Parliament

Description
The Parliament is where the vast majority of actual governing in Terre d'Ange takes place. Although technically an advisory body to the Throne, in reality the King or Queen does not often oppose their wishes as that would lead to unhappy lords. Though there have been occasions of armed rebellion against the crown in the past, the fact that the Courcels have maintained their hold on the throne since the founding of the nation is a testament to both the effectiveness of the government and the political acumen of the house royal.

Parliament debates laws, mostly mundane things like tax issues, the letter of various trade agreements, or regulations for the various trades in the nation. The Throne oversees Parliament and serves to provide order to the debates. Currently, Parliament consists of eighty-five votes; the sovereign king or queen (1), the royal house's heir apparent (1), and all ducal, comte, and marquisate seats (1 each). Any d'Angeline citizen is allowed to bring a suit before Parliament in theory, but in practice it is difficult for anyone without significant financial power or legal knowledge.

One of the advantages to the Parliament system is that it allows the Throne to see where trouble is stirring within the nation. The Courcel dynasty has worked very hard on insuring peace within the realm, and it does so through a variety of means, including compromises, pacts, and occasional intimidation. Indeed, the Throne considers its primary duty not to be leading the people, but just keeping the peace within the realm so that others can lead. In times of crisis, however, the Courcels have always proven to be decisive and charismatic leaders.

Powers of Parliament

 * To advise the monarch. This takes two forms:
 * First, proposals can be made by any member of parliament. If a successful vote takes place, the proposal is officially recommended to the monarch, who will then often (but not always) make it a law.
 * Second, monarchs will often (but not always) propose political appointments to parliament. A vote will then be taken to see whether or not the assembly approves of the appointment.
 * To try crimes of the peerage that could result in the removal of noble title, banishment, or execution:
 * Treason1 (maximum sentence of execution)
 * Rape (maximum sentence of execution)
 * Murder (maximum sentence of execution)
 * Defilement of holy places or clergy2 (maximum sentence of banishment)
 * Dereliction of feudal duty3 (maximum sentence of removal of title)

1 Examples include: Planning, attempting, or achieving harm to the reigning monarch or his immediate family. Directly disobeying a lawful command of the reigning monarch. Planning or attempting interference in the lawful succession of the crown. 2 Examples include vandalism of a temple, or assault of a priest or priestess. Only applies to the temple orders of Elua and his Companions. 3 Examples include not providing military aid when called, not paying taxes, mismanagement of resources that harms large numbers of peasants, or taking action to aid the enemies of your liege. This last example does not include votes in parliament, which are considered polite expressions of opinion rather than action.

OOC Parliament Rules
1. Please use places code for social posing. Posing to the entire room should be limited to debating the topic at hand, not to include nonverbal communication (I.E. Poses that are nothing but facial expressions, but contribute nothing to the discussion). 2. No posing in: Parliament takes enough time without waiting for everyone to do this. 3. 3 Pose Rule: For each issue debated, the three pose rule will be in effect, but when the king calls a stop to vote, then it is time to stop and vote. 4. Voting: When a vote is called, no more than a line or two containing a clear vote, please. 5. Keep OOC communication civil, and OOC comments in the room to an absolute minimum; in other words, questions about the topic at hand, only. 6. Proposals: Going forward, all proposals must be submitted via +request to staff by the day before the session of parliament that you want it presented at. Since we only have a limited time, and we will only schedule 2-4 votes for a particular session, you should try to get these in as soon as possible.