Legal System in Aquitayne
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| Aquitaynian Law |
|---|
| Part of the Astyrian law series |
| Types |
| State |
| Private |
| Estates in land |
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| Criminal |
| Related topics |
| Other Astyrian law areas |
The Legal System in Aquitayne is a form of Administrative Law that governs the activities of administrative agencies of government, and Public Law, which governs relationships between individuals and the government, and those relationships between individuals which are of direct concern to the society, in the Constitutional Monarchy of Aquitayne.
The judicial system in Aquitayne rests on three principles: the nature of the dispute (State, Private, or Criminal; the legitimacy of the dispute or offense (determined through evidentiary hearings); and finally the ethical bearing of the charge. It is these precepts, tribus causis, that lay the foundation of Aquitaynian Law, and what differs it from many judicial systems across Astyria.
Process
The process of adjudicating a case and seeing that case come before the courts is a series of preliminary hearings. The courts require that all motions be heard through their proper jurisdictions, i.e Public, Private, and Criminal Law, respectively. Once a motion has been filed to the courts, an evidentiary hearing is scheduled where the accuser (Plaintiff) will set before the court the evidence and testimony legitimizing the cause for their motion. This is to satisfy the second of the tribus causis and see that the case is moved to trial.
Evidentiary hearings are overseen by three judges. The role of these judges is two-fold: firstly, they must establish and concur on the legitimacy of the motion set before them. The judges must, in the eyes of the law, come to a two-to-one majority either in favor or against the motion set before them based on the legitimacy of that motion based on the evidence provided to the court. The second duty of the preliminary judges is to establish the ethos of the motion, establishing and ruling on whether or not this is a malicious prosecution.
If the Tribunal finds in favor of the Plaintiff, the case will move forward to a new, singular judge, who will hear on the motion set before him. After the preliminary tribunals, it will be in this judge's hands to accept or deny any further motions made by the Plaintiff or Defendant during the course of the trial. Unlike many European courts, it is the duty of the Plaintiff and Defendants to argue their case to a trial of their peers.
Circuits
Currently, there are six major circuits of courts in Aquitayne. The first circuit is referred to as 'Circuit Zero', as it is a circuit of Adjudicators that retain the mediation of problems within their local municipalities. This circuit is more informal than it is a formal circuit of the courts, but is essential to the maintenance of the courts' dockets and retainers. This is the busiest and most influential of the circuits, as it is where 88% of all cases start and end.
The next highest circuit of courts is the Civil Courts, which are broken into individual Magistrates by province. These courts hear all cases that could not be solved by an Adjudicator (although they may order court mandated mediation) in the Private sector of the Law. These courts do not hear cases regarding Criminal Law, and are strictly reserved for the settlement and resolution of civil cases of private citizens bringing suit against a private citizen, company, government office, or entity. Civil Courts are housed in the capital cities of provinces and cities over 45,000 people.
The Courts of Retainer rest at the same level as the Civil Courts, but are of a different circuit.. These are the courts that oversee all Criminal cases within the country. Adjudicators are not permitted to resolve criminal cases and as such this circuit is more influx with trials than any other. This circuit is the most prevalent after the Civil Courts, with 65% of cases resolving in a settlement rather than a verdict from a jury. There are Courts of Retainer in every major and minor city.
The Courts of the Crown are the governmental courts in Aquitayne that oversee suits risen against the government, present cases approved by the Crown, and oversee the regulation and litigation of various government agencies. There are special Adjudicators appointed to these courts, referred to as Royal Adjudicators, such litigators that are appointed by the Crown to serve the people of Aquitayne in keeping the government in reasonable bounds while protecting the liberties of the people of Aquitayne. The Courts of the Crown deal mostly in Parliamentary litigation, legality of laws, and suits against government agencies, officials, or the state itself.
The Courts of Appeal are the only courts that rest above the Courts of Retainer and the Civil Courts but under the Court of the Land. This circuit of courts oversees the appeal of cases adjudicated at the Courts of Retainer and the Civil Courts. The Courts of Appeal are broken down into individual Magistrates for each province.
The highest circuit of courts is the Atreum Terrae (Court of the Land). This court is the highest overseer of the law within Aquitayne and is the sole retainer of Judicial Review in the country. It is to this court that all Private, Public and Criminal cases are appealed to, and their verdict is final. Unlike the United States judicial system, there are not Courts of the Land at a provincial level. Such cases must be appealed through the Courts of Appeal at the national level before possibly being heard by the Atreum Terrae, though they hold no obligation to oversee such a case. Should the Atreum Terrae refuse to hear a case, the ruling of the Courts of Appeal stands.
Adjudicators
Adjudicators are not judges, but are representatives of the courts that oversee local matters that can be resolved without trial. They are essentially mediators that work to have both parties come to a mutual agreement rather than take their case before a Tribunal and onto trial. Their work is, effectively, to keep the volume of cases within the courts to a minimum, and reserve the courts efforts to cases which it needs to be focused on. As an example, the small town of Nar'am - population around 10,000 - has four Public Adjudicators, who oversee roughly 351 cases per year. Of these cases, only about 15% go before a Tribunal and only 6% of those cases continue on to the courts.
Adjudicators are not publicly elected officials, and are rather either experienced lawyers that are paving their way to a judgeship, or retired judges that have been asked or volunteered to return to Civil Service. In many cases, even after failed mediation, a Tribunal may order court mandated mediation, which will force an Adjudicator to come to a resolution agreed to by both parties within a set limit of time determined by the Tribunal.