Constitution Act (Gotzborg)

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P.R.O. LAW CONSOLIDATION
Law Status: In-Force
Last Consolidated: 2020-11-04


Part I General Provisions

1. This Constitution applies to all parts of the Royal Kingdom of Gotzborg, its constituent divisions and protectorates.

2. The form of government shall be that of a constitutional monarchy. The Royal Power is inherited by men and women in accordance with the provisions of the Succession to the Throne Act.

3. The legislative power is jointly vested in the King and the Chamber of Deputies. The executive power is vested in the King. The judicial power is vested in the courts of justice.

4. There is no specific Church of State and all citizens are free to choose their own religion.

Part II The King

5. The King shall not reign in other countries except with the consent of the Chamber of Deputies.

6.[1] The King shall be styled as His Royal Majesty, name By the Grace of God King of Gotzborg, Archduke of Reichlau, Grand Duke of Lucerne, Marshal of the Union of Seven Nations, Lord of the Border Marches, Admiral of the Southern Reaches, Duke & Elector of Jutien, Protector of Anthelia, Count Kendal. Upon succeeding to the throne, the Sovereign may choose to adopt any name they wish to represent their reign.

7. The King, prior to his accession to the Throne, shall make a solemn Declaration in writing before the Crown Council that he will faithfully adhere to the Constitution Act. Two identical originals of the Declaration shall be executed, one of which shall be handed over to the Chamber of Deputies to be preserved in its archives, and the other shall be filed in the Public Records Office. Where the Kin, owing to his absence or for other reasons, is unable to sign the aforesaid Declaration immediately on his accession to the Throne, the government shall, unless otherwise provided by Statute, be conducted by the Crown Council until such Declaration has been signed. Where the King already as Successor to the Throne has signed the aforesaid Declaration, he shall accede to the Throne immediately on its vacancy.

8.[2][3] Where the King is absent for a period exceeding ninety days from his last presence in the Royal Kingdom, He shall be considered absent at which time Article 13 and 14 are applicable.

  1. Where the vacancy lasts for more than one year without any contact and where there is no Heir to the Throne, the Chamber of Deputies shall elect a King and establish the future order of succession to the Throne.
  2. Where the King attends the Royal Kingdom and makes less than 3 posts per month on the community forums, he shall be considered absent for the purpose of calculating the aforementioned ninety-day period. Where the King makes 3 or more posts per month, the commencement of the ninety-day period shall be the date of his last post.

9. The Civil List of the King shall be granted for the duration of his reign by Statute. Such Statute shall also provide for the castles, palaces, and other State property which shall be placed at the disposal of the King for his use.

10. The Heir to the Throne is entitled to take a seat in the Crown Council, although without a vote or responsibility.

11. A Princess or Prince entitled to succeed to the Crown of Gotzborg may not accept any other crown or government without the consent of the King.

  1. If she or he acts contrary to this rule, they and their descendants forfeit their right to the Throne of Gotzborg.

12. The Royal Princes and Princesses shall not personally be answerable to anyone other than the King, or whomever he decrees to sit in judgment on them.

13.[4] Until the Chamber of Deputies has assembled and made provisions for the government during the absence of the King, the Crown Council shall be responsible for the administration of the Realm and the execution of the King’s authority in accordance with the Constitution.

14. If the King is absent from the Realm unless commanding in the field, or if he is so ill that he cannot attend to the government, the person next entitled to succeed to the Throne shall conduct the government as the temporary executor of the Royal Powers. If this is not the case, the Crown Council will conduct the administration of the Realm.

15. The Princess or Prince who, in the cases mentioned in Article 14, conducts the government shall make the following oath in writing before the Chamber of Deputies: "I promise and swear that I will conduct the government in accordance with the Constitution and the Laws of the Kingdom, in the best interests of the people and the Crown of Gotzborg."

  1. If the Chamber of Deputies is not in session at the time, the oath shall be made in the Crown Council and later be presented to the next Chamber of Deputies.
  2. The Princess or Prince who has once made the oath shall not repeat it later.

