Constitution of the United Socialist States of Eldham

The Constitution of the United Socialist States of Eldham, or the Toxédélat is an aggregate document that defines the principles, structures, and outline of the USSE government.

Original drafts were created by Xeroise Ronango'O but the first ever Constitution was written by Chelovek Serebra which would be later ratified by public referendum. This Constitution was later updated again by Ronango'O with the document today reflecting both of their ideas of the nation's structure. It is read in order of section, chapter, and note, with the number for each being separated by periods; for instance in '5.2.1 ', it is in section five, the second chapter, and is the first note. All notes are applied in relation to the chapter they are under.

The Constitution is frequently amended by public referendum.

Preamble
WE THE PEOPLE OF THIS GLORIOUS LAND,

''Unite in the face of any oppressive forces to establish a socialist, democratic, working-class led state government. While fears strike across the minds of Eldham; unification against the chauvinist forces become an increasing necessity and the national conscience of the People have united to do precisely this. It is with a declaration of assured self-sustainability, determination to ensure prosperity, and a declaration of freedom for the nation’s People that the United Socialist States of Eldham is hereby declared as an official sovereign state and this Constitution be ratified by her National Assembly.''

This Constitution of the United Socialist States of Eldham shall hereby be the supreme law of the land, the ultimate arbiter of legality and purpose, and any law made shall never contradict the Constitution.

Section One, Constitutional Amendment
1.1 The Constitution may only be changed after a freely democratic public referendum that lasts no less than forty-eight hours, and only if a three-fifths supermajority votes in favour of the referendum. After the referendum passes, the Constitution shall be edited to comply with the referendum's articles. Every full citizen holds the right to propose a referendum through the proper channels and with appropriate maintenance.

1.1.1 Any citizen that proposes frivolous referenda repeatedly with the express purpose of annoyance or disruption, as decided upon by the courts, will be forbidden from proposing referenda for a period of thirty days. Should this behavior continue during or after the initial punishment, the individual may be banned from proposing referenda indefinitely and may be charged in accordance with Discordian law.

1.1.2 Normal election laws apply to referendums. Including but not limited to the United Socialist States of Eldham criminal code on malpolitics, treason, bribery, and obstruction of elections.

1.1.3 Before a referendum occurs and can be put to vote, it must be formally proposed in the properly designated Discord channel. If it reaches ten signatures it may be then put to a vote. Frivolous referenda laws shall apply in given circumstances.

Section Two, Legality and Justice
2.1 The Legal Code of the United Socialist States of Eldham determines what constitutes criminality in all of its various forms, the standards and conduct of the courts, appropriate disciplinary actions for criminal acts, and a guideline for everyday law.

2.1.1 The Legal Code of the United Socialist States of Eldham must not contradict or undermine the Constitution in the status it is currently ratified in.

2.1.2 The Legal Code of the United Socialist States of Eldham may only be changed by the will of the National Assembly, public referendum, or by the will of the Commission of Justice. In any event however should these wills contradict one another, the ultimate arbiter shall be a public decision by public referendum.

Section Three, The Citizenry and their Rights
3.1 A Citizen is any individual born in or naturalized into the United Socialist States of Eldham.

3.1.1 All Citizens are subject to the jurisdiction of the United Socialist States of Eldham in its present status.

3.1.2 In order to be fully naturalized as a Citizen of the United Socialist States of Eldham, they must reside within the nation for a week or longer and complete the processes necessary to become a Citizen as dictated by the present government. Prior to this, the government may issue a status of “New Citizen” or other similar role for those in the process of complete legal naturalization.

3.2 Every Citizen of the United Socialist States of Eldham, or foreign resident, has the right to free speech.

3.2.1 Exceptions to the right of free speech include speech deemed counter-revolutionary to the extent it seriously detriments the ability of the state to function, speech inciting panic or riot, hate speech, or spam. The courts shall determine what consists of forbidden speech.

