Imperial Constitution and Covenant of the Aksum Imperium/Article III
Article III — The Imperial Crown, the Emperor, Succession, Incapacity, and Regency
Imperial Code §§ 102.301–102.399
Section 1. The Imperial Crown
Imperial Code § 102.301
1. The Imperial Crown is the permanent, sovereign, and continuing constitutional authority of the United Dominion of the Aksum Imperium.
2. The Imperial Crown embodies the unity, sovereignty, dignity, continuity, and supreme authority of the Imperium.
3. The Imperial Crown is vested in the reigning Emperor and Grand Sovereign according to this Constitution.
4. The Imperial Crown does not lapse, dissolve, or become extinct by reason of:
a. the death, disappearance, abdication, lawful removal, or incapacity of the reigning Emperor;
b. a disputed succession;
c. the absence of an immediately qualified successor; or
d. any interruption in the effective administration of the Imperium.
5. No office, council, court, House, Order, Estate, constituent government, territorial authority, commander, Regent, or other Imperial authority is equal or superior to the Imperial Crown.
6. Every Imperial authority must arise from this Constitution, an Imperial grant, lawful delegation, or another valid Imperial instrument.
7. The inherent and reserved authorities of the Imperial Crown shall not be diminished by silence, omission, custom, delegation, disuse, or implication.
8. No delegation of Crown authority constitutes an alienation, surrender, or permanent transfer of that authority unless this Constitution expressly provides otherwise.
Section 2. The Emperor and Grand Sovereign
Imperial Code § 102.302
1. The Emperor and Grand Sovereign is:
a. the bearer and principal personification of the Imperial Crown;
b. Sovereign and Head of State of the United Dominion of the Aksum Imperium;
c. guardian of the Imperial Covenant and constitutional order;
d. protector of the unity, continuity, territory, peoples, Sovereign Great Houses, Estates, and institutions of the Imperium; and
e. the supreme source of lawful Imperial executive, legislative, judicial, diplomatic, military, ceremonial, dynastic, and ennobling authority, exercised according to this Constitution.
2. The Emperor and Grand Sovereign shall preserve, protect, defend, and uphold the Constitution and Imperial Covenant.
3. The Emperor shall ensure the faithful execution of the Constitution, Imperial law, lawful decrees, and valid acts of the Imperial Government.
4. The Emperor may address, summon, convene, adjourn, or preside over Imperial institutions as authorized by this Constitution and Imperial law.
5. The Imperial Crown is an ex officio, fully voting member of every Imperial Council. The Emperor may personally preside over any Imperial Council without permanently displacing its established presiding officer.
6. The Emperor represents the Imperium in its highest domestic, diplomatic, ceremonial, and sovereign capacity.
7. References in this Constitution or Imperial law to the Emperor, Grand Sovereign, His or Her Most Imperial Majesty, His or Her Imperial Majesty, or the Sovereign, when used in relation to the government of the whole Imperium, refer to the same constitutional office unless expressly stated otherwise.
Section 3. Imperial Dignity, Styles, Titles, Prerogatives, and Immunity
Imperial Code § 102.303
1. The Emperor and Grand Sovereign possesses the supreme Imperial dignity and takes precedence over every officer, sovereign, noble, House, Order, council, court, government, Estate, and institution within the United Dominion of the Aksum Imperium.
2. The principal constitutional style of the Emperor and Grand Sovereign is:
His or Her Most Imperial Majesty, [Regnal Name], Emperor and Grand Sovereign of the United Dominion of the Aksum Imperium.
3. The full historic and ceremonial style of the Emperor may be proclaimed as:
His or Her Most Imperial Majesty, [Regnal Name], by the Light of the Creator, Emperor and Grand Sovereign of the United Dominion of the Aksum Imperium and all its Realms and Regions, Sovereign of Sovereignties, King or Queen of Aksum, Grand Prince or Grand Princess of Falcone, High Lord or High Lady of the Imperial House of Aeon, Most Sovereign Grand Master of the Illustrious Orders of the Imperium, Supreme Magnus, Supreme Magistrate, Supreme Commander of the Imperial Forces, Supreme Protector of the Imperium, and Humble Chief Servant of its Peoples.
