A Proposed Constitution, with direct democracy, and amendment to legalize

[originalpckelly]

The superseding amendment:
This Constitution shall be superseded by the Constitution of The Republic upon its ratification.


The Direct Republic
To ensure tranquility and popular sovereignty this Constitution of The Republic has been created.


The Rights of The People
The people retain any rights not explicitly invested in The Republic.


The Rights of The Republic
I. Law
1. The Republic has the right to enforce any law passed that are within The Republic's Rights.

2. The Republic may pass and enforce laws that protect the rights of The People, but must ensure the rights of both parties to a legal incident are protected equally. The Republic may only do this if:
(a) The accused is provided a defender;
(b) The accused is charged within not more than a week and the charge, if capital or otherwise serious, is levied by a Grand Jury;
(c) The accused is given a trial by a jury of their peers and convicted beyond a reasonable doubt;
(d) The accused and the accused's defender are given full access to any evidence condemning or redeeming the accused;
(e) The accused is treated humanely.

3. (a) The Republic may search the property or the body of any Republic Person, but must obtain a warrant from a Judicial Officer to do so. Police Officers may search the property or the body of any Republic Person without a warrant, but only if the searching officer believes it will protect life.
(b) If any person acting in the name of The Republic searches a Republic Person's property or body, and it is without a warrant or threat of death, any evidence gained must be omitted in the court. No warrant may be issued based upon evidence gathered unwarranted.

II. Taxes
The Republic may pass taxes to pay for its costs, but only if those taxes are from non-religious organizations and reasonable.

III. War
The Republic retains the right to declare and prosecute war upon any nation, which declares and/or prosecutes war against it.

IV. Regulate The Economy
The Republic retains the right to produce currency. It shall also be able to regulate business, but only to protect Republic Persons.


The Popular
I. Citizens of The Republic
All Republic Persons over the age of 18, or any younger age upon the singing of an Affidavit of Maturity by the Republic Person's Parents or Guardians, are Citizens of The Republic. Citizens of The Republic may exercise their sovereignty if they are not serving time in prison. Any Citizen who participates in a war against The Republic looses their Citizenship.

II. The Forum
The Natural Truth of The Republic demands that all Citizens of The Republic be able to participate, at their own choosing, in any matter in The Republic's function; to ensure The People's will be carried out by The Republic; The People shall have a forum.

1. The Forum shall meet at the convenience of members. It may be a physical or an electronic gathering. It may consist of no more than 1,000 members. The various gatherings shall proceed on a monthly basis. All gatherings of The Forum must read and learn about a measure in a mandatory instructional session, before any measure may be considered with a vote or debate. Each gathering shall maintain a record of each debate. All debates shall be summarized in an electronic system, so that each point shall be heard and the volume of information each member of The Forum must read in the instructional session shall be kept to a minimum. Any members may at their choosing review any part of the verbatim record of debate.

2. Every Citizen of The Republic may represent themselves in The Forum. All members present at The Forum must pledge allegiance to The Republic and to uphold and defend this Constitution under penalty of loss of property or time, before taking part in The Forum.

3. A citizen may delegate another person to represent them. A Delegate may not represent more than 50,000 people. A Delegate serves at the represented citizen's pleasure, and if a citizen so chooses they may represent themselves at any time.

4. To preserve order and efficiency The Forum shall elect 1 President. The President must be elected by a 9/10 majority. The President shall serve at the pleasure of The Forum's members and may be recalled by a 2/5 Vote of Displeasure. The President shall speak for the Forum at any official function.

5. (a) The Forum shall have the ability by 4/5 vote to veto any legislation or governmental act by any other part of the government. The Forum shall be able to impose a pause upon any act of government by a 3/10 vote, but this pause may not exceed 1 month. There shall be no pause of matters vital to the Republic's survival. Vital matters shall include either insurrection or invasion by a foreign power, with imminent or actual casualties.
(b) The Forum shall have the ability by 2/5 vote to recall any member of the government except Judicial Officers.
(c) The Forum shall have the ability to subpoena any member of the government for questioning, but only by a 1/5 vote.
(d) The Forum shall have the ability to draft and propose legislation to be sent to The Houses and Council by a 3/10 vote.
(e) The Forum shall have the ability to unilaterally pass legislation by a 7/10 vote.
(f) The Forum shall have the ability to propose Amendments to this Constitution, but only by a 3/5 vote.
(g) The Forum shall in conjunction with the Houses and Council declare war with another nation or other foreign power by a 7/10 vote.

