Constitution of Hellona

The constitution of Hellona (Hellonian: Hellander Grondlag, Ellandic: Hellands Grundlag) consists of three fundamental laws (Hellonian: Grondlegen, Ellandic: Grundlagar) that regulate the Hellonian political system. These documents define different aspects of the Hellonian state and its relation to its citizenry and acts as the basis for other laws and regulations. They are the Instrument of Government, the Fundamental Law on Rights, Freedoms and Citizens and the Charter for the Realm.

Historical background

During the Eastern Revolt from 1389 to 1399, the power of the States-Diet greatly diminished. Representatives from the eastern provinces of Hellona; Moesland, Elland and Halleren dismissed the body and sought independence. Due to concerns about possible independence, ten intellectuals formed a committee seeking radical change in the Hellonian government. They put forward the idea of a unitary state, with legislative and executive power vested in one single national body. Their ideas were extremely radical for their time, limiting the powers of the monarch. These ideas were widely unpopular from the start, but a movement began to grow surrounding this new committee, now called the Committee of Ten.

However as unrest kept growing in the easternmost provinces, King Magnus II began paranoid about losing territory. He considered the ideas put forward by the Committee of Ten the only way he could salvage his realm. Under pressure of the Hellonian monarch, the States-Diet disbanded itself in 1401 and the Committee of Ten was given the task of establishing a new form of government by King Magnus II.

The document they put forward would come to be known as the Instrument of Government. It established a true separation of powers between the executive branch (the monarch) and the legislative branch, the newly established unitary Ryksdag. The monarch could still come with legislation and still had a central role in government. From then on he was advised by the Privy Council, consisting of members of the Ryksdag the monarch chose himself.

The Instrument of Government remained unchanged for decades. By the 18th century, however, the monarch had lessened his role in government affairs. The Privy Council was still chosen by the monarch, but they began functioning as a body separate from the monarch. Starting around 1750, the inclusion of new territories in the Hellonian state meant several revisions of the Instrument of Government, as it also laid down the territories which would entail the Hellonian state. During these revisions, the de facto political system was officially written down and was further expanded upon. Parliamentarism became the official norm in 1786 when Afrik was integrated as a territory. Under this revision, the powers of the monarch were made symbolic, the Privy Council was replaced by a cabinet and its members were henceforth chosen by members of parliament.

Voting rights were extended to all men in 1816 when Norsund was integrated. In 1848 universal suffrage was adopted.

When independence and self-rule movements grew around 1870, the largest revision in the fundamental laws of Hellona came to be. While overseas territories were given self-rule, several constitutional conventions would come to establish a new Instrument of Government, a new fundamental law establishing the Hellonian Realm and a document laying down the fundamental rights of each Hellonian citizen. In 1877, it brought forward a new Instrument of Government, establishing the current form of the Ryksdag; the Fundamental Law on Rights, Freedoms and Citizens, which laid down the fundamental human rights of Hellonian citizens, and the Charter for the Realm. While the former two are applicable only to mainland Hellona, the Charter for the Realm functions as the constitution for the entire Hellonian Realm. It lays down the relations between each of the constituent countries in the Realm, the functions of the Aldag and establishes a procedure for leaving and joining the Realm.

The last constitutional changes were made when Rejken was annexed in 1953. Besides the new inclusion of Rejken, revisions were made to the Fundamental Law on Rights, Freedoms and Citizens expanding rights further.

Instrument of Government

Structure

The official text of the Instrument of Government (Hellonian: Regeringsvorm; Ellandic: Regeringsformen) consists of 14 chapters:

1. Fundamental provisions
2. Parliament and its members
3. Parliamentary activities
4. Head of state and the monarchy
5. Government
6. Functioning of government
7. Legislation
8. State finances
9. International relations
10. Administration of judgement
11. Supervision of legality
12. Administration
13. National defence
14. Final provisions

Fundamental provisions

The opening chapter establishes Hellona’s status as a sovereign country, the inviolability of human dignity and the rights of individuals and the sovereignty of the Hellonian people. It furthermore establishes the combination of the Instrument of Government, the Fundamental Law on Rights, Freedoms and Citizens and the Charter for the Realm as the Constitution of Hellona. It lays down that all public authority derives from the people and affirms the principle of representative democracy, the position of Parliament as the highest organ of government and the separation of powers.

