May 2020 Essexian Constitutional Crisis

The May 2020 Essexian Constitutional Crisis, often abbreviated to the Constitutional Crisis or the May Crisis, was a major political event in the Commonwealth of Essexia. It revolved around the Constitution of the Commonwealth of Essexia and the Electoral Law Act 2019, and resulted in every Parliament between the 2019 Essexian general election and the 19 April 2020 becoming illegal. The Parliament of Essexia was, subsequently, reverted to its first sitting of Parliament state post-2019 election. Earl Jamie put forward the Parliamentary Restoration Act 2020 which would legalise the Parliament elected on 1 March 2020. As the act would need to overrule Article 17 of the Constitution the vote required a two thirds majority of the 1 July 2019 Parliament to vote aye. The vote got 9/11 ayes (2 did not declare) and therefore became law on 22 May 2020. This resolved the crisis, restoring the 1st March 2020 Parliament and setting the 1st July as the annual Essexian general election day.

History

On 19 May 2020, Lord Matthew had announced a problem he had found with the Constitution, namely Articles 16 and 17:

"1) 'Election day must be a Sunday or a public holiday' - our elections have never occurred on Sunday (at least the recent one), therefore making them unconstitutional in theory

2) 'The Parliament shall be elected for a one-year term. A new election shall take place no later than fourteen days after the expiration of its term.' - the previous Parliament sat for less than a one year term. A Parliamentary term is constitutionally guaranteed. Snap elections are unconstitutional, therefore as was the last election and the Electoral Law Act 2019 itself. This Parliament has at best been formed unconstitutionally, or at worst, currently sitting illegally, subject to interpretation of the supreme court. The ramifications of the latter are entirely how we chose to act. Principally, we should consult both the Supreme Court and Law Commission about our next steps as a Parliament. I would advise that first, we declare the Electoral Law Act invalid within our constitutional remit. It is not crucial that we do so, but is important for clarification. We will then need to work on establishing a new Electoral Law Act at some point - however, the eligibility of this Parliament to do so is not clear. As I say, depending on the interpretation, we could currently be an illegal Parliament under the eyes of the law, and, the previous Parliament is still in effect. I hope the latter is not the case, and I would fight the case in the Supreme Court that this is a legal Parliament, but it is not for me to decide.  

As soon as I noticed the error, I informed the Supreme Court, who are taking the steps now to review our laws and the status quo."

Although Matthew had claimed to have informed the Supreme Court, Supreme Judge William never participated in the event.

First Minister Jamie reverted the Parliament back to that of the first session after the 2019 Essexian general election, notably excluding Jack as he had resigned before the first session. The Parliament remained in this state until 22 May 2020, after Jamie's Parliamentary Restoration Act 2020 was passed. No legislation was passed for the duration of the event, however much discussion took place as to the wording of the constitution, the power of the people over parliament and the practicability of reversing Parliament due to a constitutional error.

Outcome

Ultimately, the 3 day reversal stands as an unprecedented and controversial moment in the Parliament's history. Even Lord Matthew himself, who was single handedly responsible for pointing out the error and bringing about the event, attempted to claim he was wrong on the 29th May 2020 in order to get around a two thirds majority needing to vote for his Electoral Law Act 2020 ("On reflection, and deliberation with other people, that entire incident should never have happened. This was, and always has been, the legal Parliament of Essexia").