Proposal #117 Local Governments and Regional Suzerainty Act of YE 44

An amended reintroduction of Special Proposal #114 Local Governments Act.

The prior proposal introduced to the Senate of Yamatai in YE 43 by Senator Iemochi Seinosuke and amended by Senator Anslen Volontany was withdrawn. Senator Takagawa Hitomi revised the the bill with further amendments to resolve the concerns leading to its withdrawal, and also to codify Regional governments above System but below Imperial level. Unlike its predecessor, it does not amend the The Constitution of Yamatai Star Empire. However, she resigned as Senator before introducing it.

1. To resolve concerns that caused Special Proposal #114 Local Governments Act to be withdrawn.
2. To clarify the separation between the executive leadership and legislative representation of System and Regional governments.
3. To clarify the distinction between sovereign and administrative governments.
4. To clarify the distinction between the Executive and Legislative organs of government.
5. To establish that Governors are the representatives of the Imperial Sovereign to the People, and likewise
6. To establish that Senators are the representatives of the People to the Imperial Sovereign.
7. To enshrine in law the de facto tradition that Systems are self-administrating while still being subject to Imperial sovereignty.
8. To allow Systems in stellographic proximity to one another to be united under a single administrative government as a Region.
9. To recognize that since at least the incorporation of the Elysian Celestial Empire into the Yamatai Star Empire, the latter has not truly been a unitary state, and furthermore
10. To recognize that an Empire is, definitionally, not a unitary state but, outside of Imperial Demesne, a federation of independently administrated Regional suzerainties under common sovereignty.
11. To clarify representation and government for those people not in a System with a currently sitting Senator or Governor.
12. To provide contingencies for when the civilian government of a System is unable to operate.
13. To provide legal basis for the internal administration of the Empire's administrative Regions.
14. To provide relief for war-depleted Star Army fleets from responsibility for protection from low-level, non-state-actor threats such as piracy, by trusted organizations with no other duties or responsibilities.
15. To recognize the need for organic, native system defense militia after the Kuvexian offensive demonstrated the efficacy of organic, native resistance to occupying forces.
16. To preserve the dignity, practice, and legacy of the unique cultural, historical, and political institutions of those theretofore-sovereign interstellar states which have been, or will ever be, subsumed in their entirety or in part into the Yamatai Star Empire.

1. Charter : The constitutional document that formalizes the government of a System or Region. It must meet the minimum standards outlined in this Act to be valid. A valid Charter is required to form a System or Regional government.
2. Governor : A System or Regional executive leader who is subordinate to the Imperial Sovereign. Where Governor is used in this Act, an equivalent local or traditional term for head of state may instead be substituted.
3. Imperial Sovereign: The Empress or Emperor of Yamatai. Alternately, their delegate who functionally represents the same.
4. Region : At least three stellographically-associated Systems party to a mutually-consented legal association to which they delegate their administrative and sovereign powers to create a combined government.
5. Senator-in-Exile : Any lawfully seated Senator whose System is under occupation, crisis, or other emergency, such that the System is not under Imperial control.
6. Stellographically-Related : Systems that are contiguous with no intervening System not included in the relation between any included Systems.
7. System : A primary or multiple star with at least one orbiting body classifiable as a planet, or at least one inhabited non-planetary orbiting body, whether natural or created, which meets established standards for Senatorial representation.

This Act may be known and be cited as the Local Governments and Regional Suzerainty Act of YE 44

Powers and Authorities delegated by the Imperial Sovereign to Governors:

1. The Empress or Emperor of Yamatai is the Sovereign leader of the Empire. As such, she may delegate the administrative authority of a specific System or Region to a subordinate Governor. If there is no Governor for a System or Region, then the Imperial Sovereign may appoint one with the advice and consent of the Senate. The Imperial Sovereign may remove a Governor at will.
   1. The Senate and Premier shall hold a special session to create formal advice regarding candidates for appointee, and the Premier shall submit this advice to the Imperial Sovereign.
   2. If consent is not given by the Senate to appoint a new Governor, then the Governor's chosen successor becomes Governor as prescribed in the System or Regional Charter for that Gubernatorial slot.
   3. The Imperial Sovereign is not required to appoint a Governor, but once one has been appointed, all provisions of this Act apply.
2. A Governor is the chief civilian executive of a System or Region. The responsibility for the System's safety and well-ordered functioning is delegated to the Governor. They are responsible for providing their citizenry with prosperity and safety. They must create and administer System defense forces and civilian security police, or contract for the same with a Yamataian entity to provide the same, for the protection of their System and act as auxiliary to Star Army or Imperial Law Enforcement, respectively, as required.
3. A Governor or delegated entity may create local bylaws and administer their jurisdiction by their own authority, according to their System or Regional Charter, provided they do not breach Laws of the Yamatai Star Empire or the The Constitution of Yamatai Star Empire. A Governor may delegate their power to enact bylaws and regulations, form System, Regional or planetary governments, law enforcement, and militias as they deem appropriate, or to contract with a Yamataian entity to provide any of the same.
4. No individual may at the same time serve as a Senator and a Governor, nor as Premier and a Governor, nor as Steward and a Governor, nor as Governor for more than one system, and anyone serving as any of these must vacate their seat prior to formalizing their candidacy for another of these roles.
5. In the absence or collapse of a System or Regional government, or at the emergency request of that System's Senator, a Custodian may be appointed by the Premier. The System's Custodian is temporarily afforded the rights and responsibilities of that System's government. A Custodian cannot be responsible for multiple Systems. Being a Custodian does not afford a Senate position and the Senator of that System, if one exists, is considered a Senator-in-Exile who is still granted voting rights. The Premier shall work with the Custodian and they shall be provided resources such that the System can eventually be either eligible for its first Senator or its Senator-in-Exile can return. If the Custodian and the Premier agree they cannot overcome these challenges, they shall request that the Imperial Sovereign tasks the Star Army to provide any necessary support.
6. A Governor has the right to raise concerns regarding their System to the Senate, Premier, and Imperial Sovereign. A Governor has the right for these concerns to be given reasonable consideration by the Imperial government.

Regional Suzerainties and the powers and limitations thereof:

1. The formation of a new Region must be approved by both the Senate and the Imperial Sovereign.
2. The formation of existing Yamataian Systems into a new Region must unanimously pass a special referendum comprising all Governors and Senators representing those Systems, and a draft Charter approved unanimously by the same, before the request to begin the process of constituting a new Region shall be presented to the Imperial Sovereign by the Premier.
3. The Governor of a Region or their delegate must appoint lieutenant Governors of the Systems the Region comprises, or delegate that duty to the electorate of the planets, in the Regional Charter.
4. Systems subject to Regional authority must have their own Charters, also subject to all provisions of this Act. A System may opt to use the Regional Charter as their System Charter if the Regional Charter satisfies all necessary conditions for validity as defined in this Act when applied as a System Charter, less verbiage specific to Regional governance and thus irrelevant to System governance.
5. No individual may at the same time serve as Regional Governor and a System Governor, and anyone serving as any of these must vacate their seat prior to formalizing their candidacy for another of these roles
6. Laws of the Yamatai Star Empire or regulations of same are always presumed to preempt System or Regional law or regulation.
7. Systems that are part of a Region still maintain any Senate seat they would be otherwise eligible for, despite being under common administrative authority and possessing a single Governor. Senators representing different Regions of the same System vote independently of one another in the Senate, thus no Region shall make or respect a law requiring the Senators of a Region to vote in any specific manner or penalizes failing to do so.
8. A Regional association and its administrative authority may be dissolved with the unanimous decision of all Senators not representing the Region in question, the Imperial Sovereign, and the Premier. In the instance of Regional dissolution, Title I, Article 1 of this Act comes into immediate force.
9. A System considered Imperial Demesne may not associate itself with any existing or future Region. Systems considered Imperial Demesne created by this act or by prior act of law or treaty, or historical practice, preempting any any article, section, or clause in this Act include:
   1. The Yamatai Star System and
   2. All Systems within 10 light years of that System, known as Core Yamatai, including:
      1. Nataria, and
      2. Tatiana, and
      3. Anisa, and
      4. Albini, and
      5. Tami, and
      6. Kohana, and
      7. Damasica (Neo Kohana), and
      8. Any other System, known or heretofore undiscovered, within 10 light years of the Yamatai Star System that at any time becomes part of the Yamatai Star Empire, unless admitted by treaty under different terms.
10. Any sovereign entity comprising multiple Systems that is hereafter incorporated into the Yamatai Star Empire and thereafter subject to Imperial sovereignty according to Article IV of The Constitution of Yamatai Star Empire will remain intact, and will immediately and automatically become a Regional suzerainty as defined in this Act, unless conflicting terms are approved as part of the treaty establishing the incorporation, in which case those terms pre-empt this Act. All other terms of this Act that are not in conflict with such a treaty will remain in force in all other respects.
11. No Region or System shall enter into binding treaties with foreign state entities, nor does any Region or System have the power to bind the Yamatai Star Empire to the same.
12. No article or section of this Act relieves or absolves any party bound by prior treaty of any duties, obligations, rights, or privileges afforded to or required of them with regards to the suzerainty of the Elysian Celestial Empire, but may extend existing rights or privileges, or create new rights or privileges.
13. The powers not delegated to the Yamatai Star Empire by the The Constitution of Yamatai Star Empire, other Laws of the Yamatai Star Empire, or decree of the Imperial Sovereign, are reserved to the Regions or Systems respectively.

