OUT OF CHARACTER INFORMATION
Intent: Expand on the Exodite Asurans.
Image Credit: Here.
Canon: N/A.
Permissions: N/A
Links: Court of the Shadows, Shadow Knights (lore submission), Naesala Faethyra, Eldorai, Citizens' Council, Qadiri, Vashyada, Eldorai Exodus, Twin Exiles, Xioquo, Twin Exiles, Yohara Taenasi, Kar'zun.
GENERAL INFORMATION
Organization Name: Supreme Justice Tribunal of the Exodite Collective. Commonly shortened to Supreme Tribunal.
Classification: Supreme Constitutional Court
Affiliation: Shadow Knights, Eldorai, Citizens' Council, Exodite Asurans.
Organization Symbol: A sun with an unsheathed sword in front of it. The light of the sun brings evil to light, and the sword symbolises the power and merciless retribution of justice.
Description: The dramatically named Supreme Justice Tribunal of the Exodite Collective is the supreme constitutional court of the Exodite Asurans, with a jurisdiction that covers the entirety of the Shadow Knight nomad fleet. Its duty is to determine whether judicial and administrative decisions and laws are in compliance with the constitution. In that regard it presents a check on the authority of the stratocratic oligarchy that governs the nomad fleet. This is pertinent because while culturally the Exodites have adopted a polyglot system of a stratocratic oligarchic republic which, while more representative than a monarchy, is still only a limited democracy due to its strong executive and limited franchise. The Supreme Tribunal is based on a worldship called the Defiance, which serves as the Shadow Knights' hub and mobile 'capital'.
Significantly, the Supreme Tribunal is not an appeals court; rather, it is a trial court with first and final competence. Its decisions are binding on ship and fleet councils and on all other courts. The Supreme Tribunal has the power of so called abstract judicial review. In a nutshell, this means fleet or ship leadership or one-third of the members of the Citizens' Council may petition the Tribunal on the constitutionality of a statute, even before it has taken effect.
GEOGRAPHICAL INFORMATION
Headquarters: Defiance.
Domain: The Supreme Tribunal is a constitutional court, so it does not possess 'domain'. However, it has jurisdiction over the entire Shadow Knight nomad fleet. Its main duty is judicial review of legislation, administrative measures and judicial decisions. It possesses the power to declare legislation unconstitutional. In contrast to some other supreme courts, the Supreme Tribunal is not really part of the judicial or appeals process, excluding cases connected to constitutional law, and does not serve as regular appellate court from lower courts on violations of federal laws.
Instead the core focus of its jurisdiction lies in constitutional issues. Its job is to make sure that all laws passed by government bodies as well as all actions undertaken by government institutions comply with the constitution. All constitutional amendments passed by the Citizens' Council are subject to its power of judicial review since they have to compatible with the most basic principles of the Shadow Knight Charter. This also extends to the use of emergency regulations by the Archon, the elected head of state. This is pertinent because the Archon can assume emergency powers in a crisis situation. Periods of martial law can be renewed or ended based upon a decision by the Tribunal. The Supreme Tribunal can declare acts of any branch of government unconstitutional, whether as formal relations or material conflicts.
Any citizen or civilian of the nomad fleet may issue a petition stating that their constitutional rights have been violated. In practice, only a small number of these complaints are successful, but those that are have resulted in legislation being invalidated. Constitutional complaints by individuals are free of court costs and do not require counsel. Political institutions, including the leadership of the ships that constitute the nomad fleet as well as the Exodites' colonies, may bring fleet law before the Tribunal if they view it as unconstitutional. This constitutes abstract regulation contro. Under specific regulation control, a regular court that believes a law for a certain case violates the constitution must suspend the case and bring it before the Supreme Tribunal. Fleet institutions, including a delegate of the Citizens' Council, may bring internal disputes over competences and procedures before the Supreme Tribunal.
Moreover, disputes over competences and procedures between the ships of the nomad fleet and the central leadership can be judged by the court if a ship brings a case before it. Violations of election laws may be brought before the Supreme Tribunal by a political institution or any involved voter. It also handles impeachment proceedings for judges and members of the high courts that are brought to it by the Citizens' Council, the Assembly or the central leadership, if they are based on violations of constitutional or fleet law. Finally, the Constitution gives the Supreme Tribunal the power to outlaw political parties and movements that pose a threat to the survival and public well-being of the Exodite Asurans or aim to undermine or destroy the republican system of government of the commonwealth. For example, this power has been against monarchist and reactionary political movements, but also against groups too radically egalitarian for the Shadow Knights.
