We are working on a brand new version of the game! If you want to stay informed, read our blog and register for our mailing list.
Bill: Lex Matinia de Pugna Classium (RP Law)
Details
Submitted by[?]: Factio Republicana Socialistica
Status[?]: defeated
Votes: This is an ordinary bill. It requires more yes votes than no votes. This bill will not pass any sooner than the deadline.
Voting deadline: February 4489
Description[?]:
| Matinian Law on Class Struggle Senators, In Selucia we are blessed with the gift of a popular republican government, one where all public offices and political power is formally in the hands of the people. However, the democratic ideal of free and equal citizenship can never be fully achieved. However beautiful the ideal itself, at a certain point it can become counterproductive and an obstacle to its own realization, which is what happens when the ideal is taken as a description of reality, such as the claim that our society is one ruled by law, and everything that contradicts that claim is dismissed as a mere qualification. Our democratic ideals are just a fairy tale, where claims of free and equal citizenship are substituted for the harsh realities of class domination. To an extent all contemporary political regimes are oligarchies. In liberal democracies such as our own the oligarchy is the wealthy class, which accepts formal equality in exchange for the preservation of its property, but also the implicit threat that they would subvert the regime if their property were ever in danger. As we've pointed out before, the upper classes exhibit an unquenchable thirst for domination, which drives them to accumulate wealth and monopolize public office. By contrast, the common people are fundamentally disinclined towards domination, though they can be provoked into oppressive actions by mistreatment at the hands of the upper classes. This conflict however can be virtuous. Liberty is to be found precisely when the people respond publicly to domination by the oligarchs, when they jealously guard their freedoms, and when they keep the arrogance of the wealthy in check. Rather than avoid social conflict, a popular government should instead institutionalize it by establishing class-specific institutions and relying on the self-interest of the different classes in the preservation of liberty. A truly democratic regime, in our imperfect and far from ideal world, is one where the control of the wealthy elite is the main purpose of government. And the elites can only be controlled when they genuinely fear for their lives. A republic can only last when its magistrates and wealthy citizens fear mortal retribution at the hands of the common people, a retribution that must be decided through formalized legal procedures, and not through mob violence or unilateral action by a tyrant. As magistrates of the Republic we must remind the people that they will make better and more just decisions when they deliberate in assembly than when they scream and lash out as a mob in the street, by establishing institutionalized outlets for the expression of class struggle and permitting direct popular judgement of abusive elites, which will produce outcomes that are less corrupt, more fair, and more conducive to public order and freedom than the decisions of the oligarchic few. In order to guarantee civic freedom and provide for controlled social conflict, we call for the re-establishment of the People's Tribunate and for the official classification of the Republic's citizens into classes, as outlined below: I) The office of Censor is established, formed of two Senators elected by the Senate and serving a single non-renewable ten year term, with the responsibility of carrying out and overseeing the regular census of the Selucian population, to take place once every ten years. II) Based on the results of the census, all adult Selucian citizens shall be assigned their membership in a political and economic class, as outlined below: a. Any citizen who has attained high honors, including a seat in the Senate, a Ministry, a Praetorship, the position of Head of State or Head of Government, the position of Supreme Court justice, or a position of leadership within Selucia's three largest religions shall be considered a Nobilis (Noble). All Nobiles shall have the right to wear a golden ring. b. All adult citizens, based on income, profession, and education shall be assigned to one of the below Orders.The rank of Nobilis can be held by any citizen irrespective of their Order membership. Should any citizen's Order membership criteria be unclear, profession shall take priority over income, and education shall take priority over profession. i. The Ordo Senatorius (Senatorial Order) shall be formed of those citizens who have graduated from a prestigious university, are investors, heirs, or top executives, and who earn the top 1% household income. Senatores shall have the right to wear a toga with a broad purple stripe, maroon shoes, and an iron ring, and shall have the right to privileged seats at games and public functions. ii. The Ordo Equester (Equestrian Order) shall be formed of all citizens who have graduated from college or university, are professionals and upper managers, and earn the 9% household income below the previous Order. Equites shall have the right to wear the tunica angusticlavia and shall have the right to privileged seats at games and public functions, behind those reserved for Senatores. iii. All other citizens shall be classified as Plebeians. III) Nobiles, Senatores, and Equites shall have the obligation to provide munera, mandatory publicized contributions to the Republic, on their own expense and in proportion to their income, including organizing gladiatorial games and other sporting events, organizing public feasts and banquets, building and maintaining theaters and cinemas, and building and repairing places of worship, including churches, temples, mosques, and synagogues. Other munera may be established by the Senate. IV) The provision of munera shall be supervised by the municipal, provincial, and national governments. V) Failure to provide