The Decree of the Southern Gap

Decree of the Southern Gap
The First Decree of Czar Aleksandru IV
Territorial extent	Durnstaal
Enacted by	Czar Stanislav Aleksandru IV
Date enacted	November 29th, 1042
Status: In force

The Decree of the Southern Gap is a royal decree enacted by Czar Aleksandru IV in 1042 in response to the death of his father, Czar Aleksandru III on campaign into lands formerly held by the Emmirian Empire. The loss of his father after decades of fighting to force Emmiria out of Duernian lands convinced Czar Aleksandru IV that any attempts to push the border farther south would result in more loss of life so he declared the act of invasion south through the "Southern Gap" to be illegal. The anger that would normally accompany a decree of this nature was nullified by both the popularity of the former Czar Aleksandru III and Stanislav Aleksandru IV's own military experience and prowess.

The decree was folded into the law codes of both the Confederacy of Duern and the Federated Union of Durnstaal, although this was more due to the blanket nature of the union of laws rather than a specific respect for the decree itself. Despite this, the decree is still respected and notably caused a coup in 1308 when Czarina Voronin II of Duern attempted to violate it by ordering an army south. Her overthrow ended the Voronin family's rule over Duern and began the Husa Dynasty with Czar Richard Husa I taking power in 1310.

In the nearly one thousand years that the decree has been in effect, it has not been violated once, although it was brought up during Durnstaal's controversial role in the intervention during the 1991 Jiddiyan Civil War. It was determined, however, that this was not a violation of the decree as the reason for the military action was not conquest but rather support of an ally. This did not stop detractors of the intervention from declaring "The ancient laws of our lands mean nothing against pleasing foreign masters!" -Elder Ferka Israti.

"By royal decree of Czar Stanislav Aleksandru, fourth of the Aleksandru family and rightful ruler of Duern, shall a new law be made. The south-eastern border of Duern is hereby declared to be a line extending from the Kalater Mountain range to the coast of Lake Gravenna through the forts of Duernian construction located throughout the dry plain which exists between the two. No soldier of Duern, in the employ of armies domestic or foreign, shall ever march across this border with the intent to conquer the territory beyond it, as was the death of Czar Stanislav Aleksandru III."