Politics of Meriad
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| Meriad |
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Monarchy
Legislature
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Politics in Meriad take place in the framework of a parliamentary representative democratic constitutional monarchy. Executive power is exercised by the monarch and the Royal Cabinet, led by the Prime Minister of Meriad. Legislative power is vested in both the government and the Hall of Jarls, elected within a multi-party system. The Judiciary, the Court of Justice, is independent of the executive branch and the legislature.
Executive branch
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| Office | Name | Party | Since |
|---|---|---|---|
| Queen | Queen Crica of Meriad | January 1, 2017 | |
| Prime Minister | Jans Nordvich | National Democratic Party | June 16, 2012 |
Meriad is a parliamentary constitutional monarchy in which the monarch has mainly symbolic powers. These power include being the symbolic head of the Church of Meriad and the supreme commander of the armed forces. In practice, most executive power is held by the office of Prime Minister, which is supported and advised by the Royal Cabinet.
The Royal Cabinet is formally convened by the reigning monarch. The Royal Cabinet consists of a Prime Minister and his/her council, formally appointed by the monarch. Parliamentarism has evolved since 1763 and entails that the cabinet must not have the parliament against it, and that the appointment by the King is a formality. The council must have the confidence of the Meriadni legislative body, known as the Hall of Jarls.
The Meriadni executive branch is tasked with enforcing the laws passed by the Hall of Jarls, maintaining the national currency, defending the nation via the armed forces, exercising the nation's foreign policy, and regulating Meriadni land and natural resources.
The executive branch is subdivided into the following ministries, which oversee specific aspects of the government.
| Ministry of Defense | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Ministry of the Interior | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Ministry of Foreign Affairs | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Ministry of Justice | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Ministry of Energy | |||||||||||||||||||||
 Monarch |  Office of the Prime Minister | Ministry of Finance | |||||||||||||||||||
| Ministry of Education | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Ministry of Health and Public Services | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Ministry of Transportation and Communications | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Ministry of Commerce | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Ministry of Agriculture | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Ministry of National Culture | |||||||||||||||||||||
Legislative branch
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The Legislative Branch of the government is composed of the Hall of Jarls, the Meriadni parliamentary body. Representatives, referred to as Jarls, serve six year terms, with elections being held biennially. Voting rights are granted to all Meriadni citizens automatically the year a person turns 18.
The Hall of Jarls is tasked with passing legislation, nominating major government officials, and taking major foreign policy actions such as the ratification of treaties and the declaration of war. It is a 183-seat unicameral system in which representatives are elected from the 21 regions on the basis of party-list proportional representation, proportional to the respective populations of those administrative regions.
Judicial branch
The Judicial Branch of the Meriadni government is the Court of Justice, which is charged with interpreting and making rulings on the laws and regulations passed by by the legislative branch, through the Hall of Jarls, and the executive branch, through the Royal Cabinet. The Court of Justice consists of the High Court of Justice of 11 permanent judges, appellate courts, regional courts, and city and district courts. The judiciary branch is entirely independent of the legislative and executive branches of government. While the Prime Minister nominates Supreme Court Justices for office, their nomination must be approved by the Parliament of Meriad and formally confirmed by the Monarch. Usually, judges attached to regular courts are formally appointed by the Monarch on the advice of the Prime Minister.
The Courts' strict and formal mission is to regulate the Meriadni judicial system, interpret the Constitution, and are therefore in charge of making rulings upon the legislation adopted by the Hall of Jarls. In its judicial reviews, it monitors the legislative and executive branches to ensure that they comply with provisions of enacted legislation.
Legal System
The Meriadni legal system is based on two general frames of law: written law, common law and statutory law, and cultural law (kulturloven), which dates to well before the current system of government. Cultural law generally governs customs and religious rights on a very loose basis, and is thus seldom referenced.
Administrative divisions
Meriad is divided into 21 regions (rymder, singular rymd): Brannsund, Duvnafjördur, Eyjanfjalla, Fjallsmi, Fjordlande, Olstadt, Hjerteskog, Isafjalla, Islagskogen, Kaldavinde, Karelstad, Kjelmoen, Nordvakt, Sjoland, Skipelande, Steinhjem, Sterkvegg, Stälaronen, Sydilströp, Ulvaskogen, and Varelsaend.
Meriad also exercises the international affairs of Saint Claire Island, which has domestic autonomy and is therefore referred to as an autonomous region.