Constitution of Einsenland (British English)
Reference translation into British English. The Chinese source is available here. This translation preserves its numbering and legal status; it is not a jointly authenticated text of equal legal authority. See source and translation notes.
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Constitution of the Republic of Einsenland
Preamble
This Constitution is revised to secure peace and stability for future generations of the Einsenland nation and the security and stability of the State.
Article 1
Einsenland is a united, independent and indivisible sovereign State. All State power derives from the people of Einsenland as a whole, and sovereignty belongs to the people of Einsenland as a whole.
Article 2
Einsenland is a socialist parliamentary democratic republic, observing the principles of constitutional democracy, the rule of law, the separation of powers and mutual checks and balances. All State power shall be exercised in accordance with the Constitution and the law.
The State shall maintain an economic system in which public ownership is predominant and various forms of ownership develop together, and shall safeguard workers' participation, social rights and lawful economic activity. Political parties shall participate in political competition in accordance with the Constitution and shall not substitute internal party decisions for the statutory procedures of State organs.
Article 3
Einsenland shall respect and safeguard human dignity, freedom and equality. State power shall not exceed the limits established by the Constitution.
Article 4
The State shall have a unitary structure. Local self-government shall be safeguarded by the Constitution and the law. Tsing Shing City shall be the directly administered capital, whose status shall be prescribed by special legislation.
Article 5
Einsenland shall recognise and protect the multilingual and multicultural structure of the State. The official languages shall be Chinese, principally in traditional characters, Cantonese, German and English. State organs shall safeguard citizens' access to public services and participation in political and judicial proceedings in the legally prescribed languages.
Article 6
The Constitution shall have supreme legal force. No law, decree, regulation or public act may contravene the Constitution.
Article 7
The exercise of public power shall be transparent, subject to oversight and accountable. State organs shall perform their duties in the interests of public welfare, public order, justice and efficiency.
Article 8
All nationals of Einsenland shall be equal before the law and shall not be discriminated against on grounds of origin, sex, language, religion, ethnicity, occupation, region, property, education, political opinion or other status.
Article 9
Nationals shall enjoy the right to personal liberty and human dignity. No person may be arrested, detained, searched, questioned or punished without grounds and authorisation. The State shall, however, retain the death penalty.
Article 10
Nationals shall enjoy freedom of expression, publication, assembly, association, belief, movement and choice of occupation, and the right to obtain information in accordance with the law. Those freedoms may be restricted only by law to the extent necessary, and their essential content shall not be deprived.
Article 11
Nationals shall enjoy protection of the privacy of their homes, communications, data and private lives. No State organ may infringe that protection otherwise than in accordance with statutory procedures.
Article 12
Nationals shall enjoy property rights in accordance with the law. When the State expropriates, requisitions or restricts property rights in the public interest, it shall act in accordance with the law and provide reasonable compensation.
Article 13
Nationals shall enjoy the rights to education, work, reasonable working conditions, social security and basic healthcare. The State shall progressively realise those rights through legislation and budgetary provision.
Article 14
Any person whose rights are affected by the exercise of State power shall be entitled to due process, a public and fair hearing, rights of defence and a remedy.
Article 15
Every person shall be presumed innocent and shall not be regarded as guilty unless found guilty by a court in accordance with the law.
Article 16
Nationals shall have the duty to pay taxes in accordance with the law, observe the law, maintain public order and respect the rights of others.
Article 17
Nationals shall have the duty to undertake national defence and public service obligations in accordance with the law. Conscription, alternative service and other arrangements shall be expressly prescribed by law and remain subject to the Constitution.
Article 18
Parliament shall be the legislative organ of the State and shall, on behalf of nationals, exercise legislative power, budgetary scrutiny, oversight and such other powers as the Constitution and the law confer upon it.
Article 19
Parliament shall be bicameral and shall consist of the House of the People and the House of Regions.
Article 20
The House of the People shall be elected by all nationals in accordance with the principles of universal, equal, direct, free and secret suffrage, and shall represent all nationals. It shall consist of 300 members serving five-year terms.
Elections to the House of the People shall follow its own term of office. They may be held on the same day as a presidential election provided that its term of office and statutory time limits remain unchanged. Early dissolution and a fresh election shall take place only in accordance with Article 31.
