Post by beaniesburrow on Jun 24, 2020 14:13:33 GMT -5
The Karmaphala Act
Passed June 23rd, 2020
Authored by Paulus and Wymondham
Passed June 23rd, 2020
Authored by Paulus and Wymondham
I. General Provisions
(1) The judicial authority is exercised by the Karmaphala, the sole court of law in Karma.
(2) The Karmaphala consists of:
The Presiding officer of the Court, known as the Oshō, appointed by the Council of Sages from among the Enlightened with approval of the Sangha. The Oshō may not simultaneously serve in any other governmental leadership or deputy leadership position.
Two other officers of the court, known as Bhikkhus, appointed by the Council of Sages from among the Enlightened.
(3) Either the entire Karmaphala shall hear a case, or only one officer of the court shall do it, as provided by the law.
(4) In cases where the entire Karmaphala shall hear a case, verdicts shall be reached by a majority vote.
(5) In cases where only a single officer of the court shall hear a case, the Oshō shall decide which officer of the court shall hear said case.
(6) The Karmaphala may establish by a majority vote its own procedures within the bounds of this Act and any other law. The procedures must be made publicly available to all Jiva.
(7) Proceedings in a case shall be recorded and archived.
II. Dismissal and Temporary Recusal of Judges
(1) Officers of the court may be dismissed by the Council of Sages with approval of the Sangha.
(2) The Oshō may resign from office, but remain an officer of the court.
(3) An officer of the court shall be recused from all proceedings in a case in which they are directly involved, either as a witness, defendant or plaintiff. In such event, the Council of Sages shall appoint a replacement officer or officers of the court, as appropriate, for the purposes of the case, when:
The entire Karmaphala shall hear said case.
No officer of the court is eligible to take part in the proceedings in the case.
(4) If the Oshō must be recused in accordance with Section (3) of this Article and their involvement in the case is necessary, the Council of Sages shall appoint a replacement Oshō for the purposes of the case. The replacement Oshō shall be appointed from among the Bhikkus, when possible.
(5) The replacement officer or Oshō must be Enlightened.
III. The Criminal Cases
(1) Any Jiva that suspects another Jiva of committing a crime may, subject to Section (2) of this Article, accuse that person of a crime.
(2) No accusation may be made, if the essential alleged facts are or have been already the matter of a criminal trial.
(3) The accusation, along with any evidence for it, needs to be sent to the Oshō for the preliminary review.
(4) The Oshō shall deny to create a criminal case on the charges that are judged as obviously baseless during the preliminary review.
(5) The Oshō, during the preliminary review, determines whether the accusation amounts to a crime or an Out of Character (OOC) offense. If the crime constitutes an OOC offence, the presiding officer shall dismiss the case and hand the matter to OOC Administration.
(6) If the accusation is not judged as obviously baseless or amounting to an Out of Character offense, the criminal case is created.
(7) The Oshō, upon creating the criminal case, shall determine:
Whether the accusation amounts to one crime or several.
What crime or crimes the accusation amounts to.
Whether the accusation amounts to a Felony or a Misdemeanor.
(8) The Oshō informs both sides of the determinations made in accordance with Section (7) of this Article.
(9) If the accusation amounts to a Felony, the entire Karmaphala shall hear the criminal case, otherwise only a single officer of the court shall hear it.
(10) In criminal cases all doubts that cannot be reasonably resolved otherwise are resolved in favor of the accused.
IV. Judicial Questions and Review
(1) Any Jiva may pose a judicial question about the law unclear to them. The Karmaphala answers the question with a legal opinion on the meaning of the law.
(2) Any Jiva may request a judicial review of legislation or a government action, on the basis that it contradicts The Guidance or other law. The Karmaphala, by the reached verdict, may restrain any government action and strike out any law if it determines that the government action or law violates The Guidance or any other law. Laws or government actions of the Council of Sages may not be made the matter of a judicial review.
(3) Judicial questions and requests for judicial review must be sent to the Oshō.
(4) The entire Karmaphala shall hear the judicial review cases.
V. Appeals
(1) Verdicts of the Karmaphala may be appealed to the Council of Sages on the grounds provided by the law.
(2) Both parties to the case may appeal a verdict once in accordance with Section (1) of this Article.
(3) All verdicts may be appealed if any of the following is true:
An officer of the court was not recused from the proceedings, in which the law required them to be recused.
Only a single officer of the court heard the case, when the law required the entire Karmaphala to hear said case.
During the proceedings, the law or court procedures were disregarded in a way that influenced the verdict.
(4) Verdicts in criminal cases may furthermore be appealed if any of the following is true:
The Court disregarded admissible evidence that could have influenced the verdict.
The Court set an unjustly harsh sentence.
Signed Princess Beanswell Calxur