The government of the Threshold claims itself as a Democratic Meritocracy and is technically a Federal Parliamentary Technocratic-Republic; officials are elected by the people but must be first screened by the House of Merit. Candidates for office must be honest, lawful, and intelligent, and may be required to adhere to certain Foci to attain certain roles. It is preferred for candidates to have some degree of personal achievement. A higher-education degree is required, or a voted upon proof of intelligence or applicable skill by the House of Merit of their governing region.
Table of Contents
History
The current constitution describing the structure of the present Threshold Government was written following the Threshold Civil War in 2999. Prior to this, the Threshold was a Republic; the events leading up to the war made the Threshold people too wary of placing power in the hands of those whose only skill or study was in bureaucracy, and after this many felt the need for power to be placed in the hands of experts.
Structure
Legislative Branch
The Legislative Branch is responsible for checks-and-balances of other branches of government, writing, and passing laws.
Senate
The Senate makes up the entirety of the unicameral Legislative branch of the Threshold. The Senators, three from each of the forty-two prefectures for a total of 126 Senators, may only serve for three six-year terms. These individuals are responsible for legislating and passing federal laws and ordinances. The Senate may consent to treaties, propose treaties, and may overturn orders given by the First Scholar and Triumvirs. Each prefecture may not supply more than one senator from each primary focus.
Each Prefecture has it's own Senate, which performs similar functions to the national Senate. All members of the Legislative branch are elected by a simple majority by the people over which they govern.
Judicial Branch
The Judicial Branch of the government comprises the court-systems at the county, prefectural, regional, and national levels. The Judicial Branch is considered to be the least powerful of the three branches. In order to be employed in the Judicial Branch in any capacity dealing with carrying out the law, one must have either a primary or secondary focus on Justice.
Federal Courts
The Federal Court is responsible for interpreting and applying laws through the nation and may overturn laws passed by the Legislative branch deemed to be unconstitutional in terms of civil rights. It is the highest court in Threshold.
All members of the Federal Court are elected by simple majority by the judges over which they govern, with the exception of country judges, which are appointed by their local mayors, and must hold at least a bachelor's degree in law. Judges of the Federal Court may only serve for a total of ten years.
Lesser courts of Prefectures and Cities may appeal court cases to the Federal Court for resolution.
Houses of Merit
The Houses of Merit, of which each level of government (City, Province, Prefecture, and Federal) possesses, is responsible for the selection process for political applicants and process all for matters regarding merit, voting not on their appointment, but rather legitimacy and worth as a candidate. For the remainder of their lives, these individuals are authorized to receive no manner of income other than a government pension considerable enough place them as "Middle-Class" citizens, may receive no gifts from applicants or supporters of applicants, and must be of genius-level IQ and may not have a criminal record. Similarly, they must donate any funds considered to be "excessive." Culturally speaking, being a part of a House of Merit is considered an honor, as these individuals hold future and existing politicians to moral and mental standards and serve as a means of ousting corruption, and often act as an "informed voice of the people."
However, members of Houses of Merit are often required to give up considerable rights; they may not vote, and may never receive payment for work other than as a member of their House. It is possible for a member to have their life-oath revoked and again receive payment, but this must be voted upon by the appropriate level of Legislature and approved by the local Executive Branch governor, and only after all politicians on which the House member officiated are no longer holding office. This is to prevent obtaining payment in favor of any candidate or law.
Executive Branch
The Executive Branch of the Meritocracy is by far the most powerful. At the head is the First Scholar, who holds the largest degree of control of the nation and can forcibly pass laws with the 4/9th approval of the Senate. The First Scholar is the Commander-in-Chief of the armed forces and is advised on military matters by those members of the Directorate with military experience and always the Director of Humanity and Director of Kinship. During times of war, the First Scholar or Directorate may by 4/9ths majority add a Director of Justice without military experience to the military council. Decisions of the First Scholar can only be overruled by a 2/3rd majority of the Senate, or a 4/9th Senate majority with the approval of the Triumvirate. The First Scholar is considered to be the face of Pharthan internationally rather than internally to the nation, and may only serve for three five-year terms, though this may be extended to as many as six-terms with the continued 2/3rd majority of the Senate and unanimous approval of the Triumvirate.
All members of the Executive branch are elected by a simple majority by the people over which they govern.
The Directorate and the First Scholar
The Executive Branch of Threshold is by far the most powerful. At the head is the First Scholar, who holds the largest degree of control of the nation and can forcibly pass laws with the 4/9th approval of the Federal Senate. The First Scholar is also the Commander-in-Chief of the military, with a requirement of having an active duty or veteran senior military officer (Admiral or General) as an advisor. Decisions of the First Scholar can only be overruled by a 2/3rd majority of the Senate, or a 4/9th Senate majority with the approval of the Directorate. The First Scholar is considered to be the face of Pharthan internationally rather than internally to the nation, and may only serve for three five-year terms, though this may be extended to as many as six-terms with a 2/3rd majority of the Senate and unanimous approval of the Directorate, which must be voted upon for each term.
The Directorate is comprised of nine elected officials, once from each Primary Focus. They act as a cabinet to assist the First Scholar in all decision making processes, and gain added clout when voting on a bill within their focus. They are considered to be local leaders ranking above the Prefectural Governors and are advisers to the First Scholar. Directors are not usually involved in international politics, instead of dealing with internal politics, though the Humanity, Kinship, and Business Directors may act as foreign liaisons. Many Directors move on to become First Scholars following their term(s). The Directorate is meant to act as a check-and-balance system to the First Scholar as well as a decision-making body. Directors may serve for six total 5-year terms, minus any terms spent as First Scholar. Directors who do not receive the vote of the First Scholar require a 5/8ths majority Senatorial vote to overrule the First Scholar's decision.
Regional Administration is handled by Regional Governors, who acts as the Executive leader of each of the spheres of influence of Pharthan.
Below the Governors are the local Prefects of the prefectures, who control the Commonwealth Guard, part-time military forces, and act as executive leaders over their individual prefectures.
While commonly a Prefect, out of convenience there is no official Head of State over a single planet - many planets are their own Prefecture, however. In some cases, such as the highly populated center of the "Big Five" economic-powerhouse planets of Pharthan, Himeji, Belvoir, Selene, and New Haifa, multiple prefects are placed over large sections of the planets with no real major figurehead over these planets.
The First Scholar maintains government housing in the military megastation over Pharthan known as the High Sentry, it is notably austere by comparison to traditional homes, though it is luxurious and sprawling for military standards. Apart from personal entertainment, it holds little in decoration other than a few small personal items and hologram-portraits of First Scholars long past. Slightly over 250 square meters in size, much of the room is for personal bodyguards.
The First Scholar also maintains the larger governmental home, the Merit Seat, planetside on Pharthan. Both wide and consisting of many inter-connecting towers several dozen stories high, it functions as much as a command center and palace as it does a household. Upper stories are furnished for comfortable living while lower levels are designed to cater to news conferences, with at least two towers for military purposes. It is furnished with more traditional adornments from the turn of the 30th century, with sprawling blue rugs, table-runners, and faux shifting star-scapes reflecting the stars physically above the viewer.