Ransenar Royal Decree XII

Statistics Act

Palace of Termarth
Subject	Home affairs, national statistics
Decreed by	Queen Salome I Regent: Ruadh Aldric
Extent	Kingdom of Ransenar
Royal Assent	1.IX.1675 AN
Commencement	1.IX.1675 AN

RD-XII, or Ransenari Royal Decree XII, is the twelfth royal decree issued by the Queen of Ransenar, in 1.IX.1675 AN. It was issued from the Palace of Termarth in Goldfield, Ransenar.

This Royal Decree establishes the National Statistics Authority, along with rules and regulations on the production of national statistics and the census.

Countersignature

RD-XII was countersigned by the Regent, the Lord High Steward, and the Ministers of State, Education and Technology, and Trade and Finance.

Regent and Lord Protector

• Regent Ruadh Aldric

Transitional Government

• Lord Chief Steward and Minister of Foreign Affairs Sean O'Callaghan
• Minister of State
• Minister of Trade and Finance
• Minister of Education and Technology

Text

WHEREAS We wish to establish a law respecting the national statistics of the Kingdom of Ransenar, and organize the National Statistical System, among other purposes;

Article I. Definitions.

1. In this Decree,

• “Chief Statistician” means the Chief Statistician of Ransenar appointed under the provisions of this Decree;
• “Ministry, department, or departments of government” means any Cabinet ministry; government department, board, bureau, or other division of Her Majesty’s Government (hereafter referred to as "the government of Ransenar) or of the government of a Ransenari territorial subdivision or any agency of either;
• “identifying information” means any information that makes it possible to identify an individual person, business or organization;
• “Minister” means such member of the Cabinet as is designated by law for the purposes of this Decree;
• “respondent” means a person in respect of whom or in respect of whose activities any report or information is sought or provided pursuant to this Decree.

Article II. National Statistical Authority.

1. The National Statistical Authority is hereby created, to be known as NatStat, as an independent body corporate and part of the government of Ransenar.

2. NatStat shall serve as the premiere and central statistical authority of the Kingdom of Ransenar. Information produced by NatStat shall be authoritative and official.

3. The duties of NatStat are:

• to collect, compile, analyze, abstract and publish statistical information relating to the commercial, industrial, financial, social, economic and general activities and condition of the people;
• to collaborate with departments of government in the collection, compilation and publication of statistical information, including statistics derived from the activities of those departments;
• to take the census of the population of Ransenar and the census of agriculture of Ransenar as provided in this Act;
• to promote the avoidance of duplication in the information collected by departments of government; and
• generally, to promote and develop integrated social and economic statistics pertaining to the whole of Ransenar and to each of its states and possessions thereof and to coordinate plans for the integration of those statistics.

Article III. Chief Statistician.

1. The Lord High Steward, on the advice of the Cabinet, shall appoint the Chief Statistician of Ransenar to be the deputy head of NatStat.

2. The Chief Statistician holds office for a term of not more than five years during good behavior but may be removed for cause by the Lord High Steward, on the advice of the Cabinet.

3. The Chief Statistician is eligible to be reappointed for an additional term(s) of not more than five (5) AN years.

4. In the event of the absence or incapacity of the Chief Statistician, or if that office is vacant, the Lord High Steward may appoint any qualified person to hold that office in the interim for a term not exceeding six (6) AN months, and that person shall, while holding office, be paid the salary or other remuneration and expenses that may be fixed by the Ransenari Congress.

5. The Chief Statistician shall, in addition to any other duties imposed on him or her under any other provision of this Act:

• decide, based strictly on professional statistical standards that he or she considers appropriate, the methods and procedures for carrying out statistical programs regarding:
  • the collection, compilation, analysis, abstraction, and publication of statistical information that is produced or is to be produced by NatStat,
  • the content of statistical releases and publications issued by NatStat, and
  • the timing and methods of dissemination of statistics compiled by NatStat;
• advise on matters pertaining to statistical programs of the departments and agencies of the government of Ransenar, and confer with those departments and agencies to that end; and
• control the operations and staff of NatStat.

