Continental law
Continental law is the legal system utilized within the United Commonwealth of Continental States, established by the Continentalist Party after the Continental Revolutionary War in 1921. General studies provided by Isaiah Landon that the law be regarded as a instrument of the state, not as a limitation upon those who make policy and that it enunciate rules of public order that promote the transition from capitalism to socialism (formally Landonism) and finally socialism to communism. This legal theory is also practiced in other nations and is known as Landonist law.
Within Continental legal theory there stands two objectives; the elimination of the political power of the bourgeoisie by depriving them of their ownership of productive resources and secondly the education and modeling of the citizens of the United Commonwealth for the transition between the various stages. It is believed among legal theorist that the modeling of society and mass education are necessary in establishing the foundations for a disciplined communist society. It is also detailed within Continental law that all actions be taken to build the necessary environment for the transition; a national environment where there would be an abundant amount of resources and production suitable for the fulfillment of all it citizens.
Within Continental law, all state edicts and forms of coercion are seen as temporary and will eventually be destroy to make way for a classless and stateless society. The military, courts and police within the state are established for the premise of preserving order within the socialist transitionary state and to persecute the established or emerging bourgeoisie within the United Commonwealth, and that the ultimate goal for the nation is to abolish all institutions of coercion. In the society advocated by Landon is that citizens would preform social obligations and duties, expressed in morals and unsanctioned administrative regulations, out of conviction of their desirability rather than our of fear of punishment for their violation.
History
The principles of Landonist law was codified and embodied within the Continental States Constitution (different from the United Commonwealth Constitution) promulgated July 10th, 1921;
| “ | "The fundamental task placed upon the presented transitional constitution of the United Commonwealth of Continental States is the establishment of the dictatorship of the people through the various city, county and continental republics. It shall be enshrined within this document that the goal of this temporary institution of the state will be to upend the capitalist society, suppress the internal and external bourgeoise, the exploitation of mankind by mankind itself and to install socialism under which there will be neither division of class or state statutory." | ” |
Lacking any precise pattern for a legal system designed to achieve the purposes stated within the Continental government, several state edicts were designed to establish the framework for a new society. Because these legal systems were seen as transitional, and of the first inception of the progress from socialism to communism they were deemed "primitive" while the former bourgeoise system was designated as "barbaric" within the codified legal language. Field Order No. 19 established the Judicial Commissariat of the United Commonwealth as a mean to enforced the various legal elements of the Revolutionary Committee during the war and was reestablished by the Central Congress after the ratification of the Constitution as a national court system. It was within the Judicial Commissariat that the legal language for the society was developed; the Continental Code.
Within the first inception of the Continental Code of Laws the law deprived private individuals of ownership of land, banks, insurance companies, merchant fleets, and large scale industry, all of which was in implementation of the policy of expropriation of the bourgeoisie. It also created restrictions for employers of labor, set the legal standards for marriages and divorce. Within the Commonwealth, the court entities are called "people's courts" which operate like tribunals where a professional prosecutor and bar attorney must be present. Continental republics were originally permitted to utilize their own legal codes to regulate the multitudinous social relationships within their jurisdiction (as the Continental Code was limited in its scope) which more often than not were either copied or extrapolated from the now defunct states. Only elements of these legal codes were permitted if they aligned with the legal theory established during the Revolution and were not contrary to the revolutionary conscience of the Central Committee, the National Committee and the Central Congress. During the first three years of the Continental States the Continental Code was sparse, which forced judges, prosecutors and defense attorneys with only the provided legal guidance from a select group of jurists on legal issues as the Judicial Commissariat sought out legal writings from various localities to experiment nationally.
Political enemies of the Continentalist Party were not brought before local or republic tribunals rather they appeared before the Judicial Commissariat in special courts known as Revolutionary Tribunals, although it was not uncommon under Seamus Callahan for political enemies to be imprisoned without public hearings if captured by the Continental Revolutionary Guard or the Commissariat of Internal Affairs. These extrajudicial imprisonments and executions ceased with the death of Callahan in 1947 and strict adherence to the codified law resumed.
