Imperial Law

Although most matters of law and justice are left to the Imperial Countries, there are certain matters considered to be of extreme importance that are legislated upon by the Imperial State. Such matters constitute the **Imperial Laws**, laws which are enforced across the entirety of the Nesarian Empire.

Although there are many Imperial Laws which dictate specific punishments for specific offences, most Imperial Laws are intentionally vague in nature, and instead restrict and control the manner in which the Imperial Countries punish certain offences. In other words, the majority of Imperial Laws are usually concerned with either prohibiting or supporting a range of possible punishments rather than dictating a specific punishment.

Imperial Laws are also frequently responsible for providing definitions of offences and ensuring they are applied evenly across the Empire, as the consequences would obviously be disastrous if the Imperial Countries all defined such complex crimes as rape or sexual assault in different terms.

Because Imperial Laws are rarely passed pre-emptively and are instead reactions to issues of the time, most Imperial Laws are concerned with either upholding critical rights that were challenged by lower levels of legislation, or prohibiting certain punishments that were considered unacceptable.

## Punishment

Imperial Law mandates the death penalty for rape (defined as the forceful penetration of a vagina, anus or mouth without consent - which includes the victim being forced to penetrate as well as being penetrated themselves), sexual assault on minors (with the exact definition of "minor" varying between races) and sexual activity with animals. Imperial Law also explicitly permits, but does not obligate, the death penalty for general sexual assault, distribution of paedophilic or zoophilic pornography, murder, being an accomplice in a crime with the death penalty or seeking to frame an innocent person or group for a crime punishable by death.

Whilst these crimes are explicly permitted to have the death penalty, this does not mean other crimes cannot be punished by death. Imperial Law explicitly *prohibits* the death penalty for apostasy or blasphemy, but implicitly permits it for sacrilege. Under Imperial Law, the distinction between blasphemy and sacrilege is that blasphemy is merely offensive speech, whereas sacrilege is the desecration or vandalisation of places or things considered sacred by an established religion, such as temples or graves.

There is no proscribed method of execution outlined under Imperial Law, but there are several methods which are prohibited, and there are restrictions on others; for example, if someone is sentenced to burning, as is common under Nakkalite religious law, the criminal must first be killed before being burnt at the stake and cannot actually be executed by burning. The electric chair and lethal injections are both prohibited. The vast majority of executions in the Empire are carried out by firing squad, with decapitation following close behind in second. Imperial Law also allows for the "right to die in combat", whereby those sentenced to death are sent on intentionally suicidal missions by the Imperial Army or Imperial Inquisition, allowing the criminal to die on their own terms. Under some circumstances, a judge may deem that if the condemned survives their suicidal mission, they may be acquitted of their sentence.

## Rights

Other notable Imperial Laws surround the rights of citizens to have access to certain services or possessions. For example, private healthcare services are obligated by Imperial Law to charge for their services *after* giving treatment and not before, and negligent healthcare practices are a criminal offence under Imperial Law.

Imperial Law protects the "right to combat", which permits two individuals to fight one another if they both agree to a fair fight. What determines a fair fight is up to the discretion of a judge if it comes to the courts, but several guidelines are given by the Imperial codes; the fight must be between two individuals who are of sound mind (meaning they are not under the influence of intoxicants and have no known mental illnesses that would impact their rationality), the fight must not harm individuals or property beyond those who agreed to the fight, the fight must not continue if a participant yields, and both participants must be using the same weapons or choose from the same set of weapons. The right to combat allows for fights to the death, but it must be agreed upon beforehand that the fight will be to the death. Perhaps most importantly, the right to combat enables a closely related topic in Imperial Law, the "conclusion by combat", whereby fair combat upon mutually agreed terms is considered a valid method of resolving civil legal disputes, and the result of the fight will be legally binding. It is important to note that this is only permissible in civil disputes between two private citizens, and cannot be done in criminal trials.

