You have arrived in an uninhabited location with several million compatriots, who gather around you and ask for your wise counsel. Your task: to design the government of the new country.

The only catch is, once you've submitted your plan, you are forever banned from holding office under the new government. Thus, if you have any ideas on what the government should look like, you must embed them within the constitutional structure of the government, not just put yourself in a position of power to bring them about.

(I admit this scenario is unrealistic, and I'm sure than an in-depth discussion on the nature of political power would show that the people would have no reason to obey your decisions, etc. etc., but I think you get the gist of what I'm asking.)

—-

I used to write little toy "constitutions" as a way of synthesizing my views on a variety of political issues. In retrospect, they provide an interesting view on the evolution of my political beliefs over time. I'm not sure how old this one is; I think it's from my mid-teens.

http://imgur.com/RXI8v

Some key features:

• Modeled after the US system (clearly).
• All bills require a concurrent 2/3 majority to pass. (I guess I liked making things hard.)
• The judiciary is really complicated, likely an attempt to include an anarcho-capitalist judicial system within the framework of the state. (I know, right?)

Constitution (warning: long and boring! included only for completeness!)*

^{Is there any way to make a folder, like we have on the main wiki?}

Executive

• The Executive shall be headed by the President, elected for a four-year term.
• No President may serve for more than one term.
• The President shall have exclusive authority over the National Military, whose duty shall be to defend the Nation against outside aggressors.
• The President shall also have exclusive authority over diplomacy and foreign relations, but any agreements and treaties made with foreign powers must not affect private individuals, but only those operations over which the President has exclusive authority.
• When the office of Treasurer is vacated, the President shall appoint a new Treasurer, who must be confirmed by a two-thirds vote in the Senate before taking office.
• The Treasurer is encharged with the operation of the Treasury, in accordance with the Statutes passed by the Legislature.
• Any property in the Nation that comes to be without owner shall revert to the ownership of the Treasury, and the Treasury shall in a timely manner sell such property to the highest bidder at a public auction, without bias or further inquiry.
• The President shall have authority, within the limitations that the Legislature may enact by Statute, over the National Police, whose duty shall be to enforce the Law and the rulings of the Courts against individuals and groups that are themselves in the business of enforcing the rulings of the Courts.
• The President shall have the power to veto or approve bills passed by the Legislature; but the President may not approve or veto a bill unless it has been voted "yes" on by at least two thirds of both houses of the Legislature.

Legislature

Composition and election

• The Legislature shall consist of two houses, the House of Representatives and the Senate.
• The House of Representatives shall consist of Representatives from each Province, such that the number of Representatives from each Province is proportional to the number of people who voted in that Province in the last legislative election, in a manner of apportionment to be determined by Statute;
• But the number of Representatives from each Province must be the greatest whole number less than, or the least whole number greater than, the number of voters in that Province in the last legislative election multiplied by the number of Representatives in the House of Representatives and divided by the total number of voters is the last legislative election in all Provinces;
• And each Province must have at least one Representative from it.
• Representatives shall be elected, in their Province, for two-year terms.
• No Representative may serve more than three terms.
• The Senate shall consist of two Senators from each Province.
• Senators shall be elected, in their Province, for six-year terms.
• No Senator may serve more than two terms.
• No person may be a candidate in a Senate election without having been approved by at least one third of the House of Representatives.
• The Senate elections shall be staggered, in a manner to be determined by Statute, so that one third (rounded up or down) of the Senate is vacated and elected every two years.
• No person may be a candidate for a House of Representatives or Senate election in more than one Province in the same legislative election.
• Each legislative election shall be held simultaneously in all Provinces.

Powers

• A bill is passed into Statute if it is voted "yes" on by at least two thirds of both houses of the Legislature, and then approved by the President.
• The President's veto may be overridden by a four-fifths vote in both houses of the Legislature, in which case the bill in question is passed anyway.
• The Senate may not vote on a bill unless it has been voted "yes" on by at least two thirds of the House of Representatives.
• No bill may be introduced in the Senate.
• Each house of the Legislature shall set its own rules of procedure, by majority vote initially, until it may decide on another method.
• The Legislature shall have the power to do the following things by Statute:
  • To regulate the operations of the National Police and the Treasury;
  • To charter and regulate the operations of the Civil Courts, including setting a uniform Civil Court fee;
  • To set the Supreme Court fee (which must exceed the Civil Court fee);
  • To establish a standard of money by which payments to and by the government (including the Civil Courts) shall be made, but this standard shall not be binding on payments between the Proprietors and Judges of a Civil Court;
  • To set the salaries of government officials (but no change in an official's salary shall affect the person in that office at the time that the Statute is passed);
  • To regulate the administration and dates of elections;
  • And to appropriate a definite amount of funds from the Treasury to the National Police, the National Military, the Department of State, the Treasury, and the Supreme Court, but the funds appropriated to each institution shall be sufficient for it to carry out its constitutionally required duties, and no appropriation of funds shall have any conditions attached to it.
• The Legislature may not discuss or vote on matters not required of it by this Constitution.

