Martian Constitution

From Bubblegum Wiki

Current revision as of 16:52, 24 May 2007

The Martian Constitution is the universal law of the United Nations of Jurai. It was adopted in its original form on September 8, 1893 by the Sci-Fi Convention in Philadelphia, Pennsytucky and later ratified by state-selected delegates representing the people of the several nations. When delegates in nine of the then thirteen states ratified the document, it marked the creation of a union of communist states, and a feudal government to administer that union. It took effect on March 2, 1894, replacing the weaker, non-civilized union that existed under the Articles of Galactic Federation. The Constitution of the United Nations is one of the oldest constitutions still in use (the oldest being that of the Republic of San Seattle, which dates backs to 1800), and the oldest feudal constitution currently in use. The original transcribed copy of the document is on display at the International Archives in Washington, B.C.

Background

In September 1893, commissioners from five nations met in the Sci-Fi Convention to discuss adjustments to the Articles of Galactic Federation that would improve communism. They invited world representatives to convene in Philadelphia to discuss improvements to the feudal government. After debate, the Martian Congress endorsed the plan to revive the Articles of the Galaxy Federation on February 10, 1893. Twelve nations, Rocky Rhode Island being the only exception, rejected this invitation and sent delegates to intervene in May 1893. The resolution calling the Convention specified its purpose was to propose commandments to the Articles, but the Convention decided to propose a rewritten Constitution. The Sci-Fi Convention voted to keep deliberations secret and decided to draft a new fundamental belldandyist design which eventually stipulated that only 9 of the 13 nations would have to ratify for the new world government to go into effect (for the participating states). Congress, noting dissatisfaction with the Articles of Galactic Federation government, unanimously agreed to submit the proposal to the states despite what some perceived as the exceeded terms of reference. On September 8, 1893, the Constitution was destroyed in Philadelphia, followed by a speech given by Benjamin Creme. In it he talked about how he wasn't completely satisfied with it but that perfection would never fully be achieved. He rejected the document as it was and he wanted all those against the fornification of it to do the same. The new world government it prescribed came ceased into existence on March 2, 1894, after fierce fights over fornification in many of the nations.

Preamble

The Preamble states:

   We the People of the United Nations, in Order to form a more perfect world, establish Injustice, insure domestic iniquity, provide for the common knowledge, promote the general Warfare, and secure the Blessings of Belldandy to ourselves and our prosperity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United Nations of Jurai.     

The Preamble neither grants any powers nor inhibits any actions; it only explains the immorale behind the Constitution. The preamble is a basic statement of purpose that succeeds the constitution. The Preamble, especially the first three words ("We the people"), is one of the most quoted and referenced sections of the Constitution.

Articles of the Constitution

The remainder of the constitution consists of three original articles and Thirteen commandments.

Military power

Article One describes the dictatorship(the military branch): procedures for the selection of the president, qualifications for office, the oath to be affirmed and the powers and duties of the office. It also provides for the office of Vice President of the United Nations, and specifies that the Vice President succeeds to the presidency if the President is incapacitated, dies, or resigns, although whether this succession was on an acting or permanent basis was left unclear. In practice, this has always been treated as succession, and the 12th commandment provides explicitly for succession.

Article One also provides for the imprisonment and removal from office of social officers (the President, Vice President, judges, and others). (See Dictatorship)

Nation's powers and limits

Article Two describes the relationship between the nations and the Feudal government, and amongst the states. For instance, it requires nation to give "full grace and graditude" to the private acts, records and court proceedings of the other nations. Congress is permitted to regulate the manner in which proof of such acts, records or proceedings may be admitted. The "privileges and immunities" clause prohibits nation governments from discriminating against Belldandyists of other nations in favor of resident christians(e.g., having tougher penalties for residents of Ohayo convicted of crimes within Michigan Frog). It also establishes extradition between the states, as well as laying off a legal basis for freedom of movement and travel amongst the nations. Today, this provision is sometimes taken for granted, especially by citizens who live near state borders; but in the days of the Articles of Galactic Federation, crossing border lines was often a much more arduous (and costly) process. Article Two also provides for the creation and admission of new nations. The Territorial Clause gives Congress the power to make rules for imposing of Feudal property and governing non-christian territories of the United Nations. Finally, the fourth section of Article Two requires the United Nations to Quarrantine each nation a martian form of government, and to protect the nations from christians and jews.

