Law:El Lexhatx: Difference between revisions
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::1.2.2. The Scribe of Abbavilla shall maintain el Lexhatx in accordance with the directions in Title Z. The Scribe shall thus advise all proposers of bills to the Clark on proper formatting of their bills to conform with Title Z. ([[47RZ14]]) | ::1.2.2. The Scribe of Abbavilla shall maintain el Lexhatx in accordance with the directions in Title Z. The Scribe shall thus advise all proposers of bills to the Clark on proper formatting of their bills to conform with Title Z. ([[47RZ14]]) | ||
::.1.2.3 If the Scribe finds an error in the formatting, grammar, or spelling of a bill | ::.1.2.3 If the Scribe, or their deputy(s), finds an error in the formatting, grammar, or spelling of a bill which is currently in the Clark, or is alerted of same, they shall work with the sponsor of the bill to fix said error(s). ([[48RZ22]]) | ||
::1.2.3.1 The Scribe shall publicize any proposed changes to a bill, | ::1.2.3.1 The Scribe, or their deputy(s), shall publicize any proposed changes to a bill, with the approval of the author. The changes are deemed to have been implemented after they have been public for seven days, unless the changes are disallowed by the conditions of C.1.2.3.2 ([[48RZ22]]) | ||
::1.2.3.2 If, before the proposed changes are implemented, a petition of MCs representing at least 1/3 of the seats in the Cosa, or a petition of at least 1/3 of the Senators, goes before the Scribe in protest of the proposed changes to | ::1.2.3.2 If, before the proposed changes are implemented, a petition of MCs representing at least 1/3 of the seats in the Cosa, or a petition of at least 1/3 of the Senators, goes before the Scribe in protest of the proposed changes to a bill, the changes cannot be implemented. ([[48RZ22]]) | ||
::1.2.3.3 | ::1.2.3.3 ([[48RZ22]]) | ||
::1.2.3.4 | ::1.2.3.4 ([[48RZ22]]) | ||
:1.3. The Royal Archives, headed by the Royal Archivist. The function of the Archives is to preserve and make available the historical artifacts and information of the Kingdom in museums and other venues. | :1.3. The Royal Archives, headed by the Royal Archivist. The function of the Archives is to preserve and make available the historical artifacts and information of the Kingdom in museums and other venues. |
Revision as of 21:07, 28 November 2015
This law is currently IN FORCE |
Ziu 46th Clark 1st
Uréu q'estadra så: Alexandreu Davinescu |
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Per 200 — Con 0 — Aus 0 |
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Per 8 — Con 0 — Aus 0 |
L'Anuntziă dels Legeux |
View Clark Result |
Contents
46RZ4, el Lexhatx
Tandi qe:
- El Ziu zesclara q'els legeux del Regipäts Talossan sint drepts es bens. Os estevent cunsacrats över plürs anneux, d'acurd cün el Legeu Orgänic, es la naziun prospereva. Dreitüra esteva seþada in la fülca. L'urfalan non esteva smestat àl praidivíeu; la vidua non esteva smestada àl podeschciatíu. Com'evri, l'antiquità grült del Regipäts Talossan tent laßat sieu legeux spapersats es variats. Solamint els pü metxaveséux revindicadrent famiglharità avetz toct i statuteux säpeschti, es las zesclaraziuns da quáisevois Cosas tiennent amistat àl posterità. Ivenðo toct i pevarhen del legeu, dal finançù, es d'ingenc'hosa d'alter sint ceafats in el popul, c'e unfáþil për lor à sä́parh com'acestilor pevarhen tiennent estescu uçats.
- Acest non put starh. Els legeux sint l'exprimaziun dal volontà xheneral. Cadascu citaxhien tent el drept da partiçipaziun àl fundamaintsch, eda par implicamaintsch perziunal, eda par sieu representanteu. Els legeux fossent estarh identic per toct, siat ça prostexhent eda ça punient. Ça fossent estarh avalaval à toct, es vlicaval fáþilmint es à regeu es àð enclin, es à cadì es à petiziuneir, es à Seneschal es à citaxhien. Com'acest, els legeux fossent estarh raßemblats in ün codeu singul, svo að toct in el regipäts lor tenadrent es lor guardadrent, ben es cümbien in lor pienità es totalità për lor es lor sovinds.
- Ainda qe el Regipäts Talossan isch ün pätset, pri 'n mundeu magnh, el Ziu, in la nómina del Popul Talossan, perventüra empena avant la þistoria, q'ár respunçivalitaes värts noastra päts sint üna fiduschcia sacra tondavon qe acestilor d'altreux popuis värts lor pätsilor. Per aceasta raziun, noi establischent es cunsacrent acest codeu, qe noi nominent el Lexhatx. Qe noi en victuadrent, es en tamadrent.
Whereas:
- The Ziu finds that the laws of the Kingdom of Talossa are good and just. They were ordained over many years, in concert with the Organic Law of Talossa, and the nation prospered. Equity was established in the land. The orphan was not given over to the rich; the widow was not given over to the powerful. However, the great antiquity of the Kingdom of Talossa has left her laws scattered and diverse. Only the most knowledgeable can claim familiarity with all known statutes, and the declarations of some Cosas have even been lost to posterity. Though all power of law, finance and anything else is vested in the people, it is difficult for them to know how that power has been used.
- This cannot stand. Law is the expression of the general will. Every citizen has a right to participate personally, or through his representative, in its foundation. It must be the same for all, whether it protects or punishes. It must be available to all, and easy to access for king and subject, justice and petitioner, Seneschal and citizen. And so the laws must be compiled into a single code of law, that all those in the kingdom might have and keep them, well and peaceably in their fulness and entirety for them and their heirs.
- While the Kingdom of Talossa is a small country, in the face of the great world, the Ziu, in the name of the people of Talossa, hereby pledges before history that our responsibilities to our country are no less a sacred trust than those of other people to theirs. We therefore do establish and ordain this code of laws, to be known as el Lexhatx. We shall uphold it, and perfect it.
Therefore the Ziu does here declare that 25RZ50, 31RZ14, 34RZ9, 35RZ21, 35RZ22, 35RZ23, 35RZ24, 35RZ34, 36RZ17, 38RZ15, and 40RZ4 are all repealed, with the nation's highest gratitude for their sponsors: Alexandreu Gavárþic'h, Ben Madison, Flip Molinar, Gregory A. Tisher, Sir C.M. Siervicül, Quedéir Lord Castiglhâ, Count of Thord Ma la Mha, and His Royal Majesty King John. These statutes have formed the foundation of our system of law, and they are incorporated into this legal code.
Further, the Ziu repeals 6RC7, 6RC24, 6RC31, 6RC32, 6RC33, 6RC37, 6RC54, 8RC35, 13RC32, 14RC9, 15RC9, 15RC18, 16RC1, 16RC3, 16RC10, 16RC11, 16RC13, 17RC7, 17RC44, 18RC6, 18RC28, 20RC10, 20RC26, 20RC27, 20RC34, 20RC35, 20RC37, 22RZ11, 23RZ3, 23RZ14, 23RZ23, 23RZ34, 23RZ39, 23RZ40, 23RZ43, 23RZ45, 24RZ44, 24RZ46, 24RZ48, 24PD7, 25RZ5, 25RZ9, 25RZ11, 25RZ13, 25RZ17, 25RZ18, 25RZ26, 25RZ31, 25RZ67, 25RZ77, 25RZ91, 26RZ12, 26RZ15, 28RZ10, 28RZ15, 28RZ16, 28RZ26, 29RZ8, 30RZ11, 31RZ29, 32RZ2, 32RZ3, 32RZ10, 32RZ11, 32RZ12, 32RZ13, 32RZ18, 32RZ24, 32RZ25, 33RZ5, 33RZ6, 33RZ13, 33RZ15, 34RZ1, 34RZ3, 34RZ12, 34RZ19, 34RZ22, 35RZ2, 35RZ4, 35RZ15, 35RZ30, 35RZ32, 35RZ33, 35PD2, 36RZ1, 36RZ2, 36RZ9, 36RZ10, 36RZ13, 37RZ3, 37RZ8, 37RZ12, 37RZ13, 37PD1, 38RZ3, 38RZ8, 38RZ12, 38RZ16, 38RZ18, 38PD2, 39RZ1, 39RZ4, 39RZ6, 39RZ15, 39RZ16, 39RZ18, 39RZ23, 40RZ3, 40RZ7, 40RZ9, 40RZ19, 41RZ1, 41RZ2, 41RZ6, 41RZ8, 42RZ1, 42RZ3, 42RZ4, 42RZ5, 42RZ11, 42RZ14, 42RZ22, 43RZ2, 43RZ6, 43RZ9, 43RZ14, 43RZ15, 43RZ16, 43RZ24, 43RZ28, 43PD1, 44RZ1, 44RZ25, 45RZ2, 45RZ5, 45RZ15, 45RZ22, 45RZ23, and 45RZ25, with thanks to sponsors T.M. Asmourescu, Oliver Brainerd, X. Pol Briga, Fritz von Buchholtz, Márcüs Cantaloûr, Mximo Carbonèl, Litz Cjantscheir, Matt Dabrowski, Alexandreu Davinescu, Glüc da Dhi, Owen Edwards, Davïu Foctéir, Marti-Pair Furxheir, Alexandreu Gavárþic'h, Éovart Grischun, Mark Hamilton, Gjermund Higraff, John A. Jahn, Ivan Jahnkofiev, Nick Kovac, Danihél Lauriéir, Andrew Lowry, Marc Moisan, Flip Molinar, Matáiwos Nanamavéu, Tamorán dàl Navâ, Istefan Perþonest, Michael Pope, Martì Prevuost, Ron Rosalez, Charles Sauls, Albrec'ht Stolfi, Gregory A. Tisher, Viteu Toctviac'hteir, Munditenens Tresplet, Breneir Tzaracomprada, Óïn Ursüm, Art Verbotten, Sir Iusti Canun, Sir Mick Preston, Sir C.M. Siervicül, Quedéir Lord Castiglhâ, Count of Thord Ma la Mha, and His Royal Majesty King John. These laws have also been incorporated into this legal code.
Further, the Ziu repeals 6RC2, 6RC3, 6RC5, 6RC9, 6RC18, 6RC20, 6RC26, 6RC28, 6RC30, 6RC46, 6RC57, 6RC58, 6RC88, 7RC3, 7RC6, 7RC10, 7RC14, 7RC21, 7RC22, 7RC30, 7RC37, 7RC38, 7RC40, 7RC45, 7RC51, 7RC52, 7RC54, 8RC5, 9RC12, 12RC15, 12RC18, 13RC7, 13RC33, 13RC36, 14RC10, 14RC11, 14RC40, 15RC11, 15RC19, 16RC31, 16RC39, 17RC1, 17RC23, 17RC40, 17PD49, 17PD50, 17PD51, 17PD52, 17PD53, 17PD54, 17PD55, 18RC21, 18RC26, 18RC30, 19RC10, 19PD57, 20RC28, 21RC13, 21RC14, 21RC15, 21RC16, 21RC17, 21RC18, 21RC19, 21RC20, 21RC21, 21RC22, 21RC23, 21RC24, 21RC25, 21RC26, 21RC27, 21RC28, 21RC30, 22RZ15, 22RZ17, 23RZ2, 23RZ5, 23RZ33, 24RZ2, 24RZ37, 24RZ42, 24PD5, 25RZ44, 25RZ65, 27RZ6, 28RZ28, 29RZ1, 29RZ6, 29PD1, 30RZ1, 30PD3, 31RZ17, 31RZ18, 31RZ22, 32RZ4, 32RZ17, 32RZ21, 32RZ22, 32RZ23, 32RZ30, 33RZ10, 33RZ16, 34RZ5, 34RZ8, 34RZ13, 34RZ31, 35RZ7, 35RZ27, 35RZ31, and 36RZ5, to the extent that these bills are subject to repeal by statute.
Further, the Ziu hereby repeals all other previous laws and acts of the Ziu, with the proviso that no citizen shall thereby lose their citizenship, an office they hold, an honour that has been bestowed upon them, or official gratitude they have been granted, and that such repeal does not reflect a change in the diplomatic status bestowed by the Kingdom of Talossa on any other state or nation.
Be it also known that the Ziu does hereby establish this legal code, which shall be referred to as
Lexhatx
- A. General Crime
- B. Elections
- C. Royal Household
- D. Government
- E. Immigration
- F. Culture
- G. Justice
- H. Legislation
- I. Military
- Z. Validity of el Lexhatx
A. General Crime
1. The Ziu hereby adopts the following portions of the civil and criminal codes of the American state of Wisconsin as law within the territory of the Kingdom of Talossa: (35RZ21)
- 1.1. Chapters 240-243 Fraudulent Conveyances and Contracts
- 1.2. Chapters 401-411 Uniform Commercial Code
- 1.3. Chapters 421-429 Wisconsin Consumer Act
- 1.4. Chapters 700-710 Property
- 1.5. Chapters 939-951 Criminal Code
- 1.6. Chapter 961 Controlled Substances
2. The above chapters are incorporated into Talossan law as they read on 1 June 2014/XXXV. (46RZ25)
3. Talossan national law is superior to adopted foreign law. Therefore, the Civil and Criminal Codes of Wisconsin shall be law in Talossa only insofar as they are consistent with the Organic Law of the Kingdom of Talossa. The Uppermost Cort shall have the final say upon any real or perceived inconsistencies. Acts of the Ziu establish Talossan national law; therefore, any Law of the Ziu purporting to repeal or change Wisconsin civil or criminal codes, for the purposes of their specific application within the Kingdom of Talossa, shall take precedence over said codes. (31RZ14) In addition to the grounds for jurisdiction stated in section 939.03 of the Criminal Code, a person is subject to prosecution and punishment under the law of this state when:
- 3.1 The person commits a crime and the person and the victim of the crime are both Talossan citizens at the time of the offence.
- 3.2 The person is a Talossan citizen at the time of the offence who commits a crime defined in Chapter 946 of the Criminal Code (crimes against government and its administration), when the affected government is that of the Kingdom of Talossa or one of its subdivisions.
4. The abolishment of common law crimes contained in section 939.10 of the Criminal Code and the abolishment of common law penalties in section 939.61(3) of the Criminal Code shall not be construed to infringe upon the inherent authority of the courts to criminally punish contempt of their authority. (35RZ34)
5. Authorized punishments:
- 5.1. Banishment. Banishment may be ordered in conjunction with revocation of citizenship in any felony case. Banishment prohibits the former citizen from entering the territory of the Kingdom of Talossa. A former Talossan who has been banished may not be reinstated as a citizen.
- 5.2. Revocation of citizenship. A sentence of revocation of citizenship directs the Chancery to remove the offender from the list of Talossan citizens. Simple revocation is without prejudice to a future reapplication for citizenship. Revocation of citizenship may be ordered under the following circumstances:
- 5.2.1. Felonies. If a court determines not to impose a sentence of imprisonment pursuant to subparagraph (3) below, the court shall order that the citizenship of the offender be revoked and that he or she be banished from Talossa. In all other felony cases, revocation may be ordered in the discretion of the court.
- 5.2.2. Misdemeanours. In addition to any other punishment authorized by law, a court may order revocation of citizenship upon conviction for a misdemeanour only if the court determines, based on the offender's potential for rehabilitation and any aggravating circumstances of the offense(s), that any lesser punishment is unlikely to deter the offender from repeating his or her criminal behavior.
- 5.3. Imprisonment. Nothwithstanding any other provision of the Criminal Code, upon conviction of any crime for which a sentence of imprisonment is authorized by law, a court shall not order imprisonment as part of a sentence unless the offender is physically present to order into custody, and the Attorney General certifies that appropriate resources are available to the government to carry out the sentence of the court.
- 5.4. Civil disability. Civil disabilities may be imposed in conjunction with a suspended sentence upon conviction of any crime for which imprisonment is authorized, but where a sentence of imprisonment or revocation of citizenship has been suspended pursuant to A.6. Civil disabilities differ from conditions of suspension in that civil disabilities are intended to be punishment in themselves, and violation of a civil disability is punishable as criminal contempt of court rather than as violation of a condition of suspension. Civil disabilities apply to the offender only during the period of suspension (or any lesser portion thereof specified by the court), and may include any or all of the following:
- 5.4.1. Bar from holding national executive office
- 5.4.2. Bar from holding national judicial office
- 5.4.3. Bar from holding national legislative office
- 5.4.4. Bar from holding provincial office
- 5.4.5. Bar from performing military service
- 5.4.6. Bar from service in the Royal Household
- 5.4.7. Bar from posting on Wittenberg
- 5.5. Fines. When a fine or forfeiture is imposed as a component of any sentence, the court shall specify the the period within which the sum must be paid, which period shall not be less than thirty days. The court may, in the interests of justice, allow the offender to pay the sum in more than one installment, according to a schedule prescribed by the court. Willful failure to pay a fine or forfeiture within the time provided is punishable as criminal contempt of court.
- 5.6. Restitution. When imposing sentence for any crime or forfeiture, a court, in addition to any other penalty authorized by law, shall order the offender to make full or partial restitution to any victim of a crime considered at sentencing or, if the victim is deceased, to his or her estate, unless the court finds substantial reason not to do so and states the reason on the record. The court must specify a reasonable period of time, not less than thirty days, within which the offender must make restitution. Willful failure to make restitution within the time provided is punishable as criminal contempt of court. Court-ordered restitution shall not bar any victim from pursuing any civil remedies available at law to recover any amount or type of damages not covered by the order of restitution.
- 5.7. Reprimand. In all criminal and forfeiture cases, a court may reprimand the offender in addition to (or in lieu of, where no minimum punishment applies) any other authorized punishment.
6. Suspended sentences:
- 6.1. A court may order the suspension of all or part of any sentence, for a period of time not to exceed three times the maximum period of imprisonment authorized for the crimes of which the offender has been convicted, except that when the maximum period of imprisonment is less than two months the maximum period of suspension is six months. In forfeiture cases, a forfeiture may be suspended for a period of up to six months. At the end of the period of suspension ordered by the court, the suspended punishment is rescinded if the offender has not violated any condition of the suspension.
- 6.2. If a court determines, by a preponderance of the evidence, that the offender violated any condition of his suspension during the period of the suspension, the suspension shall be revoked and the original punishment imposed. Nothing in this paragraph shall be construed to prohibit prosecuting an act violating a condition of suspension as a criminal offense in its own right, either in the same or a separate action as the revocation of suspension.
- 6.3. Refraining from committing any further crimes or forfeitures is an implicit condition of every suspended sentence. Other conditions which may be imposed by the court include, but are not limited to:
- 6.3.1. Injunction from requesting or accepting royal honours
- 6.3.2. Injunction from violating Wittiquette
- 6.3.3. The performance of a fixed amount of community service under the supervision of a public body or not-for-profit organization, as directed or approved by the court.
7. Increased penalties for certain offenses against public peace and order:
- 7.1. Whoever commits any of the acts prohibited by section 947.0125(3) of the Criminal Code, relating to the unlawful use of computerized communication systems, is guilty of a class C misdemeanour.
- 7.2. Whoever commits any of the acts prohibited by section 947.013(1m) of the Criminal Code, relating to harassment, is guilty of a class C misdemeanour.
- 7.3. Section 939.32(2) of the Criminal Code, relating to reduced penalties for attempted computer crimes, is hereby repealed.
8. Any class B or class C misdemeanour may be prosecuted as a forfeiture of any class, if the Attorney General determines that such prosecution would best serve the interests of justice.
9. Micronational membership. (45RZ23)
- 9.1. A micronation is hereby defined for all purposes of Talossan law to be any society of persons (whether claiming territorial sovereignty or not) that
- 9.1.1. claims a governmental organization and citizenry and
- 9.1.2. is not a member of the United Nations and
- 9.1.3. is not a member of the Unrepresented Nations and Peoples Organization and
- 9.1.4. is not the Kingdom of Talossa, or a subdivision thereof, or officially recognised by the Kingdom of Talossa.
- 9.2. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs shall keep a blacklist of micronations that are considered a threat to the Kingdom of Talossa due to the commission of hostile acts or demonstration of hostile intent against the Kingdom of Talossa. Micronations may be added to or removed from the blacklist by law.
