Commander-in-Chief of the Imperial Armed Forces (Castadilla)
| Commander-in-Chief of the Imperial Armed Forces
Praefectus Praefecti de Militum Imperatoris Comandante en Jefe de las Fuerzas Armadas Imperiales Komadane Kasike des Forsas Amadas Emperialaus | |
|---|---|
| Executive branch in Castadillaan Politics | |
| Style | His Excellency |
| Status | Chief executive |
| Member of | |
| Residence | Residence of the Edifier |
| Seat | Santa Maria, Castadilla |
| Appointer | Imperial Coronation |
| Term length | Life |
| Constituting instrument | Constitution of Castadilla |
| Inaugural holder | Francisco de Costa (Delepasia) Maximilian I (Castadilla) |
| Formation | 21 May 1976 (Delepasia) 30 April 1996 (Castadilla) |
| Salary | ₽2,500,000 annually |
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The Commander-in-Chief of the Imperial Armed Forces (Latin: Praefectus Praefecti de Militum Imperatoris; Pelaxian: Comandante en Jefe de las Fuerzas Armadas Imperiales; Reform Tainean: Komadane Kasike des Forsas Amadas Emperialaus) is the chief executive of Castadilla, and the person who wields supreme command and control over the nation's Imperial Armed Forces. As the supreme commandership holds a variety of executive powers and thus often takes a leading position in the nation's politics, the position is often seen as the highest office in Castadilla after the Emperor.
The powers, functions and duties of the office of the commander-in-chief as well as their relation with the prime minister and Magisterial Council of Castadilla, is highly unusual, and the exact triumviral configuration of the nation's executive branch has led to some even calling Castadilla a quasi-Julian republic, or rather the "Urcean system with Vallosi characteristics". The commander-in-chief is almost never designated outside of the Imperial Coronation, though during the Delepasia Era the commander-in-chief was given to a high-ranking military figure through an legislative electoral college.
The current commander-in-chief is Emperor Maximilian I, who de jure succeeded Francisco de Costa on 30 April 1996 after the Velvet Revolution and subsequent transition to democracy.
History
The idea of the supreme commandership being the chief executive has its roots in the 14 July 1919 coup d'état in Rosario which led to the emergence of a military dictatorship headed by a non-civilian commander-in-chief who may or may not have also been the nominal head of state if they did not wish to keep up the pretense of a "purely" civilian rule over the nation. Of course, by the time of Fernando Pascual's rise to the Rosarian premiership and the formation of the Estado Social in the 1930s, the nation had transitioned towards a parliamentary system in all but name, so much so that the commander-in-chief's only check on the prime minister's power was the ability to dismiss him at will, a power that was never exercised even during the tenure of Nicolas Torres.
With the unification of the Delepasian Commonwealth in the 1970s, the nation had largely inherited Rosaria's form of government with one major difference, that being the head of state was now the highly ceremonial Emperor, with the commander-in-chief still being designated as the chief executive.
The first of these military chief executives was Isador de Santa Anna, who became chief executive in 1919 after the coup d'état. He remained in office even after Pascual's ascension to the premiership and the former's entrusting of executive power into the latter. Santa Anna died in 1949 after serving for almost thirty years. His successor was Jaime Trastamara who died suddenly in 1956, and Francisco de Costa was quickly elected to replace him, a role he maintained even after the emergence of Delepasia. He, alongside prime minister Torres, was ousted on 30 April 1994 after the Lavender Revolution, the two fleeing to the Cape in exile for the rest of their lives.
Since the current Constitution came into effect in 1996, some of the powers that were delegated to the head of government have been restored to the supreme commandership, a situation that continues to this day decades later.
Designation
First method
The first method used to designate a commander-in-chief was a popular presidential election. What this entailed was that the people of Rosario would directly vote for who should be the commander-in-chief. In theory, the people could have chosen anyone, but in practice the options were limited by design so as to ensure that only the candidate supported by the regime would win, and that any outsider would be forced to resign or face severe penalties. This system lasted until after the 1956 presidential election.
Second method
After the 1956 election, Pascual decided that the commander-in-chief would be decided in an indirect election wherein only members of the legislative lower house would have the right to vote for who should be designated as commander-in-chief. By doing this, he had hoped that there would be less opportunities for the opposition to try and inhibit his consolidation of power. This method carried into the Delepasian Era, where the commander-in-chief, while no longer referred to as the nation's head of state, was still deemed the chief executive. This system lasted until the Velvet Revolution in 1994.
Third method
The Velvet Revolution put an end to a member of the military being the commander-in-chief, and the very idea of the commander-in-chief being voted upon at all. As of 30 April 1996, the Constitution has reserved the designation of the commander-in-chief for the Imperial Coronation where the new commander-in-chief is hailed by the crowd as the Praefectus Praefecti. In practice, it is the Emperor himself who is hailed as such, and thus is designated as the commander-in-chief, granting him powers far beyond the ceremonial imperial title.
