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Bill: Lex de Princeps Senatus et Dux Oppositionis (RP Law)
Details
Submitted by[?]: Factio Unitatis Patriae
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: September 4479
Description[?]:
| Senators, This bill formally enters into law the powers and responsibilities of the Princeps Senatus and the Dux Oppositionis. It is based on the presidential system of government in place in Res Publica Seluciae (http://classic.particracy.net/viewbill.php?billid=585440). This bill is also based on the main points raised in the open debate - Disputandum: Princeps Senatus - which can be referred to in the Senate records here: (http://classic.particracy.net/viewbill.php?billid=585183). Please note, should the governmental system be changed, the author of this bill encourages a review of the articles set out in this law, particularly regarding the selection process of the positions. Articles I) The Princeps Senatus is comparable to the position of Speaker in other democracies established around Terra. II) Appointment of The Princeps Senatus normally follows a general election result. The holder of the role is selected by the largest party in the senate (i.e the party with the relative majority or plurality). III) The Princeps Senatus should serve as the presiding officer of the Senate and have primarily ceremonial powers, including the power to represent the institution of the Senate and to embody its auctoritas (moral authority and prestige), distinct from the potestas (power) exercised by the People. III (a) In case of the death, incapacitation or resignation of the Rector of the Republic, the Princeps Senatus is the first in line of succession and shall becoming Acting Rector of the Republic until a new election can be held. IV) The Princeps Senatus has the power to moderate debate, determine the time allocated for each Senator wishing to speak on the floor, and discipline Senators who violate parliamentary procedure. V) The Princeps Senatus has the power to ensure only those that have the constitutional 'right of initiative' [see V (a) and V (b)] are able to propose bills and initiate a floor vote in the Senate. V (a) Those defined as having the right of initiative are elected senators, who have the constitutional power to propose a new law and to vote on the floor; and Praetors who have the constitutional right to propose legislation but may not vote on the floor. In addition, external organisations, groups or individuals may propose "citizens initiatives", provided they gather at least 100,000 signatures (OOC: this will allow new parties without seats to introduce laws). V (b) In line with Article IX of the Lex de Rector Rei Publicae (http://classic.particracy.net/viewbill.php?billid=585440) pertaining to the separation of powers, no member of the executive may propose normal or constitutional legislation in the Senate; however, members of the executive do have the explicit right of initiative to propose budget, taxation and spending bills and treaty ratifications, and to request approval for military and infrastructure purchases as well as to seek authorisations for the use of force in conflict. Article V (c) In order to help ensure the integrity of the position and demonstrate its impartiality, the Princeps Senatus may not propose legislation in the Senate. VI) The role of Dux Oppositionis is a Senatorial position without the ceremonial authority or powers of the Princeps Senatus. The holder of the role is nominated by the largest party in the Senate that is neither part of the government coalition nor in loose alliance with the government (i.e has a confidence and supply arrangement with the government but does not hold a cabinet position). VIa) Although the role is informal, the Dux Oppositionis plays an important part in scrutinising and holding to account the government of the day. VIb) The Dux Oppositionis also has the important task of nominating one of the justices of the Supreme Court as per the law on the Supreme Court (http://classic.particracy.net/viewbill.php?billid=577354). VIc) From time to time, the same party may be in the position to nominate both the Princeps Senatus and the Dux Oppositionis. On these occasions, and in order to avoid duplication, the constitution requires that the office of Princeps Senatus and the position of Dux Oppositionis can never be held by the same person. This formal division ensure the Princeps can carry out their sacred duties with being encumbered by an opposition role. VII) Should either