Revision as of 13:53, 5 November 2006

The Most Serene Republic of Vassfforcia is a Federal Aristocratic Republic ruled by the Grand Duke (executive, Spanish: Gran Duque, Hyarmendorean: Maërga Dïúcq), the Grand Senate (legislative, Spanish: Gran Senado, Hyarmendorean: Maërga Séànad) and the Supreme Magistrature (judicial, Spanish: Magistratura Suprema).

The current Grand Duke is HMSH Don Claudius V Dácil Montajìque and the Chancellor is HE Doña Ericqa Buchanni.

The Federal Aristocratic Republic

Vassfforcia is a Federal Aristocratic Republic (which actually is quite an original term) because it is a confederation of three countries (the Senatus Populusque Bas Forsiænus, the Queendom of Hilvenídica and the Autonomous Republic of Dohendor –formerly the Kingdom of Dohendor) and their respective peoples (the Basforsians, the Hälven and the Dohen). Moreover, since the establishment of the Most Serene Republic, the former fiefdoms became states with independent governments with power division between a provincial executive, a provincial legislative and the local authorities of the federal judicial power. Today, Vassfforcia is composed by 16 states and every one of them has the same representation rights before the Grand Senate.

It is considered aristocratic because, still in the 21st century only the Familias de Ablengo (Patrician Familes) may ascend to the Vassfforcian throne. These families are the Vassfforcian Patrician Houses, the Montajìque, the Buchani, the Giocco, the Mádasi, the Montajìque do Sul, the Hälvenbosch, the House of Vercingetorix and some other families and individuals considered by the Grand Senate to have done a great service to the country. These seven families also have especial representation rights before the Grand Senate. To be elected Grand Duke, the candidates must be senators or nobles.

Finally, Vassfforcia is a Most Serene Republic because of its classical form of democratic government based upon the city-states of the Renaissance.

The Grand Duke

The Grand Duke is, upon assuming the throne, both head of state and head of government as he represents the Most Serene before other countries and the peoples of Vassfforcia and has the right to form a cabinet.

The Titles

Upon ascending to the throne the Grand Duke receives a number of titles, from which some bear real power and others are only ceremonial:

• Gran Duque de Vassfforcia: Grand Duke of Vassfforcia, the main title, head of state and usually head of government too.
• Jefe Supremo de las Fuerzas Armadas: Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces, this title bears real power as long as the Grand Duke is head of government (and controls the War Ministry).
• Embajador Supremo de Vassfforcia: Supreme Ambassador of Vassfforcia, this title makes him the ultimate ambassador as long as he is head of state. The title also gives him the unilateral right to name ambassadors as long as he is the head of government (and controls the Foreign Affaires Minjavascript:insertTags('\'\'\,'\'\'\,'Bold text');istry).
• Magistrado Supremo de la Nación: Supreme Magistrate of the Nation, this is a ceremonial title as long as the Grand Duke is head of government. If he becomes only head of state then he also assumes the power of judge of the national politics (thus he is responsible for asking the Chancellor to form a government) and last resort court.
• Protector de los Pueblos de Vassfforcia: Protector of the Peoples of Vassfforcia, this gives him the power to intervene in provincial politics if he “deems it necessary because of the incompetence of the local authorities.” For this to happen, the Grand Duke needs the approval of the Grand Senate, however an Extraordinary Power may be granted to him by the Chancellor. This power has to be ratified by the Grand Senate within a week.
• Duque de Vassfforcia: Duke of Vassfforcia, this makes him the head of state of Vassfforcia la Serenísima, however, in practice this is only a ceremonial title, because the city is ruled by the Viscount of Vassfforcia, the actual head of government elected by general voting in the city-state.

The Head of Government

As the head of state, he is responsible for the making, through the cabinet, of the national and international politics and the public administration. He has the right to ask any member of his cabinet their immediate renounce; as he is the ultimate responsible for the public administration and ministries are only the way in which the Grand Duke delegates responsibilities. He also has the power to stop any proposal approved by the Grand Senate, in which case it goes to the provincial parliaments for its ratification and if it is by 2/3 of them by simple majority, then it is passed and only the Supreme Magistrature may stop it, but then again, the Grand Senate may call in for a referendum to pass the proposal. The only proposals the Grand Duke cannot stop are a removal proposal against him or any of his ministers.

