Document:The Constitution Act, 1955

WHEREAS by an Order in Council dated 29 May 1955 Her Majesty was pleased to enact that Ibagli shall become a sovereign democratic state under her dominion;

AND WHEREAS it is necessary that a Constitution be enacted for Ibagli in order to serve the people of Ibagli after its independence;

AND WHEREAS it is found desirable that the people of Ibagli have certain rights that cannot be removed from them, and shall be subject only to reasonable limits that are present in a free and democratic society.

Be it therefore enacted by the Queen’s most Excellent Majesty, by and with the consent of the Senate and the Commons in this present Parliament assembled, and with the authority of the same, as follows:

I. Preliminary

1. This act may be cited as the Constitution Act, 1955

II. Executive Power

2. The executive government, power, and authority over Ibagli shall be vested in the Queen.

3. Provisions of this act that refer to the Governor-General extend and apply to the Governor-General for the time being of Ibagli, or the Chief Executive or Administrator of Ibagli, by whatever title he is designated.

4. There shall be a council to advise and aid the government of Ibagli, to be styled the Executive Council of Ibagli; and the persons who are to be Members of the said council shall be summoned from time to time by the Governor-General and be sworn in as Councillors, and Members may be removed from time to time by the Governor-General.

5. The provisions of this act referring to the Governor-General in council shall be construed as referring to the Governor-General acting by and with the advice and consent of the Executive Council of Ibagli.

6. The Command-in-Chief of the militias of Ibagli, and of all naval and military forces in Ibagli shall be vested in the Queen.

III. Legislative Power

7. There shall be one Parliament for Ibagli, consisting of the Queen, an Upper House styled the Senate, and a House of Commons.

8. The powers, privileges, and immunities of the Senate and House of Commons, and of the members thereof, shall be from time to time determined by Acts of the Parliament of Ibagli.

9. Every member of the Senate and House of Commons shall take an oath or affirmation of Allegiance to the Queen to be eligible to take their seat as a voting member in either House.

The Senate

10. The numbers of the members of the Senate shall not exceed seventy.

11. The qualifications of a Senator shall be as follows:

(1) He shall be of the full age of twenty-five years.

(2) He shall be a subject of the Queen, or a citizen of the Commonwealth of Nations.

12. The Governor-General may from time to time, summon qualified persons to be Senators by instrument under the Great Seal of Ibagli and in the Queen’s name; and, under the provisions of this act, such persons will be members of the Senate and Senators.

13. A Senator shall, subject to the provisions of this Act, hold his place in the Senate for life.

14. The seat of A Senator shall become vacant in any of the following cases:

(1) If he fails to attend two consecutive sessions of the Senate;

(2) If he takes an oath or makes declaration of allegiance, obedience, and adherence to a foreign power, or does become a subject or a citizen of a foreign power;

(3) If he is convicted of treason, or any other felony or infamous crime;

(4) If he does resign his seat in the Senate by writing under his own hand addressed to the Governor-General; or

(5) If he becomes a member of the House of Commons.

15. In the event of a vacancy in the Senate, the Governor-General shall summon a qualified individual to fill the vacancy.

16. The Governor-General shall from time to time appoint a Senator to be speaker of the Senate, and may from time to time remove him and appoint another.

17. The Speaker of the Senate shall, in the event of his absence out of the Senate, appoint a Senator to be Deputy Speaker to exercise the powers of the Office of Speaker of the Senate.

18. The presence of ten Senators, including the Speaker or a Deputy Speaker, unless otherwise provided by an Act of the Parliament of Ibagli, shall be necessary to constitute a Meeting of the Senate for the exercise of its powers.

19. Questions arising in the Senate shall be decided by a majority voice, with the Speaker or Deputy Speaker constituting one vote in all cases; and in the event that the voices are equal the Decision shall be deemed to be in the negative.

The House of Commons

20. The numbers of the membership of the House of Commons shall be defined by an Act of the Parliament of Ibagli so long as that number is not more than one hundred twenty or less than thirty.

