Charter of the Benacian Union

The Unified Governorates of Benicia, the Sovereign Confederation of Governorates, Elluenuueq, the Kingdom of Ransenar, and the Free City of Chryse – unite themselves in one Union State – hereafter known as “The Benacian Union''.

Passed in the Second Session of the Congress of Chryse and revised in the Fourth Session.

Chapter I. Attributions of the Supreme Organs of Power of the Union

ARTICLE 1. The Benacian Union through its supreme organs has the following powers:

(a) To represent the Union in its international relations; to conclude all diplomatic relations; to conclude treaties, political and otherwise, with other States;

(b) To expand the exterior frontiers of the Union, to incorporate new territories into the Union through conquest, as well as to regulate questions concerning the modification of frontiers between the member Realms;

(c) To conclude treaties concerning the reception of new Realms into the Union;

(d) To declare war and to conclude peace;

(e) To conclude internal and external loans of the Union and to authorize internal and external loans of the member Realms;

(f) To ratify international treaties;

(g) To direct commerce with foreign countries and to determine the system of internal commerce;

(h) To establish the bases and the general plan of all national economy of the Union; to define the domains of industry and industrial enterprises that are of federal interest; to conclude treaties of concession both federal and in the name of the member Realms;

(i) To direct transportation and the postal and telegraphic services;

(j) To organize and direct the armed forces of the Union;

(k) To approve the budget of the Union State which includes the budgets of the member Realms; to establish duties and federal revenues, making additions and reductions in order to balance the member Realms’ budgets; to authorize duties and supplementary taxes to meet the member Realms’ budgets;

(l) To establish a uniform system of money and credit;

(m) To establish, via the Assertion of Right, general principles of exploitation and use of the earth, as well as those of the subsoil, the forests, and the waters of the territories of the Union;

(n) To establish federal legislation on the emigration from the territory of one of the Realms to the territory of another and to set up a fund for such emigration;

(o) To establish principles of the judicial organization and procedure, as well as civil and criminal legislation for the Union;

(p) To establish the fundamental laws regarding work;

(q) To establish the general principles regarding public instruction;

(r) To establish the general measures regarding public hygiene;

(s) To establish a standard system of weights and measures;

(t) To organize Union statistics;

(u) To fix the fundamental legislation regarding federal nationality, with reference to the rights of foreigners;

(v) To exercise the right of amnesty in all territories of the Union;

(w) To abrogate the acts of the Chamber of Guilds and Corporations and the Civil Executives of the member Realms contrary to the present Charter;

(x) To arbitrate litigious questions between the member Realms.

ARTICLE 2. The approval and modification of the fundamental principles of the present Charter belong exclusively to the Chamber of Guilds and Corporations of the Benacian Union.

Chapter II. Sovereign Rights of the Member Realms

ARTICLE 3. The Sovereignty of the member Realms is limited only in the matters indicated in the present Charter, as coming within the competence of the Union. Outside of those limits, each member Realm exerts its public powers independently; the Union protects the rights of member Realms.

ARTICLE 4. Each one of the member Realms retains the right to freely withdraw from the union, in a manner accordant with law, the requirements of the Covenant, and the maintenance of the Human Supremacy on Micras.

ARTICLE 5. The member Realms will make changes in their governing documents to conform with the present Charter and the Covenant.

ARTICLE 6. The territory of the member Realms cannot be modified without their consent; also, any limitation or modification or suppression of Article 4 must have the approval of all the member Realms of the Union.

ARTICLE 7. The one Benacian nationality is established for the subjects of the member Realms.

Chapter III. Chamber of Guilds and Corporations of the Union

ARTICLE 8. The supreme organ of power of the Union is the Chamber of Guilds and Corporations of the Union, and, in the recesses of the Chamber of Guilds and Corporations of the Union–the High Presidium of the Benacian Union which is composed of candidates nominated by the Congress of Chryse.

ARTICLE 9. The Chamber of Guilds and Corporations of the Union is composed of representatives of the Guild of Academicians, the Guild of Factors, the Guild of the Lotus, the Guild of Magisters-Carnifex, the Benacian Union Defence Force, the Benacian Directorate of the Honourable Company, the Nationalist & Humanist Party, and the United Ecclesiastical Corporation of Benacia.

