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Bill: The Royal Judiciary Act, being a component of the Constitution of Quanzar regarding matters Judicial and matters of Royal Prerogative
Details
Submitted by[?]: Order of the Golden Crown
Status[?]: passed
Votes: This bill is a resolution. It requires more yes votes than no votes. This bill will not pass any sooner than the deadline.
Voting deadline: November 2701
Description[?]:
| OOC: We imagine the Constitution of Quanzar to be not one single document, but several parts, each dictating the operation of a certain component of the State. This component is meant to guide the operation of the Judiciary and the features and functions of Monarch and Parliament therein. *-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-* Whereas the nation's judicial system must be better defined, Whereas the Quanzari people deserve a judiciary conceived in the name of the King, Whereas administration of Justice is a matter of great importance, RESOLVED that the state adopt the following policies and measures in the name of His Royal Majesty Edward the first. --Section 0. Basic Legal Foundations-- (i) Quanzari law and judicial science is based on the Western, Common-law tradition. (ii) Let there be created a "Royal Commission of Law and Judiciary," which will be entrusted with the regulation of internal judicial procedures not specifically described in this Act. (iii) The Royal Commission of Law and Judiciary will be composed of twenty-five members, chosen by Parliament with the consent of the Monarch. (iv) The Royal Commission of Law and Judiciary will have the power to create general rules, based on tradition, for the operation of courts, the hearing of testimonies, the selection of Juries, the renumeration of Judges, the use of evidence, the circumstances of a mistrial etc. The aim of these rules will be to enforce a fair and impartial, efficient and honest judicial procedure throughout Quanzar. (v) The Royal Commission of Law and Judiciary will operate by majority rule but may be vetoed by the Monarch or Parliament at any time, and Parliament may create its own Judicial regulations whenever it sees fit to do so. --Section I. Royal Council-- (i) The Monarch presides over the “Royal Council,” the first of the two highest courts of appeal in Quanzar. (ii) The Royal Council is comprised of twelve legal professionals, known as “Lords of Council.” Said Lords of Council must possess renowned expertise in matters of law. (iii) The Monarch appoints the twelve Lords of Council but does not vote unless there is a tied-vote of 6-6. (iv) The Monarch may accept or reject requests for appeals with full discretionary power. (v) However, once an appeal is accepted for consideration by the Royal Council, it may not be removed or put aside from consideration until a decision is reached on whether to sustain or dismiss said appeal. (vi) The Monarch may only remove a Lord of Council from the Royal Council with the permission of a plurality of parliament. (vii) The Royal Council, being a legal extension of the Monarch's freedoms and prerogatives, is free from interference or coercion from the Ministers or Parliament except in such matters as are made explicit in this and future legislation concerning the Judicial system. (viii) All appeals made to the Royal Council must be addressed to “His/Her Majesty in Council.” --Section II. High Committee of Appeal-- (i) Parliament contains a standing committee of fifteen expert lawyers known as the “High Committee of Appeal.” (ii) The nineteen members of said Committee are known as “Lords of Appeal” and are elected to their positions by the parliament from among its own members. (iii) A Lord of Appeal holds his position indefinitely unless he is removed by Parliament or loses his seat in Parliament. (iv) The Lords of Appeal elect a speaker known as the Lord Justice of Appeal who is selected from amongst their number by a plurality. (v) The Lord Justice of Appeal presides over meetings and may cast a tie-breaking vote but may not otherwise participate impartially in debate, voting, or discussion. (vi) The Monarch may remove any Lord of Appeal from the Committee; Parliament may only counteract such an action with the absolute majority opposition of its members. --Section III. Lord Chancellery-- (i) The Lord Chancellor is the chief Judicial Officer of state after the Monarch. (ii) The Lord Chancellor is appointed by the Monarch for a life-tenure. The Monarch may only unseat a Lord Chancellor with the support of a plurality of Parliament. (iii) With the approval of the Monarch and the Lord Protector, the Lord Chancellor appoints all judges in the Royal Judiciary excepting those in the Royal-Appeals Courts, the Royal Council, and the High Committee of Appeal. (iv) The