Codification
During the codification by the Judicial Commissariat, Callahan established the Commission for Financial Stability and Fair Practice and the National Board for Industrialization and Cooperation which greatly hampered the legal systems attempts of fulfilling the constitutions goals of prosecuting the bourgeoise, although even before Callahan the Commissariat for Industrial Reparations and Cooperation under Aeneas Warren provided protections for industrialists and financiers. Within the Continental Code language was created to ensure the legality of these Commissariats, to ensure that the transition from capitalism to socialism was as efficient as possible. During the first ten years of the Continental States various private industries remained and capitalists were allowed to extrapolate profit. These legal constructions were justified by Callahan as a means to stabilize the economy, allow for systematic codification of the economic laws and allow for the institutionalization of newly trained legal theorists, attorneys and judges.
In 1927 the Second Edition of the Continental Code was published and finally the Third Edition of the Continental Code was published in 1948 which stands as the current basis for the legal system of the national court system. Within each individual republic the courts have their own codes, although most codes deviate little from the federal code. Within the Second Edition the republic judicial systems were incorporated almost entirely with the federal system, although this changed in the Third Edition which has returned a great deal of legal authority to the various republics as originally established in the First Edition. Among the most important of the revisions of the Third Edition was the requirements that all punishments be ordered by a court in accordance with the rules pf the procedural code as a means to prevent the extrajudicial activities seen under the Callahan regime.
Civil and criminal courts
In 1927 the second edition of the Continental Code was published which established a three tier system of general courts with civil and criminal jurisdiction; the United Commonwealth People's Courts, the United Commonwealth District Appellate Courts and finally the United Commonwealth Supreme Court. The People's Court was retained from the lowest level of institution, which would be occupied by a full time judge appointed by the Continentalist Party while two lay judges elected from the general populace would also sit. Although local judges hold responsibility in legal opinion and fact as much as the professionally appointed judge if they appeared in contention with the party selected judge their appeals was almost if not always automatically appealed to the District Appellate.
Appeals from the People's Court were sent to the District Appellate which evolved from the Congress of People's Judges which was formally manned by a rotating tribunal of party selected justices from various counties within each Continental Republic. These appellate districts periodically survey the work of local courts, more often than not having to overturn the legal decisions of justices from traditionally conservative regions. District Appellate courts are also reserved the jurisdiction to try offenders against the security of the political system within the Continental States and other serious civil and criminal offenses. It was common from 1923 until 1946 that most cases would be sent to the District Appellate as most judges elected to People's Court's still operated with a legal theory associated with prior regime or were suspected to holding capitalist tendencies.
Citizens with the United Commonwealth are also provided the right to appeal to the Continental Supreme Court, which may be heard after going through the District Appellate. The Supreme Court is also charged with controlling the Continental Bar Association, discipline lower courts, issue rulings interpreting the Continental Code and heard cases of important character. Within the first half of the court's existence it was generally considered subpar in power in comparison to the decisions of the legislature or party, although after 1960's the court had established a great deal of legal opinions only then did the Continentalist Party begin using its decisions within the legislature and executive branches of government.
Military courts
Codified during the Second Edition, the legal system of the United Commonwealth allowed for special treatment of crimes relating to military matters and formerly the disruption of transport which was historically deemed critical to the success and wellbeing of the commonwealth; the United Commonwealth Military Tribunal and the United Commonwealth Transit Court. These special courts were created as auxiliary courts of the Supreme Court, where a special prosecutor's office, a special college of defenders were established to act as a bar to assist judges. Attorneys from these institutions, because of their placement within Chicago, eventually developed into the Continental Bar Association and were instrumental in assisting the development of Continent legal theory. In 1975 the Transit Court was abolished and their duties were returned to the People's Courts and in 1978 the Military Tribunal was reformed into three separate court systems; the United Commonwealth Army Tribunal, the United Commonwealth Aeronautical Tribunal and the United Commonwealth Naval Tribunal.
Character of Continental Law
Source
Contrary to Montesquie's conception of seperation of powers which embodied the original legal system of the United States and today in the Kingdom of Sierra, the founding jurists of the United Commonwealth believed that all legal authority resided within the legislature. Within the academic circles that emerged after the revolution, most of whom were associated with the socialist movements in Chicago prior to the arrival of Warren and Zhou, believed that the legislature was made supreme over the judiciary and that in principle only the legislatures enactments were the source of law. Although in practice throughout Callahan's term the legislature was in power and instead the executive held considerable weight in the construction of the law, this charged considerably between 1946 and 1947 when the judiciary and legal code returned to the the nation's constitutional principles.
