The Kingdom of Talossa is much like other states in that it more or less consists of an Executive made up of the King and his Cabinet, a Legislature with two houses, and a Judiciary. Even casual observers of our nation would see the activity of both the Executive and the Legislative branches of government. What is missing in large part is an active Judiciary (both courts and the Ministry).
The Cort Pü Inalt is benched by three justices – Chief Justice Sir Tamorán dal Navâ and two Puisne Justices Ián Tamorán and Dame Litz Cjantscheir. The Cort dels Ediliceux or Magistrates Court is benched by two judges – Chief Magistrate Owen Edwards and Magistrate Béneditsch Ardpresteir. A vacancy currently exist on this court. There is some debate as to whether the Magistrates Court can operate with a vacancy, since the language of Organic Law seems to conflict with the provisions of statutory law (specifically Org.XVI.2 and Lex.G.10.1).
No such vacancy, however, exists on the Cort Pü Inalt. Currently there are multiple pending cases before that body (colloquially known as the Uppermost Court or UC) with no movement on any UC case since at least January of 2014/XXXV (Government v. Chancery).
Government v. Chancery is a case regarding a now former Secretary of State failing to invalidate Cosa votes for Members of the Cosa (MCs) who did not vote on the Vote of Confidence – a statutory requirement for all MCs. In fact, Government v. Chancery has laid dormant for well over four calendar years. At the time of the initial pending ruling, Sir C. M. Siervicül was the Chief Justice. Sir Siervicül indicated a ruling was imminent, on December 17, 2008/XXIX. Longtime Talossan Owen Edwards, a party to the initial case, stated nearly four years after the case opened that, “this stands as living demonstration of a need to either reform the Cort pu Inalt's system, or its membership."
Several other cases languish, including a Petition for Emergency Injunction filed by former Attorney General and Admiral T. Asmourescu, which has been awaiting a 48 hour ruling by Justice Tamorán since January of 2014/XXXV. The former Admiral petitioned that his renunciation was not properly acknowledged by the Secretary of State, and that the Writ of Termination was invalid. The case has garnered a great deal of attention due to the high-profile Talossans involved and the controversial initial ruling by Justice Tamorán – which has not been followed up on by the Puisne Justice, despite his statement in his initial ruling that "further supplementary judgements will follow within the next forty-eight hours, with deeper consideration of the reasoning of my statements already made."
The Magistrates Court is in a state of similar inactivity, where case 14-02 has been awaiting judgment since February of 2014/XXXV and several other cases are in a similar state of inattention. Case 14-02 is a defamation case brought by former Attorney-General Béneditsch Ardpresteir against the now current Attorney-General Magniloqueu Épiqeu da Lhiun. This case has also gained national attention. Case 14-03 involves former citizen Viteu Marcianüs in which he alleges improprieties of intellectual property on the national "wiki" website, run by the editor of this publication, Alexandreu Davinescu. Case 14-03 has not been assigned a judge, in part due to allegations of partiality against the Magistrate who volunteered to hear the case, although the case was filed on February 2, 2014/XXXV and Chief Magistrate Owen Edwards has not acted upon the matter. Magistrate Ardpresteir stated that the court was stalled due to a vacancy. Attorney-General da Lhiun reacted to this vacancy, stating, "I feel like neither the opposition, nor the coalition parties are interested in remedying this situation, and I have talked to the Seneschal, who is in a similar dilemma as I am, not knowing whom to nominate."
Exacerbating the inactive courts is an equally inactive Justice Ministry, where in the space of two Clarks, three Attorneys-General have come and gone (Óin Ursum, T. Asmourescu, and Magniloqueu Épiqeu da Lhiun – one of the newest members of the Royal Talossan Bar). No cases have been filed or legal briefs submitted by the Justice Ministry since the beginning of the 46th Cosa although there have been several opportunities for such action on the part of the Justice Ministry including the ESB Affair and cases involving the Chancery. Attorney-General da Lhiun has, in his capacity as an MC, introduced several reforms into the Ziu's hopper, including one that deals with judicial absences. Da Lhiun stated that, "I have drafted, with the help of S:reu Davinescu, a bill that will allow the Ministry of Justice to investigate in matters of negligence and wrongdoing of court officials ... that would mean a much-needed check-and-balance for the courts without endangering judiciary independence.” As of this publication, da Lhiun's bills had not yet been clarked.
The UC was only fully reconstituted in the 1st Clark of the 46th Cosa, when Puisne Justice Cjantscheir was elected and sworn in. A similar state seems to exist in the Magistrates Court where only two judges are seated and those two have not demonstrated any level of judicial activity for some months. When asked her thoughts on the status of the Judiciary, Puisne Justice Cjantscheir stated "Whilst it is regrettable that the Court system in Talossa has, for various reasons, been slow and unresponsive in the past, I wish to reassure my fellow Talossans that I am actively working to ensure that the sluggish system we once knew will be no more. Since my appointment to the benches of the Uppermost Court, I have been working in with my fellow Justice to try and clear the backlog of cases before the Uppermost Court, the results of such discussions will be announced shortly."
The visible lack of judicial notice of active cases is cause for serious concern. What happens next can easily be rectified by the members of the Courts by returning to their constitutional and statutory duties; otherwise the Ziu may need to take the matter up and act. In the words of Puisne Justice Cjantsheir, "I call upon the Ziu to fill vacancies on the Bench as soon as they arise with competent active citizens who have a firm grounding in Talossan Law. Needless delays in the appointment of Judges does have a knock-on effect on the Court and it is imperative that the Ziu deal with appointments to the Bench without any undue delay."
