Title XIII · Transitional And Final Provisions · Public Register of the Republic of Fluid

320

Adoption

This Constitution takes its authority from a referendum of the residents.

1.This Constitution is adopted by the residents of the Republic of Fluid, voting in referendum, and it derives its authority from that act alone.
2.The referendum is decided by a majority of the votes cast, and in no case does the level of participation condition its validity.
3.The result is proclaimed by the body conducting the referendum and is published with the count of every polling station.

321

Entry into force

It comes into force thirty days after the result, with some parts phased in.

1.This Constitution enters into force on the thirtieth day after the proclamation of the result, and that day is the day of commencement.
2.Titles I, II, III, XII and this Title enter into force in full on the day of commencement.
3.The following enter into force on the day of commencement, subject to the phasing of Chapter 3: Titles V, VI, VII, VIII, IX, X and XI.
4.Title IV enters into force on the day of commencement, and Articles 97 to 99, 106 to 113 and 115 to 116 apply from the opening of the first planning period constituted under Article 331.
5.A provision phased under Chapter 3 binds every organ from the day of commencement as a standard of conduct and of interpretation, and its procedures apply from the date that Chapter appoints.
6.In no case does phasing suspend Title III, the ecological budgets once established, the jurisdiction of the courts, or the guarantee of Article 62 as furnished on the day of commencement.

322

Repeal

The constitutions of 2024 and 1890 are repealed, and preserved as history only.

1.The Constitution of the Republic of Fluid adopted in 2024 is repealed on the day of commencement.
2.The Constitution of the First National Council of the Republic of Fluid, adopted on 15 December 1890, and every constitutional instrument preceding this one, are repealed so far as any part of them remained in force.
3.The repealed texts are preserved in the public register in their integral form, with the dates between which each was in force, are published free of charge under Article 314(4), and are held in the archive of the Republic.
4.A repealed text may be cited as history, as evidence of the intention of its makers, and as a record of the development of the Republic. In no case is a repealed text cited as authority, invoked as a source of right or obligation, or applied by any court or organ.

323

Continuity of laws

Existing laws continue, conflicts are void at once, and the rest must conform within three years.

1.Laws, organic laws, regulations, local rules, licences, permits and administrative acts in force on the day of commencement continue in force.
2.A provision conflicting with this Constitution is void from the day of commencement, to the extent of the conflict, and Article 4(4) governs.
3.Where a provision can be read in conformity with this Constitution, it is so read, and Article 39(3) governs.
4.Every organ examines the instruments within its competence, publishes within one hundred and eighty days a list of the provisions it considers void or in need of conformity, and brings the remainder into conformity within three years of the day of commencement.
5.The Office of Constitutional Revision publishes a consolidated list of the provisions declared void, maintains it, and reports annually upon the progress of conformity.
6.Failure to bring a provision into conformity within three years causes it to lapse, and in no case does the lapse of a provision reduce the provision furnished under Article 62.
7.Nothing in this Article delays the direct effect of Title III under Article 39(1), and any person may plead the nullity of a conflicting provision from the day of commencement.

324

Continuity of acts, rights and proceedings

Past acts stay valid, pending cases continue, and provision is never interrupted.

1.Acts lawfully done before the day of commencement remain valid, and rights acquired under them are protected.
2.Judicial and administrative proceedings pending on the day of commencement continue before the organs then seised, and the procedural guarantees of Title III apply to them from that day.
3.Sentences and measures in execution are brought into conformity with Articles 80 and 228 within one year, and a person held under a penalty this Constitution prohibits is released or has the penalty adjusted within ninety days.
4.Treaties in force continue, and Article 291(3) governs any conflict.
5.Provision furnished on the day of commencement continues without interruption, and in no case does any transitional measure reduce it.

325

The Judicial Council

The Judicial Council is constituted first, drawn by lot and elected by sitting judges.

1.The Judicial Council of Article 209 is constituted first, and it is constituted within one hundred and twenty days of the day of commencement.
2.The thirteen resident members are drawn by lot under Article 210 from the residents of the Republic, by the body then conducting elections, in public session and by a verifiable procedure, and their confirmation is required by no organ.
3.The eight judicial members are elected under Article 211 by the judges holding office on the day of commencement, by secret ballot, and Article 211(2) applies so far as the courts then existing permit.
4.The Council so constituted holds the full competences of Article 208 from the day it convenes.
5.By way of exception to Article 210(3) and Article 211(3), the first resident members serve one, two and three years by lot among them, and the first judicial members serve three and six years by lot among them, so that the staggering of those Articles is established.
6.Article 237 does not apply to the Council itself, and in no case is the first Council confirmed, approved or vetted by any organ.

326

The Constitutional Court

The Constitutional Court follows within eight months, its first terms staggered by lot.

