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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 semi-presidentsystem. However in practice the Satrian Section of the Worker's International (SSWI) and its Subsections has significant influence over the country's politics. 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.
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.
Government
The People's Laws defines the Premier as the highest de jure state authority which conducts the general politics of the country and the superior body of the public administration. The Government is headed by the Premier who is appointed by the First Secretary and approved by the Assembly, the Deputy Premier, Ministers, Deputy Ministers, and other officials. The Premier wields executive powers, but has also limited legislative powers. The Premier is assisted by the Executive Council, consisting of various important government officials. They are collectively known as the Government. Each government is required to define the broad outline of its policies and present it to the Assembly for a mandatory period of debate. If the Assembly does not reject the government's outline by an absolute majority of deputies, the Government is approved.
The People's Laws defines the legislature of Arthasthan, as the Assembly. It functions as a unicameral body consisting of around 600 members directly elected by Party-list proportional representation by the population. 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. While it is a de jure state institution, it shares significant ties with the People's Congress of the Satrian Section as many deputies are members of both institutions. The People's Congress and the Assembly often coordinate together with the creating and implementation of national policy.
Judiciary
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.
Law enforcement
The law enforcement of Arthasthan is divided into federal level forces run by the national government and state and local forces managed by the various states. Federal law enforcement is largely controlled by the Central Police Forces of the Army of the Socialist Revolution, which consists of three agencies. As they are controlled by the Army, the line between law enforcement and military forces are blurred. Academics consider the agencies of the Central Police Forces to be government paramilitary forces. The most active agency is the Internal Security Force, which is tasked with guarding Arthasthan's internal borders and major roads. In addition it is tasked with counter-insurgency and counter-terrorism operations. Furthermore there are four different Border Police Forces each tasked with policing the country's land borders in peacetime and preventing trans-border crimes. Finally there is the Special Security Force which protects government sites, key infrastructure, and provides security to government officials. The only federal law enforcement agency, under direct control of the civilian government is the Reserve Police Force, which serves as a general law enforcement force dealing with organized crime and other federal crimes. In addition it maintains a quick reaction force that responds to riot and crowd control situations, formed after the 1980 Baisara riots. In recent years, it has also taken on the role of monitoring the conduct of other law enforcement agencies for abuse of power.
Law enforcement below the federal level is handled by over a thousand agencies organised on the local, regional, and state levels. Organisation of these agencies varies considerably, although all States maintain a state wide law enforcement agency along with hundreds of local law enforcement agencies. These agencies are primarily in charge of law enforcement within the country.