Laws 1 and 2 of Acts 18 and 24, and Act 74, Law 7 are hereby repealed.
Act 11, Law 3, Paragraph G is hereby repealed. At the end of a Parliament meeting, it is the Prime Minister who will set the DEFCON level.
A Regency can only be declared if:
The Emperor/Empress declares themselves unfit to rule.
A Vote of No Confidence is passed (see Act 104, Law 4).
The Throne is inherited by a minor – the Emperor/Empress is not old enough to become an Austenasian Subject (see Act 74, Law 1).
If any of the criteria listed in Law 3 of this same Act are fulfilled, then a Regent will be appointed.
A Regent will either be the Prime Minister, or the Heir to the Throne.
If the Heir to the Throne is not willing to be Regent, or is not yet old enough to be an Austenasian Subject (see Act 74, Law 1), then the Regent will either be the Prime Minister or the highest in line to the Throne who is willing and above the age of 15 years.
If the Heir to the Throne is not willing or is not yet old enough to be an Austenasian Subject (see Act 74, Law 1) and the highest in line to the Throne who is willing and above the age of 15 years is chosen to be Regent, then they shall only remain as Regent until the Heir to the Throne reaches the required age, at which point they will become Regent.
If the Prime Minister is chosen as Regent, then he/she will have the title “HIH Regent Forename”. If the Heir to the Throne is chosen as Regent (or the highest in line to the Throne who is willing and above the age of 15 years), then he/she will have the title “HIH Prince/Princess Regent Forename”.
The Prime Minister cannot be Regent and yet keep the position of Prime Minister – he/she may either become Regent, and an Acting Prime Minister will be appointed, or stay as Prime Minister, in which case the Deputy Prime Minister will become Regent.
The Cabinet will vote on who will become Regent – see Law 5 of this same Act.
If a Regency is declared, then all powers, duties, roles and responsibilities of the Emperor/Empress will be given to the Regent.
If a Regency is declared, then the Emperor/Empress will keep the title of “HIM Emperor/Empress Forename I/II/III/IV etc” but Parliament will vote on whether the Emperor/Empress will keep his/her other hereditary titles or if they will pass to the Heir to the Throne, and the Monarch will lose all imperial powers. All non-hereditary titles of the Emperor/Empress will pass to whoever the Regent wishes.
If the Emperor/Empress declared themselves unfit to rule, they may only return to the Throne if they have been declared both physically and mentally able by a qualified doctor and/or psychiatrist.
If the Emperor/Empress was replaced by a Regent by a Vote of No Confidence, they may only return to the Throne if more than 80% of Parliament votes for them to do so, and they are declared mentally able by a qualified psychiatrist.
If a Regency was declared because the Emperor/Empress was not old enough to become an Austenasian Subject, then as soon as they become old enough the Regency shall end and they will assume full power.
If the criteria laid out in Laws 11 and 12 of this same Act are not fulfilled, then a Regency shall only end if the Emperor dies or abdicates. The Heir to the Throne will then become Emperor/Empress – although if they are not old enough to be an Austenasian Subject (see Act 74, Law 1), another Regency shall be declared (see Law 3, Paragraph C of this same Act).
In regards to Law 7 of this same Act, if the Prime Minister is declared Regent and an Acting Prime Minister is appointed, but the Regency ends before the next General Election, then the Cabinet will vote for whether the Acting Prime Minister shall remain in that position or if the ex-Regent shall regain the position of Prime Minister. If the vote is tied, then the Emperor shall cast the deciding vote.
If the Emperor/Empress replaced by a Regent returns to the Throne, then they shall regain all powers and all titles of the Emperor/Empress removed by Law 8 of this same Act
There are to be five Counsellors of State. The Counsellors of State are to whom the Monarch will delegate certain powers, duties, roles and responsibilities when he/she is abroad or otherwise incapacitated (but not so much that a Regency must be declared).
When Counsellors of State are appointed, both the Monarch and the Counsellors can – the Counsellors within the limits of their delegation of authority – discharge the imperial powers. The Monarch can give instructions to the Counsellors of State.
The Counsellors of State are to be: [This law has been changed – see Act 126, Law 9]
The husband/wife of the Monarch
The two highest willing people in the line of succession who are old enough to be an Austenasian Subject.
The Prime Minister (or if the Prime Minister is already a Counsellor of State through another position, the Deputy Prime Minister).
The Baron of South Kilttown.
The present Counsellors of State for HIM Emperor Terry I are thus declared to be:
HIH Empress Margaret
HIH Crown Prince Jonathan
Dark Lord Esmond, 2nd Duke of Highland, SCH
Lord General William Kingsnorth, 2nd Duke of Royton, KOR, KCA, DSC
Lord John Kingsnorth, 1st Baron of South Kilttown, OAO
The Counsellors of State may not exercise any imperial power if the Counsellors of State have not been appointed.
After the Counsellors of State are appointed, they can only be stood down by order of the Monarch.
If the Monarch appoints the Counsellors of State, he/she must appoint all of them.
All Counsellors of State have equal power once appointed.
Once appointed, the Counsellors of State may only exercise imperial powers, duties and responsibilities with a majority vote of three against five.
To bestow an honour, four out of the five Counsellors of State must be in agreement.
To do any of the following, all five Counsellors of State must be in agreement:
Declare war or peace
Give Imperial Consent
Approve Candidates for Prime Minister
If the Monarch is unable to be contacted, then under emergency circumstances the Prime Minister may temporarily appoint the Counsellors of State until the Monarch can be once more contacted.