Constitutional change is slow on purpose. A package needs a supermajority of all seats in every required chamber, a large one costs a party most of its political power, and when it passes Article II closes the door for years. That's what makes a constitution feel like a constitution rather than another law. It also means that a country that wants to change a lot at once, such as a new ministry, a different head of government and a reshuffle of half the powers, is looking at the best part of a decade of amendments.
Real countries don't usually amend their way out of that. They call a convention, lock the delegates in a room, and come out with something new. So now Lawmaker countries can too.
Who can call one
Two people can call a convention, from a new Constitutional Convention panel on the country's constitution page:
- The head of government: the party whose character holds that office, whether it's a presidency or a Prime Minister's seat in the cabinet. It costs that party 75 PP.
- The reigning monarch, in a country with a Crown. Monarchs don't spend political power, so for them it's free, and they can call one whether or not the Crown is the head of government.
A convention can be called even while the constitution is still in its normal post-amendment cooldown. That's the point: it's the way out of waiting. When one is available, the head of government's party and the monarch get a reminder on their dashboard.
What changes for a year
The convention sits for one year of game time and shows on the country as a Constitutional Convention national mood, with its own badge. It's the only mood in the game that doesn't touch voters at all: no shift in opinion, no change in what people care about, nothing for the economy. It only changes the rules on the constitution page.
| Rule | Normally | During a convention |
|---|---|---|
| Cooldown | Set by Article II, up to 5 years after each package passes | None: open the next package as soon as the last one closes |
| Package cost | 30 PP per standard change, 60 PP per major one, 60 PP minimum | Capped at 75 PP, however many changes it holds |
| Open packages | One at a time | Still one at a time |
| Who can propose | Any party | Any party |
| Threshold | Article II supermajority, every required chamber | Unchanged |
The cap is where most of the value is. A serious rewrite is expensive at normal prices: three major changes and four standard ones would cost 300 PP, more than a party can hold. During a convention the same package costs 75 PP, and the cost breakdown on the package says so:
The usual 60 PP minimum still applies, so a package with a single standard change costs 60 PP inside a convention just as it does outside one. The cap is only a saving for packages that would have cost more than 75 PP.
When the year is up
After 365 game days the convention closes and the normal Article II cooldown resumes, counted from the last time the constitution changed. A package that passes in the final month still starts a full cooldown, so the convention doesn't let you skip the one that follows your last change.
Then there's a 10-year cooldown before another convention can be called. It's a once-in-a-generation event, not a regular part of the calendar.
Every new country starts with one
Player-proposed countries now go live with a founding convention already in session for their first year. A proposal sets out the country's legislatures, offices and constitution, but the first parties to arrive are the ones who have to live under it, and they should get a proper chance to change it before it becomes hard to change. The founding convention works exactly like one that's been called, including the ten-year cooldown when it ends. Existing countries don't get one backdated: if you want one, your head of government will have to pay for it.
Playing a convention
A few things to consider before you spend the 75 PP.
- You pay; everyone proposes. Only the head of government or the monarch can call a convention, but once it's in session any party can open a cheap package. You're opening the constitution to your rivals as well as to yourself. Call one when you're confident you, rather than the opposition, can put together the supermajorities.
- Packages queue. Only one package can be open at a time, and a vote runs for up to 60 days. That leaves room for only a handful of packages in a year, and whoever opens first gets the slot. A package that clearly can't pass resolves early, but a well-supported one from a rival will run its full course. Agree the order with your coalition before the convention starts.
- Go big. Under the cap, one seven-change package costs the same as a two-change one. Fewer, larger packages also use fewer of the year's limited voting slots. The risk is that one unpopular change sinks the whole package, because a package passes or fails as a whole.
- The threshold doesn't move. A convention doesn't lower the supermajority. If you couldn't get two thirds of the chamber to agree before, the convention won't change that. Line up the votes first.
- Monarchs: free isn't the same as safe. The Crown pays nothing to call a convention, but it also gives every republican in the country a year of cheap packages and no cooldown. Abolition still needs the full supermajority (only a constitutional crisis halves it), but a monarch who calls a convention in a country that's tired of the Crown may not be around for the next one.
A convention doesn't hand the constitution to whoever called it. It hands it to whoever can count to two thirds.
The full rules are in the wiki under Constitutional conventions. The panel is on every country's constitution page, so you can see now whether your country could call one.