Judicial Reform

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Due Process Act
On the request of Court I am proposing an Act to specify Due Process in the North Pacific.

First Draft:
I Arrest
A. Dire Risk Arrest

   1. An official empowered to arrest may arrest any nation the official directly observes in the act of committing a crime under the Legal Code.

B. Warrant

   1. An official empowered by the Delegate to arrest may, when there are no more than 5 nations under arrest, request a Warrant (including the desired nature of the arrest) by filing the request together with reasoning and evidence.
   2. If the official has identified the nation as the pseudonym of a convict or an agent of a foreign power who is not in the Assembly, the Warrant request will supply evidence thereof, and state that it does not lead to a separate trial.
   3. The first Justice to respond to the request who does not recuse themself shall decide whether to approve or deny it.
   4. Should no Justice respond, the request shall be considered approved.
   5. Only Arrested nations may be ejected or banned.

C Report

   1. Upon the arrest of any nation, the arresting official must report the arrest, including precise time.
   2. If the Warrant does not specify otherwise, the official must also file a Complaint against the arrested nation.

II Complaints
A. Filing

   1. The Court will keep a Docket of Complaints.
   2. Any citizen may file a civil Complaint against any other citizen.
   3. Any citizen may file a legal Complaint against TNP for an illegal action.
   4. Officials empowered by the Delegate to do so may file a criminal Complaint against any citizen.

B. Defining Sides

   1. In a civil Complaint, the two involved citizens are the two sides.
   2. In a legal Complaint, the citizen filing the Complaint and the TNP governmental branch as represented by the official whose actions are the subject of the complaint are the two sides.
   3. In a criminal Complaint, TNP as represented by the official filing the Complaint and the nation which is the subject of the Complaint are the two sides.

III Trial
A. Judge Selection

   1. Upon receiving a Complaint, active Justices who can try a case must enter their name into the available Justice list that they can try it, noting the date of Complaint of the last case they took on or the date they took office, whichever came first.
   2. Between 24 and 48 hours of the Complaint, the Chief Justice shall assign the case to that available Justice who has been Justice longest without trying a case.
   3. If no Justices are available, the Chief Justice shall select an assembly member to try the case.

B. Discovery

   1. In a criminal case, the Judge will appoint a reserve Counsel to argue for the Defense should no other Counsel be available.
   2. The Judge will set an appropriate due date for the two Sides to Discover all evidence and present it to the Judge and the other side.
   3. The two Sides must also present an ordered list of Counsel representing them.
   4. The two Sides must also state what witnesses they may call.
   5. The Judge may reject evidence which cannot be attested to by any person or has no bearing on the trial.

C. Trial

   1. The Judge shall set 5 dissimilar possible dates, noting time and place, to hold the trial.
   2. Each side of the case may reject 2 dates.
   3. The first date not rejected by either side will be used.
   4. The Judge shall preside over the Trial and repeated violation of their procedures is Contempt of Court.
   5. The Judge may select a limited number of Counsel to be permitted to speak: that many of present Counsel on each side selected in order of the list filed during Discovery shall be permitted to speak.
   6. The Judge shall determine which side speaks first, and shall ensure that each side has equal time to present their arguments.
   7. Each side will have the right to cross-examine each witness of the opposing side.
   8. Counsel held in Contempt may be disbarred, forbidding them to represent anyone but themselves in future cases.
   9. If at the end of the alloted time the Trial is incomplete, the Judge may adjourn and set a date to continue in the proscribed manner.
  10. If the Judge finds it necessary, they may hand over the case to a Justice who agrees to take the case.
  11. After closing the Trial, the Judge will have 2 days to compose a Verdict and Sentence or Remedy.
  12. In a criminal case, if the accused is found guilty they will be convicted and are no longer arrested.

IV. Appeal

   1. In a criminal case, either side may appeal the Verdict within 7 days of the end of the trial.
   2. In an Appeal, all the Justices may vote until 14 days after the end of the trial.
   3. A majority may decide to hold a new trial (once), to reverse the verdict, or to modify the Sentence or Remedy.

V. Martial Law
A. Declaration

   1. The Delegate may declare Martial Law, effective immediately, whenever the region is in an immediate and evident danger, unless forbidden.
   2. During a state of Martial Law, the Speaker, CLO, Security Council, and Assembly will review the declaration.
   3. The Declaration of Martial Law will initiate immediate votes for three days in the above listed bodies on whether to keep it and whether to forbid the Delegate to make Declare it again.
   4. The decision of the Speaker or the vote of any above listed body may end Martial Law and may also forbid the Delegate to reinvoke it until the Assembly passes a Resolution to end the interdiction.

B. Effects

   1. The requirement of a Warrant to arrest nations not in the Assembly shall be suspended.
   2. Each arrest must still be recorded publicly, identifying the reasons and presenting evidence.
Click to expand...
 
When I drafted this, I wasn't aware of TNP Law 31.

It would make sense for the Attorney General to be empowered to be in charge of the Government's side in II.B perhaps?
 