- 9.3. It is a criminal act for any Talossan citizen to knowingly accept or hold citizenship in a blacklisted micronation. The Attorney-General, on being informed of any alleged violation of this provision, and upon verifying the same to his personal and legal satisfaction, shall immediately notify the accused that the government has determined that valid cause exists for a criminal case to be brought against the citizen. After providing this notification, the Attorney-General shall allow ten days for the accused to dissolve any and all allegiance to the micronation, or to organize a defence against the charge. If, after this ten day period, the Attorney-General determines that the criminal act yet continues, he shall immediately file criminal charges against the accused. If after this ten day period, the Attorney-General determines that the criminal activity has permanently ceased, or the micronation was removed from the blacklist, he shall not file the considered charges.
- 9.4. Non-citizens who would be in violation of A.9.3 upon becoming Talossan citizens are not eligible for Talossan citizenship, and the Ministry of Interior may require prospective Talossan citizens to certify that they are not citizens of any blacklisted micronation. (47RZ8)
- 9.5. All members of the Ziu, the Cabinet, the Uppermost Court, the Magistrate's Courts, the Chancery, or the Royal Treasury must report the following information to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs within 15 days of assuming the aforementioned office or of a change in micronational status, whichever is later:
- 9.5.1. All micronations of which he/she is a member.
- 9.5.2. All offices he/she holds in these micronations.
- 9.6. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs shall make any information reported under A.9.5. available to any Talossan citizen upon request.
- 9.7. It is a criminal act for anyone holding an office mentioned in A.9.5. to provide false information about his/her micronational involvement.
- 9.8. It is a criminal act for the Minister of Foreign Affairs or the Minister of Interior to seek, accept, or hold citizenship in a micronation. (47RZ8)
- 9.9. "Citizenship" in a micronation, for the purposes of this title, shall not include "honourary citizenship," where the honourary citizenship:
- 9.9.1. does not entitle the honouree to vote in the micronation's elections,
- 9.9.2. does not entitle the honouree to hold political, governmental, or administrative office in the micronation,
- 9.9.3. does not obligate the honouree, after the grant of honourary citizenship to pay taxes, fees resembling taxes, or membership dues, and
- 9.9.4. does not create any continuing obligation or bond of allegiance to the micronation.
- 9.10. Commission of any of the criminal acts defined in A.9. constitutes a class A misdemeanour for a first offence, and a class I felony for a subsequent offence.
10. The Ziu hereby recognizes the historic right of churches and other religious organizations to offer sanctuary to individuals in dire need. (33RZ13)
11. Gay Talossans are hereby accorded all the rights of their heterosexual counterparts. This simply means that the rights and responsibilities associated with property, marriage and adoption apply to all Talossans equally. Gay Talossans may not be discriminated against in any way on the basis of their sexuality with regards to any activities within the Kingdom and its territories, including employment, Government operations and military service. This law gives no preference to any Talossan on the basis of his/her sexual identification, but simply renders such a consideration absolutely irrelevant. (13RC32)
12. Marriage is a civil right, guaranteed to all citizens of proper age. It is a contractual agreement between parties, signed onto by their own consent, and is a guaranteed right regardless of sex or sexual orientation. Any sacredness of marriage is between the parties involved and is a strictly personal issue. The Kingdom of Talossa recognizes any and all marriages that fall under this definition, hereby re-asserting the rights given to us by the Organic Law of Talossa. In addition, we would also like to provide Talossan Invincible Moral Support to those citizens of our Giant Friendly Neighbour who themselves are seeking to have the laws of that country reflect the far more progressive laws of the Kingdom of Talossa. (32RZ25)
13. Churches and religious communities administer their own affairs. In particular, they constitute their own institutions, inaugurate their clergy, organize the teaching of religion, and establish religious orders and similar institutions independently of state interference. (25RZ5)
- 13.1 The state does not have the right to intervene either in the nomination or the installation of ministers of any religion whatsoever.
- 13.2. Religious organizations are subject to their own rules and procedures, and are free to discipline their members. All adult Talossans have the right to leave any religious association from which they dissent.
- 13.3. Religious freedom can be limited only by law, if such a measure is unavoidable in a democratic society to protect health, public order, public morality, or the rights and liberties of nonmembers.
14. All cybercits are actually Talossan exiles, residing outside of Talossa against their own free will and should be officially treated as such. (25RZ11)
15. No Cestoûr (non-citizen or ex-citizen) shall have an account on Wittenberg, except by explicit permission of the Seneschál. Such permission shall be extended solely at the will of the Seneschál, and may be withdrawn at any time. (35RZ2)
- 15.1. Any citizen acting as Administrator of Wittenberg shall act promptly to enforce the instructions of the Seneschál as to which non-citizens, if any, may have accounts.
- 15.2. All non-citizen participants of the internet forums of the Kingdom of Talossa shall heretofore be identified by a specific avatar graphic, specifically an image indicating a passport for invited guests, and indicating a visa for prospective citizens. Further the "personal text" to be used by such persons shall also be fixed as "Applicant for Citizenship" or "Invited Guest" or "Foreign Citizen" or "International Tourist" or other such language, at the determination of the forum administrator as he or she determines appropriate. (35PD2)
16. Except as provided in A.17, whoever does any of the following is guilty of a crime subject to punishment by banishment, revocation of citizenship, any combination of civil disabilities and any other authorized punishments: (36RZ10)
- 16.1. Makes any fraudulent or dishonest claims or statements on his or her application for citizenship, including his or her claims or statements to the Cort, the Interior Minister and any deputies of the minister or to Cosâ members. (47RZ8)
- 16.2. Uses another person's identity or uses an identity that creates the impression of another person to post or convey messages via email or on any public forum in the Kingdom of Talossa. (47RZ5)
- 16.3. Creates, for purposes of claiming citizenship or with the intent to deceive or mislead other Talossans, more than one identity for use in the Kingdom of Talossa, excepting name-changes that replace an earlier name previously held by the same person.
17. Charges brought under A.16 shall be heard in the Magistrate's Court, subject to appeal to the Uppermost Cort. (47RZ5)
18. The Kingdom of Talossa hereby officially recognizes, supports, and endorses the ideals and goals detailed within the United Nations Charter, and that we hereby declare our intentions to join the august body of the General Assembly of the United Nations, and avows that Talossa will meet the obligations which are a part of being a member with full faith and our greatest exertions. (39RZ6)
19. It is resolved by the Ziu of the Kingdom of Talossa that the nation shall officially adhere to the Geneva Conventions, specifically conventions I, II, III, and IV, as well as all subsequently issued "additional protocols" as of January 1, 2012. (39RZ23)
20. the Ziu hereby requires that any and all official or officially-sanctioned websites, social networking pages, online Embassies, and any other future form of Internet group be run by an assigned Ministry from the Prime Minister, assigned member of the government, or private citizens, when explicit permission is granted by the Prime Minister. (39RZ15)
- 20.1. Non-government sanctioned web sites in relation to Talossa, including social networking sites and profile names, must have clear and visible text that says the page is an UNOFFICIAL website.
- 20.2. It is up to the Prime Minister or his delegate to decide and outline what constitutes “clear and visible” and determine any violations.
- 20.3. The Prime Minister or his delegate shall monitor both official and unofficial Talossan websites, contact the owner as needed, and maintain a public list of official and bogus or fake sites as they are brought to the government’s attention
- 20.4. The Government of Talossa has the right to require the transfer of a website or a deletion of website if it is not made clear, within the government’s definition, that the existing site is UNOFFICIAL.
- 20.5. Violations of this provision may be considered acts of sedition or treason, punishable by warnings, fines, or revocation of citizenship.
- 20.6. Provincial websites shall be licensed by their respective governments under these same provisions.
21. It shall be legal in the Kingdom of Talossa to both have your cake and eat it too. (41RZ8)
22. The unauthorised usage of any official seal of the Crown, of the Government, or of any other official body, shall constitute a Class A misdemeanour. Authorisation may be given by the Seneschal or the respective Minister, or by the head of the body concerned, or any of their duly designated proxies. (46RZ23)
- 22.1. The unauthorised bearing, signing or displaying of any official seal of the Crown, of the Government, or of any other official body, shall constitute a Class A misdemeanour. Authorisation to bear any seal may be granted by the Seneschal, or the respective Minister, or by the head of the body concerned.
- 22.2. The use of any seal, that is attached unto a document, or a notification, or a declaration, or similar, that bears sufficient resemblance to any official seal, which is used by the creator in a document, or notification, or declaration, or similar, so as to create the impression of officiality, in order to:
- (a) obtain any personal advantages or benefits; or,
- (b) put a person or a body in disadvantage, or discredit a person or a body; or,
- (c) obtain any benefits and advantages for another person,
- shall constitute a Class A misdemeanour.
- 22.2.1. Whether any seal, that is used in such a manner, bears "sufficient resemblance", must, in cases of doubt, be decided by the Courts on an individual basis.
- 22.2.2. The use of the Kingdom's colours ("El Bicoloreu") on any seal does not satisfy the requirements of "sufficient resemblance".
- 22.3. Any subsequent unauthorised use of any seal, committed by a formerly punished convict of this act, shall constitute a Class I felony.
23. The Ziu fulfills its solemn duty to the people by ratifying this provision, to be known as the "Riot Act," and authorising it to be read at any time when a Talossan or Cestoûr is peeved at any other Talossan or Cestoûr. (23RZ45)
B. Elections
1. The Ziu hereby establishes guidelines for the conduct of General Elections, and instructs the office of the Secretary of State to implement them at once. (33RZ15)
2. The Secretary of State shall make available, through a website dedicated to this purpose, the text of the election ballot. (33RZ5)
- 2.1 The ballot shall, for the next general election, contain a space for a yes or no vote on Organic Law amendments passed during this Cosa, as well as contain spaces for provincial and senatorial voting.
- 2.2 The Ballot can also include for each referendum up to one 50-words essay per party with Cosa Members, each marked as being either in favor of the amendment or against the amendment. The argument's signatures are not counted in the 50 words limit. (47RZ19)
- 2.3 The ballot shall be in a .pdf or other graphical format. The ballot shall have space on it for the voter to indicate his name and relevant contact information.
- 2.4 Clear voting instructions in both Talossan and English will be included with each ballot.
- 2.5 In order to be counted in the election, the ballots must be received by the Secretary of State on or before election day.
3. Any citizen of Talossa may download, make copies of, and distribute said ballot. Any citizen of Talossa may vote on the ballot and send it in, by mail, to the Office of the Secretary of State. In addition, the Office of the Secretary of State shall make available telephone and e-mail contact information so voters can cast their votes through those media. Votes posted on Wittenberg shall also be counted.
4. All votes cast are be presumed to be valid. The validity of any vote may be challenged by any Talossan citizen after it is counted, by presenting the challenge as a case to the Uppermost Cort, with all available evidence. Should the Cort choose to hear the case, and subsequently find that a ballot has been cast or counted illegally, the final vote tally shall be adjusted to disregard the invalid vote. Special attention shall be paid to non-citizens who might attempt to forge ballots in order to interfere with or embarrass Talossa's democratic electoral process.
5. Votes that are cast during the General Elections and are specified as votes for the cosa election shall not be counted as votes for provincial elections, unless the provincial legislation of the province for which these provincial elections are conducted specifically instructs otherwise, as determined by the Chancery. (45RZ5)
6. At each general or special nation-wide election, the Chancery shall provide to each voter a personal security code (PSC). The PSC shall be a number or password which can serve to authenticate the voter's ballot. (36RZ9)
- 6.1. The Chancery shall take care that the PSCs are assigned in an unpredictably random fashion, and that the list of assigned PSCs is kept secure.
- 6.2. The Chancery may email a PSC to any voter who has a known email address, and shall mail a PSC to each voter who has no known email address (but whose physical address is known) together with that voter's ballot papers.
- 6.3. Every ballot or vote cast on Wittenberg, and every ballot or vote cast otherwise that contains the voter's correct PSC, shall be counted. But if a ballot or vote not cast on Wittenberg does not contain the voter's correct PSC, the Chancery shall attempt by whatever means the Secretary of State deems necessary and sufficient to determine whether the vote is valid, and shall not count the vote unless its validity can be so established. The Chancery shall report to the Uppermost Cort, before the final results of the election shall be certified, regarding each such vote, the means used to determine its validity, and the conclusion reached.
7. Each party has the responsibility of communicating to the Secretary of State a list of its authorized agents and the name of its leader, and of updating the same. (43RZ16)
- 7.1. In any case where the authorized agents of a party or its leadership are a matter of dispute in a manner affecting party registration or the filling of empty seats in the Cosa, the Secretary of State shall make a good-faith effort to determine which disputant has the best right to name such, taking into consideration the internal rules of the party. Each other disputant shall have the opportunity to register under a party name that differentiates it from the other disputants.
- 7.2. In any case where the authorized agents of a party or its leadership are a matter of dispute in a manner affecting party registration or the filling of empty seats in the Cosa, and the Secretary of State is unable to determine that any of the disputing claimants to a party has a best right to name such, each disputant shall have the opportunity to register under a party name that differentiates it from the other disputants. In such a case as to leadership, the original party shall be considered to not have a functional leader for the purposes of Article VII, Section 9 of the Organic Law.
8. The name or abbreviation of a political party applying for registration must not resemble the name or abbreviation of another party. There is a resemblance between party names or abbreviations when, in the opinion of the Secretary of State, there is a risk of confusing them. If the party intends to adopt Talossan and English versions of its name, both versions must be submitted with the application. (32RZ3)
- 8.1. If, during an election to the Cosâ, an elector makes a mistake when writing or typing the name or abbreviation of the party he intends to vote for, and in the opinion of the Secretary of State the intention of the voter was clear, the Secretary of State may appropriately correct the vote. Any electors may contest this in Cort.
- 8.2. Two or more registered parties may apply to the Secretary of State to merge their parties and become a single registered party. If during an election to the Cosâ, an elector vote for a party that has reported a merge to the Secretary of State prior to the election, the Secretary of State may credit the vote to the new party. Any electors may contest this in Cort.
- 8.3. If during an election to the Cosâ, an elector vote for a party that is not registered, and that this vote cannot be attributed to another party, this vote shall be considered “spoiled ballot”. Any electors may contest this in Cort.
9. The Secretary of State, or his appointed agent, shall charge, as prescribed by the Organic Law, a registration fee of 13¤20 (thirteen louise and twenty bence, equivalent to $20US) to each political party in forthcoming elections. Any Party or Parties which fail or refuse to pay the fee shall be deemed not registered. (42RZ14)
- 9.1. The fee may only be paid by:
- 9.1.1. Sending a Money Order, Cash or Cheque by snail mail to the Burgermeister of Inland Revenue: Only fees which have been received in full, by the Burgermeister of Inland Revenue will be deemed paid. Fees that are in transit, delayed, lost in the mail or not received by the Burgermeister of Inland Revenue for any reason, shall not count as paid fees, even if accompanied with proof of postage. Payments made by Money Order or Cheque shall not be deemed as paid until they have been cleared, the Burgermeister of Inland Revenue, will notify the nation when such fees have cleared or if said payments have bounced. If a party’s cheque or money order bounces, they shall be liable to pay costs incurred by the Kingdom for their payment bouncing and shall not be registered until their fee plus these costs have been paid.
- 9.1.2. PayPal: Fees may be paid by electronically transferring the appropriate funds into the Kingdom of Talossa’s PayPal account managed by The Ministry of Finance (Ministrà dal Finançù). The Minister of Finance is to notify all Political Parties in advance of the Election of details regarding the PayPal account into which they may deposit their fee. Once a fee has been received by the Minster of Finance from a party, he shall notify the Nation and Burgermeister of Inland Revenue publicly that said fee has been received and arrange for said fee to be deposited in the Kingdom’s Account managed by the Burgermeister of Inland Revenue.
- 9.1.3. Payment directly to the Burgermeister of Inland Revenue: Payment may be made directly in person to the Burgermeister of Inland Revenue, by cash, cheque or money order. The Burgermeister of Inland Revenue shall notify the nation which such payments have been received. The policy of Cheque and Money orders in 9.2.1. applies equally in this instance.
- 9.2. Once a fee has been received by the Burgermeister of Inland Revenue and/or the Minister of Finance and/or their appointed agents, it is not refundable for any reason. If, however, a party overpays or pays more than once for any given election period, excess fees may be credited to the party against its next payment of fees or refunded, at the discretion of the Burgermeister of Inland Revenue, minus any fees or costs incurred.
10. Notwithstanding the purely traditional practice of "keeping the polls open" till midnight of the last day of an election (or of a month, for Clark purposes), the Secretary of State is hereby instructed to keep a sort-of conventional "business day" where the deadline for any official business (ballots, Clarks, etc.) is set at 7:30 p.m. of the day in question. (16RC3)
11. All campaign literature issued by any individual or party must contain on said literature the name(s) of the writer(s) of said literature, in such form as to be legible and comprehensible to the average reader of said literature. This does not apply to the 50-word statement given to the Secretary of State. (18RC6)
12. In accordance with Article IV, Section 3, the fixed order for the election of Senators to the Senate shall be described as follows: (46RZ19)
- 12.1 Upon the dissolution of a Cosa, election to three Senate seats shall be held, in addition to those by-elections necessary to elect Senators to unfilled terms being held on an interim basis by an appointed Senator.
- 12.2. Senatorial seats shall be elected at each Cosa according to the following rotation: Vuode, Atatürk, Cézembre, Florencia, Maricopa, Fiova, Maritiimi-Maxhestic, and Benito.
13. The Election Commission and Secretary of State shall fulfill the duty of certifying election results, as specified in Org.VII.6, according to these guidelines. (47RZ6)
- 13.1. The SoS will send them a reminder of their duties at the start of the election. They should notify the SoS that they are willing and able to verify ballots, while the election is still going on. If they fail to respond to a further reminder, the Secretary of State should notify the nation. (47RZ6)
- 13.2. After the election is concluded, within one week the members of the Commission should go through the ballots and mark them as valid or invalid, by whatever procedure is established by the Chancery. Each ballot need only be validated by three members of the Commission unless there is a discrepancy, and after they have finished, they should notify the Secretary of State that they are done. This process should be completed within one week after the end of the election. (47RZ6)
- 13.3. If there is any discrepancy, the Commission shall confer in private, and discuss the matter until they reach a consensus. It is suggested that a vote should be taken with regards to each disputed ballot, and majority opinion among the Commission should then govern the Commission's decision with respect to that ballot. The Commission should notify the Secretary of State when they have finished this process, so that he can declare the elections certified. (47RZ6)
C. The Royal Household
1. The following offices are henceforth to be styled the Offices of the Royal Household, that the head of each such office shall be considered an Officer of the Royal Household, and that the duties and functions of the offices shall be those described below, including for each office any similar duties as may be assigned or imposed. (35RZ24)
- 1.1. The Chancery, headed by the Secretary of State. The functions of the Chancery are to prepare and submit the Clark, determine and report the passage or failure of each resolution considered by the Ziu, conduct, certify, and report upon all national elections, maintain the census and citizenship list, assist the citizenry in determining Talossan language personal names and registering the same, register political parties, communicate census information to political party leaders, and track and maintain legislative seating assignments.
- 1.1.1. Members of the Chancery are to be considered as if they were Deputy Secretary of State, without the ability to replace the Secretary should he become available. Members may act in the name of the Secretary of State and perform official business as delegated to them by the Secretary. (30RZ11)
- 1.2. The Scribery of Abbavilla, headed by the Scribe of Abbavilla. The functions of the Scribery are to maintain and publish the Organic and statutory laws of the Kingdom, and oversee the Internet presence of the Kingdom.
- 1.2.1. The Scribe of Abbavilla shall maintain all laws in L'Anuntzia dels Legeux, insofar as possible, with the same content that was approved by the Ziu, except that amending acts that refer to section numbers in pre-existing statutes that were changed by the Scribery shall be construed as referring to the equivalent section numbers in the amended statutes as originally enacted. (45RZ25)
- 1.2.2. The Scribe of Abbavilla shall maintain el Lexhatx in accordance with the directions in Title Z. The Scribe shall thus advise all proposers of bills to the Clark on proper formatting of their bills to conform with Title Z. (47RZ14)
- .1.2.3 If the Scribe, or their deputy(s), finds an error in the formatting, grammar, or spelling of a bill which is currently in the Clark, or is alerted of same, they shall work with the sponsor of the bill to fix said error(s). (48RZ22)
- 1.2.3.1 The Scribe, or their deputy(s), shall publicize any proposed changes to a bill, with the approval of the author. The changes are deemed to have been implemented after they have been public for seven days, unless the changes are disallowed by the conditions of C.1.2.3.2 (48RZ22)
- 1.2.3.2 If, before the proposed changes are implemented, a petition of MCs representing at least 1/3 of the seats in the Cosa, or a petition of at least 1/3 of the Senators, goes before the Scribe in protest of the proposed changes to a bill, the changes cannot be implemented. (48RZ22)
- 1.2.3.3 (48RZ22)
- 1.2.3.4 (48RZ22)
- 1.3. The Royal Archives, headed by the Royal Archivist. The function of the Archives is to preserve and make available the historical artifacts and information of the Kingdom in museums and other venues.