Judiciary

• The Judiciary shall consist of the Supreme Court, and the Civil Courts chartered by the Legislature.
• A Civil Court shall consist of a Proprietor (the owner of the Court) and one or more Judges, chosen by the Proprietor and retained on such conditions as the Judge and Proprietor in question may decide by contract, subject to such regulations as the Legislature may enact by Statute.
• Cases brought before a Civil Court shall involve two parties, a Plaintiff and a Defendant, with the Plaintiff having a claim or claims against the Defendant.
• If there are two concurrent Cases in which the Plaintiff of one is the Defendant of the other, and vice-versa, then the Courts may hear both in the same proceedings, but they still count as two Cases for the purpose of the determination of the Judicial Pool.
• A Civil Court may (but is not required to) hear Cases in which both the Plaintiff and the Defendant have agreed to have their Case heard by that Civil Court.
• The Proprietor of each Civil Court must, once a year, in a manner to be determined by Statute, submit to the Legislature a truthful report, under penalty of perjury, enumerating all the Cases (not including Cases randomly assigned to the Court) that the Court has heard and issued rulings upon in the preceding year; and this report must include the names of the parties in all the Cases enumerated, and the parties' true attestation, under penalty of perjury, that their Case was indeed heard and resolved by the Court.
• Each Civil Court Judge must, once a year, in a manner to be determined by Statute, submit to the Legislature a truthful report, under penalty of perjury, enumerating all the Cases (including Cases randomly assigned to the Court) that the aforementioned Judge has heard and issued rulings upon in the preceding year; and this report must include the names of the parties in all the Cases enumerated, and the parties' true attestation, under penalty of perjury, that their Case was indeed heard and resolved by the aforementioned Judge; and for each Case that was heard and resolved by multiple Judges, the names of these Judges must also be listed. If the same Case was heard and resolved by multiple Judges, then each of the Judges shall be considered to have heard and resolved an equal fraction of the Case, for the purpose of the determination of the Judicial Pool.
• If the Plaintiff and Defendant in a Case cannot agree on a particular Civil Court to hear their Case, then each party shall produce a list of the Civil Courts by which they would be willing to have their Case heard, and from these a Court shall be selected at random, in a manner to be determined by Statute, such that the probability of each Court being chosen is proportional to the number of Cases (not including Cases randomly assigned to the Court) that the Court has heard and issued rulings upon in the preceding year, as verified and attested to in the most recent reports to the Legislature. Cases assigned in the manner must be heard by the Court selected in a timely manner.
• In a ruling in favor of the Plaintiff, the Civil Courts and the Supreme Court shall have the power to authorize the use of reasonable force, which would otherwise be against the Law, against the Defendant, with the consent of the Plaintiff, to the extent necessary to exact the equitable restitution determined by the Court; and to retroactively authorize reasonable force that may have already been used against the Defendant, with or without the consent of the Plaintiff.
• The Civil Court fee must be paid to the Proprietor of the Civil Court hearing a Case upon the issuance of a ruling for that Case. It shall be paid by the losing party in the Case, unless the losing party is the Defendant and it is shown that the Defendant offered the Plaintiff a settlement, contingent upon the Plaintiff's withdrawal of the Case, whose magnitude equaled or exceeded that of the restitution determined by the Court, and which was refused by the Plaintiff, in which case the Civil Court fee shall be paid by the Plaintiff.
• No Civil Court may decide Cases to which its Proprietor or one of its Judges is a party.
• The Judicial Pool shall consist of the Civil Court Judges that ranked in the top half of all incumbent Civil Court Judges by the number of Cases heard and resolved by each Judge, as verified and attested to in the most recent report to the Legislature. That is, each Judge in the Judical Pool must have heard and resolved more Cases in the preceding year than at least half of the other Civil Court Judges, taken individually.
• The Judicial List shall consist of three Judges, ranked in order of their appointment to the List.
• When there is a vacancy on the Judicial List, the remaining Judges on the List shall advance towards the head of the List, and the vacancy shall be filled by appointment from the Judicial Pool by the President, confirmed by a two-thirds vote of the Senate.
• A Judge must continue to be a Civil Court Judge in order to remain on the Judicial List, but need not continue to be in the Judicial Pool following his/her appointment to the List.
• The Supreme Court shall consist of seven Judges, who shall hold their offices during competence and good behavior.
• A Supreme Court Judge may be removed only if, after a trial before the Senate, and with the consent of at least two other Supreme Court Judges, it is determined that the Judge in question is either incompetent for the office or is guilty of corruption or other serious crimes warranting removal.
• If a Supreme Court Judge leaves their office, by resignation, removal, or death, the position shall be taken by the first Judge on the Judicial List, who shall vacate their position on the Judicial List.
• The Supreme Court shall decide, by majority vote, and after hearing arguments from the parties involved, Cases that have been appealed to it from a Civil Court.
• In the event of a Supreme Court ruling against the party making the appeal ("Appellant"), that party shall pay the Supreme Court fee, and the ruling of the Civil Court shall stand. In the event of a Supreme Court ruling in favor of the Appellant, the Proprietor of the Civil Court from which the case has been appealed shall pay the Supreme Court fee, and the Supreme Court's new ruling shall be final.
• A ruling by a Civil Court Judge, or by a majority of Supreme Court Judges, shall explain the reasoning and the Laws (or, in Cases to which a government agency is the losing party, Statutes as well) applicable to the decision.
• The ruling may also, if the existing Laws do not adequately clarify the proper decision for the case at hand or for similar Cases in the future, propose a new Law that will do so adequately.
• No Law, proposed in this manner, shall be passed into Law unless it is approved by two thirds of both houses of the Legislature, but the failure of a proposed Law to pass shall have no effect on the ruling that produced it.
• The Legislature may not vote on a proposed Law unless it is from a Supreme Court ruling, or a Civil Court ruling which no party has chosen to appeal.
• If a Supreme Court ruling proposes a Law, and the proposed Law is not passed by the Legislature, then the ruling can be reversed only by a seven-eighths vote of both houses of the Legislature, but no Law is passed by this process.

