Constitution of Rwizikuru, 1946

The Constitution of Rwizikuru, 1946 (weRwizi: Bumbiro reRwizikuru) was the governing document of the Republic of Rwizikuru during its existence from 1946, until its suspension in 1964 by the National Salvation Council, although it nominally was still in effect until June 1968, when Izibongo Ngonidzashe established the Rwizikuran monarchy, with the constitution itself replaced by the Basic Law of Rwizikuru.

Drafted between February 1946 and July 1946 by the Rwizikuran Constitutional Convention, it was approved by the Legislative Council on 26 August, 1946, and went into effect on 2 December, 1946, when it gained independence from Estmere. Over the next eighteen years, the constitution of the Republic had been amended nine times, in response to various challenges to the republic.

Constitution (original text, 1946)

Preamble

For over three hundred years, we have been exploited by Eucleans, whether they came in the form of Estmerish slavers, Gaullican settlers, or many others

For over three hundred years, we were mistreated, abused, and looked down upon by Eucleans, and saw our countrymen and our resources sold abroad, with little of the proceeds coming back to us

Despite all the hardships that we have endured for over three hundred years, we have persevered through the hardships, and triumphed over all our enemies

Now, we have received our promised reward: to proclaim the establishment of the Republic of Rwizikuru as a free, independent, and sovereign socialist republic!

Chapter 1: Governance

Article 1: Presidency

• §1 The head of state shall be the President
  • §1a He shall be elected every four years by a majority of the National Assembly, and may be re-elected exactly once
  • §1b The President must be a citizen over the age of twenty-one (21) years
• §2 He shall serve as the:
  • §2a Head of state of the Republic
  • §2b Head of government of the Republic
  • §2c Commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces
  • §2d Thus, he will have all the duties and responsibilities of these three roles, depending on the situation at hand

Article 2: National Assembly

• §1 The national legislature of the Republic shall be designated as the National Assembly
  • §1a The National Assembly shall have 150 legislators, with their distributions subject to change after every decennial census
    • i) The seat distribution for the first and second national assemblies, elected both this year, and in 1950, shall be listed in the first article of the additional articles
    • ii) There shall be 150 electoral districts, with each legislator representing one district
  • §1b The National Assembly shall be elected every four years by all citizens over the age of twenty-one (21), and all candidates must be citizens over the age of twenty-one (21)
    • i) Legislative elections shall be held concurrently with the Presidential elections
• §2 The National Assembly is empowered to pass any legislation, providing that it does not conflict with this constitution
• §3 The National Assembly must meet at least once every twelve (12) months

Article 3: Judiciary

• §1 The legal system of the Republic of Rwizikuru shall be common law
  • §1a All laws passed by the Estmerish authorities shall remain in effect until otherwise repealed
• §2 The court system shall be organized as such:
  • §2a Magistrates' courts, empowered to hear cases involving summary offences, or any instance of juvenile delinquency
  • §2b District courts, empowered to hear cases involving civil and family law
  • §2c Courts of the Assizes, empowered to hear cases involving indictable offences, and appeals from both the magistrates' courts and the district courts
  • §2d High Court, empowered to hear appeals from the Assizes
  • §2e Military courts, empowered to hear cases committed in the armed forces, regardless of whether it is a summary or indictable offence
  • §2f Court of Appeals, empowered to hear appeals from all lower courts
  • §2g Supreme Court of Rwizikuru, the court of last resort, and hearing appeals from the Court of Appeals
    • i) The Supreme Court shall comprise of nine members, appointed by the President on the advice of his cabinet, and approved by the National Assembly with a three-fifths (3/5ths) majority
    • ii) The Supreme Court shall be empowered to conduct judicial review in the event it is unclear that the law conflicts with the constitution

Article 4: Administrative divisions

• §1 The Republic of Rwizikuru shall be divided into thirteen (13) districts, with the borders standing as they were prior to independence
  • §1a The government has the right to rename the districts to their native names without altering the constitution
• §2 The powers of the districts shall be any power that the government deems fit to delegate to the districts via law
• §3 Chiefs of the districts shall be appointed by the President, with consultation from the cabinet, although with a 2/3rds majority, the National Assembly may overrule the candidate

Chapter 2: Rights and freedoms

Article 1: Languages

• §1 The official languages of the Republic of Rwizikuru are weRwizi and Estmerish
• §2 All citizens have the right to receive governmental services, information, and to be educated in their official language, and that no person shall be discriminated based on which official language they speak

