Constitution

**The Constitution of the Roessen Republic** was officially signed in January 24th, 1920 after the Allied Powers and the Central Powers formally and officially recognised the Roessen Republic as an independent state in the **The Treaty of Versailles** in June 28th, 1919.

It's official signatories included the President, Dominik Schrek, and the delegation for the Principal Allied and Associated Powers.

## Consitution of the Roessen Republic

### Author

President, Dominik Schrek, and the delegation for the Principal Allied and Associated Powers.

## Election System

### Federal Elections

Federal elections are every two years and decide the makeup of the Volksvertretung. The electoral map can be seen in Maps in RP Info. Federal elections use FPTP, with constituencies in cities and provinces. Federal elections can ultimately sway the Präsident (President) to appoint a Kanzler (Chancellor) and Vizekanzler (Vice Chancellor) to represent that makeup.

### Presidential Elections

Presidential elections are every four years to decide the President and uses the Supplementary Voting system. Presidents can run on an alliance ticket, such as with Arnold Heydrich, who ran on an NP-LP (Nationalist and Liberal) coalition ticket. This can be with an agreement that the position of Chancellor or Vice Chancellor be given to a member of the collationed parties.

## Executive Positions

### Responsibilities of the Presidency

The President is the Head of State, but aside from that, they have very little governing power over the country. They are in command of foreign and military affairs. They do, however, appoint and dismiss the Chancellor and Vice Chancellor, who are the Heads of Government and commandeer domestic politics. The President, although having little domestic power, is present in Volksvertretung sessions as well to give their opinion.

### Appointment of Chancellor and Vice Chancellor

While the Federal election may give an insight as to who the Chancellor or Vice Chancellor should be, the position of Chancellor and Vice Chancellor is purely down to the President's decision, or by the result of a vote of no confidence. Whether this be by an election agreement or by the makeup of the Federal election, the appointment of the Chancellor and Vice Chancellor can make or break the executive's relationship with the legislative. The legislative can oust a Chancellor or Vice Chancellor with a vote of no confidence (see below).

### Responsibilities of the Chancellorship

The Chancellor and the Vice Chancellor have the power to open and set the agenda for the Volksvertretung, propose bills, command the national guard and emergency services and overrule decisions by the Bürgermeister and Landeshauptmann.

## Legislative Positions

### Member of the Volksvertretung

A Member of the Volksvertretung (MV) is someone who is elected in a Federal election to represent a constituency in the Volksvertretung. They can speak and scrutinise legislation in the house, vote on laws, and bring up questions to the executive in questioning sessions. This is the most common position to have.

### Bürgermeister

A Bürgermeister (Mayor) is someone who is elected in one of the major cities in each province. They have autonomous power over the infrastructure of their respective city, but can be overruled by their local Landeshauptmann. A Landeshauptmann (Governor) is someone who is elected as the provincial governor of their local province, who can decide infrastructure and building projects, as well as some local laws for their province. They can overrule mayors, but answer directly to the Chancellor, who can overrule their plans.

### Präsident der Volksvertretung

Finally, the Präsident der Volksvertretung (President of the Parliament/House) is the Speaker who commandeers the Volksvertretung. They are also appointed by the President alongside the Chancellor and the Vice Chancellor, and are sworn to impartiality. They oversee the running of the House and manage the agenda set by the Chancellor and Vice Chancellor, and call on MVs to speak.

## Vote of No Confidence

The Volksvertretung can motion a vote of no confidence in the Chancellor or Vice Chancellor, but have a very difficult process in order to do it.

### Motioning the Vote

The first step to a vote of no confidence is motioning the vote in the Volksvertretung. This can be conducted by any MV. Motioning the vote in the first place requires two things:

1. A clear and legitimate reason as to why the Chancellor or Vice Chancellor should be removed, i.e. a lack of control or power, an instance of corruption or violation of their position, etc.
2. A majority (minimum 71 MVs) voting in favour of it.

If these points are successful, then the Chancellor or Vice Chancellor is suspended from their post. Then comes the replacement.

### Majority Candidate

If the Vice Chancellor is suspended, then the Volksvertretung can continue as planned until the next session. If the Chancellor is suspended, then the Vice Chancellor temporarily acts as the Chancellor until the session is over. Once the session is over, MVs need to appoint a successor. If, by the next session, the majority of the Volksvertretung has rallied behind a majority candidate (again, needing minimum 71 MVs), then the President must appoint that candidate as Chancellor or Vice Chancellor.

### No Majority Candidate

If there is no majority candidate, possibly by cross-party disagreements, by the next session (i.e. if there is not a majority vote in favour of the candidate in that session), then the President has the power to select the Chancellor or Vice Chancellor replacement, but cannot pick the previous candidate. If need be, the Vice Chancellor can be selected as the new Chancellor, if such situation arises.

## Presidential Impeachment

For a President to be impeached, there is a two stage voting process: one in the Volksvertretung, and one on a national level.

### Motion for Impeachment

The first vote to impeach a President is a motion for impeachment in the Volksvertretung, which can be motioned by any MV, with legitimate reason as to why the President should be impeached. The PDV then holds the motion to a vote, in which the majority of the Kammer must agree to (once again a minimum of 71 MVs). If this motion passes, it enters the national stage.

### Referendum on Impeachment

The second vote is a national referendum by the people, with the simple question on whether or not the President should be impeached. No matter how close the resolution is, the result must be respected. The Roessisch military can remove a President by force if need be, as the President will no longer be the Commander in Chief once the result declares so. If the President survives impeachment, they remain as President and cannot be motioned to be impeached for the same reason motioned before.

### Court Impeachment

Instead of a national referendum, another method of impeachment can be done through the Courts (or the Staatsgerichtshof), but only if the President is guilty of directly breaking Roessisch law, which is what the referendum excuses. If the Courts find the President guilty of directly breaking Roessisch law, they are removed from power and arrested.

### Presidential Replacement

The removal of a sitting President will have the PDV act as the interim President for two months while there is a campaign and finally a small-scale Presidential election with a one-round plurality vote to decide who will fill the remainder of that President's term.

## Cabinet Positions

**Kanzler** - Chancellor

**Vizekanzler** - Vice Chancellor

**Auswärtigen Amt** - Foreign Office

**Ministerium des Innern** - Interior

**Schatzministerium** - Treasury

**Ministerium der Justiz** - Justice

**Wehrministerium** - Defence

**Ministerium für Wirtschaft** - Economic Affairs

**Ministerium für Ernährung** - Food

**Ministerium für Arbeit** - Labour

**Ministerium für das Postwesen** - Mail

**Ministerium für Verkehr** - Transport

A Kabinettminister can hold more than one position. Furthermore, a Kanzler or Vizekanzler can hold a separate Kabinett position, although this is often temporary while finding a replacement.