In addition, the Supreme Tribunal decides upon complaints regarding elections to the Citizens' Council, the lower house of the Shadow Knight legislature. The Tribunal decides on complaints by political organisations that have been denied recognition as political movements for elections. Furthermore, it has the power to address complaints about the validity of elections, the observation of electoral law and the acquisition or loss of the status of a Council delegate as well attainment or loss of citizenship. This means that the Tribunal can declare an election invalid if gross fraud is proved beyond any reasonable doubt. But even apart from such an extreme result, finding errors in the electoral process helps ensure that the legal requirements will be respected in subsequent elections. It is to be noted that scrutiny of elections is primarily the duty of the Council, which decides on the validity of a Council election and whether rights have been violated. A complaint against such a Council decision can only be lodged before the Supreme Tribunal after the Council has made its decision.
Overall, the Supreme Tribunal has become an integral part of public life among the Exodites by administering law and ensuring that measures taken by the leadership and the bureaucracy comply with the constitution by vetting the legitimacy of legislation and regulations, and arbitrating disputes. It has been called the guardian of the citizens' commonwealth.
The Tribunal's job is to guard and interpret the constitution. But their decision are not eternally set in stone. Parliament can amend the constitution with a two-third majority vote of both houses. Theoretically, this can be used to override decisions made by the Tribunal. However, it is a steep hurdle since it requires a supermajority of both chambers, whose composition is rather different. Whereas the Citizens' Council is directly elected by all citizens, the Flotilla Assembly consists of the ship captains or more commonly their appointed representatives. This creates a deliberately complex system of checks and balances. Furthermore, amendments are only allowed by explicitly changing the constitution's text. In other words, a law that is backed by supermajorities in both houses of parliament is not at liberty to deviate from the constitution without itself becoming part of it. Moreover, the constitution possesses entrenched clauses that are essentially unamendable in order to ensure that its fundamental principles are not distorted. These are also the constitutional clauses the Tribunal is explicitly supposed to protect from being violated. One such clause mandates a republican form of government and prohibits the establishment of a monarchy or of a state church.
That said, the Tribunal lacks mechanisms to directly enforce its rulings. It is dependent on people respecting the constitution and the law. Theoretically, this imposes a check on it since its power relies on its authority being respected. In cases where the Tribunal has issued a ruling on matters involving the interpretation of laws rather than the constitution, its decision can be reversed by legislative action. But because it possesses the power of judicial review, the Tribunal has the ability to determine the scope and nature of the separation of powers.
Notable Assets: No assets. It is a court, after all. The closest thing would be the Supreme Tribunal Building, which is where they work, hear cases and adjudicate on them.
SOCIAL INFORMATION
Hierarchy: The hierarchy is very flat, as it is a compact group. The Tribunal is chaired by a chief judge with the title of High Judicator, who is responsible for conducting judicial business and allocating work to other judges. The High Judicator presides over meetings of the full Tribunal, hears and decides cases. The chief judge is a highly influential figure in regards to the selection of cases for review. However, when a case is to be decided, their vote holds the same weight as that of any other justice. Should the High Judicator be unable to carry out their duties, the senior-most judge on the Tribunal will assume the role of acting High Judicator The High Judicator can be removed for violating the Tribunal's code of ethics by bringing the office into disrepute or being mentally or physically unable to fulfil their duties.
Membership: The Supreme Tribunal is a very small body. Half of the judges of the Supreme Tribunal are elected by the Citizens' Council. The other half is chosen indirectly. The Shadow Knights have split society into various Courts, which each govern a sphere of society. For example, the Court of Providence is responsible for all manufacturers and industrial workers, and the Court of the Justicars for all law enforcement personnel, judges and such. Each Court has an assembly, which has a say in choosing the Magister, who heads the Court. These assemblies provide a list of acceptable options for the Tribunal to the Archon and they select the one they want. The Archon can pick anyone on the list, but is not allowed to deviate from it.
The Courts and the Citizens' Council take it turns to choose new judges. Due to the longevity of Asurans it is likely at least a third will still be there after the full 20 years and likely more. So they will then go sequentially choosing replacements. All in all, the Tribual has fifteen members. Having an odd number ensures there can be no ties.
The election of a judge requires a two-third vote, and the judges are elected by secret ballot. The purpose of this rule is to prevent any party or political coalition from dominating the Tribunal's composition. An independent judicial committee consisting of legal experts can suggest candidates and peer review nominees, but this is considered a non-binding recommendation the Council is not obligated to follow their recommendations. Each of the justices is assisted by four judicial clerks who have gained relevant professional experience at ordinary courts, military courts, public authorities, universities etc.
The Supreme Tribunal justices serve a single 20-year term that cannot be renewed. They are obligated to retire if they reach the mandatory retirement age before their term is over. Upon expiry of their term of office a justices shall continue to carry out their official functions until a successor is appointed. Moreover, each judge is required to be a jurist of considerable experience. Finding trained personnel is a challenge because the Shadow Knights are a rebel coalition of exiles, but they make do. Magistrates with experience in a judicial career are also acceptable, as are members of the military legal corps. The justices may at any time request to be discharged from office. The discharge will be declared by the Archon.
