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Dispatch → Bulletin → Policy
General Assembly Resolution #21: "Establishment of a Judicial System" (Archived Version #3)
The High Court is created. It will be chaired by the Chief Justice, and there will be a Dependency Region created for it (like we now have for the GA)
There are 3 types of "offenses" under the jurisdiction of the Court: Criminal (a nation breaks the law and gets punished), Civil (two or more nations are having a dispute and one sues), and State (either a Resolution is passed that is unconstitutional, or a member of the Secretariat acts outside of their authority). There are three levels of Criminal Offenses: Misdemeanors (bad), Felonies (very bad), and High Crimes (very very bad).
Offenses can only be defined by General Assembly Resolution. No cases could go to Court unless the General Assembly has defined the Offense, it's type/classification, and its remedy/punishment.
Everyone will get the Fundamental Right of the Accused, the Fundamental Rights of the Accuser, and several other legal rights.
The purpose of this proposal is to create a fair judicial system in which the Government's power is limited and the accused has a fair shot at defending themselves.
Section I: Establishment, Amendment of the Constitution, and Amendment of Prior Resolutions
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Subsection A: Addition of Chapter VI of the Constitution
Subsection B: Amendment to §18 of the Constitution
Subsection C: Amendment to GAR#17 (“The Roleplay Codes”)
Section II: The Role of the Government
Section III: Definitions and Types of Offenses
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Subsection A: Criminal Offenses
Subsection B: Civil Offenses
Subsection C: State Offenses
Subsection D: Judicial Offenses
Subsection E: Government Offenses
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Subsection A: Accusation
Subsection B: Criminal Court Procedure
Subsection C: Civil Court Procedure
Subsection D: State Court Procedure
Subsection E: Other Procedures
Section V: Recordkeeping
Section VI: Ethics and Conflicts of Interest
Appendix 1: Full Updated Sections of the Constitution
Appendix 2: Full Updated Sections of GAR#17
Sponsors: Joshenia, Karteria, 
PotaTown, Reno sheriffs department
Category: Constitutional Amendment, Amendment, Legal Affairs
Affects: All Citizens and Residents of the NWI
Acknowledging the current lack of a codified Judicial System,
Noting recent events highlight the need for a structured and public criminal justice system,
Affirming that all Citizens and Residents of the NWI stand to benefit from an expansion of rights and codification of offenses, punishments, and procedures,
The General Assembly of the New West Indies hereby enacts the following:
Establishment, Amendment of the Constitution, and Amendment of Prior Resolutions
The following text is hereby adopted as Chapter VI of the Constitution, to be entitled “The High Court”:
Ҥ25 - Status
The High Court forms the Judicial Branch of the New West Indies.It shall hear all cases of Criminal, Civil, and State offenses as specified by Law.
§26 - Establishment
The High Court shall be housed in a dependency region, to be founded by a puppet the Founder,
Achipel, entitled “High Court of the New West Indies”, subject to the same Laws of the New West Indies. Court information and records will be in pinned dispatches or on the World Factbook Entry to the dependency region, and the members of the Court shall have appropriate administrative authorities as determined by the Court.§27 - Composition
The High Court shall be composed of a Chief Justice, who shall solely preside over and rule in all Civil, Criminal, and State cases. It shall also include any administrative staff.The High Court is organized into the following divisions:
Criminal Court, in which nations charged by the Region are tried for violations of criminal statutes, for the purposes of enforcing law and upholding justice.
Civil Court, in which nations charged by other nations are tried for violations of civil statutes, for the purposes of remedying an accuser’s damages.
State Court, in which the Region, charged by other nations, is tried for acting illegally or unconstitutionally, for the purposes of rectifying such violations.
