[Discussion] The Constitutional Law of the Judicary
- Thread starter Old Hope
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So, the defender of the law would be, basically, an Attorney General type position? What is the benefit of that versus just having citizens, residents, or interested parties be able to submit cases? It's just yet another position to fill, apparently for the sake of having a position.
The rules are ... a start, though there are a few things missing and a bit out of place. I do approve of a non-adversarial system. I suggest a case is handled by one judge and signed off by another, rather than being handled by all three at all times. I think alot of it can be inspired by TSP's Judicial Act in a modified/simplified way.
The criminal code should be a separate thing entirely.
The rules are ... a start, though there are a few things missing and a bit out of place. I do approve of a non-adversarial system. I suggest a case is handled by one judge and signed off by another, rather than being handled by all three at all times. I think alot of it can be inspired by TSP's Judicial Act in a modified/simplified way.
The criminal code should be a separate thing entirely.
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For all the faults of their governments, the Unified Legal Code of the HRL/CUL (and before that the Criminal Code was the Penal Code of the PRL, if my memory serves me right) was a very good legal code, especially in the Judicial Code's inquisitorial nature, which is a must-have and helps ensure that we avoid the needless court drama and politicization found in TNP. While a few revisions are necessary, of course, I think that that Legal Code can be used once again.
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I will address your points one by one.Roavin said:
This does not preclude people from doing those things for themselves. The only exclusive right is the one to be the accuser in a crime.
The Defender of the Law is supposed to be what the name says - they are tasked with actively, not passively, looking for problems.
To spot problems that, especially with ordinary laws, might be overlooked; before something goes wrong.
The court system is, in my mind, not set into stone; and if you think we should have a non-confrontative system for criminal cases(which would also eliminate the accuser right from the Defender of Law), I'd like to hear your arguments for that system.
The split in the Criminal Code is reasoned in that the provisions for Treason and Electoral Fraud are worthy of enhanced protection(of constitutional status) while the other possible ones are not. This law explicitely says(or at least it should say) that there can be only one ordinary law for criminal purposes.
Do you have any concrete ideas for changes?
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I have some questions and some suggestions.
First: Forgive me if this is obvious - I am new to Lazarus. What is the point of a constitutional law, as opposed to a constitutional amendment? Why not just... amend the constitution? It requires the same voting majority to do so.
I think #2 is problematic. What does it mean in practice to have the right to check proposed and extant law for compatibility with constitutional laws and the mandate? Can the Defender unilaterally say that laws are unmandatical? If not, if they have to take concerns before the court, it seems to me like that section is just pointing out that the Defender has the same rights and responsibilities as every other citizen to try to make sure the laws are not in conflict.
(I did add in some restrictions - I think it also makes sense not to allow the Defender to be a defender or a witness to prevent major concerns about impartiality.)
(Also, this terminology is going to get confusing. How about Protector of the Law? Enforcer of the Law? Kinda depends on what kind of vibe you wanna go for.)
So firstly, I think these should be split out into a separate bill entirely. Mixing in criminal offenses with other parts of the law is a surefire way to lose track of what is where, what takes priority over what else, and what's actually not allowed. If you want these to have constitutional status, IMO, they should be in the constitution... but I don't actually see the point of having them be at that level. They're not any less criminal because they're regular laws.
Secondly, I'm not thrilled with these as written.
Treason: In the case of an absent root administrator, this would declare any non-root admin who has to close a forum (even temporarily) as having committed treason against Lazarus. That's hugely problematic. It also arguably would apply to anyone who reports a forum to their service provider for violating the provider's TOS, as that person will have willfully done things to disrupt access to that forum. That's one of the major weaknesses of COPS, too, and it's something most of us kind of handwave aside as inconvenient to deal with. Even aside from those problems, though... that whole first part isn't treason. I think the term Treason should be restricted to trying to take the delegate seat or conspiring to overthrow the government - you know, actual treason. Mixing up definitions differently than they're used IRL is a prime source of headaches in NS law and court matters. Trust me.
Voting Fraud: This is.. really vague. "Alter or establish the vote count of a vote of Lazarus in an untruthful manner" doesn't tell me what they've done. Is it voting fraud to convince people to join Lazarus and vote the way you want, if nobody lies about it? What about trying to convince regular citizens to vote a particular way by spinning a situation but not outright lying? I would argue that Voting Fraud should apply to 1) one person voting under multiple aliases, 2) somebody who is running a vote or election deliberately misstating the tally of votes, either during the vote or after it has closed, or 3) joining Lazarus using falsified information (e.g., not disclosing who you really are) in order to sway the result of a vote.
I also saw a few typos in there - availability and citizenship are misspelled a couple times.
First: Forgive me if this is obvious - I am new to Lazarus. What is the point of a constitutional law, as opposed to a constitutional amendment? Why not just... amend the constitution? It requires the same voting majority to do so.
Old Hope said:
I think #2 is problematic. What does it mean in practice to have the right to check proposed and extant law for compatibility with constitutional laws and the mandate? Can the Defender unilaterally say that laws are unmandatical? If not, if they have to take concerns before the court, it seems to me like that section is just pointing out that the Defender has the same rights and responsibilities as every other citizen to try to make sure the laws are not in conflict.
This seems awkwardly phrased. How about, "The Defender of the Law may choose to act as the Accuser in any criminal cases except those where they are the accused, a defender of the accused, or a witness in the case."
(I did add in some restrictions - I think it also makes sense not to allow the Defender to be a defender or a witness to prevent major concerns about impartiality.)
(Also, this terminology is going to get confusing. How about Protector of the Law? Enforcer of the Law? Kinda depends on what kind of vibe you wanna go for.)
The phrasing on this is a bit off, and I don't like parentheses in laws most of the time. I'm also concerned that 4 days is pretty short - some people can only play on weekends, or there might be major holiday weeks where people are busy. I think it'd be problematic if someone could file charges when they know someone won't be around in order to get them tried in absentia. I think there's a neater way to do this:
So firstly, I think these should be split out into a separate bill entirely. Mixing in criminal offenses with other parts of the law is a surefire way to lose track of what is where, what takes priority over what else, and what's actually not allowed. If you want these to have constitutional status, IMO, they should be in the constitution... but I don't actually see the point of having them be at that level. They're not any less criminal because they're regular laws.
Secondly, I'm not thrilled with these as written.