1.Within ninety days of convening, the Judicial Council opens the register of Article 218 and verifies entries upon the published conditions alone.
2.The first fifteen justices are drawn under Article 217 within two hundred and forty days of the day of commencement, and Article 217(2) and (3) apply.
3.By way of exception to Article 219(2), the first justices serve four, eight and twelve years by lot among them, in equal groups of five, so that the staggering of that Article is established.
4.Until the Court is constituted, the highest court then existing exercises the jurisdiction of Article 216(2), applies this Constitution directly under Article 4(3), and its decisions in that period stand until the Court decides otherwise.
5.The Court appoints the Judicial Inspectorate under Article 214 within one hundred and twenty days of its constitution.

327

Judges and prosecution

Sitting judges continue, with up to six years of past service counting toward their term.

1.Judges holding office on the day of commencement continue in office, and their terms are treated as having begun on that day for the purposes of Article 203(1), counting toward the twelve years the service already performed in judicial office, up to a maximum of six years.
2.Presidents of courts and heads of divisions holding office on the day of commencement remain until elections under Article 205(1), held within one year, and the time already served counts toward the limits of Article 205(2).
3.The Judicial Council conducts the first competitions under Article 202 within one year, and the assignment system of Article 201 operates within eighteen months of the day of commencement.
4.The head of the prosecution service is appointed under Article 224(2) within one year, and the service continues under its existing direction until then.

328

The oversight offices

The oversight offices are constituted within a year, with staggered first terms.

1.The Electoral Commission, the Audit Office, the Defender of Rights, the Commissioner for Future Generations, the Office of Democratic Integrity and the Office of Constitutional Revision are constituted within one year of the day of commencement.
2.Organic law constitutes the pools of Article 236 within one hundred and eighty days, and the Judicial Council verifies entries and confirms those drawn under Article 237.
3.By way of exception to Article 238(2), the first members of each college serve terms of three, four, five, six and seven years by lot among them, so that the staggering of that Article is established.
4.Until the Electoral Commission is constituted, the body then conducting elections performs its functions, conducts the draws required by Articles 325 and 326, and is bound by Articles 244 to 248.
5.Until the Defender of Rights is constituted, complaints are received by the courts under Article 43, and the period of limitation for any complaint is extended by the delay.

329

The Ecological Budget Authority and the first budgets

The Ecological Budget Authority is set up in six months, and publishes the first budgets in two years.

1.The Ecological Budget Authority is constituted under Article 24 within one hundred and eighty days of the day of commencement.
2.The Authority publishes within one year a provisional measurement of the throughput of energy and materials of the Republic, and within two years the first ecological budgets under Article 23, following the procedure of Article 25.
3.The safe level of Article 22(1) is determined with the first budgets, and where measured throughput exceeds it, the schedule of reduction under Article 22(2) is published with them.
4.From the day of commencement until the first budgets take effect, no organ, territory, enterprise or licensed entity increases its throughput of energy or materials above the level of the year preceding commencement, and Article 26(2) applies to any act doing so.
5.The prohibition of Article 32(2) upon the extraction of fossil fuels takes effect on the day of commencement. The schedule for phasing out their combustion is published within one year.

330

The Assembly and the executive committees

The National Council continues until the first Assembly of two hundred is elected within a year.

1.The National Council in office on the day of commencement continues, exercising the competences of the Assembly under this Constitution, until the first Assembly convenes.
2.The first election under Articles 120 and 121 is held within one year of the day of commencement, and the calendar of Article 123(2) begins with the first ordinary election following it.
3.Organic law establishes the twenty sub-regional districts and apportions the two hundred seats under Article 121 within one hundred and eighty days of the day of commencement, and the Boundary Division of Article 247 conducts the first apportionment under Article 121(5) once the Electoral Commission is constituted.
4.The National Council constitutes no executive committee. Articles 147 to 154 apply from the convening of the first Assembly, which constitutes the executive committees within thirty days under Article 148(2).
5.The Government, ministries and offices of execution existing on the day of commencement continue their functions until the executive committees are constituted, and Article 154 binds them from the day of commencement.
6.The Presiding Officer of Article 146 is elected by the first Assembly at its first sitting.

331

The planning bodies and the first plan

The planning bodies are built over two years, running the inherited plan meanwhile.

1.The plan in force on the day of commencement continues until the first plan under Article 97 is adopted.
2.The workplace, user and neighbourhood assemblies of Articles 92 and 93 are convened within one hundred and eighty days of the day of commencement, and the register of needs under Article 63 opens within the same period.
3.The communal, sub-regional and regional economic councils of Articles 94, 95 and 183(5) are constituted within one year, and the National Planning Congress and the Planning Secretariat under Article 96 within eighteen months.
4.The first planning cycle under Article 97 opens within two years of the day of commencement, and the first plan takes effect at the opening of the planning period following its adoption.
5.Until the first plan takes effect, allocation follows the plan continued under paragraph 1, adjusted under Article 99, and the priority of Article 91(2) binds every adjustment from the day of commencement.
6.The reserve of Article 105(1) and the solidarity floor of Article 303(1) apply from the first plan adopted under Article 97.
7.The formula of Article 180 is published within eighteen months, and until it operates, communes, sub-regions and regions receive allocations no lower in real terms than those they received in the year preceding commencement.

332

Territories

Existing communes continue while the sub-regions and regions are established.

