Petition to the Court of Star Chamber

[Verion]

To the Royal Instructing Justice of Elwynn, a petition.

Your Excellency,

I write to you concerning the rejection of the delegation to the Royal Parliament of 1636 for the County of Illumination and Cimmeria, which I believe to be contrary to Elwynnese law.

(1) His Riverine Majesty has rejected the delegation as chosen by the people of Illumination and Cimmeria in a 1635 election on the basis of it being contrary to the Writ of Mandate issued on Elroqpinu of 1635.

(2) This Writ has annulled the first election of the delegation for Illumination and Cimmeria for being contrary to the law of personhood.

(3) The Writ of Mandate has dictated the County of Illumination and Cimmeria to hold a recount of the votes cast.

(4) The Count of Illumination and Cimmeria subsequently issued a decree that voided the previous election result and called a new election.

(5) The results of the second election for the Royal Parliament of 1636 are not violating the law on personhood as the results of the first election have been deemed to do.

(6) Under the Decree for the First Session of the Royal Parliament, the government of the Princely Precincts have been given authority to hold and supervise the election of their delegation to the Royal Parliament of 1636. As is made clear in Article 2 of this Decree.

(7) The Count of Illumination and Cimmeria has acted within the powers given to him by Article 2 of the Decree for the First Session of the Royal Parliament in voiding the first election and calling another.

(8) The Writ of Mandate of Elroqpinu 1635 goes contrary to Article 2 of the Decree for the First Session of the Royal Parliament in so far as it stipulates the proceedings for the election.

(9) Although Article 8 provides the possibility for the King to issue further provisions, such as a Writ of Mandate, for all matters arising from the Decree for the First Session of the Royal Parliament, it cannot be the case that the King can issue writs that are contrary to the articles of this Decree.

(10) Therefore, the Writ of Mandate of Elroqpinu 1635 is not valid in so far as it is contrary to Article 2 of the Decree for the First Session of he Royal Parliament, and the election process as decreed by the Count of Illumination and Cimmeria, and the subsequent results of this election process should be accepted.

[Continuator]

The Court of Star Chamber
of the Court of the King's Bench

The Presiding Justices

• Instructing Justice & His Riverine Majesty’s Advocate: Aqa Thorgils Tarjeisson, Arandur of Alalehzamin & Utasia and Holder of Various Titles

Petition No. 1 of 1636

In Re the County of Illumination & Cimmeria v R

The Court of Star Chamber recognises the petition of the Count of Illumination and Cimmeria concerning the rejection of the delegation to the Royal Parliament of 1636 for the County of Illumination and Cimmeria. The petition concerns essentially the same issue as the Royal Mandate to review the conduct of the Count of Illumination and Cimmeria in regards to the elections for the Royal Parliament of 1636 in the County of Illumination and Cimmeria. The mandate provided to the Court of Star Chamber being:

The results from the County of Illumination and Cimmeria which were presented to the White Orchid Throne by its Royal Governor were not accepted by Us because they are contrary to and inconsistent with Our Royal Command to perform a recount of the votes cast in the elections for the Royal Parliament of 1636 in the County of Illumination and Cimmeria in which all of the aforesaid votes cast are counted as well as to distribute the twenty-four seats in the Assembly of the Twelve Peoples which have been allocated to the County of Illumination and Cimmeria by Our Royal Decree of 20 Elroqpinu 1634: First Session of the Royal Parliament in accordance with the result of such recount and We hereby order the Court of Star Chamber to look into the matter of the conduct of the Count of Illumination and Cimmeria and without fear or favour render a decision concerning that matter in accordance with its purview and powers granted by Elwynnese Law.

The Royal Mandate and the Petition taken together both raise questions concerning the delimitation of Royal Authority, particularly what may be termed the Crown Prerogative, and Provincial Autonomy, the scope afforded to interpret decrees and the precedence and applicability of His Majesty's Writ as an instrument of government. We do not have a developed system of administrative law in Elwynn and I feel that this case will have the effect of bringing the principles that will subsequently define Elwynnese Administrative Law into being.

For this reason the Petition is not rejected but rather will be held over as a submission to the Court of Star Chamber and will be addressed as part of the Court's response to the Royal Mandate.

Further deliberation will be required before it can be confirmed whether the Court of Star Chamber can hear the petition in its own right or whether it should be transferred to the Court of Castle Chamber as the court of session. As the petition is pertinent to the Royal Mandate the Court of Star Chamber will make representations to the Court of the King's Bench to be the court of session in this instance.

