Constitution of West Miersa

The Constitution of the Miersan Sotirian Republic (Miersan: Konstytucja mierskiej rzeczpospolity sotyrskiej), commonly referred to as the Constitution of West Miersa (Miersan: Konstytucja Mierskiej Zachodniej), is the foundational legal document of West Miersa.

Drafted in 1936 following the adoption of the Godfredson Plan, it was largely based off the Soravian constitution as was present at the time, reflecting Soravia's extensive influence in the region. To this day, it has only been amended thrice: once in 1957, and a second time in 1982, and most recently in 2020.

Constitution (full text)

Preamble

In the name of the Lord, who assumes a Trinitarian form, whether this form is manifested in the Occidental church or in the Oriental church,

We, the people of the Miersan nation, who have, for nearly three centuries, been torn asunder by foreign invaders, and whose tore our own culture from us in favour of their own,

Who have, for generations, fought for our liberation from both Soravia and Gaullica, to be reunited as one sovereign people under one sovereign nation,

Who for a brief year, experienced unity following the vanquishment of the imperialist Gaullican regime following a great war of aggression against the world

Now is divided again through the machinations of Kirenia, who sought to forment socialism and destroy our traditional way of life

Therefore, we declare the establishment of the Miersan Sotirian Republic, to provide a government for all Miersans willing to support our traditional way of life

Chapter 1: National symbols

Article 1: Flag

• §1 The flag of the Miersan Sotirian Republic shall consist of a field coloured in Miersan red, with the coat of arms superimposed on the flag
• §2 The flag of the Miersan Sotirian Republic shall be used at all educational institutions, government buildings, vehicles owned by the government, and at cemeteries where the grave of fallen soldiers or a former President, Vice-President, or Minister-President is present
  • §2a The flag should be flown from sunrise to sunset, unless illuminated at night, in which case it shall be flown as long as the flag is still in presentable condition

Article 2: Coat of arms

• §1 The coat of arms of the Miersan Sotirian Republic shall comprise of an argent eagle
  • §1a The wings of the eagle shall be outstretched, and the head of the eagle shall be turned to its right
  • §1b The eagle's beak and talons shall be coloured in an argent-or
  • §1c On the eagle shall be a Miersan red escutcheon, with an argent cross situated at the fess point, and an argent-or bordure surrounding the shield
    • i) The shield shall be heater-shaped
• §2 The coat of arms shall be used by the government of the Miersan Sotirian Republic on documents and buildings

Article 3: National anthem

• §1 The national anthem of the Miersan Sotirian Republic shall be Rota

Article 4: Languages

• §1 The only official language of the Miersan Sotirian Republic shall be the Miersan language
• §2 The government may, at its discretion, recognise other languages as being minority languages

Article 5: Capital

• §1 The capital city of the Miersan Sotirian Republic shall be Żobrodź
  • §1a As Żobrodź is divided, all government buildings shall be situated in the western neighbourhoods of Żobrodź
  • §1a Until the completion of the aforementioned government buildings, the government shall remain based in Krada

Chapter 2: Government

Article 1: Executive

• §1 The executive of the Miersan Sotirian Republic shall be the President of the Miersan Sotirian Republic
• §2 The President's duties shall be to:
  • §2a Serve as the head of state of the Miersan Sotirian Republic
  • §2b Sign legislation into law
  • §2c Appoint and dismiss the Vice-President from all eligible Miersan citizens
  • §2d Appoint legislators to represent the eastern voivodeships under Kirenian occupation
  • §2e Appoints governors to any and all voivodeships in the Miersan Sotirian Republic, regardless of status
• §3 The President shall be elected from the people of Miersa every five years, with each President to serve no more than two terms

Article 2: Legislature

• §1 The legislature of the Miersan Sotirian Republic shall be the National Assembly
• §2 The National Assembly shall comprise of 307 legislators, of which 138 shall be elected by all Miersans living in the Miersan Sotirian Republic, and 169 appointed by the President
• §3 The National Assembly shall have the power to propose any legislation, budget, and resolution, so long as they do not conflict with this constitution
• §4 The National Assembly shall be elected from the people of Miersa every five years, on the same day as the Presidential election

Article 3: Judiciary

• §1 The legal system of the Miersan Sotirian Republic shall be the same as the Soravian legal system as it applies on the day that West Miersa becomes sovereign
  • §1a To this end, all laws passed by the Soravian government shall remain in effect unless otherwise abolished
• §2 The court system shall be organized on Soravian lines, as is existent on the day that West Miersa becomes sovereign, with all the powers therein

Article 4: Administrative divisions

• §1 The Miersan Sotirian Republic is divided into seventeen voivodeships
  • §1a The voivodeships include Chernowskie, Czękanie, Dolne Pogórze, Górne Pogórze, Lówniak, Małomiersa, Małowaskie, Morskie, Nadjeziorze, Śródmierskie, Święciżar, Wielkowaskie, Wyżyny, Zamkobrzeg, Zanawiwasie, Ziarnokosz, and Żobrodź
  • §1b The voivodeships under the administration of the Miersan Sotirian Republic, in whole, or in part, are Czękanie, Dolne Pogórze, Górne Pogórze, Małomiersa, Nadmorzem, Śródmierskie, Święciżar, Wyżyny, Zanawiwasie, and Żobrodź
• §2 All voiovdeships under the administration of the Miersan Sotirian Republic shall have power over any area delegated to the voivodeships by the national government
• §3 In the event any voivodial legislation conflicts with legislation passed at the national level, national legislation shall prevail over any voivodial legislation

