Senate of Imperium

The Senate of the Empire is the lower house and de facto primary chamber of the Parliament of the Empire, which, along with the High Council of the Empire - the upper house - constitutes the legislature of the Empire. The Senate meets in the Palatium Senati in the historic center of Magium.

The Senate is an elected body consisting of 624 members known as senators. The senators are appointed by legislatures of each province-level entities to represent the entity, and hold their seats during a period defined by them.

Although the Senate of the Empire has legislative power, as does the High Council, it does not formally possess the right of application, as most regional legislatures of the entities of the Empire do; except in situations where, according to the Imperial Laws, the Senate has the authority to use this right (mainly in case of war, rebellion against imperial power or violation of the constitution). The main responsibilities of the Senate include: propose, discuss and approve laws and constitutional regulations of the Empire, elect the Emperor, promote participation and citizen interest in government, and develop regulations at imperial level with respect to human rights, the democratic system, peace, security and equal rights.

The Senate, having supremacy over the other branches of the government, is responsible for the administration of the Empire. The ministers of the Epistalma and the Consul Plebeius, head of government of the Empire, have to be part of the Senate, and are accountable for their decisions and actions to this institution. In the same way, it has the authority to dissmiss the government if necessary, and to form a new government with a new Consul Plebeius, who must be the senator that is the new leader of the party with the most seats in the Senate.

Current party standings
The party composition of the Senate at 01-01-2021:

Qualifications
The Promulgatio Popularis sets four qualifications for senators: (1) they must be at least xx years old; (2) they must have born in the Empire; (3) they must be inhabitants of the province-level entities they seek to represent at the time of the election; and (4) they must meet all the requeriments established by the state senate from where they came from. Although each province-level entity has the authority to set qualifications for their senators in the Senate, as well as the regulations of the election process and legal eligibility; they do not have the power to elect candidates without meeting the qualifications established by the Promulgatio Popularis.

The Senate and state senates (not the judiciary) are the sole judges of a senator's qualifications. The IV Imperial Law disqualifies as eligible for senator any person who, despite having complied with the qualifications, has committed an act of sedition, rebellion or treason to the government of the Empire or its local government while he/she was a local or imperial official, or a citizen without any political office.