Constitution

THE AQURIO-CATOPALIAN CHARTER OF RIGHTS AND FREEDOMS

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The Aqurio-Catopalian Charter of Rights and Freedoms defines the rights and freedoms in Aquria-Catopolis. 

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Guarantee

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"Everyone is equal before and under the law, in all spheres of government, political, economic and social activity, in particular irrespective of race, religion, national or ethnic origin, colour, sex, sexual orientation, gender, marital or family status, age, genetic characteristics, or mental or physical disability.

 

Fundamental rights and freedoms

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"Everyone has the following freedoms:

a) Freedom of conscience and religion;
b) Freedom of thought, belief, opinion and expression, including freedom of the press and other media of communication;
c) Freedom of peaceful assembly; 
d) Freedom of association; and
e) Freedom from slavery, servitude and trafficking."

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"Everyone has the following fundamental rights:

 

a) The right to rest;
b) The right to privacy;
c) The right to submit petition and make complaints to the government; and
d) The right to their affairs being handled impartially and fairly."
 

Democratic rights

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"Every citizen of Aquria-Catopolis has the right to vote in an election of Members of Parliament and of a legislature of a province or semi-autonomous region, and to vote in a referendum of a province or semi-autonomous region and in a federal referendum."

"Every citizen of Aquria-Catopolis has the right to be qualified for membership of Parliament and the legislature of a province or the semi-autonomous region."

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Mobility rights

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"Every citizen of Aquria-Catopolis has the right to enter, remain in and leave Aquria-Catopolis."

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"Every citizen of Aquria-Catopolis and every person who is a permanent resident of Aquria-Catopolis has the right to move and take up residence in any province or semi-autonomous region, and to pursue the gaining of a livelihood in any province or semi-autonomous region."

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"No one may be removed, expelled or extradited to a country where they are likely to be subjected to torture or other inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment."

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Legal rights

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"Everyone has the right to life, liberty, security of the person and the inviolability of their body, and the right not to be deprived of that right except in accordance with the principles of fundamental justice."

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"Everyone has the right against unreasonable search or seizure. Everyone has the right to the inviolability of their homes except in accordance with the principles of fundamental justice."

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"Everyone has the right against arbitrary detention and imprisonment."

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"Everyone has the right on arrest or detention

 

a) To be informed immediately of the reasons for the arrest or detention;
b) To have access to legal counsel without unreasonable delay, and to be informed of that right;
c) To have the validity and legality of the detention determined by an independent and impartial tribunal, and to be immediately released if the detention is not lawful."

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"Any person charged with an offence has the right

 

a) To be informed immediately of the offence;
b) To be tried within a reasonable time;
c) Not to be compelled or forced to assist in proving their own guilt;
d) To be presumed innocent until proven guilty by law by an independent and impartial tribunal;
e) Not to be denied bail without just cause;
f) To the benefit of trial by jury;
g) If acquitted of the offence, not to be tried again for that offence, and if found guilty and punished for the offence, not to be tried or punished for it again; and
h) If found guilty of the offence and if the punishment for the offence has been changed between the time of commission and the time of sentencing, to the benefit of the lesser punishment."

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"Everyone has the right not to be subjected to any cruel or unusual treatment or punishment."

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"A witness who testifies in any proceedings has the right not to have that information given used against that witness in any other proceedings, except in a prosecution for perjury or for the giving of contradictory evidence."

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"A party or witness in any proceedings who does not understand or speak the language of the proceedings or who is deaf has the right to be assisted by an interpreter."

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Official languages

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"English and French are the official languages of Aquria-Catopolis. They have equality of status and equal rights and privileges regarding their use in Parliamentary institutions and in governments in Aquria-Catopolis."

"In Aquria, English, French, Spanish and Aqurian are the official languages. They have equality of status and equal rights and privileges regarding their use in institutions of the Aqurian Parliament and in the government of Aquria."

"Nothing in this Part VII limits the authority of Parliament or a legislature to improve the equality of status or use of the English and French languages, and in Aquria, the authority of Parliament or the Aqurian Parliament to improve the equality of status or use of the English, French, Spanish and Aqurian languages."

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"English and French linguistic communities in Aquria-Catopolis have equality of status and equal rights and privileges, and in Aquria, the English, French, Spanish and Aqurian linguistic communities have the same equality of status and equal rights and privileges."

