Balder

THE CONSTITUTION OF THE SECOND REPUBLIC OF JUDE S

Ratified by the Constitutional Convention following the Civilian Revolution.

PREAMBLE
We, the people of Jude S, having thrown down a government that answered to no one but itself, in order to form a more perfect union of the provinces of this Republic, establish justice, ensure domestic tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general welfare, and secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the Second Republic of Jude S.

We have not forgotten what the old order gave us — security bought at the price of consent, order bought at the price of voice. We do not reject the need for a strong state. We reject the idea that strength requires silence. This Constitution divides power on purpose, so that trust is never again the only thing standing between the people and tyranny.

ARTICLE I — THE LEGISLATURE
Section 1. Vesting. All legislative powers herein granted shall be vested in a Congress of Jude S, which shall consist of a House of Representatives and a Senate.

Section 2. The House of Representatives.

The House shall be composed of Representatives chosen every second year by the people of the several provinces, apportioned among the provinces according to their respective populations, as determined by a census taken every ten years.
No person shall be a Representative who has not attained the age of twenty-five years, been a citizen of Jude S for seven years, and who is not, when elected, an inhabitant of the province in which they are chosen.
The House shall choose its own Speaker and other officers, and shall have the sole power of impeachment.
When vacancies occur in the representation from any province, the executive authority of that province shall issue writs of election to fill such vacancies.
Section 3. The Senate.

The Senate shall be composed of two Senators from each province, elected by the people thereof for six years; each Senator shall have one vote. Senators shall be divided into three classes, so that one-third stand for election every two years.
No person shall be a Senator who has not attained the age of thirty years, been a citizen of Jude S for nine years, and who is not, when elected, an inhabitant of the province for which they are chosen.
The Vice President shall be President of the Senate but shall have no vote unless the Senate is equally divided.
The Senate shall choose a President Pro Tempore to preside in the Vice President's absence.
The Senate shall have the sole power to try all impeachments. When the President is tried, the Chief Justice shall preside. No person shall be convicted without the concurrence of two-thirds of the Senators present. Judgment in cases of impeachment shall not extend further than removal from office and disqualification from future office of honor, trust, or profit; the convicted party remains liable to ordinary indictment, trial, and punishment according to law.
The Senate holds the exclusive power to declare war, to ratify treaties by two-thirds vote, and to confirm, by majority vote, Cabinet officers, judicial appointments, ambassadors, and senior military commanders nominated by the President.
Section 4. Elections and Meetings. The times, places, and manner of holding elections for Senators and Representatives shall be prescribed by each province, subject to override by Congress. Congress shall assemble at least once every year.

Section 5. Proceedings.

Each chamber shall be the judge of the elections, returns, and qualifications of its own members. A majority of each chamber shall constitute a quorum to do business.
Each chamber may determine the rules of its proceedings, punish its members for disorderly behavior, and, with the concurrence of two-thirds, expel a member.
Each chamber shall keep a journal of its proceedings and publish the same, excepting such parts as may in its judgment require secrecy for reasons of national security.
Neither chamber, during the session of Congress, shall adjourn for more than three days, nor to any other place, without the consent of the other.
Section 6. Privileges and Compensation. Senators and Representatives shall receive compensation fixed by law. They shall, in all cases except treason, felony, and breach of the peace, be privileged from arrest during their attendance at the session of their chamber. For any speech or debate in either chamber, they shall not be questioned in any other place.

Section 7. Legislative Process.

All bills raising revenue shall originate in the House, but the Senate may propose or concur with amendments as on other bills.
Every bill which passes both chambers shall, before it becomes law, be presented to the President. If the President approves, it is signed into law. If not, it is returned with objections to the originating chamber, which shall reconsider it; if two-thirds of both chambers agree to pass it notwithstanding, it becomes law.
If a bill is not returned by the President within ten days (Sundays excepted) of presentment, it becomes law as if signed, unless Congress by adjournment prevents its return, in which case it does not become law.
Every order, resolution, or vote requiring the concurrence of both chambers, other than a question of adjournment, shall be presented to the President and subject to approval or veto in the same manner as a bill.
Section 8. Powers of Congress. Congress shall have power to:

Lay and collect taxes, duties, and excises, to pay the debts and provide for the common defense and general welfare of Jude S, provided such taxation is uniform across all provinces;
Borrow money on the credit of Jude S;
Regulate commerce among the provinces and with foreign nations;
Establish uniform rules of naturalization;
Coin money and regulate its value;
Establish post roads and offices;
Promote science and the useful arts by securing, for limited times, exclusive rights to authors and inventors over their writings and discoveries;
Constitute tribunals inferior to the Supreme Tribunal;
Define and punish piracies and offenses against the law of nations;
Declare war, grant letters of marque and reprisal, and make rules concerning captures — exercised solely through the Senate under Section 3, Clause 6;
Raise and support armies and a navy, provided no appropriation for the army shall be for a term longer than two years;
Make rules for the government and regulation of the armed forces;
Provide for organizing, arming, and disciplining a militia for provincial and national defense;
Exercise exclusive legislation over the federal capital district and such other places purchased for forts, arsenals, dockyards, and other needful buildings;
Make all laws necessary and proper for carrying into execution the foregoing powers, and all other powers vested by this Constitution in the government of Jude S or any department or officer thereof.
Section 9. Limits on Congress.

