Rules for the Administration of Justice

Rules for the Administration of Justice, also known as Out Of Character (OOC) Rules for the Administration of Justice, succeed and replace the Judge's Charter starting with May 4, 2020.

The powers of judges are framed by these rules and all judges and public prosecutors must know and apply them. The rules governing Justice are linked in the Law Court (accessible via the town interface). They are posted in a dedicated part of the Forum 1, International Justice.

Below you can find its full content (official version as of September 4, 2020):

OOC Preamble

This goal of this document is to guide the players of a Judge, Prosecutor, and Mayor characters in the use of the powers offered to their characters In-Game (IG). The powers in question are very important, and their misuse can unbalance the game or poison the atmosphere. Hence we offer a series of simple rules intended to safeguard everyone's pleasure.

In the game, Tribunals are not intended to be "fair", and these rules are not intended to make the Justice in the game fair. Justice is a feature of the game that is used for fun, and these rules are here to frame these features so that they cannot be used in a way that blocks players.

Seeking to circumvent these rules or exploit any flaws (by twisting words, for example) is as wrong as violating them.

Any player who disregards these rules will be sanctioned by the Game Admins. The penalties can go as far as eradicating the character. The player of a current Count character may also be penalized if the Game Admins considers that they have encouraged the player of the Judge character to violate the principle of this document.

The In Game court is a game space for characters: OOC offences and infractions of the various rules of the game are acts of the players and should not be penalized within the framework of the game's courts but, depending on the type of offence, by the forum censors (moderators) or the Game Admins.

This document applies to all players in all of the Renaissance Kingdoms and supersedes any rule that may have been published before 04/05/2020.

Part I - Trial and Convictions

Article 1 - While the recognition of a Count is in progress (2 days), no newly elected councillor may be prosecuted or sentenced by the court of that County. This rule is not valid when a count is being recognised because the previous Count was dismissed.

Article 2 - It is forbidden to prosecute or convict a character for owning a premium pack. (Stealth Pack, Robber Pack etc. - beware, this does not mean, for example, that the holder of a robber or stealth pack cannot be convicted for having robbed.)

Part II - Limitations on Sentences

A. Monetary Penalties

Article 3 - If a person is convicted of having robbed, looted or stolen from the coffers of an institution or elsewhere, the Judge may impose a fine equivalent to the maximum of the value of the properties robbed/looted/stolen + 10% of the amount presumed stolen.

Valuation of the objects involved must be done using the prices the list of saleable objects available here http://forum.renaissancekingdoms.com/viewtopic.php?p=93773290#93773290 and in rendering the sentence, the Judge must justify the amount of the fine, as well as its division in cases that involve a group of looters/thieves/robbers.

Article 4 - If a character is sentenced for acts which are neither robbery, nor pillage, nor theft of money or objects, this character cannot be required to pay more than X pounds over a period of 45 days by the same County, X depending on the level of the character convicted at the time of the conviction. (or the age of the account at the time of conviction when the character is a vagrant).

Additional information

When a Judge hands down their sentence for an Article 3 case, the Judge does not have to take into account the time limit mentioned in Article 4 or the fine limitation grid below.

Fines limitation grid

Players of Judge characters should keep in mind that these are maximum values: this does not mean that you, the Judge, are obliged to systematically impose a fine of X pounds on a convicted person.

• Level 10-19: X = 10 pounds
• Level 20-49: X = 90 pounds
• Level 50-99: X = 150 pounds
• Level 100-249: X = 200 pounds
• Level 250+: X = 230 pounds
  
  

Regarding vagrants, do not take into account the level but instead, consider when the account was created.

• If the account is less than 1-year-old then X = 90 pounds
• If the account is aged between 1 year and 1 year and 6 months then X = 130 pounds
• If the account is aged between 1 year and 6 months and 2 years then X = 150 pounds
• If the account is aged between 2 and 3 years old then X = 200 pounds
• If the account is older than 3 years then X = 230 pounds
  
  

Article 5 - a player whose character has been ordered to pay a fine by a judge who has respected articles 3 and 4 may contest the validity of the fine without the player of the Judge character becoming worried. This is possible if the player of the convicted character believes that, taking into account the value of all goods and money present in the inventories which are accessible to them, they cannot pay their fine. (To report an impossibility to pay a fine see Part V)

If the Game Admins believe that the sentenced character cannot pay this fine, it will be reduced or cancelled by the Game Admins.

If the Game Admins believe that the condemned character can pay, they will not intervene, and reserve the right to punish the player, up to eradicating the account. (For example, if a player customarily files unjustified complaints or if they try to abuse the administration of the game by transferring or hiding their goods in any way whatsoever.)<be>

A Judge player who has complied with Articles 3 and 4 cannot be accused of having imposed a fine that the sentenced person could not pay due to the Judge not having access to the convicted person's inventory.

B. Prison Sentences

Article 6 - Whatever the facts alleged against a character and whatever his level, he cannot be sentenced to more than 10 days in prison every 45 days by the court of the same County.

C. Death Penalty

Article 7 - A character may not be sentenced to death more than once every 150 days by the Court of the same County.

Article 8 - If at the time of the sentence, the person sentenced to death is on a spiritual retirement or already dead, the Judge absolutely must report this when he posts the sentence into the appropriate topic on his part of the forum "International Justice"> "OOC Justice Rules and Justice Records" so that the Guardians [cf. Part V] can alert the Game Admins who will place the account in spiritual retirement; thus, if the convicted person does not reconnect and is set aside after 15 days, they will not lose their taverns or their boats.

