Subdivisional Charter
The Subdivisional Charters were documents through which the government of Gerenia or local governments granted lands to clans from planet Meeredres that emigrated to Micras.
Background
When the United Gerenian Republic, based on planet Meeredres, decided to create a colony in Micras, invited a great number of citizens to settle the new country. Millions of applications were processed and approved, but there was a need to organise the colony's territory. Then, the government on Meeredres selected several clans to coordinate the settlement of the colony, and issued subdivisional charters.
First-degree Charters
The so-called first-degree Charters were issued directly by the government to selected clans who would settle in the Gerenian Colony of New Calarma. Eight clans were selected, and each received a territory of predetermined area and location.
In the charters it was established that each division had to become a province, with a Governor designated by the clan. The clans had the right to administer the province, found subdivisions, plan infrastructure projects, and enact laws. The colony government, nevertheless, reserved the right to intervene in the activities of the clans. With this aim, and to coordinate the project of the provinces, the regions were created. These were groups of provinces ruled by a Governor appointed by the President that enjoyed autonomy, unlike provinces.
The eight provinces were founded through first-degree Charters, and were grouped in two regions: Mayfield and New Adarma.
Second-degree Charters
The second-degree Charters were issued by the clans themselves, as a manner of dividing their provinces. Land administration were thus facilitated. The recipients of the second-degree Charters were members of the issuing clan, or other clans that had not received first-degree Charters.
The second-degree Charters gave origin to several districts and counties.
Conflicts
The Subvisional Charters allowed the territorial organisation of Gerenia, however, some conflicts came up.
On one hand, the people were distrusting about the power being concentrated in a few families. Many opined that the clans would feel free of exert their power without limit, which would pose a threat to individual and collective rights, and permit the development of a corrupt, antidemocratic system.
On the other hand, the government of New Calarma had to regulate the issuance of second-degree Charters in order to keep under control the development of the country. Before New Calarma seceded from the United Gerenian Republic, causing its dissolution, twelve second-degree Charters had been issued. The government also feared the excessive power that the clans were being granted, and annuled six of the Charters, and took charge of the division of the provinces. Furthermore, when the Republic was declared, all the Charters were declared no longer valid. The members of the ruling clans were allowed to work for the State, but if they desired to rule a province again, they had to take part in a democratic election.
The first Provincial Governors in the Republic of Gerenia were appointed by the President. In half of the cases, the Governors were chosen from the ruling clans. In the rest of the cases, they were Meeredrian civil servants who had migrated to Micras.
In the Constitution
In the Fourth Section of the Constitution of Gerenia, the different subdivision types are described. With the declaration of the Republic, it was adopted a modified version of the Constitution of the United Gerenian Republic. One of the amendments was the introduction of the "county" as a subdivision type, which did not exist before.
