Civil Office of Luminion

[Sundreamer]

By the will of His Majesty of the Enlightened Kingdom of Luminion, the powers of grace be instilled into the Civil Office of Luminion as to function unto his spirit and authority. The Rights and Responsibilities of the People of the Kingdom rests in this delegation and solely under his scrutiny. The Civil Office, subservient to the Citizen's Council, is granted therefore these permissions:
​

Contents:​

I. Powers & Responsibilities​

II. Housing & Development​

III. Licenses & Investment​

IV. Census & Citizenry​

V. Tax & Subsidiaries​

Article I
​

1. The Civil Office of Luminion, also known as the Civil Office, shall have an authority overseen by the local Mayor. Whose governance is representative of the Sovereign’s approval and legitimacy. The Officership of the Mayor is appointed by:
   1. The Crown, the Therri’cill and Aeri’cill, who retains the power to appoint and depose the Mayor without question.
   2. The Pricecilus and Pricecili, who may petition or sponsor a particular member of society at the blessing of the Crown.
   3. The Nobicilus, who may refer to a particular member of society to the Crown.
   4. An election, in which a majority of the votes of a particular constituency advocate for the support of a candidate.
      1. One vote per person within a constituency.
2. The Mayor, upon election or appointment, shall be granted the same prestigious respect that is equal to a Visera, but are not due the same rights, responsibilities or affirmation
3. The staff of the Civil Office are entitled to a negotiable financial allowance..
4. The Mayor can serve two five-year terms upon election or appointment, unless removed from Office prematurely:
   1. At the discretion of the Crown, as seen in Article 1.A.
   2. As a consequence of a committee formed to hold the Mayor accountable, resulting in their removal. Consisting of appointed officials and the Nobicilus.
   3. Popular Petition, in that an election be made within the Mayor’s constituency to remove them.
5. The Mayor retains the authority to form and dissolve their own cabinet of Civility Officers.
6. The Mayor will have the authority to propose, scrutinize and formulate legislation within their jurisdiction at the approval of the Crown and Courts.
7. The Mayor will execute the implementation of newly formed legislation from the Crown or superior Courts.
8. The Mayor has the authority to hold communal events at the blessing of the Crown.
   1. Communal Events, such as religious holidays, tournaments, markets.
   2. Festivals of Significance, such as births, deaths, victories and more.
   3. Public Sermons.
   4. People’s Assemblies.

Article II
​

1. All properties are subject to the Crown, in that they can be leased, seized and developed at the discretion of the Crown or designated bodies of authority. Such as seen in Article V Section II.
2. All citizens, as seen in Article IV, Section IV, are entitled to the ownership of property for residence and to set up a business once the proper avenues are accepted.
3. Requests to develop, expand or renovate must go to the Citizen’s Council or a delegatory committee that oversees development.
4. Regional occupancy is defined by the number of a building within its district within its region, which retains an individually categorized tax bracket as seen in Article V, Section VI, and can be located accordingly. Such as Number 2 of Larethael Square in Luminion.
5. The application for property is subject to a brief Housing Request Form where a series of questions, but not only, can be asked at the discretion of the Mayor or designated Civil Officer:
   1. Their name, occupation and citizen type. And how long they have been a citizen.
   2. How long they have lived in the Kingdom.
   3. Their occupation.
   4. What type of property they want.
   5. Why should they be granted the property.
6. Once completed, and accepted, a property can be immediately moved into unless under renovation or the previous owner has yet-to-be-evicted as seen in Article V Section VIII.
7. Rent must be paid in full for the chosen property as seen in Article V, Section VI and Section VII, with the consequences aforementioned.
   1. Tax and payments may be done so in advance only if cleared by the Civil Office and notified. Otherwise the risk of being overtaxed is a personal error and does not reflect the mismanagement of the Civil Office, no tax returns will be made.