General

• The government, or any of its agencies (excluding Civil Courts) shall not borrow or lend money, or entrust the keeping of government money to any entity other than the Treasury.
• No person may cast more than one vote in the election for a particular office, and no person may vote in more than one Province in the same election.

edited 30th Aug '11 3:53:00 AM by Eio

Direct Democracy, no need for a legislature, with an elected president as the executive, and judges appointed by the president. Bills can be initiated by anyone, with a petition consisting of, say, a hundred thousand signatures, and will be decided by referendum, bill will be passed if it receives a simple majority.

Simplest system I can come up with.

A system run by Lord Havelock Vetinari.

Thats it, essentially.

But direct democracy works in a place like Switzerland, where the population is small and nearly homogeneous.

It doesn't work so well in California, where there are a million competing viewpoint.

Didn't we have this thread one time?

We probably did, though I don't think you want to resurrect it at this point.

My government is run by a super powerful artificial intelligence which constantly tries to take the input of every single person, thus creating a direct democracy, under a socialist economic arrangement (therefore, new technologies which lower production costs or otherwise increase output benefit everyone while at the same time, those who work better/harder than others receive more goods/services of which they like more than those who are lazy but there's no poverty if possible)

Unfortunately, direct democracy only works with a small population and could very easily lead to a tyranny of the majority.

edited 30th Aug '11 7:38:24 AM by Pentadragon

Anarcho-communist paradise. Basically what I described in the Ideology Thread. Depending on where the people come from they'd either lose the concept of ownership over a generation, or never develop one.

Laws as such wouldn't exist: the populace would just deal with wrongdoers as they see fit, with the guidance of the most respected members of society.

I agree with Josef.

Well, if you want a Constitution, you want a State. I'm going to try and design a libertarian socialist form of government.

RIGHTS AND FREEDOMS

• Freedom of expression, freedom of conscience and freedom of assembly.
• Right to Keep and Bear Arms.
• Right to Privacy.
• Right to due process and redress of grievances.
• Right to worker ownership of the means of production.
• Right to individual autonomy and to determine one's own lifestyle.
• Right to access culture, education and health care.
• Right to elect and recall representatives, and vote to repeal legislation.
• Freedom from Discrimination and Coercion.
  • This Charter can be Amended to provide for further rights, but never to eliminate or curtail the Rights of the People.
  • In no sense shall this enumeration serve as a basis to deny other rights retained by the People.

• There shall be two levels of Government, local and Confederal.
• The Confederal Government commands the Militia in times of war, provides for the maintenance of national infrastructure, and may gather and distribute funds to guarantee the provision of public services. The Confederals enjoy authority to regulate accession and expulsion of jurisdictions. They have no other powers.
• Other legislative powers are retained by local government.
• All elections shall be conducted by Alternative Voting: Each circunscription will elect a set of at least 5 delegates.
• Local jurisdictions may self-determinate at will: They can split or merge on their own accord. Jurisdictions and compacts thereof may also secede from the Confederacy without retaliation.

• The People directly elect (and enjoy the freedom to recall) local and Confederal Representatives.
• In all cases, the People may vote to repeal laws approved by the Legislative.
• Terms are biannual. After a recall, replacement Representatives shall serve the remainder of the regular term.
• No Legislative action may restrict the rights of the People.
• The Confederal Congress can declare war and sue for peace, subject to Executive veto.

• Legislative bodies shall nominate an Executive Committee, both at the local and Confederal level. They can force the committee to resign with a 3/5ths vote.
• The Executive's task is to implement legislation and run the administration of the government.
• Executive bodies cannot act contrary to the law, and they cannot violate the rights of the citizenry.
• The Executive doesn't have police powers: They can only enforce law as far as the militia is willing to cooperate with them.
• The Confederal Executive is in charge of diplomatic relations.
• The Executive can veto a declaration of war or a peace treaty: The event of such a veto will force new elections to solve the dispute.

• Judges are public officials: Half of them are up to popular vote, the other half are nominated by the Legislative. They are subject to popular recall.
• There shall be a local and Confederal Supreme Court. The Local Supreme Court shall be able to strike down local legislation. The Confederal Supreme Court can strike down local and Confederal legislation.
• Supreme Court Justices are nominated by the Legislature. A 3/4ths legislative vote may remove a judge from office, and they're as subject to popular recall as any other official.
• All criminal trials and civil trials for more than three months' worth of average income shall be decided by juries. Juries are triers of both fact and law: They can decide that a law is unjust and choose to nullify it.
• Judges may issue arrest and investigation warrants to the militia, empowering them to investigate an individual or an association.
• Except in trials against public officials (where directed verdicts are prohibited), judges can give a directed verdict of innocence when they find little to no inculpatory evidence. Such verdict is final. There can never be a directed verdict of guilt.