4. The Emperor may lawfully possess, use, proclaim, regulate, restore, combine, abbreviate, or discontinue additional Imperial, royal, sovereign, dynastic, territorial, military, religious, chivalric, academic, ceremonial, or honorary titles and styles.
5. The Emperor may determine the official:
a. forms of address;
b. styles and postnominals;
c. regnal names and regnal numbers;
d. proclamations and signatures;
e. seals and standards;
f. arms and insignia; and
g. other emblems pertaining to the Imperial Crown.
6. The Emperor may use an abbreviated constitutional, diplomatic, ceremonial, dynastic, military, religious, or chivalric style appropriate to the occasion.
7. Every constitutional, Imperial, royal, sovereign, dynastic, territorial, military, religious, chivalric, ceremonial, and honorary title lawfully vested in the Imperial Crown passes with the Crown to each lawful successor unless the title is expressly declared personal to a particular Emperor.
8. No assumption, abbreviation, omission, translation, mistranslation, nonuse, combination, restoration, regulation, alteration, or discontinuance of a title or ceremonial form diminishes the Emperor’s constitutional authority, dignity, rank, precedence, jurisdiction, or lawful claim.
9. Rasim Aeon, in his person as the founding and first Emperor of the Aksum Imperium, shall forever be recognized as the Imperial Founder and Father of the Imperium.
10. The dignities and designations of Imperial Founder, Founder of the Imperium, and Father of the Imperium are personal and perpetual to Rasim Aeon. They shall not descend to, be assumed by, or be conferred upon any succeeding Emperor.
11. Recognition of Rasim Aeon as Imperial Founder and Father of the Imperium does not create a separate constitutional office, interfere with lawful succession, or diminish the fullness of the Imperial Crown vested in any succeeding Emperor.
12. The titles Supreme Magnus and Supreme Magistrate belong to the Emperor and Grand Sovereign as the supreme source of the authority exercised by the Grand Imperial Magnus, the Council of Magistrates, and the institutions operating within their respective jurisdictions.
13. The lawful jurisdiction and institutional independence assigned to the Grand Imperial Magnus and the Council of Magistrates by this Constitution do not make either body equal or superior to the Imperial Crown or an independent source of sovereignty.
14. The Emperor is the fount of Imperial honor and dignity and possesses the exclusive prerogative, subject to this Constitution, to:
a. create, recognize, restore, regulate, confirm, suspend, or withdraw titles, dignities, honors, decorations, precedence, and armorial distinctions;
b. create, recognize, charter, protect, regulate, or dissolve Imperial Orders and other institutions of honor;
c. grant or recognize nobility, peerage, chivalric rank, dynastic dignity, and hereditary or personal distinctions;
d. determine precedence within the Grand Imperial Court and throughout the Imperium; and
e. exercise the ceremonial and dynastic prerogatives traditionally or lawfully belonging to the Imperial Crown.
15. The Emperor possesses the prerogative to establish and regulate:
a. the Imperial Household and Imperial Family;
b. Crown offices and household appointments;
c. Imperial or royal residences;
d. the private secretariat;
e. the personal guard;
f. seals, standards, regalia, arms, and insignia; and
g. other institutions immediately attending the Imperial Crown.
16. The powers granted by clause 15 are subject to appropriations and accountability requirements applicable to public Imperial funds. Nothing in this clause subjects the private property or personal resources of the Emperor or Imperial Family to public control except as expressly provided by Imperial law.
17. The Emperor shall not be drawn into ordinary politics, minor administrative controversies, personal rivalries, domestic disputes, House conflicts, family quarrels, or disputes within the Imperial Family.