[Continuator]

Ermure 16 Kuspor, 1636

The Court of Star Chamber is now in session. The court shall be sitting as a Court of Justiciary. On the agenda is the Hearing concerning the Royal Mandate to investigate the Count of Illumination and Cimmeria and the counter-appeal by petition of the Count of Illumination and Cimmeria against the decision of the Crown in regards to the Elections held in Cimmeria for the Royal Parliament of 1636. The powers available to the Court in regards to this matter of administrative law derive from Article 7.a. of the Royal Decree of 35 Qinamu 1634, this being the right of censure against either or both parties, albeit in regard to the office of the Crown rather than the person of His Riverine Majesty, and to make certain non-binding recommendations to the Court of the King's Bench. Censure does not carry a formal penalty but is rather a restorative process concerned with the preservation of Societal Harmony, pluralism and liberty.

The Case shall be entered into the Record as In Re R v the County of Illumination & the County of Illumination & Cimmeria v R

Act of Adjournal

The procedure for this Hearing is as follows:

1. The Court of Star Chamber, being in receipt of instruction from the parties at variance, in disputation over the lawfulness of actions undertaken by either party, shall serve to both parties a Writ of Production requiring that they provide the following details:
   (a) the Petitioner's full name;
   (b) a brief précis of the facts of the matter including the names of relevant parties;
   (c) the laws which the Petitioner believes have been broken;
   (d) a copy of any evidence already secured that is relevant to the Hearing and to the law indicated in (e);
   (e) a list of all relevant links to the evidence (if any) provided in (d) in chronological order;
   (f) any other material that is necessary for the hearing of the application.
2. The Count of Illumination & Cimmeria may represent himself or appoint an advocate.
3. In consideration of the fact that the Royal Instructing Justice is the Advocate of His Riverine Majesty the King, the Writ of Production shall be served to the King's Court to be fulfilled by the Royal Instructing Justice. The Crown may seek to appoint an additional represenative to fulfil this task or to respond to the Writ in person.
4. The Parties shall have four ASC units of time from Ermure 22 Kuspor, 1636 (6116 ASC) in which to respond to this Court with the information sought under the Writ of Production.
   (a) In this time the Royal Instructing Justice may call upon either party to respond to points raised in their submissions or in response to any new evidence or information that has been brought to the attention of the Court by an Amicus Curiae.
5. The Royal Instructing Justice will put before the court his Preliminary Reasonings within two ASC units of time upon receipt of the responses to the Writ of Production.
6. Either Party may, within 2 ASC units of time from its publication, elect to respond to the Preliminary Reasonings of the Royal Instructing Justice. Amicus Curiae responses on points of law are also to be welcomed and encouraged provided that they are of a constructive nature.
7. Within 2 ASC units of time from the receipt of responses to the Preliminary Reasonings the Royal Instructing Justice must issue Findings and Censure.
8. The right of appeal to the Court of the King's Bench and the Imperial Judex shall not be denied.

[Verion]

(a) the Petitioner's full name: Alix Tiberius Jacobion-Verion
(b) a brief précis of the facts of the matter including the names of relevant parties: I wish to refer to the facts given in the petition before this court. Thereby adding that "The King" is Thorstein Noah Hallbjörns- og Esthersson of the Houses of Ayreon-Kalirion and of the Descendants of Freyja; and "The Count of Illumination and Cimmeria" is Alix Tiberius Jacobion-Verion.
(c) the laws which the Petitioner believes have been broken: Article 2 of the Decree for the First Session of the Royal Parliament.
(d) a copy of any evidence already secured that is relevant to the Hearing and to the law indicated in:

2. It shall be the duty of the Royal Governors of the Princely Precincts to hold timely elections for the seats of the Assembly of the Twelve Peoples which have been allocated to zir Princely Precincts and present the results of those elections to the King’s Court. The allocation of the aforesaid seats shall be laid down in the Schedule to this Royal Decree.

1. Upon the coming into effect of this Royal Decree, the Countship of Illumination and Cimmeria shall be vested in the Esteemed Gentleman who is known in the Flower of the North as Alix Tiberius Verion.

(e) a list of all relevant links to the evidence (if any) provided in (d) in chronological order:

Decree on the Countship of Illumination and Cimmeria

Decree for the First Session of the Royal Parliament




I will represent myself.