All judges must be Exodite Asurans. They must not have a criminal record, be recognised as legal thinkers and meet the criteria of citizenship. The constitution postulates that only citizens can vote or run for public office and citizenship can only be attained through military service. This doesn't mean that every judge must be career military. She may have just performed standard military service, then pursued a legal career in the civilian sphere. However, at least one justice will have been a former member of the military legal corps. Military members who are nominated to join the Supreme Tribunal must retire from active military service before assuming office. Judges may be members neither of the Citizens' Council, the Flotilla Assembly, the Courts, the Archon's office nor of any of the corresponding organs of a ship or colony. Upon their appointment they shall cease to be members of such organs. A vacancy in the Tribunal must be filled immediately. Expanding or reducing the size of the Tribunal requires a supermajority in both the Flotilla Assembly and the Council in order to prevent a faction from manipulating its membership for partisan ends. This reflects the Shadow Knights' views on the importance of consensus-building and dislike of 'divisiveness'.
Judges who are members of political parties or movements must terminate their membership in these organisations to show their commitment to placing the constitution over any factional alignment. For the same reason, they cannot hold any political office or a directorship in a private or state-owned business. Officially, the Shadow Knights do not discriminate between men and women. This departure from the Eldorai's matriarchal culture is partly the result of Qadiri and Vashyada influence, but mostly due to simple practicality. However, their culture is still quite matriarchal, and the vast majority of justices are women.
Climate: Very thorough, formal and legalistic. Of course, political movements will do their utmost to get 'their' judge elected, but the fact that two different bodies are responsible for selecting justices and a two-thirds majority is required ensures a broadly balanced composition. Moreover, the Shadow Knights value consensus. They may be rebels and exiles, but they are incredibly legalistic ones. Even justices who dislike each other are expected to maintain a public atmosphere of civility and formality, since anything else would bring the Tribunal into disrepute.
Supreme Tribunal justices are easily distinguishable by their scarlet robes. It is a common joke among Exodite Asurans that they are the only allowed to wear colourful clothes. While the final decision of every case is the responsibility of the justice, the judicial clerks play a vital role because they help provide the foundation of said decision.
Every case and every court proceeding is thoroughly documented. The judicial administration consists of the chamber registries, the judicial officers and the Great Register. Each chamber maintains registries to compile and manage their case files, maintain the database of proceedings, and manage the diary of deadlines and hearings. They communicate with the parties to the proceedings, serve court orders such as summonses and notices of hearings on the parties and communicate decisions to them. They also manage access to the case files.
The Great Register records submissions to the Tribunal that neither contain a specific procedural application nor assert a claim falling within the jurisdiction of the Tribunal. They include inquiries regarding the progress of pending proceedings and the case-law of the Tribunal. In addition, it records, and replies to, letters from persons sharing their opinions on pending or concluded proceedings, and records constitutional complaints if they cannot be admitted for decision based on a preliminary assessment, either because they are clearly inadmissible or, in light of past decisions of the Tribunal, clearly have no prospect of success.
Exodite Asuran culture values consensus, but is realistic enough to know that unanimity is often not attainable. Thus justices of the Supreme Tribunal may write opinions regarding decisions made by the Supreme Tribunal, including issuing a dissenting opinion. All opinions are compiled in the Supreme Tribunal's official publication. Retiring justices are entitled to a lifetime pension. In order to qualify for a full pension, retiring justices must have served for a minimum of ten years. Moreover, retired justices will receive a lifetime secretariat assistant, free accommodations for a period of six months and a security cover for a limited number of years.
Officially, professional qualifications should be the sole criteria for inclusion in the Tribunal. However, at the same time its composition is a balancing act between different groups that make up the Shadow Knight coalition. The Exodite Asurans are a very new group composed of disparate factions and races. Some of them were at war until recently. There is also the simple fact that the law codes of Eldorai, Kar'zun, Qadiri, Vashyada and Xioquo have differed rather strongly on many key points. Yet the Tribunal has to strive to ensure that the law is upheld so that a consensus can be forged. Inevitably the process of being appointed to the Tribunal is subject to politicking behind the scenes, which can be the cause of controversy. It continues to remain a matter of controversy whether the Tribunal should restrict itself to upholding the constitution or also drive social change in some form, whether for conservative or progressive causes.
Reputation: Overall the reputation is good in the Shadow Knights except for the extremes who want it more to their liking. Unknown outside the Shadow Knights mainly. Likely treated by the Eldorai on Tygara as an unjust or radical judicial branch. Many people aspire to become a justice within the fleet. The Archon finds them annoying at times. She finds many things annoying at times.
Curios: All justices receive a special badge that denotes their membership of the Tribunal. Moreover, they are issued scarlet robes. Wearing court dress is mandatory while they are performing their duties.