Although the Continentalist Party and it political organs are in practice the source of all power and policy within the nation, in a technical and legal sense they are not a source for the law. All binding acts within courts must be enacted by the legal agencies of the state, which the party does control entirely. With this assertion of rejection of judicial power and providing sole legal authority to the legislature, Continental jurists originally accepted no concept of judicial precedent due to the novelty of Landonist legal theory. This changed in later decades, especially after the publication of the Third Edition when the judiciary created its own legal precedent based off legal writing generated throughout the earlier half of the nation's existence. Individual decisions of the Supreme Court, although historically lacking the authoritative force of the general rulings are now given careful attention as they are seen as legally binding.
Judicial independence
The Supreme Court of the United Commonwealth, being subordinate to the legislature, had no constitutional right to declare a law created by the legislature unconstitutional. nor to create any limitation upon the legislature or the executive on the ground that some higher or general principles of law had been violated. Although the judiciary lacks any legal power, the academic scholarship of the court is so respected by those within the party that their ruling are always taken into law. Control over the judiciary by the legislature is also preserved by the legislature's appointive and recall powers. Jurists in their decisions in practice have to follow Landonist principles, embody the socialist conscience as they always face recall by either the general populace or their legislature selectors.
Within the constitution provision are made regarding the independence of the judiciary, stating that "judges are independent and subject only to the law of the United Commonwealth of Continental States and the Constitution of the Continental States" (art. 112) is understood as denying local officials the right of intervention in the formation of an individual decision on personal legal opinion, but it does not prohibit the Continentalist Party from intervening if such intervention was in line of decisions out of keeping with the ideological wishes of the Continentalist Party.
Judges are not deprived completely of judicial initiative by the legislative supremacy or by the leading role played by the Continentalist Party. In both civil and criminal codes of the Third Edition there was authorization to depart from the provisions of the code under special circumstances. The Third Edition of the Continental Code states "Civil rights are protected by law expect in cases where they are exercised contrary to their social and economic purpose." This legal provision provided judges the ability to apply their concept of state policy , when it was not specifically stated, to achieve an appropriate result in a given situation, but this provision created no rule law for future cases. This provision was utilized by local hardline Landonists during the earlier years of the Continental States to refuse the rights of capitalists and technicians during the period of reconstruction after the Revolutionary War, although its usage fell out of favor by 1934.
Substantive provisions
Continental jurists and scholars claim that their legal theory and system is unique because of its constitutionally defined function of promoting Marxist-Landonism, that the utilization of the law is intended to achieve the world view sought after by the party. Several notable provision arose from this constitutional uniqueness;
Civil Rights
Civil rights defined within the Continental Constitution of 1921 (chapter. x) provide the primary example of the Continental approach. Guarantees to freedom of speech, freedom of the press and freedom of assembly are limited activities that if strengthen or advance the causes of socialism, communism, Continentalism or Landonism (art. 125) are actively promoted and permitted. Judicial practice indicated that speech evoking hostility to socialism or the Continental authority on the ground of disagreement with the elements of social order declared by the constitution as fundamental to socialism—such as workers management, cooperative control of the economy, worker control of the means of production, the one-party system, and the equality of races—is punishable as a crime against the commonwealth if intent is discovered. In the practice of the security police prior to the death of Callahan disruptive intent was presumed from social origin (be it a pre-revolutionary landowner, industrialist, merchant, army officer, and in some cases a child of said professions).
State enterprise & cooperatives
Among the various fundamentals of socialism, there are several elements of the economy that have been deemed too necessary to the betterment of all citizens that they are under the control of the national, local or republic governments. The legal code reflects this emphasis in various provisions although the action of independent cooperatives operating is highly protected and preserved within the constitution. The criminal code establishes severe penalties for theft or destruction of government or cooperative property. Within the First Edition of the Continental Code the provisions regarding sales, contracts, property, and inheritance was relatively sparse in comparison to the legal language involving the protections provided to cooperatives. Under Callahan's regime all industries that were monopolized by the government had exclusive control over the commodities of the relevant sector.
Another major area of the law that accomplished socialism was the law governing cooperatives. Its task was to provide the order and accountability required for the performance of the national economic goal of Landonism. After experimentation for a period with direct operation by ministries during the earlier years of Callahan the economic reforms in 1928 greatly reduced the involvement of the government within the economy. Cooperatives controlled by the working class managed their own workplaces and were granted several legal requirements, obligations and risks. Cooperatives are forced to respect contracts with individual workers and have the risk of being sued if such contracts are not respected. Cooperatives may also sue other cooperatives or individuals and even the government for actions against their shop or workers.
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