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Document of Governance for the Unified Governorates of Benacia

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THE DOCUMENT OF GOVERNANCE

FOR THE REALM OF

THE UNIFIED GOVERNORATES OF BENACIA

First Promulgated by Congressional Edict in the Fourth Session of the Congress of Chryse

______________________________________________________________

Chapter One – Establishment of the Governing Order

Article 1 – Establishment

  1. The Realm of the Unified Governorates of Benacia, as a member Realm within the Benacian Union, retains all the rights, prerequisite entitlements, and obligations set forth under the Charter of the Benacian Union.
  2. The Constitution of Drakorda is hereby set aside and superceded by this Document.
  3. All title to lands and properties, all material goods, all resources of the land, the waters, and the air, all living creatures, and all sapient beings, of the territory of the Unified Governorates of Benacia, are subject to the provisions of this document.

Article 2 – Territory

  1. The Unified Governorates of Benacia incorporate:
  2. The territory of the Unified Governorates of Benacia shall include the territories of its constituent parts, inland waters and territorial sea, and the airspace over them.
  3. The Unified Governorates of Benacia shall possess sovereign rights and exercise jurisdiction over the continental shelf and in its exclusive economic zone according to the norms of Union law and Congressional Edicts.
  4. The borders between the constituent parts of the Unified Governorates of Benacia may be changed upon the mutual consent of the Governors of those parts. Such changes may be reversed by a majority vote within the Board of the Realm’s General Staff.

Article 3 – Sovereignty

  1. The exercise of sovereignty over the territory and community of the Unified Governorates of Benacia is invested in the Civilian Executive.
  2. The territorial integrity of the Unified Governorates of Benacia shall be inviolable; no portion of its territory may be alienated without the unanimous consent of the Governorates.
  3. Should any portion of the territory of the Unified Governorates of Benacia be alienated, ceded, or occupied by any power, foreign or domestic, contrary to its will or the rule of law, it shall be the duty of the Unified Governorates of Benacia to sustain active resistance, without let, cessation, or compromise, until the aforementioned territory is regained or determined to be lawfully occupied.
  4. Any subjects, whether in the capacity of acting as a public servant or private civilian, found to be complicit in the unlawful alienation of any portion of the Unified Governorates of Benacia or the Benacian Union, shall forfeit their right to life and property immediately upon the revelation of their treason.

Article 4 – Community of the Realm

  1. The Community of the Realm, the political, social, and economic life of the Unified Governorates of Benacia shall be open to all who share in the singular heritage, culture, and values of Benacia; who acknowledge the sublime influence of the Highest Divinity in shaping the fortunes of man; who rejoice in the Human Supremacy, and who are committed to the establishment of a full and perpetual political unity on the Benacian continent.
  2. Participation in the Community of the Realm shall be restricted to Subjects meeting the aforementioned criteria who have been registered by the Benacian Censorate.
  3. Foreigners may participate in the social and economic life of the Unified Governorates of Benacia only to the extent to which they are permitted by the lawful authority responsible for their supervision.
  4. Persons enlisted in any allied formation serving with Benacia Command, shall enjoy respect and deference commensurate with their rank.
  5. Subjects who have been determined by lawful authority to lack the essential qualities of potentiality, utility, and merit, may be excluded from the Community of the Realm at the direction of the lawful authority.

Chapter Two – The Executive and Legislative Power

Article 1 - The Szodan of the Realm and the President of the Realm’s General Staff

