Comitatia Curiata, Consulate of Sabinus/Lepidus (The Constitution Lobby)(YATS II)

[sanada]

This is the place were the Senators discuss Laws, the Constitution and the general running of the Senate - this is the Lobby, welcome all Senators!

- Decius Loreius Ancus.





Digestum vetus, book 4:2 Italy.

[sanada]

THE CONSTITUTION!


Quote:
Constitution of the Republic.


Part 1
Rights of Roman Citizens


1. The Right of Free Will.


This clause ensures that every citizen of the republic is enlisted his own opinion and has the right to express it anywhere, anytime. Of course the only regulations which apply to this clause are the Decorum in every action (TWC rules) and the relativity of the place and subject discussed. As long as a citizen speaks his mind where and how it’s proper, he follows the Law of the Republic.


~1~


2. The Right of Equality in getting elected.


This clause is to ensure that every citizen running for office in the Republic will be given the equal chance to demonstrate his opinion, thoughts, accomplishments and promotion as all other candidates, thus have an equal chance in getting elected for the office he runs for. Every one who in foul means block a candidate from exercising his rights, will be punished as law defines.

~2~


3. The Right of “Clean” Elections.


This clause it to further the clause 2 and declares that it is the constitutional right of the citizens of the Republic to have clean elections, thus having the representation they like best. Anyone who acts against this clause both by fixing elections or by influencing others to vote in a fashion against their will, breaks the law and will be punished by the law.

~3~


4. The Right of Representation.


Each citizen of the Republic has the Right to be represented on elections by either himself or a senator that promotes his own opinions. No regulations can be imposed by law on what a senator can vote and what he cannot. Anyone promoting these malpractices shall be punished as law defines.

~4~


5. The Right to be gifted a clean trial and a representative to talk in favor of the accused.


Every citizen of the Republic has the Right of a swift and clean trial in any case where he is accused of misdeeds against the Constitution of the Republic. Further each accused can have any other citizen to talk in his favour during a trial (arbiter).

~5~


6. The right to meet and associate.

This clause is to ensure that anyone who wants can create a party to promote a cohesive pack of ideas. There will be regulations though on how an association works, all stated in the proper clause “political parties”.

~6~


7. Protection from unwarranted search and seizure.

Any and all investigations into any crime must be approved by a majority vote of the Senate Praetors (Winter, Sanada, and Gracchus). Any infraction on this right is punishable by a trial and barring from political office.

~7~


Part 2.
Voting Process, the Republican Offices and the Consular Term.


A. the new voting system:


Those that run from now on, upon elections victory, will not be eligible to re-run for a considerable amount of time, allowing all members to run for every office due time. According to the position the senators have achieved, the time were they will be considered non-eligible to run will differ. That means:
Senior Consul: abstaining from high office for the following elections, eligible for Tribune.
Junior Consul:abstaining from high office for the following elections, eligible for Tribune.
Tribune of Plebeians: Can run only for high office, no option for second tribune election in the next elections.


In the case of elections defeat, the senators can retry when they please (NO RESTRICTIONS).


B. How will we count the votes on motions or the elections?


The same process as before shall be used; All senators can put up a vote in rp threads and all enlisted members can vote by their preference; The votes shall not close for 3 days, to give time to all members to read and decide their decision. The elections will be on polls as usual lasting for 24 hours from the minute of their opening;


C.The republican offices.


Senior Consul

(Elected Position, Very Powerful Position, Contested Position, Heavy too Moderate Workload, Scrutinized Position, Receives the Game Save, Needs Imperator II.)

The Senior Consul plays out the will of the senate via Imperator II (a mod for Rome Total War 1.5) there is only one Senior Consul. They receive a save game file from the previous Senior Consul. The Senior Consul must post data on battles (casualties and what not) and data on construction work and recruitment.
To run for Senior Consul all you should state your intention to run for Senior Consul in the appropriate thread.

He can do, without the consent of the senate, the following:

Can attack enemy armies in the field, Retrain his men, move the legions, merge the legions, split the legions, advance in enemy territory, take map info and trade rights, build up the empire, use spies, use the fleet.


