Ma-tek
15-05-2004, 12:43
METHELNU, SATURDAY - In a strange and twisted series of legal wranglings, the owners of Tyto, the pitbull terrier accused of biting 32-year old Simi Tel-Menjda (of the Human persuasion), have claimed that Tyto has the right to countersue Mr Tel-Menjda - rather than a direct case being made by the owners themselves.
"He's really a very smart dog," said 27 year-old Human co-owner of the dog, Maxiri Dej-Rihad.
This may all sound strange to our foreign readers, but the tri-sentient culture of the Empire does bring in a gread deal of confusion; the definition of 'Citizen' is madely strangely loose, as legal expert Tia Aquinall explains.
"The legal system was designed to ensure that not one, but three sentient species were guaranteed the same civil and legal rights under Imperial Law. The difficulty is, foreigners of other species sometimes also visit the Empire, further complicating the legal definition of 'sentient'; the dog isn't classified as sentient under Imperial Law directly, but the Sentient Rights Modification Act, 1 D.E. - intended to act as a catch-all net to protect the rights of all sentients - defines a sentient being as anyone who can make a claim in the judicial system.
"The law also clearly states that legal claims by proxy are considered valid - which means that if the owners make a claim for the dog, the dog is potentially a sentient under the law."
The case is expected to be heard in a preliminary hearing by the Imperial Criminal Court Thursday.
~ from the Daily Dawn (a subsidary of the EOTED News Group [ENG])
"He's really a very smart dog," said 27 year-old Human co-owner of the dog, Maxiri Dej-Rihad.
This may all sound strange to our foreign readers, but the tri-sentient culture of the Empire does bring in a gread deal of confusion; the definition of 'Citizen' is madely strangely loose, as legal expert Tia Aquinall explains.
"The legal system was designed to ensure that not one, but three sentient species were guaranteed the same civil and legal rights under Imperial Law. The difficulty is, foreigners of other species sometimes also visit the Empire, further complicating the legal definition of 'sentient'; the dog isn't classified as sentient under Imperial Law directly, but the Sentient Rights Modification Act, 1 D.E. - intended to act as a catch-all net to protect the rights of all sentients - defines a sentient being as anyone who can make a claim in the judicial system.
"The law also clearly states that legal claims by proxy are considered valid - which means that if the owners make a claim for the dog, the dog is potentially a sentient under the law."
The case is expected to be heard in a preliminary hearing by the Imperial Criminal Court Thursday.
~ from the Daily Dawn (a subsidary of the EOTED News Group [ENG])