The East PacificBoard

The Directorate is one of the only countries in the world to not have a formalized legislature, and possibly the only one in the world to never have one. Before the formation of the Directorate, the kingdoms of Zemedievai passed law through royal edict. When the Kingdom of Zemedievai began to modernize, and the need for more formal governance was realized, the result was the Directorate Act of 1896, which established the current government. However, a legislature was notably excluded. Royal edicts were turned into “Acts,” which could only be passed by the Triglav. “Orders,” on the other hand, fulfilled the role of legislation on a department level.

Since the formation of the Directorate, this system has been maintained. Most legislating is done on a basis of discretionary rule-making power by the Directories, Departments, and Divisions. Acts serve only to enact major government reform. In this way, the legal structure of the Directorate has taken on an informal nature as a collection of “constitutional law,” as scholars refer to it, rather than any unified constitution or typical legislation. The ability to pass Acts is what defines the Head of Government office within the Directorate, which is now the Chief Director.

The Directorate Act of 1896 is the oldest constitutional law in the Directorate. No decrees prior to it still stand. It establishes the national government, with basic departments for performing government tasks — before, Ministries were used. In this sense, the Directorate Act is where the modern branding of the government originated. Although almost none of the original act remains valid, with entire sections being amended out by future constitutional law, the establishment of the Directorate and the autocratic, bureaucratic, one-branch government structure remain.

The Local Government Act of 1903 was one of the first to follow. As urbanization took hold of the Directorate in earnest, the old system of counties and hereditary leaders fell out of favor. The Local Government Act established the purpose and structure of local governments. Governors and Mayors were appointed by the Triglav, and granted authority over zoning, housing, local infrastructure, and licenses. Since, amendments have shifted this model to appointments by the Chief Director and a more thorough enumeration of duties and powers. The Directorate, of course, retained supreme power. The map of counties and municipalities has changed many times over the years.

The Kamyachyn Act of 1924 is one of the most significant acts in terms of extending the sovereignty of the Directorate. Apart from the Arktialo Territory Act of 2032, over a hundred years later, it is the only expansion of Directorate territory since the unification of the country, and certainly the only one to establish dominion over a populated foreign nation. The Kamyachyn Act, with more recent amendments, defines how the Directorate governs Kamyachyn, and sets out procedures for its own limited autonomy. Furthermore, it justifies military presence and declares all the laws of the Directorate to apply, unless otherwise specified by those laws.

The Cabinet Act of 1980 is an important constitutional law created by the Triglav when he realized the demands of a modern state exceeded the simple structure of the Directorate Act. Instead of departments, the chief unit of government was the Directory, which largely formed the same duties. Departments were subdivisions of this. The Cabinet Act created most modern directories and departments, assigned them duties and powers, and gave the head of government the power to form a cabinet of key advisors on the passage of acts and perform other major governmental functions.

The Industry Act of 1993 streamlined the Directorate’s economic policy-making. The Directory of Labor and the Directory of Energy had their status lowered to the Department-level, placed under the jurisdiction of the Directory of Industry. Furthermore, it limited the participation of high level Industry officials in stock trading and banned them from any employment by or creation of private companies while holding office or within five years after leaving office. This was coupled with the Anti-Corruption Act of 1993, which banned the receipt of any gifts worth over ❦50 and forced any government official, including judges, to recuse themselves from any matter in which they may be perceived to have potential bias. It furthermore banned any governmental official from hiring their relatives or being aware of any such hiring before the final decision is made.

The Advising Directors Act of 1999 created the position of “Advising Director,” which is simply called “Advisor” in most contexts and conversations. Advisors were appointees of the Triglav – now, the Chief Director – who could participate in cabinet discussions, hold a say in the governing of the country, and be allowed the highest level of clearance in the government, all without practical responsibilities or powers relating to any specific Directory. Another key element of the Advising Directors Act is that, because it prohibits a salary for a job in which no work is conducted, it exempts Advising Directors from the provisions of the Industry Act relating to stock trading, private employment, and business leadership.

The Chief Director Act of 2029 created the Office of the Chief Director as a deputy to the Triglav. At the time, it was an inward-facing position which ensured Directory compliance of constitutional law, maintained the efficiency of each government body, oversaw certain aspects of Kamyachyn rulership, and assisted the Triglav in performing his duties. The Chief Director was guaranteed a cabinet position. This Act was essentially repealed and replaced with the Head of Government Act of 2031.

The Head of Government Act of 2031 is the most important constitutional law in Directorate history. For the first time in hundreds of years, it shifted the absolute autocratic power of the Directorate into the hands of someone other than the Triglav. Furthermore, it is the first time a non-hereditary ruler has been made the head of government of a Slaviskas state. Of course, this is tangential to the actual accomplishment. The Triglav was relegated to a ceremonial head of state, whereas the Chief Director was granted full power over the country. Every power afforded the Triglav was given to Metternich.

The Identity Act of 2031 was the first constitutional law to be passed by the Chief Director and not the Triglav. Chief Director Metternich created the act in order to pacify the religious elements of the country after he had been granted temporal power over the country, and especially due to his plan to secularize the bureaucracy, which slowly took effect over the next three years. The Identity Act created the Directory of Ceremony and Department of Heritage within. These were the only government bodies placed under the jurisdiction of the Triglav. They were given duties and powers to protect the Zemedievan culture and identity. Finally, the act reaffirmed the Dievinist nature of the country, even while disentangling the Thrice-Blessed Church from the government.

The Defense Act of 2032 was the biggest reform conducted by Chief Director Metternich in his time as ruler of the Directorate. Prior to the act, the Directorate maintained no standing military, but essentially militarized its police for national defense as the Directorate Security Force. The Defense Act devolved the DSF into separate branches of a military and a separate national police force. Counties and municipalities maintain their own small police forces as well, with support from stationed national units when necessary. The development of a Directorate military and an intelligence agency essentially brought the Directorate into modern geopolitics.

The Open Borders Act of 2032 was another major reform from Chief Director Metternich. Prior to this act, the Directorate maintained a strict no immigration policy, with very few exceptions, for 90 years. This act undid that, opening the borders and creating the Immigration Directory to oversee the process. This especially led to the acceptance of Alcatus refugees fleeing persecution in foreign countries. Furthermore, it created the basis for more open diplomacy in the decreasingly isolationist nation.

The final major constitutional law of 2032 was the Arktialo Territory Act. Citing the 1132 Edict of King Vaisvilkas II, the 1149 Edict of Queen Ludmila I, and the 1780 Edict of The Triglav, the Arktialo Territory Act extended Directorate sovereignty over the Arktialo Isles, an uninhabited, rocky archipelago east and north of the Directorate’s heartland. Since then, no constitutional laws have been created, although some Acts have been passed as a way to exert more of a guiding hand over the Directories, as Chief Director Metternich consolidated his power and pushed his government reforms.