Constitution

The National Constitution of the Kingdom of Lovia or the Constitution is the highest law in Lovia. It was authored in 2007 by then Prince Dimitri of Lovia. It was approved in Congress by an absolute majority. The Constitution's supremacy "[is] mandatory" in Lovia. In it, all fundamental statements and political and judiciary procedures are enshrined. Already six amendments have been made to the Constitution, of which four in the last year. The First Amendment fixed the word choice issues and unclearities, the Second stressed the unitarity of the National State, the Third reformed citizenship registration and reviewed the executive power of the ruling monarch and Prime Minister, the Fourth settled some language questions, the Fifth Amendment reformed voting in federal elections, and the Sixth Amendment (or 2010 State Reform) mostly reformed the states and their powers.

Index

 * 1) Article 1 – Fundamental declarations on the State of Lovia
 * 2) * Article 1 A - Lovian National State
 * 3) * Article 1 B - Lovia is a monarchy, ruled by a king or queen
 * 4) Article 2 – Rights of every human being in Lovia
 * 5) Article 3 – The Lovian citizenship
 * 6) Article 4 – The structure of Lovia
 * 7) Article 5 – Legislature and executive power
 * 8) Article 6 – Editing the Federal or State Law
 * 9) Article 7 – Editing the Constitution
 * 10) Article 8 – Elections
 * 11) Article 9 – Supreme Court Trials
 * 12) Article 10 – State Court Trials
 * 13) Article 11 – National symbols and language

Content
The Constitution has 11 articles, each divided in sections, then divided in subsections and subsubsections.

Article 1
Article 1 A - Lovian National State
 * 1) Lovia is a sovereign, independent, unitary and indivisible National State.
 * 2) Lovia is a democratic and social state, governed by the rule of law, in which human dignity, the citizens' rights and freedoms, the free development of human personality, justice and political pluralism represent supreme values, in the spirit of the democratic traditions of the Lovian people and shall be guaranteed.
 * 3) Lovia shall be organized based on the principle of the separation and balance of powers - legislative, executive, and judicial - within the framework of constitutional democracy. Therefore no person is entitled to combine a top function in two or three branches of government; thus, the ruling monarch, the Prime Minister and the Supreme Court Judge shall be no less than three different persons.
 * 4) In Lovia, the observance of the Constitution, its supremacy and the laws shall be mandatory.
 * 5) The national sovereignty shall reside within the Lovia people, that shall exercise it by means of their representative bodies, resulting from free, periodical and fair elections, as well as by referendum.
 * 6) No group or person may exercise sovereignty in one's own name.

Article 1 B - Lovia is a monarchy, ruled by the ruling monarch.
 * 1) The ruling monarch is the person who legally inherited the throne from the previous ruling monarch. He or she is thus a descendant of the first Lovian monarch, King Arthur I of Lovia (Arthur Noble).
 * 2) The ruling monarch can be either male (the King) or female (the Queen).
 * 3) The partner of the ruling monarch is the person who legally married the ruling monarch. She is a member of the royal family, but does not enjoy privileges over the citizens of Lovia.
 * 4) The person who legally inherits the Lovian throne, after the previous ruling monarch has either deceased or abdicated, is the person who is most directly related in terms of kinship to the previous ruling monarch.
 * 5) The heir to the throne will sign the Constitution upon his coronation.
 * 6) The ruling monarch is Member of the Congress by Right, meaning he is automatically granted a seat in the Lovian Congress.
 * 7) The ruling monarch is thus not permitted to participate in elections to Congress.
 * 8) The ruling monarch has the right to demand financial support from the Department of Finances, in which case the Secretary of Finance can decide to grant the ruling monarch an amount of money, in agreement with Congress.
 * 9) With the exception of the ruling monarch in function, no member of the royal family is granted extra-legal privileges. Each member of the royal family, with the exception of the ruling monarch in function, is a regular citizen as determined by the Constitution.