Article 21
The House of Regions shall represent the interests of the provinces and the directly administered capital district, and shall uphold balanced development throughout the State and local self-government. It shall have 72 seats, eight for each of the eight provinces and the directly administered capital district, elected proportionately by their respective elected local assemblies.
Members of the House of Regions shall serve six-year terms, with half of each local unit's seats renewed every three years. The Electoral Act shall prescribe the procedures for election, replacement and the initial staggering of terms.
Article 22
Bills may be introduced by members of either House, committees of Parliament or the Government. Draft national development plans shall be introduced by the Government. The President may, in accordance with the law, put forward proposals on national strategy and require the Government to respond in writing.
Bills concerning national security, national defence and major interregional infrastructure may be submitted first to the House of Regions. Bills concerning public welfare, education, social security, taxation and the budget shall be submitted first to the House of the People. Priority of consideration shall not alter the final allocation of powers under Article 23.
Article 23
Ordinary legislation shall be considered by both Houses. The House of Regions shall adopt a resolution within 30 days of receiving the text passed by the House of the People; if it fails to do so, it shall be deemed to have no objection. In the event of disagreement, a mediation committee shall seek agreement within 15 days. If mediation fails, the House of the People may pass the legislation again by a majority of all its members.
Matters concerning the basic guarantees of local self-government, administrative divisions, the division of powers between central and local authorities, the allocation of local public finances and major adjustments to interprovincial trunk infrastructure projects shall require the separate approval of a majority of all members of each House. That requirement shall not be circumvented by aggregating votes or splitting bills.
The national budget, taxation and general financial bills shall be passed by a majority of all members of the House of the People, and the House of Regions shall give its opinion within 15 days. Any provisions falling within the preceding paragraph shall also require the consent of the House of Regions. Voting on constitutional amendments, authorisation of war and senior State appointments shall be governed by the special provisions of the Constitution and the law.
Article 23A
If the annual budget is not passed on time, the Government may, on the basis of the previous year's average monthly expenditure in the corresponding categories, maintain basic public services, judicial and electoral bodies, essential maintenance, debt payments and existing obligations lawfully incurred. Adjustments to essential expenditure standards already expressly prescribed by law shall be implemented. This provision shall not authorise new major projects or expenditure beyond existing authorisation.
The Government shall report on temporary expenditure every 30 days. If the budgetary impasse continues for 90 days, the House of the People shall hold a vote of confidence in the Government within 15 days. If a majority of all members does not express confidence, or no vote is held by that deadline, the Government shall become a caretaker government and government formation shall recommence under Article 31.
During temporary appropriations, government formation and elections, essential expenditure for the basic functions referred to in the preceding paragraph shall remain safeguarded and shall remain subject at all times to audit and parliamentary oversight.
Article 24
The Government shall be subject to oversight by both Houses, and its continuation in office shall depend on the confidence of the House of the People.
A constructive motion of no confidence in the Prime Minister shall be signed by at least one quarter of all members of the House of the People, name a candidate to succeed the Prime Minister and be voted upon between 48 hours and seven days after its introduction. If a successor is elected by a majority of all members, the President shall appoint that successor within seven days. If the President fails to do so, the Speaker of the House of the People shall announce the successor's lawful assumption of office.
The President shall not dissolve the House of the People on grounds of the successor's party affiliation or political views, or of the motion of no confidence itself. Ministers' responsibility for policy shall be pursued through questions, investigations, censure and personnel changes made by the Prime Minister. Legal liability shall be determined separately through due process.
Article 25
The Head of State shall be the President of Einsenland, who shall represent the State, uphold the Constitution and safeguard national unity and the proper functioning of State organs.
Article 26
The President shall exercise the powers of State representation, strategic initiative, constitutional protection, appointment and command expressly conferred by this Constitution, shall not directly administer the day-to-day affairs of ordinary departments and shall not unilaterally expand those powers.
The Office of the President shall not establish administrative, police or intelligence chains of command parallel to those of the Cabinet. Decisions lawfully taken by the President shall be countersigned by the responsible civilian office-holder as prescribed and implemented through a unified administrative chain of command, except where the relevant power is by law exercised independently.