Chapter 3: Human rights

Article 1: Religion

• §1 The state religion of the Miersan Sotirian Republic shall be Sotirianity
  • §1a All sects of Sotirianity shall be considered official, in order to accommodate both those who follow the Episemialist and the Catholic Churches.
• §2 All people of the Miersan Sotirian Republic may follow any religion they please, so long as their religion does not conflict with the social order of the country

Article 2: Fundamental freedoms

• §1 All people in the Miersan Sotirian Republic have the right to life, and to not have that be taken away from them
• §2 All people in the Miersan Sotirian Republic have the right to the freedoms of speech, of thought, and of expression
• §3 All people in the Miersan Sotirian Republic shall have freedom of the press to report on pressing issues unmolested by government or by any private citizen
• §4 All people in the Miersan Sotirian Republic shall have the right to engage in free association and assemble in public spaces, provided that they do not threaten to destroy or subvert the integrity of the Miersan nation
• §5 All people in the Miersan Sotirian Republic shall have the right to own property, and to not have their property seized, unless duly compensated

Article 3: Democratic rights

• §1 All citizens over the age of twenty-one years, who have not been convicted of a crime, shall be eligible to vote in all elections in the Miersan Sotirian Republic
• §2 All citizens over the age of twenty-one years, who have not been convicted of a crime, and can afford the registration fee, shall be allowed to run for political office under any affiliation

Article 4: Legal rights

• §1 All persons in the Miersan Sotirian Republic have the right to equal access before the law, and to receive a fair trial
• §2 All persons facing trial in the Miersan Sotirian Republic shall be presumed innocent until proven guilty
• §3 No person in the Miersan Sotirian Republic shall be detained arbitrarily
• §4 All persons in the Miersan Sotirian Republic shall receive a lawyer when tried before the higher courts and the National Courts
• §5 No person shall be made to incriminate themselves, nor shall they experience cruel and unusual punishment in the Miersan Sotirian Republic

Chapter 4: Amendments and limitations

Article 1: Amendments

• §1 All amendments must be proposed before the National Assembly of the Miersan Sotirian Republic
• §2 Should the proposed amendment pass with at least sixty percent of all legislators, the amendment shall be voted upon by the people of Miersa
• §3 The amendment will go into effect if the measure passes with a simple majority of all voting, if the voter turnout is greater than sixty percent

Article 2: Limitations

• §1 In the event of war, this constitution, in its entirety, will be suspended until the war comes to an end
  • §1a During this time, the President, the Vice-President, and the Chief of Staff of the Miersan National Armed Forces shall form a war cabinet with all powers needed to ensure the preservation of the Miersan Sotirian Republic
• §2 If a serious crisis, excluding war, impedes the operation of either the Miersan government or the voivodal government, the National Assembly or the voivodal legislature may impose a state of emergency in order for the government to be able to resume operations in a safe manner

Amendments

First Amendment (February 1957)

• §1 Amends the fourth article of the first article to permit the Miersan government to grant recognition to minority languages

Second Amendment (September 1982)

• §1 In light of our nation's defeat in the Miersan War, and wishing to update this document to reflect the contemporaneous realities, we declare that:
  • §1a Ziarnokosz is to be removed from subsection b of the first section of the fourth article of the second chapter
  • §1b All legislators and officials in Ziarnokosz shall remain in their positions until their resignation, retirement, or death, upon which the President shall appoint their successors
    • i) To this end, the fourteen seats currently allocated to Ziarnokosz shall be transferred to the 92 appointed seats

Third Amendment (October 2020)

• §1 Amends the first article of the second chapter of this constitution, via:
  • §1a Altering subsection 2c of the aforementioned article to remove mentions of the Minister-Presidency and the National Assembly, in favour of a Vice-Presidency
  • §1b Splitting subsection 2d so that only legislators may be appointed to represent the eastern voivodeships under Kirenian occupation, while subsection 2e empowers the President to appoint governors of any voivodeship of the Miersan Sotirian Republic
• §2 Amends the second section of the second article of the aforementioned chapter of this constitution, so that:
  • §2a The total number of legislators in the National Assembly of the Miersan Sotirian Republic shall be set at 307 seats, of which:
    • i) The seats elected by Miersan citizens in the western voivodeships shall remain at 138 seats
    • ii) The number of appointed seats representing the eastern voivodeships will be increased from 92 seats to 169 seats to better reflect demographic realities in the Miersan nation
• §3 Alters the fourth article of the aforementioned chapter, so that:
  • §3a The second section of the aforementioned article to read "All voiovdeships under the administration of the Miersan Sotirian Republic shall have power over any area delegated to the voivodeships by the national government
  • §3b The third section of the aforementioned article reflects the supremacy of the national government
• §4 Alters the first article of the fourth chapter of this constitution so that in the event any amendment passes the National Assembly, it goes straight to referendum, with the measures presented in the third section of the aforementioned article to be the guiding principles behind the referendum
  • §4a This amendment will follow the processes laid out in the constitution as it stands right now
• §5 Alters the second section of the aforementioned chapter in this constitution to replace the Minister-President with the Vice-President
• §6 Declares that this amendment shall go into effect in stages, as follows:
  • §6a The first and fifth sections of this amendment shall go into effect with the 2021 general elections
  • §6b The second section of this amendment shall go into effect immediately after its passing
  • §6c The third and fourth sections of this amendment shall go into effect immediately after its passing in their entirety