Treason: In the case of an absent root administrator, this would declare any non-root admin who has to close a forum (even temporarily) as having committed treason against Lazarus. That's hugely problematic. It also arguably would apply to anyone who reports a forum to their service provider for violating the provider's TOS, as that person will have willfully done things to disrupt access to that forum. That's one of the major weaknesses of COPS, too, and it's something most of us kind of handwave aside as inconvenient to deal with. Even aside from those problems, though... that whole first part isn't treason. I think the term Treason should be restricted to trying to take the delegate seat or conspiring to overthrow the government - you know, actual treason. Mixing up definitions differently than they're used IRL is a prime source of headaches in NS law and court matters. Trust me.
Voting Fraud: This is.. really vague. "Alter or establish the vote count of a vote of Lazarus in an untruthful manner" doesn't tell me what they've done. Is it voting fraud to convince people to join Lazarus and vote the way you want, if nobody lies about it? What about trying to convince regular citizens to vote a particular way by spinning a situation but not outright lying? I would argue that Voting Fraud should apply to 1) one person voting under multiple aliases, 2) somebody who is running a vote or election deliberately misstating the tally of votes, either during the vote or after it has closed, or 3) joining Lazarus using falsified information (e.g., not disclosing who you really are) in order to sway the result of a vote.
I also saw a few typos in there - availability and citizenship are misspelled a couple times.
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Roavin and Sheepshape have both brought up great points, and I broadly agree with most of them. Specifically, I really don't think we need an Attorney General type position -- I think it's fine if citizens can just file this stuff, as Roavin suggested. Aside from that, if we are going to have an Attorney General type position, can we please just call it the Attorney General and not "Defender of the Law"? We're supposed to be getting away from stylized titles in the law; we can change themes, titles, etc., for flavor separately if we want, but in the law they should just be plain, standard titles.
Re: the question Sheepshape asked about constitutional laws, the point of them, as in the South Pacific which also has this system, is to allow for important matters to be legislated separately from the constitution so it doesn't get too unwieldy, but also have the same weight as the constitution. It's not unlike TNP having a separate Bill of Rights, though TNP's Bill of Rights is at an even higher threshold than its constitution, but regardless it's a somewhat similar situation. Constitutional laws should probably be used sparingly, for very important matters that aren't likely to frequently be changed. So, it would be appropriate, in my view, to make a bill of rights a constitutional law, because rights are important and unlikely to frequently change. It wouldn't be appropriate to make legislative procedure a constitutional law, because while legislative rules may be of some importance, they're not of constitutional importance and they're likely to change often. Using that standard, I don't think it's appropriate for this to be a constitutional law, I think it should just be a general law, because I think judicial procedure is likely to be tweaked a fair bit.
Re: the question Sheepshape asked about constitutional laws, the point of them, as in the South Pacific which also has this system, is to allow for important matters to be legislated separately from the constitution so it doesn't get too unwieldy, but also have the same weight as the constitution. It's not unlike TNP having a separate Bill of Rights, though TNP's Bill of Rights is at an even higher threshold than its constitution, but regardless it's a somewhat similar situation. Constitutional laws should probably be used sparingly, for very important matters that aren't likely to frequently be changed. So, it would be appropriate, in my view, to make a bill of rights a constitutional law, because rights are important and unlikely to frequently change. It wouldn't be appropriate to make legislative procedure a constitutional law, because while legislative rules may be of some importance, they're not of constitutional importance and they're likely to change often. Using that standard, I don't think it's appropriate for this to be a constitutional law, I think it should just be a general law, because I think judicial procedure is likely to be tweaked a fair bit.
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According to the constitution, we have three justices.
So we have effectively a court without a judge above the others.
What we need now is to write a legal code, which explains the procedure, which could include a jury, and permit citizens to ask someone else to defend them.
So we have effectively a court without a judge above the others.
What we need now is to write a legal code, which explains the procedure, which could include a jury, and permit citizens to ask someone else to defend them.
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Also for reference, the last legal code: https://s15.zetaboards.com/NSLazarus/topic/8082155/1/
Oct 10 2015, 05:36 AMPost #2 · Link to Post
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[align=left]Unified Legal Code of The Celestial Union of Lazarus (including amendment history)
Preamble; The Unified Legal Code of The Celestial Union of Lazarus constitutes the collected Judicial, Criminal, Civil and Penal Codes of the Celestial Union of Lazarus. Taken together these documents dictate the operation of the judicial process of The Celestial Union of Lazarus.
The Judicial Code is the procedural document identifying how Criminal, Civil and Legal matters are to be conducted. All such matters are handled publicly via a non-adversarial Judicial Inquiry. The purpose of a Judicial Inquiry is to establish the facts of the matter where allegations of criminal or civil wrongdoing have been lodged, or where a legal question on the constitutionality of laws, treaties, and government policies is presented. The Judicial Code also outlines the internal procedures of the Celestial Inquisitorial Court, codifying the powers and responsibilities of The Holy Prelate, who as the chief administrative officer of the Court is responsible for the direction of Judicial Inquires, the moderation of conduct within the Court and the administration of the Court.
The Criminal Code identifies and defines all criminal offences within The Celestial Union of Lazarus. A criminal offence constitutes a crime against the state, and a criminal inquiry can be initiated by any citizen.
The Civil Code identifies and defines all civil offences within The Celestial Union of Lazarus. A civil offence constitutes a crime against an individual, and a civil inquiry can only be initiated by the injured party.
The Penal Code identifies and defines all punishments that may be assigned by the Court to those found guilty of a Criminal or Civil offence by a judicial inquiry.
Judicial Code of The Celestial Union of Lazarus
Article I – Composition of the Court
(1) The Court must consist at all times of a minimum three Prelates, and a maximum of five Prelates. Should the number of Prelates fall below the minimum number at any time the Sovereign must nominate replacements within seven days; should the Sovereign fail to do so then the Convenor will open nominations to the floor of the Cosmic Council.
(2) The Cosmic Council shall conduct a confidence vote for the Prelates every three months, immediately after the conclusion of the regularly scheduled elections. Any Prelate who does not receive the confidence of a majority shall be recalled.[1]
(3) The Holy Prelate is elected by a private ballot of the Celestial Inquisitorial Court requiring clear majority support. Any Prelate may initiate an election for a Holy Prelate; in the absence of a Holy Prelate an election must occur.