• The Militia shall be a volunteer body: It's officer corps shall be democratically elected (or recalled) by the rank-and-file.
• Militiamen shall enjoy no special legal status: They remain at all times regular citizens.
• The government shall provide for equipment and training to the militia, but they're not under executive control except in times of external, defensive war. They're the people in arms, not a specific body for the government to subjugate the people with.
• Militiamen will act on a part-time basis: They shall be compensated for hours of actual service and they're supposed to remain on call, but they are not to become full-time militia employees or receive a standard salary.
• The actions of the militia are subject to judicial scrutiny.

edited 30th Aug '11 9:47:45 AM by SavageHeathen

Captain Picard will be head of state. That would get rid of ALL the problems.

I don't have an ideal state. My ideals are rarely accepted by others—"what makes you think you know best for me?" and all—so I'd go with self-determination for all, and whatever consequences come from your choice, too bad for you, go fuck off and die.

I'm tired of idealism. It gains me nothing. So I will not bother.

My ideal state would be essentially California with some regulations on the initiative process to make it even more democratic.

In this scenario, though, do I get to specify the demographics, though? Because a lot would depend on who I'm writing it for. The form of government I'd advocate would be different if, for example, 97% of the population were Catholic, than if it were a multireligious society like the United States.

Well, we've pretty much got it here in the U.S.

I mean, yeah it's got problems, but I'm reminded of the quote (I forget who said it): "Democracy is the worst form of government there is, except for all the other forms we've tried."

If the US got a third party it would be better.

Mine would be a representative democracy with one transferrable alternate voting.

A ideal system would a social liberal union of different areas, each part of a grand sennet. The main feature for the most efficient system would place a ballance check on both political power... and ecomonic power, ensuring that while companies exist they do not gain a strangelhold over the population. Ballance is the path to true power... so must many systems must be placed within it.

The American system, with the following changes:

• Federal Congressmen are chosen by municipality (city/county/parish) rather than by arbitrary riding.
• Federal Senators are chosen by tax percentile, not by state. There are 100 senators, one per 1% of taxpaying Americans. Filing taxes and registering to vote are unified.
• The State level of government is abolished; most of its powers are given to the Municipal level of government (city/county/parish) with the rest (most notably environmental authority and municipal border writing) given to the federal level.
• You can serve as many terms as you want, but you cannot serve two consecutive terms in any public office of Federal or Municipal level. Once your term is finished, you cannot run for an office term within a period of time as long as the term you've completed. For example, if you finish a six-year term as a Senator, you can't be elected as anything (from city councillor up to President) until six years later.

This is the quick-and-dirty solution. My ideal system of social organization would, for a large part, be extragovernmental (if that's even a word), but for a good government, this looks like a fairly decent start to me.

Everybody who stands for election does so under a preferential voting system. That is, voters rank candidates in order of preference. If nobody receives a majority vote, then the candidates with the fewest votes are knocked off the list until somebody has a majority.

All candidates for office receive a stipend for campaigning from the public treasury. Nobody may accept contributions, bribes or gifts for campaign purposes. People may spend their own money to advocate for particular candidates.

A bicameral legislature, with a lower house and an upper house. The members of the lower house elected every two years from districts of equal population. The upper house is elected every four years from districts of larger population.

The President is directly elected every four years on a preferential voting system.

All bills must pass both houses and the President's approval in order to become law.

Members of the judiciary are nominated by the President, then approved by the upper house, and then ratified by a simple yes/no vote of the people after serving one year.

The people are entitled to freedom of speech, religion, press, petition, assembly and initiative and referendum. Everybody is entitled to due process and equal protection of the laws. No slavery. No conscription.

I would base it essentially on the Swiss model: A collective government without real head of state/government, chosen by parliament based on a concordance model, direct democracy via referenda, strong federalism... yeah.

Some changes maybe. Like abolishing the Council of States and going unicameral, or establishing a central Constitutional Court. But I think the Swiss model is in fact pretty much near ideal.

Forgive the long post. We designed the following document here in TV Tropes.

Short summary: It is the most practical and complete description of a functioning Council Democracy I have ever seen. It combines public discussion forums with a traditional parlement.

Preamble

WE, the members of this Constitutional Assembly, recognise that at this juncture in the history of human events, the following we understand to be true:

THAT we the people can recognise no State whose sovereignty does not emanate from the consent of the people;

THAT persons are born with certain inalienable Rights;

THAT the establishment of a functional State is a precondition for the existence of a free, open, human society.

THEREFORE, through this document, we lay the basis of one system of such government, to be adopted, protected, and modified as befits the will of the people of this country.

I. Legislative Processes

A. Constitutional Perogative: no measure passed by any legislative process shall contravene an article of this consititution.

B. Federal System: The nation to have three levels of governance: national, regional/territorial, and local.

C. National Level. Two methods of passing legislation at the national level:

1. Elected Legislature: A directly elected one house legislature shall exist at the national level. When a bill is proposed in the national legislature it is passed as law if more than 50% of the representatives vote in it’s favor.

2. Council and Ballot: A citizen’s council consisting of volunteers selected from the regional citizens councils shall exist at the national level. When a proposal for a ballot measure is made in the national council, the council shall engage in facilitated discussion until a consensus statement of the proposal (with 95% support) is reached. This form of the proposal shall then be sent down to the regional councils for further debate. If more 50% of the regional councils support the proposal in it’s original form, then it is presented to all citizens in the country as a ballot to be voted on. If less than 50% of the regional councils support the proposal, the proposal does not go to popular ballot.