16. If the Royal Line has died out, and no successor to the Throne has been designated, then a new Queen or King shall be chosen by the Chamber of Deputies . Meanwhile, the Executive Power shall be exercised in accordance with Article 14.

Part III Powers of the King

17. Subject to the limitations laid down in this Constitution Act the King shall have the supreme authority in all the affairs of the Realm, and he shall exercise such supreme authority through the Ministers.

18. The King shall not be answerable for his actions; his person shall be sacrosanct. The Ministers shall be responsible for the conduct of the government; their responsibility shall be determined by Statute.

19. The King shall appoint and dismiss the Royal Chancellor and the other Ministers. He shall decide upon the number of Ministers and upon the distribution of the duties of government among them. The signature of the King to resolutions relating to legislation and government shall make such resolutions valid, provided that the signature of the King is accompanied by the signature or signatures of one or more Ministers. A Minister who has signed a resolution shall be responsible for the resolution.

20. A Minister shall not remain in office after the Chamber of Deputies has passed a vote of no confidence in him.

  1. Where the Chamber of Deputies passes a vote of no confidence in the Royal Chancellor, he shall ask for the dismissal of the Ministry. Where a vote of censure has been passed on a Ministry, or it has asked for its dismissal, it shall continue in office until a new Ministry has been appointed. Ministers who continue in office as aforesaid shall do only what is necessary for the purpose of the uninterrupted conduct of official business.

21. Ministers may be impeached by the King or the Chamber of Deputies with maladministration of office. The High Court of the Realm shall try cases of impeachment brought against Ministers for maladministration of office.

22. The body of Ministers shall form the Crown Council, in which the Heir to the Throne shall have a seat. The Crown Council shall be presided over by the King except in the instance mentioned in Article 8, and in the instances where the Chamber in pursuance of Article 13 may have delegated the conduct of the government to the Crown Council.

  1. All Bills and important government measures shall be discussed in the Crown Council.

23. If the King should be prevented from holding a Crown Council he may entrust the discussion of a matter to a Council of Ministers. Such Council of Ministers shall consist of all the Ministers, and it shall be presided over by the Royal Chancellor. The vote of each Minister shall be entered in a minute book, and any question shall be decided by a majority of votes. The Royal Chancellor shall submit the Minutes, signed by the Ministers present, to the King, who shall decide whether he will immediately consent to the recommendations of the Council of Ministers, or have the matter brought before him in a Crown Council.

24. The King shall act on behalf of the Realm in intermicronational affairs. Provided that without the consent of the Chamber of Deputies the King shall not undertake any act whereby the territory of the Realm will be increased or decreased, nor shall he enter into any obligation which for fulfillment requires the concurrence of the Chamber of Deputies, or which otherwise is of major importance; nor shall the King, except with the consent of the Chamber of Deputies, terminate any intermicronational treaty entered into with the consent of the Chamber of Deputies.

  1. Except for purposes of defence against an armed attack upon the Realm or Gotzborg forces the King shall not use military force against any foreign state without the consent of the Chamber of Deputies. Any measure which the King may take in pursuance of this provision shall immediately be submitted to the Chamber of Deputies. If the Chamber of Deputies is not in session it shall be convoked immediately.

25. Powers vested in the authorities of the Realm under this Constitution Act may, to such extent as shall be provided by Statute, be delegated to intermicronational authorities set up by mutual agreement with other states for the promotion of intermicronational rules of law and co-operation.

  1. For the passing of a Bill dealing with the above a majority of five-sixths of the Members of the Chamber of Deputies shall be required. If this majority is not obtained, whereas the majority required for the passing of ordinary Bills is obtained, and if the Government maintains it, the Bill shall be submitted to the Electorate for approval or rejection in accordance with the rules for Referenda laid down in Article 52.