Rules: Individuals who have been convicted of a serious crime, those who have been imprisoned for more than six months or have lost their citizenship are barred from serving on the Tribunal. Upon assuming office, each justice must take the following oath: 'I swear that I shall, as an impartial judge, at all times faithfully observe the Constitution of the Shadow Knights and that I shall faithfully perform my judicial duties towards everyone. So help me Ashira.' If the justice is a member of a religious community whose members are permitted by law to use a different form of affirmation, the justice may do so. For example, they may invoke Illyria, Gaea or Kashara rather than Ashira. The oath may also be taken without any form of religious affirmation.
They are expected to faithfully exercise their duties as guardians of the constitution and the fundamental rights of the Exodite Asurans. Being a justice of the Supreme Tribunal is incompatible with membership in a political institution, party and the like. They are also forbidden from accepting donations from political groups or business entities.
Supreme Tribunal justices are barred from exercising their judicial duties if they are a party to the case, or are or were married to a party, are related by blood or marriage in the direct line up to the third degree or by marriage up to the second degree in the collateral line or have already been involved in the same case due to their office or profession. Moreover, justices who have an interest in the outcome of the proceedings on the grounds of their marital status, profession, descent, membership of a political party or because of a similarly general consideration shall not be regarded as parties to the case.
If a justice is challenged on the grounds of possible bias, the Tribunal shall decide in that justice's absence; in the event of a tied vote, the presiding justice shall have a casting vote. Every case and the reasoning for a decision must be thoroughly recorded in the register, compiled and published in the Supreme Tribunal's official publication. Rulings made by the Tribunal must be published in Eldarai and the other common languages of the Exodites.
The Shadow Knights have organised their society in a corporatist fashions, which means organising people on the basis of profession and grouping them together into public bodies. The Court of the Justicars is the umbrella body for all law enforcement and judicial personnel. That obviously also encompasses judges. However, Supreme Tribunal justices may not partake in political process of their Court for their duration of their term.
This applies to political activities in general. For example, a justice may not speak openly about politics, give a speech on behalf of or donate money to a political candidate. As a rule of thumb, a justice may be extremely partisan in their private lives, but both formal and informal rules dictate that they should maintain a non-partisan attitude in their public lives and avoid commenting on cases, issues or people. They must renounce party affiliation before taking the oath of office.
Moreover, a Justice may not hold a directorship in a business enterprise. They may not own individual stocks, and must adhere to a code of conduct meant to maintain the integrity of the judicial branch. They are also not allowed to trade stocks of private companies, as this could create a conflict of interest. All justices must recuse themselves from cases due to conflict of interest.
Goals: To serve as guardians of the Shadow Knight constitution, their laws and the rights of their people.
MEMBERS
Taira Candrasa: A former Ardarvian cleric more interested in the law than religious pursuits. Taira Candrasa grew up the daughter of a senior abbess of Ardarvia. The Eldorai did not bar priestesses from having children, though it was considered bad form to do it when on a major assignment or out of wedlock. Taira grew up with a very strict upbringing which emphasised a strong connection between law and religion. Ardarvia is the goddess of righteous law and justice, empowered by the great goddess Ashira to arbitrate disputes. From this rather staid upbringing within the Abbey of Cardo Montasa, Taira learned two important things; she both wanted to escape from the present 'confinement', but she also wanted to continue working with the law. For all her sins, Taira's mother was just and rigidly adhered to the law no matter who was at fault. When she was young Taira saw a local noblewoman accused of abusing some under the Abbey's protection. At first the noble attempted to bribe the Abbess, something which whilst not common was not unheard of. She received a slap for that and a night in the cells. The noble's threats were venemous, offensive and ultimately futile. For all her family's temporal power the Abbey was greatly respected and the Abbess was commended for her actions. Actions like this showed Taira who she wanted to be...but outside of the worship of the goddesses.
When she became an adult she upset her mother and extended family by choosing to leave the cloister and to become a lawyer. As she passed through law school and into her pursuits as a lawyer she was driven to the field of a prosecutor. Her results were good...but she refused to cut plea deals 'for the greater good'. Though she was not a priestess the concept of a divine law even separate from deities stayed with her. Over time she was appointed a judge by Tirathana VI and since the Eldorai did not have juries the judges made decisions either singly or in small conclaves of 3 or 5 depending on the case. She gained a reputation for strictness and following the law exactly which both made her popular and unpopular depending on who was talking about her.
Taira was already in middle age when the various cataclysms hit the Eldorai. She was invited to join the exodus, but instead chose to give her place to some of her staff and to use her remaining assets to travel with a chartered craft. This experience rather shook her though, and the unjust nature of her people being uprooted forced her to reconsider her place. Her mother had remained behind and perished during the impact of the asteroid, and Taira felt that her people had left the path of justice. So when she heard of the Shadow Knights she was at first repelled by them being essentially rebels. However, on consideration she found that their attempt to bring order from chaos was a worthy goal. Therefore she left and arrived at the migrant fleet and offered her services. At first suspicious she was eventually accepted for her knowledge of law and was popular with the Eldorai there for her reputation. She was accepted in the first wave of nominations, and though she is reaching the end of her career she is determined to see out the rest of her term.