System Defense Forces, and Law Enforcement, Security, Public Safety, and Intelligence Agencies, and the powers and limitations thereof:

1. The Imperial Sovereign is the ultimate Commander in Chief of all chains of command of System or Regional defense forces. Likewise,
   1. The Governor of a Region is the next immediate Lieutenant-Commander-in-Chief Senior of all chains of command of Regional defense forces and the defense forces of that Region's constituent System, and must obey the lawful orders of the Commander-in-Chief. Likewise,
   2. The Governor of a System is the next immediate Lieutenant-Commander-in-Chief of all chains of System defense forces, and must obey the lawful orders of the Commander in Chief and the Lieutenant Commander-in-Chief Senior of any Regional Defense Forces of which the System is a constituent member, if any.
   3. The effective equivalent rank of a Governor with regards to their Regional or System defense forces is Taisho.
   4. In no event shall such authority survive the individual's Gubernatorial term, and shall immediately pass to the Governor's successor upon that term's expiry without any action from the prior Governor, even if the change of command has not yet been ceremonially formalized.
2. No regulation or concept of System or Regional Defense Forces or similar entities or activities is permitted by this Act where such an entity violates the Military Centralization Act of YE 28 or Imperial Decree 14, item 1.
3. Any System or Regional law or regulation incompatible with, in contradiction of, or worded so as to pre-empt the Laws of the Yamatai Star Empire or the The Constitution of Yamatai Star Empire or any Imperial regulation or decree, by construction, omission, or other flaw, is defective and unenforcable, as are any provision of System or Regional law that limits or contravenses the authority of any arm or organ of the Imperial government exercised in accordance with the Laws of the Yamatai Star Empire or the The Constitution of Yamatai Star Empire.
   1. Any such defect must be resolved by the System or Regional government responsible. This Act shall be the legal basis and authority to resolve such defects, with full pre-emption of any other law or regulation beneath the The Constitution of Yamatai Star Empire.
   2. Any entity involved in enforcing System or Regional laws or regulations so determined by Judicial, Senatorial, or Imperial authority has the unambiguous and inalienable duty to refuse to enforce them: therefore they may be liable for any criminal or civil infraction arising from their participation in the enforcement of such a law or regulation.
4. System or Regional administrative law enforcement or militia authority may not interfere with the operations of Imperial law enforcement or military within their territory, including, but not limited to:
   1. The Star Army of Yamatai, or
   2. The Yamatai Security Agency, or
   3. The Yamatai National Police, or
   4. Any official police force of any entity party to a treaty that establishes governance of a System or Region
5. System and Regional defense forces, whether military, paramilitary, militia, or otherwise, may be deployed in times of war, emergency, or other necessity as auxiliaries of the Star Army of Yamatai.
6. Imperial law enforcement officers and those given equal status by treaty shall have the authority to deputize their System or Regional counterparts as necessary.
7. Officers of System or Regional defense forces, whether military, paramilitary, and militia, or otherwise, must obey the lawful orders of Star Army of Yamatai officers of superior or equal equivalent rank, or the official milita.ry forces of any entity party to a treaty that establishes governance of a System or Region.
   1. System or Regional civilian Law Enforcement or Security agencies shall not participate in military actions unless they and the System or Regional defense forces are lawfully one and the same.
   2. In no event shall any System or Regional defense force or law enforcement, security, or intelligence agency conduct operations of any kind outside of the borders of their region without the authority of a treaty of assistance with a specific, lawfully-operating and authorized, equivalent force or agency from the outside jurisdiction, except:
      1. When pursuing a threat or fleeing criminal suspect in a continuous engagemenr. Pre-emptive, premeditated, or retaliatory actions do not meet this standard.
      2. When responding to a threat currently or imminently active from immediately outside the force or agency's jurisdiction, such as an action against a force actively employing long-range weaponry to conduct attacks in the jurisdiction from across a border.
      3. When acting under authorization from the Star Army of Yamatai as an auxiliary force.
      4. When acting under authorization from an Imperial law enforcement agency under deputization.

