Tribune of Truth
| Tribune of Truth | |
|---|---|
| Tribuna da Verdade | |
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| Established | 1 December 2014 |
| Jurisdiction |  Ebenthal |
| Location | Minen, Ebenthal. |
| Composition | Appointed by the Monarch |
| Authorized by | Constitution of Ebenthal |
| Term length | Life-long |
| Seats | 5 |
| Lord Adjudicator | |
| Incumbent | The Count of Gesetzhausen |
| Since | 1 December 2014 |
The Tribune of Truth (Portuguese: Tribuna da Verdade) is the constitutional, supreme and only court of the Kingdom of Ebenthal for all civil and criminal cases. Its rullings cannot be appealed and it cannot overturn any legislation made by the Konkrëse unless that legislation is found to be ultra vires. In criminal and administrative law, Ebenthal uses an inquisitorial system where the judges are actively involved in investigating the facts of the case, as compared to an adversarial system where the role of the judge is primarily that of an impartial referee between the prosecutor or plaintiff and the defendant. The Tribune of Truth is composed of 5 members directly appointed by the Sovereign commonly called Adjudicators, one of whom is named by the others as Lord Adjudicator and leader of the court.
The main task of the Tribune of Truth is judicial review, and it may declare legislation unconstitutional, thus rendering them ineffective. In this respect, it is similar to other supreme courts with judicial review powers, but it is much more limited in its powers of judicial review than the constitutional or supreme courts of some other countries due to its inability to overturn primary legislation. Historically, the Tribune of Truth is the most traditional of Ebenthal's political institutions, having undergone only one renovation in the year 2022 and being headed since its establishment by Lord Pedro Reis, 1st Count of Gesetzhausen
History
Creation
With the establishment of Ebenthal after the independence of the territories that formed the kingdom on 11 August 2014, the country did not immediately have a court of justice or well-established laws and definitions, following a particular interpretation of the laws of Roschfallen, country of which Ebenthal became independent, and depending almost entirely on the King's judgment as the source of justice. On October 8 of that same year, the King Arthur I promulgated a decree by which he created the Supreme Court of Ebenthal, whose members, initially only three, should be appointed by the monarch from among the members of the Ebenthali nobility, in line with the tradition of governmental aristocratic exclusivity that governed national politics until 2021. According to the decree, members of the Tribune should at least have the title of counts within the hierarchy of the national nobility. After just over a month of work, the Conclave, the former unicameral parliament of Ebenthal, criticized the structure of the Tribune of Truth, accusing it of prioritizing titles of nobility over knowledge of legal processes in the appointment of its members, to which the King agreed, dissolving the Supreme Court and recreated it, on 1 December 2014, as the Tribune of Truth composed of five members of the aristocracy, with no minimum title requirement. The name of the institution derives from King Arthur I's phrase in which he said that the Tribune should "invoke truth in law and as law".
Reformations
After the accession of King Arthur II to the throne of Ebenthal, in 2021 the exclusivity of aristocrats in the political scene was abolished, and the Tribune of Truth began to accept commoners in its rankings, although there were little change in its membership. Finally, in late 2022, new legislation was passed changing the roles of Seneschal and Truchsses respectively to Lord Adjudicator, Adjudicator and Magistrates.
Organization
The court is composed of five magistrates called Adjudicators who are freely appointed by the Sovereign to serve life tenures. The Ajudicators then select who will serve as Lord Adjudicator, leader of the court responsible for presiding over the sessions, dividing the work, representing the institution before the heads of the other powers (executive and legislative) and for having the last word in matters of tie. Members of the Tribune may be removed from their offices by the Sovereign or by joint motion of the two parliamentary chambers (House of Councillors and House of Aristocrats). Due to the non-existence of a Ministry of Justice in Ebenthal, the Lord Adjudicator fulfills a dual role in his function, serving de facto on par with a minister of justice, and therefore he is a regular member of the ministerial cabinets irrespective of parties. Furthermore, members of the Tribune of Truth are required not to be affiliated with political parties in Ebenthal.
Jurisdiction and powers
The Tribune of Truth's focus is on cases that raise points of law of general public importance. Appeals from many fields of law are likely to be selected for hearing, including commercial disputes, family matters, judicial review claims against public authorities and issues under the Human Rights Act 1998. The court rarely hears criminal appeals though it is part of its function to pass judgment upon them in accordance with the Penal Code of Ebenthal. The Tribune also determines "devolution issues". These are legal proceedings about the powers of the devolved administrations of the country's provinces and its own institutions.
Current composition
| Name | Term | Appointed by | Office |
|---|---|---|---|
| Members | |||
| Pedro Reis, Count of Gesetzhausen (born 1994) | 1st December 2014 – present | Arthur I | Lord Adjudicator |
| Michael Schumman (born 1995) | 2 March 2018 – present | Arthur I | Adjudicator |
| Matheus Arrais (born 1995) | 16 April 2019 – present | Arthur I | Adjudicator |
| Princess Heloísa of Ebenthal (born 1964) | 1st December 2021 – present | Arthur II | Adjudicator |
| Fabiano van der Bruyn (born 1985) | 18 September 2022 – present | Arthur II | Adjudicator |