(4) The Holy Prelate acts as the chief administrative officer of the court, and is responsible for the management of all judicial matters; this includes the maintenance of an archive of legal decisions for reference purposes, moderation of conduct within the court and the direction of Judicial Inquires.
Article II - Judicial Inquiries
(1) All Criminal, Civil and Legal matters will be dealt with via Judicial Inquiry.
(2) All Judicial Inquiries will be conducted by a tribunal consisting of the Holy Prelate and two Associate Prelates.
(3) The purpose of a Judicial Inquiry is always to establish the facts of the matter, and then resolve the issue. All Judicial Inquiries will be conducted publicly via a non-adversarial hearing.
(4) All Judicial Inquiries will run for a minimum of seven days, and may be extended beyond this at the discretion of the Holy Prelate.
Article III - Criminal Inquiries
(1) A Criminal Inquiry may be initiated by any citizen presenting an allegation of criminal wrongdoing to the Holy Prelate.
(2) This allegation must be supported by sufficient preliminary evidence to justify an inquiry; the Holy Prelate will determine this at their discretion.
(3) Should the Holy Prelate choose to conduct an inquiry, they shall immediately contact the individual or individuals accused of criminal wrongdoing by PM or TG to inform them of such.
(4) During the inquiry the Holy Prelate will conduct an investigation into the matter, seeking to establish the facts. Any interested party may make evidentiary submissions, with the citizen presenting the allegations and the accused both encouraged to do so.
(5) Once the investigation concludes the Prelates will privately discuss the matter, and issue a ruling resolving the issue by majority decision.
(6) Such rulings will consist of a summary of events based upon the presented evidence, which will constitute the factual account of the matter, and a decision of guilt or innocence. If the accused is determined to be guilty a sentence will also be issued.
(7) Rulings and sentences will take effect 72 hours later, if not appealed.
Article IV - Civil Inquiries
(1) A Civil Inquiry may be initiated by the injured party presenting an allegation of civil wrongdoing to the Holy Prelate.
(2) This allegation must be supported by sufficient preliminary evidence to justify an inquiry; the Holy Prelate will determine this at their discretion.
(3) Should the Holy Prelate choose to conduct an inquiry, they shall immediately contact the individual or individuals accused of civil wrongdoing by PM or TG to inform them of such.
(4) During the inquiry the Holy Prelate will conduct an investigation into the matter, seeking to establish the facts. Any interested party may make evidentiary submissions, with the citizen presenting the allegations and the accused both encouraged to do so.
(5) Once the investigation concludes the Prelates will privately discuss the matter, and issue a ruling resolving the issue by majority decision.
(6) Such rulings will consist of a summary of events based upon the presented evidence, which will constitute the factual account of the matter, and a decision of guilt or innocence. If the accused is determined to be guilty a sentence will also be issued.
(7) Rulings and sentences will take effect 72 hours later, if not appealed.
Article V - Legal Inquiries
(1) A Legal Inquiry may initiated by any citizen submitting a query of the constitutionality of a law, treaty or government policy.
(2) This query must be accompanied by a legal argument to justify an inquiry; the Holy Prelate will determine this at their discretion.
(3) During the inquiry the Holy Prelate will conduct an investigation into the matter, seeking to establish the facts. Any interested party may submit an amicus brief, presenting a legal argument to help guide the investigation and assist the Prelates in reaching a decision.
(4) Once the investigation concludes the Prelates will privately discuss the matter, and issue a ruling resolving the issue by majority decision.
(5) Such rulings will consist of a decision as to the constitutionality of the law, treaty or government policy in question, with recommended action for the Cosmic Council if needed, and the initiation of a Criminal Inquiry should illegal activity be determined to have occurred.
(6) Rulings will take effect 72 hours later, if not appealed.
Article VI - Appeals
(1) Any interested party may appeal the ruling of a Judicial Inquiry in the first 72 hours after it concludes.
(2) Appeals must be based upon one of two arguments; legal error or factual error.
(3) Arguments of legal error must identify a specific area of the ruling where the Prelates made an error in the application of the law.
(4) Arguments of factual error must identify a specific area of the ruling where the Prelates made an error in regards to the facts of the matter.
(5) The Prelates will consider their ruling in light of the appeal, and then issue a final ruling. This ruling may not be appealed.
Criminal Code of The Celestial Union of Lazarus [2]
Article 1: In-game Offences
Section 1.1: Treason
(1) Treason shall be said to be committed when one fulfils any of the following conditions:[/align]
(2) High Treason shall be said to be committed when one fulfils any of the following conditions:[/align]
Section 1.2: Espionage
(1) Espionage shall be said to be committed when one fulfils any of the following conditions:[/align]
Section 1.3: Fraud
(1) Fraud shall be said to be committed when one fulfils any of the following conditions:[/align]
(2) Electoral Fraud shall be said to be committed when one fulfils any of the following conditions:[/align]
Section 1.4: Perjury
(1) Perjury shall be said to be committed when one fulfils any of the following conditions:[/align]
Section 1.5: Vexatious Litigation
(1) Vexatious litigation shall be said to be committed when one fulfils any of the following conditions:[/align]
Section 1.6: Conspiracy
(1) Conspiracy shall be said to be committed when one fulfils any of the following conditions:[/align]
Article 2: Offences out-of-game
Section 2.1: Forum-side Offences
(1) Forum destruction shall be said to be committed when one fulfils any of the following conditions:[/align]
(2) Inappropriate spamming shall be said to be committed when one fulfils any of the following conditions:[/align]
(3) Phishing shall be said to be committed when one fulfils any of the following conditions:[/align]
Section 2.2: Spamming
(1) Spamming shall be said to be committed when one fulfils any of the following conditions:[/align]
(2) Adspamming shall be said to be committed when one fulfils any of the following conditions:[/align]
Section 2.3: Theft
(1) Theft shall be said to be committed when one fulfils any of the following conditions:[/align]
Section 2.4: Illegal sharing
(1) One shall be said to have committed the act of illegal sharing of forum accounts when one fulfils any of the following conditions:[/align]
(2) One shall be said to have committed the act of illegal sharing of nations when one fulfils any of the following conditions:[/align]
Article 3: Absolute Offences
Section 3.1: Legal Violations
(1) Legal violation shall be said to be committed when one fulfils any of the following conditions:[/align]
Section 3.2: NationStates Violations
(1) NationStates violations shall be said to be committed when one fulfils any of the following conditions:[/align]
2) The Civil Code
Civil Code of The Celestial Union of Lazarus[2]
Article 1: Harassment
(1) Harassment shall be said to be committed when one fulfils any of the following conditions:[/align]
(2) Repeated Harassment shall be said to be committed when one fulfils any of the following conditions:[/align]
Article 2: Flaming and Trolling
(1) Flaming shall be said to be committed when one fulfils any of the following conditions:[/align]
(2) Trolling shall be said to be committed when one fulfils any of the following conditions:[/align]
Article 3: Impersonation
(1) Impersonation shall be said to be committed when one fulfils any of the following conditions:[/align]
3) The Penal Code
Penal Code of The Celestial Union of Lazarus[2]
Article 1: Preliminary
Section 1.1: Title and Effective Date
(1) This Act shall be called the Penal Code and may be cited as P.C. It shall become effective on the date of its adoption.
