XLVII Jon. I: Third Constitutional Amendment (15 May 2020)

Article II, Section E of the Austenasian Constitution of 2011 states that said Constitution may be amended or edited by the consent of the Monarch and of over eighty percent of the House of Representatives, once a free and fair referendum has taken place in which the majority of the subjects of Austenasia have expressed their wish for the amendment or edit in question to take place.

Our Imperial Majesty hereby orders a referendum to take place on Tuesday 30 June 2020. All Austenasian subjects shall be given the chance to vote on whether or not the amendments listed below – which shall be cumulatively referred to as the Third Amendment to the Austenasian Constitution of 2011 – shall be implemented. Representatives shall collect votes from the subjects of their Towns, and Our Imperial Majesty shall personally collect the votes from non-residential subjects. Subjects who choose to vote may answer “Yes”, “No”, or “Abstain” to the following proposals.

Votes may be cast and submitted from 25 June 2020, but any votes made before 30 June itself may be changed up until the actual date of the referendum. Should over half of the votes cast be “Yes” in said referendum, and should over eighty percent of the House of Representatives vote in favour of the Third Amendment to the Austenasian Constitution of 2011, it shall come into force in accordance with the provisions of Part IV of said Amendment.

Our Imperial Majesty hereby proposes the following as the Third Amendment to the Austenasian Constitution of 2011, to be voted on in the referendum of 30 June:

Part I:

The following clauses of the Austenasian Constitution of 2011 are hereby repealed: Article IV, Section A, Paragraph J; Article IV, Section E, Paragraph E; Article IV, Section J, Paragraphs B and C; Article VI; Article IX, Section D, Paragraphs A, D, F, H and I; and Article XIII, Section E.

Part II:

The following clauses of the Austenasian Constitution of 2011 are hereby revised:

1.  1. The phrase “the Prime Minister” in Article IV, Section E, Paragraph C shall be changed to “one of the Consuls”.
2.  2. Article IV, Section E, Paragraph D shall be changed to read: “If the Senate votes for one of the Consuls to become Regent, then they shall choose by majority vote which Consul is to become such, with the Princeps Senatus holding the deciding vote in the case of a tie. The Consul selected as such shall be known as “HH Regent Forename” and shall hold the style of Highness while he or she is Regent.”
3.  3. The phrase “the Prime Minister, and the three highest in the Line of Succession to the Throne” in Article IV, Section F, Paragraph E shall be changed to “the Consuls, and the two highest in the Line of Succession”.
4.  4. The phrase “if the Prime Minister is the Line of Succession” in Article IV, Section F, Paragraph E shall be changed to “should one or both of the Consuls be in the Line of Succession”.
5.  5. The two instances of the phrase “the Prime Minister” in Article IV, Section H, Paragraph D shall be changed, the first to “the Consuls” and the second to “one or both of the Consuls, a Christian clergyman, or their predecessor as Monarch if the latter is still alive”.
6.  6. The phrase “Prime Minister” in Article V, Section A, Paragraph B and Article VII, Section B shall be changed to “Consuls”.
7.  7. The phrase “at the nomination of the Prime Minister” shall be removed from Article VII, Section C.
8.  8. The phrase “the Prime Minister and all Archdukes of the Empire” in Article XI, Sections A and C shall be changed to “the Consuls”.
9.  9. The phrase “his/her” in Article XI, Sections A and C shall be changed to “her” in the former and “his” in the latter.
10.  10. Article XIII, Section C shall be changed to read: “The composition of the Senate shall be decided by Parliament.”
11.  11. Article XIII, Section D shall be changed to read: “An incumbent Monarch may not hold a seat in the Senate; should a Senator ascend to the Throne, they shall not be considered a Senator for the duration of their reign. Should the Monarch be named Consul, they shall still not gain the position of Senator.”
12.  12. To the end of Article XIII, Section F shall be added: “The Princeps Senatus may resign their office as such and pass it on to the next most eligible Senator without resigning from the Senate.”

Part III:

The following is hereby added to the Austenasian Constitution of 2011 as Article XIV:

1.  A. Powers and Titles
   1. a) The Consuls are joint Heads of Government of the Empire of Austenasia, replacing the office of Prime Minister.
   2. b) The two Consuls shall alternate each month in carrying out the duties of the Consuls: the First Consul in January, the Second Consul in February, the First Consul in March, et cetera. The Consul who is not carrying out the duties of the Consuls that month may, however, veto the exercise of any power by the Consul who is.
   3. c) The Consuls are responsible for overseeing the regular activities of the Cabinet, formulating its overall policy in conjunction with the Monarch, and co-ordinating the work of the Government Ministers.
   4. d) The Consuls shall hold a deciding vote should any vote by the House of Representatives be tied.
   5. e) Should a Consul not hold a higher ranking style, he or she shall have the style of Illustrious Highness.
   6. f) Consuls hold immunity and cannot be arrested or tried for a crime while in office.
2.  B. Appointment
   1. a) On the first day of each December, the Monarch will nominate to the House of Representatives his or her candidates for the following year’s position of Consul. Should two thirds or more of the House of Representatives vote in favour of the two candidates, then said two candidates will enter into office as Consuls for the following year on the first of January.
   2. b) Should more than one third of the House of Representatives vote against the two candidates nominated by the Monarch, then the Representatives who voted against the Monarch’s nomination will nominate by unanimous agreement their own two candidates for the following year’s consuls; a general election will then be held on the thirteenth of December in which all Austenasian subjects may vote between the two candidates nominated by the Monarch and the two candidates nominated by the Representatives unhappy with his or her choice, with the candidates receiving the most votes to enter into office as Consuls for the following year on the first of January.
   3. c) Should the Representatives who voted against the Monarch’s nomination be unable to agree on two candidates by the seventh of December, or should both pairs of candidates receive an equal amount of votes in a general election, the Monarch’s candidates will take office, just as they would have done should two thirds of Representatives have initially voted for them.
3.  C. Consuls Suffectus and Term Limits
   1. a) Should a Consul resign or die while in office, the Monarch shall appoint a new Consul to replace them for the remainder of the year.
   2. b) Consuls appointed at the start of each year are Consuls ordinary, whereas Consuls appointed to replace a Consul ordinary are Consuls suffectus.
   3. c) A Consul may not serve more than two consecutive years in office, and the same two Consuls may not serve two consecutive years together.
   4. d) A Consul may be removed from office by the Monarch with the consent of over 80% of the House of Representatives.

Part IV:

Should this Third Amendment be approved, it will enter into force at midnight in the morning of 1 January 2021, UTC. However, the provisions for electing the Consuls for 2021 shall be followed in accordance with Article XIV, Section B as contained within Part III of this same Amendment.

Proclaimed at Wrythe this fifteenth day of May during the eighth year of our reign, in the year of the consulship of Hannah Augusta and Brenda Bargerii Nova Richmondiae Domina, anno mundi 7528.