Relatio de corpore regularum senatus perpetuo (Nova Roma)

From NovaRoma
Jump to: navigation, search

A senatorial decree concerning the permanent body of the rules of the Senate.

Contents


Introduction

I. Under the authority of section V.F. of the Constitution of Nova Roma, the senate hereby consolidates and enacts the following decree to define its own internal procedures.

II. The enactment of this decree provides revised senate rules which are necessitated to consolidate a series of past decrees. With the growth and modification of senate rules overtime, there is now conflicting legislation and even previously rescinded decrees being inadvertently reenacted. The following senatus consulta, are now considered lapsed and superseded, as are all others preceding them:

A. Senatus consultum de ratione senatus MMDCCLIX, 6 August 2006
B. Senatus consultum de ratione senatus MMDCCLXV, 31 January 2012
C. Senatus consultum de senatu habendo, 29 May 2019
D. Senatus consultum de sententia in propria persona dicenda, 30 Dec 2023
E. Senatus consultum de senatu habendo M. Cotta C. Petronio coss, 30 Dec 2024


  • Presiding magistrate: The consul, praetor, tribune or the princeps senatus who intends to issue, or issues, or issued the “call to convene”. This term is only ever used in connection with a “formal meeting of the Senate in session”. The presiding magistrate that issued the call to convene must also issue the “call to order”, the “call to vote”, the “call to close” and any “call to recess”. The duties, honors, powers, limits and obligations of any member of the Senate who is a “presiding magistrate” shall be limited to only those as specified in this Senatus consultum.



III. PRESIDING MAGISTRATE

1. The Tribune must clearly state in the call to convene the subject that he/she seeks advice on together with any relevant sections of the legal code that is the subject of advice sought, or which the Tribune will reference in any way during the formal meeting of the Senate in session. Any failure to comply with III.C.1 above shall be deemed to be an automatic termination of the call to convene and deemed contempt of the Senate.
3. The Tribune must not deviate from, alter, or add to, the content of the call to convene at any time and any deviation, alteration or addition shall be deemed to be illegal and an automatic termination of the formal meeting of the Senate in session and deemed contempt of the Senate. The only item(s) that the Tribune shall present to the Senate during the voting period is/are that one/those contained within the call to convene.
4. In any formal meeting of the Senate in session where a Tribune is the presiding magistrate, no Senatus Consultum Ultimum can be enacted and any such attempt to do so shall be deemed to be contempt of the Senate. The only lawfully permitted content of any draft Senatus Consultum put to the vote during such a session is in the form of advice and the content must state: “The advice of the Senate of Nova Roma is as follows”. Such a Senatus Consultum must also state at the end of the advice “This advice is non-binding and is not, and shall not be interpreted as, a direction, order or command of the Senate of Nova Roma.”
5. A Tribune who is the presiding magistrate must not recess a formal meeting of the Senate in session, except for the reasons specified at XIII.A.[1]

6. A Tribune who is the presiding magistrate must not put to the vote a draft Senatus consultum as at III.C.4 the content of which seeks to interpret, define or offer advice on this Senatus consultum or any part of it thereof. Any such act shall be deemed to be contempt of the Senate.


E. The presiding magistrate may require, by means of a call for order, a member of the Senate, or other magistrate, to cease his/her posting, but that requirement must only be when such posting:

1. Violates XII.E.
2. Is not concerned with any item on the agenda currently under debate.
3. Causes a disruption in the proceedings of the formal meeting of the Senate in session and/or the business of the Senate, and/or the period of the session.
If the member of the Senate, or other magistrate, fails and/or refuses to comply with the direction of the presiding magistrate to cease posting in the call for order, and where such posts continue to violate any or all of the sections III.E.1 to III.E.3 inclusive, then that member of the Senate, or other magistrate, may have his/her posting rights set to a moderated status requiring approval of posts, but only where such continued posting if unchecked, in the opinion of the presiding magistrate and the princeps senatus, would result in extreme disruption to and/or abandonment of, the session. Where a member of the Senate is placed on moderation that shall also be deemed contempt of the Senate. Ratification of such moderated status is required by the means specified at IX.A.2 during the next formal meeting of the Senate in session. Should such ratification not occur within 60 days from the date of suspension, then that moderated status is deemed cancelled and the princeps senatus or in his/her absence the Censors, shall ensure that the member of the Senate subject to such moderated status has his/her membership of the Senate list reinstated. Additionally if any other magistrate fails and/or refuses to comply with the direction of the presiding magistrate in the call for order to cease posting, then that other magistrate may be removed from the Senate list by the princeps senatus.
4. Only the presiding magistrate or the princeps senatus may approve a post from a member of the Senate on moderated status.
5. Such a post at III.E.4 must not be rejected in lieu of approval, except in cases of a clear and obvious breach of XII.E or such a post deleted after approval. Such a post must be left pending approval.
6. Such a post pending approval must be approved and released for publication to the Senate list as soon as is reasonably practicable after the call to close has been posted. The definition of “reasonably practicable” is as defined by the princeps senatus.
7. Such an approval at III.E.6 does not imply approval of the contents and does not indemnify the member of the Senate from any consequences arising from the content. The presiding magistrate or princeps senatus approving such a post are indemnified from any sanction that may be applied under the provisions of this Senatus Consultum if such a post is found to constitute contempt of the Senate, or any other provision that results in a sanction being applied.
8. The exception to the approval of such a post at III.E.7 shall be in circumstances where there is a clear and obvious breach of XII.E, in which case the post must be rejected and a post made to the Senate list stating the name of the poster and the fact that the post had been rejected for a breach of XII.E. In justifying such rejection no part of the rejected post shall be quoted verbatim, but may be summarized in a manner that does not breach XII.E. Verbatim reposting shall be a breach of XII.E.
9. No indemnification at III.E.8 exists if quoted verbatim or the summary at breaches XII.E, but the member of the Senate on moderated status who originally authored the post shall not himself/herself be subject to a sanction based on either the verbatim quote or the summary. The responsibility in such a case for a breach of XII.E rests solely with the approver of the post.



Convening the senate

III. A lawful formal meeting of the Senate requires a single presiding magistrate. As per the constitution, the following magistrates may issue a call to convene a formal meeting of the Senate:

A. A consul may issue a call to convene a formal meeting of the Senate for any purpose.
B. A praetor may issue a call to convene a formal meeting of the Senate for any purpose.
C. A tribune may issue a call to convene a formal meeting of the Senate only to ask the Senate's advice on matters within their scope as defined under law.
D. The princeps senatus may issue a call to convene a formal meeting of the Senate if the consuls and praetors are unavailable to conduct business and an urgent matter requires a session of the Senate.

