Forum:First Chamber/2010 State Reform Bill

'''Please do not edit the bill itself. All reactions in the "Response" section please! MOTCs can propose changes over there.

Preface
Dear fellow Members of the Congress,

This bill is a huge piece of legal matter - complex and sometimes chaotic - that will make our law and land more simple to govern, and that will make it easier for Lovians to know which authority to address. We now have many various levels of government. They have made it impossible to govern properly for a very long time. Also, the lack of democracy on the state, local and sublocal levels have caused us quite some troubles.

May 14, I published the outline a plan in the First Chamber, conceived by Oos Wes Ilava and me and with the help of my useful suggestions. The huge advantage of that proposal was that it garnered support from conservatives (CCPL), liberals (LD), socialists (CPL.nm) and Waldeners (WLP). Things have changed after the Mid-terms, but we might still get the required 75%+ majority in Congress. Why? Because this state reform rocks. It will reshape Lovia and make politics do-able again.

I have split up the proposal in different parts. I ask from you, MOTCs, that you read it through very well. You will be asked to vote for each of these parts separately. Yet, I must emphasize that the bill only works perfectly if accepted in its entirety.

At the end of each part, I will briefly summarize what changes.

08:31, July 31, 2010 (UTC)

Content (1): Structural change (Constitution Art. 4)

 * Old text: http://nation.wikia.com/wiki/Constitution#Article_4
 * New text:

Article 4 – The structure of Lovia
 * 1) The Kingdom of Lovia is governed on different levels:
 * 2) The federal level encompasses the entire Lovian territory.
 * 3) The executive power of the federal level inheres to the Government of Lovia. This government consists of the Prime Minister and the Federal Secretaries, and has control over government departments, government institutions and civil services.
 * 4) All legislative power inheres to the Lovian Congress. This parliamentary body consists of the Members of the Congress, who are either democratically elected by the citizens of Lovia or who are Member by Right (the ruling monarch). Congress may, as the sole body in the nation, write and amend legal matters in the Federal Law and the Constitution.
 * 5) All judicial power inheres to the Supreme Court of Lovia.
 * 6) The state level consists of five states with limited powers: Clymene, Kings, Oceana, Seven and Sylvania.
 * 7) The executive power of the federal level inheres to the Governor and Deputy Governor of each state, both democratically elected by the citizens of each state.
 * 8) The local level, consisting of cities and towns, and the sublocal level, consisting of neighborhoods and hamlets, are governed by the state authorities.

Changes
This bill changes drastically. Before, it was just a mini-list of some government levels and branches. Now, it is a real, good law article. Content changes:
 * From four levels of government, we go to two. The federal level inheres to the Government (that is the PM and the secretaries), the Congress and the Supreme Court. The state level inheres to the Governor and the Deputy Governor (new). The former local level is governed by the states.
 * All bodies mentioned are more correctly defined.

Content (2): Competencies (Constitution Art. 5)

 * Old text: http://nation.wikia.com/wiki/Constitution#Article_4
 * New text:

Article 5 – Legislature and executive power
 * 1) In general, the competencies of the state level are limited to local government that does not interfere with federal law and government. The following competencies belong to the state level:
 * 2) The naming, organizing and maintaining of urban parks, public places, streets, markets, roads (with the exclusion of highways), waterways, natural areas and environmentally significant places that are not protected by the federal government, culturally significant monuments that are not protected by the federal government.
 * 3) Informing the state population about the various aspects of the state, the federal government and its policies.
 * 4) The construction and planning of neighborhoods and hamlets.
 * 5) The Governor may decide on the construction, destruction, re-organization of neighborhoods and hamlets in that specific state.
 * 6) The Lovian Congress may overrule the Governor's decision by a normal majority. From the moment a bill to overrule that decision has been proposed to Congress, the Governor cannot proceed with the construction, destruction or re-organization. If the decision is in effect overruled by Congress, the Governor may not construct, destroy or re-organize neighborhoods and hamlets for thirty-one days, to protect the state and its inhabitants from whimsical construction plans.
 * 7) The Governor may not grant a town a fifth neighborhood, which would make it a city.
 * 8) Bringing the people of Lovia and the different levels and branches of government closer to one another.
 * 9) Advising the Lovian Congress on issues related to the particular state.
 * 10) Advising federal institutions in relation to protected natural regions and culturally significant locations and monuments in the particular state.
 * 11) All competencies not covered by the states inhere to the federal level.
 * 12) When a state is in conflict with the federal level or with another state, in relation to their legal competencies, any of the involved parties may consult the Supreme Court.
 * 13) The Supreme Court Judge must in turn consult the laws of Lovia and must interpret these justly and with respect to the well-being of the Lovians.
 * 14) The Supreme Court Judge must then decide to which of the involved parties the competency of conflict inheres.
 * 15) The Supreme Court Judge may also find the matter inconclusive. He or she may then require the Congress to amend the Constitution. Such a requirement is binding and obligatory.

