Current Governance Structure
As Liberland continues to grow, the need for a comprehensive legal framework becomes increasingly evident.
Liberland currently operates under the Articles of the Provisional Government, established in 2015. This foundational document outlines a presidential republic led by Vít Jedlička and guided by the principles of natural justice. While this structure has served us well, it’s time for an evolution.
The Path to Formal Legislation
In 2011, President Jedlička issued the Order on Interim Laws, empowering the Provisional Government to enact laws through a simplified process. These aren’t mere orders; they are fully-fledged laws that align with international expectations while incorporating Liberland’s unique emphasis on property rights.
How Laws Come to Life
- Initiation: A stakeholder—be it a citizen, minister, or the President—proposes a new law to the Minister of Justice.
- Consultation: The Minister evaluates the proposal’s necessity and feasibility.
- Drafting: The initial draft is published on GitHub for public scrutiny.
- Cabinet Review: The Minister presents a consolidated version to the Cabinet, where it can be approved by majority vote and become an Interim Law.
Citizen Participation: Your Voice Matters
Once an Interim Law is made public, citizens are invited to offer their valuable insights.
- Immediate Public Review: The Interim Law will be shared in a format that allows you to provide your recommendations directly.
- Practical Insights: As the Interim Law is already legally binding, your real-world experiences can be invaluable for suggesting improvements.
- Citizen-Centric Legislation: In cases where multiple or conflicting recommendations are received, priority will be given to those from citizens. This aligns with Liberland’s core principle that its citizens are the primary legislative body. However, exceptional ideas from non-citizens are also welcome.
- Review Deadline: Be sure to submit your feedback within the designated review period, which is typically one month but may be extended for more complex laws.
After the review period concludes, the collected feedback will be formalized as the first “Citizen Amendment” to the Interim Law.
This participatory approach ensures that the law is practical and reflective of the community’s needs.
A Unique Legal Philosophy
Liberland aims to blend the best of European (Romanist) and Common Law traditions. We value the high authority level of judges from Common Law and the codification culture from Romanist law. Our goal is to enact only the essential laws, guided by our draft Constitution, which stipulates that laws should only be used to establish or modify rights and duties outside of government employment.
Drafting a Legislature for the 21st Century
The legislative system of Liberland aims to be more than just another compilation of state laws; we envision it as the world’s most straightforward and user-friendly guide for human conduct.
To realize this ambition, we are guided by the following foundational principles:
- Law speaks a human language: Legal terms are designed to be understood as the informed public would generally interpret them, avoiding jargon or “legalese.” Where specialized terms are necessary, they are clearly defined and capitalized for clarity.
- Simplicity and Core Institutes: A limited number of essential legal institutions will be codified through a concise set of foundational laws. They exist to guide the early civic society before market-based self-regulation starts forming due to spontaneous human interaction.
- Hierarchical Specificity: When crafting laws for specific processes or agencies, the legislative body will default to this core set of rules. Any exceptions or specialized cases will be explicitly detailed in separate legislation.
- Example: The core judicial process serves as the foundational layer. Specialized procedures like administrative processes (Level 1) and Delict processes (Level 2) build upon this base.
- Limitation on Levels of Specificity: The legislative framework will contain no more than two levels of specificity to maintain simplicity and clarity.
- Recognizable Style: Laws will be written using only normative and interpretative language aimed at guiding judicial interpretation. There will be no superfluous or meaningless text.
These guiding principles will be formally codified in a dedicated piece of legislation known as the “Legislative Rules of the Government.”
The Power of Interpretation
We believe that laws should be living documents. Judges will have the authority to interpret laws in a way that is both faithful to the text and adaptable to real-world situations. Core interpretation principles stemming from the best practices of legal theory shall be codified into the Legislative Rules of the Government, to give the judge a core structure on which to build the edifice of jurisprudence.
As we continue to build our legal system, we remain committed to being a Rule of Law-based country that is dynamic and responsive to real-life cases.
Your Participation
Do you want to join our legislative efforts? Join us at our legislation GitHub.
For the Constitution, please go here.
For the Laws, here.
For Regulations, please consult this repository.
We’re excited about this journey and invite you to be a part of it. Your thoughts and contributions are not just welcome—they’re essential.