III. The Plebiscite
All of The People shall be presented with Constitutional Amendments to disapprove of, if they so choose. If 1/5 object to the Amendment, it shall not be ratified.


The Legislative
To ensure stability, The People shall invest power in a branch of elected Citizens who shall take care that no measure proposed by The Forum may invest in The Republic any power beyond its rights. No Legislative Branch member may be prevented from attending a session of their body.

I. The House of Representatives
1. The House shall consist of 500 members. Each shall represent a contiguous district of The Republic's population divided by 500.

2. Representatives shall serve a 2 year term. One half of The House shall be elected every year. Representatives must be age 25 or older to serve.

3. The House shall meet at a single gathering in The Capital. All members must learn about all measures in an instructional session before voting. The record of debate upon any measure in any part of the government shall be available to the Representatives. All activities of the government shall be available for consideration by the Representatives. All Representative shall attend the instructional and voting sessions, unless a method shall be devised to allow the Representatives to fully appreciate these sessions. Lack of attendance or attention shall only be excused by sickness or familial issue, and if one of these shall not be the reason for the lack of attendance or attention, the member shall be expelled from The House and a special election shall be held for a new Representative to finish the term of the expelled Representative.

4. The House shall elect 2 Presidents, 2 Vice Presidents, and shall employ as many clerks as needed, to ensure order and efficiency. One President shall be elected by each class of Representatives, by a 4/5 majority, represent The House Officially, and open and close each session. One Vice President shall be elected by each class with a 4/5 majority, shall manage the clerks, and shall fill in for either President in their official capacity at any event of the President's choosing. Clerks shall manage the finances, shall record and summarize debate, shall educate the members during the instructional session, shall manage the counting of votes each member, and shall provide the Representatives with methods to remotely appreciate and vote during sessions of The House. Any President, Vice President, or clerk may be recalled by The House with a 2/5 vote of displeasure.

5. The House may pass any measure by a 3/5 majority, excepting Constitutional Amendments, which must be passed by a 4/5 majority. The Senate and Executive Council must also approve of any measure before it comes into effect.

6. Representatives shall be barred from accepting donations of more than $1,000 from any single person or group, and this shall be enforced by expulsion.

7. Any member may be impeached if accused of abuse of power or any other criminal offense, by a 2/5 vote of disapproval. A Trial shall be held with a jury of other Representatives equally composed of every political party. The Chief Judicial Officer of The Republic shall preside during the trial, and upon conviction the member shall be expelled and then shall be subject to any criminal or civil prosecution.


II. The Senate
1. The Senate shall consist of 50 members. They shall represent contiguous districts made of The Republic's population divided by 50.

2. Senators shall serve a 4 year term. One half of The Senate shall be elected every 2 years. Senators must be age 30 or older to serve.

3. The Senate shall meet at a single gathering in The Capitol. Senators must learn about all measures in an instructional session, before debating and voting upon them. They shall be presented with a summary of the debate record of both The Forum and The House. All activities by the government shall be available for consideration by The Senate. All Senators shall attend the instructional and voting sessions, unless a method shall be devised to allow the Senators to fully appreciate these sessions. Lack of attendance or attention shall only be excused by sickness or familial issue, and if one of these shall not be the reason for the lack of attendance or attention, the member shall be expelled from The Senate and a special election shall be held for a new Senator to finish the term of the expelled Senator.