(2) Except as provided in Subsection (3) of this Section, the Code does not apply to offenses committed prior to its effective date and prosecutions for such offenses shall be based on the prior law, that is the PRL Penal Code, which will be assumed to be still in used, as if this Code was not in force. For the purposes of this Section, an offense is considered to be committed prior to the effective date of this Code if any one of its elements took place before the effective date of this code.
(3) In any case pending on or after the effective date of the Code, involving an offense committed prior to such date:[/align]
Section 1.2: Amendments
(1) Amendments may be made to this Code by only the Cosmic Council with a simple majority.
(2) Should an offense be committed prior to the passage of an amendment that could affect whether the offender is guilty or the severity and/or magnitude of the punishments, the offender shall be prosecuted for the affected offense based on the Code directly prior to the passage of the amendment.
Section 1.3: Punishments
(1) The classes of punishments to which offenders are liable under the provisions of this Code are (with increasing severity):[/align]
(2) A Suppression is defined to be the use of the in-game mechanisms to hide the offending RMB posts. A Suppression may constitute the suppression of several RMB posts.
(3) A Warning is defined as the use of the Warn System as provided on the Regional Forum. A Warning may constitute the increment of several warning levels.
(4) An Ejection is defined to be the use of the in-game mechanisms to remove a nation from Lazarus, but who may return to Lazarus any time the player wishes.
(5) A temporary forum ban is defined to be the use of administrative tools made available on the Regional Forums to deny a player access to the Forums for a period of time. Said player's access to the Regional Forums is to be restored upon the completion of the sentence.
(6) A temporary in-game ban is defined to be the use of the in-game mechanisms to remove a nation from Lazarus, but who is not allowed by the game to return to the region for a period of time. Said nation is to be allowed to return to Lazarus upon the completion of the sentence.
(7) A permanent forum ban is defined to be the use of administrative tools made available on the Regional Forums to deny a player access to the Forums permanently. Said player's access to the Regional Forums will be denied even if the Regional Forums have been changed, for as long as this Penal Code remains in effect or as the Celestial Union of Lazarus remains the official government of the in-game entity of Lazarus, up to the discretion of the Cosmic Council.
(8) A permanent in-game ban is defined to be the use of the in-game mechanisms to remove a nation from Lazarus, but who is not allowed by the game to return to the region permanently. Said nation is not to be allowed to return to Lazarus for as long as this Penal Code remains in effect or as the Celestial Union of Lazarus remains the official government of the in-game entity of Lazarus, up to the discretion of the Cosmic Council.
(9) Should the offender have a history of committing the same offense, the punishment meted out is to be of a greater severity of the same type of punishment if possible and if necessary. Should this be not possible, the punishment meted out may be upgraded to a more severe type of punishment under the same class, as specified under the recommended punishment for each offense.
Section 1.4: Order of Punishments for Multiple Offenses
(1) When the same conduct of the defendant be convicted of multiple offenses, the order in which the punishments are to be meted out is:[/align]
Article 2: Tier I Offenses
(1) The following offenses have been designated as Tier I offenses:[/align]
Article 3: Tier II Offenses
(1) The following offenses have been designated as Tier II offenses:[/align]
(2) The recommended punishments for the above offenses are as follows:[/align]
Article 4: Tier III Offenses
(1) The following offenses have been designated as Tier II offenses:[/align]
(2) The recommended punishments for the above offenses are as follows:[/align]
[align=left]The Unified Legal Code was passed on the 1st of August, 2015.
Terminology updated per the Celestial Terminology Act May 5th, 2017.[/align]
[align=left][1] Amendment to the ULC 1 — Changing the term length of a Prelate and requiring a reconfirmation vote: passed on the 27th of September, 2015.
[2] Amendment to the ULC 2 — Adding the Civil, Penal, and Criminal codes to the ULC: passed on the 15th of July, 2016.
[3] Amendment to the ULC 3 — Adding the violation of a citizen's constitutional rights as a criminal offence: passed on the 17th of April, 2017.[/align]
Oct 10 2015, 05:36 AMPost #2 · Link to Post
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[align=left]Unified Legal Code of The Celestial Union of Lazarus (including amendment history)
Preamble; The Unified Legal Code of The Celestial Union of Lazarus constitutes the collected Judicial, Criminal, Civil and Penal Codes of the Celestial Union of Lazarus. Taken together these documents dictate the operation of the judicial process of The Celestial Union of Lazarus.
The Judicial Code is the procedural document identifying how Criminal, Civil and Legal matters are to be conducted. All such matters are handled publicly via a non-adversarial Judicial Inquiry. The purpose of a Judicial Inquiry is to establish the facts of the matter where allegations of criminal or civil wrongdoing have been lodged, or where a legal question on the constitutionality of laws, treaties, and government policies is presented. The Judicial Code also outlines the internal procedures of the Celestial Inquisitorial Court, codifying the powers and responsibilities of The Holy Prelate, who as the chief administrative officer of the Court is responsible for the direction of Judicial Inquires, the moderation of conduct within the Court and the administration of the Court.
The Criminal Code identifies and defines all criminal offences within The Celestial Union of Lazarus. A criminal offence constitutes a crime against the state, and a criminal inquiry can be initiated by any citizen.
The Civil Code identifies and defines all civil offences within The Celestial Union of Lazarus. A civil offence constitutes a crime against an individual, and a civil inquiry can only be initiated by the injured party.
The Penal Code identifies and defines all punishments that may be assigned by the Court to those found guilty of a Criminal or Civil offence by a judicial inquiry.
