Every once in a while (okay, pretty much once a week), I come up with a different scenario for how to organize a government. Sometimes it's just one aspect of constitutional law. Sometimes it's a whole system.
This was my attempt to wrestle with the problem of "personality" in a representative democracy. The idea here is that, by dividing the office of executive among a collective group of individuals, endowed with significant powers to present and consider legislation, a single individual would not have enough power to use his or her celebrity to bully the state. This constitution proposes, in every way, an elective democracy. Judges, legislators, and executives are all subject to the people directly as the sovereign entity, and the people themselves have the power to make and declare laws without the consent of such elective bodies.
I also approach the idea of reorganizing our "Bill of Rights" into a list of civic responsibilities, each with its attendant rights. This is to provide an interpretive tool for judicial bodies to balance out the rights of the individual with the common good of all, two ideas that can never really be in conflict.
This outline is incomplete, insofar as it does not deal with local or municipal government or impeachment. It is only meant as an outline.
Let me know what you think!
The Republic
I.
On Rights and Duties—
A.
Human beings do not have “rights” in the sense
of “particular privileges” that they enjoy merely for being human. Rather, they were created with a purpose by
God, to give him glory by reflecting his image in this world. This purpose
enjoins them with particular duties, in pursuit of which, they also have rights
which are necessary for them to complete those duties. Any enumeration of those
rights should be organized according to those duties, among which we can
enumerate the following, along with the rights that are implied by each.
1. The
Duty to Worship God in accordance with one’s well-formed conscience
a.
Freedom
of Religion
b.
Freedom
to educate children in one’s religious faith
c.
Freedom
of civic bodies to engage in religious practices, provided that these do not
coerce citizens into particular forms of participation contrary to their conscience.
d.
Freedom from indoctrination by religious cults
that violate Christian principles of charity and human dignity.
2. The
Duty to provide for one’s own bodily needs and those of his/her dependents
a.
Freedom to own property
b.
Freedom to receive basic medical care
c.
Freedom to receive an education capable of
engaging in civic life
d.
Right to Privacy
e.
Right to freedom of movement
f.
Right to life, from birth until natural death
g.
Right to possess sufficient means to defend
one’s life and the lives of one’s family
3. The
Duty to act for the common good of the state
a.
Freedom of political expression
b.
The right of groups of citizens to join together
for the common defense
c.
The right to vote, provided that one is capable
of reading or hearing the choices of candidates
d.
The right to petition the government
e.
The right to know the laws and regulations
passed by the government which affect one’s person
B.
These rights, and their attending duties, must
balance one another in terms of their interpretation by the state. They may not
be deprived, except on due process of law for the violation of a crime or in
order to protect the lives, property, or liberty of others.
II.
Popular Sovereignty
A.
In the Republic, sovereignty belongs exclusively
to the people. It is not owned, possessed, or otherwise claimed by any person
besides the people as a collective entity, and all the functions of government
are separately subject to it.
B.
The sovereignty of the people means that,
ultimately, it is the people who write the law, who interpret the law, and who
carry out the law.
C.
Nonetheless, it is not for the people to deny
the rights of all persons within the jurisdiction of this charter who are
capable of engaging in these civic duties to participate in said democracy, and
it remains the responsibility of the officers of government to ensure that all
have the right to petition, deliberate, and vote in accordance with the
principles established herein.
III.
The Legislative Department
A.
Legislative power is exercised by the people in
three ways:
1. By
electing representatives to draft and consider legislation;
2. By
petitioning for laws;
3. By
passing laws through referenda.
B.
The General Assembly –
1. The
General Assembly is responsible for considering and drafting ordinary
legislation.
a.
The Republic is divided into 75 districts of
equal population by a mathematical method. In this way, the whole country is
divided by the shortest line dividing areas of equal population. This division
takes place every 12 years.
b.
From each of the 75 districts, three
representatives are elected for four year terms by the following method:
1.
Each candidate joins with two other candidates
to create a single slate of candidates.
2.
Voters cast their vote for one of the slates of
candidates and vote for one of the candidates on their preferred candidate.
3.
If a single slate receives a majority of the
votes cast, all three of the candidates are elected.
4.
If, however, no slate receives a majority of
votes, the two most preferred candidates from the slate that received the most
votes are elected, and the most preferred candidate from the slate that
received the second highest number of votes is elected. (Thus, for example, if
the Republican slate received 45% of the vote and the Democrats 30% and the
Libertarian 25%, the Republicans would get two seats and the Democrats would
get one seat.)
5.
If there are any ties, a runoff election is
held.
c.
In order for the General Assembly to pass a law,
it must have the concurrent support of the Board of Directors and receive the
support of a majority of the whole number of members.
d.
However, if the General Assembly wishes, then it
may, without the intervention of the Board of Directors, submit up to five laws
for the approval of the people at either a general or a special election. In
order for said law to pass, a majority of registered voters must cast ballots
in the election and the law must receive the support of a majority of them.
e.