3.3 Every Citizen of the United Socialist States of Eldham has a right to freely practice religion within the nation.

3.3.1 Religions may be blacklisted due to counter-revolutionary sentiment and content being fundamental to the integrity of the religion. These presently include so-called Dandelionism and Entropy Worship.

3.3.2 Religion shall not be forced onto any individual in the United Socialist States of Eldham without their will.

3.4 All Citizens of the United Socialist States of Eldham have the right to trial. Any individual accused of a criminal act, or party to a civil dispute in accordance with the Legal Code has the right to a fair trial, as well as the right to a singular appeal to their crimes also under fair trial.

3.4.1 The interpretation of what is and isn’t a free trial is to be decided by the will of the People through the National Assembly or public referendum first and foremost with the Commission of Justice acting on behalf of this interpretation.

3.4.2 All citizens of the United Socialist States of Eldham have the right to legal counsel in the form of an attorney in any and all criminal or civil cases. The Commission of Justice is responsible for making sure all citizens are fairly represented.

3.4.3 All citizens of the United Socialist States of Eldham have the right to refuse to answer questions or otherwise give testimony against themself, and may not be punished in any way, shape, or form for exercising that right.

3.5 All Citizens of the United Socialist States of Eldham have the right to free housing and shelter. If one is unable to properly provide themselves shelter, the government is expected to be able to duly provide their Citizens shelter and materials able to sustain their life within the realm of reason decided by the courts.

3.6 No legal right, guarantee, or other form of freedoms are to be granted to Stoneworks server staff. What counts as staff is to be all who are Helper or above, including the development team but excluding wiki moderators.

3.7 All naturalized citizens of the United Socialist States of Eldham have the right to vote in national elections.

3.7.1 General Secretary and Supreme People’s Assembly elections shall be regularly held every six weeks, with campaign announcements beginning a week before. All General Secretary candidates must run with exactly one Deputy Secretary. All candidates must pledge to abide by this constitution.

3.7.2 Special elections are elections that are held outside of regular election schedules. Special elections are to be held in the case of vacancy in any elected office for any reason, as well as any other time enumerated in this Constitution, unless this Constitution otherwise clarifies a method of replacement.

3.7.3 Regular elections shall be run first with a week-long application period. Candidates must make applications for their position within this timeframe, and will not be counted if they fail to do so in the time frame allotted. Then, a 3-day period of election will take place. All candidates that have followed the appropriate procedures laid out in this constitution shall be represented on the ballot.

3.7.4 Special elections shall be run first with a 48-hour application period. Candidates must make applications for their position within this timeframe, and will not be counted if they fail to do so in the time frame allotted. Then, a 48-hour period of election will take place. All candidates that have followed the appropriate procedures laid out in this constitution shall be represented on the ballot.

3.7.5 All elections must be held in a manner such that every citizen may vote for as many of the candidates as they want, but that no citizen should vote for any one candidate more than once. The candidate that wins the election is the candidate that receives the most votes, and, for Supreme People’s Assembly Representative regular elections, the candidates that receive the most votes such that all eligible seats are filled once.

3.7.6 Confirmation votes shall be run with one candidate and two possible options: confirm, or deny. They consist only of a 48-hour voting period, ending in either success or failure of the vote: success when more votes confirm the candidate, and failure when more votes deny the candidate. The candidate must pledge to abide by the constitution. The candidate must not be barred from office or facing charges that would warrant barring from office.

3.7.7 All elections are the responsibility of the Commission of Justice to conduct, either by a member appointed by the Commissioner of Justice, or by the Commissioner of Justice themselves. This includes rejecting applications based on constitutional application rules, ensuring that application times are followed, and setting up the proper medium for voting.

Section Four, Political Regime: General Secretary
4.1 The role of General Secretary shall be the head of state, supreme commander of the national armed forces, and executive handler of the commissions.