munera shall be deemed tax evasion and shall be punished accordingly. VI) The People's Tribunate (Populi Tribunatus) is established, formed of 5,001 Selucian citizens above the age of 21 selected by lot from the entire Selucian population, with the exclusion of Nobiles, Senatores, and Equites as defined under Article II), current and former members of the allotted bodies as established by the Tiburtian Law on Local Government (http://classic.particracy.net/viewbill.php?billid=582828), and their close families, including spouses, siblings, parents, children, and cousins. Random selection shall be complemented by statistical analysis to ensure the Tribunate is representative of the Selucian population. VII) All members of the People's Tribunate shall serve for a single non-renewable one-year term. If selected, serving on the People's Tribunate is mandatory. The mandate of members of the People's Tribunate shall begin one year after being selected. Between selection and the beginning of the mandate members of the People's Tribunate are required to participate as observers in the proceeding of the existing People' s Tribunate. The members of the first People's Tribunate shall instead be selected from among those who served under the previous Tribunates between 4480 and 4484 and shall begin their mandate immediately. Employers may not fire citizens selected to serve on the People's Tribunate. Members shall be reasonably compensated for the duration of their service and shall be provided with meals, accommodation, and childcare. VIII) The People's Tribunate shall have the power to prosecute elected or allotted officials who behaved in a corrupt manner during or after their term in office, corrupt or treasonous practices by private citizens classified as Senatores or Equites, and abuse of power by former members of the People's Tribunate. IX) Any citizen can bring an accusation to the People's Tribunate, but the accusations must be supported by evidence; if the latter proves unconvincing to the Tribunate the accuser will be deemed a calumniator and will suffer the same punishment as that which would have applied for the person they accused. X) Accusations can be brought to the People's Tribunate for political and economic crimes, including: a) Lying to initiate pointless wars; b) Perpetrating financial improprieties that cause economic crises which cost numerous citizens their jobs, homes, and savings; c) Grand corruption, including embezzlement, graft, fraud, bribery, extortion, and blackmail; d) Consorting with foreign enemies to corrupt domestic institutions for personal or political gain; e) High treason, including participating in a war against the Republic, aiming to overthrow the government of the Republic, spying on the Armed Forces, secret services, or diplomats of the Republic in the service of a hostile and foreign power, and killing or attempting to kill the Head of State or Head of Government; f) Crimes against humanity, including war crimes, genocide, ethnic cleansing, apartheid, enslavement, extrajudicial punishments, state terrorism, racial discrimination, military use of children, unethical human experimentation, and deportation or forcible transfer of population. XI) The People's Tribunate shall be chaired by a Tribune, elected by lot from among its members and serving for a non-renewable one month term. The Tribune shall be responsible for the registration of suits and complaints and shall be empowered to subpoena the litigant parties and the witnesses after a preliminary investigation. The Tribune may consult with legal experts and jurists, but is not bound by their reply. XII) Each case shall be tried by a jury of 500 members selected by lot from all members of the People's Tribunate. The jury will decide by majority vote whether the defendant is guilty, and if the defendant is found guilty shall cast a second vote to decide upon the punishment. In case of a tie the Tribune shall cast the deciding vote. XIII) The penalties to be imposed by the People's Tribunate shall include capital punishment, exile, and the payment of a fine. XIV) The verdicts of the People's Tribunate are final and binding, and can only be appealed to the Supreme Court on procedural grounds, except in case of acquittal. If the appeal is denied, the verdict is final. If the Supreme Court shall reverse the verdict, the case shall be tried de novo by a new jury established following the procedures set in Article VII. of this bill. The new verdict cannot be appealed on any grounds. XV) Should the People's Tribunate impose the death penalty, the offender shall be executed by guillotine and shall be administered an anesthetic prior to execution. The media shall be given access to all executions and steps shall be taken to protect the identity and privacy of all executioners. Benedictus Matinius Epimachus Senator OOC: This is a regular RP Law, as governed by Section 6.e. of the Game Rules (http://forum.particracy.net/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=8088). This bill introduces a tribunal selected by lot with the power to try political crimes by the wealthy and to impose the death penalty for offenders, as well as the formal classification of Selucians into classes.This bill requires a simple majority to pass and a simple majority to be amended or repealed. |
Proposals
Article 1
Proposal[?] to change Titles of nobility.
Old value:: Titles of nobility are not granted, but their use is not forbidden.
Current: Titles of nobility may be granted only by the Head of State.
Proposed: Titles of nobility may be granted by the government and any other political body designated by it.
Article 2
Proposal[?] to change Public executions (if death penalty is legal).
Old value:: Executions are always carried out in private; however, family members, the victim and the victim's relatives are allowed to be present.
Current: Executions may be carried out in public and/or be broadcast on television.
Proposed: Executions are always carried out in public and/or broadcast on television.
Article 3
Proposal[?] to change Jury selection (if trial by jury is allowed).
