Tribune of Truth

Tribune of Truth
Tribuna da Verdade
Motto: Punire et iudicare ("To punish and judge")
Established	1 December 2014
Jurisdiction	Ebenthal
Location	Erzfelsen, Ebenthal
Composition	Appointed by the Monarch
Authorized by	Constitution of Ebenthal
Term length	Life-long
Seats	5
High Magistrate
Incumbent	The Count of Orbester
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 Magistrates, one of whom is annually named by the others as High Magistrate 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 Pedro Reis, 1st Count of Gesetzhausen

History

Creation

As Ebenthal was established on 11 August 2014, the country did not immediately had a court of justice or well-established laws, and set to follow interpretations of the predecessor laws of Roschfallen. On 8 October, King Arthur I promulgated a decree by which he created the Supreme Court of Ebenthal, whose members, set at three initially, should be appointed by the Monarch from members of the Ebenthaler nobility, keeping in line with the governmental aristocratic exclusivity policy in force until 2021. According to the decree, members of the Tribune should hold the titles of counts, marquises or dukes. After just over a month of work, the Conclave – the country's former unicameral legislature – cited the tribune's structue as inefficient for priotitizing titles over legal knowledge, to which the King agreed; he then dissolved the Supreme Court and established the Tribune of Truth the very same day. The name of the institution comes from King Arthur I's phrase that the Tribune should "invoke truth in law and as law".

Organization

The court is composed of five Magistrates freely appointed by the Sovereign to serve life tenures. The Magistrates then select who among then will serve as High Magistrate, 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 High Magistrate de facto fulfill such role and represent the Tribune at the Executive Council of Ebenthal. Members of the Tribune of Truth are required not to be affiliated with Ebenthaler political parties.

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 Criminal 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, 1s Count of Oberster (born 1994)	1st December 2014 – present	Arthur I	High Magistrate
Michael Schumman (born 1995)	2 March 2018 – present	Arthur I	Magistrate
Matheus Arrais (born 1995)	16 April 2019 – present	Arthur I	Magistrate
Princess Heloísa of Ebenthal (born 1964)	1st December 2021 – present	Arthur II	Magistrate
Fabiano van der Bruyn (born 1985)	18 September 2022 – present	Arthur II	Magistrate