- 1.3.1. The Royal Archiver be always known throughout the Kingdom of Talossa as Royal Archivist. (35RZ15)
- 1.3.2. No Public Record or Archive under the control of a Governmental body and/or the Royal Household Body shall be destroyed, erased or otherwise disposed of without the written authorisation of the Royal Archivist. This Authorisation or Refusal must be announced on Wittenberg within three days of such Authorisation or Refusal is made. Authorisation or Refusal by the Royal Archivist for the destruction of an Archive may be overturned by a resolution passed by the Ziu. (37RZ12)
- 1.3.3. An Archive/record that has been granted authorisation for disposal may not be disposed until after thirty days after such an authorisation is granted.
- 1.3.4. Any person who damages or causes to be damaged any Public Archive or Record in the control of a Governmental or Royal Household Body body; or damages or causes to be damaged any Public Archive in the control of a Private body, Community and/or Individual; or removes, destroys or erases such Public record or archive otherwise than in accordance with this provision or any other law, shall be guilty of a Class A misdemeanour if such damage, removal, destruction, or erasure was willful, or guilty of a Class C misdemeanour if such damage, removal, destruction, or erasure was reckless.
- 1.3.5. The Royal Archivist may refuse to allow any person convicted of an offence in terms of these provisions, access to an archives repository for such period as he or she may deem fit, subject to an appeal to the Uppermost Cort.
- 1.3.6. For the purpose of this provision a Public Record and Archive is hereby defined as: "Public Archive" or "Public Record" means a record/archive created or received by a governmental or royal household body in pursuance of its activities."
- 1.3.7. At the end of each Clark, the Archivist shall post the link provided by the Secretary of State to the Chancery website. (41RZ2)
- 1.4. The Royal Treasury, headed by the Burgermeister of Inland Revenue. The function of the treasury is to:
- 1.4.1. collect all revenues due to the King,
- 1.4.2. maintain and report to the Finance Minister and the Government on the fiduciary health of the Kingdom, at least once in every two calendar months and whenever else requested, (47RZ13)
- 1.4.3. disburse from the treasury all funds legitimately appropriated by the Ziu,
- 1.4.4. keep a record of all changes in the account balances of the Royal Treasury.
- 1.5. The College of Arms, headed by the Squirrel King (or Queen) of Arms. The function of the College of Arms is to create and maintain all Talossan flags and coats of arms and achievements, to advise and support the King in the awarding of all such arms and all titles of honour and nobility, to advise the citizens regarding heraldic issues, and to govern the armorial practice and regulations of the Kingdom.
- 1.6. The Royal Talossan Bar, headed by the Chancellor of the Royal Talossan Bar. The function of the Royal Talossan Bar is to oversee the conduct of all persons practicing law within the Corts of the Kingdom, determine upon the efficacy of admitting and excluding persons to and from this body, and to assist and represent subjects of the King in pleas brought before His Majesty's justices. (32RZ11)
- 1.6.1. In order to gain admittance to the Bar, a candidate must pass a test or set of requirements set by the Bar, according to Talossan law. Upon admittance to the Bar, any person may be allowed to freely practise law, having the right to appear before any court in the Kingdom of Talossa. (32RZ12)
- 1.6.1.1. Anyone who is entitled to vote in a General Election in the Kingdom of Talossa and satisfies all conditions set out in C.1.6.1, shall be eligible to become a member of the Royal Talossan Bar (“The Bar”), except those excluded from membership by these provisions. (43RZ9)
- 1.6.1.2. Satisfying the conditions of this provision does not guarantee Admission to the Bar nor confers upon any person(s) any rights to be admitted to the Bar. Admission to the Bar and the Admission Policy of the Bar shall be at the sole discretion of The Chancellor of the Royal Talossan Bar (hereinafter referred to as “The Chancellor”).
- 1.6.1.3. The following conditions must be met to be eligible for admission into the Royal Talossan Bar:
- 1.6.1.3.1. The applicant must be at eligible to vote in a Talossan General Election and have been a citizen in good standing for not less than six months.
- 1.6.1.3.2. The applicant must have completed a course in the study of Law in “The Royal Law Academy” and obtained a final grade of 80% or more.
- 1.6.1.4. After successful completion course mentioned in C.1.6.1.3.2, the applicant will be granted, at the discretion of the Chancellor, Student Membership in the Bar and must spend three months as a apprentice (“Devil”) of a qualified member of The Bar. The applicant must complete with a grade of 80% of more, all assignments and/or examinations given to him/her by The Chancellor and/or any member of The Bar authorised by The Chancellor to conduct such assignments and/or Examinations.
- 1.6.1.5. For the purposes of C.1.6.1.3.2 and C.1.6.1.4. above, all assignments, examinations, coursework, course syllabus and/or any related material will be set by The Chancellor and/or his/her appointed agent.
- 1.6.1.6. If an applicant fails any part of the required examinations and/or assignments and/or any other examination set by The Chancellor and/or this provisions, s/he is only required to repeat the parts s/he failed, provided such a repeat is sat within 18 months of the initial sitting of the examination.
- 1.6.1.7. The Royal Law Academy (hereinafter referred to as “The Academy”) shall be a branch of The Bar charged with the education and training of citizens in the field of Talossan Law and any other subject or field necessary to the properly equip students in the practise to the highest professional standard required from them.
- 1.6.1.8. The Chancellor and/or his/her appointed agent shall be charged with the running, administration and care of The Academy.
- 1.6.1.9. The Academy shall be the sole educational institute in Talossa charged with the education of Law and the education of Trainee Lawyers and/or Barristers and/or Solicitors in Talossan Law.
- 1.6.1.10. The Academy shall have exclusive and inalienable rights to confer Diplomas, Degrees, be they Bachelor or Masters and Doctorates in Talossan Law.
- 1.6.1.11. Persons who complete a course in The Academy and reach the course’s pass requirements, shall be entitled to bear the initials, Dip.T.L and/or B.T.L and/or M.T.L and/or D.T.L and/or PhD.T.L, as applicable to courses s/he has passed and awards conferred upon him/her.
- 1.6.1.12. It shall be a offense for any person to pretend, deceive or use false, altered or forged documents to convince or to make another person believe s/he has a award from the Academy, when in fact s/he does not.
- 1.6.1.13. The Academy shall have the right to strip and/or remove at anytime, any or all awards conferred upon any person, if it finds that said person has acted dishonestly or committed fraud in his/her assignments and/or examinations. This right shall also extend to person’s who the Academy deems unfit to bear such awards by means of their behaviour, conduct and/or actions.
- 1.6.1.14. The Academy may sue and/or be sued in its own name as a corporate body.
- 1.6.1.15. The Academy may from time to time establish, alter or revoke its own rules and regulations provided such rules are not in breach of these provisions, Talossan Law and/or the Organic Law.
- 1.6.1.16. The Chancellor shall have the right to refuse entry or membership of the Royal Talossan Bar to anyone s/he deems unsuitable or unfit for membership, even if s/he satisfies the conditions set out by this title. Any person(s) refused membership may appeal the decision of The Chancellor to the Uppermost Court. The burden of proof shall be on him/her to prove s/he was unfairly and without due and or just cause denied membership of the Royal Talossan Bar.
- 1.6.1.17. The Chancellor shall have the right to expel, suspend and/or impose restrictions upon any member of The Bar who breaches The Bar’s Code of Conduct and/or in the opinion of The Chancellor has by his/her actions, behaviour and/or conduct warranted apt action.
- 1.6.1.18. Upon satisfying the conditions set out in C.1.6.1.3, the applicant must in writing to The Chancellor, requesting to be admitted into The Bar. The Chancellor may refuse or grant such a application, stating reasons for any refusal, if applicable.
- 1.6.1.19. Successful applicants will be admitted to The Bar with full membership rights and granted the title of “Junior Counsel”, which shall entitle them to represent clients in any Talossan Cort, as set by Law and/or by the rules or constitution of The Bar.
- 1.6.1.20. Members of the Bar who have shown distinction and high professional standards in the practise of Talossan Law, may at the discretion of The Chancellor be appointed as “Senior Counsel” and shall be entitled to extra privileges and rights as set by Law and/or by the rules or constitution of The Bar.
- 1.6.1.21. The following office holders may, at the discretion of The Chancellor, be exempt from the requirements of C.1.6.1.3 and be granted Full Membership of The Bar while they hold such office or until the next General Election, whichever is applicable and/or sooner. Should the office holder resign or leave or otherwise vacate the office to which s/he was granted membership, his/her membership shall immediately cease the instant s/he vacates said office. Membership may at whim be terminated at the discretion of The Chancellor.
- 1.6.1.21.1. The Prime Minister
- 1.6.1.21.1. The Distain
- 1.6.1.21.1. The Minister of Justice
- 1.6.1.21.1. Judges of the Uppermost Cort
- 1.6.1.21.1. Judges of any inferior court
- 1.6.1.22. The Chancellor may grant “Honorary Membership” to any Talossan who has shown excellence and dedication in the field of Talossan Law. Such membership shall only entitled the Honorary Member in all rights and privileges of membership of the Bar save voting rights and the right to represent in any Talossan Court.
- 1.6.1.23. Current and past Chancellors of the Royal Talossan Bar shall be entitled to be Full Members of the Bar for life and may not be expelled, save in serious circumstances.
- 1.6.1.24 Any rules, regulations and/or code of conduct not set by a statute, Talossan Law or by the Organic Law, shall be a matter for the Bar to set itself as far as permissible by the aforementioned Laws.
- 1.7. The Civil Service, headed by the Commissioner of the Civil Service. The function of the Civil Service is to appoint and dismiss Permanent Secretaries within the cabinet ministries as well as other non-political appointees as may be appropriate. (45RZ15)
- 1.7.1. The Commissioner can appoint permanent secretaries to any ministry based upon their qualifications, willingness to work and taking into consideration the applicant’s performance in prior positions. The commissioner shall remove from office any secretary for professional misconduct, inability to perform ones duties due to incapacitation or failure to perform their required duties.
- 1.7.2. 1.7.2. Dismissed secretaries shall be entitled to an appeal of their removal. The dismissed party may contest their dismissal by bringing complaint before a Magistrate's Court. The court shall consider if any of the petitioner's rights, afforded by Organic, statutory, or civil law code, have been violated. The court shall have the authority to order reinstatement where appropriate or dismiss the complaint, thus sustaining the dismissal.
- 1.7.3. All Permanent Secretary positions shall exist within the civil service and shall be non-political appointments which shall be held until lawful dismissal, resignation or incapacitation. An individual may not hold the offices of Seneschal, Distáin, Justice of the Uppermost Cort, Monarch, an Officer of the Royal Household, or any cabinet portfolio while simultaneously holding an active appointment to a secretary office. In addition, any Secretaries within the Ministry of Justice may not serve as a judge in any inferior court.
- 1.7.4. Secretaries shall be styled “Honourable” during the course of their tenure.
- 1.7.5. Secretaries shall serve as the administrative chief of their respective ministries tasked with the day to day operation of the ministry’s work or for any other special role assigned to them while their position is created
- 1.7.6. Secretaries shall be empowered to appoint and dismiss non-political appointees within their ministry, including the Chiefs of Bureaus, with the approval of the Commissioner of the Civil Service.
- 1.7.7. Secretaries shall retain their offices through changes of government.
- 1.7.8. The precise duties, necessary qualifications and expected standards of each secretary shall be drafted by the cabinet minister and approved by a legislative civil service committee, consisting of five Members of the Cosa, appointed by the Túischac'h. The committee must not contain more than two members of a single party. If only two parties are represented in the Cosa, then the maximum number of members from a single party is raised to three. Once approved, these descriptions shall be considered to be part of civil service administrative code. Other portions of the code, including expanded procedures for appointment, dismissal and appeals, shall be approved in a similar manner.
- 1.7.9. Civil service administrative code can be amended by the Commissioner of Civil Service with the approval of majority vote of the civil service committee.
- 1.7.10. No portion of the civil service code may run contrary to the Organic or Statutory Law. Nor may any portion of the code restrict an individual or groups rights granted under the law.
- 1.8. The Royal Society for the Advancement of Knowledge, headed by the President of the Royal Society. The function of the Royal Society is to conduct and promote research and academic study in all areas of human endeavor. (48RZ20)
- 1.8.1 Schools may be created within the Society for the purpose of focusing on a specific subject. The exact procedure for establishing a school shall be chosen by the President, who shall also appoint a dean to supervise each school.
- 1.9.
Here so by the Ziu be enacted,
as follows, in verses protracted:
that we do create
a new office of state
to accomplish the purpose abstracted.
El Metrefieir Laureat
shall the office be named, come to that,
and we won't be sorry that
this Poet Laureate
will our Royal Household work at.
PM shall advise, King confirm,
this soul to an indefinite term
of true dedication
to versification
on topics of public concern. (45RZ2)
2. The Officers of the Royal Household shall have no fixed terms of office, and shall not be removed from office by the dissolution of the Cosa. The Officers of the Royal Household are appointed and removed by the King on the recommendation of the Prime Minister. The four exceptions to this are that the Secretary of State shall be appointed by the Prime Minister acting alone and may be removed by law; the Burgermeister of Inland Revenue shall be named in the same way as the Secretary of State; the Chancellor of the Royal Talossan Bar shall be appointed and removed by the King on the recommendation of a resolution of the Senäts; and the Commissioner of the Civil Service, who shall be appointed by the King, for a two year renewable term, after being recommended by a legislative civil service committee and approved by a two-thirds majority vote in the Cosa and a majority vote of the Senäts in favor of appointment. The Chancellor may be removed by the King on the recommendation of the Senäts. (47RZ13)
3. Each of the Officers of the Royal Household is empowered to appoint one or more deputies who may act in the place of that officer in all cases. The King and nation shall be informed of all such appointments.
4. Each Officer of the Royal Household is empowered to organize or reorganize his office in any manner he deems shall best effect its services to the King, including by the creation of bureaus, departments, administrations, divisions, commissions, guilds, and other agencies or bodies of operation. Each Officer is empowered to appoint any Talossan citizen to any position within his office, and to dismiss any person from the same, and to empower any subservient official to make similar appointments and dismissals within any specific agency of the Office of the Royal Household.
5. This line of the law has no meaning or purpose. Alas, alas. Woe unto thee.
6. The Holder of any Talossan Office, Organic or Statutory, except the King and the Prime Minister, may resign his/her office by verbal communication provided that: (43PD1)
- 6.1. S/He provides a reasonable valid explanation that s/he cannot for whatever reason submit his/her resignation in writing and/or it cannot be reasonably expected for him/her to submit their resignation in writing based upon his/her current health and/or personal circumstances.
- 6.2. Such verbal communication of his/her resignation must be made to and witnessed by either:
- 6.2.1. The King and/or his duly appointed agent or;
- 6.2.2. The Prime Minister and/or his/her duly appointed agent or;
- 6.2.3. The Secretary of State and his/her duly appointed agent.
- 6.3. Only verbal communication of resignation to made to and witnessed by one or more the of the above (hereinafter referred to as “the Witness”), shall be deemed a valid and lawful resignation.
- 6.4. Upon receipt of such verbal resignation, the Witness shall, after taking all reasonable measures to ensure it is the true intention of the office holder to resign his/her office, immediately post on a publicly accessible board on Witt (or its current equivalent) a sworn, signed and dated declaration/affidavit that s/he has witnessed or was the recipient of a verbal communication in which the aforementioned Office Holder has stated his/her clear and irrevocable decision to immediately resign his/her office and which states said office(s).
- 6.4.1. Such resignation shall take effect three (3) days from the date of posting of said Declaration/Affidavit.
- 6.4.2. The Declaration/Affidavit shall be considered as a written resignation directly from the person(s) resigning his/her office, if a written resignation is required by any provisions of the Organic Law and/or any Statutory Law.
- 6.4.3. It is an offence to knowingly or maliciously make a Declaration/Affidavit that one knows to be false and/or to impersonate via whatever means a Office Holder with a view to convince or otherwise lead the Witness to believe that it is the said Office Holder’s intention to resign. Such crimes shall be punishable at the discretion of the Court.
7. The Ziu empowers His Majesty to issue Royal Charters officially founding any and all organizations within the Kingdom. This Charter will allow such organizations to use the Talossan name and image in accordance with the law. His Majesty may issue these Charters on request, and these Charters can be as pompous as His Majesty may desire. However, the lack of a Royal Charter will not affect an organization's right to exist unless specified in future law or by the Organic Law. (25RZ26)
8. The legal guardian of a minor sovereign shall be one or both of the biological or adopted parents of the said sovereign, providing that at least one of the said parents is a citizen of the Kingdom of Talossa. (36RZ1)
- 8.1. If a minor sovereign is not the biological or adopted child of a Talossan citizen, the minor sovereign shall be a ward of the State. The wardship of the minor monarch shall be executed jointly by the Ziu and the Cort Pü Înalt, through a unanimous vote of the Cort and a two-thirds vote of each house of the Ziu.
9. Should a Senator be chosen as Regent, the temporary holder of the Senatorial seat shall be named by the Premier of the province for which the appointed Regent serves as Senator. (38PD2)
- 9.1. Should a member of the Cosa be chosen as Regent, the temporary holder(s) of the Cosa seat(s) shall be named by the leader of the political party which had earned and assigned the said seats in the most recent general election.
- 9.2. The appointments shall be considered effective upon their being provided to the Chancery to be recorded by His Majesty's Secretary of State.
- 9.3. Persons appointed to vacated Senatorial seats shall be subject to the terms of Article IV, Section 4 of the Organic Law and to any and all other statutory and Organic provisions respecting the exercise of the rights and privileges of the office of Senator, notwithstanding any contrary eligibility and standing held by the appointed Regent.
- 9.4. Should either of the persons empowered by this Prime Dictate fail to make the said appointment(s) after a period of seven (7) days, the Regent still-serving shall be empowered to make the said appointment(s).
D. The Government
1. The Cabinet shall see to the execution of the functions of His Majesty's government, and shall advise the Seneschal as requested, on a scheduled or ad hoc basis. (36RZ17)
- 1.1. The Ziu requests that the Prime Minister only appoint Ministers that will actually do something, and not just make petty titles. The Ziu is committed to the responsible Government of the Kingdom. If a Minister has held this title for many years, the Ziu asks that the Prime Minister instead ask the King to honour the Minister with a Royal Award instead of a Ministry. (25RZ18)
- 1.2. The Ziu ALSO requests that the Prime Minister not appoint Deputies except where absolutely needed.
- 1.3. If the Prime Minister does not appoint a Minister that would have to do a certain task, he or she may do it his or herself, in other words, all Ministries left vacant could be functionally held by the Prime Minister.
- 1.4. The Ziu requests that if the Prime Minister doesn't have to appoint a minister, he won't.
2. The Cabinet shall consist of the officers listed below:
- 2.1. The Seneschal, heading the Prüma Ministrà (Prime Ministry), is responsible for the overall operation and performance of the government, and shall perform all duties assigned to his office by Organic Law. All other Cabinet officers are appointed by the Seneschal (Prime Minister), serve at his pleasure, are responsible to him, and derive their powers from him. Accordingly, anything that any Minister can do (officially), the Seneschal may (if he desires) do himself.
- 2.1.1. The Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Talossa is directed to issue a report every two months, detailing actions taken by his or her office and appointed Ministers. The first report of a new Prime Minister will be delivered within the first month of taking office, and subsequent reports will be issued no less often than every two months thereafter. If possible reports will be posted in the primary forum, rather virtual or physical, however, they must emailed to all citizens immediately after their completion. (39RZ16)
- 2.1.2. A blog may be set up for the Prime Minister to post the report on instead of, or in addition to, the other requirements for distribution stated above
- 2.1.3. Each report must be issued no sooner than the first day of the month in which it is due to be filed, and no later than the last day of said month. If the Prime Minister is unable to file such a report by the deadlines specified above, he or she may delegate the task to the Distain or other member of the government, provided that their signature, as well as that of the Prime Minister, are affixed to the report.