Article 2: Religion

• §1 In light of the existence of Sotirian and Irfanic communities, with varying sects among both of them, the Republic of Rwizikuru declares that all people have the right to practice their faith in a legal manner

Article 3: Democratic rights

• §1 All citizens who are over the age of 21 have the right to vote and run for office, unless convicted of treason or sedition

Article 4: Legal rights

• §1 All people in the Republic of Rwizikuru have the right to life, liberty, and security
• §2 All people in the Republic shall have the right to be protected from unreasonable search and seizure
• §3 No person in the Republic may be detained arbitrarily
• §4 All people in the Republic shall have the right to legal counsel and to be guaranteed habeas corpus
• §5 All people in the Republic shall be presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law
• §6 All people in the Republic shall be protected from cruel and unusual punishment and from incriminating themselves
• §7 All people in the Republic shall be treated equally in a court of law

Article 5: Fundamental freedoms

• §1 All people in the Republic of Rwizikuru have the right to the freedoms of speech, of thought, and of expression
• §2 All people in the Republic shall have freedom of the press to report on pressing issues unmolested by government or by any private citizen
• §3 All people in the Republic shall have the right to engage in free association and assemble in public spaces
• §4 All persons have the right to own property, and to not have their property seized, unless duly compensated

Chapter 3: Amendments and limitations

Article 1: Amendments

• §1 Any amendment must first be proposed in the National Assembly
• §2 Amendments require:
  • §2a a three-fifths (3/5s) majority to alter any article in the first chapter of this constitution, excluding the fourth article of the first chapter, as well as the fourth chapter, and any amendment
  • §2b a two-thirds (2/3rds) majority to alter the fourth article of the first chapter of this constitution
  • §2c a three-quarters (3/4s) majority to alter any article in the second chapter of this constitution
  • §2d a four-fifths (4/5ths) majority to alter any article in this chapter of this constitution
• §3 The President has the discretion to approve the amendment, or not:
  • §3a If the President grants assent, it shall enter into force immediately
  • §3b Else, it returns to the assembly, where the National Assembly has to override the veto with three-quarters (3/4s) of the members voting: if they fail to do so, the amendment fails

Article 2: Limitation clause

• §1 In the event that passed legislation violates the constitution, and it is declared unconstitutional by the Supreme Court, it must review whether the legislation can still remain in effect
• §2 The government has the duty to prove during the review that the benefits of the offending legislation outweigh any substantial risks
• §3 Should the Supreme Court accept the government's arguments, the legislation will stay in effect, even if it is declared unconstitutional

Article 3: State of emergency

• §1 In the event of insurrection or a natural disaster, the government has the power to declare a state of emergency
  • §1a The state of emergency can last up to one hundred and eighty (180) days, before it has to be renewed by the National Assembly, though it may be renewed as many times as necessary to deal with the situation
• §2 During a state of emergency, the government has the power to suspend any part of the constitution, and to implement martial law

Chapter 4: Technical details

Article 1: Language

• §1 This constitution shall be valid in any official language
• §2 In the event of a dispute as a result of translation, the Estmerish version takes priority over the weRwizi version

Article 2: Citation

• §1 This document may be cited as the Constitution of Rwizikuru, or the Constitution of Rwizikuru, 1946

Amendments

Additional articles (July 1946)

Article 1: Seat distributions

Pursuant to the second article of the first chapter, the seats shall be distributed among the districts proportional to their populations in the 1941 census

• Fitzhubert shall receive twenty-seven seats
• East Riziland shall receive twenty-three seats
• Olongaland shall receive twenty-one seats
• Plateau shall receive seventeen seats
• Zakawanda shall receive sixteen seats
• Graham shall receive twelve seats
• Chekumabazuva shall receive eleven seats
• Hunizakafa shall receive eight seats
• Sungirai shall receive five seats
• Mumbengewi shall receive four seats
• South Sangoguru shall receive three seats
• North Sangoguru shall receive two seats
• Nyikaitsva shall receive one seat

Article 2: National symbols

• §1 The flag of the Republic of Rwizikuru shall comprise of:
  • §1a Three horizontal stripes of black, blue, and green
    • i) Black shall represent the the Bahians and the Estmerish communities
    • ii) Blue shall represent the Rwizikuru River which unites the Rwizikuran Republic
    • iii) Green shall represent the nature of Rwizikuru, and the fertility of the nation
• §2 The official seal of the Republic of Rwizikuru shall depict a right-facing silver elephant head on a green shield, with no crown or supporters
• §3 The national anthem of the Republic of Rwizikuru shall be Pasi pemureza wenyika yedu