Judicial Code of The Celestial Union of Lazarus
Article I – Composition of the Court
(1) The Court must consist at all times of a minimum three Prelates, and a maximum of five Prelates. Should the number of Prelates fall below the minimum number at any time the Sovereign must nominate replacements within seven days; should the Sovereign fail to do so then the Convenor will open nominations to the floor of the Cosmic Council.
(2) The Cosmic Council shall conduct a confidence vote for the Prelates every three months, immediately after the conclusion of the regularly scheduled elections. Any Prelate who does not receive the confidence of a majority shall be recalled.[1]
(3) The Holy Prelate is elected by a private ballot of the Celestial Inquisitorial Court requiring clear majority support. Any Prelate may initiate an election for a Holy Prelate; in the absence of a Holy Prelate an election must occur.
(4) The Holy Prelate acts as the chief administrative officer of the court, and is responsible for the management of all judicial matters; this includes the maintenance of an archive of legal decisions for reference purposes, moderation of conduct within the court and the direction of Judicial Inquires.
Article II - Judicial Inquiries
(1) All Criminal, Civil and Legal matters will be dealt with via Judicial Inquiry.
(2) All Judicial Inquiries will be conducted by a tribunal consisting of the Holy Prelate and two Associate Prelates.
(3) The purpose of a Judicial Inquiry is always to establish the facts of the matter, and then resolve the issue. All Judicial Inquiries will be conducted publicly via a non-adversarial hearing.
(4) All Judicial Inquiries will run for a minimum of seven days, and may be extended beyond this at the discretion of the Holy Prelate.
Article III - Criminal Inquiries
(1) A Criminal Inquiry may be initiated by any citizen presenting an allegation of criminal wrongdoing to the Holy Prelate.
(2) This allegation must be supported by sufficient preliminary evidence to justify an inquiry; the Holy Prelate will determine this at their discretion.
(3) Should the Holy Prelate choose to conduct an inquiry, they shall immediately contact the individual or individuals accused of criminal wrongdoing by PM or TG to inform them of such.
(4) During the inquiry the Holy Prelate will conduct an investigation into the matter, seeking to establish the facts. Any interested party may make evidentiary submissions, with the citizen presenting the allegations and the accused both encouraged to do so.
(5) Once the investigation concludes the Prelates will privately discuss the matter, and issue a ruling resolving the issue by majority decision.
(6) Such rulings will consist of a summary of events based upon the presented evidence, which will constitute the factual account of the matter, and a decision of guilt or innocence. If the accused is determined to be guilty a sentence will also be issued.
(7) Rulings and sentences will take effect 72 hours later, if not appealed.
Article IV - Civil Inquiries
(1) A Civil Inquiry may be initiated by the injured party presenting an allegation of civil wrongdoing to the Holy Prelate.
(2) This allegation must be supported by sufficient preliminary evidence to justify an inquiry; the Holy Prelate will determine this at their discretion.
(3) Should the Holy Prelate choose to conduct an inquiry, they shall immediately contact the individual or individuals accused of civil wrongdoing by PM or TG to inform them of such.
(4) During the inquiry the Holy Prelate will conduct an investigation into the matter, seeking to establish the facts. Any interested party may make evidentiary submissions, with the citizen presenting the allegations and the accused both encouraged to do so.
(5) Once the investigation concludes the Prelates will privately discuss the matter, and issue a ruling resolving the issue by majority decision.
(6) Such rulings will consist of a summary of events based upon the presented evidence, which will constitute the factual account of the matter, and a decision of guilt or innocence. If the accused is determined to be guilty a sentence will also be issued.
(7) Rulings and sentences will take effect 72 hours later, if not appealed.
Article V - Legal Inquiries
(1) A Legal Inquiry may initiated by any citizen submitting a query of the constitutionality of a law, treaty or government policy.
(2) This query must be accompanied by a legal argument to justify an inquiry; the Holy Prelate will determine this at their discretion.
(3) During the inquiry the Holy Prelate will conduct an investigation into the matter, seeking to establish the facts. Any interested party may submit an amicus brief, presenting a legal argument to help guide the investigation and assist the Prelates in reaching a decision.
(4) Once the investigation concludes the Prelates will privately discuss the matter, and issue a ruling resolving the issue by majority decision.
(5) Such rulings will consist of a decision as to the constitutionality of the law, treaty or government policy in question, with recommended action for the Cosmic Council if needed, and the initiation of a Criminal Inquiry should illegal activity be determined to have occurred.
(6) Rulings will take effect 72 hours later, if not appealed.
Article VI - Appeals
(1) Any interested party may appeal the ruling of a Judicial Inquiry in the first 72 hours after it concludes.
(2) Appeals must be based upon one of two arguments; legal error or factual error.
(3) Arguments of legal error must identify a specific area of the ruling where the Prelates made an error in the application of the law.
(4) Arguments of factual error must identify a specific area of the ruling where the Prelates made an error in regards to the facts of the matter.
(5) The Prelates will consider their ruling in light of the appeal, and then issue a final ruling. This ruling may not be appealed.
Criminal Code of The Celestial Union of Lazarus [2]
Article 1: In-game Offences
Section 1.1: Treason
(1) Treason shall be said to be committed when one fulfils any of the following conditions:[/align]
- Any Citizen who wages, attempts to wage, incites others to wage, or attempts to incite others to wage war against the State of Lazarus.
- Soliciting for endorsements with the intention of exceeding the endorsement cap.
- Failure to heed an official warning to reduce one's endorsement count after being sent one for exceeding the endorsement cap.
- Violating a World's or Core World's fundamental rights as defined in the Celestial Mandate Act (Article 3, Section 3.)[3]
(2) High Treason shall be said to be committed when one fulfils any of the following conditions:[/align]
- Attempting to lower the sitting Sovereign's endorsement count without the approval of the Cosmic Council.
- Acting, alone or with others, to change the lawfully elected government of Lazarus as recognized by the Cosmic Council, by any means other than participation in a scheduled election and the discussions and campaigning preceding said election.
- Violating a World's or Core World's fundamental rights as defined in The Celestial Mandate Act (Article 3, Section 3) while holding any position in Lazarus that requires confirmation or election by The Cosmic Council.[3]
Section 1.2: Espionage
(1) Espionage shall be said to be committed when one fulfils any of the following conditions:[/align]
- Gathering private government material with the intention of using or distributing them to any entities not sanctioned by the relevant government body responsible for the material or the Court.