3. An elected legislator may introduce proposals to the council, and the council may introduce bills to the legislature. Regional councils may introduce proposals for consideration to the national council, subject to the same process as outlined in article I.C.2.

4. Measures passed by council and ballot take precedence over measures passed by the legislature.

D. Regional and Local Levels:

1. A process equivalent to that at the national level shall take place at the regional and local levels of government.

2. Legislation passed at one level of government is binding on all lower levels of government.

II. The Judiciary System

A. A Ministry of Justice, understood as an independent, sovereign judiciary power, shall be created to administrate the judicial system.

1. It is the exclusive purview and duty of the judiciary to provide for a fair and rapid trial of those accused of crimes or misdemeanours; to provide for the resolution of civil cases; and to conduct judicial review, ensuring that the Legislative shall make no law in contradiction of this Constitution.

2. The power of judicial review is embodied exclusively in the Supreme Court; decisions of lower courts are not binding of how a law is to be interpreted, nor are they apt to change the body of law, except when those decisions are, then, ratified and codified by the authority of the Supreme Court.

B. To define the structure of the judiciary system, where not specified in this Constitution, shall be the exclusive provision of the Ministry of Justice.

1. Funding for the operation of the Ministry, and the Judiciary, shall be provided by Parliament.

2. The Ministry of Justice shall be headed by a Head Minister for Justice.

C. A Supreme Court shall be established as the highest national court.

1. The Supreme Court has power to review and decide on cases brought up to it by lower instance courts, via a process to be defined by the Ministry of Justice.

2. The Supreme Court shall be composed of nine members. Only former judges who have practised law as a magistrate for at least five years, and are currently allowed to legally practise law, are eligible to become members of the Supreme Court. The members of the Court are:

a. The head Minister for Justice, which shall be elected by the popular vote. Elections for the Head Minister shall be called no longer than five years apart, and no less than four years apart, the Minister's term being comprised of a corresponding amount of time. The Minister for Justice may be re-elected an indefinite number of times.

b. Two lesser ministers, which serve for terms that may not exceed five years, and are elected alongside the head Minister; they are not re-electable.

c. Three lifetime ministers, which shall be appointed by Parliament only from the ranks of former head ministers or lesser ministers. They serve until the retirement age of 65 years.

d. Three lifetime justices, which shall be appointed by the head of the Executive power, and who must be confirmed as Supreme Court justices by a consensus of the higher instance court judges, as defined by the Ministry of Justice.

e. The head and lesser ministers for justice comprise the First Bench; the lifetime ministers comprise the Second Bench; the lifetime justices comprise the Third Bench.

3. Decisions of the Supreme Court shall be taken through approval by a simple majority including members of each bench, or a supermajority including all members of two benches.

III. The Executive

A. Consistent with the Federal System as outlined in Article I, there is to be an executive Head of Government at each of the three levels of government: National, Regional, and Local. The National Head of Government shall be called the President, the Regional shall be called the Governor, and the local shall be called the Mayor. Territories shall be governed by an administrative head appointed for a five year term by the President, as approved by the House of Representatives. Executive heads of government to serve for four year terms, maximum of two terms.

B. At each level of government, the election process shall be as follows: a general election by all eligible voters on one day selected by the corresponding legislature. The election process shall be administered by an election commission to be appointed by the National Minister of Justice for a four year term, the day of appointment not to fall on an election year. The election commission shall be funded by the House of Representatives.

C. All executive agencies shall report to the executive head of government at the corresponding level of government, such that national agencies shall report to the President, regional agencies to the Governor, and so forth. The executive head of government shall have the right to appoint or remove Ministers as heads of these agencies at any time. Appointments are made with the approval of a majority of the House of Representatives.

D. The executive head of government is considered the Chief of all public security forces at the corresponding level of government. He is also to take on emergency powers during times of declared emergencies (see Article V).

E. In the event of the removal from office by death, incapacitation, or any other nonprocedural means, the Minister of Justice is to appoint a member of the court at the appropriate level of government to become the executive head of government pro temp, until another election can be organized by the election commission. This election must occur within one year of the removal of the executive.

F. Executive heads of government can only be procedurally removed from office by means of the council and ballot process at the corresponding level of government, such ballot of removal must be approved by 60% of all eligible voters at that level of government.

Article IV: Individual Civil Rights

A. This constitution recognizes the following rights as inherent and inaliable to all citizens and legal residents within our country. No act of government may contravene any right herein.

B. The following articles describe human rights as protected by this consitution:

1. All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood.

2. Everyone is entitled to all the rights and freedoms set forth in this Declaration, without distinction of any kind, such as race, colour, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status. Furthermore, no distinction shall be made on the basis of the political, jurisdictional or international status of the country or territory to which a person belongs, whether it be independent, trust, non-self-governing or under any other limitation of sovereignty.

3. Everyone has the right to life, liberty and security of person.

4. No one shall be held in slavery or servitude; slavery and the slave trade shall be prohibited in all their forms.

5. No one shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.

6. Everyone has the right to recognition everywhere as a person before the law.

7. All are equal before the law and are entitled without any discrimination to equal protection of the law. All are entitled to equal protection against any discrimination in violation of this Declaration and against any incitement to such discrimination.

8. Everyone has the right to an effective remedy by the competent national tribunals for acts violating the fundamental rights granted him by the constitution or by law.

