List of Pemblish Legal Terms

This is a list of Pemblish legal terms, historic cases, legislation and other legal references which are key to understanding the nature of the 'unwritten' Pemblish Constitution.

## Legislation

### Abolition of Burgher Privilege Order

An Order-in-Council which repealed the traditional laws of Burgher Privilege, made during the reign of king Fabius V. Formally known as the *Abolition of Burgher Privilege Order, 10 Stone's Memory,* it is more commonly known simply as the 'Abolition Decree'. By the international dating, it was enacted in **521 BGE**.

Burgher Privilege Rights, commonly known as 'Burgher Law', permitted only those who were granted the title of Burgher, known as having the 'Freedom of the City', to trade or work within the city's walls.

The law, which had dated to the time of the Lesser Kingdom when Pemblish cities were self-regulating and mostly independent, had been intended to keep out potential criminals or other threats. However, by the time of its repeal, it had become an extreme hindrance to the nation's economy (and, it is suspected, a nuisance to the king, who had to deal with a perpetual shanty town outside the gates of Pembleton Castle).

The repeal of Burgher Law led to the downfall of the Guild of Merchant Venturers, due to an internal schism between traditionalists who opposed the law's repeal, and those who saw opportunities in its abolition.

However the law's repeal was applauded by the general public, removing a long-irksome remnant of Pem's feudal past which had essentially deprived the nation's subjects of opportunities.

The Abolition Decree is also credited with being responsible for the rapid growth of many cities such as Pembleton beyond their old city walls, and their eventual outright demolition. The distinction between those burghers who lived inside, in the increasingly tight and disease-ridden streets of old Pembleton, and those who lived outside who were deprived of citizenship within the city, but who often lived more healthy lives outside the city's walls.

### Order of Union

The Order of Union, formally known as the Order on *Laws in Prydow, 17 River's Drought,* was an Order-in-Council which formally incorporated Prydow into the Kingdom of Pem, and subsequently the Commonwealth. It was enacted by Hargrum III "the Heartstruck" in the last year of his reign in 599 BGE.

### Provision of Naval Education Act

*The Provision of Naval Education Act,* *295 Heart's Sky* is an Act of Undercourt which sought to reform the Commonwealth Navy into a modern, meritocratic institution. The Act covered the implementation of examinations for new naval officers, as well as the establishment of the Port Auburn Naval Academy in 121 BGE.

## Legal Disputes

### 'Smokepipe' Affair *(U.C. vs Guild of Miners 81 H.S.)*

The Smokepipe Affair) was a dispute which reached the Upper House of the Undercourt, the highest legal court in the land, in the year 81 of Heart's Sky.

The Affair was a dispute in which the Guild of Miners, which had formerly held a monopoly on all steam-powered technology, challenged the existence of the private, non-guild affiliated Eastern Blue Railway as being in violation of Guild Rights which dated from *time immemorial.*

The Guild asserted that since steam power had long been implemented for the draining of mines and quarries, and later their pioneering use of it to operate a railway between Pembleton and Walden for the purpose of transporting stone from their quarries there. Thus, the Guild asserted that steam power, and particularly the use of it for transportation, was unquestionably part of their sole *regulatory purview.*

The Affair grew to become a constitutional crisis...

## Forms of Legislature

### Act of Undercourt

A piece of legislature made by the Undercourt. In the Commonwealth era, this is the primary form of legislature in Pem.

### Charter of Guilding

A charter of guilding or guild charter, is a status conferred by the Guild and Charter Office (an office of the Undercourt) with the assent of the Lord Protector, which grants a 'company of trade' the legal status of 'Guild'. The right of the Undercourt to grant guild status dates to the ancient Mayoral Guild Council which governed Pembleton during the Lesser Kingdom (not to be confused with modern 'Mayoral Councils' which administer affairs in present-day Freeholds in Pem).

Assent is not taken lightly. It can take many years between a company's application and the final granting of guild privileges, and can be influenced by concerns about company mastership, potential infringements of regulatory purview which other guilds may have, and occasionally just plain snobbery and politicking. The seriousness of the decision to grant a Guild Charter is significant however, since guild privileges grant the right to elect a Member of Undercourt to sit in the Lower House, as well as granting the guildmaster the right to sit in the Upper House. Thus, granting guild status can be a considerable influence on political affairs.

### Order-in-Council

A piece of legislature which was made during the time of the monarchy, made directly under the command of the monarch, with advice from their (also now defunct) Privy Council. Though naturally in the Commonwealth era no new orders-in-council have been made, several still remain as part of the Pemblish constitution, due to the legal system's relatively smooth transition into the republic.

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