the Princeps Senatus or Dux Oppositionis step down, or become unable to continue to carry out their duties, the eligible party (see Article II and VI) may select a new candidate to take up the position either temporarily or permanently. Quintus Viridius Fabianus Senator; Party Leader OOC: This is a constitutional RP Law, as governed by Section 6.e. of the Game Rules (http://forum.particracy.net/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=8088) and requires 2/3rds of the legislature to vote yes in order to pass. This bill establishes how the Princeps Senatus and Dux Oppositionis are appointed and sets out their roles, responsibilities, powers and limitations within the senate under the current presidential system of government. It also establishes who has the right of initiative to propose bills and vote on the floor of the senate. |
Proposals
Debate
These messages have been posted to debate on this bill:
| Date | 16:13:22, October 31, 2018 CET | From | Factio Republicana Socialistica | To | Debating the Lex de Princeps Senatus et Dux Oppositionis (RP Law) |
| Message | Senators, We support these proposals, but I think further elaboration is needed on the right of initiative. Since the proposal aims to allow any Senator to initiate a floor vote, a discharge petition is unnecessary, as that is a legal procedure used precisely when the Speaker does have the power to determine what bills reach the floor. As for the right of initiative, we propose that it should belong to any Senator, who would also be allowed to initiate a floor vote. The right should also belong to Praetors, who would however not have the right to vote on legislation, as well as to "citizens' initiatives", provided they gather at least 100,000 signatures. In those instances the organization that organized the initiative should have the right to present it to the Senate and participate in debate, but not the right to vote (OOC: basically to allow new parties without seats to introduce laws). We also need a derogation from Article IX) of the Law on the Rector of the Republic by explicitly allowing the executive to propose treaty ratifications, budget and spending bills, and authorizations for the use of force in conflict. The role of the Princeps Senatus could then be expanded to oversee the right of initiative and its lawful procedure. Cyprianus Tiburtius Numitor Princeps Senatus |
| Date | 16:38:00, October 31, 2018 CET | From | Factio Unitatis Patriae | To | Debating the Lex de Princeps Senatus et Dux Oppositionis (RP Law) |
| Message | Senators, We thank Princeps Numitor for his feedback and agree with his suggestions. We will look to amend the articles to reflect the right of initiative and add an additional article to allow the Rector and other cabinet members to propose certain kinds of bills and treaties. Quintus Viridius Fabianus Senator; Party Leader |
| Date | 16:52:18, October 31, 2018 CET | From | Clara Aurora - COSIRA | To | Debating the Lex de Princeps Senatus et Dux Oppositionis (RP Law) |
| Message | Senators, Right now, the role of Leader of the Opposition is not an official role, and just serves to clarify better between the government and the opposition. We find quite innecessary point VI, as it is obvious that, as representative role, the Princeps Senatus would be subject to protocols that the Dux Oppositionis would not be obliged to follow. Anthea Galanou Senatrix |
| Date | 18:28:17, October 31, 2018 CET | From | Factio Unitatis Patriae | To | Debating the Lex de Princeps Senatus et Dux Oppositionis (RP Law) |
| Message | Senators, Right now, the role of the Princeps Senatus is not an official role, yet, recently, In Marea Sinistram attempted to use the position to block legislation being debated in the Senate and voted upon. Therefore, I am sure you will understand why I am being somewhat cautious and would prefer to dot all the 'i's and cross the 't's by writing into law that the Dux Oppositionis has no official power. Then there will be no constitutional ambiguity. Quintus Viridius Fabianus Senator; Party Leader |
| Date | 14:06:47, November 01, 2018 CET | From | Clara Aurora - COSIRA | To | Debating the Lex de Princeps Senatus et Dux Oppositionis (RP Law) |
| Message | Senators, We shall not confuse terms. The Princeps Senatus is an official position, as representative of the legislative power. What is not defined are its functions and attributions. However, the Dux Oppositionis is not an official position, nor does it receive any kind of remuneration for playing that role. It is simply a term that is used to refer to the leader of the largest party in the Senate that is not in the government, and therefore, it is absurd to propose the elimination of this position because it will always exist. That is why we say that point VI of this reform is unnecessary, simply. Irus Moraiti Orator of IMCS |
