YaMC - Constituion of the Martian Commonwealth - The Ole' Bandwaggon

~Eternal~ · 2004-07-07 22:18:00

The Constitution of the Martian Commonwealth
Preamble
We the Citizens of Mars henceforth declare our sovereignty, and begin the making of a transition to a free and a fair society that will follow the will of the people.

Henceforth are the names of the Martian Commonwealth members,
Mars, Phobos, Deimos, and Ceres.

Chapter I. The State

Section 1 Mars Commonwealth
The Mars Commonwealth, being a representative democracy, is declared a sovereign democratic nation.

Section 2 Superiority of the Constitution
(1) No law can directly or indirectly violate the Constitution, nor can any law invalidate it, nor can any law violate or invalidate any amendment to the Constitution unless the amendment is repealed.

(2) Any law that violates or invalidates the Constitution is to be considered invalid and repealed.

Section 3 Language
(1) The official languages of the state are to be English and Chinese, however English is to be the set standard language.

(2) The Constitution is written in English; however, Chinese and minority languages are to be provided freely to any of whom that asks.

(3) If a translation of the Constitution results in a discrepancy between the English and translated version, the English version is to remain superior.

(4) Every person who conducts business with: (a) a bureau, (b) an office in commonwealth service, or © a local authority has the right to do so in English or Chinese, by either first-person or a translator.

Section 4 Church and State
(1) There is to be a de facto separation of Church and State, hence their will be no public funding of any religious institution.

(2) If the members of the church wish to participate in politics they must do so in the forming or supporting of a political party that receives no funding with the Church.

Chapter II. Standing Provisional

Section 5 Purpose of the Commonwealth
The Government of the Mars Commonwealth is to conduct a respective manner of the following rights granted by the constitution.
(1) We are all made equal, thus all individuals, groups, communities, and societies are to be valued.

(2) Every person has the right to practice religion, speech, and tradition freely so be-it that it does not cause harm to any human being.

(2) Every person who owns land through legit manners has the right to own their land and give it away or sell it in any manner that person chooses.

(3) The right of a citizen of the commonwealth includes the ability to have the ability to be part of the government through legit and democratic means.

(4) In accordance with the previous, any citizen who wishes to affiliate themselves with any political ideology, group, or party and vote and campaign can do so freely.

(5) Every person is treated equally before the law as stated, and thus everyone who seeks occupation of a status is based on merit, not race, color, creed, sex, or sexuality.

Section 5 Ensuring the Purpose of the Commonwealth
(1) Every politician must take an oath to ensure the purpose of the Commonwealth..

(2)When a law is created, it must consider the Purpose of the Commonwealth and not violate it so.

Chapter III. Citizenship

Section 6 Acquiring Citizenship
(1) Citizenship may be acquired by or at: (a) birth, (b) registration, or © government declaration of so.

(2) The Commonhouse cannot make a law that prohibits a person from becoming a citizen of the Mars Commonwealth.

Section 7 Citizenship at Birth
(1)Any child born in the commonwealth is a citizen at the date of birth, unless the child is from two foreign parents or if the parents are present because of diplomatic exile.

(2)Any child found abandoned and the parents are not of foreign origin are automatically declared Mars citizens, and if the parents cannot be identified they are to receive automatic citizenship.

Section 8 Citizenship by Registration
(1) Any adult seeking Martian citizenship is freely to do so in a legit manner as long is it is on their own behalf.

(2) Any child seeking Martian citizenship is able to do so being that it is of their and their parent(s) accord.

(3) The legit manner to qualify for citizenship is:
(a) Have been a resident of Mars for half a Martian year (or 343.5 Terran days)
(b) Have no violent criminal record
© And follows the law set for immigration by the Martian Legislature

Section 9 Loss of Citizenship
(1) If a citizen becomes a member of another world, he or she may revoke their citizenship on Mars.

(2) Or by acquiring Martian citizenship by an illegal means.

Section 9 Revoking Citizenship
(1) A person may renounce his or her citizenship only if he or she:
(a) Has reached the age of 16 and
(b) Has been since birth a citizen of another country or has acquired the citizenship of another country by registration or naturalization.

Chapter IV. Bill of Rights

Section 9 Life
(1) Every person has the right to life; a person must not be capriciously deprived of his or her life.

Section 10 Personal Liberty
(1) Every person has the right to have freedom of speech, expression, and the to freedom to have peaceably assemble.

(2) Every citizen has the freedom from forced servitude, whether through physical or economic compulsion.

Section 10 Provisional Rights
(1) Every citizen has the right to the basics of food, education, and health care and housing if they cannot afford to do so on their own.

(2) Every citizen with a declared ill body has the right to health care, housing, food, and clothing.

(3) All those that are of well body and are not employed are to be educated by the government and employed by the government as a militant, constructor, or distributor.

