Constitutional history of Urcea

The Constitution of Urcea developed over the course of more than a millennia. Various influences, including popular forces, the Catholic Church, and ancient Great Levantine institutions all contributed to the establishment of the modern Government of Urcea. Much of the history of the Urcean constitution is directly tied to the history of the Concilium Daoni and its development as a national legislature; this is true not only because it now has authority over the Urcean government, but also due to Urcean constitutional theory, which posits a type of dual sovereignty held by the Apostolic King of Urcea with the people of Urcea through the Concilium.

Scholars have noted that the development of the Urcean Constitution should not be read necessarily in progressive, or whig historiographical light; rather, it displays a transition over time of authority from one set of institutions to another. Historians note that the power of the Apostolic King of Urcea was never considered to be absolute nor was this assertion argued. Instead, many have noted that power shifted from the heritage-based Estates of Urcea over time to an elective-based Concilium Daoni and other institutions which rely on it, with the transition alternatively disrupted and accelerated by the Saint's War and Great Confessional War. Accordingly, the constitutional history of Urcea not only includes legal developments, but historical social changes involving the Urcean historic class system and other major social institutions.

Origins

Many of the constitutional institutions of Urcea find their origins in the government of Great Levantia, a classical republic based on executive Consuls, an aristocratic Senate, and a democratic tribal assembly. Many scholars have noted that Urcea is characterized by such an embrasure of semi-democratic institutions while eschewing total democracy, either classical or modern, and scholars have posited that this impulse is a cultural tradition handed down from the days of Great Levantia. The tribal assemblies were the only institution to survive the collapse of Great Levantia, and in their Urceopolitan form they elected Gaius Julius Cicurinus and his predecessors as Dux of Urceopolis, and formed the backbone of political life in Urceopolis until the elevation of the Duchy into the hereditary Archduchy of Urceopolis, when the Assemblies began to lose their authority vis-a-vis the Archduke. Meeting regularly until 852, they continued to meet intermittently up through 917 in some form or other as the Archduke began to consolidate authority over the affairs of state. For a century, the Archduke sat alone, though far from ruling with anything resembling the later impulse of absolutism. The tribes continued to exist even as they did not meet, the authority of the Archduke was largely checked by powerful landowners and optimates throughout the Archduchy. The hereditary Archduke would become Apostolic King of Urcea with the Golden Bull of 1098. The Apostolic King, in Urcean constitutional theory, is the central link of the Constitution, and throughout its history the Apostolic King has remained the essential constant of the development of the constitution. At this period in history, the King of Urcea was not unlike most other contemporary feudal kings, ruling over a constellation of feudal units with varying degrees of rights and authority over each. Many historians have called this the "unreformed Kingship" - that is, medieval, aggregated Kingship that did not yet reflect centuries of deliberative reform efforts to form a constitutional monarch.

The Estates

Main article: Estates of Urcea

The ancient assembly's tribes came the Estates of Urcea, groupings of people with not only an important impact on Urcean culture, but also groupings that had a profound impact on the development of the Constitution of Urcea and the general political climate of early Urcea. Due to the continued growth of the realm and the need for administrative assistance, Emperor Adrian II, first Emperor of the Levantines from Urcea, decided to call for a new assembly to replace the lapsed ancient institution, creating the system of Great Landsmeets, which would directly represent the fifty Estates. The Landsmeet would remain in place following the Golden Bull of 1098 and the creation of Urcea as a Kingdom. The Great Landsmeet would subsequently be called often during the two centuries of its existence, solving legal disputes put before them by the King, administering newly acquired territories on behalf of the King, and serving as something like the Kingdom's highest arbitration court (besides that of the Apostolic King himself).

The Landsmeet

Increasing incidents between and within Estates, however, and the growing complexity of governing the united realm necessitated a replacement for the tribal assembly. In 1022, Emperor Adrian II, the first Julian elected Emperor of the Levantines, formally called for the first meeting of a "great" Landsmeet of all of the Estates. It would serve as the replacement for the tribal assembly and would be an authoritative source of conflict resolution and legal consultation for the Archduke-Grand Duke. Rather than represent any specific area. The Great Landsmeet, like the assembly before it, represented the fifty tribal Estates of the Estates of Urcea, which, by the 11th century, were spread out throughout the country and no longer had a meaningful urban-rural divide between them. Upon the elevation of the realm to a Kingdom with the Golden Bull of 1098, the system of Great Landsmeets were elevated to a Royal institution. Great Landsmeets were subsequently called dozens of times between 1022 and 1243, when its use had depreciated to the point of irrelevance and it was fully supplanted by the Concilium Daoni, which it created in 1146.

