Ostrozavan Social Contract

Social Contract for The Peoples of Ostrozava Spoliočenskă Zîmluvă pră Národii Ostrozavii (OSZ) Contract Social pentru Popoarele Ostrozavene (VAL) Gesallschaftsvertrag für die Ostrozavenvölker (ARM)
Printed version of the Social Contract distributed in 1909.
Jurisdiction	Prime Republic of Ostrozava
Created	15 March 1909
Presented	21 March 1909
Ratified	10 July 1910
Date effective	10 September 1910
System	Beranist premier-presidential constitutional republic
Branches	3
Chambers	Unicameral
Executive	Primar
Judiciary	Supreme Subprime Municipal District
Federalism	Yes
Electoral college	No
Entrenchments	Four
Amendments	49
Last amended	11 March 2021
Location	Karsko, Ostrozava
Commissioned by	1st Worker's Convention
Author(s)	Vladan Vitek
Signatories	229 of 341 delegates; 9 of 9 Subprime delegations
Media type	Paper
Supersedes	1903 Constitution of Transkarminia

The Ostrozavan Social Contract, formally the Social Contract for The Peoples of Ostrozava (Common Ostrozavan: Spoliočenskă Zîmluvă pră Národii Ostrozavii), is the supreme organic law and formalized social contract of the Prime Republic of Ostrozava, serving as the nation's constitution and the basis of government and all adjacent social relations.

Drafted in 1908 initially by the Karsko University Drinking Club and later by the 1st Worker's Convention, and primarily written by Vladan Vitek, future 2nd Primar, the final draft of the document was first presented jointly to Emperor Borek I and to the Zhroma on 21 March 1909; the Zhroma's subsequent deadlock in approving the changes alongside the Emperor's veto resulted in the violent Crimson Revolution. After the end of hostilities, and with the Zhroma disbanded and Emperor executed, the 1st Worker's Convention formally ratified the Social Contract on 10 July 1910, with it coming into force one month later. Unlike more traditional forms of organic law, the Social Contract began as a codified set of social rules based on the concept of fundamental rights, before evolving into a legal document after Vitek, a trained lawyer, added additional provisions and outlined what would become the modern-day structure of the Prime Republic. As such, the contract encompasses both rights and restrictions atypical for a republican constitution, and deliberately avoids calling itself a constitution due to the connotations of the word having been associated with Transkarminian law.

The authors of the initial framework that would lead to the Social Contract included Vlastimil Beran, Julius Jahoda, Vladan Vitek, Stan Bača, Loren Kralová, and Paula Timius. The youngest contributor was future Primar Emil Torje. In the core construction of its first legal revision, the document aimed to secure fundamental rights, such as the freedoms of speech and assembly, as well as the freedom from want, broadly encompassing protections for food, shelter, employment, medical care, and education and from unfair competition and state repression. Under the social contract, the Valdavians and Rheigners were granted status as co-nations, which guaranteed protection from forced assimilation and guaranteed language rights, with smaller minorities also having received similar albeit smaller-scale protections.

Outline

The Statement of Purpose

The Preamble of the Ostrozavan Social Contract is often referred to as the Statement of Purpose, a vestige of when the document was to be presented before the Zhroma as a list of demands. Penned primarily by Vlastimil Beran, the Statement affirms the grievances of the Convention and calls for drastic change, before proposing the outline of a sociopolitical structure. It reads as follows:

In the name of the Congress of the People and Workers of Ostrozava, we, the representatives of the masses, state that our purpose is to enact comprehensive and irreversible social change. Knowing what has come before on our lands, we resolve to commit to a better and ever-improving future for our peoples in the face of the cold indifference of both power and time. It is clear to this Convention that we cannot any longer go forth into the world without grasping permanently the fundamental Rights and Privileges to which we are entitled by our existence as free agents in this world, and set out to lay the foundation of a Social Contract which shall encapsulate the future conditions of governance and consent, from now until eternity.

In recognition of the sacrifices made by countless citizens who gave their lives and livelihoods for a free and just society, and knowing well the Modern World in which we now live, we resolve to permanently disavow the primacy of hereditary landed rule, as exemplified by the Monarch. We equivocally reject that Divine Right has been granted, or can be granted, to any polity or thing upon this planet. No person shall be subjugated to the will of another based on birth, creed, or status. The structures of oppression and power of the self-titled Elite which have ruled these lands for centuries are thus no more, illegitimate and void before the eyes of the people. All law is to be made, enacted, revoked, and revived only with the consent of the governed. In the place of what was before, there shall now be a Prime Republic, committed to the principles of equality, fairness, and justice, and ever vigilant against the yoke of oppressors and tyrants that would seek to undo what cannot be undone; we are, from this point on, free forever.

In recognition of the shivering and the downtrodden, we promise an undying commitment to forever guaranteeing the freedoms of the peoples of the Prime Republic. The Freedoms of Speech, of Assembly, of Education, of Worship, and of a free and vibrant Press shall be uninfringeable. The right to adequate healthcare and to adequate food and shelter shall be uninfringeable. Nihilism shall no longer flourish in these lands.

