Committee of Public Safety
| Committee of Public Safety | |
|---|---|
| Yleisen turvallisuuden komitea | |
 Seal of Sulatia | |
Incumbent Hyvärinen Ilmari Kuoppala Yrjänä Väisänen Eevi Keskula Janek Sepp Kati Maijala Aulikki Kimmo Veli since January 18, 2018 | |
| Appointer | Eduskunta |
| Term length | 4 years, no term limit |
| Precursor | Popular Tribunal |
| Formation | January 16, 1916 |
| First holder | Hikala Niko Kuusik Riho Laas Vaiko Räisänen Vilpu Makkonen Saija Seppälä Jyri |
The Committee of Public Safety (Sarvalian: Yleisen turvallisuuden komitea) is the collegial executive that constitutes the government of Sulatia. The committee serves as the collective head of state and head of government of Sulatia.
The position is largely a continuation of the previous Popular Tribunal that functioned in the same capacity during the First Republic. It was established on 16 January, 1916 with the ratification of the 1916 Constitution, which transformed the Popular Tribunal into the Committee of Public Safety. The era of democratic centralism, from 1916 until 1944, saw the committee become the highest governing authority of the nascent Second Republic. During this period, all decrees passed by the committee were rubber stamped by the Eduskunta, giving the committee unparalleled power over the function of the state. When the practice ceased following the lifting of the temporary suspension on elections, the committee returned to its intended function.
Under the most recent constitution, the committee constitutes the national government, directs the national administration of the state, and serves as the collective head of state. While the entire committee functions in this capacity, individual committee members oversee one of the seven executive directories. These directories are: State Commissariat of the Environment and Infrastructure, State Commissariat of Internal Affairs, State Commissariat of Foreign Affairs, State Commissariat of Finance and Economic Affairs, State Commissariat of Education, Women and Minority Rights, and Sport, State Commissariat of Defense and Civil Protection, and the State Commissariat of Justice.
The head of the committee, known as the President of the Committee of Public Safety, is elected among the members of the committee for the duration of the 4-year session of the committee. The position is primus inter pares with other members, and does not have any additional powers. The position has no term limits and the same person can re-elected ad infinitum.
Current members
The current membership of the sitting committee are:
| Member | Portrait | Joined | Faction | Function | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hyvärinen Ilmari | 
|
16 January 2010 | Internationalists | President for the 2018 session Head of the State Commissariat of Foreign Affairs | |
| Kuoppala Yrjänä | 
|
16 January, 2010 | Internationalists | Head of the State Commissariat of Finance and Economic Affairs | |
| Väisänen Eevi | 
|
17 January, 2013 | Internationalists | Head of the State Commissariat of Education, Women and Minority Rights, and Sport | |
| Keskula Janek | 
|
19 January, 2012 | Radicalists | Head of the State Commissariat of Defense and Civil Protection | |
| Sepp Kati | 
|
21 January, 2016 | Radicalists | Vice-President for the 2018 session Head of the State Commissariat of Internal Affairs | |
| Maijala Aulikki | 
|
18 January, 2018 | Radicalists | Head of the State Commissariat of Justice | |
| Kimmo Veli | 
|
18 January, 2018 | Autonomists | Head of the State Commissariat of the Environment and Infrastructure | |
History
Operation
Responsibilities
The committee is responsible for the day-to-day running of the national government and the state administration. It possesses numerous implied powers to achieve and carry out these duties by virtue of being elected by the Eduskunta. The state administration, consisting of the various government departments and agencies that are subordinate to the committee, are the main functional organs of the committee.
The responsibilities of the Committee of Public Safety are:
- Deciding on the objectives of national government policy and the means by which they should be achieved.
- Making and and implementing laws, either through proposals to the Eduskunta or by issuing ordinances.
- Managing the national budget and state finances.
- Managing all foreign and domestic aspects of national security; including, but not limited to, negotiating, denouncing, or ratifying foreign treaties, mobilizing the armed forces, and appointing ambassadors and other international representatives.
- Heading the national administration.
In addition to these responsibilities, each member of the committee is responsible for their own department, much like the ministers in the governments of other countries. Colloquially, committee members are referred to by the department they head, i.e: the head of the State Commissariat of Justice being referred to as the "People's Commissar of Justice" although no post officially exists. In addition to their own departments, committee ministers are responsible for the running of the other departments.