Article III
​

1. All businesses within the Kingdom must adhere to the Crown, and be subject to it indefinitely. This is not just for businesses arranged and founded within the Realm, but any that currently do any transaction within the sovereign borders under the Crown’s authority.
2. Civil institutions will be governed as a representative body of the Crown, not in spite of it, and are subject to the discretion of the Crown who may dissolve any and all civil bodies.
3. All Permanent Citizens, and natural-born Citizens, as seen in Article IV, Section VII, retain the automatic freedom to create their business.
4. Any license can and will be removed automatically if business owners fail to pay their tax, such a criteria will be mandatory to all businesses being opened and are non-negotiable.
   1. This can also see the physical building where the business is being conducted seized.
5. All licenses, in that their founding occurring within the Realm, private and public, will have to be processed on an individually examined case by the Civil Office. Businesses shall be categorized as follows:
   1. Primary Markets: The selling or transaction of commodities such as agricultural goods, foodstuffs, raw resources, flora and fauna for whatever purposes.
   2. Secondary Markets: The selling or transaction of luxury and specialized goods, such as candles, arms and armor, clothes, commodities related to crafts such as carpentry, blacksmithing, literature. Alcohol, carts, sails and other refined goods.
   3. Foreign Markets: Any commodity exchanged, sold or granted from a foreign entity, company or license.
   4. Domestic Industries: Such as woodcutting, farming, mining, building, fishing, planning and other nationwide areas may be granted a special license called a Subsidiary Applicable Allowance, which could see the realm grant benefits as seen in Article V.
6. Upon acceptance of this application, the Civil Office must grant the rights to business immediately and discuss matters as seen in Articles II and V.
7. The application for these licenses will each follow a standard procedure of interview and format, which will be as follows:
   1. The name of the business and its owner.
   2. The reach of this business. In terms of its geographical dimensions.
   3. The sustainability of the industry, and its longevity.
   4. The categorisation of the business.
   5. The primary source of income generated by the business, and periphery sectors.
8. Exceptional industries may be granted a Crown License if a particular business is founded on the principles of aiding the state in any capacity. This is beneficial to businesses that wish to sell a specific thing to the Crown as a priority. These could be, but not only, industries in shipbuilding for the navy, training horses for the army, or the construction of civil buildings.
9. It would be agreed by this Crown License that the Kingdom may set the ratio between commodities sold to the Crown as a priority over the public markets and dismiss any Crown License at their discretion.
10. Due to the unstable nature of designated ‘colony’ regions, the Crown reserves the right to ensure certain ‘colony’ industries in their juvenile stage are protected, and therefore can grow without competition. In this case, the Crown may at any point forcefully move or remove any business that damages the local economies of such regions.
11. A business may be privately or publicly sponsored. The acceptance of a business license in any capacity automatically assumes the freedom of investment. Where an agreement, clause and negotiations occur between the business owner and the investor. This is particularly useful for new industries looking for financial support, and how the aristocracy may award certain businesses otherwise exempt from the Crown License.
    1. An investment must not be used entirely on the tax of a business, which is otherwise seen as a financial scapegoat, and can be used in Court as an offense to tax evasion.
    2. Alongside the income and outgoings of a business, all investments must be chartered and recorded, how much, how often and by whom to what end.
12. A business may in fact invest in any other business, therefore expanding the cooperation between industries. Such as, but not only, blacksmith investing in a mining industry to ensure its own business is safeguarded.
    1. Cite Article III Section IX.A and IX.B for further restrictions and consequences.
    2. An investment does not reduce the amount of tax the investing business has to pay, rather it is a voluntary and deliberate choice to do so and using investment to reduce the percentage of tax paid is an offense.

