Laws of Ásaterra

One of the key cornerstones around which Queen Ása established Ásaterra was the rule of law. Before her rule most of the powerful people in the realm were able to perform any despicable act without being held to account. As such when Ásaterra was founded, Queen Ása decreed that none should be above the law, not even herself. While this principle was somewhat undermined by the later monarchs, it was re-established under the council and holds true to this day. Therefore, within Ásaterra, all can be found accountable for their actions under the law (although the manner in which law is enforced does make it difficult for councilors to be held accountable).

## National Laws

The national laws of Ásaterra are those that cover the whole of the land and apply to all the people within the borders. As such, they are considered one of the cornerstones of Ásaterran society and are enforced by all important figures. None are above the national laws.

As these laws are so important to the land as a whole, a new law must undergo a number of stages before it is considered a national law. The three stages are as below;

* Approval by the council.
* Approval by the assembly.
* Approval by the Goddess Annatarra in a ritual circle.

By undergoing these three stages, the law has gained the approval of both those who rule over the land, and divine approval by Annatarra, giving the law the backing it needs to be enforced throughout the land.

### **The Current National Laws of Ásaterra**

The national laws of Ásaterra are split into two categories; The Core Laws and the supplementary national laws. The Core Laws were those laid down by Queen Ása upon the foundation of Ásaterra, whilst the supplementary laws are ones that have been established since that time. Because of the high value that is placed on the core laws, they are unique in that they may be enforced without a trial by any Lawkeeper. However when dealing with influential members of Ásaterra, the suspect normally undergoes a trial, as the aftermath of a core-law execution has on several occasions led to full-scale war.

### **The Core Laws**

##### **High Treason**

*“The First law of Ásaterra is that of High Treason. The act of taking up arms or magics against the Council and its’ representatives is a crime that, by the divine will of Annatarra, is punishable by death.*

*Furthermore, by the divine will of Annatarra, this law is one of the core laws of Ásaterra and therefore can be enforced by any Lawkeeper without trial.”*

##### **Murder**

*“The Second law of Ásaterra concerns that of Murder. The act of taking the life of another citizen of Ásaterra who is unable to defend themselves with weapon or magics is, by the divine will of Annatarra, a crime punishable by death.*

*Furthermore, by the divine will of Annatarra, this law is one of the core laws of* Ásaterra *and therefore can be enforced by any Lawkeeper without trial.”*

### **The Supplementary Laws**

##### **Theft**

*“By the divine will of Annatarra, the act of taking a possession that belongs to a citizen of Ásaterra without the consent of the owner or the owner’s liege is a crime. The punishment for this crime shall be the returning of said stolen possession plus the equivalent value in coin shall be paid to the person from which the object was taken.*

*If the possession cannot be returned to the original owner, then double the equivalent value of the stolen item shall be paid to the original owner in coin.*

*If the convicted is unable to make the payment required to the original owner, then by the divine will of Annatarra the state will pay the value of the possession to the original owner and the guilty party will repay that debt to the state through labour.”*

##### **Assault**

*“By the divine will of Annatarra, the act of attacking a citizen of* Ásaterra *without a prior declaration of war from a Liege, is the crime of assault. The punishment for this crime shall be determined by the judge depending on its’ severity.”*

##### **Treason (AKA Low Treason)**

*“By the divine will of Annatarra, the act of betraying the state is considered the crime of treason. The punishment for this crime shall be determined by the judge depending on the usefulness of the guilty to the state.”*

##### **Slavery**

*“By the divine will of Annatarra, the act of keeping an individual under your employ without their consent (unless done so under the penal system) is the crime of slavery. The punishment for this crime shall be the release of those in slavery from the guilty parties employ, followed by the punishment deemed suitable by the judge.”*

##### **Necromantia**

*“By the divine will of Annatarra the act of raising the dead after 24 hours of the individual's demise is a crime. By the divine will of Annatarra, this crime is punishable by the removal of the guilty parties tongue.”*

##### **Impairing investigation**

*“By the divine will of Annatarra, the act of impairing an investigation into an individual by lying to those given authority to conduct the investigation, knowingly withholding evidence, or withholding an individual under investigation from the conductors is a crime. This crime is punishable by imprisonment of the said individual for a length of time deemed suitable by the judge.”*

##### **Possession of illegal goods**

*“By the divine will of Annatarra, the possession of goods listed under the "illegal goods" tome, is a crime. This crime is punishable by the removal of said goods followed by a fine deemed suitable by the judge.”*

##### **Desertion**

*“By the divine will of Annatarra the act of abandoning your Liege in a time of war when your Liege has called you to arms, or the act of renouncing or breaking your oath of allegiance to your Liege is considered the crime of desertion. The punishment for this crime will be one deemed suitable by the Liege upon which this crime was committed.”*

## Regional Laws

Throughout Ásaterra there are many laws which are limited to regions. These are the laws which are Decreed by the Liege of the region and are thus a law which applies to only the region in which it is passed. Because there is no official way to pass these laws other than the local Liege’s approval, these laws vary wildly from laws on taxes, laws which abide by the local customs and the occasional law made by an eccentric liege which is widely ignored by the residents of the region.

#### **Examples of Regional Laws**

*“By decree of Councilor Constantine II of Hynafoltre, all residents of Hynafoltre shall pay 10% of their income from trade and wages to the upkeep of both the state and the city.”*

*“By decree of Councilor Constantine II, all production of purple dye within the lands of Northern Ásaterra shall be exempt from tax. Furthermore within the north the wearing of the colour purple shall be limited to those members of the Legion of Maor Dlí, the Cataphract order and forces of the Byzantine family.”*

*“By decree of Elector Elizabeth, all lieges within the Electorate of Albion shall upon the harvest festival, take five of the most needy individuals in the land and treat them to a place and food at their table as part of the harvest feast.”*

## Glossary of legal terms

**Liege:** this is a catch-all term for a variety of titles which grant authority over other specific individuals (usually based by land) including; Lord/Lady, Elector, Count, Thane. As the law of Ásaterra was founded in the north of the land, the system is based around the feudal system, where the authority to impose the law is based on the rank of the landed noble within the feudal system.

**Lawkeeper:** This is another catch-all term for those who have the legal authority to enforce the law. These are normally; Lieges, individuals given lawkeeping authority by their direct Liege, members of the Legion of Maor Dlí and paladanic orders given authority to do so, such as the Cataphracts.

## Law Enforcement in Ásaterra

Please see ***Law Enforcement in Ásaterra*** (Coming soon)