Bills

WHEREAS in most democratic nations, the Government is held accountable to its elected legislative body

WHEREAS in Talossa, the Government is held accountable to the Cosa in the form of a “Vote of Confidence”, which is voted upon in every Clark

WHEREAS this accountability needs to be broadened in order to allow a more active engagement between MCs/ Senators and the Government

WHEREAS the ability for a MC or Senator to be able to ask questions of Members of the Government relating to Public Affairs connected with their Ministry or on matters of administration for which they are officially responsible, in which the Minister must answer will greatly increase this accountability

WHEREAS this accountability will increase parliamentary activity and in turn that of the Government,

WHEREAS the current 14RC9-The Terpelaziuns (Question Time) Act, is largely inadequate and only applies to Living Cosa,

THEREFORE be it enacted by the Ziu:
 

Section 1: Any Member of the Cosa (MC) or Senator may at any time between the First and Last Clark of a Cosa Term, table in “The Ziu” board on Witt, or its equivalent, a “c (PQ)” or “Terp” in a new thread or its equivalent.

(b) The PQ or Terp may ask one question to a named Member of the Government relating to Public Affairs connected with their Ministry or on matters of administration for which they are officially responsible.

(c) There is no limit to the number of PQs or Terps a MC or Senator may submit in any given Clark.

Section 2: Any PQ or Terp that is submitted by a MC or Senator in accordance with Section 1 above, must be answered by the named Minister within seven (7) days of the question being tabled. Should the Minister be unavailable to answer the question within the seven (7) days, the question shall be redirected to the Prime Minister or his/her appointed Deputy who shall be granted a further seven (7) days to answer the aforementioned question. With the agreement of the questioner, there may be a extension of seven (7) days on top of this period. However, the period from the asking of the question to the answering of the question, shall in no circumstances exceed twenty one (21) days.

(b) For the purpose of subsection (a) above, “unavailable” means being unable for to access Witt, or its equivalent, for a acceptable and reasonable reason. Having Logged into or visited Witt during the seven day period, or its equivalent and having not seen or ignored the PQ or Terp, shall not constituent being unavailable.
(c) This Act shall not apply PQs or Terps which refer to matters of Security or Defence of His Majesty’s Realm and/or any project(s), Correspondence or activities in which the Government has deemed and classed as confidential or its release may damage the Kingdom in any shape or form. Such questions may not be answered by any Minister.

(d) The Minister must answer the question in the same thread or its equivalent as the original question and the questioner may ask one (1) supplementary question, in which subsection (a) above applies, with the seven days starting from the date the supplementary question is asked.

Section 3: Failure to answer a question within the given timeframe shall constitute an offense and a Minister if found guilty of such a offense, will be subject to a punishment at the discretion of the Courts.

(b) It shall be a defence to the Minister if the questioner, notwithstanding any other legitimate defences, did not or failed to:
(i) Correctly title his/her question or;
(ii) Ask a clear question. E.g. An ambiguous question, in which the Minister tried to clarify but failed to do so in the timeframe and did not subsequently answer. Or;
(iii) Post his/her question in the correct board, or;
(iv) Engage with the Minister in trying to answer his/her question or;
(v) Direct the question to one named Minister.
 

WHEREAS this body has many times in the past tried and failed on its own fool's errand to convert the Pengöpäts Antarctic Territory to a full province, and

WHEREAS we haven't made the doomed attempt to do so in quite a while now, and

WHEREAS maybe going about it by appealing to the power-hunger that is sure to exist in any and every legislator will give the effort a better chance of success, and

WHEREAS according to Article XVII, Section 4 of the Organic Law, "Pengöpäts Antarctic Territory forms an exception" to the rule that Talossan territories are subject to the laws of the Ziu, and

WHEREAS the chance to declare all those lawless penguins under the legal thumb of the Ziu and all its draconian statutes must certainly be an attractive prospect to all those called upon to consider this bill, now

THEREFORE the Ziu of the Kingdom of Talossa hereby submits to the people of Talossa for ratification the following resolutions to amend Organic Law, thus to give effect to this blatant power grab by its Parliament.