I'm not sure the proposed process for declaring martial law entirely fits in with the constitutional provisions concerning the CLO, and the CLO's power tos.
The CLO is supposed to have the opportunity to draft emergency legislatiom on an issue and submit it to the RA for a vote. We also have Clause 11 of the Bill of Rights to consider.
I'm trying to say out of drafting language and just point out areas of concern.
 
Grosseschnauzer:
I'm not sure the proposed process for declaring martial law entirely fits in with the constitutional provisions concerning the CLO, and the CLO's power tos.
The CLO is supposed to have the opportunity to draft emergency legislatiom on an issue and submit it to the RA for a vote. We also have Clause 11 of the Bill of Rights to consider.
I'm trying to say out of drafting language and just point out areas of concern.
Click to expand...
Article 11 does not apply as this would be emergency actions fully compliant with the letter of the Law.

The CLO is given considerable power over this Martial Law procedure.

I don't think the CLO's power to submit emergency legislation is relevant to executive powers of arrest.
 
My computer's sick and crashed before I clearly edited my post.

My reference to the CLO is about the martial law provisions, and nothing further. I think there's a potential conflict between the automatic voting requirement in the bill and the power of the CLO to interdict an action of the executivee and bring forward emergency legislation, such as rescinding the martial law declaration.
 
All this bill would do is require the CLO to consider stopping that action.

It does not attempt to take away their constitutional power to do so, it just makes sure they are able to do so quickly if needed.

Rescinding the declaration is not legislation. If it were legislation it could only be done by Assembly vote.
 
Bzzt.

I think given my current situation it would be inappropriate for me to take a major role in the forming of this kind of legislation, but I would like to see it implemented.

Also, I think the current law covering illegal acts needs to be revised and expanded. Some kind of provision for holding people in contempt of court would be helpful. Also, some provisions for sentencing would be good.
 
Due Process Act
A belated serious revision

Second Draft:
I Arrest
A. Dire Risk Arrest

  1. An official empowered to arrest may arrest any nation the official directly observes in the act of committing a crime under the Legal Code.

B. Warrant

  1. An official empowered by the Delegate to arrest may, when there are no more than 5 nations under arrest, request a Warrant (including the desired nature of the arrest) by filing the request together with reasoning and evidence.
  2. If the official has identified the nation as the pseudonym of a convict or an agent of a hostile foreign power and if the nation is not in the Assembly, the Warrant request will supply evidence thereof, and state that it does not lead to a separate trial, nor count toward the number of arrested nations.
  3. The first Justice to respond to the request who does not recuse themselves shall decide whether to approve or deny it.
  4. Should no Justice respond within 24 hours, the request shall be considered approved.
  5. Only Arrested nations may be ejected or banned.

C Report

  1. Upon the arrest of any nation, the arresting official must report the arrest, including precise time.
  2. If the Warrant does not specify otherwise, the official must also file a Complaint against the arrested nation.

II Complaints
A. Filing

  1. The Court will keep a Docket of Complaints.
  2. Any citizen may file a civil Complaint against any other citizen.
  3. Any citizen may file a legal Complaint against TNP for an illegal action.
  4. Officials empowered by the Delegate to do so may file a criminal Complaint against any citizen.

B. Defining Sides

  1. In a civil Complaint, the two involved citizens are the two sides.
  2. In a legal Complaint, the citizen filing the Complaint and the TNP governmental branch as represented by the official whose actions are the subject of the complaint are the two sides.
  3. In a criminal Complaint, TNP as represented by the Attorney General and the nation which is the subject of the Complaint are the two sides.

III Trial
A. Judge Selection

  1. Upon receiving a Complaint, active Justices who can try a case must enter their name into the available Justice list that they can try it, noting the date of Complaint of the last case they took on or the date they took office, whichever came last.
  2. Between 24 and 48 hours of the Complaint, the Chief Justice shall assign the case to that available Justice who has been Justice longest without trying a case.
  3. If no Justices are available, the Chief Justice shall select an assembly member to try the case.

B. Discovery

  1. In a criminal case, the Judge will appoint a reserve Counsel to argue for the Defense should no other Counsel be available.
  2. The Judge will set an appropriate due date for the two Sides to Discover all evidence and present it to the Judge and the other side.
  3. The two Sides must also present an ordered list of Counsel representing them.
  4. The two Sides must also state what witnesses they may call.
  5. The Judge may reject evidence which cannot be attested to by any person or has no bearing on the trial.

C. Trial

  1. The Judge shall set 5 dissimilar possible dates, noting time and place, to hold the trial.
  2. Each side of the case may reject 2 dates.
  3. The first date not rejected by either side will be used.
  4. The Judge shall preside over the Trial and repeated violation of their procedures is Contempt of Court.
  5. The Judge may select a limited number of Counsel to be permitted to speak: that many of present Counsel on each side selected in order of the list filed during Discovery shall be permitted to speak.
  6. The Judge shall determine which side speaks first, and shall ensure that each side has equal time to present their arguments.
  7. Each side will have the right to cross-examine each witness of the opposing side.
  8. Counsel held in Contempt may be disbarred by the Judge, forbidding them from representing anyone but themselves in future cases.
  9. Defendants or Counsel held in Contempt may be sentenced by the Judge to suspension from the Assembly or banning from the region, for a duration not to exceed one month, beginning at the conclusion of the trial.
  10. If at the end of the allotted time the Trial is incomplete, the Judge may adjourn and set a date to continue in the proscribed manner.
  11. If the Judge finds it necessary, they may hand over the case to a Justice who agrees to take the case.
  12. After closing the Trial, the Judge will have 2 days to compose a Verdict and Sentence or Remedy.
  13. In a criminal case, if the accused is found guilty they will be convicted and are no longer arrested.
  14. The government of TNP will enforce any Sentence or Remedy.

