Government of the Bai Empire

Government of Bai Empire
Semi-constitutional parliamentary monarchy
Capital	Xiongjing
Head of state
• Emperor	Fengyang Emperor
• Zongli Dachen (Chancellor)	Li Shenkang
Legislature	Imperial Congress
• Upper house	Gaojiyuan
• Lower house	Yihuiting
Judiciary	Imperial Supreme Court
Censorate	Imperial Censure Commission
Examination Yuan	Imperial Civil Service Commission
Major political parties
XGH
International organizations
AN

The Government of the Bai Empire is a semi-constitutional parliamentary democracy that consists of the monarch and the five branches of government, modelled on the political philosophy of Bai democracy set out by Prince Hu Fengyao and Ying Masun. Historically, Bai was under an absolute monarchy prior to the Middle Bai Dynasty, with de facto separate branches of the Censorate and Examination for government officials. The current system introduced the legislature and the judiciary.

The current government was founded on the 1962 Fengyang Constitution of the Bai Empire. Unlike most nations, the government is divided into five branches: the Executive Yuan (cabinet and monarch), the Legislative Yuan (parliament), the Judicial Yuan, the Censure Yuan (audit agency), and the Examination Yuan (civil service examination agency).

In practice, the system resembles a semi-constitutional system with a uniquely strong monarchy, as the Emperor may dismiss the Chancellor, the head of government, without the consent of the legislature. The Emperor, however, shares limitations found in other constitution systems, including the lack of a strong veto and no direct control of most administrative policy.

Organisational structure

The Emperor

The head of state and commander-in-chief of the armed forces is the Emperor, who wields significant executive and legislative power. Currently, the Fengyang Emperor is the Emperor of the country. The Emperor has the power to appoint the Chancellor (Zongli Dachen), members of the Censure Yuan, members of the Gaojiyuan, provincial governors and Dao viceroys. He also has the power to nominate judges for the Supreme Court, which requires the approval of the Censure Yuan. The Emperor is able to veto laws, issue edicts and royal pardons, dissolve the Yihuiting, change certain aspects of the constitution, declare war or impose martial law. However, edicts issued, amendments to the constitution or the implementation martial law are only effective for up to three months, and generally require the approval of the Yihuiting or the Gaojiyuan to be extended or made permanent. The Emperor cannot amend the fundamental principles of the constitution, as expressed in the articles guaranteeing human dignity, the separation of powers, the federal structure, and the rule of law.

Legislature

The Empire's legislative organ is the Imperial Congress. It is a bicaramel parliament consisting of the Renmin Yihuiting (People's Senate) and the Gaojiyuan (High Council). Members of the Yihuiting are elected by popular vote through elections, usually held every five years. Yihuiting members could also be recalled and a by-election would be held to replace the removed member. Members of the Gaoyuanhui are elected by the provincial legislatures and/or appointed by the Emperor, with the recommendation of the Chancellor. Voting is mandatory for eligible adults over 18 years of age, with a secret ballot for all elected offices.

The head of government is the Chancellor, who is also the leader of the Yihuiting. Appointed by the Emperor, he must have the support of a majority of the Yihuiting. Working directly with the monarch, he commands the legislative process and has powers that include dictating the agenda of the Gaojiyuan and selecting a cabinet. The cabinet members convene with the Chancellor to discuss policy, craft agenda and set a course for the government. Like other members of the Yihuiting, he could be dismissed by the Emperor or impeached by the Censure Yuan.

Judiciary

The Judicial Yuan is the highest judicial organ. It interprets the constitution and other laws and decrees, judges administrative suits, and disciplines public functionaries. The president and vice-president of the Judicial Yuan and additional thirteen justices form the Council of Grand Justices. They are nominated by the Emperor, with the consent of the Censure Yuan. The judges can be removed by the Censure Yuan. The highest court, the Supreme Court, consists of a number of civil and criminal divisions, each of which is formed by a presiding judge and four associate judges, all appointed for life. In 1993, a separate constitutional court was established to resolve constitutional disputes. There is no trial by jury but the right to a fair public trial is protected by law and respected in practice; many cases are presided over by multiple judges.

Censorate

The Censure Yuan is the auditing agency (censorate) for the Bai Empire that monitors, regulates and disciplines government officials and their activities. The current Censure Yuan is based on the censorate, a separate supervisory branch in previous dynasties. Like the previous censorates, it has the powers to impeach government officials, including the Chancellor, following which the cases would be forwarded to the Judicial Yuan for adjudication. Members of the Censure Yuan are nominated by the Gaojiyuan and appointed by the Emperor. In addition, the Censure also audits the national budget.

Civil service commission

The Examination Yuan is in charge of validating the qualification of civil servants. A revised model of the old imperial examination system used in previous dynasties, its activities have recently been expanded to cover the national education system. The members of the Examination are nominated by the Censure Yuan and appointed by the Emperor.

Government institutions

Loading map...

{"markers":[{"pos":[{"lat":22.0095999,"lon":150.0713008}],"title":"Imperial Palace","text":"Official Residence of the Bai Emperor"},{"pos":[{"lat":22.0096,"lon":150.06258}],"title":"Imperial Congress (Renmin Dahui)","text":"Legislature"},{"pos":[{"lat":22.0016646,"lon":150.0712999}],"title":"Supreme Court","text":"Judiciary"},{"pos":[{"lat":22.00959,"lon":150.0795}],"title":"Imperial Censure Commission","text":"Censorate"},{"pos":[{"lat":22.0177,"lon":150.0714}],"title":"Imperial Civil Service Commission","text":"Examination"}],"tileLayer":"//{s}.tile.openstreetmap.org/{z}/{x}/{y}.png","attribution":"\u0026copy; \u003Ca href=\"http://osm.org/copyright\"\u003EOpenStreetMap\u003C/a\u003E contributors","center":{"lat":22.0095999,"lon":150.0713008},"zoom":"15","maxzoom":"19"}