User:Tomknowles2020/sandbox

The Kingdom of Catan is a country in Northwestern Europe with overseas territories. It consists of mainland Catan, bordered with the United Kingdom, Deephaven, Islan Home and Catan Island which are all bordered by the São Francisco River in Brazil and two other island states. Founded in March 1999 by the self-proclaimed Queen Alicia of Catan. Catan has claimed itself a nation, but it is not recognised by any member-state of the United Nations or any major government. On the 21 October 2019, the Government of Catan claimed that it was going to Leeds Magistrates Court to argue its case for independence. However, this claim has been rejected by many. The case was subsequently won leading to a full independence movement.

History
Self-proclaimed Queen Alicia of Catan founded the nation on the 1 March 1999 in Normanton, West Yorkshire. After the birth of her son, James-Mitchell the country was largely forgotten about but still ran as a minor hobby. On the 1 March 2010, Alicia announced her intention to abdicate in favour of her only son who was just 10 at the time. James-Mitchell succeeded her as King on the 15 March 2010 aged 11. Since then, the Government has purchased many different domain names in an effort to promote itself. However, the country has been plagued by bad publicity including the alleged fraud from Yaroslav Mar. On the 18 October 2019, a Ford Focus registered to the Government of Catan was stopped by West Yorkshire Police and the driver was arrested. The driver was charged with driving whilst disqualified which is a crime in the United Kingdom. On the 21 November 2019, Freddie Dewhirst who serves as Prime Minister of Catan announced that the Government would argue the case based on diplomatic immunity law. The Government has prepared a large number of service notices on its new website in a effort to show itself as a serious nation with intentions on full immunity. Independent solicitors have said that it is unlikely that the case will be won. However, if the case is won then it gives recognition from the United Kingdom to the Government of Catan as a independent sovereign state. The case was subsequently won by virtue of the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations. Thus making Catan the first fully fledged independent nation that started as a micronation.

Leeds Magistrates Court
On the 30 October 2019, the Government of Catan announced that it would be attending Leeds Magistrates Court. On the 7 November 2019, King James-Mitchell attended Leeds Magistrates Court with three members of the Cabinet. The case was formally known as Regina vs Government of Catan. The court case was subsequently won due to diplomatic immunity law. However, since the date of the court date and subsequent releases of documents, the Government came under criticism from opposition parties and other micronation's. Most notably the Grand Duchy of Flandrensis.

Politics
The United Kingdom is a unitary state under a constitutional monarchy. King James-Mitchell is the monarch and head of state of the Kingdom. The monarch has "the right to be consulted, the right to encourage, and the right to warn". The Constitution of the Kingdom of Catan is a codified piece of legislation passed in 2000. As there is no technical difference between ordinary statutes and "constitutional law", the Parliament of Catan can perform "constitutional reform" simply by passing Acts of Parliament, and thus has the political power to change or abolish almost any written or unwritten element of the constitution. No Parliament can pass laws that future Parliaments cannot change.

Government
The Second Dewhirst cabinet is the cabinet of Catan since the 28 October 2018 when James-Mitchell sacked Henry White as Prime Minister and replaced him with Freddie Dewhirst. The government has a majority of two in the Catanese House of Representatives and a large majority in the Senate. The cabinet is made up of three parties, of which two are represented in the cabinet. The government presented a emergency budget on the occasion of the recognition of Catan from Leeds Magistrates Court. From the 8 November 2019, the Government started putting into action it's preparations for a independent Catan. Jordan Perry was sacked from the Government on the 23 November 2019.

Devolved Administrations
Deephaven, Islan Home and Catan Island each have their own government or executive, led by a First Minister and a devolved unicameral legislature. Catan, the political centre of the Kingdom, has no such devolved executive or legislature and is administered and legislated for directly by the government and parliament on all issues.

Foreign Relations
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs within the Government of Catan is solely responsible for the management of all foreign relations of the Kingdom. The Minister of Foreign Affairs (currently Heather Walton) is often the Government's designated survivor and will often travel abroad to stay with Ambassadors of Catan when the Government is meeting in full. Catan has only one full diplomatic relation with Niger and has often pushed out for further relations with other countries. The recognition from Niger and Catan was controversial as many saw the affair where the Government of Catan bribed the Government of Niger.

Economy
Catan has a partially-regulated market economy. The Ministry of Finance, led by the Minister of Finance (currently Jordan Perry) is responsible for developing and executing the government's public finance policy and economic policy. Current laws state that the Government must reinvest 15% of it's total income per year back into stocks and shares that must be fairly balanced across the global market scale. This has led to the Government having over £134.9 billion in reserves as of November 2019.

Official Links
Official Government Website