Powers
Below the ceremonial imperial office, Castadilla's system is comparable to that of a semi-presidential system where the non-parliamentary chief executive wields considerable power. Although the Prime Minister of Castadilla, through their magisterial council as well as the National Assembly, oversee much of the nation's actual day-to-day affairs, it is the commander-in-chief who holds significant influence and authority, especially in the fields of national security and foreign policy. The greatest power bestowed to the commander-in-chief is the ability to choose the prime minister. However, because the Congress of the Commons has the sole power to dismiss the prime minister's magisterial council, the commander-in-chief has to name a prime minister who is able to command the confidence of a majority in the Commons. Since 1996, because the office of the commander-in-chief is vested in the person of the politically-neutral Emperor; a majority supporting the prime minister's party or at the very least not opposing the opposing the prime minister is therefore very likely to be obtained. They have also the duty of arbitrating the functioning of governmental authorities for efficient service, as the chief executive of Castadilla. Among the powers of the commander-in-chief:
- The commander-in-chief promulgates laws.
- The commander-in-chief has the ability to a suspensive veto: when presented with a law, they may request another reading of it by the National Assembly, but only once per law, though their additional reading request may not be refused.
- The commander-in-chief may also refer the law for review to the Supreme Court prior to promulgation.
- The commander-in-chief may dissolve the Congress of the Commons.
- The commander-in-chief may refer treaties or certain types of laws to popular referendum, within certain conditions (among them the agreement of the prime minister or the National Assembly).
- The commander-in-chief is the supreme commander of the armed forces.
- The commander-in-chief names the prime minister. In theory, they cannot directly dismiss them, but a PM may give an undated letter of resignation for themselves to the commander-in-chief upon taking office, and the commander-in-chief generally has influence over the PM. The commander-in-chief also names and dismisses the other ministers, with the advice of the prime minister.
- The commander-in-chief names most officials (with the assent of the cabinet).
- The commander-in-chief names certain members of the Supreme Court. (Former commanders-in-chief are also members of this council)
- The commander-in-chief receives foreign ambassadors.
- The commander-in-chief may grant a pardon or an amnesty to convicted criminals; the commander-in-chief can also lessen or suppress criminal sentences.
All decisions of the commander-in-chief must be countersigned by the prime minister, except dissolving the Congress of the Commons, choice of prime minister, and other dispositions referred to in Article 19.
Criminal responsibility and impeachment
Articles 67 and 68 organise the regime of criminal responsibility of the commander-in-chief. They were reformed by a 2005 constitutional act in order to clarify a situation that previously resulted in legal controversies. The commander-in-chief enjoys sovereign immunity during their tenure: they cannot be requested to testify before any jurisdiction, they cannot be prosecutred, etc. However, the statute of limitation is suspended during their tenure, and any enquiries and prosecutions can be restarted, at the latest one month after they leave office. However, the commander-in-chief is not deemed personally responsible for their actions in their official capacity, except where their actions are indicted before an international tribunal or where impeachment is moved against them. Impeachment can be pronounced by the National Court of Justice, a special court convened from both congresses of the National Assembly on the proposal of either Congress, should the commander-in-chief have failed to discharge their duties in a way that evidently precludes the continuation of their tenure.
Succession and incapacity
Upon the death in office, removal, or resignation of the commander-in-chief, a senior member of the Imperial Family will be appointed to take over as acting commander-in-chief until a permanent commander-in-chief is designated during the Imperial Coronation; they do not become the new commander-in-chief as designated, and thus retain their current post. Such a situation has never happened, but the title of Acting Commander-in-Chief is reserved for such scenarios.
During this period, acting commanders-in-chief are not allowed to dismiss the Congress of the Commons, nor are they allowed to call for a referendum or initiate any constitutional changes. If there is no eligible member of the Imperial Family, then the powers of the commander-in-chief are exercised by the Speaker of the Commons. This is in fact very unlikely to happen, because there are far too many members of the Imperial Family that there will inevitably be a member who is more than capable of serving as acting commander-in-chief.
During the Delepasian Era the prime minister would have acted as commander-in-chief if the office were to become vacant until a chief executive election is held.
Death in office
No commander-in-chief has died in office since 1976, but in Rosario, from which Delepasia and Castadilla get their positions of commander-in-chief as chief executives, Isador de Santa Anna and Jaime Trastamara have died in office, the former having died in 1949, and the latter died suddenly in 1956.
Official residence
The official residence of the commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces is the Residence of the Edifier, one of the three buildings in the Capitolium of Castadilla located in Santa Maria, the nation's capital. This palace is often erroneously referred to as the official residence of the Emperor, but legally the Residence of the Edifier is reserved for the nation's chief executive, which happens to be the Emperor as of 1996.