  1. The Szodan of the Realm of the Unified Governorates of Benacia shall represent the Civil Executive in sub-Union relations, declare states of emergency within the realm, and conclude peace in the name of the same, enter into contracts and other conventions with other parties, accredit legates, and receive emissaries. For the declaration of a state of emergency the consent of the General Staff shall be required. Except in case of an attack upon the territory of the Unified Governorates of Benacia or its coasts or in the event of a natural disaster or calamity affecting the same.
  2. The President of the Realm’s General Staff shall have the right to convene the Board of the Realm’s General Staff and to open, adjourn, and close sessions.
  3. The President of the Realm’s General Staff, to be appointed by the Szodan of the Realm, shall preside over the Realm’s Board of the General Staff, and – through the establishment of a secretariat – supervise the conduct of its business. The President of the Realm’s General Staff shall have the right to delegate the power to represent them to any member of the Board of the Realm’s General Staff.
  4. To the President of the Realm’s General Staff shall belong the right to prepare and publish Directives. The Directives shall be published in the name of the Civil Executive, and require for their validity the assent of the Szodan of the Realm, who thereby becomes responsible for their execution.
  5. The President of the Realm’s General Staff may issue Directives on behalf of the Szodan upon all matters not yet covered in the provisions of law or codified within this document.
  6. The President of the Realm’s General Staff may appoint, on the advice of the Szodan of the Realm, the Steward to use the Sovereign Bureau to perform such tasks and advise on such matters that touch upon the personal interests and assets of the Szodan of the Realm.
  7. The Szodan may, at their pleasure, appoint Governors to the Governorates of their Realm.
  8. The assent of the Szodan may be represented by an absolute majority vote in the Legislative Corps as a symbol of their legislative supremacy over executive and judicial functions within the realm.

Article 2 - The Civil Executive

  1. The Civil Executive shall comprise all serving Commissioners and their Deputies as listed in Article 45 of the Union Charter. In the event that a Commissioner is deemed unable to fulfill their duties, on the advice of the President of the Realm’s General Staff, the relevant Deputy Commissioner will act instead until either their superior returns or has been replaced.
  2. Positional hierarchy on the Civil Executive shall be established and amended by the President of the Realm’s General Staff, on the advice of the Szodan of the Realm.
  3. The President of the Realm’s General Staff shall preside over the Civil Executive. The President shall not cast a vote unless it is to break a tie.
  4. The Board of the Realm’s General Staff shall conduct legislative sessions in public. If the Civil Executive so resolves, it may meet in private, provided that all measures passed by it are immediately released to the Community of the Realm, and that within six calendar months the full records must be released to the Commission for the Panopticon of the Benacian Union.
  5. The Szodan of the Realm, on the advice of the President of the Realm’s General Staff, may veto the release of full records to the public if they are satisfied that the safety and comfort of the Community of the Realm and the greater Union would be endangered by doing so.
  6. The Civil Executive may conduct investigations within the realm and may demand the presence and testimony of witnesses and the production of records for the purposes of such investigations.
  7. The Civil Executive shall:
    1. Safeguard the liberties, rights and freedoms of the Community of the Realm;
    2. Sign treaties;
    3. Establish the budget of the Government and authorize taxation;
    4. Secure the borders of the Unified Governorates of Benacia’s territories and integrate new lands to the Realm.

Article 3 - The Board of the Realm’s General Staff

  1. The Board of the Realm’s General Staff, shall be composed of, in addition to the Szodan of the Realm, the President of the Realm’s General Staff, and the Deputy Commissioners of the Civil Executive:
    • The Steward, responsible for the Sovereign Bureau of the Szodan of the Realm;
    • The Marshal, responsible for the maintenance of the State Guard;
    • The Governor of the Treasury, responsible for the finance policy and economic policy of the Realm including the regulation of revenues, finance, corporations, and guilds;
    • The Governor of Public Instruction and Safety, responsible for State Security, the Territorial Command, Public Order Troops, Aviation Police, and Coast Guard;
    • The Governor of Logistics, responsible for communications, information technology, and media coordination;
    • The Governor of Internal Affairs, responsible for education, health, liaison with local governments, rehabilitation and re-education, and Subjects' affairs;
    • The Governor of Works, responsible for technology research and development, heavy industry, agriculture, infrastructure, transport, and mines & forestries.
  2. Governors of the Civil Executive shall be selected by the President of the Realm’s General Staff from those incumbent Governors serving to administer the territory of the Unified Governorates of Benacia. Such offices within the Board of the Realm’s General Staff are relinquished with the end of the appointed Governor’s territorial administration.
  3. The activities of the Civil Executive shall be coordinated with the Board of the Realm’s General Staff.
  4. The Board of the Realm’s General Staff is responsible before the Civil Executive.

Article 4 - The Legislative Corps

  1. The Legislative Corps shall comprise those Subjects elected by the Community of the Realm as Jurats. The manner and method of election is determined by an Edict passed by a plurality of the Legislative Corps.
  2. The Legislative Corps shall not afford less than eight seats to each Bailiwick listed in Article 2 of Chapter One of this document.
  3. The Legislative Corps shall scrutinise the institutions of the Realm, and act as an arbiter between them.
  4. The advice and consent of the Legislative Corps shall be sought by the Board of the Realm’s General Staff before the adoption of legislation.