- Distributing sensitive government or military information to a foreign entity that may be used against the Celestial Union of Lazarus or the Lazarene Celestial Armada.
Section 1.3: Fraud
(1) Fraud shall be said to be committed when one fulfils any of the following conditions:[/align]
- Deliberately deceiving the residents of Lazarus for the sake of an unfair or undeserved gain or to damage an individual or entity.
- Deliberate omission of information with the intention of deceiving the residents of Lazarus.
- Knowingly abetting an individual to commit an act of fraud.
(2) Electoral Fraud shall be said to be committed when one fulfils any of the following conditions:[/align]
- Manipulating the electoral process of Lazarus through conspiracy with an organised group of abettors to obtain citizenship in order to influence a vote for personal gain or for the gain of a foreign entity.
- Deliberately deceiving members of the Cosmic Council in order for them to not receive accurate information about votes, with the intention of influencing the outcome of a vote through the non-vote of members who have been deceived into doing so.
Section 1.4: Perjury
(1) Perjury shall be said to be committed when one fulfils any of the following conditions:[/align]
- Testifying falsely to the Court intentionally, through the false assertion of the truth of statements which are material to the outcome of the proceeding.
Section 1.5: Vexatious Litigation
(1) Vexatious litigation shall be said to be committed when one fulfils any of the following conditions:[/align]
- Filing unmeritable, frivolous, repetitive, and/or burdensome accusations of crimes to the Court that constitute an abuse of the judicial process.
Section 1.6: Conspiracy
(1) Conspiracy shall be said to be committed when one fulfils any of the following conditions:[/align]
- Attempting to carry out any of the offences as listed in the Unified Legal Code.
- Abetting another person to attempt carrying out any of the offences as listed in the Unified Legal Code.
Article 2: Offences out-of-game
Section 2.1: Forum-side Offences
(1) Forum destruction shall be said to be committed when one fulfils any of the following conditions:[/align]
- Abusing administrative powers to on a forum to cause a substantial loss of information not easily recoverable.
(2) Inappropriate spamming shall be said to be committed when one fulfils any of the following conditions:[/align]
- Pornspamming or gorespamming on the forums.
(3) Phishing shall be said to be committed when one fulfils any of the following conditions:[/align]
- Attempting to acquire sensitive information such as email accounts and passwords, or gain access to off-site controls, by masquerading as a different person or entity.
Section 2.2: Spamming
(1) Spamming shall be said to be committed when one fulfils any of the following conditions:[/align]
- Intentionally posting the same message repeatedly in a relatively short period of time outside of a designated spam sub-forum.
- Intentionally posting the same message repeatedly despite being warned not to.
- Repeatedly posting the same message for the purpose of annoying others.
(2) Adspamming shall be said to be committed when one fulfils any of the following conditions:[/align]
- Posting messages on the RMB or on the forums to advertise for a foreign entity repeatedly within an unreasonably short period of time.
- Posting recruitment messages on the RMB or on the forums with the intention of annoying others.
Section 2.3: Theft
(1) Theft shall be said to be committed when one fulfils any of the following conditions:[/align]
- Accessing another person's forum account, without the approval of the person whose forum account is used.
- Using another person's nation, without the approval of the person whose nation was used.
Section 2.4: Illegal sharing
(1) One shall be said to have committed the act of illegal sharing of forum accounts when one fulfils any of the following conditions:[/align]
- Allowing a person banned from the forums to use one's forum account, with the awareness that the other person is banned from accessing the forums.
(2) One shall be said to have committed the act of illegal sharing of nations when one fulfils any of the following conditions:[/align]
- Allowing a person banned from the region to use one's nation, with the awareness that the other person is banned from the region.
Article 3: Absolute Offences
Section 3.1: Legal Violations
(1) Legal violation shall be said to be committed when one fulfils any of the following conditions:[/align]
- Violating Real World laws that are considered serious crimes.
- Violating Real World laws that may endanger the safety of others e.g. hacking.
Section 3.2: NationStates Violations
(1) NationStates violations shall be said to be committed when one fulfils any of the following conditions:[/align]
- Being declared Delete-on-Sight.
2) The Civil Code
Civil Code of The Celestial Union of Lazarus[2]
Article 1: Harassment
(1) Harassment shall be said to be committed when one fulfils any of the following conditions:[/align]
- Making unwelcome jokes or remarks about another person relating to the following: race, religion, sex, age, disability, sexual orientation, ancestry, record of offence. This list is not exhaustive.
- Threatening or intimidating another person in an aggressive manner, with the intention of making the other person feel distress, discomfort, or fear.
- Annoying or bothering another person repeatedly despite being told to cease doing so.
(2) Repeated Harassment shall be said to be committed when one fulfils any of the following conditions:[/align]
- Continues to commit the offence of Harassment despite being charged with Harassment, with Harassment being defined by Clause 1 of Article 1 of the Civil Code.
Article 2: Flaming and Trolling
(1) Flaming shall be said to be committed when one fulfils any of the following conditions:[/align]
- Repeatedly posting or sending offensive, off topic, messages with the intention to insult another person, to invoke emotions and responses such as rage, sadness, humiliation, and self-doubt.
(2) Trolling shall be said to be committed when one fulfils any of the following conditions:[/align]
- Deliberately and repeatedly making off topic comments with the intention to derail or detract from a thread or discussion.
Article 3: Impersonation
(1) Impersonation shall be said to be committed when one fulfils any of the following conditions:[/align]
- Making use of details mainly used to identify a different person/entity to pass oneself off as that person or entity.
3) The Penal Code
Penal Code of The Celestial Union of Lazarus[2]
Article 1: Preliminary
Section 1.1: Title and Effective Date
(1) This Act shall be called the Penal Code and may be cited as P.C. It shall become effective on the date of its adoption.
(2) Except as provided in Subsection (3) of this Section, the Code does not apply to offenses committed prior to its effective date and prosecutions for such offenses shall be based on the prior law, that is the PRL Penal Code, which will be assumed to be still in used, as if this Code was not in force. For the purposes of this Section, an offense is considered to be committed prior to the effective date of this Code if any one of its elements took place before the effective date of this code.
(3) In any case pending on or after the effective date of the Code, involving an offense committed prior to such date:[/align]
- procedural provisions of the Code shall govern, insofar as they are justly applicable and their application does not introduce confusion or delay;
- the Court, with the consent of the defendant, may impose sentence under the provisions of the Code applicable to the offense and the offender.
