Legislation Act 2024

PART 1: GENERAL

1     Status of Law

1. Laws shall have status in accordance with the following:
   1. Primary Legislation shall have the highest status of law.
   2. Secondary Legislation shall have the second highest status of law.
   3. Common law, consisting of interpretations and determinations by the Court, shall have the third highest status of law.
2. In cases where statuses of law come into conflict, the law of the higher status shall override the lower, and in cases where statuses of law of the same status come into conflict, the law which was enacted first shall override the other.

2     Process of legislation

1. Primary legislation shall go through the following stages:
   1. Stage 1 – The legislation has been submitted, or sent, to the House of Commons.
   2. Stage 2 – The legislation has been presented and read for the first time in the House of Commons and may be debated upon.
   3. Stage C – The legislation has been read for a second time and is presented to the relevant committee in the House of Commons, which scrutinizes each provision of the bill, and amendments to it are considered.
   4. Stage CB – The legislation has been blocked by the relevant committee in the House of Commons.
   5. Stage R – The legislation has been reported from the relevant committee in the House of Commons and may be amended.
   6. Stage A – The legislation may be debated upon in the House of Commons.
   7. Stage 3 – The legislation has been read for the third time in the House of Commons and is eligible for being voted upon.
   8. Stage V – The legislation is being voted on in the House of Commons.
   9. Stage F – The legislation has failed a vote in the House of Commons.
   10. Stage 4 – The legislation has passed a vote in the House of Commons, and is presented to the Head of State for Royal Assent.
   11. Stage 4V – The legislation has been denied royal assent, and is not law.
   12. Stage 5 – The legislation has received royal assent and is sent for constitutional review, and is statute law.
   13. Stage 5F – The legislation has failed constitutional review, and is not law.
   14. Stage 6 – The legislation has passed constitutional review, and is statute law.
   15. Stage G – The legislation has been sent to the legislative graveyard.
   16. Stage R – The legislation has been repealed.

3     The Common Frameworks

1. The Speaker of the House of Commons shall be charged with keeping a document which lists a set of rules for the structure of legislation and motions called the Common Frameworks which shall be available for all employees to view.
   1. The Speaker of the House of Commons may, with the approval of Commons leadership, amend the Common Frameworks.
   2. If the Common Frameworks is amended, which shall require the approval of both house speakers, the Parliament and the Supreme Court shall be informed with details about what changed.

4     Standing Orders

1. Each house of Parliament shall establish Standing Orders, to be followed by members participating in parliamentary debates.
   1. The Speaker of the House of Commons and the Lord Speaker of the House of Lords shall determine the Standing Orders of their respective houses, but members of each house may amend the Standing Orders through an Early Day Motion containing the amendment.
      1. Such an amendment must be supported by five (5) members of the respective house and must be submitted to the Clerk of the House of Commons in the Commons and the Deputy Lord Speaker of the House of Lords in the Lords.
      2. Such an amendment shall require a simple majority in its respective house in order to pass, and if passed, the Speaker of the respective house must amend the Standing Orders accordingly.
   2. The Speaker of the respective house may also amend the Standing Orders at their own will by majority approval of the leadership of the respective house.

PART 2: PRIMARY LEGISLATION AND ITS PROCESSES

1     Introduction of Primary Legislation

1. Any member of Parliament shall be empowered to introduce primary legislation to the House of Commons, and an introduced piece of primary legislation shall enter into stage 1.
2. An introduced piece of primary legislation shall be called a bill and must be submitted on the website.
   1. The person who submits the primary legislation shall be the sponsor, and other members of parliament may be listed as supporters.
   2. The sponsor of primary legislation shall have the power to edit the piece of legislation until it reaches stage C.

2     First Reading

1. Legislation in stage 1 shall have its title and preamble read out in a session of the House of Commons, and once it has been presented and read for a first time, it shall be moved to stage 2.

3     Second Reading

1. Legislation in stage 2 shall be debated upon in the House of Commons, and upon the conclusion of the debate, the legislation shall be considered read a second time and shall be moved to stage C. 

4     Committee Stage

1. Legislation in stage C shall be sent to the relevant parliamentary committee of the House of Commons for scrutiny, and the committee shall have four (4) days to review the legislation submitted to it in full.
   1. The committee shall by simple majority vote either report the bill, by moving it to stage R, or block the bill, by moving it to stage CB, and the committee may do so at any time during the four (4) days.