ARTICLE 10. The delegates to the Chamber of Guilds and Corporations of the Union are elected from the populations of their respective employers every five years. The manner and method of election is determined by an Edict of the Congress of Chryse.

ARTICLE 11. Regular sessions of the Chamber of Guilds and Corporations of the Union are convoked by the High Presidium of the Benacian Union once yearly; extraordinary sessions may be convoked on decision of the High Presidium of the Benacian Union (HP/BU), or on the demand of the Congress of Chryse, or on the demand of two member Realms.

ARTICLE 12. In cases where extraordinary circumstances interfere with the meeting of the Chamber of Guilds and Corporations of the Union on the date set, the HP/BU has the power to adjourn the meeting of the Chamber.

Chapter IV. The High Presidium of the Benacian Union and the Congress of Chryse

ARTICLE 13. The High Presidium of the Benacian Union (HP/BU) is composed of the nominees of the Congress of Chryse.

ARTICLE 14. The Congress of Chryse remains determined by the 1st Session of the Congress of Chryse. Being comprised of the victors of the Great War against Ayreonism and Verionist-Revisionism, it remains above the law and outside the scope of this Charter.

ARTICLE 15. The composition of the HP/BU in its entirety is approved by the Congress of Chryse every five years.

ARTICLE 16. The Congress of Chryse examines all decrees, codes, and acts that are presented to them by the HP/BU and by the Chamber of Guilds and Corporations, by the different Civil Executives of the Union.

ARTICLE 17. The Chryse Chronicle of the Union publishes the Edicts, decrees, acts, and ordinances; orders the work of legislation and administration of the Union, on behalf of the Congress of Chryse.

ARTICLE 18. All decrees and acts defining rules of the political and economic life of the Union, or making radical modifications in the existing practices of public organs of the Union must obligatorily be submitted for examination and approval to the Congress of Chryse.

ARTICLE 19. All decrees, acts, and ordinances promulgated by the HP/BU must be immediately put into force throughout all the territory of the Union by publication in the Gazette of the Chronicle of Chryse.

ARTICLE 20. The Congress of Chryse has the right to suspend or abrogate the decrees, acts, and orders of all other organs of power throughout the territory of the Union.

ARTICLE 21. The laws submitted for examination to the Congress of Chryse do not have the force of law until they are endorsed and published in the Gazette of the Chronicle of Chryse.

ARTICLE 22. In case of disagreement between the HP/BU and the Chamber of Guilds and Corporations, the determination of the Congress of Chryse shall prevail if no compromise can be found.

ARTICLE 23. The HP/BU oversees the enforcement of this document and the execution of all decisions of the Congress of Chryse and the HB/BU by all the public agents.

ARTICLE 24. The HP/BU has the right to suspend and abrogate the orders of the member Realms.

ARTICLE 25. The HP/BU has the right to suspend the acts of the Civil Executives of the member Realms submitting afterwards these acts for the examination and approval of the Congress of Chryse.

ARTICLE 26. The HP/BU promulgates the decrees, acts, and orders; examines and approves the projects of decrees and acts deposited by the Chamber of Guilds and Corporations, by the different authorities of the Union, by the Civilian Executives of the member Realms, and by other organs of power.

ARTICLE 27. The decrees and decisions of the HP/BU and the Chamber of Guilds and Corporations of the Union are printed in those languages allowed by the Congress of Chryse.

ARTICLE 28. The Congress of Chryse decides questions regarding the relationships between the HP/BU and the Chamber of Guilds and Corporations of the Union, for one part and the Civilian Executives of the member Realms, for the second part.

ARTICLE 29. The High Presidium of the Benacian Union is the executive and administrative organ of the Union and is constituted as follows:

(a) The Szodan of Benacia, as President,

(b) The President of the General Staff Council, as Vice President

(c) The Commissioner for Foreign Affairs,

(d) The Commissioner for War,

(e) The Commissioner of the Sacred Treasury,

(f) The Commissioner for the Panopticon,

(g) A Deputy Commissioner of each of the above Commissioner offices.

ARTICLE 30. The HP/BU examines the decrees and decisions given it by the Guild of Magisters-Carnifex as well as those from the Civilian Executives of the member Realms.

ARTICLE 31. The Civilian Executives of the member Realms may object to the decrees and orders of the HP/BU to the Congress of Chryse, without suspending the execution of these orders.

