The FLAMES Act eliminated the legislature in its entirety, giving legislative authority to the Monarch for the purpose of experimenting with new systems and finding one that works with modern Wintreath.
February 8th, 2021 to April 8th, 2021 (ratification of the Right to Abstain Amendment Act)
Spoiler
We, the Citizens of the Frozen Realm of Wintreath, united under the banner of his most Royal Majesty Inric I, do hereby enact and consecrate these Fundamental Laws with the aim of creating a sovereign, independent, and free community of nations welcome to all and born upon the principles of liberty, equality, freedom, and compassion.
I. The Storting
1. The legislative and judicial authorities and duties of Wintreath shall be vested in a bicameral legislature called the Storting, which shall consist of a lower chamber called the Underhusen and an upper chamber called the Overhusen.
The Underhusen
2. The Underhusen shall be comprised of no less than four and no more than seven Skrifa elected by the Citizens of Wintreath. The exact number of Skrifa shall be determined by the Underhusen prior to Underhusen elections opening. Should the number of candidates not exceed the determined number of Skrifa, all candidates shall be considered elected by default.
3. Underhusen elections shall begin on the first day of the months of February, April, June, August, October, and December. Skrifa shall be elected by plurality vote. In the event of a tie between two or more candidates, a run-off vote shall be conducted to resolve the tie vote. If a vacancy occurs in the Underhusen, a special election to fill the vacancy shall be held within seven days of the vacancy being created unless there are fewer than twenty-one days remaining in the Underhusen's term.
4. Upon the conclusion of the election, the Underhusen shall, under supervision of the Monarch, select a member of its own to preside over the Underhusen. Further procedure shall be declared in the Procedural Rules of the Underhusen.
The Overhusen
5. The Overhusen shall be comprised of no less than three and no more than five Peers appointed by the Monarch of Wintreath, who shall also determine the exact number of Peers during each session.
6. The Monarch shall announce his or her appointments and reappointments to the Overhusen at the conclusion of elections for the Underhusen. The Monarch shall at the same time also appoint a Chairperson of the Overhusen, who shall execute the procedural rules established by the Overhusen. In the event of a vacancy, the Monarch shall have the authority to appoint a new Peer to fill the vacancy.
The Legislative Process
7. All legislation shall be initially introduced only in the Underhusen.
8. The Overhusen shall vote to pass or veto the legislation upon passage by the Underhusen. The Overhusen shall not amend legislation in any way.
9. Should the Overhusen veto any legislation, the legislation may be reintroduced in the Underhusen for the purposes of either revising the proposal or overriding the veto. The Underhusen may overturn a veto by a two-thirds supermajority vote.
Authorities and Duties of the Storting
10. The Storting shall have the authority to pass legislation, repeal previously passed legislation, propose amendments to these Fundamental Laws, and take any other action deemed necessary and proper to execute the authorities and duties vested in the Storting by these Fundamental Laws.
11. Each chamber of the Storting shall have the authority to create and revise their own procedural rules.
12. The Storting shall have the authority to declare war upon another region or organization.
13. The Storting shall have the authority to ratify or reject treaties with other regions or organizations.
14. Each chamber of the Storting shall have the authority to issue non-binding resolutions expressing the sense of their chamber in relation to all matters.
15. The Storting shall have the authority to interpret these Fundamental Laws and statutory laws and consider the constitutionality over laws brought before the Storting, determine rulings and verdicts in regard to violations of these laws, and determine punishments for violations of these laws within the parameters of these Fundamental Laws and any other laws.
16. The Storting shall have the authority to issue advisory opinions on matters of constitutionality and legality to anyone whom the Storting has determined has standing to seek an advisory opinion.
17. The Storting shall have the authority to create and revise the rules of judicial proceedings for judicial panels.
II. I. The Monarchy
1. All Executive and Legislative authorities and duties shall be vested in the Monarch of Wintreath.
2. The Monarch shall have the authority to delegate Executive and Legislative powers and duties to subordinate officials and to create subordinate offices at his or her discretion.
