Post by Mutanatia on Feb 2, 2012 22:42:05 GMT -5
Preamble: The citizens of Mutanatia, recognizing the rights of individuals to a life of peace and prosperity, to be free from tyranny, to be free from oppression, and to determine the course of one’s own life, set forth those ideas in this Constitution that guarantees those freedoms and rights, and guards them from the usurpations that would be imposed by all enemies foreign and domestic.
Article 1. The Legislative Branch
Section 1. The Legislative Branch will comprise an upper house known as a Senate, and a lower house known as a House of Representatives. The Houses together will be known as a Congress. All laws governing commerce that is to be conducted between the states or provinces will originate in the Congress. Laws governing spending of public funds may only originate in the House. Laws governing treaties may only originate in the Senate. Bills to be considered by the Congress may only be sponsored by serving members of the Congress.
Section 2. Terms of office shall be as follows: House members’ terms will be 3 years each. Senate terms will be five years each. Members of Congress may be recalled by the following procedure: a petition for recall must be submitted to the election officials of the district which has sent the respective member to Congress. Once the petition is certified by the State or Provincial Legislature, a recall election will be held in accordance with the election laws of the state or province. No member shall have deemed to have been recalled without a 75% majority of the votes cast.
Section 3. Laws passed by the Congress must originate in the Congress, with emphasis on lines 4 and 5 of Article 1. A bill must pass by a majority in both houses before it is sent to the Executive for signature and passage into law. Differing versions of a bill will be worked out in committee. An exception to the simple majority is Amendments to this Constitution. Amendments to this Constitution are outlined in Article 4.
Section 4. The day to day operations of the two houses shall be overseen by a Prime Minister, who shall be elected by the members of Congress. The Prime Minister will preside over the Senate and shall cast no votes, other than those needed to break ties. The Prime minister will not be a member of the same party as the President or Vice President.
Section 5. It shall be the sole purview of The Congress to raise up a military force and a naval force for the common defense of Mutanatia and its territories. Congress shall determine the military needs of the nation and shall determine when force strengths need to be adjusted. The President must seek a declaration of War from the Congress before deploying troops or ships, except for the provisions outlined in Article 2, section 4.
Article 2. The Executive Branch
Section 1. The Executive shall be headed by a President, and a Vice President. The President will sign all bills passed by the Congress into law. The President will be elected by the following procedure: Every four years, an election will be held. The President and Vice President will run on the same slate as joint candidates.
Section 2. It shall be the responsibility of the executive to implement and enforce the various laws and acts of the Congress, by the use of a professional civil service which will be established by procedures set out by the Congress. Such civil servants will be appointed through a procedure set out by the congress and will remain in office without regard to results of subsequent elections, so long as they serve in good behavior. The exceptions will be those individuals nominated by the Executive to head up the various offices in the President’s Cabinet. Those individuals will be confirmed by Congress and will serve at the pleasure of the President. Other Executive appointments of agency heads will serve at the pleasure of the President.
Section 3. The President may only be removed from office by Impeachment and conviction. Impeachment will be undertaken by the House. If the President is impeached, a trial will be held in the Senate, with the full Senate serving as a jury. The trial will be presided over by the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, who shall serve as judge. Impeachments in the House and Convictions in the Sente must be approved by a 2/3 majority of each chamber.
Section 4. The Executive will serve as Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces. The Armed Forces will only be deployed by approval of Congress by a majority vote. However, in cases of emergency, the President may deploy the various Armed Forces without approval for a period not to exceed 90 calendar days. The Chiefs of the various Armed Forces will report directly to the President or his designee. No military forces shall be deployed on Mutanatian soil except in times of armed insurrection or when the President has determined that a breakdown in civil order necessitates the deployment of troops to restore order.
Section 5. The President shall have the power to grant pardons for crimes committed against the government, except that he or she shall not have the power to pardon himself or herself. This authority does not apply to crimes that are the sole purview of the states or provinces.
Article 3. The Judiciary
Section 1. The Judiciary of the nation shall consist of a Supreme Court and lesser Federal Courts as the Legislature may create by law. The jurisdiction of the Supreme Court is limited to those questions that present a federal question or arise as a controversy between two states or provinces. The court also has jurisdiction over admirality cases, and cases involving Mutanatian outposts on foreign jurisdictions. The Supreme Court may also hear cases on appeal from military tribunals.
