The council Of Keys, the Parliament of Vargo.

Rather than trying to write these things up as a series of IC pronouncements, here's the skinny on the Council of Keys and its operation. These rules /are/ IC - they've been issued by the Triumvirate bureaucracy in due course or are based on the traditional rules for planetary parliaments. This post, obviously, went up after Devante's recent post, but should be considered as IC knowledge prior to that. (He's welcome to make edits as needed, mostly to tack on an agenda.)

The Latin word for 'key' is 'clavis', and thus the appropriate adjective for the keys is 'clavical' - a Clavical Decree, for instance, or a Clavical Referendum. Technically, any meeting of the Council of Keys is a Conclave ('keys come together'), but in practical use the word 'Conclave' refers to a secret meeting of the Council of Keys.

Calling A Meeting.

Council of Keys meetings - 'sessions' - need to be called 'with due notice' - enough time in advance for the keyholders to be able to attend, given the circumstances of the situation at hand - and 'with reasonable flexibility' - to allow for the maximum number of keyholders to be able to attend. Any member of the Keys may call for a meeting, but a meeting can only be convened by the Protector, the Lord Privy Seal, their designate or another Imperial representative.

Failure to provide 'due notice' or 'reasonable flexibility' is grounds for appeal on the part of a keyholder who could not attend, made to the Protector, the Emperor, or one of his representatives. A successful appeal results in the session being declared a 'voided session', and any business conducted during a voided session legally did not occur. OOCly, this provision is meant for two things - first, to allow for political manuevering on the subject of legislation, but secondly and most importantly to prevent against OOC scheduling abuse.

When calling a meeting, the Lord Privy Seal is expected to provide an agenda for the Council of Keys meeting in advance; the level of detail in this agenda is not specified, and items can be raised at the meeting that are not on the agenda. However, a departure from the agenda allows keyholders several options they might not otherwise have to contest business.

Instruments of Proxy

If a keyholder cannot attend a session, he or she can issue an Instrument of Proxy - a legal document which is used to guide the use of his vote. The Instrument of Proxy is addressed to the Keys as a whole, and is interpretated either by the president of the council or by a general vote of the Keys. For this reason, Instruments of Proxy most often delegate power into the hands of another - for instance, 'The Lord of Halliard's key will vote as does the key of Lord Lanyard.'

More complicated instruments are also possible, particularly when they pertain to agenda items. If the Lord Privy Seal announced that his office and the office of the High Justice were to be confirmed, an instrument might be issued that says 'Lord Halliard's key will will confirm the nomination of the Lord Privy Seal and reject the nomination of the High Justice.' It might also append 'In other matters, the Lord of Halliard's key will follow the Lord Lanyard' - in which case it will vote with Lanyard on other cases - or it might specify nothing, at which point it is assumed to abstain. If there is ever a doubt about the wording or intention of an Instrument of Proxy, a point of contest can be raised. The Lord Protector or Lord Privy Seal will rule on the point with the advice of the Lord High Justice; if that ruling, too, is contested then the Council of Keys will entertain motions on the interpretation.

If after a meeting a keyholder who voted via instrument feels his or her key was misinterpreteted, she may appeal to the Protector, the Emperor or his representatives either for the session to be voided (rendering it as if it did not exist) or for the instrument of proxy to be voided (such that the proxy's votes are not counted yea or nay). This appeal is most likely to succeed when the Council of Keys interprets the proxy by vote, or when substantial items are introduced and voted upon without being part of the agenda.

Meeting Rules

Sessions of the Keys are presided over by the Protector, who traditionally vacates this duty to the Lord Privy Seal and participates in the council only as a peer or attends through proxy. (For the purposes of this post, we'll assume the Privy Seal is presiding. Substitute Protector if he is presiding.) The High Justice or a member of his office stands by to advise the president of the council on legal matters that may arise; if a motion to try a peer is brought, the High Justice (or the Protector) presides while the High Justice prosecutes. The Lord Marshal is responsible for the physical protection of the Council meeting grounds, though the marshal's soldiers are not allowed inside the meeting.

Inside the meeting, it is the Lord Constable who keeps physical order with the unsheathed Sword of State. The Lord Constable is assisted by freemen Sergeants-at-Arms (usually recruited from the VCG or League) and can deputize noblemen as Lords Deputy if violence is feared. The Lord Extern has the fewest responsibilities of the Great Officers at a Council of Keys meeting, but is entitled to speak without being interrupted (as are all Great Officers) and it is the Extern rather than the Lord Privy Seal who recognizes foreign powers to speak.

Motions to entertain debate, propose some legislation or try a case are brought to the Lord Privy Seal, who rules on them yea or nay. If he declines a motion to debate, the Council of Keys may move to debate by general vote. Peers may speak without recognition after debate is opened, and those who are not members of the council can be introduced by a peer and recognized by the Lord Privy Seal. Debate is also closed by a motion - again, approved by the Lord Privy Seal - at which point a general vote is called.

The Lord Privy Seal can also refer a motion to the Council of Keys without giving a yea or nay, or can decline to give a yea or nay, which becomes a de facto pocket veto. Such a pocket veto is quite confrontational, however, and may have political consequences later.

A session of the Keys is opened and closed by the Lord Privy Seal; the Council can move that the Privy Seal close the meeting, but the decision rests with the Privy Seal as president of the council. It is possible for the Privy Seal to use this as an obstructionist tactic, closing the session before a matter can be voted on.

The Secret Conclave

The Council of Keys can also meet in secret - in Conclave - without the presence of any of its officers, usually to discuss a vote of no confidence or other punitive action against a Triumvir or one of the Triumvirate's Great Officers. In some cases, this sort of rebellion is led by one of the Great Officers - the Lord Privy Seal seeking a vote of no confidence against the Protector, for instance - but even if so, those officers attend only as peers and take their seats among the rest of the peerage. The Conclave's first action in such a secret meeting is to elect a chair from among its members, at which point business proceeds as usual.

Obviously, a secret conclave is open to accusations of bias, and is equally open to appeals from failure to notify or failure to honor proxies, particularly from those individuals targeted by the conclave. Consequently, a secret conclave usually requires Imperial arbitration, but is the strongest possible signal short of open rebellion that the peerage (or a portion thereof) is unhappy with the current order.

The Clavical Referendum.

While much business is conducted in open meetings, the difficulties of travel, war and the like - as well as the OOC difficulty of scheduling meetings - means that the Council of Keys can also conduct business by Clavical Referendum, where an issue for debate is made public. Individual members of the Council of Keys then indicate their votes to the Privy Seal; they can change their vote any number of times before the Privy Seal declares a referendum to be completed.

Typically, the amount of time debate on a clavical referendum will be open is specified in advance. The Privy Seal can extend that time - or cut it short! - but much like changes to an agenda, excessive political manuevering around the referendum can be grounds to appeal and void the referendum. OOCly, the clavical referendum allows for active political debate - and politics to occur - while stepping around difficulties in scheduling.

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