The Constitution of the Fifth Republic

''Preamble: We, the people of the most serene and democratic Republic of Kodiak, do hereby accept and exalt these as the ruling documents of our society. For the furtherance of democracy and brotherhood, for community and honor, we stand united beneath these timeless and immortal principles of duty and community. To promote the general welfare, and secure the blessings of liberty, we do hereby ordain and establish this Constitution for The Kodiak Republic.''

24 July 2010

Section I: The President of the Republic
Power shall be vested in a President of the Kodiak Republic. He shall hold his Office during the Term of four months, and, together with the Vice President, chosen for the same term, on the same ticket. He shall be the chief executive officer of the region, and commander in chief of all arms of the defense of the Republic. No person may serve as President who has not been a member of the General Assembly for three months or longer, and no person may serve as President who has served in the two previous terms consecutively.

The President shall have the power to, during a declared state of emergency, issue executive orders which shall have the force of law until the state of emergency is declared over, and shall have the responsibility to ensure that the acts of the Legislature made into law are observed and enforced. unless vetoed.

The President shall have ultimate authority concerning accepting or denying applications for citizenship.

The President shall appoint a cabinet to best govern the Republic. This cabinet shall be subject to approval of the Senate, and shall take office after the Senate has approved them; the sitting cabinet shall be considered the official one until the confirmation vote is over. Should an office become vacant in the cabinet or another part of the government, the President may submit a new nomination to the Senate. Should the President see fit, he may dismiss any member of the government, though he must inform the Senate as to the reasons in doing so.

The President may be removed upon articles of impeachment being drawn by the General Assembly, then by a two-thirds majority vote of the Senate. Should the President leave office, the Vice President of the Region shall assume the Office of the President.

Section II: The Vice President
The Vice President shall be the President of the Senate, but shall have no vote unless they be equally divided, shall assume the duties of the Office of the President in the case the Presidency is vacated by any means.

Section III: The Cabinet
The cabinet shall consist of members of the Region who are proficient in certain areas. No person shall serve as a member of the cabinet who has not been a member of the Assembly for two weeks or longer. One member of the cabinet shall be the World Assembly Delegate, who shall be appointed by the President every four months with the approval of the citizens of the Region.

The Senate must approve each minister individually for them to be confirmed, but may be removed by a majority vote in the Senate.

Section I: The Legislature of the Republic
All legislative powers herein granted shall be vested in the Parliament of The Kodiak Republic, which shall consist of a General Assembly and a Senate. A bill requires passage by both the General Assembly and the Senate to become law, so long as the bill has been passed in the same form in both houses of Parliament.

Section II: The General Assembly
The General Assembly shall be the people's house of this Republic. All citizens not Senators, shall have full rights. These rights include proposing and debating bills, motions for vote, drawing articles of impeachment of any elected office, and the right to vote on all legislation within the General Assembly. The Assembly shall have the power to pass, by majority vote, edicts concerning any area of the Republic, declarations of war, or similar pursuits with further consent from the Senate. The Assembly shall adopt its own parliamentary procedures, and rules of order. The Assembly shall elect a Speaker to moderate debate, move topics, and introduce legislation. Members of the Assembly shall present proposals to the Speaker, and the Speaker shall present those proposals to the floor on behalf of the citizenry at large.

Section III: The Senate
The Senate shall be composed of six Senators chosen every second month by the citizens of the Kodiak Republic. The Senators shall serve terms of two months, and shall be elected every two months. The Speaker and all Justices are excluded from becoming Senators.

The Senate will be moderated by the Vice President of the Region, who shall serve as the President of the Senate, but may only vote when the Senate be equally divided.

The Senate shall propose and debate bills, make procedural motions, and vote on legislation passed by the General Assembly. The Senate shall have the power to pass, by majority vote, edicts concerning any area of the Republic, declarations of war, or similar pursuits with further consent from the General Assembly. The Senate shall adopt its own parliamentary procedures, and rules of order. The Senate shall advise and consent to any Cabinet nominations, and Judicial appointments; as well as have the power to override any veto of the President by a 2/3rds vote.

Section I: Composition
The Judicial Powers shall be vested in a High Court of the Republic, which shall have at minimum one member. One member shall be the Chief Justice, who shall be appointed for life by the President; with the approval of two-thirds of the Senate, and who may only be dismissed by the same margin by the General Assembly, citing inactivity or abuse of power. Any other members of the Court shall be considered Associate Justices who may nominated to the Court by the President, with the approval of the region as a whole. Cases shall be by default presided over by the Chief Justice, though one of the Associates may preside in a necessary situation.

Section II: Affirmation
All previous decisions of courts of the Republic shall be upheld.

Section III: Judicial Power
The Judicial Power shall be defined as the power to hear and try cases both civil and criminal, to vet punishment, to issue subpoenas and warrants, to rule on conflicting or vague pieces of legislation, and to rule laws or parts of laws unconstitutional, by which act said laws or parts of laws shall be null and void. The High Court may not rule on law that does not exist, or make binding decrees on areas in which there is no established statute. The Court shall decide on guilt, innocence, punishment, and on opinions of jurisprudence by a majority vote.

The Chief Justice shall swear in all officers upon their appointment or election. Only then may they receive the power of their office, and upon swearing their oath they shall be invested in office.

The Chief Justice shall have power to set regulations as per any election legislation, and to enforce those and the existing statute.

The first elections for President and Senators shall be moderated by the Chief Justice, who shall have power to set rules and enforce them.

