National Assembly (Caphiria)

National Assembly Conventus Imperiulis
3rd National Assembly of Imperator Constatinus
Type
Type	Assembly of the Corcillum of Caphiria
Leadership
President of the Assembly	Constantinus I
First Consul	Riccariano Fisantuzzi
Proconsul Maioris (Majority Speaker of the Assembly)	Lucianco Roferranti
Structure
Seats	1,000
Length of term	Five years
Elections
Voting system	First-past-the-post voting
Last election	5 March 2020
Next election	5 March 2025

The National Assembly of Caphiria is one of the four chambers of the Corcillum, the tetracameral parliament of the Imperium of Caphiria.

The composition and powers of the National Assembly are established by Proclamation V of the Constitution of Caphiria. The National Assembly is composed of 1,000 consuls, each serving single five year terms. Consuls are elected by political districts called curia, representing an equal proportion of the population. The Tribunal Assembly reallocates curiae based on the results of the national census every lustrum. As of the 2020 census, there are 785,178 curiae.

The National Assembly functions as the "lower house", being responsible for the adoption of all laws as well as any amendments to the Constitution of Caphiria, and setting the Caphirian national budget. The National Assembly is also nominally responsible for the oversight of the Ministries of Caphiria, with each ministry having a corresponding committee. The presiding officer is the First Consul - the designee of the Imperator, and is considered to be the most senior officer of the Corcillum. A second officer, the Proconsul Maioris (Majority Speaker of the Assembly), is elected by the members of the National Assembly and serves as the floor leader of the assembly. The Proconsul Maioris is also assigned a number of specific responsibilities and duties which make it one of the most sought-after positions.

History

The National Assembly was created with the current Constitution of Caphiria as a replacement for the earlier plebeian assembly, which formed in the earliest days of Caphiria as the representative bodies of each of the original tribes which settled Caphiria. As each tribe had one vote, the body was initially created as a popular body but fell into obsolescence as tribal leaders were subverted first by the Senate and then by the first Imperators. With the establishment of the Great Landsmeet in Urcea during the medieval period, the resurrection of the plebeian assembly was a popular idea which receded following the XXXX CIVIL WAR XXXX. The plebeian assembly last fully met in 1640, and was replaced by the directly representative National Assembly in the 19th century.

Membership

Qualifications

There are numerous qualifications and prerequisites in order for eligibility to become a Consul. Article IV, Proclamation 9, of the Constitution, sets three primary prerequisites: (1) they must be at least 35 years old; (2) they must have been citizens of the Imperium for at least twenty years; and (3) they must have held at least four separate public offices (i.e. cursus honorum). This set of prerequisites is commonly known as the "36/20 rule" among aspiring politicians.

Elections and term

Elections

Consular elections happen every lustrum (five-year-period) and are chosen by universal, free, equal, direct and secret suffrage. Consuls are elected by "consular districts", a constituency of proportional representation based on census data. Because of this, the total number of Consulships can change in each election and it is specified when writs of election are issued. The Constitution of Caphiria outlines a "minimum representative quota of: 200 pairs of Consuls per 550,000 Citizens, 100 pairs of Consuls per province, and 50 pairs per Possession.

After the General Election, seats are assigned to the electoral lists in each consular district using the D'Hondt method in each district separately; parties receive seats in approximate proportion to the number of votes each received in the district. A strictly proportional system would result in fractional seats. The D'Hondt method resolves this by favoring parties receiving larger votes.

Parties that are not already represented in the election or Assembly are required to collect signatures to support their candidacy to be able to run in the election. One-tenth of a percent of those registered to vote in a consular district are required to be on the ballot and each citizen can sign only once for a party candidacy.

Term

Consuls serve single five-year terms beginning on the last Monday in January following the election earlier that month. The Constitution requires that vacancies in the National Assembly be filled with a special election that must occur no more than 60 days from the vacancy, and the term of the replacement member expires on the date that the original members' would have expired.

The Constitution permits the National Assembly to expel a member with a two-thirds vote, which has only occurred twice in modern Caphiria. The National Assembly also has the power to formally censure or reprimand its members; censure or reprimand of a member requires only a simple majority, and does not remove that member from office.

