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[Proposal] Democratic Reform Amendment (October 2019)

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McChimp

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Lazarus
Democratic Reform Amendment (October 2019)

Proposed By:
McChimp​
Preamble

This amendment of the Twelfth Mandate of Lazarus establishes democracy in Lazarus whilst retaining the security afforded by the meritocracy it seeks to replace.

Section 1. Amendment of the Twelfth Mandate of Lazarus

(1) The preamble shall be amended to read:

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In order to ensure a government that is stable, democratic, and fosters an active community, this Mandate has been established as the fundamental law by which Lazarus will be governed. This Mandate is the supreme law of Lazarus and, together with constitutional law, takes precedence over any other law or policy.​
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(2) Article I shall be amended to read:

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I. Assembly of Lazarus

Composition of the Assembly

(1) The Assembly will be comprised of all citizens of Lazarus.

Powers of the Assembly

(2) The Assembly may establish and revise its own procedural rules by 50%+1 vote.

(3) The Assembly may enact, amend, or repeal general laws and resolutions by 50%+1 vote.

(4) The Assembly may enact, amend, or repeal treaties, at the request of the Prime Minister, by 50%+1 vote.

(5) The Assembly may declare war against another region or organization, and repeal a declaration of war, at the request of the Prime Minister, by two-thirds vote.

(6) The Assembly may remove the Assembly Speaker, the Prime Minister, a Cabinet Minister, a Court Justice, a Councillor of Lazarene Security, or any other government official established by law or policy from office, by two-thirds vote.

(7) The Assembly may remove the Delegate or Vice Delegate from office by three-quarters vote.

(8) The Assembly may declare a state of emergency, end a state of emergency declared by the Council on Lazarene Security, or extend a state of emergency ended by the Council, by three-quarters vote.

(9) The Assembly may amend this Mandate by three-quarters vote.

(10) The Assembly may enact constitutional laws and resolutions, bearing the same legal weight as this Mandate, and may amend or repeal such constitutional laws and resolutions, by three-quarters vote. Constitutional laws and resolutions must be explicitly designated as such within the text of each constitutional law or resolution, and may not either explicitly or implicitly amend or repeal this Mandate or other constitutional laws or resolutions.

Speaker of the Assembly

(11) The Delegate will appoint an Assembly Speaker to preside over the Assembly according to its procedural rules. Appointment of the Assembly Speaker will be subject to confirmation by 50%+1 vote of the Assembly.

(12) In the absence of procedural rules to settle a procedural matter in the Assembly, the Assembly Speaker may establish such rules. Procedural rules established by the Assembly Speaker will always be subordinate to the laws of Lazarus and procedural rules established by the Assembly.

(13) The Assembly Speaker will serve until resignation, removal from office by the Assembly or the Delegate, or automatic removal from office. The Assembly Speaker may not serve in any other office or stand for election while serving as Assembly Speaker.

(14) The Assembly may provide for the appointment and removal of deputies to the Assembly Speaker by law or through its procedural rules.​
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(3) Article II shall be amended to read:

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II. Delegate of Lazarus

Establishment of the office of Delegate

(1) The Delegate will serve as head of state and lawful WA Delegate of Lazarus.

(2) The Delegate may not serve in any other office while serving as Delegate, except that the Delegate will be suspended from the Council of Lazarene Security if they are already a Councillor, but will automatically resume membership on the Council after their term as Delegate.

(3) The Delegate will serve until resignation, removal from office by the Assembly, or automatic removal from office.

Powers of the Delegate

(4) The Delegate may admit residents of Lazarus to citizenship. Further procedure for citizenship admission, including procedure for appealing rejection of a citizenship application by the Delegate, criteria residents must meet in order to be admitted as citizens as well as criteria for maintenance of citizenship and enforcement of such criteria, may be established by law.

(5) The Delegate may, subject to confirmation by 50%+1 vote of the Council on Lazarene Security, impose revocation of citizenship, ejection and/or ban from Lazarus, or other measures to preserve the security and stability of Lazarus, for whatever duration of time is determined appropriate. The Assembly may overturn such decisions by three-quarters vote.

(6) The Delegate may, subject to confirmation by 50%+1 vote of the Assembly or 50%+1 vote of the Council on Lazarene Security, establish and revise endorsement limits for Lazarus. The Delegate may enforce such limits and will be assisted by the Vice Delegate and Council on Lazarene Security as needed. The Vice Delegate and Councillors will not be subject to such endorsement limits.