Section 2. Justices of the federal courts will be nominated by the Executive and confirmed by the Legislature by a majority in the Senate. Justices will be compensated at a rate determined by the House, and there pay shall not be decreased while they are serving. Justices may be impeached for high crimes or misdemeanors that reflect poorly on the character of their office. A justice who is impeached and convicted, or who resigns from office during a conviction trial in the Senate, will forgo his or her right to pension benefits as set out by the Congress.
Section 3. The jurisdiction of the judiciary will be determined by the Congress. Congress may not decrease the jurisdiction to exclude the cases set out in Article 1. However, Congress may increase the jurisdiction of the federal courts, but shall not at any time give the federal courts jurisdiction over cases that arise strictly under state or provincial law.
Section 4. The federal courts shall at no time give advisory opinions to any legislative member or employee of a legislative branch under any circumstances. Moreover, the courts are precluded from reviewing cases by any other means other than direct petition. Thus, the federal courts will at no time take a case for review on their own initiative.
Section 5. The Supreme Court will have a number of Justices as set by Congress and approved by the Executive in the appropriate enabling legislation. Terms of office for members of the Court are to last as long as a judge duly appointed by the Executive and confirmed by the Senate serves in good behavior. The lower federal courts will be staffed in the same manner as the Supreme Court by the appropriate enabling legislation.
Article 4. Amendments
Section 1. Amendments to this Constitution will be adopted in the following manner: An Amendment will be released to the states only after 75% of the members of each house of Congress have voted in favor of the Amendment. Thereafter, the States or Provinces must pass the Amendment by a 75% majority of their respective legislatures. Only after 75% of the state or provincial legislatures have voted in favor of the Amendment, will it be deemed to have been ratified.
Section 2. Alternatively, 2/3 of the State or Provincial Legislatures may call for a Constitutional Convention whereby the Congress must vote on the Amendment as described in Section 1, and then release the Amendment back to the States for ratification, als as outlined in Section 1.
Section 3. The Repeal of Amendments may only be accomplished by the passage of a subsequent Amendment.
Section 4. Congress may impose a “reasonable time” for Amendments to be passed. If the Amendment has not passed within the reasonable time, it will be deemed null and expired. However, Congress has discretion as to whether a time limit shall be included.
Section 5. Amendments that expire before they are ratified may be taken up again, so long as they are promulgated per sections 1 or 2 of this Article.
Article 5. The States or Provinces.
Section 1. Congress shall have the sole authority to admit new states or Provinces to the Nation. States and Provinces will have sovereign authority over their residents and Congress shall not interfere except as to enforce the laws of the national government.
Section 2. In instances where the laws of a state or province conflict with those of the national government, the law of the national government will be deemed Supreme.
Section 3. The borders of states admitted after the ratification of this Constitution shall be settled by the Congress, with Representatives of the proposed new state sitting in Congress at such time as a vote is taken.
Section 4. Congress shall not admit a state or Province that does not structure itself to function as a republic with a legislature, executive, and judiciary, and a constitution that defines its laws and government.
Section 5. The public laws, records, and judicial determinations of one state or province will be deemed valid by other states and provinces. The Congress shall pass laws that prescribe the manner in which such credit shall be given. Where there is a conflict of laws between the two states or provinces, that conflict will be resolved as per Article 3, Section 1 of this Constitution.
Bill of Human Rights.
1. All citizens have the right to speak out against their government, and have the right to demonstrate peaceably, with regard being paid to the time place and manner of those demonstrations. The government shall not adopt any national religion, and relgion shall not be a consideration when any law is being passed. However, any religious practice that calls for the sacrifice of a living animal or person is prohibited.
2. Congress shall make no law infringing on the right to bear arms, except that Congress may make laws in accordance with its commerce authority to regulate the sale of weapons between parties in different states. The states will make no law infringing upon the right to bear arms except to regulate weapons designed for military purposes as they see fit.
3. Mutanatian citizens will not at any time be required to give quarter to troops in a time of war without the consent of the owner.
4. All persons will be free in their papers and possessions from search and seizure, unless a warrant is obtained from a court of competent jurisdiction and is obtained by sworn affidavit. This right shall not be infringed upon, except for times of war or insurrection where the Civilian Courts are not working.
5. No person shall be tried by any court without an indictment by a grand jury or other proceeding whereby the prosecution must prove that it has sufficient cause or evidence to indict such person to stand trial. All persons called to stand trial will be afforded the right to consult in confidence with a lawyer, and shall be afforded the right to be represented by a lawyer at all times. A person acquitted of a crime at trial, may not be tried again for the same offense unless a second indictment is procured and new evidence has been obtained.