IV. Among the magistrates, the right to convene a formal meeting of the Senate is determined by who "holds the rods", a state of affairs deriving from the right to the fasces. Traditionally, the senior consul, or the consul elected with most centuries, or in the case of a tie, the older of the two, shall “hold the rods” first in the January of the next year following his/her election. Conventionally, the period of time in which one possess the rods is monthly or otherwise by mutual agreement between the consuls (or praetors). A suffect consul shall “hold the rods” as and when his/her predecessor would have held them had he/she remained in office. A colleague who does not hold the rods may commence a formal meeting of the Senate when a magistrate is unavailable. In accordance with the lex Cornelia Domitia de re publica constituenda IV.G.1, any magistrate or any officer can be declared unavailable if they were demonstrably informed that they were invited to make a decision or action, but they are still unresponsive 72-hours after having been contacted and fully informed:

A. Should both consuls be unresponsive 72-hours after having been contacted a praetor, or if otherwise collegially granted by both consuls, a praetor has the right to convene a formal meeting of the Senate. A praetor may also convene a formal meeting of the Senate if granted by just one consul if the other consul remains unresponsive 72-hours after having been contacted by either his or her consular colleague or by the requesting praetor. Should there be disagreement between the praetors as to who may convene the Senate in this instant, the senior praetor, or the praetor elected with most centuries, or in the case of a tie, the older of the two, shall convene the Senate.
B. Should there be an urgent issue requiring the attention of the Senate, the princeps senatus may issue a call to convene a formal meeting should both consuls and praetors be unresponsive 72-hours after having been contacted and fully informed.
C. A tribune may issue a call to convene a formal meeting of the Senate only after having notified the consuls and confirming that the consuls themselves do not intend to call to convene a formal meeting of the Senate within 72-hours. Should both consuls be unresponsive for 72-hours after having been notified by a tribune, or if otherwise collegially acknowldged by both consuls, a tribune may issue a call to convene a formal meeting of the Senate. A tribune may also convene a formal meeting of the Senate if acknowledged by just one consul if the other consul remains unresponsive 72-hours after having been contacted by either his or her consular colleague or by the notifying tribune.

V. In order to commence a lawful formal meeting of the Senate, the presiding magistrate must issue a "Call to Convene". A Call to Convene must adhere to the following:

A. A Call to Convene must be a post by the presiding magistrate sent to the "Senate list" stating his/her intent to "call the Senate to order". This post commences the process to initiate a formal meeting of the Senate in session. The presiding magistrate may also send the call to convene post to any other list at his/her discretion. In cases of discrepancy of content between the call to convene post made to the Senate list and one or more call to convene post(s) made to any other list, the call to convene post to the Senate list shall be considered the definitive and only legal call to convene.
B. An initial agenda must be included in the call to convene detailing the items to be discussed. Substantive details are not required, but may be included by the presiding magistrate. Sufficient detail must be included such that members of the Senate can reasonably be expected to understand the general nature of the topic of each agenda item. The definition of "reasonably expected" is as defined by the princeps senatus.
C. The call to convene post must specify the time and date when the Senate will be called to order, the times and dates of the commencement and end of the debate period, and times and dates of the of the commencement and end of the voting period. The presiding magistrate of the session may leave the end dates of the debate period, voting period and the end of the session unspecified if he or she cannot clearly predict the length of time necessary for those procedures. If there is more than one item on the agenda, none of these items can have an individual times/dates of commencement/end of debate applied to them. Debate on all items on the agenda is to be simultaneous during the debate period. Therefore, the presiding magistrate must observe the following consecutive sequence of events, as declared in the call to convene, in the below order during a formal meeting of the Senate:
i. Call to convene
ii. Call to order
iii.. Call to vote
iv. Call to close

VI. If after the call to convene is posted, but before the call to order is issued, the presiding magistrate wishes to cancel that formal meeting of the Senate, then he/she must do so by way of a post to the Senate list, with a subject heading "Formal meeting of the Senate in session cancelled", stating in the body of the post the reason(s) for such cancellation.

VII. A presiding magistrate must ensure that a formal meeting of the Senate, established by the call to convene, does not extend into a period when his or her colleague is considered to hold the rods. A presiding magistrate may first obtaining permission from his or her colleague prior to issuing the call to convene, or if the overlap occurs as a result of changes in the session, then the presiding magistrate must obtain the permission from his or her colleague fast as is reasonably practicable. If his/her colleague refuses permission, then the presiding magistrate shall either:

A. Shorten any period of the session, but not below that permitted as a minimum by this decree. The exception is if the vote period is already underway when the overlap is identified, then the vote period shall continue regardless of the fact that it extends into the period the colleague of the presiding magistrate who holds the rods.
B. Issue the call to close on no later than the last day he or she holds the rods.


Calling the Senate to order

A. The presiding magistrate must post the call to order to commence the formal meeting of the Senate in session and must present to the Senate one or more matters on the agenda for debate.

B. The presiding magistrate may introduce items to the agenda other than those listed in the call to convene. These maybe his/her items or he/she may accept items from a member of the Senate or another magistrate.

C. Any new item(s) to the agenda may be included at any time between when the call to convene is issued and the commencement of the voting period. If its inclusion on the agenda occurs after the call to order, then 96 hours must be allowed for debate on that new item, with that 96 hours commencing from the time and date of its inclusion on the agenda. The debate period will need to be increased after such an inclusion after the call to order, but such increase is subject to the permitted maximum number of hours for debate at VI.A.4.a and if the inclusion of the item would exceed that permitted maximum, then the item shall not be included.

VI. DEBATE, REPORTING, PROXY AND CLOSE

A. After the call to order, members of the Senate may offer their opinions on any item on the agenda presented by the presiding magistrate in the call to order by means of a post to the Senate list.

