Constitution of the Province of San Andreas

1.The Province

San Andreas is a province of the Republic of South Africa. Its principal city and seat of government is LightVille.

2.Supremacy of this Constitution

This Constitution is the supreme law of the Province. Any law, regulation or act of a public official that conflicts with it is invalid to the extent of the conflict.

3.Founding values

The Province is founded on human dignity, equality, the rule of law, and accountable public service.

4.Currency and languages

1. The currency of the Province is the South African rand.
2. Every official language of the Republic may be used in the Province, and no person may be treated unfairly for the language they speak.

5.Visitors

1. Every person who arrives in the Province receives a visitor's permit at the port of arrival, valid for twenty-four hours.
2. A visitor enjoys every right in the Bill of Rights.

6.Residents

1. A person becomes a resident of San Andreas by obtaining a Provincial identity document from the Department of Home Affairs at City Hall.
2. Only residents may hold public office, join a public service, register a company or register a vehicle.

7.Official documents

The Province issues identity documents, driving licences and vehicle registrations. Forging, altering or using another person's official document is an offence.

8.Equality

Every person is equal before the law and has the right to equal protection of the law. No person may be unfairly treated because of their race, gender, language, religion, origin, disability or age.

9.Human dignity

Every person has inherent dignity and the right to have it respected and protected.

10.Life, freedom and security

Every person has the right to life, and the right not to be detained without just cause, tortured, or treated in a cruel or degrading way.

11.Privacy

1. Every person has the right not to have their person, home, vehicle or property searched, or their possessions seized, except as this section allows.
2. A search may be carried out only with a warrant issued by a court, with the person's consent, or by a police officer who has reasonable grounds to believe that the person is committing a crime or has just committed one.
3. A home may be entered by force only under a warrant, or when a life is in immediate danger.

12.Expression and assembly

1. Every person has the right to freedom of expression, including the press and the Government Gazette.
2. This right does not extend to inciting violence or threatening another person.
3. Every person has the right to assemble and to demonstrate peacefully and unarmed.

13.Movement

Every person may move freely through the Province, except where access is lawfully restricted, such as a crime scene, a prison or a disaster area.

14.Work, trade and occupation

Every resident may choose their trade, occupation or profession and may run a lawful business.

15.Property

1. No person may be deprived of their property except by law: by court order, by lawful seizure, or by impound under the Road Traffic Code.
2. Property taken unlawfully remains the property of its owner, and must be returned to them.

16.Fair labour

Every worker has the right to be paid what they earned, and to fair treatment by their employer.

17.Fair administrative action

Every person whose licence, permit or document is refused, suspended or cancelled has the right to be told why, and to ask a court to review the decision.

18.Arrested and detained persons

Every person who is arrested has the right to:

1. be told promptly why they are being arrested, and what they are charged with;
2. remain silent, and not to be forced to confess;
3. be represented by themselves, by an attorney of their choice, or by state legal aid;
4. be held only in a lawful holding cell or prison, and to be treated with dignity while held;
5. apply for bail, where the law allows it;
6. be brought before a court, or released, within the remand period in section 37.

19.Accused persons

Every accused person has the right to a fair hearing, which includes the right to:

1. be presumed innocent until proven guilty;
2. plead guilty or not guilty;
3. hear and challenge the evidence against them, and present their own;
4. a hearing before an independent judicial officer;
5. not be convicted of an act that was not an offence when it was committed;
6. not be punished more than the law allows for the offence.

20.Limitation of rights

The rights in this Bill of Rights may be limited only by a law that applies to everyone, and only as far as is reasonable and necessary, such as arrest under the Penal Code or a curfew during a state of disaster.

21.Executive authority

1. The executive authority of the Province rests with the Premier, who leads the Provincial Government.
2. The Premier appoints the head of each provincial department, and may remove them.
3. While the office of Premier is vacant, its duties are carried out by the Office of the Premier.

22.Provincial departments

1. The Provincial Treasury keeps all public money of the Province (Chapter 8).
2. The Department of Home Affairs issues identity documents and keeps the register of residents, at City Hall.
3. The Department of Transport tests drivers, issues driving licences, registers vehicles, and keeps the Road Traffic Code, through the DMV.
4. The Department of Trade and Industry registers companies and makes sure they follow the law (Chapter 9).
5. The Premier may create other departments by notice in the Government Gazette.

23.The Government Gazette

The Government Gazette is the official publication of the Province. Laws, regulations, appointments and official notices take effect when they are published in it.

24.Accountability

Every public official serves the people of the Province, must act within the law, and must not use their office for personal gain. A public official who abuses their office may be removed from it and charged under the Penal Code.

25.Sources of law

The law of San Andreas is made up of:

1. this Constitution;
2. the Penal Code, which defines crimes and their penalties;
3. the Road Traffic Code, which governs roads, vehicles and drivers, including the demerit point system;
4. regulations and notices published in the Government Gazette;
5. the rulings of the courts.

26.Publication

No person may be punished under a law that was not published. Every law must be available to the public.

27.Judicial authority

1. The judicial authority of the Province rests with the courts.
2. The courts are independent and answer only to this Constitution and the law. No person, public official or public service may interfere with a court.
3. Court orders bind every person and every public body they apply to.

28.The courts of the Province

1. The High Court of San Andreas hears felony trials, reviews decisions of the Magistrates' Court, and decides any matter about this Constitution.
2. The Magistrates' Court hears bail applications, minor criminal matters and applications for warrants.
3. The courts sit at the Courthouse in LightVille, and may sit elsewhere when the Chief Justice directs.

