The Constitution of the Haugen Matriarchy of Saint Scarlett

Preamble:

We, the government and citizens of these arctic islands, in the name of our Lady, Scarlett Espendottir, do establish a new St Scarlett to introduce democracy, freedom and protection to all our citizens and those who visit our lands. This nation remains a fully fledged and independent nation with no direct ties to the Kingdom of Norway, though may they become a strong and friendly ally and neighbour in the future. This constitution is hereby established to outline the new system for these blessed isles and seeks to build upon, not replace, the constitution that separated us from Norway not thirty years prior.

May this constitution stand long and lead to a longer period of peace both within St Scarlett and in its surrounding world.

Written by Astrid Haugen and Sir Hans Selberg with assistance from Her Most Feminine, Lady Erin Redwood and going into effect immediately.

Article I - Form of Government

Section 1

Legislative power shall be vested in a National Parliament divided between the House of Scarlett, the Member's Gathering (Medlemsmøte) and the Matriarchal Council.

Section 2

The House of Scarlett shall be composed of 20 members from every registered political party with at least one seat on the Member's Gathering, as well as six elected governors, one from each region, and six judges from the Supreme Court also one elected from each region.

The Member's Gathering shall be composed of 500 200 Members of Parliament elected by the 500 200 constituencies within the 6 regions.

The Matriarchal Council shall consist only of females holding Skarlagen citizenship and will be chosen by the Grand Matriarch whenever she takes the position. Those already seated on the council may serve under multiple Grand Matriarchs and are not required to be replaced.

All members of the Matriarchal Council shall be awarded Duchies for the duration of their terms and shall be known by the title "Lady", Duchies may be created and destroyed at any time but must be centred around a city, region or island.

No person shall be an MP who has not reached the age of eighteen years, and has not held Skarlagen citizenship for at least five consecutive years.

When vacancies happen in the parliament from any the Executive Authority shall issue writs of election to fill such vacancies.

Section 3

The Member's Gathering shall have sole drafting power but cannot pass legislation into law without approval of both the House of Scarlett and the Matriarchal Council.

The House of Scarlett must review all drafted bills and make amendments before passing them to the Matriarchal Council.

The Matriarchal Council must sign every bill before it can be drafted into law and have the right to refuse signature under the authority of the Grand Matriarch. The council may send the bill back to the House of Scarlett with suggested alterations but may not make any permanent alterations without the House's approval.

Article II - Executive Power and the Matriarchy

Section 1

Executive power will be vested in the Grand Matriarch, who shall head the Matriarchal Council alongside a Director of the Council.

The Matriarch must not be a member of any political party, this does not apply to her councillors or the director.

The Matriarch is not a hereditary position and will be chosen by the current Matriarch at the start of her term, she may change her choice at any time while in office.

Any female who has reached the age of sixteen years and has held Skarlagen citizenship for ten consecutive years is eligible to hold the position whether she be related to the current matriarch or not. A male may never hold the position and this cannot be amended in future without abolishing the position entirely.

The chosen heir to the matriarchy can be of any age and will hold the title of 'Princess' until she begins her term.

The director shall be chosen from any member of the Matriarchal Council and can only be chosen by the Matriarch.

If a Matriarch is absent from the position for any amount of time the director will take on her duties unless a replacement Matriarch is chosen.

Section 2

The government shall be lead by any Member of Parliament who shall hold the title of President during their term.

The President shall be the current leader of the party with the most seats on the Member's Gathering as chosen by the Skarlagen people in national elections. The President can be changed to another member of said party at any time.

A president may serve as many terms as they wish as long as their party is the largest in the Member's Gathering as elected by the people.

The president may establish or establish the position of 'Vice President' at any time and this office shall be held by the leader of any party forming a coalition government, or a member of the president's party if no coalition is currently in operation

Section 3

The two houses shall be led by a speaker. The Speaker of the House shall be elected by the members of the House of Scarlett and the Speaker of the Medlemsmøte shall also be elected by its members. Speakers are not required to leave their political parties upon assuming the position but are not allowed to take part in a parliamentary vote, instead controlling the procedure and announcing its results.

Article III - Election Rights and Procedure

Section 1

National elections for the Member's Gathering shall be held every five years.

Snap elections may be called at any time with the approval of the Member's Gathering and Grand Matriarch.

Section 2

Elections to the Supreme Council shall be held within regional governments every three years, choosing one judge for each region.

Section 3

All citizens of St Scarlett, male and female, shall be eligible to vote upon reaching the age of eighteen years and having resided within the nation's borders for the past five years without leaving for more than nine months at a time.

Voters must register their names and addresses before voting and may not vote at any other address without updating the registry. This may be done online or via post.

Proxy votes and postal votes will be permitted if the registry is informed firsthand.

This right to vote shall be revoked if a citizen is incarcerated but shall be restored upon their release.

Acts of treason against Matriarch and Council shall be punished by a revoking of voter rights for a period of fifteen years.

Section 4
Constituencies shall be based on population, the more people leaving in a region the more seats available for that region.

This shall be based on percentage of population in said region and shall be matched to a percentage of seats on the Member's Gathering.

Article IV - The Judicial Power

Section 1
The Supreme Court shall consist of 6 elected officials, one for each region, they shall be elected by the regional councils twice every year.

Judges may be recalled at any time.

All Supreme Court judges will have a seat on the House of Scarlett.

The Supreme Court shall be located in the city of Snowby but this shall not grant the city the status of capital.

Section 2
The Supreme Court pronounces judgment in the final instance. Nevertheless, limitations on the right to bring a case before the Supreme Court may be prescribed by law.

