Caphiria: Difference between revisions

The legislative branch for the Imperium, the [[Senate of Caphiria]] - known traditionally as the Imperial Senate - separates into two distinct representative bodies. First, the [[Curiate Assembly]] (''Comitia Curiata'') occupies itself with the fiscal responsibilities of the Senate as its Lower House and gives legitimacy to legislation by its support. Second, the [[Consular Congress]] (''Comitium Consularis'') writes bills and provides a second democratic check on enacting new laws. The Curiate Assembly is officiated by democratically elected representatives of the public known as ''senatores ''(senators). Their role evolved from the self-serving aristocrats of the Old Republic who, plagued with greed, were individually possessed of a great deal more power than modern senators. Today, each senator represents 550,000 citizens of a curia, a contiguous political district within the Imperium. Regular bills need a 51% senatorial majority to become ''senatus consultum'' (decree of the senate). Such a bill will be posted in the Forum the following morning for review by magistrates and citizens. Afterward, the Imperator has the power to either enact or veto the bill, unless it carries a supermajority in the Senate. Meanwhile, the Consular Congress is composed of ''Consuls'', but are not like the bureaucrats who bore their name during the Old Republic. Consuls are unique in that they govern and represent the Imperium's major cultural groups - ''Foederatae'' - and maintain the concept of stratification, which in Caphiria is incredibly complex and diverse, encompassing both legal and social status. The Congress is also unique in that it has the sole power to write bills and introduce legislation, the sole power to ratify treaties, the sole power to try (but not necessarily initiate) impeachment cases against officials of the executive or even judicial branch, following enabling resolutions passed by the Assembly, and it may give advice and consent to some executive decisions (e.g. appointments of cabinet ministers, judges or ambassadors). Presiding over the Assembly and the de facto head of both houses is the President of the Senate (''Princeps Senatus''), a magistrate with no voting power but who decides the vote in the event of a tie, sways the opinion of senators by his influence, and can nullify a maximum of 10 votes with a valid reason. As figurehead of the Senate, the Princeps is often the public face for the legislature, speaking to the people of Caphiria several times a year.His duties as president include calling the either house of the Senate to assemble, issuing the final legislative position of the Assembly, maintaining order during parliamentary discussions, and delivering messages from the Assembly in person to the Imperator.[[File:Wien 01 Justizpalast a.jpg|thumb|[[Supreme Court of Caphiria|The Supreme Court of Caphiria]]|alt=|left]]The judicial branch for the Imperium is the Supreme Court (''Tribunalis Ultima'') which is itself a function of the Ministry of Justice which administers and oversees the overall judicial system. Decisions ruled as part of a proceeding in the Supreme Court cannot be overruled elsewhere, unless the relevant law is changed by senatus consultum. The Supreme Court system has gradually gained a tremendous amount of oversight and control over the application of the law, having the power to declare legislation or executive action made at any level of the government as unconstitutional, nullifying the law and creating precedent for future law and decisions. In Caphiria, judges are public officials and, since they exercise one of the sovereign powers of the Imperium, only citizens of the Imperium are eligible for judgeship. In order to become a judge, applicants must obtain a degree of higher education as well as pass written and oral examinations. However, most training and experience is gained through the judicial organization itself. The potential candidates then work their way up from the bottom through promotions. Caphiria's independent judiciary enjoys special constitutional protection from the executive branch. Once appointed, judges serve for life and cannot be removed without specific disciplinary proceedings conducted in due process before the Supreme Court. The Ministry of Justice handles the administration of courts and judiciary, including paying salaries and constructing new courthouses. The Ministry of Justice also administer the prison system. Lastly, the Ministry of Justice receives and processes applications for presidential pardons and proposes legislation dealing with matters of civil or criminal justice. As a function of the Ministry of Justice, the High Judge also serves as Prime Minister of the Ministry of Justice which has its own place within the judicial system. The Ministry of Justice arranges the ''album judicum'' - a list of every licensed jurist eligible for judging cases in a lawful court - and decides on the time and place of sessions in every Caphirian court of law. It also serves as the backbone for all of the Imperium's provincial and municipal court systems. Each provincial government possesses its own provinciarum judex, or provincial judge, who is subservient to the Ministry of Justice. While provincial judges have some leniency with their rulings and interpretations of the law, they are bound to the interpretation of law from the Ministry of Justice as a whole, meaning any ruling in one province will immediately affect the others. Excluding the Supreme Court, every judge and member of the Ministry of Justice is elected alongside every other member of the government each ''lustrum''.