National Civic Council Constitutional Act 1970

National Civic Council Constitutional Act 1970
Federal Parliament of the Novella Islands
Long title National Civic Council Establishment, Procedures, and Governance Constitutional Act 1970
Enacted by	Federal Parliament of the Novella Islands
Enacted	1 July 1970
Signed by	Dr. James Charles, Director of the Office of Legislative Affairs
Signed	1 July 1970
Commenced	2 July 1970
Summary
To constitute a permanent and statistically-representative National Civic Council, as prescribed by Article 106 of the Constitution of the Social Republic of the Novella Islands.
Status: In force

Division 1. Preambulatory Materials

1. The full title shall be the National Civic Council Establishment, Procedures, and Governance Constitutional Act 1970.

2. The short title shall be the National Civic Council Constitutional Act 1970.

3. The purpose of the act shall be to constitute a National Civic Council as prescribed by Article 106 of the Constitution of the Social Republic of the Novella Islands; to prescribe its composition, selection, duties, and safeguards; and to integrate its deliberations into the legislative and administrative processes of the Social Republic of the Novella Islands.

4. The act is designated as a constitutional act for the purposes of amendment, repeal, judicial review, and interaction with all other legislation.

5. The act shall enter into force one day after its passing.

Division 2. Definitions

1. For the purpose of this act, the following definitions apply:

h. "Conflict of interest" refers to any personal, financial, professional, or political interest, direct or indirect, that could reasonably be perceived to compromise a Councillor’s impartiality.

a. "Council" refers to the National Civic Council constituted under Division 3 of this act.

b. “Councillor” means an individual selected by stratified sortition, verified, inducted, and sworn under this act to sit as a member of the National Civic Council for the duration of the individual's term, until resignation, dismissal, or expiry of term, whichever occurs first.

c. "Eligible citizen" refers to any citizen aged 18 years or above, recorded in the most recent national census, who is not temporarily disqualified under Division 4.

i. "Rotation cycle" refers to the six-month interval at which one-third of Councillors retire and an equal number of new Councillors are inducted.

g. "Secretariat" refers to the professional staff appointed under Division 9 to administer the Council.

e. "Standing Committee" refers to a permanent subdivision of the Council corresponding to an executive policy portfolio.

d. "Stratified sortition" refers to random selection weighted to reproduce census proportions by age, gender, province, income, and ethnic background.

f. "Task Group" refers to a temporary working unit of a Standing Committee convened to examine a specific bill, regulation, or policy proposal.

Division 3. Establishment

1. The National Civic Council is established as a permanent, independent deliberative body of the Social Republic of the Novella Islands.

2. The Council’s advisory memoranda shall be appended to the reason docket of any bill, regulation, or executive instrument falling within its remit.

3. The Council shall neither exercise legislative power nor executive authority; its role is purely consultative and advisory, yet its advice must be acknowledged and addressed by the competent authority in the explanatory memorandum of any enacted measure.

Division 4. Eligibility and Temporary Disqualifications

1. All eligible citizens are equally liable for selection, save those temporarily disqualified as follows:

a. Members of the National Assembly during their term of office.

b. Senior civil servants holding Grade 1 or equivalent stewardship roles.

c. Directors, chief executives, or individuals with statutory reporting duties in the private sector.

d. Persons serving a custodial sentence, corvée, or remedial education order.

e. Persons judged legally incapacitated by a competent court.

f. Persons judged medically incapacitated by a competent medical authority.

g. Persons who have served as a Councillor within the preceding ten-year period.

2. Disqualification under subsections (1)(a)-(c) shall lapse automatically upon the cessation of the conflicting office or sentence.

Division 5. Composition, Term, and Rotation

1. The Council shall consist of 600 Councillors.

2. Councillors shall serve a single term of 18 consecutive months.

3. At each rotation cycle, 200 Councillors shall retire and be replaced by new appointees selected under Division 6.

4. Vacancies arising between rotation cycles shall be filled by the next reserve candidate of matching demographic stratum.

Division 6. Selection Procedure

1. The Census Office shall, at least ten days prior to each rotation cycle, generate an anonymised stratified sample equal to one-and-a-half times the number of vacancies.

2. The Secretariat shall invite candidates sequentially from the sample until all vacancies are accepted.

3. Any individual refusing to serve without valid grounds shall be subject to penalties as prescribed in Division 12.

4. Accepted candidates shall undergo identity verification, conflict-of-interest screening, and induction course in deliberative procedure, evidence appraisal, and portfolio basics.

