Act 16 (The Flag of Austenasia)
| Act 16 (The Flag of Austenasia) | |
| Proposed | 8 November 2008 |
| Imperial Consent given on | 8 November 2008 |
| Imperial Consent given at | Parliament Hall, Wrythe |
| Imperial Consent given by | HRH Emperor Terry I |
| Amended by | • Act 81 (9th Revision to Existing Laws) |
Act 16 (The Flag of Austenasia) of the Parliament of Austenasia was an Act of Parliament passed on 8 November 2008 and repealed on 22 September 2011. This Act established the Star of Austenasia (now known as the Austenasian Star) as the national flag of the Empire.
Laws 1 and 2 of Act 16 named and designed the flag, which can be seen to the left. Laws 3 and 4 forbade the flying of any other national flag within Austenasia, with refusal to remove one being classified as rebellion - in regards to the flag of the United Kingdom (Union Flag/Jack) or the flag of England (St. George's Cross), merely flying them would be considered rebellion. Laws 5 and 6 stated that there "must be a Star of Austenasia flying from the residence of the Royal [sic] Family" and "from the meeting place of Parliament" whenever possible.
All of the Act besides Law 2 (which set out the design of the flag) was amended by Law 7 of Act 81 (9th Revision to Existing Laws), passed on 30 May 2009. This amendment renamed the flag to the Austenasian Star. Paragraph A of the amendment expanded the list of locations an Austenasian Star must fly from to the Imperial Residence, the meeting places of Parliament and of Town Councils, and police stations (in practice, this was never fully followed; the first physical Austenasian Star was obtained on 22 August 2011, with the law repealed a month later - in that time, it was only flown from the Imperial Residence, also the meeting place of Wrythe Town Council, police station for Wrythe Police Force, and still the nominal meeting place of Parliament).
Paragraphs B and C of the amendment made the ban on other flags far less strict - only the Union Flag was forbidden from being flown (and even then not automatically classed as rebellion), with the flying of other national flags permitted with written permission of the Representative of that Town.
As with all Acts of Parliament passed before the implementation of the Austenasian Constitution of 2011, Act 16 was repealed on 22 September 2011. However, the First Imperial Decree of HIM Emperor Declan I (passed the day before Act 16 was repealed) retained the name and design of the Austenasian Star, no longer requiring it to be flown from certain buildings, although it is still customarily flown from the Imperial Residence. The Decree, however, brought back into force the original restrictions on other flags being flown; these were somewhat relaxed by an Imperial Decree of Emperor Jonathan I in April 2017.