RESOLVED that the second sentence of Article XVII, Section 4 of Organic Law be stricken, removing the exception for Pengöpäts Antarctic Territory.

RESOLVED that Section 11 of Article XVII of the Organic Law (concerning the administration of the Territory of Pengöpäts) be repealed.

RESOLVED that Article IV, Section 3 of Organic Law (concerning the election of Senators) be amended, so that the word Pengöpäts is inserted after the name of the province of Maritiimi-Maxhestic.

ADDITIONALLY, the Ziu recommends to His Majesty the King that:
 

Should the amendments above be ratified by the people and promulgated by the Crown, the Royal Governor of Pengöpäts be made Cunstaval of the new Province of Pengöpäts.
The said Cunstaval be instructed to promptly comply with existing provisions of Organic Law to appoint a Senator for this new Province, so that the province shall have a Senator seated during the following Clark.
The said Cunstaval be advised and instructed to declare the song "Antarctica" to be the official anthem of the new Province of Pengöpäts, mostly because it's a cool (if not outright cold) song by a band composed of men who stubbornly refused to wear hats to school even in the freezing winters of the Great White North, because doing so would ruin their 1970's disco do's.

FURTHERMORE the Ziu hereby modifies the provisions of The People to Provinces (No More Microprovinces) Act (34RZ9) as follows:
 

The words "the nation of Canada", "Alaska", and "Iceland" shall be stricken from clauses 6, 10, and 12 of this act respectively, concerning the assignment of immigrants to the Province of Atatürk, Florencia, and Cézembre, and that in clause 12, the word "Russia" be replaced by "Russia except for Siberia".
The following clause is added to this act: Talossan citizens living in the following areas shall be assigned to Pengöpäts: Canada, Alaska, Iceland, Siberia, and Antarctica.
The restriction against assignments of citizens to the Territory of Pengöpäts made in clause 13 of this act shall be stricken or deemed not to pertain to the Province of Pengöpäts.
The province of Pengöpäts is introduced into clause 13b (concerning the assignment of citizens to provinces other than closed provinces) after the province of Florencia.

WHEREAS many citizens of Talossa are uncomfortable with the ballots submitted for elections to the Cosa becoming public knowledge, and

WHEREAS some citizens have expressed concerns that such a system tends to favour one side or another as the ballots come in, or that citizens feel pressure to vote in a particular way, and

WHEREAS technology has advanced to the point where a reliable secret ballot system for such a dispersed community of citizens is possible, and

WHEREAS with proper Organic requirements, such a system can indeed be employed to conduct Talossan elections without eliminating the important advantages that the currently Organically-mandated system provides to the nation, now

THEREFORE be it resolved by the Ziu of the Kingdom of Talossa that the following amendment to Organic Law be recommended to the citizenry for ratification:

Section 6 of Article VII of Organic Law ("Elections to the Cosa"), which currently reads, "Voting is not secret. As soon as one's votes are cast, they become public knowledge." is replaced in full by the following text:

Votes for the Cosa may be submitted either publicly or privately. Votes submitted privately shall be submitted to and available only to an Electoral Commission, consisting of the Secretary of State and the three Justices of the Uppermost Court. Should any Justice be unavailable to serve on the Commission, the King shall name a Magistrate judge of a subordinate court to replace that Justice, but should no Magistrate such judge likewise be available, the Commission shall serve as otherwise constituted. It shall be a criminal act, punishable as determined by law, for the contents of any such vote to be revealed by any member of the Commission to any other person. The members of the said Electoral Commission shall independently confirm the final tally and together shall certify the election.