Article 27
The President's powers shall include:
(1) promulgating laws, returning them once for reconsideration with reasons in accordance with the law, or referring doubts as to constitutionality to the Constitutional Court;
(2) organising consultations on government formation, nominating the first candidate for Prime Minister, and lawfully appointing the Prime Minister who commands the confidence of the House of the People and the ministers nominated by the Prime Minister;
(3) representing the State in ceremonial and diplomatic matters and in treaty acts duly approved by law;
(4) declaring states of emergency and promulgating emergency orders lawfully ratified under Articles 53 to 55;
(5) appointing senior public officials through the statutory procedures for recommendation, consent and protection of tenure;
(6) dealing with failure to form a government and dissolution under Article 31, without creating additional grounds for dissolution;
(7) serving as commander-in-chief in accordance with the law and exercising powers under Articles 51 and 52;
(8) approving national reform pilot zones on the Government's recommendation and under statutory authorisation, with specified duration, budgets and evaluation requirements, without thereby suspending laws or fundamental rights;
(9) chairing the National Security and Strategy Council and raising issues of long-term national strategy;
(10) requesting reconsideration once, within the statutory period, of the use of statutory long-term reserves, major adjustments to national plans and appointments to key independent bodies, and seeking constitutional review where necessary.
Presidential orders shall be the written form in which the statutory powers in the preceding paragraph are exercised, and shall not constitute an independent basis for legislation or expansion of powers. The National Security and Strategy Council shall not exercise the respective powers of Parliament, the Cabinet or the courts in their place.
Article 28
Where the President is suspected of a serious violation of the Constitution, treason, corruption or another serious unlawful act, the House of the People may propose impeachment by a two-thirds majority of all its members. With the agreement of two thirds of all members of the House of Regions, the matter shall be referred to the Constitutional Court for adjudication.
The Constitutional Court may determine in accordance with the law whether the President is to be suspended during the proceedings. If statutory grounds for removal are established, it shall order removal from office. Criminal liability shall be tried separately by a court of competent jurisdiction. Ordinary disagreements over policy shall not constitute grounds for impeachment.
Article 29
The President shall be elected by nationwide direct election for a five-year term. No person may be elected President more than twice. The Electoral Act shall prescribe election, vacancy, acting office and inauguration procedures.
If the presidency is vacant or the President is temporarily unable to perform the duties of office, the Speaker of the House of the People shall act as President; if that Speaker is unable to act, the Speaker of the House of Regions shall do so. The acting office-holder's parliamentary voting powers shall be suspended for that period. In the event of a permanent vacancy, a presidential election shall be held within 60 days.
An acting President shall not, on their own initiative, dissolve the House of the People, alter national plans or make unnecessary long-term appointments. Constitutional duties concerning government formation and emergency action shall remain unaffected.
Article 30
Executive power shall be exercised by the Government headed by the Prime Minister. The Cabinet shall collectively determine government policy and organise the implementation of laws, the budget and national development plans. It shall be politically responsible to the House of the People and shall report to both Houses.
Presidential strategic initiatives and deliberations of the National Security and Strategy Council shall enter the decision-making procedures of the Government, Parliament or another competent body in accordance with the law. They shall not release executive bodies from accountability to the responsible Government.
Article 31
Government formation shall begin at the first sitting of a newly elected House of the People, or upon the Prime Minister's resignation, death, permanent incapacity or lawful loss of confidence.
Within seven days of the commencement of the procedure, the President shall, following consultation, nominate the first candidate for Prime Minister. The candidate must obtain the support of a majority of all members of the House of the People. If the first nomination fails or the President fails to nominate on time, the House may nominate and elect a candidate itself. Independent candidates and candidates of governing coalitions shall enjoy equal eligibility in accordance with the law.
The President shall appoint the person elected within seven days. If the President fails to do so, the Speaker of the House of the People shall announce that person's lawful assumption of office. No additional condition, including a requirement that the President and Prime Minister belong to the same party, may be imposed.
If no person obtains a majority within 30 days of the commencement of the procedure, the President shall announce the dissolution of the House of the People within the following seven days, and a fresh election shall be held within 60 days. If the President fails to make the announcement on time, the Speaker of the House of the People shall do so. The Constitutional Court shall determine a dispute over the statutory conditions within three days of accepting the case.
