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Bill: Committee Hearing on the Royal Sucession
Details
Submitted by[?]: Ity ꜣḥwt xꜣdt
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: June 4440
Description[?]:
| THE PRESIDENT PRO-TEMPORE (Mrs. Shanique Harrison Meryneter of Saqqad) Members of the Gathering, This Hearing of the Committee on Constitutional Affairs has been called to discuss and conduct oversight regarding the Succession of His Majesty The King. This Hearing was requested by the Federationists Floor Leader Ms. Dlamini of Arnak. The witness who will provide expert testimony during this Hearing is University of Soleb Constitutional Law Professor Shanice Martin Imhotep. All Members are now invited and encouraged to question the witness regarding the succession or any other Constitutional matter. |
Proposals
Debate
These messages have been posted to debate on this bill:
| Date | 12:01:46, July 22, 2018 CET | From |   Ity ꜣḥwt xꜣdt | To | Debating the Committee Hearing on the Royal Sucession |
| Message | Beyoncé Hlengiwe Dlamini, Member from Arnak and Federationists Floor Leader Thank you Madame President for calling this hearing and Ms. Imhotep thank you for agreeing to provide testimony to the Gathering. I believe this is an important and extremely fundamental part of our democracy and that all of us as Members of the Gathering should be fully abreast of all details surrounding it so that we can provide effective oversight and any needed legislation. The first question I'd like to ask is: what does succession mean and why is a it part of the Constitution. |
| Date | 12:10:10, July 22, 2018 CET | From | Ity ꜣḥwt xꜣdt | To | Debating the Committee Hearing on the Royal Sucession |
| Message | Shanice Martin Imhotep, Professor of Constitutional Law, the University of Soleb Thank you ma'am for that question and thank you Madame President for inviting me to provide testimony to the Committee. It is a great honor both personally and professionally. Ma'am, Constitutionally speaking, the Royal Succession simply refers to how the Head of State office is passed from on Monarch to the next. In our system of government, this usually happens by election, though there are notable exceptions to that. The reason Monarchical Succession is explicitly spelled out in the Constitution is because of the Elected Monarch's role as Head of State and resulting critical role the holder of that office plays in our democracy. |
| Date | 12:17:56, July 22, 2018 CET | From | Ity ꜣḥwt xꜣdt | To | Debating the Committee Hearing on the Royal Sucession |
| Message | Malik Hayes, Member from Saisyut (Federationists) Ms. Imhotep, you said two things that caught my ear. You said democracy but earlier you said "royal" and "monarch," but countries with monarchs don't tend to be democracies, right? |
| Date | 12:22:26, July 22, 2018 CET | From | Ity ꜣḥwt xꜣdt | To | Debating the Committee Hearing on the Royal Sucession |
| Message | Shanice Martin Imhotep, Professor of Constitutional Law, the University of Soleb Thank you, sir, for that question. Technically speaking, no, monarchies usually are not truly democratic. However, our monarchy is very different from other monarchies because under the Constitution, our Monarch is elected. He or she does not become head of state through inheritance as generally happens in foreign monarchies. |
| Date | 12:27:01, July 22, 2018 CET | From | Ity ꜣḥwt xꜣdt | To | Debating the Committee Hearing on the Royal Sucession |
| Message | Beyoncé Hlengiwe Dlamini, Member from Arnak and Federationists Floor Leader That reminds me of a follow-up I wanted to ask you, Ms. Imhotep. You just said the Head of State doesn't get his or office through inheritance. But when you look at our official Head of State title, it begins with the Esinsundu empress. As far as I know, she is only the wife of the person we elected, and yet she's still listed as Head of State. |
| Date | 13:45:40, July 22, 2018 CET | From | Ity ꜣḥwt xꜣdt | To | Debating the Committee Hearing on the Royal Sucession |
| Message | Shanice Martin Imhotep, Professor of Constitutional Law, the University of Soleb Yes, I've always found that confusing, though as a constitutional lawyer, I'm not supposed to say that (laughter from Committee Members and gallery). Technically speaking, the Empress should not be included in the Head of State title because by she is not the Monarch or Head of State of Hawu Mumenhes. The official Head of State title is actually created by you Ladies and Gentlemen as Members of the Gathering. Every time a new Head of State comes into office, He or She is required to notify the Gathering of what His or Her title as Head of State and Monarch will be (He or She is required to consult the President about this before notifying the Gathering). The textbook example used to teach Law School students about this process is the example of King Nkosinathi's title. According to reporting by newspapers like The Daily Scribe, around the time of His election, The King began private consultations with the President about His title. After those negotiations were completed, the King then traveled here to give a Throne Speech during which He appointed the President to office. Attentive viewers during the Throne Speech will have noticed at the time that after completing His Throne Speech, The King rolled up the scroll he was reading from and handed it to Former President Morrison who then handed the scroll to Mr. Harrison Sisulu, the former President Pro-Tempore. The reason the scroll was being so delicately handled is that it contained not only The King's Throne Speech, but it also contained the bill proposing the appointment of Wilburn Battersby Hamšemesses as President and the appointment to office of the President's Cabinet, in addition to The King's official notice to the Gathering of what His title as Head of State and Elected Monarch would be. Under the Constitution, this seemingly simple matter of words and names of offices is taken extremely seriously due to the way that foreign governments will view our country based on how we present ourselves so to speak. When it comes to foreign affairs and life or death matters like war and peace, the main representatives of our country are the Elected Monarch together with His or Her Royal Family, and secondarily the President