"The role of the legislature, Parliament and government in Aquria-Catopolis to preserve and promote the status, rights and privileges of the English and French linguistic communities in Aquria-Catopolis, and in Aquria, the role of the Aqurian Parliament, Parliament and government in Aquria to preserve and promote the status, rights and privileges of the English, French, Spanish and Aqurian linguistic communities in Aquria, is affirmed."

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"Everyone has the right to use both the English and French languages in any debates and proceedings in Parliament and in the legislature of Aquria-Catopolis, and in Aquria, the right to use the English, French, Spanish and Aqurian languages in any debates and proceedings in the Aqurian Parliament."

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"Every member of the public in Aquria-Catopolis has the right to communicate with, and to receive available services from, any head or central office of Parliament or a legislature or of a government in Aquria-Catopolis in English and French, and in Aquria, in English, French, Spanish and Aqurian; provided that

 

a) There is significant demand for communications with and services from that office in such language; or
b) Due to the nature of the office, it is reasonable that communications with and services from that office be available in English and French, and in Aquria, in English, French, Spanish and Aqurian."

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Enforcement

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"Anyone whose rights or freedoms as guaranteed by this Part VII have been infringed upon or denied may apply to a court of competent jurisdiction to obtain such remedy as the court considers appropriate and just in the circumstances."

"If, in these proceedings, a court concludes that evidence of such infringement or denial was obtained in a way that infringed upon or denied any rights and freedoms as guaranteed by this Part VII, that evidence is excluded."

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General

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"The guarantee in this Part VII of certain rights and freedoms does not deny the existence of any other rights and freedoms in Aquria-Catopolis."

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"This Part VII shall be interpreted in a way consistent with the preservation of the multicultural heritage of Aqurians and Catopalians."

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"Nothing in this Part VII extends the legislative power of any body or authority."

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GENERAL

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PART VIII — GENERAL defines various things not fitting into other parts. 

 

"If there is inconsistency or conflict between this Constitution of Aquria-Catopolis and any law, this Constitution of Aquria-Catopolis prevails."

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"A French, Spanish and Aqurian version of this Constitution of Aquria-Catopolis shall be prepared by the Government of Aquria-Catopolis."

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National census and electoral districts

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This division defines the bare minimum that the national census must include:

 

"The citizens of each province and the semi-autonomous region, the residents of each province and the semi-autonomous region, the citizens not resident in Aquria-Catopolis, as well as the location of the citizens in each province and the semi-autonomous region. The names of the citizens are not recorded with the location of their residence."

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"The results of the census, anonymised and not including location data, are published in the Aquria-Catopolis Gazette."

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"Every citizen of Aquria-Catopolis must respond to the national census."

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This information recorded in the national census is used for the redrawing of the boundaries of the electoral districts. 

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"The following rules apply to electoral district boundaries:

 

a) Electoral districts must have similar population. This is ensured in that

i) subject to rule a) iii), if any electoral district exceeds a population of 10 times the average population of all other electoral districts, that electoral district is split into two separate electoral districts, such that they have equal population;
ii) if any two neighbouring electoral districts of the same province or semi-autonomous region represent together a population less than 1.5 times the average population of all other electoral districts, those two electoral districts merge to form one electoral district; and
iii) if any electoral district exceeds a population of 10 times the average population of all the electoral districts; and another electoral district, in the same province or semi-autonomous region, and which neighbours the first electoral district, does not exceed a population of 10 times the average population of all the electoral districts: the boundaries of those two electoral districts are adjusted such that neither electoral district exceeds a population of 10 times the average population of all other electoral districts; and if this adjustment is not possible with the given criteria, rule a) i) prevails.

b) Electoral districts may not cross the boundaries of provinces or the semi-autonomous region. 
c) Gerrymandering is prohibited.
d) The electoral districts and their boundaries are published in the Aquria-Catopolis Gazette after every national census, regardless if a boundary has changed, and if a boundary has changed, it is indicated."

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"Citizens not resident in Aquria-Catopolis are grouped into the non-resident electoral district. Rule a) does not apply to the non-resident electoral district."

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"If the boundary of an electoral district passes through a household: 

 

a) if there is only one resident citizen, they vote in the electoral district of lesser population; 
b) subject to rule c), if there are multiple resident citizens, the half whose names (given names, then last name) start with earlier letters of the alphabetical order vote in the more western of the electoral districts, and the other half vote in the more eastern of the electoral districts; 
c) except where rule a) applies, if the number of citizens in the household is not divisible by two, the process in rule b) is carried out excluding the last resident citizen in terms of alphabetical order by name (given names, then last name), and that last resident citizen votes in the electoral district of lesser population."