4.2 Every General Secretary has the right to appoint members to a cabinet at the beginning of their term and terminate those appointed members at their discretion.

4.2.1 Roles appointable by the General Secretary for their cabinet include Commissioners who lead executive efforts in specific designations and needs of the government. Additionally are Executive Advisors which aid the General Secretary and the remainder of the government in day to day activities.

4.2.2 If the office of Deputy Secretary is vacant, the General Secretary shall choose another Deputy Secretary, and run a confirmation vote for the people of the USSE within 48 hours of the appointment. If the confirmation vote fails, the General Secretary shall choose another Deputy Secretary, also with a confirmation vote within 48 hours of the appointment. If that vote fails, a special election shall be held for the position of Deputy Secretary within 48 hours of the second confirmation failure.

4.3 The General Secretary must sign all bills proposed by the National Assembly before they become law.

4.3.1 Should the General Secretary desire, they may veto bills passed by the National Assembly at which point the National Assembly may attempt to pass it again, requiring a two-thirds majority vote in order to override the veto of the General Secretary.

4.4 The General Secretary has the right to mobilize the military and its corresponding entities for a period of forty-eight hours without pre-approval of the National Assembly in situations deemed of national emergency.

4.4.1 After a forty-eight hour period where a National Emergency has been declared, the General Secretary must inform the National Assembly as to their reasonings.

4.5 The General Secretary may be impeached and removed by either the National Assembly or by the People of the United Socialist States of Eldham directly.

4.5.1 The National Assembly may impeach the General Secretary by simple majority. In order to remove the General Secretary permanently from office however it must be substantiated in a court of law that the General Secretary has committed a crime as according to the Legal Code that warrants removal from office.

4.5.2 The People of the United Socialist States of Eldham may recall the General Secretary and demand they be removed from office at any time. To initiate this process, a petition to do so must gain at least thirty signatories. The General Secretary at this point may be removed from office by a simple public referendum following normal electoral procedures. The General Secretary is the only individual barred from voting in this scenario.

4.6 The General Secretary shall have the ability to pardon any individual for past crimes within the United Socialist States of Eldham unless a court deems the crimes in nature to be of such severity that they are unpardonable.

4.6.1 The General Secretary may not pardon themselves.

4.7 Terms for the role of General Secretary last six weeks in total with a public referendum being held at the end of each term. The Deputy Secretary is traditionally elected at this time as well with the same length in term limits.

4.8 The general secretary will be limited to 3 consecutive terms and unlimited non-consecutive terms.

4.9 The General Secretary shall not be the same person as the Deputy Secretary, Premier, or Partisan Chair.

Section Five, Political Regime: Deputy Secretary
5.1 The Deputy Secretary is the second-in-command and direct subordinate to the General Secretary in terms of executive powers.

5.1.1 The Deputy Secretary is expected to act on behalf of the General Secretary in the event that the General Secretary is incapable of or unwilling to execute the duties constitutionally mandated of them. If the General Secretary will be incapable or unwilling for the rest of their term as judged by a ⅔ majority vote of the Deputy Secretary and the Commissioners, the sitting General Secretary loses their position and the sitting Deputy Secretary becomes interim General Secretary. A removed General Secretary may appeal the decision of the Deputy Secretary and the Commissioners to the people via public referendum.

5.1.2 The Deputy Secretary may not sign legislation of any kind without prior approval of the General Secretary.

5.1.3 If the General Secretary is removed and replaced in the manner outlined in 5.1.1, special election procedures for the office must begin no later than 48 hours after the removal. The candidates do not have to run with a Deputy Secretary, except for the interim General Secretary. After the election, the interim General Secretary returns to the Deputy Secretary office, unless they run in and win the special election. The removed General Secretary may not run in this election.

5.2 The Deputy Secretary may be removed by either the sitting General Secretary, National Assembly, or by the People of the United Socialist States of Eldham directly.

