Tribune of Truth

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Tribune of Truth
Tribuna da Verdade
Motto Acidum ad Mendaces
Established1 December 2014
Jurisdiction Ebenthal
LocationErzfelsen, Ebenthal.
CompositionAppointed by the Monarch
Authorized byConstitution of Ebenthal
Term lengthLife-long
Seats5
Lord Adjudicator
IncumbentThe Count of Gesetzhausen
Since1 December 2014
Term end5 February 2024

The Tribune of Truth (Portuguese: Tribuna da Verdade) was the constitutional, supreme and only court of the Kingdom of Ebenthal for all civil and criminal cases. Prior to its disestablishment, the Tribune of Truth was composed of 5 members directly appointed by the Sovereign. After almost ten years of operation, on 5 February 2024 the Tribuna da Verdade was closed and replaced by the Adjudicating Tribunal, which however inherited much of the organization and legal-administrative culture of the Tribune.

History

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".

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.

After years of low activity, on 5 February 2024 King Arthur II closed the Tribune of Truth through Royal Edict, and created a new supreme court, the Adjudicating Tribunal.

Organization

The court was composed of five magistrates called Adjudicators who are freely appointed by the Sovereign to serve life tenures. The Ajudicators then selected who would 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 fulfilled 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 were required not to be affiliated with political parties in Ebenthal.

Jurisdiction and powers

The Tribune of Truth's focus was on cases that raise points of law of general public importance. Appeals from many fields of law were 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 heard 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 determined "devolution issues". These are legal proceedings about the powers of the devolved administrations of the country's provinces and its own institutions.

References