IV. Appeal

  1. In a criminal case, either side may appeal the Verdict within 7 days of the end of the trial.
  2. In an Appeal, all the Justices may vote until 14 days after the end of the trial.
  3. A majority may decide to hold a new trial (once), to reverse the verdict, or to modify the Sentence or Remedy.

V. Martial Law
A. Declaration

  1. The Delegate may declare Martial Law, effective immediately, whenever the region is in an immediate and evident danger, unless forbidden.
  2. During a state of Martial Law, the Speaker, CLO, Security Council, and Assembly will review the declaration.
  3. The Declaration of Martial Law will initiate immediate votes for three days in the above listed bodies on whether to keep it and whether to forbid the Delegate from Declaring it again.
  4. The decision of the Speaker or the vote of any above listed body may end Martial Law and may also forbid the Delegate to reinvoke it until the Assembly passes a Resolution to end the interdiction or a new Delegate is elected.
  5. Should Martial Law be kept, any of the listed bodies may at any time begin another such vote.
  6. The Delegate may revoke Martial Law at any time while it is active.
  7. Any vote that may result in forbidding the delegate from declaring Martial Law shall continue even if the Delegate has revoked Martial Law.

B. Effects

  1. The requirement of a Warrant to arrest nations not in the Assembly shall be suspended.
  2. Each arrest must still be recorded publicly, identifying the reasons and presenting evidence.
Click to expand...
 
B. Warrant

5. Only Arrested nations may be ejected or banned.
Click to expand...

I'm not really sure I like this phrase... there might be a time when the security of TNP is threaten by the suspect especially with two updates per day like it is right now that simply waiting for the warrant might leads to a threat against the delegacy. It is also already written in the constitution granting the delegate the power to eject and ban those nation so this is me acting a bit stupid, but I think we should be clear whether the constitution or the Due Process Act will regulate it.

If it is decided that Due Process Act will regulate the power of the delegate with regard to ejection and ban than it should also include an emergency clause that must be simpler than the Martial Law, but also allow the review of the region legislative body after the delegate's action.
 
I'm not 100 percent certain that 5his proposal is totally consistent with the provisions of the Constitution or the Bill of Rights, both of which take precedence over any law.

As an example I'm not sure the phrase "martal law" is consistent with thee language in the Bill of Rights and the Constitution:

Bill of Rights:
11. No governmental authority of the region has the power to suspend or disregard this Constitution or the Legal Code In the event of an actual emergency, the governmental authorities of the region, with the express consent of the Nations of the region or their representatives, is authorized to act in any reasonable manner that is consistent as practicable with the pertinent provisions of this Constitution.
Click to expand...
Constitution Article IV:
3. The CLO may, with the approval of at least three of the four members, place an emergency temporary halt on any specific action undertaken by the Executive branch.
4. The CLO may vote to immediately bring any piece of legislation to an emergency vote before the Assembly.
Click to expand...

I think the use of the phrase "State of Emergency" would be more consistent with the Bill of Rights and the Constitution.
 
But this isn't a power to disregard the law! It's a special state defined in the law. The delegate would not be suspending or disregarding the law if they declare Martial Law following the procedures of this Act. Martial Law is not defined in the Constitution, it is defined as a special condition of this Due Process act.

Felasia, what can I do to simplify the Martial Law procedure?
 
I'm not really suggesting simplify the martial law. I suggest adding additional clause after article 6 that will allow the delegate to eject and banned first in case of emergency.

I am going to suggest this

Article 6: Under highly unusual circumstances, nation may be ejected and banned before the warrant is issued if the delegate believes that regional security is threatened by such nation. After the ejection, the delegate or official empowered by the Delegate must than request the warrant for the nation. If the warrant is denied than the nation must be removed from the regional banlist and the delegate action will be reviewed by the Court.
 
Felasia:
I'm not really suggesting simplify the martial law. I suggest adding additional clause after article 6 that will allow the delegate to eject and banned first in case of emergency.

I am going to suggest this

Article 6: Under highly unusual circumstances, nation may be ejected and banned before the warrant is issued if the delegate believes that regional security is threatened by such nation. After the ejection, the delegate or official empowered by the Delegate must than request the warrant for the nation. If the warrant is denied than the nation must be removed from the regional banlist and the delegate action will be reviewed by the Court.
Click to expand...
I think that if the circumstances are such an emergency as to justify not waiting for a Warrant, then invoking Martial Law would be appropriate.
 
