Imperial Parliament
The Imperial Parliament | |
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Type: |
Bicameral |
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Houses: |
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Established: |
2020 |
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Preceded by: |
2020(modern) 2017(Sarovian Rikstag) 2016(Sarovian Senate) |
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Carolus XIII | |
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Lord Speaker: |
Umbra, Baroness Teri |
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Speaker of HoC: |
Willow Lyon, Ärle eui Veres |
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Headquarters: |
The Borhaus Palace |
The Imperial Parliament of the New Sarovian Empire and Her Colonies and Dominions is the supreme legislative body of the New Sarovian Empire. It meets in the City of Sarholm, in New Sarovia, where it has two residences: the House of Commons where it meets in the same name, and in the Borhaus Palace where the Peers meet, and also where the Speech is held of the Throne. Parliament possesses legislative supremacy and therefore holds ultimate power over all other political bodies in New Sarovia. Although Parliament is bicameral, it has three parts: the King-in-Parliament, the Assembly of Peers and the House of Commons. In theory, power is officially assigned to the King-in-Parliament. However, the Crown normally acts on the advice of the Prime Minister, currently, Michael Marchwood, Viscount Marchwood, and the powers of the Assembly of Peers are limited only to delaying legislation; thus, power is de facto vested in the House of Commons.
The House of Commons is the elected lower house of parliament, with elections for 19 single-member constituencies held at least every 3 Stefanic Years under the first-past-the-post system. By constitutional convention, all government ministers, including the Prime Minister, are members of the House of Commons, or, less commonly, the Assembly of Peers, and are therefore responsible to their respective branches of the legislature. During parliamentary sessions, meetings are commanded by the Speaker, responsible for organizing the meeting procedure in an organized manner.
The Assembly of Peers is the upper house of Parliament, made up of the Peers (nobles) of the Empire. Like the House of Commons, the Assembly of Peers also has a Speaker, the Lord Speaker, responsible for organizing the meeting's procedure in an organized manner.
The Parliament of the New Sarovian Empire is one of the oldest legislatures in the Graal and is characterized by the stability of its government institutions and its ability to absorb change. The New Sarovian system of government was introduced into the Commonwealth and shaped the political systems of the formerly colonial nations, the Sarovian Dominions and Commonwealth Realms, and has therefore been called the "Mother of Parliaments".
History[edit | edit source]
The Parliament of the New Sarovian Empire was officially founded in 2016 as the Sarovian Senate, which is unicameral and responsible for the absolute legislation of the country composed of the nobles of the Empire. The Senate also exercised a function of "Elective Monarchy", where, after the death of a monarch, the nobles of the chamber held a vote to decide the monarch's successor, if he did not have an heir. However, this would change with the passing of the Act of Succession, 2018.
Over time, the Sarovian Senate would become, in 2017, the Sarovian Rikstag, which is also unicameral and performs a similar function to the old Sarovian Senate. There is not much information about this period.
In 2020, the Parliament model as we know it today would be adopted through the Charter of the Imperial Parliament, 2020, thus creating the Assembly of Peers and House of Commons, and the entire system we know today.
Composition and powers[edit | edit source]
The legislative authority, the King-in-Parliament, has three distinct elements: the Monarch, the Assembly of Peers and the House of Commons. No individual may be a member of both Houses for two consecutive terms. Previously, there was no law that prohibited a Peer from running for consecutive terms in the House of Commons, but, in 2022, this would be barred by the Imperial Parliament.
The Imperial Assent of the Monarch is required for all bills to become law, and certain delegated legislation must be made by the Monarch by Royo-dà-Conseili. The crown also possesses executive powers that do not depend on Parliament, through prerogative powers, including the power to make treaties, declare war, grant honors, and appoint public officials and servants. In practice, these are always exercised by the monarch under the advice of the Prime Minister and the other ministers of His Imperial Majesty's Government (HIM Government). The Prime Minister and the government are directly accountable to parliament, through control of public finances, and to the public, through the election of Members of Parliament (MP).
The Monarch also appoints the Prime Minister, who then forms a government with members of the Houses of Parliament. It must be someone who can win a majority in a vote of confidence in the House of Commons. In the past, the monarch had to call new elections because no party had a majority, and agreed on a budget to form the government.
All legislation must be approved by the House of Commons to become law and controls taxation and the supply of money to the government. Government ministers (including the Prime Minister) must regularly answer questions in the House of Commons and there are a number of select committees that examine specific issues and the functioning of the government. There are also mechanisms that allow members of the House of Commons to draw the government's attention to specific issues affecting their constituents.
State Opening of Parliament[edit | edit source]
The State Opening of Parliament is an event that marks the beginning of a new session of the Sarovian Parliament. It is held at the Assembly of Peers, more precisely, at the Borhaus Palace. During the ceremony, the Monarch reads a speech, known as the Speech from the Throne, which is prepared by the Prime Minister and the Cabinet, outlining the Government's agenda for the next term. The speech reflects the legislative agenda for which the HIM Government intends to seek agreement from both houses of Parliament.
Legislative procedure[edit | edit source]
Both houses of the Imperial Parliament are presided over by a Speaker, the Speaker of the House of Commons, and, the Lord-Speaker of the Assembly of Peers.
For the Commons, the Sovereign's approval is theoretically necessary before the Speaker's election becomes valid, but is, by modern convention, always granted.
In turn, for the Peers, decisions on questions of order and on the discipline of unruly members are taken by the entire body, but only by the Lord-Speaker of the House. Speeches in the Assembly of Peers are addressed to the House as a whole (using the words "My Lords"), but those in the House of Commons are addressed to the Speaker alone (using "Mr. Speaker" or "Ms. Speaker"). Speeches may be made simultaneously to both Chambers.
Both Houses may decide matters by voice vote; the members shout "Aye!" and "Nay!" - and the Speaker declares the result. Either Speaker's pronouncement may be challenged and a recorded vote required (known as a division). (The Speaker of the House of Commons may choose to reject a frivolous request for division, but the Lord-Speaker has no such power.) In each House, a division requires members to register in one of two lobbies at the side of the House; their names are recorded by clerks and their votes are counted as they leave the halls to re-enter in the House. The Speaker of the House of Commons is expected to be non-partisan and not vote except in the event of a tie; the Lord-Speaker, however, votes with the other Lords.
Both Chambers normally carry out their business in public, with galleries where visitors can sit.
Relationship with the HIM Government[edit | edit source]
The Sarovian government is accountable to the House of Commons. However, neither the Prime Minister nor members of the Government are elected by the House of Commons. Instead, the Monarch asks the person most likely to win majority support in the House, typically the leader of the largest party in the House of Commons, to form a government. To be accountable to the Lower House, the Prime Minister and the majority of Cabinet members are, by convention, members of the House of Commons. The last Prime Minister to be a member of the Assembly of Peers was Visärle Marchwood, who became Prime Minister in November, 2023 (311 AS).
Governments have a tendency to dominate Parliament's legislative functions, using their intrinsic majority in the House of Commons and sometimes using their power of patronage to appoint supporting Peers in the Assembly of Peers. In practice, governments can pass any legislation (within reason) in the House of Commons they wish, unless there is strong dissent from MPs in the governing party. But even in these situations, it is highly unlikely that a bill will be defeated, although dissident MPs may be able to extract concessions from the government.
Parliament controls the executive, approving or rejecting its bills and forcing crown ministers to answer for their actions, whether in "Question Time" or during parliamentary committee meetings. In both cases, Ministers are questioned by members of their Chambers and are obliged to respond.