Changes
Like Article 4, this article used to be a small, incomprehensive list of competencies. This is changing drastically.
 * The article is ENTIRELY rephrased. Hooray.
 * The competencies of the states are: the naming, organizing and maintaining of urban parks, public places, streets, markets, roads (with the exclusion of highways), waterways, natural areas and environmentally significant places that are not protected by the federal government, culturally significant monuments that are not protected by the federal government; Informing the state population about the various aspects of the state, the federal government and its policies; The construction and planning of neighborhoods and hamlets; Bringing the people of Lovia and the different levels and branches of government closer to one another; Advising the Lovian Congress on issues related to the particular state; Advising federal institutions in relation to protected natural regions and culturally significant locations and monuments in the particular state.
 * There are a couple of back-up clauses:
 * Congress can overrule excessive building plans.
 * All other competencies automatically belong to the federal level.
 * In case of conflict, the Supreme Court may settle the argument between levels/states.

Federal Law (Art. 6)

 * Old text: http://nation.wikia.com/wiki/Constitution#Article_6
 * New text:

Article 6 – Amending the Federal Law
 * 1) A motion to amend the Federal Law can be:
 * 2) * A proposal for a new article in the Federal Law;
 * 3) * A proposal to amend a section of the Federal Law;
 * 4) * A proposal to remove a section of the Federal Law.
 * 5) The required steps to propose a motion to the Federal Law in Congress:
 * 6) All Lovian citizens may write and propose motions to the Federal Law.
 * 7) Motions are presented to the Members of the Congress in the First Chamber.
 * 8) All Members of the Congress are expected to read the motion and form a personal opinion about it. In order to obtain the support of a majority of Members of the Congress, changes may be proposed in the First Chamber.
 * 9) If the proposing Member of the Congress expects that the majority of Congress is in favor of the motion, he or she may move it to the Second Chamber.
 * 10) All Members of the Congress are expected to vote on the motion in the Second Chamber.
 * 11) There are three valid voting options: pro (in favor of the motion), contra (in opposition to the motion) and abstention (the wish not to vote).
 * 12) A normal majority is required to pass a motion. A normal majority is described as more than fifty percent of the valid votes.
 * 13) All Members of the Congress have two weeks’ time to cast their vote in the Second Chamber. Voting may be closed earlier if the required majority is reached. The proposer may also choose to lengthen the voting period.
 * 14) When the motion is accepted by Congress, it must be implemented. The Secretary of Justice, the Prime Minister and the ruling monarch are enprivileged to enshrine passed motions in the law, although all Members of the Congress may do it, if done correctly.
 * 15) When the motion is not accepted, either because the majority opposed it or because no majority was found in favor of the motion, it shall be removed from the Second Chamber. Any citizen and Member of the Congress has the right to propose an alterned version for reconsideration in the First Chamber.
 * 16) A motion that is not intended to be enshrined in the Federal Law, but that does need Congressial approval, is proposed and voted in the same way.

