Constitution of the Andorinhões: Difference between revisions
→Preamble: Added the preamble from the Constitution.
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The [[preamble]] to the Constitution consists of the [[enacting formula]]:
<blockquote>Preamble
The successive proclamations of the Sovereign State of the Holy Cross, the Martletan Republic, the Socialist Republic of the Martlets Islands and the People’s Republic of the Andorignas represents some of the apex moments in the History of the Andorinhense Nation. A feature of our identity and revitalization of our condition as a People sharing the steadfast hope of crafting on these isles the conditions for a dignifying existence for all, Independence also gave way to the Andorinhões becoming a full-fledged member of the international community.
Nevertheless, the affirmation of the independent State and the forming of a pluralist democratic regime were never coincidental, as prior to the organization of political power, the philosophy and principles characteristic of one-party-rule regimes had always been followed.
The exercise of power within the framework of such a model demonstrated the need to work drastic changes into the organization of the political and social life of the State. In the Andorinhões, the political openness was announced in the year nineteen hundred and ninety, leading to the creation of institutional conditions necessary for the first legislative and executive elections, within a context of political competition.
Consequently, on 3 March, the Interim General Secretary approved the General Decree no.5/90, which, having revoked Article 5 of the Constitution and institutionalized the principle of pluralism, embodied a new type of political regime.
Conceived as an instrument designed to make for viable democratic elections and transition to a new model of organization of the nation’s political and social life, this Constitutional Law did not, however, fail to institute a different system of government, and another form of suffrage, on the eve of elections for a new legislative assembly.
It was against this backdrop that the first legislative elections were held in August 1991, followed by the executive elections in September. The expressive participation of the populations in these elections demonstrated clearly the nation’s choice for change of the political regime.
Nevertheless, the precise historical context in which the parties were recognized, through a partial revision of the Constitution, as the main instrument in the formation of the political will for governance, let to pluralist democracy living on together with certain rules and principles that were typical of the former regime.
Notwithstanding the social and political reality in which the country found itself, a process of rapid and monumental transformations was afoot, as the populations and the emergent political forces embraced the values that characterized a State of Democratic Law and which, by their content, were already shaping a de facto model that was not reflected in the text of the Constitution.
The present Constitutional Law is thus designed to equip the country with a normative framework, the value of which is based, not particularly on the harmony found in the printed text but on the new established model. The choice for a Constitution laying down the structuring principles of a pluralist democracy, leaving out the cyclical options of governance, will allow for the needed stability of a country with few resources and for political alternation without disruptions.
Accepting fully, the principle of popular sovereignty, the present text of the Constitution enshrines a State of Democratic Law, with a vast catalogue of citizens’ rights, freedoms and guarantees, a concept of urthian dignity as an absolute value which prevails over the State itself, a system of government based on the balance of powers amongst the various organs of sovereignty, a strong and independent judicial power, a local power whose office holders are elected by the communities and are accountable to them, a Public Administration devoted to serving the citizens and conceived as an instrument of development, and a system of safeguards for the protection of the Constitution, characteristic of a regime of pluralist democracy.
Thus, this Constitutional Law formally embodies the profound political changes brought about in the country and creates the institutional conditions for the exercise of power and citizenship, in a climate of liberty, peace and justice, which are the foundations of the whole economic, social and cultural development of the Andorinhões.</blockquote>
===Part I: Fundamental Principles===
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