The Constitution of the 26th Republic

The Constitution of the 26th Republic, framed by His Altlandic Majesty, George II Victor, the Altlandic Chancellor for Overseas Territories, Sir Alexander Alexicot, and the Altlandic Governor General of the Protectorate of Phenixia, Capt. Sir Philippe Alexicot, after three months of fruitless meetings of the hopelessly deadlocked Constituent Assembly of 299, and taking effect on 24 January 300, establishes a Republican form of government with the following organs:

The Consulate: The executive and administrative functions of government are carried out by a board of three Consuls serving staggered terms of three years. The first three consuls were appointed to their offices for one, two, and three years by the outgoing Governor General. Their successors will be elected by the National Assembly and confirmed by vote of the Senate.

The Consul who is in the final year of his term, known as First Consul, acts as head of state on ceremonial occasions and is the chair and agent of the Consular Board; the Consul who is in the middle year of his term, called the Second Consul, is in charge of foreign affairs; the Consul who is in the first year of his term, the Third Consul, acts as Treasurer of the Republic.

The Consuls jointly appoint Ministers, Secretaries of State, and Directors General to head the various agencies of the executive and assist them in carrying out the central administration of the country. Since the time the Constitution came into effect, these have been:

Minister of Finance

         Director General of the Currency

         Director General of the Post

         Director General of Revenues

Minister of Defense

         Secretary of State for the Army of the Republic

         Secretary of State for the Naval and Coastal Forces

         Secretary of State for the Air Forces

Minister of Culture

         Secretary of State for Education

         Secretary of State for Ecclesiastical Affairs

         Secretary of State for Tourism

Minister of Trade

         Secretary of State for Domestic Commerce

         Secretary of State for Foreign Trade

         Secretary of State for Transport and Communications

 The Legislature: The legislative branch of government is made up of two bodies: The Senate and the National Assembly.

         The National Assembly is the culmination of a pyramid of representative bodies, as follows:

           In order to participate in the government, each Phenixian citizen must have an officially registered residence. Each household, made up of all those persons registered at the same recognized address, selects one of its number to represent it to the council of the Voisinage, which is made up of five hundred (plus or minus fifty) residences on contiguous properties. Each Voisinage elects two representatives to the Communal Council, which governs the locality or municipality. Each Communal council selects two representatives to the Council of the Department (administrative subdivisions of provinces). These Councils, in their turn, elect a number of representatives proportionate to their population to the Provincial Assembly, and each provincial assembly elects ten representatives to the National Assembly. All laws regarding taxation and the civil and criminal codes of justice must originate in the National Assembly. All of these elections are triennial.

         The Senate is made up of two representatives appointed by each Provincial government, as well as two each from the two dependent principalities and the city-state of Cèdre. These 44 Provincial Senators serve at the pleasure of their appointing authority. Former Consuls and Censors, upon leaving their offices, become Senators for Life. The Senate itself, by two-thirds vote, may also elect as Senator for Life one outstanding Phenixian citizen each year. When the total number of senators exceeds one hundred and one, the longest-serving Senator for Life becomes Senator emeritus, and no longer participates as a voting member. All laws regarding territorial sovereignty, national identity, foreign relations, and national security are enacted by the Senate, which also has a suspensory veto over other laws originating in the Assembly. Such a veto becomes permanent if it is not overriden by the two-thirds vote of the Assembly within six months. The Senators for Life also function as the National Constitutional Court, over which the seniormost presides.

 The Judiciary: The enforcement of the laws is carried out by several distinct constitutional organs:

         The Questors, of which are four, direct the investigation and prosecution of crimes throughout the country (the provincial governments have no judiciary functions). The Proctors, of which there are also four, see to the efficient functioning of the civil laws. The Censors, of which there are three, are jointly responsible for carrying out a perpetual review of the conduct of all other constitutional officers and of all branches of government. They make an annual public report to the nation, and may, if two of them concur, bring charges of malfeasance against any governmental officer. The Lictors of which there are four, are in charge of the physical enforcement of the criminal law and of the decisions of the criminal courts, including the administration of the penal system. The Auditors, of which there are also four, have a similar responsibility for the carrying out of the civil law and the decisions of the civil courts.

         The civil and criminal courts are distinct, and have separate bars. Each commune has at least one court of each kind which has jurisdiction in the first instance. These must, however, refer cases of capital felony or civil cases involving sums greater than Ø100,000 to the court of their Department. There are civil and criminal appeals courts sitting in each provincial capital, and the National Courts of Civil and Criminal Appeal in Cèdre. The judges of the National Courts of Appeal are appointed by the Consuls with the confirmation by simple majority vote of the Senate, and they in turn appoint the judges of the Provincial Courts of Appeal. The judges of the provincial courts appoint the judges of the courts sitting in the departments of their respective provinces, who in turn appoint the judges of the communal courts. Judges hold their appointments until death or retirement, and are barred from participating in politics in any way, except as individual voting citizens.

The existence of political parties is prohibited.

Amendents to the Constitution may originate in either the Assembly or the Senate, but they must be passed by a two-thirds majority of both bodies and approved by two of the three Consuls. Failed amendments may be reintroduced after the next triennial election. The abolition of any major constitutional office or the adoption of an entirely new constitution must be put through the usual amendment process and thereafter confirmed by a national plebescite.