3. The Monarch shall have the authority to determine the line of succession and to appoint his or her own successor. In the event that the Monarch takes a leave of absence or has been absent without taking leave for 72 hours, this person shall assume the Executive authorities and duties as Regent of Wintreath until the return of the Monarch.
a. In the event that the Monarch takes a leave of absence or has been absent without taking leave for one hundred and sixty-eight (168) hours, the successor shall assume the Executive authorities and duties as Regent of Wintreath until the return of the Monarch.
4. The Monarch shall serve as Commander-in-Chief of all the military forces based in Wintreath.
5. 4. The Monarch shall have the authority to serve as World Assembly Delegate of Wintreath or to delegate the authority to a subordinate official.
6 5. The Monarch shall have the authority to issue decrees in relation to policies concerning the internal affairs of the Executive, the military, foreign affairs, famillial houses, the nobility, and any other Executive authority which has been expressly granted through this document or any relevant laws.
6. As the Legislative authority of Wintreath, the Monarch and their delegated subordinate officials shall have the authority to pass legislation, repeal previously passed legislation, propose amendments to these Fundamental Laws, and take any other action deemed necessary and proper to execute the authorities and duties vested in the Monarch by these Fundamental Laws.
a. The Monarch shall have the authority to declare war upon another region or organization.
b. The Monarch shall have the authority to ratify or reject treaties with other regions or organizations.
7. The Monarch shall regularly inform the Storting regarding the state of the region in the form of an address.
II. Referendums
1. Only Citizens of Wintreath shall be eligible to vote in referendums.
2. Referendums shall be overseen by the Monarch or the Monarch's designee.
3. In any referendum, Citizens shall have the option to post their votes publicly or send their votes to the person overseeing the referendum via private message.
4. Referendums shall open on the first day of the month after a petition has garnered the requisite number of signatures.
a. Referendums shall be open for one hundred and sixty-eight (168) hours.
5. A petition that has failed to garner the requisite number of signatures may not be petitioned again until the beginning of the following month.
6. Any Citizen shall have the right to petition to place a non-binding resolution on the ballot of the next referendum.
a. If six (6) Citizens, including the petitioner, sign the petition within one hundred and twenty (120) hours of its creation, it shall be included on the ballot of the next referendum.
7. Any Citizen shall have the right to petition to place a proposal to amend the Fundamental Laws on the ballot of the next referendum.
a. If eight (8) Citizens, including the petitioner, sign the petition within one hundred and twenty (120) hours of its creation, it shall be included on the ballot of the next referendum.
III. Justice
1. Upon the filing of cases within the Storting, the Monarch shall select at random a Peer of the Overhusen and two Skrifa of the Underhusen to serve as judges in a judicial panel, provide the selected person is not the plaintiff/defendant. The Peer shall serve as Chief Judge, and the Skrifa shall serve as Associate Judges. The Monarch is ineligible to serve on judicial panels.
2. All trials and cases shall proceed according to the procedures established by the Storting.
3. Rulings may be appealed to the Monarch, who shall decide to vacate, modify, or uphold the ruling of the judicial panel. The Monarch shall have the authority to define procedures and rules for hearing and deciding upon appeals, as well as to delegate these authorities to other officials or offices.
4. Any revocation of Citizenship as a result of a sentence which is conferred or upheld by the Monarch may be overturned by an Act of the Storting if the person whose Citizenship is being revoked requests that it consider doing so within 7 days of the appeal ruling. In the event a revocation is overturned, the initial judicial panel shall determine an alternative sentence. The Storting shall have the authority to define procedures and rules for requesting a sentence of revocation be overturned.
IV. Elections
1. Only Citizens of Wintreath shall be eligible to vote in elections, stand for elected office, or assume any elected office. The Monarch may not stand for or assume any elected office.
2. Elections shall be overseen by the Monarch or the Monarch's designee. No person shall oversee an election in which they are running.
3. In elections of government officials or referendums, Citizens shall have the option to post their votes publicly or to send their votes to the person overseeing the election via private message.