Article 2
Article 2 – Rights of every human being in Lovia
 * 1) Every human being and citizen has the right:
 * 2) Of freedom of thought, meaning and religion.
 * 3) Of equality, by race, religion, political opinion, language, sex, property, birth or other statuses.
 * 4) Of privacy.
 * 5) To have personal or common property.
 * 6) To be arrested in a trial and to be treated correctly.
 * 7) To have a residence.
 * 8) To work and to receive education.
 * 9) To relax and recreate.
 * 10) To live in peace with his or her fellow-men.
 * 11) To live in welfare.
 * 12) To become a Lovian citizen.
 * 13) Every Lovian citizen has the right:
 * 14) To have one or two residences.
 * 15) To participate in federal and state politics.
 * 16) To become a Member of the Congress or to become a Secretary.
 * 17) Every Secretary or Member of the Congress has the right:
 * 18) To have one, two or three residences.
 * 19) The Ruling Monarch and the Prime Minister have the right:
 * 20) To have maximum four residences.

Article 3
Article 3 – The Lovian citizenship
 * 1) Every inhabitant of Lovia has the right to become a Lovian citizen.
 * 2) An inhabitant of Lovia is every person who has a domicile (permanent residence) within Lovia.
 * 3) There are requirements to become a Lovian citizen:
 * 4) He or she must reside in Lovia.
 * 5) He or she must have made at least 50 edits.
 * 6) Acts of vandalism or related edits are not to be included in this count.
 * 7) He or she must truthfully provide the following personal information:
 * 8) His or her official name that consists of at least one given name and a surname.
 * 9) His or her biological sex.
 * 10) His or her domicile (permanent residence); this being a full adress of a residence in a Lovian city or town.
 * 11) The rights of a citizen are described in Article 2.
 * 12) One's citizenship may be taken away as a punishment in a trial.

Article 4
Article 4 – The structure of Lovia
 * 1) Federal level: Lovia
 * 2) Executive power: the Prime Minister and the Federal Secretaries
 * 3) Legislature: the Congress
 * 4) Judiciary: the Supreme Court
 * 5) State level: Clymene, Kings, Oceana, Seven and Sylvania
 * 6) Executive power and legislature: the Governor and the State Secretaries
 * 7) Judiciary: the State Court
 * 8) Local level: Cities and towns
 * 9) Executive power and legislature: the Mayor
 * 10) Judiciary: the State Court
 * 11) Sublocal level: Neighborhoods
 * 12) Executive power and legislature: the Chairman or Chairwoman
 * 13) Judiciary: the State Court

Article 5
Article 5 – Legislature and executive power
 * 1) Subjects of the legislature of the federal level:
 * 2) * Highways, international airports and ports
 * 3) * Foreign affairs, war and defense
 * 4) * Healthcare, education
 * 5) * Culture, language, sports
 * 6) * Agriculture, fishery, industry
 * 7) * Trade, finance, economy, business
 * 8) * Justice, Supreme Court
 * 9) Subjects of the legislature of the state level:
 * 10) * State Routes, local airports and harbors
 * 11) * Town and cities
 * 12) * Traffic rules
 * 13) * Nature, environment
 * 14) * State Court
 * 15) Subjects of the legislature of the (sub)local level:
 * 16) * Neighborhoods
 * 17) * Local streets and avenues
 * 18) * City parks, sporting accommodations
 * 19) * City planning