Constitution (Art. 7)
Article 7 – Amending the Constitution
 * 1) A motion to amend the Constitution is called an Amendment.
 * 2) The required steps to propose a motion to the Constitution in Congress:
 * 3) All Lovian citizens may write and propose amendments to the Constitution.
 * 4) Amendments are presented to the Members of the Congress in the First Chamber.
 * 5) If the proposing Member of the Congress expects that the majority of Congress is in favor of the amendment, he or she may move it to the Second Chamber.
 * 6) All Members of the Congress are expected to vote on the amendment in the Second Chamber.
 * 7) There are three valid voting options: pro (in favor of the motion), contra (in opposition to the motion) and abstention (the wish not to vote).
 * 8) A special majority is required to pass a amendment. A special majority is described as more than two thirds (66.67%) of the valid votes.
 * 9) All Members of the Congress have two weeks’ time to cast their vote in the Second Chamber. Voting may be closed earlier if the required majority is reached. The proposer may also choose to lengthen the voting period.
 * 10) When the amendment is accepted by Congress, it must be implemented. The Secretary of Justice, the Prime Minister and the ruling monarch are enprivileged to enshrine passed amendments in the law, although all Members of the Congress may do it, if done correctly.
 * 11) When the amendment is not accepted, either because the majority opposed it or because no majority was found in favor of the amendment, it shall be removed from the Second Chamber. Any citizen and Member of the Congress has the right to propose an alterned version for reconsideration in the First Chamber.

Changes
Major changes:
 * Mentionings of State Law amendment are repealed.
 * The articles have been rephrased to be more accurate.
 * The majority required to amend the Constitution is lowered from 75%+ to 66.67%+ (two thirds). This was asked by many Lovians.

Content (4): Elections (Constitution Art. 8)

 * Old text: http://nation.wikia.com/wiki/Constitution#Article_8
 * New text:

Article 8 – Elections and the formation of a federal government
 * 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. Therefore 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, 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, 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 Lovian citizen has the right to become a candidate for Governor of a state wherein he or she has an official residence.
 * 25) It is not permitted to be a candidate during a state election in more than one state.
 * 26) The term of office of the elected Governor and Deputy Governor is exactly six months. Therefore every six months the elections should be held at the same date.
 * 27) Election procedure during State Elections:
 * 28) During a period of two weeks, any Lovian citizen and resident of the state can become a candidate in the State Elections. This period begins exactly one month before the day of the inauguration of the Governor and Deputy Governor.
 * 29) During a period of two weeks, any Lovian citizen can cast his or her vote in favor of a candidate in the State Elections of the state of which he or she is an official resident.
 * 30) Every citizen may cast one vote per state election. Inhabitants of multiple states have the right to cast one vote for each state in which they have an official residence.
 * 31) Citizens may choose not to cast their vote.
 * 32) The candidate who received the highest number of votes and at least three will become Governor of the state in which he or she participated in the state elections.
 * 33) In the case of an ex aequo, a second voting round must be held within two weeks' time.
 * 34) The Governor is in charge of the competencies given to the state government.
 * 35) The candidate who received the second highest number of votes and at least three will become Deputy Governor of the state in which he or she participated in the state elections.
 * 36) The Deputy Governor is in temporary charge of the state competencies during the absence of the Governor.
 * 37) Upon the resignation of the Governor, or any other instance causing the Governor to quit, the Deputy Governor becomes Governor and will keep this office until the next elections.

Changes
Major changes:
 * The article has recently been altered by accepting the Six Points voting system. Therefore, no rephrasings were needed in these sections.
 * Deputy Governor included.
 * Governor term lowered to six months, as requested by many.

Supreme Court (Art. 9)

 * Old text: http://nation.wikia.com/wiki/Constitution#Article_9
 * New text:

