Eschaton

Valtavech: [History] [Government] [Biology/Noology]

"Few discoveries are more irritating than those which expose the pedigree of ideas."
- Lord Acton

Valtavech is a federal republic, with a central government and a number of prefectures with some local authority. Each prefecture is a semi-autonomous nation of its own, and has its own government. Like most republics, The Valtavech federal government has three branches. Two consuls together form the equivalent of an executive branch; the Senate serves as a legislature, and the Presidium functions as a judicial body.

Legal System
The Valtavech Common Operating Protocol was established in the year 2440 PD to form an interstellar government. Of the three original member states, Valtave was the largest and most prosperous, and so it became the seat of the new Republic. Over the years the growing power of the Republic brought new nations into its fold. Today there are seven prefectures.

Valtavech citizens are granted almost unlimited freedom of action and belief. In addition to defining the structure of the federal government, the Common Operating Protocol enumerates the inalienable rights of Republic citizens, and to a lesser extent, noncitizens and nonsentients within the Republic's jurisdiction. It declares that every has a right to: body, mind, liberty, property, association, free expression and willful action.

The main body of common law, the Common Economic Protocol, protects the rights of Valtavech citizens, defines the parameters of corporate, criminal and civil law, and forms the basic legal infrastructure of the Republic.

The Senate (Legislative branch)
The legislative branch is composed of a Senate of one hundred individuals. Each prefecture is assigned a certain number of seats in the Senate based on population estimates, political power, and historical factors. Prefectures are free to choose senators in their own manner, but most prefectures use a general public election.

The Senate has the ability to propose new legislation, but all bills must pass through the three main government bodies before enactment as law. Bills that originate in the senate and pass a majority vote are then sent to the Presidium; if the bills pass the Presidium, they await ratification by the consuls. A triune flow of legislation and series of checks and balances was designed to ward against frivolous and reactive measures.

The Senate also possesses the unique ability to elect consuls, which are themselves senators. Any senator can run for consulship, and consuls maintain their seats in the senate.

The Consuls (Executive branch)
The consulship is the highest position in the Republic. There are two consuls, each of which serves a two-month term. Elections are staggered so that every month, one consul seat is opened for election to replace the elder, outgoing consul. The two consuls share equal power in theory, and must cooperate to achieve their goals. When a new consul comes to power, he has the ability to appoint a partial cabinet by replacing up to three of the Ministry Chief Executives. Thus the bureaucracy of the Republic is not under the whim of any one leader, and can partially change with the election of each consul.

The two consuls together can replace any of the Chief Executives at any time, allowing sweeping changes to the cabinet when the consuls collaborate, and to help protect against negligent or dangerous bureaucrats.

A new consul also has the unique privilege of replacing one member of the Presidium. The consul's choice is subject to ratification by a simple majority vote of the Senate. If the new appointee fails the Senate majority vote, the elder presider maintains his position.

The Presidium (Judicial branch)
The presidium is a body of five individuals who form the supreme court of the Republic. They also function as a balance to limit the power of the executive and legislative branches. Any Valtavech citizen is eligible for a position as Presider, provided he does not hold a seat in the Senate. In practice, Presiders are almost always old, powerful Minds. Once he has been appointed by a consul to replace an elder presider, a presider holds his position until he is replaced himself.

The Presidium's chief responsibility is the interpretation of the Common Operating Protocol, the master legal program that forms the infrastructure for the Republic.

The Presidium also has the ability to strike down any bills in progress which do not fulfill the spirit of the Common Operating Protocol. Every bill must receive two votes of confidence from the five presiders before it passes to the consuls for final ratification.

The Presidium has the unique ability to initiate a vote of no confidence in a consul. Such a vote requires the vote of three of the five presiders. The vote of no confidence then passes to the Senate, where a two-thirds majority passes the vote of no confidence. The consul is then removed from his post (but maintains his seat in the Senate), and a new election is held to fill the open consul position immediately.