New-Athens-Constitutional-Record/Constitution of the Free Nation of New Athens.md

Title: Constitution of the Free Nation of New Athens    
Revision No. 1
Enacted By: Parliament  
Date Ratified: February 9th, 2021
NAD Date: 12th Waning, 11th Moon, 2024 NAD
Status: Active

This document will serve as the indisputable laws, rights and provisions of the Government of the Free Nation of New Athens.

Also included are the unalienable rights of all citizens of the Free Nation of New Athens.

This document is certified through the signature of the founding citizens below.

**Article I: Government Structure**

1. The form of government of the Free Nation of New Athens is defined as a constitutional monarchy.
2. The Head of the Monarchy shall be known as the Reigning Monarch and King or Queen and shall be determined through the order of succession within Article XXI.
3. The spouse of the Reigning Monarch shall be known as the King or the Queen.
4. The Reigning Monarch oversees all government matters, excluding parliament, and has the authority to formally represent the Free Nation of New Athens with plenipotentiary powers.
5. The Reigning Monarch has power to appoint all government positions, excluding positions within the Monarchy and the Speaker of the People, and manufacture new positions as needed.
    1. All appointees must be citizens of the Free Nation of New Athens.
    2. The Reigning Monarch and the Appointee must certify the appointment in writing.
6. The Spouse of the Reigning Monarch has the authority to formally represent the Free Nation of New Athens with plenipotentiary powers and may represent the Reigning Monarch in his or her stead.
7. The Grand Ambassador has the authority to formally represent the Free Nation of New Athens with plenipotentiary powers.
    1. The Grand Ambassador may appoint a temporary Deputy Ambassador to represent them with plenipotentiary powers in their stead.
        1. The Grand Ambassador and the Appointee must certify the appointment and term in writing.
8. The Department of Justice ~~enforces all constitutional laws and~~ determines whether or not a proposed law or amendment is constitutional. \[I\]
    1. The Chief Justice oversees the Department of Justice.
9. The Grand General oversees all military strategy. \[II\]
10. The Grand Ambassador, the Chief Justice and the Grand General report to the Reigning Monarch.
11. The Speaker of the People presides over parliament as an impartial, non-partisan individual.
    - 1. The Speaker of the People is elected by parliament
            1. All elections and removals must be put to popular vote in parliament in keeping with Article XV.

**Amendments and Revisions:**

1. See **Constitutional Amendment III**
2. See **Constitutional Amendment III**

**Article II: Citizenship**

1. Citizenship of the Free Nation of New Athens is granted at the discretion of the Reigning Monarch.
2. Citizenship of the Free Nation of New Athens may be revoked at the discretion of the Reigning Monarch at any time.
3. If either parent of a child is a citizen, the child will be automatically granted citizenship as well.

**Amendments and Revisions:**

1. If a non-citizen marries a citizen, the non-citizen shall automatically be granted citizenship.

**Article III: Legislation**

1. The Speaker of the People will oversee all legislative meetings.
2. All legislative meetings are public to all citizens.
3. All parliamentary procedure will proceed in keeping with Robert's Rules of Order. \[See **Article XV \[VI\]\]**
4. All citizens of the Free Nation of New Athens may attend legislative meetings and maintain full voting powers.
5. All citizens of the Free Nation of New Athens may propose legislation to be discussed, voted on, or both.
6. All voting must proceed in keeping with Article XV.
7. All legislation that passes must be amended to the Constitution of the Free Nation of New Athens.
8. All legislative votes are to be documented by the Speaker of the People.

**Article IV: Amendments to the Constitution of the Free Nation of New Athens**

1. All new articles added to the Constitution of the Free Nation of New Athens must be added in roman numerical order, beginning with I, to the ~~Amendments and Revisions~~ section of the Constitution of the Free Nation of New Athens. \[II\]
2. All Amendments to existing articles must be added to an Amendments and Revisions section directly below the article, and must be listed in roman numerical order beginning with I.
3. For an amendment to be added to the Constitution of the Free Nation of New Athens, a vote must occur in keeping with Article XV.
4. Legislation that passes voting in keeping with Article XV does not require a vote to be amended to the Constitution of the Free Nation of New Athens.

**Amendments and Revisions:**

1. Any sections removed from and/or replaced within the Constitution of the Free Nation of New Athens must be struck through with a line and end with a notation referencing the roman numeral of the amendment or revision that warranted its removal.
    1. Example: \[I\], \[II\], \[III\], etc.
2. All new articles added to the Constitution of the Free Nation of New Athens must be added in roman numerical order, beginning with I, to the Constitutional Amendments section of the Constitution of the Free Nation of New Athens.

**Article V: Diplomacy**

1. The Free Nation of New Athens reserves the right to open diplomatic relations with other nations.
2. The Free Nation of New Athens reserves the right to block or close diplomatic relations with other nations.
3. The Free Nation of New Athens reserves the right to ratify or join treaties with other nations.
4. The Reigning Monarch and the Grand Ambassador must sign all binding diplomatic agreements.

