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Bill: Treason Felony Act 2629
Details
Submitted by[?]: Wiedervereinigten Nationalisten
Status[?]: passed
Votes: This bill is a resolution. It requires more yes votes than no votes. This bill will not pass any sooner than the deadline.
Voting deadline: October 2629
Description[?]:
| Be it enacted upon the Emperor’s most Illustrious and Lutheran Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the representatives of the people of Greater Hulstria, in this present Imperial Diet assembled: An Act for the better security of the Imperial Crown and His Imperial Majesty’s Government. Article 1. If any person whatsoever shall, within the Imperial Crownlands or without, compass, imagine, invent, devise, or intend to deprive or depose His Imperial and Most Illustrious Majesty the Emperor, from the style, honour, or royal name of the imperial crown of Hulstria, or to levy war against His Imperial Majesty, within any part of the Imperial Crownlands, in order by force or constraint to compel him to change his measures or counsels, or in order to put any force or constraint upon or in order to intimidate or overawe the Imperial Diet of Greater Hulstria, or to move or stir any foreigner or stranger with force to invade the Imperial Crownlands or any other of His Imperial Majesty’s dominions or countries under the obeisance of His Imperial Majesty, and such compassings, imaginations, inventions, devices, or intentions, or any of them, shall express, utter, or declare, by publishing any printing or writing or by any overt act or deed, every person so offending shall be guilty of felony, and being convicted thereof shall be liable to be condemned to death or imprisonment at His Imperial Majesty’s pleasure. Article 2. If any person whatsoever shall, within the Imperial Crownlands or without, knowingly aid or otherwise give comfort to any person who has committed, or has planned to commit any offence listed under Article 1 of this Act, then they shall be guilty of a felony in the second degree and shall be liable to be imprisoned at His Imperial Majesty’s pleasure or for a term not under twenty years and not exceeding one hundred years. Article 3. No person who has been duly indicted for offences under the provisions of this Act may be granted bail by any Court of Greater Hulstria. Article 4. Individuals may, at His Imperial Majesty’s conscience, be prosecuted under the provisions of this Act by either a regular court or an Imperial Tribunal, as established under the Judiciary Act. Article 5. If any political party whatsoever shall compass, imagine, invent, devise, or intend to deprive or depose His Imperial and Most Illustrious Majesty the Emperor, from the style, honour, or royal name of the imperial crown of Hulstria, and such compassings, imaginations, inventions, devices, or intentions, or any of them, shall express, utter, or declare, by publishing any printing or writing or by any overt act or deed, then it may be proscribed as a criminal organisation by the Minister of Justice after such an action receives the assent of at least one-half of the Imperial Diet of Greater Hulstria. |
Proposals
Debate
These messages have been posted to debate on this bill:
| Date | 19:00:10, August 29, 2008 CET | From |  Wiedervereinigten Nationalisten | To | Debating the Treason Felony Act 2629 |
| Message | “Unfortunately, certain recent events have convinced me that the Imperial Crown is now under serious threat by certain elements within the country, which merits the commencement of actions to stop this from growing. Articles 1-4 deal with the committing of treasonous offences by individuals, whereas Article 5 allows for actions to be taken against political parties that advocate such treason. Although I realise that this could cause some concerns as to the status of the freedom of speech in our country, I believe that the security of both His Imperial Majesty’s throne and His Imperial Majesty’s Government must be kept paramount in formulating government policies.” -Adriana van der Merwe Minister of Justice DM for Graaffsberg Centre |
| Date | 21:18:41, August 29, 2008 CET | From | Traditional Conservative's Party | To | Debating the Treason Felony Act 2629 |
| Message | "Hurrah! Down with the traitors! Long live our Emporer and long live Hulstria!" -Siegmund Ulrich von Scharnhorst |
| Date | 22:01:11, August 29, 2008 CET | From | HŨŨkai | To | Debating the Treason Felony Act 2629 |