5.2.1 In the event that the Deputy Secretary becomes incapable of or unwilling to execute the duties constitutionally mandated of them for the rest of their term as judged by the General Secretary, the sitting Deputy Secretary loses their position. The Deputy Secretary may appeal the decision of the General Secretary via public referendum.

5.2.2 The National Assembly may impeach the Deputy Secretary by simple majority. In order to remove the Deputy Secretary permanently from office however it must be substantiated in a court of law that the Deputy Secretary has committed a crime as according to the Legal Code that warrants removal from office.

5.2.3 The People of the United Socialist States of Eldham may recall the Deputy Secretary and demand they be removed from office at any time. To initiate this process, a petition to do so must gain at least TWENTY signatories. The Deputy Secretary at this point may be removed from office by a simple public referendum following normal electoral procedures. The Deputy Secretary is the only individual barred from voting in this scenario.

5.3 The Deputy Secretary shall not be the same person as the General Secretary, Premier, or Partisan Chair.

Section Six, Political Regime: Commissions
6.1 Commissions are existing partitions of executive duty with their corresponding Commissioners being appointed by the General Secretary at the beginning of their term and then approved by the National Assembly. The Commissioners perform the work assigned by the General Secretary or the National Assembly as according to the ability of the Commission and that specific Commission’s intended purpose.

6.1.1 No singular individual is permitted to be a Commissioner for more than one Commission.

6.2 The Commission of Security acts as the organization dictating the armed forces with Commissioners acting as commanders of the Armed Forces, second only to the General Secretary. The Commission is charged with maintaining a standard of readiness and assuring the nation is to maintain a state of integrity and safety. They maintain and control the People’s Army and any other existing state apparatus relating to the military.

6.3 The Commission of Industry is responsible for monitoring the wellbeing of economic activity and employment, organizing major state projects, and maintenance of the State Central Bank.

6.3.1 The State Central Bank is run by the Commissioner of Industry and and its Chairman is generally appointed by the Commissioner of Industry at the start of their term. It is possible to be both the Commissioner of Industry and the Chairman of the State Central Bank.

6.4 The Commission of Information is responsible for the running of state newspapers, as well as generally disseminating information to the public. The Commission acts in press negotiations and information gathering so the nation can stay informed.

6.5 The Commission of Justice is responsible for the maintenance of court and court procedure, acting to execute the will of the law prescribed by both the Legal Code and Constitution, assurance that the rule of law is maintained, development of courthouses and other legal facilities, and the appointment of Judges and Lawyers.

6.6 The Commission of Culture is responsible for the nation’s monitoring, maintenance, and development of cultural progression. The Commission generally acts in library and book recording, promotion of cultural events, and more.

6.7 The Commission of Development is responsible for the construction and maintenance of national and regional infrastructure, the managing and execution of major build projects, and construction overall.

6.8 The Commission of Foreign Affairs is responsible for managing the foreign relations of the United Socialist States of Eldham. They will be tasked with managing communication with other nations, to ensure that the United Socialist States of Eldham maintains amicable relations with the rest of Eldham, to avoid conflict. All diplomatic discussions and questions will be given to the Commissioner of Foreign Affairs, who will be trusted to answer these questions and discuss on behalf of the nation. The Commission would also manage, and approve diplomats, to ensure that individuals representing the United Socialist States of Eldham abroad are trustworthy, and are able to properly conduct diplomatic discussion.

Section Seven, Political Regime: Mayors and Towns
7.1 Each Town elects a Mayor on what is called a “Challenge System”. Any full Citizen that is a resident of a Town may challenge the sitting Mayor for the position of Mayorship.

7.1.1 Any one Citizen may only challenge the Mayorship position once every four weeks.

7.1.2 If formally challenged, the Mayor must run the election, or the challenger can contact the General Secretary to do so on their behalf.

7.2 The Mayor of a town is responsible for the construction, development, and proper maintenance of their towns. Since they operate the Town, they are expected to work for the Town’s benefit.

