Constitution of Ebrary
| Constitution of Ebrary | |
|---|---|
| Original title | Constitution Ebrarian de 1983 |
| Jurisdiction | Christian Commonwealth of Ebrary |
| Created | 6 Jun 1982 |
| Presented | 13 Jun 1982 |
| Ratified | 15 June 1983 |
| Date effective | 15 June 1983 |
| Chambers | Senate Popular Assembly State Synod |
| Executive | Sovereign Protector President led Cabinet |
| Judiciary | Supreme Court State Synod |
| Federalism | Unitary |
| Electoral college | No |
| First legislature | 8 Feb 1984 |
| First executive | 15 Jun 1983 (Sovereign Protector) 1 Feb 1984 (President) |
| First court | 8 Feb 1984 |
| Last amended | 28 Jul 1999 |
| Location | Ebrarian Museum |
| Author(s) | United Constitutional Council |
| Signatories | Adopted via referendum |
| Supersedes | Ebrarian Constitution of 1943 |
The Ebrarian Constitution of 1983 was adopted on 15 June 1983, replacing the Ebrarian Constitution of 1943. The current Constitution has been deemed a "fusion" of theocratic and democratic facets. The text of the Constitution declares the Christian religion, representative government, social welfare, and traditional morality as core values of the Ebrarian state. The Preamble and Article 1 of the Constitution declares the subordination of the Ebrarian government to God, while simultaneously mandating democratic elections for the Presidency and Popular Assembly. The right to vote is only extended to Christian male citizens, but Parliament may extend suffrage via regular statute. Democratic rights and processes are shared with the non-elected Sovereign Protector and State Synod.
History
After the definitive success of the Ebrarian Revolution on 15 February 1982, Daniel Lucas (de facto leader of the revolution), organized the United Constitutional Council to draft and approve the document. Lucas headed the council himself, the majority of which was comprised of his ideological allies while a minority of labor union and other dissidents were allowed to take part. The council also contained official representatives from the Church of Ebrary. It began meeting in earnest on 10 Mar 1982.
The text of the Constitution itself was primarily written by Lucas himself and noted Parishist minister Carolo Galano, and was finished in its current form on 6 Jun 1982. It was approved by 39 of 45 members of the United Constitutional Council on 13 Jun 1982. The Constitution was then ratified by plebiscite on 15 Jun 1983 with Daniel Lucas taking power as Sovereign Protector immediately upon ratification.
Provisions
Preamble
Under the guidance of Almighty God, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit;
The People of the nation of Ebrary, duly represented by the United Constitutional Council, determine to order Ebrarian cultural, social, political, and economic institutions, based on Christian values and norms. We reaffirm the fundamental principles of the Divinely Inspired Ebrarian Reformation, wherein our forefathers defied a corrupt Monarch and established True Christian Religion in Ebrary. Like those reformers, we have too established the primacy of God over the corrupt kingship of man in our recent Christian Revolution. This Constitution is therefore established as the Supreme Law of the Land, preserving the freedom and faith of the Ebrarian people, subordinate to Almighty God.
Form of government
Article 1 states that the form of Government in Ebrary is that of a Christian republic, subordinate to God. The article justifies this by appealing to Divine Providence as the reason for the success of the Ebrarian Revolution. The Constitution then goes on to define a Christian republic based on Biblical principles, the guidance of the Holy Spirit, and Ebrarian tradition and history.
Rights of the People
The Constitution outlines the rights of the people of Ebrary, including:
- The right to freedom of religious belief (but not practice or assembly, which may be heavily restricted for non-Christians)
- The right to strike and unionize
- The right to a basic education
- The right to fair elections
The Sovereign Protector
Under the Constitution, the Sovereign Protector is explicitly declared to be the head of state and symbol of the Ebrarian people, sharing significant executive power with an elected President. Daniel Lucas is named as the first Sovereign Protector in the text of the Constitution. The office is held for life or until resignation, excepting that an individual may be removed from office by a 4/5ths vote of the Supreme Court for serious crime or ineligibility. The protector exercises a veto power over laws passed in the Parliament, may refer any law to review by the Supreme Court prior to enactment into law, appoints certain seats in the Senate, may dissolve the Parliament, has the right to attend cabinet meetings, attends meetings of the State Synod, and can refer treaties to popular referendum.
This section also outlines the requirements to be the Sovereign Protector, which are that an individual must be a male, natural born citizen of Ebrary with at least one Ebrarian citizen parent, fluent in the Ebrarese language, of good moral character, regular attendee of church services, well-educated in the Christian Bible and a member of the Church of Ebrary, not an alcoholic or abuser of illicit drugs, and married with one living wife (barring divorced men from eligibility). Upon the death, resignation, or removal of a Sovereign Protector, the Senate and State Synod will vote on a replacement in a joint session.
State Synod
The State Synod is a 13-member council which exercises certain legislative and judicial functions separately from the Parliament and the Supreme Court. The President of the State Synod is the Bishop of Ceres, while the other members are bishops of the Church of Ebrary which serve on a rotating basis. The council has direct legislative and judicial control, with no court supervision, over the law directly concerning marriage, divorce, burials, inheritance, sexual relations, and the sabbath, and acts as the court of final appeal on such subjects. The State Synod is considered a part of the Ebrarian government as well as the Church of Ebrary, and performs certain religious functions in addition.