26. The King may cause Bills and other measures to be introduced in the Chamber of Deputies.

27.[5] A Bill passed by the Chamber of Deputies shall become law upon passage, subject to confirmation by Royal Assent at a later date. If the law does not receive Royal Assent within a period of 180 days after it was finally passed, it shall be returned to the Chamber of Deputies for a further vote pursuant to the Rules of Procedure of the Chamber of Deputies. If the law then receives two-thirds-plus-one support from the voting Deputies, it shall be enacted without qualification, as though it has received Royal Assent.

28.[6] In an emergency, the King may, when the Chamber of Deputies cannot assemble or meet a minimum quorum of three (3) Deputies, issue provisional laws, provided that such laws shall not be at variance with the Constitution Act. Any such law shall, on assembling the Chamber of Deputies or when the aforementioned quorum is met, be submitted to the Chamber of Deputies for approval or rejection.

29. The King shall have the prerogative of mercy and of granting amnesty. The King may grant Ministers a pardon for sentences passed upon them by the High Court of the Realm only with the consent of the Chamber of Deputies.

30. The King may either directly or through the relevant Government authorities make such grants and grant such exemptions from the Statutes as are either warranted or have been warranted by a Statute passed.

31. Rules governing the appointment of civil servants shall be laid down by Statute. No person shall be appointed a civil servant unless he is a Gotzborg subject. Civil servants who are appointed by the King shall make a solemn declaration to the effect that they will adhere to the Constitution Act.

32. The King may bestow orders upon whomever he pleases, as a reward for distinguished services, and such orders must be publicly announced. The order exempts no one from the common duties and burdens of citizens, nor does it carry with it any preferential admission to senior official posts in the State. Senior officials honorably discharged from office retain the title and rank of their office. This does not apply, however, to Members of the Crown Council or the Royal Ministers.

33. The King chooses and dismisses, at his own discretion, his Royal Household and Court Officials.

34. The King is Commander-in-Chief of the land and naval forces of the Realm. These forces may be increased or reduced without the consent of the Chamber of Deputies. They may not be transferred to the service of foreign powers, nor may the military forces of any foreign power, except auxiliary forces assisting against hostile attack, be brought into the Realm without the consent of the Chamber of Deputies.

  1. The territorial army and the other troops which cannot be classed as troops of the line must never, without the consent of the Chamber of Deputies, be employed outside the borders of the Realm.

35. The King shall make provisions concerning titles for those who are entitled to succeed to the Crown.

36.[7] The King shall have the power to enact any and all changes by Royal Decree in the event that there is no subject of the Kingdom willing or able to run for or act on behalf of the people. The King may suspend the Constitution if He deems it in the best interests of the Royal Kingdom or where not so doing could endanger the continued existence and integrity of the Royal Kingdom. Where the Constitution has been suspended, the King is required to continue to act in the best interests of the Kingdom and the people until such a time as it can be re-instated by Royal Decree and whereupon an appropriate legislative body may be convened to act in that capacity.

Part IV The Chamber of Deputies

37.[8] The Chamber of Deputies shall consist of one assembly of all citizens of the Royal Kingdom.

  1. A Deputy of the Chamber shall be considered any Gotzborg subject who holds permanent residence within the Realm and has signed a Registrar of Deputies kept by the Chamber as per Article 38 (i).

38.[9] Any Gotzborg subject whose permanent residence is in the Realm shall have the right to vote on Chamber of Deputies business, provided that they have: not been declared incapable of conducting their own affairs; not been convicted of a crime, unless pardoned by His Royal Majesty; and signed the Registrar of Deputies.

  1. The President of the Chamber of Deputies shall maintain a Registrar of Deputies. All those subjects who wish to participate in the business of the Chamber must sign this Registrar. The Registrar shall terminate after a period of four (4) months, after which Deputies shall be required to re-sign in order to maintain their status. Otherwise, Deputies shall be considered to have forfeited their right to participate in Chamber business and right to vote.
  2. Any Gotzborg subject with multiple citizenships who is current upon the Registrar may be barred from voting if it is determined that by voting there may exist a conflict of interests.