4. The Senate shall elect one President who shall choose one Vice President, and employ as many clerks needed, to ensure order and efficiency. The entire Senate shall elect the President by a 4/5 majority, the President shall open and close each session, and represent The Senate Officially. The Vice President shall manage the clerks of The Senate and serve in the President's place at the President's choosing. Clerks shall manage the finances, shall educate the members during the instructional session, shall manage the counting of votes by each member, and shall provide the Senators with methods to appreciate and vote during the sessions of The Senate by remote. The President, Vice President, or any clerk may be recalled by The Senate with a 2/5 vote of displeasure.

5. The Senate may pass any measure by a 3/5 majority, excepting Constitutional Amendments, which must be passed by a 9/10 majority. The Executive Council must also approve of any measure before it comes into effect.

6. Senators shall be barred from accepting donations of more than $10,000 from any single person or group, and this shall be enforced by expulsion.

7. Any member may be impeached if accused of abuse of power or any other criminal offense, by a 2/5 vote of disapproval. A Trial shall be held with a jury of other Senators equally composed of every political party. The Chief Judicial Officer of The Republic shall manage the trial, and upon conviction the member shall be expelled and then shall be subject to any criminal or civil prosecution.


The Executive:
In order to carry out the will of The People executive power shall be invested in a Legatus Civis, a council of Presidents and their clerks, and the Services.

I. The Legatus Civis
1. The Legatus Civis shall be a single Citizen elected by all The People.

2. The LC must be 45 years or older to serve. The first term served shall be 6 years long, the second shall be 4 years, then the LC shall be able to serve two more 2 year terms, and then six 1 year terms. If the LC is found unfit to serve by the Senate, he shall be removed from office. Upon the death or removal of the LC an election shall take place for a LC Pro Tempore to fulfill the old LC's term. This LC Pro Tempore will loose as many final terms as he serves in Pro Tempore capacity.

3. The Legatus Civis shall meet with leaders of other countries. The LC shall have unchallenged veto power in any foreign affairs matter. The LC shall have the power to approve any measure, only if that measure shall be a part of a foreign treaty or promise.

4. The LC may not give official opinions on internal matters; this is punishable by immediate expulsion from office.

5. LC shall be Commander in Chief of the External Armed Forces of The Republic.

6. Shall have as many advisers as needed, but they must be confirmed by the Senate with a 27/50 majority vote.

7. The LC may be impeached by a 251/500 majority in The House for any criminal or civil matter, tried by the Senate with the Chief Judicial Officer of The Republic presiding, and if convicted by a 27/50 majority of The Senate, should then be expelled and subject to any criminal or civil prosecution.

II. The Presidential Council
1. This council shall be consist of four Citizens elected by all of The People.

2. Presidents must be 35 years or older to serve. They shall be able to serve 2 four year terms. One President shall be elected every year.

3. The Presidential Council shall meet every three months.

4. Shall have the power to veto any measure by the Popular and Legislative branches, unless overridden a 4/5 majority in either. The Council must produce an affidavit explaining why measure was vetoed, and any remedy possible to remove veto.

The Chief Presidential Officer
The Council by consensus shall choose one Chief President.
(a) This Chief shall Preside over the quarterly meeting of the council.
(b) Shall be Commander in Chief of National Guard.
(c) Represents the Executive Council at any official function.
(d) May choose to employ as many clerks as needed, but they must be confirmed by a 27/50 majority vote of the Senate.
(e) Follows the same procedure as the LC when impeached.

The Chief Financial Officer
The Council by consensus shall choose one Chief Financial Officer.
(a) This Chief shall manage the budget of the country.
(b) Shall be the Director of Economics Service.
(c) Shall enjoy same clerk privileges as CPO.
(d) Follows the same procedure as the LC when impeached.

The Chief of the Police Service
The Council by consensus shall choose one Chief of the Police Service.
(a) COTPS Shall ensure criminal laws are faithfully executed.
(b) Shall be Chief of the National Police Force.
(c) Shall have the same clerk privileges as CPO.
(d) Follows the same procedure as the LC when impeached.

