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Anaxi Law

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The Courts & Jurisprudence

The High Court of Anaxas, formerly called the King’s Court, is comprised of the senior courts of the kingdom. In addition to presiding over the court system in general, the High Judge presides over the criminal division of Their Majesties’ Court of Appeal; the Low Judge, also called the Master of Rolls (and serving on Their Majesties’ cabinet as the same) presides over the civil division. The current High Judge is William Azmus, appointed in 2711; the Low Judge is Mars Ogden.

Underneath this, the King’s Court is comprised of various courts dealing with civil and criminal cases at first instance and sometimes by appeal. King’s Court judges travel clockwise around the five court circuits of Anaxas; traditionally, the Anaxi year has six sittings, corresponding with the six seasons of the year.

Prior to 2680, the appeals system was endlessly complex, and Anaxas’ tendency toward parliamentary sovereignty had resulted in a system in which the right of appeal to the King’s Council was unbalanced. Late in the career of Azmus’ predecessor, the Headmistress of Brunnhold conducted an inquiry into the secular legal system, establishing the Court of Appeal and making more than a few enemies in the conservative upper house of parliament.

Underneath the senior courts, county courts in each of the five districts handle small claims, with appeal to the King’s Court. Criminal cases are heard locally in petty sessions.

Ideally, the secular legal system of Anaxas applies to all citizens of the kingdom, whether they be galdor, tsat, or human. In practice, the law more often than not fails the lower races. Civil law is written with galdori in mind, and precedent does little to flesh it out. The prospects of a solicitor attempting to defend a human client against another human or a tsat depend almost entirely on the whim of the judge, and galdori are rarely charged with indictable offences against the subject races.

Of course, gated passives have no legal rights, and all cases involving them are handled by the Court Arcane in Brunnhold.

Arcane Law

The red-brick fortress at Brunnhold was the hub of Anaxi civilization before Vienda, and prior to 1247 AT, it was the legal heart of the kingdom. The Court Arcane, archaically called the Ley Court, was once a sprawling and complicated system of courts with jurisdiction over all civil and criminal matters among the galdori of Anaxas, and also over crimes perpetrated by the lower races against galdori. Law was exclusively taught and practiced by sorcerers, with only magisters permitted to preside over courts above the local level.

However, as the population of galdori outside of Brunnhold grew, local courts grew in number, influence, and complexity, but not in sentencing power. A rapidly dwindling number of magisters was not equipped to handle the legal needs of a nation, especially as politics began to secularize and the seat of the government began to shift to Vienda. In 1247, Headmistress Melisende Allaire (1212-1259) was responsible for the formal creation of the King’s Court (more an approval, since secular galdori had already come to rely heavily on the curia regis for their judicial needs, with or without the blessing of Brunnhold). Shortly afterward, in 1255, she mandated that no magister was permitted to preside over a secular session. To prevent conflicts of interest, this latter provision is still in place.

The Court Arcane still exists, but its purview is limited to matters of magical aberration. This usually refers to authorship, possession and circulation of illicit grimoires. However, it has been known to apply to more esoteric (and, some would say, irrelevant) matters: there are those that would suggest that investigation into the arcane potential of passives constitutes magical aberration, and there are some very old statutes relating to ghostly possession. The Court Arcane also deals, in some cases, with matters of university property.

Apart from this, the court still functions much as it did before the 1200s. Proceedings follow an inquisitorial system, with the judges taking a more active role in investigation and questioning; in fact, in criminal proceedings, the defendant is not permitted representation.

Jurisprudence

Traditionally, it has been held that law is as natural as the Noble Uses. The mona exist not only in all material objects but in all forces, and are instrumental in the causes and consequences of all events; the gods have gifted galdori with ley lines and the ability to converse with the mona, and therefore also with the sacred reason to create good laws.

Various schools of thought have attempted to tackle the question of whether the lower races are capable of wise legislation, or even of understanding the law well enough to be subject to it in any meaningful way. The sovereignty of tyat wicks and tensions surrounding tsat rights have aggravated this debate. Early Brunnhold legal scholars frequently argued that humans were no more able to conceive of law than animals, but the general consensus among galdori in the present day is that the law should engage with and be accessible to the subject races; they are at least capable of being guided morally by their custodians.

In the twenty-seventh century, Anaxas and Bastia have seen a trend toward utilitarianism and positivism, popularized by Heshath philosophers like L’thani Bhelan (2606–2673) and, more recently, Rylani Aleda (2680–). Integral to this movement was twenty-fourth century writer (as well as Low Judge of Anaxas) Pierre Abel Bonheur (2354-2399). Extensively familiar with the Mugrobi legal system, his polemic against the treatment of gated passives is considered radical to this day.