18. No person, House, Estate, council, officer, political body, or institution may:
a. invoke the Emperor’s name without lawful authority;
b. demand the Emperor’s intervention in an ordinary dispute;
c. attempt to enlist the Imperial Crown as a partisan in any political, personal, House, or family controversy; or
d. represent that the Emperor supports a faction, claim, or position without authenticated Imperial authority.
19. Nothing in this section prevents the Emperor, upon His or Her Most Imperial Majesty’s own initiative, from intervening, mediating, commanding corrective action, or assuming direct responsibility when reasonably necessary to:
a. preserve the Imperium or constitutional order;
b. protect the Imperial Crown or lawful succession;
c. prevent violence, rebellion, usurpation, institutional paralysis, or grave injustice;
d. reconcile a dispute threatening the unity of the Sovereign Great Houses or Imperial Family; or
e. protect the dignity, security, continuity, sovereignty, or essential interests of the Imperium.
20. An Imperial intervention under clause 19 does not establish a right to demand similar intervention in another matter and does not convert the Imperial Crown into an ordinary appellate or political forum.
21. The person of the reigning Emperor is inviolable. During the reign, the Emperor shall not be:
a. arrested or detained;
b. searched;
c. compelled to testify;
d. subpoenaed or subjected to compulsory process; or
e. prosecuted in any criminal, civil, administrative, military, territorial, House, Estate, or subordinate Imperial forum.
22. The Grand Imperial Magnus possesses sole and exclusive original jurisdiction over any allegation that the Emperor:
a. committed an offense;
b. gravely violated the Imperial Covenant;
c. exceeded constitutional authority; or
d. incurred personal legal liability.
23. No allegation, charge, action, or proceeding against the Emperor may be initiated before the Grand Imperial Magnus except through the constitutionally authorized process established by this Constitution or Imperial law.
24. No other court, tribunal, magistrate, council, officer, House, Order, Estate, government, military authority, or institution may assume, transfer, or exercise jurisdiction over the Emperor.
25. Sovereign immunity does not:
a. place the Emperor above the Constitution or Imperial Covenant;
b. prevent constitutional review by the Grand Imperial Magnus;
c. prevent a determination of incapacity conducted under this Article;
d. prevent removal conducted under the exclusive procedures established by this Article;
e. validate an unconstitutional Imperial instrument; or
f. prevent lawful proceedings concerning personal conduct occurring before accession or during the reign after the person has ceased to hold the Imperial Crown, subject to the exclusive jurisdiction, procedural protections, and limitations established by this Constitution and Imperial law.
26. Official acts performed by the Emperor in the lawful exercise of the Imperial Crown shall not give rise to personal civil, criminal, administrative, or financial liability, either during or after the reign.
27. No judgment concerning the Emperor may itself remove the Emperor, terminate the reign, transfer the Imperial Crown, or substitute for the constitutional procedures governing incapacity, removal, abdication, and succession.
28. The privileges and immunities established by this section belong to the constitutional office and dignity of the reigning Emperor. They may not be waived, diminished, suspended, or transferred except as expressly authorized by this Constitution.
Section 4. Petitions, Grievances, and Access to the Imperial Crown
Imperial Code § 102.304
1. Every Estate of the Grand Imperial Court, Sovereign Great House, recognized constituent government, Imperial council, citizen, and subject possesses the right to address a respectful petition to the Imperial Crown through the procedures established by this Constitution and Imperial law.
2. The right of petition does not compel the Emperor to:
a. receive a person personally;
b. answer a petition individually;
c. intervene in a dispute;
d. grant the requested relief; or
e. suspend the ordinary processes of Imperial government.
3. Ordinary petitions and grievances shall first be presented to the officer, council, House authority, constituent government, Estate, court, or institution possessing responsibility for the matter.
4. No Estate, House, council, officer, citizen, or subject may use a petition to:
a. compel the Emperor’s participation in ordinary politics or a personal, House, domestic, or family dispute;
b. circumvent an established council, court, House authority, Estate, or administrative process;
c. demand partisan action from the Imperial Crown;
d. subject the Emperor to subpoena, compulsory process, prosecution, or subordinate jurisdiction; or
e. manufacture grounds for incapacity or removal from political disagreement, personal hostility, or dissatisfaction with a lawful Crown decision.