1. The debate shall include members of the Senate and any other magistrate.
2. There shall be no limit on the text length of such opinions.
3. The presiding magistrate may at his/her discretion extend the period of debate, and may shorten it, but a reduction in the debate period must never reduce the number of hours allotted for debate from the number specified in the call to convene.
4. The number of hours allocated by the presiding magistrate to the debate period must always be between a minimum of 96 hours, or the number of hours set in the call to convene whichever is greater, and a maximum of 288 hours.
a. Amendments to the debate period at the time of, or after the call to order, shall never result in the debate period exceeding 288 hours.
b. The addition of the number of hours of debate at IV.G.3 and the number of hours of debate at IV.G.4 must never exceed the maximum of 288 hours.

B. In addition to the provisions of the Lex Moravia de renuntiatione senatus actorum, the Tribunes may, at their discretion collectively or individually, keep the citizens informed as to the progress and content of the debate period. The format for informing the citizens between these periods must be as follows:

1. Full verbatim transcripts of any/all post(s) of any member of the Senate or other magistrate made to the Senate list during the formal meeting of the Senate that the Tribune is reporting on.
2. Partial transcripts of any/all post(s) of any member of the Senate or other magistrate made to the Senate list during the formal meeting of the Senate that the Tribune is reporting on, with a summation of the parts of that post not recorded as verbatim transcript.
3. A summation of any/all post(s) of any member of the Senate or other magistrate made to the Senate list during the formal meeting of the Senate that the Tribune is reporting on.
4. Any mix of VI.B.1, VI.B.2) or VI.B.3 above during the formal meeting of the Senate in session that the Tribune is reporting on. Such a mix is at the discretion of the Tribune reporting.

C. The right of reporting at VI.B.1 to V1.B.4 inclusive is a privilege the Senate grants to the Tribunes in addition to those rights under the Lex Moravia de renuntiatione senatus actorum.[2]

1. Any departure from, or abuse of, the process at VI.B.1 to V1.B.4 inclusive, including but not limited to, inaccurate or false reporting of verbatim transcripts and/or grossly inaccurate summations may, at the discretion of the Consuls, lead to a revocation of the privileges granted, at VI.B.1 to V1.B.4 inclusive, to the Tribune responsible, for a period of time at the discretion of the princeps senatus.
2. The presiding officer may not alter, suspend or cancel the right of reporting at VI.B.1 to V1.B.4 inclusive, except under the conditions and terms of this Senatus Consultum.

D. If an agenda item concerns an item which is the presiding magistrate determines is of a confidential nature, he/she may:

1. Declare the Senate in closed session for that item.
2. Declare that the Senate seal is active and in effect for that item.
Declaration that the Senate seal is active automatically invokes closed session for that item. Such a determination by the presiding officer to invoke closed session and/or Senate seal requires the consent of the princeps senatus. Only if the princeps senatus does not inform the presiding magistrate about his or her disagreement, the senate is deemed not to be in closed session and/or Senate seal is not invoked. Otherwise, the consent of the princeps senatus is always deemed granted.
In respect of reporting the business of the Senate under the Lex Moravia de renuntiatione senatus actorum, or under the right of reporting at VI.B.1 to V1.B.4, where the Senate seal is active in respect of an agenda item, the Tribunes shall report only “A confidential item was discussed”. Reporting such an agenda item using any other text, by way of description, explanation or other purpose, will constitute contempt of the Senate.

E. Debate is only to be conducted by posts to the Senate list. The requirements of IV.G.1 apply throughout the debate period. Each member of the Senate:

1. Shall be able to post an opinion on any active agenda item that the presiding magistrate has put to the Senate to debate. Such a right to post shall be for a minimum of 96 hours and a maximum number of hours as defined in the agenda as presented to the Senate during the call to order, or as defined by the most recent amendment by the presiding magistrate to that maximum number of hours for debate.
2. Shall not commence, or continue, debate on an item that has been withdrawn by the presiding magistrate.
3. Shall be assumed to have abrogated his/her right to post an opinion as at VI.E.1 if he/she has failed to post at the expiry of the maximum number of hours for debate. Such a failure shall not be considered a waiver of the right to vote.



3. The definition of “reasonably practicable” is as defined by the princeps senatus.


F. The presiding magistrate may not delegate or share his role or functions, or part thereof, at any time, but may permit another member of the Senate to introduce an item on the agenda and post his/her opinion on it.


  • Formal meeting of the Senate in session / session: The period of time between the time and date of the “call to convene” and the time and date of the “call to close” of a session of the Senate. This period of time is the only time that the “business of the Senate” can be addressed by way of Senatus consultum or Senatus consultum ultimum.

T he presiding magistrate may also depart from the time schedule given in the call to convene or call to order as long as there no senator raises an objection against the changed timing.




B. A call to order cannot be made until 24 hours have elapsed after the call to convene was issued.


G. The length of the debate period specified for all the items on the agenda, within the call to convene, must be a minimum of 96 hours.

1.
2. The exception to IV.G.1 is a cultus or religio item(s) described at XIII.B, which must be placed first on the agenda. Where there is more than one such items then debate on them must comply with the conditions at IV.G.1.[3]

3. Where there are more than one such cultus or religio XIII.B items at IV.G.2, they must be allocated, as a block of items, a minimum of 96 hours of debate, and the end time and date of the debate period on such block of cultus or religio XIII.B items must be specified in the agenda.[4]

4. All other civil agenda items must then be allocated, as a block of items, a separate minimum of 96 hours that must follow the items specified at IV.G.2 and debate on such civil items must comply with the conditions at IV.G.1. The end time and date of the debate period on such block of XIII.B civil items must be specified.[5]

H. A call to convene must be made by only one presiding magistrate, who must not act jointly with any other member(s) of the Senate, whether any such other(s) are defined as a presiding magistrate or not.




I. DEFINITIONS

The definitions below shall be the only meaning applicable to their usage in this Senatus consultum. Any requirement(s), limit(s) or other condition(s) specified within a definition shall have the full legal force of this Senatus Consultum attached to it and therefore compliance with such a requirement(s), limit(s) or other condition(s) shall be mandatory. The absence of a definition in this section shall not be construed as any lack of full legal force of the word or phrase in question. Other sections of this Senatus consultum may also provide definitions for words or phrases not included in this section. Inclusion of quotation marks around a word or phrase and its highlighting in bold type in section I of this Senatus consultum is only for ease of reference to indicate that such a word or phrase is included in section I of this Senatus consultum and no additional or lesser legal force shall be construed from that. Exclusion of quotation marks around a word or phrase and any highlighting in bold type in any section of this Senatus consultum shall not construe any additional or lesser legal force arising from that exclusion, nor shall it be construed that such a word or phrase has a different meaning or definition from an identical occurrence of it in section I of this Senatus consultum.