39. Any Gotzborg subject who has been declared incapable of conducting his or her own affairs or has been convicted of a crime which in the eyes of his or her fellow Deputies makes them unworthy of being a Deputy shall be ineligible to sit in the Chamber.

40. Repealed.[10]

41. Repealed.[11]

42. Repealed.[12]

43. The Chamber of Deputies shall be inviolable. Any person who attacks its security or freedom, or any person who issues or obeys any command aiming thereat shall be deemed guilty of high treason.

Part V Procedures of the Chamber of Deputies

44.[13] Immediately after the proving of the mandates the Chamber of Deputies shall constitute itself by the election of a President and Vice-President.

45.[14] The sessional year of the Chamber of Deputies shall commence on the second Monday of the month of January, and end on the second Friday of the month of December in the same calendar year. The Chamber shall recess for fourteen days in the months of April and August. The Members, by a motion passed according to the Rules of Procedure, shall have the right to recess the Chamber for periods in addition to the aforementioned; however, no such recess shall exceed twenty-one days.

  1. On the first day of the sessional year the Members shall assemble for a new session of the Chamber of Deputies and the Members shall confirm the sitting President of the Chamber for the forthcoming sessional year, or if required, elect a new President of the Chamber.

46. The Chamber of Deputies shall meet in the place where the Government has its seat. Provided that in extraordinary circumstances the Chamber of Deputies may assemble elsewhere in the Realm.

47. At the first meeting in the sessional year the Royal Chancellor shall render an account of the general state of the country and of the measures proposed by the Government.

  1. Such account shall be made the subject of a general debate.

48. The Chamber of Deputies shall be closed by the King, in person or by his proxy.

49.[15] The President of the Chamber of Deputies shall convene the meetings of the Chamber of Deputies, stating the Order of the Week.

  1. The President of the Chamber of Deputies shall act as a moderator of all meetings and shall ensure that the Rules of Procedure are satisfied by the Members at all times.

50. The Ministers shall ex officio be entitled to attend the sittings of the Chamber of Deputies and to address the Chamber of Deputies during the debates as often as they may desire, provided that they abide by the Rules of Procedure of the Chamber of Deputies. They shall be entitled to vote only when they are Members of the Chamber of Deputies. Ministers are entitled to introduce legislation on behalf of the Government.

51.[16] Any Member of the Chamber of Deputies shall be entitled to introduce Bills and other measures.

  1. No Bill shall be finally passed until it has been read twice in Chamber of Deputies.
  2. Government Bills introduced by the Royal Chancellor or Ministers shall take precedence over private members bills.
  3. In the case of a new election and at the end of the sessional year all Bills and other measures which have not been finally passed, shall be dropped.

52. Repealed.[17]

53. No taxes shall be imposed, altered, or repealed except by Statute; nor shall any man be conscripted or any public loan be raised except by Statute.

54. No alien shall be naturalized except by Statute.

55. The Chamber of Deputies shall lay down its own Rules of Procedure, including rules governing its conduct of business and the maintenance of order.

56. The sittings of the Chamber of Deputies shall be public. Provided that the President, or such number of Members as may be provided for by the Rules of Procedure, or a Minister shall be entitled to demand the removal of all unauthorized persons, whereupon it shall be decided without a debate whether the matter shall be debated at a public or a secret sitting.

57. In order to make a decision more than one-half of the Members of the Chamber of Deputies shall be present and take part in the voting.

58.[18] The Chamber of Deputies may appoint committees from among its Members to investigate matters of general importance. Such committees shall be entitled to demand written or oral information both from private citizens and from public authorities. Such committees shall be structured in accordance with the Rules of Procedure and the membership of each committee shall be confirmed by the Members of the Chamber wholly-assembled

59. Repealed.[19]

60. With the consent of the Chamber of Deputies any Member thereof may submit for discussion any matter of public interest and request a statement thereon from the Ministers.

61. Petitions may be submitted to the Chamber of Deputies only through one of its Members.

62.[20] The Members of the Chamber of Deputies shall be bound solely by their own conscience.