WHEREAS the General Election balloting period of one full month was instituted back before the Internet allowed prompt collection of votes from a worldwide electorate, and

WHEREAS now we have the Internet, and

WHEREAS many citizens become sick of the election about halfway through, and

WHEREAS the fact that the first Clark begins barely two weeks from the conclusion of the election makes the organisation of a government, including the appointment of Ministers, and preparation of bills for the first Clark, often quite difficult to get completed, now

THEREFORE be it resolved by the Ziu of the Kingdom of Talossa that the following amendment to Organic Law be recommended to the citizenry for ratification:

Section 3 of Article VII of Organic Law ("Elections to the Cosa"), which currently reads, "All elections to the Cosâ are to be conducted during a period of one calendar month, from the fifteenth day of the current month until 7:30 p.m. on the fourteenth day of the following month. The first day of this period (the fifteenth) is called the "Balloting Day" and the last day (the fourteenth) is called the "Election Deadline." is replaced in full by the following text:

All elections to the Cosa are to be conducted during a period beginning from the fifteenth day of the calendar month following the dissolution of the prior Cosa until 7:30 p.m. on the first day of the subsequent month. The first day of this period (the fifteenth) is called the "Balloting Day" and the final day is called the "Election Deadline."

WHEREAS many citizens of Talossa are uncomfortable with the ballots submitted for elections to the Senate becoming public knowledge, and

WHEREAS some citizens have expressed concerns that such a system tends to favour one side or another as the ballots come in, or that citizens feel pressure to vote in a particular way, and

WHEREAS technology has advanced to the point where a reliable secret ballot system for such a dispersed community of citizens is possible, and

WHEREAS with proper Organic requirements, such a system can indeed be employed to conduct Talossan elections without eliminating the important advantages that the currently Organically-mandated system provides to the nation, and

WHEREAS leaders of the provincial governments have advocated the use of alternate electoral schemes for the election of Senators, and

WHEREAS the use of these alternate schemes, if certified as fair by the royal authority of the province, can be of no harm, and permitting the Senatorial elections to be conducted by provincial authority will offload the overburdened Chancery, now

THEREFORE be it resolved by the Ziu of the Kingdom of Talossa that the following amendment to Organic Law be recommended to the citizenry for ratification:

Section 1. Section 2 of Article IV of Organic Law ("Elections to the Senate"), which currently reads, "Elections for the filling of places in the Senäts shall be conducted by the Secretary of State in accordance with election law. These elections shall be conducted simultaneously with general elections to the Cosâ." is replaced in full by the following text:

Elections for the filling of places in the Senäts shall be conducted simultaneously with general elections to the Cosa.

Section 2. Section 5 of Article IV of Organic Law ("Elections to the Senate"), which currently reads, "A political partiy may endorse a candidate for any vacant Senate seat. In the event that a voter specifies that party as his choice for that Senate seat, his vote shall be counted for the candidate so endorsed." is replaced in full by the following text:

A political party may endorse a candidate for any vacant Senate seat. In the event that a voter specifies that party as his choice for that Senate seat and the election is conducted by the Chancery, his vote shall be counted for the candidate so endorsed.

Section 3. Section 6 of Article IV of Organic Law ("Elections to the Senate"), which currently reads, "The candidate receiving a plurality of the vote shall be declared the winner. In case of a tie between two or more candidates, the executive officer of the province shall select one of those candidates to be the Senator." is replaced in full by the following text:

Any Senatorial election conducted by the Chancery shall be conducted according to the provisions given in Section 6 of Article VII concerning election to the Cosa, and the candidate receiving a plurality of the vote shall be declared the winner. In case of a tie between two or more candidates, the executive officer of the province shall select one of those candidates to be the Senator.

Section 4. Section 7 of Article IV of Organic Law ("Elections to the Senate"), which currently reads, "Voting is not secret. As soon as one's votes are cast, they become public knowledge." is replaced in full by the following text:

Unless a province explicitly requests that Chancery conduct the election to the Senate seat for that province, the province shall be responsible for doing so, and shall certify to the Chancery that the result represents the will of the people.

WHEREAS Talossa just isn't doing well without someone trying to codify religion into its Organic Law;

WHEREAS it is time that we embrace religions that puts divinity where it belongs, in the hands of the people;

WHEREAS there has been talk of elevating some Mexican dude as spirtual protector of Talossa;

THEREFORE be it resolved by the Ziu of the Kingdom of Talossa that the following amendment to the Organic Law be recommended to the citizenry for ratification:

Section 1 of Article III of Organic Law ("King") be amended to add the following first sentence: The eternal and everlasting King of Talossa is Our Holy and Dark Lord, Lucifer, until Walpurgisnacht 2015.

