Roycelandia
02-08-2004, 08:24
Roycelandia's Judicial System has long been based on such British Judicial Cornerstones such as Trial By Jury of One's Peers, The Right To a Fair Trial, Double Jeopardy, and, of course, Innocent until Proven Guilty- amongst others.
However, in an effort to streamline Justice in Roycelandia (which admittedly has almost no crime anyway), the Imperial Judicature have announced the following changes:
* Pleading "Not Guilty" to a crime the defendant is obviously and clearly guilty of will result in a contempt of court conviction as well as conviction for whatever crime(s) they were charged with, IF the defendant is found guilty by a Jury of the crime they pled Not Guilty to.
* Civil Actions (Lawsuits) against other people for Personal Injuries are no longer permitted. Instead, the Imperial Accident Compensation Commission will automatically pay compensation on a no-fault basis, with the funds coming from the Government (who are unspeakably wealthy and can afford to fund all this without a tax hike). OOC: This is the system in place in RL New Zealand, and it works pretty well. Frees up the Courts, too.
* Filing a Lawsuit for petty, trivial, or stupid reasons will result in a week in Jail for the plaintiff. Deal with it or take it to the Small Claims Tribunal.
* Jurors will now be paid $200 per day as expenses. This is non-taxable.
* Several obsolete, silly, absurd, and/or unenforceable laws have been removed from the books, including: Sending an offensive Telegram, Giving Tobacco Products or Alcohol to Domestic or Farm Animals, Defacing Sailclothes on an Imperial Ship, and most laws governing what consenting adults can do in the privacy of their own homes.
* The Right of the Emperor to Make and Amend Laws remains, but Laws made or amended in such a way are still open to interpretation, amendment, or annulment by the Imperial Courts. (Oddly, this has never happened, nor is it likely to...)
* Transportation to a Penal Colony is now only for a maximum period of 14 years, as opposed to the Natural Life of the offender.
* The Death Penalty remains outlawed, under an unalterable section of the Imperial Constitution.
Any enquiries should be directed to the Imperial Communications Bureau, Port Royal, Roycelandia.
However, in an effort to streamline Justice in Roycelandia (which admittedly has almost no crime anyway), the Imperial Judicature have announced the following changes:
* Pleading "Not Guilty" to a crime the defendant is obviously and clearly guilty of will result in a contempt of court conviction as well as conviction for whatever crime(s) they were charged with, IF the defendant is found guilty by a Jury of the crime they pled Not Guilty to.
* Civil Actions (Lawsuits) against other people for Personal Injuries are no longer permitted. Instead, the Imperial Accident Compensation Commission will automatically pay compensation on a no-fault basis, with the funds coming from the Government (who are unspeakably wealthy and can afford to fund all this without a tax hike). OOC: This is the system in place in RL New Zealand, and it works pretty well. Frees up the Courts, too.
* Filing a Lawsuit for petty, trivial, or stupid reasons will result in a week in Jail for the plaintiff. Deal with it or take it to the Small Claims Tribunal.
* Jurors will now be paid $200 per day as expenses. This is non-taxable.
* Several obsolete, silly, absurd, and/or unenforceable laws have been removed from the books, including: Sending an offensive Telegram, Giving Tobacco Products or Alcohol to Domestic or Farm Animals, Defacing Sailclothes on an Imperial Ship, and most laws governing what consenting adults can do in the privacy of their own homes.
* The Right of the Emperor to Make and Amend Laws remains, but Laws made or amended in such a way are still open to interpretation, amendment, or annulment by the Imperial Courts. (Oddly, this has never happened, nor is it likely to...)
* Transportation to a Penal Colony is now only for a maximum period of 14 years, as opposed to the Natural Life of the offender.
* The Death Penalty remains outlawed, under an unalterable section of the Imperial Constitution.
Any enquiries should be directed to the Imperial Communications Bureau, Port Royal, Roycelandia.