Section 1. Amendment of the Criminal Code Act constitutional law
(1) The Criminal Code Act (September 2018) shall be amended to read:
Preamble
In order to maintain public law and order, this act codifies criminal actions in Lazarus.
Section 1. Procedures for a Criminal Review
(1) Upon a citizen petitioning the Court of Lazarus to conduct a Criminal Review, the following procedures shall be followed:
a. A two-thirds majority of the Court must decide on whether to accept the petition that has been published in the public area of the Court by a citizen.
b. If the Court accepts the petition, they may alter the charges to align with what is permitted by Lazarene law.
c. The Court shall then advise the plaintiffs and defendants that the Criminal Review has been lodged by the Court.
d. The Plaintiffs and Defendants shall then be given adequate time to prepare for the trial, on the dates set by the Court of Lazarus. Either party may petition to the Court prior to the trial for a rescheduled start and end date.
e. If the Criminal Review is requested to be withdrawn by the Plaintiff once a Criminal Review is in process, the Court shall dismiss or continue the Criminal Review by two-thirds vote.
Petitions to the Court
(2) Petitions to the Court to conduct a Criminal Review must include this format:
Code:
Petition to Conduct a Criminal Review
Plaintiff/s:
Defendant/s:
Charge/s:
Evidence:
(3) The Court of Lazarus may add further formatting requirements for any citizen lodging a petition by two-thirds vote of their number.
Jurisdiction of the Court
(4) The Court of Lazarus shall have jurisdiction over residents and citizens of Lazarus. The Court of Lazarus may limit or expand its jurisdiction in regard to territories, colonies, and protectorates of Lazarus by two-thirds vote.
(5) The Court of Lazarus may not charge in-absentia, unless the petition has been lodged by any citizen prior to or within 28 days of the defendants no longer being resident in Lazarus. The Court of Lazarus may by two-thirds vote place the petition or Criminal Review on file, for charges to be laid should the defendants reside in Lazarus in the future.
(6) The Court of Lazarus may only find a citizen or resident guilty of a crime listed in the Criminal Code, unless permitted to charge in-absentia in regard to a former citizen or resident by this act or Lazarus law. If found guilty of a crime the Court may impose upon the resident or citizen any punishment proportional to the offense.
Section 2. Criminal Offenses
(1) Criminal Offenses shall include Treason, Espionage, Blackmail, Misconduct, Seditious Conspiracy, Voter Fraud, engaging in an inter-regionally prohibited act, and violation of the line of succession.
(2) Treason is any citizen or resident who takes up arms against Lazarus and its colonies and protectorates, or treaty partners, which shall include conspiring to or taking actions towards:
a. the illegal removal or alteration of the mandate,
b. the illegal removal of the Head of State, Secretary General, Councilors of Lazarene Security, Court Justices, and Government Officials or Officers,
c. taking up arms against defending operations of the Regional Guard, where it relates to treaty partners or their protectorates,
d. taking up arms against offensive operations of the Regional Guard conducted within allies or protectorates of regions or organizations with which we are at war and have been sanctioned by Assembly resolution.
(3) Misconduct is any resident or citizen violating a citizenship oath knowingly or unknowingly and violating the laws of Lazarus to obtain or maintain citizenship.
(4) Espionage is any citizen communicating private information not sanctioned for release from private areas of Lazarus infrastructure to entities or individuals not approved to have access to that private information.
(5) Blackmail is any citizen using damaging private information to threaten a citizen to pursue or not pursue a course of action, which is to the benefit of those engaging in the blackmail.
(6) Seditious conspiracy is to establish an unauthorized infrastructure or a communication network for the purpose of illegally removing or altering the mandate, or the illegal removal of government officers or officials, or regional officers, whether in public or private, and organizing citizens or residents to participate in the seditious conspiracy.
(7) Voter Fraud is an attempt to manipulate the vote of Lazarus, in whole or in part of a seditious conspiracy, or for a candidate in an election to abuse their in-game communications powers or make use of stamps to elevate their electoral campaign at the expense of other candidates.
(8) Engaging in an inter-regionally prohibited act is to engage in an act that is prohibited in a treaty or convention that Lazarus is party to.
(9) Violation of the line of succession is a citizen willingly violating the line of succession set by the Head of State and the Council on Lazarene Security.
Section 3. Civil Offenses
(1) Civil Offenses shall include Contempt of Court, Fraud, Vexatious Behavior, and the Obstruction of Justice.
(2) Contempt of Court is to intimidate or insult parties involved in Criminal Review or a Court Justice, during the sitting of the Court, or to attempt to disrupt proceedings of the Court. Disobeying a direction of the Court shall also make a resident or citizen guilty of contempt of court.
(3) Fraud is knowingly or recklessly falsifying a material fact during a Criminal Review.
(4) Vexatious Behavior is instigating or pursuing charges without clear legal basis, for the purposes of harassment or abuse of judicial proceedings.
(5) Obstruction of Justice is to exercise government powers or privileges to delay or prevent a criminal review, or to otherwise attempt to destroy or obscure necessary information or evidence for the Criminal Review.
(6) Conspiracy is an attempt by resident or citizen to prepare, plan, incite another to commit an offense that is listed within the Criminal Code, the mandate, or constitutional laws.
Section 4. Sentencing Guidelines
(1) The Court of Lazarus is encouraged to follow the sentencing guidelines below when sentencing those found guilty of charges. The Court by two-thirds vote may decide to increase or reduce the sentence allowed within the guidelines, in accordance with its procedural rules.
(2) If a resident or citizen is found guilty of a crime, the Head of State may impose upon the citizen or resident any punishment proportional to the offence.
Criminal Offenses Guidelines
(3) The Court of Lazarus for Criminal Offenses is encouraged to sentence a citizen to any or all of the following:
a. Ban from public office for a specified period of time in line with the severity of the offense,
b. Ban from regional infrastructure or a specified period of time in line with the severity of the offense,
c. Ban from the Lazarus region, as well as the territories, colonies, and protectorates of Lazarus, and removal of citizenship.
Civil Offenses Guidelines
(4) The Court of Lazarus for Civil Offenses is encouraged to sentence a citizen to any or all of the following:
a. Ban from public office for a specified period of time in line with the severity of the offense,
b. Immediate barring from further participation in the office or institution for a specified period of time in line with the severity of the offense.