| Date | 15:45:22, November 01, 2018 CET | From | Factio Unitatis Patriae | To | Debating the Lex de Princeps Senatus et Dux Oppositionis (RP Law) |
| Message | Senators, I understand the argument that the Dux Oppostionis is more of an informal, unpaid position and will look at amending the wording to suit all. But firstly, to test the theory that we will not confuse terms, I ask Senator Moraiti to humour me for a few moments and name the two parties who would currently nominate the Princeps Senatus and the Dux Oppositionis. Secondly, please name for the Senate which two parties would nominate the Princeps and the Dux, should the Pars Laborem Rector enter into a minority coalition government with his to-date natural ideological ally In Marea Sinistram. Please believe me, I am not attempting to be flippant I just want to ensure we cover all the bases and there is no confusion or duplication of roles. Quintus Viridius Fabianus Senator; Party Leader |
| Date | 15:54:30, November 01, 2018 CET | From | Clara Aurora - COSIRA | To | Debating the Lex de Princeps Senatus et Dux Oppositionis (RP Law) |
| Message | Mr. Fabianus, With the current government and election results, the Princeps Senatus shall be elected by Factio Republicana, and the position of Dux Oppositionis would go for the Leader of In Marea-Civis Sinistram in this Chamber - as Pars Laborem, with more votes than In Marea, would be in the government and therefore would not be in the opposition. If an alliance between Pars Laborem and In Marea-Civis Sinistram is created, the position of Princeps Senatus shall go for the chosen one from Factio Republicana, and so would be the Dux Oppositionis. However, there would be no duplication of roles, as the role of Princeps Senatus asks for a neccessary neutrality - or the most neutrality a political person can offer - whilst the Dux Oppositionis is free to critizise, as so are the rest of Senators, any single act done by the government. Irus Moraiti Orator of In Marea-Civis Sinistram |
| Date | 16:11:47, November 01, 2018 CET | From | Factio Unitatis Patriae | To | Debating the Lex de Princeps Senatus et Dux Oppositionis (RP Law) |
| Message | Senators, We thank Senator Moraiti for his observations. I came to the same conclusion over which party would nominate who. However, before looking to remove Article VI I want to ask are all parties comfortable with the Senator's interpretation that there is no duplication in the second example cited above on the grounds that the FR nominated speaker would be 'neutral' and therefore, would not affect that party's leader also holding the position of Dux Oppositionis. Quintus Viridius Fabianus Senator; Party Leader |
| Date | 16:40:45, November 01, 2018 CET | From | Factio Republicana Socialistica | To | Debating the Lex de Princeps Senatus et Dux Oppositionis (RP Law) |
| Message | Senators, In order to avoid duplication then perhaps we should require that the office of Princeps Senatus and the informal position of Dux Oppositionis can never be held by the same person. The Dux does serve the very important role of criticizing and scrutinizing the government, in addition to the requirement that they nominate one of the justices on the Supreme Court. Issuing a formal division between the two roles would guarantee that the Princeps can carry out their sacred duties without being encumbered by the opposition role. Cyprianus Tiburtius Numitor Princeps Senatus |
| Date | 16:54:52, November 01, 2018 CET | From | Clara Aurora - COSIRA | To | Debating the Lex de Princeps Senatus et Dux Oppositionis (RP Law) |
| Message | Senators, In Marea-Civis Sinistram agrees with the point expressed by the Princeps Senatus. Adia Pastora General Secretary of IMCS |
| Date | 17:35:28, November 01, 2018 CET | From | Clara Aurora - COSIRA | To | Debating the Lex de Princeps Senatus et Dux Oppositionis (RP Law) |
| Message | OOC: I have a question regarding Vb) of this bill and therefore article IX of the Rector's bill. Traditionally, it is the ministers of the government those who present bills to introduce changes in the legislation, as that's their function, to propose changes to develop a better nation. How can this be combined with these articles? |
