Amendment: The Court

Darkness' Edge · October 1, 2002, 09:43

Same deal as the others. Three days, 2/3 majority necessary to pass.

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Article V: The Court

1. Purpose:

The Court is constituted to rule upon: contested disputes involving legal interpretation, validity of polls, violations of the Constitution, or any other legal dispute involving the game.

2. Construct of the Court:

a. Size of Court:
The Court is composed of five Justices. Each Justice is to to be elected by the people, with a poll lasting three days.

b. Terms in office:
There is no limit to the number of terms a Justice may serve.
Each Justice serves a term of two months. All appointments and re-appointments must be approved by a majority vote of the public.

c. Senior Justice:
At the beginning of each case, the Court is to select a 'Senior Justice', who will be responsible for ensuring that a report is published for each decision made by the court, showing the rationale behind the decision. If the report is not provided, this may be grounds for an appeal. The Senior Justice will also preside over any hearings before The Court.

d. Other Governmental Posts:
A Justice may serve in other governmental posts, but may not serve as Commissioner or Alpha Talent while a serving Justice.

3. Case Structure:

a. Quorum:
At least three Justices must be involved in any ruling that is made. If only three justices are involved and they cannot agree, a non-voting justice must step in to break the deadlock.

b. Rulings:
All rulings are immediately official and final except where appeals are granted.

c. Appeals:
Appeals may be granted if there are grounds to believe that the constitution has not been applied properly. Any citizen directly involved in the case may make an application for an appeal. If 3 of the 5 judges decide to grant the appeal, a new trial will be created to examine the case. In that case, the current verdict is placed on hold until after the appeal process.

d. Injunctions:
The Court cannot stop the game to make a decision without a 2/3 vote amongst the people. In case of an emergency due to timing of a turnchat and poll of the populace, the Court may halt the game for 24 hours, but only by unanimous vote of the Court and only if a specific case has been presented to them that must be decided prior to the turnchat. In the emergency case, the Court would immediately have to present a 24 hour poll to the people for their approval of the Injunction. If not approved by the time of the poll's closure, the game immediately resumes where it was before.

e. Case Presentation:
The Court cannot act on any issue until a citizen of the nation brings forth an Issue to The Court. Issues to The Court should be posted publicly and must involve a dispute that the court is empowered to rule upon.