Imperial Parliament

The Chamber of the Imperial Parliament in the Imperial City of Geneva.

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Backgrounds & Creation

Before the Imperial Parliament was created, the legislative body of the Empire were the Estates-General, where all the citizens of the Empire could participate. Everyone could debate and vote in every matter. The situation had turned somewhat chaotic. Fortunately, with the Golden Triangle Reforms of 2005 proposed by former citizen Miss Sofía de Aragón in late Spetember and early October the new Imperial Parliament of the Empire was created.

The Parliament according to the Constitution

Here we reproduce a copy of Part VI of the Constitution of the Empire, where it talks about the Imperial Parliament, the members, the elections, the rules, etc.

Part IV [Parliament]

Article 16 [Legislative Power, Term, Membership, Duties, Location]

(1) The Legislative Power shall be vested in a unicameral Imperial Parliament, and shall sit for a session in duration for three months. The legislative power of the Imperial Parliament includes the power to ratify treaties with other states. Treaties not ratified within six months have to be revoked by the Emperor.

(2) The Parliament shall consist of one Member from each Territorial Division of the Empire of the Alexandrians, and the Prime Minister of the Empire.

(3) Ministers sitting in the Imperial Parliament have the duty to propose, debate, and vote on bills brought before them. A Minister who has not voted on any question within 15 days is deemed to have forfeited his seat.

(4) The Parliament shall meet in the place where the Government has its seat. Provided that in extraordinary circumstances the Parliament may assemble elsewhere in the Realm.

(5) The Members of the Parliament shall be bound solely by their own conscience and not by any directions given by their electors.

Article 17 [Right to Vote]

(1) Any person who has a right to vote in Parliament elections shall be eligible for membership of the Parliament, unless he has been convicted of an act which in the eyes of the public makes him unworthy of being a Member of the Parliament.

(2) For any person to have the right to vote in Parliament elections they shall have to register their name and other contact information in the Provincial Registry of their territorial division of residence.

Article 18 [Elections]

(1) The Members of the Parliament shall be elected by general and direct ballot. The Prime Minister of the Empire calls for these by-elections in each territorial subdivision.

(2) Elections to Parliament are held the second weekends in February, May, August, November, or when the Parliament has been dissolved.

(3) Vacancies must be filled by the parties of the members who last occupied those seats. If the seat was held by an independent, the Emperor must appoint another independent to the vacancy.

(4) Each party may nominate a party list with up to as many candidates as there are seats. Independents also may nominate.

Article 19 [Bills and Imperial Assent]

(1) All legislative bills, excepting matters discussed in Clause 6 of this Article, must be approved by Parliament before they can be submitted to the Crown for the Imperial Assent.

(2) Any Member of the Parliament shall be entitled to introduce Bills and other measures.

(3) No Bill shall be finally passed until it has been read three times in the Parliament.

(4) Two-fifths of the Members of the Parliament may request of the Speaker that the third reading of a Bill shall not take place until twelve week-days after its passing the second reading. The request shall be made in writing and signed by the Members making it. Provided that there shall be no such postponement in connection with Finance Bills, Supplementary Appropriation Bills, Provisional Appropriation Bills, Government Loan Bills, Naturalization Bills, Expropriation Bills, Indirect Taxation Bills, and, in emergencies, Bills the enactment of which cannot be postponed owing to the intent of the Act.

(5) In the case of a new election and at the end of the session all Bills and other measures which have not been finally passed shall be dropped.

(6) Any bill put before the Imperial Parliament that contradicts the Constitution or undermines the laws of the Empire shall be rejected at the discretion of the Speaker of the Imperial Parliament, subject to judicial review.

Article 20 [Speaker] The Speaker of the Parliament has the duty to organize Parliament’s agenda and to recognize all proposals put before the house by its members. The body must elect a Speaker by majority vote before proceeding to other business.

Article 21 [Rules] Parliament may implement its own rules, and in the event the expulsion of a member is necessary, it shall be done by a two-thirds vote of the body. As representatives of the people of Alexandria, it is the duty of all Ministers to conduct themselves in a polite and gentlemanly fashion in Parliament. At no time shall profanity, personal insults or slander be tolerated, and the Parliament must set rules to this effect.

First Imperial Parliament (October 2005-January 2006)

The First elected Imperial Parliament was composed by Jacques Gordon, His Eminence Cardinal Jacques de Beaufort, Russel duBois, Claude Peterson, Lord Jean Michel Leclerc des Montagnes, and the Prime Minister of the Empire Matthieu Poiters. This composition changed when the Cardinal had to leave the country on personal issues. With the seat of Asunción vacant, a new by-election was held and Miss Fabiola Douay of the Alexandrian Pride Party was elected.

Unfortunately, the members of this Parliament had very different believes and opinions, for the most part, and this produced that the only pieces of legislation that came out of it were the New Constitution of the Empire, and the ratification of the Treaty of Loredo by which the Confederate States of Rio Grande were annexed to the Empire. This does not mean that this Parliament was inactive. On the contrary, due to the differences between the Parliamentary Ministers, debate was always present, sometimes it was noble and sometimes it turned into endless bickering and fighting.

The most important topics of debate during this session where concerning the possition of Speaker of the Imperial Parliament and his rights and duties, and the War in the country of Ortania. Other controversial acts and bills put before the House such as the Official Secrets Act, the Emergency Act, the Imperial Parliament Act, the Standing Orders Act, and several proposed amendments to the Imperial Constitution never saw the light.

Second Imperial Parliament (January 2006-current)

After the January 2006 Parliamentary elections a new Parliament was formed. The members of the new and current Parliament are: For the province of Asunción, Cardinal Jacques de Beaufort, for the province of Puerto Nuevo (and after a tie in the elections) Mr. Claude Peterson; for the province of Rio Grande Mr Joshua Jackson; for the province of Valenciennes Mr. Rubén Ruiz; for the province of Baudrix Mr. Nicholas Bertrand; the Prime Minister of the Empire Matthieu Poiters; and Lord Jean Michel Leclerc des Montagnes as the only appointed member.

Currently under discussion is The Speaker Act 2006, that already has the support of five of the members of the House, and that will probably soon be made into law. The race for the possition of Speaker of the Imperial Parliament is being contested between Mr. Joshua Jackson of the Non-Partisans Asociation and His Eminence Cardinal Jacques de Beaufort of the Alexandrian Conservative Party.