  • Active agenda item: An item on the agenda that has not been withdrawn.
  • Agenda: The list of items that are initially proposed for debate during a “formal meeting of the Senate in session” contained within the “call to convene”, and which may subsequently amended according to the terms of this Senatus consultum.
  • Arbitrate: With or without invitation by all, or by any, of the parties to a dispute or disagreement, make an authoritative decision to resolve such a dispute or disagreement, and to have the authority to compel all the parties to accept and/or comply with that result. Such a resolve shall be a final and absolute result not subject to any appeal.
  • Another magistrate / other magistrate: A magistrate, not being a “member of the senate”, who has been specifically permitted by the “presiding magistrate” to address the Senate during a “formal meeting of the Senate in session”. This definition includes a curule aedile, a plebeian aedile, a quaestor, any other person elected by one of the comitia, a governor of a Nova Roman province, a provincial magistrate of first to fourth rank, a magistrate of an oppidum or municipium and any person appointed by the Senate to their position. This definition does not include a scribe and accensus, who shall not be permitted to join the “Senate list” unless he/she is also, in addition to that position of scribe or accensus already a “member of the Senate”. The invitation to such “another magistrate” is for one “formal meeting of the Senate in session” only. Such a magistrate is bound by all the restrictions in relation to posting, conduct, and confidentiality within this Senatus Consultum. There must be a clearly established and pressing need for such “other magistrate” to have access to the “Senate list” during the session and the “presiding magistrate” shall explain that need in his/her “call to order”. If in the opinion of the princeps senatus there has been a flagrant abuse of this right of invitation with no such need established, or there was no reason for the need stated in the “call to order”, then such behaviour on the part of the “presiding magistrate” shall be deemed to be “contempt of the Senate”. For the purposes of posting to the “Senate list” during the “debate period”, this “other magistrate” must first obtain either specific permission for each such post, or a standing right of posting for any time during the “debate period”. The standing right applies only to that one “formal meeting of the Senate in session”. The choice between specific permission and standing right is at the discretion of the “presiding magistrate”.


  • Business of the Senate: The functions, fulfilment of the purposes of and compliance with the lawful duties of the Senate, such functions, purposes and duties being as defined within the “legal code”. Also this includes the management and operation of the “Senate list”.
  • Call for order: A post made by a presiding magistrate for purpose of restoring order to the Senate list, where if in the opinion of the presiding magistrate a post(s) is/are likely to lead to a violation of III.E, either by the member of the Senate or other magistrate posting such or by another member(s) of the Senate or other magistrate, then he/she may issue a post to the Senate list titled “Call for order” in the subject line of that post. He/she may attach such directions in the body of the post as are necessary in his/her opinion to prevent such a violation. Such directions shall not include a stated or implied sanction. The presiding magistrate may issue as many calls for order as he/she deems necessary in relation to any occurrence of such a type of posting, until it is clear that the risk of a violation of III.E has, in his/her opinion, ceased. Should such a call for order not be complied with then it may be deemed to be contempt of the Senate at the discretion of the presiding magistrate.
  • Call to close: A post by the presiding magistrate sent to the “Senate list” stating that the “formal meeting of the Senate in session” has concluded. The presiding magistrate may include comments in the “call to close”. The “call to close” must have no other function than notifying the Senate of the close of session. After the “call to close” is posted no further business of the Senate that requires a “formal meeting of the Senate in session” shall be conducted without the issue of a new “call to convene”.