The Chief of General Services
The Council by consensus shall choose one Chief of General Services. General Services shall be considered any of the unclaimed services provided by The Republic within its rights.
(a) Shall choose Directors of General Service's Departments. These Directors shall be approved by a 3/5 vote of The House and Senate.
(b) Shall have the same clerk privileges as CPO.
(c) Follows the same procedure as the LC when impeached.

III. The Services
There shall be five services: 1) the External Armed Forces of The Republic, 2) the National Guard, 3) The Police Service, 4) Economics Service, and 5) General Services.

Armed Services
1. The armed services shall have generals as their directors. The generals shall rise through the ranks to the top of the service. They shall serve for 2 years while in good behavior.

2. Members of the armed services shall be prosecuted under the Universal Code of Justice. The Legislative Branch shall produce these regulations. The UCJ must comply with all treaties The Republic is a party to.

3. The External Armed Forces of The Republic shall never use force against any Citizen of The Republic. They may also never operate, except for training and staging purposes, inside The Republic. The Legislative Branch shall regulate these forces. The Legislative shall also manage the budget of these forces.

4. The National Guard shall repel any invaders of The Republic, shall put down any rebellion, and shall assist in Citizens in natural disasters. They may never operate outside The Republic unless to prevent a imminent threat to the lives of Citizens in the boundaries of The Republic. The Legislative Branch shall regulate these forces. The Legislative shall also manage the budget of these forces.

5. The National Police Force shall have the power to restore order and arrest any Republic Persons, whether a small group or an individual, suspected of criminal actions. They shall ensure that the laws are enforced. They may never operate outside The Republic, except in extraditions of persons whom are suspected of committing crimes in The Republic or in the policing of transportation entering The Republic.

Economic Service
Shall oversee the economic conditions of The Republic within its rights. Shall be regulated by the Legislative, and prosecuted under standard Republic Law.

General Services
The General Services shall be defined as any service, which is not armed, not already assigned to another Chief and within the rights of The Republic. All members of these services shall be prosecuted without impeachment and under standard Republic Law.
(a) Shall have appointed Directors.
(b) Below Director level should follow standard management techniques.


The Attorneys
In order to separate the prosecution of crimes from the enforcement of laws, and to ensure order within the Republic, there shall be an Office of The Chief Prosecutor. There shall also be an Office of The Chief Public Defender to protect the Citizens of The Republic from false prosecution. Finally to ensure that both attorneys are not overwhelmed with duties they shall have a council of attorneys to oversee regular violations of the law. The Legislative shall manage the budget of this branch.

I. The Council of Prosecutors
1. The Legislative Branch shall choose the number of prosecutors needed to fill this council. New members shall join by application approved by the current council.

2. These prosecutors shall be charged with prosecuting crimes to their fullest extent.

3. This council shall elect one Chief Prosecutor from their ranks.

II. The Council of Defenders
1. The Legislative Branch shall choose the number of defenders needed to fill this council, but the number of defender must be equal or exceed the number of prosecutors. New members shall join by application approved by the current council.

2. These defenders shall be charged with protecting citizens from false prosecutions.

3. This council shall elect one Chief Defender from their ranks.

III. The Office of Chief Prosecutor
1. There shall be one Chief Prosecutor; this prosecutor shall conduct trials of impeachment and trials of foreign officials.

2. This prosecutor shall employ as many clerks as needed.

IV. The Office of Chief Defender
1. There shall be one Chief Defender; this attorney shall defend in trials of impeachment and trials of foreign officials.

2. This defender shall employ as many clerks as needed.


The Judicial Officers
To preserve order and efficiency in the court there shall be a branch of Judicial Officers to preside over trials. They shall interpret and instruct jurors as to the meaning of the law. The Legislative Branch shall regulate this branch. The Legislative shall also manage this branch's budget.

