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The Santo-Dominian Constitution


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The Constitution of the

Federal Republic of Santos-Dominius

1435 AF Edition

Contents

Article I: The Rights of the Citizen and the Puppy

Section I: The Bill of Rights and Freedoms

Section II: The Suspension of Freedoms and Rights in Certain Situations

Article II: The Branches of the State and the Government

Section I: The Executive Branch

Section II: The Legislative Branch

Section III: The Judicial Branch

Section IV: The Electoral and Appointment Systems

Article III: The Santo-Dominian Codes of Law

(work in progress)

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Article I: The Rights of the Citizen and the Puppy

Section I: The Bill of Rights and Freedoms

 

The incumbent government, or highest ruling body of the nation, recognises the universal basic rights every single Santo-Dominian citizen and puppy are entitled to, including:
1. The Freedom of Speech
2. The Freedom of Demonstration, Striking and Protesting
3. The Right to Vote
4. The Right to Life and Happiness
5. The Freedom of Movement
6. The Right to Organise
7. The Right to Exemption from Slavery, Servitude, Slave Trade, Torture and Human/Puppy Trafficking
8. The Right to Equality under the Law
9. The Right to Exemption from Arbitrary Arrest, Detention, Imprisonment, Persecution and Exile
10. The Right to Nationality and the Right to Exemption from the Arbitrary Deprivation of Nationality
11. The Right of All Genders (and Persons and Puppies that identify as Genderless) to Marry and Establish Families
12. The Right of Persons/Puppies in Marriage to Divorce and Separate
13. The Right to Ownership of Property and the Right to Exemption from the Arbitrary Deprivation of Property
14. The Right to Social Security and Welfare
15. The Right to Believe in Religions and Faiths
16. The Right to Practice Religious and Faithful Practices
And many other human and puppy rights as listed in international treaties and agreements of which the Federal Republic of Santos-Dominius is a signatory of.

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Section II:  The Suspension of Freedoms and Rights in Certain Situations

These freedoms and rights as listed in Article I, Section I, shall be entitled to every citizen and/or holder of a Santo-Dominian passport, except for during certain situations worthy of a suspension of one/multiple freedoms and rights, so as to prevent any harm to society and to the nation in general. For a complete listing of these situations, refer to the Santo-Dominian Codes of Law.

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Article II: The Branches of the State and the Government

Section I: The Executive Branch

The executive branch shall be the branch of government that enforces laws and leads the country during times of exceptional crisis and emergency. It shall be comprised of many officials, the electoral system of which should be mentioned in Article II, Section IV.
 

1a. The President of the Federal Republic shall be the leader of the executive branch, the government and the nation. He shall be in possession of presidential powers, which shall be listed below:
1aa. The Power to Veto Legislation
1ab. The Power to Enact Presidential Decrees, which are legislation that do not require approval of the legislature to be enacted into law. Presidential Decrees can be overturned once the President who enacted that Decree leaves office.
1ac. The Power to declare High Emergencies, declarations recognising existential threats the Federal Republic faces. High Emergencies cannot be overturned by Presidents, they must be overturned by a 2/3 majority vote in the legislature.
1b. The Vice President of the Federal Republic shall be the primary advisor to the President, and shall be the first-in-line to succeed as President, if and whenever the President is physically or mentally incapable of remaining in office. The Vice President also takes on daily presidential duties in the country if and when the President is not in the country. The Vice President also has the power to issue tiebreaker votes in the legislature if and when a vote in the legislature ends in a tie.
1c. The Cabinet shall be the highest advisory body towards the President and the Vice President. It shall be comprised of 13 Ministers, which would be the highest leaders of their 13 respective ministries. A complete list of ministries and their functions shall be listed below. All ministries, except for one, shall be headed by their respective Ministers. All Cabinet members, except for one, may be removed by the President directly, without the approval of the legislature.
1ca. The Ministry of Order(MO) shall be the most important of all ministries. It shall attend to domestic security matters, and ensure the upholding of law and order in the country.
1cb. The Ministry of Information(MI) shall attend to matters of education, public information and publications.
1cc. The Ministry of Science and Development(MSD) shall attend to matters of general development, construction, science, technology and cyber development.
1cd. The Ministry of Biological, Ecological and Zoological Affairs(MBEZA) shall attend to matters concerning the environment and wildlife.
1ce. The Ministry of Social Services(MSS) shall attend to matters of social welfare, healthcare and other sorts of welfare services.
1cf. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs(MFA) shall attend to matters of foreign/international diplomacy.
1cg. The Santo-Dominian Intelligence and Investigation Bureau(SDIIB) shall attend to matters of intelligence, investigation of heinous crimes and the planning and execution of domestic and/or international covert operations.
1ch. The Treasury of the State shall attend to matters of governmental finances, economical management, collection of taxes and other fines, control of government spending and revenue management. It shall be headed by the Treasurer of the State.
1ci. The Impartial Corruption Investigation Agency(ICIA) shall investigate all government agencies and rid them of any and all corruption. It shall be headed by the ICIA Secretary, which shall be appointed directly by the legislature by a 2/3 majority, and not by the government. The Secretary may not be removed from office by the President/Vice President, and may only be removed from office by the legislature by a simple majority.
1cj. The Ministry of Defence(MDF) shall attend to matters of home defence.
1ck. The Directory of the Interior(DI) shall attend to domestic matters and supervise and organise electoral affairs.
1cl. The Ministry of Commerce(MC) shall attend to economic affairs.
1cm. The Chancellery for International Development(CID) shall attend to humanitarian aid, relations with developing nations and represent the Federal Republic in foreign affairs concerning development and aid.