The Head of State

As head of state, the Grand Duke is responsible for asking the Chancellor to form a new government after each parliamentary election (if he does not form the government himself). If he is not the head of government, he is the judge of politics and last resort appeal court –even over the Supreme Magistrature decisions. The Grand Duke may dismiss the Grand Senate and call in fo new elections if one-half plus one of the provincial parliaments or the Supreme Magistrature approve it.

Removal/Resignation

The Grand Senate can pass, with a quorum of 2/3, a proposal to give the Chancellor the right to remove and/or replace a specific member of the cabinet. This, taken to the extreme may end up in making the Chancellor the de facto head of government and the Grand Duke only the head of state. The Grand Duke may also ask the Grand Senate to name some or all of the ministers; however, in this case he retains the right to replace them. Replacing ministers until the Chancellor becomes the de facto head of government has the advantage that a popular Grand Duke, who is taking bad decisions on public administration, does not have to be removed by the Grand Senate but only deprived from his political power. This is also the main reason why not many Grand Dukes have been removed, which is a long process that always causes political instability.

The only ones who can propose the removal, are the Chancellor, the Supreme Magistrature or one-half plus one of the provincial parliaments. Then, it is voted in the Grand Senate, and, if it is approved with a minimum quorum of 3/4 it passes and must be then ratified by 2/3 of the provincial parliaments by simple majority. If it is, only the Supreme Magistrature may stop it, and then the Grand Senate must call in for a referendum (if the Supreme Magistrature does not attempt to stop the proposal, the Grand Duke is removed).

If the Grand Duke wants, he may retire and act only as head of state by requesting the Chancellor to form a government; this decision is usually taken by the Grand Duke unilaterally instead or before his resignment, most commonly because of old age or health reasons; hence not many Grand Dukes retire. If the Grand Duke has resigned to be head of government, he may request the Grand Senate to give him the political power back. This proposal, as any other, shall be voted and if its passed by simple majority the Chancellor then asks the Grand Duke to form a new government.

Styles

Upon ascendance to the Vassfforcian throne, the Grand Duke is officially named thereafter as Grand Duke/Duchess Don/Doña Name Surname. For emaple, the current Grand Duke is HMSH Grand Duke Don Claudius V Dácil Montajìque, born as Claudius Montajìque (Dácil is the title given to the Head of the Montajìque) and his predecessor was HMSH Grand Duke Don Jean III d’Oqquer.

The official form is His/Her Most Serene Highness (HMSH) Don/Doña and it is present on his official signature and when he is made reference in official documents.

However, when speaking directly to the Grand Duke, His/Her Highness or only Don/Doña are more common.

In the Vassfforcian press, he is usually referred as GD (Grand Duke) and the surname; for example, GD Montajìque.

The Grand Senate

The Grand Senate is conformed by 435 members, elected on the base of 10 senators plus one for each half million inhabitants over one million of every state, the Patrician Houses send a representative each and there are Honorary Senators (with the same rights as all the other senators in spite of the name), proposed by the Grand Duke and elected for life by the Grand Senate. From the Elected Senators, the provincial legislatives elect one third of the state's senators and the rest are elected by the population based on equal representation within the state. The Grand Senate passes laws, approves the annual budget and must approve any declaration of war and any deployment of Vassfforcian armed forces overseas.

Composition

The Grand Senate is conformed by 435 senators, from which 283 are elected directly by the voters, 141 are elected by the states' legislative powers, 4 have Honorary Senators and 7 represent the Seven Patrician Houses.

After the National Election of last August, the Grand Senate became controlled by Montajìque's Coalition (PCD-PaSoDe).