Article Four: Rights of Citizens
Citizens shall enjoy the right to fair and speedy trials and due process of law, as well as the right not to stand trial twice for the same offense. Citizens shall be presented with warrants before themselves or their property is molested, and shall be confronted with all charges, witnesses, and evidence against them. Citizens shall enjoy the right to free speech, press, and religion, unless such activity is in violation of the InvisionFree terms of service, or of another citizen's rights. Citizens shall enjoy the right to property, and limited moderator rights within. Citizens shall enjoy the right to petition their government. Citizens shall enjoy rights not enumerated in this Constitution that shall be considered just and proper; the absence of a right in this Constitution shall not constitute a lack of said right for citizens of the Republic.

Article Five: Amendments
This Constitution may be amended only at the discretion of and approval by two-thirds of the General Assembly, two-thirds of the Senate, and the President.

Article Six: Kodiak Monetary Powers Amendment

 * Section One. All bills for raising Revenue shall originate in the Senate; but the General Assembly may propose or concur with amendments as on other Bills.


 * Section Two. Parliament shall have power to lay and collect taxes on incomes, from whatever source derived, without apportionment among the several Nations, and without regard to any census or enumeration.


 * Section Three. Parliament shall have power to and collect taxes, duties, imposts and excises, to pay the debts and provide for the common defense and general welfare of the Kodiak Republic;


 * Section Four. To borrow money on the credit of the Kodiak Republic;


 * Section Five. To regulate commerce with foreign Regions, and among the several Nations;


 * Section Six. To coin money, regulate the value thereof.

First Amendment to the Constitution of the Kodiak Republic
Be it enacted by the General Assembly and Senate of the Kodiak Republic, in Parliament assembled, with the consent of the President of Kodiak, as follows.

Section One. The President of Kodiak shall nominate a citizen, in good standing, to be appointed the Chief Justice of the Kodiak Republic with approval from the region's citizens. The Chief Justice shall serve during the term of four months, during good behaviour.

Section Two. There shall be one Associate Justice of the Kodiak Republic, who shall be elected by the People to serve during the term of two months.

Section Three. To arrive at a decision, the Court must obtain the consensus of both Justices of the High Court.

Section Four. This amendment shall become effective upon the consent of two-thirds of the Senate and General Assembly, voting separately, and upon the consent of the President of Kodiak, who shall have power to delay its effectiveness in order to align the election times herein mandated to those scheduled by Law.

Second Amendment to the Constitution of the Kodiak Republic
...All legislative powers herein granted shall be vested in the Parliament of The Kodiak Republic, which shall consist of a General Assembly and a Senate. A bill requires passage by both the General Assembly and the Senate to become law, so long as the bill has been passed in the same form in both houses of Parliament....

...The General Assembly shall be the people's house of this Republic. All citizens not Senators, shall have full rights. These rights include proposing and debating bills, motions for vote, impeachment of any office, and the right to vote on all legislation within the General Assembly. The Assembly shall have the power to pass, by majority vote, edicts concerning any area of the Republic, declarations of war, or similar pursuits with further consent from the Senate. The Assembly shall adopt its own parliamentary procedures, and rules of order. The Assembly shall elect a Speaker to moderate debate, move topics, and introduce legislation. Bills must originate from the General Assembly. Members of the Assembly shall present proposals to the Speaker, and the Speaker shall present those proposals to the floor on behalf of the citizenry at large... .

...The Senate shall be composed of six Senators chosen every second month by the citizens of the Kodiak Republic. The Senators shall serve terms of two months, and shall be elected every two months, beginning on the First of August, 2010, and continuing forever. The Speaker and all Justices are excluded from becoming Senators. No person shall be a Senator who has not been an active citizen within Kodiak for at least one month. The President shall be a sitting member of the Senate, and entitled to all the privileges of a Senator. The President shall appoint a Chancellor of the Senate whom shall have been selected from amongst the members themselves. The President shall be obligated to delegate all Executive duties to the Chancellor, and the Chancellor may create Ministries as the Chancellor sees fit to execute these duties. Ministers must be members of the Senate, the President included. '''The Senate shall propose and debate bills, make procedural motions, and vote on legislation passed by the General Assembly. The Senate shall have the power to pass, by majority vote, edicts concerning any area of the Republic, declarations of war, or similar pursuits with further consent from the General Assembly. The Senate shall adopt its own parliamentary procedures, and rules of order'''... .

Third Amendment to the Constitution of the Kodiak Republic
Be it enacted by the General Assembly and Senate of the Kodiak Republic, in Parliament assembled, with the consent of the President of Kodiak, as follows.

Section One. All bills for raising Revenue shall originate in the Senate; but the General Assembly may propose or concur with amendments as on other Bills.

Section Two. Parliament shall have power to lay and collect taxes on incomes, from whatever source derived, without apportionment among the several Nations, and without regard to any census or enumeration.

Section Three. Parliament shall have power to and collect taxes, duties, imposts and excises, to pay the debts and provide for the common defense and general welfare of the Kodiak Republic;

Section Four. To borrow money on the credit of the Kodiak Republic;

Section Five. To regulate commerce with foreign Regions, and among the several Nations;

Section Six. To coin money, regulate the value thereof.

Fourth Amendment to the Constitution of the Kodiak Republic
Be it enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the Kodiak Republic, in this present Parliament assembled, that the Constitution be amended, removing the phrase ", and hold the post of World Assembly Delegate." Short explanation: Parliament removed the President's authority to be World Assembly Delegate in a separate bill before passing the amendment which further clarified the Constitutional status of World Assembly Delegate.

Reference
https://www.tapatalk.com/groups/the_kodiak_republic/viewtopic.php?p=192750#p192750