Constitution of the Holy Tekkelien Empire

The Constitution of the Holy Tekkelien Empire outlines the explicit responsibilities of the Imperial Government as well as protections afforded to those under its authority. Citing God as its authority, its wording specifically extends certain natural rights to all humans (later extended to all sentient species) regardless of nationality. The Imperial Government must honor the rights of all people within and without its borders. Despite this, citizens are given additional rights in self-governance and welfare, and citizenship must be earned to the same standard regardless of birthplace.

## Preamble

It should be universally acknowledged that all people are bestowed with rights by a creator whose word transcends all Earthly authority. The only righteous and justifiable purpose of a government being to defend these rights, the Holy Tekkelien Empire must fully abide by the structures herein.

## Section 1: Human Rights

1. The government shall not restrict the free exchange of speech, press, public assembly or any other nonviolent expression.
2. No person shall be compelled to act in violation of sincerely-held religious beliefs, barring immediate, measurable harm, nor shall they be prohibited from the free practice or non-practice thereof.
3. The government shall respect the right of all innocent people to live.
4. In the interest of self-defence and resistance to tyranny, the government shall neither prohibit nor restrict the private, individual ownership of selective, handheld weapons by law-abiding citizens.
5. No person shall ever be declared guilty until proven so by a jury of the defendant’s peers in a fair and impartial trial. The defendant has a right to a quick trial in simple terms and professional legal counsel, provided by a public defender if they cannot afford one.
6. No person shall ever be subject to an intrusion or confiscation of private property by law enforcement without credible evidence of illegal activity taking place, documented with a judge-issued warrant.
7. People have the right to be judged by merit alone in employment and public services.
8. Every citizen shall be granted the right to vote with a secret ballot.
9. The government shall not administer a punishment disproportionate to the convict’s crime.
10. No person shall be held above the law.
11. No innocent person shall be prohibited from leaving the country.
12. The government shall not arrest or incarcerate any person without reasonable cause.
13. Every living human being is acknowledged as a person.

## Section 2: The Legislative Branch

1. The government shall have a single legislative body called the Imperial Parliament.
2. All adult citizens are permitted to run for parliamentary office.
3. All 100 administrative provinces of the Imperial Mainland and Inner Colonies of the Sol System are to be allotted 10 representatives each, and any party that receives at least 10% of votes from their province shall be awarded seats proportionally. All legal adult citizens are allowed to vote for one party.
4. Electoral provinces should be drawn by an independent, non-partisan commission so that populations are roughly equal in numbers and similar in culture.
5. Representatives shall be elected every 4 years, always 2 years apart from the executive election, with no limit on a candidate’s ability to run for re-election.
6. Parliamentary discourse shall be moderated by the Chairman of the Parliament, who is not an elected representative and has no vote. The Chairman shall be nominated by the majority party, and confirmed by a 2/3 majority vote of the whole Parliament.
7. The Parliament should convene at least once a year.
8. Representatives shall receive a monthly salary that reflects the income of the general population.
9. The powers and responsibilities of the Parliament are listed as such:
10. To levy taxes on income, commerce, property and trade;
11. To borrow money on behalf of the Empire;
12. To regulate trade with foreign nations, protectorates and colonies;
13. To raise, maintain and regulate the military, and construct related assets such as shipyards, bases and fortifications;
14. To declare war;
15. To build and maintain infrastructure, postal and public health services;
16. To fund the development of education, arts and sciences;
17. To name new planets and solar systems, and establish the boundaries and borders of new space colonies;
18. To purchase securities, bonds and stocks in foreign countries and businesses.
19. To amend the constitution with the Premier’s approval and a 3/4 majority.
20. To sell titles of nobility, provided they do not grant special consideration in free market enterprise, nor compromise the meritocracy of the military.

## Section 3: The Executive Branch

1. The Premier General is the head of state and commander of the armed forces.
2. He or she shall be elected every 4 years, and may serve no longer than 4 terms.
3. Any adult citizen may run for the Office of the Premier General.
4. All legal adult citizens, including those of the colonies, shall be allowed to vote once per election for one candidate.
5. The candidate with the most votes in the executive election wins, independent of party representation in Parliament.
6. The Premier will be paid a set monthly salary for the duration of his or her term, set by a 2/3 vote of the Parliament.
7. The Premier shall nominate three Viceroy candidates when running for election, who will be voted for separately, and act as his or her second-in-command and legal representative.
8. After election, the Premier may appoint a cabinet, and may replace cabinet members as he or she sees fit.
9. The Viceroy is the first successor if the Premier dies, resigns or is incapacitated, followed by the Chairman of the Imperial Parliament and then the executive cabinet in an order determined by the Premier.
10. The Premier may offer an executive pardon to any convicted criminal, completely expunging any records of their crime, except if the Premier themself is being investigated.
11. The Premier can either approve or veto a bill from the Parliament, the latter of which can be overridden with a 2/3 majority from the Parliament.
12. The Premier may negotiate treaties with foreign nations, but must receive a simple majority approval from Parliament.
13. Circumstances permitting, the Premier should address the citizens of the Empire at least once per term, and keep the population informed about the progress and workings of the government.
14. The Premier may nominate new justices to the Constitutional Court to fill vacancies, given a simple parliamentary majority vote and at least half of the other sitting justices.

