Supreme Court of Lehmark

The Supreme Court of Lehmark
Established	19 April 2019
Headquarters	Lehmark Capital State
Chief Justice of the Supreme Court	Mch. Hon. Christina Nowell

The Supreme Court of the Empire of Lehmark is one of the most important institutions of the Empire, it is responsible for dispensing Criminal and Civil Law as well as acting a Constitutional Decree Review Board. The Supreme Court is outlined in Article VI: Judicial Power of the Constitution and this article goes into more depth regarding its functionality and importance to the Empire.

The Supreme Court of the Empire shall first and foremost protect the Rights and Freedoms of the Citizens of the Empire.

Supreme Court Functionality

The Supreme Court consists of the Judicial Board Membership which is made up of the Courts Justices' and Magistrates' and includes the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court who is the Head of the Supreme Court.

The Chief Justice and Two Justices of the Supreme Court are appointed by the Emperor based on recommendations from the Department of Justice for life. However, the Emperor can ignore the recommendations and appoint his own choice and may also appoint replacements for the Chief Justice and other Justices' before their tenure is up if deemed necessary by the Emperor.

The Supreme Court also consists of Eight Magistrates, Four in charge of dispensing Criminal Law and Four in charge of dispensing Civil Law. All Eight are appointed by the Chief Justice based on recommendations from the Department of Justice for a period of five years, however, the Emperor can overturn these appointments and make his own selection.

The Justices of the Supreme Court shall act as Justices of Appeal in Civil and Criminal cases. Appeals must be based on, the point of law, material procedural irregularity or severity of a sentence. Should this Appeal fail, another appeal can be made to the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, and finally, should this fail then a final appeal can be made to the Emperor personally.

The Justices of the Supreme Court will act as a Constitutional Decree Review Board when presented with Constitutional Imperial Decrees and it is worth noting that the Supreme Court is excluded from reviewing Land, Title, Finance and Ordinary Decrees.

If the Supreme Court finds a Decree to be unconstitutional, or harmful to the State or a Citizen of the Empire, then the Chief Justice will initiate a Veto Voting Session during which the Decree shall be voted on by the Chief Justice and Justices’ of the Supreme Court, which if unanimous then the Decree will be considered vetoed at which time the Decree will be returned to the Head of State for alteration and re-submission. This said veto can be overridden by the Emperor if deemed necessary for the continuance of a functioning government at which time the Decree in question will become law, and if a unanimous vote cannot be reached after three (3) attempts, then the Decree will be considered accepted by the Supreme Court.

Emperor and Autocrat's Judicial Powers

• Appoint person/s to the positions of Chief Justice and Justice of the Supreme Court; and is able to ignore the recommendations of the Department of Justice; is able to overturn any appointment to the positions of Criminal and Civil Magistrates.
• Amend all Decisions and Sentences made by The Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, Justices of the Supreme Court, Civil and Criminal Magistrate’s of the Supreme Court.
• Emperor and Autocrat is allowed to act as an Honorary Justice on any Civil, Criminal or Constitutional Case and therefore can make decisions and sentences, while the sitting Judicial Member is recused.
• Emperor and Autocrat is the final “Court” of Appeal for all Civil and Criminal cases as the Head of State is the source of all law.