Council of State (Eniarku)
| Grand Duchy of Eniarku |
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His Royal Highness's Most Honourable Council of State, usually referred to simply as the Council of State, is the body of senior advisors to the sovereign of the Grand Duchy of Eniarku. While the Council operates principally as an appointed privy council, its members coordinate with the sovereign to fulfill various institutional functions required by the constitution. The current Council was appointed by Grand Duke Alexander on 29 May 2024 following ratification of the grand ducal constitution.
History
Since the establishment of the Republic of Eniarku in 2009, the head of state of the state's various incarnations has nearly always established a body of advisors to assist him or her in their duties, and the original cabinet established by the nation's first president was composed of the individuals that many contemporary texts refer to simply as "the Founders."
During the time of communist Eniarku, the Supreme Executive Commissioner relied heavily on the Politburo of the long-defunct Eniarkian Worker's Party (EWP), made up of many executive commissioners who topped the vast hierarchy of the state. When the nation became a member of the North American Confederation in late 2010, much of the state-level bureaucracy was dissolved and replaced with the confederal-level cabinet, which generally restricted the expansion of the state governments. Following the collapse of the confederation, the government of the newly-formed Empire of Eniarku ballooned to include nearly as many departments as its predecessor state, an expansion generally considered to be the first "modern" cabinet by many historians despite the fact that no legal basis for the creation of this institution existed.
The Eniarkian Confederation was created just as the power of the imperial government began to weaken and as many of the departments began to experience severe inactivity. Before the official creation of a cabinet, however, the newly-formed Supreme Court provided the first legal decision on which the advisory body could be founded, one that served as the precedent for future cabinets prior to the establishment of the kingdom in 2015. The primary text of the decision reads:
In accordance with laws and regulations passed in both the current National Council, as well as previous incarnations of Eniarku, we, the members of the Supreme Court of Eniarku hereby declare that the Federal President, provided he or she is sound in all capacities, is authorized to lawfully appoint a body of advisors of an unlimited amount (provided limitations are not set forth by the National Council) responsible for the efficient operation of their respective federal department. Furthermore, the Federal President may also establish and disestablish these departments under any name, the offices of their officials under any title, and their responsibilities to any extent (again, unless limited) at his or her pleasure, as well as dismiss or appoint these officials at any time provided consent is given by the National Council. The Federal President may adjust the structure of this body through its power of executive order, and may make these changes at will, which are to include only delegations of powers, adjustments, and creations or disestablishments.
— Official Opinion of the Eniarkian Supreme Court on Cabinets of the Executive Branch
While this decision is legally void due to the disestablishment of the Confederation, its general outline was followed by the kingdom's government and the framers of the 2024 constitution, which also reflects some of the principles in the court's opinion.
Functions and composition
The Council of State does not maintain any political power or governing authority independent of the sovereign, functioning as an advisory privy council to the reigning grand duke and assisting him in fulfilling his institutional obligations under the constitution. When issuing certain decrees and laws through the Council (such as orders-in-council), the monarch is known as the Crown-in-Council, but the Council is not a legislative body in its own right. Article 28 of the Constitution does, however, allow for the Council to make direct proposals of law to the sovereign (subject to fairly strict requirements), while Articles 30 and 31 provide the basis for the Council's judicial functions.
Members of the Council are known as Councillors of State, and are appointed by and serve at the pleasure of the sovereign. While there are no legal prerequisites for these positions, the monarch has traditionally appointed members of the royal family and nobility to serve as councillors. In addition to their primary role as privy councillors, members of the Council are sometimes granted status as a Great Officer of the Crown, which are ceremonial positions with responsibilities within the royal household.