Charters and the requirements for validity and limitations thereof:

1. Any System or Region incorporated into the Yamatai Star Empire must have a System or Regional Charter. The initial or currently-sitting Governor is responsible for the creation of such a Charter or delegating that responsiblilty to a Yamataian entity. This Charter must specify a method for amendment.
2. Charters must be ratified by Imperial approval. The Imperial Sovereign may do so, or delegate the responsibility to the Premier or to the Senate.
3. Before submission of a Charter to the Imperial Sovereign or their delegate, the Charter must be read in the Senate before submission to the Imperial Sovereign or their delegate, and formal advice must be presented to the Governor by the Senate after the reading, and receipt of the advice acknowledged by the Governor. The Premier shall also convey this advice to the Imperial Sovereign. Any discrepancies between Senate advice and the rationale for the discrepancy must be acknowledged by the Governor or their delegate as part of an executive summary of the Charter upon submission to the Imperial Sovereign or their delegate.
4. A Charter must specify how their Governor and Senator are selected, as well as how bylaws and regulations are created, amended, and repealed.
5. A System Charter must specify a designated System Capitol in the Charter, and it shall be the seat of the System government, from where the Governor and any other Body such as a System Senate shall be based. Likewise,
6. A Regional Charter must specify one System to be a Regional Capitol, and it shall be the seat of the Regional government, from where the Governor and any other Body such as a Regional Senate shall be based, and shall be a separate body with physically separate grounds and interiors from the System Capitol.
7. Regional governments are required, in their constituting Charter, to unambiguously and thoroughly address the concerns of joining, leaving, and dissolving the Regional association, irrespective of whether any methods for accomplishing any of the same not already defined in this Act are permitted or not under that Charter.
8. A Regional Charter may include the provision for a Regional Senate, and if so must include a method for the selection of Regional Senators and a clear statement on the powers and limitations Regional Senatorial authority, likewise
9. A Regional or System Charter may include the provision for a System Senate among planets and other populations within a System, subject to the same requirements as above.
10. Defects in a Charter must be resolved by the System or Regional government responsible. This Act shall be the legal basis and authority to resolve such defects, with full pre-emption of any other law or regulation beneath the The Constitution of Yamatai Star Empire. Such Defects include:
    1. Incompatibilities with the The Constitution of Yamatai Star Empire, or
    2. Incompatibilities with other Laws of the Yamatai Star Empire, or
    3. Incompatibilities in the Charter of a System that is a constituent of a Region with the Charter of that Region, or
    4. Omissions, contradictions, or other flaws regarding:
       1. Selection of Governors or Senators of the Region or System so Chartered, or regarding amending that Charter, or
       2. Selection of Gubernatorial successors, lieutenant Governors, or Senators, or
       3. Designation of a System as a Regional capitol, or
       4. The creation, repeal, and amendment of bylaws or regulations, or
       5. The joining, leaving, or dissolution of a Region, or
       6. Selection of Regional or System Senators or the powers and limitations of Regional or System Senates if provisions for either are included in the Charter, or
    5. The specified means of selecting Senators denies outright, or places an undue burder to obtain, representation to a System otherwise eligible, or
    6. Requires a Senator of a constituent System to vote in a particular manner, or penalizes failing to do so.
11. The Senate and Premier shall hold a special session to determine the method of determining interim Gubernatorial successors or Senators in the event a defect in a Charter results in a vacancy that can not be adequately resolved by a mechanism of the existing Charter, who shall serve until that defect is resolved.

Recognized Regional Suzerainties created by this Act or by prior act of law or treaty, preempting any article, section, or clause in this Act:

Those systems which are part of the Yamatai Star Empire which were once part of the Elysian Celestial Empire, including those currently known as the shall be formally and properly known as The Yamataian Regional Suzerainty of the Elysian Celestial Empire, and may be officially referred to as the Elysian Celestial Empire for brevity.