I think Martial Law isn't something that should be invoked so easily even with only the tiniest of problem. Martial Law should only be used when the region is threaten by a group or something bigger then one endo-tarter closing in on delegate.
 
If the endo-tarter is close enough for it to be region-threatening, given the regional security situation, it is a special emergency circumstance.

If it isn't worth Martial Law, the Delegate can afford to wait up to 24 hours to get a warrant. You may note that if the Judiciary fails to respond within 24 hours, the warrant is automatically considered issued.
 
Due Process Act
Added clause for Judge to sentence as they see fit.

Second Draft:
I Arrest
A. Dire Risk Arrest

  1. An official empowered to arrest may arrest any nation the official directly observes in the act of committing a crime under the Legal Code.

B. Warrant

  1. An official empowered by the Delegate to arrest may, when there are no more than 5 nations under arrest, request a Warrant (including the desired nature of the arrest) by filing the request together with reasoning and evidence.
  2. If the official has identified the nation as the pseudonym of a convict or an agent of a hostile foreign power and if the nation is not in the Assembly, the Warrant request will supply evidence thereof, and state that it does not lead to a separate trial, nor count toward the number of arrested nations.
  3. The first Justice to respond to the request who does not recuse themselves shall decide whether to approve or deny it.
  4. Should no Justice respond within 24 hours, the request shall be considered approved.
  5. Only Arrested nations may be ejected or banned.

C Report

  1. Upon the arrest of any nation, the arresting official must report the arrest, including precise time.
  2. If the Warrant does not specify otherwise, the official must also file a Complaint against the arrested nation.

II Complaints
A. Filing

  1. The Court will keep a Docket of Complaints.
  2. Any citizen may file a civil Complaint against any other citizen.
  3. Any citizen may file a legal Complaint against TNP for an illegal action.
  4. Officials empowered by the Delegate to do so may file a criminal Complaint against any citizen.

B. Defining Sides

  1. In a civil Complaint, the two involved citizens are the two sides.
  2. In a legal Complaint, the citizen filing the Complaint and the TNP governmental branch as represented by the official whose actions are the subject of the complaint are the two sides.
  3. In a criminal Complaint, TNP as represented by the Attorney General and the nation which is the subject of the Complaint are the two sides.

III Trial
A. Judge Selection

  1. Upon receiving a Complaint, active Justices who can try a case must enter their name into the available Justice list that they can try it, noting the date of Complaint of the last case they took on or the date they took office, whichever came last.
  2. Between 24 and 48 hours of the Complaint, the Chief Justice shall assign the case to that available Justice who has been Justice longest without trying a case.
  3. If no Justices are available, the Chief Justice shall select an assembly member to try the case.

B. Discovery

  1. In a criminal case, the Judge will appoint a reserve Counsel to argue for the Defense should no other Counsel be available.
  2. The Judge will set an appropriate due date for the two Sides to Discover all evidence and present it to the Judge and the other side.
  3. The two Sides must also present an ordered list of Counsel representing them.
  4. The two Sides must also state what witnesses they may call.
  5. The Judge may reject evidence which cannot be attested to by any person or has no bearing on the trial.

C. Trial

  1. The Judge shall set 5 dissimilar possible dates, noting time and place, to hold the trial.
  2. Each side of the case may reject 2 dates.
  3. The first date not rejected by either side will be used.
  4. The Judge shall preside over the Trial and repeated violation of their procedures is Contempt of Court.
  5. The Judge may select a limited number of Counsel to be permitted to speak: that many of present Counsel on each side selected in order of the list filed during Discovery shall be permitted to speak.
  6. The Judge shall determine which side speaks first, and shall ensure that each side has equal time to present their arguments.
  7. Each side will have the right to cross-examine each witness of the opposing side.
  8. Counsel held in Contempt may be disbarred by the Judge, forbidding them from representing anyone but themselves in future cases.
  9. Defendants or Counsel held in Contempt may be sentenced by the Judge to suspension from the Assembly or banning from the region, for a duration not to exceed one month, beginning at the conclusion of the trial.
  10. If at the end of the allotted time the Trial is incomplete, the Judge may adjourn and set a date to continue in the proscribed manner.
  11. If the Judge finds it necessary, they may hand over the case to a Justice who agrees to take the case.
  12. After closing the Trial, the Judge will have 2 days to compose a Verdict and Sentence or Remedy.
  13. If the Verdict is that the defendant is guilty, the Judge may assign a reasonable sentence carried out through the in-game power of the Delegate and/or through denial of membership in the Regional Assembly.
  14. In a criminal case, if the accused is found guilty they will be convicted and are no longer arrested.
  15. The government of TNP will enforce any Sentence or Remedy.

IV. Appeal

  1. In a criminal case, either side may appeal the Verdict within 7 days of the end of the trial.
  2. In an Appeal, all the Justices may vote until 14 days after the end of the trial.
  3. A majority may decide to hold a new trial (once), to reverse the verdict, or to modify the Sentence or Remedy.

