Case 0001: Simultaneous Membership in Multiple Circles

Date of Challenge: January 14th, 2024
Date of Ruling: January 22nd, 2024
Presiding Sages: Aegis, Altino, Bri, Lev, Lynxi

The Zenithal Court finds that the challenge’s assertation that simultaneous membership in multiple circles is illegal to be true based on the context brought forth by DJ’s initial Challenge submission and the context brought forth by DJ’s appointed legal counsel, Josh.

Explanation of Ruling:

The Misguidance follows a simple line of direct power that originates with the people of Karma. The people ratified the Misguidance and granted it specific powers to form a government, establishing that the Misguidance grants powers as opposed to limiting them. It follows that there is no power to act unless the Misguidance gives said power to act. This is an important distinction and affects the legality of all actions done through government processes and operations. For lack of a defined term, we will henceforth be calling this concept “empowerment.”

The word “a” is singular. In Tenet 2, Clause I, Subclause A we have defined the use of “a” to mean “one of many” due to the manner in which it is used within the Clause. It follows that the Clause is granting the power to join a single Circle. The Misguidance makes no mention of the power to simultaneously join multiple circles, and since the mechanism of legality is based upon the granting of power, the act of simultaneously joining multiple Circles is not empowered.

The Preamble of Tenet 2, as Josh brought up in the argument, is not legally binding. It is, however, a clear indication of the “spirit” of the Tenet. Again, the use of “a” is defined as “one of many” within the context of the Preamble and reinforces the concepts of the clause by showing intent.

Furthermore, in Tenet 2, Clause II, Subclause C the Misguidance empowers members of Circles to “...leave their Circle and join another Circle…” It is the only empowered action that the Misguidance allows for joining a second Circle, though not simultaneously. It follows that in order to join a second Circle, a member of a Circle must leave said their first Circle before joining the second. This reinforces the intent for members of Circles to be limited to one Circle at a time.

In summary, the Zenithal Court finds the action of simultaneously joining multiple Circles as illegal at this time due to the action not being empowered by the Misguidance.