D. Court case duration

A court case may not last more than 15 days, from start to finish, with day 1 being when the Public Prosecutor opens it. The judge must publish the verdict no later than the fifteenth day of the court case.

If the verdict is published after the fifteenth day of the court case, the defendant can post a request for the sentence to be cancelled in the relevant Justice Record topic, and the request will be granted by default.

We recommend Public Prosecutors and Mayors indicate in their bill of indictment the date when the court case is opened so both the defendant and the judge can easily see the date by which it must be closed.

Part III - Other Courts

Article 9 - Only the County Court is governed by these rules. Other courts created by the characters in Role Play (RP) such as the Inquisition, the Colleges of Arms, the Court of Appeal, the royal courts etc. are not subject to these rules.

Part IV - Good Judges, Bad Judges: Distinguish Players from Characters

Article 10 – All players respecting this Charter does not prohibit any Role Play, or any choice of character. If a Judge is corrupt or convicts without proof, for example, the player of that character is entirely free to play in that way, as long as by clicking on the In-Game buttons in his Judge player's office, they respect this Charter.

In the same way, a Count or a Count's Council can promulgate the laws they want, as long as the players of a Judge, Prosecutor, and Mayor character, strictly respect the spirit and the letter of this document. For example, a Prosecutor player can choose to play an excessive character who will demand 1000 days in prison and a fine of 50,000 pounds against a penniless and innocent vagrant; this creates Role Play, but the Judge player, downstream, absolutely must respect this Charter when rendering sentence.

Part V - Guaranteeing Compliance with these Rules: Duties of judges, Role of Guardians and the "International Justice" Forum

Article 11 - The "International Justice" Forum is an OOC forum aimed at ensuring Compliance with these rules and rapid handling of offences through the filing of sentences pronounced and the receipt and processing of complaints by the Guardians, who are the moderators of the "International Justice" forum.

Article 12 - This forum is divided into two sub-forums. One, the "Room of Guardians", is private, for the Guardians' private discussions and their exchanges with the Game Administrators. The other, "OOC Justice Rules and Justice Records", is public. It will have these rules, translated (we hope) into all the languages of the game, as well as a topic for each County, the "Justice Records".

Article 13 - Justice Records

• A. Each time a judge pronounces a sentence which is not a release, he absolutely must post the sentence in the topic "Justice Records" of his County, present on the forum "International Justice", under penalty of seeing the sentence quashed.

• B. This post always has the same form:

Login of convicted person - Date of sentence - Fine X pounds / Prison Y days / Death (if death sentence pronounced) - Reason (Indicate either "Robbery / Pillage" or "Other")

• C. If after two days pass in the game (2 daily updates), a judge has still not posted the sentence on the "International Justice" forum; the convicted person can post there for a request to have his sentence set aside which will be automatically accepted.

• D. Each week, a Guardian comes to edit the first post of each County topic in the "Justice Records", and copies the subsequent information posted by the Judge. He then responds to the topic in a new message to indicate that he has collected the information.

• E. At the time of rendering a sentence, a judge absolutely must check his County's section in the "Justice Records" to determine where the convicted person is in terms of sentences in pounds/prison/death in the last 45/45/150 previous days.

• F. Sentences in pounds imposed on the grounds of "Pillage/Robbery" are not taken into account when checking Compliance with the scale of limitation of fines.

• G. In the event of a player's purchase of a Name Change pack, the Judge cannot be held responsible for a violation of the limitation of a sentence (pounds/prison/death). Still, a player who purchases a name change, and whose profile sheet will show the change, can post the news of their purchase in his County's "Justice Records" so that a Guardian as they edit the first post can replace the old login name with the new login name in all items concerning the sentences pronounced in the past against that player (over the last 45/45/150 days for sentences in pounds/prison / death. Otherwise, we consider that their conviction "counter" is at 0.
  

Article 14 - Reporting a Breach of these Rules.

• A. To report a violation of these "OOC Rules for the Administration of Justice", the player of the character put on trial or convicted in violation of these rules should post directly in his County's area, in the sub-forum "Justice Records".

  The message must state precisely how these rules are violated and provide everything that will help the Guardians verify the accuracy of his request. The player of the Judge, the Prosecutor, or the Mayor accused of having violated the rule can also post on the topic a single message to provide details and/or justifications, but in no case should this turn into discussion/argument. The player reporting the offence on the one hand, and the player charged with the offence, on the other hand, are each entitled to one and only one message in this topic regarding this trial.

  The Guardians can then ask either party to clarify if they think it is necessary.

  If the infraction is proven and requires the annulment of the sentence, or if the complaint requires checking by an Administrator, the Guardians will forward the request in the "Room of Guardians" to the Celsius Administrators.

  Whether the offence is proven or not, the Guardians will post on the topic to explain how the rule was broken or not.

• B. Finally, the Guardians keep a register of Judges/Prosecutors/Mayors who break these rules, as well as complainants who repeatedly report offenses that have not been proven.

  As a reminder, a Judge player who has complied with Articles 3 and 4 cannot be accused of having imposed a fine that the condemned could not pay, the player of the Judge not having access to the convicted person's property inventory. Any other breach of these rules may be charged.

• C. Breaking a rule once results in a player warning. In the event of recurrence, a penalty is imposed going, at the discretion of the Game Admins, as far as eradicating the accounts played by that player.

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Summary

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