Ysand’s Codice of Imperial Law

  The Holy Senate of Ysand is the highest body of governance within the Golden Empire. The Senate is made up from key individuals of the nation’s provinces. Including the regions High Legates, Capital Governors and local Populus Representatives.   It also includes each head of every government office, along with three minor representatives from each branch that is randomly picked and changed every year to hinder corruption.   The Senate is hosted once a quarter of the year by the Holy Imperator, as the divine leader of the Golden Empire. It is his duty to listen to the voice of his commanders, advisors, and people -- to engage with their concerns, suggestions, and wishes through constructive debate. Though it is ultimately he that must declare a vote to be held for a decision, the senate is within their right to force through a topic and question an Imperator’s legitimacy, if an overwhelming majority of the senate calls out misconduct.   When a vote is called forth by the Imperator, be it of his own design, a uniform agreement, or a direct acknowledgement of a senator’s suggestion, the Holy Imperator’s vote carries the weight of five votes, while that of the Populus Representatives holds three, and Capital Governors two.   Some individuals may also hold more votes due to their duplicus statuses. An example is the Primus-Magistratus Omar of Barrkad, as both the High Legate of the Barrkad V Azure Legion and the head of the Officium Oratora.     The Constabulary is one of the lowest bodies of governance. They almost purely serve as the long arm of the law, which exists to protect the citizens of the Golden Empire. They do not write nor change any rules but can at the furthest extent try criminals within their own semi-official court.   The constabulary court is however reserved for criminals that are already declared by warrant as guilty beyond a doubt. In layman’s terms, a higher court has already trialed them without their presence, so the Constabulary needs only identify them.   The Constabulary are also splintered into several different wings as laws may regionally change based on the local customs. Thus, enforcers can not be blindly transferred between regions without undergoing a local test. They are, however, tasked to detain anyone who breaks the overarching imperial law, regardless of where they are within the Empire’s borders -- even without a warrant.     The Basilica is known as the Halls of Judgement within the Golden Empire. This is where a majority of court trials are held. From civil disputes, criminal trials, and sometimes as a third party in business dealings. Where the Basilica enforces legally sound and mostly fair compromises between quarreling guilds or other civil organizations.     The Tribunal is often considered the official Inquisition of the Golden Empire. Though they oversee the purity of honour and duty instead of faith. Such as investigating the other legal institutions and rooting out corruption from within.   They also hold a special court for war criminals and other traitors of the Empire, where the highest penance is execution on the spot. Hence, why the tribunal is also blocked from public view.   The Tribunal also serves an important diplomatic function. With the vast military of the Golden Empire and the dozens of wars they are fighting, it is impossible for them to fully control every legate and warlord. In cases where a high ranking officer, commander, or official goes out of their way to attack a foreign power without the explicit consent of the senate, they await a most unorthodox yet important punishment.   To avoid a diplomatic disaster and another war, one technically of their own making at that, the Pax Tribunales are to escort the officials of the attacked foreign nation. There, the fate of the war criminal is decided by the very people which they sought to slaughter -- as a sign of good will to restore relations.     The Administratorium of Law exists in an area between private companies and guilds, and the official legal body of the Golden Empire. They make up organizations with specialized individuals, often retirees with years of life experiences, that sell their services as lawyers, advisors, and intellectuals.   The Administratorium has several different branches depending on the needs of their clients. Some are strictly reserved to the senate for their expertise, as example, civil engineering. Others work closely with the basilica to provide the court defendant with a fair defence. Some exist as freelancers that are hired by noble families and guilds as professional advisors.   Their higher echelon also serves as regional lawmakers. They may create and enforce rules for companies to ensure they play fair and do not exploit their employees. This has also led to a wing which creates law suggestions that they bring forth to the senate.     The Oratora, or Oratorium, is a strong legislative body which concerns itself with the arcane arts and the dangers of magic. They are learned in both theocratic and mystic studies to categorise spells and their domains in different magnitudes of restriction. From all access spells such as healing arts or illumination abilities, that are displayed in libraries and encouraged reads for scholars -- to forbidden knowledge that is carefully guarded by secret orders of the Oratora, and that of the Ecclesiarchy.   The Oratorium does not solely focus on assessing risks of magic. They also hold a powerful sway within the academic world of the Golden Empire. Their officials hold schools, especially ones tutoring in spellcraft, to keen scrutiny.   If a teaching institution remarkably underperforms, or if there are concerns about corruption and misuse of the staff’s power, the Officium Oratora has a duty to investigate said claims with the help of the Basilica. If the Basilica judges a school or university to be corrupt, the Oratora has a full right to take over the institution and completely replace the staff they deem necessary to fire. To then be replaced by their own members.     Unlike the Ysandrine Inquisition, the Officium Ecclesia is the official theocratic legislative body. Their job is less about hunting down and punishing heretics, and more about mapping out cults, schisms, and ensuring the purity within their own temples.   