29.Judicial officers

1. The judicial officers of the Province are Court Clerks, State Prosecutors, Magistrates, Judges and the Chief Justice.
2. The Chief Justice heads the courts, assigns cases and sets the court roll.
3. Before taking office, every judicial officer takes the oath in the Schedule.
4. A judicial officer may not preside over a case in which they have a personal interest.

30.Prosecutions

State Prosecutors bring criminal cases on behalf of the Province. They decide whether to prosecute without fear, favour or interference.

31.Legal representation

An accused person may represent themselves, appoint a registered private attorney, or ask the court for state legal aid where it is available.

32.Warrants

1. A court may issue a warrant of arrest or a search warrant when SAPS shows reasonable grounds for it.
2. A court must issue a warrant of arrest against a person who fails to appear at a hearing, or who has not paid a traffic fine within the time the Road Traffic Code allows.

33.Categories of offences

The Penal Code places every offence in one of three tiers:

1. Tier 1 offences are minor. The accused may settle the matter by paying the fine, and is then released.
2. Tier 2 offences are misdemeanours that must be served in a holding cell. They cannot be paid off. No person may be held for a Tier 2 offence for longer than two hours.
3. Tier 3 offences are felonies. They must be decided by a court.

34.Pleas

1. A person charged with a Tier 3 offence must be given the chance to plead guilty or not guilty.
2. A person who pleads guilty must be sentenced to thirty percent less than the sentence the Penal Code sets for the offence.
3. A person who pleads not guilty must be given a hearing. If they are convicted, the court may impose any sentence up to the maximum the law allows, after considering the evidence.

35.Sentences

1. A prison sentence is served at the provincial Prison, and may not be longer than three hours.
2. A fine is paid first from the person's cash, then from their bank account. Any amount still owing remains a debt to the Province.
3. The most serious crimes, as the Penal Code defines them, may carry a sentence of death, imposed only by the High Court with the approval of the Chief Justice.

36.Bail

A person on remand may apply for bail. The court may grant bail on conditions, including that the person attends their hearing.

37.Remand

1. A person arrested for a Tier 3 offence may be held on remand in a holding cell for no longer than one hour.
2. If no judicial officer has dealt with the case within that hour, the person must be released and the charges withdrawn.
3. If a hearing is set for a later time, the person must be released at the end of the hour and must attend the hearing.

38.Failure to appear

1. A person who fails to appear at their hearing commits the offence of failure to appear. A warrant is issued for their arrest, and the hearing is set again once.
2. A person who fails to appear a second time is convicted without a hearing, and goes straight to prison when arrested.

39.Contempt of court

A presiding officer may warn, fine or briefly detain any person who disrupts the court or disobeys its orders.

40.Commissions of inquiry

The Chief Justice may appoint a commission of inquiry to investigate a matter of public concern. A commission may call witnesses, require documents and publish its findings, and may recommend prosecutions.

41.The South African Police Service

1. The South African Police Service in San Andreas prevents, combats and investigates crime, keeps the peace, and enforces the law.
2. SAPS is organised into the Patrol, Traffic, Anti-Gang Unit and Detective divisions, under the command of the Provincial Commissioner.

42.Police powers

1. A police officer may stop, question, search and arrest a person only within the powers the law and this Constitution give them.
2. Force may be used only when it is necessary, and only as much as the situation requires.
3. A police officer may force entry to a locked building only under a warrant, in pursuit of a suspect, or to save a life.
4. A police officer who breaks the law is not above it, and may be arrested and prosecuted like any other person.

43.The Fire and Medical Department

The Fire and Medical Department protects life and property from fire, injury and disaster. Its members may enter any place, and direct any person, to the extent needed to save a life. No person may obstruct or harm a member of FMD on duty.

44.The Vehicle Enforcement and Services Agency

VESA keeps the Province's roads and vehicles in order. It recovers and repairs vehicles, removes obstructions, and carries out impounds ordered under the Road Traffic Code.

45.Correctional Services

1. Holding cells at SAPS stations are used for remand and for Tier 2 offences.
2. The provincial Prison holds only persons convicted and sentenced by a court, or who have pleaded guilty.
3. Every person held in custody keeps their right to dignity.

46.Protection of emergency workers

Attacking, robbing or obstructing a member of SAPS, FMD or VESA on duty is an aggravated offence under the Penal Code.

47.The Provincial Treasury

All public money of the Province is held by the Provincial Treasury. No money may be paid out of the Treasury except as the law allows.

48.Revenue

Fines, fees, licence charges and every other amount owed to the Province are paid into the Treasury.

49.Public salaries

Members of the public services and judicial officers are paid by the Treasury according to their rank, on the published pay day.

50.Companies

1. A company may trade in the Province only once it is registered with the Department of Trade and Industry.
2. Every company must keep to the law, pay its employees what it owes them, and keep proper records.
3. The Department may suspend or deregister a company that breaks the law.

51.Fair trade

No person may sell goods or services by fraud. A buyer who is cheated may lay a charge with SAPS or ask a court for relief.

52.Declaring a state of disaster

1. The Premier may declare a state of disaster over all or part of the Province when a fire, storm, riot or other emergency threatens lives.
2. During a state of disaster, SAPS and FMD may close roads and areas, order people to leave, and impose a curfew.
3. A state of disaster lasts only as long as the emergency, and ends when the Premier says so in the Government Gazette.
4. The Bill of Rights may be limited during a state of disaster only as far as the emergency requires. The rights of arrested and accused persons may never be limited.

53.Amendment

This Constitution may be amended only by an amendment published in the Government Gazette. No amendment may take away a right from a person for anything they did before it was published.

54.Short title

This Constitution may be cited as the Constitution of San Andreas.