The Alban Commonwealth traces its origins to the final days of the Third World War and the exodus of wealth from its belligerent states. To where these individuals would go and call home was the matter of some concern, and it was perceived to be among the greatest capital enterprises in the history of human kind. A lucrative partnership between the wealth of trillionaire Hubert Morduch and the celebrity of broadcaster Sir Peter Weyland helped ensure the success of the venture by attracting the attention of such wealthy investors as the Bezos Group and the Musk Foundation. Although he passed away before seeing his project come to fruition, it was the unique dream of Hubert Morduch to see the creation of a new free state, one without the history and baggage of similar past endeavors. It was supposed by Morduch that only those capable of paying their way would be eligible to join the new state, with minimum wealth requirements for those seeking to migrate and the right of the government to assess the status of such individuals and their eligibility to remain citizens. Through the many permutations of the project, particularly under the leadership of Sir Peter Weyland with the support of the Morduch estate, although the tone was softened, the vision of a plutocratic republic remained throughout.
The present-day Alban Commonwealth – officially the Commonwealth of the Alban Senate and People – came into being with the federation of the first sixty settlements under the Articles of Union, the ratification of which is marked by the Founding Day holiday every June 11. Based on the classical model of presidential republic, the authors of the Articles of Union were careful to learn from the mistakes of the past by attempting to preempt them in the present and future.
General Assembly
The primary legislative bodies of the Alban Commonwealth can be divided into two major groups based upon their function, the Voting Assemblies and the Legislative Assemblies. These informal groupings are in turn divided into two subordinate bodies, each with their own unique relationship to their counterpart in the other group. The Voting Assemblies consist of the College of Procurators and the Council of Electors; the Legislative Assemblies are the Senate and the Tribunate.
Voting Assemblies
College of Procurators
Individuals are appointed to the College of Procurators by the individual local settlement administrations to which they belong, usually by order of the Governor or Chief Administrator. The College is convened as necessary to vote on matters of constitutional and internal policy where a majority vote in the Legislative Assemblies has been achieved, but where a three-fourths majority is necessary; e.g., Constitutional Amendments, Public Security Resolutions. When convened as a body, the President of the Senate presides without voting or veto power and is responsible for allocating resources as necessary for the College’s successful operation.
Council of Electors
Individuals appointed to serve on the Council of Electors are selected by random lot from among voting districts numbering one thousand citizens, and are selected to serve for a term of twelve months. The Council is convened annually to vote on legislation where a majority vote in the Legislative Assemblies has been achieved, but a three-fourths majority vote is necessary, and which are not under the purview of the College of Procurators. When convened, the Speaker of the Tribunes presides without voting or veto power and is responsible for allocating resources as necessary for the Council’s successful operation.
Legislative Assemblies
Senate
Senators are popularly elected representatives from each of the individual colonies, with two Senators representing an individual settlement as a part of the settlement’s federal delegation, for a total of 120 members of the Senate. The Senate proposes and votes on legislation, with simply majority votes necessary for all legislation that is passed to a joint resolution committee before a joint session vote. The Senate retains sole responsibility for the approval of foreign treaties and trade agreements proposed by the chief executive. The Vice Censor of State is the constitutionally designated President of the Senate, with those powers devolved to the Principal Senator, the body’s senior-ranking member. In addition to their own constituency’s vote, the President of the Senate may only cast a tiebreaking vote.
Tribunate
Tribunes are popularly elected representatives from each of the individual colonies, with the total number of representatives allocated to each of the settlements in proportion to the size of their respective population sizes, with a minimum of one representative per colony, for a grand total of 500 members of the Tribunate. The Tribunate proposes and votes on legislation, with simply majority votes necessary for all legislation that is passed to a joint resolution committee before a joint session vote. The Tribunate has sole responsibility for defense funding and declarations of conflict. The Censor of State is the constitutionally designated President of the Tribunate, with those powers devolved to the Speaker of the Tribunes, the majority party’s senior-ranking member. The Speaker of Tribunes exercises a power of veto over bills brought before the Tribunate, both in single and joint sessions.
Executive Magistracies
The executive magistracies of the Alban Commonwealth are those persons and offices responsible for the enforcement and execution of laws and resolutions on behalf of the General Assembly, as representatives of the Alban populace. The Executive Magistracies are divided into two major groupings, the Principal Officers of State and their offices, deputies, and successors, and the Executive Cabinet.
Principal Officers of State
Censor of State
The Censor of State is the chief executive magistrate of the Alban Commonwealth, responsible for both the management of government and personification of the state as its representative abroad. The Censor and Vice Censor are elected as a single dual candidacy ticket, in deference to the latter’s duties upon the incapacitation or death of the former. The powers of the Censor are modelled on those of presidential republics, particularly those of commander-in-chief and of veto over bills passed by the General Assembly. The Office of the Censor oversees an annual census of citizens and residents, with the power to revoke the citizenship of those who do not meet legally-defined wealth standards.
Vice Censor of State
The Vice Censor of State is the constitutionally designated executive proxy of the Censor of State, and only when the Censor and Vice Censor are in contention does the Censor overrule the Vice Censor. Otherwise the Vice Censor is coequal and exercises the same powers of the Censor in enforcement and execution of the law. Their principal duty remains to assume the Office of Censor in the event of the incapacitation or death of the incumbent, serving until the completion of the elected term. The Vice Censor is responsible for aiding the Censor in the annual census of citizens and residents but does not wield the power to strip individuals of their citizenship.