Article 6
Article 6 – Editing the Federal or State Law
 * 1) A motion can be:
 * 2) * A proposal for a new chapter in the Federal or State Law
 * 3) * A proposal for a change in a certain part in the Federal or State Law
 * 4) * A proposal for a deletion of a certain part in the Federal or State Law
 * 5) Steps of tabling and voting a motion for the Federal Law:
 * 6) One or more Members of the Congress write a motion.
 * 7) The motion is proposed in the First Chamber, where all the Members of the Congress can propose little changes to the text.
 * 8) If the majority of the Members of the Congress approves with the motion, it can go to the Second Chamber.
 * 9) Every Member of the Congress can vote (pro, contra or abstention).
 * 10) If more than 50% of the valid votes is pro, the motion is accepted and will be adapted to the Federal Law.
 * 11) When a majority has accepted the motion, the Prime Minister or monarch has to adapt it to the Federal Law.
 * 12) Steps of tabling and voting a motion for the State Law:
 * 13) The Governor or one or more of the State Secretaries write a motion.
 * 14) The motion is proposed to the Governor and all of the State Secretaries, where they can all propose little changes to the text.
 * 15) If the majority approves with the motion, they can vote officially.
 * 16) Every State Secretary and the Governor can vote (pro, contra or abstention).
 * 17) If more than 50% of the valid votes is pro, the motion is accepted and will be adapted to the State Law.
 * 18) When a majority has accepted the motion, the Governor or monarch has to adapt it to the State Law.

Article 7
Article 7 – Editing the Constitution
 * 1) The Constitution can’t be edited by a normal majority (+50%) in the Congress.
 * 2) A motion for the Constitution is called an Amendment.
 * 3) Steps of tabling and voting an Amendment:
 * 4) One or more Members of the Congress write an Amendment.
 * 5) The motion is proposed in the First Chamber, where all the Members of the Congress can propose little changes to the text.
 * 6) If the majority of the Members of the Congress approves with the motion, it can go to the Second Chamber.
 * 7) Every Member of the Congress can vote (pro, contra or abstention).
 * 8) If more than 75% of the valid votes is pro, the motion is accepted and will be adapted to the Constitution.
 * 9) When the Congress has accepted the motion, the Prime Minister or monarch has to adapt it to the Constitution.

Article 8
Article 8 – Elections
 * 1) Federal elections:
 * 2) Every year federal elections are held.
 * 3) The term of office of every Member of the Congress is exactly one year, so every year the elections should be held at the same date.
 * 4) Election procedure during Federal Elections:
 * 5) During a period of three weeks, any Lovian citizen can, without restrictions, become a candidate in the Federal Elections. This period begins exactly one month and twenty-one days before Inauguration Day.
 * 6) During a period of twenty-five to thirty-one days, any Lovian citizen can cast his or her votes in favor of candidates in the Federal Elections.
 * 7) The period during which citizens may vote is decided by the Prime Minister in office.
 * 8) Every citizen may cast three favorable votes in the Federal Elections: a Major Vote, a Minor Vote and a Favor Vote. A Major Vote is worth three points, a Minor Vote two and a Favor Vote one.
 * 9) Citizens may choose not to cast their votes, or some of them.
 * 10) Citizens may not cast multiple votes for the same candidate. All cast votes must be given to different candidates.
 * 11) All candidates who received votes worth at least six points, will become Members of the Congress, unless the number of elected candidates is larger than the membership limit, decided by the Prime Minister in office at the moment of the elections. The membership limit must always be between five and thirty and is decided one month prior to Inauguration Day. In this case, the candidates with the highest number of points are elected to Congress. In the case of an ex aequo, priority is given to the candidate with the most Major Votes.
 * 12) The candidate who received votes worth the most points, will become Member of the Congress and Prime Minister. In the case of an ex aequo, priority is given to the candidate with the most Major Votes.
 * 13) Mid-term elections can be organized if proposed in Congress and approved by a Congressial majority. The procedure is equal to that of the normal federal elections; with only these differences:
 * 14) The candidacy period as well as the voting period are chosen by the Congress.
 * 15) The membership limit for candidates to join the existing Congress is between no less than five and no more than ten.
 * 16) Members of the Congress remain in Congress and do not have to participate in the Mid-term elections. All elected candidates join Congress.
 * 17) New federal elections have to be held when more than half of the Members of the Congress are inactive; either self-declared or if they have not edited for over a month (31 days); or when the Prime Minister steps down.
 * 18) Federal Secretaries:
 * 19) The monarch and Prime Minister will chose which Members of the Congress will become Secretaries of a certain Department. Their proposal needs to be accepted by a normal majority in Congress.
 * 20) Congress should be able to question all executing members of government - of any level - about their activities. When they have lost their trust in the questioned person, they can vote a motion of distrust against him or her. When this motion is accepted by a normal majority (50%), he or she has to resign and a replacement has to be proposed by the Prime Minister and approved by Congress.
 * 21) When Congress has lost its trust in the incumbent government, it can vote a motion of distrust. When this motion is accepted by a normal majority (50%), both government and Congress are dissolved and new federal elections are to be held.
 * 22) When the Prime Minister and his government resign, Congress is dissolved and new federal elections are to be held.
 * 23) State elections:
 * 24) Every two year state elections are held.
 * 25) The term of office of every Governor is exactly two year, so every two year the elections should be held at the same date.
 * 26) Steps of the state elections:
 * 27) Every citizen who lives in the state can run for Governor.
 * 28) After two weeks, the period of becoming a candidate is done and the voting can begin.
 * 29) Every citizen can vote for one candidates. It’s not possible to vote contra.
 * 30) The candidates with the most votes, and at least three, will become Governor.