[Continuator]

This session is adjourned for day so that the Royal Justices may partake of tiffin in celebration of the opening of the Royal Parliament at the Palace of Fjǫrleif.

The session will resume tomorrow with the reading into the record of the Royal Instructing Justice's response to the Writ of Production on behalf of the Crown.

Unless the weather is nice again and the pubs are open

[Continuator]

After a delay we now have the response to the Writ of Production from the Crown.

(a) the Petitioner's full name; Thorstein Noah of the Houses of Ayreon-Kalirion and of the Descendants of Freyja, represented by the Royal Instructing Justice, Thorgils Tarjeisson.
(b) a brief précis of the facts of the matter including the names of relevant parties; That the Count of Illumination and Cimmeria, Alix Tiberius Jacobion-Verion, on 1635 requested clarification from the White Orchid Throne 'regarding the elections in Illumination and Cimmeria for the Royal Parliament of 1636'

After consideration, on 8th of Elroqpinu of 1635, the King's Court responded by issuing a Writ of Mandate concerning the Elections for the Royal Parliament of 1636 in the County of Illumination and Cimmeria. The relevant parts quoted herein:

It is Our sad duty to advise you that the delegation from the County of Illumination and Cimmeria as it presently stands, shall not be accepted by the White Orchid Throne because its composition is based on an election result which is contrary to Elwynnese Law due to voter suppression by discounting the vote cast of a sentient being who is a Resident of Elwynn and malapportionment of seats by giving bonus seats to the two largest parties and granting four seats to the Holy Party of the Divine Icebear.

To obtain a valid result, you are authorized and commanded to perform a recount of the votes cast in the elections for the Royal Parliament of 1636 in the County of Illumination and Cimmeria in which all of the aforesaid votes cast are counted as well as to distribute the twenty-four seats in the Assembly of the Twelve Peoples which have been allocated to the County of Illumination and Cimmeria by Our Royal Decree of 20 Elroqpinu 1634: First Session of the Royal Parliament in accordance with the result of such recount.

On the same day the Count replied:

It will no doubt please you to hear that I have issued a decree to ensure that nothing in our election process is contrary to Elwynnese law. We in Illumination and Cimmeria hold the law of the Union in high esteem, and would not wish to break it in any way.

This action, however, was to annul the disputed election and to hold a new ballot on a revised franchise. The results of which were subsequently presented to the King's Court in Eliria:

Presentation of the delegation of Illumination and Cimmeria to the Royal Parliament of 1636

Your Serene and Riverine Majesty,

I, Alix Tiberius of the house of Verion, by the grace of the Divine Icebear, Count of Cimmeria, Count of Illumination, Keeper of Fieldburg, Lord Regent of Alrodey, Most Reverend and Learned Doctor of Theology, Servant of the Lord and Protector of the Faith, hereby present the following delegation to the Royal Parliament of Elwynn to serve in the 1636 session on behalf of Illumination and Cimmeria:

Holy Party of the Divine Icebear: 24 seats

Presented in the year 1635 by your servant,

Alix

As noted in his petition to the Court, the Count contends that by this course of action he has fulfilled the obligations of Article 2 of the Decree for the First Session of the Royal Parliament, instructing the governors of the precincts to hold elections. If he had annulled the previous vote and called a new election under revised terms including the limiting of the franchise to residents of Illumination and Cimmeria straight away he may well have been in the right. However by referring the matter back to the King's Court the Count received and became bound by a new mandate from the King, to hold a recount.

By failing to follow, step by step, the explicit instructions of the Crown, the Count of Illumination and Cimmeria has acted contrary to law and should be made subject to censure for an act of disobedience and maladministration.

(c) the laws which the Petitioner believes have been broken;
Article 8 of the Royal Decree of 24 Rugaall 1624 (First-Tier Subdivision Reform)
Section 12 of Chapter IV of the Elwynnese Constitution (Principle of non-discrimination)
(d) a copy of any evidence already secured that is relevant to the Hearing and to the law indicated in;

Conduct of the Count in regards to the first vote that was subsequently annulled

The Election Council has decided not to count the votes of the blue Storish creature because she is not considered Human under divine law. Displaying the grace and virtue of our Lord, the Election Council has accepted the votes of the three other heathens.

Whilst I prepare the Preliminary Reasoning of the case thus far, this court will welcome a response from any and all parties in regards to the petitions received herein.

A writ will also be served to the Elections Officer, a certain Noor Bint Daniyal, so that the revised results of the election announced by His Majesty can be better understood by the Court.