Oath

The oath of office for all Consuls is as follows:

I Swear to the Imperator, to the People of the Imperium, to God Himself, that I will always observe and uphold the Law of The Imperium;

I Swear that I will defend and preserve, with all My power, the independence, and territory of the Imperium; that I will protect the freedom of Caphiria;

I Swear I have not promised or given, directly or indirectly, any gifts or presents to any person under whatsoever name or pretext;

I Swear to serve my nation and republic in times of war and peace with integrity and affection, on land, on the sea, and in the air, To abide by all rules and regulations and to obey my superiors, To value more than my life, the honor of service and the reputation of The Imperium of Caphiria;

I Swear that I will faithfully perform all the duties which the office lays upon me and that I keep secret everything which, in relation to my office, is told me confidentially or in which I should see the confidential character, to others than whom I obliged to inform by virtue of my office;

I Swear that I will behave as a civil servant should do, that I will be careful, honest, and reliable, and that I will do nothing that harms the prestige of the office I am holding now, or in the future;

This I Swear, before the eyes of Men, under the eyes of the Lord, with the protection of the Imperator, and for the Love and Glory I give to the Imperium of Caphiria.

Salary and benefits

As of 2020, the annual salary of a Consul is $225,000. Senior leaders earn more: $305,000 for the Proconsul Maioris, and $500,000 for the First Consul. A cost-of-living-adjustment (COLA) increase takes effect annually unless the National Assembly votes not to accept it. The Tribunal Assembly sets the salaries for Consuls, although they must make any salary change to every chamber of the Corcillum and are not allowed to make one-off modifications. Consuls are eligible for retirement benefits after serving for twenty years (4 lustra). Outside pay is limited to 10% of consular pay, and certain types of income involving a fiduciary responsibility or personal endorsement are prohibited. Salaries are not for life, only during active term.

In addition to monetary compensation, Consuls are afforded many other benefits such as a travel allowance of $55,000, are permitted to deduct up to $5,000 of living expenses per year incurred while living away from their consular district, and members of the National Assembly are automatically enrolled in MERLO, Caphiria's retirement system for government employees.

All Consuls and their families have access to Sospitas Nationalis Consilium (SNC), a branch of Caphiria's National Health System for government workers. SNC physicians provides routine exams, consultations, and certain diagnostics, and may write prescriptions. The SNS covers primary care, in-patient care, long-term health care, ophthalmology, and dentistry. Current and former Consuls may also receive emergency care at military treatment facilities.

Consuls are eligible for a Consulship Allowance (CA) to support them in their official and representational duties to their district and is calculated based on three components: one for personnel, one for official office expenses and one for official or franked mail. The personnel allowance is the same for all members; the office and mail allowances vary based on the members' district's distance from Venceia, the cost of office space in the member's district, and the number of non-business addresses in their district. These three components are used to calculate a single RA that can fund any expense—even though each component is calculated individually, the franking allowance can be used to pay for personnel expenses if the Consul so chooses. The Personnel allowance was $800,000 per Consul in 2020. Each member may employ no more than 15 permanent employees. The Consular employees' salary is capped at $95,000.

Additionally, no Consul can be arrested, detained, or summoned by a warrant for an inquiry as the suspect in a criminal case unless permission (simple majority vote) was obtained or they was arrested in flagrante delicto.

Procedure

The agenda of the National Assembly is mostly decided by the Government, although the Assembly can also enforce its own agenda. Indeed, the Constitution guarantees at least a monthly session decided by the Assembly. The items of business, a notice of which is received from the Ministers and admitted by the First Consul, are included in the daily List of Business which is printed and circulated to members in advance.

The period during which the National Assembly meets to conduct its business is called a consular session, of which three occur per year:

• First Consular Session: January 10 to April 30
• Second Consular Session: May 15 to September 30
• Third Consular Session: October 5 to December 10

Sessions typically start from 9 AM to 2 PM and from 4 PM to 7 PM. There are occasions the sittings are continuously held without observing lunch break and are also extended beyond 7 PM depending upon the business before the Assembly. The National Assembly does not ordinarily sit on Saturdays and Sundays and other closed holidays.