Article 9
Article 9 – Supreme Court Trials
 * 1) Issues for the Supreme Court:
 * 2) * Every case concerning federal issues.
 * 3) * Crimes threatening the nation or the national population.
 * 4) * Cases that can’t be handled by the State Court.
 * 5) Starting a case:
 * 6) The case can be started by: a plaintiff or a public plaintiff (a representative of the government, the nation, the state, the city, the town…).
 * 7) There has to be a defendant: the person or organization accused by the plaintiff. This can also be a public defendant, that’s when the government is accused by someone or something.
 * 8) Both plaintiff or defendant may use a lawyer.
 * 9) The case starts when one of both parties asks the Supreme Court for a lawsuit.
 * 10) The Judge has to examine the case and look at all the evidence. If he thinks this case isn’t appropriate for the Supreme Court, he can redirect it to the State Court.
 * 11) The lawsuit:
 * 12) The Judge starts with reading the file on this case.
 * 13) The plaintiff (or his/her lawyer) has the right to speak to the Judge in public. He or she can also bring witnesses or material on the case. He can ask the defendant questions to prove his or her guiltiness.
 * 14) Then the defendant (or his/her lawyer) can speak and ask questions to witnesses. Bringing material is also allowed, to prove his or her innocence.
 * 15) If the plaintiff wants to speak once more, he gets the chance.
 * 16) At last, the defendant has the right to speak.
 * 17) Judging the case:
 * 18) The Judge retreats and examines all the evidence and considers what both the defendant and the plaintiff have said or shown. He will use the Constitution and the Federal Law as his guidelines.
 * 19) Decision:
 * 20) The Judge will make his decision clear:
 * 21) * He or she can declare someone guilty. The Judge can fine this person or organization, or can lock somebody up, for a time according to the crime.
 * 22) * He or she can warn somebody or an organization, for doing wrong, but not that wrong there has to be a punishment.
 * 23) * He or she can declare the defendant unguilty and free.
 * 24) * He or she can redirect this case to the State Court, because it’s not appropriate.
 * 25) The Supreme Court Judges are appointed by the Federal Secretary of Justice, with the agreement of the Prime Minister.