The President
The President of Ebrary is elected to a five year term with a two term limit (per 28 July 1999 amendment), with elections to be held in October and the president to be inaugurated on 1 February after (unless that day is a Sunday, where the President will be inaugurated on 2 February). The President of Ebrary is declared to be the head of government. Qualifications for the office of the president are that an individual must be a male, natural born citizen of Ebrary, fluent in the Ebrarese language, of good moral character, a believer in Trinitarian Christianity, and be at least 40 years of age. Those who hold claim (or have not openly renounced any publicly known inheritance of a claim) to any Ebrarian title of nobility or royalty are barred from the presidency as well.
The president is elected by an instant-runoff voting method to a five-year term. The power of the president includes the execution and enforcement of national law, and the responsibility to appoint national executive, diplomatic, regulatory, and judicial officers, and some seats in the Senate. The president is also commander-in-chief of the Ebrarian armed forces. While a veto is reserved solely to the Sovereign Protector, the president may introduce bills directly to the Popular Assembly for consideration, review, and voting, and call a special meeting of Parliament in the event of a national emergency.
The Cabinet
The Cabinet of Ebrary is outlined as the heads of the executive branch's national ministerial departments, appointed by the president, with approval of the Senate. All members of the cabinet serve at the leisure of the president, and may concurrently hold membership in the Parliament but this is not required. The president may designate heads of other agencies and non-Senate-confirmed office-holders in the executive branch as Cabinet-level members of the Cabinet. The Sovereign Protector also holds the right to attend Cabinet meetings, although he is not considered a de jure member of the Cabinet.
Parliament
The national legislature of Ebrary is the bicameral Parliament, made up of the Senate and the Popular Assembly. Despite being termed a Parliament, Ebrary does not actually have a parliamentary democracy. The Parliament makes national law, declares war, approves treaties, has the power of the purse, and has the power of impeachment, by which it can remove the President and sitting members of the cabinet and the judiciary. The Parliament may, by a 4/5ths vote of the Popular Assembly and a 3/5ths vote of the Senate, override a veto by the Sovereign Protector. The Constitution grants members parliamentary immunity. The Constitution defines eligibility for holding membership in Parliament as being a male Ebrarian citizen, a professed Trinitarian Christian, and of good moral character.
Senate
The Senate is the upper house, with 40 appointed members who serve life terms. The Senate regulates its own membership and may vote by a 2/3rds majority to unseat one of its own members at any time, but the Sovereign Protector may reinstate a Senator whom he believes was wrongfully unseated. The Senate is presided over by the Consul, who is selected from amongst its membership by a simple majority of Senators. The Consul holds the ability to break a tie vote if the occasion occurs.
Senators are appointed as follows:
- 10 Ebraricist Bishops which serve rotating, ten-year terms (Senator Bishops).
- 15 individuals appointed by the Sovereign Protector which serve until age 75.
- 10 individuals appointed by the President which serve 15 year terms.
- 3 individuals representing the three major Ebrarian ethnicities, selected by the President and approved by the Popular Assembly, which serve 5 year terms.
- 2 hereditary seats which serve for life.
An individual in the Senate may not concurrently hold office in the State Synod, Supreme Court, or Popular Assembly.
Popular Assembly
The Popular Assembly comprises 125 members directly elected by the people of Ebrary using mixed-member proportional representation, where each voter places a vote for his single-seat constituency and one for a political party. Members of the Popular Assembly serve 3 year terms, being elected in October and sworn in on 8 Feb (or 9 Feb if 8 Feb is a Sunday). 71 members of the Popular Assembly represent constituencies, while the remaining 54 are apportioned to make the results more proportional. The number of seats in the Popular Assembly are fixed, with no compensation for overhang seats. It is presided over by the Speaker of the Popular Assembly. Seats are apportioned to the various provinces and two independent cities proportionally.
Supreme Court
The Supreme Court defined as the highest authority concerning the interpretation of the Ebrarian Constitution, and is made up of 9 members who serve until they reach the age of 75. Justices of the Supreme Court are selected by the President of Ebrary and approved by a simple-majority in the Senate. On matters not concerning those which the State Synod has supremacy, the court may strike down parliamentary laws or council edicts and interpret their meaning in light of the meaning of the Constitution and Christian teaching. Members of the Supreme Court must be male natural born citizens of Ebrary, Ebraricist Christians of "good moral character", well educated in the principles of the Christian Bible, and legally authorized practitioners of law.
Administrative divisions
The Constitution originally defined Ebrary as having eleven provinces of equal status, necessitating a Constitutional amendment to change the number of provinces. This occurred on 25 June 1989 when the Constitution was amended to divide Ebrary into 11 provinces and 2 autonomous cities. This section of the Constitution grants the Ebrarian national government full authority to devolve power to these provinces, determining their nature and status via edict, regulation, or legislation. Therefore, Ebrary is a unitary and not a federal state.
Amendments
The Constitution of Ebrary has been amended the following times:
- 25 June 1989: Created the autonomous cities of Egschwil and Ceres as new first-level administrative divisions co-equal in status to Ebrary's eleven provinces.
- 28 July 1999: Enacting a two term limit for the Presidency, but exempting the holder of the office when the amendment was enacted. The president at the time was Christophoro Morgano, who eventually served five terms as president until 2019. Current President Carlos Renaldo and all his successors will be bound by this amendment.