WHEREAS the CeR campaigned on promoting, first and foremost, the kingship of Christ in all Kingdom activities

WHEREAS we'd be a pretty pathetic party if we didn't have a go at this

WHEREAS the acknowledgement of the Kingship of Christ strengthens the civil rights of all Talossans, Christians and otherwise

WHEREAS if I didn't propose such a thing, Miestrâ would be severely disappointed and demand our raspberry berets back

THEREFORE be it resolved by the Ziu of the Kingdom of Talossa that the following amendment to Organic Law be recommended to the citizenry for ratification:

Section 1 of Article III of Organic Law ("King") be amended to add the following first sentence: While acknowledging and in no way supplanting the rights of our earthly King of Talossa, the eternal and everlasting King of Talossa is Our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ.

WHEREAS in Talossa we have few Oaths for the highest offices in the Kingdom;

WHEREAS It would be apt, fitting and generally cool if most of the Highest offices in this Nation required a Oath to remind the Office Holder of their Duty;

WHEREAS In most International Nations a Oath of Office is required for the Judiciary;

WHEREAS All judges should be independent in the exercise of their judicial functions;

WHEREAS a Oath of Office for the Judiciary would remind the Judges of their obligations and responsibilities of their office and how they should conduct themselves whilst performing their functions in said office;

THEREFORE The Ziu does hereby Enact and transmit to the citizens of Talossa for ratification, the following amendments to the Organic Law:

Article XVI, Section 4 of the Organic Law is hereby amended to read:

Section 4. In the event of a vacancy, either in the Cort pü Înalt or in an inferior court, any member of the Ziu may nominate a replacement. The nominee shall be approved by a two-thirds vote in the Cosâ and a majority vote in the Senäts in favour of his appointment. Upon such approval and upon making the declaration subscribed in subsection (b), the King shall appoint the nominee as a Judge of the Cort pü Înalt or in an inferior court and he shall then take his seat for life upon the court. The King may, stating his reasons for doing so, refuse to appoint the nominee, in which case the Ziu shall re-consider the nominee or nominate a new nominee. If after re-consideration of the nominee, two-thirds of the Cosâ and a majority of the Senäts have approved the nomination, then the King may not refuse to appoint the nominee as a Judge of the Cort pü Înalt or in an inferior court.

(b) Every person appointed a judge shall publically make to the Citizens of Talossa and subscribe to the following declaration:
 

"I, [NAME], do solemnly, sincerely and truly affirm and declare that I will duly, faithfully and to the best of my knowledge and ability execute the office of [Senior Justice of El Cort Pü Inalt] (or as the case may be) without fear or favour, affection or ill will towards any man, woman or child and that I will uphold the Organic Law and the laws of the Kingdom of Talossa. This I do solemnly affirm."
 

(c) The declaration in subsection (b) shall be made and subscribed by every judge before entering upon his duties as such judge, and in any case not later than ten days after the date of his appointment. Any judge who declines or neglects to make such declaration as aforesaid, within this timeframe, shall be deemed to have resigned his office. 

WHEREAS amendments to the OrgLaw at the moment need the approval of 2/3 of the Senäts, and

WHEREAS this mean that when all senators vote six out of eight need to vote in favour, and

WHEREAS this means in practice amendments need 75% instead of 67% of the vote, and

WHEREAS this means three senators can prevent any change to the orglaw from happening, and

WHEREAS three senators can represent a very small minority of the Talossan population, and

WHEREAS Talossa is protected from changes that have are not supported by a large majority by means of a referendum and a vote in the cosa, and

WHEREAS to amend the extremly important almost timeless Convenants of rights and freedom a 2/3 majority is needed in a referendum anyway, and

WHEREAS this means Talossa is very well protected from quick changes to fundamental parts of the orglaw, that are not broadly supported, even without the Senate, and

WHEREAS a very small minority of active citizens should not be allowed to keep Talossa in the past forever, and

WHEREAS 3/5 in practice is still 62.5%, now

THEREFORE Article XV, Section 1 of the orglaw shall be amended to read: "An amendment to the Organic Law may be made by proclamation by the King where so authorized by:
 

• A vote of two-thirds in the Cosa, and
• A vote of the majority in the Senäts, and
• Approval of the majority of voters participating in a referendum on the question of the amendment no later than during the next scheduled general election following the approval of the Ziu.