Article 3: Citizenship

• §1 A citizen of Rwizikuru shall be defined as being:
  • §1a Any person who is an Estmerish national by virtue of their connection to the colony of Riziland, and their descendants
  • §1b Any Estmerish citizen present in the colony of Riziland who has expressed their intention to stay in Rwizikuru following its independence from Estmere on 2 July, 1946, and their descendants
  • §1c Any person present in the territory of Rwizikuru on 2 July, 1946, who lacked any other nationality
  • §1d Any person who has migrated to the Republic of Rwizikuru, who has resided for five continuous years, and who has passed a citizenship exam
  • §1e Any person who has been granted citizenship by the National Assembly of the Republic

First Amendment (August 1951)

Wishing to defuse tensions in Yekumavirira over the status of the Barobyi, and wishing to include them in the body politic, we declare that:

• §1 The second section of the first article of the second chapter will be interpreted so to guarantee that all children in Yekumavirira may be educated in the Kirobyi language in infant school

Second Amendment (April 1957)

Wishing to reflect the reality of a sovereign nation, with a sovereign language, we declare that:

• §1 The second section of the first article of the fourth chapter shall be revised, so that the weRwizi text shall take precedence over the Estmerish text
• §2 Estmerish language instruction is to be phased out to only a single subject across all schools, with students to be taught in Estmerish only in areas with a sizable Estmerish-speaking population

Third Amendment (July 1957)

Frustrated by the continued usage of the colonial-era seal, and wishing to adopt a design which recognizes Rwizikuru's sovereignty, we declare that:

• §1 The second section of the second additional article shall be amended so to depict:
  • §1a A red star with an elephant in front of it
  • §1b Surrounding it is a wreath of maize, with a shell in the center of the wreath
• §2 The meanings shall be as follows:
  • §2a The red star represents socialism, while the elephant represents its application in Bahia
  • §2b The wreath represents prosperity, both in agriculture with the maize, and in resources with the shell

Fourth Amendment (May 1960)

For generations, our land has been owned by foreigners who never lived in our country, while people do without land

Wishing to give people land, while respecting the ownership of those who reside in our country

• §1 The government shall be able to seize vacant lands owned by expatriate landlords without compensating them
• §2 Emphasises that those permanently residing in the country shall not have their lands taken away without compensation

Fifth Amendment (February 1961)

With increasing security problems in Yekumavirira, it has become clear that having the President serve two terms in office is no longer adequate to resolve these problems

Therefore, we declare that:

• §1 Amends subsection a of the first article of the first chapter of the constitution, to extend the President's term-limits from two terms of four years to three terms of four years
• §2 This clause shall only apply to the incumbent President

Sixth Amendment (June 1961)

Over the past fifteen years, we have noticed increasing activity of Euclean corporations exploiting our natural resources and giving us little in compensation

We have also noticed the high dependence of the Republic of Rwizikuru on foreign aid, which threatens to undermine our sovereignty

Therefore, to counteract these two threads, we declare that:

• §1 All foreign enterprises operating in the Republic of Rwizikuru shall pay heavy taxes on all their operations, with the intention of ensuring that the wealth goes towards our country, and not to the elites in Morwall
• §2 No further foreign aid from the capitalist Euclean countries shall be accepted by our government

Seventh Amendment (January 1964)

With increasing authoritarianism by our Presidents who have implemented policies detrimental to the survival and health of our land

Concerned that these policies will forever destroy our sovereignty and our livelihoods, we declare that:

• §1 This constitution shall be suspended indefinitely, with the National Salvation Council to rule the Rwizikuran nation under martial law
• §2 Empowers the National Salvation Council to pass any legislation, regardless of whether or not it conflicts with this constitution, to resolve the insurgency in Yekumavirira
• §3 Proclaims the eternal independence of Rwizikuru from any socialist supranational government

Eighth Amendment (June 1968)

With the work of the National Salvation Council now complete, it is clear that this present constitution is fundamentally broken

Noting that this constitution was an artificial construct created by the northerners as they ended their rule over the Rwizikuran nation, and wishing to restore our traditional form of governance,

Therefore, we declare that:

• §1 The establishment of an absolute monarchy, with the incumbent Chairman of the National Salvation Council becoming the Mambo
• §2 The implementation of a basic law to supplant and supersede this constitution, in order to be able to deal with the situation in Rwizikuru