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DispatchFactbookPolitics

by The United Kingdom of Brutland and Norden. . 24 reads.

Judiciary of Brutland and Norden


The judicial system of Brutland and Norden consists of a number of government agencies tasked with upholding security and rule of law within the country. The activities of these agencies include police and law enforcement, prosecution, courts, and prisons and other correctional services.

Court System


The court system of Brutland and Norden consists of two court systems: provincial and federal, dealing with three types of cases: administrative, civil, and criminal. The country legal system is a bijuridical/mixed Linkcommon law and Linkcivil law jurisdiction, with common law elements handed down from centuries of governance, and civil law elements introduced during the 20th century.

Provincial Court Systems
Stemming from an 1890 royal decree by King Kyle the Fair reforming the country’s lower court system, the provincial court systems are remarkably similar. The system is enshrined in each of the provinces’ respective constitutions.

Civil and criminal cases are first adjudicated in the lowest provincial courts (B: Local Trial Courts/Corto Maallo Briola; N&U: Courts of First Instance/Corto di Stanti Unèla), which have original jurisdiction on cases. These typically have jurisdiction for cases from a single district. Small districts (population-wise) may have a single presiding judge, but larger districts may have more. Brutland and Norden does not use juries.

Decisions may be appealed in grantal courts (B&U: Courts of Appeal/Corto per Appelli; N: Circuit Court/Corto Circuita), which typically cover a single grant. Grantal courts are typically styled as “[Grant Name] Court of Appeals “ or “Circuit Court for the Grant of [Name]”. Appeals are heard by panels composed of three judges, termed a division (divizione). Depending on the population of the grant, grantal courts may have as many as 24 divisions. Conversely, small grants (such as grants composed of a single district) may be attached to a larger grant for the purposes of setting up grantal courts. For instance, the Norden grant of Albano is attached to the larger grant of Fonzo for the grantal courts: “Circuit Court for the Grants of Fonzo and Albano”.

The highest court of appeal in the provinces are the Provincial High Courts (B&N: Corto Inza Provenza). Appeals to decisions by grantal courts may be heard by the Provincial High Courts.

Administrative cases may be heard by special branches of the grantal courts, the Administrative Courts (B&N: Corto Amministrativa). Administrative Courts are still considered part of grantal courts, albeit a specialized division. Decisions by administrative courts may be appealed to Provincial High Courts.

Link
Court system of Brutland and Norden

Federal Court System
Interprovincial cases or cases involving federal law and jurisdiction are tried in the Royal Courts of Justice (Corto Reala di Juttisse). Despite their name pertaining to a district (“Royal Court of Justice for the District of Campodania”), they typically cover one or more grants. The territorial divisions of the jurisdictions of Royal Courts of Justice are exactly the same as provincial grantal courts. Royal Courts of Justice have original jurisdiction over civil, criminal and administrative cases falling under federal purview.

Exceptions to this case are the Union Territories, where the federal court system also maintains a system of courts of first instance. In the Union Territories, Royal Courts of Justice only hear appeals and administrative cases, much like their grantal court counterparts.

Supreme Court
Decisions by the Provincial High Courts and Royal Courts of Justice may be appealed to the Royal Supreme Court of Brutland and Norden (Corto Supiera Reala di Norden e Marchòbrutellia, CSR). Appeals to the CSR are in most cases not a matter of right, only with leave to appeal. The CSR serves as the court of final appeal for criminal, civil, and administrative cases. It also acts as a LinkCourt of Cassation, LinkConstitutional Court, and Electoral Tribunal. The CSR is divided into three divisions of five judges each. Criminal, civil, administrative, and electoral cases are heard by a division. The CSR automatically hears cases en banc as the Court of Cassation and in questions of constitutional law. Decisions handed down by a division can be appealed to the entire court.

The CSR is composed of 15 judges (“justices”) appointed by the monarch upon the advice of the government and confirmation of the House of Lords. The justices are appointed for a lifetime, unless they resign or be declared incompetent. An unwritten rule is that the composition of the CSR reflect the country; consequently, Brutland and Norden have six justices each, and the remaining three are from the Union Territories. The current Chief Justice is Corinna Fiambretti Santagemma.

Justices of the Royal Supreme Court of Brutland and Norden by Seniority

Justice

Home Province

Division

Serving Since

Appointed by the Government of

Cappelletto, Carmina D.

Union Territories

First Division

1982

Christian Monelli (PP)

Nitti, Marco Giulio S.

Union Territories

Second Division

1988

Christian Monelli (PP)

Alessandrini, Claudio T.

Norden

Third Division

1991

Tyler Stubblefield (PP)

Santagemma, Corinna F.

Brutland

Third Division

1994

Rinnero Faro (PP)

Casella, Lamberto N.

Norden

Third Division

1997

Rinnero Faro (PP)

Trellicatti, Ivan S.