Article 10
Article 10 – State Court Trials
 * 1) Issues for the State Court:
 * 2) * Every case concerning state, local or sublocal issues.
 * 3) Starting a case:
 * 4) The case can be started by: a plaintiff or a public plaintiff (a representative of the government, the nation, the state, the city, the town…).
 * 5) There has to be a defendant: the person or organization accused by the plaintiff. This can also be a public defendant, that’s when the government is accused by someone or something.
 * 6) Both plaintiff or defendant may use a lawyer.
 * 7) The case starts when one of both parties asks the State Court for a lawsuit.
 * 8) The Judge has to examine the case and look at all the evidence. If he thinks this case isn’t appropriate for the State Court, he can redirect it to the Supreme Court.
 * 9) The lawsuit:
 * 10) The Judge starts with reading the file on this case.
 * 11) The plaintiff (or his/her lawyer) has the right to speak to the Judge in public. He or she can also bring witnesses or material on the case. He can ask the defendant questions to prove his or her guiltiness.
 * 12) Then the defendant (or his/her lawyer) can speak and ask questions to witnesses. Bringing material is also allowed, to prove his or her innocence.
 * 13) Judging the case:
 * 14) The Judge retreats and examines all the evidence and considers what both the defendant and the plaintiff have said or shown. He will use the Constitution and the Federal Law as his guidelines.
 * 15) Decision:
 * 16) The Judge will make his decision clear:
 * 17) * He or she can declare someone guilty. The Judge can fine this person or organization, or can lock somebody up, for a time according to the crime.
 * 18) * He or she can warn somebody or an organization, for doing wrong, but not that wrong there has to be a punishment.
 * 19) * He or she can declare the defendant unguilty and free.
 * 20) * He or she can redirect this case to the Supreme Court, because it’s not appropriate.
 * 21) The State Court Judges are appointed by the Federal Secretary of Justice, with the agreement of the Governor of the State in which the new State Court Judge will work.

Article 11
Article 11 – National symbols and language
 * 1) The federal capital of Lovia is Noble City, Sylvania.
 * 2) The national symbol of Lovia is the white pine tree.
 * 3) The national colors of Lovia are navy blue, red and white.
 * 4) The national flag of Lovia has a navy blue hoist, a red fly and the white pine tree as badge.
 * 5) The national language is English.
 * 6) The variety of English spoken and written by the Lovians is Lovian English. Lovian English is defined as a variety of American English, sharing its orthography and grammar, and most of its pronunciation and vocabulary, supplemented with lexical and grammatical features that are generally recognized as Lovian and that are understandable to all Lovians.
 * 7) The Lovian authorities of all levels shall make use of standardized Lovian English in all official documents.
 * 8) The language Oceana is recognized as a regional minority language, and shall thus be protected from extinction.
 * 9) The language may publicly be used by its speakers, under the condition that an accurate English translation shall be provided within a reasonable time.
 * 10) The Narasha 'Oshenna Rát or Oceana Language Council is a federal institution under the Department of Culture, Heritage and Education that shall preserve the language through literary, cultural and lexicographical projects. The Narasha 'Oshenna Rát is entitled to regulate and promote the use of Oceana language.

First Chamber
These adjustments have been made by designer of the constitution in the First Chamber:
 * 1) Article 2 – Rights of every human being in Lovia
 * house and living are replaced by residence
 * 1) Article 11 – National symbols
 * Added: The national language is (American) English.
 * 1) Article 6 - Editing the Federal or State Law
 * When a majority has accepted the motion, the Prime Minister or monarch can adapt it to the Federal Law: can has been replaced by has to.
 * When a majority has accepted the motion, the Governor or monarch can adapt it to the State Law: can has been replaced by has to.
 * 1) Article 1 - Lovia is a monarchy, ruled by a king or queen.
 * Added: Every member of the Royal family is equal to normal citizens.
 * 1) Article 1 - Lovia is a monarchy, ruled by a king or queen.
 * The (former) King, Queen or Prime Minister has the right: To have more than three residences. is replaced by The Ruling Monarch and the Prime Minister have the right: To have maximum four residences.
 * 1) Article 7 – Editing the Constitution
 * When the Congress has accepted the motion, the Prime Minister or monarch can adapt it to the Constitution: can has been replaced by has to.

The reactions in the First Chamber on the Constitution design were very positive. Some of these short remarks:
 * "I have no remarks."