  • Call to order / called to order / call the Senate to order: A post of the presiding magistrate during the “formal meeting of the Senate in session” indicating that Senate is in session. This shall be issued either at or after the time and date when the session first commences as defined in the “call to convene”, or following the expiration of a recess of the “formal meeting of the Senate in session”. No “business of the Senate” shall be conducted until the “call to order” has been posted. The most recent periods of time allocated to debate and/or voting shall continue to decrease after the time and date of the “call to order”, as specified in the “call to convene”, or after the expiration of a period of recess in the “call to recess”, whether the “call to order” is posted or not. The “call to order” shall also include the most recent “agenda”.
  • Call to recess: A post by the “presiding magistrate” sent to the “Senate list” stating his/her intent to recess the “formal meeting of the Senate in session” until a time and date as specified in that post. The most recent periods of time allocated to debate and/or voting shall cease to decrease after the “call to recess” is posted and no “business of the Senate” that requires a “formal meeting of the Senate in session” shall be conducted until the expiration of the period of recess and the “call to order” is posted.
  • Call to vote: A post by the presiding magistrate on the “Senate list” that initiates the “voting period”. No “voting posts” shall be posted until the “call to vote” is posted.
  • Closed session: A discussion on an “active agenda” item of a confidential nature that automatically invokes the requirement of the tribunes to confer with the Senate as under the requirements of I.B.4 and II.B.6.e of the Lex Moravia de renuntiatione senatus actorum. This requirement shall exist and survive regardless of any superseding, alteration or repeal of, the above sections of/the entire Lex Moravia de renuntiatione senatus actorum.
  • Collegiately: A state of affairs where two magistrates have to agree to an act, or to a decision, before that act or decision can be legally held to exist.
  • Debate period / period of debate: The period of time in a “formal meeting of the Senate in session” during which the “agenda” is discussed and which must be no less than 96 hours in length. No voting may occur during this period.
  • Draft Senatus consultum / draft Senatus consultum ultimum: The final version of a proposed Senatus consultum or Senatus consultum ultimum that is put to the vote. If passed and then when enacted, such a draft becomes a “legal instrument”.
  • Enacted: When an agenda item has passed then the Senatus consultum, or Senatus consultum ultimum, that was the subject of that “active agenda item” and that was included in the items put to the vote receives the immediate force of law upon the posting of the “official result of the vote”. Also, the posting of a “rule of session” shall cause it to be enacted.
  • Favourable: In the context of the auspices, a result that indicates no reason to delay a proposed “formal meeting of the Senate in session”, based on observations made by the person taking the auspices and where such observations are subject to rules of interpretation enacted by the Collegium augurum.
  • Macronational: Being of the world outside of Nova Roma, excluding that which is of, from and in Nova Roma.
  • Management of Senate business: The administration of the functions, fulfilment of the purposes of and compliance with the lawful duties of the Senate, such functions, purposes and duties being as defined within the “legal code”. The princeps senatus may avail himself/herself of this definition for the purpose of, and reason for, issuing a “call to convene”, when those other magistrates defined as a “presiding magistrate”, excluding those that are Tribunes due to their having only limited legal scope of purpose in respect of a “call to convene”, are unavailable due to any occurrence of a singular, or multiple combination, of loss of senatorial status, death, resignation from the Senate, renunciation of citizenship, or a “disappearance of more than 30 days”,
  • Member(s) of the Senate: Any person appointed to the Senate under III. Lex Popillia senatoria and any person having the right of ius sententiae dicendae under IV. Lex Popillia senatoria, and any person holding the office of a Nova Roman Tribune. All such persons must also be both a current citizen of Nova Roma and be recorded by the Censors as holding assidui status, by virtue of having paid the annual Nova Roman tax. For the purposes of posting to the “Senate list” during the debate period, a Tribune, who is not also a voting member of the Senate, must first obtain either specific permission for each such post, or a standing right of posting for any time during the debate period. The standing right applies only to that one “formal meeting of the Senate in session”. The choice between specific permission and standing right is at the discretion of the “presiding magistrate”. A Tribune who is also a “voting member of the Senate” may post without specific permission or standing right.
  • Period of the session: The “debate period” or “voting period”
  • Prohibited day: Any day that the Decretum Pontificum de Calendario Perpetuo decrees as dies nefastus publicus or dies fasti publici or ater dies. It is prohibited and illegal for a “formal meeting of the Senate in session” to take place on any such day.
  • Restricted day: Any day that the Decretum pontificum de calendario perpetuo decrees as: dies nefasti, annotated as (N), or dies endotercisi, annotated as (EN), quando rex comitiavit fas annotated as (QRCF), or quando stercus delatum fas, (QSTDF or QSDF), or is indicated as religiosus is deemed to be dies nefasti for the purpose of a determining if a “formal meeting of the Senate in session” can be conducted on a particular day.
  • Rule of session: A temporary rule that shall have accorded to it the full force and legal authority of this Senatus consultum, as though it was specifically enshrined within this Senatus consultum, which is enacted solely for the purpose of resolving an issue that is not specifically covered by this Senatus consultum and where such a rule does not conflict or alter or constrain the application of any part of this Senatus consultum. Such a rule shall only be enacted, and only have force and legal authority, for the duration of the “formal meeting of the Senate in session” in which it was created and issued. The consuls and praetors or any presiding officer of a session of the Senate, except the tribuni plebis, can issue the "rule of session," but the princeps senatus shall have the right to overrule those and have the final decision on the matter." A “rule of session” shall not, where a similar issue arises again, be binding by way of precedent upon the presiding magistrate or the princeps senatus, his/her successor, or a person delegated under the terms of this Senatus consultum to act as presiding magistrate or the princeps senatus, but instead shall be considered advice only. A record must be kept in the file section of the Senate list of all such rules issued, indicating the post number, time and date of enactment, content and the name of the presiding magistrate or the princeps senatus enacting such a rule. Such rules may form the basis of subsequent amendments to this Senatus consultum. The expiration of the full force and legal authority of a “rule of session” due to the close of the “formal meeting of the Senate in session” in which it was enacted shall not remove the full force and legal authority that “rule of session” had during that “formal meeting of the Senate in session”.
  • Sanction: A lawful penalty and/or consequence of an act that is unlawful, illegal.
No other electronic meeting place shall be used for “formal meetings of the Senate in session”, though informal Senate discussion shall be held in such a place. Membership and/or participation in any other place or list, or using any other medium, that is used for informal Senate discussion is discretionary and must not be mandatory for a “member of the Senate”. Informal Senate discussion shall only take place on the Senate list when a “formal meeting of the Senate in session” is not in progress.
  • Senate seal: A condition where all “members of the Senate” and any “other magistrate” are bound by confidentially and shall not report, or discuss, in any way with any other person(s) other than those who are “members of the Senate”, or any “other magistrate” who was present during such discussion, by any medium or means including but not limited to, regular mail, email, posting to lists or message boards, texting, telephone conversations, or in person conversations, the existence, nature and details of the “closed session” agenda item. The “presiding magistrate” invoking the “Senate seal” may specify a time period for which the “Senate seal “is in effect, but in the absence of such the time period is deemed to be in perpetuity or until released from the “Senate seal” conditions by that, or any subsequent, “presiding magistrate”. Such a release must be by means of the “presiding magistrate” releasing the “Senate seal” posting that decision to the “Senate list”. All “members of the Senate” are bound by the invocation of the “Senate seal”, whether they were present for the “formal meeting of the Senate in session” or not when the “Senate seal” was invoked.
  • Senator: Person currently included in the Album senatorum
  • Simple Majority: A “simple majority” is defined as the number of affirmative votes plus the number of negative votes, divided by two, with one added to that result. Abstentions are not counted when determining this number. An equivalent result may be obtained by directly comparing the numbers of affirmative and negative votes, again ignoring abstentions; if the number of affirmative votes exceeds (not merely equals) the number of negative votes, the item has succeeded, and the Senate has voted in favour of the item.
  • Unfavourable: In the context of the auspices, a result that indicates a reason to delay a proposed “formal meeting of the Senate in session”, based on observations made by the person taking the auspices and where such observations are subject to rules of interpretation enacted by the Collegium augurum.
  • Unlawful / illegal: A state of affairs or act in not in accordance with the requirements of the “legal code” and/or contradicting a requirement of the “legal code”, and thus a state of affairs or act not permitted under the “legal code”. A person is not required to comply or obey with the intent or consequences of such a state of affairs or act
  • Voting member(s) of the Senate: Any person appointed to the Senate under III. Lex Popillia senatoria and any person having the right of ius sententiae dicendae under IV.A or IV.C Lex Popillia senatoria, excluding at IV.C Lex Popillia senatoria a Tribune, and any person holding the office of Tribune who is also a person appointed to the Senate under III. Lex Popillia senatoria, or any person holding the office of Tribune who also holds a right to vote in the Senate granted by the Lex Popillia. A Tribune not being a Senator or who does not also hold a right to vote in the Senate granted by the Lex Popillia senatoria cannot vote in the Senate, and shall not be defined as a “voting member of the Senate”, as prohibited from doing so by IV.A Lex Popillia senatoria and/or by this definition of “voting member of the Senate, by right granted to the Senate under V.F of the Constitution of Nova Roma. A “voting member of the Senate” shall have the right to post to the “Senate list” without asking prior permission to do so, unless he/she is subject to a lawful sanction, lawfully imposed under any section of this Senatus consultum concerning such sanction(s).
  • Voting period / period of voting: The period of time in a “formal meeting of the Senate in session” during which the “voting members of the Senate” cast their votes. That period must be no less than 48 hours in length and no greater than 96 hours in length. No debate shall take place during this period, except as permitted under VII.G.7.
  • Voting posts: The posts made by “voting members of the Senate” by which mechanism those members register a vote according to the requirements of VII.G on items presented to the vote.
  • Withdrawal / withdrawn: Removing an item from the agenda of a “formal meeting of the Senate in session” and thus removing the right of a “member of the Senate” or “other magistrate” to post further on that item after the time and date of removal, and removing the right of a “voting member of the Senate” to vote on that item.