Junior Consul (Elected Position, Very Powerful Position, Influential Position, Heavily Contested Position, Moderate Workload.)

The Junior Consul is second to the Senior Consul. They do not get to play via Imperator II; there is only one Junior Consul. They have a list of responsibilities:
They must appoint a Censor; this can be any senator they wish.
They must appoint one Princeps Senatus.
They also have the Consuls Veto, which they can use to Veto any Act, Bill or Motion put forward by the Senior Consul.
The Junior Consul can also veto actions the Senior Consul takes in the field.
ONLY position with the power to end votes. Votes can only be ended after 8 or more senators have voted,but the bill in question must be up for vote for more than 3 days.
If the Junior Consul goes inactive for a period of 3 days, the Senior Consul may end votes.
Censor

(Appointed Position, Influential Position, Moderate Workload, Receives the Game Save, Needs Imperator II.)

The Censor receives the save game file from the previous Senior Consul, there is only one Censor.
Their main job is to investigate the previous Senior Consul’s term, and make sure no cheats have been used (e.g. the ‘process_cq’ cheat)
Make sure no illegal wars are occurring,
Generally make sure there are no discrepancies in the save game file.
They must also scrutinize the economy and make suggestions to the senate on how to improve it etc.
The Censor must then report their findings to the senate in the form of a report.
A very important job of the Censor is their duty to investigate over senators, however no public action can be taken until they tell either sanada or winter, and have there permission.
If a senator seems to be distorting, rigging elections in anyway or other matters such as these, it is the Consuls job to investigate further and find ample evidence to lead an Inquiry.

Princeps Senatus (Appointed Position, Most powers Symbolic, Heavy Workload, Responsible Position.)
There is only ONE Princeps Senatus.
· Princeps Senatus can be from any party.
· They should keep track of Motions, Acts, Bills and Votes in the senate and then post their findings in the appropriate thread.
· They should keep track of Military casualties in battles, wars, conflicts etc and then post their findings in the appropriate thread.
· They should keep the peace in the senate, by ending debates that degenerate into name calling etc (Note: they do not have the right to end the debates, but if the Princeps decides that a debate has degenerated and sees fit to end it, the Senate should comply)


The Tribune of the Plebs
(Elected Position, Influential Position, Powerful Position, Light Workload.)

There can be anything up to five members in the Tribune (of the Plebs), however the number of places available is subject to the number of people who put themselves forward for election to that position. The Tribune is there to act in the best interest of the senate and people of Rome, which generally means they request tax reductions etc.
· The Tribunes Veto, this power is used to counter act Motions, Bills, Acts, Votes etc that the Tribune member feels that it may take away power from the Senate or people.


Senators of Rome
(Powerful Position, Open to Anyone, Light Workload, Influential Position)

The Senators of Rome cover everyone who is on the senate list, and is registered as a senator. Everyone in the ‘You Are the Senate AAR’ has a voice, and can express their views however they want, (however this Forum is moderated by winter and sanada who are highly active in there role, and will report anyone who repeatedly breaks and flaunts TW Centres rules) they can form any party, join any party or they can just be independents. All registered senators can vote on any matter bought up, please note, during elections of senatorial offices if you do not have over 50 Posts you will not be able to vote in the polls – do not fear, just post (or PM winter) on the voting thread who you wish to vote for.


The senators of Rome are the ones that compose the Senatus in-game; they can debate and decide on the following:


On declaration of war, peace and alliance, on new legions trained, on raising\reducing taxes, on buildings that provide citizenship, on Romanise the settlement in question, on the enemy settlement's fate(occupation, enslavement, extermination),on raising buildings on the empire’s towns, on "blitz&raid" attacks and the assault on enemy towns. Plus they can: vote on a specific mission to set to the Consul; That can be to obtain surrender, trade rights, map info, military passage etc. On war occasions, the senate can give the Consul a mission like: take x city, destroy y army, regain the eagle operations etc.


Optional offices(administrative offices of the RP threads)


-Praetor Curiator; He administers the Comitatia Curiata thread and sums up the legislations presenting them in the senate for votes. He cannot veto any proposal (give the pleasure to the tribunes\consuls instead...) but he can have them, by right, altered if he feels that they will not pass at current state. An elected position.

