User:ParrotMan/Sandbox/Government

Government of ParrotMan/Sandbox/Government
Federal Parliamentary Republic
Capital	Eulerhafen
Head of state
• President
• Executive Council
Legislature	General Assembly of the Republic
• Upper house	Senate
• Lower house	Chamber of Representatives
Judiciary	Constitutional Court
International organizations
AN, EUOIA

Politics and Government

Wendmark-Đenkuku is a Federal Parliamentary Republic, and its official head of state being the president. The executive branch is composed of six people, the five members of the Executive Council and the President of the country. The legislature is usually divided into two houses: the Senate and the Chamber of Representatives. The highest court Wendmark-Đenkuku is the Constitutional Court.

Executive Branch

The General Assembly convenes in every general election in which members elect new members of the Executive Council, nominated by the President. Usually, this is directly proportional to the party makeup of the Chamber of Representatives, with notable deviations in the elections of 1975 and 2000 when members voted across party lines. The President is elected by the people every general election.

The Executive Council is comprised of five voting and one nonvoting member, the nonvoting member being the President.

The President is voted directly by the people and are part of the Executive Branch but is not involved in voting. Instead, they serve to maintain decorum, setting agendas, and offer insight especially in the relm of foreign policies.

	Presidential Powers	Executive Council
Electoral Requirements	Directly elected by the people	Nominated and confirmed by the General Assembly.
Scopes	Foreign Policy and Defense. Commander-in-Chief Leader in Foreign Policy Signs Int'l Agreements	Domestic Policy and the Economy. Leads the Government and non-military Ministries Drafts policies Manages Internal Affairs
Relationship to Legislature	Influences Parliament: Can dissolve parliament if a coalition is not formed, but must assemble a snap election afterwards. Can call an emergency General Assembly	Legislative Powers: Proposes Laws and Reforms Implements Laws (through Ministries) Can call an emergency General Assembly meeting
Relationship to Executive Counterpart	Relationship to Executive Council: Nominates members with G.A. approval Recommends legislative decisions Nonvoting member in the Council Maintains decorum and voting procedure.	Relationship to the President: Recommends Foreign Policy decisions
Relationship to Ministries	Appoints but requires G.A. approval: Defense Minister Foreign Affairs Minister	Appoints but requires G.A. approval: All other ministers
Relationship to Judiciary	Nominates Federal Judges	Appoints Federal Judges
Removed through	Impeachment from the General Assembly, term limits, resignation	Impeachment, vote of no confidence, term limits, resignation

Legislative Branch

The legislature can be unicameral, bicameral, or tricameral. In most circumstances, the legislature is bicameral.

Chamber of Representatives

The Chamber of Representatives is the lower house of the legislature in which members are elected through Mixed Member Proportional Representation with overhang mandates, who serve term lengths of five years.

Senate

The Senate is the upper house of the legislature in which members are appointed by each province, who serve term lengths of five years.

General Assembly

The General Assembly occurs in special circumstances (listed later) in which the Senate and Chamber of Representatives meet in the same room and act as one, unified legislature.

Government Makeup

Unicameralism

The government is unicameral in times of emergency, such as wartime or national disasters, and is composed of the Senate and the Chamber of Representatives combined. Both houses have to reach a consensus vote with a duration no less than 180 days in order to convene in a General Assembly and can choose to disband at any moment. In this mode of government, all power from the lower house and upper house is vested in the General Assembly and the Chamber of Representatives and the Senate do not meet.

Bicameralism

The government is usually bicameral in which there exists the lower house, the Chamber of Representatives, and the upper house, the Senate. The Chamber of Representatives is elected proportional to the population and two senators are appointed by each state for representation in the upper house. Specific powers are vested in the Chamber of Representatives (taxation, impeachment, etc...) and specific powers are vested in the Senate (confirmation, treaties, etc...). Both houses are allowed to draft and pass bills as long as bills reach both houses of the legislature.

Tricameralism

The legislature is tricameral when called upon by the Executive Council for a duration no longer than one week, or a consensus vote is reached in both houses with or without a duration but must be terminated when there is no longer a purpose for a tricameral government. In this mode, both houses regularly meet independently. The General Assembly is more limited in power during a Tricameral Government, mainly determining the makeup of the Executive Council, determining constitutional amendments, the formation of new ministries, the formation of new committees, and allocation or formation of committees, although the latter option is restricted in some manner by the constitution. The General Assembly is constitutionally required to convene once every five years (The year after a new government with a coalition is formed) to discuss the reasons stated above, but may do so more frequently if both houses decide to do so.