§28 - Chief Justice
The Chief Justice shall be elected by the General Assembly from among its members for a term of six months, to begin on either the first day of May or the first day of November. The Election shall last three days, and shall begin fourteen days before the conclusion of the current term. A nomination period of ten days shall precede the Election. A Chief Justice may not serve a third consecutive term.Should a sitting Chief Justice cease to exist, resign, or be impeached via a Motion of No Confidence of the General Assembly, the General Assembly will promptly conduct a special election to fill the remainder of the term. The shortened term will not count against any term limit. An initial special election shall be called within ten days of the adoption of this Section to fill the position until the start of the next term.
In the event there is an ongoing case at the end of a Chief Justice’s term, they shall continue to preside over the case until it concludes.
The Chief Justice shall place a puppet in the High Court dependency region, which shall be granted Border Control and Communications authority.
§29 - Fundamental Rights of the Accused
Any nation accused of a Criminal or Civil offense shall retain the following rights:The right to refuse to testify against oneself.
The right to be presumed not guilty until proven otherwise at trial.
The right to present a defense.
The right to not be tried twice for the same offense.
The right to a public trial.
The right to be notified of the charges against them at least one week before trial commences.
Furthermore, any nation accused of a Criminal Offense shall retain the right to counsel, provided by the Region if necessary.
§30 - Fundamental Rights of the Accuser
Any accuser shall retail the following rights:The right to counsel in State cases, provided by the Region if necessary, if the accuser is not the Region.
The right to file charges.
The right to not be charged if their accusation is not proven successfully in Court, unless the accuser knowingly filed a false claim.”
§18, Paragraph 2, Point a of the Constitution is hereby amended as follows:
“The Secretary of Internal Affairs (SIA), who heads the Department of Internal Affairs, is in charge of administering the regional map and issuing or revoking citizenship status, representing the NWI in judicial proceedings, and is granted Appearance, Communications and Polls authority.”GAR#17 (“Roleplay Codes”) is hereby amended as follows:
Section IV, Subsection A is hereby amended as follows:
“Consequences for breaking any limitations established by this resolution shall be determined by the Executive Secretariat (barring the establishment of a region court), which shall further define the punishment relative to the severity and context of the infraction”The following is hereby adopted as Section IV, Subsection A, Clause iii:
“Violation of roleplay rules shall not in itself constitute a criminal act, nor may the punishment for such acts extend beyond the scope of roleplay”
The Department of Internal Affairs shall appoint a Region’s Attorney, to serve as the sole Prosecutor in Non-Government Criminal cases, to defend the Accused in cases of Government Offenses if requested by the Accused, and to defend the Government in state cases.
The Region’s Attorney shall be the sole nation permitted to prosecute a Non-Government criminal offense
The Department of Internal Affairs shall appoint a Public Attorney to defend the accused in Non-Government Criminal cases, if requested by the accused, to prosecute in cases of Government Offenses, and to represent the accuser in state cases, if requested by the accuser.
The Public Attorney shall be the sole nation permitted to prosecute a Government Offense.
The Secretary of Internal Affairs may appoint whatever support staff necessary to support the Region’s Attorney and the Public Attorney.
If a nation is suspected of committing a Criminal Offense that would present an immediate threat to the security or well-being of the region if that nation were permitted to continue residing in the region during Criminal Proceedings, the Secretary-General may, pursuant to Sections 1 or 3 of the Constitution, the Secretary of Defense and Information may, pursuant to Section 3 of the Constitution, or the Founder may, pursuant to Section 23 of the Constitution, impose an indefinite Region Ban and/or Offsite Ban onto the suspected nation, and may suppress posts. These actions shall be known as Summary Bans and Summary Suppressions.
In such cases, the Region must promptly file charges against the suspected nation.
If the suspected nation is not charged for the offense within three days of the imposition of a ban, the ban shall be immediately lifted.
Within two days of the summary suppression of posts, the Region shall file a Notice of Summary Suppression with the Criminal Court.
The Court shall then issue a notification to the suspected nation informing them of the notice and asking them to the Court within seven days as to whether they consent to the suppression or wish to contest it, explaining the meaning of each choice as described under this Clause.
If the suspected nation consents to the suppression, the Founder or Secretary-General may continue suppressing the post at its discretion, and shall be informed of such.