The privilege of the writ of habeas corpus shall not be suspended, except when, in cases of rebellion or invasion, the public safety may require it, and then only by Act of Congress under the procedure of Article IX, never by the President alone.
No bill of attainder or ex post facto law shall be passed.
No tax or duty shall be laid on exports from any province.
No preference shall be given by any regulation of commerce or revenue to the ports of one province over another.
No money shall be drawn from the Treasury but in consequence of appropriations made by law; a regular statement of receipts and expenditures shall be published periodically.
No title of nobility shall be granted by Jude S; no officer of Jude S shall accept any gift, office, or title from any foreign state without the consent of Congress.
Section 10. Limits on the Provinces. No province shall enter into any treaty or alliance; coin money; emit bills of credit; grant any title of nobility; or, without the consent of Congress, lay any duty on imports or exports, keep troops or warships in time of peace, enter into any agreement with another province or foreign power, or engage in war unless actually invaded.

ARTICLE II — THE EXECUTIVE
Section 1. Vesting, Term, and Qualifications.

The executive power shall be vested in a President of Jude S, elected together with a Vice President for a term of five years, renewable once and never again.
No person shall be eligible to the office of President who is not a natural-born citizen of Jude S, who has not attained the age of thirty-five years, and who has not been a resident of Jude S for fourteen years.
Before entering office, the President shall take the following oath: "I do solemnly swear that I will faithfully execute the office of President of Jude S, and will to the best of my ability preserve, protect, and defend this Constitution."
Section 2. Powers of the President.

The President is Commander-in-Chief of the armed forces of Jude S. The President directs military operations once war is declared or authorized under Article I, Section 3, Clause 6, but does not possess the independent power to declare war, and may not by order, decree, or directive manufacture that power for themselves.
The President may order immediate military action, without prior Senate declaration, only to repel a sudden attack already underway against Jude S territory, citizens, or forces. Any such action must be reported to Congress within forty-eight hours and automatically terminates at fourteen days unless the Senate affirmatively declares war or authorizes its continuation.
The use of strategic nuclear weapons or Nuclear Energy Cannon platforms requires explicit Senate authorization in every instance, except where necessary to intercept or immediately retaliate against an incoming strike of the same category already launched against Jude S.
The President may grant reprieves and pardons for offenses against Jude S, except in cases of impeachment.
The President shall nominate, and by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, appoint Cabinet officers, ambassadors, judges of the Supreme Tribunal, and other officers of Jude S established by law.
The President shall from time to time give Congress information on the state of the Republic, and recommend measures for its consideration; may, on extraordinary occasions, convene both chambers; and shall take care that the laws be faithfully executed.
Section 3. The Vice President and Succession.

The Vice President shall be President of the Senate and shall succeed to the Presidency upon the death, resignation, removal, or incapacity of the President.
Should the President, Vice President, and the statutory line of succession all be simultaneously incapacitated, the Speaker of the House serves as Acting President only until Congress, within thirty days, either confirms a successor by joint majority vote or sets a special election. At no point does executive power default to any military, security, or intelligence body.
Section 4. Impeachment. The President, Vice President, and all civil officers of Jude S shall be removed from office upon impeachment for, and conviction of, treason, bribery, or other high crimes against the Republic — explicitly including any attempt to seize powers not granted by this Constitution, suspend this Constitution, declare or wage war without lawful Senate authorization, or dissolve Congress.

ARTICLE III — THE JUDICIARY
Section 1. Vesting. The judicial power of Jude S shall be vested in one Supreme Tribunal and such inferior courts as Congress may from time to time establish. Judges of both the Supreme Tribunal and inferior courts shall hold their offices during good behavior, removable only by impeachment, and shall receive compensation that may not be diminished during their continuance in office.

Section 2. Jurisdiction and Judicial Review. The judicial power shall extend to all cases arising under this Constitution, the laws of Jude S, and treaties made under its authority. The Supreme Tribunal holds the power of judicial review: it may declare any law, executive order, or military directive unconstitutional and void. No department of government may act to ignore, suspend, or work around a Tribunal ruling.

Section 3. Trial by Jury. The trial of all crimes, except in cases of impeachment, shall be by jury, held in the province where the crime was committed.

Section 4. Treason. Treason against Jude S shall consist only in levying war against it, or in adhering to its enemies, giving them aid and comfort. No person shall be convicted of treason unless on the testimony of two witnesses to the same overt act, or on confession in open court.

ARTICLE IV — RELATIONS AMONG THE PROVINCES
Section 1. Full faith and credit shall be given in each province to the public acts, records, and judicial proceedings of every other province.

Section 2. The citizens of each province shall be entitled to all privileges and immunities of citizens in the several provinces. A person charged with a crime who flees justice to another province shall, on demand, be delivered up to the province from which they fled.

