Kasnyia

Mar 6 2008, 10:47 AM

OOC- Its Archbishop Michael speaking, not Tobias. Tobias is sitting silently with other things on his mind. Namely trying to find a bride. :lol:

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Constitution of the Roman Commonwealth

Preamble:

In the Name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, we, the Roman and Orthodox people and the sovereign representatives thereof, in order to promote good governance and right order on the Earth, to work for the Salvation of the people, and to protect and defend the Orthodox Christian Faith, do hereby establish this Commonwealth and Empire.

Article I: Membership

Section 1: The Empire of the Romans
The lands of all realms and states that endorse this Constitution and join this Commonwealth will together form one Roman Empire.  All citizens and subjects of Commonwealth realms and states are citizens of the Empire, but are bound by the laws of the member state they reside in at any given time.

Section 2: Conditions
Any realm or state that desires to enter the Commonwealth and join the Empire of the Romans must have Orthodox Christianity as its official or co-official religion, or alternatively, must have Orthodox Christianity as its majority religion.  Its monarch or head of state must be a baptized member of the Orthodox Christian Church. The above criteria may be bypassed by an Emperor's endorsement, or a majority vote within the Roman Senate.

Section 3: Admission Procedure
All realms and states that ratify this Constitution according to their laws at the founding convention are members of the Roman Commonwealth and constituent states of the Roman Empire.  Any other realm or state that satisfies the conditions laid out in Article I, Section 2, may send an application for membership to the Roman Senate.  The Roman Senate will then vote on the application.  If the Roman Senate votes in favor of the application, it will be handed to the Roman Emperor for his signature.  If the Roman Emperor signs the application and marks it with the Great Seal of the Romans, the applying realm or state becomes a full member of the Commonwealth and constituent state of the Empire, equal to the other members.  If an application is rejected by the Roman Senate or the Roman Emperor, its rejection must be accompanied by a list of conditions.  The conditions must be satisfied before another application may be submitted.

Section 4: Expulsion
Any realm or state that ceases to satisfy the criteria outlined in Section 1 of this Article may be expelled by an Act of the Roman Senate.  Otherwise, no realm or state shall be expelled for any reason.  Any state that is expelled will have the right to appeal to the Civil Court of the Roman Commonwealth. Only states expulsed may leave the Roman Empire peacefully.

Section 5: Constituent States of the Empire
Every constituent state of the Empire will respect the judicial and legislative processes of the other constituent states, and will not hide from justice any fugitive from another constituent state.  No new state may be created from the boundaries of a constituent state without the full agreement of that constituent state, as articulated through its own legislative processes. All memberstates will have the ability to operate independently of the Empire in certain domestic and regional affairs, as determined by the Roman Senate.

Article II: The Legislative Power

Section 1: The Roman Senate
The Legislative functions of the Roman Commonwealth will be vested in the Roman Senate.

Section 2: Membership
The Roman Senate will include a number of members from each constituent state of the Empire, apportioned according to population.  The initial numbers of members will be decided at the founding convention, and the Roman Senate will be responsible for reapportioning membership at regular intervals set by the Roman Emperor.  Each constituent state of the Roman Empire will decide using its own methods how its Senators will be selected.  A Senator can only be removed by the authority of the Roman Emperor, by the authority of his constituent state, or upon conviction of a major offense by the Civil or Ecclesiastical Courts of the Roman Commonwealth.

Section 3: Meeting
The Roman Senate will assemble when summoned to do so by the Roman Emperor and at no other time, unless the Roman Emperor is in such a condition that the Senate must be called upon to govern the Commonwealth.

Section 4: Procedures
The Roman Senate will pass Acts of the Senate by majority vote.  Any Act of the Senate must, after its passing, be signed and sealed by the Roman Emperor in order to pass into Roman Law.  Any Act of the Senate that is passed but not signed is void.  All other procedures relating to the operation of the Roman Senate will be defined by the Roman Senate. The Senate may override the Emperor with a unaminous decision.

Section 5: Powers of the Roman Senate
The Roman Senate will fully exercise the power to pass Acts relating to borrowing of money, currency, foreign policy, commerce between constituent states and with foreign powers, and relating to the national defense, including the declaration of war.  These powers may not be exercised by constituent states.  No other power may be exercised by the Roman Senate unless expressly granted to it by three-fourths of the constituent states, in which case it is automatically revoked as soon as fewer than three-fourths of the consituent states endorse the additional power.

Section 6: Powers of the Constituent States
All legislative functions not listed in Article II, Section 5 continue to belong to the constituent states and may never be exercised by the Roman Senate, except as stipulated in Section 5.  Every constituent state of the Roman Empire will continue to govern itself according to its own laws and customs.

Section 7: Support
All operations of the Roman Empire will be supported economically by its constituent states.  The Roman Senate will be authorized to apportion the costs of this support according to the economic strength of the various constituent states thorugh an Act of the Senate.