Chancellor: Ericqa Buchani (PaSoDe)

• PCD-PaSoDe: 252
• PeCon: 108
• Valti: 39
• Indepenent Senators: 36 (Honorary Senators and the Representatives of the Patrocian Houses are counted among them)

The Senators

The 283 senators elected directly by the people have a term of five-years (last election August 2005) with an unlimited number of terms. On average they serve for three terms. A senator may be removed from his post only by the Grand Senate with simple majority and the approval of the Chancellor. As they represent their electors will; the removal process can only be started after a petition by the senator's electors is presented to the Chancellor.

The 141 senators elected by the states' legislative powers have a three-year term and are elected by their state's legislative power, depending on the state's laws, based on simple majority or representatively within the local legislative. As they represent their states' legislatives interests, they can be removed at any time and without any explanation by their state's legislative power according to local laws.

The 7 Representatives of the Seven Patrician Houses are elected by each family based on tradition (by election or designation by the family head). As they represent the interests of one of the noble houses, they can be removed by the family they represent at any time and without any explanations.

The Honorary Senators (today four) are elected on the basis of their merits and services to the country. This means, that to become a senator in this way is in fact an honorary distinction and therefore the senator does not depend on the interests of any power group to remain in his post. The maximum number of these senators is eleven and they may be removed by the Grand Duke with the approval by simple majority of the Grand Senate and the Chancellor.

The Chancellor

The leader of the Grand Senate is called the Chancellor; and is usually the leader of the party of the majority or of the ruling coalition. In case the Grand Duke is removed from his post or dies, the Chancellor becomes immediately both head of state and of government and his immediate responsibility is to call in for new parliamentary elections within a year after the event. The Chancellor may also become head of government on the request of the Grand Duke or through the intervention of the Grand Senate by passing one proposal after the other until all the ministers are named by him.

Between a Strong Executive and a Parliamentary System

The Vassfforcian system is a very flexible one, which may go from a very strong executive to parliamentary system without changing the constitution. This offers the system the opportunity to adapt to the current situation easily, keeping the Grand Duke as head of state and government as long as it woks and making him only the head of state when required.

Styles

Any Senator, including the Chancellor, who is originally a Senator himself, are called His/Her Excellency Don/Doña and their name. However, this form is only used on government acts and documents as the press usually calls them Senator and their surname or Senator Don/Doña and their name (when they are famous senators, if not, their surname is always added).

The Supreme Magistrature

The Supreme Magistrature (Magistratura Suprema) is the Vassfforcian last resort court and the institution responsible for the whole justice system. It is also the responsible for solving disputes between the executive and the legislative.

If the Grand Duke is only serving as the head of state, he automatically becomes the last resort court and his decisions have preponderance over the Supreme Magistrature.

Composition

The Supreme Magistrature is composed by 11 Magistrates, from which 9 are elected by general voting for 10-year periods among the judges of the electoral region. For the purpose of electing the Magistrates, the Most Serene Republic is divided into 9 electoral regions with the same population (for now about 16.5 million people each). Elections for magistrates are held separately from general elections as no political party is allowed to publicly support any of the candidates. Hence the elections for magistrates are called either the Gray or the White Elections. There is no limit in the number of terms a magistrate may serve.

The other two magistrates are elected, one by the Grand Duke among 5 candidates which the other Magistrates select and the other is elected by the Grand Senate on the same way (but with different candidates).

Dismissal

The Supreme Magistrature may only be dismissed on the case in which the Grand Senate, by petition of the Grand Duke, approved it by three thirds and then elections shall be immediately celebrated.

the President

Every time a new Supreme Magistrature is conformed a President (Presidente de la Suprema Magistratura) is elected for a two-year period by all the magistrates among the 9 elected by the general population. The President may be re-elected by the members of the magistrature indefinitely (within the 10-year period)

Provincial Judicial Systems

Provincial Judicial Systems depend directly on the federal judicial power, as the High Magistratures (Altas Magistraturas) of every state are composed by between 9 to 21 elected judges (depending on local laws) while their President is elected by the Supreme Magistrature among the members of every provincial magistrature. The members of local magistratures are elected by general vote within the state for 5-year period and may be re-elected indefinitely. The same electoral laws which apply to federal elections apply to local ones.