If the suspected nation contests the suppression, the Founder or Secretary-General must either unsuppress the post within one day or charge the suspected nation for the offense, and shall be informed of such.
Consenting to a summary suppression in this manner shall not constitute an admission of guilt.
If the suspected nation is charged for the offense, but is found not guilty of all Criminal charges by the Court, the Ban shall immediately be lifted.
If the suspected nation is charged for the offense, but is found not guilty of all Criminal charges by the Court, any relevant suppressed posts will be unsuppressed.
If the suspected nation is charged for the offense, but is found guilty of one or more Criminal charges by the Court, the Court’s sentence shall override the indefinite ban or post suppression, and if the Court’s sentence does not include the type of ban imposed or the post suppression, the ban will be immediately lifted or the posts will be immediately unsuppressed.
No Executive authority, however, may prevent a nation from having access to attend their hearings or trials.
The nation imposing the ban must immediately notify via Telegram the banned nation of the ban, why it was imposed, under what Constitutional and/or Statutory authority it was imposed, and the banned nation’s rights under the Clauses of Section II, Subsection D of this Document.
The Department of Administration may publish statistics on Criminal, Civil, and State Offenses, and on any other judicial statistics it sees fit.
Definitions and Types of Offenses
A Criminal Offense is defined to be an Offense, established by a Resolution of the General Assembly, in which a nation commits an act that harms the Region as a whole, or in which the General Assembly determines it is within the interest of the Region to punish said Act.
The Criminal Court division shall have sole jurisdiction to hear cases of Criminal Offenses.
Criminal Offenses shall be grouped into one of three Criminal Classes:
High Crimes, defined to be the most severe class of Criminal Offense in which the security of the Region is placed at risk or compromised, and which requires the most severe punishment to protect the continued safety and stability of the Region and its community.
Misdemeanors, defined to be the least severe class of Criminal Offenses in which the behavior of the accused is best described as a nuisance, and which requires minor punishment to prevent continued offenses and encourage rehabilitation of the offender.
Felonies, defined to be all other Criminal Offenses, in which the punishment shall be between the other two Criminal Classes.
A Region Ban is hereby defined as a ban on residing in the region (and any dependency region, unless expressly excepted) through the NationStates border security mechanism, either permanently, or for a set period of time, up to a Maximum of three years.
An Offsite Ban is hereby defined as a ban on using or accessing either one, several, or all of the offsite (non-NationStates) systems utilized by the region, or any official NWI NationStates forum threads, either permanently, or for a set period of time, up to a Maximum of three years.
Ineligibility is hereby defined as a prohibition from voting in elections, running in elections, holding any Government Office, or participating in the General Assembly, either permanently, or for a set period of time.
Citizenship Suspension is defined as the termination of citizenship and prohibition from applying for citizenship, either permanently or for a set period of time.
A Full Ban is hereby defined as a combination of a Region Ban, an Offsite Ban for all offsite Systems, and Citizenship Suspension, either permanently, or for a set period of time, up to a Maximum of three years.
A Mute is hereby defined as a temporary prohibition on posting on one, several, or all of the official NWI communications system, including the RMB and official NWI NationStates forum threads.
Criminal Offenses shall be punishable by one or more of the following depending upon the criminal class, however the General Assembly may add further punishments through a simple Resolution:
High Crimes:
Maximum or Permanent Full Ban
Felonies:
Full Ban of no less than fourteen days but no more than the Maximum
Temporary or Permanent Ineligibility
Temporary or Permanent Citizenship Suspension
Region Ban of no less than fourteen days but no more than the Maximum
Offsite Ban of no less than fourteen days but no more than the Maximum
Mute of no less than fourteen days but no more than ninety days
Misdemeanors:
Region Ban of less than fourteen days
Offsite Ban of less than fourteen days
Mute of less than fourteen days
Suppression or deletion of posts
High Crimes may, in addition to their prescribed punishments, be punished with any punishment prescribed for Felonies or any punishment prescribed for Misdemeanors.