In 1146, King Niall I and the Estates of Urcea were at odds over the expenses incurred by Niall's involvement in putting down an uprising in the Levantine Empire, for which he was awarded the Electorate of Canaery. At an impasse, the Great Landsmeet and the King agreed to convene a council of commoners comprised of privilegiata and freemen, the latter of which were not allowed to sit or vote in the Great Landsmeet. The council of commoners was designed to propose independent compromises for the King and Great Landsmeet to consider. This common council was comprised of freemen and privilegiata selected to represent each Estate, and the King's Steward was entrusted with the responsibility of organizing the council. With the beginning of the Saint's War in 1214, it became dangerous for important optimates to travel, and travel in general was disrupted. The continuing growth of the nation - the same factor that weakened the tribal assembly - also made it difficult for the Great Landsmeet to fully meet. The common council was more flexible as it required only delegations from Estates and not the optimate heads themselves, and in 1221 the King and Great Landsmeet gave the common council the same force of law that the Landsmeet possessed. By doing so, the Great Landsmeet had relegated itself to secondary status and it was now only useful for resolving disputes within Estates themselves. Existing for another two impotent decades, Estates themselves were proving more than adequate of handling internal disputes. King Aedanicus III called one final Great Landsmeet in 1243, but it was not called again. Its existence remained "on the books" until legal reforms implemented by King Lucás II in 1415 formally dissolved its existence. From the 12th century on, it became clear that the Concilium Daoni would be the primary body of consultation for the Apostolic King of Urcea.

The early Daoni

The early Concilium Daoni met irregularly following its elevation to the authority of the Landsmeet in 1221, meeting on average only three times per decade. In its earliest form, the Daoni was similar in composition to the Great Landsmeet. Voting was on an estate-by-estate basis rather than an individual representative basis, and accordingly Estates, rather than geographical areas, were represented in the Daoni. As the voting was done by estate, the number of representatives varied considerably, with most estate delegations having 5-9 members at any given session of the Daoni. The early Daoni did not have a set meeting place, a situation that would continue in some form until the 19th century, but it nearly always met in Urceopolis and sometimes in or around the Julian Palace. Some of the earliest sessions of the Daoni were held in buildings and open areas of the ruined Levantine Forum, incidences which would later be used to create an ideological connection between the Levantine Senate and the Daoni, although such connections were not commented on by contemporaries and likely not thought of at the time. Although representative of the Estates, even at this early point the Daoni managed to establish a relatively independent perspective than merely being either a "rubber stamp" for the King or a direct representation of the High Optimates who led the Estates. Historians have variously attributed the influence of the King and his Court or the location in Urceopolis of sessions as a reason for the remoteness of the representatives and their Estate leaders.

This version of the Daoni had a relatively small mandate. Beyond providing counsel to the King on any particular issue facing the Kingdom at the time, the Daoni consistently only considered items relating to the levying of taxes during the 13th and 14th century. At times, levies of freemen for use in armies were also approved by the Daoni, but the record is unclear as to how or why these matters were referred to the Daoni, and such referrals happened inconsistently enough to not establish a precedent. The King and his Court at this time exercised most of the authority within the Kingdom in conjunction with local High Optimate magnates, with the Daoni only having limited influence over public affairs.

No King in Urcea

During the final phase of the Saint's War, there was no Apostolic King of Urcea for six decades in a period known as the Great Interregnum. This phase of the conflict is characterized by near-permanent civil war and the total collapse of civic authority within the Julian realm. As there was no King, the Concilium Daoni did not meet for the entire 63 years of this period. Accordingly, many historians traditionally lamented this period as a "great step backward" for the development of the Urcean constitution, a position that modern historians have challenged. The revisionist argument cites that both the Aleckán and Cónn factions in the conflict summoned their own Concilia near their respective courts; this not only continued the expectation of the Daoni being called, but in many cases also directly involved many pre-Interregnum members of the Daoni in the earliest stage of the Interregnum. Despite their continuance, both factions were continually reliant on the High Optimate magnates which supported them, entrenching their political authority within the realm. The war generally, and Interregnum specifically, did have the effect of functionally breaking feudalism in Urcea due to the demographic (and consequently labor) destruction it caused. This weakened the power of the so-called "lower" Optimate class, who made up a majority of the nobility, but the High Optimates emerged from the war with significant influence in place.