Old value:: Jurors are chosen among lawyers only.
Current: Jurors are randomly selected from the population.
Proposed: Jurors are selected based on certain factors (race/gender/class).
Debate
These messages have been posted to debate on this bill:
| Date | 20:36:49, November 20, 2018 CET | From | Clara Aurora - COSIRA | To | Debating the Lex Matinia de Pugna Classium (RP Law) |
| Message | Factio Republicana, instead of feeding hatred and encouraging the masses with populist speeches and measures that contribute nothing to the improvement of the quality of life of our citizens, could start looking for really useful measures. Instead, they prefer to insist on the idea of continuing to execute citizens. Let's be honest, who will want to contribute to our nation's economy knowing that their lives are in danger? It is something really absurd. And yes, the people's courts can be corrupted, and much more easily than a professional court. We are not going to give an opinion, once again, about the death penalty and even more about its broadcast on television. Our vote on these measures has been clear for some time. No matter how many times Factio Republicana proposes it, we will fight to prevent it and, if necessary, to repeal it. Panegyris Priscian Secretary of In Marea-Civis Sinistram |
| Date | 11:05:17, November 21, 2018 CET | From | Factio Republicana Socialistica | To | Debating the Lex Matinia de Pugna Classium (RP Law) |
| Message | Senators, This is a very useful measure that will lead to a significant improvement in the quality of life of our citizens. This proposal will discipline capital and guarantee that it works in the public interest, it will reduce economic inequality, it will make our political system more democratic and more responsive to the needs and interests of ordinary citizens, and it will vitalize our civic life by fostering politically engaged and committed citizens. Placing the upper classes in mortal danger will guarantee that they work for the common interest of the Republic rather than their narrow class interest, while institutionalizing class conflict will enable us to keep it under control and minimize the actual number of executions. As for the corruption potential of people's courts, that is blatantly false. Juries will almost always exhibit more integrity and independence than any judge, and are far less susceptible to corruption. For one, their sheer number makes it nearly impossible to bribe all 5,000 members of the Tribunate, or even all 500 members of a single jury. And judges and lawyers are humans too, irrespective of their professionalism, and as such they inevitably exhibit various biases. In a jury, due to its size, the various biases and prejudices cancel each other out, and, as it turns out, juries issue more fair and more correct verdicts in even highly technical cases than professional courts. Moreover, judges are subject to pressures and influences that have no effect on juries. Some aspire to continued tenure, others to prestigious political or judicial appointments, and yet others strive for approval from their friends or popular support. A single juror, even if afflicted by these vices, cannot act upon them, as they take part in collective action. So overall we find that a people's court is far superior to a professional court by any conceivable measure, and reinstating the Tribunate and class membership will have a beneficial effect by improving the quality of our democracy. Benedictus Matinius Epimachus Senator |
| Date | 19:02:54, November 21, 2018 CET | From | Clara Aurora - COSIRA | To | Debating the Lex Matinia de Pugna Classium (RP Law) |
| Message | Senators, What Factio Republicana is saying is that what do we need judges for, why do we need lawyers or prosecutors, if people are already smart enough to judge in their own right? Why do we have people who create the laws, if the people are the ones who should do them in their own right? No senators, things do not work that way. Perhaps Factio Republicana, in its populist spiral, has forgotten what democracy means, human rights and human dignity, as well as respect for the law. Factio Republicana wants to turn our nation into a place of violence and discrimination, as in Barmenia. Well, it will not be like that. Irus Moraiti Orator of IMCS |
| Date | 14:19:38, November 22, 2018 CET | From | Factio Republicana Socialistica | To | Debating the Lex Matinia de Pugna Classium (RP Law) |
| Message | Senators, Indeed, we do not actually need prosecutors, judges, Senators, and professional civil servants, and we've been working hard for many years to deprofessionalize our political, economic, judicial, and military systems and return power into the hands of ordinary people. None of that means that we will abandon our commitment to human rights and dignity and the rule of law. Quite the contrary, common citizens are better guardians of these ideals than the ruling classes. Benedictus Matinius Epimachus Senator |
subscribe to this discussion - unsubscribe
Voting
| Vote | Seats | ||
| yes | Total Seats: 262 | ||
| no |
Total Seats: 337 | ||
| abstain | Total Seats: 151 |
| Random fact: Players have a responsibility to differentiate between OOC (out-of-character) and IC (in-character) behaviour, and to make clear when they are communicating in OOC or IC terms. Since Particracy is a role-playing game, IC excesses are generally fine, but OOC attacks are not. However, players must not presume this convention permits them to harass a player with IC remarks that have a clear OOC context. |
| Random quote: "I say myself that I am beautiful, and I think that all woman strive to look like me.“ - Melissa Hargreaves, former Dranian politician |