5     Report Stage

1. Amendments to legislation in stage R may be proposed by members of parliament to the Clerk of the House of Commons.
   1. Amendments proposed by members of parliament must be supported by at least five (5) other members of parliament.
   2. If the proposed amendment meets the requirements, the Clerk of the House of Commons shall submit the amendment as a motion to the House of Commons for a vote which shall last twenty-four (24) hours, and a simple majority shall be required in order for the motion to pass.
   3. If the motion passes, the Clerk of the House of Commons must apply the amendment to the legislation; if the motion fails, nothing shall happen.
2. Legislation in stage R shall remain in said stage for three (3) days, before being moved to stage A.
   1. The three (3) days may be extended if there is an ongoing vote on a motion to amend the legislation, in which case legislation shall move upon the conclusion of the vote and, if applicable, the application of the amendment, but no other amendment proposal may be submitted after the original three (3) days.

6     Third Reading

1. Legislation in stage A shall be debated upon in the House of Commons, and upon the conclusion of the debate, the present members of parliament shall vote on whether to grant the legislation a third reading.
   1. If the vote fails, the legislation shall remain in its current stage and if the vote passes, the legislation be moved to stage 3.

7     Voting

1. Legislation in stage 3 shall be eligible for a vote in the House of Commons, and shall be put up for vote by the Leader of the House of Commons.
   1. The Leader of the House of Commons may withhold legislation from vote for any reason they deem fit.
   2. Votes on legislation shall last forty-eight (48) hours.
2. Legislation being held from voting may be forced up for vote by a member of parliament by submitting a motion to the Clerk of the House of Commons.
   1. The motion must be supported by at least five (5) other members of parliament.
   2. If the motion meets the requirements, the Clerk of the House of Commons shall submit the motion to the House of Commons for a vote which shall last twenty-four (24) hours, and a simple majority shall be required in order for the motion to pass.
   3. If the motion passes, the Leader of the House of Commons must put the legislation up for vote; if the motion fails, nothing shall happen.
3. Legislation shall require a simple majority in order to pass the respective house, unless another majority requirement is required for passage according to statute law.
   1. Legislation passing a vote in the House of Commons shall be moved to stage 4 and legislation failing a vote in the House of Commons shall be moved to stage F.

8     Royal Assent

1. The Head of State shall either give or refuse to give Royal Assent to legislation in stage 4, and shall have five (5) days to give or refuse to give Royal Assent.
   1. If the Head of State gives Royal Assent, the legislation shall enter stage 5 and shall become statute law.
   2. If the Head of State refuses to give Royal Assent, the legislation shall enter stage 4V and shall not become statute law.
   3. If the Head of State neither gives nor refuses to give Royal Assent within five (5) days, the legislation shall enter stage 5, as if Royal Assent has been given, and shall become statute law.
2. In the absence of a Monarch, the member of the Royal Family next in line shall hold the power of Royal Assent.

9     Constitutional Review

1. The Supreme Court shall scrutinize and review all stage 5 legislation and secondary legislation with existing law and the Constitution.
   1. Justices of the Supreme Court must remain impartial during the review, which shall be a matter of discerning constitutional flaws within the legislation, not the principles or politics of the legislation.
2. The Supreme Court shall have up to ten (10) days from the date of entering Stage 5 to review primary legislation or from the date of submission to review secondary legislation, and if time expires, the legislation shall enter Stage 6 as if passing a constitutional review.
3. The Supreme Court may strike down provisions in legislation under its review, so long as doing so does not affect the overall implementation of the legislation.
4. The Supreme Court may strike down any piece of legislation found which is found wholly unconstitutional, which shall be sent to stage 5F; and if doing so, the Supreme Court must include a reason why, as well as the number of votes for each determination, which must be sent to the Houses of Parliament.

PART 3: SECONDARY LEGISLATION AND ITS PROCESSES

1     Issuing Secondary Legislation

1. The power to issue secondary legislation may be granted by primary legislation to a position.
2. There shall be two (2) procedures on issuing secondary legislation, which shall be the negative and the affirmative procedure:
   1. The negative procedure allows, by statute law, the person holding the specific position to issue the secondary legislation immediately.
   2. The affirmative procedure requires, as required by statute law, the person holding the specific position, if a member of Parliament (if not a Minister of the Crown, who is a member of Parliament, to whom this is delegated), to submit a motion to approve in accordance with Section 2 of this part.
3. Secondary legislation which amends primary legislation or excuses provisions of a law shall be known as an Order, and secondary legislation which stands alone as a further rule to the law shall be known as a Regulation.
4. Secondary legislation shall immediately enter into stage 5 of the legislative process, and shall be reviewed in the manner prescribed in Part 2, Section 9 of this Act.