Felonies may, in addition to their prescribed punishments, be punished with any punishment prescribed for Misdemeanors.
Any officeholder sentenced to a Region Ban and/or Offsite Ban but not also sentenced to Ineligibility or Citizenship Suspension shall not be permitted to execute the powers of their office on the platforms from which they were banned for the duration of the ban.
The sentence for any criminal case may be subject to the following enhancements, mitigations, and modifications at the discretion of the Court:
If the combined consecutive term length of any one type of Ban exceeds the Maximum due to conviction on multiple charges (however not due to any other sentencing enhancement), the ban will automatically be enhanced to a permanent ban of the same type.
If the offender has a record of at least six months service in the Government, or has drafted at least five General Assembly Resolutions that were then subsequently passed, shall be eligible to, once in their lifetime, receive a 5% term reduction on their sentence.
If the offender has been convicted of a High Crime and has either previously been convicted of a High Crime or been previously convicted of a Felony within the past year, they shall receive a Permanent Full Ban.
If the offender has been convicted of a Felony and has either been previously convicted of a High Crime or been previously convicted of a Felony within the past year, they shall receive a 15% term extension on their sentence.
If the offender has previously been convicted of High Crime or Felony charges within three or more separate cases within their lifetime, they shall receive a 10% term extension on their sentence.
If the offender is determined by the Court to be genuinely remorseful and eager to remedy their actions, they shall receive a 10% term reduction on their sentence.
If the offender has been convicted of an offense which they have been convicted of in a prior trial, and commission of a second or subsequent offense does not either constitute an offense within itself (or if it does, the offender has not been convicted of such an offense) or by statute carry a heightened sentence, they shall receive a 10% term extension on their sentence.
If the offender treated the Court with flagrant disrespect during Proceedings, failed to comply with the Court’s Orders, or failed to reasonably participate in Proceedings, they shall receive a 5-day or 5% (whichever is greater) term extension on their sentence.
If the offender was summarily banned for the offence by the Secretariat or the Founder pursuant to Section II, Clause D of this Document, they shall have the time spent summarily banned for the offence prior to sentencing credited towards the term of their sentence.
For nations convicted of a Felony and sentenced to a temporary Full Ban of at least six months, they may, after completing 85% of their Full Ban, petition the Court to have the final 10% of their ban period to be converted to a term of Probation in which the Court may allow the nation to return to the region under one or more conditions, which may include (but are not limited to) a temporary Mute or Offsite Ban.
In the petition, the petitioner shall explain why they believe Probation would be appropriate and just for their case.
The Court shall then weigh the merits of the petition and the totality of the case, including (but not limited to) the convicted charges, the quantity of charges, any attempts of the petitioner at rehabilitation or restorative action, the petitioner’s activity since the Ban, and the demonstrated remorse of the petitioner.
Should the Court determine that it would be appropriate and just to grant Probation for the petitioner, it shall do so. Otherwise, it shall deny the petition for Probation. Either way, the Court shall explain in detail the reasoning for its decision.
Any nation sentenced to a Region Ban of at least 14 days for a Felony offense shall also receive Citizenship Suspension for the duration of the ban.
A Civil Offense is defined to be an Offense, established by a Resolution of the General Assembly, in which a nation commits an act that harms another nation, and for which there is a direct or partial remedy for such harm.
The Civil Court division shall have sole jurisdiction to hear cases of Civil Offenses.
Civil Offenses may be remedied in any way in which the Court deems reasonable and proper, and the Court may enforce through a Court Order, however, the Court may not punish the offender.
A State Offense is hereby defined to be an Offense, established by a Resolution of the General Assembly, in which the Government, the High Court, or the General Assembly commits an act in violation of the Constitution or established Law, or violates the codified rights of any resident or citizen.
The State Court division shall have sole jurisdiction to hear cases of State Offenses.
