Constitution of the United Republic of Sarenium

The Constitution of Sarenium is the supreme document regarding the powers and privileges of the government and people of Sarenium, it the supreme law in the United Republic of Sarenium. Its opening text of For the people has always been interpreted as defining the purpose of Parliament to be to serve its citizens.

Since its initial introduction in 1607 it has been reformed 4 times which has resulted in reverting and re-adopting certain aspects of past constitutions. Its proposal and intent was devised by Julius Caesar in 1602 but was planned to be officially implemented in 1608. The assassination of Julius Caesar and Marc Antony resulted in the original copy's burning. In 1606 it was revealed that Octavian Caesar had inherited his father's duplicates which were hidden on various continents and in difficult locations. In 1607 it was formally adopted.

Its interpretation is charged to the High Court and its duty has always been to maintain balance and keep in check the authorities of Saren Presidents and Prime Ministers.

History

Its first enactment in 1607 abolished the original Senate and adopted a bicameral resolution to resolve the Senate's supremacy. Initially, the arcane five-hundred Gibraltar and Sydney Senators were replaced by a body of 45 Senators who were later increased as populations and state boundaries were solidified. The 1742 revision of the the Constitution formally named The Act of Separation of Branches intended to cement the independence of the Presidency after the large instability that the office had wrought in the early 1710s. It lasted until 1935 where the Act of Removal of Authority adopted the 1607 once more with the civil liberties of the 1742 copy. This occurred to prevent miscommunication or misguided authority in the Second World War. Attempts to revert to the 1742 constitution were refuted in Parliament until 2015 where President Alain Bronson ensured smooth transition.

Current Constitution

The Current Constitution decides that a total of 630 Members of the House of Commons are charged with representing their respective electorates. The electorates are constitutionally obligated to be redrawn every fifteen years in accordance with an independent non-parliamentary body to avoid influencing the results. It also charges 7 senators for each of the fifteen states hence the 105 Senators.

Chapter I

Chapter I is separated into three Articles, the first calls upon the President and their duties, the second describes the powers of the Senate and its internal composition of powers and the third stipulates the House of Commons.

Article I: President

It stipulates that the President must not have served as a member of the House of Commons in the past three sessions (effectively 8-9 years) of Parliament (including the current session). It also declares them to be ineligible should they hold any foreign service or allegiance in their life to the extent of other Parliamentary or government services. A candidate for the Presidency must also be free of foreign citizenship for at least five years preceding their candidacy declaration. Presidents can serve for a period of a maximum of 12 years and in their service appoint their forty five Senators, and issue writs and dismissals of Parliament and Ministers. The term limits were introduced in the 2016 revision of the constitution under the Act of Distinguished Balance. The office of Vice President is a de-facto office held by the President of the Senate who is set out in Article II. The President can veto legislation from the House of Commons given he or she personally sees it as being constitutionally invalid, this can be overturned by the High Court with approval of the appointed Senators. The President is also the commander-in-chief of the Saren Defence Force and is also the Cancellarius et Comes Principales Ordinis Sarenium (Chancellor and Principal Companion of the Order of Sarenium).

Article II: Senate

Article II declares that the Senate of the people will be charged with authority over legislation from the House of Commons. It stipulates that at least 1/2 of the House must vote in favour of a bill before it can progress to the Senate where it must acquire 1/2 to proceed to the President. This in the constitution is listed as empowerment in a legislative item. Whereby, the greater the majority in the House then the less a majority is needed in the Senate. Where empowerment is weak, the Senate can be highly influential as it has been in the past. The Senate is composed of 4/7 elected Senators and 3/7 appointed. Elected Senators are required to acquire a majority in their respective states whereas appointed Senators are commissioned by the President. Elected Senators have no term limits while appointed Senators are confined to single-eight-year terms. Appointed Senators are also charged with electing the President of the Senate from among the elected Senators and are also barred from running for Senate election within the session of Parliament through which they leave or occurs after their departure (if their tenure ends simultaneously with a session of Parliament). Appointed Senators are usually balanced with a large group of independents.

Article II stipulates that the President of the Senate must; Not be the holder of a commission to the Senate with the bearing of the seal of the President. It proceeds to state the explicit requirements for elected Senators;

• Not possess allegiance to a foreign power.
• Not hold assets out of Saren soil.
• Not be seen as a breach of the Crimes Against the State Act of 1965.
• Not be held responsible for any acts set forth in the Parliamentary Maintenance Act of 1889.
• Have lived in the state they wish to represent for the past five years.

The same requirements are stipulated for the appointed Senators.

In addition to this, Article II proceeds to state that a Senator cannot have served in the House of Commons within the in the most recent concluded session of Parliament (At least 3 year gap between accession to the Senate). Appointed Senators can receive their commission given that they have not served in the House in the past concluded 3 terms of Parliament (approx. 1.5 years).

Article II also outlines the events to follow if the President dies or resigns in office. The President of the Senate must immediately be sworn in and the appointed Senators must elect another Presiding officer of the Senate. If the President becomes incapacitated then the President of the Senate becomes the acting President. To prevent the abuse of the constitution to hijack the Presidency, the President of the Senate's tenure as President of Sarenium becomes limited. Until they are elected to the Presidency they are largely a ceremonious figure. Key items such as Senate appointments and cabinet remain available but the new President is not permitted to nominate any High Court nominees. They are also not permitted to recall appointed Senator commissions and are elected by the appointed Senators to complete the term of the Presidency they have overtaken not to serve a complete term of their own.

Article II further declares that a half senate election can be held anytime within the last two terms of Parliament and it also declares that a double dissolution cannot be called unless the 'trigger' is fulfilled. Article II states that in a double dissolution, the preceding Parliament must rule on how to 'evenly and equally divide the Senate into halves' to ensure that half-senate elections would continue. Article II demands that 'the chamber of the people not be empty' which has been interpreted as meaning that the Senate chamber must be full at all times, this has only applied to elected Senators, which would mean that in reality, an election would need to be held approximately three months before the new Senate sits. Applicably, in the 1901 election, the Senate would not expire until 1902 and therefore the President could not dissolve the Senate until 1 July 1901 and the earliest the election could have been held was 24 August 1901, those Senators whose terms were 'ended' pushed for constitutional change but the High Court ruled that the constitution's emptiness statement was intended to mean that the Senate seats themselves must have incumbents, thus, serving until the inauguration of the successor was all that was required and that the President's prerogative existed.

Article III: House of Commons

Article IV: Military Authority of the Legislature