The outgoing Cabinet or a lawfully designated acting office-holder shall maintain essential functions as a caretaker government, and shall not alter long-term national strategy, dispose of major State-owned assets or make unnecessary long-term appointments. National plans, contracts and emergency action that must lawfully continue shall not be suspended because of caretaker status.
Article 32
Ministers shall be nominated by the Prime Minister and appointed by the President within seven days, and may be drawn from the governing party, coalition partners or independent professionals. If the President considers that a statutory obstacle to eligibility exists, the President shall state the objection in writing within that period and simultaneously refer the matter to the Constitutional Court. The Court shall determine the matter within seven days of accepting it. An objection without a lawful application for review shall not suspend the appointment deadline. If no valid application for review has been made and the President fails to appoint within the period, the Prime Minister may announce the appointment in accordance with the law. During review, the Prime Minister shall designate an eligible civilian to act temporarily, and the Court may grant interim protection where necessary.
Ordinary ministers shall not be subject individually to confidence votes in both Houses. Ministers shall be accountable to the Prime Minister and Cabinet and subject to parliamentary oversight. The Prime Minister may propose removal, which the President shall effect within seven days; if that period expires, the Prime Minister shall announce the removal in accordance with the law.
Appointments of ministers shall give due weight to professional competence, public experience and integrity requirements. Internal party positions shall not replace statutory appointment.
Article 33
The Government shall establish a Policy Innovation and Reform Advisory Office within the Prime Minister's administration to research and evaluate experimental policies. The Office shall not independently exercise approval, enforcement or financial allocation powers.
The Office shall report to the Prime Minister. The President may submit research requests and obtain reports through formal procedures, but shall not separately direct its administrative work. The preparation, implementation and adjustment of national plans shall be governed by Article 35A and the National Development Planning Act.
Article 34
The Government shall administer in accordance with the law.
The Government shall not substitute orders, administrative decisions, administrative rules or other administrative measures for legislation, exceed statutory authorisation, encroach upon Parliament's legislative powers or obstruct judicial independence.
Article 35
The national civil service system shall observe the principles of openness, fairness, professionalism, neutrality, integrity and performance, and shall distinguish political offices from permanent professional posts.
Civil servants shall be loyal to the Constitution and the law and serve all nationals, and shall not owe allegiance to an individual, political party or interest group. A change of government shall not in itself entail the replacement of permanent personnel, project teams or records systems. Appointment, removal, appraisal, discipline and remedies shall be prescribed by law.
Article 35A
The State shall operate a planning system linking long-term strategy, five-year development plans, annual plans and budgets. Plans shall be prepared under the Government's direction and approved by Parliament in accordance with the law, and shall remain effective for successive governments throughout their planning period. Changes in the composition or leadership of the Government shall not affect their validity.
Plans shall distinguish binding tasks from indicative targets, provide resource, financial and implementation arrangements, specify responsibility for maintenance and renewal, and be subject to public evaluation and audit. Failure to meet an indicative target shall not in itself give rise to a presumption of personal illegality.
Substantive adjustments to national planning objectives, the scope of interprovincial trunk infrastructure projects or implementation funding shall require evaluation, public explanation and approval by the body originally competent to approve them. Matters affecting local interests shall be dealt with under Article 23, paragraph 2.
The list of commitments safeguarded across government terms shall be limited to national interregional trunk infrastructure projects and core basic public service tasks with clear arrangements for delivery, finance and responsibility. Inclusion on that list and substantive adjustments to core objectives, project scope or necessary implementation funding shall require the separate approval of three fifths of all members of each House. That requirement shall not be circumvented through ordinary annual budgets, withdrawal of funding, splitting or non-renewal of listing. Other planning matters shall not all be made subject to a special majority.
Unlawful matters which a final court judgment requires to be revoked or stopped shall be corrected in accordance with the law; the majority requirement in the preceding paragraph shall not be used to maintain illegality.
Action may be suspended immediately in accordance with the law in the event of a major safety hazard, subject to review within a prescribed period. Continuity of planning shall not displace correction of errors, financial discipline or legal liability. Detailed arrangements shall be prescribed by the National Development Planning Act.
Article 36
Judicial power shall be exercised independently, without interference by administrative bodies, legislative bodies, political parties, organisations or individuals.