V. Martial Law
A. Declaration

  1. The Delegate may declare Martial Law, effective immediately, whenever the region is in an immediate and evident danger, unless forbidden.
  2. During a state of Martial Law, the Speaker, CLO, Security Council, and Assembly will review the declaration.
  3. The Declaration of Martial Law will initiate immediate votes for three days in the above listed bodies on whether to keep it and whether to forbid the Delegate from Declaring it again.
  4. The decision of the Speaker or the vote of any above listed body may end Martial Law and may also forbid the Delegate to reinvoke it until the Assembly passes a Resolution to end the interdiction or a new Delegate is elected.
  5. Should Martial Law be kept, any of the listed bodies may at any time begin another such vote.
  6. The Delegate may revoke Martial Law at any time while it is active.
  7. Any vote that may result in forbidding the delegate from declaring Martial Law shall continue even if the Delegate has revoked Martial Law.

B. Effects

  1. The requirement of a Warrant to arrest nations not in the Assembly shall be suspended.
  2. Each arrest must still be recorded publicly, identifying the reasons and presenting evidence.
Click to expand...
 
I don't exactly agree IMO. Judges should be fair and impartial, and any sentence must not be disproportionate to the crime :ADN:
 
I have a couple of issues,

First I'm not sure this draft bill is compliant with the Bill of Rights and the Constitution, including the power of the judiciary to adopt its own rukes of procedure.

I also have an issue with the use of the phrase "martial law." The meaning of that phrase means "military rule," bypassing normal institutions of government. Since the Delegate is the head of state to begin with, and inasmuch as we really don't have a military that has the force to enforce its own laws, martial law is really the wrong term to use.

Emergency law would be better, and in addition, the Constitution and Bill of Rights is set up to have "emergency laws" put into place. (i.e., Clause 11 of the Bill of Rights, as well as the emergency powers given to the CLO.)

I'm not adverse to finally having a streamlined procedure for criminal court proceedings, but it would make it easier if we didn't have to strike down parts of this bill if it becomes law because it is trumped by the Constitution and the Bill of Rights.
 
Fine. If the words upset you so much, I'll switch to the wording that makes me slightly nauseous.

Secondly, I just did another review of the Constitution and Legal Code. I see no clause which gives the Court the power to write its own procedures.

Revised version:
Due Process Act

Fourth Draft:
I Arrest
A. Dire Risk Arrest

  1. An official empowered to arrest may arrest any nation the official directly observes in the act of committing a crime under the Legal Code.

B. Warrant

  1. An official empowered by the Delegate to arrest may, when there are no more than 5 nations under arrest, request a Warrant (including the desired nature of the arrest) by filing the request together with reasoning and evidence.
  2. If the official has identified the nation as the pseudonym of a convict or an agent of a hostile foreign power and if the nation is not in the Assembly, the Warrant request will supply evidence thereof, and state that it does not lead to a separate trial, nor count toward the number of arrested nations.
  3. The first Justice to respond to the request who does not recuse themselves shall decide whether to approve or deny it.
  4. Should no Justice respond within 24 hours, the request shall be considered approved.
  5. Only Arrested nations may be ejected or banned.

C Report

  1. Upon the arrest of any nation, the arresting official must report the arrest, including precise time.
  2. If the Warrant does not specify otherwise, the official must also file a Complaint against the arrested nation.

II Complaints
A. Filing

  1. The Court will keep a Docket of Complaints.
  2. Any citizen may file a civil Complaint against any other citizen.
  3. Any citizen may file a legal Complaint against TNP for an illegal action.
  4. Officials empowered by the Delegate to do so may file a criminal Complaint against any citizen.

B. Defining Sides

  1. In a civil Complaint, the two involved citizens are the two sides.
  2. In a legal Complaint, the citizen filing the Complaint and the TNP governmental branch as represented by the official whose actions are the subject of the complaint are the two sides.
  3. In a criminal Complaint, TNP as represented by the Attorney General and the nation which is the subject of the Complaint are the two sides.

III Trial
A. Judge Selection

  1. Upon receiving a Complaint, active Justices who can try a case must enter their name into the available Justice list that they can try it, noting the date of Complaint of the last case they took on or the date they took office, whichever came last.
  2. Between 24 and 48 hours of the Complaint, the Chief Justice shall assign the case to that available Justice who has been Justice longest without trying a case.
  3. If no Justices are available, the Chief Justice shall select an assembly member to try the case.

B. Discovery

  1. In a criminal case, the Judge will appoint a reserve Counsel to argue for the Defense should no other Counsel be available.
  2. The Judge will set an appropriate due date for the two Sides to Discover all evidence and present it to the Judge and the other side.
  3. The two Sides must also present an ordered list of Counsel representing them.
  4. The two Sides must also state what witnesses they may call.
  5. The Judge may reject evidence which cannot be attested to by any person or has no bearing on the trial.

