The Senate
The Senate is one of the fundamental governing bodies of Teutonia, the other being The Riechstag. It comprises representatives of the people, elected by the people for each city state. The Senate nominally sits in Berlin at the Senate building. Some senators choose to travel with the warhost, meaning many Senate sessions take place in a foreign field.
The role of the Senate is to take policy and craft it into acceptable and enforceable law.
Structure
The Senate takes the recommendations of the ruling monarch and the Reichstag and endeavours to find a means of transcribing those concepts into law. This is achieved through debate and research. A core value of the Senate is that it must produce law that is fair, measurable and enforceable by the Teutonian Civil Service.
The Senate is headed up by the Consul, who is elected by the Senate and can serve for a maximum of two years.
The usual process by which policy is made into law begins when a Senator, or Senators, present draft legislation to the Senate for discussion. Following a period of review and debate, with the objective of achieving consensus, the draft is approved or rejected. A draft can be presented repeatedly, although each time the presenting Senator must demonstrate a material change to the draft that addresses and reconciles those areas that were rejected.
Once legislation has been prepared to the satisfaction of the Senate, this being determined by debate and voting, the Consul presents the draft law to the ruling monarch for ratification.
Any person not of noble birth, may attend Senate meetings as a witness. It is a core tenet of the Senate that there should be transparency in all its workings.
It is forbidden for any person of noble birth to be elected to the Senate or to act as a Senator. All Senators are elected by a popular vote of those people not of noble birth. All those of age are eligible to vote for a Senator within their home region or city state.
Elections to the Senate take place every year, forty days after the Vernal Equinox. Elections to the post of Consul take place every two years.
The Senate is headed up by the Consul, who is elected by the Senate and can serve for a maximum of two years.
The usual process by which policy is made into law begins when a Senator, or Senators, present draft legislation to the Senate for discussion. Following a period of review and debate, with the objective of achieving consensus, the draft is approved or rejected. A draft can be presented repeatedly, although each time the presenting Senator must demonstrate a material change to the draft that addresses and reconciles those areas that were rejected.
Once legislation has been prepared to the satisfaction of the Senate, this being determined by debate and voting, the Consul presents the draft law to the ruling monarch for ratification.
Any person not of noble birth, may attend Senate meetings as a witness. It is a core tenet of the Senate that there should be transparency in all its workings.
It is forbidden for any person of noble birth to be elected to the Senate or to act as a Senator. All Senators are elected by a popular vote of those people not of noble birth. All those of age are eligible to vote for a Senator within their home region or city state.
Elections to the Senate take place every year, forty days after the Vernal Equinox. Elections to the post of Consul take place every two years.
History
The Senate of Teutonia was first formed as the Rigan Senate between 990 and 992 AE, when sympathetic Rigan members of the Reichstag, who had given up their nobility, successfully lobbied the nation to accept social democracy, allowing the populace and commoners of Teutonia to have a say in laws of the nation. Over time, representatives of the Senate have spread over Teutonia, creating the dual legislature that currently exists.
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