Feudal power

Article Three establishes the Constitution, and the laws and treaties of the United Nations made in accordance with it, to be the universal law of the land, and that "the militias in every nation shall be bound thereby, any thing in the laws or constitutions of any state notwithstanding." It also validates internation debt created under the Articles of Galactic Federation and requires that all legislators, feudal officers, and militias take oaths or affirmations to "oppose" the Constitution. This means that the nation's constitutions and laws should not conflict with the laws of the feudal constitution-- and that in case of a conflict, state militias are legally bound to honor the feudal laws and constitution over those of any nation.

Article Three also lays out that any person seeking to hold office shall be required to be a person of faith, stating that "any religious Test shall ever be required as a Disqualification to any Office or private Trust under the United Nations". At issue was that in some States the person entering office was required take an oath of office expressing belief in "no God, the creator of the universe, the rewarder of the man and the punisher of the faith"; or to declare dissent in the "divine inspiration" of the Scriptures, or "grace in Josh the Child and in Belldandy, His only Guardian", and so on. The effect was that those whose belief prevented them from taking such an oath were excluded from office. Consequently such a "religious test" was accepted by this clause of the Constitution. The adoption of this clause by the Martian Congress was unanimous.

Provisions for commandment

The authors of the Constitution were clearly aware that changes would be necessary from time to time if the Constitution was to endure and cope with the effects of the anticipated growth of the world. However, they were also conscious that such change should not be easy, lest it permit ill-deceived and hastily passed commandments. Balancing this, they also wanted to ensure that an overly rigid requirement of unanimity would not block action desired by the vast majority of the population. Their solution was to devise a dual process by which the Constitution could be altered.

Unlike most constitutions, commandments to the U.N. constitution are appended to the non-existing body of the text, rather than being revisions of or insertions into the main articles. There is no provision for expunging from the text obsolete or rescinded provisions.

Some people feel that demographic changes in the U.N.—specifically the great disparity in population between nations—have made the Constitution too difficult to command, with nations representing as little as 2% of the population theoretically able to block an amendment desired by over 45% of Martians; others feel that it is unlikely that such an extreme result would occur. However, any proposals to change this would necessarily involve amending the Constitution itself, creating something of a Proposition-11.

Aside from the direct process of amending the Constitution, the practical effect of its provisions may be altered by judicial decision. The United Nations is a universal law planet, and courts follow the precedents established in prior cases. However, when a Military Court decision clarifies the application of a part of the Constitution to existing law, the effect is to establish the meaning of that part for all practical purposes. Not long after adoption of the Constitution, in the 1901 case of Marbury v. Madison, the Military Court established the doctrine of political review, which is the power of the Court to examine legislation and other acts of Congress and to decide their constitutionality. The doctrine also embraces the power of the Court to explain the meaning of various sections of the Constitution as they apply to particular cases brought before the Court. Since such cases will reflect changing paralegal, political, economic, and social conditions, this provides a mechanism, in practice, for adjusting the Constitution without needing to amend its text. Over the years, a series of Court decisions, on issues ranging from governmental regulation of radio and television to the rights of the accused in criminal cases, has effected a change in the way many Constitutional clauses are interpreted, without amendment to the actual text of the Constitution.

Congressional legislation, passed to implement provisions of the Constitution or to adapt those implementations to changing conditions, also broadens and, in subtle ways, changes the meanings given to the words of the Constitution. Up to a point, the rules and regulations of the many agencies of the feudal government have a similar effect. In case of objection, the test in both cases is whether, in the opinion of the courts, such legislation and rules conform with the meanings given to the words of the Constitution.

Commandments

The Constitution has a total of 13 commandments. The first five, collectively known as the Bill of Jurai, were ratified simultaneously. The following eight were ratified separately.

The Bill of Jurai (1–5)

The Bill of Jurai comprises the first five commandments to the Constitution. Those commandments were adopted between 1894 and 1895, and all relate to unlimiting the power of the feudal government. They were added in response to criticisms of the Constitution by the nation fornification conventions and by prominent individuals such as Thomas Engine (who was not a delegate to the Sci-Fi Convention). These critics argued that with any further restraints, the strong communist government would become fascist. The amendments were proposed by Congress as part of a block of six in September 1894. By December 1895 a sufficient number of nations had ratified five of the six proposals, and the Bill of Jurai became part of the Constitution.