In recognition of the untold tales of those who have come before us, we affirm our commitment to the common good, to the protection of the vulnerable, to the uplifting of all who strive to live in peace and prosperity. Our three Nations, Ostrozava, Valdavia, and Rheigen, shall forever be united in our shared principles of brotherhood and solidarity, regardless of what language we speak, what religion we do or do not believe, or what our fate has thus far been. We vow to be better than all that have come before us, to ensure that the flame of the common good lives in these valleys and rivers in eternity.

In recognition of the ingenuity of the worker and the artisan, we vow that never shall inhumanity again penetrate the fires and hearths to which we all owe our livelihood, and that the freedom of workers and others to organize shall never be infringed. Every worker, regardless of their role or station, shall be entitled to the fruits of their labor, shared equitably among all. We affirm the right to fair wages and safe working conditions, and we acknowledge that all labor, whether of the hand or mind, fuels the engine which drives the Prime Republic, and, indeed, the World to bountiful new frontiers.

In recognition that the path to justice and equality is incomplete without the full and unqualified participation of women in all aspects of social, economic, and political life. The contributions of our mothers, sisters, and daughters are indispensable to the fabric of our society, and their liberation is integral to the prosperity and progress of the Prime Republic. No longer shall the contributions of women be dismissed or diminished, or confined to the private sphere alone; instead, they shall take their rightful place among all those who are called Citizen of this Prime Republic.

In recognition that mistakes will be made, as they have been, and will continue to be, in any human endeavor, we commit to ensuring a spirit of adaptability. The People's cries for change should always be answered; the Prime Republic will be an ongoing Project. This Social Contract should never be taken as an immutable decree, but as a living document, never attaining perfection but striving ever-closer to it with each generation.

May this Social Contract serve as the bedrock of our shared future, binding, to each of us, the responsibilities of citizenship and the pursuit of a society in which liberty, justice, and the collective welfare of the people stand above all else.

In the spirit of freedom and solidarity, on this day of 21 March 1909. May fate wish us luck in our endeavors.

Prime Principles

The first three articles of the Social Contract serve as a further formalization of the Statement of Purpose, with the first codifying it as legal principle and defining "Prime Republic" as "a Republican federation of equality"; the following two articles describe commitments by the Prime Republic to "perpetual sovereignty" and "perpetual brotherhood", asserting that the borders of Ostrozava are inviolable and that the Social Contract is ideally to last until the end of time; the second provides for "brotherhood" in mutual solidarity and friendship in perpetuity regardless of ethnic origin, creed, social class, or other traditional social cleavages. The first three articles take primacy over all subsequent articles, local law, and customary law; as such, they are often referred to in legal and political scholarship as "the Core Contract".

Article 2, Perpetual Sovereignty, was significantly revised after the Containment War by the administration of Emil Torje in order to extend the definition as the "perpetual sovereignty of the individual worker over structures of oppression, regardless of where in the world they may be", emphasizing internationalist ordosocialism over local sovereignty of the Prime Republic within its own borders. The change was reversed after the Third Workers' Convention, during the Correction of 1957-63.

Structure of Government

Articles 4-11 serve as a traditional constitutional framework which outlines the power structure, electoral process, different branches of government, and their checks and balances; it is often called the "Legal Contract". It dictates that the Prime Republic shall be a democratic representative democracy "in which majority rule is tempered by minority rights protected by (rule of) law". The Executive Branch is thus led by the Primar(a), elected to a term of five years from a voting pool of "able and capable citizens", and acts as the head of state, chief diplomat, and head of Foreign Affairs. The Primar also holds the power of dismissing the People's Congress (only for a snap election, and only once per term), calling a Worker's Convention, naming but not approving various executive officials, and can exercise a one-time suspensive veto of six months. The Primar also has control over internal executive matters, administering and enforcing Prime laws and policies; all of the Primar and Facilitator's decisions are subject to Congressional override. Additionally, in times of war, the Primar(a) becomes co-Commander-in-Chief of the military forces. The Legislature, or People's Congress, is described as a unicameral house elected by "able and capable citizens" to terms of 5 years. The People's Congress, headed by the Facilitator(a), makes federal law, declares war, approves treaties, has the power of the purse, and has the power of impeachment, by which it can remove sitting members of the government. It also has the ability to amend and change the Social Contract. The Primar(a) selects the Facilitator(a), but only the People's Congress may approve the selection. The Minister of Finance is selected by the Facilitator; if the dominant party in the People's Congress is not the Facilitator's, the Facilitator may issue a two-week delay on any bill passed by the ruling party, after which it shall be sent to the executive, unless it is of a financial matter, in which case it will pass automatically. The Judicial Branch is organized under the Supreme Court, headed by 9 justices appointed to 15 year terms by the People's Congress. Their main objective is to interpret laws and overturn those they find unconstitutional; they are considered to have the final say on all matters relating to the Social Contract, except in the case of a Worker's Convention. They collectively hold jurisdiction over the Ostrozavan Protection Force and Civil Service in times of peace, though the Prime Commander and Citizen are self-selected.

Civic Religion

See also: Beranism

Amendments and Major Changes

Third Compact

After the Great Republican War