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Section II: The Legislative Branch

The legislative branch shall be the branch of government that debates, enacts and repeals piece of legislation, and shall represent the general populace. It shall be comprised of many legislators, the electoral system of which should be mentioned in Article II, Section IV.
 

2a. The legislative branch shall be divided into regional, urban and national levels, the highest of which shall be the national legislature, and then, under it, the provincial, regional and urban legislatures.
2b. The national legislature is the National Senate, which shall be comprised of 400 legislators, addressed/named as 'Senators'. Each Senator shall represent a geographical proportionally-populated constituency, with 400 constituencies in total in the entire country. It shall debate, enact or repeal laws of national importance, and shall hold the power to make several important decisions, as mentioned in the Articles above and below. It shall be headed by the Speaker of the Senate, the electoral system of which shall be mentioned in Article II, Section IV. The Speaker shall be automatically removed from office after losing re-election, and other ways of removal shall also be mentioned in Article II, Section IV. The Speaker does not vote in any votes held in the National Senate, and only carries out moderation duties.
2c. The cantons of the nation shall each hold a county legislature, named the 'Cantonal Council', with 9 Cantonal Councils in total. They shall function as roughly the same as the national legislature, that is, they shall debate, enact or repeal laws of regional importance. They shall be comprised of many legislators, the number of which shall be directly proportional to the population of its respective canton. The legislators shall be addressed/named as 'Cantonal Councillors'. A Cantonal Council shall be headed by the Head Councillor, the electoral system of which shall be mentioned in Article II, Section IV. The Head Councillor shall be automatically removed from office upon reaching his/her term limits, and other ways of removal shall also be mentioned in Article II, Section IV. All Cantonal Councillors, including the Head Councillor, shall be eligible to serve multiple terms of five years, with no term limits.
2d. In the Federal City of Friberne, the region shall be represented by the Municipal Commission. It shall be comprised of 44 legislators, and they shall be addressed as 'Municipal Commissioners'. They shall debate, enact or repeal laws of importance in the Capital. The Municipal Commission shall be head by the Lord Mayor of the Federal City, who shall act as a moderator in debates. The Lord Mayor shall not vote in the Commission. The electoral and removal systems of the Lord Mayor of the Federal City shall be mentioned in Article II, Section IV.

2e. Superior to the National Senate shall be the Presidential Commission. It shall be an advisory body answering directly to the President. The Presidential Commission's members shall be addressed as "The Right Honorable Presidential Commissioners", or, in short, "The Rt. Hon. Pres. Commissioners". The Presidential Commission shall give advice to the President regarding legislation delivered to the President from the National Senate. It shall propose corrections(if some are needed) to the legislation. The Presidential Commission shall always have 20 Presidential Commissioners. The Presidential Commission shall not be able to reject or veto a piece of legislation, but only propose corrections on the legislation. The system through which Presidential Commissioners are appointed shall be described in Article II, Section IV.

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Section III: The Judicial Branch

The judicial branch shall be the branch of government that interprets the law. It shall be comprised of judges, the appointment systems of which shall be mentioned in Article II, Section IV.
 