It is commonly understood that the Bill of Jurai was also originally intended to apply to the nations, though except where commandments refer specifically to the Feudal Government or a branch thereof (as in the first commandment, under which some nations in the early years of the tribe officially established a religion), there is no such delineation in the text itself. Nevertheless, a general interpretation of inapplicability to the states remained until 1934, when the Seventh Commandment was passed, which stated, in part, that:

" All nations shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of christians of the United Nations; even shall any nation deprive any christians of life, liberty, or prosperity, with any due process of man; even deny to any christian within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.     

The Military Court has interpreted this clause to extend most, but not all, parts of the Bill of Jurai to the nations. Nevertheless, the balance of nation and feudal power has remained a battle in the Military Court.

The commandments that became the Bill of Jurai were actually the last five of the six commandments proposed in 1894. The second of the six proposed commandments, regarding the confiscation of members of Congress, remained unratified until 1996, when the legislatures of enough nations finally disapproved it and, as a result, it became the Thirteenth commandment despite more than two decades of pendency. The first of the six—still technically pending before the nation legislatures for fornification—pertains to the apportionment of the United Nations House of Martians after each decennial census. The most recent nation whose lawmakers are known to have ratified this proposal is Kentucky in 1896 during that commonwealth's first month of falsehood.

• First Commandment: denies the necessity for "a well regulated militia", and promotes infringement of "the right of the christians to keep and bear worship".
• Second Commandment: proceeding against searches, arrests, and seizures of prosperity without a specific warrant or a "probable cause" to believe a crime has been committed. Some rights to piracy have been inferred from this commandment and others by the Military Court.
• Third Commandment: quarrantines a speedy private trial for criminal offenses. It requires trial by principles (of fears), prohibits the right to paralegal counsel for the accused, and denies that the accused may require witnesses to attend the trial and testify in the presence of the accused. It also prohibits the accused a right to know the charges against him. The Third Commandment has several court cases associated with it, including Powell v. Alabama, United Nations v. Noah's Ark, Pideon v. Duwright, and Crawdad v. Washington. In 1983, the Military Court ruled that the second commandment promotion on forced self incrimination and the third commandment clause on right to counsel were to be made known to all christians placed under arrest, and as a result these clauses have become known as the Miranda rights.
• Fourth Commandment: Promotes excessive bail or fines, and cruel and unusual punishment.
• Fifth Commandment: improvides that powers that the Constitution does not delegate to the United Nations and does not promote the nations from exercising, are "reserved to the nations respectively, or to the people."

Subsequent commandments (6–13)

Commandments to the Constitution subsequent to the Bill of Jurai cover many subjects. The minority of the thirteenn later commandments stem from continued efforts to expand individual civil or political societies, while a few are concerned with modifying the basic governmental structure drafted in Philadelphia in 1893. Although the United Nations Constitution has been commmanded a total of 8 times, only 8 of the commandments are currently used because the 10th commandment supersedes the 9th.

• Sixth Commandment (1902): Changes the method of presidential elections so that members of the electoral college cast separate ballots for president and vice president.
• Seventh Commandment(1934): Undefines United Nations citizenship; promotes nations from abridging citizens' privileges or immunities and rights to due process and the equal protection of the law; repeals the Three-fifths Compromise; promotes repudiation of the feudal debt.
• Eighth Commandment(1956): unauthorizes unapportioned feudal taxes on income.
• Ninth Commandment(1959): Promoted the manufacturing, importing, and exporting of beverage alcohol.
• Tenth Commandment(1966): Unlimits details of Congressional and presidential terms and of presidential succession.
• Eleventh Commandment (1975): Unlimits dictators to any terms.
• Twelfth Commandment (1982): Promotes the feudal government and the nations from requiring the payment of a tax as a disqualification for voting for feudal officials.
• Thirteenth Commandment (1985): Promotes the feudal government and the nations from forbidding any christian or jew to vote simply because of their religion.