1.The communes existing on the day of commencement continue, and their councils remain in office until elections under Article 170(1), held within eighteen months.
2.Organic law establishes the nine sub-regions of the western region and the eleven of the eastern within one hundred and eighty days, with their names and boundaries, and the sub-regional councils of Article 173 are constituted within one year.
3.The regional councils of Article 175 are constituted within eighteen months.
4.Communes determine within one year whether Article 141(1) or Article 141(2) applies to them, upon the figure organic law fixes, and publish the determination.
5.Communal police services are brought into conformity with Article 274 within two years, and paragraph 3 of that Article takes effect on the day of commencement.

333

Provision, housing and devices

Existing provision levels count as the minimum core until organic law specifies it.

1.The minimum core of Article 41(5) is specified by organic law within one year of the day of commencement, and until it is specified, the level of provision furnished in the year preceding commencement operates as the minimum core.
2.The catalogue of general provision under Article 107(2) is published within eighteen months.
3.Article 185 applies to a household whose size fell before the day of commencement only from the date of the first offer under Article 185(2), which is made no earlier than one year after commencement, and the periods of Article 185(3) and (4) run from that offer.
4.Articles 108 and 109 apply to devices produced or ordered after the day of commencement. Devices already in service continue, and repair parts are furnished for them so far as they exist.
5.Article 109(5) is satisfied by every public system within three years of the day of commencement, and the inventory of Article 301(5) is first published within one year.

334

Working time and contribution

The twenty-four hour week applies at once, with two years to reorganise stubborn tasks.

1.Article 72(1) takes effect on the day of commencement, and where a task cannot be reorganised at once, the executive committee competent publishes a schedule bringing it into conformity within two years.
2.Article 70 takes effect on the day of commencement in full, and in no case does any transitional measure condition provision upon contribution.

335

Electronic voting

Electronic voting waits at least two years, and until the Commission certifies the conditions.

1.Article 245(3) to (11) applies from the date on which the Electoral Commission certifies that the conditions of Article 245(4) are satisfied, and in no case earlier than two years after the day of commencement.
2.Until that date, every procedure is conducted on paper under Article 245(1) and (2).

336

Union and external relations

Bloc membership continues while its founding instrument is brought into conformity.

1.Membership of the Democratic Socialist Bloc continues, and the Republic seeks within two years the amendment of its constituting instrument to conform with Articles 293 and 294.
2.Findings under Article 288 are made within two years of the day of commencement, and until a finding is made, exchange proceeds under Articles 117 and 298.
3.Article 289 applies from the day of commencement, and a person who would qualify under it and who resides in the Republic on that day acquires citizenship upon application.
4.The floor of Article 303 applies as Article 331(6) provides, and until it applies, solidarity continues at no less than the level of the year preceding commencement.

337

First distribution and summary

The summary is published within a year, and the booklet distributed within eighteen months.

1.The official summary of Article 315 is published within one year of the day of commencement.
2.The distribution of Article 316 is completed within eighteen months, and until it is completed, copies are available free of charge at every communal office, library and school.
3.The first periodic review under Article 318 is convened in the tenth year after the day of commencement.

338

Reservation of the amending power

Transitional provisions expire when their transitions are done, and can never be extended.

1.Nothing in this Title extends the amending power, and Article 310 binds every measure taken under it.
2.Provisions of this Title expire when the transitions they govern are complete, and the Office of Constitutional Revision records the expiry of each in the consolidated version.
3.In no case may a period fixed by this Title be extended, except by amendment under Title XII.

339

Authorship and method

The text was drafted by the people with machine assistance, under human decision throughout.

1.This Constitution was drafted by the people of the Republic of Fluid through their deliberative bodies, in part with the assistance of artificial reasoning systems, under human direction and human decision at every stage, and adopted by the residents under Article 320.
2.The record of the drafting, including the questions put, the choices made, the alternatives rejected and the reasons given, is published in the public register and is preserved in the archive of the Republic.
3.The use of such assistance in the drafting confers upon it no authority, no interpretive weight and no standing, and in no case is a machine cited as a source of meaning in the interpretation of this text.
4.Article 51(5) binds every organ constituted by this Constitution. Decisions under this Constitution are taken by persons who are identified and accountable, and in no case by a system.
5.This Article records a fact of provenance and is not a rule of construction, except as paragraph 3 provides.

340

Text and languages

All language versions are equally authentic, and headings and the summary are not operative text.

1.The text of this Constitution in the languages of record is equally authentic, and where the versions diverge, the reading more favourable to the right in issue prevails under Article 39(3).
2.Titles, chapter headings, article headings, the index and the table of cross-references are aids to navigation and form no part of the operative text.
3.The official summary under Article 315 forms no part of the operative text, and Article 315(3) governs.
4.The preamble states the purposes for which this Constitution was adopted and is used in interpreting it under Article 39(3). In no case does the preamble create, extend or restrict a right, an obligation or a competence, and in no case is a claim founded upon it alone.

Transitional And Final Provisions

Chapter 1 · Adoption and Entry into Force