Initiatives
4. Any Citizen who voted in the previous regular election as defined in Article I, Section 3 shall have the right to petition to place a non-binding proposal on the ballot of the next regularly scheduled election.
5. A proposal shall be included in next regular election if the greater of thirty percent rounded down or six Citizens who voted in the previous regular election, including the petitioner, sign the petition within seventy-two hours of its creation. The Monarch shall then verify that all signatories to the petition voted in the previous election.
6. A proposal which failed to garner the requisite number of signatures may not be petitioned again until after the next regular election.
Recalls
7. Any Citizen who voted in the previous regular election as defined in Article I, Section 3 shall have the right to petition for the recall of any member of the Underhusen unless there are fewer than twenty-one days left until the next regular election.
8. A recall election shall be triggered immediately if the greater of thirty percent rounded down or six Citizens who voted in the previous regular election and retained citizenship, including the petitioner, sign the petition within forty-eight hours of its creation. The Monarch shall then verify that all signatories to a petition voted in the previous election.
9. The recall election shall compose of a forty-eight hour nomination period in which candidates may stand for election, followed by a seventy-two hour election period. The winner of the recall election shall assume the seat in question upon its conclusion.
10. No member of the Storting may run in a recall election unless the member is the incumbent challenged by the recall.
11. No member of the Underhusen shall be subject to more than one recall election per session.
V. III. Declaration of Rights
1. Citizens shall have the right to speak and to protest freely.
2. Citizens shall have the right to be informed of the reasoning and provided with any relevant documentation for behind any decision to revoke their Citizenship, and shall have the right to appeal that this decision before the Monarch.
3. Citizens shall have the right to a fair trial to vote in all referendums.
4. Citizens shall have the right to manage their nations without interference, except for caps placed on the number of World Assembly endorsements for the protection of the legal Delegate.
5. Citizens shall have the right to petition for a redress of any perceived grievances.
6. Citizens shall not be required to join the World Assembly or to participate in any inter or extra-regional bodies.
7. Citizens shall have the right to stand for any elected government offices for which they qualify and to vote in any regional elections.
VI. IV. Administration
1. The Winter Nomad shall be regarded as the Founder of Wintreath, and shall hold root administrator status on all official off-site Wintreath properties.
2. The Winter Nomad shall have the sole authority to appoint subordinate administrative officials on any official Wintreath property, and invest in them any administrative powers as he or she believes is necessary.
3. The Winter Nomad shall hold this position until he or she resigns from it. Upon resignation, The Winter Nomad shall have the authority to appoint his or her own successor, and shall hand the root administrator accounts for all Wintreath properties to the successor upon them taking possession of The Winter Nomad, unless the root administrator is tied to a personal account used outside of NationStates.
4. The Winter Nomad and all subordinate administrative officials shall be responsible for protecting Wintreath properties from any content which is illegal, violates the terms of service of the provider of the Wintreath property, or otherwise brings harm to the region or community. Actions taken under this responsibility shall supersede the Declaration of Rights.
5. The Winter Nomad and all subordinate administrative officials shall also be responsible for the maintenance, organization, security, and technological development of all official Wintreath properties. No government official shall be empowered to make decisions in any of these areas.
VII. V. Constitutional Amendments
1. No section under Administration may be amended without the consent of The Winter Nomad.
2. The Storting shall have the authority Any Citizen shall have the right to petition to propose amendments to the Constitution by a two-thirds supermajority vote of both the Underhusen and Overhusen Fundamental Laws as defined in Section II.7.
3. The Monarch shall have the authority to propose amendments to the Fundamental Laws.
3. Any Constitutional Amendment proposed by the Storting shall be considered ratified if approved by both the Monarch and by a two-thirds supermajority of the Citizens of Wintreath voting at referendum.
VIII. VI. Miscellaneous
1. No law, decree, ruling, or any other action with the force of law can supersede, violate, conflict with, or override these Fundamental Laws. In the event of a conflict, violation, or an attempt at superseding this act, the law is invalid and these Fundamental Laws take precedence. This does not include amendments to these Fundamental Laws.
