Board Thread:General Discussion/@comment-4701109-20131221042550/@comment-4701109-20141126235308

The Congress of the Association:

The Laws of the Association are created and enacted by the two houses of the Association. The House of Commons and The House of Lords together make up the Congress of the Association, COTA, and hold assembly in the High Barony. The Congress is in session throughout the year as the need arises. A number of actions can call the COTA into session. The High Baron can call the COTA into session and make requests for them to take action on specific items. A simple majority of the Baron Generals can call the COTA into session and make requests as a group. A super majority of Barons from minor baronies can call for the COTA to come into session. The COTA can call themselves into session. The Supreme Court can call the COTA into session following the ruling of a case.

The House of Commons is made up of two officials from each barony, Major & Minor, for a total of 134 seats. One official is elected by the people of the barony, elections every two years. One official is appointed by the Baron of each barony and remains in the House until recalled by the Baron. The House of Commons create laws but do not have the power to enact those laws. After creating a law, they vote for the law to be enacted by the House of Lords. A simple majority will pass the law forward to the House of Lords.

The House of Lords is made up of one official from each Major Barony appointed by the Baron Generals and the High Baron. Collectively they have the power to enact laws for the Association but not to create the laws. The House of Lords can not write or rewrite the Laws. The Law must then be signed by a simple majority of the representatives of the House of Lords and the High Baron. The High Baron can veto the law by refusing to sign. The House of Lords can overrule the High Baron with a super majority, 10 of the 11 representatives' signatures.

Any laws passed by the House of Commons that are not enacted by the House of Lords can be sent back with recommendations to the House of Commons for review and change and then resubmitted, by a majority vote, to the House of Lords for reconsideration. In this way the House of Lords have the ability to influence the wording and meaning of the laws though they do not write or create the laws. The House of Commons is not required to rewrite or reword the laws that they passed to meet the demands of the House of Lords, they can simply ignore the recommendations knowing the laws did not pass the House of Lords.

The Laws enacted by the COTA apply to all people and land of the Association including the Barons and High Baron. These laws cannot strip the powers of the Barons or High Barons, or the rights of the people of each Barony. The COTA and the laws they enact are limited by the Framework, the set of documents that bind the Associated Baronies together.