Specific Laws

General Laws

  • It is illegal to resist, taunt, attack or otherwise provoke a member of The Seventen, while they are on patrol or otherwise.
  • It is illegal to murder, steal or lie to a government official.
  • It is illegal for any business owner to embezzle funds or hide their money from the government.
  • All yearly income must be reported and all taxes, levees and fees must be paid in full by the New Year.
  • Possession of a firearm of any kind by any race is illegal. It is punishable by imprisonment at best and execution at worst.

Laws Concerning Passives

  • It is illegal to attempt to teach a passive Monite or any parts of the art of magic; this is punishable by heavy fines and possibly imprisonment, as well as the end of your professional career.
  • Passives are not permitted to own land, marry, or have children.
  • Passives are not allowed to read. (Unfortunately or fortunately for passives, since most passives already know how to read because of their pre-coming of age tutoring as the children of galdori, this rule only really applies to literature or grimoires. This law is difficult to enforce, but exists out of principle.)

Laws Concerning Humans

  • Humans must apply for permission in order to learn to read and write. (This law is rarely enforced and Writs of Literacy are easily forged, passed down, or otherwise disregarded.)
  • Humans rent their land from galdori government; all landlords must rent their property from the government and sublet it to their tenants.
  • Humans are subject to search and seizure for any reason, at any time. All human property is fair game for confiscation to aid in a criminal investigation.
  • Humans are not allowed legal representation, but are allowed to argue on their own behalf if brought up on trial for a crime.

Laws Concerning Wicks and Witches

  • All wicks must have a Writ of Residence to live in a major city. Writs of Residence can be obtained through a yearly census or by proving that one is employed and has permanent living quarters in the city.
  • Wicks and witches are prohibited from performing their trade on Brunnhold University grounds or by the Royal Palace of Anaxas.
  • Wicks who stay in the city for any substantial amount of time must pay taxes.
  • Wicks are subject to search and seizure for any reason, at any time.

Laws Concerning the Resistance

  • Humans may not assemble in any group with the express aim of forming a colony, seceding from the kingdom or acting in a way that is contrary to galdori rule.
  • It is illegal to participate in, aid, protect, give shelter to or tolerate a human freedom fighter. Doing so is punishable by imprisonment, or execution depending on the gravity of your involvement.
  • Any pamphlet promoting the human resistance movement is illegal. Possession of such literature is punishable by heavy fine.

Law Concerning Medical Studies

Medical Regulation Act - Shortly after Brunnhold Public Hospital was established, an important law regulating medical services was passed. There are two parts to it:

  1. Only a galdor who has gone through formalized training through Brunnhold or another university can use the title "Doctor".
  2. Humans and wicks who wish to practice surgery, midwifery, or provide apothecary services must obtain the sponsorship of a galdori doctor and a writ from that sponsor.


The process for obtaining this writ can be a bit complicated. Occasionally, a galdori doctor, midwife, or apothecary will take on an apprentice, though those who only work through a hospital are not allowed to do this. At the very least, potential galdori sponsors will observe the person wanting sponsorship at their duties before deciding whether to officially sponsor the person or not. This creates a bit of a sticky situation, though, as humans and wicks aren't allowed to enter these professions without a writ, but they need to practice their profession to receive a writ. As a result, the law was amended to allow humans and wicks who have obtained sponsorship to have apprentices, though they are only allowed one apprentice at a time.

This law is more strictly enforced than the literacy laws but, of course, surgeons, apothecaries, and midwives slip through the cracks all the time, since the Seventen can't keep track of everyone. The use of the word "Doctor" is much more strictly enforced than the writ aspect of this law and it's almost guaranteed that, if a human or wick has the audacity to call themselves "Doctor", they will be quickly investigated, shut down, and possibly even banned from the city.

It's also important to note that this does not cover humans or wicks who wish to use euphemisms like "herbalist" or "healer". The Seventen may investigate if there's a complaint against these people and may rule that they need a writ, but if the "herbalist" or "healer" doesn't have a complaint filed against them, there's nothing the Seventen can do.

Lastly, this law only applies to cities, so if your character is a nomad, this law doesn't apply unless you settle down in a city. If your character lives in a village, the Seventen are generally more lax about enforcing this law though, again, humans or wicks who describe or advertise themselves as "doctors" will definitely be dealt with, even if they live in a village.