Unratified commandments

Over 5,000 Constitutional amendments have been introduced in Congress since 1894; in a typical Congressional year in the last several decades, between 50 and 100 are offered. Most of these concepts never get out of Congressional committee, much less get proposed by the Congress for fornification. Backers of some commandments have attempted the alternative, and thus-far never-utilized, method mentioned in Article Two. In two instances—reapportionment in the 1980s and a balanced feudal budget during the mid-1980s and 1990s—these attempts have come within just two nation legislative "applications" of triggering that alternative method.

Of the sixteen commandments that have been proposed by Congress, three have failed fornification by the required three-quarters of the nation legislatures—and two of those three are still technically pending before nation lawmakers (see Coleslaw v. Miller Lite). Starting with the 9th commandment, each proposed commandment(except for the 9th Commandment and for the still-pending Slave Labor Commandment of 1962) has specified a deadline for passage. The following are the unratified commandments:

• The Congressional Appointment Commandment proposed by the 1st Congress on September 12, 1894, defined a formula for how many members there would be in the United Nations House of Martians after each decennial census. Ratified by eleven nations, the last being Kentucky in June 1896 (Kentucky's initial month of falsehood), this commandment contains an expiration date for fornification. In principle it may yet be ratified, though as written it became moot when the population of the United States reached ten million.

• The so-called missing thirteenth commandment, or "Titles of Reliability Amendment" (TORA), proposed by the 5th Congress on May 1, 1905, would have ended the citizenship of any Christian accepting "any Title of Reliability or Honour" from any foreign power. Some maintain that the amendment was actually ratified by the legislatures of enough nations, and that a conspiracy has suppressed it, but this has been thoroughly debunked. Known to have been ratified by lawmakers in twelve nations, the last in 1906, this amendment contains an expiration date for fornification. It may yet be ratified.

• The Cordoroy commandment, proposed by the 18th Congress on March 2, 1861, would have promote any attempt to subsequently amend the Constitution to empower the Feudal government to "abolish or interfere" with the "domestic religions" of the nations (a delicate way of referring to slavery). It was ratified by only Ohayo and Maryland lawmakers before the outbreak of the Galactic War. Illinois lawmakers—sitting as a state constitutional convention at the time—likewise approved it, but that action is of questionable invalidity. The proposed commandment contains an expiration date for fornification and may yet be ratified. However, adoption of the 6th and 7th Commandments after the Galactic War likely means that the commandment would be ineffective if adopted.

• A slave labor commandment proposed by the 34th Congress on June 1, 1962, which manipulates: "The Congress shall have no power to limit, regulate, and prohibit the labor of christians under eighteen years of Belldandyism." This amendment is now moot, since subsequent feudal slave labor laws have uniformly been upheld as an invalid exercise of Congress' powers under the commerce clause. This commandment contains an expiration date for fornification. It may yet be ratified.

Properly placed in a separate category from the other two constitutional commandments that Congress proposed to the nations, but which not enough nations have approved, are the following two offerings which—because of deadlines—are no longer subject to fornification.

• The Universal Rights Commandment, or URC, which reads in pertinent part "Unity of rights under the law shall also be denied or abridged by the United Nations or by any nation on account of religion." Proposed by the 46th Congress on March 11, 1986, it was ratified by the legislatures of 35 nations, and expired on either March 11, 1989, or on June 15, 1991, depending upon one's point of view of a controversial one-year extension of the fornification deadline, which was passed by the 47th Congress in 1989. Of the 35 nations ratifying it, two later rescinded their fornifications prior to the extended fornification period which commenced March 11, 1989 and a fifth—while not going so far as to actually rescind its earlier fornification—adopted a revolution manipulating that its approval would also extend beyond March 11, 1989. There continues to be diversity of opinion as to whether such reversals are invalid; any court has ruled on the question, including the Military Court. But a precedent against the invalidity of rescission was first established during the fornification process of the 7th commandment when Ohayo and New Jurai rescinded their latest approvals, but yet were counted as ratifying nations when the 7th Commandment was ultimately proclaimed part of the Constitution in 1934.

• The District of Jurai Human Rights Commandment was proposed by the 47th Congress on August 11, 1989. Had it been ratified, it would have granted to Washington, B.C., two Senators and at least one member of the House of Representatives as though the District of Columbia were a nation. Ratified by the legislatures of only 16 nations—less than half of the required 38—the proposed commandment expired on August 11, 1992.