C. Trial

  1. The Judge shall set 5 dissimilar possible dates, noting time and place, to hold the trial.
  2. Each side of the case may reject 2 dates.
  3. The first date not rejected by either side will be used.
  4. The Judge shall preside over the Trial and repeated violation of their procedures is Contempt of Court.
  5. The Judge may select a limited number of Counsel to be permitted to speak: that many of present Counsel on each side selected in order of the list filed during Discovery shall be permitted to speak.
  6. The Judge shall determine which side speaks first, and shall ensure that each side has equal time to present their arguments.
  7. Each side will have the right to cross-examine each witness of the opposing side.
  8. Counsel held in Contempt may be disbarred by the Judge, forbidding them from representing anyone but themselves in future cases.
  9. Defendants or Counsel held in Contempt may be sentenced by the Judge to suspension from the Assembly or banning from the region, for a duration not to exceed one month, beginning at the conclusion of the trial.
  10. If at the end of the allotted time the Trial is incomplete, the Judge may adjourn and set a date to continue in the proscribed manner.
  11. If the Judge finds it necessary, they may hand over the case to a Justice who agrees to take the case.
  12. After closing the Trial, the Judge will have 2 days to compose a Verdict and Sentence or Remedy.
  13. If the Verdict is that the defendant is guilty, the Judge may assign a reasonable sentence carried out through the in-game power of the Delegate and/or through denial of membership in the Regional Assembly.
  14. In a criminal case, if the accused is found guilty they will be convicted and are no longer arrested.
  15. The government of TNP will enforce any Sentence or Remedy.

IV. Appeal

  1. In a criminal case, either side may appeal the Verdict within 7 days of the end of the trial.
  2. In an Appeal, all the Justices may vote until 14 days after the end of the trial.
  3. A majority may decide to hold a new trial (once), to reverse the verdict, or to modify the Sentence or Remedy.

V. State of Emergency
A. Declaration

  1. The Delegate may declare a State of Emergency, effective immediately, whenever the region is in an immediate and evident danger, unless forbidden.
  2. During a State of Emergency, the Speaker, CLO, Security Council, and Assembly will review the declaration.
  3. The Declaration of a State of Emergency will initiate immediate votes for three days in the above listed bodies on whether to keep it and whether to forbid the Delegate from Declaring it again.
  4. The decision of the Speaker or the vote of any above listed body may end a State of Emergency and may also forbid the Delegate to reinvoke it until the Assembly passes a Resolution to end the interdiction or a new Delegate is elected.
  5. Should a State of Emergency be kept, any of the listed bodies may at any time begin another such vote.
  6. The Delegate may revoke a State of Emergency at any time while it is active.
  7. Any vote that may result in forbidding the delegate from declaring a State of Emergency shall continue even if the Delegate has revoked the State of Emergency.

B. Effects

  1. The requirement of a Warrant to arrest nations not in the Assembly shall be suspended.
  2. Each arrest must still be recorded publicly, identifying the reasons and presenting evidence.
Click to expand...
 
Constitution, Article I, section 3:

3. All Government bodies are allowed to create rules for its own governance.
Click to expand...

Edited to add:

And Clause 11 of the Bill of Rights:

11. No governmental authority of the region has the power to suspend or disregard this Constitution or the Legal Code In the event of an actual emergency, the governmental authorities of the region, with the express consent of the Nations of the region or their representatives, is authorized to act in any reasonable manner that is consistent as practicable with the pertinent provisions of this Constitution.
Click to expand...
 
  1. In a criminal case, the Judge will appoint a reserve Counsel to argue for the Defense should no other Counsel be available.
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I'm not too fond of this for one reason:

It doesn't indicate that the Defence Counsel, when appointed, has to work to meet the needs of the Defendant. For all we know, the person appointed can really hate the defendant that he automatically enters in a guilty plea for him without the defendant's consent.

:ADN:
 
Govindia:
  1. In a criminal case, the Judge will appoint a reserve Counsel to argue for the Defense should no other Counsel be available.
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I'm not too fond of this for one reason:

It doesn't indicate that the Defence Counsel, when appointed, has to work to meet the needs of the Defendant. For all we know, the person appointed can really hate the defendant that he automatically enters in a guilty plea for him without the defendant's consent.

:ADN:
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I have more faith in the judge than to purposely appoint inadequate counsel.
 
New Kervoskia:
Govindia:
  1. In a criminal case, the Judge will appoint a reserve Counsel to argue for the Defense should no other Counsel be available.
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I'm not too fond of this for one reason:

It doesn't indicate that the Defence Counsel, when appointed, has to work to meet the needs of the Defendant. For all we know, the person appointed can really hate the defendant that he automatically enters in a guilty plea for him without the defendant's consent.

:ADN:
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I have more faith in the judge than to purposely appoint inadequate counsel.
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My point is that it should be stated the defendant has to work with the appointed defence counsel as opposed to getting shafted by him :ADN:
 
Grosseschnauzer:
Constitution, Article I, section 3:

3. All Government bodies are allowed to create rules for its own governance.
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I see. I'm a bit mystified as to what "governance" means here. The previous Chief Justice requested that the Assembly draft procedures delineating how a trial should function, so presumably he did not believe trials to be part of the Court's governance.

I am tempted to propose a constitutional amendment to revise that clause for clarity.

This is a serious point, and brings doubts to whether the Assembly has the power to legislate due process at all, or if due process is to be left to the whims of whatever the three-person court is at the time, within the limitations delineated by the Constitution and the Bill of Rights.

