WHEREAS El Lexhatx intends to provide a single code of law for the Kingdom of Talossa as enacted by the Ziu;
AND WHEREAS the foregoing admirable intention must be honoured through constant scrutiny to ensure consistency and ease of access;
AND WHEREAS it has come to the attention that, through several amendments since adoption, El Lexhatx G. Justice has become cumbersome to follow;
AND WHEREAS someone finally took the time to scrutinize this statute to remove repetition, conflicting provisions, and to clarify certain procedure regarding criminal offenses;
AND WHEREAS absolutely no statute drafted by Alexandreu Davinescù, specifically the ex parte communications subsection, has been changed in any way, except to be recodified and moved for consistency.
BE IT ENACTED by the King, Cosâ and Senäts of Talossa in Ziu assembled as follows:
That El Lexhatx G. is replaced in its entirety by the following:
G. Justice.1. The General Cort of Talossa
1.1. The Ziu enlarges the number of Puisne Judges to a total of three in accord with Section 3 of Article VIII of the Organic Law.
1.2. The Ziu establishes the General Cort of Talossa, which shall be an inferior nisi prius cort, cort of first instance, and of general jurisdiction consistent with Article VIII of the Organic Law.
1.2.1. Any citizen of Talossa who has satisfied the Ministry of Justice of their knowledge of Talossan law and jurisprudence, and of their good character, may be recommended to the King or to the Cort pü Inalt to be named as a Community Jurist (CJ).
1.2.2. Community Jurists may be deprived of this designation by the Cort pü Inalt, upon presentation of a preponderance of evidence by the Ministry of Justice that their good character or their legal knowledge is no longer satisfactory.
1.2.3. The Clerk of the Corts shall appoint, by random selection, a single Community Jurist to preside over the General Cort for any case arising under this section.
1.2.3.1. If no qualified CJ is available to hear a given case, the Clerk of the Corts shall appoint a single Judge of the Cort pü Inalt to preside over the General Cort for that case.
1.2.4. The judicial official presiding over a matter in the General Cort of Talossa shall be styled as "Magistrate" for the purposes of that proceeding.
1.2.5. Unless an appeal lies as of right, an aggrieved party to an action may seek leave to appeal any determination of the General Cort to the Cort pü Inalt.
1.2.6. A Magistrate may not sit as a Judge on the Cort pü Inalt for any appeal related to a proceeding over which they presided as a magistrate.
1.2.7. A Magistrate must recuse themselves from a matter upon a real or apparent conflict of interest.
2. The Practice of Law in the National Corts of Talossa.
The following guidelines shall exist for the practice of law within the realm:
2.1. The practice of law shall be defined as the representation of individuals, corporations and government bodies before the Uppermost Cort, Military Cort, or any inferior court established by the Ziu; or the professional discussion or advice on matters of a legal nature.
2.2. Practice before the Uppermost Cort or any inferior National Court established by the Ziu shall be limited to members in good standing of the National Talossan Bar.
2.3. Practice before Military Courts shall be restricted to members of the National Talossan Bar or to any commissioned officer granted waiver by the Minister of Defence to serve as a legal representative, pursuant to Ministry of Defence guidelines.
2.4. Practice before Provincial Courts shall be governed by Provincial Law.
2.5. No part of this law shall limit an individual's ability to represent themselves before any court of the realm.
2.6. Provincial Premiers (or the provincial equivalent thereto) 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 National Talossan Bar.
2.7. The use of titles such as lawyer, attorney, barrister, solicitor, or councillor/counselor-at-law or any other title reserved by guidelines of the National Talossan bar shall be restricted to those who are licensed to engage in the practice of law within the realm.
2.8. Individuals who are party to an action brought before a Cort 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.
2.9. 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 National Talossan Bar.
2.10. 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.
2.11. 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/counsellor of law, has falsely claimed Bar membership or other official standing within the National 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.
