8. Wrongful prosecution.

Wrongful prosecution consists of prosecution characterised by malice, damage, and absence of probable cause. In the event that a person is wrongfully prosecuted, the person may initiate a Malicious Prosecution suit against the person who wrongfully prosecuted them.

8.1. A Malicious Prosecution suit may be initiated if either:

8.1.1. The person prosecuted is acquitted;  or

8.1.2. The Tribunal has rejected the charming instrument as facially insufficient on the basis that if all allegations were accepted as
true, the individual would not be guilty of the purported crime.

8.2. To prevail, it must be shown by a preponderance of the evidence that:

8.2.1. the Prosecutor acted with malice in bringing the charge; or

8.2.2. the Prosecutor commenced the proceeding for the sole purpose to harass the individual with knowledge that charging
instrument did not have a basis in law; and

8.2.3. the charging instrument patently lacked probable cause; and

8.2.4. the plaintiff sustained damage through injury to reputation, deprivation of liberty or property, or other damage that may be assessed and relevant in the context of that matter.

8.3. The Cort shall award punitive damages to dissuade such further conduct.

9. Ex Parte Communication

9.1. A member of the bar shall not initiate ex parte communications, or other communications made to a judge outside the presence of the parties or their lawyers, concerning a pending or impending matter, except as follows:

9.1.1. When circumstances require it, ex parte communication for scheduling, administrative, expert testimony, or emergency purposes, which does not address substantive matters, is permitted, provided:

9.1.1.1. the member of the bar reasonably believes that no party will gain a procedural, substantive, or tactical advantage as a result of the ex parte communication; and

9.1.1.2. the member of the bar makes provision promptly to notify all other parties of the substance of the ex parte communication, and gives the parties an opportunity to respond.

9.2. If a member of the bar inadvertently initiates or receives an unauthorized ex parte communication bearing upon the substance of a matter, the member of the bar shall make provision promptly to notify all the parties of the substance of the communication and provide the parties with an opportunity to respond.

9.3. A member of the bar shall make reasonable efforts, including providing appropriate supervision, to ensure that these provisions against ex parte communications are not violated by others subject to the member of the bar's direction or control.

10. Service in General.

10.1. The Secretary of State shall accept service of any complaints or claims to the Cort pü Inalt or General Cort of Talossa on behalf of all citizens. The Secretary of State shall email notice of said complaints or claims to the concerned citizen and affirm to the Cort that they did so on that date (the "date of service").

10.1.1 If either party in a case before the Cort fails to respond to such a notice as specified in section 10.1.1 within 60 days of the date of service, the Cort may, upon a motion by the adverse party, enter default judgement against the non-appearing party. Default judgment can only be entered for a period of three months after default. A default order may be vacated, upon good cause shown, within three months after it was entered, by motion of the aggrieved party.

10.2. In all civil matters, if a Judge or Magistrate fails to respond to the assignment of a Case by the Clerk of the Corts within 14 days, then the Clerk of the Corts shall assign the case to another Judge or Magistrate and inform the Seneschal of the failure to appear.

10.3. A Judge or Magistrate may request a matter be transferred to another Judge or Magistrate for any reason. If that request be for any other purpose than a conflict of interest, and the Judge has not presided over any substantive part of the proceeding as a Magistrate, they shall be from the proscription enumerated in section 10.2.4 of this article.

10.4. If a Magistrate fails to address a filing from either party within 14 days of receipt, then the Clerk of the Corts shall inquire as to the status of the Magistrate and may appropriately reassign the matter to another Judge if warranted. If a Magistrate fails to respond to a Clerk’s inquiry within 14 days, the Clerk shall reassign the matter and inform the Seneschal of the Magistrate's failure to appear.

10.5 All criminal matters shall, pursuant to the Ninth Covenant, be heard before a Tribunal of the Crown, which shall be compromised of no less than three Magistrates in the General Cort of Talossa.  A determination by the General Cort to dismiss a charging instrument for facial insufficiency shall be immediately appealable to the Uppermost Cort of Talossa.

11. Judicial Tenure.
Judges of the Uppermost Cort and of any inferior court may retire through voluntary leave of office. This shall be accomplished through submitting a letter of retirement to the King. The retirement shall take effect immediately upon confirmed receipt by the King or an authorized representative.

11.1. Uppermost Cort Judges may be compelled to retire through organic removal from office through an act of the Ziu in accordance with Article VIII of the Organic Law. In accordance with the appropriate section, the inactivity of a Justice is defined as the failure of that Justice to act, rule, or appear in an open case the Justice is assigned to or participating in for more than 60 days, as certified by the Ziu in a majority vote.