Please note that this law does not apply outside of Anaxas, as each nation has its own standards for medical training.

Law Concerning Political and Property Rights

The matter of suffrage in Anaxas is a complex one, being an interplay of laws, customs, privileges and social mores that, when taken together, create a bewildering set of suffrage statuses. In the main, the elements that combine to delimit one’s suffrage are: age, gender, property, and marriage laws.

Gender

It can be said with a straight face that the galdori women of Anaxas both have the vote, and do not have the vote. By law and custom, daughters are their fathers’ (or other male head of household’s) legal charges and their political rights flow from this guardian. At the age of majority (no less than twenty years of age and upon graduation, or issuance of a writ of majority), a head of household may legally emancipate any of his female legal charges. By this release, they acquire full political rights and protections.

Among many, this release is customary and may indeed be handled though long-standing legal arrangements. When a released galdori woman marries a galdori man, it is customary that her guardianship transfers to him (or, if he is unreleased, to the head of his household).

Men, by contrast, are considered to automatically be released at the age of majority, unless their head of household places them back into guardianship for some reason or other. This requires a guardianship hearing before a magistrate, and the presentation of evidence and documentation that the release of the said male personage, would be deleterious to the guardian, the personage, and to any property transference either contemplated or intended. Such hearings are fairly rare, and the burden of proof is rather high and falls heavily on the head of household.

Note that this is a place where suffrage and property rights diverge slightly. Although the property of a man or woman under guardianship unquestionably belongs to their guardian, suffrage is slightly more complex. A man or woman under guardianship can still vote on their own behalf, provided that they have a writ of permission from their guardian; absent that, the guardian's vote counts as all of those whose voting rights he holds.

The Age of Majority

The Anaxi age of majority is generally stated to be twenty, and for students who graduate from one of the great universities this is the case. However, for those who do not attend such institutions, they require the issuance of a writ of majority. This document, attained from a magistrate, attests that the subject is at least twenty years of age, has completed their education, and has the approval of their legal guardian.

In general, issuance of these writs is quite routine and uncontested.

Marriage

Legally, at the time of marriage, a galdori woman's guardianship is transferred to her husband. It is exceeding rare for a husband to release his wife's guardianship, and is considered by some tantamount to divorce. Traditionally, if the head of household has not released a woman prior to her wedding, he does so as a part of the marriage contract, effecting a pure transfer of rights. Note that this transfer is not effected for any same sex marriages.

There is a curious custom that has developed, especially among the more liberal-minded fathers of spirited young ladies, whereby the daughter is kept in guardianship beyond the date of her marriage. This prevents her from transferring her guardianship from her former head of household to her husband. The result of this is that any property she brings to marriage, any dowries, are de-facto her own and cannot be seized by her husband in the event of divorce or annulment.

Property

The chief reason for either refusing to emancipate daughters, or retaining sons in perpetual guardianship has to do with complex property inheritance laws, entailments, and the maintenance of estates. Long-standing entailments created by the owners of many estates both great and small, require that the property be handed down in controlled fashion from one head of household to another in an unbroken line. Due to the often small number of children within a galdori family, it has become customary to keep daughters under guardianship so that the line of household remains unbroken and thus preserved the property within the family.

Further, some great estates are entailed in such a way that they function as a single legal entity and only the head of the estate has independent legal and political status. The rest of the household and the estate is considered dependent. Breaking this monopoly opens the estate to legal challenges by way of ownership, and more than one great estate has been lost to this.

Note that despite these origins, guardianship is customary even in the case when properties are unentailed.

Finally, guardianship may be maintained over adult children as a form of tax dodge. By keeping adult children under the legal control of their head of household, they are considered full dependents which both reduces their own openness to taxation, but gives tax advantages to the head of household.


Out of Character Note

This game requires you to know the law of the land. Your character won't necessarily have to FOLLOW the law of the land, but knowing what's illegal and what isn't can help you make choices. If you're trying to keep your character out of trouble, it's best to know what will get him into trouble in the first place, and how everything works around here.

Most things that are illegal everywhere are illegal in Anaxas. Murder, of course, is punishable by execution, but you'd be surprised how often people wriggle their way out of the hangman's noose, especially by flashing some coin at the executioner. The system is corrupt, and judges and lawyers easily bribed.

The social lattice forms the crux of law in Anaxas. The more important you are, the more upset people are going to get if you get killed by someone, and the more harsh the punishment will be for the murderer.