Committees

As stated above, there exists committees in which almost all laws originate. Ministries often collaborate with committees, but is not required by law. Although the constitution technically allows committees to be shared between the two houses, it is unlikely for such an occurrence to happen. Currently, there is only one joint committee.

Committee	Seats	House	Mandated by Constitution?
Agriculture & Food		Lower	No
Budget		Upper	Yes
Revenue		Lower	Yes; Must be Lower House
Cultural and Media Affairs		Upper	No
Climate Action and Energy		Upper	Partially (Energy is Mandated)
Consumer Protection		Lower	No
Defence		Upper	Yes; Must be Upper House
Economic Development		Lower	No
Education and Research		Lower	Partially (Education is Mandated)
Environmental Protection		Lower	No
EUOIA Affairs		Upper	No
Finance		Upper	No
Health		Lower	Yes; Must be Lower House
Foreign Affairs		Upper	Yes; Must be Upper House
Housing and Urban Development		Lower	No
Human Rights and Aid		Joint	No
Labor		Lower	No
Internal Affairs		Lower	Yes
Judiciary		Lower	Yes; Must be Lower House
Tourism		Upper	No
Transportation		Lower	No
Government Ethics & Rules		Lower	Yes

The Lawmaking Process

A law almost always originates from a committee, comprised of a small portion of Representatives or Senators interested in that specific field. The majority of the bill's duration will be in a committee. The committee can choose to either kill or revise a bill should it be rejected, and must consult with professionals in the field and editing as needed. The bill then gets pushed onto the whole floor of which the committee serves. After that, it gets sent to counterpart house for another vote, and then its gets confirmed (or vetoed) by the Executive Council. At any point of this process can the bill fail, in which the bill goes back to the committee to face further drafting or left to die.

Consider the following bill: The Child Welfare Act of 1972

Referendums, a mechanism added during the great war, allow legislature to defer to citizens for contentious issues. A referendum bill, which can be proposed by a legislature or by citizens with signatories massing around 15% of the total population over a period of six months, goes through the legislative process just like any other bill. However, in the Legislature and the Executive branch, the bill is evaluated for its worthiness to be deferred rather to be evaluated into law itself. Every national election allows for a referendum vote (every 5 years), although referendums may be called whenever parliament wants, and after a majority of voters approve, is automatically passed into law. Only four referendums have been successful, including a referendum on joining the Great War and accession into the EUOIA.

Judicial Branch

The Judicial Branch is in charge of interpreting, applying, and deciding the constitutionality of a law. The federal court system is independent to the state court system. Federal courts typically handle cases involving federal law, the constitution, and disputes between states. State courts deal with most matters but can only rule on state laws. In the state judiciaries, the highest level of appeal is usually the highest court in the state, unless if there is constitutional concern. The highest court in the whole country is Constitutional Court with fifteen justices appointed by the Executive Council and confirmed by the Chamber of Representatives, serving a term of 12 years.

Electoral Process

All organs except for the Judicary must undergo elections. Aside from snap elections, which can be triggered if a coalition fails to form, standard elections occur every five years, with terms starting the second Monday of every January whose years are divisible by five. The people get to directly elect for the presidency and the Chamber of Representatives, while the states appoint Senators through their legislatures (although it is possible for states to allow for people to vote on their behalf). The Senate and Chamber of Representatives combine to form the General Assembly in order to assemble the new Executive Council afterwards. Usually, the Executive Council will be installed one or two weeks after the Legislature and the President enters power. In that timeframe, the previous Executive Council will still serve up until a new council is confirmed.

Dissolving Parliament

The President has the sole authority to dissolve parliament, but can only do so when:

• Parliament fails to assemble a coalition after a period of 14 days, or
• Parliament fails to affirm or appoint the Executive Council after a period of 35 days

If such a scenario takes place, a snap election must take place in the next 30 days, with the current parliament and the previous executive council to assume a "caretaker" role, that can not instantiate major policy decisions.

Ministries

The government holds twelve ministries, headed by the members of the executive council. Councilors can appoint ministers to fulfill their duties on their behalf. Ministries should not be confused with congressional committees, though they may work closely together as ministries have the knowledge and expertise.