EDICT OF REFORM, 1763

[ARCHITECUS 4788]

THE IMPERIAL DIET

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EDICT OF REFORM, 1763

 

An edict to reform the Imperial Diet, repealing and replacing the Edict of Establishment (1736) and the Edict of Election (1736) with an improved and more consistent system, as well as the re-establishment of the powers afforded to this body.

 

INTRODUCTION

 

The Diet of the Holy Orenian Empire, known in shorthand as the Imperial Diet, has served as the country’s legislature for over twenty years since the proclamation of the dual edicts of 1736. While many aspects of this system have been successful, others require reform. 

 

Legislation passed under the former constitution shall remain in effect unless otherwise repealed by these reformed bodies.

 

SECTION I: THE HOUSE OF COMMONS

 

The House of Commons, as the lower house of the Imperial Diet, shall be the chamber concerned with matters of active governance and shall sit when called to session by the Crown, through the expression of a national election, until such time as its dissolution by the Crown. It shall pass bills into acts by virtue of a simple majority.

 

The House of Commons shall comprise fifteen seats. Two factions, divided on ideological lines, will compete for these seats in national elections. After elections, seats will be allocated based on the percentage of national vote each faction receives. The factions shall be as follows:

 

The Josephites

The Everardines 

 

Prior to an election, these factions shall publish a maximum of a fifteen-member list agreed upon by their leadership. In accordance with the percentage of the vote that these factions receive in a national election, these seats shall be proportionally allocated. Those who succeed in election to the House of Commons shall be members of the House of Commons for the duration of that session, entitled to the postnominal MHC (Member of the House of Commons). (i.e John Smith MHC) 

 

A separate gazette for factions and platforms shall be maintained elsewhere than this edict.

 

No person may sit in the House of Commons if:

 

• They concurrently sit in the House of Lords.
• They are eligible to sit in the House of Lords, such in the case of a peer bearing a title such as baron, count, duke, etcetera, or a lord spiritual such as a bishop or archbishop.
• They hold an active commission in any military organization.

 

 

Upon the swearing-in of a member, these positions priorly held are automatically considered to be resigned. If the newly-elected member in question fails to announce resignation or abdication from all aforementioned positions, he is forbidden from taking his seat and it will be considered vacant. A member may be an untitled member of a noble family, but if he ascends to a peerage, his position is automatically resigned and considered vacant.

 

Should a seat be vacated for any reason before a term has expired, including the aforementioned reasons a newly elected member’s seat could be vacated, then that seat shall go to the next eligible person on the list of that vacated member’s faction.

 

The House of Commons, through majority vote, elects from among their membership a member to act as presiding officer over the chamber, who shall be entitled with the office of President of the House of Commons. Typically, this will be from the faction who attains a majority. 

 

SECTION II: THE HOUSE OF LORDS

 

The House of Lords, as the upper house of the Imperial Diet, shall be an appointed chamber of sober review for legislation. It shall comprise seven seats, each appointed by the Crown as an Imperial Diet is called to sit. Those who sit upon the House of Lords are, for the duration of that session, styled as imperial grandees, entitled to the postnominal IG. (i.e. John Smith IG)

 

Imperial grandees must be either peers recognized with imperial letters, or lords spiritual who are placed with a diocese (bishop or archbishop) within the Empire’s jurisdiction.

The House of Lords is populated by the Emperor’s personal discretion, and only legislates independently on matters concerning nobility and aristocracy. They may review legislation passed through the House of Commons, however can not explicitly veto it and only serve in this role in an advisory capacity. 

 

The House of Lords may consider ennoblement, settle inheritance disputes and legitimization (barring those limited by Section VII), and nominate those worthy to awards and orders of chivalry.

 

SECTION III: ELECTIONS AND APPOINTMENT

 

The Crown, expressed in the person of His Imperial Majesty the Holy Orenian Emperor, is the linchpin of the reformed system. He shall call the Imperial Diet to session through a summons. In respect to the House of Commons, this is expressed through a national election. In respect to the House of Lords, this is expressed through his appointees. As a session of the Imperial Diet draws to its conclusion for one reason or another, the Crown shall dissolve the Imperial Diet. When the Crown summons the Imperial Diet again, the process is repeated. A session of the legislature shall sit for an amount of time that is flexible. 

 

SECTION IV: JURISDICTIONS

 

The following matters, as the topic of bills, need only to be passed formally through the House of Commons, however, the House of Lords may undertake an advisory role for legislation passed.

 

• Bills of Taxation, concerning all matters of taxation and excise within the Empire.
• Bills of Appropriation, also known as budgets, concerning all matters of income and expenditure.
• Bills of Law, concerning the passage of both civil and criminal law, including but not limited to legislation concerning offenses and penalties. 
• Bills of Regulation, concerning the regulation of other matters of import to the realm not aforementioned.
• Writs of Confirmation, concerning the confirmation by the House of Commons of the Crown’s appointments on the Council of State or the Judiciary, in conjunction with their role as a body to provide advice and consent for these appointments.
• Writs of Impeachment, concerning the impeachment of a member of the Council of State for offenses of a categorically serious extent, such as ‘improperly exceeding or abusing the powers of their office’, or ‘using their office for an improper purpose or for personal gain’. These must be passed with a two-thirds majority.
• Writs of Summons, defined as bills summoning a member of the Council of State to issue a report or testify before the House of Commons.

 

 

SECTION V: LEGISLATIVE PROCESS

A summary of the legislative procedure for the Imperial Diet shall be as follows: 

 

1. A bill (a draft of a law) or a writ (a special bill compelling an action) is initiated in the chamber concerned with the subject matter, by a member.*
2. The chamber debates the content of the bill, with neither fear nor favor being given to any particular member of the chamber, and all being given a chance to make their case.
3. The necessary amendments are made, or not made. 
4. The presiding officer calls for a division, or a vote, and the votes are tallied.
5. The bill passes.
6. The bill proceeds to the Crown, which either grants, withholds or withholds conditionally imperial assent. 
7. If imperial assent is withheld, the bill is declared void.
8. If imperial assent is withheld conditionally, the process is repeated from the first step until the process is complete.
9. If imperial assent is granted, the bill becomes an Act of the Imperial Diet, and hence formal law, to be published in the legislative gazette.

 

 *If the topic concerns aristocracy or nobility, specifically new membership, it is expected that it is considered by the House of Lords in an advisory capacity.

SECTION VI: THE COUNCIL OF STATE

 

The Crown appoints the Archchancellor and the Vice Chancellor, his deputy, to build a ministry. This formal appointment also extends to their officers who sit upon the Council of State, however, in practice these Ministers of the Crown shall be selected by the Archchancellor and affirmed by the House of Commons.
 

SECTION VII: LIMITATIONS

 

The Imperial Diet’s functions and legislation, as a whole, are prohibited from interaction with the following matters of state, which remain the exclusive purview of the Crown.

 

• The military and appointment of generals and other commanders. 
• The Crown, the succession, its authority, and the Imperial household.
• Diplomacy and foreign affairs, exempting when permitted by the Crown in special circumstances.

Any political party or faction not previously approved by the Crown shall remain disbarred and unable to receive a position on the ballot.

 

Unlike in the ‘dual edicts’ constitution of 1736 to 1758, legislators may sit in either house of the Imperial Diet and upon the Council of State (and other civil bureaucracies) simultaneously. 

 

Leaders of factions may or may not sit in either chamber.