Acts of Parliament (LKE)
Contents
Acts of the LKE Parliament
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In the Land of Kings and Emperors, an Act of Parliament is a bill which generally has been passed by both Houses of Parliament and then assented to by the Monarch. Until legislative documents posted in the Houses of Parliament have been signed by the monarch they are bills, once passed into law they become acts.
Act Structure
The Legislation Notation Act, drafted by Anumian Captain in early 2007, radically changed the way laws were written in the LKE. No longer could they have any format, from a sloppy, one or two line Act, to a decently written, numbered Act; all Acts had guidelines to follow to ensure ease of reading and citing of the law.
The Legislation Notation Act requires that Acts be broken up into a preamble which states the intent of the Act, sections relating to specific parts of the Act, clauses for each part of each section, and subclauses for the specific details necessary to a clause. All sections, clauses and subclauses must be numbered for citation purposes.
Since the passage of the Legislation Notation Act, one of the few Acts ever in the history of Parliament and the first Act since Parliament grew larger than two people to ever be passed unanimously by both Houses of Parliament, Acts passed by Parliament have been of substantially higher quality and as such arguments in court cases have become more specific as to the law involved.
Procedure
In the LKE Parliament, each bill passes through the following stages:
I Pre-legislative scrutiny: It is increasingly common for a small number of bills to be published in draft outside Parliament before they are presented in Parliament. This is usually done in the Estates General. These bills are then usually posted on behalf of the individual who wrote it in a House of Parliament. This is not strictly speaking part of the legislative process, but it provides an opportunity for Parliament to express a view on the bill and propose amendments before it is introduced.
II First reading: This is a formality; no vote occurs. On this occasion the bill is discussed and possible amendments proposed.
III Second reading: This procedure has generally fallen out of use, though the Speaker of the House may choose to have one if the debate is proving challenging and the bill controversial.
IV Third Reading: These are extremely rare, though can sometimes happen at the Speaker's discretion.
V First Voting Stage: The House in which the bill originated will vote on it. If it passes it shall move to the second House.
VI First Reading (2nd House): This allows members of the second House to discuss the bill. The Bill is also formally presented to the House on the occasion.
VII Second Reading (2nd House): This procedure has generally fallen out of use, though the Speaker of the House may choose to have one if the debate is proving challenging and the bill controversial.
VIII Third Reading (2nd House): These are extremely rare, though can sometimes happen at the Speaker's discretion.
IX Second Voting Stage: The second House will vote on the bill. If it passes it shall moved on to the Throne Room for Royal Assent.
X Royal Assent: The Speaker of the Second House shall post the bill in the Throne Room of Hedingham Palace, and wait for the Monarch's Royal Assent or Veto. If it is Assented then it becomes law. If it is vetoed then the bill has either failed, or the two Houses of Commons can choose to overule His Supreme Majesty.
Irregular Procedure
If the House of Commons should reject a bill by the House of Lords then that Bill has failed.
If the House of Lords should reject a bill by the House of Commons, then the House of Commons may choose to overrule the House of Lords. If 66% of Members of Parliament vote to overrule, then the bill shall go directly to the Emperor for Royal Assent.
If the Emperor should veto a regular bill, then it shall take two thirds majorities in both Houses to overrule him.
If the Emperor should veto a constitutional amendment then it shall take four fifths majorities in both houses ot overrule him.
Voting Rules
When either House is voting on a bill, or any other business, members must cast their vote within 24 hours, if a person casts their vote after this time it shall be discounted. Members must cast either 'Yay' if in approval, or 'Nay' is against. If these words are not used their vote is similarly discounted.
Frequently the Speakers will allow the vote to last more than 24 hours, but the Yay/Nay rule is very strict.
Act Formula
All bills start off with a few lines beneath the name and author, explaining what the bill shall be about and hopes to achieve, for example:
An act to ensure no false claims are made with intent to harm a individual’s reputation that do harm a individual’s reputation
Following this all acts must have an enacting formula. These are as follows;
Standard
BE IT ENACTED by the Emperor's most Supreme Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Lords and Commons, in this present Parliament assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows,
For Bills bypassing the House of Lords
BE IT ENACTED by the Emperor's most Supreme Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Commons, in this present Parliament assembled, in accordance with the Third Constitution and Parliament Act of The Land of Kings and Emperors and by the authority of the same, as follows,
For Bills bypassing the Crown
BE IT ENACTED by the People's will, by and with the advice and consent of the Lords and Commons, in this present Parliament assembled, in accordance with the Third Constitution and of The Land of Kings and Emperors and by the authority of the same, as follows,
It should be noted that the last two enacting formulae have never been used. No Parliament has dared override the Monarch's veto, and the enacting formula was not implemented since the last overruling of the House of Lords.
Royal Assent and Beyond
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When a bill receives Royal Assent it immediately becomes a Statute of the Realm. All new bills receive both the Emperor's signature and the Great Seal of the Realm. Though the vast majority of Acts only have the signature, as the Great Seal was only created on the 12th October 2007.
Acts can still be struck down, however, as being unconstitutional, by the Imperial Courts of Justice.