While she rigorously adheres to the rule that Tribunal members should not make political statements, Taira is still a rather conservative judge who is very black and white in her judgements. As a judge she is not particularly verbose, but her remarks are erudite, cutting and sharp when she raises her voice to address a matter. Other judges call her 'the Sarix'. Taira has rather conservative views on social issues such as gender roles. This has been the cause of tension with more progressive or liberal judges. Oddly, she gets on well with Arav'Kalak, the Kar'zun judge. Taira believes that the campaign of genocide the Eldorai Matriarchy carried out against the Kar'zun was, in fact, illegal and unlawful. She is, however, less concerned about the morality, but that it was judicially illegal. Thus Taira stood up for her fellow judge when the inclusion of a Kar'zun was criticised by racist Eldorai nationalists. The two even socialise in private. Taira has taken the time to study Kar'zun legal traditions, and once wrote an academic paper refuting the racialist claim that the stone people were barbarians with no knowledge of the law.
Masana Livola - the High Judicator and thus the presiding judge of the Tribunal. Masana is a female Eldorai and a former soldier. She used to serve in the military police of the Eldorai Matriarchy's army. She is considered part of the Shadow Knight old guard, having deserted around the time of the Exodus. When the Shadow Knights were young, she headed their army's judicial arm. As such she was was given the uneviable task of creating some semblance of order in the rebel army so that it could be a beacon of stability in the post-apocalyptic wasteland. She also supervised investigations and incarcerations of Shadow Knight military personnel suspected of criminal activities. She acquired a grim reputation during the suppression of a mutiny of Shadow Knight paramilitaries.
These traits made her a natural choice to head the tribunal. Most nations would appoint a constitutional scholar or civilian judge to head a constitutional court, but the Shadow Knights are a stratocratic republic. While a bit of a disciplinarian and not the most colourful judge or much of a legal scholar, Masana has a reputation for incorruptibility and even-handedness.
However, she also staunchly upholds the Shadow Knights' stratocratic oligarchy. To her, the Tribunal must scrutinise the actions of the executive and the legislature...but also maintain the current order. She sees the court as charged with protecting the constitution and ensuring its tenets are not violated, but not as a driver of social change. To her, it should not pay attention to elections or opinion polls to decide what the constitution means. It's supposed to find the rights in the text of the constitution itself, not come up with new ones.
Kushala Jai Astrava - a female Qadiri legal expert. Whilst they didn't have lawyers in quite the same way as galaxy people, the Qadiri had legal scholars attached to noble courts. Kushala grew up in Krolis, the holy city of the Qadiri, and served at the court of the Saoshyant, the nominal head of the Kashari faith. However, she found her suggestions for just treatment ignored in favour of arbitrary judgements. She escaped after an unsuccessful stint as a revolutionary and joined the Shadow Knights. There she made a name for herself among the Qadiri exodites, but also proved willing to reach out to other Asuran groups in the nomad fleet.
Today, she seeks to ensure true justice occurs, because laws are fallible whereas kindness and duty are goals she believes can and should be worked towards. Optimistic yet realistic enough to work towards an achievable goal. She believes that not everyone will be happy with everything but she wants to make it so the most people get what they need to survive. The galaxy is a dangerous place, and they only have each other. But this can also be an opportunity to build a better society in the stars. Kushala gets on well with Medjana, but thinks Arav'Kalak is a bit too radical. She is often an important swing vote during legal debates and complex cases.
Arka'vraz - A Kar'zun lawkeeper who remained on Kaeshana during the Exodus and was among the stone people who made an alliance with the Shadow Knights to survive the apocalyptic cataclysm, and wrest some order from the chaos it had wrought. When necessity forced refugees from both groups to cohabit and they created joint units, she was one of the Kar'zun chosen to serve on a joint commission to deal with violations of the law and arbitrate disputes. She gained a reputation for sternness and severity, but also for fairness. She was hardly the most approachable of judges, but scrupulous in investigating cases and examining evidence.
Arka'vraz has an excellent memory of legal cases, laws and precedents. Overall, she is seen as the most reasonable of the judges and rather non-partisan. However, she is also very rigid in her views, staunchly following the letter of the law even when it is harsh. Therefore, she gets on well with Taira, which is most ironic considering their backgrounds. The two have collaborated on academic projects.
Medjana - one of the Tygaran justices who sit on the Tribunal. Medjana is a female Vashyada mystic. Her people are highly decentralised, for while they nominally acknowledge a High Queen and High King, in practice the clans staunchly defend their autonomy. The 'wood elves' do not have a tradition of written laws, but like the Kar'zun they are great at recalling legal codes. Their justice system is very localised, relying on arbitration by respected elders and priestesses.