Section 1.2: Amendments
(1) Amendments may be made to this Code by only the Cosmic Council with a simple majority.
(2) Should an offense be committed prior to the passage of an amendment that could affect whether the offender is guilty or the severity and/or magnitude of the punishments, the offender shall be prosecuted for the affected offense based on the Code directly prior to the passage of the amendment.
Section 1.3: Punishments
(1) The classes of punishments to which offenders are liable under the provisions of this Code are (with increasing severity):[/align]
- Forum punishment
- Warning
- Temporary Forum ban
- Permanent forum ban
- In-game punishment
- Suppression of RMB posts
- Ejecting
- Temporary in-game ban
- Permanent in-game ban
(2) A Suppression is defined to be the use of the in-game mechanisms to hide the offending RMB posts. A Suppression may constitute the suppression of several RMB posts.
(3) A Warning is defined as the use of the Warn System as provided on the Regional Forum. A Warning may constitute the increment of several warning levels.
(4) An Ejection is defined to be the use of the in-game mechanisms to remove a nation from Lazarus, but who may return to Lazarus any time the player wishes.
(5) A temporary forum ban is defined to be the use of administrative tools made available on the Regional Forums to deny a player access to the Forums for a period of time. Said player's access to the Regional Forums is to be restored upon the completion of the sentence.
(6) A temporary in-game ban is defined to be the use of the in-game mechanisms to remove a nation from Lazarus, but who is not allowed by the game to return to the region for a period of time. Said nation is to be allowed to return to Lazarus upon the completion of the sentence.
(7) A permanent forum ban is defined to be the use of administrative tools made available on the Regional Forums to deny a player access to the Forums permanently. Said player's access to the Regional Forums will be denied even if the Regional Forums have been changed, for as long as this Penal Code remains in effect or as the Celestial Union of Lazarus remains the official government of the in-game entity of Lazarus, up to the discretion of the Cosmic Council.
(8) A permanent in-game ban is defined to be the use of the in-game mechanisms to remove a nation from Lazarus, but who is not allowed by the game to return to the region permanently. Said nation is not to be allowed to return to Lazarus for as long as this Penal Code remains in effect or as the Celestial Union of Lazarus remains the official government of the in-game entity of Lazarus, up to the discretion of the Cosmic Council.
(9) Should the offender have a history of committing the same offense, the punishment meted out is to be of a greater severity of the same type of punishment if possible and if necessary. Should this be not possible, the punishment meted out may be upgraded to a more severe type of punishment under the same class, as specified under the recommended punishment for each offense.
Section 1.4: Order of Punishments for Multiple Offenses
(1) When the same conduct of the defendant be convicted of multiple offenses, the order in which the punishments are to be meted out is:[/align]
- The punishment for the offense with the highest tier is carried out first, followed by the punishment for the offense with the next highest tier, and so on until the punishment for the offense with the lowest tier is meted out.
- Should the offender be convicted of multiple offenses within a tier, the most severe punishment within the tier as defined in Clause 1 of Section 1.2 of Article 1 of the Penal Code is to be meted out. Upon the completion of the sentence, the next most severe punishment within the tier is meted out, and so on until the least severe punishment within the tier is meted out.
- An offender may serve both an in-game punishment and a forum punishment at the same time.
- Should the most severe forum punishment meted out to an offender be a permanent forum ban, the permanent forum ban is to be served, with all other forum punishments rescinded.
- Should the most severe in-game punishment meted out to an offender be a permanent in-game ban, the permanent in-game ban is to be served, with all other in-game punishments rescinded.
Article 2: Tier I Offenses
(1) The following offenses have been designated as Tier I offenses:[/align]
- Treason as defined by Clause 1 of Section 1.1 of the Criminal Code
- Vexatious Litigation as defined by Section 1.5 of the Criminal Code
- Spamming as defined by Clause 1 of Section 2.2 of the Criminal Code
- Adspamming as defined by Clause 2 of Section 2.2 of the Criminal Code
- Harassment as defined by point 1 of Clause 1 of Article 1 of the Civil Code
- Flaming and Trolling as defined by Article 2 of the Civil Code
- A temporary forum ban and temporary in-game ban for the duration of the war if convicted of Treason, should it be fulfilled on the basis of point 1 of Clause 1 of Section 1.1 of the Criminal Code, unless:
- Said offender is no longer a high-level member of the enemy entity
- Said offender demonstrates a high level of willingness to end the war
- Said offender renounced membership of the enemy entity
- A temporary in-game ban for a duration of between 12 hours and 3 days if convicted of Treason, should it be fulfilled on the basis of points 2 or 3 of Clause 1 of Section 1.1 of the Criminal Code, unless:
- Said offender is no longer a member of the World Assembly
- A warning with the increment of 1 warning level if convicted of Vexatious Litigation. However, if the offender is unable to receive the full increment of warning levels, a temporary forum ban of between 3 days and 1 week is recommended.
- A warning with the increment of between 1 and 2 warning levels or the suppression of the offending RMB posts if convicted of Spamming. However, if the offender is unable to receive the full increment of warning levels, a temporary forum ban of between 3 days and 1 week is recommended.
- A temporary in-game ban for the duration of between 12 hours and 1 week and the suppression of the offending RMB posts if convicted of Adspamming.
- A warning with the increment of 2 warning levels if convicted of Harassment, should it be fulfilled on the basis of point 1 of Clause 1 of Article 1 of the Civil Code. However, if the offender is unable to receive the full increment of warning levels, a temporary forum ban of between 1 week and 30 days is recommended.
- A warning with the increment of 2 warning levels if convicted of Flaming and Trolling. However, if the offender is unable to receive the full increment of warning levels, a temporary forum ban of between 3 days and 1 week is recommended.
