Laws of the Order

Following the signing of the Namadii Act in 3633 BBY, Empress Miritis I and her Council established the laws which would define the lives of the empire's citizens. In addition to the Empress' Will, the *Imperial Decree of Order* was created for more specific laws. The Will and the *IDO* are to be enforced by the Ministry of Secrets.

## The Laws of the Order

1. **Maintain** the Empress' Order (High Crime - Treason)
	* *The Order of Kalaan is ruled by its sovereign Empress and Sith'ari, her word is law.*
	* *The Order of Miritis are the purest enforcers of the Will, they are the Guardians of the Empress, through the Wrath, the Hands, and the Voice.*
2. **Honour**the Empress' Philosophy (High Crime - Heresy)
	* *We are followers of the New Sith Code; followers of the Prophet. Our chains' lie in the hands of our Empress, she alone may free us, by her will or by our souls' expiry.*
3. **Follow** the Empress' Plan (Misdemeanor - Dereliction of Duty)
	* *The Mandate of Kalaan is to expand, perfect, and conquer.*
4. **Defend**the Empress' Realm (Misdemeanor - Cowardice)
	* *Kalaan is our home. We are to protect it and the Realm with our lives, in the name of the Empress.*
5. **Remember**the Imperial Covenant (No offense prescribed)
	* *The Empress is duty-bound to rule to the benefit of the Order, and her citizens. As the people serve the Empress, she serves the Order and rules with wisdom and justice.*
6. **Obey** the Empress' Law (Discretionary to the Empress and the Ministry of Secrets)
	* *All citizens are bound by the Laws as set by Her Imperial Majesty. Those who stand against this order shall be judged according to the will of the Empress.*

**Imperial Decree of Order (IDO) 1.1 - Trial by Tribunal, Combat, or Admission of Guilt**

* *Citizens of the Order who are charged with a crime have the right to be presented with their choice of the following trials: (i) Tribunal; (ii) Combat; (iii) Admission of Guilt.*
* *When a charge is presented to the Empress or the Prophet, either will hold a preliminary hearing for the defendant to choose his options for trial, which is to be approved by the presiding figure.*

**IDO 1.1 (i) - Trial by Tribunal**

* *Should a citizen choose to be tried by tribunal, the following shall occur:*
* *The Empress, the Prophet or a respected designee shall hold a hearing when it is beneficiary to the Ministry of Secrets and the Office of Imperial Affairs.*
* *For High Crimes: A Minimum of three Ministers (including the Prophet or the Empress) are to be present, as well as a Prosecutor and, if chosen by the Defendant, a representative on their behalf.*
* *For Lower Crimes and Misdemeanors: Either a Justice or the Prophet are to be present, as well as a Prosecutor, and, if chosen by the Defendant, a representative on their behalf.*
* ***The Trial by Tribunal will be conducted as follows:***
	+ *1. The Prosecution will present it's case and call it's witnesses. The defense may object to facts that are not in evidence, leading questions and/or things that seem inappropriate to procedure. All witnesses called by the Prosecution will be first questioned by the Prosecutor, then the defendant, and finally the judges. When the prosecution has no more witnesses they will give their final remarks and rest their case.*
	+ *2. The Defendant will present his or her rebuttal and call witnesses. The Prosecution may object to facts not in evidence, leading questions and/or things that seem inappropriate to procedure. All witnesses called by the Defense will be first questioned by the Prosecutor, then the Defendant, and finally the judges. When the defense has no more witnesses they will give their final remarks and close their case.*
	+ *3. When an objection is presented the chief judge will decide whether to sustain the objection or overrule and give his ruling on the matter. Should the associate judges disagree they should side bar with the chief judge who will consider their objection and either restate his ruling or reverse it.*
	+ *4. When the Prosecution and Defense rest their case the judges shall leave the chamber to deliberate in private. For High Crimes the judges must be unanimous to find the Defendant guilty. For misdemeanors two of the three judges is sufficient to find the defendant guilty. The penalties for High Crimes may be: death by the judges choosing, exile, or demotion and a fine equating to 10,000 Imperial Credits. For misdemeanors the penalties may be: demotion and/or fine of not more than 10,000 Imperial Credits and not less than 1,000 Imperial Credits.*
	+ *5. Should the ruling and sentencing be carried out by a designee of the Empress, the Defense may appeal the ruling to the head of the Ministry of Secrets. Subsequently the Defense may appeal a ruling of the head of the Ministry of Secrets to Her Imperial Majesty; this measure is only to be used in the most extreme of circumstances. The Empress' ruling, however, is always final regardless of whether or not her court is the first trial.*