Medjana hails from a sect of mystics whose members were often called upon to arbitrate disputes between clans. She helped Lady Tylania negotiate a treaty with Firemane. However, she saw the massive disruption to her people's way of life to be against everything she wanted. So with a small group she sought out the Shadow Knights and made her way there. There's not a huge amount of Vash with them, so a proper law speaker and priestess is useful for them.
In contrast to the more militaristic justices on the Tribunal, her view of justice is restorative rather than punitive. This is not to say that she does not acknowledge that some crimes are beyond reparation and some offenders cannot be redeemed, but she rejects that the law only exists to punish the guilty. She goes more with the spirit rather than the letter of the law.
Ramali Evora - Ramali is the distant kin of fallen royalty. She is a former noble disgusted by their family and the whole mess which paralysed their people so they got exploited, exiled, demeaned and weakened...rather than actually doing their part. Her opinion of the House of Venari, the present royal family, is no better, for she views them as foreign stooges. For these reasons she voluntarily renounced her title to join the Shadow Knights.
In her younger days she was a soldier, but is getting older and so this is her way to serve. She's a third cousin to the Shadow Knight Strategos Yseult Faerin, who is an Evora bastard. Obviously in such situations accusations of nepotism are never far, but Ramali earned her position through dedicated service. In terms of personality, the two are rather different. Whereas the Strategos is blunt and gruff, Ramali is sensitive, polite and cultured. She has never quite shaken off the attitude and bearing of ana ristocrat. Yseult teasingly calls her cousin 'Her Royal Highness'. She also personally led a force of soldiers through a harrowing blizzard to relieve besieged Shadow Knight troops.
Araso Barner - an Eldorai and the sole male on the Tribunal. While officially committed to gender equality, the Shadow Knights are still quite sexist, though sheer pragmatism, Vashyada and Qadiri influence has created more opportunities for males. However, most of the top jobs are held by women, and affirmative action is not something the exodites are fond of.
Growing up in the Matriarchy, he went through the trials of being a male in the highly stratified, matriarchal Eldorai society, encountering rigid social barriers. While performing military service, he worked as a grunt level assistant and then a clerk to a military lawyer before trying to enter law practice. He endured all manners of sexism as a young litigator, for he was up against widespread sexist bias. Indeed he was often relegated to office work, excluded from networking opportunities and subjected to cruel bullying. He got in hot water when he took up causes such as male rights and prison reform.
Araso was attacked because he was 'stealing work' from Eldorai women. And was constantly criticised for not having the mental capacity for 'women's work'. There was also some harassment. Under Anya this was all supposed to change, but whilst things changed at the top and the phrasing was better sexism didn't magically disappear, so he sought out somewhere else. The Shadow Knights are better in that regard, at least overtly. An early recruit to the Shadow Knights, he worked as a pro bono attorney in the nomad fleet, travelling from ship to ship to provide legal counsel to exiles and refugees before being recognised and promoted. He has faced accusations of tokenism, but is passionate and committed to his work.
Arav'Kalak - a female Xioquo judge who has been criticised for being 'partisan' and 'divisive'. Detractors call her a political appointee, which is a bit unfair. However, there is no doubt that Kalak is passionate, stubborn and opinioniated, representing the philosophy of judicial activism. Back home in the Underealm, she was jailed and tortured for revolutionary agitation against the tyrannical Council of Ten. The fall of the Council and Myrou freed her, but though she considered the new order an improvement, she found it to be too conservative. She was disenchanted by the fact that many of the old elites had managed to retain influence, and criticised the sway the humans of Firemane held over her people. It was, after all, a despotic, foreign megacorp. Moreover, she believed the wise mistresses were not being punished sufficiently.
She is rather revolutionary with her views and wants to see greater freedoms and an expansion of the franchise. Under the present constitution, military service is required to attain citizenship, though this does not necessarily have to be combat service. But being a former officer who has served with distinction is practically required to become Archon. Kalak does not advocate for an unrestricted franchise, but wants the definition of national service to be significantly broadened to cover various forms of public service. She is also critical of certain constitutional articles that enable the Archon to, under certain circumstances, promulgate emergency decrees without the prior consent of the Council.
Whatever their private views might be, Tribunal members are supposed to be officially apolitical and refrain from making political statements. Kalak is the sort of judge who regularly skirts the line. She has poor relations with Taira Candrasa and Arav'Kalak. She gets on well enough with Kushala, though she thinks her Qadiri colleague is too much of a moderate. However, at the same time the Xioquo is the type of judge to actively seek redress for marginalised groups in the nomad fleet.
The Archon didn't want to appoint her because she personally disliked Kalak and found her to be too 'political', but was forced to choose. Ironically, her selection was also awkward for Quas'Ziru, one of the Xioquo Councillors. On the one hand it meant a fellow Xio was put on the bench, but on the other it was inconvenient for her since Ziru is exactly the kind of selfish oligarch running a political machine that Kalak hates.