Velucian court

At the end of the Saint's War in 1402, House de Weluta took control of the Kingdom and had the first King, Leo, crowned in over six decades. Leo was responsible for rebuilding the Kingdom, both physically and institutionally. Leo summoned the Concilium Daoni in early 1403 to levy a tax for the reconstruction of ancient Great Levantine roads and construction of new aqueducts, restoring the Daoni's position following a fraught several decades. In 1407, King Leo convened the Gildertach for the first time as a way to engage the Urcean government with the powerful guilds, though like the Daoni they would remain largely a consultation based body.

Leo's reign was marked by tension between the High Optimates and the other classes, especially the lower Optimates. Leo was largely reliant on the High Optimates for claiming his throne, and accordingly it was felt he had an obligation to them. This obligation was balanced by the legal obligations of the King to consult with the Concilium Daoni. At this time, the heads of the Estates of Urcea (High Optimates themselves) were still responsible for the selection of representatives to the Daoni, who could only be of the privilegiata or the various types of freemen. Despite having direct authority to appoint representatives, the High Optimates and their nominees were nonetheless constrained by the Landsmeets of the individual estates, where the lower Optimates far outnumbered the High Optimates. Additionally, once the representatives actually reached the Daoni, they often acted independently. Accordingly, the Daoni at this period was associated with the "lower" Optimates or the lower orders and Optimates in loose alliance. Leo managed to strike a "moderate" path between these influences , thereby establishing a new constitutional equilibrium during the reigns of the early de Welutas to the benefit of the crown. Leo and his successors would manage to balance these two powerful institutions around themselves for a century and a half with varying degrees of success. Historians consider this to be the last true period of significant Optimate power over public affairs, noting that they served an important constitutional balancing role during this period against the other classes and the crown.

The Purpaidá takes control

Main article: Concilium Purpaidá

Reforming the Daoni

The Leonine era saw significant reforms occur throughout Urcea in the social, economic, and demographic devestation wrought on the country by the Great Confessional War. With respect to the governance of the realm and the Daoni, many important changes occurred, but these should be viewed primarily as administrative - rather than political - reforms. The first Ómestaderoi are primarily remembered for their demographic impact, but nonetheless had the effect of bringing Urcean cultural norms regarding expectations of government throughout the lands now held by the Julian dynasty. King Leo II was instrumental in making several major reforms to the Concilium Daoni early during this period. Most notably, Leo abolished the right of heads of the Estates of Urcea to appoint representatives to the Concilium Daoni, and he began the process of creating "districts" for members to represent, though these districts were often coterminous with local communes - which elected members - or with low level vassals such as counts and barons, who appointed members to the body. This "fusion" system of appointment and election would remain the way the Daoni was selected for more than a century and a half.

When considering the administrative reforms, Leo's reforms to the Urcean class system, and the demographic impacts of the Great Confessional War, the late 16th and early 17th century had the cumulative effect of breaking the political power of the Optimates in Urcea. While the Optimates would remain politically relevant until the total abolition of class centuries later, it was clear that power no longer flowed from the Optimate landed magnates through the Crown. In their place, the Concilium Daoni would emerge from a relatively obscure common advisory board to a prominent place in Urcean society by the end of the century, if not yet assuming a full legislative mandate.

The latter part of the 17th century continued the expansion of Daoni in a significant way. The '75 Rising exposed the need for the peripheral parts of the Kingdom - such as those areas in Gassavelia and Crotona - to be governed in line with the rest of the Kingdom.

A "government apart from the King"

The 1700s saw several landmark events which transformed the Concilium Daoni into a true national legislature, and consequently the growth of the government of Urcea as a constitutional state. These changes not only came in the form of greater authority and specific legal changes, but in perception in the minds of its participants and the Urcean people. Prior to the 18th century, the Apostolic King of Urcea alone was viewed by nearly every member of Urcean society as the person ultimately responsible for the governance of the state. By the end of the 1700s, however, the Daoni and institutions surrounding it were viewed by the public, by its participants, and by the Apostolic King as more or less an independent junior partner of the King. Accordingly, for the first time, Urcea had what contemporaries called (in a P.G.W. Gelema paraphrase): a "government apart from the King." This period also saw the infusion of modern political philosophy and ideology into the system, with the competing ideas of Crown Liberalism and Organicism both significantly shaping the development of Urcea's social and political institutions.

At the beginning of the 18th century, the Concilium Daoni enjoyed what scholars have referred to as a "first confidence". Having been expanded to cover the entire Julian realm the previous century, and exercising a varying degree of authority aggregated over the previous 500 years. At this time, the Daoni did not have full legislative or budgetary authority, but rather an oversight role into the Kingdom's affairs. The Daoni instituted several internal reforms in 1706, most prominently including the decision to hold semi-regular meetings for the first time in its history, rather than being subject to the call of the Apostolic King. This "first confidence" inspired set of reforms came at an advantageous time, as King Riordan VII had recently been elected Emperor of the Levantines and was content to have the Daoni assist in a small capacity in the day-to-day management of the realm as he spent his energies and attention elsewhere in the Holy Levantine Empire.

