Constitution of Mesogeia

The constitution of Mesogeia is series of laws, statutes, edicts, political and social precedents forming the basis Mesogeia's uncodified constitution. The Empire of Mesogeia operates under a combination of civil and common law drawn from centuries old laws and regulations and does not rely on a single document as the basis for its laws.

List of Documents

Year passed	Document	Description
8th century	Ancient Tablets	The centuries old Ancient Tablets enshrines the rights and duties of the Troianan citizens. The ten tablets concern judicial procedures, debt, the rights of fathers over the family, the rights of women, rights of citizens, legal guardianship, inheritance laws, acquisition and possession of property, criminal acts, land rights, public law, private law, and sacred law.
c. 520 AD	Code of Constantine	The Code of Constantine serves as the basis to Mesogeia's civil law. The code is divided into twelve books: with book 1 dealing with ecclesiastical law, books 2-8 dealing with private law, book 9 dealing with criminal law, and book 10-12 dealing with administrative law. The code sets several precedents including the declaration of the Orthodox faith as the state church, while at the same time placing restrictions on all other religions practiced in the country.
c. 695 AD	Ecloga	The Ecloga was a modification of previous civil and criminal laws published at the command of Emperor Constantine IV. The Ecloga was heavily influenced by the Christian faith, under its laws the institution of marriage was enshrined, the rights of wives were increased, and special provisions were introduced supporting the equality of all citizens before the law. The Ecloga contains separate laws for the cities and the local rural regions as well known as the farmer's laws. While enshrining many political rights the document also allowed for the mutilation of those guilty of treason, by means of blinding or amputation.
c. 695 AD	Treason Acts	The Treason acts is a series of edicts which provides for the dealing with and eventual punishment of those found guilty of high treason against the crown.
840; amdn. 1605 AD	Acts of Succession	The acts of succession are a serious of edicts governing the succession to the Imperial throne. The current incarnation of the acts of succession places restrictions on dynasts making it a requirement that they not only profess the Orthodox faith, that they also marry a member of that faith. In addition to this the act forbids members of the immediate Imperial family from marrying without the express approval of the sovereign. Since at least the 9th century the succession to the throne is governed by male-preference primogeniture, meaning that sons are ranked higher then daughters in the succession regardless of their age.
1729 AD	Bill of Rights	The Bill of Rights of 1729 was written by the senior members of Parliament and the nobility after the disposition of Andronikos V. His wife Empress Theodora II enacted the bill of rights as a compromise for her succession to be supported. The Bill of rights allows for the freedom of speech, right to petition the sovereign, freedom of the press, election of members of the lower houses of parliament; it also forbid cruel and unusual punishment and the raising of taxes without the consent of Parliament. It should be noted that the Empress continued to rule with near abosolute power summarily ignoring the parliament with the full support of the army.
1830 AD	Election Reform Acts	The Election reform acts are a series of acts that gradually extended the right to vote to all male citizens and then finally to women as well. The 1830 act extended voting rights to property owning men of certain value; the 1870 act extended the franchise to men in urban centers who met the property requirement in monetary value; 1888 act extended it to all men with property. The 1918 act extended voting rights to women and ended the property requirements, while the act of 1930 act lowered the age of voting from 21 to 18.