The Elysian Celestial Empire shall encompass the entirety of the Elysian Celestial Empire before integration, including the Systems:

1. Elysia Novus, which shall be the Regional Capitol, and
2. Minyas, and
3. Anakes, and
4. Artume, and
5. Euthalia, and
6. Eudoka, and
7. Chloris, and
8. Xanthe, and
9. Iole, and
10. Asteu, and
11. Athenais, and
12. Thais, and
13. Agathe, and
14. In the event of the Veritas System again becoming part of the Yamatai Star Empire, it will immediately revert to being part of the Elysian Celestial Empire Regional suzerainty, and
15. Any system within this region as bounded by the outermost systems, hitherto undiscovered, shall be considered part of this Region unless admitted otherwise by treaty.

Those systems which are currently administered by the Origin Industries, shall be formally and properly known as Origin Industrial Autonomous Zone, including the systems:

1. Ake, and
2. Cellondora, and
3. Ether, should it ever be integrated into the Yamatai Star Empire, and
4. Any system within this region as bounded by the outermost systems, hitherto undiscovered, shall be considered part of this Region unless admitted otherwise by treaty if ever integrated into the Yamatai Star Empire.

Those systems which are part of the Yamatai Star Empire which were once part of the United Outer Colonies, including those currently known as the Motoyoshi Colonial Sector, shall be formally and properly known as The Yamataian Regional Suzerainty of the Eastern Yamatai Empire, and may be officially referred to as the Eastern Yamatai Empire for brevity.

The Eastern Yamatai Empire shall encompass the entirety of the former United Outer Colonies where those Systems are currently part of the Yamatai Star Empire, to include the Motoyoshi Colonial Sector except those associated surroundings such as the Eastern (Rimward) Bard Cluster as addressed above, including the systems:

1. Jiyuu, which shall be the Regional Capitol, and
2. Asura, and
3. Shugosha, and
4. Siren, and
5. Kotoku, and
6. Koukotsu, and
7. Gensou, and
8. Yuujou, and
9. Tange, and
10. Any system within this region as bounded by the outermost systems, hitherto undiscovered, shall be considered part of this Region unless admitted otherwise by treaty

The former Lorath Matriarchy core systems will be held in custodianship by the Eastern Yamatai Empire, which shall be constituted as the Yamataian Regional Suzerainty of the Lorath Matriarchy, upon the restoration of their planetary biomes, should an Act of the Senate create it on behalf of Lorath-Yamataians.

1. Lor, and
2. Hici'emi, and
3. Nylli, and
4. The Regional Government of the Eastern Yamataian Empire shall have in the Regional Charter a provision to divest the following systems to be constituted as part of the Yamataian Regional Suzerainty of the Lorath Matriarchy
   1. Ta'riel and
   2. Beta Rhoi
   3. Other E-Series systems as the Regional Government sees fit

In the event of the reintegration into the Yamatai Star Empire of any of the following former Yamataian or United Outer Colonies Systems within the stellographical Region of the Motoyoshi Colonial Sector, they will immediately become part of that Regional association, except as pre-empted by treaty or unanimous consent of the Senators and Governors of that Region:

1. Mitsuya, and
2. Miyamae, and
3. Yuuki, and
4. Ta'riel, except as provided above and
5. Beta Rhoi, except as provided above and
6. Unnamed, numbered E-Series Systems, except as provided above, including, but not limited to:
   1. Star System E-5, and
   2. Star System E-9, and
   3. Star System E-10, and
   4. Star System E-11, and
   5. Star System E-13

Those systems in the northern Samurai Sector, shall be constituted as the Yamataian Regional Suzerainty of Fujiko (or Fujiko Region for short) , including the systems:

1. 1. Fujiko, and
2. 2. Rufusland, and
3. 3. Ukmirt, and
4. 4. Arzank, and
5. 5. Any system and stellar object within this region as bounded by the outermost systems, hitherto undiscovered, shall be considered part of this Region unless admitted otherwise by treaty.

Should the Kimirthro ever be annexed, it will immediately become part of that Regional association, except as pre-empted by treaty or unanimous consent of the Senators and Governors of that Region.

Yuuki created this article on 2022/04/17 06:28.