Proposed changes to this Organic Law that affect the representation of a province in the Senäts, or of the territory or equal sovereignty of a province, shall only be passed with the approval of a majority of participating voters in that province.

FURTHERMORE Article V, Section 11 of the OrgLaw will be repealed.
 

WHEREAS according to the OrgLaw, Article VIII, Section 5, "Each MC will represent, for ceremonial purposes, a particular geographical "constituency." The exact procedure will be determined by law. ", and

WHEREAS we don't do that, now

THEREFORE Article VIII, Section 5 of the Organic Law is hereby repealed.

WHEREAS there are many things about good or evil of which reasonable people, and rational governments, can and do disagree, and

WHEREAS in a great many of these disputes, there is no need for the Kingdom of Talossa to take sides, and

WHEREAS there is the potential of great harm to the Kingdom if it does, or is seen to, take sides unnecessarily in such disputes,

THEREFORE the Ziu of the Kingdom of Talossa hereby recommends that the following amendment to Organic Law be ratified by the citizenry in referendum:

That Article XIX of the Organic Law (Covenant of Rights and Freedoms) be replaced in full with the following text:

Preamble. The Covenant of Rights and Freedoms guarantees the rights and freedoms set out in them to all Talossan citizens, subject only to such reasonable limits prescribed by law as can be demonstrably justified in a free and democratic society. These Covenants shall be interpreted in a manner consistent with Talossan custom and tradition, and with the aim in mind of preserving and enhancing the ethnic heritage of the Talossan nation and the peace, order, and good government for the Kingdom of Talossa.

First Covenant. No law shall exist abridging the freedom of thought, belief, opinion and expression, including freedom of the press and other media of communication except in case of public order or morals. Censorship shall never exist in Talossa; every person may freely speak, write and publish his sentiments on all subjects, being responsible for the libelous abuse of that right.

Second Covenant. No discrimination, affirmative action schemes, or preferential treatment shall exist within the Kingdom of Talossa on the grounds of race, colour, class, nobility, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, age, religion, beliefs, language, or any other physical or societal parameters of any kind whatsoever, except as provided for elsewhere in this Organic Law. No religious or ideological organisation shall be "established" by law. Separate consideration on the basis of sex may only exist in cases of propriety.

Third Covenant. Talossans have the right to peaceful assembly whether in private facilities or in the open air, provided that such assembly neither disrupts traffic or legal commercial activity, or unduly inconveniences people. Talossans have the right to freely organize political parties and other organizations, subject to their own laws of membership, and this right may not be abridged except with regards to organizations which advocate the use of violence or intimidation to attain political or other ends, or which seek to restrain any person or group of people from the exercise of their rights as granted under these Covenants.

Fourth Covenant. Under the principle that "A Man's Room is His Kingdom," the right of the people to privacy and security in their persons, homes, papers, correspondence, and property, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated. The privilege of the writ of habeas corpus shall not be suspended. No person may be arrested or detained without a warrant issued by a judge, except in cases of flagrante delicto. No warrants shall be issued except on probable cause, and must particularly describe the place to be searched and the person or things to be seized. The right to privacy for public figures must be balanced by the public's right to know, in matters affecting politics, elections, campaigns, and governing. The intentional withholding of political information which reasonable voters might find helpful, profitable, or informative, violates the public's right to know.

