Articles of Federation (Meridon)

The Articles of Federation are the constituting documents that comprises the supreme law of Meridon.

Provisions

Preamble

THE ARTICLES OF FEDERATION
of the Federal Republic of Meridon

In the aims of establishing an agreed-upon unity among the people of the lands and territories of Meridon under common cause, bond, and law, we, her people, assembled in concord, set forth these Articles of Federation to ensure and establish a more brotherly Union, establish and provide for justice, enshrine rights to law, provide for the defense and welfare of her people, secure the blessings of liberty, and form the basis of union upon one supreme law beneath none but Heaven.

Article I: Of the Legislature

All powers of legislation herein granted shall be invested in and hereinafter designated as the Federal Council.

1. Such Federal Council will be composed of Councilors from each Federated Territory, chosen every Fifth Year by the Citizenry of Each Territory via their Popular Election, whose Number and Qualifications shall be Determined in such a manner as deemed Acceptable by the Federated Territories, but ought to include representation both by their Nature as Federated Territories in a Fixed Amount and according to the respective Numbers of the Inhabitants of these Federated Territories.
2. No person shall be Eligible to Serve as a Councillor who has not attained the Age of Twenty and Three Years, nor shall he be eligible who has not been a Resident and Natural Citizen of Meridon for a period of less than Ten Years, nor shall he be eligible who owes any Allegiance to any Foreign Power of any sort, nor shall he be eligible who has been Convicted of Felonious Crime before a Jury of his Peers.
3. The Federal Council shall be empowered to elect among their own Body those Committees, Officers, Establishments and Offices as are deemed Necessary for the efficacious Execution of such Duties of State as they are Charged to Execute. The Federal Council shall be Charged to Select among their Members a Council Chairman who shall speak as First among Equals, save for that they may Vote as Two Members should the Council be evenly split on any such Matter of Vote.
4. The Federal Council shall maintain the express Power of Initiating and Conducting the Proceedings of Impeachment upon any High Officer of the State. Upon such Initiation of Impeachment Proceedings, each attending Councilor shall be under Oath or Affirmation, and may only render such Punishment unto any duly Convicted Person as includes his Removal and Disbarral from Office, withholding that such Convicted Person may furthermore be Tried and Convicted in such Courts of further Offenses against the Law of which he is Accused.
5. Such Federal Council shall be Required to Assemble at least Twice in each Year, in a Place and Manner upon which is mutually agreeable to the assembled Council, and that a majority of its Duly Sworn and Elected Members shall constitute a Quorum to do Business, and the Federal Council shall be Empowered to Compel the Attendance of those Members in Absence by such means within the Law that is found Agreeable, and under Penalties as may be Provided.
6. The Federal Council shall be Empowered to Set and Determine its Rules and Procedures, Standards of Discipline and Behavior, and with the Concurrence of Two Thirds of its Membership to Expel a Member.
7. Such Federal Council shall be Required to Keep and Record a Log of its Proceedings, excepting such Proceedings as are Determined require Secrecy, and maintain a Record on the Ayes and Nays of its Members shall be Recorded on each Public Matter of Discussion; and such Federal Council shall; excepting such Proceedings as are Determined require Secrecy, make Public by Written Record such afforementioned Recordings.
8. Each Councilor shall receive Compensation for his Services to be Ascertained by Law, paid from the Treasury of the Federal Republic, and shall be privileged from the Detention or Arrest of their Person during such times as they are in Lawful Execution of their Roles of Office, excepting such High Crimes as Treason, Felony, and Breach of the Peace.
9. No Councilor shall, during his Time in Office, be permitted to hold any Civil Office of and under the Authority of the Federal Republic; and nr shall any holder of such Civil Office be permitted as Member to the Federal Council during their Term in Office.
10. The Federal Council shall be Endowed with the Express Powers and Duties of the following: of Establishing for the Raising of Revenues and Taxation thereof and the collection of Duties, Tarriffs, Excises and Imposts, but for the imposition of Duties, Imposts and Excises be made uniform across the Federated Territories; of the Payment of Debts and the Borrowing of Money on the Credit of the Federal Republic; of providing for the General Welfare and Defense of the People of the Federal Republic, and thereuntofore the Establishment, Provision and Maintenance of those Forces at Arms as are deemed necessary, and therefore the Appointment and Commissioning of Officers and the provision of such Standards of Maintenance and Discipline as are deemed necessary, with such Exception that no such Forces at Arms shall be maintained for more than Two Years without a vote of its Renewal; of the Regulation and Maintenance of Trade between the Federal Republic and Foreign Nations, between the Federated Territories, and such subject Tangaran Tribes; to Establish and Regulate such Coin and Money as universal Legal Tender within the Federal Republic for the satisfaction of Debts both Public and Private; to set and establish such Standards of Weight and Measurement as are Necessary; to establish Law and Provide for its Sanctions; to declare War and provide for such Direction as deemed necessary in such Regards; to establish Post Offices and Services and promote Infrastructure; to constitute such Tribuals as are deemed Necessary subordinate to the Supreme Courts; to Protect the Rights and Duties of the Citizenry of the Federal Republic in all such cases; to enact and provide for Rules regarding the Management of such Federal District upon the Island of Alexandria which is deemed Necessary for the Work of the Federal Republic; and to make all such Laws as are Necessary to Carry Forth such Roles as are Endowed upon said Council.
11. The Federal Council shall allow not for the Privilege or Preference of any one Man, or any one Territory, as superior or inferior to any other under any circumstances of its dealings; nor shall any Member of said Council be Permitted to accept any such Office or Award of Temporal or Spiritual Authority during such time as he serves as a Member; nor shall such Council abridge, alter, impede, or destroy any directly proscribed Right, Duty, or Obligation of any such Body without the due Adjustment to these Articles.