The Speaker of the General Assembly is the Chancellor
of the Republic, as provided below. However, all other officers are elected by
the members.
2. The people may themselves pass laws without
the intervention of the General Assembly:
a.
At least 1/10 of registered voters may petition
for a law to be passed.
b.
Once the signatures are certified as genuine by
the Board of Elections (appointed by the General Assembly, Supreme Court, and
Board of Directors), the petition is presented to the Chief Justice of the
Supreme Court, who rules on its constitutionality. This may be appealed to the
full court.
c.
The President of the Board of Directors
schedules a referendum on the matter within 3 months of its being certified,
which may also be on a General Election day.
d.
In order to pass, a majority of registered
voters must participate in the referendum and it must receive a majority of the
support of those who cast ballots therein.
e.
No more than 10 ballot initiatives presented by
petition may be on any one ballot. They shall be prioritized and scheduled by
the order received.
IV.
The Executive Department
A.
Executive Power is held by a Board of Directors.
B.
There are 14 Directors on the Board, elected in
this manner:
1. Every
four years, seven members are elected for an eight-year term by all the people of
the state.
2. Candidates
will run in separate races.
3. In
order to be elected, a candidate must receive an absolute majority of votes in
the race for his or her position. If no candidate receives a majority, a runoff
election is held between the top two candidates.
4. Candidates
must be nominated by at least six members of the General Assembly.
C.
The President of the Board of Directors is the
Director who, in the most recent general election, received the highest number
of votes, excluding votes cast in runoff elections. The Vice President is the
person who received the second highest number of votes. Ties are decided by a
vote of the whole Board.
D.
The President of the Board of Directors:
1. Is
commander-in-chief of the armed forces during wartime.
2. Nominates
members to supervise each executive agency. (This must be approved by a majority
of the whole board.)
3. Appoints
members of committees and commissions.
4. Determines
the agenda of Board meetings.
5. In
the absence of the President, these duties are performed by the Vice President
of the Board.
6. In the case of a tie, the President casts a second vote.
E.
The Board of Directors:
1. Directs
the actions of executive agencies.
2. Approves
treaties (which must be ratified by the General Assembly)
3. Administers
the armed forces during peacetime.
4. Grants
pardons and reprieves
V.
The Judicial Department
A.
Justice of the Peace Courts
1. The
whole Republic will be divided into townships, each of which will elect a
Justice of the Peace from the practicing attorneys in that township. And if
there is no practicing attorney in the township, then the President of the
Board of Directors will appoint one for the same.
2. Justices
of the Peace are responsible for hearing cases involving traffic violations and
small claims up to $2,000 (or a higher amount determined by law), from which no
appeal is possible.
3. Justices
of the Peace also have power to grant warrants of search or arrest within
their township and to empanel grand juries to bring criminal indictments
against individuals who commit crimes therein.
4. Justices
of the Peace are to be elected for four-year terms.
B.
Municipal Courts
1. Each
municipality, which is to be one per county or metropolitan district, is to
have a municipal court which will hear civil cases and misdemeanor cases
arising from municipal ordinances.
2. The
Municipal Court is to consist of judges appointed by the County President or
City Mayor with the consent of the County Assembly or City Assembly as provided
by law.
C.
Circuit Courts
1. There are to be a number of Circuit Courts
established by law.
2. Circuit Courts shall hear criminal cases
arising from national law and appeals from Municipal and Justice of the Peace
Courts, as well as civil cases provided for by national law.
3. Each
Circuit Court is to have three judges elected for 12-year terms by the people
of the circuit. One judge is to be elected every four years.
4. When
hearing appeals or criminal cases, all three judges must attend and agree to
the verdict. For civil cases, the defense shall first eliminate one judge, then
the prosecution, so that the remaining judge is responsible for hearing the
case and determining the ruling of the court.
D.
The Supreme Court of Appeals
1. The
Supreme Court shall consist of 9 justices elected for twelve-year terms, with 3
justices elected every 4 years.
2. The
Chief Justice shall be elected by the members for a four-year term from among
their members.
3. The
Supreme Court shall have appellate jurisdiction over all civil and criminal
cases both from law and equity.
E.
The Court of Chancery
1. The
Court of Chancery shall have jurisdiction over all cases arising from equity.
2. The
Court of Chancery shall consist of a Chancellor and two Vice-Chancellors who
shall be appointed by the Board of Directors for a four-year term. Any decision
by the Court must be agreed to by two of the three members, but the Chancellor
shall alone determine what cases are heard before it.
VI. Amendment of the Constitution--
A. To propose amendments to the Constitution, a petition for the amendment must be signed by at least 1/5 of registered voters.
B. The proposed amendment shall then be presented to the people on the date proposed by the petition, which may not be within 3 weeks of a general election, nor on a Sunday.
C. In order to pass, the amendment must receive a majority of support by those voting in the election, and must be supported by a majority of people in more than half of the General Assembly districts. Also, at least 50% of registered voters must vote in the referendum.
