Government of Brutland and Norden

The Government of Brutland and Norden is a federal constitutional monarchy. Thus, it has two tiers of government: federal and provincial. Technically, all powers not with the federal government is delegated to the provincial governments.

Head of State

The head of state is King Kyle II, who serves primarily symbolic and ceremonial roles. A certain degree of reserve powers (Poderi Ressava) is vested in the King, but in modern times this is treated as a hands-off last resort.

Federal Government

Prime Minister and Cabinet

Executive power is exercised by the Prime Minister (Finisterrettùnelà) and his Cabinet (Gabbetto). The Cabinet is composed of the head of the ministries. See the article Current Nord-Brutlandese Government for a list of the cabinet members.

The Prime Minister and the Cabinet is answerable to Parliament. The Parliament is called Parlimento and holds the ultimate legislative authority. It is consists of two houses, the General Court (Corteso Jenera) and the House of Lords (Caso di Paggionnu).

The General Court consists 150 members, constitutionally apportioned as follows: 70 from Brutland, 70 from Norden, and 10 from the Union Islands (Esolu d’Unnone; former Channel Isles). The General Court holds most of the power vested in Parliament. General Court elections are called every four years, but the prime minister can call early elections or when Parliament passes a vote of no confidence (voto di dell’aspriagne). The King may also dismiss the government or prevent its dismissal, though this is considered to be a part of the reserve powers.

The House of Lords, though ceremonially higher than the General Court, can only delay the passage of a bill. They can also introduce bills into the legislature, but it has to be approved by the General Court. It is composed of 24 members, 11 of which should be from Brutland, 11 from Norden, and 2 from the Union Territories. The 11 members from each province are composed of the following: 3 appointed by the King; 2 appointed by the provincial legislatures; 2 appointed by the provincial governors; and 1 appointed by the General Court (Setoci in Casu Doza). The remaining three are chosen differently: in Brutland, they are selected from the nobility of the province, which are hereditary seats (Setu Erediddía); in Norden, they are popularly elected (Setu Elezioddía).

Provincial Governments

The Kingdom is composed of two constituent kingdoms or provinces (provenzo), Brutland and Norden, each with its own provincial government. Union territories are administered directly by the federal government and elect only local officials.

The two provinces are headed by a governor, though they differ widely in terms of function. Brutland has a unicameral parliamentary form of government, with a governor as a ceremonial executive and a premier as the head of the province. Norden has a bicameral form, with an elected governor, a lower house (Chamber of Commons; Cambro di Commonzu), and an upper house (Senate; Senado).

The territories not included in the two provinces are called Union Territories (Terru di l'Unnone). They are administered directly by the federal government.In Norden, which has a bicameral legislature, the governor is elected. In Brutland, which has a parliamentary system, the governor is appointed by the King. The provincial Prime Minister exercises executive authority.

Judiciary

The judiciary is two tiered. There are federal and provincial court systems. Provincial systems start with the courts of first instance (Brutland: Corto Maallo Briola; Norden: Corto di Stanti Unela), which handles most civil and criminal cases. Civil and criminal cases are appealed to the courts of cassation (B&N: Corto di Cassazione). Administrative cases, including those filed by the Ombudsman (Defenzetto Pubblica di la Populuque Strettu, DPPS) are tried in the courts of the province (B: Corto Rinna di la Statto; N: Corto di la Provenza). Constitutional cases and appeals to lower courts’ decisions are relayed to the supreme courts (B: Corto Inza di Marchòbrutellia; N: Corto Supiera di Norden).

The federal system starts with the federal district court system (Corto Distritto di l’Unnone), which handles federal civil and criminal cases, and also serves as the primary court system of the Union Territories (Terru di l’Unnone). Administrative cases are tried in a special court (Populuque Corto Rinna). The highest court is the Supreme Royal Court of Brutland and Norden (Corto Supiera Rinna di Norden e Marchòbrutellia, CSR). It has jurisdiction on all matters and is the highest tribunal in the Kingdom.

Interestingly, the King, with the House of Lords, has a reserve power to hear appeals from the CSR. This has only been used once and is treated as a hands-off resort.

Local Government

Local government is surprisingly the same for both Brutland and Norden, even if the two provinces have had their separate institutions for a long time. The basic political institution is the grattio (literally, “grant”), which has its roots in the land given by the king to nobles. There is a Grant Council (Consellio Grattia) elected by the grattio. In Brutland, some of the grattio still have their nobility, and in such cases, these nobles hold a ceremonial role in the grattio.

A substantive concentration of people can constitute a hamlet (réinzo), a village (villo), a town (tonno), or a city (civito). Any settlement can incorporate itself, but these settlements, with some exceptions, are still under the grattio system. Incorporation only empowers the settlement to elect a local council and a mayor. Cities or large conurbations of them may be excluded from the grattio system with an act of the legislature.