Federalism in the Kingdom of Sierra
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Federalism in the Kingdom of Sierra refers to the political system which defines, organizes, and describes the relationship and division of power between the federal Government, the national governments, and the provincial, state, areal, and territorial governments. In contemporary Sierran political studies, the Kingdom of Sierra is described as having two distinct systems of federalism: an asymmetric form of federalism between the Kingdom and its countries (generally conflated with the similar but distinct concept of devolution) and a symmetric form which exists at the national level between the countries and their respective federative units.
The Kingdom of Sierra is often described as a "federation of federations". It comprises four countries: Bajaría, the Deseret, Hawaii, and Sierra (also known as Federal Sierra), each of which are federations in their own right, consisting of either provinces (Sierra), states (Bajaría), or areas (the Deseret). In each of the countries, the subnational governments derive their authority from their respective national constitutions, whereas the countries themselves derive their authority from both the Charter for the Kingdom of Sierra and Parliament. Of the national constitutions, the Constitution of Sierra wields the most influence and impact on the system of Sierran federalism. Although nominally it only has de jure application within Federal Sierra, in practice, it has been used as one of the foundational bases in the legal interpretation and implementation of federalism for the Kingdom as a whole. Authority deriving from Parliament, rather than the Charter or any of the national constitutions, is more commonly associated with devolution, which in itself, is the subject of debate and contention in the context of Sierran federalism.
At the fundamental level, the federal division of power is expressed by the enumerated and plenary powers given to the Kingdom as defined by the Charter, and the reserved powers given to the countries and to the provinces, states, and areas. The Sierran Crown is also divided among the Kingdom's various jurisdictions, reflecting the principle of shared sovereignty throughout the Kingdom.
Federalism was adopted and enshrined as a foundational, constitutional principle during the establishment of the Kingdom of Sierra in 1858, drawing heavy influence from the United States, and was further refined and developed through a combination of case law and acts of Parliament during the 19th and early 20th century. The Kingdom of Sierra is the third oldest surviving federation in the world, after Mexico and Switzerland. Following the promulgation of the 1950 Charter and the creation of the modern constituent countries, a more complex form of top-level federalism which includes elements of devolution was introduced.
History
Early federalism
Federalism as a political movement existed prior to the establishment of the Kingdom of Sierra. The Kingdom's predecessor state, the California Republic, was officially a federation of states, albeit much more decentralized than the Republic's (and subsequently the Kingdom's) inspirational model for federalism, the United States. The Federal Republic of Canada, another contemporaneous federation, was another source of inspiration for the Republic and the later Kingdom. The 1857 Constitutional Convention was dominated by two major ideological camps: the monarchists and the republicans. Although the camps held diametrically opposed positions, one of the major commonalities shared by the rivaling factions were a prevalent preference and support for federalism. The conceptualization and development of a federal system for the new country was thus one of the least contentious and controversial topics, although there was a significant minority from both factions which opposed federalization.
Although the Kingdom of Sierra ultimately adopted a Westminster-like parliamentary system, its federal system heavily drew influence from the United States in a number of ways, including: the enumeration of powers of parliament, and the deliberate non-enumeration of powers for the provinces (reserved powers); a constitutionally enshrined supremacy clause; bicameralism within the Parliament with a Senate in which the provinces were equally represented irrespective of population difference; the division of senators into alternating electoral cycles (classes); the establishment of an independent judiciary, headed by a supreme court which was empowered to declare both federal and provincial actions of government as unconstitutional; and the implementation of a complex amending constitutional procedure.
The early Sierran federal system reflected a strict division of power between the federal and provincial governments. The provincial governments adopted systems which largely mirrored or were similar to the federal level, and maintained a high degree of discretionary independence in their dealings with reserved powers. The federal government, with few exceptions, was largely restricted to whichever was strictly enumerated in the Constitution, and this was the position held and defended by the Sierran judiciary. This form of federalism, known as dual federalism, was the prevailing approach towards federalism in the Kingdom of Sierra prior to the Sierran Civil War. A major doctrine which complemented this strict form of federalism was the political discourse and concept of "provinces' rights" or "provincial rights". This was especially prevalent in the Styxie where the provincial governments frequently clashed against federal policies which they perceive as the federal government overstepping its constitutional limitations.
Post-Civil War federalism
Following the Sierran Civil War, the federal government favored a looser interpretation of the Constitution's enumerated and reserved powers. The federal government pursued a more assertive role as the Supreme Court and lower courts made rulings in favor of affirming the federal government's supremacy over certain matters. Policy changes towards reining in the weak regulatory system of banks, businesses, and railroads further encouraged a more proactive federal government with broader, far-reaching influence on national policies, greater than the individual provincial governments.
Pre-Charter federalism
Post-Charter federalism
The Crown
As a federated monarchy, the Sierran Crown is integrated as a foundational institution in all jurisdictions of the Kingdom, where the headship of state is recognized and shared equally. Sovereignty is vested through the Crown itself as a part of the executive, legislative, and judicial branches of the Kingdom of Sierra's 50 (45 subnational, 4 national, and 1 federal) legal jurisdictions. The Crown can thus be understood to be subdivided into 50 "crowns" and is the central component to Sierran federalism. The sovereign is recognized as a distinct and separate legal personality in each of their jurisdiction, and thus the embodiment of the state in that particular jurisdiction. The operation of the Crown is functionally similar at both the federal and provincial levels.