Speaker of the Tribunes
The Speaker of the Tribunes is the constitutionally designated legislative proxy of the Censor of State as the presiding officer of the Tribunate, who is in turn the senior-ranking Tribune of the majority party or coalition. Although having no executive powers outside of the constitutionally proscribed limits of the Legislative Assemblies, the Speaker does wield a power of veto over bills passed to the Censor for ratification into law. The Speaker also occupies a position of preeminence as a member of the Executive Cabinet. In the event of the ascension of the Vice Censor to the Office of Censor of State, or in the event of the incapacitation or death of the Vice Censor, the Speaker of the Tribunes is constitutionally obliged to assume the Office of Vice Censor of State. The Speaker’s powers devolve to the next senior-ranking member of the majority party within the Tribunate as Acting Speaker until the next term and the election of a new Speaker. The Speaker exercises a “mandate of recall” as a check on the military powers of the Censors in the absence of a “declaration of conflict” by the General Assembly; further, they are empowered to prosecute the impeachment of one or both Censors if they are not found to be in compliance with said mandate.
Executive Cabinet
The Executive Cabinet are those Officers of State appointed by the Censor and confirmed by the Senate to serve as the chief executives officers of the thirteen Executive Departments of State, in addition to certain statutory members, i.e. Vice Censor of State, Speaker of the Tribunes, Director of Strategic Resources, Chief of Staff to the Censor of State, Cabinet Press Secretary. As a body, the Cabinet is charged with advising and, with the exception of the Speaker, executing the policy and agenda of the censorial administration. Appointees may not concurrently serve in the General Assembly or as the head of another Executive Department without the due process of appointment and confirmation.
Vice Censor of State and Speaker of the Tribunes
Minister of State
Department of State
Minister of Defense
Department of Defense
Attorney General
Department of Law and Order
Treasurer of State
Department of the Treasury
Minister of Settlement and Housing Services
Department of Settlement and Housing Services
Minister of Energy
Department of Energy
Minister of the Home Interior
Department of the Home Interior
Department of the Constabulary Guard
Minister of Trade and Commerce
Department of Trade and Commerce
Minister of Industry and Agriculture
Department of Industry and Agriculture
Minister of Labor and Human Services
Department of Labor
Department of Human Services
Minister of Education
Department of Education
Director of Strategic Resources
National Intelligence Agency
Office of Strategic Network Reconnaissance
Counterintelligence Bureau
State Security Agency
Chief of Staff to the Censor of State
Cabinet Press Secretary
Judiciary
College of Justices
The College of Justices is a body mandated by the Articles of Union to serve in a strictly advisory capacity to the Censor of State in times of emergency or crisis. The members of the College are appointed for life, regardless of their status as a serving or retired presiding justice. By law, all justices of the Supreme Court and the Federal Court of Appeals serve as members of the College, though they are legally bound from exercising additional legal duties, not including the 72 justices actively serving as presiding officers of the court.
Supreme Court
The Alban Supreme Court is the highest court of appeal in the Commonwealth, addressing questions of constitutionality as they relate to the law and its enforcement. The Court is made up of the supreme judicial magistrates of state who are appointed to the Court for life terms by the Censor of State. The Chief Justice is the presiding officer of the court whose powers are limited to policy and administration of the Court, but do not include the power of a tiebreaking vote. Although not officially a member of the Principal Officers of State, the Chief Justice retains the rank and honors equal with that status. In the event the Censor, Vice Censor, and Speaker of the Tribunes are all incapacitated, the Chief Justice becomes Acting Censor of State, empowered exclusively to hold elections for and confirm a duly elected Censor of State. The remaining ten justices of the Supreme Court are entitled ‘Associate Justice’; retired members of the Court are entitled Associate Justice Emerita/us/um or Chief Justice Emerita/us/um. Once retired from office, a justice may not be recalled to serve on the Court.
Federal Courts of Appeal
The Federal Courts of Appeal of the Alban Commonwealth hears cases of both civil and criminal appeal, for a total of 60 districts across the settlements of the Commonwealth and a 61st plenipotentiary court for matters relating exclusively to Federal property or territories, such as the colony of Clearwater. The presiding officers of the court are entitled Justice and appointed for life terms, with retired justices entitled Justice Emerita/us/um. Once retired from office, a justice may not be recalled to preside over any Courts of Appeal.
Federal Circuit Courts
The Federal Circuit Courts of the Alban Commonwealth hears both civil and criminal matters brought before it for arbitration or enforcement under applicable Federal law. These courts serve as the criminal court for the Commonwealth, with considerable oversight by the Courts of Appeal for each District. There are generally two Federal Circuit Courts within every Court District, but as population numbers begin to grow, provisions allow for the creation of further Federal Circuit Courts by appointment of the Censor and confirmation by the Tribunate. A Federal Circuit Court for Unorganized Federal Territories exists as the sole member of the 61st District Court of Appeals.
Civil Circuit Courts
The Civil Circuit Courts are guaranteed by the constitution set forth in the Articles of Union with the appointment of local judicial courts to hear cases of civil litigation or arbitration as they relate exclusively to local ordnances. The number of Civil Circuit Courts within each individual settlement is determined by the policies of individual settlements, though they are bound by Federal law to within certain ratios of population. Presiding officers of the Civil Circuit Courts are entitled Judge and serve a term consistent with local ordnances and Federal law. Appeal of the Civil Courts’ decision is constitutionally mandated to be heard before the Federal Court of Appeals for the case’s respective Civil Circuit Court.
