System of Government
The Hawaiian Kingdom is one of forty Constitutional Monarchies in the world. The executive authority is vested in the office of the Monarch, who is advised by a Cabinet of Ministers and a Privy Council of State. The Monarch signs legislation into law upon the advice of the Cabinet and Privy Council of State, and no act of the Monarch has any effect unless a Cabinet Minister, who makes himself responsible, countersigns it.
The Monarch is also represented by an appointed Governor on each of the main islands of Hawai‘i, Maui, O‘ahu, and Kaua‘i.
The Legislative power of the Kingdom is vested in three Estates; the Monarch, Nobles, and Representatives. The Nobles and Representatives comprise the House of the Legislative Assembly, which is a unicameral body, and the Monarch signs resolutions or bills into law that have passed in the House. The Monarch also has a veto power.
The Monarch appoints the Nobles, and the people elect Representatives biennially. No law can be passed without the Monarch, Nobles and Representatives in agreement.
The Legislative Body assembles biennially, in the month of April, and at other times the Monarch may judge necessary for the purpose of seeking the welfare of the nation.
The number of Nobles cannot exceed thirty (30) and the number of Representatives cannot be less than twenty-four (24) and not more than forty (40). The Legislative Assembly follows the “one person one vote” principle. The Representatives are an elected body and possess the majority in the Legislative Assembly, and therefore the foundation of our system of democratic government. The Representatives have sole authority to impeach Cabinet Ministers, officers in government, and Judges, but the Nobles possess the sole authority to try those individuals that have been impeached.
Each elected Representative represents one or more of the Hawaiian Kingdom’s 25 districts on the islands of Hawai’i, Maui, Molokai, Lana’i, Kaho’olawe, O’ahu, Kaua’i, and Ni’ihau.