SO 2020-1 Quorum Act

WHEREAS in previous times due to inactivity within Our Region it has occurred that Parliament did not have enough candidates to fill the quorum for it to operate;

AND FURTHER WHEREAS these instances have posed challenging questions for the legitimacy of the said sessions of Parliament and the legislation therein made;

AND MOREOVER WHEREAS we are now in a similar situation, in which the Founder under Article III, Section B and subsection 1 of the Constitution, after deliberation with and approval from Libertarian Democracy, now President of Our Region and Member of Parliament, and other such Members of Parliament, have concluded and agreed that certain actions are to be taken in this matter and for connected purposes therewith;

CONSIDERING heretofore there were no provisions or conventions to satisfactorily end the questions arising from similar issues and problems;

BE IT ENACTED by Us, by and with the advice and consent of Our Parliament, and by the Authority of the same, as follows:—

Article 1
This present session of Parliament shall have lawful and legitimate authority as all previous Parliaments have had, by and under the Authority of the Founder under Article III, Section B and Subsection 1 of the Constitution, thereby bypassing the required quorum to act legitimately.

Article 2
-1. This Act comes into force immediately after it has been passed through the current session of Parliament and has been signed by the President.
-2. This Act has retroactive effect from the first day of the sitting of the present Parliamentary session.
-3. Article 4 of this Act comes into force on the first day following the dissolution or prorogation of the present Parliamentary session.
-4. This Act may be cited as “[The] Quorum Act”.

Article 3
-1. In the instance where there are insufficient candidates during or after an Parliamentary Election to fill enough Seats to meet the required quorum, the quorum shall not apply for that Parliamentary session.
-2. The previous provision of this Article does not apply in the instance where a Parliamentary seat has become vacant and there is to be called a by-election, because of which the quorum shall not be met for less than seventy-two hours, unless that Parliamentary session is dissolved or prorogued in less than five days from the moment that the by-election is held by the Founder.

Article 4
No single person may hold more than one Seat in a Parliamentary Session.

Article 5
In the instance where a question arises concerning the legitimacy of a Session of Parliament due to the number of seats filled by candidates, the Prime Minister, in his capacity as Speaker of Parliament, and in the absence of such a Prime Minister the President, may, in conjunction with the Founder, make further provisions that have force of law. In such instances, the Prime Minister or President and Founder must act in the interests of the Region as a whole, and not in the political interests of a section thereof.

GIVEN on the nineteenth day of February in the year 2020.

Principal author:
The Hon. Nassau-Windsor MP LSM, Founder

Sponsors:
The Rt. Hon. Lord Libertarian Democracy MP GSM LSM, President

To the Hon. Founder Nassau-Windsor, MP LSM:

I support this Resolution in full.  While I find Article 3, Section 1 to be legally questionable, I believe it to be permissible, because it is simply just a gray area.  The Constitution's vague wording in Article II, Section C, Subsection 1, "a majority among the 9 Senators", fails to account for the occasion upon which we have less than 9 Senators.  Thus, Article 3, Section 1 of this Proposal simply argues to alter the current interpretation of that clause, rather than the clause itself, which is legally plausible.

Thus, not only do I co-sponsor my Honourable Friend's proposal, but I additionally declare this proposal to be "of such urgent importance to the survival and wellbeing of the Union, that it must pass directly to the Voting Chamber" under Article V of SO#2016-03 ("Parliamentary Procedure Orders").  I apply all three of my seats towards this declaration.  Should the Right Honourable Prime Minister Bergcornopolis concur in my declaration, this proposal shall proceed directly to vote.

I thank the Noble Lord, Lord Libertarian Democracy, for his support of this Bill.

I hope that the Prime Minister will be kind enough to proceed to a vote as well.

I, Bergcornopolis, PM of The Parliamentary Union of Nations concur with the President's Proposal. The Quorum Act will be passed on to the Voting Chamber in which the Vote shall occur between Saturday 22 February 0:00 UTC and shall run until Tuesday 25 February 23:59 UTC.