Section 3. New provinces may be admitted by Congress, but no new province shall be formed within the jurisdiction of another province without the consent of that province's legislature and of Congress.

Section 4. Jude S shall guarantee to every province a republican form of government, and shall protect each against invasion and, on application of its legislature, against domestic violence.

ARTICLE V — AMENDMENT
Section 1. This Constitution may be amended by a two-thirds vote of both chambers of Congress, followed by ratification in a direct national referendum requiring a simple majority of votes cast.

Section 2. No amendment may eliminate the bicameral structure of Congress, the Senate's exclusive war-declaration power, the independence of the judiciary, or any right guaranteed under the Bill of Rights. These are entrenched as the structural guarantees without which this Constitution would be only a kinder version of the one it replaced.

ARTICLE VI — SUPREMACY AND GENERAL PROVISIONS
Section 1. This Constitution, and the laws and treaties made in pursuance of it, shall be the supreme law of Jude S; the judges in every province shall be bound thereby, any provincial law or constitution to the contrary notwithstanding.

Section 2. All legislative, executive, and judicial officers of Jude S and of the several provinces shall be bound by oath to support this Constitution. No religious test shall ever be required as a qualification to any office or public trust under Jude S.

Section 3. All debts and obligations entered into by the former Managed Republic prior to the Civilian Revolution shall remain valid against the Second Republic, as under the former government.

ARTICLE VII — RATIFICATION
This Constitution shall take effect upon ratification by the Constitutional Convention and confirmation by national referendum, and from that date supersedes the 2182 Constitution of the Managed Republic in full.

THE JUDE S BILL OF RIGHTS
I. Congress shall make no law restricting freedom of speech, the press, peaceful assembly, or the right to petition the government; nor shall any political party be banned, nor its members prosecuted, for its platform or ideology alone. Incitement to violence or the commission of armed insurrection remain prosecutable as conduct, not as belief.

II. No citizen shall be deprived of life, liberty, or property without due process of law, nor shall any citizen be denied the equal protection of the laws.

III. The right of the people to be secure in their persons, homes, and effects against unreasonable searches and seizures shall not be violated, and no warrant shall issue but upon probable cause, supported by oath, particularly describing the place to be searched and the persons or things to be seized.

IV. No person shall be held to answer for a capital crime without presentment by a tribunal of competent jurisdiction; nor be subject, for the same offense, to be twice put in jeopardy; nor be compelled, in any criminal case, to be a witness against themselves.

V. In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial, to be informed of the accusation, to confront the witnesses against them, to compel witnesses in their favor, and to the assistance of counsel.

VI. No citizen may be detained without charge for longer than seventy-two hours absent a judicial warrant.

VII. No civil right guaranteed by this Bill of Rights may be suspended by executive order alone. Only Congress, by the procedure of Article IX below, may suspend a specific enumerated right, for a specific stated reason, for a strictly limited time.

VIII. Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed.

IX. Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the Second Republic of Jude S, or any place subject to its jurisdiction. Congress shall have power to enforce this Article by appropriate legislation.

X. The enumeration in this Bill of Rights of certain rights shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people.

ARTICLE IX — EMERGENCY POWERS
Section 1. In a declared national emergency, the President may request from Congress the temporary suspension of a specific right enumerated in the Bill of Rights, or a wartime resource requisition.

Section 2. Any such suspension or requisition requires passage by both chambers of Congress, by simple majority, naming the specific right or resource affected, the specific reason, and an expiration date no longer than ninety days from passage.

Section 3. An emergency measure may be renewed only by a fresh vote of both chambers before it expires; it does not renew automatically, and no emergency measure may be renewed more than three times before requiring a two-thirds vote of both chambers to continue.

Section 4. The Supreme Tribunal may review and strike down any emergency measure at any time, on application by any citizen, party, or member of Congress, without needing to wait for the measure's expiration.

Section 5. No emergency, of any scale or duration, authorizes the suspension of this Constitution, the cancellation of an election, the dissolution of Congress, or the removal of judicial review. These remain absolute under all circumstances.

ARTICLE X — PENAL DOCTRINE
Section 1. Jude S continues to maintain no prison system. A citizen convicted of a crime serious enough to warrant removal from society is sentenced to death, as under the former Constitution.

Section 2. As before, every capital offender is extended, at sentencing, a single non-compulsory alternative: Commutation to State Service, under which the offender forfeits free status for the remainder of their life and becomes the laboring property of the State, assignable without wage or right of refusal — the sole form of involuntary servitude permitted under Bill of Rights, Article IX, as punishment for crime whereof the party has been duly convicted. This status may be revoked for misconduct, reverting the sentence to execution. (Basically this bans the slavery stuff)

Section 3. Every capital verdict — without exception, including treason and national-security cases — is entitled to one direct appeal to the Supreme Tribunal before a sentence may be carried out, and requires a unanimous verdict of the trial jury to stand. A single dissenting verdict reduces the sentence to State Service as a matter of law, not executive discretion.

Section 4. Minor offenses continue to be addressed through fines, restitution, or restriction of civil standing, never through confinement.