and his Cabinet. It is concerns about how our allies and adversaries will view our country that explain the enormous importance the Constitution places on the Head of State's titles, including the very stringent requirement that only an overwhelming majority of 66% of the Gathering can approve the Elected Monarch's title proposal, whereas most laws only require a simple majority for passage. This "presentation" matter is basically the reason the Empress is listed in the official title. Ma'am, as you said, the Empress is not Head of State of The Free Kingdom, but merely the Head of State's spouse. While in most countries, spouses of Heads of State have no official role in government, our system of government and Constitution are different. Even though spouses are barred from **PARTICIPATING** in government business, the spouses of Hawu Heads of State enjoy a special status specially protected and designed by the Constitution. As Constitutional Lawyers we call this role "Solemnization." This technical term comes from the Constitution's Preamble wherein the Founders wrote a legendary story explaining in fantastical terms precisely how The Free Kingdom came to be. The Legend is too long to go into for purposes of this Hearing, but in short, the main idea of the story is that while the Head of State is Sacred because He or She represents and is elected by the People, the Head of State's spouse is also sacred because he or she is a visible reminder of our heritage as a People, nation, and society. Because the spouse (referred to in the Constitution as "the Hereditary Monarch") descends from the monarchs of Cobura and Talmoria (in addition to other non-Esinsundu countries), he or she is a living, breathing representation of all the history that literally forms the DNA of the Hawu People. No other country in the world can boast of such a profound and poignant heritage. And its effects looks set to increase and deepen in the future as The Crown Prince is a symbol of both our immigrant heritage as a descendant of the Royal Family but also a symbol of what the Hawu People have built together as a descendant of President Shelby and President Chandler. |
| Date | 13:47:31, July 22, 2018 CET | From | Ity ꜣḥwt xꜣdt | To | Debating the Committee Hearing on the Royal Sucession |
| Message | Beyoncé Hlengiwe Dlamini, Member from Arnak and Federationists Floor Leader Thank you Professor Imhotep. Now Members on the Feds side be quiet so our colleagues from the Nationalist Party can pose questions. |
| Date | 02:31:15, July 25, 2018 CET | From | Remetch Beesave Xadtu | To | Debating the Committee Hearing on the Royal Sucession |
| Message | Latrelle Chandler, Member from Saisyut and Remetch Beesave Xadtu Floor Leader, Madame President, I and my Nationalist colleagues would also like to thank you for calling this most important hearing. We also would like to thank the noted Professor, Ms. Imhotep for agreeing to give The Gathering the benefit of her expertise here today. Ms. Imhotep, in response to the first question posed here today, you mentioned that succession is the process by which the Head of State title passes from one monarch to another. You also mentioned that this is "usually by election, but that there are notable exceptions" My question to you is what were these two exceptions and the reasons for them? |
| Date | 11:37:55, July 25, 2018 CET | From | Ity ꜣḥwt xꜣdt | To | Debating the Committee Hearing on the Royal Sucession |
| Message | Shanice Martin Imhotep, Professor of Constitutional Law, the University of Soleb Thank you, sir, for that question. The two exceptions are Death or Incapacitation. A new Head of State can come to the Throne in one of four ways: 1. Abdication of the Monarch 2. Abdication of the Monarchy Controller 3. Abdication forced by the President 4. Death or Incapacitation of the Monarch The first three ways all result in an immediate Special Election, which the Gathering is required to call to fill the vacated position. However, when the Head of State dies or is otherwise incapacited, the party which controls the Monarchy has the power to appoint a Regent. Historically, this was usually accomplished by marrying one of the Head of State's children or royal relatives to a member of the public. As the spouse of a blood royal Prince or Princess, the bride or groom would be entitled to a Royal title as a new member of the Royal Family. By naming the new bride or groom "Prince Regent" or "Princess Regent," the party controlling the Monarchy could legally retain the office of Monarchy Controller even though the person who won the Head of State election is no longer on the throne due to death, illness, or other incapacitation. Examples can be seen in the reigns of Prince MumenhessAnkhKhem and Prince Djhwtymesu Kheprims. Both men originally came to the Throne not through election, but by marrying a blood royal Princess: Saksoure V's cousin Princess Qalhata of Cobura in the case of Djhwtymesu Kheprims who was appointed Prince Regent when Queen Ribrete died, and Saksoure VI's sister Princess Ajōrēshakheto in the case of MumenhessAnkhKhem who was appointed Prince Regent during the reign of Pharaoh Saksoure VI who MumenhessAnkhKhem chose not to marry as they both were men. Once declared "Prince Regent" by the Monarchy Controller, the men had all the powers of Head of State, even though both of them reigned for many months before a subsequent regular election gave the public a chance to confirm their legitimacy as Head of State. |
| Date | 02:12:54, July 26, 2018 CET | From | Remetch Beesave Xadtu | To | Debating the Committee Hearing on the Royal Sucession |
| Message | Latrelle Chandler, Member from Saisyut and Remetch Beesave Xadtu Floor Leader Thank you Professor, there will be no further questions from the Nationalist members. |
| Date | 20:42:26, August 15, 2018 CET | From | Ity ꜣḥwt xꜣdt | To | Debating the Committee Hearing on the Royal Sucession |
| Message | OOC: Archiving |
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Voting
| Vote | Seats | |
| yes |
Total Seats: 70 | |
| no | Total Seats: 0 | |
| abstain | Total Seats: 30 |
| Random fact: Hundreds of vessels were lost while traversing the cold waters of the Sea of Lost Souls. It is located between Seleya and Majatra. |
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