Caligus/Constitution of Caligus

New Constitutional Bill (Draft Version)

Writ by Cuthbert von Ulthuan, Duke of Hamadan

This is a draft version of a new constitution for the Kingdom of Caligus.

Article 1
Every Lord, Knight and Citizen of the Kingdom of Caligus is protected and subject to the Law and the Constitution of the Kingdom of Caligus where stated.

Article 2
Every Lord, Knight and Citizen of the Kingdom of Caligus is equal before the King's Law, no matter of their profession and their personal beliefs, spiritual or political.

Article 3
Every Lord, Knight and Citizen of the Kingdom of Caligus maintains the right of free speech and action as long as national unity and security are preserved.

Article 4
Everything belonging to a Lord, Knight or Citizen of the Kingdom of Caligus is solely their possession.

Article 5
Authority is shared in a specific feudal hierarchy. In order of importance that is:

• King
• Councillors and Dukes
• Lords
• Knights and Unaligned Nobles

Each rank carries individual responsibility. As described below.

Article 6
The Military Chain of Command is described as follows

• The King
• The High Marshal
• The Sponsors
• The Marshals
• The Vice-Marshals

Article 7
Changes and amendments to the constitution must be proposed in the council and following a simple majority vote there are then opened to the realm as a whole in the form of a referendum.

The Duties and Rights of the Subjects of the Kingdom of Caligus

Directive 1a
Every noble of Caligus must observe and obey the laws and constitution of Caligus.

Directive 1b
Every noble of Caligus must obey the orders issued by the military chain of command unless they have alternate orders which supercede these.

The Duties and Rights of the Councillors of the Kingdom of Caligus

Directive 2a
Councillors (High Marshal, Royal Treasurer and Arch Priest) are required to announce their resignation to the King and Dukes of Caligus no less than 3 days in advance whenever possible.

Directive 2b
The Councillors are bound to fulfil the requirements of their office for the duration of their term in office, abuse of power is subject to directive 3c.

The Duties and Rights of the King/Queen

The King/Queen is the highest ranking noble in the Kingdom of Caligus.

Directive 3a
The position of King/Queen is electable by simple majority whenever the position is vacated. The election is held realm wide with everyone having an equal say in who rules.

Directive 3b
When any imperial position is vacated (Judge, General, Banker, Lordship of Imperial Regions, Dukes) the appointment is the sole responsibility of the King of Caligus.

Directive 3c
The King reserves the right to demand the resignation of nobles in any positions, these nobles have the right to appeal the decision to the council. A simple majority vote in the council is required to decide the matter. Failure to resign following this will result in banishment or exile.

Directive 3d
It is the King/Queen's right to dictate foreign policy.

Directive 3e
The King/Queen reserves the right overrule any previously issued orders.

Directive 3f
A referendum must be held every three months to ratify the King/Queen's mandate of power. The question posed by the referendum is as follows: "Do you think King/Queen (Name) should stand down in order to allow a free and fair election?"

The Duties and Rights of the Arch Priest/Priestess

The Arch Priest/Priestess is the Judge, Dungeon Keeper and Executioner of the Kingdom of Caligus.

Directive 4a
The position of Arch Priest/Priestess is chosen by the King under advisement of the Council as per Directive 3b.

Directive 4b
The Arch Priest/Priestess has the duty of upholding the constitution of the Kingdom of Caligus.

Directive 4c
The Arch Priest/Priestess has the duty of punishing any transgression to the constitution of the Kingdom of Caligus.

Directive 4d
The Arch Priest/Priestess has the right to exercise their powers as they see fit in so far as the action does not conflict with the constitution of the Kingdom of Caligus.

Directive 4e
The Arch Priest/Priestess has the duty of making contracts as regards mutual banning and prisoner exchange and treatment in so far as there is no conflict with Directive 3b.

The Duties and Rights of the High Marshal

The High Marshal is the master of the Military.

Directive 5a
The High Marshal is appointed by the King whenever the position is vacant as per Directive 3b.

Directive 5b
It is the duty of the High Marshal to direct movement of the armies by delegating the role of issuing orders to the marshals and vice marshals via the Army Command Chain.

Directive 5c
The High Marshal maintains the right to coordinate attacks with foreign generals in so far as this does not conflict with Directive 3b.

Directive 5d
The High Marshal reserves the right overrule any previously issued orders.

The Duties and Rights of Marshals and Vice Marshals

The Marshals and Vice Marshals are in charge of the armies of Kingdom of Caligus and answer to those above them in the Chain of Command.

Directive 5.1a
The Marshal is appointed by the sponsor of the army upon conferring with the High Marshal of Caligus.

Directive 5.1b
The Vice Marshal is appointed by the sponsor of the army upon following suggestion of suitable candidates by the Marshal of the Army.

Directive 5.1c
The Marshal and Vice Marshal have the right to issue orders to their army in so far as those orders are not in direct conflict with directive 5b.

Directive 5.1d
The Marshal has the duty of leading his army in battle and coordinating with other Marshals to ensure the same battle plan is used.

Directive 5.1d
The Vice Marshal has the duty of leading his army in battle in the Marshal's absence.

Directive 5.1e
The Marshals and Vice Marshals reserve the right to issue requests to the realm at large or all nobles in a region and should be respected as orders by those whom they address.

Directive 5.1f
The Marshal and Vice Marshal reserves the right overrule any previously issued orders.

