Organic Law
| Governing Documents of the Kingdom of Talossa |
| 1979/I |
| The 1979 Declaration |
| The 1979 Constitution |
| 1985/VI |
| The 1985 Organic Law |
| 1988/IX |
| The 1988 Constituziun |
| 1997/XVIII & 2019/XL |
| The Organic Law |
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The 1997/XVIII Organic Law, also known as the OrgLaw, is the highest law of Talossa and the supreme governing document. Its twenty-one articles broadly establish the boundaries of the nation, the role of the sovereign, the functioning of the government, the nature of the Ziu, and other vital topics. The nineteenth article describes a Covenant of Rights and Freedoms modeled after the U.S. Constitution's Bill of Rights, which guarantees a list of rights vital to the Talossan people.
History
The 1997 Organic Law was approved by referendum and established in 1997/XVIII. It was preceded by the 1988/IX Constituziun, the 1985/VI Organic Law, and the 1979/I Declaration. The current version was extensively changed in 2019/XL.
In practice
As the foundation of all law in Talossa, the Organic Law comes under a great deal of scrutiny and has been subject to more than a few amendments. No law that comes into conflict with the OrgLaw is considered to be valid, and a cort may rule that the law as a whole is nullified. This has happened on several occasions. Similarly, officials of the Kingdom are expected to act according to the guidelines set forth in the Organic Law, and if they fail to do so, they may be sued or censured. An action or a law that is found to be inconsistent with the Organic Law is said to be "inorganic," and is discarded.
Contents
Article I: Points of State
- Text of Org.1.0.
- Text of Org.1.0.
Article II: The King
Article III: The Senäts
Article IV: The Cosă
Article V: Elections
- Text of Org.5.0.
- See our main article on this subject at General Election.
Article VI: The Government
- Text of Org.6.0.
- See our main article on this subject at Government.
Article VII: Legislation
- Text of Org.7.0.
Article VIII: The Courts
This article of the Organic Law lays out the nature and functioning of the judiciary of Talossa, most especially the Cort pü Inalt. This body of three justices hear all civil and criminal cases in the Kingdom, except those that proceed no further than the lower courts. In most other ways, the Cort functions in the manner of most other judicial bodies, ruling based on precedent and law, except that the Cort pü Inalt is required to wear official wigs while doing so.
Article IX: Territorial Subdivisions
One of the most important parts of the OrgLaw, Article XVII defines the manner in which Talossa is subdivided (into provinces, territories, and cantons), describes the manner in which provinces govern themselves, establishes the scope of the Ziu's power to legislate, and reserves all other power to the provinces. Almost all sections of this article are relatively simple, except for the very complex Org.9.4. which respectively govern the limits of the Ziu's power and provincial governance.
Other items of particular interest in this article are the Org.9.8. rule which makes it impossible for a citizen to be "reassigned" to a different province without his consent, even if provincial boundaries change, and the ironclad language of Org.9.10., which prohibits secession of any kind.
Article X: Citizenship and Rights
- Text of Org.10.0.
This section concerns the manner a person acquires and may lose their Talossan citizenship. The latter may occur voluntarily, through renunciation, or involuntarily, through inaction or penalty of law. It describes the methods of which native-born citizens, or Dandelions, are formally inducted into the nation.
Article XI: Covenant of Rights and Freedoms
- Text of Org.11.0.
- See our main article on this subject at Covenant of Rights and Freedoms.
The seventeen covenants of the Covenant of Rights and Freedoms enforce a special list of rights to which all Talossan citizens are guaranteed. This section of the Organic Law is subject to a more difficult amendment process, reflecting the essential and enduring nature of the rights of which it speaks. These rights include free speech, freedom of the press, freedom of assembly, freedom from discrimination, and freedom of religion, as well as rights to privacy and a fair trial. Many of these rights reflect the formative influence of the U.S. Constitution's Bill of Rights, as well as the Declaration of the Rights of Man. More unusual, however, are the Organic guarantees to marriage equality, assisted suicide, and the right to an abortion prior to the fifth month of pregnancy. These latter covenants are extremely progressive for any country, particularly for the period in which they were enacted (1997/XVIII).
Article XII: Amendments to this Organic Law
- Text of Org.12.0.