Decisions
The majority of decisions taken by the committee are the result of mandates given to it by the Eduskunta. These mandates include: expediting voting on pieces of legislation, amendments to laws previously passed by the Eduskunta, the budget and annual finances, and opinions of a proposed bill.
Prior to voting on items, a written draft is produced by the responsible department that the item of business relates to. The proposal then undergoes an internal consultation procedure involving the item's author, typically the senior professional head of the governmental agency, the responsible committee member, and any other involved parties. These other parties could range from trade unions or labor syndicates down to political factions. Once the responsible committee member is satisfied with the draft, they sign the final proposal which shows implicit approval of its contents.
Once signed by the responsible department head, the written draft is copied and distributed to the other department heads. In this stage, the proposal under goes the same consultation procedure, with a particular emphasis on financial and legal issues that may have been overlooked by the responsible department. It is in this stage that the departments task their own professional officials to prepare written responses to the proposal offering criticism and improvements to the written draft. An emphasis is made on identifying opposing opinions on issues and finding solutions to them. This ensures that a consensus can be made. Only once this procedure is completed and the legality of the proposal has been checked by all department heads is the proposal placed in the committee's agenda for vote.
Voting for the decisions are formally taken through voice voting, although consensuses are typically reached long before the vote. Being a collegial body, the decisions enacted by the committee are taken jointly, and all committee members are expected to stand by the decisions in external dealings, even if the decision may not agree with their personal or political beliefs.
Meetings
The constitution states the committee must meet as "often as is necessary." This has been interpreted as being weekly meetings, typically on Fridays, held in the executive capital of Varppe. Meetings begin around 9am local time and last several hours, typically ending between 5 and 6pm. Meetings of the committee are chaired by the President of the Committee of Public Safety. A quorum is reached when five of the seven members are in attendance. This ensures that no ties are possible in the event a consensus cannot be reached and a vote must be held.
The agenda for the meeting is decided before hand and operates on a color-code system consisting of green-listed, red-listed, yellow-listed, and blue-listed. Green listed items are uncontested proposals or other items of business and are swiftly approved by the committee; red listed items are inquiries from the Eduskunta that require a response; yellow listed items are discussed one-by-one due to their political important, and can be discussed over multiple meetings; blue-listed items are confidential in their nature and are also discussed at length by the committee.
In addition to the seven committee members, the following officials also attend committee meetings:
- State Secretary in the position's capacity as governmental chief of staff and head of the State Secretariat.
- Deputy Secretary of the State, who is the spokesperson for the committee and gives press briefings at the conclusion of each committee meeting.
- Responsible Secretary of the Eduskunta, who, due to the League of Workers and Farmers being the sole legal party in Sulatia, functions in a role analogous to a general secretary.
While these members do not vote on matters, the State Secretary and Responsible Secretary are allowed to participate in the discussion but do not vote on items of business. Nonetheless, the two hold considerable influence in the committee and are considered to be the eight and ninth member of it.
Presidency
The President of the Committee of Public Safety is selected for the 4-year session of the committee by the sitting members. The selection process is often the very first piece of ordinance passed by each new committee session. The president is constitutionally the primus inter pares out of the seven committee members, and chairs each meeting of the committee. Additionally, the president is tasked with mediating any disputes. In urgent situations where the committee is unable to convene, the president may issue unilateral decisions on behalf of the committee, and can issue emergency ordinances that last until the committee is next able to meet.
Aside from these roles, the president also performs representative duties. Traditionally, they give speeches on New Year's Day and Labor Day that is broadcasted over radio and on television. The president also receives all foreign diplomatic corps personnel.
Election
Procedure
Any citizen over the age of 18 can stand for election to the committee. The only requirement for election is that committee members are not allowed to hold another political post while they are on the committee. This has resulted in some criticism of the committee, as in the past, this was used to get rid of political opponents and for nepotism.
The Eduskunta votes by secret ballot in several rounds of voting. Serving members of the current committee stand for re-election in the order of their term length, with longer serving candidates given high priority over newer. Political clubs which are currently in government are allocated seats on the committee based on their total number of seats in the Eduskunta. The current seat allocation is three seats to the Internationalists, three to the Radicalists, and one to the Autonomists.
Once the seat allocation has been decided, political clubs submit candidates, usually double the amount of their allocated seats and ones that have opposing views. The voting is done under a form exhaustive ballot. During the first two rounds, any candidate can receive votes. From the third round on wards, no more candidate applications are accepted and the candidate that receives the lowest amount of votes is removed until one candidate gains a majority. This process is then repeated until all of the seats on the committee have been filled.