## Section 4: War, Military, and Order

1. A standing, professional military is necessary for security against invasion and domestic strife.
2. The Premier General shall only authorize immediate military responses to imminent foreign aggression without Parliament approval, pending a parliamentary vote, and shall defer to the final vote as soon as it is reached.
3. Any treaties adopted by the government of the Tekkelien Empire are to be enforced as the law of the land in all provinces and colonies.
4. In a time of war or other circumstance where there is immediate danger to the life and security of the people, normal procedures and rights may be temporarily suspended in a “State of Emergency”, up to and including government or military command of the economy if necessary. All normal government functions must be restored as soon as the danger has been resolved.
5. Conscription of males 16 years of age and over is permitted only when there is a threat to the existence of the Empire and its constitution.
6. All colonies of the Empire shall receive the protection of the military against invasion or domestic strife with the same consideration as the mainland provinces.
7. Military service qualifies a citizen as an adult as soon as they join.
8. The military may try and punish criminals within its ranks and civilians who have committed crimes against it outside civilian judicial practice.
9. Any person caught fleeing the law from another colony or province shall be sent back for trial.

## Section 5: Constitutional Court

1. It is the purpose of the Constitutional Court of the Tekkelien Empire to determine the constitutional status of laws and regulations enacted.
2. The Court shall be comprised of fifteen justices, appointed by the Premier General with a 2/3 vote from Parliament, who will remain until death, resignation or a supermajority vote, by their peers or Parliament, of unfitness.
3. The justices must be able to interpret the original meaning of the Constitution by understanding the historical context, language and outside primary sources when determining the constitutionality of any new laws.
4. The Courts shall not enact new policies and laws, only evaluate existing ones.
5. The number of justices shall not be changed for political gain.

## Section 6: Economic Power

1. The authority of the government is only legitimized by its protection of the people’s rights.
2. To ensure the people’s right to live and have secure property, it is in the interest of the government to facilitate the economy.
3. The government has the right to raise taxes to maintain basic infrastructure that facilitates the rights of the people including defense, contract enforcement, roads, schools, post offices, garbage collection and reasonable public works.
4. Taxation on the colonies outside the Sol System is limited proportional to the central government services being provided.
5. Taxation on trade and purchasing or selling of foreign government securities, being extensions of foreign policy, are set by the Imperial Parliament with the Premier General’s approval, however the placing of tariffs shall be limited to a proportional response against a foreign power.
6. Protectorates and colonies may enact separate, additional tariffs for industry protection so long as it does not undercut the central government’s tariff policy.
7. The guild shall be the legal tender valid in all Imperial provinces and colonies, issued exclusively by the Ministry of Finance. All taxes, fines and fees must be paid in guild.

## Section 7: Religion

1. It should be duly noted that the Stellar Orthodox Church is a force for unity and the teachings of Christianity are essential to the notion of human rights.
2. The government shall never revoke the right of the people to practice any religion they see fit, but the government shall always maintain a Christian policy in support of biblical teachings.
3. The government shall allow religious displays on public grounds with equal consideration, considering only the facts of whether or not it exemplifies values that serve a common, secular good.
4. The government can and must endorse the fundamental values of Christianity to maintain its belief in a people born of free will and flawed nature.
5. The right to individual practice religion says nothing of the government’s right to endorse and practice its own.
6. Politicians too need not be silent about their faith, but rather are encouraged, though not required, to openly express their beliefs, whatever they are, to the people in the interest of civil discourse.
7. It should be noted however, that people of any belief system are allowed to participate in the government, including that of no religious belief at all.

## Section 8: The Environment

1. It is understood that the rights to life, liberty and property cannot be achieved unless the nation ensures that the environment is survivable.
2. The colonization efforts of originally uninhabitable planets shall receive the aid of government and military construction forces to make it livable for the economic good of the people.
3. Environmental destruction leads to adverse effects that will infringe upon the rights of the people of future generations. Therefore, the government should take measures that limit the extent of damage to the environment of every planet and ensure that the future is sustainable enough for generations of the future to exercise their rights.
4. This should not be done in such a manner that it ruins the livelihoods or makes it impossible for the people to have an acceptable quality of life where they are able to exercise their rights. The government must find the balance between economic success and environmental preservation.

## Section 9: Education

1. An educated population is essential for a stable, functioning country. Mandatory and universal public education at the taxpayers’ expense must be practical, useful and realistically oriented to serve the population’s full range of productive talents.
2. Additionally, schools and colleges should be as locally managed and funded to the highest degree possible. All citizens are required to undergo education from age five to sixteen, or until joining the military at a lower age than that.
3. Government-funded schools shall not teach political nor religious ideology as fact.

## Section 10: Government Integrity

1. Finally, any government officials must abstain from corruption, bribery and agreements of exchange for political gain. The government shall not waste the people’s money on providing excessive fortune or luxury to its politicians, nor shall any politician leverage their position in government for special treatment.
2. Any politician guilty of abuse of power shall be subjected to criminal penalties and barred from serving in office again.
3. The Premier General may grant an executive pardon to any convicted criminal to fully absolve them of any crime and expunge said conviction from any government record. However, a Premier General may be investigated by the Parliament with a 2/3 majority vote, and may be deposed and tried for crimes without the ability to pardon.
4. Government employees, including the military, are prohibited from using employer resources, time or claims of endorsement for personal political activism. Government departments and the military are prohibited from endorsing political candidates or policies contradictory to the incumbent administration.
5. Laws, regulations, and any official government communications must be written in plain English, as simple as possible, well-organized and clearly understandable to an educated person. They must be written at the absolute minimum length necessary, and not intended to hide ideas from the people through complexity.

## Conclusion

The Holy Tekkelien Empire is founded upon the fundamental values of a limited government that protects the rights of the people, which are given by God and therefore inalienable. The principles of free market enterprise, strong military, balanced power and limited government are essential for the country to be free, safe and prosperous. Although times, opinions and technology are forever changing, human nature and the dangers of excessive power never do. Therefore, it is necessary to protect the people from the government by a system built upon the Christian principle that God allows free will and self-determination to facilitate the success of his people.