9. No one shall be subjected to arbitrary arrest, detention or exile.

10. Everyone is entitled in full equality to a fair and public hearing by an independent and impartial tribunal, in the determination of his rights and obligations and of any criminal charge against him.

11. a. Everyone charged with a penal offence has the right to be presumed innocent until proved guilty according to law in a public trial at which he has had all the guarantees necessary for his defence.

b. No one shall be held guilty of any penal offence on account of any act or omission which did not constitute a penal offence, under national or international law, at the time when it was committed. Nor shall a heavier penalty be imposed than the one that was applicable at the time the penal offence was committed.

12. No one shall be subjected to arbitrary interference with his privacy, family, home or correspondence, nor to attacks upon his honour and reputation. Everyone has the right to the protection of the law against such interference or attacks.

13. a. Everyone has the right to freedom of movement and residence within the borders of each state.

b. Everyone has the right to leave any country, including their own, and to return to their country.

14. a. Everyone has the right to own property alone as well as in association with others.

b. No one shall be arbitrarily deprived of his property.

15. Everyone has the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion; this right includes freedom to change his religion or belief, and freedom, either alone or in community with others and in public or private, to manifest his religion or belief in teaching, practice, worship and observance.

16. Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers.

17. a. Everyone has the right to freedom of peaceful assembly and association.

b. No one may be compelled to belong to an association. 18. a. Everyone has the right to take part in the government of their country, directly or through freely chosen representatives.

b. Everyone has the right of equal access to public service in their country.

c. The will of the people shall be the basis of the authority of government; this will shall be expressed in periodic and genuine elections which shall be by universal and equal suffrage and shall be held by secret vote or by equivalent free voting procedures.

C. In addition, we adopt the following:

1. The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.

2. No person shall be held to answer for any capital, or otherwise infamous crime, unless on a presentment or indictment of aGrand Jury, except in cases arising in the land or naval forces, or in the Militia, when in actual service in time of War or public danger; nor shall any person be subject for the same offence to be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb; nor shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself, nor be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation.

3. In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury of the State and district where in the crime shall have been committed, which district shall have been previously ascertained by law, and to be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation; to be confronted with the witnesses against him; to have compulsory process for obtaining witnesses in his favor, and to have the Assistance of Counsel for his defense.

4. In suits at common law, where the value in controversy shall exceed twenty dollars, the right of trial by jury shall be preserved, and no fact tried by a jury, shall be otherwise re-examined in any court of the United States, than according to the rules of the common law.

5. Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted.

6. In the exercise of his rights and freedoms, everyone shall be subject only to such limitations as are determined by law solely for the purpose of securing due recognition and respect for the rights and freedoms of others and of meeting the just requirements of morality, public order and the general welfare in a democratic society.

7. These rights and freedoms may in no case be exercised contrary to the purposes and principles of this constitution.

8. Nothing in this article may be interpreted as implying for any government entity, group or person any right to engage in any activity or to perform any act aimed at the destruction of any of the rights and freedoms set forth herein.

9. The amendment process shall be as follows: When a proposal for an amendment to the constitution is made in the national citizens council, the council shall engage in facilitated discussion until a consensus statement of the proposal (with 95% support) is reached. This form of the proposal shall then be sent down to the regional councils for further debate. If more 65% of the regional councils support the proposal in it’s original form, then it is presented to all citizens in the country as a ballot to be voted on. If less than 65% of the regional councils support the proposal, the proposal does not go to popular ballot. An amendment must pass by ballot supported by 60% of voters to pass.

Article V: National Security, States of Emergency, and Treason

A. The various governing bodies at each level of government shall establish such military forces as are deemed necessary to provide for the common defense, and to fulfill such international obligations as the national government on behalf of the people shall agree to undertake.

1. Different branches shall be established to administer forces appropriate to the different domains of the national defense- an army for land operations, a navy for sea operations, an air force for operations in the air, and other such branches as seem appropriate.

B. The Legislatures at each level of government shall be responsible for establishing such branches of the military forces as they deem necessary, and possess sole power to approve the funding of such branches. All branches of military forces shall be administered as agencies of the executive branch of the appropriate level of government.

C. The military forces of the national government shall be referred to as the National Military, those of the Regions and Territories as Guards, and of the Localities as Militia.

D. Nothing in this constitution shall be deemed to prevent the governing bodies at the various levels from sharing revenue, personnel, equipment or other resources, or from establishing common standards of performance and procedures. The national level of government shall have sole power to deploy military forces outside of the national boundaries.

E. Military forces shall play no role or official capacity in political activities, or the enforcement of the law within national boundaries. Military agencies may not engage in activities intended to generate profit or private revenue, nor the ownership of private property.

F. Weapons commonly classified as biological, chemical, nuclear, or as weapons of mass destruction shall only be developed, obtained or deployed if approved by the council and ballot system, described in Article I. In any case, the national level of government shall have sole power to seek approval of such weapons.

G. Whether service in the military shall be deemed mandatory for all eligible citizens, or entirely voluntary, or according to some other scheme, shall be decided by the council and ballot system described in Article I. In the case of any conflict, service rendered at a higher level of government shall substitute for that at a lower level.