Barini Valon - a female Eldorai expert in the field of criminal law. She used to teach law at the academies back on Kaeshana. In her youth Barini was a bit of a law radical. She is still quite passionate. However, she was and is also controversial for supposedly corrupting the youth with her 'liberal' approach. Barini initially welcomed the 'Venari Restoration', advocating measured liberal reforms and rule of law. She was one of those young, ambitious and progressive Eldorai who took advantage of Kaeshana being opened up to travel to worlds such as Fondor and Alderaan and learn how foreign ways could benefit her people. However, increasing foreign dominance of Kaeshana began to disillusion her. Barini wanted reform and change, but on Eldorai terms instead of those of the foreigners.
Due to her status, she was guaranteed a place on the evacuation fleet during the exodus from Kaeshana since she belonged to the 'great and good of society'. However, she saw the inequality of the exodus and joined the Shadow Knights early. The Archon was an old friend of hers and she got an invitation to join the nomad fleet. Initially she worked as an advocate, but was convinced by her friend to return to being a judge. She was the Archon's wildcard pick for the Tribunal.
HISTORICAL INFORMATION
The Tribunal is a fairly new institution. When the Shadow Knights were founded in order to wrest some order from the chaos on post-apocalyptic Kaeshana, survival was their primary concern. It took precedence over legal and constitutional niceties. The asteroid impact had turned the planet into a wasteland. Cities had been devastated, survivors turned into refugees and gangs fought over what was left. Slavers and pirates took advantage of the chaos. Anything beyond a rudimentary legal system was not the concern of the rebel junta.
Justice was enforced at gunpoint. An improvised system of military courts and travelling judges was established. Under the state of martial law, military courts were empowered to try civilians. However, when the Shadow Knights fled the planet following its occupation by the First Order, they committed to creating their own society and government. It would be centred on a nomad fleet, and be independent of the Eldorai Matriarchy and its Firemane mistresses. This made it necessary to establish a proper legal framework, with checks and balances to ensure that society did not succumb to tyranny. For it was unhealthy autocracy that had stifled the Eldorai, held them back and allowed tyrants both foreign and domestic to prey on them.
The establishment of a strong, independent judiciary became even more necessary when exiles from Tygara began to join the nomad fleet, bringing with them their own legal codes and traditions. A body was necessary to harmonise them. A bill passed by the Citizens' Council mandated the creation of the Tribunal. Various organisational models were proposed and debated by the Council and the Flotilla Assembly as well as in the fledgling Exodite press.
One proposal said that the assembly would choose all justices of them for life. The absurd part of this being that Kar'zun could live literally for 800 years or in rare cases even more. Another promoted a system whereby the Tribunal would have like 35 members so that each group or faction of the rather disparate fleet could have representation. This was far too unwieldy though.
Finally, a third proposal argued in favour of a system with a high judge who held veto power. This was dropped because it was too complicated and dictatorial. There was also intense debate about who should have the right to appoint a justice. The models proposed ranged from popular election to appointment by the judiciary via a cumbersome process of peer review to appointment by the Archon. The first was too democratic for the oligarchic Shadow Knights, the third too dictatorial. At first, the Archon supported the view that the majority of justices should be former military judges. The final result was a compromise typical for the Exodites - a bit of democracy, but not too much. Half would be elected directly by the Council, the other half chosen by the Archon from a list submitted by the assemblies of the Courts of the Shadows.
The Tribunal would exercise jurisdiction over all laws among the Exodite Asurans, and be made responsible for evaluating whether they adhered to the Shadow Knights' constitution. In doing so, the Tribunal would impose a check on the assembly and the Archon. The Tribunal's first meetings dealt with working out organisational procedures. Initially it had seven judges, though their numbers were expanded over time. In the early stages of the Tribunal, the justices were required to travel across the nomad fleet. This helped familiarise citizens with its inner workings, but being a travelling circuit court soon turned to be impractical, time-consuming and resource-intensive, so it was abolished by the Council.
A chief justice with the title of High Judicator was made responsible for presiding over the Tribunal. Moreover, she would set the agenda and have the power to assign who would write the court's opinion, should she belong to the majority opinion. However, the High Judicator's vote would only hold the same weight as every other justice. Masana Livola, a former member of the royalist Eldorai army's as well as the Shadow Knight army's judicial arm, was chosen as the first High Judicator. This guaranteed the Tribunal would be steered by a safe pair of hands. Fittingly, in its early days the Tribunal flexed its muscles by banning two political movements that were considered radical and 'divisive' - the Pan-Asuran Crimson Vanguard League and the Society of the Bright Star. The first was a communist, revolutionary movement that had split off from the Rationalists and opposed the stratocratic system as reactionary and unrepresentative of the toilers. The latter was an Eldorai supremacist group that opposed the enfranchisement of males and Tygarans. Hilariously, a couple years later the push to ban another nationalist movement failed because it turned out that most of its leaders were informants for the Court of the Veil.
