Saint Lyon Constitution

## Preamble

*We, the people, to establish a supreme and perfect union, henceforth establish One Nation, united under One Flag, One Government, and One Saint. This Nation shall establish peace, justice, and defense of the people, under the guidance of Our Saint, Alexander Lyon. Henceforth, this Constitution is hereby established to guide and govern this Nation.*

This text solidifies the Union of Saint Lyon as a official government, and obligates the government to defend the nation and its people, as well as an obligation to be just.

## Article 1

Article 1 establishes the executive branch of the Union of Saint Lyon.

### Section 1

*The Executive Branch consists of the Saint and his or her advisers and staff. The primary duties of the executive branch is to run the day-to-day operations of the Nation.*

This section establishes the composition and purpose of the executive branch.

### Section 2

*The Executive Branch consists of the Saint and his or her advisers and staff. The Saint has the power to command the military, appoint advisers, approve or veto laws, pardon those accused or found guilty of a crime, appoint ambassadors, convene special sessions of the Senate, appoint Inquisitors, and to establish Executive Orders if said orders do not violate existing law.*

This section establishes the composition and powers of the Saint.

### Section 3

*Upon a situation where a Saint is incapable of continuing in his or her duties, through death, injury, sickness, or resignation, the Senate shall run the nation for no more than thirty days, during which a new Saint must be elected. A Saint must be militarily competent, knowledgeable in political affairs, and have no less than one Mastery.*

This section establishes the line of secession for the Executive Branch.

## Article 2

Article 2 establishes the legislative branch of the Union of Saint Lyon.

### Section 1

*All legislative authority shall be granted to the Senate.*

This section establishes the legislative branch.

### Section 2

*The Senate, consisting of 325 elected Senators, shall be elected every five years. Sixty-five Senate seats shall be up for election every year. Each district, shall have twenty-five elected senate seats, of which five seats shall be up for election each year. No Senator may be under the age of eighteen, nor may a candidate for the position of Senator lack citizenship.*

This section establishes the Senate, and specifies its membership.

### Section 3

*The Senate has the power to declare war, to write legislation, to approve or reject any treaty or agreement with a foreign power, to pass tax legislation, and reject any executive order. All Senators are democratically elected every five years, with twenty-nine seats up for reelection every year. The Senate rules by majority vote, however 96 Senators are needed to reject an Executive Order. The Senate may impeach the Saint if no less than 217 Senators are in favor of the impeachment.*

This section establishes the powers of the Senate.

### Section 4

*Each election must take place on the first day in the forth month of the year, and all elected persons must be sworn in by the first day in the sixth month. Each election shall use the singular transferable vote method.*

This section establishes election procedures.

### Section 5

*The Single Transferable Vote shall work as follows. All candidates must be members of a registered political party, but a political party shall not be limited as to how many candidates are running for it. A voter shall have the ability to rank the candidates on the ballot. Any non-ranked candidate shall not receive the vote of that person under this system. After the ballots are counted, the votes are counted until one candidate reaches twenty percent of the vote, after which all subsequent votes for that candidate vote to the second choices on the remaining ballots, and those second choices are treated as though they are the first choices, as so that the vote would continue down the list of ranked candidates until it is counted towards a candidate who has not obtained the twenty percent threshold. If there are more than five candidates, the candidate with the least number of votes is eliminated from the election and the votes go to the indicated second or subsequent choices. This continues until all five seats for that election are filled by threshold or, if the remaining candidates can not obtain the minimum threshold, the highest voted remaining candidates shall gain the remaining seats. In the event of a tie that prevents the remaining seats from being filled, assuming none of the tied candidates have reached or can reach the ten percent threshold, shall be given the seat based on who registered to be a candidate first for that election, but such consideration shall only be considered after the lowest voted candidates beyond those who can obtain seats are removed.*

This section establishes voting method.

## Article 3

Article 3 establishes the judicial branch of the Union of Saint Lyon.

### Section 1

*All judicial authority shall be granted to the Tribunal.*

This section establishes the Tribunal and all its courts.

### Section 2

*The Tribunal, ruled by three Inquisitors per district, shall preside over all criminal trials, civil trials, and lawsuits. There shall be three Appellate Inquisitors per region, charged with processing appeals to decisions made by regular Inquisitors. There shall be three High Inquisitor charged with the final appeals and decision regarding any decisions from all other Inquisitors and Appellate Inquisitors. Only High Inquisitors may determine the constitutionality of any law or decision.*

This section establishes the Tribunal Courts and its power.

### Section 3

*The Pack, a military court and enforcement unit, shall have sole judicial and enforcement authority over actions and crimes committed by military personnel, government personnel, foreign dignitaries, and those who commit actions directly against the government or its people. This court is subject to oversight by the High Inquisitors and the Saint.*

This section establishes the Pack and its powers.

## Article 4

*Any territory, state, or nation, may petition to become a part of this Nation, a motion, which must be approved by the Senate. No territory, city, or any other part of the Nation may secede from the Nation.*

This article establishes procedures for annexation of additional lands and it also bans secession from the Union of Saint Lyon.

## Article 5

*This Constitution shall be amended upon a vote of two-thirds of the Senate and seven-tenths of the Council being in favor of the amendment. Upon ratification by the Voice, it must be voted in favor by a democratic vote by the citizens of the nation, where a majority vote must be achieved.*

This article establishes the procedures for amending the Constitution.

## Article 6

This article establishes the rights of the people.

### Section 1

*The practice of Unionism shall not be infringed, nor shall the practice of any peaceful religion, not in direct opposition with Unionism.*

This section establishes the freedom of religion.

### Section 2

*All speech, containing no defamation, incitement of violence, sedition, nor blasphemy against Saint Lyon or Unionism, shall be held as a sacred right for all Citizens. Such speech includes written speech, spoken speech, expressed opinions, and all thought.*

This section establishes the freedom of speech, expression, press, and thought.

### Section 3

*All Citizens shall have the right to assemble into peaceful groups, including for reasons of peaceful protest.*

This section establishes the right to assembly and protest.

### Section 4

*All Citizens shall have the right to petition the government for grievances or advice.*

This section establishes the right to petition.

### Section 5

*No Citizen shall be subject to unreasonable and unjustified search and seizure of self, property, or ownership.*

This section establishes protections from unreasonable searches and seizures.

### Section 6

*No Citizen shall be denied a fair trial of reasonable duration, nor may a person be tried twice for the same offense, except as an appeal, nor may a person be denied legal representation.*

This section establishes protections in court, including a right to a fair trial, protection from double jeopardy, and a right to have legal representation.

### Section 7

*No Citizen shall be subject to a punishment that is excessive for the crime committed.*

This section establishes protections from excessive punishments.

### Section 8

*No person shall be held in involuntary servitude, nor shall a person be owned by another person.*

This section establishes protections from slavery.

### Section 9

*No Citizen may be denied the right to vote, upon reaching the age of eighteen.*

This section establishes a right to vote.

### Section 10

*No person shall be denied nor stripped of citizenship, except upon being found guilty of treason or desertion during military duty.*

This section establishes protections for citizenship, as well as requirements for citizenship.

## Article 7

*With all provisions defined above and as amendments, all the above are hereby ratified, and establishes the Nation, which shall be called the Union, as of the first of June of the year 1805.*

This article formally establishes the Union of Saint Lyon (the Saint Lyon portion was added in 1842 upon Alexander Lyon's death.