Adjustments to the Articles of Federation

Adjustment 1, ratified in 1769, laid the basis for a number of judicial procedures, establishing federal supremacy in cases of disputes between territories and codifying that territories did not enjoy sovereign immunity from suit by extra-territorial citizens, but restricted the ability of non-Meridonians to sue Meridonian federal or territorial agencies and established the bases on which territories could be sued. It also formalized the structure of federal courts into their current forms, outlining their responsibilities, structure and appointments.

Adjustment 2, ratified in 1783, authorized the Federal Government to directly regulate internal and international trade. It was authorized at the same time as Amendment 3, and later significantly strengthened by the implementation of Adjustment ##.

Adjustment 3, ratified in 1783, authorized the Federal Government to create permanent standing military forces by legislation, superseding the provision that required a biennial renewal for standing military forces by the Council. This provision allowed for the more-immediate permanent creation of the Meridonian Navy, and later the Army.

Adjustment 4, ratified in 1834, codified the abolition of indentured servitude and slavery in Meridon, and also mandated one of the first minimum compensation laws in the world for certain workers- particularly those in the agricultural sectors- to be paid in federal reserve currency or certain weights of 'staple crop or other foodstuffs' per week. It also provided for the gradual emancipation of indentured servants and slaves, offering either a monetary sum for their freedom from owners and freeing any child below the age of 15. The provisions mandating specific minimum compensation were later adjusted by Adjustment ##, and later superseded by Amendment ## relegating their provision into federal legislation. The provisions allowing for the 'phase-out' of servitude were annulled by Adjustment 5 in 1842, which provided for the release of all remaining indentured servants and slaves 3 years later.

Adjustment 5, ratified in 1842, repealed the gradual emancipation clauses of Adjustment 4 and set a date of March 03, 1845 for the absolute abolition of servitude and slavery and the emancipation of all persons currently indentured or enslaved.

Adjustment ##, ratified in 1853, clarified the provision of Meridonian citizenship and its rights and responsibilities, amending Article V to provide for jus sanguinis provision of citizenship, both national and territorial, that could not be abridged or conditionally provided under any circumstances to persons born to Meridonian citizens, ending the revocation of citizenship as a legal penalty except for naturalized citizenship. It also terminated the principle of jus soli issuance of citizenship at both federal and territorial levels, and ended some certain territorial mandates that citizenship required land ownership. It also charged the government with the 'preservation and stewardship of Tangaran affairs.

Adjustment ##, ratified in 1880, established the Southern Islands Territory and Eastern Islands Territory as independent territorial entities in the Federal Republic.

Adjustment ##, ratified in 1910, sets the dates and cycles for election to the Presidency and the Federal Council, with elections to be held on January 10 and assumption of office to be conducted on April 10th of every fifth year beginning from 1910. It codified the unwritten standard of conducting elections on these dates and adjusted the year of election cycles one year forward following the constitutional crisis during the Kanuha War. It also made updates to electoral and voting systems, abolishing the electoral college system in use in favor of direct elections of the President.

Adjustment ##, ratified in 1957 following the three-term presidency of Reginald Lancaster, sets term limits on holders of the office of President. It stipulates that presidents may be elected to the office no more than twice for two five year terms, and prohibits anyone who held the office as the result of a presidential vacancy for more than two years and six months from being elected more than once.

See also

Government of Meridon