3a. The judicial branch shall be divided into the national level, the provincial level, the regional level and the district levels.
3b. The district level of the judiciary shall be comprised of District Courts, which will serve all districts in cantons. The number of district courts in different cantons shall be directly proportional to the population of the canton it serves. The District Courts shall be the lowest of all courts, and shall accept all sorts of cases. District Court cases shall be tried by a jury consisting of 7 highly educated members, or by a judge. In the Federal City of Friberne, there shall also be District Courts, 22 exactly, with each District Court serving two neighbourhoods in the Federal City.
3c. The regional level of the judiciary shall be comprised of Cantonal Courts. There shall be 1 Cantonal Court in each canton. The Cantonal Courts shall be higher than the District Courts, and shall accept appeals of decisions made by District Courts. In the Federal City of Friberne, there shall be no Cantonal Court, instead, the Federal City Court shall fill the role. The Federal City Court shall function as the same as Cantonal Courts, that is, it shall accept appeals of decisions made by District Courts serving the Federal City.
3d. The national level of the judiciary shall be comprised of the National Court, which shall serve the entire country. The National Court shall be the highest of all courts, and shall only accept appeals of decisions made by Cantonal Courts. The National Court shall be headed by 5 National Justices, the electoral and removal systems of which shall be detailed in Article II, Section IV. The National Court shall hold the right to dismiss an appealed decision.

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Section IV: The Electoral and Appointment System

The officials of the Federal Republic shall be duly elected by the people they honorably serve or appointed by the government.
 