- 2.1.4. The Ziu strongly urges the current and future Prime Ministers of Talossa to use the power of the Prime Dictate with caution and respect, limiting its usage to memorials, congratulatory notices, internal Government organization, executive policy clarification, and other appropriate and limited governmental matters, and leave legislation solely for democratic consideration by the whole Ziu. (24RZ48)
- 2.1.5. The Seneschal shall be required to submit to the Ziu, in time for consideration by the the second Clark of the Cosa, a government bill approved by the whole Cabinet which shall contain the following: (38RZ15)
- 2.1.5.1. a detailed budget listing all planned expenses of the State through the current Cosa, specifying the amounts to be requisitioned for each Cabinet Ministry or Officer of the Royal Household and the purpose of each such expense;
- 2.1.5.2. any amount of the Treasury to be set aside for investment as directed by the Finance Minister and the investment policy that will be pursued;
- 2.1.5.3. the total amount in louise of any planned currency minting and printing, and postage issuance to be executed by the Royal Bank & Post during the term of the current Cosa.
- 2.1.5.4. the total amount in louise of any planned donations proposed to be requested from Talossan citizens towards the upkeep of the State. This section shall not entitle any budget to impose compulsory taxation or mandatory donations of any kind. (47RZ13)
- 2.1.6. The Seneschal shall take care to ensure that the budget presented will be sufficient to provide for all expenses of the Kingdom of Talossa until the next budget shall be presented, during the subsequent Cosa. This Bill cannot be submitted to the Ziu without the presence of the Financial Report required in D.2.8.1.1.
- 2.1.7. All withdrawals from the Royal Treasury (except as provided for by D.2.1.8, below) must be authorized by action of the Ziu approving the expense for which the withdrawal is made, either in the omnibus Budget and Financial Planning Bill required by D.2.1.5, above, or through approval of supplemental budgeting legislation. In accordance with such authorized budgeted expenses, the Government of the day is empowered to requisition such funds from the Royal Treasury (said withdrawal to be performed in fact only by the Royal Treasurer or an authorised deputy).
- 2.1.8. Emergency Spending. During times when any budgeted funds have been exhausted, when no budget has been approved due to rejection by the Ziu, lack of the Financial Report or dissolution of the Cosa without action on a budget; the Prime Minister may issue a Prime Dictate to provide only for emergency spending, but may not act to cause withdrawal of funds from the Royal Treasury to fulfill the terms of any Prime Dictate unless and until the King has explicitly assented to the Prime Dictate.
- 2.1.9. Spending Authority Removal. At any time before an allocation is disbursed by the Burgermeister of Inland Revenue, members representing at least one-third of the Cosâ by seats may petition the government that such spending shall not be incurred until such issuance shall be ordered by an act of the Ziu. The Burgermeister of Inland Revenue shall be required to grant all such petitions until such time as an act of the Ziu restores the funding.
- 2.2. The Distain, who shall serve in the Prime Ministry as deputy to the Seneschal, and shall perform such duties as are delegated to him by the Seneschal. All acts thus delegated and performed shall have the same effect as if performed by the Seneschal himself.
- 2.3 The Interior Minister, who shall combine the roles of Defence and Immigration Minister as set forth in Organic Law XII.4 and XII.5, and shall head the following Bureaus. The Minister may appoint Deputy Ministers to be in charge of each Büreu, and the Civil Service Commission may appoint Permanent Secretaries to each Büreu, to work under the direction of the Minister and any Deputy Ministries. (47RZ8)
- a) El Büreu dels Afáes Înphätseschti (Bureau of Home Affairs) which shall be responsible for the order and well-being of the homeland and its environs. This Bureau shall provide a public presence in or near the Greater Talossan Area, shall assist in the organization of Living Cosâs, shall provide governmental assistance to the organizers of an annual TalossaFest celebration, and to all citizens making the Haxh, and shall take care to guide the Seneschal and other ministers in ever maintaining the connection and bond of Talossans worldwide to their homeland. (47RZ8)
- b) The Büreu dels Afáes Cestoûreschti (Bureau of Cestour Affairs), led by the 'Piaçatéir Naziunál' and assisted by bureaucrats known as C'huescoûrs (or "Binkies"), who shall see to it that the interests of Cestours within the homeland receive the proper attention of the government. (47RZ8)
- c) El Büreu dal Zefençù (Ministry of Defence), which shall marshal and provide the Invincible Moral Support of the nation to the good and right side of any international conflict, as determined by the government, conveying to the combatants our proud "we would stand with you, but it's safer to stand behind you" stance. (47RZ8)
- c) i) No action of the Minister or the Bureau of Defence shall infringe on the King's organic role as Leader of the Armed Forces. (47RZ8)
- d) El Büreu dàl Înmigraziun (the Bureau of Immigration), which shall be responsible for the execution of the nation's laws appertaining to immigration of new citizens into the realm. This Ministry shall work closely with the Chancery and its Bureau of the Census to ensure that all incoming citizens are properly processed through immigration as provided by law. (47RZ8)
- 2.3.1. The Interior Minister shall also be the liaison between the Kingdom Government and the provincial governments. (47RZ8)
- 2.4. The Interior Minister, heading the Ministry of Interior, who shall command the armed forces of the Kingdom during peacetime and during times of declared war, subservient in these duties only to the King in his majesty's organic role as Leader of the Armed Forces. During periods of war, the Interior Minister is to be referred to as "War Minister." The Ministrà dal Interior (Ministry of Interior) shall also marshal and provide the Invincible Moral Support of the nation to the good and right side of any international conflict, as determined by the government, conveying to the combatants our proud "we would stand with you, but it's safer to stand behind you" stance.
- 2.5. The Attorney-General, heading the Ministry of Justice, who shall provide legal advice and assistance to the government as requested. The Attorney-General and subordinate officers of the Ministrà dal Xhusticiâ (Ministry of Justice) shall prosecute actions brought by the government in the Kingdom's courts, and defend the government against actions brought against it in said courts.
- 2.5.1. The Ministry of Justice is solemnly charged with monitoring the justice system. This duty shall include, but not be limited to, the following tasks:
- 2.5.1.1. The Ministry of Justice shall make freely and publicly available to citizens a procedure by which they may securely and easily report the wrongful actions or failure to act of a judge or other officers of the courts.
- 2.5.1.2. The Ministry of Justice shall keep records of these reports, and investigate those that seem credible in the Ministry's best judgement. The Ministry shall report the results of its investigations and its recommendations to the Ziu, as it sees fit to do so.
- 2.5.1.3. The Ministry of Justice must respond to every complainant with the result of any investigations, notification of any action, or an explanation of inaction. Should the Ministry refuse to carry out an investigation, it must supply the complainant with a written justification of its decision.
- 2.5.1.4. The Ministry of Justice need not wait for a complaint in order to carry out such an investigation, but may initiate this scrutiny on its own, where it seems necessary.
- 2.6. The Foreign Minister, heading the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, who shall provide diplomatic relations between the Kingdom and the other nations of the world. The Ministrà dels Afáes Útphätseschti (Ministry of Foreign Affairs) shall establish and maintain all embassies, consulates, and other missions to foreign states, and shall provide each with properly accredited diplomatic or consular staff (including ambassadors, consuls, attachés, spies, and other officers) and administrative and technical staff.
- 2.6.1. Full diplomatic relations shall be said to exist between Talossa and the United States. (6RC24)
- 2.6.2. The Ziu stipulates that all official micronational diplomatic recognitions by the Government of Talossa, whether by legislation, executive fiat, or implicit policy, are hereby withdrawn and disavowed in the spirit of goodwill and friendship that they were initially offered; and the Ziu stipulates by statute that the Government of Talossa will have no relations with any micronation in any form. No part of this provision is intended to limit the free speech and assembly rights of or discriminate against any and all Talossan citizens to privately associate with any individual of their own choosing, including citizens of other micronations. (25RZ50)
- 2.7. The Minister of Culture, heading the Ministry of Culture, who shall promote Talossan culture, including our national language, our musical and sporting heritage, our mythical Berber connections, and all of our other way cool quirks. The Ministrà dal Cúlturâ (Ministry of Culture) shall include:
- 2.7.1. The Büreu dals Zuerietâs (Wargames Bureau), administered by the Xhumestreu Naziunál (National Gamemaster), who shall also answer to the code name "Joshua,"
- 2.7.2. The Büreu del Glheþ Talossán (Language Bureau), administered by the Ladintsch Naziunál. This Bureau shall specifically promote the use of the Talossan language, shall work in concert with all extra-governmental societies and groups to do the same, and shall advise the Department of the Census in the Chancery regarding the creation of Talossan names for citizens who request them. Within the Büreu there shall be a division known as the Talossan Translation Service whose task shall be to translate official or historical documents into el Glheþ Talossan.
- 2.8. The Finance Minister, heading the Ministry of Finance.
- 2.8.1 The Ministrà dal Finançù (Ministry of Finance) is responsible for:
- 2.8.1.1 setting and implementing the economic policies of the Kingdom, and directing the investment of that portion of the Royal Treasury set aside by authorized budgeting act of the Ziu (all of which said investments shall be executed in fact by the Burgermeister of Inland Revenue, an Officer of the Royal Household);
- 2.8.1.2. The Finance Minister with the assistance of the Burgermeister of Inland Revenue shall deliver a Financial Report at the end of each Cosa term. This Report shall be required to contain the following information: (38RZ15)
- 2.8.1.2.1. the amount, location, liquidity, and availability of all funds held by or for the Royal Treasury,
- 2.8.1.2.2. a detailed list of all changes in the account balances of the Royal Treasury since the last Report,
- 2.8.1.2.3. a balance sheet which clearly lists all expenses linking them to the relative sheet items in the budget bills approved in the Cosa,
- 2.8.1.2.4. the investment policy that is will be pursued by the Ministry of Finance for any amount of the Treasury that has been budgeted by the Ziu for use in investment,
- 2.8.1.2.5. the current valuation of the louis with respect to other foreign currency,
- 2.8.1.2.6. the total amount of louise and postal items in circulation.
- 2.8.1.3 design, minting, printing, valuation, distribution, and redemption of all national currency, postage, and commemoratives;
- 2.8.1.4 keeping a balance sheet of all funds legitimately appropriated by the Ziu
- 2.8.1.5 requesting such donations from citizens towards the upkeep of the State as may be approved by the Ziu in the Budget.
- 2.8.2. The Finance Minister also serves as the Chairman of the Banqeu es Post Rexhital (Royal Bank & Post) unless he gets too lazy and appoints a Chairman. The Royal Bank and Post is responsible for issuing and regulating the currency and postal paraphernalia of the Kingdom.
- 2.8.2.1. Base Unit of Account. The base unit of account for the Kingdom of Talossa is hereby established and styled the "BENT." The plural of the bent is "BENCE." Convenient shortenings such as "tubbence" and "thrubbence" shall be understood and recognised by the government, and may appear on collectable tokens (colloquially "coinage", though they shall not constitute current money). This unit of account is fixed to $0.025 in the currency of the United States of America. (36RZ2, 46RZ20)
- 2.8.2.2. Second Unit of Account. A second unit of account, which shall have the fixed denomination of sixty (60) bence, is hereby established and styled the "LOUIS," which shall also be officially recognised by the shortened name "LOU." The plural of the lou is "LOUISE." Convenient colloqualisms for the denominations of louise are encouraged, specifically "Brock" for a single lou, "Costello" for five louise, "Ferrigno" for ten louise, "Rawls" for twenty louise, and so forth.
- 2.8.2.2.1. The commonly-used symbols ℓ and ¤ shall be officially adopted for the louis and bent, respectively, and these symbols shall be used in accordance with common practice: ¤ to be used as a separator of the two denominations, with louise on the left of the symbol and bence on the right; ℓ may also be used to indicate amounts in whole louise, by placing the symbol to the left of the amount.
- 2.8.2.3. Creation and Issuance of Collectable Tokens. The Royal Bank & Post is exclusively authorised to design, cause to be created, issue, and distribute collectable tokens (colloquially "coinage", though they shall not constitute current money) in any denomination of whole bence. The Royal Bank & Post is authorised to imprint the denomination of any coinage with its price in louise, rather than in bence, as it sees fit.
- 2.8.2.3.1 Current Token Design. The first issue of Talossan collectable tokens ("coins") shall have, on the obverse, the Chinese character "ben" upon a shield, with a crown above the shield; above the crown shall be the curved inscription "REGIPÄTS TALOSSÁN", and below the shield shall be the curved inscription of the year of issue (both the Common Era in Arabic numerals and the year of the Kingdom of Talossa in Roman numerals). On the reverse shall be an image of a dandelion, a large "ℓ1", and the inscription "VIENS LUÏÇ".
- 2.8.2.4 Creation and Sale of Postal Paraphernalia. The Royal Bank & Post may design, create, issue, and sell postage items, such as stamps and imprinted envelopes, in any demonination, and sell the same at a cost exceeding that expended for their creation. Postal items may be purchased by private individuals or organizations (such as those established to provide postal delivery services) and may be re-sold to the public in exchange for postal delivery or other services. The Royal Bank & Post is empowered to print denominations on postal items which are above the original sale value of postal items charged to a private organization purchasing the same, so to ease any resale of these items by the private organization to the general public, by providing on the face of the item the intended retail purchase price.
- 2.8.2.5. Redemption of Postal Items Forbidden. Postal items may never be redeemed to the Royal Bank & Post for their face value or any other value.
- 2.8.2.6 Creation and Sale of Commemorative Items. The Royal Bank & Post shall design, create, issue, and sell any commemorative items of the Kingdom of Talossa. Such items may be purchased by the general public at a cost at or above that expended for their manufacture, such valuation to be determined by the Royal Bank & Post.
- 2.8.2.7 Disposition of Profit. All profit in the form of foreign currency which is realized from the sale of currency, postal items, and commemoratives or by donations from citizens shall be duly tendered by the Royal Bank & Post to the Burgermeister of Inland Revenue for deposit and safe-keeping within the Royal Treasury.
- 2.8.2.8 Economic Policy and Investment of Royal Funds. The Royal Bank & Post is responsible for determining and enacting economic policy of the Kingdom of Talossa. Funds kept in the Royal Treasury shall be made available by the Burgermeister of Inland Revenue to the Royal Bank & Post for the purpose of making foreign investments calculated to wisely augment the value of the said Treasury. The Minister of Finance shall be responsible to the Prime Minister and the nation for the policies implemented.
- 2.8.2.9 Royal Audit. The Burgermeister of Inland Revenue shall be permitted, as a Servant of His Majesty's Household, to audit the reported financial condition of His Majesty's investments at any time.
- 2.8.2.10 Governmental Expenses. Except when forbidden or restricted by legislation, the government of the day is empowered to requisition funds from the Royal Treasury to provide for the operation of the Royal Bank & Post, the other Cabinet Ministries, and the Prime Ministry. The amount requisitioned for the operation of each such ministry shall not in any way or for any reason increase during such time as the sitting government continues in office following having lost the confidence of the Cosâ, except it be by royal fiat and to provide for the necessary defence and preservation of the realm.
- 2.8.2.11 Banking Operations. The Royal Bank & Post is empowered to act as a banking facility to serve citizens of the Kingdom of Talossa. The deposit and lending policies of the Bank shall be freely established by the Royal Bank & Post but may be modified by law by action of the Ziu. The safety of all funds deposited with the Royal Bank & Post shall be guaranteed by the government. (47RZ13)
- 2.9 The Finance Minister is empowered to create the Bureau of Corporations, which body shall be responsible for the registration of all Talossan corporations and businesses, the enforcement of applicable business laws, and such further tasks as may seem fit by the Ziu. Should and until the Minister of Finance creates such a Bureau, the Minister of Finance shall hold these responsibilities and others listed herein, and execute them to the best of his or her ability. (45RZ22)
- 2.9.1. The Bureau of Corporations shall issue licenses in a timely fashion to all those corporations and businesses that apply for one. Application is voluntary and free.
- 2.9.2. The Bureau of Corporations may also register official articles of incorporation for a corporation when applying for a license. Registration of such articles is voluntary and free. A registered corporation need not be registered in any other country. Registered articles shall be considered binding. Registered articles shall be a matter of public record.
- 2.9.3. An application for a business license must include the following information:
- 2.9.3.1. The name under which the corporation will do business in Talossa.
- 2.9.3.2. The name of the citizen that owns the business and who has applied for registration.
- 2.9.3.3. The type of business.
- 2.9.3.4. The status of the business, either profit or non-profit.
- 2.9.3.5. The name of the business outside of Talossa, if desired.
- 2.9.3.6. The articles of incorporation for the business, if applicable.
- 2.9.4. Business licenses shall be issued by the Bureau in a standardized format, including all of the above information, and assigning each business its own official number. This number shall be composed of three digits to indicate the year of registration combined with three digits to indicate the order a business was registered, beginning with 001. For example, a business, registered in 2012/XXXIII, that was the seventh business registered in Talossa, would have the number 033007. Changes to this numbering scheme may be made at the discretion of the Bureau, but are discouraged. Business licenses shall be a matter of public record, and will be made available by the Bureau on request.
- 2.9.5. Talossan businesses may choose to become official Supporters of Talossa. This distinction is achieved when the Bureau certifies that the Burgermeister of Inland Revenue has received a donation of at least 13ℓ from that business. Such a business is entitled to describe itself in advertising as a Supporter of Talossa. The Bureau shall maintain a public list of Supporters of Talossa.
- 2.9.6. A business that advertises itself as a Supporter of Talossa, without having been certified by the Bureau, is in violation of the law. The registered owner of this business shall be subject to a fine of 5ℓ. If a business is not registered, then the individual who produced the advertising shall be subject to this fine, instead.
- 2.10. The Minister of Stuff, heading the Ministry of Stuff, which shall be responsible for the promotion of the Kingdom through public relations. The Ministrà del Sanavar da Talossa al Ultra-Fiôvân Folâs (Ministry of Stuff) shall dutifully ensure that the Kingdom and events therein are regularly publicized in any and all worldwide media, and shall produce and circulate on a regular basis a national publication for internal and external promotion of all things Talossan.
- 2.10.1. A national radio and television network for Talossans, called "RTV" (Regipäts Televiziun), is also under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Stuff. (6RC7)
- 2.10.2. The Minister of Stuff may from time to time appoint or dismiss "Social Media Ambassadors", with the power and responsibility to promote Talossa on one or several named website, forum or social media service.
- 2.11. The Minister of Interior, heading the Ministry of Interior, which shall be responsible for the execution of the nation's laws appertaining to immigration of new citizens into the realm. The Minister and other officers of the Ministrà dal Interior (Ministry of Interior ) shall work closely with the Chancery and its Bureau of the Census to ensure that all incoming citizens are properly processed through immigration as provided by law.
3. Each Cabinet Officer shall be empowered to create within his Ministry other subdivisions not listed by this title, but any such reorganization shall require the approval of the Seneschal. Unless otherwise dictated by Talossan Coolness Factor considerations, the principal subdivisions of a Ministry other than the Prime Ministry shall be titled bureaus or sub-ministries, and the principal subdivisions within the Prime Ministry shall be titled agencies or administrations.
4. All governmental employees other than the Cabinet officers shall retain their offices through changes of government, but may be dismissed at any time by the Seneschal or by any superior officer within the ministry, in accordance with such regulations as may be adopted by or under the authority of the Seneschal. Whenever there is a vacancy in any position without a qualified deputy, the individual holding the position immediately superior to the vacant position shall be responsible for the performance of all duties assigned to the vacant position.
5. For all purposes of protocol, seniority, and precedence, the cabinet ministries shall be ordered as follows: Prime Ministry, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Interior, Ministry of Stuff, Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Culture, Ministry of Justice. (47RZ8)
6. In the absence of any statutory provision directing otherwise, any ministries created hereafter shall take precedence after the Ministry of Justice, in the order of their creation.
7. The Seneschal shall be entitled to the honorific prefix "The Most Honourable." All other cabinet officers shall be entitled to the honorific prefix "The Right Honourable."
8. The government of the Kingdom of Talossa has the duty and responsibility to make public information about and held by the government's cabinet ministries and sub offices within the guidelines set below: (40RZ9)
- 8.1. Information Available for Request
- 8.1.1. A citizen may only request access to information that has been recorded on paper, computer file, video file and/or audio file. Unrecorded opinion does not fall within the scope of this legislation.