Section 8: Taxation
All states of the Roman Empire will fund the activities of the Roman Empire within their own borders, or any action conducted on their behalf. The Roman Empire may pass laws collecting small, temporary taxes to help a nation deal with an economic crisis. Defensive warfare will be funded cooperatively throughout the empire through an Imperial income tax on the populace, not exceeding more than 5% at any given time.

Article III: The Executive Power

Section 1: The Roman Emperor
The Executive Power shall be vested in the Roman Emperor, who is the supreme sovereign and fount of law in the Roman Empire.

Section 2: Election
From the founding convention, Tsar of Russia will bear the office of the Roman Emperor signified by the Title of Emperor and Autocrat of the Romans.  Each Roman Emperor will serve in his office for life.  Upon the death of one Emperor, a new Emperor will be elected from the Orthodox monarchs and heads of state of the constituent states.  The Election of the Emperor will be performed by the Civil and Ecclesiastical Courts of the Roman Commonwealth.

Section 3: Assistance
The Roman Emperor may authorize any person, office, or apparatus necessary to assist him in his functions.

Section 4: The Roman Emperor and the Roman Senate
The Roman Emperor will have the authorized to summon the Roman Senate and decide when it will meet.  Additionally, the Roman Emperor may remove from office any Roman Senator.  Finally, any Act of the Roman Senate must be signed by the Emperor and sealed with the Great Seal of the Romans, in order to have legal effect.

Section 5: The Roman Emperor and the High Courts
The Roman Emperor has the right to send any case to the High Courts.  He has the right to grant an appeal to the High Courts to any Senator.  The Roman Emperor sits on both the Civil Court of the Roman Commonwealth and the Ecclesiastical Court of the Roman Commonwealth, and has final authority over which court hears any given case.  He has the authority to decide when the High Courts meet.

Section 6: Foreign Affairs
The Roman Emperor will represent the entire Commonwealth to foreign states, though individual monarchs and heads of state may continue to represent their constituent states.  The Emperor will be the Commander in Chief of the Roman Imperial Military, which shall consist of the militaries of all constituent states when summoned by the Roman Emperor. All meber-states are represented by the Roman Empire in foriegn affairs

Section 7: Imperial Edicts
As the Living Law of the Roman and Orthodox people, the Emperor is authorized to pass Imperial Edicts that are binding on all constituent states of the Roman Empire unless specifically rejected by a constituent state.

Article IV: The Judicial Power

Section 1: The Civil and Ecclesiastical Courts of the Roman Commonwealth
The Judicial Power shall be vested in two High Courts, the Civil Court of the Roman Commonwealth and the Ecclesiastical Court of the Roman Commonwealth.

Section 2: Jurisdiction
The Civil and Ecclesiastical Courts of the Roman Commonwealth will have jurisdiction between all disputes between constituent states, all disputes between a constituent state and the Commonwealth, all disputes between a constituent state and a foreign power, all disputes arising from an Act of Senate, and any other contraversies deemed significant by the Roman Emperor.  Additionally, any constituent state being expelled from the Commonwealth has the right to appeal to the Civil Court.  Any Senator may appeal to the High Courts at the will of the Roman Emperor.  Cases before the High Courts will be divided by content into Civil and Ecclesiastical Cases and heard by the appropriate Court.  The Roman Emperor has final say over whether a given case is heard by the Civil Court, the Ecclesiastical Court, or by a combined tribunal of both High Courts.

Section 3: Meeting
The High Courts will be convened by the Roman Emperor at times of his discretion to hear pending cases.

Section 4: Judges
The Civil Court of the Roman Commonwealth shall be judged by the Roman Emperor and the monarch or head of state of every constituent state of the Roman Empire.  The Ecclesiastical Court of the Roman Commonwealth shall be judged by the Roman Emperor and the most senior Orthodox Church bishop of ever constituent state of the Roman Empire.

Section 5: Elections
The High Courts have the sole authority to elect the Roman Emperor.  After the death of a Roman Emperor, the remaining members of the Civil and Ecclesiastical Courts of the Roman Commonwealth will meet in a timely fashion to elect one of the monarchs or heads of state as the succeeding Roman Emperor.

Article V: Amendment

This Constitution may be amended only with the consent of every constituent state of the Roman Empire, or by the unanimous decision of the Roman Senate and the Roman Emperor.

Article VI: Ratification

This Constitution will go into effect when agreed to by the Russian Empire and three other qualifying realms or states.

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Section 6: Foreign Affairs
The Roman Emperor will represent the entire Commonwealth to foreign states, though individual monarchs and heads of state may continue to represent their constituent states.  The Emperor will be the Commander in Chief of the Roman Imperial Military, which shall consist of the militaries of all constituent states when summoned by the Roman Emperor. All member-states are represented by the Roman Empire in foriegn affairs.