The New Constitution of 1806

[HalflingPrincess 411]

The CONSTITUTION of the
VILLAGE of BRAMBLEBURY
Revised for the people of Bramblebury, 1806
 

We, the wee folk of Bramblebury, in order to build a more perfect village, to preseve peace, to promote the wellbeing of all halflings, to advance the greater good, to defend our traditions, and to maintain a community that is fair and free for ourselves and for the halflings of future generations, do hereby establish this CONSTITUTION for the VILLAGE of Bramblebury.

Article I. Concerning the Council of Elders

Section I. The Duties and Privileges of the Elders

As was tradition in the halfling villages of old, the ruling body of the government shall be the Council of Elders; composed of three members of equal authority. The Elders shall serve as the joint leaders of the halfling people.  They shall be responsible for dealing with bigguns, managing village land, designing buildings, planning public events, issuing permission to build, officiating and annulling marriages, and running elections. In addition, the Council of Elders shall also be granted the following specific powers:

I. Passing Laws

In the Council of Elders shall be vested the authority to make and enforce laws. A bill may be proposed by any member of the Council, and shall become a law if at least two out of the three Elders are in favor of it.

II. Removal of the Sheriff or Deputy

Should all three Elders agree that the Sheriff is a criminal or is otherwise unfit to serve, they may call for the removal of the Sheriff provided they can nominate at least one possible successor. Once the Council has voted to remove the Sheriff from office, an emergency election shall be held in which the people choose between the sitting Sheriff and the nominated replacement. 

Should all three Elders agree that the Sheriff's Deputy is a criminal or is otherwise unfit to serve, they may remove the Deputy from office, and allow the Sheriff to choose a replacement.

III. Deferring to a Public Vote

Should all three Elders agree that a decision is significant enough; they may defer it to a public vote, in which the halfling people shall vote yea or nay on the resolution. It shall take only a simple majority for a public vote to pass.

IV. Declaring an Honorary Halfling

Should all three Elders agree, they may declare a biggun to be an Honorary Halfling, thus granting them all the legal rights, protections, and privileges of halflings as provided in this constitution with the exception of the right to vote, which shall be granted exclusively to halflings.

V. Declaring a Banishment

Should all three Elders agree, they may banish a biggun or halfling from the village as punishment for a crime or number of crimes. A banished individual is prohibited from entering the village, and their legal rights as halflings are suspended, particularly the right to vote. A banishment may be appealed directly to the Council by mail once a year; and may be lifted at any time provided all three Elders are in agreement.

Section II. Succession of Elders

Each member of the Council of Elders shall be elected by the people to serve a term of eight years. If an Elder were to die or resign during their term, then an emergency election would be held to vote for a replacement. In order to keep the election cycle consistent, a replacement Elder may only serve without reelection until the end of their predecessor's term.

Section III. Removal of an Elder

Should two of the three Elders agree that their fellow Elder is a criminal or is otherwise unfit to serve and are able to nominate at least one possible successor, they may call for an emergency election in which the people shall choose between the sitting Elder and the nominated replacement. As with other Elders elected during emergencies, this replacement Elder may only serve without reelection until the end of their predecessor's term.

Article II. Concerning the Office of the Sheriff

Section I. The Duties and Privileges of the Sheriff

The Sheriff of Bramblebury is to serve as the law enforcement of the village. They shall be responsible for keeping peace within the village and ensuring its security from all threats; both from within and from bigguns. In the Sheriff is vested the authority to place criminals under arrest and to decide on punishments below banishment for all manner of crimes.

Section II. The Duties and Privileges of the Deputy Sheriff

In the Sheriff is vested the authority to appoint a Deputy to assist in enforcing the law. The Deputy may not exercise any powers of the Sheriff beyond placing a criminal under arrest, and may be dismissed by the Sheriff at any time. 