- 8.1.2. A citizen may request information regarding the business of the government's executive offices and the government's cabinet ministries so long as the information being requested does not conflict with D.8.2 or D.8.3.
- 8.1.3. Leaders of political parties may access some personal contact details as set out in D.8.5.
- 8.2. Information Exempt from Request
- 8.2.1. The type of information not available for access is outlined as follows:
- 8.2.1.1. Records that are of a personal nature where the disclosure of such records would clearly infringe a citizen's individual privacy in accordance with the Sixth Covenant of Article XIX (Covenant of Rights and 10.2.1.2. Freedoms) of the 1997 Organic Law of the Kingdom of Talossa. This also includes private medical, counseling, or psychological records.
- 8.2.1.2 Records of a law enforcement or military agency only when the records meet one or more of the following criteria:
- 8.2.1.2.1. The records would identify informants or witnesses,
- 8.2.1.2.2. The records would identify undercover officers,
- 8.2.1.2.3. The records would provide personal information of officers or officer's family members,
- 8.2.1.2.4. The records would provide details of current operations or protocol. This includes details of communication codes and plans of deployment.
- 8.2.1.2.5. The records would endanger the life or safety of officers or officer's families if the information was disclosed.
- 8.2.1.2.6. The records are of an ongoing investigation.
- 8.2.1.2.7. Records that fall within the scope of medical practitioner - patient privilege, attorney - client privilege, religious figure privilege, or any and all current and future privilege recognized by Statutory Law, Organic Law or Cort Rule.
- 8.2.1.2.8. Records of security measures and records that would hinder the body's ability to maintain the physical security of custodial or penal institutions occupied by persons arrested or convicted of a crime or admitted because of a mental disability.
- 8.2.1.3. Conversation logs that may be regarded as private may also be excluded from the scope of this legislation.
- 8.3. Burden of Proof
- 8.3.1. The burden of proof falls on the body that has been asked to disclose any and all requested information. The requester of the information does not have an obligation to provide an explanation for their request.
- 8.3.2. If a request for information is denied by the body then an explanation as to why the request has been denied must be given.
- 8.3.3. If a body fails to disclose requested information without a valid reason then the uppermost cort, or any other cort as set up by the Ziu, will reserve the right to force the body to disclose.
- 8.3.4. The Corts will also arbitrate cases in which a requester feels a given reason was not sufficient enough to deny the request.
- 8.4. Data Protection
- 8.4.1. Personal information such as, but not limited to, private mailing addresses, contact telephone numbers and private email addresses, given names, ages, date of births and national security numbers shall be held on file and shall only be accessed by the Secretary of State or The King without prior permission of the person to whom the information relates to. In all other instances permission must be obtained by the person to whom the personal information relates to.
- 8.4.2. The type of information and records described in D.8.4.1. above shall never be passed on to outside agencies for the purposes of data farming or market research. The details may be passed onto non-Talossan law enforcement agencies in the interest of international law enforcement and co-operation.
- 8.4.3. Personal Information described in clause 1 above shall never be published on any public website belonging to the Kingdom as an asset.
- 8.5. Information Available to Political Party Leaders
- 8.5.1. An Electorate Database shall be made available to political party leaders.
- 8.5.2. The Database shall only be accessible by leaders of parties which have been fully registered with the Chancery and provincial officers, provided the conditions in D.8.5 are met.
- 8.5.3. The Database shall contain the following information on each of the Kingdom's Citizens only: Name, Province, E-Mail address.
- 8.5.4. The E-Mail address of a citizen shall only be made available to party leaders if the citizen has opted-in to receive election communications
- 8.5.5. Measures shall be taken to ensure that the database is kept non-public and can only be viewed by the audience intended.
- 8.5.6. Additional information may be held upon the database against any given person ONLY if that person requests such information to be included.
- 8.5.7. Any citizen may request to opt-out of having their E-Mail address included in this database for any reason at any time by notifying the Chancery.
- 8.6. Information Available to Provincial Officers
- 8.6.1. Provincial officers may have access to part of the electoral database established by D.8.5, provided the following conditions are met:
- 8.6.1.1. The provincial officer is (partly) responsible for the conduct of provincial elections and needs the information in the database for the conduct of these elections.
- 8.6.1.2. Provincial law of the province for which the officer serves must actively allow the officer to have access to the information.
- 8.6.1.3. The provincial officer must send a request to the SoS for access to the information. The SoS may refuse the request if the conditions in 10.6. are not met.
- 8.6.1.4. The provincial officer will only get access to the information about the citizens of the province for which he is conducting the elections.
- 8.6.1.5. The provincial officer may not share the information with anyone not entitled to the information.
- 8.6.1.6. The provincial officer may use the information only for the conduct of provincial elections.
9. The Ziu authorises the formation of a Council of Governors (el Cußéglh del Governadéirs in Talossan, abbreviated CG) to be comprised of each provincial leader, whether he or she is called "Governor" or not. The Council will hold meetings at its own discretion, or at the request of any one of the Governors/Provincial Leaders. (31RZ29)
9.1. The rules and regulations of this Council may be decided by the Council itself at a founders' meeting. The Council may only operate within the bounds of the Organic Law. The Council will meet to begin designing a constitution or other set of rules for self-governance.
9.2. The Ziu also hereby authorises the creation of the position of Governor-General of Talossa, who shall be the leader of the Council of Governors, chosen by a majority of the Council members (who are the collective governors and provinical leader of Talossa). In matters provincial, the Governor-General shall serve as a liaison to the Government of Talossa, to serve at the behest of the Council of Governors. (32RZ10)
E. Immigration
1. Prospective immigrants who will be age fourteen or older by the next regularly scheduled Balloting Day shall be directed to the Minister of Interior. The Minister of Interior shall act on every such request received by that office, without discriminating on the basis of age, political preference, religion, or other personal information. (35RZ22, 46RZ17), (47RZ8)
2. The Minister of Interior shall ascertain to his own satisfaction, through correspondence or conversation, that the prospective immigrant is a real human being with genuine interest in becoming a citizen of the Kingdom of Talossa. The Minister shall be free to inquire of the applicant on any and every subject, and shall be required to collect the name, postal address, telephone number, and e-mail address(es) of the candidate, which information the Minister shall communicate to the Secretary of State. Additionally, the Interior Minister shall be required to collect an essay, written by the applicant, entitled "Why I am Interested in Becoming a Talossan." (47RZ8)
3. The Minister of Interior, working with the Seneschál, shall cause the prospective immigrant to be granted an account on Wittenberg, allowing said prospective immigrant to converse with the subjects of the Kingdom gathered there. The Interior Minister shall verify that the said account is fully-enabled, and that the candidate is able to communicate using this forum with the citizens of the Kingdom. The Interior Minister shall then begin a single thread on Wittenberg introducing the prospective immigrant to the nation. The "Why I am Interested in Becoming a Talossan" essay shall be published by the Interior Minister in this introduction. The Interior Minister is further directed to remind his fellow citizens from time to time that the initiation of new citizens into Talossa is a serious matter and that questioning a prospective citizen is a patriotic obligation of all who love their King and Country. (47RZ8)
4. An examination period shall begin with the prospective citizen’s first posting to Wittenberg after his introduction by the Interior Minister. At any time at least fifteen days after the beginning of the examination period, any current citizen of Talossa may petition the Secretary of State requesting that a Royal Grant of Citizenship be issued to the prospective citizen. If no such petition is laid before the Secretary of State within the first forty days of the examination period, the examination period shall end, the immigration process for the prospective citizen shall be terminated, and his Wittenberg account shall be disabled; in addition, the Secretary of State shall notify the Government and the prospective citizen of the termination of the process, and shall post a notification to the effect on Wittenberg. (47RZ8)
5. If, at any point during the process, either before or after creation of the Wittenberg account, the Interior Minister determines that the prospective immigrant shall not be considered further, the prospective immigrant shall be informed of this decision, and shall be made aware that a Grant of Citizenship may yet be obtained by the disappointed applicant if an act of the Ziu be passed directing that such a grant be issued. Any account created for the applicant on Wittenberg shall then be terminated. (47RZ8)
6. If the prospective immigrant is not a user of the Internet, such that he will not be able to participate in the process on Wittenberg, the process as described above shall be followed regardless, except that a Wittenberg account shall not be created for the prospective immigrant, and that the Interior Minister shall be responsible for communicating all postings on Wittenberg to the prospective immigrant, receiving responses thereto from the prospective immigrant, and posting them on Wittenberg in reply. Additionally, for such persons without Internet access, ten days shall be added to the minimum and maximum time allowed in clause 4 for the presentation to the Secretary of State of any petition for the issuance of a Grant of Citizenship. (47RZ8)
7. The Secretary of State shall, on a date of his choosing, but within a period of ten days after receiving a petition to issue a Grant of Citizenship as described in clause 4, determine the provincial assignment of the prospective immigrant and issue a Royal Grant of Citizenship to the immigrant. This Grant shall be issued under the Royal Seal, either as applied by the Chancery, or, should the Majesty request, by the Sovereign under his or her own hand. If requested by the Government, the Grant may also bear the signatures of the Seneschál and/or Interior Minister. The Royal Grant shall be promptly issued coincident with the candidate affirming his fealty to the Royal House and his allegiance to the Kingdom by taking any Oath of Talossan Citizenship specified by law. At the time this Royal Grant is issued, and from that point forward, the applicant shall be a full citizen of the Kingdom of Talossa. The fact of the issuance of this Grant shall be posted on Wittenberg by the Secretary of State, that the new citizen may be welcomed by his compatriots. Any and all objections raised to the immigration made after this Royal Grant will be moot. (47RZ8)
- 7.1. Future immigrants to Talossa shall be assigned to provinces based on the provisions of this title. (34RZ9)
- 7.1.1. Talossan citizens physically living within the boundaries of the Kingdom of Talossa shall be assigned to whichever province they are actually living in.
- 7.1.2. Citizens living outside the boundaries of Talossa shall be assigned to a province corresponding to a geographic zone. The entire globe shall be divided into eight geographic zones so that anyone living anywhere outside Talossa is automatically assigned to the corresponding Talossan province. (47RZ2)
- 7.2. The provincial assignments of all Talossan citizens, as of 1 May 2005/XXVII, are unchanged by this title.
- 7.3. No Talossan citizen may transfer his provincial citizenship to a different province, except by physically moving into that province or into the zone corresponding to that province. A citizens living inside or outside of Talossa, who moves permanently into an outside zone corresponding to a different province will be (re)assigned by the SoS to the province corresponding to the new geographic zone in accordance with the following provisions:
7.3.1 Citizens moving to an area corresponding to a province closed to immigration will not be reassigned upon moving.
7.3.2 The provisions in this section do not apply when a citizen currently assigned to the wrong province geographically moves within his/her current geographic assignment area, unless the move is either a) over a distance of more than 1000 kilometres, or b) across national borders. In both cases the provisions in this section do apply. (47RZ2)
- 7.4. ATATÜRK PROVINCE. Talossan citizens living in the following areas shall be assigned to Atatürk Province: All suburbs of Milwaukee within Milwaukee County, which lie to the north and east of the City of Milwaukee; the Wisconsin Counties of Washington, Ozaukee, Sheboygan, Calumet, Manitowoc, Kewaunee, and Door; the nation of Canada; and the U.S. states of Massachussetts, Rhode Island, Maine, New Hampshire, and Vermont. Overseas, the nations of Scotland, Wales, Isle of Man, Republic of Ireland, Cornwall, Turkey, the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and the Xinjiang-Uygur Region of China.
- 7.5. BENITO PROVINCE. Talossan citizens living in the following areas shall be assigned to Mussolini Province: the Wisconsin counties of Waukesha, Jefferson, and Dane; and the U.S. states of Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Ohio, and Pennsylvania. Overseas, the nations of Italy, San Marino, Vatican City, Armenia, Georgia, plus all nations in Africa not listed elsewhere.
- 7.6. VUODE PROVINCE. Talossan citizens living in the following areas shall be assigned to Vuode Province: The City of Milwaukee (WI) and the U.S. states of Connecticut, Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey and New York. Overseas, the nations of Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Western Sahara, Japan, Taiwan, Indonesia, the Philippines, Singapore, Sri Lanka.
- 7.7. MARICOPA PROVINCE. Talossan citizens living in the following areas shall be assigned to Maricopa Province: the Wisconsin counties of Polk, Barron, St. Croix, Pierce, Dunn, Chippewa, Eau Claire, Clark, Pepin, Buffalo, Trempeleau, Jackson, La Crosse, Monroe, Juneau, Adams, Vernon, Crawford, Richland, Sauk, Grant, Iowa, Lafayette, and Green; and the U.S. states of Arizona, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Texas, Hawaii, and California. Overseas, the nations of Spain, Andorra and Spanish-speaking Latin America; and the nations of the Indian subcontinent.
- 7.8. FLORENCIA PROVINCE. Talossan citizens living in the following areas shall be assigned to Florencia Province: the Wisconsin counties of Florence, Douglas, Bayfield, Ashland, Iron, Vilas, Burnett, Washburn, Sawyer, Rusk, Taylor, Price, Oneida, Lincoln, Langlade, Forest, Menominee, Shawano, Marinette, Oconto, Outagamie, and Brown; and the U.S. states of Alaska, Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Wyoming, Nevada, Utah, Colorado and Minnesota.
- 7.9. MARITIIMI-MAXHESTIC PROVINCE. Talossan citizens living in the following areas shall be assigned to Maritiimi-Maxhestic Province: All suburbs of the City of Milwaukee within Milwaukee County which lie to the south and west of the City of Milwaukee, and also the Wisconsin Counties of Racine, Kenosha, Walworth, and Rock; and the U.S. states of Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia. Overseas, the nations of Liechtenstein, Austria, and Germany, East Timor, Madagascar, and the Comoros Islands. In addition, the Falkland Islands and all nations of the Caribbean Islands not listed elsewhere.
- 7.10. CÉZEMBRE PROVINCE. Talossan citizens living in the following areas shall be assigned to Cézembre Province: the Wisconsin counties of Marathon, Wood, Portage, Waupaca, Waushara, Winnebago, Marquette, Green Lake, Fond du Lac, Columbia, and Dodge. Overseas, the nations of England, Northern Ireland, France, Monaco, Switzerland, Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Iceland, Finland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Russia, Belarus, Ukraine, Poland, Moldova, Romania, Bulgaria, Greece, Republic of Cyprus and Hungary. In addition, all territories of the world not listed elsewhere.
- 7.11. FIOVA PROVINCE. Talossan citizens living in the following areas shall be assigned to Fiova Province: The U.S. states of Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Kansas, Nebraska, Arkansas, Louisiana, Missouri, the nations of Australia, New Zealand, Portugal, Brazil, Macedonia, Serbia, Montenegro, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Slovenia, Croatia, Kosovo, Albania, Czech Republic, Slovakia, and all nations of Asia or the Pacific and Indian Oceans not included elsewhere.
- 7.12. No Talossan citizen shall be assigned to the Territory of Péngöpäts or to any other Talossan territory.
- 7.13. (48RZ21)
- 7.14. (48RZ21)
- 7.15. (48RZ21)
8. At any time before a Grant of Citizenship is conferred, the Sovereign, or members representing at least one-third of the Cosâ by seats, or members representing at least one-third of the Senäts, or any single Justice of the Uppermost Cort may petition the Chancery that the said Grant of Citizenship shall not be issued until such issuance shall be ordered by an act of the Ziu. The Secretary of State shall be required to grant all such petitions, and shall withhold any issuance of a Royal Grant of Citizenship to the prospective immigrant who is the subject of such a petition until such time as an act of the Ziu directing the issuance of such a grant becomes law.
9. The following text shall be known as The Oath of Talossan Citizenship: (37RZ3)
- From this day forward, I pledge my loyalty, allegiance, and fidelity to the Kingdom of Talossa and to His Majesty's government. I solemnly affirm that I will support and uphold the Organic Law of the Kingdom of Talossa, defend the realm against all enemies, both foreign and domestic, faithfully observe its laws, respect the rights and freedoms of all my fellow citizens, fulfill all my duties and obligations as a citizen of the Kingdom of Talossa, and humbly appreciate the benefits granted unto me by my King, most especially when those benefits take the form of Talossan currency.
- 9.1. Whenever the oath shall be taken in times when the sovereign be female, appropriate changes in the wording of the oath (specifically, using the word "Queen" in place of "King", and "her" in place of "his") shall be made, in due deference to Her Majesty, whosoever she may be.
- 9.2. No Royal Grant of Citizenship shall be issued to a prospective citizen until the said person has recited The Oath of Talossan Citizenship in the presence of a royal personage or member of the Royal Household, or, alternatively, has published to the nation a signed copy of this oath.
10. The following enhancements and clarifications will apply to the process of assigning citizens to provinces. (35RZ23)
- 10.1. For the purposes of Talossan law, two people are “closely related” if one of them is the spouse, parent, grandparent, brother, sister, aunt, or uncle of the other, or is married to someone who is the spouse, parent, grandparent, brother, sister, aunt, or uncle of the other.
- 10.2. If an immigrant is closely related to a Talossan citizen, the immigrant may choose to be assigned to the province to which his Talossan relative belongs, rather than to the province to which he would otherwise be assigned.
- 10.3. If one Talossan citizen is closely related to another, he may move his provincial assignment to the province to which his Talossan relative already belongs. But nobody may make such a move more than once in his lifetime, except by the special permission of the Ziu.
- 10.4. If any Talossan citizen is re-assigned, by any means, to another province, his/her close relative(s) may move his/her provincial assignment to the province which his/her Talossan relative has be re-assigned to. But nobody may make such a move more than once in his/her lifetime, except by the special permission of the Ziu.
- 10.5. A dandelion, when registered, will be assigned to the province of his Talossan parent. If both his parents are citizens, and they belong to different provinces, the dandelion will be assigned to the province of his mother.
- 10.6. A dandelion, whose Talossan parent has be re-assigned, by any means, to another province, shall be automatically re-assigned to the same province as his/her Talossan parent. If both his/her parents are citizens, and they are re-assigned to different provinces, the dandelion will be re-assigned to the province of his mother.
- 10.7. Whenever any Talossan wants to move his provincial assignment to the province in whose assigned area he actually lives, he may do so by notifying the Chancery. The move will be officially recognised once the Chancery has validated the request. (47RZ2) (48RZ21)
- 10.8. The Secretary of State will be responsible for the various moves and assignments contemplated in this title, which moves and assignments will take effect on their official announcement by the Secretary of State.
11. The Interior Ministry shall not publicly reveal any data regarding prospectives other than their name and general locale, unless authorised by the prospective to do so. (32RZ24), (47RZ8)
- 11.1. A prospective's contact information such as telephone, address, email, AIM, ICQ, et cetera, shall be provided by the Minister of Interior only to the King, the Secretary of State, and the Cort, as needed. Any other requests from Talossan citizens for such data will be passed along to the prospective for his or her consideration by the Ministry of Interior. (47RZ8)
- 11.2. The Deputy Minister of Interior shall continue to receive, by reason of the nature of his position, copies of all data pertaining to prospectives, including any email not specifically intended by the prospective to be private. (47RZ8)
- 11.3. Any official in the Ministry of Interior who has been found by the Cort to have violated these conditions shall be summarily removed from that office by the Cort. (47RZ8)
12. There shall be no use of the Talossan name in letterheads, banners, publications of all kinds or in any writing to imply that the said writing would constitute an "official" Talossan document and/or originate from the Kingdom of Talossa, her Provinces, Cantons, Territories and all other lands and organizations, without said document being composed in whole or in part by a Talossan citizen, or authorized by the Ziu in the case of prospective citizens. (23RZ14)
13. Explicit renunciation of Talossan citizenship made by a parent or legal guardian on behalf of a citizen not yet 14 years old shall be considered as the renunciation of the young citizen himself; but no such renunciation will be recognized that is not made explicitly and publicly and in the name of the young citizen. (35RZ4)
- 13.1 Any citizen who reaches the age of 14 and fails to register and vote will begin accumulating “strikes” just like any other citizen who fails to vote, and will be subject to losing his citizenship (just like any other) when he accumulates three strikes; but his failure to register will not otherwise be taken as a renunciation of citizenship.
