Fecaw- The Institutes

[Fecaw]

The Institutes of Fecaw

Department of Justice Official Publication

The Only Official Version of the Laws of Fecaw

The Institutes of Fecaw were established in 1962 as the only law in Fecaw. They are surprisingly terse, but have served well for over 50 years. In that time, they have been modified significantly. The Institutes cover all fields of law, including constitutional laws and human rights.

Italic text shows an amendment to the original Institutes.


I- Covers constitutional law and general rights

II- Principles of Natural Justice, evidence, courts and judges

III- Offenses against the state and treason

IV- Offense against person

V- Offenses against property

VI- Restitution

VII- The Church, its rights and its status in society,

VIII- Destination of Goods and basic principles of distributism

IX- Solidarity and participation of people in society

X- Subsidiarity

XI- Media

XII- Environment, Conservation

XIII- Labour and worker's rights

XIV- Finance, Bankruptcy and National spending

XV- Transport, shipping, air travel, roads and trains

XVI- Taxation, Usury, basic principles of a Georgist taxation system and specific tax rates

XVII- Illegal Substances and Materials

XVIII- Military Law, War Crimes and conditions for a Just War

IXX- Conscientious Objection

XX- The International Community and the WA, basic foreign policy and approved treaties

XXI- Technology, Biotechnology and Scientific Resarch

[Fecaw]

I

The Fecawn People, having discovered new lands and having settled themselves in settlements around the islands, undertake to establish a legal system so as to protect rights and freedoms and to create a stable, just government order. All judges and governmental authorities shall be bound thereby.

All persons shall be treated equally under the law. No law shall be enacted that impedes the freedom of expression, peaceable assembly, the right to move around and out of the nation, claim citizenship in a foreign nation, the freedom to bear arms, the freedom to raise and live in a united families or the right to life from conception to natural death. No person shall be held in forced labour or subjected to excessive, cruel or unusual punishment. Persons shall have the right to own property, which may only be seized upon probable cause under a warrant that specifies the location and object of the seizure. All persons have the right to an impartial, speedy trial in which a fair hearing is given to all parties and in which all parties are made aware of the nature of the accusation and to be confronted with any witnesses. Those accused shall be assumed innocent until proven guilty. Likewise, the established government shall make efforts to protect these inalienable rights as herebefore.

Fecaw shall be considered a unified single nation. Any child born to parents who are citizens of Fecaw, or on Fecawn territory, shall be considered a citizen of Fecaw. Those who have resided in Fecaw for six years and not committed any major criminal offences shall be considered citizens. Citizenship shall not be removed from any current citizen. The age of seventeen years shall be considered the age of majority.

The Senat is the legislative and supreme judicial body of Fecaw. It may review cases that no other court can or that relate to new interpretations of the law. It can pass resolutions relating to government spending, but must establish subsidiary courts to try cases subject to these affecting ambassadors, citizens of Fecaw and citizens of foreign nations, each with its own defined jurisdiction, so that all of Fecaw is covered by a court. Cases shall be heard in courts by a panel of at least seven judges, who shall be appointed by the Senat and shall only be able to cast a guilty verdict with at least three quarters of the judges, in the court that has jurisdiction over the area where the crime is thought to have been committed. The judges must have a legal experience of at least five years, have passed official legal examinations and have committed no major crimes. The Senat shall meet daily apart from Sunday in the morning during a period no shorter than one hundred and fifty two days. The offices of Terce and Sext shall be prayed by all government members at the start and end of Senat sessions.

Biennialy, an alternate one of nine voting areas of Fecaw shall five delegates using range voting, in which voters give each candidate a score, out of the number of candidates, the scores are averaged and the five candidates with the highest totals are elected. Only all citizens above the age of twenty one years shall be permitted to vote and stand for election.

The Monarch holds supreme executive power in Fecaw and is chosen by his predecessor, but must be crowned by a validly consecrated bishop to be considered reigning. The Monarch may also create legislation, having the option of passing it through the Monarch. For any legislation or act to be passed by the Monarch, it must gain direct approval through an official statement from the Monarch within 30 days. The Monarch shall be removed from office by a Senat resolution, for treason and bribery. The Monarch must address the nation at least annually to inform on the state, past and present of the nation.
The Monarch can and shall appoint Deputies, who are to adivse the Monarch and may also propose legislation. They must meet regularly with the King in private and with the rest of the government during Senat debates. The number of appointed Deputies shall be equal to the number of Senaters. All validly consecrated bishops shall also be Deputies.

Senaters and Deputies shall be split equally into five Councils, so that each council has an equal number of Senaters and Deputies, and so that every Council has an equal number of members. No Senater can be a member of more than one Council, or the member of no Council.The Councils shall have executive authority delegated from the Monarch over a certain area of policy.The Councils shall meet daily apart from Sunday in the afternoon during a period no shorter than one hundred and fifty two days. The office of Vespers shall be prayed by all government members at the end of Council sessions.

[Fecaw]

II

Offenders against the law are liable to punishment by a court of death, imprisonment or a fine. The death penalty shall be administered only in cases where the offender has committed premeditated homicide, has shown no remorse and after a unanimous verdict from the panel of judges, in the most humane and fast feasiblemethod possible. For the purposes of sentence calculations only, the death penalty shall be equal to one hundred years of imprisonment. Quantity of fines and length of imprisonment shall be indirectly proportional to remorse shown and directly proportional to the damage caught, the level of damage, both emotional and financial, done and the amount of premeditation.

For a crime to be committed, the offender must have the internal intention to commit a crime; or knowledge that one's action or lack of action would cause a crime to be committed, and have contemporaneously committed the external criminal act. A person who is unaware of a law may not escape liability for violating that law merely because one was unaware of its content. Participation in a criminal act or abetting other perpetrators of that crime shall receive a punishment equal to between half and three quarters of the perpetrator, depending on the degree of abetment. Intent to commit a crime or taking a substantial step toward completing the crime, an agreement between two or more persons to commit a crime at some time in the future and inciting another to commit a crime shall receive the punishment hereabove.

If someone willingly places themselves in a position where harm might result, knowing that some degree of harm might result, they are not able to bring a claim against the other party. Evidence that is obtained illegally may be used as evidence. If the accused is intoxicated or as a result of threats, the punishment may be reduced by up to three quarters, but if the crime is committed under duress, in defence of property, the punishment may be reduced to any extent. Insanity and impaired mental functions, along with being under the age of seven years old, remove all responsibility for crimes committed.

[Fecaw]

III

It is a crime to wage war against Fecaw, assault a government member with intent to compel or restrain the exercise of any lawful power, escape from imprisonment, wear a token resembling any garb or token used by military members while not being a member of the military, resist execution of law, compel any person to do what he is not legally bound to do, or omit to do what he is legally entitled to do, violently disturb the public peace and to fight in a public place and disturb the public peace. These hereabove crimes are offences against public peace and the government.