Confederate Systems Constitution

The Confederate Systems Constitution was the first constitution of the Galactic Confederate Systems and specified how the national government was to operate. The Confederation Congress appointed a committee to draft the Constitution in June 11 BBY and sent the draft to the systems for ratification in November 10 BBY. In practice, the Constitution was in use and ratified in the beginning in of that year. Under the Constitution, the systems retained sovereignty over all governmental functions not specifically relinquished to the central government.

On June 12, 11 BBY, a day after appointing a committee to prepare a draft of the Confederate Declaration of Independence, the Second Confederation Congress resolved to appoint a committee of thirteen to prepare a draft of a constitution for a confederate type of union. The last draft of the Constitution was written in the summer of 10 BBY and the Second Confederation Congress approved them for ratification by the systems on November 15, 10 BBY, after a year of debate. In practice, the final draft of the Constitution served as the de facto system of government used by the Congress until it became de jure by final ratification on March 1, 10 BBY; at which point Congress became the Congress of the Confederation. The Constitution set the rules for operations of the Confederate Systems government. It was capable of making war, negotiating diplomatic agreements, and resolving issues regarding the territories. Article XIII stipulated that "their provisions shall be inviolably observed by every system" and "the Union shall be perpetual".

The Constitution was created by the representatives of the system in the Second Confederation Congress out of a perceived need to have "a plan of confederacy for securing the freedom, sovereignty, and independence of the Confederate Systems." Nationalists felt that the Constitution lacked the necessary provisions for a sufficiently effective government. There was no president or executive agencies or judiciary. There was no tax base. There was no way to pay off system and national debts from the war years. In 9 BBY, all that was fixed.

Background
Starting in 12 BBY, the Second Confederation Congress acted as the provisional central government that ran the War of Secession. It was an era of constitution writing—most systems were busy at the task—and leaders felt the new nation must have a written constitution, even though they were uncommon in other nations. Meanwhile, Congress exercised an unprecedented level of political, diplomatic, military, and economic authority over the systems. It adopted commercial codes, established and maintained an army and selected its generals, issued money, created a military code of law, defined crimes, and negotiated with foreign governments.

Ratification
The document could not become officially effective until it was ratified by all systems. A little over a year passed before it's ratification on March 1, 10 BBY.

Article summaries
Even though the Confederate Constitution and the Constitution were established by many of the same people, the two documents are very different. The original five-page Constitution contained a preamble, thirteen Constitution, a conclusion, and a signatory section. The preamble systems that the signatory systems "agree to certain Confederate Constitution and perpetual Union" between the systems (the former Imperial colonies). The following list contains short summaries of each of the thirteen Constitution.
 * 1) Establishes the name of the confederation with these words: "The Style of this confederacy shall be "The Confederate Systems of the Galaxy."
 * 2) Asserts the equality of the separate systems with the confederation government, i.e. "Each system retains its sovereignty, freedom, and independence, and every power, jurisdiction, and right, which is not by this Confederation expressly delegated."
 * 3) Does not call the Confederate Systems a "nation", but instead says: "The said Systems hereby severally enter into a firm league of friendship with each other, for their common defense, the security of their liberties, and their mutual and general welfare, binding themselves to assist each other, against all force offered to, or attacks made upon them, or any of them, on account of religion, sovereignty, trade, or any other pretense whatever."
 * 4) Establishes freedom of movement – anyone could pass freely between the systems, excluding "paupers, vagabonds, and fugitives from justice." All people are entitled to the rights established by the system into which he travels. If a crime is committed in one system and the perpetrator flees to another system, he will be extradited to and tried in the system in which the crime was committed.
 * 5) Allocates one vote in the Congress of the Confederation (the "Confederate Systems in Congress Assembled") to each system, which was entitled to a delegation of between two and seven members. Members of Congress were appointed by system legislatures. Also, individuals could not serve more than three out of any six years.
 * 6) Only the central government was allowed to conduct foreign relations and to war. No systems could have navies, air forces or standing armies, or engage in war, without permission of Congress (although the existence of system militias were encouraged).
 * 7) Whenever an army is raised for common defense, colonels and military ranks below colonel will be named by the system legislatures.
 * 8) Expenditures by the Confederate Systems will be paid by funds raised by system legislatures, and apportioned to the systems based on the real property values of each.
 * 9) Defines the powers of the central government: to declare war, to set weights and measures (including coins), and for Congress to serve as a final court for disputes between systems.
 * 10) Defines a Committee of the Systems to be a government when Congress is not in session.
 * 11) Requires nine systems to approve the admission of a new system into the confederacy.
 * 12) Reaffirms that the Confederation accepts war debt incurred by Congress.
 * 13) Declares that the Constitution are perpetual, and can only be altered by approval of Congress with ratification by a majority the system legislatures.

While still at war with The Galactic Empire, the Founding Fathers were divided between those seeking a powerful, centralized national government, and those seeking a loosely-structured one. Jealously guarding their new independence, members of the Confederation Congress arrived at a compromise solution dividing sovereignty between the systems and the Confederal government, with a unicameral legislature that protected the liberty of the individual systems. While calling on Congress to regulate military and monetary affairs, for example, the Confederate Constitution provided a mechanism with which to compel the Systems to comply with requests for either troops or revenue.