11.1.1    A Justice of the Cort pü Inalt shall be declared inactive, and to have vacated their seat, within the meaning of Organic Law VIII, if the Clerk of the Corts, contacting the members of the CpI to assign a case as described in this title, is unable to contact that Justice or does not receive any response to their enquiries, within 30 days.

11.2. Retired Judges or Magistrates shall enjoy the style "Honourable Mister/Madame" for life in commemoration of their service to the Nation, and may utilize the title "Retired Judge/Magistrate."

11.3. Retired status will be honorary in nature and shall not confer any authority or responsibility within any Talossan Court or the National Talossan Bar or over its members, students or associates. Neither shall these titles, in and of themselves, confer membership in the National Talossan Bar enabling the holder to engage in the practice of law.

11.4. Retired status can be revoked only in the event of a conviction by a Talossan Court for misconduct while serving in a judicial capacity. In the event of such conviction, revocation of retirement privileges shall be contained as part of the sentencing order. Retired status can also be revoked by the Ziu through majority vote and approval by the Monarch. Such legislative action can be taken only after the retiree has been convicted by a Talossan Court for misconduct while serving in a judicial capacity and only after all appeals have been exhausted.

11.5. Retired status will also be revoked in the event the retiree shall be convicted of a felony by any Court of the Realm. Felony convictions by a provincial court shall be forwarded to the Minister of Justice for review. If cause for revocation of retirement status is found based upon the nature of the conviction, the Minister of Justice shall propose or cause to be proposed a measure of the Ziu to revoke any and all privileges of retirement from the accused, after all appeals have been exhausted.

11.6. Retired status shall be considered waived if a retired Justice, Judge or Magistrate resigns their citizenship and shall be considered revoked if the retiree has their citizenship terminated by a Court of the Realm.

11.7 Every person appointed a judge to the Uppermost Cort of Talossa shall publicly make to the Citizens of Talossa and subscribe to the following declaration within 10 days of such appointment:
I, [NAME], do solemnly, sincerely and truly affirm and declare that I will duly, faithfully and to the best of my knowledge and ability execute the office of Judge of El Cort pü Inalt without fear or favour, affection or ill will towards any man, woman or child and that I will uphold the Organic Law and the laws of the Kingdom of Talossa. This I do solemnly affirm.

12. Judicial Decisions

12.1. Every cort rendering a decision shall set forth the reasoning for that decision. This declaration must be published in the next Clark. Cort decisions will be written up in the Clark if the authors want them to, with due regard to brevity.

12.2.   All final decisions or those interlocutory orders must be codified in an official reporter.

12.3. The Cort pü Inalt may request that the Government or Scribe maintain official reporters of decisions on behalf of all Talossan Corts, or it may direct the Clerk of the Corts to do so on its behalf.

12.3.1. If the Cort pü Inalt shall request the Government or Scribe to maintain official reporters, then the Cort pü Inalt must designate, in the decision, whether it shall be deemed binding, and if so, it shall be reported in an official reporter entitled "Cort pü Inalt" and abbreviated to "CPI" in citations. All decisions of the Cort pü Inalt designated nonbinding shall be reported in an official reporter entitled "Cort pü Inalt Appendix" and abbreviated to "CPIA" in citations.

12.3.2. All final determinations of the General Cort shall be published in an official reporter entitled "General Cort" and abbreviated to "GC" by the Scribe or an individual designated by the Government in the same fashion as described in G.12.1.3.1. Nonfinal or interlocutory determinations that impact the rights of a party must also be reported in the GC reporter. All other determinations need not be reported in the GC reported unless so designated by the General Cort. Determinations not contained in the GC reporter shall be styled as General Cort Slip Opinions and must be made publicly available on a State-run website in consecutive order by date with an affixed number with an appropriate pin cite every 200 words, for ease of reference, that shall be listed as follows: Case Name, Year GC Slip Op NUMBER, *Pin (Full Date, Magistrate's surname, M.) (e.g. Doe v Smith, 2020 GC Slip Op 001, *1 [27 February 2020, Smith, M.]). 

12.3.3. If the Scribe or the appointed Government Ministry determines any aforementioned volume becomes lengthy, a subsequent volume shall be created with the appropriate cardinal prefixed prior to the reporter.

12.3.4. The Cort pü Inalt may direct the Clerk of the Corts to normalize case captions according to rules it may set forth, which shall then be used in any reporter.

