Declaration

Declarations are the political tools - or weapons - of the Conclave.

Overview

The Conclave has a number of powers to enable them to fulfil their constitutional role to support the proper use of magic by the Empire. These powers are grouped together as the Declarations of the Conclave. Declarations are used by the Conclave to determine policy and to appoint citizens to the Imperial titles appointed by the Conclave. They always require a vote by the assembled Imperial magicians to pass.

A declaration is generally a short sentence or two beginning "The Imperial conclave declares..." and then a single specific thing such as "...that there should be an election for the position of Archmage of Winter" or "...that Sadogua should be considered an enemy of the Empire."

Raising a declaration

• The occupant of any Imperial title that has the power to submit a declaration will receive a writ from the civil service each time they attend Anvil
• The grandmaster of each Conclave order will receive two writs, one for each session of the Conclave
• The writ must be completed and handed to the office of the Prefect of the Conclave at least one hour before the next session begins

Any citizen who is submitting a declaration for the approval of the Conclave must provide the Civil Service with a formal copy of the declaration with the precise wording to be voted on. The Civil Service will provide writs before the summit begins to each citizen who is able to submit a declaration. Citizens who hold an appropriate Imperial title will receive one writ for their declaration - grandmasters will receive two writs, one for each session of the Conclave. A writ remains valid, regardless of any changes in that citizen's imperial title during the summit. If a writ is lost or stolen, a replacement can be obtained from the Civil Service, but otherwise it should be completed and handed to the office of the Prefect of the Conclave.

The specific wording of the declaration must be explicit on the writ when it is presented for inclusion on the agenda for the next Conclave session. The civil servant records the name of the person raising the declaration and the specifics of what that declaration is about. For example "Xavier i Guerra raises a Declaration of Sorcery against Pieter Vanderhooven" or "Lebannon of Haros Water raises a Declaration of Candidacy for the title of Archmage of Winter".

It doesn't matter what's been discussed here or what you meant to write my Lord Earl, what your Declaration of Concord actually says is that "This Conclave believes that Imperial citizens should support heralds of Agramant where they can." You bloody pillock.

Little Robert of Pickering

This agenda is publicly displayed at the hub so that anyone can review it at any time. The only exception is where a grandmaster invokes their order's Veil of Night. If this happens, the exact wording of the declaration must still be provided to the Civil Service but is not made public. It is recorded as "The Grandmaster of (Order) raises a declaration under the Veil of Night". The agenda is closed one hour before the session is scheduled to begin, no declarations will be accepted for that session after this point.

Each declaration has necessary details that must be provided, and in all cases the precise wording of the declaration is used in the Conclave session. While magicians may discuss anything in relation to the declaration to decide the matter, only the official wording of the declaration are recorded, only the wording as written has any effect beyond what was said in Conclave at the time.

Presentation

• Most declarations are raised in the order they were submitted
• The Prefect will read out the recorded details of the declaration and invite the submitter to speak if they wish
• The proposer may speak for as long as they please, but must pay for each minute they speak, following the Principle of Proportions

There are arcane rules that can change the agenda but most declarations are raised in the order they were submitted. To begin the debate, the Prefect of the Conclave will read out the recorded details, naming the citizen proposing it followed by the type of declaration and then the precise wording supplied. They will then invite the named citizen to speak in support of their declaration if they wish.

If the proposer wishes to address the Conclave on their declaration then they must spend mana according to the Principle of Proportions. They must provide one mana crystal for the first minute, two additional mana for the second minute they talk, three additional mana for the third minute and so on.

Under normal circumstances, only the citizen who proposes the declaration may present it to Conclave. A declaration submitted by an Imperial title may be presented by the citizen holding the title or their legal proxy. A declaration submitted by a Conclave order can only be presented by the citizen who submitted it. A grandmaster who submits their own declaration is doing so as a member of their order, they cannot have a proxy present the declaration on their behalf.

The Debate

• A formal debate begins after the presentation is complete
• The debate takes place over a series of rounds - each grandmaster can nominate one citizen to speak in each round
• Anyone nominated to speak can allow the proposer to use some or all of their allotted time to respond to comments or questions

After the presented is complete, the Prefect will give the orders a minute to discuss the matter among themselves before the formal debate of the declaration begins. This debate takes place over a series of rounds with grandmasters (and the Throne if present) taking turns to nominate a citizen to speak. A grandmaster may nominate the proposer to speak on their turn if they wish.

