Constitution of Aucuria
| Constitution of the Aucurian Republic | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Ratified | October 14, 1792 |
| Location | National Library of Aucuria Kalnaspilis, Aucuria |
| Author(s) | Klemensas Brazauskas Bendiktas Klimantis Izoakas Poškus |
| Signatories | 115 out of 127 members of the Aucurian Revolutionary Congress |
| Purpose | To establish a government for the Aucurian Republic |
The Constitution of the Aucurian Republic (Aucurian: Aukurijos Respublikos Konstitucija, Atlian: Avkür Respublikasi Konstitusiyası) is the supreme law of the Aucurian Republic. Comprising twelve articles and twenty amendments, the document delineates the scope and powers of the Aucurian government. The document, one of the first codified republican constitutions in Esquarium, is often regarded as an embodiment of Enlightenment, liberal, and syncarist ideals.
The first article of the constitution briefly outlines the nature, territory, and symbols of the republic. The second article outlines the rights of citizens of the republic, while the third outlines their duties and the fourth outlines basic citizenship law. The fifth article abolishes nobility and slavery. The sixth article outlines the Aucurian executive branch, including the president and his cabinet; the seventh outlines the country's legislature, the Saeimas; the eighth outlines the Supreme Court and the judiciary. The ninth and tenth articles outline the relationship between the national government and the provinces. The eleventh article outlines the process for future amendments; the twelfth article establishes the conditions for the document's ratification and coming into force.
Originally ratified in 1792, the document was suspended between 1872 and 1952 during the Grey Regime, which de facto replaced it with a Basic Law, though the Grey Regime did amend the constitution for symbolic purposes twice. The constitution was amended heavily following the 1952 Velvet Revolution, with nine of the constitution's twenty amendments passed between 1952 and 1954. Several amendments deal with the expansion of suffrage (the 4th, 7th, 14th, and 18th amendments), the protection of rights not included in Article 2 (the 1st, 2nd, 5th, 13th, and 19th amendments), or with anti-corruption measures (the 3rd and 6th amendments); however, the bulk of the amendments (the 9th, 10th, 11th, 15th, 16th, 17th, 18th, and 20th) alter existing provisions of the constitution by modifying existing institutions or creating new ones. These include modifying the method by which Saeimas deputies are elected, the creation of the Constitutional Court, and the implementation of the Kelbecer Agreement between Aucuria and Atlia.
In addition to its amendments, the Aucurian constitution is supplemented by a large body of constitutional law and judicial precedence. The Aucurian constitution has influenced the constitutions of other countries in Esquarium.
Background
History
Drafting and ratification
[smaller group of people writing this than the DotRotP]
[voting; all but 12 members vote to ratify]
Early republic
[the first go; amendments]
Grey Regime
[suspended in favor of "basic law", but two token amendments, both actually pretty good]
Post-1952
[reenacted, amended the shit out of]
Influences
Text
THE CONSTITUTION OF THE AUCURIAN REPUBLIC
ratified and proclaimed by the Aucurian Revolutionary Congress
on the 14th day of Miežiatis, Four thousand one hundred and twenty-five
Preamble
We, the people of Aucuria, having resolved to vest our sovereign power in a democratic republic which shall promote the public welfare, provide for the common defense, establish just and equitable law, and ensure the preservation of liberty, hereby proclaim and establish this Constitution for the Aucurian Republic.
Article I
1. The Aucurian Republic is a democratic and republican state, formed by the sovereign will of the people in order to protect their liberty, prosperity, and security.
a. The cardinal values of this republic shall be liberty, unity, justice, honor, fraternity, equality, purity, and fidelity.
b. As the powers and authority of the republic derive solely from the sovereign will of the people, they are of no legal validity if not taken with the democratic mandate of the people.
2. The banner of the republic shall be the red-and-green bicolor, emblazoned with the white eight-pointed star of the revolution.
3. The language of the republic shall be the Aucurian tongue.
4. The motto of the republic shall be "libertas omnia vincit", which in the tongue of the Latins means "liberty shall conquer all".
5. The territory of the republic shall consist of the lands and waters of Aucuria, Atlia, Salonia, and all their outlying islands.
a. The jurisdiction of the republic and its laws shall spread across the entirety of its territory, and to all persons within this territory.
6. In all things, the principle of the republic shall be government of the people, by the people, and for the people.
Article II
1. All persons shall be regarded as equal before the law. Furthermore, the rights and dignities of all people shall be regarded as sacrosanct and inviolable by the republic and its laws.
2. All sovereign power is vested in, and thus derived from, the supreme will and consent of the Aucurian people. Therefore, the offices and officers of the government are the servants of the people, and are at all times beholden to them.
3. All citizens of the republic shall have the right to participate, personally or through justly elected representatives, in the creation and foundation of national law.
4. All people shall have the right to think and speak freely, and to disseminate their opinions freely in speech, writing, or pictures, without any form of hindrance or censorship.
5. All people shall have the right to peaceably assemble in protest of unjust treatment, to freely associate and form associations to advance their interests, and to petition the government for redress of grievances.
6. All people shall have the right to profess a religious creed of their choice, and to worship freely both in public and in private without hindrance.
7. All people shall have the right to privacy, and to the security of their person, houses, papers, and effects.
a. The right of all people to be secure in their person, houses, papers, and effects against searches and seizures shall not be violated without a warrant issued upon probable cause, specifically detailing the persons or items to be seized.
8. All people shall have the right to be given a speedy and public trial before an impartial jury of their peers, held within the district in which the alleged crime was committed.
9. All people shall have the right to be presumed innocent by the law, to know the charges being levied against them, to have legal counsel for their defense, and to confront their accuser.
10. All people shall be protected by law from fabricated or falsified charges; excessive fines, bail, and sentencing; cruel or torturous punishment; being forced to testify against themselves; and being tried multiple times for an offense of which they have already convicted or acquitted.
11. All people shall be protected by law from arbitrary or unjustified arrest, detention, exile, or expulsion.
a. All people shall have the right to seek and enjoy asylum or refuge from persecution, repression, or tyranny within the territory of the republic.
12. All people shall have the right to own property as their own or in association with others. Furthermore, no individual shall be arbitrarily deprived of their property.
13. A respect for the basic rights contained within this Constitution shall bind all parts of the Aucurian government as supreme and directly applicable law.
Article III
1. It shall be the duty of all inhabitants of the republic to protect and support the republic to the best of their abilities, to follow its just laws, and to faithfully defend the rights of the people.
2. It shall be the duty of the citizens of the republic to participate in the democratic and republican processes of government.
a. All male Aucurian citizens over the age of twenty years shall be entitled to vote in all elections, whether local, provincial, or national.
b. All elections held within the republic shall be free, general, direct, and secret, to preserve the sanctity of the voting process.
3. It shall be the duty of the citizens of the republic to serve in juries on behalf of the administration of justice.
4. All male citizens who are between the ages of eighteen and twenty-five years may be required, in times of national need, to serve in the defense of the republic, its citizens, and its ideals.
a. Any citizen who is unable to perform this duty in a military capacity, or unwilling to do so on grounds of conscience, may be required to perform an alternative service. The duration of this alternative service shall not exceed the duration of military service.
Article IV
tbd
Amendments
[brief rundown of the amendments]
Influence
Criticism
[previous exclusion of certain groups, like atlians]
[whinging from divlenists about it being degenerate conitian nonsense]
See also
- Declaration of the Rights of the People
- Aucurian National Declaration of Human Rights
- Constitution of Ainin
- Constitution of Luziyca
- Treaty of the Esquarian Community
- Esquarian Charter of Human Rights