2.12. Admission to the National Bar of Talossa.
2.12.1. The National Bar of Talossa shall be governed by the Uppermost Cort, which shall establish the procedure, ethics, and
standards for those seeking admission to the National Bar of Talossa.
2.12.2. The National Bar of Talossa shall possess the sole authority to admit new individuals to practice law in the Corts of Talossa established under Article VIII of the Organic Law.
2.12.2.1. Admission to the Bar shall be limited to those who are eligible to vote in National Elections, and who satisfy any reasonable requirement set forth by the National Bar of Talossa.
2.12.2.2. The National Bar of Talossa shall set the standards, character, and other requirements for admission.
2.12.2.3. The National Bar of Talossa shall accept the application of any individual claiming to have satisfied the requirements for admission, and, if satisfied that the applicant does meet the criteria for admission after careful review and consideration, shall refer the applicant with supporting documentation to the Uppermost Cort for admission.
2.12.2.4. The Uppermost Cort of Talossan shall accept or deny all referred applications within a timely manner. An individual is not authorized to practice law until the Uppermost Cort of Talossa admits the application to the National Bar of Talossa, and an individual may not refer to themselves as "pending admission."
2.12.3. An individual who has earned a degree in the practice of law in another country, or who has been admitted to practice law in another country, or who has completed one year of legal education as well as legal training in another country, may seek a waiver for admission to the National Bar of Talossa by petitioning the Uppermost Cort of Talossa for such a waiver, provided proof for the basis of waiver is attached to the petition. The Uppermost Cort may grant said waiver with no less than the consent of two Judges of the Uppermost Cort. The Uppermost Cort may increase the number of Judges required to give consent as it deems necessary but may only decrease the number to the statutory limits with the same number of Judges required to give consent.
2.12.4. It shall be a criminal offense for any person to knowingly or recklessly practice law in Talossa without express statutory permission.
2.12.4.1. The above provision is not applicable to an individual who represent themselves, known as pro se party, or to any individual who is a member of or has received authority by the Ministry of Justice to represent the Government in any Cort throughout Talossa.
2.12.4.2. The following office holders may, at the discretion of the Chancery, be exempt from the above requirements and shall be granted full membership to the bar while they hold such office, for the purpose of performing their official duties: the Prime Minister, the Distain, Judges of the Uppermost Cort, and Judges of any inferior Cort.
2.12.4.3. An Attorney General, as head of the Ministry of Justice, or Deputy Attorney General as authorized by the Ministry of Justice, who is not admitted to their bar in their own right, is a de facto and de jure member of the bar for the duration that they hold that office.
2.12.5. The National Bar of Talossa shall set, as it deems necessary, the Code of Conduct to govern attorneys.
2.12.5.1. An individual admitted may have their admission revoked for cause with the consent of no less than a majority of the Judges of the Uppermost Cort of Talossa; in such a circumstance, the individual is no longer permitted to practice law in the national courts of Talossa.
2.12.5.2. All members of the bar admitted prior to the adoption of this statute shall continue to be deemed automatically admitted and may continue to practice law
2.12.6. Any rules, regulations 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.
3. Appeals and Tribunals.
3.1 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. No Cunstaval shall proclaim any new provincial constitution that fails to provide a right to appeal decisions of the provincial court or courts (if any) to the Cort pü Inalt or such other national courts as may be created by the Ziu. 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.
3.1.1 All appeals, as with other court actions, shall be filed with the Clerk of the Corts. Upon official judicial assignment, the cort may either dismiss the case, by declining to hear it, or begin hearing opening arguments in the matter as presented by all relevant parties.
3.1.2 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 the Corts.
3.1.3. 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 3.2.
3.1.4. If a court does not comply with 3.2. or 3.2.1., it may be subject to an investigation for non-feasance conducted by the Ministry of Justice.
3.2. 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.
3.2.1. In civil actions, appeals may be ruled in a detrimental manner to the appellant (reformationes in peius) only when both parties submit appeals.
3.2.2. 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.
Ureu q'estadra så,
Dame Miestră Schivă (Seneschal)