Grosseschnauzer:
Edited to add:

And Clause 11 of the Bill of Rights:

11. No governmental authority of the region has the power to suspend or disregard this Constitution or the Legal Code In the event of an actual emergency, the governmental authorities of the region, with the express consent of the Nations of the region or their representatives, is authorized to act in any reasonable manner that is consistent as practicable with the pertinent provisions of this Constitution.
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I was quite aware of that clause, and have modified my proposal to fit your vocabulary demand.



I see no problem with allowing the judge to appoint a defence counsel if the defendant is unable or unwilling to do so. Judges are obligated to perform their duties impartially, so such a defender should be adequate.
 
Formal Discussion-ready proposal begins below this line:

A Bill to Amend the Constitution of the North Pacific and to enact a Law

Section One

1. Article I, Section 3, Clause 3 of the North Pacific Constitution shall be amended:
amendment:
3. All Government bodies are allowed to create rules for its their own governance.
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2. The clauses of Section 3 following Clause 3 shall be renumbered to start from 5 instead of 4.
3. A new Clause 4 shall be inserted following Clause 3.
insertion:
4. Such rules must not contradict the Constitution or Legal Code.
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Section Two

A Law shall be added to the Legal Code.
Due Process Act:
Due Process Act

I Arrest
A. Dire Risk Arrest

  1. An official empowered to arrest may arrest any nation the official directly observes in the act of committing a crime under the Legal Code.

B. Warrant

  1. An official empowered by the Delegate to arrest may, when there are no more than 5 nations under arrest, request a Warrant (including the desired nature of the arrest) by filing the request together with reasoning and evidence.
  2. If the official has identified the nation as the pseudonym of a convict or an agent of a hostile foreign power and if the nation is not in the Assembly, the Warrant request will supply evidence thereof, and state that it does not lead to a separate trial, nor count toward the number of arrested nations.
  3. The first Justice to respond to the request who does not recuse themselves shall decide whether to approve or deny it.
  4. Should no Justice respond within 24 hours, the request shall be considered approved.
  5. Only Arrested nations may be ejected or banned.

C Report

  1. Upon the arrest of any nation, the arresting official must report the arrest, including precise time.
  2. If the Warrant does not specify otherwise, the official must also file a Complaint against the arrested nation.

II Complaints
A. Filing

  1. The Court will keep a Docket of Complaints.
  2. Any citizen may file a civil Complaint against any other citizen.
  3. Any citizen may file a legal Complaint against TNP for an illegal action.
  4. Officials empowered by the Delegate to do so and the Attorney General may file a criminal Complaint against any citizen.

B. Defining Sides

  1. In a civil Complaint, the two involved citizens are the two sides.
  2. In a legal Complaint, the citizen filing the Complaint and the TNP governmental branch as represented by the official whose actions are the subject of the complaint are the two sides.
  3. In a criminal Complaint, TNP as represented by the Attorney General and the nation which is the subject of the Complaint are the two sides.

III Trial
A. Judge Selection

  1. Upon receiving a Complaint, active Justices who can try a case must enter their name into the available Justice list that they can try it, noting the date of Complaint of the last case they took on or the date they took office, whichever came last.
  2. Between 24 and 48 hours of the Complaint, the Chief Justice shall assign the case to that available Justice who has been Justice longest without trying a case.
  3. If no Justices are available, the Chief Justice shall select an assembly member to try the case.

B. Discovery

  1. In a criminal case, the Judge will appoint a reserve Counsel to argue for the Defense should no other Counsel be available.
  2. The Judge will set an appropriate due date for the two Sides to Discover all evidence and present it to the Judge and the other side.
  3. The two Sides must also present an ordered list of Counsel representing them.
  4. The two Sides must also state what witnesses they may call.
  5. The Judge may reject evidence which cannot be attested to by any person or has no bearing on the trial.

C. Trial

  1. The Judge shall set 5 dissimilar possible dates, noting time and place, to hold the trial.
  2. Each side of the case may reject 2 dates.
  3. The first date not rejected by either side will be used.
  4. The Judge shall preside over the Trial and repeated violation of their procedures is Contempt of Court.
  5. The Judge may select a limited number of Counsel to be permitted to speak: that many of present Counsel on each side selected in order of the list filed during Discovery shall be permitted to speak.
  6. The Judge shall determine which side speaks first, and shall ensure that each side has equal time to present their arguments.
  7. Each side will have the right to cross-examine each witness of the opposing side.
  8. Counsel held in Contempt may be disbarred by the Judge, forbidding them from representing anyone but themselves in future cases.
  9. Defendants or Counsel held in Contempt may be sentenced by the Judge to suspension from the Assembly or banning from the region, for a duration not to exceed one month, beginning at the conclusion of the trial.
  10. If at the end of the allotted time the Trial is incomplete, the Judge may adjourn and set a date to continue in the proscribed manner.
  11. If the Judge finds it necessary, they may hand over the case to a Justice who agrees to take the case.
  12. After closing the Trial, the Judge will have 2 days to compose a Verdict and Sentence or Remedy.
  13. If the Verdict is that the defendant is guilty, the Judge may assign a reasonable sentence carried out through the in-game power of the Delegate and/or through denial of membership in the Regional Assembly.
  14. In a criminal case, if the accused is found guilty they will be convicted and are no longer arrested.
  15. The government of TNP will enforce any Sentence or Remedy.

