Falasturian Government

In order to maintain control over such a large political body, Government in Falastur is very much decentralised, and focuses on a series of tiers of Government down to the local level. Until recently, Government comprised of two divisions - the Monarchist half of the Government headed by Emperor Matthew VI of Falastur, and the Democratic side, directed by Anthony DeMoins. These two leaders had equal rights to power, and a strong friendship, despite the age gap between them. However, following a long campaign of political reform, and numerous referendums, the Empire's Government has since been reformed to the more workable system of what is known as "Modern Monarchism" - a twist from Medieval Monarchism, incorporating modern-day values. The democratic side of the Government has been integrated into this system, fulfilling the role of the "Houses of Commons", where the people of Falastur are given their say in Government.

Monarchist (or Hereditary) Government

The Monarchist half of the Government is much smaller than the democratic half, despite its half-share in the Government. It compromises six distinct sections - The Emperor himself, the Privy Council, the Peers of the Realm, the Falasturian Knighthood, the Gentry, and local Justices of the Peace.

The Emperor

The only truly hereditary position in Falasturian politics, the position of Emperor is the prestigious position of Head of State over the whole Empire, and it is traditionally held by the most senior member of the Falasturian Royal Family. However, this tradition is not true at present, as the current Emperor, Matthew VI (currently aged 19) took the throne on the abdication of his father, Emperor William II, three years ago. The Emperor wields great power, however he is not an absolute Monarch, most importantly due to a restraining law dating back to the political reforms of Emperor Stephen I immediately following the Civil War between the years 1969-73, any decisions on law and legislation may only come into effect once the document presenting the law is ratified and signed by both the Emperor and the Imperial Regent. The Emperor is widely seen as the public front of the Government also, taking a much more active role in publicity and worldwide diplomatic journeys than the Imperial Regent. The Emperor also chairs meetings of the Inner Circle, a body dedicated to providing the Emperor sturdy, reliable advise on matters of state, acting as the Senate of the Monarchist Government. The position of Emperor formerly was subject to cognatic primogeniture, however in recent years the law has been modified to give females equal status to males.

The Privy Council

The Privy Council (formerly the Inner Circle of Trusted Lords) is a conglomeration of the greatest minds and the greatest Nobles in Falastur. With a full membership of a little over 100 men and women, it is smaller than its democratic equivalent - the Imperial Senate - and meets less regularly, however it is just as vital in the decision-making process of Falasturian law. When a proposed legislation is brought to Falasturian Government, it is sent to the Office of the Lord Chancellor of the Court, who then brings the issue up along with others at the bi-weekly meeting of the Inner Circle. The issues are discussed, decided on, and presented to the Emperor, who decides on a subsequent course of action. Unlike the democratic side of Government, however, the Emperor may choose to ignore the advise given to him, however in recent years this has happened little. The Council is traditionally composed of around 25 heads of the leading Noble families of Falastur and around 80 scholarly citizens - leading figures in Falasturian society appointed to the Council if they prove themselves worthy of the very important place, and if their background and career shows they would be a valuable, contributing member. The Inner Circle is also appointed by the Emperor of Falastur. In the present climate of work restricting the time members - particularly the scholars - have for attending the meetings of the Council, video conferencing is becoming an increasingly preferable choice, and the Emperor himself has made use of this himself many a time in the last year. Another popular option is the appointing of a Deputy or Secretary who is lengthily briefed before meetings on the the actions and reasonings of their employer, and then sits in for them at meetings.

Peers of the Realm

The Peers of the Realm are the Nobility of Falastur and its Empire, comprising the second tier of Government to hold autonomy over their actions - the Inner Circle has no actual power in itself over any land or people. The Peers of the Realm hold titles taken from the English, being:

• Duke
• Marquis
• Earl
• Viscount
• Baron

Each of the Peers has allotted land over which they rule, ruling much as the Emperor does, although with a little less power, and ultimately subservient to him. The lower tiers of the Peerage preside over sections of the land ruled by those of higher status - traditionally, there are between two and ten Marquisates in every Duchy, and so on down the hierarchy, although in places, Duchies etc can be seen more fragmented. In addition, to preserve the balance of power, and the necessity of the higher positions, each lower tier has less rights and priviledges in Government than the tier above, allowing higher Peers to act freely without lesser Nobles obstructing them, thus ensuring civil order.

In addition, each Peer has his or her own Privy Council, consisting of citizens from within their area of jurisdiction who advise them on most any matter of state, and each Duchy (as well as many of the larger Marquisates and Earldoms) has its own Senate, which may petition any Peer in its area of influence over civil issues, as well as being called by any of those Peers for advise.

Falasturian Knighthood

The Falasturian Knighthood are viewed by many as a confused class, covering three different categories of Falasturian citizen. Members of the Knighthood consist of commoners who have been Knighted for acts of recognition, in much the same way Britons may be knighted by the Queen; they may be hereditary Knights, the descendants by the superior line of their family from men and women knighted early in Falasturian history, when such an honour was accompanied by an estate and a position of social standing but no authority; or finally they may be "ruling Knights" - also hereditary Knights who run Baronecies (a sub-division of Baronies) or "Knight's territories" (a sub-division of Baronecies). However, Baronecies exist in only roughly half of all Baronies, existing merely for administrative convenience in the larger Baronies to lighten the load of the Barons. Knight's territories are extremely rare, existing in a mere handful of cases within the entire Unified Provinces win which Baronecies incorporate a number of large towns or more than one city, and thus are deemed too much for Baronets to handle. Knight's territories are ruled over by Knights of the Realm, while Baronecies are the domain of Baronets. Both have their own Privy Councils, however in dealing with the commons, both refer to Town and City Councils more than the regional Senates, as their influence rarely extends over little more than a couple of towns and a collection of villages.