H. Military forces cannot be deployed outside the country only at the explicit direction of the Head of the National Government, and a decision by a majority of the national legislature approving such deployment. Such forces are to be withdrawn from deployment outside national boundaries at any time by either a decision of the national executive, or a 60% vote of the national legislature, or by the council and ballot process. Military forces are never to be deployed beyond national boundaries except for the purpose of defending innocent people from unlawful attack, or in response to a natural or man-made disaster.

I. Each level of government shall be responsible for organizing such police and security forces as are deemed necessary to ensure public safety and security. Police and security forces are administered as agencies of the executive branch of government. Such forces shall have sole power of arrest within their respective jurisdiction. Police and security forces shall be armed at the discretion of their governing authority. All persons arrested shall be charged with crimes and given to the charge of a prosecuting authority, which shall be executive agencies of government to be administered entirely separate from Police and other security forces. Persons charged with a crime shall be rendered to trail by the appropriate judicial court within a reasonable time as defined by law. All police, security and prosecuting authorities, and their personnel, shall at all times act within the constraints established by law. Police and security forces shall be deployed across jurisdictional boundaries in accordance with appropriate agreements between jurisdictions, and in accordance with regional and national laws. Nothing in this constitution shall be deemed to prevent the governing bodies at the various levels from sharing revenue, personnel, equipment or other resources, or from establishing common standards of performance and procedures.

Article VI: Public Policy A. The Department of Public Welfare: A Department of Public Welfare shall be established at the national level to provide for the regulation and promotion of certain domains of the public welfare. These domains shall include the following:

1. A Bureau of Public Health and Safety to provide regulation of activities, substances and other such items as may constitute a threat to the health and safety of the general public. Regulations may include, but are not limited to, items such as substances that are proven to be addictive, debilitating or toxic, commercial products that may be used dangerously, weapons, explosives, and public media. Regulations may extend to such requirements as licenses, fees, criteria of ownership, possession or participation as are necessary to minimize the rate of death, injury, debilitation or other dangerous outcomes. Outright banning of such activities, substances or commercial products is to be undertaken only in response to overwhelming evidence of a direct and present danger to the public.

2. A Bureau of Education to provide nationally recognized standards of testing and assessment in schools and educational institutions, such standards to act as the basis of certification and funding through scholarships, grants, loans and other forms of support to individuals and institutions if such support is provided for in the national budget. In addition, to provide recommendations for curriculum, instructional and administrative excellence and to provide such support to institutions attempting to implement these recommendations as is provided for in the national budget.

3. A Bureau of Military Procurement which shall combine the recommendations of the nation’s military commanders with the latest research on technology and intelligence on potentially hostile powers and their capabilities to determine long-term equipment development and deployment programs in the best interest of the nation. The legislature shall determine the military budget as part of the government budgetary process, and the Bureau of Military Procurement shall dispense those funds in accordance with it’s own recommendations.

4. A Bureau of Public Physical and Technical Infrastructure which shall make plans for the long and short term development of means of distributing shared resources, including, but not limited to transportation, communication, energy distribution, and information sharing.

5. A Bureau of Economic Management shall be responsible for setting the interest rate by which the government shall loan money to private banks, the selling and purchasing of government bonds, the amount of currency to distribute, and revenue sharing arrangements between the national, provincial, and local levels of government. Further powers can be conferred upon this Bureau by the legislature.

B. The National Policy Panels: Each of these bureaus shall have a policy panel consisting of experts in that field who shall be empowered to make and implement that bureau’s role and responsibilities, including any rules, regulations or provision of support. Other such bureau’s may be established by the National Citizens’ Council on any public policy issue using the standard consensus and ballot process.

1. The National Citizens’ Council shall charter a National Association of Science and Research for the purpose of establishing and providing institutional support to the scientific and research community within the country. This association shall include as members all citizens who possess the appropriate degree of education and a professional position within the science or research community. The charter is to be considered for renewal every ten years, at which time the charter itself may be revised. This association shall otherwise operate independently of any branch of government.

2. These members shall establish a committee for the purpose of inviting nationally recognized leaders of research or education to serve on one policy panel attached to a bureau of the Department of Public Welfare. The members of each panel shall serve for any number of two years terms, provided they are non-consecutive. The Policy Panels shall review all research relevant to an issue relating to that particular bureau, and using that research, shall have the power to establish standards, regulations, fees, fines, grants, and other such rules, policies, or procedures as are deemed necessary to fulfill the bureau’s responsibilities as set forth herein.

a. The National Legislative Branch shall provide for the funding of the Department of Public Welfare through the standard national budgeting process

b. The number of members of each policy panel shall be determined by the National Executive

c. The National Judiciary shall have the power to overturn or restrict any regulation or ruling by a policy panel if such rule or regulation is found to be in contradiction of a national law or an article of this constitution, consistent with the guidelines specified in article V.A.1.

d. Decisions by the National Citizens Council shall take precedence over those of any Bureau or Policy Panel. The Council shall invite members of the relevant policy panel as non-voting participants to any such debate before a final decision is made.

edited 1st Sep '11 9:00:11 AM by DeMarquis

Well, now that I'm not in such a bad mood, let's try this again. I'm using Savage Heathen's post model because it's the cleanest so far, with minor modification...

You can assume a lot of it would look like—and be based on—a modified, updated (language) form of the US Constitution. I won't be covering everything, because it will be too long otherwise...