4a. The President of the Federal Republic shall be elected/re-elected every 5 years. An incumbent President shall be able to serve, at most, fifteen 5-year terms, consecutively or non-consecutively. The President shall be removed by two ways.
4aa. The first way to remove the President from office is to hold a vote of conviction in the National Senate. The President shall be able to be convicted of three crimes: treason and/or obstruction of justice and/or high crimes. In the vote of conviction, a simple majority is needed to convict the President of any of the three crimes. If the vote of conviction is passed, the National Senate shall hold a vote of removal. If the vote of conviction is not passed, the current case shall be thrown out, but the National Senate shall be able to immediately hold another vote of conviction. In the vote of removal, a two-thirds majority is required to pass. If the vote of removal is passed, the sitting President is convicted, removed from office, and forever barred from running for elected office. A barring can only be invalidated by a popular referendum. If the vote of removal is not passed, the National Senate shall be able to hold two more votes of removal. If all three votes fail, the case would be passed to the National Court and tried. The President may be removed by the National Court, if the National Justices decide against the President. However, if they do not, the President shall be kept in office, and the National Senate shall be barred from holding votes of conviction and votes of removal for six months.
4ab. The second way to remove the President from office is to hold a vote of no confidence in the National Senate. When either the party/parties in government or the biggest opposition party formal call for the government's removal, the Speaker of the Senate shall allot time for an official vote-of-no-confidence. In the vote, all Senators shall vote whether to remove or keep the government from/in power. Abstain votes are counted as in favor of the government when neither Aye or Nay reaches a two-thirds majority, which is required to pass the vote. If the vote passes, the President and the Cabinet shall be removed, and the largest opposition party shall take office and establish a caretaker government until the next general election.
4ac. If the President resigns from office, the Vice President becomes Acting President automatically, and appoints an Acting Vice President. Both shall serve till the next general election.
4b. The President shall be elected by popular vote. The voting shall be divided into two rounds, provided that there are more than two candidates running for President. In the first round, all candidates shall receive votes, and the top two candidates shall advance to the second round. All other candidates shall automatically be struck out of the race. The candidate with the most votes in the second round shall be elected President. If there is two candidates only, the first round shall be skipped and the second round shall be held directly. If there is only one candidate running for President, the National Senate shall vote whether to appoint him as President or not. A simple majority is needed in this case. If the candidate is not appointed, the largest opposition party shall take office and form a caretaker government until the next general election.
4c. The President shall formally appoint the Vice President after the President has taken office. The Vice President shall be barred from being asked to resign by the President, instead the National Senate shall vote by two-thirds majority to remove the Vice President. If the Vice President is removed, the President shall appoint another Vice President. If the President does not appoint another Vice President in one week within the removal of the incumbent Vice President, the Speaker of the Senate shall be appointed Acting Vice President. However, the Speaker shall be relieved of vice presidential duties once the President appoints a new Vice President.
4d. The Speaker of the Senate shall be elected by fellow Senators of the National Senate. All Senators shall be eligible to run for Speaker. Provided that there are more than two candidates, the electoral process shall be divided into two rounds, held on the opening day of a new senatorial session. In the first round, all candidates shall compete for votes. The two senators with the most votes will advance to the second round, whereas the other senators shall be struck out of the race. In the second round, the senator with the most votes shall be elected Speaker, and shall withdraw his/her right to vote in the National Senate. The Speaker of the Senate shall serve an unlimited number of 5-year terms. The Speaker shall be removed during his/her term if five Senators jointly petition for his/her removal. The petition will be tabled the next day, where a simple majority is needed to remove the Speaker. If the Speaker is removed, the largest party in government shall be eligible to nominate a Senator of their party to become Acting Speaker. The nominee shall then face a vote in the Senate, where a simple majority is needed to appoint that nominee as the Acting Speaker. If the largest government party fails to get their nominee appointed or fails to nominate a Senator within a week, the largest opposition party shall receive the same chance to get their own nominee appointed. If the largest opposition party also fails, the Minister of Order shall be appointed as Acting Speaker immediately. The Acting Speaker shall not be eligible for removal of any kind, and will automatically be removed at the next general election. If a Speaker resigns, the same process is followed.
4e. The Senators of the National Senate shall be elected via a geographical constituency system, where Senators will come from one of ten counties. In each county, all citizens over 18, without a criminal record, shall be eligible to contest a senatorial seat. The candidate that comes in first shall be elected to a seat, and then so on according to the candidates' votes received until all seats are occupied. Senators shall not be eligible for removal until the next general election. If a Senator resigns, a snap election shall be triggered for their specific seat, where the winning candidate shall be elected as Acting Senator, who will be removed automatically at the next general election.
4f. The Cantonal Councillors of each Cantonal Council shall be elected via a geographical constituency system. Each canton shall be divided into constituencies, with each constituency having roughly the same population as other constituencies. The difference in population between constituencies shall not exceed 100 citizens. New constituencies shall be drawn if this limited is breached by a constituency, whereby that constituency shall be divided into several constituencies until no constituency breaches the limit. Each Cantonal Councillor shall be elected from one constituency. Provided that there are more than two candidates contesting for a constituency, the election shall be divided into two rounds. In the first round, all candidates shall compete for votes. If one candidate reaches a two-thirds majority, that candidate is instantly elected, skipping the second round. If no candidate reaches a simple majority, the two candidates with the most votes advance to the second round, and all other candidates are struck out of the race. In the second round, the candidate with the most votes is elected Cantonal Councillor. Cantonal Councillors shall not be eligible for removal during their terms, instead they must be voted out of office. Cantonal Councillors shall serve an unlimited number of five-year terms. If a Cantonal Councillor resigns, a snap election shall be triggered for their specific seat, where the winning candidate shall be elected as Acting Cantonal Councillor, who will be removed automatically at the next general election.
