Bills

This is bill id#1363 (this information has no legal importance and is technical in nature.

Hopper Thread

BE IT ENACTED by the Ziu, for the endorsement of the nation in referendum, that the Organic Law, Section II.3, shall be replaced in its entirety as follows:
 

1. The King of Talossa shall be chosen by a Convocation of:

• eight MCs, chosen by the parties represented in the Cosa in proportion to their Cosa seats;
• all Senators;
• the Seneschál;
• all Justices of the UC;
• all provincial heads of government;
• all officers of the Royal Civil Service;
• all Talossans who have been a citizen for at least ten years

2. Every member of the Convocation shall have one vote. All the discussions of the Convocation will be open, but its votes shall be by secret ballot.

3. The Convocation shall be chaired by the Senior Judge of the CpI, or in their absence the next available CpI judge in order of seniority, unless the Convocation decides differently.

4. The Convocation shall assemble upon the 6th anniversary of a King acceding to the Throne, or at any time that there is no King.

5. The candidate who receives the expressed support of 2/3 of the Convocation shall immediately receive the title of "Heir Presumptive". 

6. Upon the demise, abdication, or removal from the Throne of the King, the Heir Presumptive shall swear an oath promising to protect and uphold the Organic Law of Talossa and the rights of all its citizens, and thereupon become King of Talossa. If there is no Heir Presumptive, the Uppermost Cort shall be a Council of Regency until an Heir Presumptive is chosen.

7. Unless the King of Talossa is chosen as their own Heir Presumptive, they shall be deemed to have abdicated upon having served in that role for 7 years.

This is bill id#1364 (this information has no legal importance and is technical in nature.

Hopper Thread

WHEREAS the first election of a Seneschál by the Cosa went ahead successfully and the principle should be preserved;

AND WHEREAS if we are to make some tweaks, those tweaks should be in the direction of increased flexibility;

AND WHEREAS a wider range of possible nominees for Seneschál is more democratic;

AND WHEREAS the incoming Seneschál will still be able to call for a month of recess after the Clark on which she is elected under OrgLaw IV.9, if necessary, but there is no reason for this to be compulsory;

BE IT ENACTED by the Ziu that the Organic Law of Talossa shall be amended as follows:

1. The second paragraph of Organic Law VI.5 shall be amended by striking out the words "only the recognized and commonly known leader of" and substituting the words "nominated by", so it will now read as follows:
 

The method of election of a Seneschál shall be Ranked Choice Voting. Each member of the Cosâ shall have as many votes in the election as the seats which he hold in the Cosâ, but shall cast his votes as one bloc and have no divided conscience. The candidates for each such election shall be nominated by each political party which shall have earned representation in the Cosâ at the most recent general election.

2. Organic Law VI.6 shall be amended to read in its entirety:
 

The Seneschál shall announce publicly both the members of the incoming Government and the Government's legislative agenda at least before, if not sooner than, the last day on which a member of the Ziu may submit a measure to the second Clark. Failing this, the King shall dissolve the Cosa and call new elections.

This is bill id#1365 (this information has no legal importance and is technical in nature.

Hopper Thread

WHEREAS, the Fifth Covenant to the Covenants of Rights and Freedoms once read as follows: 

Any person charged with an offence shall be presumed innocent until proven guilty, and has the right to request information on his legal rights. No accused person shall be twice put in jeopardy of life, liberty, or property for the same offence, or without due process of law; nor shall any citizen be compelled in any criminal case to bear witness against himself. Excessive fines, and cruel and bizarre punishments, shall not be inflicted.


WHEREAS, the Due Process Amendment, 50RZ26, received sufficient support in the Ziu and the requisite majority during referendum to modify that language; 

WHEREAS, the Still Into This Amendment, 53RZ18, inadvertently reverted this covenant to the foregoing language; 

WHEREAS, said omission from 53RZ18 appears entirely accidental and unintentional. 

WHEREAS, the Ziu desires to remedy this mistake by re-adopting, without modification, the Fifth Covenant as enumerated in 50RZ26. 

THEREFORE, the Fifth Covenant to the Covenants of Rights and Freedoms, Article XI of the Organic Law, is repealed in its entirety. 

FURTHERMORE, the following language is adopted as the Fifth Covenant, Organic Law, Article XI.5: 

No person shall be deprived of life, liberty, or property without due process of law, nor denied equal protection of law. Any person charged with an offense must be informed of their legal rights upon seizure by the government, and must be presumed innocent until proven guilty by a court of law. No person shall be subject to answer to the same criminal offense after the criminal charge has been properly adjudicated in a court of law, nor shall any person be compelled in any criminal case to bear witness against himself, nor shall any person be subjected to excessive fines, nor shall any person be subjected to cruel and unusual punishment. The Ziu shall have the power to enforce this Covenant by appropriate legislation.

This is bill id#1366 (this information has no legal importance and is technical in nature.

Hopper Thread

WHEREAS the 31st Cosa chose to deal with the lack of Talossan law against "murder, rape, robbery" and other serious crimes against the person by incorporating the laws of the State of Wisconsin into Talossan law, where indigenous Talossan law does not contradict them;

AND WHEREAS the 35th Cosa amended this to specify only certain sections of the Wisconsin Statutes, which currently comprise sections A.1-4 of El Lexhatx;

AND WHEREAS this means that a thorough knowledge of Talossan law necessarily requires a knowledge of Wisconsin law;

AND WHEREAS Wisconsin law has never in fact been used to punish infamous crimes committed by Talossan citizens, such as statutory rape;

AND WHEREAS the practice of Talossan law and jurisprudence should be open to all Talossans, not just those who are already professional lawyers;

AND WHEREAS the only way Wisconsin law has been used in Talossa is by trained practitioners of United States law introducing Wisconsin precedent into their Talossan legal briefs, giving those trained in United States law an unfair advantage over those who are only trained in Talossan law;

AND WHEREAS we should find a different way to achieve the original intent of the measure, which was to make infamous crimes against the person a crime under Talossan law;

AND WHEREAS the basic principles of what is moral, right and good under Talossan law are already contained in our Covenant of Rights and Freedoms;

AND WHEREAS previous versions of the Organic Law specified "generally accepted principles of Anglo-American law" as a foundation for Talossan law, but this has been removed;

AND WHEREAS it is wise to re-establish some legislative basis for Talossan juridical practice;


BE IT ENACTED by the Ziu that:

1.  Sections A.1-4 and A.7-8 of El Lexhatx are repealed in their entirety.

2. Sections A.1-3 of El Lexhatx shall henceforth read as follows:

1. The basis of all Talossan law and jurisprudence is the principles contained in the Covenant of Rights and Freedoms.

2. Where Talossan statute law is silent, Talossan courts shall make decisions in accordance with Talossan juridical precedent. Judges may also use precedent from other legal systems with which they are familiar to guide their decisions, though such precedent shall not be binding.

3. A Talossan citizen who is convicted in another jurisdiction, by a credible judicial authority, of an offence incurring penal servitude which is repugnant to the values expressed in the Covenant of Rights and Freedoms, shall be guilty of the crime of "repugnant behaviour bringing Talossa into disrepute", and be liable to a punishment of severity in strict proportion to the severity of the said offence. 

3. The sections of Title A of El Lexhatx shall be subsequently renumbered consecutively.