Article 37
Courts shall adjudicate independently in accordance with the law, and judges shall be subject only to the Constitution and the law.
Article 38
The ordinary courts of the State shall comprise Basic Courts, Intermediate Courts and the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court shall be the court of final instance for ordinary courts. Organisational levels shall not mean that every case must pass through each level. Appeals, appeals by permission, retrials and specialist divisions shall be prescribed by the Judiciary Act.
Court districts shall be determined by reference to judicial fairness, caseload and access to proceedings, and need not correspond to every level of administrative division.
Article 39
The State shall establish a Constitutional Court in accordance with the law to undertake constitutional review, constitutional interpretation, disputes over the powers of State organs and constitutional proceedings.
Article 40
In hearing cases, courts shall observe the principles of public and independent adjudication, the presumption of innocence, protection of defence rights and timely remedies.
Article 41
Parliament shall establish a Parliamentary Legislative Scrutiny Bureau to examine legislative drafting, numbering and references, official-language texts and consistency within the legal system, and to provide opinions in accordance with the law.
The Bureau shall be an auxiliary parliamentary body. It shall not independently veto legislation or constitutional amendments or interpret the Constitution in place of the Constitutional Court. Scrutiny shall be completed within the statutory period and shall not be used to prevent lawful promulgation indefinitely.
Article 42
Every person shall have the right to seek a judicial remedy against a decision, order or act of a State organ. Administrative action shall not be exempt from judicial review. Procuratorial bodies shall independently exercise public prosecution and oversight of investigations in accordance with the law; their organisation and powers shall be prescribed by law.
Article 43
The State shall establish a Commission for Public Welfare and Integrity to deal independently with public complaints, investigations into maladministration, integrity investigations and public welfare evaluations. Its members shall be selected through plural nomination, public scrutiny, separate consent of each House and staggered terms, as prescribed by law.
Where public welfare indicators fall substantially short of targets for two consecutive years, there shall be an investigation into the causes, parliamentary hearings and a government improvement report. Political responsibility, administrative unlawfulness and criminality shall each be determined through the appropriate procedure. Statistical scores shall not automatically establish grounds for impeachment or criminal liability.
Investigative measures restricting rights shall have a statutory basis and be subject to judicial review. Suspected crimes shall be referred to procuratorial bodies.
Article 44
The State shall establish an audit body to audit independently public finances, State-owned assets and public expenditure, and to report to Parliament.
Article 45
The State shall establish an Independent Electoral Commission to administer and supervise elections, voting, referendums and related disputes, ensuring procedural fairness and genuine results.
Article 46
Public officials' asset declarations, avoidance of conflicts of interest and integrity standards shall be prescribed by law. Senior public officials shall be subject to stricter transparency and oversight requirements.
Article 47
The State shall safeguard local self-government within its unitary structure. There shall be eight provinces and a directly administered capital district of equal administrative standing with a province. Elected local bodies shall exercise local legislative, executive and financial management powers in accordance with the law.
The central authorities shall be responsible for foreign affairs, national defence, nationality, currency, customs duties, national trunk networks and basic national public service standards. Local authorities shall be responsible for education, health, planning, local transport and the implementation of public safety functions within the scope prescribed by law. Joint tasks shall specify the lead authority, expenditure responsibility and revenue sources. Tasks shall not be transferred without corresponding support arrangements.
Article 48
The establishment, merger, division, boundary adjustment and allocation of powers of local units shall be prescribed by law, taking account of history, population, the economy, transport, culture and administrative efficiency.
Article 49
Tsing Shing City shall be the directly administered capital district and shall not form an administrative part of Qinglan Province. Local affairs shall be managed by its lawfully constituted capital assembly and city government.
The central authorities shall, in accordance with the law, safeguard the premises of State organs, national security and diplomatic activities. Cross-boundary planning, transport and environmental matters shall be handled through statutory coordination, without creating a comprehensive administrative authority parallel to the capital's elected government. Organisation and powers shall be prescribed by special legislation, which shall not diminish residents' fundamental rights.
Article 50
Local bodies shall exercise powers within the Constitution and national laws and shall not act contrary to the unified national legal order.