The Cort Pü Inalt is benched by three justices – Chief Justice Sir Tamorán dal Navâ and two Puisne Justices Ián Tamorán and Dame Litz Cjantscheir. The Cort dels Ediliceux or Magistrates Court is benched by two judges – Chief Magistrate Owen Edwards and Magistrate Béneditsch Ardpresteir. A vacancy currently exist on this court. There is some debate as to whether the Magistrates Court can operate with a vacancy, since the language of Organic Law seems to conflict with the provisions of statutory law (specifically Org.XVI.2 and Lex.G.10.1).
No such vacancy, however, exists on the Cort Pü Inalt. Currently there are multiple pending cases before that body (colloquially known as the Uppermost Court or UC) with no movement on any UC case since at least January of 2014/XXXV (Government v. Chancery).
Government v. Chancery is a case regarding a now former Secretary of State failing to invalidate Cosa votes for Members of the Cosa (MCs) who did not vote on the Vote of Confidence – a statutory requirement for all MCs. In fact, Government v. Chancery has laid dormant for well over four calendar years. At the time of the initial pending ruling, Sir C. M. Siervicül was the Chief Justice. Sir Siervicül indicated a ruling was imminent, on December 17, 2008/XXIX. Longtime Talossan Owen Edwards, a party to the initial case, stated nearly four years after the case opened that, “this stands as living demonstration of a need to either reform the Cort pu Inalt's system, or its membership."
Several other cases languish, including a Petition for Emergency Injunction filed by former Attorney General and Admiral T. Asmourescu, which has been awaiting a 48 hour ruling by Justice Tamorán since January of 2014/XXXV. The former Admiral petitioned that his renunciation was not properly acknowledged by the Secretary of State, and that the Writ of Termination was invalid. The case has garnered a great deal of attention due to the high-profile Talossans involved and the controversial initial ruling by Justice Tamorán – which has not been followed up on by the Puisne Justice, despite his statement in his initial ruling that "further supplementary judgements will follow within the next forty-eight hours, with deeper consideration of the reasoning of my statements already made."
The Magistrates Court is in a state of similar inactivity, where case 14-02 has been awaiting judgment since February of 2014/XXXV and several other cases are in a similar state of inattention. Case 14-02 is a defamation case brought by former Attorney-General Béneditsch Ardpresteir against the now current Attorney-General Magniloqueu Épiqeu da Lhiun. This case has also gained national attention. Case 14-03 involves former citizen Viteu Marcianüs in which he alleges improprieties of intellectual property on the national "wiki" website, run by the editor of this publication, Alexandreu Davinescu. Case 14-03 has not been assigned a judge, in part due to allegations of partiality against the Magistrate who volunteered to hear the case, although the case was filed on February 2, 2014/XXXV and Chief Magistrate Owen Edwards has not acted upon the matter. Magistrate Ardpresteir stated that the court was stalled due to a vacancy. Attorney-General da Lhiun reacted to this vacancy, stating, "I feel like neither the opposition, nor the coalition parties are interested in remedying this situation, and I have talked to the Seneschal, who is in a similar dilemma as I am, not knowing whom to nominate."
Exacerbating the inactive courts is an equally inactive Justice Ministry, where in the space of two Clarks, three Attorneys-General have come and gone (Óin Ursum, T. Asmourescu, and Magniloqueu Épiqeu da Lhiun – one of the newest members of the Royal Talossan Bar). No cases have been filed or legal briefs submitted by the Justice Ministry since the beginning of the 46th Cosa although there have been several opportunities for such action on the part of the Justice Ministry including the ESB Affair and cases involving the Chancery. Attorney-General da Lhiun has, in his capacity as an MC, introduced several reforms into the Ziu's hopper, including one that deals with judicial absences. Da Lhiun stated that, "I have drafted, with the help of S:reu Davinescu, a bill that will allow the Ministry of Justice to investigate in matters of negligence and wrongdoing of court officials ... that would mean a much-needed check-and-balance for the courts without endangering judiciary independence.” As of this publication, da Lhiun's bills had not yet been clarked.
The UC was only fully reconstituted in the 1st Clark of the 46th Cosa, when Puisne Justice Cjantscheir was elected and sworn in. A similar state seems to exist in the Magistrates Court where only two judges are seated and those two have not demonstrated any level of judicial activity for some months. When asked her thoughts on the status of the Judiciary, Puisne Justice Cjantscheir stated "Whilst it is regrettable that the Court system in Talossa has, for various reasons, been slow and unresponsive in the past, I wish to reassure my fellow Talossans that I am actively working to ensure that the sluggish system we once knew will be no more. Since my appointment to the benches of the Uppermost Court, I have been working in with my fellow Justice to try and clear the backlog of cases before the Uppermost Court, the results of such discussions will be announced shortly."
The visible lack of judicial notice of active cases is cause for serious concern. What happens next can easily be rectified by the members of the Courts by returning to their constitutional and statutory duties; otherwise the Ziu may need to take the matter up and act. In the words of Puisne Justice Cjantsheir, "I call upon the Ziu to fill vacancies on the Bench as soon as they arise with competent active citizens who have a firm grounding in Talossan Law. Needless delays in the appointment of Judges does have a knock-on effect on the Court and it is imperative that the Ziu deal with appointments to the Bench without any undue delay."
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