Lavinium Senate
The Lavinium Senate is the principal diplomatic forum and policy-making body of Lavinium. Though its legal authority extends only to '[ensuring] co-operation between the . . . region's members and facilitating diplomacy with the larger international community,' the Senate has interpreted its powers to be fully legislative and, thus far, plenary, as it has not yet been challenged by any of the region's Member Nations.
Contents
History
The idea of a Lavinium Senate was first floated in talks between Telidian Foreign Minister Dirk Mensfield and Budazian government officials in the fall of 2004. The exact details of these talks are not known, but what resulted was a proposal, called an 'Agreement on Senate Organization,' authored by representatives from both countries and circulated amongst all the countries in the region.
Government officials from several countries gathered in Bundazi to discuss the details of the agreement beginning 17 November 2004. The officials remained muted on the document for the better part of a week, voicing their positions only privately and off the record. On 23 November, the Bundazian government sent word that the Bundazian electorate had approved the document in a national referendum, a significant event given Bundazian regional influence then, and one which greatly improved chances of the document's success.
The first recorded objection was voiced by Zlatnik, whose officials argued that mere residence in the region, then the only stipulation for representation in the Senate, was too low a threshold and could result in bad policy. This flaw was remedied by a slew of amendments offered by Haile Khufu, a member of the Alkebulian delegation. The amendments had several major characteristics, namely, preserving national sovreignity, weakening the powers granted to the presiding officer, mandating a miminum threshold for passage in the Senate, and requiring a more strict standard for membership.
Following a series of negotiations betweent the Telidian and Alkebulian governments, the final proposal was presented to the full gathering on 9 December 2004 and approved unanimously.
Powers
Membership and Qualifications
There are two classes of members in the Lavinium Senate -- Representatives, and Senators.
Any nation resident in the region retains the right to send Representatives to the Senate, and there exists no mechanism to bar this class of Senate members from initial entry into the body, nor any mechanism to expel either class once seated. Further, Lavinian law places no lower or upper limits on the number of Representatives a government may designate, no limits on the species, gender, age, or social status of designated Representatives, and only negligible limits on the content of proposals or motions presented before the Senate, -- that they be, in the estimation of the presenter, to the benefit of the whole region -- and the content of remarks made from the floor -- that they not be, in the judgement of the General Secretary, obstructive.
There are, however, three significant limitations placed on the activity of Representatives within the Senate, and they constitute the essence of the division between the two classes. First, a Representative can present a proposal or motion to the Senate only after gaining the support -- a parliamentary 'second' -- of a Senator. There is some dispute surrounding this particular provision owing to the contradictory language of Regional Declaration I. While Article III prescribes the necessity of a Senator's 'second,' Article I seems to bar Representatives from the power to make motions altogether. Complicating matters further still, Article XI neither disallows nor in any way limits the power of Representatives to make motions. However, no point of order invoking Articles I or III has ever lain against a Representative's motion to date, so the full limits of Representatives' power to make motions remains untested and unknown. Second, Representatives are strictly barred from voting on business before the Senate. This provision has the effect of limiting decision-making to individuals who have gained the trust of the Region's Senators, who must formally vote to confer the title of 'Senator' and the attendant power to vote. It also balances nations' power within the Senate since it effectively limits the number of votes to one per delegation instead of one per individual Representative. Finally, the power to preside over the Senate, -- the principal responsibility of the General Secretary and the right of each government resident in the Region -- and the power to serve as Delegate are denied to Representatives.
The second and more senior class of Senate members, Senators, gain their status by vote of sitting and active Senators. Senators are not bound by law or custom to consider any specific criteria when considering so-called 'Senatorship Requests,' and may vote to grant or deny a request for any reason with or without justification. The eligibility threshold for Senators is the same as that for Representatives. Senators, however, enjoy all the powers expressly denied Representatives -- namely, the power to offer motions for debate, the power to vote, the power to serve as General Secretary, and eligibility to be appointed to the Office of the Delegate. Within this class of Senate members, there is a further division -- Active and Absent Senators. Lavinian law requires the General Secretary to designate any Senators away from debate for ten days or more as Absent. Absent Senators are not counted when ascertaining the Senate's necessary quorum to transact business, and become ineligible to serve as General Secretary. The Absence designation is automatically rescinded when a Senator returns to debate.
The Senate does not enjoy the power to expel a Representative or Senator once admitted. In cases where the Senate would wish to remove a member, its only recourse is to repeatedly suspend the member -- for successive periods not to exceed seven days each -- or to petition the Founder (or, in the Founder's absence, the Deputy Founder) to deport (that is, eject) the nation of origin which would effectively render the offending member ineligible to serve.