Gentry classes

In following English tradition - around which much of Falastur is based - it is determined that every settlement larger than 100 permanent citizens must have a hereditary gentry figure to preside over matters. The gentry, being hereditary, are of the Monarchist portion of the Government, however they have little real power, and are in many cases used as tools of the commons to lobby higher office - nevertheless an instrumental part of ensuring that the Government caters for its citizens. The gentry are, by their mandate, expected to look after their citizens, and to ease any unrest within their communities, and so they are responsible largely for listening to the concerns of the people, deciding on whether or not anything must be done, and then ensuring that problems in their care are solved for the better. To help them with this, each has their own "Privy Council", although the Councils are often comprised of only around five members, and are usually appointed less from the most intelligent and wise citizens, and more from those most respected by their community. The gentry are beloved in Falastur for their role, which, although often viewed with disdain by foreigners and republicans as a pointless position needlessly elevating ordinary people above their peers, is an extremely vital role in ensuring the satisfaction and support of the commons by solving most of their problems, and is largely responsible for the high levels of support for the new Government, and for making the loyalty of Falasturians to their Government among the highest in the world.

Justices of the Peace

Justices of the Peace are local citizens of high esteem or of particular note, who are appointed by the Inner Circle, with the Emperor's seal, to oversee justice within an area - from Baronies at the highest level to individual settlements at the lowest. In addition, larger cities and towns are often divided up into "Justicial Provinces", with one Justice presiding over each Province. The Justices of the Peace (often referred to as "JPs") have a small court which can hear local appeals against disputes between citizens. While courts in other countries of the world are often overburdened with work, the laws of Falastur (often thought of as overly strict in many other parts of the world), and the unwritten moral codes among its people reduce many potential legal disputes by a considerable amount. Although the position of Justice of the Peace is traditionally a part-time job, with a staff being appointed to the Justice to oversee most paperwork and legal appeals, more and more Justices now take up the post full-time, due to the difficulty with balancing other careers and legal process. Indeed, legislation has recently been made permitting the more over-worked Justices to appointed Vice-Justices, each with their own court, to divide up the work, making it easier to handle. Despite conceptions that such a Governmental institution would become entangled in the democratic side of local Government, and each would undermine the other's authority and position, the two complement each other surprisingly well, and such underminings are rare.

While often viewed as more part of the Commoners' side to the Government, Justices are nevertheless a part of the Monarchist Government, being appointed by Peers rather than the commons.

Democratic (or Commoners') Government

The Commoners' side of Falasturian Government is much more expansive than its Monarchist counterpart, consisting of much fewer bodies than the Monarchist Government, but with many more members in each body, and with the potential for any citizen to easily rise through the ranks. It should be noted that no political parties exist within the Senate, nor within the Houses, as no longer do the Commoners have political power, rather they are vital in speaking on behalf of the people.

The Imperial Senate

The Imperial Senate is the highest tier of Falasturian Government for the Commons. It consists of 750 members, (upsized from the previous 300 at the time of the Governmental reforms), and meets almost daily. While the Senate has no political per se, it does however have remarkable lobbying power - perhaps more than any other civil institution in the world. Its entire purpose is to bring together people from all backgrounds across Falastur to a place in which they can present the views of the common people of Falastur to the Emperor. The Senate acculumates all the greatest petitions and addresses from the Commons in Falastur, debating their policy on them - in some cases even resolving the issues themselves - before then being presented before the Emperor and his Privy Council to make their issues known. The Senate is then consulted on their proposed course of action before the Council makes its own, private, meeting to discuss action. The Council then releases legislation based on the Senate's advise, or ignore it and changes nothing, although this happens in a minority of cases, as it is commonly held in Falastur that Government is upheld and cemented by the support of its people, and listening to their grievances is critical to this. Most importantly, the Senate must pass by a 1/2 majority any law made by the Privy Council. If laws are rejected by the Senate, they commonly are merely amended to suit the Senate's ideals, before being resubmitted, but few laws have been rejected as yet. The Senate also has the ability to petition for the removal of a Duke from office, (lower Peers may be removed by lower institutions), although this right has yet to be invoked, and seems unlikely to as yet. Members of the Senate are nominated from Houses of Commons, and selected by the Privy Council. Anthony DeMoins, formerly Imperial Regent and leader of the previous Imperial Senate, was appointed by national vote to the position of "Head of the Commons".

The Houses of Commons

In following the "tradition" of having one body of commoners for every Privy Council, a House of Commons represents the Commons in most every part of Falastur, petitioning Peers and, in some cases, Gentry in the same way that the Imperial Senate petitions the Emperor and his Privy Council. Indeed, they act in the same way as the Senate, but with each tier down, are responsible for a smaller area, and thus, lower level grievances. Houses of Commons rarely exist in administrative bodies smaller than Baronies, instead being replaced by the City, Town and Village Councils. In addition to their regular duties, Houses of Commons may be summoned by higher Houses or by the Senate if deemed necessary, and are regularly summoned by Peers to advise them on matters of state. Members of the Houses are nominated by Councils, and selected by their Peer.

Councils

Every settlement of greater than 50 citizens has a Council which listens to its people's problems and presents them to the gentry. For settlements smaller, representatives of their community are given positions on the Councils of larger local settlements. The Council has little other power beyond this, but its task is demanding. Its members - usually between four and 100 strong - are responsible for collecting the grievances of its people in written form, before compiling them to eliminate raising similar issues repeatedly, finally submitting them to the local gentry figure. They are also responsible for helping the gentry figure to solve their problems, and for ensuring that laws and such are enforced in their local area. Council members are appointed by local nomination, and selected by the local gentry figure.