-Praetor Legatus; He will administer the war room. He will have the obligation to sum up and present both senate and senior consul with a campaign plan to crush the enemies if the republic (in a sense a general staff). Open position to previous Consuls or the active Junior.

-Tribunes Militum; They must keep track of their assigned legion, their losses, their fights, their retrains (if any), orders etc to help out the PS work. Voted for.


D.Consular Term.


The consular term from now on will be two weeks long; plus each Consul has the obligation to play for as much as 4 years in-game (16 turns in 4tpy).

Part 3.
General changes on the AAR RP mechanics(as for ex. parties), the Punishments for not abiding to the new Constitution and the legislation regulation.

A. Political Factions.


From now on the factions, if the come in existence later on will be unions of like minded senators. That means that all senators who join a Party may have a same perspective of an issue for ex. the taxes and therefore vote in a negative or positive way when a motion for taxes is put on vote. There will be no more all-round factions, about the life of the Republic, claiming the best of Rome or the perseverance of the Republic to be their doing. From now on the factions will be cause-specific. It goes without saying that the factions are not there to recruit votes on elections as we did thus far but to support a common set of ideas of the senators. In elections time, the faction members are forbidden by law to support each other to get office, except the case where either a senator has pledged to be ally with the one he votes for or the case where the senator voting expects nothing back(that means not beeing voted by the senator in question in these or next elections.To avoid any case where the vote is totally coincidental,we shall adjudicate the case.)


B. Alliances


All alliances (the vote me – vote you tactics) between senators must be demonstrated within the senate house and ratified by the public acceptance of those that are allies. The ratified alliances cannot grow to a number of more than 5 senators in one alliance with no option for cooperation between two alliances of senators, so that even with the alliance, no one will be able to win majority by themselves.Also the ratified alliances will have to be broken after a period of two elections and forbidden to re open for a week. Any senator who continues the malpractices of private dealings (through Xfire and PMs) must be punished by the law; his “accomplice” – him, who the senator proposes the alliance to, has the sacred duty to inform the senate of this private offer. If he does not do that, and in the elections shows that he supported the senator in question and been supported back on this or the next elections, without being his ally, both shall face trial for treason against the Republic and be banned from elections for a considerable amount of time. The case where a senator votes for an other without a vote or something in return will not be considered treason against the Republic.


C. Enemy of the State.


If a senator is believed that he corrupts the elections in any way, may that be by influencing or bribing for votes, he can face prosecution by any other Senator. Of course, in order to avoid the misuse or abuse of this act, the accusator must have firm evidence of the corruption. If he does have them, then he will open an inquiry were he will accuse the senator in question of being enemy of the state. If found guilty, he will be banned from the elections for a period of 1 - 3 months and his character will be considered disgraced.

D.Punishments.

1. Vote fixing
A formal inquiry will be made in the form of a senate trial by the Senate Judges. If the accused is found guilty, punishment may range from barring for one term from political office and voting, to suspension from the senate for a time determined by the Judges.

2. Illegal alliances.
A formal inquiry, in the form of a senate trial, will be held by the Judges of the Senate. If the accused are found guilty, then their alliance will be forcibly broken, and they may be suspended for a period of time determined by the judges. They may also be barred from high office.

E.The Legislation Regulations.

NO LEGISLATION CAN STROLL FROM THESE BASIC PRINCIPLES;NO LAW STANDS WHICH LIMITS THE POWER OF EITHER THE CONSUL OR THE SENATE.

All bills should be relevant to a single topic. Senseless sections and clauses tacked on disrupt the purpose of a bill. Senators who agree with a certain section of bill but disagree with another are forced to make choices as to which side they favor more. Instead of a bill as a whole package it should be broken into its respective sections and each one voted on individually.

1. All bill should strive to be simple and to the point.

2. Irrelevant clauses (not pertaining directly to the main bill) should be removed

3. Any bill consisting of multiple pieces, and any removed materials should be voted on separate and treated as new bills.


Part 4
The technical subtleties of the AAR.


