Imperial Senate

Overview

The Imperial Senate is the legislative body for the Empire. The Senate has a wide range of political powers which makes senators some of the most powerful political individuals in the Empire. Senators represent the interests of the territories of the Empire. The Senate spends the Imperial budget, passes laws and elects citizens to the Military Council and the Throne.

Role within the Empire

The Imperial Senate consider and vote on procedural motions, vital policy decisions required for the administration of the Empire which may involve the expenditure of Imperial funds. Any changes to Imperial Law must be raised and approved by the Senate; changes which have constitutional implications also require authorization by The Throne and approval by the magistrates. The Senate is responsible for appointing individuals to positions within the Imperial Military Council and election to the The Throne. It is the also the responsibility of the Senate to pass declarations of war and to end a state of warfare.

Decisions made by the Senate may be vetoed by the Synod under some circumstances, and by the Throne.

Entry requirements

Senators

The Senate is a representative chamber; each territory in the Empire selects a single senator according to the customs of that nation. To be eligible to return a senator, at least half of the territory must be under Imperial control. If more than half of a territory is controlled by barbarians or foreign powers, then it cannot be represented in the Senate. A territory must be part of one of the nine nations that hold territory within the Empire. When new territories are captured, they are allocated to a nation by majority vote of the Senate. A territory may only return a senator who is recognized as a member of that nation by the nation's egregore.

Each nation has a traditional mechanism to return a senator for a territory. Usually, but not always, the ability to directly influence the choice is limited to those who dwell in the territory. The Imperial Civil Service are responsible for overseeing the appointment processes for senators and do their utmost to ensure due process is followed. When a new territory is assigned to a nation, the Imperial Civil Service consults the egregore of that nation to determine how the senator for the territory will be selected.

Conscience of the Senate

The Conscience of the Senate is an Imperial title granted certain powers within the Senate and appointed by the Cardinal of the Assembly of The Way. They may speak, vote and raise motions as a Senator does. Furthermore, they have responsibility for announcing the Synod's vetoes and may abstain from voting should they believe that is the Virtuous action to take.

Master of the Mint

The office of Master of the Mint is a position within the Bourse which grants its holder the right to speak in the Senate.

The Throne

The Throne may may speak, vote and raise motion as a senator does, may abstain from voting, and has a variety of powers which modify the functions of the Senate.

Proxies

Any member of the Senate, bar the Throne, may appoint a proxy.

History

The Senate was created at the dawn of the Empire to ensure that the power to govern remained in the hands of the citizens. The Senate is a development of the witan which existed in Wintermark to help the monarch run the nation in the time before the Empire.

Powers and functions

Handling procedural motions

The day to day running of the Empire is handled by the functionaries of the Civil Service, but all the significant decisions that need to be taken are put before the Imperial Senate. The civil service ensure that these matters are presented with all available information on the consequences for the decision. The issue is then decided by majority vote of the assembled senators. An example of a procedural measure might be the allocation of senate funds to raise a new army or construct a dam across the river Couros in Highguard. If a procedural measure requires expenditure of money by the Empire, the budget is allocated by vote by the assembled senators.

Changing Imperial Law

The Senate has the power to introduce new laws or to change existing laws. Any suggested changes to Imperial Law are assessed by the Imperial Civil Service to see how they accord with the Imperial Constitution.

Changes to the law which are not deemed to have constitutional implications may be passed by majority vote of the Senate.

Laws which would change the constitution or change the way the constitution is understood or applied require a two-thirds majority to pass. They may be vetoed by the Synod, and require authorisation by the Throne as well as approval by the magistrates.

The Throne is assumed to be independent of the political affiliations of the Senators. Any change to the law that has constitutional implications requires the approval of the Throne to ensure that the Senate is acting in the interests of the Empire as a whole.

The magistrates are assumed to be the highest authority on the principles and application of the constitution. Their oversight and assent ensures that laws are sensible, consistent and in accordance with the principles of the constitution. Historically, the magistrates have always acted to ensure that the rights and powers of the other bodies of state such as the Bourse, Military Council or Conclave and the Nations and citizens of the Empire receive the protection they are guaranteed by the constitution.

Appointing generals to the Military Council

The Senate are responsible for appointing generals to the Imperial Military Council. The Council are the strategic commanders of the Imperial armies and are responsible for the defence of the Empire and prosecuting wars against the Empire's enemies.

The senators for a nation unanimously select one candidate for each vacant position on the Military Council that is assigned to that nation. If the senators for a nation are not able to agree unanimously on the appointment of a general then any citizen of that nation may present themselves before the Senate for consideration for that role. The result is determined by a majority vote of the senate.

Declaring states of war and peace

The Senate can declare war on any foreign power by majority vote. Any foreign powers, nations or tribes that the Empire is at war with are considered to be barbarians. Barbarians are not protected by Imperial Law and are considered enemies of the Empire, so it is illegal to trade with them. The Senate can also declare an end to a state of war. External powers that the Empire is not at war with are classed as foreigners; it is legal to trade with them and their rights are protected by Imperial Law.

