The Constitutional Convention

With the ever increasing discord regarding legal matters in the empire, Emperor Cuthbert Godwinson convened a meeting on the matter of the constitution. The Godwinson Proposal was as follows, modified during the initial rounds of the convention:

We the Nobility of Eridanus, in Order to establish Justice, insure Stability, provide for the common Defense, promote the general Welfare, and secure our proper Liberty, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the Empire of Eridanus.

((Considering the requirements on Simon's time, Senate measures to make a house renegade will simply require the to-be-made-renegade house to attack a volunteer at a specified place. Failure to comply will result in being zero-facced.))

In every Aspect of Law, The Senate is the First and Final power. This is Inherent to the body of The Senate and cannot be changed, even by The Senate.

The Senate shall be constituted of the duly-elected Senators of every planet in Official Imperial Jurisdiction.

Anyone who is not a Senator may not vote on motions before the Senate, nor can they second a motion.

No single House may control a third or more of the seats in The Senate. Additional Senators must retire immediately.

There shall be two Offices of the Empire, whose Authority flows from the Senate.

The first Office is that of the Emperor, who shall be Responsible for the Collection of Taxes, Enforcement of the Laws of the Senate and Insuring the Integrity of the Empire. The Emperor is prohibited from holding more than one Senate Seat, to prevent the Corruption of Rule of Law.

The second Office is that of the Prime Minister, who shall be Responsible for the Arbitration of Disputes and Authorization of Changes to the Nature of the Empire.

Each Office of the Empire must be held by a different Noble House.

Both Offices of Empire are Hereditary in accordance with the traditions of the House holding the Office, so long as it does not conflict with the requirements of Office.

The Offices of Empire may be stripped from either House by a two-thirds super-majority vote of the Senate.

Amendments to Articles One through Three inclusive must be ratified by a two-thirds super-majority of the Senate. Abstentions will be counted as votes against the amendment.

Amendments to Articles Four through Six inclusive require the passage of a motion that expressly modifies the Article.

Every motion must have a descriptive, concise title and an accompanying thread of the same title. The body of the motion must be in the first post(s) of the thread, enclosed in [square brackets]. If the motion is passed, then the contents so enclosed shall be made into law. Consequently, this section should be edited according to the debate.

If the title of a motion would in itself constitute a law or modification of law, then this cannot be altered at a later time.

Senators may participate in proceedings by remote broadcast at their desire. Others may only do so at the desire of the Senate.

All votes on motions before the Senate shall be made on the 21st of the month. If there has been insufficient time for discussion of the motion, the vote may be postponed until the 21st of the next month.

If their is a dispute on a point of procedure, the Prime Minister may decide the matter, if they wish.

Trials are to be held when two or more Houses or Nobles are disputing a matter of importance. The Prime Minister adjudicates the trial, The Jury determines which side in the matter is most correct and The Emperor enforces the judgment of The Jury.

The Jury will be composed of one Juror from each House possessing a seat in the Senate and one Juror from each of the two or three newest houses to join the upper nobility. The Jury shall always consist of an odd number of Jurors.

The Senate may overturn the ruling of The Jury or pardon Houses involved in the dispute.

If the Prime Minister has found that a deciding number of members of The Jury were tampered with by any party involved in the dispute, they may dispense a summary judgment on the matter, to avoid congestion of the apparatus of government.

This article contains all of the remaining laws of the Empire. Anything that is not expressly prohibited by these laws or other sections of the constitution is inherently permitted.

Feud Law: The Ancient Feud Laws are to be maintained within Official Imperial Jurisdiction. Actions that, if taken against a noble, would accrue feud rights may not be taken against commoners, as they cannot act under those laws. Punishments for doing so should be levied in comparison to how damaging the action would be if taken against an equivalent noble house.

Subsidy Law: Any House of the Empire of Status 25 or less may apply for a monthly subsidy from the Emperor. This subsidy is guaranteed by the Emperor and the Senate. The amount shall not be less than $5000 per month, though it may exceed this amount at the discretion of the Emperor. Subsidies may only be denied in cases of law-breaking on the part of the applicant.

Tax Codes: Imperial Contributions must be set at 18% or more. All other allocations as well as sphere specific taxes and overall tax levels are at the Senator's discretion. Any Senator found guilty of embezzling will be immediately removed from office and executed. No tax rates can be set lower then 15%. Senators caught breaking this law are subject a fine of up to but not exceeding $25000.

Quarantine Law: If plague appears on any planet all Transport and Mercantile routes on that planet must be dismantled immediately. From 5 days after the appearance of plague, any House may dismantle any facilities that are in violation of quarantine by means of sphere-specific military operations. The Emperor will subsidize such operations, pardon renegade status gained from quarantine-keeping and pay compensation to the House whose facilities are thus destroyed. This applies even where the dismantled facilities are owned by the Emperor’s House. If any House breaks an established quarantine by transporting infected materials and/or persons out of the quarantine zone, this will be taken as an Act of War against the Empire.

Piracy Law: Houses convicted of piracy may be declared renegade for one month for a first offense and three months of renegade status for each subsequent conviction. The Emperor may choose to mete out a more lenient punishment for first offenses.

CANPA: The Civilian And Non-combatant Protection Act calls for the immediate inspection of every public facility in the Empire to ensure that each facilty has an adequate supply of first-aid and emergency supplies. All facilities will be equipped with an emergency alert system, as well as established evacuation procedures, with biannual training. When a facility is targeted by a military action, there is a mandatory 30 minute warning that must be sent to the civilians in each public facility being targeted. This will be more than enough time for evacuation. Non-compliance with the advance warning requirement is considered a War Crime.
(It is important to note that the warning is not a demand for permission from any outside party, nor is it an obligation to advertise upcoming military actions on public forums. Our only concern is for the safety of unarmed and innocent civilians)

Anti-Crony Act: Upon a Imperial Crony being placed in office, an election will be called the next month that has fewer than three election campaigns in progress.

Ceasefire Enforcement Law: A ceasefire may be put into effect by a simple majority of the Senate, in an informal vote. The ceasefire takes effect four days after the informal vote has completed. The Emperor is required to enforce this ceasefire.

Campaign Finance and Construction Act: Imperial Law forbids the building of public works or facilities with the intent to unbalance upcoming elections. Where more than: 5 new large-equivalent facilities, 1 new military facility, or 0 public works are begun and completed by a single House during an election campaign (an alliance in total having three times this allowance), the Emperor is authorized to arrange replacement of the governor, and may impose economic or other penalties to all Houses in violation of established building regulations. Houses who destroy offending facilities before election date and whose offending agents resign will be spared sanctions.

Sapient Inclusion: All laws or amendments to laws will be taken to apply to all sophonts. This does not extend protection under law to groups hostile to the galactic order.

Fair Trade Act: All Senators shall be required to give at least 6 days public notice before changing the legal status of a trade good.