**Article VI: Citizen Rights**

1. All Citizens of the Free Nation of New Athens are automatically granted a series of unalienable rights. These rights are as follows:
    1. Freedom to in printed texts, pictures or oral communication or in another way express thoughts, opinions and feelings.
    2. Freedom to gather and receive information and take part of other people's opinions.
    3. Freedom to organize and participate in gatherings for opinions, expressed opinions or other similar purpose or for presenting artist work.
    4. Freedom to organize and participate in demonstrations in public areas.
    5. Freedom to gather with others to represent common or own interests, and express oneself in radio, television and similar transmissions, public recordings from a database and movies, videograms, phonograms and other technical recordings.
    6. No citizen is forced to publicize their view in political, cultural or other aspects. Neither may any citizens be forced to participate in peaceful gathering for opinion formation or in demonstration or other opinion, or belonging to a political association or other association for the purposes of political, cultural, or other aspects.
    7. The right of public protection against forced bodily intervention. In addition, each citizen is protected against body search, search and similar intrusion, and against the examination of letters or other confidential, shipment and private phone call or other confidential message.
    8. Each citizen is protected from significant personal privacy violations without consent, and involves surveillance or mapping of individual’s personal circumstances.
    9. The rights to keep, maintain, and bear arms and the government shall not limit ammunition.

**Article VII: Courts**

1. The Chief Justice shall preside over all legal courts.
    1. All relevant parties may make their case before the Chief Justice.
    2. Legal council will not be provided by the Government of the Free Nation of New Athens but may be provided by the defendant.
2. All relevant parties may make their case before the Chief Justice.
    1. After all relevant parties have made their case; the Chief Justice will pass judgment.
    2. The Chief Justice will determine which parties are relevant.

**Article VIII: Territory**

1. The Free Nation of New Athens may claim or relinquish territory at any time.
2. The Reigning Monarch will keep and maintain records of territorial claims.

**Article IX: War**

1. War may only be declared if the Reigning Monarch, the Grand Ambassador, and the Grand General agree in writing to do so.
2. The Grand General may deploy armed forces to ward off attackers or to stop a violation of territory of the Free Nation of New Athens.
3. The Grand General, as well as the Reigning Monarch, may deploy armed forces to fulfill international commitments.
4. The Reigning Monarch may deploy armed forces outside of wartime if the Grand General and the Grand Ambassador agree in writing it is necessary.

**Article X: Transitional Measure**

1\. This constitution enters force on the 30<sup>th</sup> day of September in the year 2019.

**Article XI: Treasury and Finance**

1. The Government of the Free Nation of New Athens reserves the right to form and preserve a National Treasury.
2. The Treasury of the Free Nation of New Athens may form and print national currency of the Free Nation of New Athens.
3. The Treasury of the Free Nation of New Athens may store government funds in any bank, both international and domestic.
4. The Reigning Monarch oversees the Treasury of the Free Nation of New Athens.
5. Once the Treasury is formed, the following must occur:
    1. All budgets must be approved by parliament.
        1. Approval is determined through voting in keeping with Article XV.
    2. All funds presently possessed, granted to, or received by the Government of the Free Nation of New Athens shall be entered into the Treasury of the Free Nation of New Athens.
    3. The federal budget is drawn up for each financial term.
        1. The duration of a financial term is annual and begins on January 1.
        2. Approval is determined through voting in keeping with Article XV.

**Article XII: Sovereignty**

1. The Free Nation of New Athens declares itself sovereign through all statements within the Declaration of Independence of the Free Nation of New Athens.
2. The Free Nation of New Athens maintains the right and ability to enforce all constitutional laws within its territories.

**Article XIII: Legal Documentation of Citizens**

1. The Government of the Free Nation of New Athens reserves the right to produce, print and market forms of identification and certifications of citizenship and certifications of title to all citizens of the Free Nation of New Athens.
    1. Forms of identification may include but are not limited to: passports, personal identification cards.

**Article XIV: Manufacturing of Legal Postage, Stamps, and Forms of Identification**

1. The Government of the Free Nation of New Athens reserves the right to produce, print and market legal postage, stamps, and legal forms of identification.

**Article XV: Voting Procedure**

1. Parliamentary voting of any kind must be overseen by the Speaker of the People and in keeping with Robert's Rules of Order to be valid. \[II\]\[VI\]
2. Only citizens of the Free Nation of New Athens may vote.
3. For a vote to take place, quorum must be met.\[VI\]
    1. Quorum is defined as the minimum number of members of an assembly or society that must be present at any of its meetings to make the proceedings of that meeting valid.
    2. To satisfy quorum in all voting procedures in the Free Nation of New Athens, at least half of all citizens must be present. \[VII\]
4. Citizens may abstain from voting.
    1. If a citizen abstains from voting, they do not count towards the voting tally, but they do count towards quorum.
5. For a vote to pass, greater than half of those voting must agree with the proposal.
6. The Reigning Monarch and the Speaker of the People may not vote in parliamentary proceedings.
    1. In the event of a tied vote, the Speaker of the People shall be called to vote. \[II\]
7. Citizens may not abstain from voting in elections for office.

