The Lawmaking Process of Tekniania

As in any democratic nation, there are a number of ways for a law to get introduced to parliament and a lengthy procedure to get them passed. On average, around 15 laws are approved and introduced every year, but around 200 are considered and voted on, but end up rejected.

The process starts with a proposal being submitted to the General Council. This can happen in 4 ways: a proposal submitted by the Outer Islands Council (these have priority over all other proposals), a proposal by The Speaker, a proposal by the Teknianian people (for one of these to end up in the General Council, at least 100,000 signatures must be gathered) or a proposal by the General Command of the Allied Guard (these proposals can only be of a military nature, and have, historically, mostly been requests of military intervention or structural change).

Of the methods mentioned, the most law proposals come from the people, and have historically been incredibly impactful in Teknianian history. For example, the prohibition of aeroplanes and the national policy of defensive pacifism have both come from the people, and are now considered essential to how Teknianians live.

When a proposal is submitted into the General Council, it is very often incomplete and an idea with no actual legally viable text. Thus, a Law Committee of 20 General Councillors and 5 representatives from the body that proposed the law is formed. This committee works to write a complete and viable law, which, when approved by 2/3ds of the Committee, passes into the General Council.

In the General Council, it is read out in full by a clerk, in the General Reading portion of the Council’s workday. During the readout, Councillors are allowed to interject and start a debate regarding whatever it is they disagreed with. These debates must last no longer than 10 minutes, and must end with either the Councillor digressing (agreeing that the law is okay as it was) or a vote on a change being added to the voting roster.

After the law has been fully read by the clerk, several rounds of voting begin on suggested changes to the law. For them to be added, a majority of 3/5ths of the Councillors present must be reached. In addition, these changes cannot be voted on more than twice (the initial vote and another that reverses the previous vote).

Once a law has gone through 12 General Readings or no changes were voted upon in the last one, a final, confirmatory vote is called. This vote must be attended by at least 51% of the Councillors and must pass with a majority of 2/3ds for the law to pass.

If a law has passed, it is then handed over to The Speaker, who signs it on behalf of the General Council and is then announced. All law announcements occur with Council Guards roaming the streets of all major cities and yelling out: “Hear!! The will of the nation is done!!” while handing out booklets with the text of the law inside, which are quickly printed as soon as the law is passed.

If a law does not pass, proposals whose general idea is the same as the law not passed are not accepted for the next 3 years. Councillors who did support this law, however, often continue working to improve it behind the scenes, ready to reintroduce it right as the 3 years expire.