Another notable example of rights protected by Imperial Law would be access to firearms; the right to bear arms as well as the right to openly carry firearms (provided the carrier has their licence in possession) are enshrined in Imperial Law, and whilst some restrictions on firearms are dictated in Imperial Law, there are also a list of restrictions on firearms which Imperial Countries are *prohibited* from enforcing - i.e. such things are explicitly permitted by Imperial Law. It should be noted that the list of explicitly permitted types of firearms or modifications to them is not a comprehensive list of everything that is legal, rather a list of things which cannot be legislated against. Most of the content on this list arose from Imperial Countries attempting to restrict firearms in a manner which the Imperial Government disagreed with, or from the Imperial Government observing restrictions they disliked in foreign countries and pre-emptively legislating to prevent these restrictions. Examples from this list include handguns, high-capacity magazines (defined as magazines holding between 10 and 40 rounds), pistol grips, burst fire (but not fully automatic) mechanisms and bullets with a calibre up to 10 millimetres (roughly .40 inches). All of this is accompanied by another Imperial Law dictating that firearm safety must be taught in all schools from the age of 8 and reinforced once every two years. Firearm clubs are common in schools throughout the country.

All firearms must be registered, and most firearms require a licence to own, with an additional licence required to openly carry them. Whilst open carrying is permitted with a licence, concealed carrying is always prohibited. Handheld muzzle-loaders, as long as they do not have bayonets, do not require a licence to own and may be openly carried with a basic firearm licence rather than a full open carry licence. The addition of the word "handheld" was made in 1992 after a citizen successfully argued in court that he did not require a licence to own his muzzle-loading 6-pounder cannon.

## Citizenship

Citizens of the Nesarian Empire enjoy a numer of rights and privileges that non-citizen visitors or residents do not. First and foremost, only citizens have the right of political participation; non-citizens cannot vote in any kind of election. Non-citizens also cannot acquire firearm licences, are not entitled to any form of state welfare, and only the first $20,000's worth of their medical costs are covered if they use state healthcare services, whereas citizens receive entirely taxpayer-funded healthcare. Non-citizens are also obviously barred from all government positions of high office, and are barred from certain key positions in state-owned or state-run companies.

Whilst some legal quirks surrounding the isle of Feronar means that its inhabitants are technically not, legally speaking, Imperial citizens, they are treated exactly the same as Imperial citizens and are *de facto* no different.

Citizenship can be acquired through four different means, which are somewhat poetically titled Integration, Duty, Service and Glory. These are:

* **Integration** - A non-citizen can acquire citizenship if they have lived within the Empire for 15 years and can pass a rigorous citizenship test which evaluates the applicant's knowledge not only of Imperial culture but also the national culture of the part of the Empire they live in. To pass the test, they must also have a working knowledge both of Nesarian and the local language of where they live. The wait period is reduced to 8 years if the non-citizen is married to a citizen. Non-citizens born in the Empire can also achieve citizenship through Integration by taking the citizenship test once they reach the age of 17.
* **Duty** - A non-citizen can acquire citizenship both for themselves and any immediate family who are Imperial residents by serving in any capacity in the Imperial Armed Forces for 3 years in combat roles or 4 years in non-combat roles. If a non-citizen dies as a result of their military service, their immediate family (if they live within the Empire) is automatically granted citizenship.
* **Service** - A non-citizen can acquire citizenship through civil service. Exactly how long this takes varies depending upon the manner of service; relatively unskilled labour such as construction or military production can take as long as 5 years, whereas train drivers serve for 4 years, and doctors only need to serve for 2. Again, like with Duty, the Service method of gaining citizenship also grants citizenship to any immediate family members who are Imperial residents. Most non-citizens who gain citizenship this way stay in their profession, as it tends to be very stable and secure work.
* **Glory** - A non-citizen can acquire citizenship by being gifted it by the Emperor, who has the right to grant citizenship to anyone he wishes. Since this is almost exclusively done in recognition of mighty deeds, this method is titled Glory.