Author's Note: More plans come together as Paylor's government continues to look to the future and put the old behind them. Starting to tie off loose ends in these chapters so let me know if you think there are any issues that are unresolved that you would like to see addressed further!
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Project
Whilst continued foreign aid was being secured, houses were being built and reconstruction carried on in earnest, a group of advisors were working with the cabinet and territorial governors on the latest flagship policy of Paylor's administration. With her first key policy of territorial, elected leaders delivered, they could build a national constitution.
The aim was to create something which protected and affirmed the rights of every citizen and established a balance of power with the government. It was a document that would affirm the character of their rebuilding nation and set the tone for future years. The exact scope and remit of the rights to be granted was a crucial matter to be determined. Answering that question would determine the remit of governance, how far the state could go and how much power it would be afforded.
In the aftermath of war, and decades of oppression, there were principles most people could agree on. Leaders were keen to show a clean break from the past and explicitly permit freedoms of speech, expression, and the press. There was little argument about freedom from torture and the right to a fair trial either. But when discussing matters such as health and education, there was debate as to what standards people could have a right to and whether that meant anything for the delivery of both aspects which were currently in desperate need of improvement.
There was also the matter of what recourse citizens would have should they feel they were being deprived of their rights. It became clear that this would have a significant impact on the justice system Panem was developing too. Such a matter was unheard of before. Very few dared to challenge the administration and declare that their rights were being violated. Almost everyone knew that whatever rights were granted on paper did not mean much in reality.
That had to change. The rights of citizens had to mean something and enhance the lives of the everyday working person. The ability to put forwards a challenge when something was not right was a necessary part of the constitution they would create. They would also have to convince the public that it was safe to challenge government decisions and that nobody would disappear into a political prison or suffer an unfortunate 'accident'.
Alongside Paylor, her advisor for Constitutional Affairs, Captain Alden was spearheading the project. He had years of education and analysis on the systems of old behind him and could judge what had worked prior to the catastrophes that ended the old world. He had studied politics, economics and the conflicts of old as well as remaining aware of what was happening in the outside world.
Foreign affairs were also something that would influence their decision-making. Longer-term aid from abroad was going to be dependent on Panem upholding standards recognised in the international community they were hoping to join. Asserting crucial rights in their constitution was to be a crucial way of proving their commitment to the concept of human rights and to improving the lives of their citizens.
But Paylor knew all too well the challenges of implementing what would be the new rights of Panem's citizens in practice. In the Panem-District Trials they were already establishing the process of fair trials but that would need to be implemented across each territory and there were still questions to be had about whether this involved juries and in what trials they would be appropriate. Freedom from torture she was determined to carry through with immediate effect. It would then be a matter of ensuring everyone involved in the judicial and custodial system abided by the rules.
Health and education were a main focus of debate. Some felt as though the practical difficulties should prevent their inclusion as a constitutional right, others saw the matters as too important to ignore. If they were to be included, the drafting would need to be carefully crafted to ensure feasibility whilst maintaining both realism and their ambition for a better Panem.
Crucially, the constitution would also define Paylor's remit as president. The constitution would assert the rights that Panem's citizens had amongst each other and between the state. The overarching aim would be to prevent presidential overreach and to provide greater definition of the powers available to her.
A similar exercise would be carried out regarding the role of first minister. The continuation of the title had been agreed and it was widely accepted that they would be the leader of the national legislature. They were also to be prohibited from originating in the same territory as the president. Those in charge were determined to agree to a separation of the role of first minister from that of the president and to define the circumstances in which a first minister could assume any presidential powers.
No other cabinet role or that of any advisor was to be constitutionally defined. It was the decision of each future president how many cabinet positions they wanted, their advisors and their remit. Indeed, Paylor hoped there would come a time in the not-too-distant future when they would no longer need a Secretary for Food Security and that other cabinet roles would change dramatically.
She hoped it would be another example to separate her and her government from the system of old. They were defining their powers and giving back to the territories that they deemed unsuitable to retain. The constitution would set forth their ambitions and require each of them to abide by the rules.
But the constitution was not to be a document set permanently into stone, never to be changed. Should alterations be required, a mechanism would need to be put in place. There would need to be safeguards to ensure that power grabs were not possible. The current suggestions for preventing this were either a national vote or the requirement of a supermajority in the national legislature to decide on constitutional matters.
Putting the constitution in force would also require the unanimous agreement of each cabinet member and the territorial governors. No one territory was going to be left with something they did not agree to, and governors were being encouraged to survey a cross-section of their populations on their thoughts on the proposals, to ensure the government was acting with the public mood in mind. Negotiations and amendments were to take place up to the deadline of the end of January so a finished product could be presented to the public in February to mark a year of elected governance.
The signature process would be decided later, once it was clear that the end of negotiations was in sight. For now, Paylor and her advisors would work through the onset of winter to propose a product that would do the best possible job of achieving their aims and sending the desired message to both their people and the international audience.
….
The constitution was becoming a headache for Isabella Perez. No sooner had the Panem-District Trials begun in earnest was she being asked about the feasibility of creating a hierarchy of courts to include a constitutional court.
Along with her advisors, she knew the proposal was desirable, but she was conscious of the level of planning and work required in a short space of time. She had been studying the systems of old and had seen how the most sophisticated legal systems had come about through centuries of adaptations and developments. They were being asked to create a fully functioning hierarchical justice system from scratch as soon as they could.
As with every challenge, she would step up to meet it. It was correct that there should be a designated forum for constitutional challenges to be heard on a bigger stage. A local court would not be appropriate for matters of national interest. So, a sub-group of advisors was assigned to find a route forwards to creating the highest-level court and assessing what exactly should be its remit.