The Duties and Rights of the Royal Treasurer

The Royal Treasurer takes charge of the finances and maintenance of the resources of the Kingdom of Caligus.

Directive 6a
The Royal Treasurer is appointed by the King whenever the position is vacant as per directive 3b.

Directive 6b
The Royal Treasurer has the duty of administration of regions and resources in the Kingdom of Caligus and should coordinate with the Arch Priest/Priestess as necessary.

Directive 6c
The Royal Treasurer maintains the right to object to or obstruct any trade if they feel that this directly conflicts with the well being of the Kingdom of Caligus.

Directive 6d
The Royal Treasurer has the duty of managing trading with foreign nations.

The Duties and Rights of the Lord/Lady

The Lords and Ladies of the Kingdom of Caligus are those who are in charge of a region.

Directive 7a
Every Lord/Lady maintains the right to choose his Knighthood.

Directive 7b
Every Lord/Lady has the duty of preserving the Knights' rights, liberties and income.

Directive 7c
Every Lord/Lady of the Kingdom of Caligus maintains the right to demand anything from his Knights in so far as directives 1b and 3b are not violated in doing so.

Directive 7d
If a knight is found to be breaking the laws or constitution of the Kingdom of Caligus, the lord has the right to be included in criminal proceedings and the duty to work with the High Priest to reach a consensus.

Directive 7e
Every Lord/Lady maintains the right to revoke any of his oaths with his Knights unconditional of the situation.

Directive 7f
Every Lord/Lady has a duty to the realm, their region and its peasants to keep the region well managed and prosperous. It is their duty to recruit knights to help in this.

Directive 7g
Every Lord/Lady has a duty to the realm to ensure new nobles are welcomed and accepted by offering oaths and estates if their region can support it. Reference to the Royal Treasurer and King/Queen can help establish this.

The Duties and Rights of the Duke/Duchess

The Dukes/Duchesses of the Kingdom of Caligus are those charged with control of a city or stronghold region and hence a duchy. In addition to directives 7a-7g they are also subject to the following directives:

Directive 7.1a
The Duke/Duchess is appointed by the King when the position becomes vacant as per directive 3b.

Directive 7.1b
The Duke/Duchess has the right to appoint lords to regions within their duchy.

The Duties and Rights of the Lesser Lord/Lady

Lesser Lords are landed nobles in charge of regions which are not cities or strongholds. In addition to directives 7a-7g they are also subject to the following directives:

Directive 7.2a
A lesser Lord has the right to choose which duchy of the Kingdom of Caligus his region is to be aligned.

Directive 7.2b
All lesser lords, regardless of title, wealth or number of subjects, are equals and answer to the King, the councillors and their Duke/Duchess.

The Duties and Rights of the Knight

Aligned Nobles will be referred as Knights of the Kingdom of Caligus.

Directive 8a
Every Knight of the Kingdom of Caligus maintains the right to have his Rights, Liberties and Income protected by his liege.

Directive 8b
Every Knight of the Kingdom maintains the right to dissolve his oath with his liege 48 hours after an official announcement to the liege in question.

Directive 8c
Every Knight of the Kingdom of Caligus maintains the right to travel per wish, under their lord's responsibility and authority as long as this does not conflict with orders received from the military chain of command

Directive 8d
It is every Knight’s duty to protect his superiors, his vassals, his family and himself.

Directive 8e
Every knight has the right to a predetermined and agreed upon percentage of a regions weekly tax output. The percentage is agreed upon prior to the swearing of fealty and can only be broken through directives 7e and 8b.

Directive 8f
Every knight has the duty of setting up their estate and maintaining it as their liege sees fit.

The Duties and Rights of the Unaligned Nobles

An unaligned noble is one who is not a member of the council, not a lord and who is not bound by an oath to a liege.

Directive 9a
Unaligned nobles answer to the King, Arch Priest and Military Chain of Command.

Directive 9b
Unaligned nobles have a duty to find a liege. Any difficulties should be reported and help can be applied to from the King/Queen, Royal Treasurer or the council.

The Duties and Rights of the Commoner

The commoners are any not of noble birth and includes peasants and freemen.

Directive 10a
Commoners arrested without evidence against their misconduct will be given a pardon by the Arch Priest and released.

Directive 10b
Commoners deemed guilty of any crime which is to the detriment of the realm, including, but not limited to: inciting or being party to riots within the Kingdom of Caligus; spying on troop movement and infrastructure with intent to transfer the information to enemies of the Kingdom of Caligus; speaking above their post and thereby threatening the life of one of noble blood. Will be tried for treason and dealt with as the Arch Priest sees fit.

The Duties and Rights of the Foreigner

Directive 11a
Foreigners must request passage through the realm from the King. Failure to do so will result in treatment as the Arch Priest sees fit upon capture.

Directive 11b
Foreigners belonging to a realm at war with the Kingdom of Caligus are protected as far a treatment of prisoners agreement with that realm permits.

Directive 11c
Foreigners who actively damage the infrastructure or assault the nobility of the Kingdom of Caligus(infiltrators, black market traders) will be banned.

Directive 11d
Foreigners already with a ban on their heads will be dealt with as the Arch Priest sees fit.

Directive 11e
Foreigners who come to the Kingdom of Caligus and do not break Directives 11a, and 11c will be protected as guests to Kingdom of Caligus and transgression against them will be punishable by law.