Constitution of Bastara
| Constitution of Bastara | |
|---|---|
| Overview | |
| Jurisdiction |  Kingdom of Bastara |
| Created | 9 June 2023 |
| Ratified | 9 June 2023 |
| Date effective | 9 June 2023 |
| System | Semi-Constitutional Monarchy |
| Government structure | |
| Branches | 3 |
| Head of state | Monarch |
| Chambers | Bicameral |
| Executive | Prime Minister |
| Judiciary | Supreme Court |
| Federalism | Unitary |
| Electoral college | No |
| History | |
| Amendments | 0 |
| Commissioned by | Monarchy of Bastara |
| Author(s) | Judah I |
| Signatories | Judah I |
| Media type | Word Document |
 [[s:en:use name to link to non-english wikisource. orig_lang_code parameter also required to have native_wikisource work|]] at English Wikisource | |
The Constitution of the Kingdom of Bastara is the supreme law of the Kingdom of Bastara. The first four articles establish the Monarchy as executive head of state, the government and opposition, as well as parliament. The fifth article establishes the judiciary and ordains the Supreme Court as the highest national court.
The constitution is codified and established Bastara as a Unitary Semi-Constitutional Monarchy, being ratified on 9 June 2023.
Influences
To an extent the Bastaran constitution is influenced by the uncodified British constitution. This can be seen in the powers of the government - being similar to that of the powers of the UK government, as well as the powers granted to the monarch as Commander-in-Chief. The article concerning amending the constitution is also inspired by the equivalent article in the US Constitution, but adapted to account for the differing political systems.
Provisions
Monarchy
Article I of the constitution establishes an executive monarchy. The monarchy of Bastara is granted extensive powers. The monarch is granted powers such as commander-in-chief of the armed forces, appointing the government, calling and dissolving parliament, ratifying treaties, passing royal decrees and assenting or vetoing legislation as well as other powers.
The constitution establishes the monarchy as hereditary.
Government
Article II outlines the role and power of government, how it should be formed, its members and how the nation should be governed as a unitary state. It outlines the ministries the government should maintain, and the role of the prime minister. It also defines the government as all the members of parliament belonging to the political party in government, and the primary executive body of government being the Cabinet of Bastara.
Under the Bastaran system of unity of powers, the executive (Cabinet) can be quite powerful given they usually have a majority in parliament.
The constitution outlines how the government is lead by the Prime Minister of Bastara who is appointed by the monarch.
Parliament
Article IV establishes parliament as the supreme bicameral legislature of the kingdom. It establishes parliament, the House of Lords and House of Commons. It defines how the House of Lords is appointed by the monarch, and the House of Commons is elected by the people and how the government should originate from parliament.
The article also defines how parliament should sit for terms of five years and sessions of one year. It also defines the election and appointment of officers as well as parliament's legislative ability.
Judiciary
Article V establishes the judiciary. The Supreme Court of Bastara is created as the highest national court in the kingdom. It is presided over by the Lord Chief Justice and has up to ten other associate justices. Supreme court justices are appointed by the monarch and serve for life tenure, short of retiring or resigning or being impeached by parliament.
Judicial Review
The constitution grants the exclusive powers of judicial review to the Supreme Court of Bastara. The supreme court is able to declare any action of the government, parliament and the monarchy as unconstitutional and therefore null and void.
This power is only given to the supreme court, and while parliament has the ability to creates other courts they cannot grant the power of judicial review to any other court.