Article IV
​

1. The Civil Office of Luminion, under the empowerment of the Mayor, as seen in Article 1, shall take on the responsibilities to delegate or satisfy the process of citizenry personally as a representative of the Kingdom.
2. A General Census Programme shall be enacted every month to chart the population of the Realm, this counts households, members within their households and their occupation.
3. Any type of citizenry granted can be overturned by the Crown even if the Mayor accepted it.
4. The acceptance of citizenry shall abide by that individual by the same values, laws and ethics as a born-citizen of the realm, but can have their citizenship removed on the condition of a courtly judgment, tribunal or committee meeting over specific cases. Citizens are permitted:
   1. The right to freedom of trial and jury service.
   2. The right to education and enlightenment.
   3. The right to military service.
   4. The right to be represented in court.
   5. The right to purchase property.
   6. The right to own business and generate capital, following proper procedure as seen in Article II and Article III.
5. Newly granted citizens are expected to contribute to the Kingdom and Crown immediately after being accepted, otherwise risking intervention and investigation.
6. Academic Citizenship is given to foreign nationals upon the invitation or application to take up study within the Kingdom, in which they are still recognised as subjects of the Crown to be defended. This is primarily intended to export the knowledge retained within Arda as an economic and diplomatic commodity.
   1. If the potential Academic Citizen is already enrolled on any type of educational programme or apprenticeship, communication between institutions must be initiated and a common curriculum founded.
   2. The Academic Citizen must continuously pay the enrollment fee as laid out in Article 4, Subsection VII.D or have their citizenship revoked.
   3. An Academic Citizen may apply at the desired institution or academy and be accepted before any application of Academic Citizenry.
   4. If accepted, the institution or academy must provide a letter or statement of approval and sponsorship to the potential foreign student.
   5. If accepted, the Academic Citizen must pay an initial fee of application 80 and an enrollment fee as established by the academic institution.
   6. Details regarding the exact parameters of their study, programme, attendance, fees, subject and personal details must be copied for the Civility Office for future reference.
   7. The academic institution may provide accommodation, but not necessarily.
   8. Academic Citizens shall abide by the laws of the state and recognise the Crown’s authority.
   9. All transactions must be done so in andros.
7. Permanent Citizenry entails a foreign national giving up their previous citizenship, identity and nationality and becoming, for legal purposes, a member of the Enlightened Kingdom. Subject to its laws, customs and culture. This shall be determined through the processes of:
   1. An initial and informal conversation with no set-format or construction. As means to introduce the potential-citizen to important aspects of the process for legal purposes, and to answer any preliminary questions.
   2. A more formal questionnaire and testimony on the potential-citizen’s behalf. These questions shall be, as follows:
      1. Their name, date of birth, origin of birth, race and culture.
      2. Their history of occupation.
      3. Potential high-value skills they can transfer.
      4. Any foreign income they may be entitled to and money they could bring to the realm, such as savings, investment and sponsorship.
      5. Any criminal convictions, domestic or abroad.
      6. If they have any family members within the Realm, or want to bring any with them.
      7. Their understanding of the Kingdom, be it religion, culture, history, language or a combination of.
      8. Previous military service, awards, conclusions from service or exceptional circumstances.
   3. The potential Permanent Citizen must provide a written and oral testimony of these questions to the Civil Office and any corresponding courts, and provide an Oath of Enlightenment.
   4. Satisfying these elements comes at the discretion of the Civil Officer presiding over a particular case, who will then report to the Mayor for confirmation before any citizenry is accepted or denied.
8. Temporary Citizenry entails a foreign national foregoing many of the same restrictions and evaluations as a Permanent Citizen would have, as well as any benefits with Permanent Citizenry. This is granted mostly in favour of migratory seasonal workers, merchants, members of diplomatic delegations and security personnel and anyone expecting to move on after an uncertain amount of time without having to give up their prior nationality.
   1. A Temporary Citizen, regardless of occupation, must renew their Citizenship every four months.
   2. A Temporary Citizen will undergo the same processes as seen in Article 4, Subsection V.A and Subsection V.B, and beholden to the same contingency as seen in Article II and Article IV.
   3. A Temporary Citizen is expected to declare all intended purposes in the Realm, in terms of their organisation, responsibilities, duties, purposes and reasoning behind wanting Temporary Citizenship.
   4. For how long they wish to have Temporary Citizenship Status, and whether they will need to renew it in the future.
   5. A potential Temporary Citizen must satisfy the discretion of the Mayor and Civil Officer beholden to the individual’s case, these questions:
      1. Their name, date of birth, origin of birth, race and culture.
      2. Their history of occupation.
      3. Their current occupation.
      4. Any criminal convictions, domestic or abroad.
      5. Their intentions in the Realm as a Temporary Citizen.
      6. Any sponsorships, delegations or superior officers who can vouch and accredit their application.
      7. The potential Temporary Citizen must provide a written and oral testimony of these questions to the Civil Office and any corresponding courts.

Article V
​

1. The conditions of owning property can be seen in Article IV. Non-citizens are not able to obtain property personally and must find alternative means of residency.
   1. Non-citizens may reside with family and friends for a period of a month before having to return back to their nation. They must pay tax if they begin any work.
2. It is through the Crown’s personal authority or that of a delegated governing body that sets the tax rates of the Kingdom, be these personal, institutional or property tax. These same authorities are also charged with the power to increase and decrease the numerical value of the tax at their personal discretion. Though may be advised by select committees or members of the aristocracy.
3. A Crown Subsidiary is the aspect that the Realm will pay for the tax of a property as seen in Article V, Section V, in full or partially for reasons at their discretion. It may be as an act of charity, to award a member of society, to aid in renovations of a shop or industrial property, or for various other reasons.
4. A Crown Subsidiary may also be a single or stipend payment into a particular industry as seen in Article III Section V onwards to boost the economic viability of that particular industry. It can be individual businesses or entire sectors, such as agriculture, mining or shipbuilding for example. A Crown Subsidiary is useful in the preservation of domestic key industries that may need to outcompete foreign ones.
5. The Civil Office only enforces the parameters within Section II, ensures means of collection and that the appropriate channels of repercussions are afforded legislation if offense is made.
6. Each property, in relation to Article II, is signed a tax bracket, which must be paid weekly.
   1. Apartments: 20 Andros
   2. House: 35 Andros
   3. House & Shop: 60 Andros
   4. Shop: 50 Andros
   5. Mansion: 60 Andros
   6. Industrial: 15 Andros
7. The designated tax will be paid weekly (on Sundays) in full.
8. As of Article V Section IV, being late to pay the designated tax is called a ‘strike’ and with a number of ‘three’ stickers, a property can be seized and the occupants evicted.
   1. An eviction date will be posted and announced and all strikes will be documented.
   2. The evicted, or to-be evicted, occupant may take the matter to the Citizen’s Council to be disputed if they deem it a wrongdoing. Any settlement or outcome is thereafter transferred to the Citizen’s Council jurisdiction.

Written by: Sundreamer