I. The Council of Judicial Officers
There shall be a council of Judicial Officers, whose numbers are to be chosen by the Legislative. Members must be 40 years or older to serve. Members are to be chosen by the council upon application.
(a) They shall choose from their ranks a Supreme Court of The Republic and the Chief Judicial Officer of The Republic.
(b) Jurisdictions may be set by the Legislative Branch.
(c) Members of this council serve for life unless impeached.
(d) A Judicial Officer is impeached by the 1/2 majority vote of the council, a Special Presiding Officer is appointed by this council, upon hearing evidence from Special Judicial Prosecutors appointed by this council to investigate the accused and hearing the Judicial Officers self-defense, is convicted and removed by a 3/5 majority vote. Only then shall they be subject to criminal or civil prosecution.

II. The Supreme Court of The Republic
The court shall have its numbers set by the Legislative Branch.
(a) It shall have original jurisdiction in cases where foreign officials are involved.
(b) Its members shall be the jury for such cases.
(c) Its members may be chosen by The Chief Judicial Officer of The Republic to temporarily perform the any of the CJO's duties.
(d) The Chief Judicial Officer of The Republic shall preside over any trials by this court.
(e) This court may choose to hear appeals from lower jurisdiction courts in order to examine and give opinions upon any matter of Supreme importance.

III. The Chief Judicial Officer of The Republic
This Officer serves for life while in good health and behavior.
(a) Shall preside over non-Judicial Officer impeachment trials.
(b) Shall administer the Oath of The Republic to Legislative and Executive Branch elected officials.
(c) Shall preside over The Supreme Court of The Republic.
(d) Shall be Commander in Chief of the Court Marshall Service.

IV. The Court Marshal Service
There must be at least three Court Marshals to protect every member of the Council of Judicial Officers. They shall be regulated by the Legislative Branch.


The Process of Amendment
Amendments may be proposed by any branch of government. All amendments must be ratified by The Forum, The House, and The Senate. No amendments shall ever be ratified by the plebiscite, just disapproved.


Ratification
This constitution is ratified when 7/10 of the population approve this constitution by plebiscite, and the superseding amendment is passed by the Legislative body.

[Dogmudgeon]

1. Uh ... why? Why do we need this?

--p!

[cali]

2. Not just no, but hell no

What a lousy document.

[bowens43]

3. We have an excellent Constitution now

[rman]

4. some thoughts

I think we should have a forum of elected representatives, preferably not much larger then 300 members. No individual should have powers superceeding that of the forum. No political parties, no senate. The forum is the governing body of the republic.

The main reason for this system is to prevent concentration of power, since concentration of power is the main threat to any democratic society. The more power is concentrated the more tempting it becomes to abuse that power and the harder it becomes to do something about if that power is abused. The less hyrarchical the system of governance is, the more direct the democracy is.

[originalpckelly]

5. The are some very fundamental flaws in The US Constitution.

1. The People do not have a direct part in the government, except at election time. This has caused corruption amongst the the Legislative and the Executive because The People do not pay attention to the government.

2. Few people of voting age actually vote. This has caused an under-representation of their will. This is partially due to the fact a major election is not held every year. In the proposed system, there is a President elected every year. There is a Congressional election of The House every year. There is a Senate election every two years. Only the leader whom represents the nation abroad, the Legatus Civis, is of long term.

3. The President is unlike the President in many other systems of government around the world, and is invested with far too much power. This is going to do this nation in one day. The President not only commands the Armed Forces in foreign lands, but the executive power inside the country. The President may issue orders to every director of every federal service in America. This have invited too too many abuses. We are now suffering from one particular President who is just a little too disinterested in The Constitution.

In this system there is a fundamental distinction between executive power and the use of force abroad and the use of force at home. The Chief President of the Presidential Council is in charge of all non-civilian armed force at home. The Chief of The Police Service is a totally different responsibility held by a separate presiding officer. This will prevent abuses of power, and abuses of armed for at home because there will be a sort of check and balance of force.

The Legatus Civis has been given large amounts of executive power in foreign affairs. This is like the current system but is fundamentally better. Legatus Civis means both of the following in Latin: civilian general, and chief representative. This duty is currently held by the President, but it does not function very well at all. The President, if (s)he signs treaties, must as regular procedure, have them approved by Congress. This has weakened his ability to represent the nation.