Article 9 – Supreme Court Trials
 * 1) The Supreme Court is an independent institution and the nation's only and supreme judicial organ, led by a Supreme Court Judge.
 * 2) A lawsuit is a civil action brought before a court of law in which a plaintiff, a party who claims to have received damages from a defendant's actions, seeks a legal or equitable remedy, from the defendant who is required to respond to the plaintiff's complaint.
 * 3) A lawsuit can be opened by a plaintiff or a public plaintiff.
 * 4) Any person in Lovia may be a plaintiff in a lawsuit.
 * 5) A public plaintiff is a representative of the federal government or any institution of it or any other level of administration in Lovia.
 * 6) The federal attorney is the public plaintiff representing the federal government, the entire population or any other administrative institution of the federal level in court. He or she is appointed by the Secretary of Justice.
 * 7) A defendant is the party accused by the plaintiff.
 * 8) A public defendant has the same status as a public plaintiff.
 * 9) Both parties may opt to be represented in court by a lawyer.
 * 10) Every lawsuit before the Supreme Court must proceed in this manner and order:
 * 11) The plaintiff opens the lawsuit.
 * 12) The plaintiff makes an accusation and names the defendant in the lawsuit.
 * 13) The plaintiff may make a demand. This can be a period of imprisonment, a fine or/and any other punishment not contradicting the laws of Lovia.
 * 14) The Supreme Court Judge must investigate the accusation. He or she may find the accusation not suited for Supreme Court; that is when the accusations made are in no way a violation of the law.
 * 15) The Supreme Court must notify the defendant that he or she is accused in court.
 * 16) The Supreme Court Judge must read out the case, including accusations and demands.
 * 17) The plaintiff's party must speak before court in order to convince the Supreme Court Judge of the truthfulness of the made claims. He or she may bring forward witnesses, that can be asked questions directly relating to the accusations, and/or evidence material. He or she may ask the defendant's party questions directly relating to the accusations.
 * 18) The defendant's party may speak before court. The defendant or his or her lawyer may plea guilty to the accusations, or unguilty. He or she may also try to convince the Supreme Court Judge of extenuating circumstances. The defendant is free to bring forward witnesses and evidence, both directly relating to the accusations or to the extenuating circumstances.
 * 19) The Supreme Court Judge must consider both pleas thorougly and by interpreting the laws of Lovia.
 * 20) The plaintiff's party may demand a second round, for which the same rules account.
 * 21) The defendant's party may demand a second round, for which the same rules account, but only if the plaintiff's party has made use of their second round.
 * 22) The Supreme Court Judhe must consider the entirity of the lawsuit. The Judge must, within two week's time since the last plea, come to a conclusion. He or she may conclude:
 * 23) That the defendant is guilty of the accusations, or of a part of the accusations;
 * 24) That the defendant is not guilty of any accusations.
 * 25) If the Supreme Court Judge found the defendant guilty, he or she may choose to sentence the defendant, by means of:
 * 26) A period of imprisonment in a federal penitentiary;
 * 27) A fine;
 * 28) Any other sentence, including penal labor or contributions to Lovian society.
 * 29) All sentences issued by the Supreme Court:
 * 30) Must be in agreement with the laws of Lovia;
 * 31) Must be in proportion to the violation;
 * 32) Must respect the personal integrity of the individual; therefore death penalty, corporal punishment and inhumane forms of humiliation are prohibited.
 * 33) The Supreme Court Judge is appointed by the Federal Secretry of Justice, in agreement with the Prime Minister. A Supreme Court Judge is appointed until another Judge is appointed; he or she does not step down when the Secretary of Justice does so.

State Courts abolished (Art. 10)

 * Old text: http://nation.wikia.com/wiki/Constitution#Article_10

This entire article will be repealed.

Changes

 * State Courts abolished. All trials will thus be held in Supreme Court.
 * Arthur Jefferson, as the current Supreme Court specialist, rewrote most of Article 9. We rephrased quite a lot and re-organized some technicalities. No essential things changed.

Local Police abolished (Art. 6)
We repeal this act.


 * Old text: http://nation.wikia.com/wiki/Federal_Law#Article_6_-_Local_Police_Act

Federal Police (Art. 5)
Because of the abolishment of the Local Police authorities, we will have to amend this article too.


 * Old text: http://nation.wikia.com/wiki/Federal_Law#Article_5_-_Federal_Police_Act
 * New text:


 * Article 5 - Federal Police Act
 * To ensure the people's safety, the Federal Police is erected under the Federal Police Act, supported by Congress and the Department of Welfare.
 * The Federal Police is the unitary police force in Lovia, and is therefore charged with all of the following duties:
 * Local, state and federal police investigations and operations.
 * Investigations and operations that intend to fight international safety threats to Lovians.
 * Customs activities.
 * In all its activities, the Federal Police must strive to increase the safety in Lovia.
 * The Federal Police strives to save lives when people and animals are in danger.
 * The Federal Police strives not to cause material or any other form of damage, unless it is unquestionably required to perform its core activities.
 * The Federal Police may never abuse violence, unless unquestionably required to save lives, or any illegal method to obtain information or to successfully do its operations.
 * The Federal Police has delegations in all states and is always prepared to assist local authorities.
 * The Federal Police is headed by the Federal Police Commissioner, appointed by the Secretary of Welfare.
 * The Federal Police is able to set up special units for crime prevention, investigation, training, traffic and many other special tasks.