==II. INFORMAL SENATE DISCUSSION==[6]

A. Any member of the Senate may, at his/her discretion, when a formal meeting of the Senate in session is not being held, introduce any topic for discussion by sharing it with the rest of the Senate by means of posting to the Senate list.

B. No call to convene, call to order, or call to close is required to start or end an informal Senate discussion. A vote may not take place nor any Senatus Consultum or Senatus Consultum Ultimum be enacted during informal Senate discussion.

C. Members of the Senate remain bound by the requirements of XII.E. Moderation of posting rights shall not occur during informal Senate discussion, unless in the opinion of the princeps senatus, or in his/her absence the Censors, that such discussion has resulted in a violation of XII.E, in which case the princeps senatus, or in his/her absence the Censors, must:[7]

1. Post a requirement to the Senate list for the member of the Senate who, in his/her or their opinion, violated XII.E to cease posting. A period of time maybe requested, but not imposed, during which the member of the Senate should desist from posting. At the expiration of such time, which must be no greater than 4 hours, the member of the Senate can post freely without further sanction, provided he/she does not further violate XII.E.[8]

2. Should that member of the Senate fail and/or refuse to comply with the direction to cease posting and continue posting in a manner that in the opinion of the princeps senatus, or in his/her absence the Censors has, or is likely to, lead to a breach of XII.E, then that member of the Senate may have his/her posting rights set to a moderated status requiring approval of posts.[9]

3. Such moderated status at II.C.2 must last no longer than 24 hours and at the expiration of that period the moderated status must be removed.
4. Should the period of moderated status at II.C.2 still be in force after a call to order is posted, then that moderated status must be immediately removed to allow the member of the Senate to participate in the session.
5. Moderated status removed as at II.C.4 prior to its expiration will not be re-imposed for the remaining balance of the 24 hours after the call to close is posted, unless the member of the Senate continued, in the opinion of the princeps senatus, to violate XII.E during the formal meeting of the Senate in session.[10]

6. The re-imposition of the remaining balance at II.C.5 is not affected by the removal of any moderated status imposed during the formal meeting of the Senate in session.
7. If a member of the Senate commits numerous violations in separate posts before moderation of posting rights is imposed, the period of moderation shall still be no longer than 24 hours.
8. Repeated violations of XII.E resulting in a combined total of 72 hours of moderated status in any five day consecutive period may result, notwithstanding II.C.3 and II.C.7, in moderated status being continuously imposed until the next call to order of the next formal meeting of the Senate in session. An imposition of this continuous moderation is at the discretion of the princeps senatus, or in his/her absence the Censors. At such a call to order the moderated status must be removed. After the call to close, the decision whether to re-impose moderated status is at the discretion of the princeps senatus, or in his/her absence the Censors and may be based on the behaviour / posts of that moderated member of the Senate during the formal meeting of the Senate in session. Removal of continuous moderated status before any set maximum number of hours is at the discretion of the princeps senatus.[11]

9. Moderated status imposed at II.C.8 for the first time in any 365 day period must in no cases last longer than a maximum of 720 hours, excluding the total periods of time between the call to order and the call to close of any formal meetings of the Senate in session during that first occurrence of continuous moderation.
10. Moderated status imposed at II.C.8 for the second time in any 365 day period must in no cases last longer than a maximum of 2160 hours, excluding the total periods of time between the call to order and the call to close of any formal meetings of the Senate in session during that first occurrence of continuous moderation.
11. Moderated status imposed at II.C.8 for the third time in any 365 day period shall result in continuous moderation with no limit, the removal of which is at the discretion of the princeps senatus.
12. If after release from such a third time of moderation at II.C.8, the member of the Senate is subject to a further period of moderation of any length, whether imposed during an informal Senate discussion period or during session, within 6 months since the date of release from the third time of moderation at II.C.8, the princeps senatus, or in his/her absence the Censors, may impose continuous moderation with no limit during informal Senate discussion periods. Removal of such continuous moderation is at the discretion of the princeps senatus.
13. Regardless of the length of moderated status, either set or until removal, this moderated status only applies to informal Senate discussion periods. Any member of the Senate so moderated must be released temporarily from that moderated status for the time between the call to order and the call to close of any formal meetings of the Senate in session.
14. A member of the Senate subject to moderation imposed during informal Senate discussion periods is still bound by the requirements on members of the Senate during formal meetings of the Senate in session, and no such moderation can exonerate or indemnify him/her from further sanctions that may be imposed on him/her as a result of any violations of behaviour during formal meetings of the Senate in session.
15. Hours of moderation imposed during session do not subtract from, or add to, any total of moderated hours a member of the Senate is subject to during informal Senate discussion periods.
16. Release from a period of moderation imposed during informal Senate discussion periods, either by the expiration of the period of moderation or by decision of the princeps senatus, or in his/her absence the Censors, does not imply or result in the alteration, suspension or termination of any sanctions imposed as a result of behavioural infractions during formal meetings of the Senate in session.

D. No person other than a member of the Senate shall participate in informal Senate discussion, nor shall be added to the Senate list during such a period.

E. During informal Senate discussion a Tribune(s) must not be subject to any requirement to obtain permission from any member of the Senate prior to posting to the Senate list, nor must any other conditions, other than those applicable to all members of the Senate as specified within this Senatus Consultum, be imposed or applied to a Tribune(s).

F. The rights of reporting at VI.B.1 to VI.B.4 inclusive do not apply to informal Senate discussion periods and such reporting during these periods is forbidden.