| Message | "There is hardly anything in this bill that we could agree on. It causes serious limitations on the freedom of speach, self determination and rule of law in our country. First of all, while we assert our full support for the Imperial Crown, we must emphasise that the sole legitimate source of sovereignity is the people, and not one person, and thus the desire to peacefully modify the status of the Hulstrian Monarch cannot be considered treason. We must also remind our fellow members of the Imperial Diet that our Monarchy is not the result of dynastic succession since 'times immemorial', but the result of popular choice. Second of all, the prohibition for the spreading of any ideas, no matter how unorthodox, under the pretext of preserving the status quo, is only one step from oppressive government. Third of all, bestowing on the Emperor arbitrary powers in matters as serious as capital punishment is both impractical, as it would be very difficult for one person to take decisions regarding such a large number of offenses that will most certainly occur, and unconstitutional. We do, nevertheless, understand the concerns expressed by the HNP regarding the threats for our current regime, and consistently with our aforementioned objections, we suggest ammending this bill so as to be rendered more acceptable. Under Article 1, we suggest that the deffinitions of treason be limited only to 'Attempt, plan, design or intention to violently overthrow, change or otherwise modify the legitimate constitutional order of the Imperial Crownlands; attempt, plan, design or intention to assassinate, imprison, intimidate, force to act in any manner, any member, representative or symbol of the legitimate government of the Imperial Crownlands; attempt, plan, design or intention to move or stir any foreigner or stranger with force to invade the Imperial Crownlands or any territory under the authority of the Imperial Crownlands'. We suggest the removal of the criminalisation of peaceful spreading of such ideas and that the punishment for such actions be determined only according to current laws, without interference from non-judiciary institutions. Under Articles 2 and 3, we suggest the removal of the Monarch's discretion from the judicial process." -Nakajima Hatsuharu |
| Date | 00:27:12, August 30, 2008 CET | From | Wiedervereinigten Nationalisten | To | Debating the Treason Felony Act 2629 |
| Message | "Addressing your third listed concern, I assume you are referring to the wording of 'at His Imperial Majesty's pleasure' in Articles 1 and 2, which are part of the punishment for a treason felony (in Article 1) or a treason felony in the second degree (Article 2). Using such terminology is only a way to communicate the idea of an 'indefinite sentence' through legislation. Article 2 effectively allows justices the option of giving someone convicted of a second degree felony under this Act a set sentence of 20-100 years or to imprison them for an indefinite period of time. The actual involvement of His Imperial Majesty will almost unquestionably be very limited. The only other time that the Emperor is 'empowered' by this Act to make any 'judicial' decision is the decision of whether to try a person indicted under this Act under a conventional court or to call a special Imperial Tribunal, as stated in Article 4. We believe that an option is necessary, and the Emperor is the only person who is remotely qualified to make such a decision. As for your closing statements regarding the Emperor and the judicial process, according to the Judiciary Act (first enacted in 2407 and restored in 2555), and I quote, 'All judicial power in Greater Hulstria shall henceforth be officially vested with the Kaiser. It shall be in the Kaiser’s name that all judicial affairs are to be carried out.' The Emperor is, and has always been, an integral part of the Hulstrian judicial process. In practice, the involvement of His Imperial Majesty is quite limited, but the principles still remain. Regarding your suggested amendment to the bill, after close examination, I simply do not feel that that would sufficiently communicate the message that subversive anti-government activities will not be tolerated in Greater Hulstria. In light of the terrorist attacks in Hilgar one year ago this month and the resurgence of the so-called 'Republican Coalition', it seems that anti-monarchist radicalism is making a come-back in Greater Hulstria. It is the responsibility of both the Government and the Imperial Diet of Greater Hulstria to ensure that terrorism and other forms of republican anti-governmentalism are stamped out." -Adriana van der Merwe Minister of Justice DM for Graaffsberg Centre |
| Date | 02:47:49, August 30, 2008 CET | From | Republican Coalition | To | Debating the Treason Felony Act 2629 |
| Message | "We will hasten to point out we have in no place given any indication of anti-monarchist status, and that our name alone is not a reason for such measures. Gatherings of Republicans is not a crime (yet). We also point out that if such a name is enough to be procecuted for, simple change of name will be enough to circumvent this measure. We will also note the wording of "imagine" the deposition of the Emperor. What do you propose, some thought police of some other guise? We can only let this stand as a point in case." Telan Forge Successor of the Forge Foundation |
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Voting
| Vote | Seats | |||
| yes |
Total Seats: 489 | |||
| no |
Total Seats: 84 | |||
| abstain | Total Seats: 77 |
| Random fact: Players using inactive accounts and/or accounts from outside nations may only propose bills and/or contribute to discussions, whether IC (in-character) or OOC (out-of-character) with the general consent of the players in the nation. |
| Random quote: "The only thing that saves us from bureaucracy is its inefficiency." - Eugene McCarthy |