Daily session

Interrogo

The first hour of every consular session is called the Interrogo, a period for Consuls to ask questions of ministers on different aspects of administration and government policy in the national and international spheres. Questions may be asked of anything that seems relevant to the interest of national discourse, and those in question must stand and answer for their department's acts of omission or commission.

Questions are of three types—Denotatus (Starred), Trito (Unstarred), and Relicuos (Outstanding) . A question of Denotatus is one to which a Consul desires an oral answer in the Assembly and which is distinguished by an asterisk mark. A question of Trito is one which is not called for oral answer in the Assembly and on which no supplementary questions can consequently be asked. An answer to such a question is given in writing. A minimum period of notice for starred/unstarred questions is 10 clear days. If the questions given notice are admitted by the First Consul, they are listed and printed for an answer on the dates allotted to the Ministries to which the subject matter of the question pertains. A question of Relicuos is exempt from the period of notice as it relates to matters of urgent public importance. However, the question may only be answered if the First Consul (and respective Minister) is prepared to answer it at shorter notice, typically at the end of the interrogo.

Meridies

The time immediately following the Interrogo is known as the Meridies as it starts at around 12 noon (hence the name) and members can, with prior notice to the First Consul or Proconsul Maioris, raise issues of importance during this time. Typically, discussions on important Bills, the Budget, and other issues of national importance take place. Consuls will also take up miscellaneous items of work, such as of one or more of the following: Adjournment Motions, Questions involving breaches of Privileges, Papers to be laid on the Table, Communication of any messages with the rest of the Corcillum, Intimations regarding Prime Minister's assent to Bills, Calling Attention Notices, Matters under Rule 818, Presentation of Reports of Parliamentary Committee, Presentation of Petitions, miscellaneous statements by Ministers, Motions regarding elections to Committees, Bills to be withdrawn or introduced, etc.

Primaria

The Primaria is the main business of the day, which may be consideration of a Bill or financial business or consideration of a resolution or a motion. Because the nature of the Primaria changes constantly, there is no universal operating procedure but there are broad guidelines for some of the broader topics, such as debating and voting and legislating.

Committees

A Consul can attend more than one committee if s/he is not a member of Application Committee or Planning and Budgeting Committee. Members of those committees can not participate in any other committees. On the other hand, s/he does not have to work for a committee either. Number of members of each committee is determined by the proposal of the Advisory Council and the approval of the Assembly. Sub committees are established according to the issue that the committee receives. Only Public Economic Enterprises (PEEs) Committee has constant sub committees that are specifically responsible for a group of PEEs.

Committee meetings are open to all Consuls, Corcillum members, and other Government representatives as observers. Observers can talk in the committees but can not make amendments proposals or vote. Every Consul (and parliamentary magistrate) can read the reports of the committees. NGOs can attend the committee meetings upon the invitation of the committee therefore volunteer, individual, or public participation is not available. Media, but not the visual media, can attend the meetings. The media representatives are usually the parliamentary staff of the media institutions. The committees can prevent the attendance of the media with a joint decision.

There are three main types of committees: Consular committee, Investigative committee, International committee.

Consular committees

1. Constitution committee (260 members)
2. Justice committee (204 members)
3. National Defense committee (204 members)
4. Internal affairs committee (204 members)
5. Foreign affairs committee (204 members)
6. National Education, Culture, Youth and Sports committee (204 members)
7. Development, reconstruction, transportation and tourism committee (204 members)
8. Environment committee (204 members)
9. Health, family, employment, social works committee (204 members)
10. Agriculture, forestry, rural works committee (204 members)
11. Equal Opportunity for Women and Men Committee (260 members)
12. Application committee (130 members)
13. Planning and Budget committee (390 members)
14. Public economic enterprises committee (350 members)
15. Committee on inspection of Human rights (230 members)
16. Security and Intelligence Committee (170 members)
17. Science, Innovation and Universities Committee
18. Comprehensive Disability Policies Committee
19. International Cooperation for Development Committee
20. Local Administrations Committee

Investigative committee

These committees are established if any investigation into the Imperator, Prime Minister, and ministers occur and approved by the Assembly through hidden voting. Investigative committees are also formed to investigate any internal problem within the Corcillum.