6. Each year, the Chief Statistician shall make a report to the Department of Interior on the activities of NatStat in the preceding year, and that report shall be included as a separate part of the Secretary’s reports to the Ransenari Congress.

7. Directives on any methods, procedures, and operations may only be issued to the Chief Statistician via Royal Decree or Ordinance of the Lord High Steward.

8. On the day on which an order is made, the Secretary of Interior shall cause a copy of the order to be tabled in the Ransenari Congress.

9. If the Ransenari Congress is not sitting, the order shall be sent to the Speaker of the Ransenari Congress within 15 days after the day on which the order is made.

10. The Secretary of Interior may issue directives to the Chief Statistician on the statistical programs that aim to collect, compile, analyze, abstract and publish statistics on all or any of the matters referred to in this Decree.

11. The Chief Statistician may require that any directive issued to him or her under this Decree be made in writing and made public before the Chief Statistician acts on it.

12. The Chief Statistician may employ, in the manner authorized by law, any commissioners, enumerators, agents or other persons that are necessary to collect for NatStat the statistics and information that the government of Ransenar considers useful and in the public interest relating to the commercial, industrial, financial, social, economic and other activities that said government may determine. The duties of the commissioners, enumerators, agents or other persons shall be those duties prescribed by the Chief Statistician.

13. The Secretary of Interior may, for such periods as the government of Ransenar may determine, use the services of any employee of the national public administration in the exercise or performance of any duty, power or function of NatStat or an officer of NatStat under this Decree or any other Ransenari law, and any person whose services are so used shall, for the purposes of this Decree, be deemed to be a person employed under this Decree.

14. The Chief Statistician shall determine whether a request for information is mandatory or voluntary, except for the census of population and census of agriculture, both of which are mandatory.

15. The Chief Statistician shall publish any mandatory request for information before the request is made.

16. The Chief Statistician shall notify the Secretary of Interior and the Lord High Steward of any new mandatory request for information at least one (1) AN year before the day on which it is published.

Article IV. Population Census and Agriculture Census.

1. A census of population of Ransenar shall be taken every three (3) AN years by NatStat, in coordination with the Department of Interior, at a time within that AN year of the government of Ransenar’s choosing.

2. The census of population shall be taken in such a manner as to ensure that counts of the population are provided for each state and possession of Ransenar, as constituted at the time of each census of population.

3. A census of agriculture of Ransenar shall be taken by NatStat every (3) AN years, in coordination with the Department of Interior, at a time within that AN year of the government of Ransenar’s choosing.

4. The Lord High Steward shall, by Ordinance, prescribe the questions to be asked in any census taken by NatStat under this Decree.

Article V. General statistics.

Without limiting the duties of NatStat under this Act, or affecting any of its powers or duties in respect of any specific statistics that may otherwise be authorized or required under this Decree, the Chief Statistician shall collect, compile, analyze, abstract and publish statistics in relation to all or any of the following matters in Ransenar:

• Population;
• Agriculture;
• Health and welfare;
• Law enforcement, the administration of justice and corrections;
• Government and business finance;
• Immigration and emigration;
• Education;
• Labor and employment;
• Commerce with other countries;
• Prices and the cost of living;
• Forestry, fishing and trapping;
• Mines, quarries and wells;
• Manufacturing;
• Construction;
• Transportation, storage and communication;
• Electric power, gas and water utilities;
• Wholesale and retail trade;
• Finance, insurance and real estate;
• Public administration;
• Community, business and personal services; and
• Any other matters prescribed by the Ransenari Congress or the Lord High Steward.

Given at Termarth Palace this 1st day of the IXth month of the year 1675 AN.

GOD SAVE THE QUEEN!

See Also

Preceded by: RD-X

Royal Decrees of the Kingdom of Ransenar Series 2

Succeeded by RD-XIII