Article 3: Tier II Offenses
(1) The following offenses have been designated as Tier II offenses:[/align]
- High Treason as defined by Clause 2 of Section 1.1 of the Criminal Code
- Espionage as defined by Section 1.2 of the Criminal Code
- Fraud as defined by Clause 1 of Section 1.3 of the Criminal Code
- Electoral Fraud as defined by Clause 2 of Section 1.3 of the Criminal Code
- Perjury as defined by Section 1.4 of the Criminal Code
- Harassment as defined by points 2 and 3 of Clause 1 of Article 1 of the Civil Code
- Impersonation as defined by Article 3 of the Civil Code
(2) The recommended punishments for the above offenses are as follows:[/align]
- A temporary in-game ban for a duration of between 3 days and 30 days if convicted of High Treason, should it be fulfilled on the basis of point 1 of Clause 2 of Section 1.1 of the Criminal Code. However, if the offender has previously served the maximum punishment for the offense of an in-game ban of 30 days, the offender shall serve an in-game ban of 30 days more for the current offense than the punishment for the previous commitment of this offense. Should the duration of the in-game ban be in excess of 90 days, a permanent in-game ban is recommended.
- A temporary in-game ban for a duration of between 60 days and 365 days if convicted of Treason, should it be fulfilled on the basis of point 3 of Clause 2 of Section 1.1 of the Criminal Code. However, if the offender has previously served the maximum punishment for the offense of an in-game ban of 365 days, a permanent in-game ban is recommended.
- A temporary forum ban of between 7 days and 60 days if convicted of Espionage. However, if the offender has previously served the maximum punishment for the offense of a forum ban of 60 days, the offender shall serve a forum ban of 30 days more for the current offense than the punishment for the previous commitment of this offense. Should the duration of the forum ban be in excess of 120 days, a permanent forum ban is recommended.
- A temporary forum ban and temporary in-game ban for a duration of between 60 days and 120 days if convicted of Fraud, should it be fulfilled on the basis of Clause 1 of Section 1.3 of the Criminal Code, with both bans lasting the same duration. However, if the offender has previously served the maximum punishment for the offense of a forum ban and in-game ban of 120 days, the offender shall serve a forum ban and in-game ban of 30 days more for the current offense than the punishments for the previous commitment of this offense. Should the duration of both bans each be in excess of 180 days, a permanent forum ban and in-game ban is recommended.
- A warning with the increment of 2 warning levels if convicted of Perjury, should it be fulfilled on the basis of Section 1.4 of Clause 1 of Article 1 of the Civil Code. However, if the offender is unable to receive the full increment of warning levels, a temporary forum ban of between 1 week and 30 days is recommended.
- A temporary forum ban for a duration of between 30 days and 120 days if convicted of Harassment, should it be fulfilled on the basis of points 2 and 3 of Clause 1 of Article 1 of the Civil Code.
- A temporary forum ban and in-game ban for a duration of between 14 days and 60 days if convicted of Impersonation, should it be fulfilled on the basis of Article 3 of the Civil Code, with both bans lasting the same duration. However, if the offender has previously served the maximum punishment for the offense of a forum ban and in-game ban of 60 days, the offender shall serve a forum ban and in-game ban of 30 days more for the current offense than the punishments for the previous commitment of this offense. Should the duration of both bans each be in excess of 120 days, a permanent forum ban and in-game ban is recommended.
Article 4: Tier III Offenses
(1) The following offenses have been designated as Tier II offenses:[/align]
- Forum Destruction as defined by Clause 1 of Section 2.1 of the Criminal Code
- Inappropriate Spamming as defined by Clause 2 of Section 2.1 of the Criminal Code
- Phishing as defined by Clause 3 of Section 2.1 of the Criminal Code
- Theft of Nation as defined by point 1 of Clause 1 of Section 2.3 of the Criminal Code
- Theft of Account as defined by point 2 of Clause 1 of Section 2.3 of the Criminal Code
- Illegal Sharing as defined by Section 2.4 of the Criminal Code
- Legal Violations as defined by Section 3.1 of the Criminal Code
- NationStates Violations as defined by Section 3.2 of the Criminal Code
- Repeated Harassment as defined by Clause 2 of Article 1 of the Civil Code
(2) The recommended punishments for the above offenses are as follows:[/align]
- A permanent forum ban if convicted of Forum Destruction, should it be fulfilled on the basis of Clause 1 of Section 2.1 of the Criminal Code.
- A temporary forum ban for a duration of between 90 days and 120 days if convicted of Inappropriate Spamming, should it be fulfilled on the basis of Clause 2 of Section 2.1 of the Criminal Code. However, if the offender has previously served the maximum punishment for the offense of 120 days, a permanent forum ban is recommended.
- A permanent forum ban and in-game ban if convicted of Phishing, should it be fulfilled on the basis of Clause 3 of Section 2.1 of the Criminal Code.
- A permanent in-game ban if convicted of Theft of Nation, should it be fulfilled on the basis of point 1 of Clause 1 of Section 2.3 of the Criminal Code.
- A permanent forum ban if convicted of Theft of Account, should it be fulfilled on the basis of point 2 of Clause 1 of Section 2.3 of the Criminal Code.
- The same severity of punishments as the one received by the person whom the account/nation was shared with, with the punishment concluding upon the conclusion of the punishment received by the person whom the account/nation was shared with, if convicted of Illegal Sharing, should it be fulfilled on the basis of Section 2.4 of the Criminal Code, unless:
- Said offender has proven sufficiently to be unaware that the person whom the account/nation was shared with was serving a ban at the time of the offense.
- A permanent forum ban and in-game ban if convicted of Legal Violations, should it be fulfilled on the basis of Section 3.1 of the Criminal Code.
- A permanent forum ban if convicted of NationStates Violations, should it be fulfilled on the basis of Section 3.2 of the Criminal Code.
- A permanent forum ban if convicted of Repeated Harassment, should it be fulfilled on the basis of Clause 2 of Article 1 of the Civil Code.
[align=left]The Unified Legal Code was passed on the 1st of August, 2015.
Terminology updated per the Celestial Terminology Act May 5th, 2017.[/align]
[align=left][1] Amendment to the ULC 1 — Changing the term length of a Prelate and requiring a reconfirmation vote: passed on the 27th of September, 2015.
[2] Amendment to the ULC 2 — Adding the Civil, Penal, and Criminal codes to the ULC: passed on the 15th of July, 2016.
[3] Amendment to the ULC 3 — Adding the violation of a citizen's constitutional rights as a criminal offence: passed on the 17th of April, 2017.[/align]
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An Attorney General type officer would only breed corruption. The singular ability to bring any cases they see fit is far more threatening to the judicial system than allowing persons to sue by themselves. Any corrupt Defender of the Law may ignore their opponents' cases, even if it might not be apparent. This position will only rob people of their right to a fair judicial system, and I see it fit to disapprove of this proposal.
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