5. An Estate may adopt and transmit a formal grievance concerning the Imperial Crown, but the grievance shall be delivered to the Imperial Council of Sovereigns and shall not constitute a charge, prosecution, judgment, summons, or compulsory process against the Emperor.
6. A formal grievance concerning the Imperial Crown must:
a. identify the constitutional or covenant provision allegedly affected;
b. state the material facts supporting the grievance;
c. identify the relief or correction sought;
d. disclose the Estate or authority adopting the grievance; and
e. be authenticated according to Imperial law.
7. The Imperial Council of Sovereigns shall review a formal grievance and may:
a. dismiss it as frivolous, personal, political, repetitive, premature, or outside the constitutional responsibility of the Crown;
b. return it to the appropriate officer, council, House, Estate, court, government, or institution;
c. recommend mediation, consultation, reconsideration, or corrective action;
d. present the grievance to the Emperor for voluntary response; or
e. when substantial constitutional grounds exist, refer the matter to the Grand Imperial Magnus through the constitutionally authorized process.
8. Referral of a grievance does not suspend the Emperor, diminish the authority of the Imperial Crown, create a presumption of wrongdoing, or transfer jurisdiction to the Imperial Council of Sovereigns.
9. The Imperial Council of Sovereigns retains exclusive authority to initiate and recommend removal of an Emperor as provided by this Article.
10. The Grand Imperial Magnus retains sole and exclusive jurisdiction over allegations against the Emperor and shall provide the constitutional process required by this Article.
11. Nothing in this section prevents the Emperor from receiving, answering, resolving, or granting relief upon a petition directly when His or Her Most Imperial Majesty considers direct intervention appropriate.
Section 5. Powers and Responsibilities of the Imperial Crown
Imperial Code § 102.305
1. Subject to this Constitution, the Emperor and Grand Sovereign possesses authority to:
a. issue Imperial Decrees and other lawful Imperial instruments;
b. appoint, commission, confirm, suspend, or remove Imperial officers according to the Constitution and Imperial law;
c. establish lawful delegations of Imperial authority and revoke or modify those delegations;
d. receive ambassadors and conduct the diplomacy and external relations of the Imperium;
e. negotiate and conclude treaties, compacts, alliances, and other international instruments, subject to any confirmation required by this Constitution or Imperial law;
f. recognize foreign states, governments, sovereigns, and diplomatic representatives;
g. exercise supreme authority over the defense, security, and military affairs of the Imperium;
h. declare war, authorize hostilities, and order the deployment of Imperial forces beyond the borders of the Imperium;
i. grant pardons, reprieves, commutations, and clemency according to Imperial law;
j. grant, recognize, regulate, or withdraw Imperial dignities, honors, commissions, and decorations according to this Constitution and Imperial law;
k. protect the lawful rights, jurisdictions, inheritances, and dignities of the Sovereign Great Houses and constituent authorities; and
l. exercise all other inherent, reserved, delegated, or expressly granted authorities of the Imperial Crown.
2. Only the Emperor and Grand Sovereign may declare war or authorize the deployment of Imperial forces beyond the borders of the Imperium, except for immediate defensive action expressly authorized by Imperial law.
3. The exercise of clemency does not amend the law or invalidate a judicial determination. It modifies or relieves the lawful consequences imposed upon a particular person or matter.
4. The Emperor may delegate the administration or execution of a Crown power unless this Constitution makes that power personal and nondelegable.
5. The powers to:
a. determine Imperial succession as expressly assigned to the Emperor;
b. abdicate the Imperial Crown;
c. declare war;
d. appoint an Imperial Regent; and
e. grant or withdraw a delegation of the fullness of Crown authority
are personal to the Emperor and may not be exercised by a subordinate officer except where this Constitution expressly authorizes an Imperial Regent to act.
