Don't mind me... just over here doin' my own thing...

[Gryphon the Pure]

Chapter II. SubdivisionA. Duchies1. Definition and Powers&nbsp &nbsp &nbsp &nbsp a. A Duchy of Shireroth is a region of Shirithian land ruled over by a Duke, as provided in the Imperial Charter.&nbsp &nbsp &nbsp &nbsp b. All residents of a Duchy are subject to the rule of that Duchy's government, as provided by its Duke.&nbsp &nbsp &nbsp &nbsp c. All residents of a Duchy including its Duke are subject to Imperial Law.&nbsp &nbsp &nbsp &nbsp d. Each Duchy shall be affected equally by Imperial Law; no Imperial Law may grant or deny priviledges to any specific Duchy.&nbsp &nbsp &nbsp &nbsp e. Each Duchy shall be granted a seat in the Landsraad, as provided by Imperial Law, which shall be managed by the Procedures of the Landsraad. By default, this seat is filled by the Duchy's Duke.2. Creation&nbsp &nbsp &nbsp &nbsp a. The Kaiser may define the borders of a Duchy and grant it a seat in the Landsraad as provided in the Imperial Charter.&nbsp &nbsp &nbsp &nbsp b. The Landsraad may as a standard act define the borders of a Duchy and grant it a seat in the Landsraad only if there are four Shirithian citizens residing within the defined borders.3. Dissolution&nbsp &nbsp &nbsp &nbsp a. The Landsraad may as a superior act dissolve a Duchy and remove its seat from the Landsraad.&nbsp &nbsp &nbsp &nbsp b. The Landsraad may as a standard act dissolve a Duchy and remove its seat from the Landsraad only if the Duchy has no Duke or has less than three residents.&nbsp &nbsp &nbsp &nbsp c. The Landsraad may as an emergency act dissolve a Duchy and remove its seat from the Landsraad only if the Duchy has one or no citizens.B. Baronies1. Definition and Powers&nbsp &nbsp &nbsp &nbsp a. A Barony of Shireroth is a region of land within a Duchy ruled over by a Baron.&nbsp &nbsp &nbsp &nbsp b. All residents of a Barony are subject to the rule of that Barony's government, as provided by its Baron.&nbsp &nbsp &nbsp &nbsp c. All residents of a Barony including its Baron are considered residents of the Duchy above it.&nbsp &nbsp &nbsp &nbsp d. Each Barony shall be affected equally by Imperial Law; no Imperial Law may grant or deny priviledges to any specific Barony.&nbsp &nbsp &nbsp &nbsp e. Each Barony shall be granted a seat in the Landsraad, which shall be managed by the procedures of the Landsraad. By default, this seat is filled by the Barony's Baron.2. Creation&nbsp &nbsp &nbsp &nbsp a. A Duke may define the borders of a Barony within his Duchy's land and grant it a seat in the Landsraad only if there are two Shirithian citizens residing within the defined borders. Gryphon the Pure- Shirithian Elder - Dutch of Kildare - Minister of the Interior - High Priest of Apostrophe aka Grammar Fuhrer - Director of the Shirithian Census - Imperial Advisor -q=parseInt(Math.random()*gryphSig.length);q=(isNaN(q))?0:q;document.write(gryphSig[q]);q=parseInt(Math.random()*gryphSig.length);q=(isNaN(q))?0:q;document.write(gryphSig[q]);q=parseInt(Math.random()*gryphSig.length);q=(isNaN(q))?0:q;document.write(gryphSig[q]);

[Kaiser Alejian I]

Can I comment?

[Gryphon the Pure]

Go ahead.It's not done, and it will require some clarifications in the Landsraad procedures before it's appropriate.Another thing? The charter really needs replacing. Nowhere in it does it legally grant all Duchies equal seats in the Landsraad, and it really should. Theoretically the Landsraad could be easily manipulated to legally bring Duchies into a heirarchy by removing their seats systematically or unrecognizing a Duke. Gryphon the Pure- Shirithian Elder - Dutch of Kildare - Minister of the Interior - High Priest of Apostrophe aka Grammar Fuhrer - Director of the Shirithian Census - Imperial Advisor -q=parseInt(Math.random()*gryphSig.length);q=(isNaN(q))?0:q;document.write(gryphSig[q]);q=parseInt(Math.random()*gryphSig.length);q=(isNaN(q))?0:q;document.write(gryphSig[q]);q=parseInt(Math.random()*gryphSig.length);q=(isNaN(q))?0:q;document.write(gryphSig[q]);

[Kaiser Alejian I]

Well, I can see your concern, but that's part of what I wanted to comment on. Section 1:d limit's the kaiser's power. And that's not right. As "wrong" as it might be, A kaiser should be able to favor a duchy if he wants to. Same thing with B:1:d. And A:3:a and b seem to be at odds with each other.

[Gryphon the Pure]

1:d does not limit the Kaiser's power. By decree, he can still make orders or issue punishments to Duchies, this just says that it can't be legislated, that is, it can't be put into the Lawbook.If we really want to, we can grandfather in the clauses regarding chickens and their flying lessons in Yardistan, and I'm sure nobody would be opposed to a grandfathering of the Yardistani rebellion clauses, I just want to make sure that it's illegal for, say, Kildare and Yardistan to propose a bill restricting Brookshire's votes to 3, and then outvote Brookshire's opposition. The point of the Landsraad is to be an equal council of equal Duchies.While you may argue that Shireroth is not about equality, I feel that that is not true. While democratic nations are about equality of citizens, I believe Shireroth is all about equality of the higher nobility, being the Dukes.And so far as B:1:d goes, Imperial Law shouldn't be interfering with Baronies anyway. If a Duke wants to grant favour of one of his Baronies over the other, that's his decision, not the Landsraads; we shouldn't as the Imperial Government say that since Elwynn has been around longer as an entity, it HAS to have more votes than Muad'Dib, or it gets two Barony fora or whatever.Again, the Kaiser may still make orders as he wishes. This just keeps them from going in the Lawbook, and, ideally, if the Kaiser respects our wishes, the permanent Decreebook (which is why I think something like this should be in the Charter).As for A:3:a and b, that's the part I would need to change Landsraad procedures around for. As it is, I don't think there should be any vote percentages or specifications outside of the Landsraad Procedures, since we may at some point have a different voting procedure than just percentages or something. I think instead of saying "3/4 majority", which could be interpereted in several ways, for example "the votes of YEA are at least thrice the votes of NAY" or "the votes of YEA are 3/4 of the total voting capacity of the Landsraad" or "the votes of YEA are at least thrice the votes of NAY and ABSTAIN combined" or even "3/4 of Nobles vote for it, regardless of the votes they cast", we should have general terms for bills that require a higher majority, and the term I coined for that is a "superior act". So in order for this to be a valid proposal, we should first define "superior act" in the Landsraad Procedures.Get it? Gryphon the Pure- Shirithian Elder - Dutch of Kildare - Minister of the Interior - High Priest of Apostrophe aka Grammar Fuhrer - Director of the Shirithian Census - Imperial Advisor -q=parseInt(Math.random()*gryphSig.length);q=(isNaN(q))?0:q;document.write(gryphSig[q]);q=parseInt(Math.random()*gryphSig.length);q=(isNaN(q))?0:q;document.write(gryphSig[q]);q=parseInt(Math.random()*gryphSig.length);q=(isNaN(q))?0:q;document.write(gryphSig[q]);