Lord Chancellor may dismiss any judge with the permission of the Monarch. (v) The Lord Chancellor may "effect an interception of Appeal" for the First Provincial-Appeals Courts; that is, he may prevent an appeal from being heard for verdicts of said courts. --Section IV. Provincial Judiciary-- (i) Each Province, those being known by the traditional names Therak, Pheykran, Ingris, Kisawuli, and Nicoma, has a local system of courts and courts of appeals, the structure of which is to be determined by a Commission of the Monarch, the Lord Chancellor, and the Lords of Appeal. (ii) Each Provincial court system will judge cases according to Provincial, National, and Royal laws and precedents (see Section IX). (iii) All Local judges and judicial employees will be remunerated by Provincial governments. (iv) The Local Judiciaries will be designed such that each Province has but one highest court of appeal. (v) The decision of the Provincial court of highest appeal may be accepted for consideration by one of the Royal Courts of Appeal. --Section V. Royal Judiciary-- (i) The Royal Judiciary is the national-level court system, comprised of three branches: the Provincial-Appeals, the Grand-National, and the Royal-Appeals. (ii) Provincial-Appeals Courts 1. There are seven Provincial-Appeals courts. Five of these correspond each to a respective Province and are known as Provincial Appellate Courts. One of them corresponds to all of Quanzar's overseas territories and to foreign cases and is known as the Extra-Provincial Appellate Court. Together, these six courts are known as the First Provincial-Appeals Courts. 2. These courts may accept or reject appeals from their respective Provincial court of highest appeal, and, if the former is chosen, may pass judgement on said cases. The seventh court is the Grand Provincial Appellate Court, which may accept or reject appeals from the First Provincial-Appellate courts and, if the former is chosen, may pass judgement on said cases. 3. Provincial-Appeals courts all consist of seven judges and may convict with the agreement of any five judges. (iii) Grand-National Courts 1. There are fourteen Grand-National courts. Twelve of these courts, known as National Courts of Justice, judge cases concerning National laws and regulation, two courts corresponding to each Province. 2. Decisions by these National Courts of Justice may be appealed to a National Appellate Court, of which there are two, one for Nicoma and Kisuwali and one for Therak, Pheykran, and Ingris. 3. Grand-National Courts consist of nine judges, and may convict with the agreement of six judges. (iv) Royal-Appeals Courts 1. There are three Royal-Appeals courts: the Royal Court of the First Estate, which judges appeals from the clergy of the Orthodox Catholic, Protestant, Manichaean, and Muslim churchs; the Royal Court of the Second Estate, which judges appeals from individuals possessing Noble titles; and the Royal Court of the Third Estate, which judges appeals from individuals who are neither clergy of those said churchs nor possess Noble titles. 2. Royal-Appeals courts judge cases when an individual desires to appeal an edict of the Monarch. 3. Each Royal-Appeals court is comprised of twelve judges and a unanimous vote is required to pass a conviction and overrule the Royal edict. 4. New Royal-Appeals judges of a given court are appointed by the current judges of the given court with the consent of the Monarch. 5. The First Royal-Appeals judges will be appointed by the High Committee of Appeal with the consent of the Monarch. (v) A plaintant may appeal the verdict of the Grand Provincial Appellate Court, the two National Appellate Courts, or the three Royal-Appeals courts. The appeal will be directed to either the Royal Council or the High Committee of Appeal, depending on several salient qualities of the given case described in Section VI. All appeals from the Royal-Appeals courts are sent to the Royal Council. Decisions of the Royal Council and the High Committee of Appeal are final and may not be appealed within the judicial system, although Parliament may overturn any decision it likes through an absolute majority --Section VI. High Appeals Jurisdiction-- (i) When appeals are made to the verdicts of the Grand Provincial Appellate Court or the two National Appellate Courts, the following qualities determine whether the case is referred to the Royal Council or the High Committee of Appeal. (ii) Criminal Cases from the Grand Provincial Appellate Court are directed to the Royal Council. (iii) Civil Cases from the Grand Provincial Appellate Court are directed to the High Committee of Appeal. (iv) Criminal Cases from either National Appellate Court are directed to the Royal Council. (v) Civil Cases from either National Appellate Court