63.[21] Outside the Chamber of Deputies no Member shall be held liable for his utterance in the Chamber of Deputies save by the consent of the Chamber of Deputies.

Part VI The High Court

64. The High Court of the Realm shall consist of one member appointed by the King, and one member elected for one year by the Chamber of Deputies according to proportional representation. A maximum of two substitutes shall be elected for the elected member. No Member of the Chamber of Deputies shall be elected a member of the High Court of the Realm, nor shall a Member of the Chamber of Deputies act as a member of the High Court of the Realm. Where in a particular instance some of the members of the highest court of justice of the Realm are prevented from taking part in the trial of a case, an equal number of the members of the High Court of the Realm last elected by the Chamber of Deputies shall retire from their seats.

  1. The High Court of the Realm shall elect a president from among its members.
  2. Where a case has been brought before the High Court of the Realm, the members elected by the Chamber of Deputies shall retain their seats in the High Court of the Realm for the duration of such case, even if the period for which they were elected has expired.
  3. Rules for the High court of the Realm shall be provided by Statute.

65. The High Court of the Realm shall try such actions as may be brought by the King or the Chamber of Deputies against Ministers.

  1. With the consent of the Chamber of Deputies the High Court of the Realm may try other persons for crimes which are deemed to be particularly dangerous to the State.

66. The exercise of the judiciary power shall be governed only by Statute. Extraordinary courts of justice with judicial power shall not be established.

67. The administration of justice shall always remain independent of the executive power. Rules to this effect shall be laid down by Statute.

68. The courts of justice shall be entitled to decide any question bearing upon the scope of the authority of the executive power. However, a person who wants to query such authority shall not, by bringing the case before the courts of justice, avoid temporary compliance with orders given by the executive power.

  1. Questions bearing upon the scope of the authority of the executive power may be referred by Statute for decision to one or more administrative courts. Provided that an appeal from the decision of the administrative courts shall lie to the highest court of the Realm. Rules governing this procedure shall be laid down by Statute.

69. In the performance of their duties the judges shall be directed solely by the law. Judges may only be dismissed by the King for lack of participation deemed to be beyond normal absences and as laid out by Statute.

70. In the administration of justice all proceedings shall be public and oral to the widest possible extent.

  1. Laymen shall take part in criminal procedure. The cases and the form in which such participation shall take place, including what cases are to be tried by jury, shall be provided for by Statute.

Part VII State Church

71. As laid down in Article 4, there shall be no established, state-sanctioned church in the Kingdom.

72. Rules for religious bodies shall be laid down by Statute.

73. No person shall for reasons of his creed or descent be deprived of access to complete enjoyment of his civic and political rights, nor shall he for such reasons evade compliance with any common civic duty.

Part VIII Individual Rights

74. Personal liberty shall be inviolable. No Gotzborg subject shall in any manner whatever be deprived of his liberty because of his political or religious convictions or because of his descent.

  1. A person shall be deprived of his liberty only where this is warranted by law.
  2. Any person who is taken into custody shall be brought before a judge within twenty-four hours.
  3. The finding given by the judge may at once be separately appealed against by the person concerned.

75. In order to advance the public weal efforts should be made to afford work to every able-bodied citizen on terms that will secure his existence.

76. Any person shall be entitled to publish his thoughts in printing, in writing, and in speech, provided that he may be held answerable in a court of justice. Censorship and other preventive measures shall never be introduced.

77. The citizens shall be entitled without previous permission to form associations for any lawful purpose.

  1. Associations employing violence, or aiming at attaining their object by violence, by instigation to violence, or by similar punishable influence on people of other views, shall be dissolved by judgment.
  2. No association shall be dissolved by any government measure. However, an association may be temporarily prohibited, provided that proceedings be immediately taken against it for its dissolution.
  3. Cases relating to the dissolution of political associations may without special permission be brought before the highest court of justice of the Realm.
  4. The legal effects of the dissolution shall be determined by Statute.