Section 11 Privacy
(1) Every person has the right to personal privacy, including the right to privacy of personal communications.

(2) May be made subject to such limitations prescribed by law as are reasonable and justifiable in a free and democratic society.

Section 12 Equality
(1) Every person has equal rights before the law and equal opportunity.

(2) Every person is made equal, and so no one can be discriminated on the bases of:

Circumstances, including race, ethnic origin, color, place of origin, gender, sexuality, birth, primary language, economic status, age or disability; or opinions or beliefs, except to the extent that those opinions or beliefs involve harm to others or the diminution of the rights or freedoms of others;

Section 13 Religion and Belief
(1)Every person has the right to their own religion or belief except in the case that it violates the rights ensure in the Constitution.

Section 14 Right to Jury and Open Court
(1)Any person that is accused of an unlawful action is to appear before a judge, and they have the right to have an option to have a jury and opt to have Open Court.

Chapter V. Bill of Non-Rights

Section 15 Only Non-Right
No citizen has the right to take advantage of the government for political, economic, or religious means.

Chapter VI. The Legislature

Section 16 Legislature
All powers of the legislature are to reside in the bicameral Council, which is to consist of the High Council and the Populous Council and serve a term of six years.

Section 17 High Council
(1)The High Council is to consist of a directly elected representative from each Martian city.

(2)No citizen who is not at an age of twenty-one can become a member of the High Council, and been a citizen of Mars for a minimum of five years, and must not have any form of criminal record.

(3)When a member of the High Council is missing or has resigned the executive branch is to replace the member temporarily with someone who the deem qualified to take the position (and is in agreement with point two).

(4)The High Council is to have the supreme power to impeach a member of the executive; the members of the High Council shall choose a speaker to speak for all opinions of the High Council.

Section 18 Populous Council
(1)The Populous Council is to consist of two persons from each Martian city; the way of doing so is to be by direct vote for a candidate and the runner up will be the second person to be added.

(2)No citizen who is not at an age of twenty-seven can become a member of the Populous Council, and been a citizen of Mars for a minimum of seven years, and must not have a violent criminal record.

(3)When a member of the High Council is missing or has resigned the executive branch is to replace the member temporarily with someone who the deem qualified to take the position (and is in agreement with point two).

(4) The President of Mars has the position of president of the Populous Council, but is to have no vote, unless the Populous Council is deadlocked on a position and cannot be divided.

(5)The Senate shall choose their other administrators, and also a temporary president in the absence of the official President or when the President has taken the office of Prime Minister.

(6)The High Council is to have the power to try all impeachments in a formal court.

Section 19 Elections and Meetings
(1)The time, place, and schedule for the elections of the Populous Council is to be determined by the elect present legislature under the conditions that it takes place within the limits of seven years after the prior election for the current Populous Council.

(2)Congress must assemble at least twenty-eight times a year (687 Terran days), unless there is a state of emergency.

Section 20 Membership, Regulations, Journals, Adjournment
(1)Congress shall be separated into 4 houses, in which they may all meet on a scheduled meeting (part of the 28 yearly meetings), however a certain house may meat on a day to day basis.

(2)Each house is to determine the punishment for the misconduct of a member in the house, and with an agreement of three-fifths of the house to expel a member from the house.

(3)Each house is to record all official statements of a speaker in the house and a record of the agreements and disagreements, and it is to be published to the public unless it is a measure of national security which requires privacy, in which it will be released at a maximum of five years.

(4)No hours can adjourn for more than four days, and no adjournment can cease during the time-slip.

Section 21 Revenue Bills, Legislative Process, Presidential Veto
(1) All bills based on the revenue, are to be proposed in the Populous Council however the High Council can veto the bill, as can the Prime Minister.

(2)When a bill is proposed in the Populous Council it is to vote on the issue, if the yeas exceed the nays then the bill will be passed to the High Council for the vote to see if it is to be passed on to the president to veto or accept with it.

(3) The Prime Minister can veto any bill proposed the by the legislature, however if it is not vetoed within two weeks of the proposing of the bill the bill is automatically passed.

Section 22 Powers of the legislature
(1)The legislature is to have the power to propose or remove taxes, duties, imposts and excises, to pay debts and provide for the common defense and general welfare of Mars; but all duties, imposts and excises are to be through out all Mars and all Martian territories.