Division 7. Organisation and Deliberative Functions

1. The Council shall constitute Standing Committees aligned with the executive portfolios in force at the time of each rotation cycle.

2. Each Standing Committee shall, upon receipt of a bill or regulatory proposal, constitute a Task Group of nine to 15 members to deliberate for a period not exceeding four weeks.

3. Task Groups shall:

a. Receive expert briefings prepared by the competent ministry and vetted by the Secretariat.

b. Request additional briefings where required, to be prepared either by the competent ministry, or external parties (including, but not limited to, academics, civil servants, civil society organisations, and affected community representatives).

i. All requested briefings shall disclose authorship, institutional affiliation, funding sources, and any potential conflicts of interest.

ii. The Secretariat shall ensure reasonable balance of perspectives where contested empirical, economic, or ethical questions are involved.

iii. No briefing shall advocate partisan electoral positions or solicit political support.

c. Conduct hearings open to the public and to written submissions.

d. Deliberate in camera and prepare an advisory memorandum containing:

i. A ranked list of policy objectives.

ii. Acceptable risk-tolerance thresholds.

iii. Identification of overlooked empirical or experiential factors not addressed in the proposal's reason docket.

iv. Any other reportable matters as may be deemed prudent by the Task Group.

4. Standing Committees shall approve the memorandum by simple majority and forward it to the full Council plenum.

5. The Council plenum shall meet quarterly to adopt or amend Standing Committee outputs, and to issue systemic recommendations applicable across portfolios.

6. Adopted memoranda shall be appended to the reason docket of the relevant measure. The National Assembly or competent ministry must respond to each point therein in the explanatory statement published on enactment.

Division 8. Transparency and Publication

1. All hearings, briefing materials, deliberative minutes, and advisory memoranda shall be recorded and deposited in the National Open-Data Repository within 30 days of adoption, subject only to redactions required for safeguarding individual privacy or national security.

2. In camera deliberations shall be transcribed and released after five years, unless extended under statutory exemption or by order of the Constitutional Court.

Division 9. Secretariat

1. A permanent Secretariat shall be established under the Office of the Minister for Administrative Affairs.

2. The Secretariat shall provide logistic support, training modules, facilitation services, statistical assurance, and publication services.

3. The Secretariat shall be headed by a director appointed through open merit competition for a renewable five-year term.

Division 10. Remuneration and Allowances

1. Councillors shall receive an honorarium equal to the national median wage for each week of active service.

2. Travel, accommodation, dependent-care, disability assistance, secure remote-participation, and any other reasonable costs required to facilitate participation (particularly by individuals who would otherwise be unable to fulfil their role as Councillor) shall be borne by the state.

3. Honoraria and expenses shall be exempt from income taxation.

Division 11. Integrity and Conflict-of-Interest Safeguards

1. Councillors shall disclose any potential conflict of interest upon appointment, and whenever circumstances change.

2. A Councillor found to have wilfully concealed a conflict shall be dismissed and subject to penalties under Division 12.

3. Councillors shall adhere to the Code of Deliberative Conduct issued by the Secretariat, which shall mirror (as close as is practicable) the Code of Deliberative Conduct of the National Assembly.

4. A Councillor may be dismissed by two-thirds vote of the Council plenum for persistent disruption or obstruction of Council proceedings.

5. Dismissal is subject to appeal to the Constitutional Court.

Division 12. Offences and Penalties

1. The following shall constitute offences under this act:

a. Refusal to serve when selected, without valid exceptional grounds.

b. Failure to attend mandatory orientation, without valid exceptional grounds.

c. Persistent failure to attend Council sessions.

d. Wilful concealment of a conflict of interest.

e. Wilful and/or reckless unauthorised disclosure of classified material, not otherwise prosecuted under another act.

2. Any individual who is guilty of the above shall be subject to penalties as determined by the relevant competent court, including:

a. Remedial education, with the objective of educating the individual on the importance of their involvement within the civic process.

b. Administrative fines not exceeding ten times the weekly national median wage, or the individual's regular wage, whichever is higher.

c. Corvée, for offences under subsections (1)(a)-(c), for a period of no longer than the remainder of the individual's term.

d. Custodial sentences, for offences under subsections (1)(d) and (e), for a period of no longer than two years.