TC-INT01B On the Rights and Duties of the Tynwald Court

[Chris Palmer]

Tynwald Court, Session interim-01B | On the Rights and Duties of the Tynwald Court

My fellow Alesians,

Following the recent Interim Government Poll, and, consequently, the Opening of Tynwald Court of Alesia, it is the Tynwald Court's rightful position to debate, formulate and legislate the current and future duties, rights and obligations of the Tynwald Court. So I call upon all citizens, from Alesia far and wide, to be heard and participate in this Court's legislative session.

Therefore, I propose, as Speaker of the Tynwald Court, the following legislation to be debated upon:

-- On the Rights and Duties of the Tynwald Court --
Tynwald Court-index: TC-INT01B

Part I - The Tynwald Court

1. The regional Legislative authority of Alesia shall be vested in the Tynwald Court.

1.1. The duties, rights, and obligations of the Tynwald Court shall be to serve the region, to create, amend and formulate the Alesian Law, and to the best of their ability exercise their legislative powers, written down in such Law.

1.2. All legislative documents passed by this court shall be considered binding indefinitely, unless explicitly stated otherwise.


Part II - The members of Tynwald Court and their responsibilities

2. Any nation that has been granted [citizenship, either through application or executive decision by the High Council]¹, are to have one (1) non-transferable seat in the Tynwald Court, with which they are free and encouraged to propose new legislation, suggest amending or repealing of existing laws, as well as enact other duties, rights and responsibilities laid out in Alesian Law.

3. All members are to follow the rules of order and decorum, or Tynwald Court etiquette, including, but not limiting to:

3.1. Entertain positive discourse and structured debate by utilising civil language;

3.2. Propose, discuss, amend or repeal legislation in the region's best interest;

3.3. Propose legislation in the right way in the right board, determined by law or ruling by the Speaker;


Part III - The Speaker of Tynwald Court and its responsibilities

4. At least one (1) citizen presides the Tynwald Court as Speaker.

4.1. The position of Speaker is to be [elected, with regional elections being held every 3 months, during the last whole week of the election month]².

4.2. At no time can the Speaker of Tynwald Court be also be seated in the High Council.

4.3. In absence of the Speaker, the [Founder/High Chieftain/Chieftain of Internal Stability]³ presides as interim Speaker.

4.3. At any time, the Speaker may be removed from office with a 2/3 majority vote by Tynwald Court.

5. The Speaker structures debate, initiates and ends voting, and upholds and establishes rules over order and decorum, and in cases these are not uphold, the Speaker has powers including, but not limiting to:

5.1. Silencing citizens, expelling from any specific debate up until voting commences;

5.2. Temporarily postpone debate or voting of any proposed legislative document;

5.3. Full moderation powers within the Halls of Tynwald Court to be able to enforce above decorum, including the ability to edit posts, and move, open, close and pin threads to structure the Tynwald Court Board.


Part IV - Debate, Voting & Passage of Law
6. Debate immediately initiates when any member of Tynwald Court correctly proposes a legislative document or initiates a discourse. Debate must not be shorter than five (5) days.

6.1. During debate, any member may propose changes to the proposed legislation, which will be agreed upon by simple majority vote. 

6.2. Any member may suggest to expedite the debate (and move directly to voting), but only after three (3) days, with sufficient prior debate, and up to ruling by the Speaker.

7. Voting initiates and ends by ruling of the Speaker, and will be no less than twenty-four (24) hours, and a maximum of one hundred and twenty (120) hours. All members should vote by voice, or posting their vote in the thread itself. 

7.1. Upon initiation, the Speaker will announce in the thread the total amount of eligible members to vote, the amount of votes that are needed to pass the law, and the voting period, as well as communicate to all members that voting has been initiated.

7.2. If a simple majority is reached before the minimal time limit, the Speaker may prematurely end the vote. Upon ending the vote prematurely, all members who have yet to vote are still able to.

7.3. Upon passage of the law, the Speaker will announce the new legislation to all citizens. Its publication method is up to the discretion of the Speaker.



Part V - Archive and Clerical Administration

8. Both the Speaker, as well as the Clerical Administration, are responsible for structuring and archiving all legislature, verbatim debates and a structured summary of each vote that has taken place in the Tynwald Court. Its archiving method is up to the discretion of the Speaker.


8.1. There must be at least one (1) clerical administrator be in office, appointed by the Speaker, to aid in this task. The position of Cleric is for life, until removed by a Speaker or by voluntary resignation. Clerics receive similar moderation powers as the Speaker to ensure structure in the Tynwald Court.

8.2. At no time can a Cleric be also the Speaker, nor act like one, or be seated in the High Council.

8.3. Misuse of the clerical duties results in immediate resignation of said office, and additionally [a 30-day banishment from the forums]⁴.