Line of succession for the office of Delegate

(7) The Vice Delegate will be first in the line of succession, followed by each Councillor in the order determined by the Delegate with confirmation by 50%+1 vote of the Assembly. The first person in the line of succession who is willing and able to serve will succeed to the office of Delegate in the event that the office of Delegate is vacant.

(8) The Delegate may appoint the Vice Delegate or a Councillor to serve as Acting Delegate in the event of the Delegate's scheduled absence. In the event of the Delegate's unscheduled absence exceeding seven days, as certified by 50%+1 vote of the Council on Lazarene Security, the first person in the line of succession who is willing and able to serve will serve as Acting Delegate until the Delegate returns.​
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(4) Article IV shall be amended to read:

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IV. Cabinet of Lazarus

Establishment of the office of Prime Minister

(1) The Prime Minister will serve as head of government.

(2) The Prime Minister may not serve in any other office while serving as Prime Minister.

(3) The Prime Minister shall be elected by majority instant-runoff vote for a four-month term. Elections shall be undertaken by the Assembly. Procedure for elections will be defined by law.

(4) The Prime Minister will serve until the end of their term or until resignation, removal from office by the Assembly, or automatic removal from office.

Establishment of the Cabinet

(5) The Prime Minister will set the course of the Cabinet with such ministries, programs, and activities as they determine are beneficial for Lazarus.

(6) The Prime Minister may issue executive directives to set public policy for executive ministries, programs, and activities. Such directives will remain in effect unless rescinded by the Prime Minister who issued them or a subsequent Prime Minister. Such directives may also be amended by the Prime Minister who issued them or a subsequent Prime Minister.

(7) The Prime Minister may appoint Cabinet Ministers to assist with executive ministries, programs and activities, and must fill any ministries mandated by law. Appointment of Cabinet Ministers will be subject to confirmation by 50%+1 vote of the Assembly.

(8) Cabinet Ministers will serve until the end of the Prime Minister's term or until resignation, removal from office by the Assembly or the Prime Minister, or automatic removal from office.

(9) The Prime Minister may provide for the appointment and removal of Cabinet deputies.​
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(5) Article V shall be amended to read:

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V. Court of Lazarus

Composition of the Court

(1) The Court will be comprised of three Justices appointed by the Delegate, subject to confirmation by 50%+1 vote of the Assembly. Requirements for the recusal of Justices and procedure for the appointment of temporary Justices may be established by law.

(2) Justices will serve until resignation, removal from office by the Assembly, or automatic removal from office. Justices may not serve in any other office or stand for election while serving as Justices.

Powers of the Court

(3) Procedure for constitutional matters brought before the Court will be defined by law.

(4) The Court has the power, upon being petitioned by a citizen, to strike down any general law, treaty, or policy. in whole or in part, and restrain any government action, by two-thirds vote, if such violates this Mandate or any constitutional law.

(5) The Court may, upon being petitioned by a citizen, reconcile contradictions within and between this Mandate and constitutional laws, as well as contradictions within and between general laws, by two-thirds vote, maintaining minimal disruption to the intended purposes of the contradictory provisions.

(6) The Court may interpret and clarify provisions of law when posed in a legal question, by two-thirds vote, as prescribed by law.

(7) The Court may, upon being petitioned by a citizen, conduct Criminal Reviews in order to determine whether a person has committed a criminal offence. During a Criminal Review the person must be granted reasonable opportunity to defend themselves against the charges. Procedure for such Criminal Reviews may be established by law.

(8) Should the Court confirm by two-thirds vote that the person has committed a criminal offence after a Criminal Review, they may compel the Delegate to impose upon the person a punishment permitted by law, including revocation of citizenship, restriction of ability to vote and/or hold office, ejection and/or banishment from Lazarus and other measures.​
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(6) Article VII shall be amended to read:

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VII. Regulation of Government Officials

Citizenship requirement for government officials

(1) The Delegate, the Vice Delegate, the Assembly Speaker, the Prime Minister, Cabinet Ministers, Court Justices, Councillors of Lazarene Security, or any other government official established by law or policy must be citizens of Lazarus.

(2) The Delegate may, at their discretion, authorize the Prime Minister to appoint residents of Lazarus who are not citizens to participate in executive ministries, programs, and activities, but such residents may not serve as government officials, including as deputies or military personnel of officer rank.