Division of power
The distribution and division of governmental power between the federal government and the subnational governments are primarily defined through constitutional law and statutory law. The Constitution of Sierra has been the primary source and framework which governs which matters are exclusive to or shared between the polities. The enumerated powers or expressed powers are the exclusive areas of law and powers granted explicitly to the federal government by the Constitution. Most of these enumerated powers are listed in Article III of the Constitution of Sierra, which includes the following:
- To enter into treaties and agreements with foreign powers
- To engage in diplomatic and consular missions
- To establish law concerning nobility, titles, and foreign emoluments
- Power to tax and spend to pay the debts of the Kingdom of Sierra, and to provide for the common defense and general welfare of the people, and the power to lay and collect taxes on income
- To borrow on the credit of the Kingdom of Sierra
- To regulate international commerce with foreign powers, interprovincial commerce between the Provinces, and commerce with the Amerindian tribes
- To regulate maritime trade, shipping, and navigation
- Has been expanded to include the power to regulate aviation, aeronautics, and spaceflight
- To regulate fishing and fisheries beyond territorial waters
- To establish and maintain lighthouses, beacons, and other provision for the safety of shipping
- To establish nationality and citizenship laws, and laws concerning immigration and foreign nationals on Sierran soil
- To establish and regulate bankruptcy laws
- To coin money and regulate its value, and of foreign coin, and to fix the Standard of Weights and Measurements
- To punish the counterfeiting of the securities and coin of the Kingdom of Sierra
- To establish and regulate post offices, post roads, and telegraph lines
- Has been expanded to include the power to regulate other forms of telecommunications such as telephone, radio, television, and the internet
- To establish and regulate railways
- To establish and regulate copyright law, trademarks, inventions and designs, and patents
- To establish and create courts inferior and subordinate to the Supreme Court
- To establish public universities
- To establish public services necessary for the common defense and general welfare of the people
- To define and punish piracies and crimes committed by nationals and citizens on the high seas and abroad in foreign countries
- To establish law concerning extradition
- To declare war and make peace, grant letters of marque and reprisal, and make rules concerning captures on land and water
- To raise and support an army and a navy
- Has been expanded to also include the power to raise and support an air force, a marines, a cyber defense force, and a space force
- To make rules concerning the army and the navy
- Has been expanded to include rules concerning the air force, the marines, the cyber defense force, and the space force
- To provide for calling forth a militia to defend against insurrection and invasion
- To make rules concerning the militia
- To punish treason and other high crimes committed against the Crown
- To exercise exclusive jurisdiction and authority concerning the establishment of needful buildings pertaining to the Federal government, its courts, and its military
- To delegate, deputize, and defer any of the foregoing powers to the Provinces at its own discretion, and to retain the power to revoke or supersede, by virtue of federal supremacy, with or without cause, any said delegated, deputized, or deferred foregoing powers
- To enact any laws necessary to executing the foregoing powers, and any other powers vested in the Constitution, or in any ministry and officer thereof
Devolution
In the Kingdom of Sierra, devolution is the related but distinct self-governance granted to Bajaría, the Deseret, and Hawaii as constituent countries and their respective devolved parliaments. Unlike the provinces, states, and areas which are constitutionally recognized as federal subdivisions, the countries derive their powers and authority through parliamentary statutes. In addition, the extent of devolved powers granted vary and are not uniformly applied. Certain powers unavailable to the provinces, states, and areas, such as the reserved powers, are generally available and devolved to the three countries, with the exception of reserved powers concerning the Crown, the federal Parliament, defense, international relations and agreements with foreign states, international trade, relations and affairs with Sierran Amerindian reservations, international trade, immigration and nationality policy, copyright and trademark policy, telecommunications and postal services, weights and measures, fiscal and monetary policy, and interprovincial commerce.
Territories
The territories of the Kingdom of Sierra are administrative divisions of the Kingdom which are under Sierran sovereignty and do not have sovereign status separate from the federal government itself. They are further classified whether they are incorporated or unincorporated (that is, whether the laws and protections of Constitution of Sierra and the Charter for the Kingdom of Sierra fully apply within such territory) and whether they are organized or unorganized. Politically, the territories exercise a degree of autonomy greater than PSAs in certain areas, and lesser than the PSAs in other areas. Citizens residing in K.S. territories do not have voting representation in the K.S. Parliament and do not enjoy the full privileges, duties, and responsibilities afforded by the national constitutions or the Charter. The relationship between the Kingdom and territories are more akin to devolution rather than the federal system, and thus, the territories are understood to exist outside or adjacent to the Sierran federal system, as their self-governance is entirely dependent and subservient to the federal government.
Conference of American States
As a member of the Conference of American States, there are certain powers and policies which the Kingdom of Sierra constitutionally possess, but are de facto exercised and executed by CAS institutions, such as the American Parliament, the American Council, and the American Court of Justice. The CAS exercises exclusive or discretionary jurisdiction over matters concerning the environment, agriculture, internal market, consumer protection, and agriculture. However, the Kingdom of Sierra remains fully sovereign and its membership within the CAS is essentially voluntary, as it reserves the right to withdraw from the CAS. Thus, the Kingdom freely delegates its powers to the CAS only from a deferential basis, as opposed to a truly binding matter. From a legal standpoint, the CAS does not have a formal, authoritative role in the Kingdom's system of federalism; its influence is primarily persuasive and not binding.
See also
- Devolution in the Kingdom of Sierra
- Separatism in the Kingdom of Sierra
- Unionism in the Kingdom of Sierra