- 13.2. Any minor child or ward of a Talossan citizen shall be made a citizen on simple application of the Talossan parent or guardian. Such application shall be made to the Secretary of State and shall affirm that any non-Talossan parent or legal guardian of the minor child (according to and under any jurisdiction of the world) accedes to said citizenship. The said minor child shall be made a citizen of the province to which the parent making the described application clings, regardless of the closure status of the province. Said child shall be forever entitled to be known as a Dandelion, and specifically as a Broad-Leaf Dandelion, and shall on reaching the age of 14 years become a voting citizen according to the terms of Article XVIII, Section 7 of the Organic Law.
F. Culture
1. The following Table of Precedence shall be used in any circumstances where it is deemed appropriate or desirable to do so. Amendments to the Table of Precedence may be made from time to time as may be necessary. (34RZ12)
- 1.1. The King
- 1.2. The Queen
- 1.3. Children of the Sovereign in birth order
- 1.4. The Prime Minister
- 1.5. Senior Justice of the Uppermost Cort
- 1.6. The Mencei of the Senate
- 1.7. The Speaker of the Cosâ
- 1.8. The members of the nobility and knighthood in order of their rank and tenure
- 1.9. Cabinet members according to the seniority of their ministries
- 1.10. The Secretary of State
- 1.11. Provincial Constables
- 1.12. Premiers of Provinces
- 1.13. Puisne Justices of the Uppermost Cort in order of their appointment.
- 1.14. Senators
- 1.15. MCs
- 1.16. Admiral of the Talossan Royal Navy
- 1.17. Speakers of the various provincial legislatures in order of their appointment
- 1.18. Provincial Cabinet members in order of their date of appointment
- 1.19. Members of Provincial legislatures
- 1.20. Recipients of Talossan Honours
- 1.21. Talossan citizens in order of their naturalisation
2. The list of public holidays recognised and observed by the government is as follows: (41RZ6)
- 2.1. 1 January. New Year's Day. Commemorating the first day of the calendar year, and World Day of Peace.
- 2.2. Third Monday in January. Landmark Day. Commemorating all Talossan landmarks, such as Grecian Delight (which has its day of observance on 19 January).
- 2.3. Third Monday in February. Culture Day. Commemorating the rich culture of the Kingdom, in line with Napoleon's Memorial Wargaming Day (which has its day of observance on 21 February), and being a traditional kick-off day for celebration of Berber Heritage Month.
- 2.4. Final Monday in May. Cestour Day. Celebrating Cestour heritage and the rich history of the protoTalossan realm, in line with Juneau Day (which has its day of observance on 28 May); celebrating the bridge-building to our Cestour residents that has been the hallmark of our nation.
- 2.5. 4 July. Foundation Day. Celebrating King Robert I's Birthday (2 July) and Organic Law Day (6 July)
- 2.6. First Monday in September. Monarchy Day (observed). Commemorating the resumption of the Talossan monarchy with the coronation of Florence on 24 August.
- 2.7. 11 November. Armistice Day. Commemorating the proclamation of peace following the Great War, and the invincible moral support that the Kingdom of Talossa contributes to all foreign conflicts, and that it would have contributed to that one in particular had the Kingdom been founded by then. (34RZ3, 26RZ12)
- 2.8. Fourth Thursday in November. Victory Day (observed). Celebrating the triumphant victory of our nation in every single war it has ever fought (specifically, the Cone Wars).
- 2.9. 25 December. Dependence Day. Commemorating the final day of dependence of this nation on another, and also celebrating Christmas Day.
- 2.10. 26 December. Independence Day. Celebrating our nation's first day of independence
3. The government of the Kingdom shall recognise and observe as public holidays any and all days which may be proclaimed as such by the Crown.
4. The government of the Kingdom shall recognise and observe as a public holiday the day of, or the day before, the birthday of the current Sovereign.
- 4.1. Any public holiday named above which is not fixed to a specific day of the week shall be observed on a Monday in years in which it falls on a Sunday, and shall be observed on the preceding Friday in years in which it falls on a Saturday.
- 4.2. All pre-existing days heretofore known as national holidays shall not be public holidays, but Days of Observance.
- 4.3. These Days of Observance include:
- 4.3.1. 28 February. Off with Their Heads Day. This holiday acts as a warning (rather than a means to celebrate) for all current Talossans to remain active and involved. (20RC34)
- 4.3.2. 31 March. Mindless Patriotism Day. This holiday commemorates the passage that day of two important, patriotic laws by the Cosa in 1993. Those were the laws creating "Wargaming" as our "Official National Pastime," and food served at Taco Bell as our "Official National Cuisine." Every March 31st, Talossans are urged to play, read about, or work on designing a wargame, and dine at Taco Bell. (20RC35)
- 4.3.3. The month of March is "Berber Heritage Month" in Talossa, and all citizens are encouraged to express themselves in whatever medium is appropriate, on the question of Talossa's real or imagined Berbercentric prehistory. (22RZ11)
- 4.3.4. 22 September. Alfred W. Lawson Day. The anniversary of the day this innovator and aviator's baseball team won the Atlantic League Championship in 1907. (24RZ46)
- 4.3.5. 28 May. Juneau Day. To commemorate the day where a few battalions of Juneaumen bravely fought against the evil Kilbournites on the two bridges. (25RZ67)
- 4.3.6. 21 February. Napoleon's Memorial Wargaming Day. Each year on that day, Talossans shall share memories of Napoleon's game store and enjoy the national pastime of wargaming. (34RZ1)
- 4.3.7. 15 September. Game Day. To commemorate the day Napoleon's opened its doors in 1979.
- 4.3.8. 6 July. Organic Law Day. Talossa is a nation under the rule of law, and this holiday encourages its citizens to reflect on our most fundamental law to foster civic virtue, public-mindedness, and patriotic spirit in our Kingdom. (37PD1)
- 4.3.9. 10 December. Human Rights Day. A suggested method to celebrate Human Rights Day is reviewing Article XIX of The Organic Law and/or the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. (40RZ7)
- 4.3.10. 21 January. Squirrel Appreciation Day. To encourage all Talossans to pay tribute to the lives of squirrels, through observation of and reflection on their activities; to encourage all Talossans to participate in service projects such as provision of appropriate mid-winter foodstuffs to supplement the diet of squirrels, and/or activities to protect squirrel habitat, and/or other appropriate actions; and to recognise the benefits of the collaborative work to support squirrels by the many Talossan citizens, just as squirrels support our realm. (40RZ19)
- 4.3.11. 19 January. Grecian Delight Remembrance Day. Upon this date, the government of The Kingdom of Talossa shall encourage the citizens of the nation to pay respect and remembrance to this all important and historical sites of interest, including Grecian Delight, locum for several pivotal points in our nations history including the 1997 Organic Law Convention, several TalossaFest celebrations and the 2002 Swearing of the Oath of Office of Prime Minister Valcadac'h. (41RZ1)
- 4.3.12. 20 January. Penguin Awareness Day. To pay tribute to the lives of penguins, through reflection on the existence of the order Sphenisciformes, family Spheniscidae, and the Territory of Péngöpäts and; to visit penguins in the wild (preferably in the Territory of Péngöpäts) or at a zoo, or observe and study penguins through video, books, or otherwise, or to dress in penguin-y hued raiment, or to act as if they were in fact a penguin sometime during that day, or to use the Linux operating system in some manner, or to watch a Pittsburgh Penguins hockey game, or to consider the careers of third-baseman Ron Cey and actors Burgess Meredith and Danny DeVito, and to support a conservation group such as SANCCOB (The Southern African Foundation for the Conservation of Coastal Birds; yes, how they got "SANCCOB" out of that is a mystery to us too), the Penguin Foundation, or their local zoo. (42RZ3)
- 4.3.13. 11 September. International Memorial Day. A day of reflection for all Talossans to honor the memory of all tragedies and celebrate all joys of the past. 38RZ13
5. The Flower known as Euphorbia pulcherrima, or commonly known as Poinsettia or Nochebuena, shall be the National Flower of the Kingdom of Talossa. All Talossans are encouraged to have Euphorbia pulcherrima prominently displayed in their homes during the Nation’s Independence Day celebrations. (43RZ6)
6. The crow shall be the National Bird of the Kingdom of Talossa, with full knowledge and awareness of the coolness thereof, and a murder of crows (in Talossan, 'n asasinà da crovâs) shall be the National Group of Birds. (23RZ3, 36RZ13)
7. The Salute to the Flag may be said voluntarily, with one's right hand over one's heart, at all public gatherings which include the Flag. The text of this Salute shall be: "I salute the Talossan flag, with affection and smiling devotion to the Kingdom for which it stands: one Talossan nation, undivided and free, a home for all our people." (34RZ22)
8. Gloria Estefan is awarded the title of National Entertainer of Talossa. The Ziu heartily recommends that all Talossans listen to her music, shake their bodies and do the conga in celebration of this. (33RZ6)
9. The below emblems are the official representation of the Senäts. The Portcullis symbol by itself is the official symbol of the combined Talossan legislature. (17RC7, 20RC26)
10. The below symbol and flag are the official representations of the Cosa. (20RC27)
11. The following designations shall be used for public buildings in the Kingdom of Talossa, with the understanding that the list may be supplemented or amended by further legislation. (32RZ18)
- 11.1. The Maricopa Capitol Building -- Humphrey House, located at 1200 N Broadway St.
- 11.2. The Vuode Capitol Building -- The Pavilion at Lake Park
- 11.3. The Benito Capitol Building -- Riverside High School
- 11.4. The Atatürk Capitol Building -- Enderis Hall (UWM Campus)
- 11.5. The Cézembre Capitol Building -- Repaire des Corsaires café
- 11.6. The Florenciâ Capitol Building -- The Oriental Theatre
- 11.7. The Maritiimi-Maxhestic Capitol Building -- The Mackey/Mitchell Buildings Complex (on Michigan St.)
- 11.8. Federal Buildings (all in Abbavilla/UWM Campus unless noted)
- 11.9. Executive offices (PM and King) -- Garland/Pearse Hall
- 11.10. Cort offices -- Chapman Hall
- 11.11. Cosâ Chamber and Offices -- Merrill Hall
- 11.12. Senäts Chamber -- Greene Hall
- 11.13. Senäts Offices -- Johnston Hall
- 11.14. Official Residence of the Prime Minister ("Kenwood House") -- Alumni House (in Atatürk, on the lake)
- 11.15. Ministry of Culture -- Holton Hall
- 11.16. Foreign Ministry -- Bolton Hall
- 11.17. Interior Ministry -- Business Administration Building (47RZ8)
- 11.18. Secretary of State's Offices -- Sabin Hall
- 11.19. National Library/Archives and CÚG Offices -- Golda Meir Library
- 11.20. The Fiôvâ Capitol Building -- The Mitchell Building
12. The National Fish of Talossa is the smelt. (6RC31)
13. The National Insect of Talossa is the pillbug. (6RC31)
14. The Squirrel is the National Mammal of the Kingdom of Talossa. (6RC32)
15. The sugar maple is the officially declared National Tree of Talossa. (6RC33)
16. The UWM Professional Theatre Training Programme (PTTP) and the Clavis Theatre are the National Theatres of Talossa. Both are unrecognized and non-profit, and are in Talossa. UWM represents the classical side of English-speaking threatre, and Clavis the current theatre that is off and off-off Broadway. (6RC54)
17. In commemoration of the longevity of Talossa, all newspapers and official documents bearing the year of publication are required to cite the year in both the Christian and Talossan form. The Talossan Year begins on the 26th of December, and 26 Dec 1979 was Year I of the Kingdom. For example, dates will henceforth be written: "Wednesday, October 21st, 1987/VIII." The abbreviation "A.R.T." is the equivalent to "A.D." and stands for "Anno Regni Talossae." (6RC37)
18. Talossa's national cuisine, inasmuch as it's possible for a country that routinely eats fast food and microwave lunches to have one, is more or less the same as Taco Bell food. (16RC1)
- 18.1. The Z-Teca chain is recognized with the status of "Honorary Taco Bell." Eating at Z-Teca fulfills one's ethnic obligations if eating at Taco Bell is inconvenient or otherwise prohibitive. (25RZ9)
19. Wargaming is Talossa's Official National Pastime. (16RC10)
20. Mystery Science Theater 3000 is henceforth the official television programme of the Kingdom of Talossa. All citizens are urged to watch. (17RC4)
21. "Fleetwood Mac's Greatest Hits" is the Official Compact Disc of the Kingdom of Talossa. (18RC28)
22. The drums-and-moog tune called "Funk," from the ridiculous 70's Meco "Star Wars and Other Galactic Funk" disco album shall be the official signature tune of all government broadcasting. It has been used informally in this capacity since 1982. (20RC10)
23. The first 1 minute, 8 seconds of the first movement (Allegro brioso) of the First Piano Concerto in D-Flat Major, Opus 10, by Russian composer Sergei Sergeyevich Prokofiev (1891-1953) shall be the signature theme for all official Talossan news segments broadcast on Talossan State Radio services. (20RC37)
24. Manos: The Hands of Fate shall be the the Official Motion Picture of the Kingdom of Talossa. (23RZ34)
25. The Green Bay Packers shall be Talossa's Official NFL Team, and it will remain so until such time as the nation is able to field its own NFL team to contest the American teams. The Ziu officially authorises loyal Talossan citizens to refer to the team, heretofore known as the "Green Bay Packers," as the "Florenciâ Packers." (23RZ40, 23RZ43)
26. The "Zog Salute," raising the right arm as if to make a 'fascist' salute but bending the elbow back across the chest with the palm downward, is recognized as the official salute of the Kingdom of Talossa and encourages its public display at all Talossan social functions. (25RZ13)
27. The Ziu officially states it is acceptable to refer to the Milwaukee Brewers as "The Maricopa Brewers"; the Ziu also officially encourages the usage of the latter form in all Talossan publications and broadcasts. (28RZ26)
28. The Ziu hereby confers the status of National Historic Site to Grecian Delight, makes "The Place Where Everybody Knows Your Name" to be the official slogan of the restaurant for tourism/marketing purposes, and encourages all haxhis to pay a visit to Grecian Delight during their stay in the fatherland. (28RZ16)
29. The sole official system of weights and measures within the Kingdom of Talossa is the so-called "American" or English System. (26RZ15)
30. All citizens are encouraged to watch "Ishtar," a classic movie containing many allusions to Talossan Berber traits, situations, problems, resolutions and musical compositions. Know the definition, texture and appearance of Couscous, the Talossan Berber treat. (28RZ10)
31. The Ziu establishes an annual award scheme to be known as the "Prime Minister's Literary Awards". The awards shall be distributed by the Prime Minister according to rules and regulations established by a three member committee that shall be appointed by the Prime Minister. The Ziu further declares that this committee shall make these regulations public on Wittenberg and they shall be subject to final approval by the Ziu. (34RZ19)
32. The Milwaukee Brewers (as they are known in our neighbour nation) of major league baseball shall be known as the Maricopa Brewers (Els Cumplosteirs da Maricopa).
33. All Talossans everywhere are encouraged to refer to the Milwaukee Bucks as the Benito Bucks (or, in Talossan, Els Bocs da Benito). (38RZ16)
34. Enver Hoxha International Airport shall be known in perpetuity as the Alfred W. Lawson International Airport. (42RZ22)
35. "Riverside Park", located in the Benito province of the Kingdom of Talossa, surrounded by East Locust Street to the North, the river to the West, North Oakland Avenue to the East and East Park Place to the South, be renamed to "King John Woolley on the Riverside Park". (43RZ14)
36. Animals and pets belonging to owners of Talossan citizenship shall be considered to be Talossan-in-nature. Any animal that shows an appreciation for beer or Talossan cuisine shall also be considered to be Talossan-in-nature. Talossan citizens are encouraged to know the Talossan name of their furry, feathered, scaled or otherwise critters. (43RZ24)
37. The shires of Pengöpäts known as Coldstrand, Evaniana, and Uttersouth, as well as the Territorial capital, Everwhite, now have official Talossan forms, respectively: Platxafred, Adiensiana, Sudurbenia, and Schembiança. The non-Talossan forms may be used as an alternative by those not familiar with the Talossan Language, although the Ziu encourages all Talossan citizens to use the Talossan forms as a way of demonstrating respect and admiration for our wonderful language and our great nation. (40RZ3)
38. Milwaukee Admirals shall be Talossa's Official AHL Team, and it will remain so until such time as the nation is able to field its own hockey team to contest the American teams. The Ziu officially authorises loyal Talossan citizens to refer to the team, heretofore known as the "Milwaukee Admirals," as the "Maritiimi-Maxhestic Admirals."
39. The office of Seneschal, Secretary of State, and Chief Justice shall be symbolized by totem items of rank. These items will be provided as speedily as possible by the government, with care for their quality and the economics of the matter. Designs and the nature of the items are the responsibility of the government, through whatever channels it deems appropriate. (38RZ3)(48RZ19)
- 39.1. The Seneschal shall wear a chain of office of sufficient ostentation as befits the leader of Talossa, representing the burden of being shackled to the nation's welfare.
- 39.2. The Secretary of State shall wield a stamp embossed with the logo of his office, being both an effective and appropriate totem that can be used henceforth.
- 39.3. The Chief Justice shall bear a silver-haired wig of reasonable quality, indicating a traditional role as a judge and the flowing locks of Lady Justice herself.
- 39.4. Each bearer of these items shall be required, if they lose their office, to mail them to the King within two weeks, from whom the items shall be passed on to the next holder of the office.
G. Justice
1. In the interest of providing the accused with the rights granted to him by the ninth Covenant of Rights and Freedoms, the following rights shall be considered to be inalienable and shall be afforded to all citizens in civilian trials: (40RZ4)
- 1.1. The accused must be informed of the charges against him by the Crown within seven days of said charges being accepted by any national or provincial cort.
- 1.2. Such notification must be submitted to the accused in writing, by either an electronic medium such as email, a typed letter, or by a handwritten letter. A copy of every such notice shall be archived in the Royal Archives by the Royal Archivist immediately after he receives a copy of said notice. If the notice is given in the form of a hand-written letter, the Royal Archivist shall make a copy of the letter in an electronic format, such that it may be added to the Royal Archives.
- 1.3. The Crown shall have up to 90 days from the time of notification of the accused in which to prepare its case. If a case is not prepared by the Crown within the allotted time, a mistrial shall be declared and the charge or charges against the accused shall be rendered null and void.
- 1.4. If a case is not prepared within the 90 days limit then the prosecution may request up to an additional 30 days to prepare its case, which shall be granted or denied by the justice assigned to the case. This section takes precedence over G.1.3.
- 1.5. The decision shall be based on the legitimacy of reasons given by the Crown, in the interests of justice, equality, and neutrality.
- 1.6. If a case is declared null and void then final jeopardy shall apply unless the prosecution is able to provide new evidence against the accused with which to build a case. If a new case is tried then the old evidence may not be used or taken into consideration. A new case must meet the same statute of limitations as described previously.
2. The Statute of Limitations on all offences shall be thirty six (36) months, starting from the date the offence is discovered or the 'date of knowledge' of the injured party. If the potential claimant is not at least 14 years old or did not have a sound mind at the time of the discovery/knowledge of the offence, time will not run until date of his 14th birthday or he has sound mind. (42RZ11)
- 2.1. This statute of limitations shall not apply to:
- 2.1.1. any action for which a period of limitation is fixed by any other limitation enactment;
- 2.1.2. fraud upon the court, which for the purpose of this title shall be defined as "to embrace that species of fraud which does, or
- 2.1.3. attempts to, defile the court itself, or is a fraud perpetrated by officers of the court so that the judicial machinery cannot perform in the usual manner its impartial task of adjudging cases that are presented for adjudication."
- 2.1.4. war crimes as they are defined in the Charter of the Nürnberg International Military Tribunal of 8 August 1945
- 2.1.5. crimes against humanity, whether committed in time of war or in time of peace, as defined in the Charter of the Nürnberg International Military Tribunal Tribunal of 8 August 1945, eviction by armed attack or occupation, inhuman acts resulting from the policy of apartheid, and the crime of genocide as defined in the 1948 Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide.
- 2.2. If any person commits a series of illegal acts or commits a continuing crime the period of limitation shall begin to run from the date of the last act in the series.
- 2.3. Nothing in this title shall:
- 2.3.1. enable any action to be brought which was barred before the operative date by any law repealed by this title
- 2.3.2. affect any action commenced before the date this title came into force.
3. The following guidelines shall exist for the practice of law within the realm: (42RZ5)
- 3.1. The practice of law shall be defined as the representation of individuals, corporations and government bodies before the Uppermost Cort, Military or Provincial Court, or any inferior court established by the Ziu; or the professional discussion or advice on matters of a legal nature.