Chapter V. Civil Legates in Subordination to the Commissioners of the High Presidium

ARTICLE 32. For the immediate direction of the several branches of public administration, attributed to the HP/BU, 10 Civil Legates are created to support the Commissioners and Deputy Commissioners mentioned in Article 37 of the Present Charter and who act according to the decisions of the HP/BU.

ARTICLE 33. The Civil Legates are divided into the following groups:

(a) Civil Legates handling strictly Union matters of the Benacian Union that are external in character;

(b) Civil Legates handling matters that are purely domestic in character.

ARTICLE 34. The first group of Civil Legates handling matters external in character includes the following appointments:

(a) For Foreign Affairs

(b) For Military and Naval Affairs

(c) For Foreign Commerce

(d) For Information Dissemination

(e) For Data Services

ARTICLE 35. The second group of Civil Legates, handling matters that are strictly domestic in character, include the following:

(a) For Appropriations and Allocations,

(b) For Domestic Security,

(c) For Industry, Resources, and Public Works,

(d) For Information and Data Services,

(e) For the Inspection of Guilds.

ARTICLE 36. The Civil Legates handling matters of purely external character have, in the various member Realms, their tribunal delegates directly subordinate to themselves.

ARTICLE 37. The Civil Legates handling matters of domestic concern have, as executing organs in the various member Realms, the Tribunes of the Civil Executives within those Realms who are of similar title.

ARTICLE 38. The HP/BU, including the individual Commissioners, are the heads of the various civil legatine departments mentioned.

ARTICLE 39. Under each Civil Legate, and under his presidency is formed a college, for which the members are named by the HP/BU.

ARTICLE 40. The Commissioner of a department has the right to personally take decisions on all questions that come within the jurisdiction of his department, on advising the relevant Legatine College of his department of his act. In case of disagreement on any decision of the Commissioner, the Civil Legate and the Legatine College shall remain in obedience to authority unless the act is contradictory to this Charter or the Covenant, in which case the matter must be referred to the Magisters-Carnifex for immediate action.

ARTICLE 41. The orders of the different Commissioners may be abrogated by the HP/BU or the Congress of Chryse.

ARTICLE 42. The orders of the different Commissioners of the Union may be suspended by the HP/BU or by the Civil Executive of the member Realm in case of evident incompatibility of these orders with this document, with Union or Congressional legislation or with legislation of the member Realm. This suspension is immediately communicated by the HP/BU or by the Civil Executive of the member Realms to the Congress of Chryse and to the proper Commissioner of the Union.

Chapter VI. The Member Realms

ARTICLE 43. Within the limits of the territory of each member Realm the supreme organ of power is the Civilian Executive.

ARTICLE 44. The relations between the supreme organs of power of the member Realms and the supreme organs of power of the Union are established by the present document.

ARTICLE 45. The Civil Executive of each member Realm will form their executive organs as follows:

(a) The Szodan of the Realm, as President,

(b) The President of the Realm’s General Staff, as Vice President

(c) The Commissioner for Internal Affairs,

(d) The Commissioner for Logistics,

(e) The Commissioner of the Treasury,

(f) The Commissioner for Public Instruction and Safety,

(g) A Deputy Commissioner of each of the above Commissioner offices.

ARTICLE 46. The right of amnesty, as well as the right of pardon and the rehabilitation of subjects condemned by the judicial and administrative organs of the member Realms belongs to the Civil Executives of these Realms.

Chapter VII. Arms, Flags and Capital of the Union

ARTICLE 47. The insignia of the State of the Benacian Union is composed of the Seal of Chryse, surrounded by and framed with the wings of a golden raptor whose tail forms the point of a quill, all over a blue shield bordered in gold.

ARTICLE 48. The flag of the state of the Benacian Union shall feature the Congressional Emblem over a fess of white with gold fimbriation over a field of blue

ARTICLE 49. The flag of the armed forces of the Benacian Union shall be fringed in gold and feature the Congressional Emblem framed by a weaving Archonic Ouroboros centered on a square blue field with radiating beams of white and yellow surrounding the center. The lateral yellow beams shall read “Ußar Ał Boþ Ußar Reht” (Our Might is Our Right) emblazoned in gold.

ARTICLE 50. The Capital of the BU is Chryse.

Chapter VIII. Amendments to the Charter

ARTICLE 51. This charter will be reviewed every four years as part of the Congressional Session and shall be amended according to the decisions of that session.