may be directed to either the Royal Council or the High Committee of Appeal at the discretion of the Monarch. (vi) Cases of Constitutional importance, those that seek to overturn legislation because it may violate the Constitution, must proceed through Grand-National or Local courts and into the national appeals system. If such cases are appealed at the Grand Provincial Appellate Court or National Appellate Courts, then they will be referred to the Royal Council, which may uphold or overturn said legislation with the permission of the monarch. Parliament may reaffirm overturned legislation with a supermajority. --Section VII. Royal Prerogative-- (i) All judicial authority in Quanzar issues from the dual sovereignty of the Crown and the Parliament. (ii) As such, the two entities share judicial power while checking each other's authority. (iii) Parliament has the authority to modify any verdict as it likes with an absolute majority vote. (iv) The Monarch, acting through the office of his magistrate the Lord Protector, has several unilateral powers. (v) The Monarch may declare a "suspension of the judiciar," whereby all legal activity in a chosen court or series of courts is suspended until such time that Parliament can remove the suspension by a supermajority. (vi) The Monarch may act as a judicial authority in special cases. When two parties wish to bypass the normal court process, they may agree to abide by the decision of the "Monarch as Judge." Once the Monarch has made his decision, both parties are legally bound to follow it. The Monarch will only accept cases involving large amounts of capital or a great deal of cultural, political, or economic interest. --Section VIII. Legal Status and Functioning of the Crown-- (i) The Crown is a "Corporation Sole," that is, (1) a sole office, held by a single Holder, incorporated into the State and (2) a legal entity whose powers are produced unto the Holder of said corporation. (ii) The Holder of the Crown is, by definition and default, the Monarch, and the Monarch, by definition and default, is the Holder of the Crown. (iii) The Crown owns all Royal estates, properties, and assets; such properties are known as "Crown Estates." (iv) The Holder of the Crown is the legal guardian of the Crown Estates with full power over such properties, with certain exceptions. (v) Certain "Crown Estates" may not leave the possession of the Crown or be sold or given unto the power of any entity other than the Crown; such "Regal Crown Estates" include ancestral Crown lands, the Crown Jewels, family heirlooms, and State Documents. (vi) All of the powers, rights, and privileges of the Monarch are the powers, rights, and privileges produced unto the Holder of the Crown by virtue of holding the Crown. (vii) Should the Holder of the Crown be incapacitated or unable to fulfill his duties, Parliament must appoint a "Regent to the Crown" (Regent) who exercises the powers of the Crown through the authority of the Monarch, even if the latter is incapacitated. (viii) When a Monarch is not incapacitated, the Regent is dismissed. (ix) The Holder of the Crown is determined by the line of succession, as promulgated by Parliament. (x) The Crown is the source of all legitimacy and power in the Executive branch of Government; the distribution and management of power is limited by the laws and constitution of the Nation. --Section IX. Common Law and Precedent-- (i) All Provincial and Royal judiciary courts and all courts in the Nation operate according to the judicial tradition of Precedent. (ii) In the matter of deciding a verdict for cases, let the following principle apply: "stare decisis et quieta non movere." (iii) Specifically, courts of lower rank are bound to follow the decisions of courts of higher rank. However, the courts of the Royal Judiciary are not bound to follow the Precedent of courts in other circuits. That is, the Grand-National is not bound by the decisions of the Provincial-Appeals, etc. (iv) All courts are bound by the Precedent of the Royal Council and the High Committee of Appeals, known as "Highest Precedent." (v) The Royal Council and High Committee of Appeals are bound by their own prior rulings and by prior the rulings of the other. (iv) Precedent set by any given court may only be broken by a higher court, and the Highest Precedent may only be broken by the The Royal Council or High Committee of Appeals with the consent of the Monarch. *-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-* |
Proposals
Debate
These messages have been posted to debate on this bill:
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| Vote | Seats | |||||
| yes |
Total Seats: 454 | |||||
| no | Total Seats: 85 | |||||
| abstain | Total Seats: 60 |
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