Section 6. The House of Aeon and Eligibility for the Crown
Imperial Code § 102.306
1. The Imperial Crown is constitutionally associated with and ordinarily succeeds within the Imperial House of Aeon.
2. A person is eligible to become Emperor and Grand Sovereign only if that person:
a. is a recognized member of the House of Aeon by blood, lawful descent, adoption, dynastic union, or another method recognized by Imperial law;
b. possesses the legal capacity to accept and discharge the obligations of the Imperial Crown;
c. accepts the Constitution and Imperial Covenant;
d. is not subject to a lawful disqualification from succession; and
e. satisfies any additional qualifications established by this Constitution or Imperial law.
3. Eligibility through the House of Aeon does not by itself confer an immediate right to exercise the Imperial Crown.
4. Imperial law may establish standards for determining dynastic status, legitimacy, eligibility, seniority, disqualification, and competing claims, provided that such law does not alter the hybrid succession established by this Article.
5. No person may acquire the Imperial Crown by force, fraud, coercion, unlawful possession, unsupported historical assertion, or mere control of an Imperial institution.
Section 7. The Ascendant Heir and Order of Succession
Imperial Code § 102.307
1. The Ascendant Heir is the eligible member of the House of Aeon having first priority to succeed to the Imperial Crown under this Constitution and Imperial law.
2. The Emperor may formally recognize and proclaim an Ascendant Heir from among the eligible members of the House of Aeon.
3. A proclamation of an Ascendant Heir establishes hereditary priority but does not transfer the Imperial Crown during the reign of the Emperor.
4. In the absence of a valid Imperial proclamation, hereditary priority shall be determined according to the lawful dynastic order of succession.
5. The Imperial Council of Sovereigns shall maintain or cause to be maintained an authenticated record of the recognized order of succession.
6. No person may be excluded from succession solely because of sex, gender, place of residence, or service outside the central Imperial Government.
7. A person may renounce that person’s place in the succession by an authenticated and irrevocable instrument submitted to the Emperor and the Imperial Council of Sovereigns.
8. A person may be declared ineligible for succession only upon grounds established by this Constitution or Imperial law and through a process providing:
a. notice;
b. an opportunity to respond; and
c. an authenticated determination.
9. The order of succession shall be construed to preserve the lawful continuity of the House of Aeon and the stability of the Imperial Crown.
Section 8. Accession, Confirmation, Oath, and Investiture
Imperial Code § 102.308
1. Upon the death, abdication, lawful removal, or permanent incapacity of the Emperor, the eligible Ascendant Heir possesses the first constitutional claim to the Imperial Crown.
2. The Ascendant Heir shall be presented to the Imperial Council of Sovereigns for confirmation.
3. Each recognized Sovereign Great House possesses one vote in the Imperial Council of Sovereigns for purposes of succession and confirmation.
4. The Council shall confirm the Ascendant Heir unless it determines that the heir:
a. is constitutionally ineligible;
b. has lawfully renounced the succession;
c. is permanently incapable of discharging the obligations of the Imperial Crown; or
d. obtained or maintained the claim through fraud, coercion, or another unlawful act.
5. The Council may not reject an otherwise eligible Ascendant Heir solely because it prefers another candidate or disagrees with the lawful exercise of the heir’s political, religious, dynastic, or personal judgment.
6. If there is no eligible Ascendant Heir, or if the lawful order of succession is exhausted or incapable of producing a qualified successor, the Imperial Council of Sovereigns shall elect an Emperor and Grand Sovereign from among the eligible members of the House of Aeon.
7. The confirmed or elected successor shall accede to the Imperial Crown upon accepting the succession and taking the Imperial Oath.
8. The Imperial Oath shall bind the successor to:
a. preserve, protect, defend, and uphold the Constitution and Imperial Covenant;
b. maintain the unity, continuity, sovereignty, and dignity of the Imperium;
c. administer Imperial authority faithfully and justly;
d. protect the lawful rights and dignities of the peoples, Houses, Estates, constituent governments, and institutions of the Imperium; and
e. transmit the Imperial Crown unimpaired to the lawful successor.