21. The House of Commons shall elect one of its Members to be Speaker after a General Election or the death or resignation of the Speaker.

21.1. In the event of the death or resignation of the Speaker during a sitting of the House of Commons, the House may continue to proceed with urgent matters related to the safety or security of Ibagli so long as:

(1) The last person to be appointed Deputy Speaker presides over the House; or

(2) A clerk of the House of Commons who is not a member thereof presides over the House.

22. The Speaker of the House of Commons shall, in the event of his absence out of the House, appoint a member to be Deputy Speaker to exercise the powers of the Office of Speaker of the House of Commons.

23. The Speaker of the House of Commons or Deputy Speaker of the House of Commons shall preside at all meetings of the House.

24. The presence of ten members of the House of Commons including the Speaker shall be necessary to constitute a meeting of the House of Commons.

25. Questions arising in the House of Commons shall be decided by a majority voice, with the speaker only voting if the voices are equal.

Money votes; Royal Assent

26. Bills for appropriating the Public Revenue, or for imposing a tax, shall originate in the House of Commons.

27. When a bill passed by the Houses of Parliament is presented to the Governor-General for the signification of the Queen’s Assent, he shall declare, subject to his discretion and the provisions of this act and of the Queen’s instructions, that he assents to the Bill in the Queen’s Name, that he withholds the Queen’s assent, or that he reserves the Bill for the signification of the Queen’s Pleasure.

28. When the Governor-General assents to a Bill in the Queen’s Name, he shall submit a copy of the act to Her Majesty, and if the Queen in Council should, within two years from the date that the act was submitted to Her Majesty, thinks fit to disallow the Act, such disallowance shall be signified to the Houses by the Governor-General and annul the Act.

29. A Bill reserved for the signification of the Queen’s pleasure shall not be of force and effect unless the Governor-General signifies to the Houses that it has received the Assent of the Queen-in-Council.

IV. Judiciary

30. The judicial power of Ibagli shall be vested in a court to be styled the Supreme Court of Ibagli and in other such courts as the Parliament of Ibagli deems necessary to create.

31. The Supreme Court of Ibagli shall consist of a Chief Justice and as many puisne judges, not less than two, as the Parliament of Ibagli deems necessary.

32. No Act of Parliament lowering the number of judges of the Supreme Court of Ibagli shall remove any judge from office.

33. The Governor-General shall appoint the Chief Justice and puisne judges of the Supreme Court of Ibagli and the judges of other courts created by the Parliament of Ibagli.

34. The judges of the courts of Ibagli shall hold office during good behaviour, and may be removed by the Governor-General on address of the House of Commons and Senate, which address shall enumerate the misbehaviours or reasons for incapacity of the said judge.

35. Parliament shall provide for the compensation of judges, which compensation shall not be lowered during any judges term of office.

36. The Parliament of Ibagli shall determine the jurisdiction of the courts of Ibagli.

V. Amendments

37. This Constitution may be amended by a proclamation by the Governor-General in Council after two-thirds of the House of Commons and a majority of the Senate have approved resolutions authorising the amendment.

37.1 This Constitution may be amended by a proclamation by the Governor-General in Council after a majority of the House of Commons has approved a resolution authorising the amendment, provided that the amendment is also approved by a majority of electors voting in a referendum held on the proposal.

38. Unless otherwise specified in the amendment, an amendment to this Constitution shall take effect six months after being proclaimed by the Governor-General in Council.

VI. Declaration of Fundamental Rights

39. All persons within Ibagli or under the jurisdiction of Ibagli shall have the following rights:

(1) The freedom of conscience and religion;

(2) the freedom of thought and opinion;

(3) the freedom of communication;

(4) the freedom to assemble peacefully;

(5) the freedom of association;

(6) the freedom to not fear for life or limb;

(7) the freedom of life; and

(8) the right to personal privacy, and to the privacy of the home.