12.3.5. The Cort pü Inalt may publish an official style manual enumerating proper citations for any source, which shall be followed by all parties filing documents with any national Talossan cort.

WHEREAS El Lexhatx intends to provide a single code of law for the Kingdom of Talossa as enacted by the Ziu;

AND WHEREAS the foregoing admirable intention must be honoured through constant scrutiny to ensure consistency and ease of access;

AND WHEREAS it has come to the attention that, through several amendments since adoption, El Lexhatx G. Justice has become cumbersome to follow;

AND WHEREAS someone finally took the time to scrutinize this statute to remove repetition, conflicting provisions, and to clarify certain procedure regarding criminal offenses;

AND WHEREAS absolutely no statute drafted by Alexandreu Davinescù, specifically the ex parte communications subsection, has been changed in any way, except to be recodified and moved for consistency.

BE IT ENACTED by the King, Cosâ and Senäts of Talossa in Ziu assembled as follows:

That El Lexhatx G. is abolished in its entirety. 

BE IT FURTHER ENACTED that the following shall be codified into El Lexhatx as section G. Justice:

G. Justice.

1. The General Cort of Talossa

1.1.    The Ziu enlarges the number of Puisne Judges to a total of three in accord with Section 3 of Article VIII of the Organic Law.

1.2.    The Ziu establishes the General Cort of Talossa, which shall be an inferior nisi prius cort, cort of first instance, and of general jurisdiction consistent with Article VIII of the Organic Law.

1.2.1. Any citizen of Talossa who has satisfied the Ministry of Justice of their knowledge of Talossan law and jurisprudence, and of their good character, may be recommended to the King or to the Cort pü Inalt to be named as a Community Jurist (CJ).

1.2.2. Community Jurists may be deprived of this designation by the Cort pü Inalt, upon presentation of a preponderance of evidence by the Ministry of Justice that their good character or their legal knowledge is no longer satisfactory.

1.2.3. The Clerk of the Corts shall appoint, by random selection, a single Community Jurist to preside over the General Cort for any case arising under this section.

1.2.3.1. If no qualified CJ is available to hear a given case, the Clerk of the Corts shall appoint a single Judge of the Cort pü Inalt to preside over the General Cort for that case.

1.2.4. The judicial official presiding over a matter in the General Cort of Talossa shall be styled as "Magistrate" for the purposes of that proceeding.

1.2.5. Unless an appeal lies as of right, an aggrieved party to an action may seek leave to appeal any determination of the General Cort to the Cort pü Inalt.

1.2.6. A Magistrate may not sit as a Judge on the Cort pü Inalt for any appeal related to a proceeding over which they presided as a magistrate.

1.2.7. A Magistrate must recuse themselves from a matter upon a real or apparent conflict of interest.

2. The Practice of Law in the National Corts of Talossa. 

The following guidelines shall exist for the practice of law within the realm:

2.1. The practice of law shall be defined as the representation of individuals, corporations and government bodies before the Uppermost Cort, Military Cort, or any inferior court established by the Ziu; or the professional discussion or advice on matters of a legal nature.

2.2. Practice before the Uppermost Cort or any inferior National Court established by the Ziu shall be limited to members in good standing of the National Talossan Bar.

2.3. Practice before Military Courts shall be restricted to members of the National Talossan Bar or to any commissioned officer granted waiver by the Minister of Defence to serve as a legal representative, pursuant to Ministry of Defence guidelines.

2.4. Practice before Provincial Courts shall be governed by Provincial Law.

2.5. No part of this law shall limit an individual's ability to represent themselves before any court of the realm.

2.6. Provincial Premiers (or the provincial equivalent thereto) shall have the authority to represent their Province, in actions brought before a National Court, as a function of their office. This responsibility may be delegated only to a member of the National Talossan Bar.

2.7. The use of titles such as lawyer, attorney, barrister, solicitor, or councillor/counselor-at-law or any other title reserved by guidelines of the National Talossan bar shall be restricted to those who are licensed to engage in the practice of law within the realm.

2.8. Individuals who are party to an action brought before a Cort of the realm and cannot find suitable legal representation due to a shortage of qualified practitioners of law, conflicts of interest or for personal reasons to be outlined in a petition presented before the cort, may apply for a waiver to permit any adult Talossan citizen to represent them before the Cort in a specified legal action serving as a legal proxy.

2.9. Individuals operating under waiver shall not be entitled to present themselves as attorneys, lawyers, barristers, solicitors, or councillor/counselor-at-law, nor shall approval of such waiver imply membership in the National Talossan Bar.