VII. VOTING PERIOD

A. After the minimum of 96 hours of debate on an agenda has elapsed, that item is eligible to be put to the vote. The call to vote must specify all those items that, having first been subject to the minimum of 96 hours, are to be put to the vote in one vote period during that formal meeting of the Senate in session. Multiple vote periods, whether overlapping or consecutive, are illegal except as allowed for at XVI.P and XVI.Q.[12]

B. The presiding magistrate may present none, any or all of the items on the initial agenda, or which were added to the agenda subsequently, to a vote. The agenda presented to the Senate cannot be altered once the voting period has commenced. If the vote required for an agenda item to be passed is not calculated on a simple majority, then the presiding magistrate shall indicate the majority required against that specific item contained in the agenda items submitted to the vote.

C. The presiding magistrate may at his/her discretion extend the period of voting, but may not shorten it, from the period specified in the call to convene. The period of voting may only be extended to a maximum of 96 hours. If the presiding officer issues no post to the Senate list indicating that he/she is extending the voting period, then the length of time of that period shall be the period specified in the call to convene the Senate. Once the voting period has commenced no alteration to its length, either shorter or greater, shall be considered legal and the period shall remain unchanged from that length of the voting period last posted to the Senate prior to the voting period commencing.

D. Voting shall only be conducted on the Senate list by means of voting members of the Senate posting to the Senate list. The subject line of that post must identify that it is a vote and may include which votingmember of the Senate it is from.

E. Matters being voted on shall be decided by majority vote unless mandated otherwise.

F. Should the voting period elapse, any voting member of the Senate that has yet to vote shall be assumed to have abrogated his/her right to vote.

G. On items that are presented for to the senate during the voting period for approval, a voting member of the Senate may either vote or abstain from voting as follows:

1. An AFFIRMATIVE vote is registered by a voting member of the Senate stating in his/her post "YES", "ITA CENSEO", or another clearly synonymous phrase of support in respect of an agenda item.
2. A NEGATIVE vote is registered by a voting member of the Senate stating in his/her post "NO", "DISSENTIO", or another clearly synonymous phrase of opposition in respect of an agenda item.
3. An ABSTENTION is expressed with a voting member of the Senate’s stating in his/her post "ABSTINEO", "I ABSTAIN" or another clearly synonymous phrase of abstention in respect of an agenda item. Abstentions are not considered to be votes, and are not counted when calculating the number required for a majority. Abstentions do not diminish the number of Senators considered present when determining whether a quorum is achieved.
4. VII.G.7.1 to VII.G.7.3 inclusive may include supporting comments to explain the reason why the voting member of the Senate cast his vote in manner he/she did. There shall be no limit on the text length of such comments.
5. Except where otherwise stated, a Senatus consultum or Senatus consultum ultimum is passed and enacted when the number of affirmative votes (as described above) equals or exceeds the number required for a "simple majority".
6. The voting period may begin at sunrise in Rome on the first day of the voting period and may end at sunset in Rome on the last day of the voting period, or may be set to sunrise and sunset in the time zone in which the presiding magistrate is resident.
7. During the voting period members of the Senate must not continue discussion on the agenda items put to the vote. In cases of exceptional urgency a member of the Senate may request permission, by private email, and not on the Senate list, from the presiding magistrate to bring a new item to the attention of the Senate. This shall be treated as an item for information and discussion only and must not be included in the items to be voted upon.
8. Any agenda item presented to the Senate for the vote must be in one of the following categories:
a. Draft Senatus Consultum
b. Draft Senatus Consultum Ultimum
9. All positions and/or offices that the Senate is authorized by the legal code to appoint persons to must:

VIII. RECESS AND CLOSE OF SESSION

A. Once the voting period has elapsed the presiding magistrate shall calculate and post to the Senate list no later than 48 hours after the expiration of that period, the results of the vote by referring to the voting posts and calculating the results for each item voted upon.

B. After the official result of the vote is posted, the presiding magistrate must post a call to close within 24 hours of that official result being determined, and if he/she fails to do so then the session immediately that 24 hours period has expired shall automatically be deemed to be closed.

C. For the purposes of I.B.4 and II.B.6.e of the Lex Moravia de renuntiatione senatus actorum the method of conferring with the Senate shall be delegated to the presiding magistrate of the formal meeting of the Senate in session where the item of a confidential nature in question is being/was discussed.

1. The decision of the presiding magistrate as to what details of the discussion and/or comments and/or voting should be released to the citizens is deemed to be a decision of the whole Senate.
2. Such a decision VIII.J.1 shall be binding on the Tribunes for the purposes of I.B.4 and II.B.6.e of the Lex Moravia de renuntiatione senatus actorum, as to what to report to the citizens concerning the item of a confidential nature in question.

D. The presiding magistrate may issue the call to recess a formal meeting of the Senate in session for a period of time between 24 hours and 144 hours. If after 144 hours have elapsed the presiding magistrate of that recessed session has not called the Senate to order and recommenced the session, then that session is deemed closed. The presiding magistrate may not issue the call to recess during the voting period.

E. The presiding magistrate may issue the call to close at any time, except during the voting period.

IX. CONTEMPT OF THE SENATE

Any member of the Senate or other magistrate who disregards the invocation of closed session conditions or disregards the invocation of the Senate seal, such disregard being determined by the president of the session or, ultimately, by the princeps senatus, or disrespects and insults the Senate, the presiding magistrate, the princeps senatus, another senator, or commits an act deemed in this senatus consultum to be contempt of the Senate, shall be automatically found in contempt of the Senate. In respect of a matter of contempt of the Senate, the presiding magistrate or the princeps senatus shall issue a warning publicly on the mailing list of the Senate, and if the individual does not amend his or her action that caused the contempt of the Senate, the presiding magistrate may suspend the speaking rights of the individual (Senate mailing list posting rights), may remove them from the session (removing them from the Senate mailing list), which disciplinary actions both constitute a suspension of the voting right of the individual). The length of these disciplinary actions shall be decided by the princeps senatus, and may not be shorter than 3 days and longer than 3 months. The contempt of the Senate may only be established with the expressed consent of the princeps senatus, but the decision of removing an individual from the session or the Senate mailing list may only be made by the presiding magistrate. The Senate may also declare an action to be contempt of the Senate, or may override declaration of the princeps senatus regarding an issue about contempt of the Senate in a senatus consultum.