Changes

 * No more local or state police corps. One police for all Lovians.
 * Federal Police gets new dutie: customs.
 * A suggestion from Secretary of Welfare, Martha Van Ghent; I added an "ethical code" to the law. The police now must strive to increase safety, without the abuse of violence or causing material damage and always trying to save lives (even those of animals).
 * The rest remains unchanged.

Content (7): Places (FL Art. 7-8)

 * Old texts:
 * http://nation.wikia.com/wiki/Federal_Law#Article_7_-_Town_and_City_Act
 * http://nation.wikia.com/wiki/Federal_Law#Article_8_-_Hamlet_Act
 * New texts:


 * Article 7 - Town and City Act
 * All Lovian unattached settlements are classified into two denominational groups: towns and cities.
 * A town is an unattached minor location within a state.
 * A town can:
 * Either be a small settlement equivalent to a city's neighborhood;
 * Or a small group of actual neighborhoods; no more than four.
 * A city is an unattached major location within a state.
 * A city invariably consists of a group of neighborhoods; at least five.
 * Congress can turn a town consisting of four neighborhoods into a city, granting it a fifth neighborhood, by Congressial majority.
 * It is legally required that each of the four neighborhoods is fully finished and makes it possible for its inhabitants to lead a safe and regular life.
 * When the number of neighborhoods within a city falls back to five, by decision of the Governor, it becomes a town. This can only be reverted by the Congress.
 * All Lovian towns and cities are governed by the government of the state in which they are situated.
 * All Lovian towns and cities are part of the Kingdom of Lovia and fall under the authority of the authorities of Lovia. Therefore, only Congress has the right to commission the construction of towns and cities.


 * Article 8 - Hamlet Act
 * All Lovian attached settlements are classified into two denominational groups: neighborhoods and hamlets.
 * A hamlet is a minor location administered as a part of a city or town.
 * A hamlet must:
 * Have a population of at least hundred and no more than thousand inhabitants. If larger, Congress is either required to make it a town by vote, or to re-organize the hamlet as to lower its population.
 * Be smaller in size than the area covered by a fully developed neighborhood;
 * Or be equal in size to a fully developed neighborhood if the hamlet is largely occupied by natural or agrarian lots.
 * Have a low number of administrative, commercial and industrial lots.
 * Exceptions are allowed in case a hamlet is largely occupied by a specific sector of the entertainment industry that is invariably part of the hamlet, such as tourism (a holiday hamlet) or the film industry.
 * All Lovian neighborhoods and hamlets are governed by the government of the state in which they and the town or city to which they are attached are situated.
 * All Lovian neighborhoods and hamlets are part of the Kingdom of Lovia and fall under the authority of the authorities of Lovia. Only the Governor has the right to commission the construction of neighborhoods and hamlets. The Constitution rules that Congress may overrule these decisions.

Changes

 * I changed the wording of the Town and City Act rather drastically. I noticed there were many sentences in it that said very little, so I cut those up a bit. The bill now says the same, but without being vague or confusing.
 * We now speak of "unattached" and "attached" locations: (1) towns and cities; (2) neighborhoods and hamlets.
 * The Hamlet Act has been rephrased as well.
 * To both articles, I added two clauses stating (1) who governs which place; (2) who has the right to construct or re-organize which places.

Response
'''Please do not edit the bill itself. All reactions in the "Response" section please! MOTCs can propose changes over there.

General
It is possible I missed something. Please tell me  08:31, July 31, 2010 (UTC)
 * Credits:
 * Arthur for re-writing the Supreme Court stuff.
 * Martha for making suggestions on police matter.
 * Oos Wes for helping me out finding a good solution, a couple of months ago.
 * 08:44, July 31, 2010 (UTC)

Content 3
Article 7 is about 'amendment' and 'Constitution' but in the text it still states 'motion' and 'federal law'. 08:48, July 31, 2010 (UTC)
 * Thanks. I'll fix that. 08:52, July 31, 2010 (UTC)

Content 5
I have a question concerning the sentence 'A lawsuit is a civil action brought before a court'. I take it that with 'civil action' is referred to the (believed to be) criminal act? I figured that if you read it as referring to 'a lawsuit' (which is, I believe, also possible) it would conflict with the public plaintiff who is mentioned later on (a public person can't undertake a civil action). Perhaps rephrasing it somehow to avoid confusion? 08:58, July 31, 2010 (UTC)