Politics of Hoenn

The politics of Hoenn take place within the framework of a constitutional monarchy, with the queen as head of state and the Chancellor as head of government.

Constitution

The Hoennese constitution characterizes the nation as a unitary state consisting of several provinces and core cities which, albeit municipal in nature, are provincial-level entities.

The Sovereign

The Hoennese sovereign, presently Queen Kaede, is the head of state of Hoenn. Though her role in government is greatly diminished since the promulgation of the Hoennese constitution, Her Majesty is the fount of all power and dignity in the realm. Those powers that delegate from her personally are known as the Royal Prerogative and bypass the consent of the Gikai. Additionally, the Chancellor has regular meetings with the Sovereign, where she may advise them in the government's work.

According to the Hoennese constitution and to unwritten law & convention, the Sovereign has the following powers:

Domestic powers

• To dissolve HM Government
• To summon and dissolve the Gikai
• To give or refuse assent to Acts of the Gikai
• To appoint and dismiss magistrates (judges)
• To issue royal decrees, subject to annual renewal by the Gikai
• To declare martial law
• To honor and dishonor nobles and samurai
• To command the Hoennese Forces
• To declare states of emergency
• To appoint and dismiss provincial governors
• To commission officers in the Hoennese Forces
• To issue and cancel passports

Foreign powers

• To appoint and dismiss diplomats
• To make and ratify treaties
• To declare war and peace
• To deploy the Hoennese Forces overseas
• To extend diplomatic recognition to foreign states
• To credit and receive foreign diplomats

Executive

Executive power is wielded by the Sovereign via Her Majesty's Government, led by the Chancellor, who, by convention, is the leader of the largest party in the House of Commons. The Chancellor then selects the other members of HM Government, the ministers of the Council of State, each of whom is tasked with the operation of a specific department.

Legislature

The Gikai, Hoenn's national legislature, consists of two chambers. The upper house is the Senate, consisting of a number of members (traditionally 103) from or elected by various subsets of the Hoennese population, and the lower house is the House of Commons, consisting of 191 members who are elected for terms of up to seven years by the single transferable vote. As with most parliamentary systems, most real power rests with the lower house; however, the approbation of both houses is needed to pass an Act of the Gikai, and convention dictates that the Chancellor draw from both houses to fill the Council of State.

Judiciary

Hoennese law provides for a separate and independent judiciary which does not answer to any other organ of government. Hoenn has a civil law system, the basis of which is codified law. The most distinctive feature of the Hoennese judicial system is its division into streams of law and of administration. In both streams, proceedings are inquisitorial in nature.

Magistrates are government employees but are granted special protection under the law. They have security of tenure and may not be pro- or demoted without their consent. Their careers are overseen by the Magisterial Council of Hoenn.

Law

The legal stream of courts adjudicates civil and criminal cases. It consists of prefectural courts, city courts, provincial courts, and the nation's two venues of last resort: the civil Supreme Court and the criminal Court of Appeal, each of which have seven justices. The Supreme Court also hears constitutional challenges against Acts of the Gikai.

Trial by jury is available only for severe criminal cases, or at the disposition of the magistrate(s), except at last resort. In those cases, the full Court comprises three magistrates and twelve jurors who, together, render verdicts, and if a conviction is handed down, determine a sentence. Jurors are selected at random from the electoral rolls.

In most other courts, magistrates are professional, with the exception that juvenile courts consist of one magistrate and two lay judges.

The burden of proof in criminal proceedings in Hoenn rests upon the state, and the defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty.

Administration

The administrative stream of courts adjudicates claims and suits against organs of government. The administrative stream is made up of administrative courts, courts of administrative appeal, and the Board of Audit as the venue of last resort.

The Board of Audit hears cases against decisions of HM Government and has the power to quash or vacate statutory instruments (such as regulations or royal decrees) when they violate the Constitution or an Act of the Gikai. As such, the Board of Audit is the only organ of Hoenn's government that can bind the Sovereign.

Proceedings in the administrative stream overwhelmingly involve written hearings. Jurisdictional disputes are settled by the Court of Scattered Arrows in Fortree, which is composed of an equal number of auditors and Supreme Court justices.