In cases brought before the Courts, the Courts have the power and the duty to review whether Laws and other decisions made by the authorities of the State are contrary to the Constitution.

The judgments of the Supreme Court may in no case be appealed.

Article V - Human Rights

Section 1
The authorities of the State shall respect and ensure human rights as they are expressed in this Constitution.

The rights expressed may be added to or altered but not removed without an appropriate replacement.

The rights listed in this constitution shall be applied to all persons living within the borders of St Scarlett regardless of origin or nationality.

All persons are considered equal regardless of race, gender or otherwise, the Matriarch and her council shall remain female only for traditional and cultural purposes.

Section 2
All persons have a right to life, they may not be sentenced to death for any reason, nor may they be sentenced to corporal punishment.

No person may be imprisoned without due cause and fair trial in a court of law. Persons arrested shall as soon as possible be brought before a court.

No person shall be drawn into slavery or forced to perform hard labour for any reason.

All persons brought before a court have the right to an attorney, witnesses and an impartial jury.

Any person over the age of 18 may be called into jury duty at any time though they may be excused with good reason.

Section 3
All persons have a right to the freedom of thought and expression.

Persons shall have the right to practice any religion they choose, though the official state religion shall remain Roman Catholicism.

Persons have the right to assemble and protest peacefully but may not block the passage of other persons.

All persons have the right to form and voice any opinion with only necessary limitations for extreme cases.

No one shall be detained or otherwise have their liberties removed by government for voicing their opinions and ideas, a persons speech shall be limited only when they deliver an obvious threat with intent to act.

No person, nor form of media or art they produce, may be censored by law unless it is necessary for the protection of children or other vulnerable members of society.

Censorship is limited to warnings before viewing, the media may not be permanently altered in all its forms though separate censored versions may be created.

Section 4
Private institutions have the right to limit an individual's speech when upon their premises or whilst using their services, they may not detain an individual who does not follow their limitations and must instead remove them from the premises or service.

Private institutions have a right to refuse service to anyone for any reason.

Section 5
The government may not take private property or land away from its owners without their prior agreement at any time for any reason except in extreme cases.

No private property may be searched by the government without first obtaining a search warrant.

If the welfare of the state requires that any person shall surrender their movable or immovable property for the public use, they shall receive full compensation from the Treasury.

Section 6
No person may be forced to fight in a military conflict without their prior agreement unless all other options have been exhausted in the time of major war.

No person shall be forced to undergo military training without their prior agreement unless all other options have been exhausted in the time of major war.

The government is not entitled to employ military force against citizens of the state, except in accordance with the law, unless an assembly disturbs the public peace and does not immediately disperse after being warned of the laws on rioting three times.

Section 7
All persons have the right to form, join and leave associations including trade unions and political parties.

Section 8
Children have the right to protection of their personal integrity. The authorities of the state shall create conditions that facilitate the child's development, including ensuring that the child is provided with the necessary economic, social and health security, preferably within their own family.

All children have the right to free education between the ages of 5 and 18, this right does not extent to higher education.

Universities may not reject a student with the required qualifications on the ground of race, gender or otherwise. They may reject students based on merit if the required space is not available.

Section 9
All persons have the right to move freely within the nation and to choose their place of residence, this includes the Overseas Territory of St Lyra.

Section 10
All citizens of St Scarlett have the right to free healthcare, those living within the nation who are not citizens must be provided with affordable healthcare.

Article VI - Mode of Amendment

Section 1
The constitution may not be altered except by an absolute majority in all government houses.

Section 2
Changes shall be listed as amendments beneath the main constitution, text may be added or removed within the main constitution alongside these amendments.

Section 3
Article V may only be amended if the amendment is an alteration or addition, sections may not be removed without a reasonable replacement.

Article VII - Miscellanious

Section 1
The Grand Matriarch is considered the head of state with the President the head of government, the Matriarch shall hereby be a constitutional position and the two heads are considered equals in most regards.

This constitution was ratified by:

Astrid Haugen, President of St Scarlett

Sir Hans Selberg, Duke of Snowfall, Vice President of St Scarlett

Her Most Feminine, Lady Erin Redwood, Grand Matriarch of St Scarlett

Lady Charlotte Monty, Duchess of Redland, Speaker of the House, Secretary of Foreign Affairs

Lady Willow Wright, Duchess of Femme, Speaker of the Medlemsmøte

Mia Lindseth, Secretary of Domestic Affairs

Thor Varvik, Secretary of Defence

The Remaining Members of the Matriarchal Council:

Lady Amelia Vixen, Duchess of Kryss, Director of the Council

Lady Terminus Anker, Duchess of Snowfall

Alterations

Amendment I
The number of constituencies shall be reduced from 500 to 200, those 200 will be divided between the six regions based on population.

If a region holds a certain percentage of the population then it shall be granted the same percentage of the 200 seats.

The constituency areas will be larger for areas of a smaller population.

Amendment II
The Matriarch's chosen successor shall be known as a Princess of St Scarlett from the time of her being chosen until she assumes the position.

There may be multiple princesses at any time.

Any female of any age may hold this title if chosen by the Matriarch.

The title can be removed or voluntarily given up before assuming the position of Matriarch.

The oldest Princess shall be the first to assume the position of Matriarch, she may strip other princesses of their title.

Amendment III
The Matriarch may not be a part of any political party. Upon assuming the position of Matriarch she must leave any parties she is a member of.

She may rejoin a party after leaving the position of Matriarch.

Amendment IV
St Lyra is considered a part of the nation despite being self governing.

Everything in this constitution applies to St Lyra when relevant.