**IDO 1.1 (ii) - Trial by Combat**

* *Should a citizen choose Trial by Combat, the presiding justice will assign a loyal subject worthy of the Court to face the accused. For High Crimes presided by the Empress, the Wrath will almost exclusively be the representative of the state for the duel. For Lower Crimes and Misdemeanors, a candidate will be chosen of relative strength to the accused.*
* *A Trial by Combat is to be treated as an admission of guilt, where the result of the trial will determine the punishment associated. Should the Defendant be victorious, for Lower Crimes and Misdemeanors, the individual may be pardoned or receive the lowest possible punishment for said crime. For High Crimes, should the Defendant be victorious, the lowest punishment shall be given, unless pardoned by Her Imperial Majesty personally.*
* *Trials by Combat may not be appealed.*

**IDO 1.1 (iii) - Admission of Guilt**

* *Should a citizen choose to admit their guilt and beg for mercy in the name of the Empress, the presiding justice may grant a lessor punishment for the affiliated crime.*
* *For High Crimes, the punishments in highest order are: Death; Exile; or Demotion and a fine in the sum of 10,000 Imperial Credits.*
* *For Lower Crimes and Misdemeanors, the punishments in highest order are: Demotion; Corporal punishment at the discretion of the Ministry of Secrets; A fine in the sum of 10,000 Imperial Credits; or a fine in the sum of 1,000 Imperial Credits.*
* *At the discretion of the presiding justice, an admission of guilt may be used to force a Trial by Combat as mentioned in **IDO 1.1 (ii).***

**IDO 1.1 (iv) - The Right of the Empress**

* *For any crime occurring within Her Realm, the Empress reserves the sovereign right to suspend, lessen the punishment of, or pardon the guilty party.*

**IDO 1.2 - Repeat Offenses in Her Imperial Majesty's Realm**

* *Should a citizen commit and be found guilty of three misdemeanors, upon the consideration of a subsequent misdemeanor a tribunal may consider treating the offense as a High Crime and impose the respected punishments as define by **IDO 1.1 (iii) para 2.***

**IDO 2.1 - Disruption of Imperial Trade Routes**

* *Any persons, businesses, or other such entities found engaging in activity that would be disruptive to internal and external trade routes within Her Imperial Majesty's Realm will be subject to misdemeanor penalties, referred to in **IDO 1.1 (iii)** and will be further monitored by the Ministry of Intelligence.*
* *Additionally, any persons, businesses or other such entities found colluding, trading, funding or other such activities with known criminal syndicates [e.g. 'Rago Runners'] are to be justly punished for the same crime denoted in **IDO 2.1 para 1,** further defined under **IDO 1.1 (iii)**.*

**IDO 3.1 - As relating to the 'Namadii Act' and the Fourth Commandment**

* *The Order of Kalaan claims sovereignty of the territory of the Seven Sectors defined in the Namadii Act by Her Imperial Majesty, Darth Miritis the First, Empress of the Order, Founder of Kalaan and Protector of the Seven Sectors.*
* *The Six Sectors may be defined as Dantus, Barsa, Londori, Belshar, Outer Jalor, Rago, Churnis, the Freestanding Subsectors [limited by the Murgo System]. The Administrative Territory of Kalaan [ATK or the 'Seventh Sector'] is claimed territory in Wild Space bound by the borders of Dantus in the East, Churnis and the FSB in the South, Nirauran System in the North and Esfandia in the West.*

*By the order of Her Imperial Majesty, Darth Miritis the First, Empress of the Order, Founder of Kalaan and Protector of the Seven Sectors this document is hereby bound to law.*

*May the Force ever serve the Empress.*