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Government and politics
Arthasthan's uncodified constitution, the People's Laws of Arthasthan, declares that the country is a federal union of socialist republics united to achieve the goal of achieving a socialist society. The Laws officially establishes this socialist federation within the framework of as a federal democratic republic governed by a parliamentary system. However in practice it operates under a system where the Satrian Section of the Worker's International (SSWI) and its Subsections controls the political climate of the union and its individual states. In addition, while Arthasthan's constitution guarantees basic civil and political rights for all of its citizens, the government has inconsistently followed or ignored these protections entirely. For these reasons, Arthasthan is often considered by scholars to be an illiberal democracy, a Southern democracy, or an outright authoritarian state.
Government
The People's Laws defines the legislature of Arthasthan, known as the Assembly of Arthasthan, as the highest de jure state authority. It functions as a unicameral body consisting of around 600 members directly elected by Party-list proportional representation by the population of member states. The Assembly has broad legislative authority, but is mainly concerned with economic planning and the government budget. Parliamentary elections are scheduled every four years, but unstable coalitions or a no-confidence vote by the Assembly can dissolve a government earlier. The Assembly elects the Premier, a member of parliament supported by a parliamentary majority who serves as head of government for a four year term, renewable once. The Premier is responsible for the exercise of executive powers in implementing the decrees and general policies approved by the Assembly. The Premier is assisted by a council of ministers, known as the Executive Council, who are appointed by the Premier and approved by the Assembly. Together the Premier and the Executive Council coordinates government decisions, and selects government policies to be placed before the legislature.
Satrian Section
The People's Laws of Arthasthan declares that the Arthani-led Satrian Section of the Workers' International, "is the regional representative of the Workers' International, the Section shall play a leading role in the development of a socialist state" which constitutionalises its prominent status in Arthani politics. Since the foundation of the United Socialist Republic, the party institutions of the SSWI operate in parallel and in conjunction with normal government institutions. The party directly manages government functions, such as national defence, through the Army of the Socialist Revolution which is ultimately under the control of the party's leadership rather than the state. The Section is not a traditional political party, but rather a political forum for the socialist movement in Arthasthan, which consists of the United Front of the People, and numerous labour unions, youth organizations, cultural organizations, charities, and other groups. The structure of the party is dual layered, consisting of the federal Satrian Section and many Subsections for each constituent republic. The party structures of the Subsections largely emulated the structure of the Satrian Sections. Local authorities were organized likewise into party congresses, councils and executive committees.
The highest office within the party is the First Secretary, who is also de facto head of state of the United Socialist Republic. In addition to performing duties as head of state, the Secretary is commander in chief of the Army of the Socialist Revolution, and performs numerous key administrative functions of the party by controlling its national organisation. The First Secretary and other high level party officials are elected by the National Party Congress, which is held annually. The National Congress servers as an official platform for debate within the party as it determines and approves party policy. The last major party institution is the People's Congress which is an assembly of representatives from the socialist movement. Its main purpose is to coordinate the policies of the national government with its member organisations. In addition it has de facto legislative powers, as many of its members are also Assembly delegates. While the Congress began as a party institution, it is increasingly functioning as part of the federal government, especially since membership of the Congress was opened to groups not directly affiliated with the Subsection.
Law
Before 1987, the highest judicial authority in the country was the Satrian Section's Political and Legal Affairs Commission, which delegated responsibility of managing the judicial system to a series of committees. Since then power over the judiciary has been officially transferred to the Council of Judicial Affairs. Its members are appointed by the Preimer and confirmed by the Assembly. The Council of Judicial Affairs is not a court, but serves to organize the judicial system of the country by hiring, firing, promoting, and assigning judges. Although the Council of Justice is an independent body, it continues to cooperates closely with the Political and Legal Affairs Commission.
In turn the Council delegates non-constitutional judicial powers to the Supreme Court of Justice. The Court of Justice is the highest court for criminal and private law and has supreme appellate jurisdiction as well as supreme original jurisdiction over non-constitutional cases. The Council of Justice also appoints the judges of several high courts that serve as regional judicial circuits, although the State government must approve the appointment. A regional judicial council appointed by the Council of Judicial Affairs also appoints the judges that serve the courts of the Local Districts, although it usually appoints a judge recommended by the District.