Citizens who are nominated to speak may not invite others to speak on their behalf, but they may use any part of their time to grant the individual who presented the declaration a chance to respond.

Resolution

• The vote takes place after the formal debate is complete
• Each magician present may abstain or cast a vote in support or against the declaration
• If the majority of votes cast are in favour then the declaration passes, otherwise it fails

After the debate is complete, every Imperial magician present may vote in favour or against, or may choose to abstain. If more magicians vote in favour than vote against, the declaration is carried. In the case of a tie, the declaration is considered to have failed.

The civil servants supporting the meeting may choose to count votes on a general aye or nay where the outcome is very clear. If voting is required, magicians normally vote by raising their hands and are counted out by order with civil servants verifying any counts and adding on any independents.

When a declaration is carried, the effects of that declaration come into effect at the end of the Conclave session. For example, if an archmage loses their title due to a Declaration of Candidacy they legally lose their powers and must surrender their regalia only at the end of the session. Similarly, if someone uses the rogue declaration during a session in which they also gain a different title via Candidacy, they gain the new title at the end of the session meaning their rogue declaration is legal.

Withdrawal

• A declaration may be withdrawn at any time

The citizen who submitted a declaration may withdraw it at any time. If a declaration is withdrawn before a session begins then the citizen may submit a new declaration in its place. The civil service will endeavour to provide the citizen with a replacement writ to enable them to submit a new declaration where possible. Note that the replacement declaration is added to the end of the running order at the point it is submitted; it does not get inserted in the original declaration place in the running order.

If a declaration is withdrawn after a session begins then the right to submit a declaration that summit is lost.

Constitutional Limits

• The number of Imperial titles that can submit a declaration is strictly limited to ensure that Conclave does not run too long
• Only one Imperial title can be given the power to raise a specific type of declaration

Because the Imperial Conclave permits any magician of the Empire to take part, a Conclave session can take a long time to complete. One of the few things that restricts the potential duration of Conclave is the number of declarations that can be submitted. Each order can submit one declaration per session, but in theory the Imperial Senate could create any number of new Imperial titles that have the power to submit declarations. Doing so would make Conclave sessions unacceptably long and this would violate the Constitutional requirement that the Conclave "accord a voice to those citizens who demonstrate command of magic".

As a result the number of Conclave orders is limited to seven (there could be less than this if the Senate chose to dissolve an order). Crucially the number of Imperial titles that can submit a declaration for the consideration of the Conclave is strictly limited. Under guidance issued by the Constitutional Court, an Imperial title can only ever be given the power to raise a single declaration each summit, only of a specific type, and only if no other Imperial title can submit a declaration of that type. Thus the Senate could create a new Imperial title and give it the power to raise a single Declaration of Sorcery, since no other existing title has the power to raise that declaration. But they could not create a title that could raise a Declaration of Endowment, since the existing Bursar of the Conclave has that responsibility already. Any change to Imperial law that broke these rules is likely to fail scrutiny.

The archmages are a special exception to this rule, since they share a common power to raise a Declaration of Alignment. However, their powers remain practically distinct since they can only submit the Declaration for eternals of their realm.

List of Declarations

Declaration	Effect	Imperial Title
Alignment	Defines the relationship between an eternal and the Empire.	Archmage
Candidacy	Propose someone to hold an Imperial title	The Throne
Concord	Propose statement of belief, intent, or support by the Conclave	Imperial Magus
Dissemination	Propose that knowledge of a ritual be shared with someone	None
Endorsement	Propose that an act of magic is in the interests of the Empire	Arcane Envoy
Endowment	Propose that someone receive something owned by the Conclave	Bursar of the Conclave
Imperial lore	Propose that a ritual text be added to the body of Imperial lore	Dean of the Lyceum
Interdiction	Propose that a magical practice be proscribed within the Empire	Imperial Censor
Sorcery	Propose that someone is a sorcerer, or reconciled with the Conclave	Witness of Conclave

Further Reading

Core Brief

• Conclave Overview
• Arcane Colloquium
• Conclave order
• Conclave session
• Declarations
  • Alignment
  • Candidacy
  • Concord
  • Dissemination
  • Endorsement
  • Endowment
  • Imperial lore
  • Interdiction
  • Sorcery

Additional Information

• Conclave vault
• Key Appointments to the Imperial Conclave
  • Archmage
  • Grandmaster
  • Prefect of the Conclave