4g. The Head Councillor of each Cantonal Council shall be elected by fellow Cantonal Councillors. All Cantonal Councillors shall be eligible to run for Head Councillor. Provided that there are more than two candidates, the election shall be divided into two rounds. In the first round, all candidates shall compete for votes. If a candidates reaches a two-thirds majority in the first round, he/she is elected Head Councillor. If no candidate reaches a two-thirds majority in the first round, the two candidates with the most votes shall advance to the second round. In the second round, the candidate with the most votes shall be elected Head Councillor. The Head Councillor shall serve an unlimited number of five-year terms. If the Head Councillor resigns, a snap election is triggered, where the winning candidate is elected Acting Head Councillor. If half of the Cantonal Council petitions to remove the Head Councillor, the Head Councillor is removed and the same process is followed.
4h. The Presidential Commissioners shall be nominated by the President of the Federal Republic. Senators or former Senators that have served a minimum of 20 years shall be eligible for nomination by the President. Once a nominee has been nominated, they will face the National Senate. A simple majority is then needed to confirm and thus appoint the Presidential Commissioner. IF the motion to confirm the Presidential Commissioner fails to reach the majority and is struck down, the President shall be able to put forward another confirmation motion two weeks after the defeat or success of a previous confirmation motion. If the same nominee fails more than two times to be confirmed and appointed, the President shall be able to directly bypass the senatorial confirmation process and directly appoint the nominee to the Presidential Commission. Once this is achieved, the National Senate will have to garner a two-thirds majority if it desires to remove the Presidential Commissioner. If this motion of removal succeeds, the President shall be able to veto the motion, striking it down. The National Senate then can attempt to pass an overriding motion of removal with a four-fifths majority to override the veto and remove the Presidential Commissioner. If the overriding motion succeeds, the Presidential Commissioner is removed from office. If the motion fails, the National Senate must wait for one month until Senators can put forward another motion.
4i. The removal of a Presidential Commissioner follows the same process written above, i.e. that a Senator must table a motion of removal. The National Senate must then pass the motion of removal with a two-thirds majority to remove the Presidential Commissioner. Then, the same process listed on Article II, Section IV, Law 4H is followed for any following consequences.
4j. The Lord Mayor of the Federal City shall be directly elected by the citizens of the Federal City. Utilizing a first-past-the-post, two-tiered electoral system, provided that there are more than two candidates, the election shall be divided into two rounds. In the first round, all candidates shall compete for votes. The two candidates with the most votes shall advance to the second round, while all other candidates shall be struck out of the race. In the second round, the remaining two candidates shall compete for votes, and the candidates with the most votes is elected. The Lord Mayor of the Federal City shall be eligible to removal during a term via the process of a recall election. In the recall process, if more than 10000 people in over half of the 22 neighborhoods of the Federal City table a recall petition, the recall process shall advance to the next step. In the next step, all 22 neighborhoods will hold recall referendums, which require a simple majority to be passed. If over half of the 22 neighborhoods pass their respective referendums, the recall process shall advance to the next step. In the next step, a motion of removal shall be tabled in the Municipal Commission, which requires a simple majority to pass. If the motion passes the Commission, the Lord Mayor is removed and barred from running for the office again. If the recall process fails to meet the conditions required to advance to the stage where the motion of removal is tabled in the Commission, citizens shall be unable to initiate the recall process until after two months since the failure of the last recall process. In the third step, if the motion fails to pass the Municipal Commission, the public shall be able to overturn the Commission's decision and directly remove the Lord Mayor by passing a referendum where a simple majority in required. If the referendum fails, citizens shall be unable to initiate the recall process again until after two months since the failure of the last recall process. If the referendum succeeds, the Lord Mayor is removed and permanently barred from running for mayoral office.
4k. The Municipal Commissioners of the Municipal Commission of the Federal City shall be elected by a first-past-the-post, two-round system. Provide that there are more than two candidates running for the same seat, the election shall be divided into two rounds. In the first round, all candidates shall compete for votes. The two candidates with the most votes in the first round shall advance to the second round, whole all other candidates shall be struck out of the race. The remaining two candidates shall compete for votes in the second round, where the candidate with the most votes is elected to the seat. There shall be no legitimate way to remove a Municipal Commissioner from office other than failing to re-elect the Commissioner in a general election.
4la. All ministers of the Grand Council, except for the Secretary of the Impartial Corruption Investigation Agency, shall be nominated by the President of the Federal Republic and confirmed and appointed by the National Senate. All citizens without a crime record and over the age of 23 shall be eligible for nomination. In the National Senate, a simple majority is required to confirm the nominee and appoint the nominee to the office. If the confirmation vote fails, there shall be a minimum period of two months until another confirmation vote can be put forward. Ministers of the Grand Council shall be eligible to removal from office at the President's request or if a motion of removal passes the National Senate with a simple majority, except for the Secretary of the Impartial Corruption Investigation Agency.
4lb. The Secretary of the Impartial Corruption Investigation Agency shall be directly nominated, confirmed and appointed by the Senate. A minimum of 10 Senators are required to jointly nominate a nominee. Then, a two-thirds majority is required for the confirmation vote to pass. The Secretary shall not be eligible for removal from office at the President's request. The Secretary shall be removed if a minimum of 10 Senators jointly table a motion of removal and the motion passes with at least a two-thirds majority.
4m. The five National Justices of the National Court shall be appointed by the National Senate. The Interior Director, representing the President and the executive government, shall nominate a candidate to fill a vacant seat on the court. The nominee will then face the National Senate, where a two-thirds majority shall be required for the nominee to appointed. There shall be no way to electorally remove a National Justice from office, as they shall serve life terms. Only Cantonal Judges who have served at least 10 years can be eligible for nomination to the National Court. Nominees with criminal records shall be automatically struck out.
4n. Judges from the District Courts, Cantonal Courts and the Federal City Court shall be appointed by the courts they are inferior to. Judges from the Cantonal Courts and the Federal City Court shall be appointed by the National Justices of the National Court. Judges from District Courts shall be appointed by judges from the Cantonal Courts and the Capital Metropolitan Court. There shall be no way to remove these judges.
4o. In all electoral systems, provided that there is only one unopposed candidate, that candidate shall be elected to the office that they are competing for immediately on the day of the election they are taking part in. If there is no candidate contesting for a specific office, the previous occupant shall take the office in an acting capacity. If the previous occupant is currently ineligible for that office, the President, Vice President or the Director of the Interior shall reserve the right to appoint an adult (without a criminal record or a bar from occupying public office) to the office in an acting capacity. Once there is at least one candidate seeking that same office in the next election, the acting officer shall be removed, though they have the right to seek re-election.

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