The Law on Unjustified Killing

Preamble

By decree of the Crown, in the Light of the gods who sanctify all life and judge all death, be it known that none may shed blood save by rightful command of Heaven or Throne.
Therefore, to preserve the sanctity of the soul and the order of the Union, this Law on Unjustified Killing is established as the foremost pillar of Justice within the Great Isle Union.

Article I — Of the Nature of the Crime

1. Unjustified Killing, hereafter called murder, is the deliberate or willful taking of life by any mortal hand not sanctioned by the Crown, Parliament, or divine mandate.
2. All slaying, regardless of cause or circumstance, shall be deemed murder unless performed under royal order, lawful war, or true divine command.
3. No plea of self-defense, vengeance, mercy, necessity, or passion shall stand as a defense under this law.
4. The right of life and death rests in the will of the gods and the lawful instruments of the Crown alone; no subject may claim it for themselves.

Article II — Of the Divine Exception

1. Grand Clerics of the recognized faiths of the Union are the highest mortal authorities of their temples and creeds.
2. Above them stand no power nor council, save that of their deity, from whom alone they derive command.
3. Acts committed by a Grand Cleric, or by those acting under the direct mandate of such a Grand Cleric, shall be exempt from this law only when the act of killing is performed under a true divine mandate.
4. A divine mandate is the direct command or revelation of the deity whom the Grand Cleric serves, and the truth of such mandate lies solely between that deity and their chosen vessel.
5. The High Court of the Union may hear witness of the act but holds no authority to judge the divine warrant itself, save in cases where falsehood or corruption is proven beyond doubt.
6. Should it be revealed that the deed was done falsely in the name of a god, or for mortal gain and not divine will, the offender shall be condemned for murder of the highest order, punishable by death.

Article III — Of the Power of Judgment

1. All charges of unjustified killing shall be brought before a Royal or High Judge appointed in the name of the Crown.
2. Testimonies, witnesses, and evidence shall be taken under oath, and the sentence rendered in keeping with the divine and royal law of the realm.
3. Where divine mandate is claimed, the Grand Cleric of that faith shall be summoned or represented before the court, that the will of the deity may be heard.

Article IV — Of the Sentence for a Single Killing

1. Whosoever is found guilty of a single act of unjustified killing shall be condemned to imprisonment for no fewer than twenty years and no more than one hundred years, as deemed just by the presiding judge.
2. The convicted shall forfeit all lands, titles, and inheritances, save mercy granted by the court for the upkeep of lawful kin.
3. Such imprisonment shall be held within a Crown Fortress or Dungeon of the Union, under seal of royal justice.

Article V — Of the Sentence for Multiple Killings

1. Whosoever is found guilty of more than one act of unjustified killing, whether by hand, command, or design, shall be condemned to death without exception.
2. Execution shall be carried out publicly, before witnesses of both Crown and Faith, that the realm may see justice fulfilled.
3. No pardon shall stay the sentence, save by the direct hand of the King, and only in accordance with the Great Charter of Union.

Article VI — Of the Sanctity of Life

1. Life is the sacred gift of the gods; its taking is a matter of divine and royal right, not mortal whim.
2. To slay without sanction is to trespass upon Heaven and to rebel against the order of the Crown.
3. Let every subject of the Great Isle Union remember: he who kills without holy or royal cause forfeits his own claim to mercy, and his blood shall be required of him.

Enactment

Thus is the Law on Unjustified Killing sealed under the hand and seal of King Marius Insula,
in the Year of Union One Thousand One Hundred and Fifty-Three.

Given beneath the Royal Seal of House Insula, and ratified by the First Parliament of the Great Isle Union,
that the justice of Crown and Faith together may forever preserve the peace of the Isle.

So decreed by the Grace of the Crown and under the Eyes of the gods eternal.