

ARTICLE 10. TRANSITIONAL PROVISIONS

  1. All lordships previously in existance within the Principality shall continue upon the enactment of this Constitution.
  2. The lordship of Elfinschenheide (妖精林, Yōseibayashi) is disestablished, its lands and private property divided amongst neighboring lordships, its lord attainted, and any members of the Vanic cult to be disposed of as provided by law.
  3. The following provinces are recognized upon the enactment of this Constitution:
    1. The Province of Asara Eliana;
    2. The Province of the Islands of Light;
    3. The Province of Monovia;
    4. The Province of Shintakushima; and
    5. The Province of Volksburg.
  4. The first Prince of Whales under this Constitution shall be His Imperial Highness Prince Kir Azariah Vidar, Lord of Kigazeki, Progeny of the Once-Living God, etc. etc. etc.
  5. The Lady of Kin'uyama shall serve as regent to the Prince of Whales until he attains the age of twenty-five years.

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