Addendum to the Incorporation

The Addendum to the Incorporation was an act Thomas Marik proposed to Parliament in his first appearance before that body after the explosion that scarred him and killed several members of his family. Everyone in Parliament assumed Thomas had died along with his father in the explosion. Thomas took advantage of the MPs' shock by introducing the Addendum, which strengthened the position of the central Free Worlds League government at the expense of the power of the provinces.

Overview[edit]

The Addendum to the Incorporation was introduced by Thomas Marik on December 5, 3036.[1] Finally passed in 3037, it implemented several radical modifications to the Free Worlds League's laws. Two of the most important were:

  • Abolition of the Home Defense Act. This allowed the FWLM to function as a whole for the first time in the history of the League.
  • Drastic curtailing of the power of the various regional powers of the Free Worlds League. Clause 9 of the Addendum allows the Captain-General to veto "...any law that interferes with the will of the Captain-General while Resolution 288 is in effect."[2]

These two acts allowed Thomas to completely bypass most of the Parliamentary procedures that had completely gridlocked the Free Worlds League for centuries. Instead of brokering a deal with the various members of Parliament for everything, Thomas only had to broker a deal with them when he needed something "of great cultural significance to the region."[3] The rest of the time he could completely ignore the various regional governments. Given the tense relationship between the Captain-General and the various regional powers, many observers expected the larger regions to refuse to ratify the act. Surprisingly, the Principality of Regulus offered only token opposition to the Addendum while both the Duchy of Andurien and Duchy of Oriente supported its passage.

The limitations of the Addendum became clear in the early 3040's when Thomas wanted to create the League General Accounting Office. Though he could veto any law passed by Parliament or a provincial government, he couldn't enact new legislation. As a result, Thomas had to broker a deal with the various Members of Parliament to create the League GAO. After several years of negotiations, the League General Accounting Office was created in 3043. This department would pay large dividends for Thomas when he later introduced the Military Reorganization Act: By using their control over the Free Worlds League's procurement efforts, the LGAO influenced many MPs into voting in favor of the Act.

Though the Addendum to the Incorporation seems to be a radical shift in League politics, in reality it's merely the formalization of the restrictions of the Internal Emergency Act Janos Marik rammed through Parliament after the Andurien Secession.

References[edit]

  1. 20 Year Update, p. 52
  2. 20 Year Update, p. 52
  3. 20 Year Update, p. 53

Bibliography[edit]