78. The citizens shall without previous permission be entitled to assemble unarmed. The police shall be entitled to be present at public meetings. Open-forum meetings may be prohibited when it is feared that they may constitute a danger to the public peace.

79. In case of riots the armed forces, unless attacked, may take action only after the crowd in the name of the King and the Law has three times been called upon to disperse, an such warning has been unheeded.

80. Every male person able to carry arms shall be liable with his person to contribute to the defence of his country under such rules as are laid down by Statute.

81. The right of the municipalities to manage their own affairs independently under the supervision of the State shall be laid down by Statute.

82. The provisions of Articles 74, 76, and 79 shall only be applicable to the defence forces subject to such limitations as are consequential to the provisions of military laws.

Part IX Local Governments

83.[22] A Gotzborg subject who is resident in a constituent division of the Royal Kingdom shall have the right to cast a vote in any election for local government within his or her division of residence unless he or she has been convicted of a crime against the Royal Kingdom.

  1. Civil Servants and Ministers shall not be prevented from running for local government office.
  2. The procedure for the election of local governments and the jurisdiction of such governments shall be laid down by Statue.
  3. Colonial or Provisional divisions of the Royal Kingdom shall not have the right to elect local government except as laid down by Statute. In such cases these divisions shall fall under direct control of the Colonial Office or Military command.

Part X Constitutional Amendments

84.[23] Any Bill passed by the Chamber of Deputies which amends the Constitution Act shall require a super-majority of two-thirds-plus-one of the Members approving in order to be forwarded for Royal Assent. If the Bill receives Royal Assent it shall form an integral part of the Constitution Act.

85.[24] If the Chamber of Deputies is unable to be convoked due to lack of participation by the population, the King may pass an amendment by provision of Article 26 and 28 and counter-signed by all Ministers who will bear responsibility. As soon as Chamber of Deputies is called and all members are gathered, any constitutional amendment shall be confirmed as per Article 84.

Notes

Amendments
  1. ^ 2010-08-08: As amended by the Constitutional Amendment Act (2010).
  2. ^ 2010-08-08: As amended by the Constitutional Amendment Act (2010).
  3. ^ 2016-06-24: As amended by the Constitutional Amendment Act (2016).
  4. ^ 2016-06-24: As amended by the Constitutional Amendment Act (2016).
  5. ^ 2016-06-24: As amended by the Constitutional Amendment Act (2016).
  6. ^ 2016-06-24: As amended by the Constitutional Amendment Act (2016).
  7. ^ 2010-08-08: As amended by the Constitutional Amendment Act (2010).
  8. ^ 2010-08-08: As amended by the Constitutional Amendment Act (2010).
  9. ^ 2010-08-08: As amended by the Constitutional Amendment Act (2010).
  10. ^ 2010-08-08: As amended by the Constitutional Amendment Act (2010).
  11. ^ 2010-08-08: As amended by the Constitutional Amendment Act (2010).
  12. ^ 2010-08-08: As amended by the Constitutional Amendment Act (2010).
  13. ^ 2010-08-08: As amended by the Constitutional Amendment Act (2010).
  14. ^ 2010-08-08: As amended by the Constitutional Amendment Act (2010).
  15. ^ 2010-08-08: As amended by the Constitutional Amendment Act (2010).
  16. ^ 2010-08-08: As amended by the Constitutional Amendment Act (2010).
  17. ^ 2010-08-08: As amended by the Constitutional Amendment Act (2010).
  18. ^ 2010-08-08: As amended by the Constitutional Amendment Act (2010).
  19. ^ 2010-08-08: As amended by the Constitutional Amendment Act (2010).
  20. ^ 2010-08-08: As amended by the Constitutional Amendment Act (2010).
  21. ^ 2010-08-08: As amended by the Constitutional Amendment Act (2010).
  22. ^ 2010-08-08: As amended by the Constitutional Amendment Act (2010).
  23. ^ 2010-08-08: As amended by the Constitutional Amendment Act (2010).
  24. ^ 2010-08-08: As amended by the Constitutional Amendment Act (2010).
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