Court Ruling of Article 15 of October 2011

Full Case Name
 Type

 Majority Opinion

The Court Ruling of Article 15 of October 2011 was a Triumvirate Supreme Court Differed Inquiry case that explained the rights given by Article 15 of the Constitution which said:

**"All have the right to seek knowledge so long as it does not go against other articles or amendments of this constitution and Triumvirate legislation."**

## Decision

### Case Questions

**A) How is Article 15 defined and what is the extent of its power?**

**B) How does Article 15 apply to private information?**

### Decision

**On 10/26/11 (3:0):**

**A)** It states that every citizen of the Triumvirate has the right to the information available and the right to educate themselves. The idea of this goes back to the original idea of the Triumvirate: Intelligence. If the information is confidential, then they would not have the right to access or know that information. Otherwise, they are allowed, and may not be discouraged or prevented, from knowing anything that is essential for a knowledgeable populace.

**B)** If something is reasonably private to an individual or group within the Triumvirate, people in the Triumvirate do not have the right to know about it. If something is unreasonably private then the people have a right to know it.

### Court Opinion

**Written by Chief Justice Stavrok:**

Under the power of the courts to interpret and define the Constitution, this court was asked to describe the full extent of powers under the article that states "All have the right to seek knowledge so long as it does not go against other articles or amendments of this constitution and Triumvirate legislation."; Under unanimous agreement, the Justices have reached these conclusions:

This article was created for an intellectual government. Zerouh wanted the people to be educated, knowledgeable, and have access to as much information as they could. In the words of Zerouh himself "Intellectual people are the most important asset of a nation". Zerouh intended this article to be used for that, a Union based on an intellect, needed to have smart people.

Under the article all have the right to look for information, learn, and educate themselves so long as it doesn't go against the constitution or Triumvirate law. This means that people cannot be stopped from looking for information and educating themselves. If there is ever any information someone wants, they can ask anyone who would know it and they have to tell them unless telling them would be against laws or the constitution. Example, if I really wanted to know when Stavrok joined the Triumvriate, I could ask and I have the right to know. But, if I really wanted to know the names of all TDI people, I don't have the right to know that since that goes against the constitution and laws existing. If information may not be confidential yet, but it is clearly damaging to release, this article protects that information as well.

The way this applies to private information is less apparent and is another thing this court decided to answer. We decided to stick with the unreasonable doctrine on this one. If something is reasonably private, such as things in the real world, private discussions (so long as they, or the things said in them, do not violate other policies), and things like that are private, and people do not have the right to know that. Keep in mind, this article does say "so long as it does not go against other articles or amendments of this constitution and Triumvirate legislation." which does let other amendments and laws to severely alter the powers of this article.