Electing a citizen to the Throne

The Senate may elect any citizen of the Empire to the Throne. Election to the Throne require a two-thirds majority vote of the Senate.

Structure and dynamics

The Senate typically sits twice in each full day of an Imperial summit, and once in each part day.

The Speakers of the Senate are civil servants responsible for ordering motions during a sitting, allowing time for motions to be considered, for maintaining civil debate, counting votes and ensuring due procedure within the chamber.

Attendance

Any Imperial citizen is allowed to attend the Senate in the public gallery. They are not permitted to speak during debates.

Motions

Each motion discussed by the Senate must be proposed and seconded. Those with the power to put motions before the senate may propose and second one motion each per weekend. Motions are raised with the Speakers, who are responsible for communicating any costs or constitutional implications of such motions to the Senate.

A motion must contain a single clear issue that senators can vote on. The civil service will not allow a motion that incorporates multiple separate issues. The defining test for this is whether a senator might wish to vote in favour of one part of a motion and against another part. It is common for the Senate to debate a set of motions with similar themes; in these situations the motions are often discussed together and then voted on in rapid succession.

A sitting lasts until either all the planned motions have been discussed, or until a senator calls from the floor for a Vote of Curtailment and gains the votes of more than half of those present, bringing the sitting to a premature end. Undebated motions are then pushed to the final sitting after all other business has been conducted.

Speaking

Each motion is announced by the Speaker who invites the individual who proposed the motion to address the Senate on the matter. Once the opening address is complete, the Speaker allows time for a short debate followed by a vote.

The Throne, the senators, the Conscience of the Senate, the Master of the Mint, and and members of the Civil Service may speak in these debates.

Citizens and others may be invited to speak in support of a specific motion by its proposer, and may speak if that invitation is deemed by the Speaker to be useful.

Voting

Each Senator has one vote. The Throne and the Conscience of the Senate may choose to vote, or may abstain.

Votes are usually open. In open votes, the Speaker will invite all in favour of the motion to move to the Throne's left or right; "Ayes" to the left and "Noes" to the right. The functionaries of the Senate will then count the votes and the result is announced. If no-one present disputes the count, then it is recorded and the matter is complete.

Any senator may call for a secret ballot. To permit a secret ballot on a motion first requires the majority vote of all present. If that vote passes then one white and one black bead are distributed to everyone who can vote and they vote by placing a single bead into bags carried by the Senate functionaries.

Assigning Budgets

If a vote requires a budget to be allocated, the Speaker will ask every individual who voted in favour to remain standing where they are. The Speaker then suggests the minimum possible amount the individual who proposed the motion believes might be used to achieve the goal. If the majority of voters remain in favour then the Speaker announces a higher figure. They will keep announcing higher figures until there is no longer majority support for the motion at that level of expenditure, at which point the auction ends and the funds are allocated from the Imperial Treasury.

If a procedural motion requires significant decisions to be made outside the Senate chamber, then these decisions are considered to be the responsibility of the senator who proposed the procedural motion. E.g. if the Senate passes a motion to construct a dam across the Couros river in the territory of Bastion in Highguard, then any further decisions are the responsibility of the Senator who proposed that motion. The dam will require materials that must be purchased from the Imperial Bourse, so the Senate will vote a budget for this project. That money is then given to the senator who proposed who can use it as they see fit to ensure that everything the Civil Service require the senator to achieve is carried out.

Limitations

Powers of veto

The Throne may veto any motion that has been passed by the Imperial Senate. The Throne has until the end of a sitting to veto a decision taken during that sitting.

The Synod is responsible for the Virtuous conduct of the Empire. Either the Assembly of Nine or the General Assembly may veto any motion with constitutional implications. In addition, the General Assembly of the Synod may veto any one Senate decision during any summit, using its power of veto.

Any veto by the Synod must be exercised at the beginning of the next sitting which follows the session where the decision was passed. It is the responsibility of the Conscience to deliver the veto of the Synod to the Senate.

Sanctions

The Speaker for the Senate is charged with ensuring the smooth running of the Senate. To this end they have the power to apply three sanctions.

The first sanction is Silence. The Speaker can silence a persistently rude or boorish senator for the duration of a single motion; they will not be allowed to speak on the floor or answer points made while silenced. They may still vote and once the vote has been cast, are free to speak once more.

Should this prove insufficient the second sanction is Exclusion - the offending senator is obliged to leave the Senate chamber until the end of the current motion. This denies them the right to vote on it so is a serious matter. They may re-enter the chamber following the vote.

The third and final sanction is Expulsion - the senator is expelled from the Senate chamber for the entire sitting. They lose their chance to vote on all issues. This is an extreme sanction and historically is used only in response to grave misdemeanours such as threats of violence in the chamber.