[Verion]

To that I only wish to respond that my question regarding the validity of the votes for the Royal Parliament of 1636 for Illumination and Cimmeria was triggered by the accusation that he presiding officer over the election had acted contrary to law by not allowing the votes of a certain blue creature to be counted.

I have accepted the reasoning of His Majesty in so far as it condemns this decision by the presiding officer. However, I deem the part of the Writ of Madate that stipulates further procedures as being contrary to Article 2 of the Decree on Elections for the Royal Parliament. The King was not in the position to demand a recount because he was bound to his own Decree that sets out that it is up to the local government to preside over, and set out, the election for its delegation.

I also want to make clear that my question to the King can by no means be interpreted as giving the King authority to act contrary to this Article of his own Decree.

It shall go without saying that, by voiding the first election, and voiding te count of the presiding officer that was contrary to Elwynnese law, I have undone the potential breach of Section 12 of Chapter IV of the Elwynnese Constitution, which I myself hold very dear.

[Continuator]

We thank the Count of Illumination and Cimmeria for his response. The relationship under law between the Writ of Mandate issued by His Majesty and the Decree on Elections for the Royal Parliament is a key point that will be explored as part of the preliminary reasoning of this case.

The Writ of Summons for Her Majesty has now been issued.

[Noor bint Daniyal]

Aqa Instructing Justice

Chapter IV, Section 1 of the Constitution says:

The legislative, executive and judicial powers of the Union are entrusted to the King of Elwynn who exercises them with the advice of the Councillors of Eliria.

I am a Councillor of Eliria. Following the decision of His Majesty not to allow the results from the re-election in Cimmeria and Illumination, it was my responsible, as adviser to His Majesty, to propose how a recount of the original vote in the county ought to be conducted.

His Majesty’s Writ of Mandate of 8 Elroqpinu 1635 made no specific mention on how the seats of the original vote were to be assigned to various parties under the vote, but outlawed giving any ”bonus seats” to biggest parties or granting any parties any other unproportional representation.

My interpretation of that command was thus that the seats of the entirety of the county were to be distributed proportionally among the parties securing votes in the election.

The electoral vote from the county was as follows (acknowledging the vote of Lady Yumi):

• ICE 20
  AIP 15
  EWP 5
  N&H 20
  RU 30
  CAF 5
  ELF 5

I applied the following equation to assign number of seats per party in the county constituency: S = (P * D)/T

Where:
S is seats per party in the county
P is the number of votes for a party
D is the number of seats that the county has in Parliament, and
T is the total number of votes.

The result, per party, for that equation was thus:

• ICE 4.8
  AIP 3.6
  EWP 1.2
  N&H 4.8
  RU 7.2
  CAF 1.2
  ELF 1.2

I assigned the number of whole numbers per party an equal number of seats:

• ICE: 4
  AIP: 3
  EWP: 1
  N&H: 4
  RU: 7
  CAF: 1
  ELF: 1

The total of this is 21 seats.

The remaining number of seats (n = 3) was then assigned to the three parties with the highest decimal numbers following the original equation. N&H and ICE both had .8, and AIP had .6.

The total result per party was according to this recount:

• ICE 5
  AIP 4
  EWP 1
  N&H 5
  RU 7
  CAF 1
  ELF 1

The results were proportional to the recount in accordance with the Writ of Mandate.

I hope this satisfies the Court’s questions. If there are any further questions from the Court, I will happily answer them.

[Continuator]

Your Majesty,

I thank you for your time. You answer was as comprehensive as we could have hoped for. There are no further questions from the Court, unless the petitioner has any points he wishes to clarify?

[Verion]

Not really, I think it is self evident that the recount of the vote as clarified by the Queen of Goldshire is irrelevant, since that vote was voided by my decree.

I have nothing more to add.

[Continuator]

Preliminary Reasoning In Re R v the County of Illumination & Cimmeria & the County of Illumination v R

The Administrative Basis for Local Government

The Constitution of the Elwynnese Union states:

VI.1. The legislative, executive and judicial powers of the Union are entrusted to the King of Elwynn who exercises them with the advice of the Councillors of Eliria.

The King of Elwynn is therefore the font of all executive authority in the Elwynnese Union, moderated only by the Constitution itself and the advice of the Council of Eliria. Any powers that are devolved, whether to the precincts, to the Royal Parliament, or to a court of law such as this, derive necessarily from the Crown and are by inference subject to it.