State Offenses may be remedied either through declaratory judgement, modifying or overturning an action of the High Court, reversal of the Government Action, injunction from continuing to commit the Offense, or overturning of illegal provisions of a Law, and the court may enforce through a Court Order.
Judicial Offenses are hereby defined as a Criminal, Civil, or State Offense committed against the judicial system. A Criminal, Civil, or State Offense may be additionally designated as a Judicial Offense by Resolution of the General Assembly. No Offense may be solely classified as a Judicial Offense.
This designation shall not affect the jurisdiction or potential remedies for the Offense.
Government Offenses are hereby defined as a Criminal Offense which is alleged to be committed while acting as in an official Executive, Legislative, or Judicial capacity. A Criminal Offense may be additionally designated as a Government Offense by Resolution of the General Assembly for Criminal Offenses which by definition can only be committed in an official capacity, however this shall not preclude other Criminal Offenses from being considered Government Offenses due to the situational factors of the specific allegation. No Offense may be solely classified as a Government Offense.
This designation shall not affect the jurisdiction or potential remedies for the Offense.
The Court shall create a standard form for filing charges, that shall at minimum specify the accusing entity, the accused entity, the alleged charges, the appropriate court division, and certification affirming the truthfulness of the filing.
The Court shall reserve the right to modify or reject an improper form for filing charges.
Upon receipt of a valid form for filing charges, the Court shall notify all parties involved of the accusations, including the Region’s Attorney in State Cases and Non-Government Criminal Cases, and including the Public Attorney in cases of Government Offenses.
In the notification to the accused, the Court shall remind them of their rights under §29 of the Constitution, among any other rights the Court deems appropriate.
Any nation may file criminal charges against another nation, however, the Region’s Attorney shall solely prosecute the case beyond that point, except in cases of Government Offenses, in which the Public Attorney shall solely prosecute.
After the Court issues notifications pursuant to Section IV, Subsection A, Clause iii of this Document, it shall promptly schedule a complaint deadline, no less than two days after the notification, by which the accuser must submit a written account of the alleged offense, including a citation to the statute defining the offense. The complaint must be specific and detailed enough for the Accused to make an informed plea decision, and if the Court finds a complaint to be insufficient or invalid, it shall reject it, and extend the complaint deadline if necessary.
Following the submission of a sufficient and valid complaint, the Court shall compose a Telegram to the Accused, in which they shall be read the charges against them, informed of the statutes and sentences for each charge, provided with the complaint, and asked to enter a plea for each charge.
At any time between the notification and the complaint deadline, the Accuser may file to add or drop charges.
The accused may enter a plea of either guilty or not guilty.
Should the accused enter a guilty plea, the Court will immediately find them guilty of the charge, and they will not be tried on that charge.
Should the accused enter a not guilty plea, they will be tried on that charge.
Should the accused fail to enter a plea, a plea of not guilty will be recorded.
If there are any charges to which an accused has pleaded not guilty, the Court shall schedule a discovery deadline, for at least two days after the plea entry, and a fact-finding trial, at least two days after the discovery deadline.
At any time between the scheduling of a discovery deadline and the adjournment of trial the Accuser may file to drop charges.
The Court shall devise a standard discovery filing, in which the Region and the accused can submit their evidence and name witnesses by the set discovery deadline.
At the fact-finding trial, the Court shall allow the Region and the accused to make opening arguments, then the Region shall present their evidence, then the accused shall present their evidence, and then each side will respond to the other no more than five times, until finally submitting their closing arguments.
Following closing arguments, the Court will then issue a ruling determining the guilt of the accused for each charge, including detailed explanation for their determination. The Court will then adjourn trial.
After either the accused has pleaded guilty to all charges, or after a trial in which the accused was found guilty of at least one charge, the Court will schedule a sentencing hearing for at least one day later.
At the sentencing hearing, the Region and the accused shall be permitted to make their cases as to the just punishment for the offenses committed, and then the Court will issue a ruling as to the sentence, and explain in detail it’s reasoning.
Any victims shall be permitted to testify at the sentencing hearing.