39.1 Every Ibaglian citizen shall have the freedom to choose a cost-free education continuing through university level.

Democratic rights of Ibaglians

40. Every citizen of Ibagli that is over the age of eighteen shall have the right to vote for members of the House of Commons and to be qualified for membership therein.

41. No House of Commons shall continue for longer than five years from the date of a general election for the members thereof.

42. In a time of imminent war, invasion, or insurrection, a House of Commons may extend itself by more than five years, so long as such an extension is not opposed by the votes of more than one-third of the House of Commons.

43. There shall be a sitting of Parliament at least once in any given twelve-month period.

Legal rights in Ibagli

44. All persons within Ibagli or under the jurisdiction of Ibagli shall have the following rights:

(1) The freedom of liberty and security of the person, except when deprived by the principles of reasonable justice;

(2) protection against unreasonable search and seizure; and

(3) protection from being arbitrarily detained or imprisoned, except for in times of imminent war, invasion, or insurrection, and only for protection of the person.

45. All persons within Ibagli or under the jurisdiction of Ibagli, upon arrest or detention shall:

(1) be promptly informed of the reason for their arrest or detention;

(2) retain and instruct counsel without delay and be informed of that right; and

(3) have the validity of the detention determined by way of habeas corpus and be released if the detention is not lawful.

46. Any person within Ibagli or under the jurisdiction of Ibagli charged with an offence shall:

(1) be informed of the offence without delay;

(2) be tried within a reasonable time;

(3) not be compelled to be a witness in proceedings against that person in respect of the offence;

(4) be presumed innocent until proven guilty according to law in a fair and public hearing by an impartial party or parties;

(5) not be denied reasonable bail without just cause;

(6) not be found guilty on account of any act or omission unless, at the time of the act or omission, it constituted an offence under Ibaglian or international law or was criminal according to the general principles of law recognized by the community of nations;

(7) if finally acquitted of the offence, not be tried for it again and, if finally found guilty and punished for the offence, not to be tried or punished for it again; and

(8) have the right, if found guilty of the offence and if the punishment for the offence has been varied between the time of commission and the time of sentencing, to the benefit of the lesser punishment.

47. Any person within Ibagli or under the jurisdiction of Ibagli shall not be subjected to any cruel and unusual treatment or punishment.

48. A witness who testifies in any proceedings has the right not to have any incriminating evidence so given used to incriminate that witness in any other proceedings, except in a prosecution for perjury or for the giving of contradictory evidence.

49. Any person within Ibagli or under the jurisdiction of Ibagli who does not speak the language of a court proceeding shall have access to their native language through the services of a translator.

Equality rights in Ibagli

50. Every person within Ibagli or under the jurisdiction of Ibagli is equal under the law and shall be subject to equal protection and benefit under the law without discrimination, in particular, discrimination based on race, national or ethnic origin, sexual orientation, colour, religion, sex, age or mental or physical disability.

51. Section fifty shall not prevent any group from being formed that is solely for the betterment of disadvantaged citizens or groups, in particular those that are disadvantaged because of race, national or ethnic origin, sexual orientation, colour, religion, sex, age or mental or physical disability.

General

52. The rights given in this declaration shall not be construed as to limit rights not given in this declaration.

53. Any person in Ibagli or under the jurisdiction of Ibagli whose rights that are guaranteed by this declaration have been infringed or denied shall have the right to a fair and impartial hearing in a court of Ibagli.

54. The rights guaranteed in this declaration shall not be applied so as to remove the rights of any person in Ibagli or under the jurisdiction of Ibagli.

55. The freedoms in this declaration are guaranteed equally to male and female persons.

VII. Miscellaneous Provisions

56. No Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland enacted after this act takes effect shall extend to Ibagli as part of its law.

57. The Constitution of Ibagli is the supreme law of Ibagli, and any law that is inconsistent with the provisions of the Constitution is of no force and effect.