A. From now on, the Role Play threads are:


1) Curia Iulia-->The official announcements and motions for anything that goes on in the Republic.
2) Comitatia Curiata--->The assembly of the social classes, here can we can discuss the laws and how to update the constitution.
3) Comitatia Legata--->The assembly of the Legates, here we can discuss all matters of war and tactics against the foes of Rome.
4) Comitatia Popula--->The assembly of the Populi, here we can discuss all things that affect the populace of Rome (taxes, army recruitment, colonization of foreign provinces etc.)


B. When does a vote considered been carried?


A vote can be considered carried if the 70% of the senators have voted in favour of said motion. The motion must be considered active for 3 days so that all senators can vote.


C. Save thread.


Each Consul should try and post his save in the Save thread as soon as possible when he is done playing a set of turns. That way all can witness what information they want from the consul rather than having him uploading pictures from financial tubs etc. Optional…


Compiled by Gaivs Gracchvs

[Winter]

I would like to see a moratorium put on the " re-elections " clause. (not sure if thats the right term, but I've always wanted to use that ) This clause is seriously inhibiting our ability to get a full election roster. We only have two consul candidates right now, and we will have to remove two tribune candidates, leaving only two!

[We shall fwee...Wode]

Maybe on the tribunes, and possibly even Junior consul, but not for Senior consul, because it should be rotated around as many people as possible.

[Winter]

Yes not on senior consul of course. Should've added that myself.

[♔Jean-Luc Picard♔]

i think its a good idea for future elections, but i warn you after this election i will be a tribune as long as you will vote for me.

Aquilinus

[Kritias]

I agree on Lepidus proposal; I had hoped for more members running each elections when I wrote that clause...Also what do you think on the Gentes system?I believe that here is the best place to discuss if we want to implement this to the constitution and how to best limit its potential!

[Winter]

The Gentes system needs to be changed quite a bit. The Constitution states that all alliances must break up after no more than two turns. That would pose a problem for these families.

In other words, it won't work in the way proposed, and I wouldn't support changing the constitution.

[sanada]

Same here, I believe adding a family based alliance aspect would be the same as adding a party based alliance aspect to the senate.

However the proposal on a time restriction on senate debate is a good one I believe, Simon raises a good point in the realism aspect.

[Kritias]

Yeah,I believe you are right...It did look good with the parties also back then so that might lead to the same results over time.

[sanada]

What do you think on time restricted senate debate?

(ooc) sorry about my relative deadness so much work!

[Kritias]

I think that we could decide on a specific time to set each senate session start...Maybe a five hours limit like from 1pm TWC time(were most members are usually logged in) up to 5pm...That way we could have a restricted time in which to debate and vote thus more realism....Also we could have some days in which the senate is supposed to have a session,maybe three days a week?

[Marcus Tullius Cicero]

I do not believe that we should have restrited-time debates, we have few active senators as it is (in order that it stays competitive etc)


ooc: very nice find on Caeser's triumph pic!

[Kritias]

Cicero,it won't really limit us down as in that time limit most members join the senate debates.Its just a proposal to organize up the senate sessions!Nothing limiting...

ooc:Thanks mate!I really wasted much time till I found it...

[Marcus Tullius Cicero]

Cicero,it won't really limit us down as in that time limit most members join the senate debates.Its just a proposal to organize up the senate sessions!Nothing limiting...

So long as it is open until at least 5 then I should still be able to get my say in

[sanada]

hmm...wont senate sessions just complicate things?

[Winter]

Yes

[♔Jean-Luc Picard♔]

complication can make stuff look good and is about useless in any other use

Skan

[Sparta1233]

Very well put together I will be looking forward to using this in the future.

[sanada]

Implementing a Dictator is not covered in the constitution, as this is a very important issue and one that is likely to come up time and time again.

Basic guidelines should be as follows

1. the person who suggests a dictatorship should not be allowed to be appointed dictator
2. the dictator must have an objective (e.g to destroy the invasion by Phyyrus) and once that objective is over he hands back the save to the senior consul
3. the dictator must focus on the objective and nothing else, yet still report to the senate.

this is very rough at the minute, any ideas?