To borrow money or trade from for Martian Commonwealth;

To regulate business with foreign planets, and among the several colonies, and with the Inner and Outer solar system colonies;

To coin Martian Commonwealth currency, regulate the value of Martian Commonwealth currency, regulate the currency in accordance foreign currency, and insure the use of the metric system and other set standards;

To provide for the punishment of counterfeiting the securities and currency of the Martian Commonwealth;

To ensure the access to letter terminals;

To promote the progress of science and useful arts, by securing patents to the their respected discovers, however not to recognize the copyright;

To compose the tribunal lesser to the Supreme Court;

To define and punish piracies and felonies committed in interplanetary spaces, and offenses against the laws of other worlds outside the Martian Commonwealth;

To declare war, given good reason;

To raise and support armies, but no appropriation of currency to that use shall be for a longer term than one year;

To provide and maintain a Martian Commonwealth Celestial Navy;

To make rules for the government and regulation of the land, air, naval, and celestial forces;

To provide for calling forth the militia to execute the laws of the Commonwealth, suppress insurrections and repel invasions;

To provide for organizing, arming, and disciplining the militia, and for governing such part of them as may be employed in the service of the Martian Commonwealth, reserving to the members respectively, the appointment of the officers, and the authority of training the militia according to the discipline prescribed by the legislature;

Section 23 Limits on the Legislature
(1)No tax or duty can be laid on articles exported from any state;

(2)The Martian Commonwealth grants no title of nobility or royalty;

Section 24 Limits on Commonwealth Members
(1)No Commonwealth member can enter into a treaty, alliance, or confederation, coin currency, ex post facto law, or law impairing the obligation of contracts, or grant any title of nobility.

Chapter VII. The Executive

Section 25 Prime Minister
The executive power of the Martian Commonwealth is to reside in the Prime Minister. He or she is to hold his or her office during the term of two years, be elected, as following state:

Each member of the Commonwealth is to elect the Prime Minister, by appearance on the ballot and the vote is to be collected and added, and the person with the most popular vote is win the title of Prime Minister.

The day for the choosing of a candidate to appear on the ballot is to be set at the least 52 days before the election by the legislature.

(2)No citizen who is not a natural born citizen of Mars, with the exception of those migrated to Mars between 2027-2040, can run for the office of Prime Minister, or is not at the minimum age of thirty-one can become a candidate for Prime Minister.

(3)Before the Prime Minister enters the execution of his office, he or she is to take the following oath:
"I solemnly swear as Prime Minister of the Martian Commonwealth that as Prime Minister I will protect the Martian Commonwealth and uphold the Constitution."

Section 26 Civilian Power above Military, Cabinet, Pardon Power, Appointments
(1)The Prime Minister is to have the supreme power over the Martian Commonwealth military, and he may require the opinion, in writing, of the principal administrators in each of the executive departments, except in cases of impeachment.

(2)He or she is to have the power, with the advice and consent of the legislature, to make Treaties, provided three-fifths of the Councilors present concur.

(3)He or she is to nominate, and with the advice and consent of the legislature, to appoint ambassadors, other public ministers and diplomats, judges of the Supreme Court, and all other Officers of the United States, whose appointments are not listed.

(4)The Prime Minister is to have power to fill vacancies that may happen during the recess of the legislature, by granting commissions that are to expire at the end of their next session.

Section 27 Condition of the Union
(1)He or she are periodically given to the legislature information of the condition of the Union, and recommend to their consideration such measures, as he shall judge necessary and measure.

Section 28 Disqualification
(1)The Prime Minister, and all civil officers of the Martian Commonwealth, are to be removed from office on impeachment for, and conviction of, treason, bribery, or other high crimes.

Chapter VIII. The Judicial

Section 29 Judicial Powers
(1)The judicial power of the Martian Commonwealth is to be vested in one Supreme Court and in such inferior courts as the Councilors may periodically ordain and establish.

(2)The judges, both of the supreme and inferior courts, are to hold their offices during good conduct and are to at stated times receive for their services a compensation which is not be diminished during their continuance in office.

Section 30 Trial by Jury, Original Jurisdiction, Jury Trials
(1)In all cases, involving public officers are to be tended by the Supreme Court and none other. In all other cases it is to be determined by the lesser courts to determine whether or not the case should be handled by a higher court.

(2)The trial of all crimes, are to be by jury; and such trial are to be held in the state where the said crimes are to have been committed; but when not committed within any State, the trial are to be at such location or locations as the Councilors by the way the law has directed.

Section 31 Treason
(1)Treason against the Martian Commonwealth is to be conducted in the Supreme Court under normal ways; however, the only punishment can be exile.

Chapter IX. Amendment

Section 32 The Process of Amendment
(1)Whenever it is determined that an amendment must be made to the constitution, it is to appear before the Populous Council, voted on to see if it passes to the High Council.

(2)If the amendment is passed to the High Council and three-fifths of the High Council agree that the amendment is valid and is to be passed the amendment is to be added to the Constitution.

(3)The Prime Minister may propose amendments but cannot veto them.

Signatures

John Boone
Leon Trotsky
Franklin Delano Roosevelt
Karl Marx
<Insert Name Here>
Abraham Lincoln
<Insert Name Here>
<Insert Name Here>
Isaac Asimov
Carl Sagan

Cobra Commander · 2004-07-08 07:52:05

Where to begin...