The Ecclesiarchy do not solely interpret their own religion as servants of Ysand. With the Holy Imperator as the living symbol of their dead god, it makes no sense for them to try and decipher any other truths than the ones told by Ysand’s chosen. To them it is more important to understand the nature of other gods and their relations, both to Ysand and the world at large.   Faiths that do not go against Ysand’s teachings are openly accepted within the Golden Empire, and temples even for foreign deities are allowed to be established within the nation. For as long as the Ecclesia deems it safe and that the temple acknowledges Ysand as the prime god worshipped in the Empire.   Different denominations may also be accepted within the Golden Empire, and some are even considered virtuous. The Barrkadi belief in Ophalmitrus as their prime deity and Ysand as the angel’s nephew, is one such virtuous branch, as this fact is common knowledge.   Where the Ecclesia start investigating or even send operatives to arrest, (or assassinate), is when dark cults or pantheons crop up. This includes cases such as when a mad priest began sacrificing widows, believing their deaths would empower the return of Ysand. The Ecclesiarchy swiftly removed the withered branch without neither trial nor tribulations.     The Court of War mainly handles defensive affairs, as an offensive campaign would need to be approved by the Senate. As war seldom waits for politicians to have a seat and start discussing tactics, this office serves as a forum for high-legates, their generals, and elite officers to instantly respond to hostilities.   Here they can coordinate together, plan counter-attacks into enemy territory, and handle logistics -- without requiring the oversight of any other official branch. Thus lowering the bureaucracy to do what must be done to protect the Empire, including conquering the territory of their assailants.   When the Officium Bellum conquers a foreign territory, it falls beneath their martial jurisdiction until a peace can be declared. Once a peace agreement is reached, the Pax Tribunales and Officium Diplomatica take over to oversee the region’s integration into the Golden Empire.     The cultural wing of the senate is known as the Public Forums, and every village or larger settlement is required by law to have at least one location reserved for free discourse. Be it a park, library, or even an open room within an otherwise private estate.   The arena is to be safely guarded and open to all, regardless of status and background. However, only citizens of the Golden Empire are allowed to engage in discussions of ideas and politics, unless specific permits are given to foreigners. Otherwise, they may only spectate.   The public forum does not only exist to give ordinary citizens platforms to share their ideas. The legislative body also closely monitors cultural relations between the many races and ethnic groups that live within the Golden Empire. To avoid civil disasters, the forum officials may summon local representatives from rival groups to communicate solutions that still adhere to imperial law. They also have a responsibility to maintain and uphold native traditions and laws within conquered and acquisitioned territories.   As a result, the forum has become directly intertwined with the internal embassies. Even in self-governing regions that host a non-imperial majority group, the forum exists as a security that ensures these regions are still heard by the Empire, and that imperials on native soil have a civil defense if they accidentally break a local law or tradition. In a majority of incidents, the Forum mediates them by briefly educating the offendant on local traditions, and having them swear an oath to Ysand that they will be more careful. This ensures that the legal courts do not need to concern themselves in trivial matters.   The international wing of the Golden Empire’s legal body is known as the Officium Diplomatica, or simply the Diplomatic Office. They handle external relations between both foreign nations and larger organizations such as international guilds.   This also includes maintaining trade routes, border control, and immigration, which has somehow ended up with the Diplomatic Office also handling the taxation of various areas. Usually, they tax the nobility, merchant class, migrants, and followers of non-imperial faiths higher than other citizens.     The colonial wing is the most decentralized legislative body of the Golden Empire. Per the tenets of Ysand, the Empire can not freely conquer and colonize any land as they see fit. To avoid unnecessary wars and blasphemy, colonies are to be founded on unburied grounds. Furthermore their founders are tasked to form positive relationships with any native populace that may be found in the area. To foster trust and, if possible, trade and theocratic relations.   Due to the distances of most colonies from the heart of the Empire, the Senate has an issue with a lack of control over colonial governors, and proper responses should the colonies be attacked.   Hence, the Pax Coloniae have a smaller senate for every continent which hosts colonies. Every colony must also have at least one member of every Officiarium present to oversee the settlements' governance, who represents their colony within their continents colonial-senate.   In total that gives every Coloniarch three votes. One as their colony’s Pax Coloniae official and two more as its governor. Meanwhile, each of the Coloniarch’s nine advisors have one vote each, while the local populace of the colony must elevate one ordinary citizen as their representative, who also holds three votes.   When a colonial-senate is in order, each colony votes independently aye or nay on topics which concern their continent. As per old imperial decree from the days when Ysand still walked the world, this allows the colonies to decide on aggressive actions towards foreign nations without the Holy Imperator’s oversight -- if said powers have significantly despoiled at least one of the Five Divine Laws of Ysand. Thus being seen as a valid cause to declare a holy war of retribution.