Yet the President also claims king like authority at home. This is because of the Commander in Chief duties as well the clauses about foreign representation are vague. The Office of Legatus Civis will never, never be able to deal with domestic matters. In fact any mention of domestic matter by the Legatus Civis in any official way, will be grounds for immediate expulsion from office. The Legatus Civis may only sign treaties and other agreements unchallenged if those agreements do not have substantial domestic implications. Even if the LC should sign an agreement and it does not have significant domestic implications, the forum, the two houses, or The Council shall be able to override it with sufficient displeasure.

The reason the LC may serve for long and irregular terms is the same reason we now have a President, to provide the world a single face for the nation. The LC will never serve longer than a Senator does now, and each successive term is shorter. It is structured is such a way that over twenty years it is possible to have a single foreign representative, but only if they are well liked. They must also be much older than a President, ten years older. In addition, if the people should have an extreme dislike of the LC during one of the longer terms, they may recall the LC in the Forum.

The President also has the armed law enforcement and prosecutorial duties. This is absolutely awful. Prosecutions may never take place because the President appoints the attorney general. In this new system, the prosecutors and defenders are in a separate branch of the government than the police force and the executives. They may share information, but they are totally separate from each other. The Attorneys Branch is non-political as well. This will prevent the rise of partisans and reduce false prosecutions. Think of it as a permanent independent counsel.

The President currently appoints many judicial officers. This has introduced a political element to the current judicial system. In this system, the judges are regulated by Congress, but only the Judicial Officers approve others if they feel the candidates are qualified to be Judicial Officers. Some might feel this leads to tyranny in the court, but excepting the Supreme Court, no judge ever has any sway in judicial decisions. The judges simple ensure the court proceeds in an orderly fashion and they protect all parties to the cases. (One may look to State supreme courts, where there is a tradition of elected judges, this has bread incredible corruption and partisanship. It appears that even the appointment process has done such a thing. Just look at the two recent appointments to the SCOTUS, and their difficult appointment process and controversial ideology. This indicates it is better to move judges away from elected officials even further not bring them closer.)

This new system divides executive power so that no king shall ever come to power. Each executive has less power, in general, but this is good as less power in the hands of a few is always preferable.

4. At the State level in the current federalism, there are many states that have referendum processes. This allows a tyranny of the majority and prevents people from having their due rights. The Forum is the first system of direct democracy that allows for the protection of minority rights. It has complex rules, but these allow for many things and allow for the vast number of people who may wish to represent themselves directly.

The Forum is local national government. Each and every citizen is entitled to represent themselves at a local session of The Forum. Each local session shall record its votes and debate, and summarize them for the national record. The votes of those present and represented by delegates shall be tallied, and if all the votes from all the local sessions should equal 7/10 in approval of a measure, then it shall become law. If only 3/10 of The Forum approves it, the measure shall go on to The Houses and the Council for further consideration. To prevent the instability that sometimes comes from direct democracy, The Forum shall only propose constitutional amendments.

This will shift policy making away from the elected representatives to the people. It is possible to have a delegate represent more than one or two people, but delegates serve at the pleasure of the represented. They are also compensated by the represented directly. This is pay for performance. It is okay for the forum to be dominated by self interest, because no self interest is given more sway than any other. All selfishness is equal before the forum.

This is perhaps the first directly democratic legislative body. It has lots of super majority requirements, but that is necessary when dealing with direct democracy. The wonderful thing about this entire body is that it occurs locally, but has great national consequences. It brings federalism to the people. The federal government is not hundreds or thousands of miles away, but just down the street.



These are just the major flaws of the current system and ways they are fixed in this new system. I just came up with this to demonstrate the ideas of direct democracy can be a truly functioning government, and in some ways are much better than the current one. This proposed constitution should never be placed into actual law verbatim, but should be considered and any of its bright ideas should be allowed into the US Constitution.

(I just started outlining the idea I had about The Forum, but I just didn't stop with that because The Forum would have such wide ranging implications for the other branches of government.)

I don't mean that this should become law, I just want people to considering it and reflect on it, and tell me what they think.