The High Council of Britannia Charter
EM Seppo

Below you will find the Charter as drafted by the High Council, accompanied by the Declaration of the Rights of Citizens of the Realm.

Preamble:

In the absence of our beloved Lord British, we, the People of Britannia, with this Charter do hereby establish the Royal Britannian High Council, to hold the Crown in trust, and to rule in his stead as a Regency Council until such time as his return. Said Council shall govern according to the Virtues and example of our absent Monarch, Lord Cantabrigian British. With this Document, the powers and limitations of this High Council shall be defined. Together with the Declaration of the Rights of Citizens of the Realm as well as the Official Britannian Atlas, this Charter shall be the cornerstone of the governance of Britannia.

Article One: Composition of the Council

The Britannian High Council shall comprise six persons: four Britannian Citizens elected by the People of Britannia, the Captain of the Royal Guard, and a member of the Britannian Nobility approved by the Aristocracy.

Beginning with the ratification of this Charter, an elected Councilmember shall serve a term of six months, or until such time as he or she becomes unavailable, unable, or unwilling to fulfill the duties of the position or is otherwise removed from Office. (All references to months hereinafter shall refer to Earth months in honor of the heritage of Lord British.) The Captain of the Royal Guards shall remain a Member of the High Council for the duration of his or her Captaincy or until such time as he or she becomes unavailable, unable, or unwilling to fulfill the duties of the position or is otherwise removed from Office. Likewise, the Noble shall also persist in the Councillorship until such time as or until such time as he or she becomes unavailable, unable, or unwilling to fulfill the duties of the position or is otherwise removed from Office.

Any of the six Councilmembers may be removed from Office as described below in Article III. Procedures for filling vacant Seats on the Britannian High Council are also outlined below in Article III.

In addition, officially recognized Independent Kingdoms and Sovereign Entities in good standing with the Throne shall be invited to send Representatives to the Council to be present at High Council Meetings.

Article Two: Powers and Limitations of the High Britannian Council

Bound by the imperative to govern according to the Virtues as well as by such procedures as outlined below, the Britannian High Council shall have the following powers and obligations in overseeing the civil, economic, geopolitical, and military assets of Britannia:

• To uphold and defend the Articles as set forth in the Charter and/or to amend the Charter as necessary with the approval of the Citizenry as described below.

• To receive and to address such suggestions and complaints as are brought forth by the Citizens of the Realm.

• To work with local governments of the various Municipalities within the Realm to maintain peace, prosperity and well-being throughout Britannia.

• To draw up and maintain an Official Britannian Calendar of such holidays and observances as are recognized either locally or throughout the Realm.

• To represent the Throne officially at various local and/or Realmwide functions.

• To see to the upkeep of Castle British and the Britannian Virtue Shrines in the name of Lord British.

• To oversee the Royal Britannian Guard (as distinct from the Local or Town Guards of the various Municipalities within the Realm) with the exception of the appointment of the Captain of the Royal Guard who shall be promoted to the position from within the ranks by the Royal Guard.

• To grant honorary titles in the name of the Throne.

• To recognize new Municipalities (Townships, Boroughs, etc) within the Realm.

• To create and maintain the Official Atlas of Britannia, and…

• To oversee various economic, diplomatic, and military activities of the Realm.

The High Council of Britannia shall also have such procedural powers over intraconciliar matters as described below in Article III.

The High Council shall claim no governance over a recognized foreign Sovereign Entity.

The High Court of Britannia (presently located in the Courts of Justice, of Yew) shall have the final say on whether or not a proposition requires an amendment to the Charter as outlined below in Article VII.

Article 3: Council Procedure

The High Council of Britannia shall function by formulating propositions and passing legislation brought to the table by the Councilmembers themselves or at the request or suggestion of the Citizens of Britannia.

Said propositions or legislations shall be voted upon by the Membership of the High Britannian Council. Each of the six Councilmembers shall have a single vote. In addition, the Representatives of the Independent Kingdoms present at the time of voting may also each have a single vote, unless at least three of the Members of the High Britannian Council are in agreement that the Representatives of the Independent Kingdoms are to be denied the vote on a given matter.

A simple majority shall be required for any proposition or legislation to pass. In the event of a tie, a revote may be held. In the event of a second tie, the proposition shall be considered ineligible for passage in its present formulation.

Should the High Court of Britannia determine that passage of a given proposition or legislation would require an Amendment to the Charter, then said proposition or legislation would be recast as an Amendment to the Charter as described below.

Council Meetings shall be led by a Chair. Chairship shall be rotated among six Councilmembers, but may be handed off by the designated Chair to another if said designated Chair wishes to do so.

In the event that between elections an elected Seat on the Council becomes vacant for any reason, the Council shall reserve the right to fill said vacant Seat or Seats as it sees fit, giving precedence to the Councilmembers’ Assistants and Candidates from the previous election.

Moreover, in the event that either the Seat of Captain of the Royal Guards or the Noble becomes vacant for any reason, the Council shall approach the Royal Guards or the Aristocracy respectively to provide a replacement to the position.

Should for any catastrophic reason the entire High Council become incapacitated, an election overseen by the Royal Guard shall be held within three months to fill the Seats of the former elected Councilmembers. A new Noble and Captain of the Royal Guard shall also be installed within three months. During the interim period, the Realm shall be placed under Martial Law. No Amendments to the Charter may be made during this interim period.

Should any one of the six Councilmembers prove him- or herself unworthy of his or her Seat, the remainder of the Council may choose to remove said Councilmember from Office by unanimous vote. The resulting vacancy shall be filled as prescribed above.

