Constitution of Tumbra

The Constitution of the Federal Republic of Tumbra is the supreme law of the Federal Republic of Tumbra. Consisting of a preamble, ten sections, 44 articles and 230 clauses, it deals primarily with the basis of the Federal Republic, the rights of those living in it, and the foundations of the government of the Federal Republic. Since it came into force in 1864, multiple amendments have occurred to keep the Constitution up to date with the State; today it is regarded as one of the most well-written Constitutions to exist.

History and Background

The first influence of the written Tumbran constitution came from within the White League, who themselves were influenced by James Edwards' revolutionary treatise on the founding of a new republic. Emboldened by this treatise, Gordon Hamilton - who would later serve as the first President of the Federal Republic - and other like minded military officers came together to form the White League, whose membership soon grew. Its authorship is largely attributed to most of the so-called Founders of the Republic, with the first Chief Justice of the Federal Constitutional Court, Samuel Cohen being widely regarded as the main author and drafter of the Constitution, with evidence of early drafts being found amidst his personal belongings dating back as early as 1862.

Other acknowledged drafters include Gordon Hamilton, Ralph Davidson, Michael Turner, John Crowley (who particularly influenced the structure of the Federal Parliament), and Alexander Schmidt (who essentially wrote the entirety of Section II by himself).

The Constitution was promulgated on 7 January 1864, 2 days after the formation of the Provisional Government of the Federal Republic. Over the years, the Constitution has been amended to represent the changing needs of the growing nation, the most significant of which was the official transformation of the Federal Republic from a semi-presidential form of government to a fully parliamentary form of government, as well as restrictions on the powers of the President, which were passed in 1876.

Several parts of the Constitution allowed for acts of Parliament to further expand on what was put out in the Constitution. These acts, which are generally placed at the end of the Constitution, are part of a body known as Constitutional law, and are often taken as part of the Constitution. They are, however, regular Acts of Parliament which may be amended with a simple majority of votes in either house of Parliament, instead of constitutional amendments, which require two-thirds of the Parliament to alter.

Contents

The contents of the entire Constitution come down to slightly over ten thousand words, making it a relatively short Constitution; this has attracted praise and criticism in equal fashion - on one hand, allowing the Federal Government to govern with less rules, instead allowing it to enshrine constitutional conventions without them having to be written down; on the other hand, such conventions, if not properly documented, could very well be broken by a government not interested in following them. Clause 228, however, or the "Irrevocability Clause", enshrines certain clauses of the Constitution such that they may not be removed or amended to be rendered moot; in practice, should any such Constitutional amendment pass both Houses of Parliament, the President would immediately refer said amendment to the Federal Constitutional Court for judicial review.

Section I - The Federal Republic and its Structure

Section I, which covers Article I to V, set out the basics of the Federal Republic, including the three branches of government, the national symbols, the national capital, and the relationships between the states and the federal government, including the procedure to for new states to be admitted.

Article I - Establishment of the Federal Republic covers the basic structure of the Federal Republic, and sets out basic values that the three branches of government should follow.

• Clause 1, known as the "Establishment Clause", establishes the Federal Republic, and sets out its basic values;
• Clause 2, known as the "Government Clause", establishes the governance structure on the federal level, and establishes the three branches of government;
• Clause 3, known as the "Legitimacy Clause," sets out the legitimacy of the State (i.e. that it is derived from the people);
• Clause 4, known as the "Responsibility Clause", sets out the principles that should guide the three branches of government.

Article II - The Federal Capital establishes the federal capital to be in the Free City of Straton.

Article III - Symbols of the Federal Republic establishes the national symbols of the country; the motto (Liberty and Justice for All), the flag and seal. Due to the fact that there was no national anthem and no other national symbols when the Constitution was promulgated, (the national anthem, the Song of the Tumbrans, was only composed in 1875, and only became statute in 1890; the national animal, the golden eagle, was only enshrined in 1876 despite it being on the flag from the very start; the widely accepted national flower, the cornflower, has yet to been enshrined in statute; and the widely considered alternate motto of the country - "To Rise Above" - has not entered statute either), it only covers the flag, seal and motto.

Article IV - The Federal Republic and the International Community sets out the terms of which the Federal Republic may join international organisations, and dictates how the Federal Republic should conduct its international relations.

• Clause 17, known as the "Neutrality Clause", sets out that "Any act of the Federal Parliament be the aggressor in any declaration of war, or to disrupt the peaceful relations between nations, shall be illegal.", and further quantifies it by saying that all military shall "remain neutral in any and all international conflict, and otherwise only act in defence of the interests of the State and its allies." This has by far been the most hotly debated and controversial clause in the entirety of the Constitution, and several attempts have been made to either repeal this clause or change its language to make it more permissive of international intervention. However, in 1988, a Federal Constitutional Court ruling delineated that international peacekeeping action can be taken, as the interests of Tumbra were broad enough to support such ventures outside of the borders of Tumbra, as well as crisis reaction and prevention.

Article V - The States of the Federal Republic enshrines the concept of a federal state, sets out the terms under which new states may be admitted, sets out the procedure for which states may come into existence or be disestablished, and recognises the right of local government.

• Clause 22a, known as the "Parliamentary Clause", enshrined the system of parliamentarism in the states, a major change from the fully-presidential style of a Govenor and a state legislature that existed from 1864 to 1881, as a result of the Compromise of 1881.
• Clause 24, known as the "States' Rights Clause", gives the federated states the power to freely the powers granted to them by the Federal Government. However, powers not explicitly granted to the states are retained with the federal government - a key sticking point in the federalist cause of Tumbra, which has long campaigned for a partial repeal of this clause to get rid of the offending part. This clause has also garnered much controversy throughout of the State.
• Clause 26, known as the "Federal Rights Clause", sets out the topics that the Federal government has the exclusive right to legislate on.

External links

"Full text of the Constitution of Tumbra".