9. Investiture, coronation, enthronement, proclamation, homage, and other ceremonial acts authenticate and solemnize the accession but are not conditions precedent to the continuity of the Imperial Crown once confirmation or election, acceptance, and the Imperial Oath have occurred.
10. The authenticated act of accession shall be preserved in the permanent constitutional records of the Imperium.
Section 9. Vacancy and Interim Custody of the Crown
Imperial Code § 102.309
1. A vacancy exists when the preceding reign has ended and no successor has completed the constitutional requirements for accession.
2. The Imperial Crown continues during a vacancy, but no person may assume the title, style, or fullness of authority of Emperor and Grand Sovereign until lawful accession.
3. During a vacancy, an Imperial Regent shall exercise the authorities necessary to preserve the Imperium and maintain constitutional continuity according to this Article.
4. The Imperial Council of Sovereigns shall begin the confirmation or election process without unreasonable delay.
5. No vacancy may be used to:
a. dissolve or suspend the Imperium;
b. alter the Constitution outside the lawful amendment process;
c. extinguish the House of Aeon or the lawful order of succession;
d. transfer the Imperial Crown to another House or institution contrary to this Constitution; or
e. create an office equal or superior to the Imperial Crown.
6. Any attempted seizure of the Imperial Crown outside this Article is void and constitutes usurpation.
Section 10. Temporary and Permanent Incapacity
Imperial Code § 102.310
1. The Emperor may voluntarily declare a temporary incapacity or temporary inability to discharge one or more constitutional duties.
2. When the Emperor cannot communicate or make such a declaration, temporary incapacity may be established only by the concurrence of:
a. the Grand Imperial Magnus; and
b. the Imperial Council of Sovereigns.
3. Incapacity must be based upon clear evidence that the Emperor is unable to understand, communicate, or discharge the material obligations of the Imperial Crown.
4. Political disagreement, unpopularity, temporary absence, refusal to follow advice, lawful removal of an officer, lawful exercise of Crown authority, or disagreement with Imperial policy does not constitute incapacity.
5. A determination of incapacity must:
a. state whether the incapacity is temporary or alleged to be permanent;
b. identify the constitutional duties materially affected;
c. state the evidence and grounds relied upon;
d. be authenticated and entered into the permanent constitutional record; and
e. provide for periodic review when the incapacity is temporary.
6. Temporary incapacity does not terminate the Emperor’s reign or divest the Emperor of the Imperial Crown.
7. The Emperor shall resume the exercise of Crown authority upon:
a. an authenticated declaration by the Emperor that the incapacity has ended; or
b. a concurrent determination by the Grand Imperial Magnus and Imperial Council of Sovereigns that the incapacity has ended.
8. If the Emperor’s declaration of recovery is formally disputed on clear evidence, the Grand Imperial Magnus and Imperial Council of Sovereigns shall determine the matter jointly without unreasonable delay.
9. Permanent incapacity may be declared only by the concurrence of the Grand Imperial Magnus and the Imperial Council of Sovereigns following a full constitutional inquiry.
10. A final declaration of permanent incapacity ends the reign and initiates succession in the same manner as a vacancy caused by death or abdication.
Section 11. Imperial Regency
Imperial Code § 102.311
1. An Imperial Regency shall arise during:
a. the temporary incapacity of the Emperor;
b. a vacancy pending lawful accession;
c. the minority or temporary incapacity of a confirmed successor; or
d. another circumstance expressly provided by this Constitution.
2. The office of Imperial Regent shall pass in the following order of priority:
a. a qualified Regent previously designated by the Emperor through an authenticated Imperial instrument;
b. the adult and constitutionally qualified Ascendant Heir; or
c. a qualified Regent elected by the Imperial Council of Sovereigns.