Part VI - Enactment, Amendment and Constitutional Repeal

9. This law will immediately be in effect after a simple majority vote within the Tynwald Court.

10. This law, [with the exception of Article I and VI]⁵, may be amended after by simple majority vote within the Tynwald Court,.

11. This law will be immediately be repealed by a passage of the Alesian Constitution, if and only if said Constitution includes similar legislation.

Footnotes (i.e. Suggested points of debate)
¹ This calls for legislation on citizenship. I am sure either the High Council, or any other citizen has some ideas for legislation. Who will propose such legislation?
² Should the Speaker be elected or appointed? If elected, the election can coincide with the High Council election, since they can't hold both offices! If appointed, who should do the appointing?
³ Who should be appointed interim Speaker? Or should there always be a Speaker and a Deputy Speaker? Or two Speakers? Or should the Cleric be the interim deputy?
⁴ This calls for criminal code! Again, who's up for proposing such legislation?
⁵ The existence of the Tynwald Court should be hard-coded by law from this moment on if we add this section. Also, by including article 11, we ensure that the Constitution must include text establishing any type of legislative branch. This does not exclude a direct copy of this law, of course.


Any and other suggestions, amendments, dis- and agreements or neutral points of debate are more than welcome. Let yourself be heard.

[scotlandow]

I’m happy to propose citizenship legislation for the Court’s consideration following consultation with Cabinet.
I think the Speaker should be elected, requiring the confidence of the Court.
I think it was discussed that the Chieftain would serve in place of the Speaker in the Speaker’s absence. However, it may be better being a different member of the Cabinet (perhaps internal stability (I declare a conflict of interest)) since they will not be influenced by a veto power that only the Chieftain has. However, the Cleric could serve as Acting Speaker when required, that might be best.
Again, following consultation with Cabinet, Criminal Code legislation could be proposed by me in the next week
I don’t believe that article 11 is necessary as the constitution could address the superseding of previous legislation on any matter. An article in the constitution could state that all law passed in the interim system becomes law in the new system, except for legislation now contradicted by the new constitution. 

[Ervald Krakensson]

1 This calls for legislation on citizenship. I am sure either the High Council, or any other citizen has some ideas for legislation. Who will propose such legislation?

2 Should the Speaker be elected or appointed? If elected, the election can coincide with the High Council election, since they can't hold both offices! If appointed, who should do the appointing?

3 Who should be appointed interim Speaker? Or should there always be a Speaker and a Deputy Speaker? Or two Speakers? Or should the Cleric be the interim deputy?

4 This calls for criminal code! Again, who's up for proposing such legislation?

5 The existence of the Tynwald Court should be hard-coded by law from this moment on if we add this section. Also, by including article 11, we ensure that the Constitution must include text establishing any type of legislative branch. This does not exclude a direct copy of this law, of course.

1. I won't volunteer but I think anybody would be okay to be proposing such legislation.
2. Since Tynwald Court is made up of all citizens, I think it would make the most sense for the Speaker to be elected. 
3. I say allow the Speaker to appoint a Deputy if they need to, but it should not be required by law. For interim Speaker, I think you, Chris, would be good.
4. What I said regarding the first question.


Regarding term lengths, I want to say we should go with days over months. That is because not every month is the same length which can be messy. I would be good with 45-60 days as a term. I will not support any term limits of any kind. Let the voters decide if an incumbent have done their job well enough to deserve a third term consecutively. 

[Vercingetorix Maximus]

1 This calls for legislation on citizenship. I am sure either the High Council, or any other citizen has some ideas for legislation. Who will propose such legislation?

This'll work, but we can formalize the requirements for Citizenship in the Constitution. But having the rights of citizenship wrt to the legislature codified here is a good idea.


2 Should the Speaker be elected or appointed? If elected, the election can coincide with the High Council election, since they can't hold both offices! If appointed, who should do the appointing?

I think an election is a good idea for the same reason Ervald said - all cities are in the Court either way, so we can do a direct election

3 Who should be appointed interim Speaker? Or should there always be a Speaker and a Deputy Speaker? Or two Speakers? Or should the Cleric be the interim deputy?


I think a Deputy Speaker position is a good idea, or having the Clerk be elevated. As long as there is a clear point-person to move up when/if needed.

4 This calls for criminal code! Again, who's up for proposing such legislation?


I'll have something soon! (Famous last words, I know)

5 The existence of the Tynwald Court should be hard-coded by law from this moment on if we add this section. Also, by including article 11, we ensure that the Constitution must include text establishing any type of legislative branch. This does not exclude a direct copy of this law, of course.


Agree 100%

[Chris Palmer]

Due to the stabilization of discussion, unless substantial new points of discussions are made, this proposal will be put to a vote within the next 24 hours. Suggestions and amendments to the proposed legislation should be made beforehand. I will summarize the discussion and amend the text where necessary before the vote starts, to offer the Tynwald Court the exact proposal to vote on.