2.10. Petitions for waiver shall be made to the Cort in which the action is to be brought. All waivers shall expire upon the final disposition of the case and shall remain in force through any appeal. Waivers granted by a lower court need not be renewed or reissued if the action is brought before the Uppermost Cort in appeal. Waivers may be terminated by the petitioner or the proxy at any time during court proceedings and shall notify the Court of said termination within 48 hours of its effective date. Waivers may be withdrawn through judicial order in the event of misconduct or inadequate representation.

2.11. Corts shall grant petitioned waivers unless the designated proxy has been convicted of a felony, has presented themselves unlawfully to be an attorney, lawyer, barrister, solicitor or councillor/counsellor of law, has falsely claimed Bar membership or other official standing within the National Talossan Bar or has received monetary compensation or other financial consideration in exchange for his/her representational duties or when a suitable member of the bar is available for representation in the matter, unencumbered by conflicts of interest or personal disputes.

2.12. Admission to the National Bar of Talossa.

2.12.1. The National Bar of Talossa shall be governed by the Uppermost Cort, which shall establish the procedure, ethics, and
standards for those seeking admission to the National Bar of Talossa.

2.12.2. The National Bar of Talossa shall possess the sole authority to admit new individuals to practice law in the Corts of Talossa established under Article VIII of the Organic Law.

2.12.2.1. Admission to the Bar shall be limited to those who are eligible to vote in National Elections, and who satisfy any reasonable requirement set forth by the National Bar of Talossa.

2.12.2.2. The National Bar of Talossa shall set the standards, character, and other requirements for admission.

2.12.2.3. The National Bar of Talossa shall accept the application of any individual claiming to have satisfied the requirements for admission, and, if satisfied that the applicant does meet the criteria for admission after careful review and consideration, shall refer the applicant with supporting documentation to the Uppermost Cort for admission.

2.12.2.4. The Uppermost Cort of Talossan shall accept or deny all referred applications within a timely manner. An individual is not authorized to practice law until the Uppermost Cort of Talossa admits the application to the National Bar of Talossa, and an individual may not refer to themselves as “pending admission.”

2.12.3. An individual who has earned a degree in the practice of law in another country, or who has been admitted to practice law in another country, or who has completed one year of legal education as well as legal training in another country, may seek a waiver for admission to the National Bar of Talossa by petitioning the Uppermost Cort of Talossa for such a waiver, provided proof for the basis of waiver is attached to the petition.  The Uppermost Cort may grant said waiver with no less than the consent of two Judges of the Uppermost Cort.  The Uppermost Cort may increase the number of Judges required to give consent as it deems necessary but may only decrease the number to the statutory limits with the same number of Judges required to give consent.

2.12.4. It shall be a criminal offense for any person to knowingly or recklessly practice law in Talossa without express statutory permission.

2.12.4.1. The above provision is not applicable to an individual who represent themselves, known as pro se party, or to any individual who is a member of or has received authority by the Ministry of Justice to represent the Government in any Cort throughout Talossa.

2.12.4.2. The following office holders may, at the discretion of the Chancery, be exempt from the above requirements and shall be granted full membership to the bar while they hold such office, for the purpose of performing their official duties: the Prime Minister, the Distain, Judges of the Uppermost Cort, and Judges of any inferior Cort.

2.12.4.3. An Attorney General, as head of the Ministry of Justice, or Deputy Attorney General as authorized by the Ministry of Justice, who is not admitted to their bar in their own right, is a de facto and de jure member of the bar for the duration that they hold that office.

2.12.5. The National Bar of Talossa shall set, as it deems necessary, the Code of Conduct to govern attorneys.

2.12.5.1. An individual admitted may have their admission revoked for cause with the consent of no less than a majority of the Judges of the Uppermost Cort of Talossa; in such a circumstance, the individual is no longer permitted to practice law in the national courts of Talossa.

2.12.5.2. All members of the bar admitted prior to the adoption of this statute shall continue to be deemed automatically admitted and may continue to practice law

2.12.6. Any rules, regulations or code of conduct not set by a statute, Talossan Law or by the Organic Law, shall be a matter for the Bar to set itself as far as permissible by the aforementioned Laws.