Chapter Three – The Judicial Power

Article 1 – Precepts of Justice and Common Law

  1. Any act or failure to perform an act may be considered a crime if it is found to be harmful to the Community of the Realm or displeasing to higher authority by reason of being contrary to Common Law or else is in violation of the precepts of endorsed by the United Ecclesiastical Corporation of Benacia.
  2. Any parties or individuals who may cause a holder of superior office or an institution of state to be brought to trial through their accusation will be made to endure the penalty which they have sought for the accused if a court constituted under lawful authority rules against them.
  3. The decisions and verdicts of the courts shall set precedent for what is or is not lawful conduct under Common Law.
  4. The courts of the Unified Governorates of Benacia shall faithfully implement the Criminal Code of the Benacian Union, modified as and when appropriate to the present circumstances.
  5. The Board of the Realm’s General Staff may establish Courts of Special Interests pertaining to the individual and collective areas of responsibility of its members.

Article 2 – The Powers of the Sovereign

  1. The Szodan of the Realm, as Sovereign within their Realm, is the font of justice for the Unified Governorates of Benacia. All crimes and civil pleadings may be brought to their attention or to that of the Civil Executive by application or upon appeal.
  2. The Szodan of the Realm may delegate to the Governors within the Realm by prerogative the authority to hear such cases as they are indisposed to hear himself concerning their respective Circuits.
  3. The Szodan of the Realm may establish by ordinance inferior and subordinate courts to hear such cases as arise from the Governorates as might be trivial to their concerns yet require the ministrations of justice nonetheless.
  4. The Szodan of the Realm may conduct special inquisitions against the powerful amongst their subjects as they deem necessary and appropriate.
  5. The Szodan of the Realm may appoint an Advocate to represent them in any and all matters pertaining to judicial and legal matters.

Article 3 – The Trial Procedure

  1. The Szodan of the Realm, or an appropriate subordinate representative, shall conduct an investigation and prepare charges against an individual who is subject to accusation.
    1. The Szodan of the Realm, or an appropriate subordinate representative, shall then preside over the court arraigned for the purpose of conducting a trial.
    2. A court shall comprise the presiding officer, a herald, a bailiff, a cudgeller, and twelve sages to compliment the presiding officer in their deliberations.
  2. The accused shall then be detained and brought to trial.
  3. The accused, having been brought to trial, shall be read the charges against them.
  4. The accused, having been afforded the opportunity to consider the charges, may make a vindication of their actions or else elect to submit to the mercy of the court.
    1. The accused may call upon the testimony of witnesses and material evidence to support their vindication, if it is pleasing to the court.
  5. If the accused appeals for mercy, the court may only record the verdict of guilt and assign the aforementioned to community service.
  6. The presiding officer, having heard the vindications of the accused may decide if they are satisfied or dissatisfied with what they have heard.
  7. If the presiding officer is satisfied, the accused may be found acquitted of the charges against them and discharged.
    1. If the discharged party was accused by an inferior, they may be entitled to demand that the accuser compensate legal expenses accrued over the course of the investigation and trial, in addition to being made subject to the sentence given by the court.
  8. If the presiding officer is dissatisfied, the accused shall be found guilty. The court may then impose a fine upon the condemned that is commensurate with the crime.

Article 4 – The Appeals Process

  1. Subjects may appeal the decisions and verdicts of inferior and subordinate courts at the Governorate level to the High Presidium of the Benacian Union.
  2. Subjects may appeal the decisions and verdicts of the HP/BU, as well as the decisions and verdicts of Courts of Special Interests, to the Congress of Chryse.
  3. Appeals may be halted by the Szodan of the Realm if they are satisfied with the verdict already attained.

Chapter Four – Governorates & Circuits

Article 1 – Governorates

  1. Governorates, as defined in Article 2 of Chapter One to this document, comprise the basic territorial subdivisions of the Unified Governorate of Benacia.
  2. Governorates must collect tribute from the bailiwicks established within their bounds and ensure the proper distribution of allocated resources to the same. To this end the Governorates shall appoint Bailiffs to rule the Bailiwicks as officers of the Governorates, to maintain the public peace, to uphold the civil and moral order, and to supervise the Halls of Allocation and Appropriation.
  3. Governorates are the subjects of the Circuits to which they have been assigned by the Szodan.
  4. Within the scope of delegated authority, the Governorates shall exercise their own legal regulation including the adoption of laws and other normative acts of government.
  5. Governors, appointed by the Szodan of the Realm, may summon consultative assemblies.