Finally, each Independent Kingdom or Sovereign Entity shall decide its own procedures regarding appointment to the Representativeship; however, the Council reserves the right to request a change of Representatives from the Independent Kingdom or Sovereign Entity in question should a given Representative prove him- or herself unavailable, unable, or unwilling to fulfill the obligations of his or her position.

Naturally, should the relationship between the Throne and a given Independent Kingdom or Sovereign Entity change, Britannia shall reserve the right to change the status of the invitation to Representation from said Kingdom.

Article 4: Rights and Responsibilities of Individual Councilmembers

Councilmembers shall have no privileges or powers other than those afforded to any Britannian Citizen except as defined in this Document. No Councilmember shall be above or beyond the established Law of the Realm.

Although individual Councilmembers shall only have the right to speak in the name of the Throne when doing so with Council approval, they must always be aware that their actions and words shall reflect upon their Offices and on the Throne of Britannia.

All Councilmembers must be Britannian Citizens as defined in the Declaration of the Rights of Citizens of the Realm. Both native and naturalized Citizens are eligible for Councillorship. People of The Abandoned Lands (“Feluccans”) officially claiming their Britannian citizenship and no other citizenships shall also be eligible for Councillorship.

Heartwooders bearing dual Heartwood-Britannian citizenship as established by custom and law shall also be eligible for Councillorship.

Members of the Council are free to hold any other occupation or position during their Councillorship.

Members of the Council shall receive no monetary salary for their service on the Council; however they will be granted an expense account of one thousand gold pieces every six months for such expenditures as associated with the position of Councillor.

Each Councilmember shall have procedural responsibilities such as the responsibility to be present at Council Meetings, the responsibility to officially receive and respond to complaints and suggestions from the Citizens of Britannia, the responsibility to vote on matters brought before the Council, and the responsibility to choose an Assistant.

Individual Councilmembers, either singly or in groups, may function as Representatives of the Throne to public functions or even private when invited thereunto and when approved to do so by the Council.

Individual Councilmembers, either singly or in groups, may function as official Spokespersons of the Throne either to the Citizenry or abroad when approved to do so by the Council.

Individual Councilmembers, either singly or in groups, may function as official Negotiators on behalf of the Throne when approved to do so by the Council, although all official Negotiators as appointed by the Council need not be Councilmembers.

Individual Councilmembers, either singly or in groups, may function ceremonially on behalf of the Throne when approved to do so by the Council.

Individual Councilmembers, either singly or in groups, may oversee such Subcommittees as deemed necessary by the Council when approved to do so by the Council.

Terms limitations of Councilmembers shall be as defined above. Moreover, any elected Councilmember successfully completing his or her term in Office shall be permitted to run for reelection.

Article 5: Rights and Responsibilities of Representatives to the Britannian High Council

Representatives to the High Council shall be appointed to the Representativeship following guidelines set forth by their own Governments.

Representatives to the High Council shall have the responsibilities to be present at Council Meetings, to bring forth questions or concerns of their own Kingdoms, to give such opinions on matters brought before the Council as reflect the official position of their Governments, to vote on matters from which they are not excluded, and to report the findings and proceedings of the Council to their own Governments.

Individual Representatives must always be aware that his or her actions and words shall reflect upon his or her Government and Homeland and may affect official relations between his or her own Homeland and Britannia.
Representatives to the High Council and their Assistants shall be guaranteed such rights any Foreign Travellers to the Realm from an Allied Kingdom shall have, so long as their Governments remain Allies to the Throne. Moreover, Representatives and their Assistants shall familiarize themselves with the Britannian Declaration of the Rights of Citizens of the Realm and shall commit no Treachery against the Throne nor acts within the Realm that are contrary to the Declaration under full penalty of the law and with the possibility of affecting official relations between their own Homelands and Britannia.

Representatives to the High Council and their Assistants may claim diplomatic immunity from minor local ordinances within Municipalities such as a Foreign Traveller to Britannia might not be familiar therewith.

Article 6: Ratification of Charter

This Charter of the High Council of Britannia, drawn up by the First High Council shall have been ratified by not less than a 60% majority vote of the Britannian Citizenry, by means of a secret ballot conducted by ballot box.

Article 7: Amendments to the Charter

Any Amendment to this Charter must be approved by not less than a 60% majority vote of the Britannian Citizenry, by means of a secret ballot conducted by ballot box.

Article 8: Suspension of the Charter and Dissolution of the High Council

Upon the return of our beloved Lord British, this Charter, as well as the Declaration of the Rights of Citizens of the Realm and the Official Britannian Atlas shall be considered null and void unless His Majesty so chooses to allow one or more of these Documents, in part or in whole, to persist under his rule.

Moreover, upon the return of our beloved Lord British, all ruling power shall return to His Majesty, and the High Council of Britannia shall be automatically disbanded unless His Majesty wishes for the Council to remain, in part or in whole, in an advisory role or some other capacity under such terms and with such powers as he sees fit.

Declaration of the Rights of Citizens of the Realm

All Citizens of Britannia shall have the right to live and to travel freely throughout all the public areas of the Realm; to hold opinions, to express such opinions, and to gather peacefully to express such opinions; to acquire and possess belongings and to hold land; to be free from enslavement or forced servitude; to choose which spiritual/philosophical system or systems, if any, they would follow, despite the Throne’s continued right and prerogative to sponsor and promote the system of the Eight Virtues; to vote in all public elections; to run for all public positions such as are filled by position; and to defend themselves against those who would deny them of these rights.