6. Any such person indicted as per the preceding Amendment, has the right to a public trial by a jury of his or her peers. No trial may be held in secret, except where issues of national security or issues that jeopardize the public safety may be present. In all cases where a court is closed to the public viewing, the presiding judge will issue an order explaining the necessity for the court’s closing.
7. The right against excessive bail or cruel and unusual punishment shall not be infringed upon.
8. In civil suits, the plaintiff, bringing an amount in controversy in excess of 100,000µ, shall have the right to a determination by a jury.
Bill of Fundamental Freedoms
1. All citizens have the right to speak out against their government, and have the right to demonstrate peaceably, with regard being paid to the time place and manner of those demonstrations. The government shall not adopt any national religion, and relgion shall not be a consideration when any law is being passed. However, any religious practice that calls for the sacrifice of a living animal or person is prohibited. In addition, Congress shall, at no time, make any law that will infringe upon the right to free expression of thoughts, ideas, or opinions, so long as such expression brings no harm to another citizen.
2. So that Mutantatians are guaranteed the freedom from oppression and tyranny against enemies, no law shall be passed that forbids the right to keep or bear arms.
3. Mutanatian citizens will not at any time be required to give quarter to troops in a time of war without the consent of the owner.
4. All persons will be free in their papers and possessions from search and seizure, unless a warrant is obtained from a court of competent jurisdiction and is obtained by sworn affidavit.
5. No person shall be tried by any court without an indictment by a grand jury or other proceeding whereby the prosecution must prove that it has sufficient cause or evidence to indict such person to stand trial. All persons called to stand trial will be afforded the right to consult in confidence with a lawyer, and shall be afforded the right to be represented by a lawyer at all times. A person acquitted of a crime at trial, may not be tried again for the same offense unless a second indict ment is procured and new evidence has been obtained.
6. Any such person indicted as per the preceding Amendment, has the right to a public trial by a jury of his or her peers. No trial may be held in secret, except where issues of national security or issues that jeopardize the public safety may be present. In all cases where a court is closed to the public viewing, the presiding judge will issue an order explaining the necessity for the court’s closing.
7. The right against excessive bail or cruel and unusual punishment shall not be infringed upon.
8. In civil suits, the plaintiff, bringing an amount in controversy in excess of (insert amount), shall have the right to a determination by a jury.
[Written by XKI Consulting]
Article 1. The Legislative Branch
Section 1. The Legislative Branch will comprise an upper house known as a Senate, and a lower house known as a House of Representatives. The Houses together will be known as a Congress. All laws governing commerce that is to be conducted between the states or provinces will originate in the Congress. Laws governing spending of public funds may only originate in the House. Laws governing treaties may only originate in the Senate. Bills to be considered by the Congress may only be sponsored by serving members of the Congress.
Section 2. Terms of office shall be as follows: House members’ terms will be 3 years each. Senate terms will be five years each. Members of Congress may be recalled by the following procedure: a petition for recall must be submitted to the election officials of the district which has sent the respective member to Congress. Once the petition is certified by the State or Provincial Legislature, a recall election will be held in accordance with the election laws of the state or province. No member shall have deemed to have been recalled without a 75% majority of the votes cast.
Section 3. Laws passed by the Congress must originate in the Congress, with emphasis on lines 4 and 5 of Article 1. A bill must pass by a majority in both houses before it is sent to the Executive for signature and passage into law. Differing versions of a bill will be worked out in committee. An exception to the simple majority is Amendments to this Constitution. Amendments to this Constitution are outlined in Article 4.
Section 4. The day to day operations of the two houses shall be overseen by a Prime Minister, who shall be elected by the members of Congress. The Prime Minister will preside over the Senate and shall cast no votes, other than those needed to break ties. The Prime minister will not be a member of the same party as the President or Vice President.
Section 5. It shall be the sole purview of The Congress to raise up a military force and a naval force for the common defense of Mutanatia and its territories. Congress shall determine the military needs of the nation and shall determine when force strengths need to be adjusted. The President must seek a declaration of War from the Congress before deploying troops or ships, except for the provisions outlined in Article 2, section 4.
Article 2. The Executive Branch
Section 1. The Executive shall be headed by a President, and a Vice President. The President will sign all bills passed by the Congress into law. The President will be elected by the following procedure: Every four years, an election will be held. The President and Vice President will run on the same slate as joint candidates.