One of the early cases the Tribunal dealt with concerned a law on national service, which was defined as military service. The manner in which it was enforced allowed involuntary conscription. Of course, everyone should want to serve as that guaranteed citizenship and thus the franchise, but it shouldn't be a compulsion, specially for a certain court. Things could get messy if someone started amassing too much power, or if large numbers of people unwilling to do their part were conscripted and enfranchised. Thus the law was struck down by the Tribunal, and had to be revised.
Another thorny issue the Tribunal faced was the question of vaccine mandates. Cramped ships were easy breeding grounds for diseases. Moreover, the Tygarans in particular, but also to an extent the Eldorai, lacked vaccination against galaxy diseases. The introduction of mandatory vaccination caused controversy, not only from Eldorai conservatives, but also among certain Tygaran groups like Vashyada. It was only a small group, but a very loud one spurred on by demagogues. As one of their agitators proclaimed: "We do not need to inject poison into ourselves to rid ourselves of sickness! The Goddess determines those who are taken into her care, do not seek to delay it with outsider 'cures' and remedies!" The Tribunal ruled that the mandates were legal. Those who refused were exiled for endangering the community.
Moreover, the Tribunal was often concerned with allegations of electoral fraud. The Shadow Knights were a young republic, and corruption, fraud and such were all problems the nomad fleet had to deal with. The electoral process was undermined by allegations of intimidation, pre-poll rigging, and muzzling of the press. Some accusations were fraudulent, but others had merit. The Tribunal formed a special panel to investigate rigging and found credible evidence. A number of elections for positions on ships and the Council had to be redone. However, following a disputed election for a Council seat, Raenisa Eildan, a famous militia commander and former insurgent leader, claimed vote fraud. The Council and the Tribunal dismissed her case, leading to accusations of bias. Eildan was backed by her militia, whose members were disgruntled over bad pay and loss of autonomy. To force the Council to accede to their demands, the militants barricaded themselves and took hostages. Their base was well-fortified. Not willing to appear weak, the Council decided on removing them by force. The hostage crisis ended in a debacle, which forced the government to reform its counterrorism strategy.
Cases of discrimination regularly found their way into the halls of the Tribunal. Araso Barner, the sole Eldorai male on the Tribunal, had to reduce himself because it would be politically indelicate not to do so when the Tribunal examined a case of male citizens being systematically underpaid and denied promotion in government agencies on the basis of their gender. The Tribunal ruled that wages and treatment should be the same, which was then set by law in the Council. Of course, there was the official law...and reality. There was some improvement though. The principle that military formations should be segregated based on gender and only integrated at comman levels was upheld as lawful.
Another case concerned the use of spirit gems. One of the morally questionable aspects of the Shadow Knights was the use of these gems to preserve citizens too valuable to lose. These tended to be soldiers and pilots, but also doctors, researchers and technicians. By having their spirit trapped inside a soul stone, they could continue to serve beyond death, pass on their skills and serve the community. However, it was a matter of controversy whether these beings still possessed souls and could be considered citizens, and whether it could be made compulsory.
This created a thorny civil rights issue, as well as a spiritual one. It had become a cause of controversy in the Council. Protests had broken out, and the case of an Eldorai soldier who had been transferred to a spirit gem but was now being denied civic rights and whose family only received a meagre pension was brought before the Tribunal. Droids could not be citizens, but an Asuran whose soul inhabited a spirit gem was not a machine; they merely used a mechanical body to interact with the world.
Yohara Taenasi, the inventor of the modern spirit gems, was brought in to testify as a witness. One hearing was disrupted by rioters. After long debate, the Tribunal concluded that citizens who continued to serve in death could not be denied civic rights. This meant they were eligible to vote or run for office. The State would be required to provide for their upkeep and mental health because they making a profound sacrifice by delaying their rest in the great beyond. Their families were entitled to a full pension. It was eventually codified into law that soldiers, technicians and the like who had agreed to continue service in spirit gems would receive a virtually tax-free salary. They barely needed any of it, but it was helpful for their dependents. This caused grumbling about how the 'ghosts were getting better allowances than the living'. However, the Tribunal also ruled that while it should be a choice that required informed consent, using the procedure to make notorious criminals do penance was not illegal.
While the Tribunal had its liberal elements, it was supposed to guard the constitution...which also meant the stratocratic system. This was proved once again when it had to respond to constitutional complaints from a protest movement that drew much of its support from the merchant class. They dissenters campaigned and lobbied for an expansion of the franchise, as they considered the requirement to perform military service to be tyrannical. They argued it created an unjust caste system that denied basic sentient rights to civilians. One of their leaders, a prominent merchant, was given a hearing, and gave an eloquent speech. Since universal franchise was constitutionally impossible, she campaigned for expanding the franchise to taxpayers who paid above a certain amount per year, because these taxpayers served the state by filling its coffers, which gave it the means to defend and provide for the people. That did not require a constitutional amendment, just a change in the definition of 'service' in Shadow Knight. But the Tribunal rejected it.
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