**Amendments and revisions:**

1. In the absence of the Speaker of the People, the highest ranking, present government official shall preside over parliament until the Speaker of the People arrives. See the listed order of positions in **Article I: Government Structure** to determine the highest-ranking government official.
2. If the position of the Speaker of the People is currently vacant or the Speaker of the People is not present, whoever is presiding over the meeting shall be called to vote in the event of a tied vote.
3. Citizens who are unable to attend a scheduled parliamentary vote may submit an absentee vote to the Speaker of the People or presiding speaker that includes their vote regarding the matters to be voted on in the scheduled parliamentary meeting.
4. Absentee voters will be counted as present for quorum of that vote.
5. An absentee vote must be submitted before the conclusion of the vote to be valid.
6. Parliamentary meetings and business may take place virtually. If a parliamentary meeting or parliamentary business is taking place virtually, deciding whether or not to adhere to Robert's Rules of Order will be decided by the presiding Speaker of the People. If a parliamentary meeting or parliamentary business is taking place virtually, quorum does not have to be met, but all citizens must be given reasonable notice of when and where the meeting or business will take place.
7. To satisfy quorum in all voting procedures in the Free Nation of New Athens, greater than half of all citizens must be present.

**Article XVI: Honorary Titles**

1. At the discretion of the Reigning Monarch, honorary titles may be granted to any citizen.
2. Titles have no expiration.
3. The Reigning Monarch may revoke titles at any time.
    1. Titles that may be granted include, but are not limited to:
        1. Lord, Knight, Baron, Duke
4. Royal titles granted to citizens do not grant any governmental power.

**Article XVII: Dual Citizenship**

1. The Government of the Free Nation of New Athens allows all citizens to maintain previous citizenship of another nation or pursue dual citizenship if they so choose.

**Article XVIII: Open Government Positions**

1. If the position of the Grand Ambassador becomes open, the Reigning Monarch shall take their place until the position can be filled.
    1. If pressing business requiring the Grand Ambassador forms, the Reigning Monarch must appoint a replacement before the matter can be resolved.
2. If the position of the Chief Justice becomes open, the Reigning Monarch shall take their place until the position can be filled.
    1. If pressing business requiring the Chief Justice forms, the Reigning Monarch must appoint a replacement before the matter can be resolved.
3. If the position of the Grand General becomes open, the Reigning Monarch shall take their place until the position can be filled.
    1. If pressing business requiring the Grand General forms, the Reigning Monarch must appoint a replacement before the matter can be resolved.
4. If the position of the Speaker of the People becomes open, all other parliamentary operations must cease until a replacement can be chosen.
    1. The replacement for the position of the Speaker of the People will be determined through popular vote in parliament in keeping with Article XV.
    2. The Reigning Monarch shall preside over the vote. \[See **Article XV \[I\]**\]

**Article XIX: Taxation**

1. The Treasury of the Free Nation of New Athens maintains powers to impose taxes upon the citizens of the Free Nation of New Athens.
    1. All taxations must be documented in writing and approved through popular vote within parliament in keeping with Article XV.

**Article XX: Term Limits**

1. Positions within the government that shall be limited in duration and in number of terms are as follows:
    1. The Speaker of the people.
        1. This position may be occupied for one year, at which time an election for this position will take place.
        2. The current holder of the position may run for re-election.

**Article XXI: Royal Succession**

1. Only those of direct, royal descent of the first King and Queen may inherit the position of King or Queen by virtue of succession.
2. The hierarchy and order of royal succession, in descending order, is as follows

- King
- Queen
- The eldest Prince or Princess
  - If no princess or princesses are of the age of 18 years, the Grand Ambassador will hold the position of King or Queen until the eldest Prince or Princess of direct, royal descent reaches the age of 18 years.
- Grand Ambassador
- Speaker of the People

1. The Grand Ambassador will gain the position of King or Queen only if both King and Queen positions become vacant.
2. The Speaker of the People will gain the position of King or Queen only if the King, Queen, and Grand Ambassador positions become vacant.
3. If the Queen succeeds the King, the Grand Ambassador will not elevate in position.
4. If the position of Grand Ambassador becomes vacant, the Speaker of the People will not gain the position of Grand Ambassador.
5. If the positions of King, Queen, Grand Ambassador, and Speaker of the People become vacant, an election in keeping with Article XV shall be held within parliament to choose the new King or Queen.

**Constitutional Amendments:**

**Constitutional Amendment I: Marketing and Sale of National Images and Products**

1. The Treasury of the Free Nation of New Athens maintains the right to produce and market merchandise related to the nation and its images.
2. The Treasury of the Free Nation of New Athens maintains the right to set the price at which individuals can purchase national merchandise.
3. The Treasury of the Free Nation of New Athens maintains the right to commission the production of national merchandise from any company, business, individual or otherwise of their choosing.

**Constitutional Amendment II: Treason**

- 1. Treason shall be defined as the crime of betraying one's country, especially by attempting to kill the sovereign or overthrow the government or monarchy.
  2. Treason may be punishable by permanent exile from all territories of the nation and permanent revocation of citizenship.

**Constitutional Amendment III: Enforcement of National Laws**

1. The Grand General shall enforce all constitutional laws.
2. The Grand General may form a national police force to aid him in enforcing national laws.