The Court shall adhere to statutory and precedential sentencing guidelines in its sentencing decision.
The Court shall then order the Secretary-General or the Founder to promptly execute the sentence.
After the Court issues notifications pursuant to Section IV, Subsection A, Clause iii of this Document, it shall promptly schedule a complaint deadline, no less than two days after the notification, by which the accuser must submit a written account of the alleged offense, including a citation to the statute defining the offense, and a statement outlining the alleged damages and requested remedy.
At any time between the notification and the complaint deadline, the Accuser may file to add or drop charges.
The Court shall additionally schedule a discovery deadline, no less than two days after the complaint deadline, by which both parties must submit their evidence and name witnesses using the Court’s standard discovery filing.
The Court shall additionally schedule a trial for no less than two days after the discovery deadline.
At any time between the scheduling of a discovery deadline and the adjournment of trial the Accuser may file to drop charges.
At the trial, the Court shall allow the accuser and the accused to make opening arguments, then the accuser shall present their evidence, then the accused shall present their evidence, and then each side will respond to the other no more than five times, until finally submitting their closing arguments.
Following closing arguments, the Court will then issue a ruling determining the culpability of the accused for each charge, including detailed explanation for their determination. The Court will then remedy any wrongs for which the accused was determined to be culpable, and will adjourn trial.
After the Court issues notifications pursuant to Section IV, Subsection A, Clause iii of this Document, it shall promptly schedule a complaint deadline, no less than two days after the notification, by which the accuser must submit a written account of the alleged offense, including a citation to the statute defining the offense or the law(s) violated, and a statement outlining the alleged damages and the requested remedy. The complaint must be specific and detailed, and if the Court finds a complaint to be insufficient or invalid, it shall reject it, and extend the complaint deadline if necessary.
The Court shall additionally schedule a discovery deadline, no less than two days after the complaint deadline, by which both parties must submit their evidence and name witnesses using the Court’s standard discovery filing.
The Court shall additionally schedule a trial for no less than two days after the discovery deadline.
At any time between the scheduling of a discovery deadline and the adjournment of trial the Accuser may file to drop charges.
At the trial, the Court shall allow the accuser and the Region to make opening arguments, then the accuser shall present their evidence, then the Region shall present their evidence, and then each side will respond to the other no more than five times, until finally submitting their closing arguments.
Following closing arguments, the Court will then issue a ruling determining the culpability of the Region for each charge, including detailed explanation for their determination. The Court will then remedy any State Offenses for which the Region was found to be culpable, and will adjourn trial.
The Court may, where appropriate and authorized by Law or Judicial Decree, issue Court Orders to enforce Court procedure or rulings.
The Court may, where appropriate and authorized by Law or Judicial Decree, issue Preliminary Injunctions through a Court Order to enjoin the Accuser or the Accused from taking or continuing to take a particular action while the case is adjudicated. Preliminary Injunctions may only be issued when there is a likelihood of significant or irreparable harm to the Accuser or the Accused’s interests, and such an Injunction would not be excessively onerous to the Accused.
The Court shall admit private counsel
to represent the accused in Criminal Cases, if provided by the accused;
to represent the accuser in State Cases, if provided by the accuser; or
to represent either the accuser or the accused in Civil Cases, if provided by the represented party
If an Accused fails to reasonably cooperate with the Court or participate in its Proceedings, the Court may impose a Region Ban (with an exception for the applicable High Court dependency region) and/or an Offsite Ban on the Accused, until they resume reasonable cooperation with the Court and participation in its proceedings.
For the purposes of judicial proceedings and sentencing, one month is defined as thirty days.
For the purposes of judicial proceedings and sentencing, one year is defined as three hundred and sixty-five days.
The Court may extend the procedural deadlines set forth by Section IV of this Document at its discretion should the deadlines provide significant hardship to the parties or the Court.
If a Judicial Offense may have been committed before the Court, the Court may file charges for the Judicial Offense against the nations responsible.
