Gildertach

The Gildertach is a legislative body within the Government of Urcea, sometimes referred to as a legislative, although this classification is disputed. Elected from each Guild, the representatives of the Gildertach are responsible for overseeing the Guild Law and approving foreign trade agreements. It is a non-partisan body.

Name
The name Gildertach comes from the Lebhan language and means "House of the Guilds", often translated into the official Julian Ænglish term "House of Guilders". The term originates with the earliest days of Royal guild assemblies when the Lebhan language still saw some official use.

History
The Gildertach was initially convened by Lucás II, Apostolic King of Urcea, in 1407. Lucás II began his reign at the very end of the generations-long Saint's War, and his intention was to solicit input on the best way to restore the wartorn country, whose agricultural and manufacturing output were halved per capita from the beginning of the war. While Lucás sought "experts" - an example of proto-technocratic governance - he also sought the opinions and advice of guild leadership on reforms that could be made, and, perhaps more importantly, reforms that should not have been made. Consequently, the Gildertach evolved from its initial foundation as an institutional check to protect the existence of guilds and the stability of the economy rather than as a fully legislative institution. Despite this understanding, the Gildertach met irregularly and wavered in its authority and areas of oversight until the reign of King Niall V. Within the context of the Recess of the Julii, regulation of trade and economic activity became paramount as Urcea separated itself from many of the institutions of the Holy Levantine Empire. As a result, King Niall began to rely on the Gildertach to oversee trade agreements and laws, and in 1815 he gave the Gildertach full and official veto power and trade oversight. A formalization of these powers - as well as a requirement to meet semi-regularly - came in the late 1840s during the reign of King Aedanicus VIII.

Membership
The Gildertach is comprised of five representatives from each of the forty Guilds. The representatives serve at the pleasure of the Gilder Assembly of each guild, which elects the five representatives. Each Guild's delegation has two representatives associated with their Guild's Labor Caucus and two from the Capital Caucus. These four members then select a fifth member to represent the interests of the Guild as a whole who is approved by the Gilder Assembly. The entire delegation must retain confidence of the Gilder Assembly; if one member is recalled, an entire new five person delegation must be selected.

Leadership
The Gildertach, as a non-partisan body, does not have caucuses or party conference leadership. Legally speaking, the Apostolic King of Urcea is the presiding officer of the Gildertach, but this responsibility has been delegated to an officer - the Chair of the House of Guilders - who is responsible for presiding over meetings of the House. The Chair is one of few officials within the Government of Urcea directly appointed by the King without the involvement of the Procurator or Chancellor and Temporary President. The current Chair is former Procurator Michael Witte. The Gildertach is appropriated funds by the Concilium Daoni on an annual basis for the hiring of personnel and a parliamentarian as well as for office space.

Function and structure
The Gildertach has two primary responsibilities. Firstly, it is the only body which can amend the Guild Law. As part of the Guild Law, the Gildertach has the authority to dissolve or divide existing Guilds as well as creating new ones, but these changes require the unanimous consent of the delegation of the affected Guild. Its secondary responsibility is to approve or reject all foreign treaties and agreements relating to trade proposed to it by the Ministry of Commerce's Agency for Trade Relations. The Gildertach has no committees within it and employs a straight-forward rules of order, intended to be accessible by representatives and spectators. Every vote of the Gildertach must be of a simple majority of those present and voting.

Members of the Gildertach receive no salary for their service but are typically paid by the Guild they represent. The Gildertach does, however, pay a per diem to help cover the expenses of traveling and staying in Urceopolis, where the Gildertach meets.

The Gildertach does not meet regularly but rather is called to session by the Apostolic King of Urcea to confirm trade agreements. The Gildertach can be called to a meeting by an initiative of the delegation of a Guild. It is possible that the Gildertach may not meet at all during the five year electoral terms of the rest of the Government of Urcea, although this occurrence is rare.