3. Appeals and Tribunals.

3.1 It shall be understood that any provincial court decision may be appealed at the National level before the lowest inferior court and that any decision by this court may be appealed to the Uppermost Cort. No Cunstaval shall proclaim any new provincial constitution that fails to provide a right to appeal decisions of the provincial court or courts (if any) to the Cort pü Inalt or such other national courts as may be created by the Ziu. National courts shall not interpret or rule on matters of provincial law unless the province has no system of courts, has not proclaimed a constitution or has standing law that matters of provincial law be handled through National Courts. Rather, the decisions of these courts will ensure no provincial court decision runs contrary to the Organic or Statutory Laws of the Kingdom, and that the rights of all involves parties, as guaranteed by the Rights and Covenants of the Organic Law, are protected.

3.1.1 All appeals, as with other court actions, shall be filed with the Clerk of the Corts. Upon official judicial assignment, the cort may either dismiss the case, by declining to hear it, or begin hearing opening arguments in the matter as presented by all relevant parties.

3.1.2 Appeals or other actions brought before any national court shall be heard within 90 calendar days from the date of assignment by the Clerk of the Corts.

3.1.3. The court, if it decides not to hear the case or appeal, shall issue a written statement justifying its decision within the time frame given in 3.2.

3.1.4. If a court does not comply with 3.2. or 3.2.1., it may be subject to an investigation for non-feasance conducted by the Ministry of Justice.

3.2. Under the principle of reformatio in peius, the worsening change of a verdict, no appellate court shall be allowed to change an appealed ruling in such a manner that would be disadvantageous to the petitioner.

3.2.1. In civil actions, appeals may be ruled in a detrimental manner to the appellant (reformationes in peius) only when both parties submit appeals.

3.2.2. In criminal procedures, reformationes in peius are forbidden whenever the appeal is lodged by the convict or in favour of the convict. In case of appeals from both parties, reformationes in peius detrimental to the convict shall be forbidden.

What happens if one Talossan holds more than one of the 8 offices (such as myself as Secretary of State and Scribe of Abbavilla)?

Anyway, I've come up with a proposal to elect the King.

A convocation of the following people:
-Eight MCs, chosen by the parties in proportion to their Cosa seats (plus the Seneschal if not an MC or Senator)
-The eight Senators
-The Justices of the UC
-The eight provincial executives
-The eight officers of the Royal Civil Service
-All Talossans who have been a citizen for at least ten years

The King is elected from this group papal style; repeated single-preference votes until someone gets 2/3.

1. The basis of all Talossan law and jurisprudence are the principles contained in the Covenant of Rights and Freedoms.

2. Where Talossan statute law is silent, Talossan courts shall make decisions in accordance with Talossan juridical precedent. Judges may also use precedent from other legal systems with which they are familiar to guide their decisions, though such precedent shall not be binding.

3. Behaviour by any Talossan citizen which is repugnant to the principles contained in the Covenant of Rights and Freedoms is an offence, and Courts may apply any punishment authorised by Organic and statute law to those convicted of such behaviour, in strict proportion to the severity of the offence and the presence or absence of any mitigating circumstances.

4. For repugnant behaviour as described above which takes place outside Talossa, conviction by a credible judicial authority in another jurisdiction shall count as prima facie evidence.

the King would be subject to some sort of election every seven years (the details have yet to be worked out).

The King of Talossa is King John I, until his demise, abdication, or removal from the throne. Should the King at any time renounce or lose his citizenship, that renunciation or loss shall be deemed to imply his abdication of the Throne. Upon the demise, abdication, or removal from the Throne of the King, the Uppermost Cort shall be a Council of Regency.

• The King of Talossa shall be chosen by a National Conclave of all members of the Ziu, all members of the Cort Pü Inalt, and the heads of government of all provinces. Every member of the Conclave shall have one vote.
• The Conclave shall be chaired by the Senior Judge of the CpI, or in their absence the next available CpI judge in order of seniority, unless it decides differently. The Conclave shall assemble upon the 6th anniversary of a King acceding to the Throne, or at any time that there is no King.
• The candidate chosen by the conclave shall be approved by the nation in referendum, and then receive the title of "Heir Presumptive".
• Upon the demise, abdication, or removal from the Throne of the King, the Heir Presumptive shall swear an oath promising to protect and uphold the Organic Law of Talossa and the rights of all its citizens, and thereupon become King of Talossa. If there is no Heir Presumptive, the Uppermost Cort shall be a Council of Regency until an Heir Presumptive is chosen.
• Unless the King of Talossa is chosen as their own Heir Presumptive, they shall be deemed to have abdicated upon having served in that role for 7 years.

• Put his picture on a Talossan stamp
• A grove of memorial trees
• The first entry in a Talossan Online Hall of Remembrance