IV. Appeal

  1. In a criminal case, either side may appeal the Verdict within 7 days of the end of the trial.
  2. In an Appeal, all the Justices may vote until 14 days after the end of the trial.
  3. A majority may decide to hold a new trial (once), to reverse the verdict, or to modify the Sentence or Remedy.

V. State of Emergency
A. Declaration

  1. The Delegate may declare a State of Emergency, effective immediately, whenever the region is in an immediate and evident danger, unless forbidden.
  2. During a State of Emergency, the Speaker, CLO, Security Council, and Assembly will review the declaration.
  3. The Declaration of a State of Emergency will initiate immediate votes for three days in the above listed bodies on whether to keep it and whether to forbid the Delegate from Declaring it again.
  4. The decision of the Speaker or the vote of any above listed body may end a State of Emergency and may also forbid the Delegate to reinvoke it until the Assembly passes a Resolution to end the interdiction or a new Delegate is elected.
  5. Should a State of Emergency be kept, any of the listed bodies may at any time begin another such vote.
  6. The Delegate may revoke a State of Emergency at any time while it is active.
  7. Any vote that may result in forbidding the delegate from declaring a State of Emergency shall continue even if the Delegate has revoked the State of Emergency.

B. Effects

  1. The requirement of a Warrant to arrest nations not in the Assembly shall be suspended.
  2. Each arrest must still be recorded publicly, identifying the reasons and presenting evidence.
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Section Three

1. If passed by a three-quarters vote Sections One and Two shall be enacted immediately.
2. If passed by a majority vote Section Two shall be enacted immediately.
 
What is the definition of "arrest" in this context?

In lue of this amendment I would suggest that efforts be made to conform the existing Interim Court Rules into something more concrete and complimentary to the Constitution and Bill of Rights instead of replacing it ad hoc with a completely new system.

Perhaps the Attorney General could be better codified within the Constitution as a counter balance to the Court itself. The office could be charged with setting up court rules, redrafting the processes and procedures for RA approval and establishing the means of conducting criminal prosecution and defense as needed.

Just a thought.
 
It seems... unwise to charge the Attorney General with both setting the rules under which he argues, and arguing for criminal penalties.

This is what Arrest is:

" 5. Only Arrested nations may be ejected or banned. "
 
Gracius Maximus:
What is the definition of "arrest" in this context?

In lue of this amendment I would suggest that efforts be made to conform the existing Interim Court Rules into something more concrete and complimentary to the Constitution and Bill of Rights instead of replacing it ad hoc with a completely new system.

Perhaps the Attorney General could be better codified within the Constitution as a counter balance to the Court itself. The office could be charged with setting up court rules, redrafting the processes and procedures for RA approval and establishing the means of conducting criminal prosecution and defense as needed.

Just a thought.
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The system established under the Interim Court Rules has not had a very good history.

See here.

If the Court becomes more active, I'd be happy to make a new law which would loosen the statutory limits on how the Court can operate.

I think that the manner of trial proposed herein can be far, far more efficient. I have it in mind to take place on IRC, which I believe is entirely feasible.
 
As one that hardly ever uses IRC at all I can say that I will vehemently oppose any such stipulation.

Trials, even when few and infrequent, should be a matter of public record. The forum provides for that much more readily than IRC, in my opinion.

The link that you reference brings up the same points I am making, that the Interim Court Rules should be re-addressed.

I have not checked but will this bill offset every other provision in the Legal Code smoothly or will there be loopholes and possibly conflicting legal statutes in regards to how the existing laws are handled? Most specifically in reference to TNP Laws 22 and 27 and the Bill of Rights, but that is not exhaustive.

In regards to the Attorney General from your earlier response, I suggested that the AG Office prepare rules to be submitted to the Regional Assembly, not that the office be granted carte blanc to set up any rules or regulations it sees fit. As it stands currently, the AG is restricted to work within the rules that are established in TNP Law 31 as those "rules adopted by the Court" which would imply that currently the Court can adopt its own rules. I know that when I served as Chief Justice it was the understanding at the time that the Court created its own internal structure.

Perhaps this could simply be modified into a joint activity between the Court and the AGs office, thereby providing for the possibility of two entities within the Justice Dept working on restructuring the Interim Court Rules instead of one that is frequently absent because of an empty docket.
 
Also:

3. If no Justices are available, the Chief Justice shall select an assembly member to try the case.
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Does this include the Chief Justice as well? I only ask because the previous clauses indicate the Chief Justice passing the trial off to one of the other Justices but do not mention the CJ him/herself trying the case.

Just checking because if the CJ is removed from the rotation altogether I can't really see a need for a CJ at all if the RA is going to be setting up the rules and managing trial conduct.
 
I would agree with GM concerning IRC trials, and would say that in the very least any proceedings held on irc ought to have their full transcripts published on the forum.
 
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