Fifth Covenant. Any person charged with an offence shall be presumed innocent until proven guilty, and has the right to request information on his legal rights. No accused person shall be twice put in jeopardy of life, liberty, or property for the same offence, or without due process of law; nor shall any citizen be compelled in any criminal case to bear witness against himself. Excessive fines, and cruel and bizarre punishments, shall not be inflicted.

Sixth Covenant. Liberty consists of any action which is not detrimental to others, and no right herein enumerated, or elsewhere recognised by the Cosâ, shall extend to anyone engaged in activities which injure, endanger, risk or compromise the physical health, privacy, or tranquility of other persons through the pretended exercise of said right.

Seventh Covenant. No person shall be found guilty on account of any act or omission, unless, at the time of the act or omission, it constituted an offence under Talossan or international law, or was criminal according to the general principles of law recognized by the community of civilized nations, as interpreted by Talossan courts in line with Talossan traditions and needs.

Eighth Covenant. Talossa shall never tax nor purport to tax, unduly burden, outlaw or abridge for its citizens any right to acts of: peaceful assembly; religious worship or affiliation; political speech or expression or affiliation; religious or historical or scientific or philosophical belief; abortion (being the freely conscious ability for a woman to make a determination on the continuation of her pregnancy); consensual sexual activity (between two consenting people of an age of responsibility); contraception; marriage (between consenting adults regardless of their sex, unless they are consanguineous up to the fourth degree of relationship), civil unions (and equivalents); divorce; adoption; advance health care directives; attempted suicide; euthanasia; the reading of any book; and the writing or use of any language. Neither shall any person be made to answer in any Talossan court for the alleged, admitted, or actual violation of any foreign law restricting or denying any right to or forbidding any act enumerated above.

Ninth Covenant. In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury or tribunal of the Crown. The accused shall have the right to be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation, to confront the witnesses against him, and to have subpoena power to obtain witnesses in his favour. The accused has the right to have the assistance of counsel for his defence.

Tenth Covenant. Anyone whose rights and freedoms, as guaranteed by these Covenants, have been infringed or denied may appeal to a court of competent jurisdiction to obtain such redress of grievances as the court considers appropriate and just in the circumstances, but the award granted to the plaintiff for punitive damages shall not exceed that granted for compensatory damages.

Eleventh Covenant. Where, in the course of a trial, a court concludes that evidence was obtained in a manner that infringed or denied any rights or freedoms guaranteed by these Covenants, the evidence shall be excluded if it is established that, having regard to all the circumstances, the admission of it in the proceedings would bring the administration of justice into disrepute.

Twelfth Covenant. Talossan citizenship can only be lost by a citizen's voluntary renunciation of citizenship, or as punishment for a crime determined by the Uppermost Cort, or as a result of relevant electoral or census law.

Thirteenth Covenant. The enumeration of rights and freedoms in these Covenants shall not be construed to deny or disparage other rights retained by the people. Powers not delegated by law to the Crown, to the Government, to the courts, to the Provinces or Territories, or to legal state organs established thereunder, are held by the Talossan people.

BE IT ESTABLISHED BY THE COSA AND SENÄTS OF TALOSSA IN ZIU ASSEMBLED that the Organic Law of the Kingdom of Talossa, Section VIII.3, be amended as follows:

Section 3. Seats won by each party shall be divided by that party among its own members and supporters as it sees fit, with the proviso that each Member of the Cosa may hold no more than thirteen seats.

WHEREAS the CeR is deeply concerned with the basic welfare of Talossan citizens, especially those most likely to be unduly marginalized and left most unprotected, since such welfare is not granted by men but is an intrinsic right which comes from God

WHEREAS Talossa has a glaring deficiency in such protections for the weakest of the weak in its Dandelion citizenry, the unborn

WHEREAS this is a true line-in-the-sand, insomuch as the atrocities are not just be permitted but sanctioned and protected as "rights", to the shame of Talossa and her citizens

THEREFORE be it resolved by the Ziu of the Kingdom of Talossa that the following amendment to Organic Law be recommended to the citizenry for ratification:

The Eleventh (11th) Covenant of Article XIX: Covenants of Rights and Freedoms is hereby stricken in its entirety.