The administration of local government is provided for under the Princely Decree of 24 Rugaall 1624 (First-Tier Subdivision Reform) as modified by the the Princely Decree of 36 Qinamu 1624 (The Princely Precincts of Elwynn), the Writ of Clerical Amendment of 12 Silnuai 1625 (Concerning Raikoth), the Royal Decree of 19 Araroqpinu 1631 (Four New Amokolian Bailiwicks),the Royal Decree of 9 Kuspor 1632 (On Jorvik & Llæng), the Royal Decree of 20 Filadinu 1632 (On the Vale of Angularis & Mishalan) and the Royal Decree of 21 Muulantooqu 1632 (On the Amokolian Southlands).

In this we find to be pertinent two articles, these being Article 6:

Each of the Princely Precincts created by this Princely Decree, except for those subdivisions which are vested in the White Orchid Throne, shall be headed by a Princely Governor appointed by the Prince of Elwynn (hereafter "the Prince"). The Serene Throne of Elwynn shall be free to make provision concerning the government of the Princely Subdivisions.

& Article 8:

Any Princely Governor of a Princely Precincts shall be free to set up an autonomous government for the subdivision he or she was placed in charge of by the Good Graces of the Prince provided always that such government shall be in line with the Constitution of the Elwynnese Union and the Laws made under the aforesaid constitutional document.

We also note Article 11

The White Orchid Throne shall be free to issue all the further rules and regulations it deems necessary or expedient to carry the provisions of this Princely Decree into effect or to clarify the same.

Which is a standard prudent clause affording the Crown scope to revisit and further address any points arising from this decree, as can be observed by the aforementioned amendments.

What can be observed here is the order of precedence by which authority flows down from the Constitution to the King in Council and from the King in Council down to the Royal Precincts which are his creation by decree.

The Royal Governors of Precincts are appointed to their posts similarly by decree of the King. For instance, the Royal Decree of 18 Nomeziooqu 1633 appointed his excellency Aqa Alix Tiberius Verion to the 'Countship' of Illumination and Cimmeria. Article 2 of that decree stipulates that 'the Royal Governorship... shall be governed by the provisions of the [Princely Decree of 24 Rugaall 1624] as well as any other subsequent legislation on the Princely Precincts... that the [Crown] has enacted or sees fit to enact./

This article is worthy of note because it upholds the principle of Royal oversight down to the First Tier Subdivisions. Indeed, while it is generous with the scope of the autonomy offered to subdivisions and subordinate entities, the Royal Authority of the Elwynnese Union can be said to be of a totalising nature. The Royal Decree of 24 Nomeziooqu 1629 (The Bailiwicks of the Elwynnese Union) for instance, in Article 13, makes provision that:

The White Orchid Throne shall be free to issue all the further rules, regulations, policies and instruments it deems necessary or expedient to carry the provisions of this Royal Decree into effect, or to clarify the same, or to deal with any and all matters that arise concerning this Royal Decree.

What seems apparent is that there is a precedence in what may be termed instruments of authority. Thus:

• Constitution
• Royal Decrees
• Writs
• Gubernatorial Decrees

We may also surmise that under the present condition of the constitution that any act of the Royal Parliament will be lower in precedence than a Royal Decree because the Senate and the Assembly derive their authority from a Royal Decree which is an exercise of the King's absolute prerogative in all areas of governance. As such the Royal Parliament must be considered a devolved authority rather than a sovereign one. We cite this as an illustrative example of the essentially powerlessness of Royal Governors to act independently of Royal Command. The Royal Parliament, at its most stark expression, operates solely and only at His Majesty's pleasure. The same must perforce hold true for Royal Governors who sit in that Parliament, and indeed for those who do not.

The question on which the final outcome of this paired case is:
Does a Writ supersede the latitude afforded by an original decree when it does not amend that decree

The Count of Illumination and Cimmeria, after being advised that he violated the non-discrimination clause, was within his right to void the election results under the terms of the original decree but in so doing he disobeyed a writ. This leaves him open to censure. However the King disregarded the latitude afforded to the Count to run the election as he saw fit. But the King has unlimited powers under the constitution.

We welcome the response of the parties to this assessment.

[Verion]

My only point is this: if the King has unlimited power, does he have the power to go contrary to his own decree? I say he doesn't because the decree was issued first, becoming firm and unshakable law unless the king would repeal it, which he hasn't done. Also, a decree holds more power than a writ according to this ruling. So I think that I am in the right.