Courts in occupied Sartar

From: Andrew Solovay <asolovay_at_...>
Date: Fri, 10 Sep 2004 18:06:22 -0700


donald_at_... wrote:
>
> I'm not sure what the legal system is in occupied Sartar but
> as an idea I see four separate strands -
>
> [...]
> 4. The Lunar court system which allows Lunar citizens to have
> cases referred there rather than be subject to local law
> and courts. Heortling PCs are generally not going to encounter
> this unless they try and take legal action against a Lunar
> citizen and look as if they might win locally. Then it gets
> referred to the nearest Lunar court - there may be one in
> Boldhome otherwise it'll be Furthest. Should be good fun when
> the PCs are asked to swear oaths on the Red Goddess and such
> like.

Case 4 probably splits into two subcategories:

4a: Subjects of the Lunar Empire (who are not native Sartarites) who are not full Lunar citizens who are accused of crimes. (This might also include native Sartarites who have "gone Lunar" in some significant way, e.g. joining a Lunar cult.) These people would presumably be judged by the laws of occupied Sartar, i.e. the native laws as modified by orders of the occupation--though the judges would certainly be Lunars or Lunar-allied provincials.

4b: Full Lunar citizens who are accused of crimes and decide to appeal to Imperial law. Possibly these people couldn't even be tried in Sartar and would have to be shipped home to the Empire proper for trial. This might be a risky gambit--if a Lunar citizen is accused of petty fraud and appeals to Imperial justice, an annoyed magistrate might give him a heavier punishment than the fine he'd pay under Sartarite law.

And crimes committed by Lunar soldiers (who might or might not be full citizens) could be tried in these courts, or in a court-martial, depending on the circumstances (including the political considerations and/or the commanding officer's whim).

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