Hall of Jarls

The Hall of Jarls is the   of the Kingdom of Meriad. The Meriadni Parliament meets in the State Hall of Járnfjördur, the capital of Meriad. Representatives to the Hall are elected through direct election, although vacancies may be filled by either royal appointment or administrative appointment. The Parliament has one hundred and eighty-three voting members. The Hall of Jarls was created in 1763 in accordance with the Constitution of Meriad, and meets at the State House in Járnfjördur.

The Hall of Jarls is charged with creating new laws, approving the Royal Cabinet, creating the national budget, and appointing each new Prime Minister. Prime Ministers historically come from the leadership of the majority party, with strong support from multiple other parties. A list of potential candidates, usually one to three, is then sent to the Monarch, who makes the official appointment.

Representation to the Hall for each region is according to the of, and is dependent upon population, with a minimum representation of five delegates for each of the twenty-one regions. s are held once every two years, with one sixth of the Hall up for election, although it is within the authority of the Prime Minister to ask the monarch to call a special election. The Hall, through a, can compel the Prime Minister, a government minister, or the whole government to resign.

Since the 1917, no single party has held a majority in the Hall of Jarls, so the government must be formed as a coalition from multiple political parties voting in concert.

Representatives in the Hall are formally known as Parliamenterikrepresentant as defined in the constitution, but are much more commonly referred to as Jarls or PRs.

Role
Constitutionally, the Hall of Jarls is tasked with creating new laws, approving the Royal Cabinet, creating the national budget, ratifying international treaties and agreements, and appointing each new Prime Minister. It also exercises extensive oversight over the roles of the monarch, the prime minister, government officials, and the armed forces.

While not all government legislation originates in the Hall, any legislation which has a significant effect outside of the executive branch of government must be approved by the Hall of Jarls. As such, the Hall may indefinitely delay voting on laws, bills, and ordinances passed on to them by the Royal Cabinet, thus preventing their passage, or simply veto them by a simple majority vote.

Structure
The Talerjarl, literally "Speaking-Jarl", is the in the Hall of Jarls, and is responsible for calling on representatives to speak, maintaining order, organizing standing committees, and enforcing the rules of order. The Talerjarl is advised by the Jarlkomité, literally "Council of Jarls", which is made up of two representatives from the and two from the. The Talerjar does not take part in debate or vote, except in the event of a tie, when the Talerjarl conventionally votes according to. The Talerjarl, while an elected representative to the Hall, renounces all party affiliation upon being elected speaker. The current Talerjarl is Sebastian Heiberg, who was elected to the position on 29 October, 2016, immediately following the formal opening of the Hall's 2016-17 session.

The Hall incorporates a variety of standing committees, which craft legislation in particular subject areas independently of the Hall as a whole, which are often discussed and voted upon by the main assembly, but can also be passed independently of the Hall as a whole. Customarily, these standing committees are representative of the makeup of the Hall. Legislation that affects the government budget, taxation, and finances may be discussed in standing committees, but must be voted on by the entire Hall.

Standing Committees

 * Agriculture and Fisheries
 * Communications
 * Defense and Foreign Affairs
 * Economic Affairs
 * Employment and Education
 * Energy and Energy Security
 * Environmental Policy
 * Health and Public Services
 * Human Rights
 * Income Equality and Social Justice
 * Legal Affairs
 * Public Relations
 * Sport and National Culture
 * Taxation, Government Revenue, and the National Budget

Elections
Elections for the Hall of Jarls occur on the first Wednesday of October every other year, at which time 60 of the 183 seats are up for election. The Innefødt electorate votes on the first Wednesday of November in the same years as the general parliamentary election. This offset means that coalitions may change between the two dates as a result of the party affiliations of the Innefødt representatives.

Innefødt Electorate
In order to afford a more prominent political voice to the native Innefødt people of northern Meriad, in 1861 the Hall of Jarls passed the Innefødt Representation Act, which instituted a new electoral system specifically for Innefødt and those of Innefødt descent, as well as increasing the number of seats in the Hall of Jarls from 180 to 183. The act divided the country into three new electoral regions, the boundaries of which are superimposed upon the general electorate without affecting those boundaries. Within each of these three Innefødt electorates, registered Innefødt voters have the option to be placed on a separate voter roll for the purposes of electing representatives to special Hall of Jarls seats. This roll does not affect voting in any other elections, but allows these registered Innefødt voters to elect candidates of Innefødt descent to the three special seats in the Hall of Jarls, one seat per special electorate.

Electorates
Although there has been legislation proposed in the Hall of Jarls to increase the number of Innefødt seats from three to five, there are currently only three electoral regions covering the whole the Meriad.
 * 1)  Kravi Frestik - (The north coast from Kaldavinde to Skipelande)
 * 2)  Kravi Gordik - (Central Merad from Islagskogen to Hjerteskog.)
 * 3)  Kravi Sudfrik - (Southern Meriad from Fjallsmi to Sydilströp.)

While the current proportion of three Innefødt seats out of the total of 183 seats (1.7%) is not representative of the percentage of Meriadni registered voters of Innefødt descent (4.3%), this is mainly due to the fact that many Innefødt voters choose to be listed on the general electoral roll as opposed to the special Innefødt roll.