Article 2 – Circuits

  1. Circuits shall be under the discipline of Commissioners appointed by the Civil Executive of the Realm.
  2. The Commissioners of the Circuits shall conduct Assizes throughout the Circuits under the direction of the Guild of Magisters-Carnifex so as to assure the Community of the Realm of their continual supervision, vigilance, and presence.

Article 3 - Guild of Magisters-Carnifex

  1. The Guild of Magisters-Carnifex may, within those Governorates not assigned to a Circuit, create subordinate administrative divisions, known as Bailiwicks, and appoint corresponding officials.
  2. The Guild of Magisters-Carnifex is entrusted to ensure the implementation of the powers of the Unified Governorates of Benacia and the Benacian Union across the whole of their territory.

Chapter Five - Civic Rights

Article 1 - Subjecthood

  1. Subjects are born with potentiality, with regards to their utility, but not with merit which can only be earnt through the attestation of actual utility.
  2. Subjects acquire merit by completing their education to a satisfactory standard up to the age of fifteen, and through their induction into one of the guilds of Benacia, the Benacian Union Defence Force, the Nationalist & Humanist Party, the Honourable Company, or the United Ecclesiastical Corporation of Benacia.
  3. Liberty is bestowed in a manner and to a degree that accords with assessed merit.
  4. Those subjects who remain without merit past their fifteenth year, having failed to be inducted into any of the worthy institutions aforementioned, shall be declared to be marked as Protected Persons and assigned to the condition of Bondsmen, therefore to be subject to the authority of the Municipal Corporation of their Bailiwick, and obliged thereby to work as directed for their shelter and sustenance.
  5. No person shall be permitted to exercise the rights associated with subjecthood if they have not signed to the civic register of the Union Covenant in their bailiwick of residence.
  6. The Benacian Censorate shall monitor the advancement of Subjects through the Grades and Ranks. The decision of the Benacian Censorate regarding a subject's membership of a banner, and or possession of merit, shall be final.
  7. Loss of merit, leading to loss of status or placement under the condition of Protected Personhood, can be occasioned by:
    • Discommendation or dismissal by a guild or corporation;
    • Entering into a state of bankruptcy or of direct inheritance, with gratuitous title, to the succession, in whole or in part, of a bankrupt;
    • Entering into the condition of domestic service for wages, either for a person or a household;
    • Entering into the condition of judicial interdiction, of accusation, or of contempt of court.
  8. A person who violates the Union Covenant shall cease to enjoy the protection of the law, shall be denied the protections due to a Protected Person, and may be used at the discretion of authority until such time as their potential utility has been expended.

Article 2 - Grades of Subjecthood

  1. Based on their progression through the Table of Grades and Ranks of the Benacian Union, subjects with merit advance through grades of honour, these being:
    • The Meritorious;
    • The Honourable;
    • The Admirable;
    • The Illustrious;
    • The Serene;
    • The Magnificent.
  2. Each grade, from the least estimable (Meritorious), to most the most estimable (Magnificent), shall, within the confines of the bailiwick and the governorate of their residence, and any electoral district established within those, be registered within the banner of their corresponding grade.
  3. For the purpose of electing consultative assemblies, each banner in the relevant electoral district will be called forward to cast a vote, with the Magnificent casting their votes first, the Serene following after them, and the other grades thereafter in order of precedence, until the banner of the Meritorious being the last to vote. The vote of each banner shall be assigned collectively on the basis of the majority decision. The decision of an election or consultative vote shall be determined by the majority of banners.

Chapter Six – Final Provisions

Article 1 - Enactment

  1. This document shall come into effect from the date of its promulgation as an Edict by the Fourth Congress of Chryse.

Article 2 – Amendments

  1. This document may only be revised and amended with consent of the duly elected Jurats of the Legislative Corps by a three quarters majority, the consent of the Board of the Realm’s General Staff by a two-thirds majority, and the assent of the Szodan of the Realm.
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