Automatic removal of government officials

(3) The Delegate, the Vice Delegate, the Assembly Speaker, the Prime Minister, Cabinet Ministers, Court Justices, Councillors of Lazarene Security, or any other government official established by law or policy will be automatically removed from office upon loss of citizenship or their nation in Lazarus voluntarily relocating or ceasing to exist.

(4) The Delegate, the Vice Delegate, or Councillors of Lazarene Security will be automatically removed from office upon their WA nation in Lazarus resigning or being expelled from the WA.

Provisional service of certain appointed government officials

(5) Appointed government officials who are subject to confirmation by the Assembly may serve on a provisional basis unless and until their confirmations are rejected by the Assembly.​
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(7) Article IX shall be amended to read:

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IX. Constitutional Conventions

Procedure for initiating a constitutional convention

(1) The Assembly may initiate a constitutional convention for the purpose of repealing and replacing this Mandate by three-quarters vote.

Basic procedure for a constitutional convention

(2) Following initiation of a constitutional convention, the Assembly will establish procedure for the convention by 50%+1 vote. The Assembly may amend the procedure of the convention while the convention is ongoing by 50%+1 vote.

(3) During a constitutional convention, this Mandate, the institutions and offices established by and under this Mandate, and all laws and treaties established under this Mandate, will remain in force, until a new constitution is adopted by the convention.

(4) Should the convention fail to yield a new constitution, the Assembly may, by 50%+1 vote, adjourn the convention.​
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I think we've been anticipating a big constitutional amendment for a while now but it doesn't seem to be moving as fast as I'd like so I thought I'd throw my hat in. The intention of this one is that the delegacy remains meritocratic but a democratically elected Prime Minister serves as head of government, appointing ministers for the Assembly to confirm.

To summarise, the amendment:
  • Removes the Delegate's veto on legislation
  • Removes the Delegate as head of the Cabinet
  • Establishes an elected Prime Minister as head of the Cabinet, who shall run the Cabinet as the Delegate does now during their term
  • Seperates the Court from the Delegacy
  • Involves the Prime Minister in the process of allowing non-citizens to participate
  • Removes the Delegate's veto on constitutional conventions

As always, thoughts and contributions are welcome.
 
Thanks for taking the time to write this McChimp; it looks all professional and legal and stuffs. ^-^

I kinda like the idea of the amendment as well... Lazarus is not in a bad spot right now with the Delegate appointing Ministers so I think the similarly designed system of having a PM doing the appointing with the motivation of periodic elections will help our government system become better.
 
(6) The Prime Minister must appoint Cabinet Ministers to assist with executive ministries, including a Foreign Ministry, an Interior Ministry and any other ministries mandated by law. Appointment of Cabinet Ministers will be subject to confirmation by 50%+1 vote of the Assembly.
Where I would suggest changing this is here. It would be easier if we didn't need to pass a constitutional law each time we want to rename or change a Ministry.

For example:
- PM/Assembly hates the name of the Ministry of Silly Walks and wants to change it to Transportation.
- PM wants to make a new Ministry or merge existing ones.
- PM or Assembly member want to alter minor to major aspects of a ministry function.

We could easily define Ministries in a general act without going so far as requiring constitutional law.

It won't change me voting for/against this proposal.

Though something I'll certainly put forward as a proposed amendment to this if this passes as written.
 
New Rogernomics;7029 said:
Where I would suggest changing this is here. It would be easier if we didn't need to pass a constitutional law each time we want to rename or change a Ministry.

For example:
- PM/Assembly hates the name of the Ministry of Silly Walks and wants to change it to Transportation.
- PM wants to make a new Ministry or merge existing ones.
- PM or Assembly member want to alter minor to major aspects of a ministry function.

We could easily define Ministries in a general act without going so far as requiring constitutional law.
Agreed that passing a constitutional law for every name change you want sounds tedious. x)

It might be good to specify that the PM can create new Ministries or change the titles of old ones? I'm personally not a fan of defining all possible ministries with legislation because it seems like that might hurt the government's flexibility which is important to deal with the changing region.

For example, LD used to be doing WA stuff and Imki created the Citizenry and Recruitment Ministry... but while aspects of the job she made for that LD did well, it didn't generally work out as intended and so she was able to conveniently merge what he was doing into FA despite WA Resolutions not being an official part of FA previously.
 