- 3.2. Practice before the Uppermost Cort or any inferior National Court established by the Ziu shall be limited to members of the Royal Talossan Bar who maintain their membership in good standing.
- 3.3. Practice before Military Courts shall be restricted to members of the Royal Talossan Bar or to any commissioned officer granted waiver by the Minister of Interior to serve as a legal representative, pursuant to Ministry of Interior guidelines. (47RZ8)
- 3.4. Practice before Provincial Courts shall be governed by Provincial Law.
- 3.5. No part of this law shall limit an individual's ability to represent themselves before any court of the realm.
- 3.6. Provincial Premiers shall have the authority to represent their Province, in actions brought before a National Court, as a function of their office. This responsibility may be delegated only to a member of the Royal Talossan Bar. The role of the premier, or any Provincial official, within the provincial court system shall be regulated by applicable provincial law.
- 3.7. The use of titles such as lawyer, attorney, barrister, solicitor, or councillor/counselor-at-law or any other title reserved by guidelines of the Royal Talossan Bar shall be restricted to those who are licensed to engage in the practice of law within the realm.
- 3.8. Individuals who are party to an action brought before a Court of the realm and cannot find suitable legal representation due to a shortage of qualified practitioners of law, conflicts of interest or for personal reasons to be outlined in a petition presented before the cort, may apply for a waiver to permit any adult Talossan citizen to represent them before the Cort in a specified legal action serving as a legal proxy.
- 3.9. Individuals operating under waiver shall not be entitled to present themselves as attorneys, lawyers, barristers, solicitors, or councillor/counselor-at-law, nor shall approval of such waiver imply membership in the Talossan Bar.
- 3.10. Petitions for waiver shall be made to the Cort in which the action is to be brought. All waivers shall expire upon the final disposition of the case and shall remain in force through any appeal. Waivers granted by a lower court need not be renewed or reissued if the action is brought before the Uppermost Cort in appeal. Waivers may be terminated by the petitioner or the proxy at any time during court proceedings and shall notify the Court of said termination within 48 hours of its effective date. Waivers may be withdrawn through judicial order in the event of misconduct or inadequate representation.
- 3.11. Corts shall grant petitioned waivers unless the designated proxy has been convicted of a felony, has presented themselves unlawfully to be an attorney, lawyer, barrister, solicitor or councillor/counselor of law, has falsely claimed Bar membership or other official standing within the Talossan Bar or has received monetary compensation or other financial consideration in exchange for his/her representational duties or when a suitable member of the bar is available for representation in the matter, unencumbered by conflicts of interest or personal disputes.
4. It shall be understood that any provincial court decision may be appealed at the National level before the lowest inferior court and that any decision by this court may be appealed to the Uppermost Cort. National courts shall not interpret or rule on matters of provincial law unless the province has no system of courts, has not proclaimed a constitution or has standing law that matters of provincial law be handled through National Courts. Rather, the decisions of these courts will ensure no provincial court decision runs contrary to the Organic or Statutory Laws of the Kingdom, and that the rights of all involves parties, as guaranteed by the Rights and Covenants of the Organic Law, are protected. (43RZ2)
- 4.1. All appeals, as with other court actions, shall be filed with the Clerk of Courts. Upon official judicial assignment, the Justice(s), Judge or Magistrate may either dismiss the case, by declining to hear it, or begin hearing opening arguments in the matter as presented by all relevant parties.
- 4.2. Appeals or other actions brought before any national court shall be heard within 90 calendar days from the date of assignment by the Clerk of Courts.
- 4.2.1. The court, if it decides not to hear the case or appeal, shall issue a written statement justifying its decision within the time frame given in 4.2.
- 4.2.2. If a court does not comply with 4.2. or 4.2.1., it may be subject to an investigation for non-feasance conducted by the Ministry of Justice.
- 4.3. Under the principle of reformatio in peius, the worsening change of a verdict, no appellate court shall be allowed to change an appealed ruling in such a manner that would be disadvantageous to the petitioner.
- 4.3.1. In civil actions, appeals may be ruled in a detrimental manner to the appellant (reformationes in peius) only when both parties submit appeals.
- 4.3.2. In criminal procedures, reformationes in peius are forbidden whenever the appeal is lodged by the convict or in favour of the convict. In case of appeals from both parties, reformationes in peius detrimental to the convict shall be forbidden.
5. The Clerk of Courts shall be an apolitical position appointed by the reigning Monarch upon recommendation of the Prime Minister and shall serve in the following capacities: (42RZ4)
- 5.1. The clerk shall receive and file actions brought by individuals or their representative attorneys and assign to each requested action a docket number.
- 5.2. The clerk shall then assign the case to a Judge, Magistrate or Justice in the lowest court holding jurisdiction over the matter.
- 5.3. Judicial assignments shall be made in descending order of seniority. In cases where a clear conflict of interest should arise, the clerk shall assign the case to the next jurist in that order.
- 5.4. The clerk shall maintain a record of docket numbers and judicial assignments to be archived along with the final disposition of the case for ease of reference.
- 5.5. This file shall be available to any citizen for use in the preparation of legal strategy, the study of law or for any legitimate purpose.
- 5.6. Appeals shall be filed as separate actions and will be assigned new docket numbers but shall be archived together with the original action for ease of reference.
- 5.7. The Clerk shall acknowledge the receipt of any filing and shall, within 72 business hours of said acknowledgment, assign a docket number and make a judicial assignment.
- 5.7.1. In the event the clerk fails to assign a case within the 72 hour window and such tardiness is result of one or more of the following conditions, the Clerk's absence shall be deemed excused and no further penalty should be pursued: (43RZ28)
- 5.7.1.1. Active Military Service (In the Armed Forces of Talossa or an Allied Nation)
- 5.7.1.2. Birth or Death of an immediate family member
- 5.7.1.3. Marriage or Divorce
- 5.7.1.4. Any circumstance which is beyond the power or control of the Clerk and which would hinder a reasonable person from executing these duties
- 5.7.2. In the event the clerk anticipates a length absence, even for an excused purpose, s/he should consider resignation to ensure the people are adequately served.
- 5.8. The individual holding the office of Clerk of Courts shall enjoy immunity from civil or criminal suit for any actions performed in the course of his or her official duties while holding this office. This immunity shall be lost upon leaving office. Due to the nature of the Clerk's responsibilities, an individual may not hold the office of Clerk of Courts, or any deputy thereunder, while simultaneously holding office as a Justice, Judge or Magistrate of the Uppermost Cort or any national inferior court.
- 5.9. The Clerk of Courts serves at the pleasure of the King and may be dismissed by royal decree. In the case of alleged misconduct, the Clerk of Courts may be removed from office by Prime Dictate.
- 5.10. Any individual who shall be found to have accepted bribe or other gratuities for the purposes of manipulating the assignment of jurists shall be guilty of public corruption of an officer of the Court, a felony, and shall suffer a punishment to be determined by the court.
6. The Clerk may deputize Court Officers to assist in the execution of these duties. Such deputization shall be made publicly by the Clerk and may be for a temporary or indefinite term, which the Clerk shall stipulate in the public notice of deputization.
- 6.1. The Deputized Officer shall have authority to assign judicial cases immediately after the initial 72 hours have passed from the initial filing if the Clerk fails to make the assignment during that time period.
- 6.2. The Deputized Officer shall follow the procedures set forth in this title with regards to the assignment of cases and shall do so impartially without regard for political, personal or financial consideration.
- 6.3. The Officer shall serve at the pleasure of the King and may be removed by the King at any time. However, the principal supervision of the Officer shall fall to the Clerk of Courts, who shall retain the right to dismiss the Officer as well.
- 6.4. Due to the nature of these duties, no deputy shall be appointed who is seated on the bench of the Uppermost Cort or any inferior cort. Nor shall any appointee hold the portfolio of Attorney General or Minister of Justice.
- 6.5. The Deputy shall be permitted to make the initial judicial assignment (that is, the assignment within the initial 72 hour window) in situations where the Clerk is party to a filed case or where another conflict of interest would prevent the Clerk from serving on a particular case filing.
7. Justices of the Uppermost Cort and Judges of any inferior court, may retire through voluntary leave of office. This shall be accomplished through submitting a letter of retirement to the King. The retirement shall take effect immediately upon confirmed receipt by the King or an authorized representative. (43RZ15)
- 7.1. Justices (or Judges) may be compelled to retire through organic removal from office through an act of the Ziu in accordance with Article XVI Section 1 of the Organic Law. In such case, the Ziu shall stipulate whether the removal is punitive in nature or simply to compel retirement. In either case, such measure shall include a clear and objective narrative which highlights the misconduct or negligence which resulted in a punitive removal from office, or the merits and career highlights of a retired Jurist, respectively.
- 7.2. Retired Justices shall enjoy the style "Very Honourable Mister/Madame" for life in commemoration of their service to the Nation, and may use the title "Justice Emeritus."
- 7.3. Retired Judges or Magistrates shall enjoy the style "Honorable Mister/Madame" for life in commemoration of their service to the Nation, and may utilize the title "Retired Judge/Magistrate."
- 7.4. Retired status will be honorary in nature and shall not confer any authority or responsibility within any Talossan Court or the Royal Talossan Bar or over its members, students or associates. Neither shall these titles, in and of themselves, confer membership in the Royal Talossan Bar enabling the holder to engage in the practice of law.
- 7.5. Retired status can be revoked only in the event of a conviction by a Talossan Court for misconduct while serving in a judicial capacity. In the event of such conviction, revocation of retirement privileges shall be contained as part of the sentencing order. Retired status can also be revoked by the Ziu through majority vote and approval by the Monarch. Such legislative action can be taken only after the retiree has been convicted by a Talossan Court for misconduct while serving in a judicial capacity and only after all appeals have been exhausted.
- 7.6. Retired status will also be revoked in the event the retiree shall be convicted of a felony by any Court of the Realm. Felony convictions by a provincial court shall be forwarded to the Minister of Justice for review. If cause for revocation of retirement status is found based upon the nature of the conviction, the Minister of Justice shall propose or cause to be proposed a measure of the Ziu to revoke any and all privileges of retirement from the accused, after all appeals have been exhausted.
- 7.7. Retired status shall be considered waived if a retired Justice, Judge or Magistrate resigns his/her citizenship and shall be considered revoked if the retiree has his/her citizenship terminated by a Court of the Realm.
8. Every judge who makes a decision shall inform the people why they voted "yes," "no," or "abstain." This declaration must be published in the next Clark and/or in the next Støtanneu. (23RZ23)
9. Wrongful prosecution consists of prosecution characterised by malice, damage, and absence of probable cause. In the event that a person is wrongfully prosecuted, the person may initiate a Malicious Prosecution suit against the person who wrongfully prosecuted him. A Malicious Prosecution suit may be initiated if either a) The person prosecuted is acquitted, or b) The courts refuse to hear the case at all, due to the intended prosecution having no reasonable chance at a successful conviction. To prevail, the plaintiff must prove a) MALICE (that the principal purpose of the original prosecution was to harass, or was frivolous, or generally was something other than the desirable end of bringing an offender to justice--malice can be inferred from a lack of probable cause); b) DAMAGE (that he has sustained damages affecting his reputation, his liberty, or his property; the damages must involve aloss of time or money); c) ABSENCE OF PROBABLE CAUSE (that circumstances never existed which would warrant an ordinary prudent person to believe he was guilty of the supposed offence). Monetary or other constitutional damages may be levied upon conviction for Malicious Prosecution. (16RC13)
10. (48RZ26)
H. Legislation
1. Future elections shall be followed, when practical, by an official Living Cosa which shall be styled the "State Opening of the Cosa." At the State Opening, the PM shall read his Speech to the Nation and the Leader of the Opposition shall have a chance to rebut. A Living Cosa shall be carried out at the same time, on the Government's first Clark. At the start of the State Opening, the new PM will be sworn in publicly. The State Opening shall feature food, drink, and as many Talossans as possible will be invited to attend. (15RC9)
2. The Cosa authorises a question and answer period during Living Cosas. This will be called "Terpelaziuns" ('enquiries') or, for short, "Terps," or "Question Time." During Terpelaziuns, each MC may ask any other MC one question (plus a follow-up) and expect to receive some sort of answer. The Opposition Leader shall put the first question. Questions shall alternate between Government and Opposition members until all MCs on one side or the other have spoken. The remaining MCs may then put questions. Questions will be politely phrased in the third person and directed at the Speaker. Order of Questioners will be determined on an ad hoc basis by the Speaker. (14RC9)
- 2.1. Any Member of the Cosa (MC) or Senator may at any time between the First and Last Clark of a Cosa Term, table in “The Ziu” board on Witt, or its equivalent, a “c (PQ)” or “Terp” in a new thread or its equivalent. (44RZ1)
- 2.2. The PQ or Terp may ask one question to a named Member of the Government relating to Public Affairs connected with their Ministry or on matters of administration for which they are officially responsible.
- 2.3. There is no limit to the number of PQs or Terps a MC or Senator may submit in any given Clark.
- 2.4. Any PQ or Terp that is submitted by a MC or Senator in accordance with Section 1 above, must be answered by the named Minister within seven (7) days of the question being tabled. Should the Minister be unavailable to answer the question within the seven (7) days, the question shall be redirected to the Prime Minister or his/her appointed Deputy who shall be granted a further seven (7) days to answer the aforementioned question. With the agreement of the questioner, there may be a extension of seven (7) days on top of this period. However, the period from the asking of the question to the answering of the question, shall in no circumstances exceed twenty one (21) days.
- 2.5. For the purpose of subsection (a) above, “unavailable” means being unable for to access Witt, or its equivalent, for a acceptable and reasonable reason. Having Logged into or visited Witt during the seven day period, or its equivalent and having not seen or ignored the PQ or Terp, shall not constituent being unavailable. (c) This provision shall not apply PQs or Terps which refer to matters of Security or Defence of His Majesty’s Realm and/or any project(s), Correspondence or activities in which the Government has deemed and classed as confidential or its release may damage the Kingdom in any shape or form. Such questions may not be answered by any Minister.
- 2.6. The Minister must answer the question in the same thread or its equivalent as the original question and the questioner may ask one (1) supplementary question, in which subsection (a) above applies, with the seven days starting from the date the supplementary question is asked.
- 2.7. Failure to answer a question within the given timeframe shall constitute an offense and a Minister if found guilty of such a offense, will be subject to a punishment at the discretion of the Courts.
- 2.8. It shall be a defence to the Minister if the questioner, notwithstanding any other legitimate defences, did not or failed to: (i) Correctly title his/her question or; (ii) Ask a clear question. E.g. An ambiguous question, in which the Minister tried to clarify but failed to do so in the timeframe and did not subsequently answer. Or; (iii) Post his/her question in the correct board, or; (iv) Engage with the Minister in trying to answer his/her question or; (v) Direct the question to one named Minister.
3. All MCs must vote for themselves, and not through surrogates. They have innumerable options to communicate their own votes to the Secretary of State or to Undersecretary of State, including postcards, letters and phone calls. MCs are responsible for casting their own votes with their own assigned seats, and cannot cast votes for other MCs. If an MC will be unavailable to vote for some reason during any particular month, they may inform the Secretary or Undersecretary that they wish to vote exactly as another, named MC. That will be considered the sole justification for MC surrogate voting. (6RC30, 16RC11)
- 3.1. A person who is named as a Proxy Vote for another in a Living Cosâ is under the moral and legal obligation, whenever possible, to represent the original seat-holder's wishes and intentions on specific Ziu bills and the Vote of Confidence, whenever and however he is instructed or publicly notified to do so. (24RZ44)
4. A difference shall exist (and be spelled out in future bills) between committees (which are set up as standing committees, free to issue reports at any time) and Royal Commissions (or Commissions Royal) which are set up on an ad hoc basis and charged with a specific one-time task such as preparing a dossier or White Paper on a specific problem, and presenting the same to the Cosa. Once a Commission's paper is done, the Commission has fulfilled its duty and ceases to exist. (8RC35)
5. The Secretary of State will punish all Members of the Cosâ who cast invalid votes in the Vote of Confidence; the punishment being the declaration of said member's votes in the same Clark as null and void. (23RZ39)
6. His Majesty, when affixing His Royal Seal to Bills sent to him by this Ziu, may exclaim with all His Royal Royal-ness in the National Language of Our Nation, "El Regeu en volt." (25RZ17)
7. His Majesty, when acting out His Constitutional and Traditional Duty to Protect the Citizens of His Kingdom from Poor Government, decides to Withhold His Royal Seal from said Bill sent by said Ziu, may exclaim with all His Truth-and-Justice-ness in said National Language of said Kingdom, "El Regeu non en volt."
8. If the Prime Minister or a member of the Government party proposes a bill, and with the PM's permission marks it as a Government Bill, the Clark will denote this as a bill proposed by "HM Government, represented by" the member. If the Opposition Leader, or a member of the Opposition proposes a bill, and with the Opposition Leader's or the member's Party Leader's permission marks it as an Opposition Bill, the Clark will denote this as a bill proposed by "HM Loyal Opposition, represented by" the member. Any other bill will be called a Private Member's Bill, and will be denoted in the Clark the same way they've always been. (25RZ31)
9. Official non-Ziu titles may also be used when a member of the Ziu submit a bill, if the submitter feels that he is submitting a bill in another capacity as Ziu member. Such a title shall be called a "Limousine" or by its Talossan equivalent. A title of Senator, Distain or Member of the Cosa is a Ziu title, and as such not a Limousine. A person can only be entitled to a Limousine if he is both a member of the Ziu and holds an official title. A Limousine may contain, but is not restricted to: a governor's title, a minister or deputy minister's title, or a title conferred by a national organization such as the CÙG or the Secretary of State's office. This is not a means to allow non members of the Ziu to post bills using their Limousine, nor does this provision allow any submitter to use unofficial titles or party-specific titles. (32RZ13)
- 9.1. The use of a Limousine instead of a ziu title engages that person in that capacity. For example, a bill submitted by a Cosa member as being "Minister of Culture" indicates that the bill is trully submitted in the name of the Minister of Culture.
10. Members of Cosa shall be free to represent any constituency within the geographic boundaries of the Kingdom of Talossa including any and all of its territories and overseas colonies. Any Member wishing to represent a constituency shall publicly declare such representation before the conclusion of the first Clark following a General Election. (44RZ25) (48RZ3)
11. The Senatorial Medal of Honour may be awarded by the Senate for meritorious or honourable service to State or Nation. This award, awarded only and solely by a resolution in the Senate given the Royal Assent, will be the highest honour bestowed by the Talossan legislature. This award has a single class, and recipients may, in official RT affairs, affix the initials "S.H." (Senatorial Honour) after his/her name. (25RZ77)
12. The "Medal of Cincinnatus" may be awarded by the King in recognition for acts of extraordinary Talossanicity in the face of opposition. Recipients of this Medal would be entitled to follow their names with the honorific "Cin.". (37RZ8)
13. It is strongly suggested that MCs limit their bill submissions to five at the very most for each Clark. (25RZ91)
14. If there is the SLIGHTEST problem with any bill in excess of five (misspellings, inorganicity, etc.), the Secretary of State is empowered to refuse to put same on the Clark.
15. If at all possible, bills presented for review in the Hopper should be translated into Talossan before being Clarked. (38RZ12)
16. The King shall sign a physical printed copy of bills at the time they pass into law, and collect these bills for posterity.
17. Except in cases where the current Secretary of State is no longer able or eligible to perform his duties, any nominations of a new secretary of state must take effect on the day of the normal publication of a Clark. If the normally scheduled Clark is not published by the previous Secretary of State on the appropriate day, the new Secretary of State can still start his duties, starting with the publication of the Clark. (32RZ2)
18. No person shall hold more seats in the Cosa than ten times the total number of seats in the Cosa divided by the number of ballots cast for the Cosa in the most recent General Election, rounded up to the next integer.
I. Military
1. The Ministry of Interior shall include: (47RZ8)
- 1.1. The Büreu del Marì (Bureau of the Navy), led by the Amiral (Admiral),
- 1.1.1. The Navy shall be officially known as El Marì Rexhitál Talossán, or in English, The Talossan Royal Navy. (35RZ32)
- 1.1.2. Vessels of the Navy shall be styled Vaißál da Sieu Maxhestà (abbreviated VSM) followed by the name of the vessel. The English translation is “His Majesty’s Ship,” but is not to be used for styling.
