Note: This page needs a lot more work, especially around the executive branch.
This document defines a governmental structure which is founded on the principles of direct democracy and proportional representation. The primary duty of this government is to uphold and defend the Millennial Social Code (MSC) equally for all persons. Any resources generated in excess of those required to fulfill this duty are to be fairly, openly, and reasonably allocated for the enjoyment and enlightenment of individual citizens and humanity as a whole.
Article 1 - Council Structure & Election Processlink
The government is organized into three governmental councils: the Legislative Council (LC); the Executive Council (EC); and the Judicial Council (JC). Any person elected to a governmental council is called a governmental officer. Each council may select or draft its own rules of parliamentary procedure.
Election of any officer is by ranked-choice voting with instant runoff, where each vote is allocated equally to each citizen represented by that officer.
The process of determining the number of seats in a governmental council, and which citizens vote for which seats, is called representative apportionment. This is undertaken every eight years, beginning with a census. Census surveys may request more information than is strictly necessary to apportion representation (i.e. names and addresses), but providing this additional information must be entirely voluntary. Any apportionment (such as into geographical districts) must ensure, to the greatest practical extent, that each officer represents an equal number of citizens, and that that officer’s electorate is fairly representative of the population as a whole. Economists Emmanuelle Auriol and Robert J. Gary-Bobo have already explored this question in On the optimal number of representatives (2011), which may serve as a place to start.
The length of any single term of office may be no longer than four years. No person may serve in two elected positions at once. Each person is limited to sixteen years (not necessarily consecutive) in any elected office. All citizens who may vote for a particular office are eligible for election to that office, and any governmental office must be held by a citizen of that government.
Any normally scheduled election for members of a government council must be completed with enough time for the incoming council to appoint a Chair before the previous term ends. The Chair of a council is ultimately responsible for directing the management of that council’s business. A Chair is appointed by a simple majority of its council members, and approved by another council (as specified below). Any Chair may be replaced prematurely by two-thirds vote of any two government councils. The specific duties of each council’s Chair, and which councils may approve their appointment, are provided below.
Article 2 - Legislative Councillink
The LC drafts laws and sends them to the EC for final approval and implementation. Drafting any specific law may be delegated to one or more committees of Legislative Councillors, but the final decision to seek EC approval must be voted on by a quorum of the entire LC.
The Chair of the Legislative Council is called its Speaker. Appointment of the Speaker is approved by the Judicial Council.
The LC can remove elected judges with consent of the chief executive, and it can remove executives with the consent of the high court. Approves executive cabinet nominees. Sets budgets for executive departments, salaries for essential jobs, minimum salaries for nonessential jobs.
Article 3 - Executive Councillink
The primary duty of the Executive Council (EC) is to approve and implement the laws passed by the Legislative Council. It also approves the Judicial Council’s appointment of its own chair, and the Legislative Council’s early replacement of its chair.
The Chair of the Executive Council is called the Chief Executive, and has ultimate authority for implementing governmental programs in fulfillment of its duties. The Chief Executive may appoint other Executive Councillors as Directors of any Executive Department defined by law, subject to the approval and consent of the Legislative Council. Directors are divided between managing distribution of basic goods/services and jobs to maintain them; and allocation of excess production for government-sponsored research/art, and salaries for the market of nonessential goods and services.
The EC is responsible for confirming or vetoing each law passed by the LC, and then implementing those laws subject to the oversight of the JC.
Article 4 - Judicial Councillink
Proof of crimes and/or the validity of laws that define them is demonstrated in front of judges who are directly and proportionally elected to three levels of precedence, with many municipal judges; somewhat fewer appeals court judges; and several high court judges (but an odd number to prevent ties). Ditto method for determining and implementing fair and reasonable proportional representation.
Any crime which may be punished more severely than a fine must be proven before a jury. Search warrants may be issued by a judge with a less rigorous burden of proof than a full criminal trial, but should still be done…judiciously. A search warrant should only be issued if there is reason to believe that that warrant is the only way to obtain critical evidence to prove that a crime has been committed. This is an example of the MSC concept of minimum curtailment of individual rights in order to guarantee the continued equal and universal availability of basic goods and services.
No one can be convicted of a crime that was not illegal at the time it was committed.
Article 5 - Constitutional Amendmentlink
To do - amendments for both this constitution and the MSC