If the nation suspected of a Criminal Judicial Offense is the accused in a pending or ongoing pre-conviction Criminal case, and at least one week remains before trial, the Court may simply add the Criminal Judicial Offense charges to that case.
While the Court may file charges, it may not prosecute them.
The Court shall be authorized to issue subpoenas to witnesses to order them to participate in the judicial proceedings.
Either the Accuser or the Accused must first request the Court to issue the subpoena before the Court may issue it.
No witness shall be permitted to testify without first having been issued a subpoena.
All witnesses may be cross-examined by the opposing party (the party that did not file the subpoena request) in the case.
No witness shall be required to submit self-incriminating testimony.
Should new evidence arise or witnesses come forward after the discovery deadline, parties to the case may request that the Court admit the new evidence or witnesses.
The requesting party must sufficiently prove or explain as to why the evidence or witness could not be properly included previously in discovery.
If the Court accepts the request, the Court shall issue a 72-hour recess to permit the opposing side to review the new information.
In recognition of the right to information, all Court records regarding cases shall be published expeditiously.
However the Court shall remove any information that meets the criteria set forth in Subsection C of this Section, and will make note of the removal.
All Trials shall be public, and shall be conducted on the regional message board of a High Court dependency region, and all non-parties to the case shall be prohibited from posting during Trial unless specifically authorized by the Court.
However, the Court will not permit the posting of any information that meets the criteria set forth in Subsection C of this Section, and any procedures including said information will be conducted via Telegram.
Information that meets the following criteria shall be deemed Confidential and shall not be made publicly available during any Court Procedure:
Classified information related to regional security or foreign policy.
Personal information or data regarding any nation that has not consented to said information being publicly released by the Court.
Any information for which the General Assembly, through a Resolution, has ordered not to be publicly released.
Any information for which the Court has deemed sensitive and determined it would be improper to release publicly.
Ethics and Conflicts of Interest
The Government
No nation may simultaneously hold the offices of Region’s Attorney and Public Attorney.
No nation may simultaneously be employed under the Region’s Attorney and the Public Attorney.
No member or employee of the Secretariat, including the Secretary-General, may seek to interfere or impede a lawful Criminal Prosecution, except the Region’s Attorney or any nation employed under the Region’s Attorney.
If the Region’s Attorney or the Public Attorney is charged with any Criminal Offense or State Offense, they will have their tenure suspended until the conclusion of the relevant Criminal or State proceedings, and an Interim officeholder shall be appointed in their place.
The Public Attorney shall not hold any other position within the Executive, the General Assembly (except as Member of the General Assembly), and/or the High Court.
Neither the Region’s Attorney nor the Public Attorney nor any of their respective staff may serve as such in any case in which they are the Accuser, the Accused, a witness, or otherwise party to the case outside their statutorily prescribed duties of representation. In such cases they must recuse themself.
Neither the Region’s Attorney nor the Public Attorney nor any of their respective staff may serve as such in any case in which there is a present conflict of interest, or in which they would stand to personally and improperly benefit from a particular outcome of the case. In such a case, the official must recuse themself.
The Region’s Attorney, the Public Attorney, and/or any of their respective staff may, if there is a potential conflict of interest, recuse themself from a particular case, and the Department of Internal Affairs shall appoint a replacement.
The General Assembly
The General Assembly shall pass no Resolution that punishes any nation without Judicial Proceedings, except where excepted within the Constitution.
The General Assembly shall not interfere in any open Court cases, and no Resolution passed by the General Assembly which affects the Judicial System shall apply to any open Court cases.
The Chief Justice
The Chief Justice may not preside over any case in which they are the Accuser, the Accused, a witness, or otherwise party to the case. In such instances, the Chief Justice must recuse themself from the case.
Recusal shall not be required in cases of Judicial Offenses.
The Chief Justice may not preside over any case in which there is a present conflict of interest, or in which the Chief Justice would stand to personally and improperly benefit from a particular outcome of the case. In such a case, the Chief Justice must recuse themself.