I have amended the proposal so that it is specified that elections shall be undertaken by the Assembly and so that the Prime Minister has greater discretion with regards to what ministries comprise the cabinet. A constitutional law is also no longer required to mandate a ministry.
 
Reading this over again I came across this:
(3) The Prime Minister shall be elected via instant-runoff voting for a four-month term. Elections shall be undertaken by the Assembly. Procedure for elections will be defined by law.
shall be elected via a majority of the assembly for a four-month term.
Voting Method

(#) The voting method for the election or appointment of officials by the Assembly shall be defined as instant run-off voting, with the procedure further defined by law.

With that done you could just do thus:
(3) The Prime Minister shall be elected by majority vote for a four-month term
Also it would allow a further refinement, as all elections undertaken by the assembly are already defined as having a procedure defined by law, so you can leave that out as well.
 
Debussy;7134 said:
Why not elect the speaker of the assembly?

Since the Speaker is supposed to be impartial, candidates shouldn't have a platform to campaign on. The only criterion for this position is for people to trust you to manage the Assembly fairly and in good faith, which is best expressed through a confirmation. Having the Security apparatus appoint the Speaker also helps to safeguard the region's democracy from subversion, similarly to how having that apparatus retain the power to admit citizens does.

I motion to vote.
 
If the only criterion for that position is for people to trust you, then would it not make more sense to let the people decide whether they really trust you rather than just checking the yes box on an appointment in a confirmation. It is important to be impartial, and it is also important to make improvements and platforms can help point out what those might be. I also have a problem with you motioning to vote in the middle of this discussion on a topic relating to your position. That does not seem inpartial at all, nor in good faith.
 
Debussy;7149 said:
If the only criterion for that position is for people to trust you, then would it not make more sense to let the people decide whether they really trust you rather than just checking the yes box on an appointment in a confirmation. It is important to be impartial, and it is also important to make improvements and platforms can help point out what those might be. I also have a problem with you motioning to vote in the middle of this discussion on a topic relating to your position. That does not seem inpartial at all, nor in good faith.
 
Debussy;7149 said:
If the only criterion for that position is for people to trust you, then would it not make more sense to let the people decide whether they really trust you rather than just checking the yes box on an appointment in a confirmation. It is important to be impartial, and it is also important to make improvements and platforms can help point out what those might be. I also have a problem with you motioning to vote in the middle of this discussion on a topic relating to your position. That does not seem inpartial at all, nor in good faith.

No, since people choosing you over somebody else is not a greater expression of trust than them confirming you. You might have been selected as the lesser of two evils, for example. In a democratic region it's essential to protect that democracy from subversives and having an elected Speaker rather than a confirmed one is a security risk.

My impartiality as Speaker is not at question here. It is my right as the proposal's author-not as Speaker-to motion and I did so with those sound arguments in mind; I will not be amending the proposal further.
 
They are not sound. In fact, motioning to vote because of your confidence in certain arguments is the exact definition of not being impartial. If you do not understand that, it only reinforces the need for elections, or renewed confirmations. Security risks should be checked at the door, and be the responsibility of the council of security and delegate. This security arguement of yours, if you really believe it, should be incentive to stop all these reforms all together. Why elect anyone when there could be a risk?
 
Debussy;7152 said:
They are not sound. In fact, motioning to vote because of your confidence in certain arguments is the exact definition of not being impartial. If you do not understand that, it only reinforces the need for elections, or renewed confirmations. Security risks should be checked at the door, and be the responsibility of the council of security and delegate. This security arguement of yours, if you really believe it, should be incentive to stop all these reforms all together. Why elect anyone when there could be a risk?

The whole concept behind this proposal is that a meritocratic state supports and allows for a democratic government. Exposing the Speaker, part of that meritocratic state, to elections beyond the influence of the security apparatus endangers the government, presenting an obvious position for subversives to aim for in order to start the kind of arguments and institutional feuds that were the downfall of the Celestial Union. I regard both the idea and agitation for the idea as a security issue. I would withdraw the proposal altogether before I even considered including it.

Motioning my own proposal to vote because I do not intend to alter it further is not an impartial act in my role as Speaker since I am not using any of my powers as Speaker to do it.
 
Second.
 
From my perspective, it looks like you are just protecting your position and this thing smells more like corruption and a continuation of authoritarianism than any real attempt to be meritocratic or democratic.
 
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