Robin Ferguson, December 2, 2007


 * "To me it is perfect."

Lars Washington, December 2, 2007


 * "Great!"

, December 4, 2007

Second Chamber
The reactions in the Second Chamber of the Congress were also very positive. From December 6 to 8 everyone voted pro and the proposal was unanimously approved. The voters were: King Dimitri, Lars Washington, Alexandru Latin, Arthur Jefferson, Robin V. Ferguson and Yuri Medvedev, all notable Lovian citizens. The constitution was officially accepted on December 8, 2007.

First Amendment
The First Amendment was written by King Dimitri I of Lovia. It corrects some mistakes in the Constitution and adjusts some small difficulties. In specific the articles concerning elections and trials were amended. It was acdepted on December 31, 2007 with an absolute majority.

Second Amendment


The Second Amendment was proposed by King Dimitri I of Lovia soon after the independence problems in Hurbanova, Oceana. The amendment is about the sovereignity, independence, unitarity and indivisibility of the Lovian National State. All fundamentals of the Lovian state are defined in the Second Amendment. The article was originally proposed as the Twelfth Article of the Constitution, but was adopted as the First Article A. The original First Article became Article 1 B.

The original text as in the Second Chamber:
 * Article 12 - Lovian state
 * Lovia is a sovereign, independent, unitary and indivisible National State.
 * Lovia is a democratic and social state, governed by the rule of law, in which human dignity, the citizens' rights and freedoms, the free development of human personality, justice and political pluralism represent supreme values, in the spirit of the democratic traditions of the Lovian people and shall be guaranteed.
 * Lovia shall be organized based on the principle of the separation and balance of powers -legislative, executive, and judicial - within the framework of constitutional democracy.
 * In Lovia, the observance of the Constitution, its supremacy and the laws shall be mandatory.
 * The national sovereignty shall reside within the Lovia people, that shall exercise it by means of their representative bodies, resulting from free, periodical and fair elections, as well as by referendum.
 * No group or person may exercise sovereignty in one's own name.

The proposal was finally accepted on April 11, 2008 after the vote of Prime Minister Yuri Medvedev.

Third Amendment
In the 2010 Federal Elections, most competing parties promised Constitutional reform. Prime Minister Yuri Medvedev was the first to bring these issues to Congress in his Five Point Dialogue. He "[believed] it would have a higher success rate than when we should have five separate proposals." Eventually, by the end of January and even before the actual inauguration of Congress, an informal agreement was reached about some Constitutional changes. February 21st, Prime Minister Medvedev proposed three different proposal clusters to the First Chamber:
 * A cluster of proposals concerning the power of the ruling monarch and the Prime Minister;
 * A proposal to abolish undemocratic local regulations;
 * A proposal to alter citizenship regulations.

The first proposal gained support from all but one Members of the Congress. It was accepted March 10th, 2010, by a 91.67% majority.

The second proposal, on the other hand, did not gain the Congressial support. Five favored the bill, four Members opposed it, and three Members chose to abstain. The proposal did not pass.

Medvedev's last proposal was replaced by an alternative version written by King Dimitri. King Dimitri's reform bill was a more radical rewriting of the original Article 3. In the Second Chamber, all members of the Congress favored the bill. It passed March 5th.

Beside Medvedev's three clusters, a fourth bill was proposed in the First Chamber on February 25th, by King Dimitri I. The bill included a rather radical rewriting of the Constitutional Article 1B concerning the monarchy. All Members backed the proposal, with the exception of Alexandru Latin, who opposed the fact that the King retained his Membership by Right to the Congress. The bill was easily passed by March 5th with a 91.67% majority.

Sixth Amendment
The Sixth Amendment is better known as the 2010 State Reform plan or bill. Originally, several MOTCs wished to write and vote a state reform bill before the Mid-term Elections, 2010. In the end, it was the most radical version authored by King Dimitri and with input from Oos Wes Ilava and others that got through the Second Chamber August 29th.