Section 3 Language
(1) The official languages of the state are to be English and Chinese, however English is to be the set standard language.
(2) The Constitution is written in English; however, Chinese and minority languages are to be provided freely to any of whom that asks.

So English is the real official language. :;):

(2) If the members of the church wish to participate in politics they must do so in the forming or supporting of a political party that receives no funding with the Church.

So if members of a church form an exclusive political party, funded through their own methods independent of the church per se, it's permissable? Just looking for clarification.

(2) Every person who owns land through legit manners has the right to own their land and give it away or sell it in any manner that person chooses.

So they can trade land for, oh... sexual favors? It's legal, the constitution says so.

Section 10 Provisional Rights
(1) Every citizen has the right to the basics of food, education, and health care and housing if they cannot afford to do so on their own.

Ooh, entitlements.

(3) All those that are of well body and are not employed are to be educated by the government and employed by the government as a militant, constructor, or distributor.

Okay, this has some merit, but wait...

(2) Every citizen has the freedom from forced servitude, whether through physical or economic compulsion.

Circumstances, including race, ethnic origin, color, place of origin, gender, sexuality, birth, primary language, economic status, age or disability; or opinions or beliefs, except to the extent that those opinions or beliefs involve harm to others or the diminution of the rights or freedoms of others;

Hmm. Depending on the interpretation, this could get very close to "respect for the beliefs of people who agree with us." At the very least, it opens the door to discrimination against people who don't believe that an open democracy is necessarily the best form of governance. A bit hypocritical.

Chapter V. Bill of Non-Rights
Section 15 Only Non-Right
No citizen has the right to take advantage of the government for political, economic, or religious means.

Well, except all those people getting free food, housing and healthcare I must assume.

2)No citizen who is not at an age of twenty-one can become a member of the High Council, and been a citizen of Mars for a minimum of five years, and must not have any form of criminal record.

Parking tickets? What about that whole "opinions or beliefs, except to the extent that those opinions or beliefs involve harm to others or the diminution of the rights or freedoms of others" which is of course highly subjective. Make any such beliefs illegal, and then you can keep the opposition from holding seats on the council.

(1)Congress shall be separated into 4 houses, in which they may all meet on a scheduled meeting (part of the 28 yearly meetings), however a certain house may meat on a day to day basis.

Why?

To promote the progress of science and useful arts, by securing patents to the their respected discovers, however not to recognize the copyright;

This is gonna be problematic.

Section 31 Treason
(1)Treason against the Martian Commonwealth is to be conducted in the Supreme Court under normal ways;...

:laugh:

Just a few initial impressions.

~Eternal~ · 2004-07-09 17:43:16

So English is the real official language.

Yep.

So if members of a church form an exclusive political party, funded through their own methods independent of the church per se, it's permissable? Just looking for clarification.

Yep, in America we call it the Republican party.

So they can trade land for, oh... sexual favors? It's legal, the constitution says so.

Yes.

Ooh, entitlements.

What could you expect from a social democrat?

Okay, this has some merit, but wait...

I based it off some New Deal stuff by FDR.

HeHe.

Hmm. Depending on the interpretation, this could get very close to "respect for the beliefs of people who agree with us." At the very least, it opens the door to discrimination against people who don't believe that an open democracy is necessarily the best form of governance. A bit hypocritical.

True, how to you ensure Constitutional non-discrimination and the ensurance of democracy?

Well, except all those people getting free food, housing and healthcare I must assume.

How so? There getting things they need to live and they work for the government if there unemployed so there not cheating the government, unless their disabled and then they deserve to cheat the government.

Parking tickets? What about that whole "opinions or beliefs, except to the extent that those opinions or beliefs involve harm to others or the diminution of the rights or freedoms of others" which is of course highly subjective. Make any such beliefs illegal, and then you can keep the opposition from holding seats on the council.

By criminal record I mean violent criminal record or extreme civil crimes record, I doubt parking tickets would be an issue on Mars do to the lack of cars... 'Officer the designated shelter for my rover was full! I have an excuse, I was low on O2 I swear!'

Why?

To.Get.Something.Done.For.A.Change

This is gonna be problematic.

How so? I think the scientific community would better if there was a lack of copyright.

:laugh:

Are you stoned mate?

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#1 2004-07-07 22:18:00

Re: YaMC - Constituion of the Martian Commonwealth - The Ole' Bandwaggon

#2 2004-07-08 07:52:05

Re: YaMC - Constituion of the Martian Commonwealth - The Ole' Bandwaggon

#3 2004-07-09 17:43:16

Re: YaMC - Constituion of the Martian Commonwealth - The Ole' Bandwaggon

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