7.3 All Mayors are members of a Mayor’s Council, which should foster cooperation between various Towns as well as make votes on issues important to the Towns.

Section Eight, Political Regime: States, Territories, Protectorates, and Autonomy
8.1 Every State is an integral part of the United Socialist States of Eldham and the government shall take care of each of them according to their individual needs.

8.2 No legal State that does not otherwise have a Protectorate status shall be permitted to secede from the United Socialist States of Eldham.

8.3 A State can apply for Autonomous State status. In this arrangement, the Autonomous Governor runs the State’s decisions with little intervention from the national government. All federal laws still apply in Autonomous States, unless the Autonomous Governor applies successfully to specifically change the law within their state.

8.3.1 Within Autonomous States, as permitted by an Autonomous Governor’s virtual free legislative abilities, may organize the Autonomous State as they wish. This may include anything from unique regional government positions, state-sponsored planning, regionalization, and more.

8.3.2 Autonomous State status must be approved by the National Assembly and General Secretary.

8.4 Protectorates are entities that act entirely independently but recognize an association with the United Socialist States of Eldham and while situational, generally are regarded to be territory of the nation and therefore will be defended by the national government if attacked or otherwise in a state of emergency.

8.5 Territories are areas that firmly belong to the United Socialist States of Eldham. These areas may or may not have democratic representation in the state depending on the desires of the National Assembly or General Secretary. These Territories may be incorporated into Autonomous States, Protectorates, or simply States and are intended to be temporary statuses.

Section Nine, Political Regime: Supreme People's Assembly
9.1 The Supreme People’s Assembly is the supreme legislative body of the United Socialist States of Eldham. It shall act representatively and in the good will of the People.

9.2 The Supreme People’s Assembly is responsible for decisions to be of drastic importance to the integrity and future of the nation, including but not limited to: declaring war, ratifying treaties, and editing the legal code. These decisions are generally done by simple majority unless stated otherwise elsewhere in the Constitution.

9.3 Supreme People’s Assembly Representatives are elected in six week terms. There exists no limitation to the amount of terms one can run for.

9.4 The Supreme People’s Assembly shall be made up of representatives that number representative to the amount of citizens in the United Socialist States of Eldham as found by the most recent census divided by a factor of SEVEN, rounding up.

9.5 Supreme People’s Assembly Representatives found to be inactive may have their positions opened for special election by the Premier. Said Supreme People’s Assembly Representative may appeal this decision to the rest of the Supreme People’s Assembly to veto the decision of the Premier by a simple majority vote.

9.6 A Supreme People’s Assembly Representative may be recalled by the People by a simple majority in a public, national referendum. In the case of a successful recall, a special election shall be held within 48 hours of the removal.

9.7 The General Secretary may impeach a Supreme People’s Assembly representative by simple majority approval from the Deputy Secretary and Commissioners. In order to remove the Supreme People’s Assembly Representative permanently from office however it must be substantiated in a court of law that the Supreme People’s Assembly Representative has committed a crime as according to the Legal Code that warrants removal from office.

9.8 Bills that regard purely domestic policy can be directly proposed and put to a vote in the Supreme People’s Assembly by any fully naturalized citizen of the United Socialist States of Eldham, only if the bill has support from at least five fully naturalized citizens. These full citizens must be from at least two different cities within the United Socialist States of Eldham’s territory.

9.9 The voting session of a bill must be concluded and the bill therefore either passed into law or foundered if any of the following criteria are applicable:

9.9.1 If every member of the Supreme People’s Assembly has voted on a bill, the voting session shall conclude.

9.9.2 If a majority of the Supreme People’s Assembly has voted on a bill during a voting session and the vote has majority support after eight hours, the voting session may conclude.

9.9.3 If a majority of the Supreme People’s Assembly has voted on a bill with no majority support for it, the voting session may end after sixteen hours have passed.