The Chief Justice, at any time during their term, may recuse themself temporarily, and the General Assembly shall elect an Interim officeholder to serve until the completion of the recusal.
The Court
The Court shall strive to follow precedent wherever possible and appropriate.
The Court must not act arbitrarily or capriciously in any of its proceedings.
The Court shall ensure that parties to a case are properly informed of updates or changes to the case’s proceedings.
The Court shall assemble no jury to rule in or advise any ruling in any case.
This shall not preclude the Court from permitting interested parties to file amicus curiae briefs.
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§18 The Cabinet
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a. The Secretary of Internal Affairs (SIA), who heads the Department of Internal Affairs, is in charge of administering the regional map and issuing or revoking citizenship status, representing the NWI in judicial proceedings, and is granted Appearance, Communications and Polls authority.
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Chapter VI - The High Court
§25 - Status
The High Court forms the Judicial Branch of the New West Indies.
It shall hear all cases of Criminal, Civil, and State offenses as specified by Law.
§26 - Establishment
The High Court shall be housed in a dependency region, to be founded by a puppet the Founder, Achipel, entitled “High Court of the New West Indies”, subject to the same Laws of the New West Indies. Court information and records will be in pinned dispatches or on the World Factbook Entry to the dependency region, and the members of the Court shall have appropriate administrative authorities as determined by the Court.
§27 - Composition
The High Court shall be composed of a Chief Justice, who shall solely preside over and rule in all Civil, Criminal, and State cases. It shall also include any administrative staff.
The High Court is organized into the following divisions:
Criminal Court, in which nations charged by the Region are tried for violations of criminal statutes, for the purposes of enforcing law and upholding justice.
Civil Court, in which nations charged by other nations are tried for violations of civil statutes, for the purposes of remedying an accuser’s damages.
State Court, in which the Region, charged by other nations, is tried for acting illegally or unconstitutionally, for the purposes of rectifying such violations.
§28 - Chief Justice
The Chief Justice shall be elected by the General Assembly from among its members for a term of six months, to begin on either the first day of January or the first day of July. The Election shall last three days, and shall begin fourteen days before the conclusion of the current term. A nomination period of ten days shall precede the Election. A Chief Justice may not serve a third consecutive term.
Should a sitting Chief Justice cease to exist, resign, or be impeached via a Motion of No Confidence of the General Assembly, the General Assembly will promptly conduct a special election to fill the remainder of the term. The shortened term will not count against any term limit.
In the event there is an ongoing case at the end of a Chief Justice’s term, they shall continue to preside over the case until it concludes.
The Chief Justice shall place a puppet in the High Court dependency region, which shall be granted Border Control and Communications authority.
§29 - Fundamental Rights of the Accused
Any nation accused of a Criminal or Civil offense shall retain the following rights:
The right to refuse to testify against oneself.
The right to be presumed not guilty until proven otherwise at trial.
The right to present a defense.
The right to not be tried twice for the same offense.
The right to a public trial.
The right to be notified of the charges against them at least one week before trial commences.
Furthermore, any nation accused of a Criminal Offense shall retain the right to counsel, provided by the Region if necessary.
§30 - Fundamental Rights of the Accuser
Any accuser shall retail the following rights:
The right to counsel in State cases, provided by the Region if necessary, if the accuser is not the region.
The right to file charges.
The right to not be charged if their accusation is not proven successfully in Court, unless the accuser knowingly filed a false claim.
[...]
IV. Lawbreaking
Consequences for breaking any limitations established by this resolution shall be determined by the Executive, which shall further define the punishment relative to the severity and context of the infraction
Repeated offensives, especially following warnings, shall likely warrant greater punishment
Possible punishments may include:
Temporary or permanent ban from posting on a roleplay thread or going to war with other nations
Temporary or permanent ban on all roleplay privileges
If permanent, their map claim shall be revoked
Violation of roleplay rules shall not in itself constitute a criminal act, nor may the punishment for such acts extend beyond the scope of roleplay.