The emergence of the privilegiata as a middle class and the predominant economic producers during this period coincided with a growing association between the privilegiata and the institution of the Daoni. While the privilegiata had always sat on the Daoni, it entered the public consciousness during the early 1700s in a way that had not been present before. It became a powerful tool to represent the "voice" of the privilegiata, strengthening that class's interest in and investment towards the institution. Many scholars have also noted that the century-earlier opening of the body to election, rather than appointment by high nobles, laid the groundwork for the privilegiata to become more closely associated with the Daoni. From the 1700s onward, the privilegiata (and later middle class) would be viewed as the greatest champions and supporters of the rights of the Daoni, and would work actively on its behalf.

Concession of 1747

The Concession of 1747 is considered the single most important development within Urcea's constitutional history due to the breadth of the changes. Extracted from King Leo IV during the War of the Caroline Succession, the Concession changed both the composition and mandate of the Daoni, putting it firmly on the course of becoming a national legislature. The Concession consisted of two separate decrees issued by the King, the first of which was the Decree on the Constitution of the Common Council (18 August). This Decree abolishes the previous Leonine composition of the Daoni - partly elected, partly appointed by local notables - with an all-elective body to be elected in 1750 and every five years thereafter. This was followed by the Decree on the Constitution of the Privy Council (5 September), which required the King to obtain the "general consent" of the Daoni to make appointments to the Concilium Purpaidá. In addition to the direct effect of establishing two precedents that remain to this day, the latter Decree had the practical effect of signaling the King's willingness to allow the Daoni to have significant influence over the government, truly setting it on the path of becoming a legislative body.

Great Bull of 1811

Main article: Great Bull of 1811

Final triumph of the Daoni

Enabling

Main article: The Enabling

Modern developments

Since the mid-20th century, the constitution of Urcea has largely been considered "settled," inasmuch as all of the primary institutions of governance are firmly established and are legally constructed in such a way that they are not subject to further change in their essential attributes. Despite this, some developments have occurred since that period, either within an institution or to a tertiary institution of the government, such as the judiciary.

The Empire-in-fact

Main article: Empire-in-fact

The Second Great War brought about the end of the millennia-old Holy Levantine Empire, but several political, geopolitical, and institutional reasons existed for retaining the institution in some form. The Treaty of Corcra provided that the Apostolic King of Urcea was entitled to retain the title of Emperor of the Levantines and exercise some limited, largely de jure, responsibilities under that title. While the title was important to the future Levantine Union in a variety of ways, many scholars have noted that it had a significant, if understated, impact on the development of the Urcean Constitution. To that point, the Apostolic King was largely constrained in his role by the emergent Constitution as well as various precedents in Talionia in his capacity as King there. However, several kings since the Treaty and especially Riordan VIII have used their position as Emperor to act somewhat independently of the state. While it has no impact on his role within the Urcean government, analysts and historians have noted that the Julians as Emperor have shown a willignness to act as a "one man state" when not constrained by the Constitution in Urcea. This conception of the Julians has come into full public perception with The Deluge, which has largely given Riordan VIII the platform to conduct independent politics and diplomacy (particularly within Crona), the first monarch since The Enabling to have such authority.

An independent judiciary

Main article: Criminal justice system of Urcea

Since the medieval period, the primary parts of the Urcean justice system had relied largely on arbitrators and judges appointed first by the Apostolic King of Urcea then by the various officers of the Government of Urcea. This system was effective in earlier times in providing for a relatively swift execution of justice and arbitration, and was especially necessary as the courts were drastically expanded following the confirmation of civil and judicial rights in the Great Bull of 1811. By the late 20th century, however, the system began to show signs of inadequacy. Specifically, as the constitution began to take shape and the government was more involved in the appointment of judges, political partisanship on the bench became an unpopular constant throughout Urcean civic life. Calls for judicial reform were one of the most popular political issues of the 1980s, leading to a significant overhaul of the judicial system to occur in 1989 with the passage of the Judicial Appointment and Term Act. The Act removed the Procurator and provincial Governors' ability to appoint judges, instead creating an appointment process which required the judges from higher levels to appoint qualified candidates for the lower courts, and for a non-partisan commission to select the initial group of "non-partisan" judges beginning for the term 1990. By 2025, every judge on the bench in Urcea could trace their appointment to the non-partisan commission, providing for a truly politically independent judiciary.