9.9.4 If twenty-four hours have passed, a voting session for a bill may conclude.

9.9.5 If the bill being voted upon by the Supreme People’s Assembly involves a declaration of war, after thirty-six hours have passed the voting session for it may conclude.

Section Ten, Political Regime: Premier
10.1 The role of Premier, or the Léoto, is the head of the legislative branch of government and has the duty of being the leading member of the National Assembly of the United Socialist States of Eldham. They shall count and organize votes in a lawful manner, assemble the National Assembly as needed, and assure that all acts passed through the National Assembly are done in a lawful manner and are properly formatted. Additionally, they may act as a diplomat to the nation if necessary due to the responsibilities of the National Assembly in approving wars and treaties.

10.2 The Premier is to be elected by the National Assembly Representatives and candidates must be peers in the Assembly. This is to be done within no longer than a week after a new National Assembly is elected into office. Being a Premier does not negate a Representative from their status as a National Assembly Representative nor does it remove their right to vote on acts.

10.2.1 The Premier has the exclusive right to act as a tiebreaker in the event an act or decision being voted upon by the National Assembly cannot find a majority vote.

10.3 In the event that the positions of General Secretary and Deputy Secretary are both vacant, the Premier will become the interim General Secretary. The interim General Secretary stops being the Premier, and the Supreme People’s Assembly must vote on an interim Premier.

10.3.1 Special election procedures for the office of General Secretary must begin no later than 48 hours after the Premier takes the office interim. After the election, the interim General Secretary returns to the office of Premier, unless they run in and win the election, in which case the interim Premier becomes the official Premier of the Supreme People’s Assembly.

10.4 The Premier shall not be the same person as the General Secretary, Deputy Secretary, or Partisan Chair.

Section Eleven, The People’s Vanguard
11.1 The Communist Party of the United Socialist States of Eldham is the vanguard of the country’s working class. It is simultaneously the vanguard of the everyday worker and the Nations of People by which the Union is formed upon. It is to hold the faithful interests of the working class and all nations underneath her belt, acting upon the Xeroist and other doctrines of socialism that shall be the leading force of the State and the societies under her grasp as a whole.

11.1.1 The Communist Party of the United Socialist States of Eldham, as a vanguard party, is the only permissible political party within the country and operates within the framework of the Constitution and the laws of the United Socialist States of Eldham.

11.1.2 Democratic centralism and the principles of rightful representation to all nation’s People is the fundamental role of the Communist Party of the United Socialist States of Eldham.

11.2 The role of Partisan Chair, or the Jaudá, is to be an elected position that shall be designated the leader of the Communist Party of the United Socialist States of Eldham. They shall be elected solely by any registered member of the Communist Party in six week terms; elections shall be no longer than a week after the inauguration of a General Secretary.

11.2.1 The Partisan Chair has the unique responsibility of acting as a Constitutional and ideological advisor to both the legislative and executive branches of government. They seek to develop Communism and Xeroism as an ideology and continue the cultural enrichment of the United Socialist States of Eldham. They are additionally responsible for archival duties and may work in cooperation with any branch of government in developing the Socialist state as it is intended by the Constitution and developing Communism as an ideology.

11.3 In the event that the positions of General Secretary, Deputy Secretary and Premier are all vacant, the Partisan Chair will become the interim General Secretary. The interim General Secretary stops being the Partisan Chair, and the Communist Party must vote on an interim Partisan Chair.

11.3.1 Special election procedures for the office of General Secretary must begin no later than 48 hours after the Partisan Chair takes office. After the election, the interim General Secretary returns to the office of Partisan Chair, unless they run in and win the election, in which case the interim Partisan Chair becomes the official Partisan Chair of the Communist Party of the United Socialist States of Eldham.

11.4 The Partisan Chair shall not be the same person as the General Secretary, Deputy Secretary, or Premier.