Difference between revisions of "United States of Mars Constitution"

Revision as of 13:40, 26 October 2005

The constitution of the United States of Mars is based on the constitution of the United States of America on Earth.

Article I – The Legislative Branch

SECTION 1 – THE LEGISLATIVE

All legislative Powers granted shall be vested in a Parliament of the United States of Mars, which shall consist of a Chamber of Representatives and Chamber of the People.

SECTION 2 – THE CHAMBER OF REPRESENTATIVES

The Chamber of Representatives shall be composed of Members chosen at a maximum of every five years by the People of each constituency, and the Electors in each constituency shall have the qualifications need to elect in a general election.

Citizens must be at least eighteen years of age, be a citizen of the United States of Mars and must not have been convicted of any Degree A Crimes.

When vacancies happen in the Representation from any constituency, the President shall call an election in that constituency to fill such Vacancies.

SECTION 3 - ELECTIONS

Elections for Members of the House of Representatives shall be held at a maximum of every five years and shall be called by the President. Elections shall take place thirty days after an election has been called and Parliament shall be dissolved ten days after an election has been called. Once Parliament has been called, no legislation can be brought forward until all Members of Parliament have been sworn in.

Elections shall take place over one day from the hours of 7am until 9pm. Voters have the right to privacy while they vote and can vote for any political party, which has applied.

Voters must be at least eighteen years of age and must be citizens of the United States of Mars.

SECTION 4 – THE CHAMBER OF THE PEOPLE

The Chamber of the People shall be composed of Citizens of the United States of Mars who shall be chosen at random with one citizen from every constituency. Citizens chosen for the House of the People shall spend two weeks serving the chamber.

To be eligible for selection into the Chamber of the People, citizens must be at least eighteen years of age, a citizen of the United States of Mars and must not have been convicted of any Degree A Crimes.

The Leader of the Chamber shall be chosen by the President.

SECTION 5 – LEGISLATIVE PROCESS, PRESIDENTIAL APPEAL

Every Bill which is created by Members of Parliament in the Chamber of Representatives shall be brought forward in order of which it was registered and shall be presented to the Chamber of Representatives by the Member of Parliament who created it. After the first reading and a discussion in the Chamber, the Bill will go to vote and if a majority of the Chamber of Representatives vote in favour of the Bill it shall go forward to the Chamber of the People. If a Bill does not receive the support of a majority of the Chamber of Representatives it shall be amended by a committee while another Bill is brought forward. After re-writing, the Bill will have a second reading with amendments followed by discussion. Another vote will take place and if the Bill is accepted with by a majority of the Chamber of the People it shall go to the Chamber of the People and if it is rejected; the Bill shall be scrapped

A Bill sent to the Chamber of the People shall be read, discussed and will be voted on by members of the Chamber of the People. If the majority of the Chamber of the People is in favour of the Bill it shall be passed and sent to the Office of President. If the Chamber of the People rejects the Bill, the Bill shall be sent back to the Chamber of Representatives and shall be amended. It will then be read in the Chamber of the People, discussed and voted on. If the majority of the Chamber of the People is in favour of the Bill it shall be passed and sent to the Office of President and if the Chamber of the People rejects the Bill it shall be scrapped.

A Bill sent to the Office of President shall be signed by the President and made law. The President can, however appeal the Bill to the House of Representatives. The House of Representatives can then accept the President’s appeal and scrap or amend the Bill or, it can reject the President’s appeal and the President shall be obliged to sign the Bill. If the appeal is rejected, the President can put the Bill to a Cabinet vote and the Bill shall be scrapped if two thirds of the Cabinet vote against the Bill.

Once signed by the President, a Bill becomes Law. If the President refuses to sign a Bill, after being rejected by Appeal and the Cabinet, they give ground to impeachment.

SECTION 6 – MEMBERSHIP, RULES, JOURNALS, ADJOURNMENT

Each Chamber shall be the Judge of the Elections, Returns and Qualifications of its own Members and each House may determine the Rules of its Proceedings, punish its Members for disorderly behaviour, and, with the Concurrence of two-thirds, expel a Member.

Each Chamber shall keep a Journal of its Proceedings and, which will be free for any person to view. Each Chamber shall all record Proceedings and transmit them as they wish. Recordings shall be free for any person to view.