Section 2. It shall be the responsibility of the executive to implement and enforce the various laws and acts of the Congress, by the use of a professional civil service which will be established by procedures set out by the Congress. Such civil servants will be appointed through a procedure set out by the congress and will remain in office without regard to results of subsequent elections, so long as they serve in good behavior. The exceptions will be those individuals nominated by the Executive to head up the various offices in the President’s Cabinet. Those individuals will be confirmed by Congress and will serve at the pleasure of the President. Other Executive appointments of agency heads will serve at the pleasure of the President.
Section 3. The President may only be removed from office by Impeachment and conviction. Impeachment will be undertaken by the House. If the President is impeached, a trial will be held in the Senate, with the full Senate serving as a jury. The trial will be presided over by the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, who shall serve as judge. Impeachments in the House and Convictions in the Sente must be approved by a 2/3 majority of each chamber.
Section 4. The Executive will serve as Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces. The Armed Forces will only be deployed by approval of Congress by a majority vote. However, in cases of emergency, the President may deploy the various Armed Forces without approval for a period not to exceed 90 calendar days. The Chiefs of the various Armed Forces will report directly to the President or his designee. No military forces shall be deployed on Mutanatian soil except in times of armed insurrection or when the President has determined that a breakdown in civil order necessitates the deployment of troops to restore order.
Section 5. The President shall have the power to grant pardons for crimes committed against the government, except that he or she shall not have the power to pardon himself or herself. This authority does not apply to crimes that are the sole purview of the states or provinces.
Article 3. The Judiciary
Section 1. The Judiciary of the nation shall consist of a Supreme Court and lesser Federal Courts as the Legislature may create by law. The jurisdiction of the Supreme Court is limited to those questions that present a federal question or arise as a controversy between two states or provinces. The court also has jurisdiction over admirality cases, and cases involving Mutanatian outposts on foreign jurisdictions. The Supreme Court may also hear cases on appeal from military tribunals.
Section 2. Justices of the federal courts will be nominated by the Executive and confirmed by the Legislature by a majority in the Senate. Justices will be compensated at a rate determined by the House, and there pay shall not be decreased while they are serving. Justices may be impeached for high crimes or misdemeanors that reflect poorly on the character of their office. A justice who is impeached and convicted, or who resigns from office during a conviction trial in the Senate, will forgo his or her right to pension benefits as set out by the Congress.
Section 3. The jurisdiction of the judiciary will be determined by the Congress. Congress may not decrease the jurisdiction to exclude the cases set out in Article 1. However, Congress may increase the jurisdiction of the federal courts, but shall not at any time give the federal courts jurisdiction over cases that arise strictly under state or provincial law.
Section 4. The federal courts shall at no time give advisory opinions to any legislative member or employee of a legislative branch under any circumstances. Moreover, the courts are precluded from reviewing cases by any other means other than direct petition. Thus, the federal courts will at no time take a case for review on their own initiative.
Section 5. The Supreme Court will have a number of Justices as set by Congress and approved by the Executive in the appropriate enabling legislation. Terms of office for members of the Court are to last as long as a judge duly appointed by the Executive and confirmed by the Senate serves in good behavior. The lower federal courts will be staffed in the same manner as the Supreme Court by the appropriate enabling legislation.
Article 4. Amendments
Section 1. Amendments to this Constitution will be adopted in the following manner: An Amendment will be released to the states only after 75% of the members of each house of Congress have voted in favor of the Amendment. Thereafter, the States or Provinces must pass the Amendment by a 75% majority of their respective legislatures. Only after 75% of the state or provincial legislatures have voted in favor of the Amendment, will it be deemed to have been ratified.
Section 2. Alternatively, 2/3 of the State or Provincial Legislatures may call for a Constitutional Convention whereby the Congress must vote on the Amendment as described in Section 1, and then release the Amendment back to the States for ratification, als as outlined in Section 1.
Section 3. The Repeal of Amendments may only be accomplished by the passage of a subsequent Amendment.
Section 4. Congress may impose a “reasonable time” for Amendments to be passed. If the Amendment has not passed within the reasonable time, it will be deemed null and expired. However, Congress has discretion as to whether a time limit shall be included.
Section 5. Amendments that expire before they are ratified may be taken up again, so long as they are promulgated per sections 1 or 2 of this Article.
Article 5. The States or Provinces.
Section 1. Congress shall have the sole authority to admit new states or Provinces to the Nation. States and Provinces will have sovereign authority over their residents and Congress shall not interfere except as to enforce the laws of the national government.
