Library:Judicial Procedures Act
Act n° 05/Y23 D222
TPA Amendment (formatting)/Y24 D198
Preamble
The provisions of this Law shall be observed in the application and interpretation of RA Charter, and other laws, regulations and principles.
Guiding Principles of Rebel Alliance’s Due Process:
I . General Rights:
- Rights of defense by any legal means and the presumption of innocence.
- Right to not produce evidence against yourself (principle against self-incrimination), and the right to silence.
- Right to impartial judges. Judges cannot act on their own initiative to form a trial, and should be either selected among the people or appointed by the RAC.
- Judges or RAC members that signed a warrant can serve as Judges, but they should be unrelated to the investigation work, and remain impartial;
- Clear distinction between the activities of accusing and judging
- Right to review of the first decision by another judges or the Council depending on the case.
II. Procedural Rights:
- Freedom of forms: acts that fulfill their essential purpose are considered valid as long as they respect the law and the defendant rights to due process and defense.
- Equal treatment of the parties (equal opportunities to examinations, testimony, access to evidence etc.);
- Procedure can be real time or by a continuous sessions (board);
- Contradictory and possibility of defense to every accusation or imputation;
- The judges are free to form their convictions.
Contents
Article One: Jurisdiction:
1.1. Rebel Alliance jurisdiction applies for crimes committed against the Rebel Alliance Government and its people including their property; or in Rebel Alliance Territory.
Military, and Intelligence Officers:
1.2. Domestic, and foreign military or Intelligence officers are subjected to the Military Justice (CoMJ) when crimes are committed while in duty or against foreign individuals or factions.
1.2.1. Charges against Military officers must be approved by the CMO, DRAI, and SC. Charges against Intelligence Officers must be approved by the SC, DRAI, and DDRAI.
Article Two: Warrants & Bounties:
Eligible to Request Warrants or Bounties:
2.1 The following members are allowed to file a Warrant or Bounty against RA citizens or Foreign Individuals:
2.1.1. the Supreme Commander or Deputy Supreme Commander;
2.1.2. the Rebel Alliance Intelligence Director, Deputy Director or Domestic or Foreign Department CO with Public Status; and the
2.1.3. Chief of Military Operations.
Bounties:
2.2. Bounties are objects to enforce or stimulate an arrest to a fugitive (sentenced), indictment, someone trying to evade RA jurisdiction, or other reasonable purpose.
Warrants:
2.3. Types of warrant:
2.3.1. Arrest warrant (after or before an arrest), in case of flagrant or preventive arrest, the warrant must be requested within 48 hours;
2.3.2. Search warrant (inventory; facilities; ships; stations; or vehicles).
Warrants and Bounties Approval:
2.4. Warrants or Bounties are requested to the Rebel Alliance Council;
2.4.1. The Warrant or Bounty must contain enough and reasonable evidence of a crime to sustain the request;
2.4.2. At least two voting RAC members must sign the Warrant or Bounty, the eligible public servant who requested can’t sign the warrant.
2.4.3. The Director of Intelligence is not allowed to sign warrants or bounties.
2.5. The bounties pricing are at the discretion of the officer who requested.
2.5.1. The bounty reward may be altered by the DRAI, DRRAI, SC or DSC if it’s too abusive or that it may impact the public coffers.
Article Three: Charges
Eligible to Place Charges:
3.1. The following members are allowed to file charges against RA citizens:
3.1.1. Rebel Alliance Council voting members;
3.1.2. Military High Command;
3.1.3. NATs & PSAs CEO’s or equivalent;
3.1.4. RAI Public Officers;
3.1.5. Citizens with the assistance of a Secretary of the RCC, the Secretary may deem unnecessary and not follow through.
Charges Approval:
3.2. Charges must be detailed with the crimes committed and every piece of evidence possible in order for the RAC to authorize a Trial. If authorized, the Pre-Trial phases must be followed.
3.2.1. If the charges are rejected, the same charges can’t be placed if there isn't new and important evidence.
Article Four: Pre-Trial
Crimes committed by Citizens:
4.1. With the Charges approved as per Article Three:
4.1.1. Three members of the community are appointed by the Supreme Commander or RAC in their absence to be the Judges, the selection can be by a list of previous Judges or applicants.
Crimes committed by the Rebel Alliance Council, and Foreign Officials:
4.2. Rebel Alliance Council must select amongst its members three members to serve as Judges, one being the Presiding Judge.
4.2.1. In case it's impossible to form a Trial with RAC members only, at least a RAC member should preside, if it's impossible to form a Trial with any RAC members, the Trial should be organized as per 4.1.
Prosecution:
4.3. Rebel Alliance Intelligence must appoint one to two prosecutors to defend the public interest of the Rebel Alliance.
Defendant:
4.4. The defendant can select to defend himself, appoint a Private Defender or be appointed a Public Defender by the Rebel Citizen Cabinet or Rebel Alliance Council.
4.4.1. The Defender/Attorney must have full access to the evidence, and he may be able to present more evidence to be used in Trial until the Trial is announced by the Presiding Judge.
4.4.2. If the defendant refuses to acknowledge the charges, representation will be provided for them and the trial will continue.
Announcement:
4.5. Once the Court has been formed with the three essential parts listed on Article 4.1.1., 4.3. and 4.4. The Presiding Judge upon accepting any other additional evidence must announce the Trial. The Trial may be classified if it has information that could be dangerous to the Rebel Alliance or its citizens by the requirement of the Director of Intelligence, and approval of the Judges.
Article Five: Trial
Basic Procedure:
5.1. Presiding Judge will open;
5.2. Prosecution will provide it's case (present all information, including witness testimonies);
5.3. Defense will then present its case (present all information, including witness testimonies);
5.4. Prosecution will be able to Cross-examination;
5.5. Defense will be able to Cross-examination;
5.6. Closing remarks from each side;
5.7. Additional questions by Judges if needed, and 1-5 days to give a verdict/sentence. The sentence must be explained in detail to each crime sentence, presenting essential information to justify the voting of each judge.
Special Procedure:
5.8. A special procedure can be used in cases not covered by this Act as long it follows the general rules, and its principles here contained.
Real Time Trial:
5.9. By using the general procedure presented in this Act, the Trial can take place on a Real Time Messaging system if accepted by all the parties (Judges, Prosecution, and Defense).
5.9.1. By being accepted, the parties should then proceed to mark a date with the Presiding Judge approval. If the parties are not present on the day marked, the trial can be rescheduled or continued via the RACC.
Article Six: Sentence Review
Review and Appeal Procedure:
6.1. The Defendant can request a review or appeal;
6.1.1. The request must be made to the Supreme Commander, he or she will analyze, and present a full pardon or a commutation draft to the Rebel Alliance Council;
6.1.2. RAC voting members will approve or reject the draft. A new draft may be proposed, but it must be voted. A simple majority of all voting members should be favorable to pass the pardon or commutation.