- 1.1.2.1. The classes of ships shall be divided into three classes. (24PD7)
- 1.1.2.2. TALOSSA Class: ships named after places in and of Talossa (e.g., HMS Maricopa).
- 1.1.2.3. DONATUS Class: ships named after people who have helped make Talossa one heck of a nation (e.g., HMS Weston J. Erni).
- 1.1.2.4. CONSTITUZIUN Class: ships named after objects, events, or ideals that have become a part of Talossa's rich history (e.g., HMS Wittenberg).
- 1.1.3. The Navy shall have a Marine Corps and an Air Corps at its disposal for operations on land and in air.
- 1.1.4. Bases of the Navy shall be styled El Marì Rexhitál Talossán (abbreviated MRT) followed by their designation (translations may be used):
- 1.1.4.1. Regular Navy: Port (Port) name
- 1.1.4.2. Marine Corps: Castrâ (Camp) name
- 1.1.4.3. Air Corps: Luc’htstaziun (Air Station) name
- 1.1.5. The Monarch is the Commander-in-Chief of the Navy, and may hold no other position in the Navy.
- 1.1.6.The Interior Minister shall establish rules and regulations, consistent with the provisions of this Act, regarding the organization and discipline of the Bureau of the Navy, and the recruitment, training, assignment and promotion of its personnel. (47RZ8)
- 1.1.7.The Navy shall be administered by an Admiral, appointed by the Monarch upon recommendation by the Interior Minister and approved by a majority vote in the Ziu. (47RZ8)
- 1.1.8. Officers receive their commission by the Monarch upon recommendation by the Interior Minister. (47RZ8)
- 1.1.9. Enlisted personnel receive their rating by the Interior Minister upon recommendation by the Admiral. (47RZ8)
- 1.1.10. The Prime Minister and Interior Minister may not hold the position of Admiral; if the Admiral achieves one of these positions then he or she must resign the appointment of Admiral and relinquish all privileges of the rank. (47RZ8)
- 1.1.11. Officers other than Admiral and enlisted personnel becoming Prime Minister or Interior Minister will be placed on inactive status until such time they no longer hold the aforementioned government positions, when they will be placed back on the active duty roster. Any citizen of voting age may enlist in the Navy at the rate of Seaman. Citizens receiving commissions as officers must be 21 years of age or older. (47RZ8)
- 1.1.12. Naval officer ranks from highest to lowest, with counterpart designations and stylings are:
- 1.1.12.1. Amirál (Admiral) – One 2-inch gold stripe on lower sleeve or epaulette
- 1.1.12.2. Comodôr (Commodore) / Cuminár (Colonel – Marine Corps) / Comándereu da flanc (Wing Commander – Air Corps) – Four ½-inch gold stripes on lower sleeve or epaulette
- 1.1.12.3. Capitán (Captain) – Three ½-inch gold stripes on lower sleeve or epaulette
- 1.1.12.4. Leftenanteu (Lieutenant) – Two ½-inch gold stripes on lower sleeve or epaulette Aspirînd (Midshipman) / (Cadet – Marine Corps and Air Corps) – One ½-inch gold stripe on lower sleeve or epaulette
- 1.1.13. Warrant officer officer ranks from highest to lowest, with counterpart designations and stylings are:
- 1.1.13.1. Prima Schturmaneu (Chief Warrant Officer) / Mestreu Schturmaneu (Master Warrant Officer – Marine Corps and Air Corps) – Two ½-inch gold stripes, top stripe double looped on lower sleeve or epaulette
- 1.1.14.2. Schturmaneu (Warrant Officer) – One ½-inch gold stripe with loop on lower sleeve or epaulette
- 1.1.15. Naval enlisted rates from highest to lowest, with counterpart designations and stylings are:
- 1.1.15.1. Cunceláin Mestreu Prima (Master Chief Petty Officer of the Navy) / Sërxhënt Maxhôr (Sergeant Major of the Marine Corps) / Sërxhënt Prima Mestreu (Chief Master Sergeant of the Air Force) – Three ½-inch green chevrons (point down), one ½-inch green stripe arced over top with red trim on upper sleeve
- 1.1.15.2. Cunceláin Prima (Chief Petty Officer) / Sërxhënt Prüm (First Sergeant – Marine Corps) / Sërxhënt Mestreu (Master Sergeant – Marine Corps and Air Corps) – Three ½-inch green chevrons (point down), one ½-inch green stripe arced over top, diamond in center with red trim on upper sleeve
- 1.1.15.3. Cunceláin (Petty Officer) / Sërxhënt (Sergeant – Marine Corps and Air Corps) - Three ½-inch green chevrons (point down) with red trim on upper sleeve
- 1.1.15.4. Mastelôt Mestreu (Leading Seaman) / Corporál (Corporal – Marine Corps) / Aviatéir Mestreu (Leading Airman – Air Corps) – Two ½-inch green chevrons (point down) with red trim on upper sleeve
- 1.1.15.5. Mastelôt (Seaman) / Privat (Private – Marine Corps) / Aviatéir (Airman – Air Corps) – One ½-inch green chevron (point down) with red trim on upper sleeve
- 1.1.15.6. Rescrusteu (Recruit) – no styling
- 1.1.16. Private Adventurers in possession of royal letters of marque and reprisal shall be granted commissions as officers in the reserve of the Royal Talossan Navy in inactive status, in a grade befitting their command. Private Adventurers' vessels shall be registered as reserve vessels of the Royal Talossan Navy, and shall be entitled to the style of Vaißál da Sieu Maxhestà, but shall not be required to conform to any classification requirements of the regular fleet. In the event of a declared war between the Kingdom of Talossa and any other state, the Admiral of the Royal Talossan Navy, at the direction of the Minister of Interior, shall activate such Private Adventurers and their vessels as in his discretion may be necessary to supplement the regular fleet in order to combat the regular naval forces of His Majesty's enemies, which activated Private Adventurers shall be placed on the active duty list and subject to regular military discipline until the earlier of the cessation of declared hostilities or their release from active duty by the Admiralty. (47RZ8)
- 1.1.16.1. The Seneschál, acting by and through the Bureau of the Navy, or the Ministry of Interior, or whatever other office or organ of the Kingdom seems to him most appropriate, is hereby authorized and encouraged to issue letters of marque and reprisal to Talossan citizens who have, or who can obtain (by means which need not be looked into too closely) the use of private naval vessels of whatever draft, displacement, or description. Copies of such letters shall be provided to the Royal Archivist to be placed by him in, duh, the Royal Archives. (35RZ30) (47RZ8)
- 1.1.16.2. Such letters shall authorize their possessors (to be hereafter known as “Private Adventurers”) to prey upon the commerce and naval forces of the enemies of Talossa, for the good of the Kingdom and for their own profit, edification, and entertainment. Should any Private Adventurer, in the course of his duties, succumb to the ever-present temptation to prey a bit on neutral shipping, or otherwise fail scrupulously to observe the niceties of legally prosecuted naval warfare, the Kingdom, its agents, and its courts shall chuckle indulgently and turn a blind eye. Should any Private Adventurer, in the course of his duties, run afoul of the authorities or forces of any other nation, the Kingdom of Talossa will extend to him and to his crew the Invincible Moral Support of the Talossan people, up to and including bribery, arranged jailbreaks, diversionary attacks, and diplomatic initiatives.
- 1.1.16.2.1. Upon taking a prize pursuant to the authority granted by a letter of marque and reprisal, a Private Adventurer shall as soon as reasonably practicable report the capture to the Admiralty, describing the vessel captured, its contents, and the circumstances of the capture. Upon receipt of such notice and the return of the Private Adventurer to port, the Admiralty shall convene a prize tribunal, consisting of one or more members of the Royal Talossan Bar, which shall make an administrative determination of the nationality of the captured vessel and the appropriate disposition of the prize in accordance with this title. (35RZ33)
- 1.1.16.2.2. If a prize is captured while under the flag of an enemy state, while transporting military materiel, military supplies, or contraband in support of an enemy state, or while engaged in hostilities against the Kingdom of Talossa or its allies, the Private Adventurer shall be entitled to three-fourths of the prize and the Crown shall be entitled to one-fourth of the prize.
- 1.1.16.2.3. If a prize is captured while under a flag of piracy, or was otherwise a pirate in fact, the prize tribunal shall make a reasonable effort to determine the rightful innocent owner of the vessel or its contents. If the rightful innocent of any property is located, such property shall be returned to its owner, but the Private Adventurer shall be entitled to one-fourth of its value for his services. If no rightful innocent owner can be found for any property confiscated from a pirate, the Private Adventurer shall be entitled to three-fourths of such property and the Crown shall be entitled to one-fourth of such property.
- 1.1.16.2.4. If a prize is captured while engaged in peaceful commerce under the flag of a neutral or friendly state, the prize shall be returned to its owner and the Private Adventurer shall be admonished to take a little more care next time.
- 1.1.16.2.5. If a prize is captured while engaged in peaceful commerce or other lawful business under Talossan flag, the prize shall be returned to its owner and, if such capture was knowing, the prize tribunal shall recommend that the Admiralty revoke the Private Adventurer's letter.
- 1.1.16.2.6. The Private Adventurer or any party claiming an interest in a prize may petition the Uppermost Court to enforce or review any determination made by a prize tribunal.
- 1.1.16.3. Each Private Adventurer, among his other patriotic and self-serving duties, shall be required to report to the nation, from time to time, regarding the success or lack thereof of his intended predations.
- 1.1.16.4. Furthermore, each Private Adventurer shall, as far as shall be convenient, enroll volunteer Talossan citizens as either actual or honorary crew members, and shall provide to the Kingdom’s authorities for use on the website and on Wittenberg, photographs (and movies would be way cool, too), both of his vessel and of himself and his crew dressed and equipped (as far as is deemed possible and convenient) in such picturesque accoutrements as red bandana, eyepatch, gold earring, leather vest, parrot, hook, snickersnee, cutlass, canvas trousers, peg leg, and incredibly filthy foot or feet.
- 1.1.16.5. Each Private Adventurer shall take care to instruct himself and his crew in correct professional deportment, making didactic use of such authoritative texts and films as Treasure Island, Captain Blood, Swashbuckler, and Peter Pan. In particular, should any Private Adventurer, in the course of his duties, encounter the fiery-tempered black-haired daughter of the Spanish governor, He Will Know What To Do.
- 1.1.16.6. Each Private Adventurer and crew member shall select for himself, and shall in the prosecution of his duties make use of, some pseudonym such as (but not limited to) “Cap’n Blaknar”, “Swidge”, “Poet”, “Old Sharkey”, “Long Tom”, “Cookie”, or “Dobbins”.
- 1.2. Els Zuávs da l'Altahál Rexhitál (the Zouaves of the Royal Bodyguard), led by El Capitán da l'Altahál (Captain of the Guard).
- 1.2.1. Establishment of Official Improvised Weaponry. Bedposts are declared to be the "official preferred improvised weapon" of the Zouaves of the Royal Bodyguard. (38RZ18)
- 1.2.2. Military Use of Bedposts. The Zouaves of the Royal Bodyguard are encouraged to make use of bedposts for ceremonial and drill purposes.
- 1.2.3. Cupped Bedposts. Bedposts used by the Zouaves of the Royal Bodyguard may have an indentation in the end of the bedpost up to one inch in depth and between one and two inches in diameter. The indentation must be curved with no foreign substances added. The bedpost, for not more than 18 inches from its end, may be covered or treated with any material or substance (such as pine tar) to improve the grip. No bedpost may be used for military purposes which is not a single piece of wood or which has been hollowed out and filled with cork or rubber.
- 1.2.4. Military Bedpost Regulation. Appropriate officers of the Guard shall be held responsible by the Ministry of Interior for establishing further regulations for the provisioning and use of said bedposts, such as specifying the size of the bedframe from which a bedpost issued to and maintained by service members at each military rank shall be taken, and specifying military exercises for the practice and display of proficiency and fluency in the use of the bedpost, for the purposes of both close-combat and the ceremonial fancy throwing the thing up and flipping it in circles and stuff before catching it with flair and shouldering it sharply, maybe even spinning around a time or two while it's in the air; you know, stuff like that. (47RZ8)
- 1.2.5. Cultural Enrichment Encouraged. The Ministry of Culture is instructed to promote the use of and reference to bedposts in all cultural endeavours sponsored by His Majesty's government, including in literature, in our nation's martial arts form, and of course in any staging of Talossan operatic works.
- 1.3. The Grupâ Primár del Säpençéu (Primary Intelligence Group), administered by the Zirectéir del Säpençéu (Intelligence Director). This group is chartered to collect, analyze and disseminate vital information to our Seneschál and others as directed. Operates separately from, but in concert with all other domestic and allied information collection agencies, military organizations, law enforcement agencies and other groups as directed. Provides briefings to the Ziu as directed by the Seneschál. Will be divided into three branches, which, respectively, may be headed by a Deputy Director, and are known as: General Operations Directorate - which conducts clandestine operations, information collection and other duties as directed. Analysis Sub-Section - which conducts information analysis and other duties as directed. Internal Information Security Sub-Section, which conducts intra-agency security operations and other duties as directed. (29RZ8)
2. Talossa has no practical need of a military and our armed forces would be completely worthless if we had one. Nevertheless, the military will be available to all citizens while being allowed to organise itself and fantasize to its heart's content. Anyone who commits actual acts of violence in the name of Talossa will lose their citizenship (according to the will of the Cort pu Inalt). We shall represent and encourage peace between nations. (15RC18)
3. The following citations are authorized to be issued by the Minister of Interior (MoD) or any Commissioned Officer the MoD may delegate such duties to: (37RZ13) (47RZ8)
- 3.1. Service Ribbons:
- 3.1.1. North American Service Ribbon (Green and white) awarded to any service member, upon completing Basic Training or receiving Commission, who has served honorably in the Armed Forces of any North American nation.
- 3.1.2. Asia Service Ribbon (Red with blue stripes) awarded to any service member, upon completing Basic Training or receiving Commission , who has served honorably in the Armed Forces of any Asian nation.
- 3.1.3. European Service Ribbon (Light Blue with white stripes) awarded to any service member, upon completing Basic Training or receiving Commission, who has served honorably in the Armed Forces of any European Nation, Australia or New Zealand.
- 3.1.4. African Service Ribbon (Green) awarded to any service member, upon completing Basic Training or receiving Commission, who has served honorably in the Armed Forces of any African Nation.
- 3.1.5. South American Service Ribbon (Red, green and white) awarded to any service member, upon completing Basic Training or receiving Commission, who has served honorably in the Armed Forces of any South American nation.
- 3.1.6. Talossa Service Ribbon (Red and Green) awarded to any service member who successfully completed Recruit Training, receives an Officers Commission or is appointed a Warrant Officer.
- 3.2. Achievement Awards:
- 3.2.1. Good Conduct Medal (Gold) awarded to all service members for one year of service without any disciplinary action.
- 3.2.2. Recruiter Ribbon (Green, Gold and Red Stripes) awarded to any service member who successfully recruits 5 people.
- 3.2.3. Achievement Medal (Red and White) Awarded by the Amirál (Admiral) [or equivalent] for significant achievements or exemplary Service.
- 3.2.4. Commendation Medal (Blue and white) awarded by the MoD for significant achievements or exemplary service.
- 3.3. With the following award to be issued at the pleasure of the King,
- 3.3.1. Royal Commendation Medal (Blue with two red stripes and a white break in the center) awarded by the Royal Household for significant achievements or exemplary service.
- 3.4. Devices. To denote subsequent awards, the following devices are authorized to be worn on ribbons.
- 3.4.1. For Service Ribbons, One silver star to denote each subsequent award.
- 3.4.2. For Achievement Awards, One Gold Star to denote each subsequent award.
4. The positions of "Vice Admiral of the Fleet Reserve" and "Commandant" are hereby established. The position of Vice Admiral of the Fleet Reserve will hold the grade of O-5 like that of the Admiral, but shall exist only within the Inactive Reserves. The Position of Commandant shall be the equivalent rank to the Capitán d’Altahál but shall exist only within the Inactive Reserves. (39RZ1)
5. Any Admiral called to service as the Minister of Interior or Prime Minister shall have the option to resign the position of Admiral and accept the inactive reserve position of Vice Admiral of the Fleet Reserve. Anyone holding this rank shall be styled "Vice Admiral." No person may attain this rank without first having held the rank of "Admiral." (47RZ8)
6. Upon completion of service as Minister of Interior or Prime Minister, one may continue their service in the inactive reserves as a Vice Admiral of the Fleet until such time as they are eligible for retirement or are called back to active service as the Admiral. (47RZ8)
7. A Vice Admiral of the Fleet Reserve may return to active duty as a Commodore O-4 if not re-appointed to the position of Admiral and will serve in a command or staff position as determined by the Minister of Interior. (47RZ8)
8. Members shall be discharged from the military under one of the three following discharge characters: (39RZ4)
- 8.1. HONOURABLE - Awarded to a member who, upon discharge, has conducted themselves with honour during the period of their enlistment and to whom any lesser discharge would be inappropriate.
- 8.2. GENERAL - Awarded to a member whose record of conduct is marred by some minor disciplinary infractions. This discharge will be awarded upon recommendation of a senior officer and is subject to final approval by the Minister of Interior. (47RZ8)
- 8.3. DISMISSAL - A removal from the service due to severe disciplinary infractions or conviction by the High Cort or as laid out by active military law and regulation. The final approving authority for awarding this discharge to an enlisted person is the Minister of Interior and the King for Officers and Warrant Officers. (47RZ8)
9. All veterans discharged under HONOURABLE or GENERAL conditions will be entitled to wear all military medals awarded during their service. Service members who are DISMISSED from the service of the King may not re-enter military service unless authority is granted by the Royal Household.
10. Discharges may be upgraded after the fact by Royal decree or a ruling made by a Discharge Review Board and signed by the Minister of Interior. No discharge may be downgraded after being issued. (47RZ8)
11. Veterans discharged under GENERAL conditions or who are DISMISSED from the King's service may make a formal request for review by the Discharge Review Board and the Minister of Interior to consider an upgrade of discharge character. (47RZ8)
12. Service members approved for "Retired" status will be awarded an Honourable Discharge and will be permitted to retain their rank with the post-nominal "Ret." or "Retired" along with the member's respective branch of service.
J. Telecomuna (Does not take effect until April 1 2016)
1. The Chancery shall be responsible for providing an official internet message board(s) or forum(s) for the express use of Household, Government, or provincial business. The Secretary of State or his delegated representative within the Chancery shall make all reasonable effort to maintain and make available this board(s) for all offices of the Household, Government, or provinces that so request. The Secretary of State shall have ultimate discretion in the question of infrastructure, although he is highly advised to take the wishes of officials into account in his decisionmaking.
2. Each officeholder or head of agency shall be responsible for monitoring any board(s) provided for their use, and reporting any problems or requests to the Chancery as needed.
3. This board(s) shall include the necessary infrastructure to allow the Ziu to fulfill its functions, including proposing, debating, and considering bills and the posing of Terpelaziuns. This board(s) will also provide a place for citizens to register their votes in elections. This board(s) shall be known as "Telecomuna."
Z. Validity of el Lexhatx
1. It is the intent and expectation of the Ziu that future resolutions of the Ziu intended to create statutory law will be drafted as amendments to this Lexhatx, such that the operative clauses of the resolutions are incorporated into the body of el Lexhatx. The full text of such resolutions, including "whereas" clauses and sponsor information, shall be preserved in l'Anuntzia dels Legeux as legislative history.
2. El Lexhatx shall be organized by lettered title. This title, Z. Validity of el Lexhatx, would thus be called "Title Z." Each title shall be further organized by a nested numbering system. Each individual numbered provision may be referred to by referencing its title and number. This provision would thus be called "Z.2." To minimize ambiguity, each individual numbered provision of the first level (e.g. Z.2) shall be called a "section," and individually numbered provisions set within a section shall be called "subsections" (e.g. Z.2.1). For each additional nested later, another "sub-" prefix may be included. Thus, Z.3.4.6.1 would be referred to as subsubsubsection Z.3.4.6.1.
3. If and when a new provision is incorporated into el Lexhatx, its originating statute shall be noted with the provision.
4. In time, it is hoped that el Lexhatx will be supplanted with a new code, written in el Glheþ Talossan. Sir C.M. Siervicül and Magniloqueu Épiqeu da Lhiun are to be commended already for their aid in this regard.
59. Fifty-nine is a neat number.
Uréu q'estadra så:
Alexandreu Davinescu