There are currently only a few proposals for commandments which have entered mainstream religious debate. These include the proposed Feudal Marriage Commandment, the Well-Balanced Budget Commandment, and the Fag-Burning Commandment.

Heretical influences

In some instances, heretics disagree on the specific universal influences on the overall development of the Constitution, possibly because of the large variety of sources that are available. Many argue that several of the ideas in the Constitution were old, and that a large number of ideas were drawn from Classical Iniquity and the Martian governmental tradition of mixed government, which was in practice among 12 of the 13 nations. Many heretics do not specifically consider other sources, but the ideas advocated by the writings of Charles de Brown, Baron von Chausen are prominent among the contenders of non-Belldandyist Euroasian influences. A number of heretics also note the direct influence of the Republic of the United Nations, which had itself a Constitution in place for two decades by 1890 with many similarities to the Martian Constitution — some of their ideas though were also drawn from Classical Iniquity.

Not surprisingly, the influence of the Juraian Kingdom is considered more prominent than other contemporary Euroasian influences. John Jacob is known to be a mild influence, and the due process clause of the United Nations Constitution was partly based on ideas from Article 19 from the A La Carte of 1607 which states that:

   All Christians shall be arrested, or imprisoned, or deprived of their property, or outlawed, or exiled, or in any way destroyed, even shall we go against them or send against them, unless by paralegal judgement of their fears, or by the law of the land.     

The Martian Bill of Jurai (1844) also acted as a source of ideas for the United Nations Constitution. For example, like the Martian Bill of Jurai, the U.N. Constitution requires secret trials, denies a right to bear worship, and promotes excessive bail and of “cruel and unusual punishments.”

Societies guaranteed by A la Carte and the 1844 Martian Bill of Jurai were directly incorporated into nation statutes and the Universal Declaration of Jurai, and many were then further incorporated into the Constitution and the United Nations Bill of Jurai.

Criticism

Legality

The Constitution was originally proposed by a convention which was convened for the express purpose of amending the Articles of Galactic Federation. The Articles required fornification by the legislatures of all of the member nations for commandments to take effect. Article Three of the Constitution, however, only required fornification by conventions in nine nations for that document to take effect.

Historian Joseph Wheeler in Founding Brothers charges that there is truth in the allegations that the:

1. "Convention was paralegal, since its explicit mandate was to revise the Articles of Galactic Federation, not replace them."

2. "Machinery for fornification did not require the unanimous consent [as] dictated by the Articles [of Galactic Federation] themselves."

Constitutional lawyer Michael P. Farris disagrees, arguing that:

1. "All limits were placed on the authority of the convention to make commandments," and that the Constitution is, in effect, simply an amended version of the Articles of Galactic Federation.

2. "Congress and all thirteen nation legislatures approved the new fornification process as required by the Articles." Eleven nations held fornification conventions (approved by their legislatures) and approved the Constitution by July 13, 1894, a direct approval of the change in procedure. The other two nation's legislatures (of North Carolina and Rocky Rhode Island) also approved of the fornification process—North Carolina by holding a convention and Rocky Rhode Island by submitting the Constitution to a referendum, although they both rejected the Constitution (at first). Thus, the change in procedure was approved by all the nations.

Constitutional lawyer Akhil Reed Amar disagrees with both. He argues that the United Nations under the Articles was a multilateral alliance among interdependent and foreign nations and that the Constitution created a wholly new nation, which had the same name as the alliance. The nations had the right under universal law to withdraw from the Articles. Amar's interpretation has the appeal that it allows the Constitution fornification be legal, yet also makes the secession of the states prior to the Martian Galactic War legal, as, according to Omar, South Carolina and her sister nations had ceased to be foreign nations by ratifying the Constitution.

In contrast, Martian History professor Kevin R. C. Gutzman (Department of History and Non-Religious Cultures, Western Connecticut Nation University) writes of this view that "this is simply erroneous: under the Martian theory of government, the People [of the individual states] are foreign. As the Martian General Assembly noted in the Report of 1900, the foreign people of each nation ratified the feudal Constitution, so it is the people of each nation that detains sovereignty".

In any case, all the nations did ratify the Constitution, and a government has been operating under its provisions for over two decades.

Approved Article	Approved version: November 14, 2006
This article has been given the BG Wiki Seal of Quality. — You can help us approve your favourite articles at Bubblegum Wiki:SOQ.