Constitutional Reform Bill

The Constitutional Reform Bill (long title: Constitutional Amendment Article 8, 14, 18, 20 and 25) was a set of constitutional amendments introduced by Prime Minister Colin Luxbridge-Sullivan and President Jens van Kakerken which set out to stabilise the institutions of the federation.

## Text Amendment Article 8

The changes are in **bold**.

1. The Government shall consist of the President **and Vice President, who is the Head of State**, the Prime Minister, **who is the Head of Government**, and the Cabinet.
2. The President **and Vice President** of the USOR Federation act independently from the rest of the Government and are only accountable to Courts and the citizenry of the USOR Federation, not to the States-General. Only in case of impeachment [article 20] are the President **and/or Vice President** accountable to the Senate.
3. The President, **Vice President** and the Prime Minister need to be publicly inaugurated in which they will have to pledge allegiance to the Flag of the USOR and swear loyalty to the Constitution, the oaths of office in Article 10. The Chief Justice of the Supreme Court registers the Oath of Office.
4. State Governors need to be publicly sworn in by the President of the USOR Federation in a ceremony at the Catshouse.
5. The President’s tasks are to act like the Commander in Chief, the President can control foreign policy wherever he or she pleases, the President needs to appoint the Prime Minister and the State Governors, he may also secure a transition of power by appointing another Prime Minister.

a. **The duties of the Vice President are to act like the President’s representative in the Cabinet, also to serve as the President Pro Tempore of the Senate, presiding over Senate Proceedings. Furthermore, in the case of the President’s long absence, through incapacity, to execute his duties as described in subsection 5.**

## Text Amendment Article 14

1. The States-General shall consist of the House of Commons, **the Senate** and the State Assemblies.
2. The House of Commons is tasked with scrutinizing the government, amending laws, voting on proposals and proposing laws and motions.
3. The House of Commons represents the entire population of the USOR Federation **and shall consist of 150 members.**
4. **The Senate of the USOR Federation is tasked with judicial appointments, the trial of presidential impeachment, voting on proposals. The Senate can propose laws, although those ought to pass the House of Commons after passing the USOR Senate.**
5. **The Senate represents the States and shall consist of 35 members, of which 34 elected. Any and all states shall have two elected Senators, elected for 10 weeks. The single unelected member shall be appointed by the government with advice and consent of the House of Commons, and shall act as the successor of the Vice President in the capacity of President Pro Tempore of the Senate, should the Vice President assume the Presidency.**

a. **Upon the appointment of a new Vice President, the then-President Pro Tempore of the Senate is obliged to resign the office to allow the Vice President to execute their duties.**

## Text Amendment Article 18

1. Elections to the House of Commons are held every 56 days.

a. Elections to the House of Commons happen according to Article 8 of the Federal Code of the USOR Federation.

1. Elections to the Federal State Assemblies are held every 56 days, according to Article 9 of the Federal Code of the USOR Federation.
2. **The Election to the Senate of the USOR are held every 84 days, 17 of the Senate seats shall be up for election at the Elections to the House of Commons, and 17 at the Federal State Assembly elections, which seats are up for election is determined if their seat has served a full 84-days term.**

## Text Amendment Article 20

1. **The Senate** can impeach the President of the USOR Federation, this must happen when it is beyond a reasonable doubt that the President performed high crimes and misdemeanors. Impeachment has a binding status and if **23 out of 35 Senators** vote in favour of the President’s impeachment, the President **is removed from office and shall have to leave the official residence and** office within 24 hours.
2. **The Vice President of the USOR Federation shall succeed the President in the case of impeachment. If the Vice President is impeached following the same procedure as stated in subsection 1, the President of the Senate shall take up the Presidency lasting until the incumbent term expires.**

## Text Amendment Article 25

1. The administration of disputes, civil rights and claims is up to the Judiciary. The judiciary is also tasked with the trial of criminal offenses, subject to the legal exceptions.
2. The law may set different rules for war crimes and crimes against humanity.
3. The judiciary is responsible for requesting statements from politicians, and is responsible for ensuring that the people are represented by **their** Government and the States-General.
4. **The President shall nominate, and by and with Advice and Consent of the Senate, shall appoint Ambassadors, other public Ministers and Consuls, and Justices of the Supreme Court, including but not limited to the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of the USOR Federation.**
5. **The Supreme Court is tasked with all cases of national importance.**

## Background

During the 28th Session of the House of Commons there were multiple attempts at removing President Jens van Kakerken from office using Article 20 Powers of Impeachment. Although the Constitution provides the power of impeachment, it didn't have mechanisms in place for succession in the case Impeachment passes.

The Amendment of Article 8 sought to introduce a Vice President to act in the President's absence, be it for whatever reason. The Vice President will also act like the President Pro Tempore (Speaker) of the Senate.