3. A designated or elected Regent shall not assume office without the consent of the Imperial Council of Sovereigns.
4. The Imperial Regent:
a. exercises Crown authority only for the preservation and continued administration of the Imperium;
b. acts in the name and under the authority of the Imperial Crown;
c. does not become Emperor or acquire a personal claim to the Imperial Crown by reason of the Regency;
d. remains bound by the Constitution, Imperial Covenant, Imperial law, and the lawful limitations placed upon the Regency; and
e. must preserve the rights of the reigning Emperor or lawful successor.
5. Unless immediately necessary to defend the Imperium or preserve constitutional government, an Imperial Regent may not:
a. alter the lawful order of succession;
b. designate an Ascendant Heir;
c. abdicate, surrender, or renounce the Imperial Crown;
d. amend the Constitution;
e. dissolve a constitutional institution;
f. permanently alienate Imperial territory, sovereignty, or a reserved Crown power;
g. transfer the Imperial Crown to another House; or
h. grant an irrevocable delegation extending beyond the Regency.
6. An Imperial Regent may issue temporary instruments, make temporary appointments, and take emergency action necessary to maintain government, defense, diplomacy, justice, and public order.
7. Acts of the Imperial Regent remain subject to subsequent review according to the Constitution and Imperial law.
8. An Imperial Regency terminates immediately upon:
a. the Emperor’s lawful resumption of Crown authority;
b. the accession of a qualified successor;
c. the expiration or occurrence of a condition stated in the instrument creating the Regency;
d. the Regent’s death, resignation, incapacity, or lawful removal; or
e. a lawful determination that the Regency is no longer constitutionally necessary.
9. The Grand Regent General, a Grand Regent, High Regent, territorial Regent, or other officer bearing the title of Regent does not thereby become the Imperial Regent. Imperial Regency may arise only under this Article.
Section 12. Abdication, Removal, and Protection Against Usurpation
Imperial Code § 102.312
1. The Emperor may abdicate only through a voluntary, explicit, and authenticated instrument stating the intention to relinquish the Imperial Crown.
2. An abdication becomes effective according to its stated terms or, if no effective time is stated, upon its formal delivery to the Grand Imperial Magnus and Imperial Council of Sovereigns.
3. Abdication may not be presumed from absence, silence, inactivity, exile, captivity, disputed authority, or interruption of communications.
4. The Imperial Council of Sovereigns possesses the exclusive authority to initiate and recommend the removal of an Emperor and Grand Sovereign.
5. Removal may be recommended only for:
a. willful and grave violation of the Imperial Covenant;
b. treason against the Imperium;
c. unlawful surrender or attempted dissolution of the Imperium;
d. persistent and intentional subversion of the constitutional order;
e. usurpation or unlawful transfer of the Imperial Crown; or
f. other grave misconduct expressly established by this Constitution.
6. Removal may not be based solely upon political disagreement, unpopularity, personal hostility, lawful Crown action, refusal to accept advice, or conflict between the Emperor and another Imperial institution.
7. The Emperor shall receive:
a. written notice of the allegations;
b. the evidence supporting them;
c. a reasonable opportunity to answer and present evidence; and
d. a hearing before the Grand Imperial Magnus exercising its exclusive constitutional jurisdiction.
8. Removal requires:
a. a formal recommendation by the Imperial Council of Sovereigns; and
b. a controlling judgment of approval by the Grand Imperial Magnus following the constitutional hearing.
9. No other officer, council, court, House, Order, Estate, military command, constituent government, territorial authority, or assembly may remove, suspend, replace, or depose the Emperor.
10. Lawful removal ends the reign and creates a vacancy governed by §§ 102.308 through 102.311.
11. Any person or institution attempting to seize, exercise, transfer, or confer the Imperial Crown contrary to this Constitution commits an act of usurpation.
12. No passage of time, possession of Imperial property, control of governmental institutions, territorial occupation, military command, or unsupported claim of inheritance can legalize a usurpation.