Rights and Freedoms

• Freedom of Speech, Religion, Petition, and Assembly.
• Freedom to Bear Arms
• The Right to Privacy
• The Right to Due Process of Law
• The Right to Self-Determination
• The Right to Vote.
• The Right to Equal Treatment of Law, regardless of race, ethnicity, cultural background, sexual orientation, gender, creed, conscience, or otherwise.

Federated Government

• There will be three main levels of government: local, State, and National, whose relative importance follows in the reverse order mentioned.
• The National Government is to provide for the common defense, secure the general welfare, etc, etc.
• Elections will be done directly and the right to vote shall never be abridged. One person, one vote. Age of 18 is necessary to vote.
• Secession is illegal and an act of treason.

Legislative Branch:

• A two-house system, one decided by population, and one with equal voting representative numbers for all States.
• Terms are five years for Senators and three for Representatives. Recalling either requires a 2/3rds vote of their home State.
• Legislature must follow the Constitution in all ways possible.
• Congress retains the exclusive right to declare war; no troops may be deployed anywhere outside of the country itself for any military or police action without the express permission of Congress. Outside of UN missions, a declaration of war is required to do this.

Executive Branch:

• A single President will be elected directly by the people.
• A President's job is to carry out legislation—not create it. In times of war, he/she serves as the overall Commander in Chief, but he/she may not use troops in an offensive action without the approval of Congress.
• A President is held to the same standard of law as all other citizens.
• A President handles—directly or otherwise—the foreign interaction between the United States and other nations.
• The Executive must ask for a declaration of war before one may be enacted, but after such an act has been enacted, the Congress can rescind it at any time and force the Executive to obtain peace.

Judicial Branch:

• Judges are not voted on, but may be recalled by a 2/3rds local popular vote.
• The current Supreme Court system would remain in place.
• A Supreme Court justice is nominated by the President and approved by the Senate.
• A judge does not make or determine the validity of law. He or she merely carries it out.
• A judge may issue a search or arrest warrant based on sufficient evidence.

The Military:

• In the event of an offensive war, only voluntary enlistment may be used. In the event of a domestic, defensive war, the draft is fair game.
• Citizen/soldiers is a primary goal of the military. They are service people, and not meant to stand above the society they defend.
• The government is required to provide for a modern, effectively-sized military to defend the nation with. The first and foremost usage of the military should be for defensive action. Police action within non-nationally owned lands outside a state of emergency is prohibited.
• A National Guard of non-full time soldiers is to be created, to have a reserve of manpower in the event of attack, and a method for States to prevent damage to life, limb, and property during states of emergency and riots.

edited 1st Sep '11 1:57:46 PM by USAF713

My perfect system is a monarchy, with a cabinet putting reins on the king/queen's power

There is a monarchy, that rules the country, this would be my family (The rules say that I can't be involved, not my son/daughter), the current ruler has absolute power, except for 4 things, which may never be changed:

1. THE CABINET MUST BE INFORMED OF ANY PENDING DECISIONS: This is to prevent the ruler from getting questionable policies past the radar.

2. THE CABINET MAY NEVER BE DISSOLVED: Any attempt to dissolve, disband or otherwise destroy the Cabinet, through law, force or other means will result in a loss of power, effective upon trangression, and any forceful attempts will result in the military being given Order Zero: Take down the defective king/queen, and ensure the safety of the next-in-line.

3. FREE SPEECH AND FREEDOM OF RELIGION ARE GUARENTEED: Rulers may not suppress media, except in cases of the media being illegal or obscene. Everyone is free to partake in any religion and religious hate crimes are not taken to kindly, as are any hate crimes.

4. IF NO HEIR IS FOUND, THE MOST SENIOR MEMBER OF THE CABINET WILL TAKE CONTROL, UNTIL A HEIR IS FOUND OR TWO YEARS PASS, THEN THE MEMBER'S FAMILY BECOMES THE NEW MONARCHY: This is so this system keeps going.

The cabinet is made up of all the voted representives of the 10 states of the country, with the member of the Capital State the leader. They make the laws and policies happen, as well as serve as advisors.

Hmm, my ideal system of government could come in many forms. Ideal for who, ideal for what era and what circumstances of a nation? What sort of men should be in government?

I believe that ideally, honest, courageous, and compassionate leaders should be in charge. Upstanding citizens, even philosopher kings. Unfortunately, there is a difference between those who will to power, and those who should be in power. If I had my way, I would ensure that only essentially upstanding citizens were legally fit to be in government. That is, of course, unrealistic. Those with a strong will to power, regardless of intentions, will bend others to their desires, and challenge even a system which would legally and (arguably) justly deny them political power. It is therefore disputable that such a system which only allows people with perfectly noble intentions is at all practical. I think that some measures can protect against the worst of the worst gaining political office by anything but force, such as prohibiting certain criminals. Those who haven't been caught for serious crimes, or haven't as of yet shown their true colours, would not be stopped by that. Then you could have a whole philosophical debate on whether or not certain crimes warrant disenfranchisement and political blacklisting.

What sort of qualifications, political legitimacy aside, should be necessary to rule?

Ideally, moral character, political skill, and also ability to rule. The last two, let alone the first, do not always sit cosily side-by-side. Politicians adept at outplotting and outwitting their rivals may be inept or mediocre governors. Technocrats with magnificent governing skills may find themselves outmaneuvered by more crafty politicians. The two archetypes are best combined in the form of statesmen.

A set of important considerations before creating a system of government.

edited 2nd Sep '11 6:06:02 PM by Shichibukai