Neither Chamber, while Parliament is running, shall, without the Consent of the other, adjourn for more than three days, nor to any other Place than that in which the two Chambers shall be sitting.

Parliament shall sit everyday apart from a one-month break each year, which shall be chosen at the beginning of each year of Parliament by the leader of each Chamber, and all national holidays. Parliament can be re-opened during any break at the order of the President.

Article II – The Executive Branch

SECTION 1 – THE PRESIDENT

The executive Power shall be vested in a President of the United States of Mars. He shall hold his Office during the Term of a maximum of five Years, and, together with the Vice-President chosen for the same Term, be elected, as follows:

No person except a Citizen of the United States of Mars shall be eligible to the Office of President; neither shall any Person be eligible to that Office who shall not have attained to the age of eighteen years, and have been convicted of a Degree A crime.

The President shall be the leader of their political party. Members of Parliament or Prospective Parliamentary Candidates for each constituency shall elect the leader of a political party through a majority vote. Leaders of Political Parties shall not be Members of the Chamber of however they may enter the House of Representatives if their political party receives a minimum five hundred votes in a General Election.

Before he enters on the Execution of his Office, the President shall sign the Constitution of the United States of Mars.

SECTION 3 – THE CABINET

The President shall elect a Vice President and a Cabinet of Ministers for each department. It shall be at the discretion of the President the number of Cabinet Members and the roles of Cabinet Members. The Cabinet shall meet once every seven days and each meeting should be documented however, it is the decision of the President whether the documentation shall be released. The Cabinet has the power to remove the President from Office if the Vice President and a majority of the Cabinet feel it is necessary to and vote to remove the President. The Vice President shall then be granted Presidency and an election must be called with 14 days.

SECTION 4 – PARDON POWER, APPOINTMENTS

The President shall be Commander in Chief of the Military Forces and National Space Exploration Forces of the United States of Mars. He may require the Opinion, in writing, of the principal Officer in each of the executive Departments, upon any subject relating to the Duties of their respective Offices, and he shall have Power to Grant Reprieves and Pardons for Offences against the United States, except in Cases of Impeachment.

He shall have Power, by and with the Advice and Consent of the Chamber of Representatives, to make Treaties, provided two thirds of the Chamber of Representatives present concur. He shall also nominate, with the Advice and Consent of the Chamber of Representatives, and shall appoint Ambassadors, other public Ministers and Consuls, Judges of the supreme Court, and all other Officers of the United States of Mars, whose Appointments are not herein otherwise provided for.

SECTION 5 - DISQUALIFICATION

The President, Vice President and all civil Officers of the United States, shall be removed from Office on Impeachment for, and Conviction of, Treason, Bribery, or other Degree A Crimes and Misdemeanours.

Article III – The Bill of Rights

1st GARAUNTEE All citizens shall have the right to choose to worship any faith, and to change their religious beliefs at any time without punishment on the part of the state.

2nd GARAUNTEE All citizens shall have the right to express themselves through speech, humour, communication and through the media without any interference.

3rd GARAUNTEE All citizens shall have the right to peacefully assemble.

4th GARAUNTEE All citizens have the right to be treated equally under the law.

5th GARAUNTEE No citizens shall be subjected to torture, to cruel or inhuman treatment or punishment by the police, military forces, the government or any state body. The President can overrule this decision on individual cases.

6th GARAUNTEE No citizens will be subjected to arrest or exile without an explicit list of their offences.

7th GARAUNTEE The police, military forces or government body shall only hold citizens in custody for forty-eight hours without charge or appeal to a court of law. During this time, citizens shall have the right to legal representation.

8th GARAUNTEE Any arrested person shall be assumed innocent until proven guilty.

9th GARAUNTEE All citizens shall have a speedy trial in front of an impartial jury with the opportunity to plead innocence or guilt, construct a defence and have legal representation.

10th GARAUNTEE A citizen’s family members cannot be held accountable for the crimes of their relative.

Controversy

The 5th Garauntee of the Bill of Rights has caused much controversy since it was written. Many disagree with the President's right to overrule the Garauntee on indervidual, cases sighting it as a gross infringment on Human Rights. Others say that it is necessary for the President to have the right with the growing threat of Terrorism.

So far, five Bills has been brought to the Chamber of Representatives to ammend the 5th Garauntee and three have passed both the CoR and the Chamber of the People to be appealed by the President and scrapped during a Cabinet vote.