Judicial Reform

[Hileville]

So it looks like we are leaning towards one elected justice. The following laws will need to be rewritten. I would prefer that we take the trial process completely out of the Charter and make it its own law as it just doesn't belong there IMO.

Article 7 - Judiciary

Allegations of violations may be lodged by any nation(s) against any other nation(s). Allegations must be lodged within the Ministry of Justice forum in the form of a post topic. These allegations must include the accused nation(s) and offense(s) they are accused of committing in addition to any witnesses or advocates each side wishes to have appear before the trial.


The Minister of Justice shall be responsible in all respects for the processing of the allegation. If an allegation is lodged against the Minister of Justice, the Delegate shall be responsible for the processing.


The Minister of Justice must call for evidence from the nation lodging the allegation during a consultation period that may last no more than three days. Upon the end of the three-day period, the Minister of Justice must determine if the evidence presented is strong enough to merit a trial. This decision will be made in a reply to the allegation post, and reasoning based on the charter and/or the code of laws shall be presented in the decision.


If a trial is deemed necessary:

The Minister of Justice?s reply to the allegation post should ask the defendant to enter a plea to the charges laid against them (i.e., not guilty or guilty). A plea of not guilty or a failure to enter a plea shall necessitate a trial. In the event of a defendant pleading guilty, the Minister of Justice may decide to hold a trial regardless or may pronounce sentence without trial. The Minister of Justice shall oversee the carrying out of the sentence within three days of the pronouncement as outlined by Article 7, 13.

The Minister of Justice is charged with creating a topic that designates a motion for trial. In the opening post, the Minister of Justice must establish the conflicting parties, charges brought upon the accused person(s) (labeled henceforth as the Defense) by the accuser(s) (labeled henceforth as the Prosecution), the jury, and if the trial is open to public comments or is private.


The Minister of Justice must select three nations to serve as jurors from a random pool of volunteering citizens. Either party may reject any nominated juror, and any requests to call for the removal of a juror must be registered within 24 hours of the creation of the trial thread. The Minster of Justice then has one day to select a new juror or defend the decision regarding the selection of the juror in question.


The Minister of Justice is charged with guiding the direction of the trial: from the motion, to evidence provided by the Prosecution, to the Defense, to opening the floor for questions, and suspending the trial to allow for jurors to reach a verdict. Only those given clearance to post during the trial may do so as directed by the Minister of Justice.


If the Minister of Justice believes they have an interest in the trial that may bring into question their impartiality then they may appoint a neutral Associate Justice from their staff to preside over the case. The Defense or the Prosecution may appeal to the delegate if they have compelling evidence that the presiding Judge is predetermined.


Procedure for any trial is as follows:

The trial will begin with three days for the Prosecution to present their case, three days for the Defense to make their case, and finally three days in which closing arguments can be made by both Prosecutor and Defender. The Defender always gets the last word.

If the Prosecution fails to attend during their three days, the trial will be cancelled and the accused acquitted of all charges.

If the Defense fails to show up during their three days, the defense is dismissed.

Either side may request for more time.

After the proceedings have ended, the trial thread is locked by the Minister of Justice.


Following closing arguments the jury has a maximum of seven days to reach a verdict. The jury will judge only the charges presented by the Minister of Justice following the proceedings. A verdict is reached when the majority of jurors are in agreement.


Verdicts must be announced giving only the charges laid, the parties involved, and whether those parties are guilty or not guilty.


If a verdict is not reached by a jury, for whatever reason, a mistrial will be declared and the Minister of Justice must re-examine the evidence, as specified in Article 7.5, and decide whether to proceed with a new trial.


Any nation found to be seeking to influence the deliberations of the jury will be prosecuted with a maximum penalty of expulsion from The South Pacific.


Sentences must be carried out within three days of a verdict being rendered by the Minister of Justice, unless the verdict specifies a different timing. The Minister of Justice may call upon forum administrators or the Delegate to assist with carrying out sentencing.


Appeals may be lodged with the Minister of Justice, but only if evidence is supplied showing the trial was not conducted legally.


Appeals will be heard by the Delegate, following the procedures for trial laid out in Article 7, 5-18.

Article 16 - Responsibilities and authority of the Ministry of Justice

The Ministry of Justice shall be responsible for all judiciary activities in the region, as outlined in Article 7.

If a nation feels it was wrongfully ejected from the region, they may file a claim with the Ministry of Justice. Providing the Justice finds in favor of the plaintiff, the Delegate will then un-ban the nation in order to allow them to return to the region.

The Ministry shall be responsible for the maintenance of the Code of Laws (archiving, interpreting, etc.).

The Ministry is responsible for following through with Judicial Review when necessary.

If we are going to have an Attorney General to take the place of the MoJ we need to decide on if that position will be appointed or elected and what their duties are.