Caliantene Empire

The Caliantene Empire, officially referred to as the Caliantene Imperial Commonwealth, (Caliantene: Royace de Calianne) is a collection of colonial, semi-sovereign, and sovereign nations under the rule of the Caliantene Emperor. The Commonwealth contains 86 territories, with varying degrees of sovereignty and political circumstances. The capital of the empire is Calise.

The Caliantene Empire began as a colonial empire, similar to that of other nations of Avanor, in the 1500s, with the acquisition of the first overseas holdings of Caliane. As the nation expanded its holdings throughout Korasha and Asania, the need for greater organization between colonial holdings became more apparent. In 1559, the Imperial Trust was established to organize all land held within the jurisdiction of the Empire, charged with distributing holdings to companies and private individuals, and maintaining imperial charters in the name of the Emperor. As the Caliantene army expanded across the world - establishing colonies in Larania and the Astorian Ocean, the Imperial Trust further evolved, with its private overseers being replaced entirely in 1767, and the Imperial Privy Council being created in its place, made up of the cabinet of the government

The Caliantene Empire today serves as a quasi-colonial empire which

Early Colonial Period
The Caliantene Empire began as a colonial empire, similar to that of other nations of Avanor, in the 1500s, with the acquisition of the first overseas holdings of Caliane. As the nation expanded its holdings throughout Korasha and Asania, the need for greater organization between colonial holdings became more apparent. In 1559, the Imperial Trust was established to organize all land held within the jurisdiction of the Empire, charged with distributing holdings to companies and private individuals, and maintaining imperial charters in the name of the Emperor.

As the Caliantene army expanded across the world - establishing colonies in Larania and the Astorian Ocean, the Imperial Trust further evolved, with its private overseers being replaced entirely in 1767, and the Imperial Privy Council being created in its place, made up of the cabinet of the government

Composition
The Edict installs the Emperor of Calise as the sovereign of all territories within the Empire, and establishes the divisions of territories within the imperial domain as three classifications: Imperial Governates, Imperial Dominions, and Commonwealths. Governates are territories which are administered directly by the Estate-General and Prime Minister of Caliane, with no control over interior or foreign affairs; Dominions are territories which have an elected assembly and governor with powers of interior matters, but no power over foreign or defense matters; and Commonwealths, which are sovereign nations which are bound to the Empire through the monarch as the head of state.

Imperial Commonwealths
Imperial Commonwealths are the first classification of state within the Caliantene Empire, in which nations are treated as largely independent states, but are bound to the empire through the monarch, who is the head of state. which are sovereign nations which are bound to the Empire through the monarch as the head of state

Imperial Dominions
Imperial Dominions are the second classification of

Government and Law
The Caliantene Empire is an international and intergovernmental organization, with it's administration centered around the Emperor of Caliane, and the Caliantene imperial throne. The Caliantene Empire is governed under the provisions of the Edict of Calise, which established the institutions of the modern Empire in 1858.

The Imperial Monarchy
According to Protocol 1 of the Edict of Calise, the Empire centres on the rule of the Emperor of the Caliantene Empire, who is the head of state of Caliane, the Empire, and all of its constituent member states. The protocol mandated that the position of Emperor be hereditary, with the Imperial Privy Council dictating the laws of succession of the throne.

The Monarch, according to Protocol 1 of the Edict, is largely ceremonial. In terms of Imperial law, the Emperor has the power to appoint and dismiss the head of the Privy Council, as well as its members. The monarch chairs discussions and meetings of the Privy Council, and may, additionally, summon the council at any time, though this is usually saved for emergency situations - with the last emergency summoning of the Privy Council being the First Soullene Crisis in 1887.

The Emperor holds the right to dissolve the legislative bodies of imperial member states; authorizes the unification of the Imperial Armed Forces upon request of the Chair of the Privy Council; and may reject or approve the provisions of law passed by either the Privy Council, or by the legislative bodies of imperial member states, though this is also done upon either the advice of the Chair of the Privy Council, or the head of government for the particular member state in question.

The current Emperor of the Caliantene Empire is Henri IV, who has been monarch since 1924.

The Privy Council
The Privy Council is the administrative organ of the Caliantene Empire. The Privy Council is composed of the Emperor, and the heads of government of each of the member states of the empire. Protocol 2 of the Edict of Calise establishes the body as a collegiate decision making body of the Empire, designed to hasten collective imperial policy, and ensure adherence to the Empire's government. In modern times, the Privy Council is no longer used as a means to control policy in member states, but is now a collective body of heads of state, and serves to coordinate policy across all member states; agree on common foreign policy issues; and discuss solutions to global problems on a unified basis.

In practice, the Privy Council meets once every month, usually through group calls, to discuss global and imperial issues. Protocol 2 does establish the Privy Council's right to draft legislation to submit to the legislative bodies of the member states, and while legislative bodies have the right to reject "Imperial White Papers", an "Imperial Blue Paper" is, by contrast, a direct order from Calise and agreed to by the Chair of the Imperial Privy Council and the Emperor. It is extremely rare for a Blue Paper to be issued, with the most recent one having been issued in 1896, in an order which granted women the right to vote across the entire empire.

The Chair of the Privy Council is normally the Prime Minister of Caliane, as no other head of government has ever held the role, despite there being no explicit provision within the protocol that this be the case. While the other members of the Privy Council may give their opinions, only the Chair of the Privy Council's decision is law. Despite this, since the end of the Great War, the Chair of the Privy Council has always adopted the majority opinion of the council members in their decisions on imperial policy.

Law
In its most basic fundamentals, the Caliantene Empire is governed under the provisions of the Edict of Calise, which was signed by the members of the Caliantene government in 1858 to better organize and administer the territories of their imperial domain, which at the time was continuously growing. To foster a common set of policies across the empire, the Imperial Code was adopted, a set of laws passed by the Estate-General or through the Privy Council to be enforced throughout the empire. While nations are allowed to govern their own affairs to varying degrees, Imperial Law cannot be violated, and any conflicting national law is deemed void.

Despite its supremacy, there are no imperial level courts to adjudicate imperial law. Instead, the supreme court of each nation acts as the adjudicator of imperial law in their region, while the Imperial Judicial Conference, an independent body composed of one magistrate from each imperial commonwealth or dominion's court, is tasked with the final review of decisions made by the courts of the constituent nations to ensure they are in line with imperial policy.

Imperial law also holds several antiquated laws and customs which, though still legal and in force, are no longer used. The policy that the emperor may veto legislation from Imperial Dominions, while still in force, is largely no longer utilized, unless the proposed law is not in line with constitutional provisions, or contrary to policy passed by the Privy Council. Additionally, the policy that the Chair of the Privy Council may order the Emperor to dissolve legislative bodies of dominion or governate nations has only been used in the Great War once, during the First Soullene Crisis.