While basic rights are written into the Instrument of Government, such as voting rights, citizenship rights and the inviolability of human dignity and freedom, the human rights are truly only expanded upon in the Fundamental Law of Rights, Freedoms and Citizens.

Article 1 states:

Hellona is a sovereign state in which all public power proceeds from the people. Its democracy is founded on the free formation of opinion and on universal and equal suffrage. It is realised through a representative and parliamentary form of government and through local self-government. Public power is exercised under the law.

Provisions on the Political Structure

Chapters 2 to 13 describes the functioning of the state of Hellona. As laid down in the fundamental provisions, the Hellonian state is declared to be a political democracy. However, democracy is not limited to the state, as §5 in chapter one states that one of the aims of public institutions shall be to ensure that the ideals of democracy act as guidelines in all sectors of society. In chapters 2 to 7, the Instrument of Government establishes a government under a parliamentary system. They provide the parliament (chapter 1 to 3), the head of state (chapter 4) and the government (chapter 5 and 6). It also establishes an independent judiciary and two judicial systems: one general, and the other administrative.

Parliament

Since the reforms in 1877, the highest representative of the people in Hellona is the Ryksdag. As the highest organ of government the parliament holds supreme legislative power and has the ability to alter the constitution. Legislation may be initiated by the Government, or one of members of Parliament, who are elected for a four-year term on the basis of proportional representation through open list multi-member districts. Persons 18 or older are eligible for election.

Parliament is largely able to determine the constitutionality of laws themselves, as the constitutionality of laws is not reviewed by the Supreme Court of Hellona. If a citizen finds a law to be possibly unconstitutional, it can be brought forward to the Realm Court. The Realm Court is the only body besides the Parliament that can determine constitutionality.

Government

The Government acts as the supreme executive power in Hellona, which consists of the Prime Minister and roughly 12 ministers who head ministries. The Ministers are appointed at the discretion of the Prime Minister. The Prime Minister themselves is nominated by the Speaker and appointed following a vote in the Riksdag itself.

As the Parliament acts as the highest representative, the Government is accountable to the Ryksdag. As such the Government must have the confidence of the Parliament or at least be tolerated by it. This means the Government can be removed by a vote of no confidence in the Prime Minister. The intent of this parliamentary government is to make it possible for the Government to act quickly and effectively as long as it has the confidence of the Parliament.

The monarch who occupies the throne of Hellona is the Head of State. Their authority is formal, symbolic, and representational. The current occupant is King Kristoffer of Hellona.

Fundamental Law on Rights and Freedoms

The Fundamental Law on Rights and Freedoms (Hellonian: Grondlag op Rechten en Vryheden; Ellandic: Grundlagen om Rättigheter och Friheter) affirms the rights and freedoms individuals enjoy in Hellona. It contains some 58 articles divided into seven titles. The first six titles deal with substantive rights under the headings: dignity, freedoms, equality, solidarity, citizens' rights and justice, while the last title deals with the interpretation and application of the Law.

• The first title (Dignity) guarantees the right to life and prohibits torture, slavery, the death penalty, eugenic practices and human cloning.
• The second title (Freedoms) covers liberty, personal integrity, privacy, protection of personal data, marriage, thought, religion, expression, assembly, education, work, property and asylum.
• The third title (Equality) covers equality before the law, prohibition of all discrimination including on basis of disability, age and sexual orientation, cultural, religious and linguistic diversity, the rights of children and the elderly.
• The fourth title (Solidarity) covers social and workers' rights including the right to fair working conditions, protection against unjustified dismissal, and access to health care, social and housing assistance.
• The fifth title (Citizen's Rights) covers the rights of citizens such as the right to vote in election to the Parliament and to move freely within Hellona. It also includes several administrative rights such as a right to good administration, to access documents and to petition the Parliament.
• The sixth title (Justice) covers justice issues such as the right to an effective remedy, a fair trial, to the presumption of innocence, the principle of legality, non-retrospectivity and double jeopardy.
• The seventh title (General Provisions) concerns the interpretation and application of the Law. These issues are dealt with above.