Brutland

Second Division

1999

Rinnero Faro (PP)

Nicoletano, Veronica SZ.

Brutland

First Division

2000

Rinnero Faro (PP)

Albanese, Maria Magda R.

Norden

Second Division

2001

Borio Drasella (PDS)

Pulvirenti, Filippo dF.

Union Territories

Third Division

2003

Borio Drasella (PDS)

Claudini, Luigi Ottavio N.

Brutland

Third Division

2005

Marianna Cortanella (PP)

Jurney, Kyle IV C.

Brutland

First Division

2007

Marianna Cortanella (PP)

Guadagno, Gemma C.

Norden

First Division

2009

Marianna Cortanella (PP)

Biancaniello, Lamberto D.

Norden

First Division

2011

Marianna Cortanella (PP)

Moscatello, Timotteo T.

Brutland

Second Division

2012

Marianna Cortanella (PP)

Bratland, Stig Kjeld K.

Norden

Second Division

2013

Marianna Cortanella (PP)

The Royal Supreme Court of Brutland and Norden has a reputation for being conservative and constitutionalist, with a lot of judicial restraint in its approach to cases. The CSR rarely exhibits what is termed as “judicial activism”, but instead incorporates into its opinions ministrations or advice to the legislature. A classic example is the recent R. v. Gualazzi, in which the CSR refused to interpret the Rape Law of 1975 as applying to males also. Neither did the CSR strike down the law as unconstitutional. Instead, the court said that Parliament should address this gaping hole in the laws.

Noble Court
A separate court system governs the Nobility of Brutland and Norden, governed by the ancient Book of Nobility (Libro Nobiletta) and statutes passed by the Court of Nobles (Corteso di Nobilettu). Nobles, except the Royal Family, are also bound by the civilian court system. Thus, offending nobles may be liable under civilian law and noble law. This is not considered double jeopardy in Brutland and Norden, as decided in the 1911 CSR case Baronentetto di Marchesta v. Provenzo di Norden, as the punishments and liabilities pertain to two different spheres.

Monarch
The Constitution and the Book of Nobility allows appeals to the Monarch, with the House of Lords as the jury, as the final court of appeal in Brutland and Norden. This is considered a reserve power of the monarch. It had never been used and is treated as a hands-off resort.

Court Officers


Judges
Judges are appointed to courts (called sale) by their respective provincial governments. Nominees to judgeships must be a licensed lawyer in Brutland and Norden (there is only a single bar exam in the country; license to practice law applies throughout the country), have a clean record, and with 5 years experience in the judiciary (as court clerks, etc.). Being admitted to the judiciary and being appointed to a judgeship entails taking and passing an exam administered by the CSR.

The provincial governments select a nominee for the judgeship from a list of eligible individuals. The nomination is then passed by the appropriate house of the provincial legislature (Brutland Chamber of Commons, Norden Senate).

In the Union Territories and for the federal court system, the nominees are selected by the government (Ministry of Justice). It is then recommended by the appropriate parliamentary committee (Parliamentary Committee of Justice for appointments to federal courts, Parliamentary Committee for the Union Territories for Courts of First Instance in the Union Territories). The nomination is then formally passed by the House of Lords and appointed by the monarch.

Lawyers
Public prosecutors for the government are called Crown Counsel (Conselle di Corone), part of the Crown Prosecution Service (Servizie Corone di Prosecute, SCP). The federal and provincial Crown Prosecution Services are different organizations and deals only with their respective court systems. The SCP is a public organization that argues on behalf of the government’s cases, and on behalf of citizens in criminal cases only. The Office of the Ombudsman (formally called Public Defender of People’s Interests, Defenzetto Pubblica di la Populuque Strettu DPPS) is under the SCP.

Citizens have a constitutional right to defend themselves before the courts. Citizens accused in courts can freely avail of the services of the Office of the Public Defenders (Ufficie di la Defenzettu Pubblica, UDP) for criminal, civil, and administrative cases.


A Nord-Brutlandese police officer.

Law Enforcement

Law enforcement in Brutland and Norden is the responsibility of the federal and provincial police forces.

The Royal Nord-Brutlandese Police (Polze Reala Nordèbrutelliense, PRNb) is the federal police force of Brutland and Norden. It is under the control of the Ministry of the Interior. It has liaison offices in the provinces and smaller forces in the provinces.

The provinces also maintain their respective police forces (Royal Brutland Police/Polze Reala Brutelliense, PRB; Norden Provincial Police/Polze Provenza di Norden, PPN) under their respective Home Ministries. Both the PRB and PPN can be partly or wholly deputized and taken control of by the PRNb upon the decision of the federal Ministry of Justice.

Prisons in Brutland and Norden are maintained by Royal Correctional Services (Servizie Giusteddía Reala, SGR) under the Ministry of Justice. Unlike police forces, there is a uniform prison and probation service system in Brutland and Norden.

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