Perez would be involved, she would be the face of any judicial developments after all. But she had a lot to work through. Along with cabinet colleagues, she was working on the thorny issue of the old regime's peacekeepers and what to do with those who would not be facing trial. There were many who wore the uniform, did their jobs, and did not cross the line. But the institution was obviously wildly unpopular, and policing was in need of an entire overhaul.
There were the political prisons to dismantle, the process of which was revealing evidence and previously unknown perpetrators as more and more victims came forward. Those who were speaking publicly were inspiring others who were wronged by peacekeepers to do the same and there was a whole nation of victims of oppression to do right by.
In the meantime, crime had not stopped either. Theft and looting were commonplace, and people needed to see that action was being taken. Businesses could not open securely and resume trading confidently if they felt at risk. But appropriate action would require a police force and working courts in some form.
They had ambitions to deliver justice that was fair and accessible to all, and they needed to deliver. Isabella would support the efforts in building the constitution, it was crucial to their new concept of democracy and justice. But it was one important task amongst many more that she had to address.
It was one thing designing the court system, it was another creating the appropriate processes to ensure it all fits together. There needed to be a forum for appeal and correct courts dealing with the most appropriate issues whilst ensuring people of any background could put their case forward.
The right personnel would be required too. The constitutional court would need highly skilled judges, well versed in the text and context of the constitution to be able to bring it to life and apply it to real-life situations. Isabella did not know where they would be drawn from. They could not deprive the territories of the people who were going to be deemed suitable to continue practising and send everyone to a centralised national court, likely based in the Capitol. New judges would need to be found at all levels in order to rebuild the justice system. As ever, there was so much to do.
….
Plutarch had been involved in conversations surrounding the best way to communicate the plans for the constitution to the public. Most people were unfamiliar with the concept and once understood, there was still likely to be a great degree of distrust. After decades of violence and oppression, it was a task to convince people that government might in fact want to act in the interests of its entire population and set its intention in stone.
Previously, freedoms in Panem had existed only in name, and that was for the Capitol alone. The constitution would reframe the national psyche. Panem would no longer be a nation of providers for the Capitol. Territorial equality was to be a crucial concept with no one place carrying favour over the rest. But it would require a mindset overhaul which would require the public to embrace and trust in the plan.
The plans were full of ideas that Plutarch knew people could get behind if they believed in the government's intentions. So far, Paylor's administration had been doing a good job of working in the entire country's interests and sharing the work and successes of reconstruction. But people had to believe that once out of this new period, they and any future administration could be trusted to not abuse their powers and that if they did, the public could seek redress.
Plutarch's teams involved in media production were touring the country attempting to gauge public opinion along with the help of the territorial governors who were doing their bit to convey the idea of the constitution. In the run-up to the proposed February deadline, a series of explainers were going to be broadcast across the television, radio and hopefully in independent news publications if they could get them to sign up. He was not going to infringe on their freedom to publish their chosen content, but their input would help in reaching different groups of people.
He was keeping a lookout for sources of vocal opposition beyond signs of weariness which Plutarch knew to expect. People in Thirteen were largely on board which he was pleased to hear. General Connelly was doing an excellent job of keeping Captain Lark informed of developments and Thirteen was of course pleased that some of their own were at the heart of the project. There were pockets of cynicism in many of the territories. Plutarch knew they would need to be won over but that it would take time for people to accept that government would be prepared to live up to the standards it sets for itself.
Views across the Capitol were broad and interesting. Many of those from the poorest, outer communities were responsive and viewed developments positively. Those who were embedded in the old regime were obviously questioning the concepts of territorial equality and a set of rights for all persons. Some could simply not conceive of a Panem which worked without the districts serving the Capitol, others did not want change. Those most drastically opposing the idea were never going to be brought around to wholehearted agreement, so the strategy there would have to be different.
But it was whilst his team were surveying views in the Capitol that they came across somebody unexpected, someone who may have a link to an issue which was irritating Plutarch thoroughly. Caesar Flickerman was still missing and when viewing footage captured by his cameramen, he saw someone who had previously been identified as connected to the former media man. He was moving in the background, taking care to avoid the cameras and he stood out. It was a new lead worth pursuing.
Plutarch wondered what his former colleague would make of recent developments and what exactly he was doing whilst being hidden by his associates. He was a man Plutarch had struggled to figure out. He was a man of the old world, with family roots mirroring those of the Heavensbees, integral to the institutions of old. Plutarch doubted that the man would enjoy seeing his family fortune diminished at the favour of those he deemed inferior.
Flickerman was devoted to his job. He loved the spectacle of the Games and having his time in the spotlight. The tributes, he could bring the best out of, hence why the interviews were often such a success. He spoke about them with sympathy at times, yet delighted in their battles and their deaths. Plutarch knew for certain that he could not be trusted. He was a man who would promote his own interests above all else. Plutarch knew he would not find him emerging as a supporter of the new and a man such as Flickerman was best dealt with swiftly.
The man's responsibility for the continuation of the Games, whilst greater than Marcella Silvana's was hardly critical. Flickerman could be replaced, and the institution continue unharmed. He made no real decisions beyond the broadcasting ones which gave him screentime and made him look good. But he was so often the public face of the Games and research showed he was despised in the districts. The good he could do in the initial interviews was undone by laughing along at the tributes' misfortunes days later.
He was likely the final public face that would be worth finding. The rest were dead, in prison or awaiting trial. Flickerman was the media face Plutarch would have wanted in the trial of the Capitol Offenders, but it would be too late for that now. The best they could do would be to locate the man, find out what he has been doing for the past year and set out the consequences as best they could, all whilst keeping their focus on moving Panem forwards.