Charter for the Realm

The Charter for the Realm (Hellonian: Rijksverdrag; Ellandic: Riksstadgan) sets out the political relationship between all constituent countries of the Hellonian Realm. Currently the following countries from the Realm as laid down in the Charter: (mainland) Hellona, Norsund, the Menako Islands, Lilotuka Island, the Sevros Islands, Tirpitz, the Ebure Isles, Batavia and Moundra and Tyrean. The Charter is the leading legal document in the entire Realm, as such other constitutional laws in each of the constituent states are subordinate to it.

Preamble

The preamble lays down the fundamental ideals behind the Realm partnership; maintaining the principles of democracy, liberty, respect for human rights and dignity, fundamental freedoms and the rule of law. The countries declare their partnership to derive from a shared cultural and historical background. The preamble ends with the announcement of their intention to establish a partnership as laid down further in the Charter. While the entity established by the Charter is most well known as the Hellonian Realm, the constitutional name for this entity is simply the Realm.

HELLONA, NORSUND, the MENAKO ISLANDS, LILOTUKA ISLAND, the SEVROS ISLANDS, TIRPITZ, the EBURE ISLANDS, BATAVIA and MOUNDRA AND TYREAN,

RESOLVED to mark a new step in the relation between territories under the Hellonian Crown

DRAWING INSPIRATION from the cultural inheritance of the Hellonian peoples and the shared historical ties, which have developed shared values of the inviolable and inalienable rights of the human person, freedom, democracy and of the rule of law,

CONFIRMING their attachments to these to the principles of liberty, democracy and respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms and of the rule of law,

CONFIRMING their attachments to upholding fundamental human rights as laid down by the Act of the Trident Union signed at Laetia on 1 January 1857 and the revisions thereof

DESIRING to deepen the solidarity between their peoples while respecting their history, their culture and their traditions

DESIRING to enhance further the democratic and efficient functioning of the institutions so as to enable them better to carry out, within a single institutional framework, the tasks entrusted to them

HAVE DECIDED to establish a voluntary partnership of equal nations which shall be known as the Realm

Structure

The Charter follows the following structure:

1. Fundamental provisions
2. Constitutional organisation of the constituent nations
3. Realm affairs
4. Parliament and its functioning
5. Government and its functioning
6. Legislation
7. Realm finances and mutual assistance
8. Realm judiciary
9. Realm defence
10. International relations
11. Final Provisions

The Charter begins with establishing the Realm as a partnership between equal nations, united under its monarch and its unifying institutions. It establishes the basic functions of the Realm and the tasks it was given by the constituent states. The Realm exercises its power through the Realm Council, consisting of all ministers from each of the constituent countries, and His Majesty's Council, consisting of the heads of government from each constituent states. These tasks include:

• Maintenance of the independence and the defence of the Realm
• Foreign relations
• Realm nationality
• Monetary affairs relating to the Hellonian crown
• Regulation of the nationality of vessels and the standards required for the safety and navigation of seagoing vessels flying the flag of the Realm, with the exception of sailing ships;
• Supervision of the general rules governing the admission and expulsion of Realm nationals;
• General conditions for the admission and expulsion of aliens;
• Extradition.

The further tasks of the Realm government are laid down in articles 3, 5, 6, 7 and 9.

The Charter furthermore facilitates the establishment of Realm-wide legislature and law. In order to facilitate this, it establishes the Aldag, a legislative body that can make overarching legislature for the entire Realm. The functioning of the Aldag is further explained in articles 3, 4 and 6.