| Date | 17:44:34, November 01, 2018 CET | From | Factio Unitatis Patriae | To | Debating the Lex de Princeps Senatus et Dux Oppositionis (RP Law) |
| Message | Senators, I have updated the bill - particularly the section pertaining to the Dux Oppositionis (Article VI) - to take into account the comments made by In Marea-Civis Sinistram and Princeps Numitor. Please let me have any further feedback or amendments. Quintus Viridius Fabianus Senator; Party Leader |
| Date | 18:00:50, November 01, 2018 CET | From | Factio Unitatis Patriae | To | Debating the Lex de Princeps Senatus et Dux Oppositionis (RP Law) |
| Message | OOC: As I see it, it would be like the US system whereby anyone can have an idea for a piece of legislation but only a member of congress can actually propose a bill and vote on it. This helps ensure the separation of powers between the executive and the congress or in our case the Rector's cabinet and the Senate. So for instance in our system you wouldn't have the Minister of Internal Affairs stand up in the Senate and propose a bill to give police military grade weapons - this would have to come from a senator. This is different from the parliamentary system in the UK, for instance, where the Minister is also an MP and would propose the bill in the House of Commons. The derogation in Article Vb) Allows ministers to carry out their executive actions (in line with game mechanics) so, for instance, the Finance minister can propose a budget or the Foreign minister can ask for a international treaty ratification. |
| Date | 18:05:51, November 01, 2018 CET | From | Clara Aurora - COSIRA | To | Debating the Lex de Princeps Senatus et Dux Oppositionis (RP Law) |
| Message | OOC: I see, so basically it'd be like a Minister simply asking a senator to present the bills for them, isnt it? I'm used to the UK system as it is the way it also works here in Spain so it sounded a bit weird to me |
| Date | 18:10:39, November 01, 2018 CET | From | Factio Unitatis Patriae | To | Debating the Lex de Princeps Senatus et Dux Oppositionis (RP Law) |
| Message | OOC - Yeah, that's pretty much it, I think. I'm used to the UK system so have to get my head around it too. But basically we RP senators, Praetors etc proposing the bills unless they are executive actions. |
| Date | 10:58:05, November 02, 2018 CET | From | Factio Unitatis Patriae | To | Debating the Lex de Princeps Senatus et Dux Oppositionis (RP Law) |
| Message | Senators, I have added two further sub articles - III(a) and V(c). The first enables the Princeps Senatus to become Acting Rector until elections are called in case the Rector dies, become incapacitated or resigns; the second reinforces the impartiality of the role of Princeps Senatus and aligns it more closely to the role of Speaker by not allowing him/her to propose bills in the Senate. I will await further feedback. Quintus Viridius Fabianus Senator; Party Leader |
| Date | 11:19:44, November 02, 2018 CET | From | Factio Republicana Socialistica | To | Debating the Lex de Princeps Senatus et Dux Oppositionis (RP Law) |
| Message | Senators, We will support this bill as it is. In order to restore the neutrality of the office of Princeps Senatus, I also hereby resign my position and will allow the Republican group in the Senate to elect my successor. Cyprianus Tiburtius Numitor Princeps Senatus (resigning December 4478) Senator |
| Date | 11:37:21, November 02, 2018 CET | From | Factio Unitatis Patriae | To | Debating the Lex de Princeps Senatus et Dux Oppositionis (RP Law) |
| Message | Senators, We thank Senator Numitor for his support and for his work during his term as Princeps. In light of his resignation and, If there is no further feedback, I will move this to vote in January 4479. Quintus Viridius Fabianus Senator; Party Leader |
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Voting
| Vote | Seats | |||||
| yes |
Total Seats: 750 | |||||
| no | Total Seats: 0 | |||||
| abstain | Total Seats: 0 |
| Random fact: In Culturally Protected nations, it is the responsibility of players to ensure the candidate boxes on their Party Overview screens are filled in with appropriate names. If a player is allotted seats in a Cabinet bill and has not filled in names for the relevant candidate position, then the program will automatically fill in the positions with names which might not necessarily be appropriate for the Cultural Protocols. |
| Random quote: "I don't believe you need to be bitch to succeed in business" - Lucinda Redwood, former Luthorian-Dorvish businesswoman |