2     Motion for Approval: Secondary Legislation

1. If approval is required for the issuance of secondary legislation, the relevant person may submit a motion for approval or the Leader of the House of Commons may submit it for them.
2. Motions for approval shall require a simple majority approval, unless otherwise required, and if the motion for approval is passed, the secondary legislation which is approved may be submitted; if the motion for approval is not passed, the secondary legislation may not be submitted.

3     Repealing Secondary Legislation

1. A person who has the power to issue secondary legislation may also repeal secondary legislation issued under the same power to issue secondary legislation.
2. Secondary legislation may also be repealed via primary legislation.
   1. A piece of secondary legislation shall be repealed by primary legislation upon reaching stage 5, but the nullification shall become void if the primary legislation is declared unconstitutional.
3. The House of Commons may initiate a secondary legislation repeal process through a prayer motion to nullify and repeal secondary legislation.
   1. Any member of Parliament may, within four (4) weeks from the issuance of the secondary legislation, request a motion prayer to be submitted by the Clerk of the House of Commons, who must submit the motion if the requirements are fulfilled.
   2. The prayer motion must be supported by at least five (5) other verified members of Parliament and must contain a detailed explanation as to why the secondary legislation is being nullified and repealed.
   3. The vote on the nullification resolution shall last forty-eight (48) hours and must be passed by at least an 80% affirmative majority of all votes cast, excluding abstentions, and if successful, the piece of primary legislation shall be repealed.
   4. Only one (1) piece of secondary legislation may be nullified and repealed per prayer motion.

PART 4: MOTIONS

1     Carry-over Motions

1. Carry-over Motions may be submitted by members of parliament to the Clerk of the House of Commons.
   1. The motion must be supported by at least five (5) other members of parliament.
   2. If the motion meets the requirements, the Clerk of the House of Commons shall submit the motion to the House of Commons for a vote which shall last twenty-four (24) hours, and a simple majority shall be required in order for the motion to pass.
2. Carry-over motions, if passed, shall revive legislation which has been sent to stage G or stage CB.
   1. Legislation revived from stage G shall be sent to the stage it was in before it was sent to stage G, and legislation in stage CB shall be sent to stage R.
   2. If the motion fails, nothing shall happen.

2     Early Day Motions

1. Early Day Motions may be submitted by members of Parliament or Lords Temporal in their respective houses to the Clerk of the House of Commons or Deputy Lord Speaker of the House of Lords.
   1. The motion must be supported by at least five (5) other members of the respective house.
      1. Ministers of the Crown may neither submit nor support Early Day Motions, but may vote on them, but this shall not apply for Early Day Motions to amend the standing orders, in which case the Leader of the House of Commons may submit a motion and ministers of the crown may support it.
   2. If the motion meets the requirements, the Clerk of the House of Commons or the Deputy Lord Speaker of the House of Lords shall submit the motion to the respective house for a vote which shall last twenty-four (24) hours, and a simple majority shall be required in order for the motion to pass.
2. Early Day Motions shall be non-fatal motions which shall express the view of the house on a particular matter.

3     Regret Motions

1. Regret Motions may be submitted by members of Parliament or Lords Temporal in their respective houses to the Speaker of the House of Commons or the Lord Speaker of the House of Lords.
   1. The motion must be supported by at least five (5) other members of the respective house.
      1. Ministers of the Crown may neither submit nor support Regret Motions, but may vote on them.
   2. If the motion meets the requirements, the respective speaker shall submit the motion to the respective house for a vote which shall last twenty-four (24) hours, and a simple majority shall be required in order for the motion to pass.
2. Regret motions shall be non-fatal and have no effect if passed, but shall express the dissent of the respective house about specific actions, decisions or policies of the government.
3. Before a vote can be held on a regret motion, a debate must be held on it, and the respective speaker shall determine the scheduling of said debate.

4     Censure Motions

1. Censure Motions may be submitted by members of Parliament or Lords Temporal in their respective houses to the Speaker of the House of Commons or the Lord Speaker of the House of Lords.
   1. The motion must be supported by at least ten (10) other members of the respective house.
   2. If the motion meets the requirements, the respective speaker shall submit the motion to the respective house for a vote which shall last forty-eight (48) hours, and a two-thirds majority shall be required in order for the motion to pass.
2. Censure motions shall be non-fatal and may censure an individual or a group, but shall be the highest form of reprimand without any official consequences.