Section III. Succession of the Sheriff

The Sheriff shall be elected by the people and is to serve for a period of good behavior; until death, resignation, removal, or challenge. Provided a Sheriff has been in office for at least eight years, they may be challenged for their position in an election. In the interrim between the death, resignation, or removal of a Sheriff and the election of a new one, the Deputy Sheriff is to carry out their duties. 

Article III. Concerning Elections

In regular Elder elections, each voter is to recieve three votes which they may distribute among the candidates. The three candidates with the highest number of votes shall win the election and become Elders. There shall be no limit to the number of candidates allowed to run in a single election, however there must always be at least three Elders. In the event of an emergency election, the number of votes a single voter recieves is dependent upon the number of positions up for election.

At the beginning of an election cycle, potential candidates are to be given two months to announce their candidacy. Following this annunciation period, a debate shall be scheduled in which the candidates discuss the issues of the village in front of the voters. Immediately following the debate, it is the responsibility of the sitting Elders to open a ballot box, or to assign a trusted individual to do so. Except in certain specific circumstances listed elsewhere in this constitution, all elections are decided by simple majority. It is the joint responsibility of sitting Elders to count votes during an election. In the event of any tie that exceeds the number of vacant positions, the sitting Council of Elders shall vote to break it.

The right to run for public office is guaranteed to all halflings above the age of thirty-three who have resided within the village for at least four years. However, in order to preserve the integrity of our government, lovers and multiple members of the same immediate family may not serve simultaneously on the Council of Elders. As such, only one candidate from each immediate family will be allowed to run in a single election.

Public votes are to function in the same manner as elections: the ballot shall be open for two months.

Article IV. Concerning Amendments to the Constitution

The power to amend this constitution is to be vested in the people. Though each member of the Council of Elders shall be granted the ability to propose amendments to the constitution, all three Elders must be in agreement to hold an amendment vote. A two-thirds majority of the halfling people must vote in favor of the amendment for it to pass.

Article V. Concerning the Protections and Rights of Halflings

Section I. Unalienable Rights

It is a fundamental truth that all halflings are born free and equal and with certain rights; life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, that cannot be infringed. Within these rights fall also access to food and proper hosuing within the village.

Section II. Freedom of Thought and Expression

All halflings are to be guaranteed the freedom to speak, think, and wrtie all that is true. Within this falls also the right to petition the government, to peacefully assemble, and to worship whatever gods they please.

Section III. Guarantee of Justice

No halfling may be unjustly imprisoned, robbed, or evicted; laws must be written in a manner that can be easily interpreted by the common folk. No halfling can be punished for an act that was made illegal after it was committed, nor can a halfling be detained without being informed of the reason for their arrest.

Section IV. Rules of Punishment

Halflings, regardless of their crimes, are not to be executed or tortured, nor subjected to any cruel, unusual, or excessive punishments. 

Section V. Freedom from Slavery

No halfling may be kept as a slave nor otherwise forced to serve another except the Sheriff as punishment for a crime in the form of community service. 

Section VI. Declaration of Civil and Political Rights

All halflings above the age of thirty-three are guarunteed the right to vote and run for office regardless of gender, religion, political affiliation, properness, or place of birth. 

Section VII. Other Rights

Rights that are not specifically written within this constitution may be also be kept by the halfling people.

Authored 1805, signed:

Citizen of Bramblebury

Ratified 1806, signed:
 

Thain of Bramblebury


Mayor of Bramblebury




Sheriff of Bramblebury

Approved by the Halflings of Bramblebury:
 

 

 

[NotEvilAtAll 10906]

Filibert Applefoot signs the constitution without having read a single word of it!

 

"Long live t'a halflings! Glory ter t'a wee!"

[zuziee 4004]

Lilabeth would read over the new pages while eating a nice red apple. "Oi'll beh an Elder w'en oi'm oldah." she'd declare before pinning the constitution next to her all her constellations. 

[CorweenieTheJedi 892]

Burt nods in a halfling fashion