Section 2. In instances where the laws of a state or province conflict with those of the national government, the law of the national government will be deemed Supreme.
Section 3. The borders of states admitted after the ratification of this Constitution shall be settled by the Congress, with Representatives of the proposed new state sitting in Congress at such time as a vote is taken.
Section 4. Congress shall not admit a state or Province that does not structure itself to function as a republic with a legislature, executive, and judiciary, and a constitution that defines its laws and government.
Section 5. The public laws, records, and judicial determinations of one state or province will be deemed valid by other states and provinces. The Congress shall pass laws that prescribe the manner in which such credit shall be given. Where there is a conflict of laws between the two states or provinces, that conflict will be resolved as per Article 3, Section 1 of this Constitution.
Bill of Human Rights.
1. All citizens have the right to speak out against their government, and have the right to demonstrate peaceably, with regard being paid to the time place and manner of those demonstrations. The government shall not adopt any national religion, and relgion shall not be a consideration when any law is being passed. However, any religious practice that calls for the sacrifice of a living animal or person is prohibited.
2. Congress shall make no law infringing on the right to bear arms, except that Congress may make laws in accordance with its commerce authority to regulate the sale of weapons between parties in different states. The states will make no law infringing upon the right to bear arms except to regulate weapons designed for military purposes as they see fit.
3. Mutanatian citizens will not at any time be required to give quarter to troops in a time of war without the consent of the owner.
4. All persons will be free in their papers and possessions from search and seizure, unless a warrant is obtained from a court of competent jurisdiction and is obtained by sworn affidavit. This right shall not be infringed upon, except for times of war or insurrection where the Civilian Courts are not working.
5. No person shall be tried by any court without an indictment by a grand jury or other proceeding whereby the prosecution must prove that it has sufficient cause or evidence to indict such person to stand trial. All persons called to stand trial will be afforded the right to consult in confidence with a lawyer, and shall be afforded the right to be represented by a lawyer at all times. A person acquitted of a crime at trial, may not be tried again for the same offense unless a second indictment is procured and new evidence has been obtained.
6. Any such person indicted as per the preceding Amendment, has the right to a public trial by a jury of his or her peers. No trial may be held in secret, except where issues of national security or issues that jeopardize the public safety may be present. In all cases where a court is closed to the public viewing, the presiding judge will issue an order explaining the necessity for the court’s closing.
7. The right against excessive bail or cruel and unusual punishment shall not be infringed upon.
8. In civil suits, the plaintiff, bringing an amount in controversy in excess of 100,000µ, shall have the right to a determination by a jury.
Bill of Fundamental Freedoms
1. All citizens have the right to speak out against their government, and have the right to demonstrate peaceably, with regard being paid to the time place and manner of those demonstrations. The government shall not adopt any national religion, and relgion shall not be a consideration when any law is being passed. However, any religious practice that calls for the sacrifice of a living animal or person is prohibited. In addition, Congress shall, at no time, make any law that will infringe upon the right to free expression of thoughts, ideas, or opinions, so long as such expression brings no harm to another citizen.
2. So that Mutantatians are guaranteed the freedom from oppression and tyranny against enemies, no law shall be passed that forbids the right to keep or bear arms.
3. Mutanatian citizens will not at any time be required to give quarter to troops in a time of war without the consent of the owner.
4. All persons will be free in their papers and possessions from search and seizure, unless a warrant is obtained from a court of competent jurisdiction and is obtained by sworn affidavit.
5. No person shall be tried by any court without an indictment by a grand jury or other proceeding whereby the prosecution must prove that it has sufficient cause or evidence to indict such person to stand trial. All persons called to stand trial will be afforded the right to consult in confidence with a lawyer, and shall be afforded the right to be represented by a lawyer at all times. A person acquitted of a crime at trial, may not be tried again for the same offense unless a second indict ment is procured and new evidence has been obtained.
6. Any such person indicted as per the preceding Amendment, has the right to a public trial by a jury of his or her peers. No trial may be held in secret, except where issues of national security or issues that jeopardize the public safety may be present. In all cases where a court is closed to the public viewing, the presiding judge will issue an order explaining the necessity for the court’s closing.
7. The right against excessive bail or cruel and unusual punishment shall not be infringed upon.
8. In civil suits, the plaintiff, bringing an amount in controversy in excess of (insert amount), shall have the right to a determination by a jury.
[Written by XKI Consulting]