X. THE PRINCEPS SENATUS

A. The princeps senatus must be the most respected and highest ranking censorial and consular patrician senator who holds the longest, continuous and uninterrupted record of membership of the Senate. When the censors select the princeps senatus during the lectio senatus, they may select someone who does not meet all these criteria if, and only if, they provide a justification for such a decision. Senatorial rank is determined by the ranking of the auctoritas of the highest office held by the senator. Within each rank group, the ones who held the office more than once are higher ranking. Among those who held the same office the same number of times, those held it earlier are higher ranking. Among senators of the same rank, older individuals are higher ranking.

B. The princeps senatus shall have the following honors, powers, limits and obligations.

1. To be the final authority to determine if the procedures of this Senatus Consultum have been violated by any member of the Senate either in the manner of application of, or in the failure to comply with, such procedures, whether through negligence or a deliberate act.
2. To be the final authority on what is acceptable conduct to be expected from members of the Senate, both during informal Senate discussion and formal meetings of the Senate in session.
3. To be the final authority on determining the meaning of any part of this Senatus Consultum where such meaning is unclear to any member of the Senate, and/or to arbitrate in any dispute between members of the Senate over such meaning. The princeps senatus has the ultimate authority on approving, rejecting, or creating, a rule of session.

C. If the princeps senatus is unavailable, the princeps iuventutis shall exercise his or her duties. If the princeps iuventutis is not a senator, he or she shall be temporarily invited to the Senate mailing list and allowed to speak in the Senate, or to preside in session, when needed, but without the right to vote. If the princeps iuventutis is unavailable, the president of the session shall decide in all questions.

XI. QUORUM

A. The quorum for the Senate of Nova Roma is only required for formal meeting of the Senate in session.

B. The quorum is calculated and based on only voting members of the Senate.

C. The required quorum must be achieved at the time the call to order is posted.

D. If the quorum is not achieved then the call to order cannot be posted and no formal meeting of the Senate in session can legally be held. Any formal meeting of the Senate in session that is held where the quorum is not achieved is illegal and no Senatus consultum or Senatus consultum ultimum passed during such an illegal session shall have any legal force or validity.

E. A voting member of the Senate is deemed present at the time the call to order is posted if that member has not posted to the Senate list that he/she will be absent, using the process at VI.F.

F. Once the quorum is established as being present at the time the call to order is posted, no challenges by any member of the Senate to establish if it is present subsequently shall be legal or permitted. Such challenges if made shall be an extreme disruption to a formal meeting of the Senate in session, as defined at III.E.3.

G. Any member of the Senate present at the time the call to order is posted, by virtue of not having posted his/her absence at VI.F, may state that he/she is leaving the formal meeting of the Senate in session, but for the purposes of the quorum he/she is deemed to still be present during the remainder of the session conducted in his/her absence.

H. Any calculation of the results of the voting stage shall treat the vote of any member of the Senate leaving after the call order, as defined at XI.G, as an abstention vote as defined at VII.G.3.

I. The quorum required must be 2/3rds (two thirds) of the total number of voting members of the Senate, where fractions are rounded up to the next nearest whole number. For example if there are 22 voting members of the Senate, 2/3rds is 14.666 recurring. Therefore the quorum would be 15 voting members of the Senate, who would have to present immediately before the call to order.

J. Those voting members of the Senate who have identified themselves as absent under the process at VI.F will be counted as being present during a formal meeting of the Senate in session that occurs during that period of absence for the purposes of the calculation of the quorum if they have assigned the grant of a proxy vote under the process at VI.F. If they have not assigned a proxy vote then they will be counted as absent.

K. The presiding magistrate must make the calculation of whether the quorum has been achieved. The call to order must not be made until the calculation is made and the quorum established as being achieved as defined at XI.I. The presiding magistrate must immediately before the call to order post is made follow the steps below in consecutive order:

1. Count the number of voting members of the Senate who have identified themselves as absent, under the process at VI.F.
2. Calculate the quorum as under XI.I.
3. Subtract the number at XI.K.1 from the total number of voting members of the Senate.
4. If the result of the subtraction at XI.K.3 is greater than the quorum as at XI.I, then the quorum has been achieved and the call to order may be posted and the formal meeting of the Senate in session can proceed.
5. If the result of the subtraction at XI.K.3 is less than the quorum as at XI.I, then the quorum has not been achieved and the call to order must not be posted and the formal meeting of the Senate in session cannot proceed.

L. Where the quorum is achieved and the call to order made, the presiding magistrate shall include in the call to order post the statement “The quorum is achieved”. The presiding magistrate must also include in the call to order post the calculations made at XI.K.1 to XI.K.3 inclusive.

M. Where the quorum is not achieved, the presiding magistrate shall post to the Senate list a post with a subject heading “Formal meeting of the Senate in session cancelled”. This post must include, within the body of the post, the statement “The quorum is not achieved”. The presiding magistrate shall also include in the body of the post the calculations made at XI.K.1 to XI.K.3 inclusive.

XII. THE SENATE LIST

A. The owner of the Senate mailing list, the internet version of the curia, shall be the legal owner of the mailing list. The owner owns it on behalf of Nova Roma and is obliged to obey the presiding magistrates of the Senate under penalty of law.

B. The moderators shall be the consuls and praetors. Moderators shall have the same admin rights as the owner except the deletion of the mailing list and modification of the archives.

XIII. CALENDAR AND RELIGIOUS MATTERS

No session of the Senate may be held without taking the auspices before with favorable result and without an opening and closing ceremony of the religio Romana; any senatus consultum enacted without this procedural step shall be invalid. The Senate follows the directions of the Collegium Pontificum on religious and calendar matters.

XIV. ANNOTATION AND STYLE

A. The use of (s) in this Senatus consultum indicates that the singular occurrence of the word may also be read as the plural of that word. Absence of such (s) shall not necessarily imply that the plural cannot be inferred.

B. Where not stated otherwise, as at XIV.C, the use of a combination of letters, Roman numerals, Arabic numerals, such as XXX.A.1.a.i, is a reference to a corresponding section of this Senatus consultum.

C. Similar types of combination at XIV.B can also be used to indicate a corresponding section of either the Constitution of Nova Roma or a named lex.

D. The use of a descriptive title to describe sections of this Senatus consultum is only to assist in providing a brief general description of the contents in that section. Such a title does not form part of the reference method described at XIV.B.

E. The use of italics is for ease of reference only and no extra meaning shall be construed from such use.

Personal tools