Article 51
The armed forces shall belong to the State and the people, not to any political party, organisation or individual, and shall obey the Constitution, the law and lawfully made civilian decisions.
The President shall be commander-in-chief. Use of the armed forces, mobilisation and major security decisions shall follow the respective procedures assigned to the President, Cabinet and Parliament by the Constitution and the law. They shall be countersigned by the responsible Prime Minister or Minister of Defence and transmitted for implementation through the Minister of Defence, Chief of the General Staff and statutory operational command bodies. Professional endorsement by the Chief of the General Staff shall not replace civilian countersignature.
For non-emergency use of the armed forces, the Cabinet shall propose a plan setting out scope, duration and financial grounds. Following the parliamentary authorisation required by law, the President shall promulgate the decision within seven days. Within that period the President may request reconsideration once, giving reasons. If the body originally competent maintains the decision, it shall be promulgated within seven days; if that period expires, the Prime Minister shall announce it in accordance with the law and take responsibility for implementation. Review of legality shall not automatically suspend the decision, except where a court grants interim protection.
The National Military Commission shall be a professional coordinating body within the Government's defence system, not a supreme political body independent of the responsible Government. The same statutory chain for transmitting orders shall apply in peace and war.
Article 52
The armed forces shall remain politically neutral and shall not intervene in party competition or ordinary administration. Declarations of war, peace-making, non-emergency cross-border combat operations and general national mobilisation shall require the separate approval of both Houses.
In the event of an ongoing armed attack or emergency assistance lawfully requested, the Government may act immediately under pre-established civilian command authorisation and shall report to the President and both Houses within 48 hours. Where continued special authorisation is required, ratification by both Houses shall be obtained within seven days. If ratification is not obtained, operations exceeding what is necessary for ordinary self-defence and safe withdrawal shall cease.
The scope, duration, command arrangements and remedies relating to military participation in domestic counter-terrorism and public safety shall be strictly limited by law.
Article 53
A state of emergency shall be declared in accordance with the law where the State faces war, a major disaster, serious unrest or another emergency seriously endangering national security and public order.
Article 54
A state of emergency shall be proposed by the Government with reasons and declared by the President in accordance with the law. It shall be submitted to both Houses within 48 hours and ratified within seven days by a majority of all members of each House voting separately. It shall lapse if not ratified.
Each state of emergency and emergency order shall last no more than 30 days. Any extension shall require renewed separate approval by both Houses. The President, Government and Parliament shall publish the scope, measures and conditions for termination in a timely manner and shall remain subject to review by the Constitutional Court and other competent courts.
An emergency shall not prevent Parliament, the judiciary, audit bodies and independent oversight bodies from continuing to perform their duties. Emergency orders shall not permanently alter the powers of State organs.
Article 55
During a state of emergency, the right to life, the prohibition of torture, personal due process, the core rights to judicial remedies and the basic constitutional structure shall not be deprived.
Article 56
A constitutional amendment may be promulgated and enter into force only after passage by two thirds of all members of each of the House of the People and the House of Regions voting separately, and approval by a majority of valid votes cast in a national referendum.
The Parliamentary Legislative Scrutiny Bureau shall provide technical scrutiny opinions within the prescribed period and shall have no independent power of approval. Time limits for presidential promulgation and procedures for reconsideration and review shall not alter the adoption thresholds laid down in this Article.
Article 57
An amendment concerning State structure, the form of government, fundamental rights, judicial independence, the electoral system or the Constitutional Court's core powers may be promulgated and enter into force only after passage by three quarters of all members of each of the House of the People and the House of Regions voting separately, and approval by at least two thirds of valid votes cast in a national referendum. Ordinary provisions shall be governed by Article 56.
The threshold for core matters shall not be circumvented by splitting amendments, describing them as interpretations or using ordinary legislation. Where a specific dispute arises as to whether a matter is core, the Constitutional Court shall give a reasoned decision before the referendum. Its review shall not replace voting by Parliament and the electorate.
Article 58
The Constitutional Court shall have authority to give official interpretations of the Constitution. State organs shall not substitute internal interpretations for constitutional interpretation.
Article 59
This Constitution shall enter into force on the date of promulgation. Existing laws, decrees and administrative orders inconsistent with this Constitution shall cease to have effect to the extent of the inconsistency.