Sommerset Laws

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Article 4 – The judicial power of the Duchy.

Art. 1.4.1. : Justice has three levels: High, Moderate and Low.

Art. 1.4.2. : High justice governs trials that will have a sentence of capital punishment or exile. Only the Duke can give this sentence. The Judge issues the sentence on the Duke’s behalf

Art. 1.4.3. : The moderate and low levels of justice are solely administered by the Judge in the name of the Duke. These constitute the majority of criminal cases.

Art. 1.4.4. : Any crime committed in the Duchy is subject to the laws of the Duchy.

Art.1.4.5. Any member of the House of Lords can, at the inception of their trial, request a trial by their peers.

When the request is made to the Public Prosecutor, that person must make the demand to the House of Lords. The case already started on county level will be dismissed, and a new one will be started with the HoL panel. That case will be only to make the sentence by execute and is not and other chance of trial.

Art. 1.4.6. : Any person under trial is considered innocent until the sentence is given. During the trial, the person must make himself or herself available and respond to the demands of the judicial system.

Art. 1.4.7. : Value of proof, by decreasing order of its force:
i. The highest form of proof is a contract or a written agreement. An official contract signed by two or more parties needs the approval of the council. A written agreement is a document signed by two or more parties and published in public. Any written proof has higher precedence than any spoken agreement.
ii. The confession: The person confesses the crime and is subject to judicial consequences.
iii. The testimony: A person who witnesses a crime and declares to the authorities the crime they witnessed, can provide a testimony in Court..


Art. 1.4.8. : The judicial process follow a sequential procedure:
i. Complaints and evidence are either collected by the constabulary force or send directly to the Public Prosecutor by the complainant.
ii. The case is filed by the Public Prosecutor after studying the case.
iii. Further investigation can be conducted by the constabulary force on demand by the Public Prosecutor.
iv. The official trial starts when the case is filed and transmitted to the Judge.
v. Trial
vi. Sentence is given.

Art. 1.4.9. : The trial is public and is held at the County court or in the forums if required before the Judicial Bench of Somerset.

Art. 1.4.10. : Whosoever is accused of a crime in the County of Somerset, shall have the right to a Defence Counsel. This Defence Counsel shall have access to evidence under the right to disclosure, and shall provide mitigating evidence, testimony, witnesses, and may argue points of law regarding only the accused’s criminal charges.

Art. 1.4.11. : Testimony from witnesses are admissible in court. Witnesses must swear to state the truth only.

Art. 1.4.12. : A condemned person can appeal to the Duke to adjudicate regarding the sentence, in case of :
i. Capital sentence
ii. Exile
iii. Jail time over 10 days.

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002 Book II – Penal code

Article 1 - Crimes.

Art. 2.1.1.: Each criminal convicted by the Judge will receive a sentence. This sentence is proportional to the crime that has been committed.

Art. 2.1.2. : The various sentences of Somerset Duchy are :
i. Public apology in the appropriate Town hall or the Duchy hall.
ii. Fine
iii. Jail time; for a light sentence, jail time is less than or equal to 3 days.
iv. Jail time; for a heavy sentence, jail time is greater than or equal to 3 days.
v. Exile
vi. Capital sentence by hanging, decapitation, burning. Nobles cannot be hanged.

Art. 2.1.3. : Crimes are divided in four categories : Light crime, moderate crime, serious crime, infamous crime.
i. Light crimes have a sentence of degree i to ii (Article. II.1.2)
ii. Moderate crimes have a sentence of degree ii to iii (Article. II.1.2)
iii. Serious crimes have a sentence of degree ii to v (Article. II.1.2)
iv. Infamous crimes have a sentence of degree ii to vi (Article. II.1.2)

Art. 2.1.4. : A repeat offense will face a higher degree of sentencing.

Art. 2.1.5. : Confession of a crime can lower the degree of the sentence.

Art. 2.1.6. : The participation or the complicity in a crime exposes the concerned individual to be prosecuted under complicity in a crime. Accomplices in a crime, if convicted, can be sentenced to a lower degree of sentence.


Article 2 – Attack on the rights of the people.

Art. 2.2.1. : An act of defamation is defined as any form of written or verbal communication that attacks the personal or professional honour of any citizen of the Duchy.
The act of defamation is a light crime and the sentence shall be a public apology with a fine of 1 pound to 200 pounds, depending on the consequences of the defamation on the victim. In case the act of defamation is directed towards a noble, civil servant or military officer, or is a repeat offense, the sentence shall be jail time.

For the proposal of this article defamation is definite has defamation is the communication of a statement that makes a false claim, expressly stated or implied to be factual, that may harm the reputation of an individual, business, product, group, government or nation.

Art. 2.2.2. : A robbery is defined as any action, the goal of which is to steal the goods of someone else. This is a moderate crime.
A violent robbery is defined as any action, the goal of which is to steal the goods of someone else through the use of violence. This is a serious crime.
Organized robbery is defined as any action of robbery that negates the liberty of movement of the citizens and of goods in the Duchy. This is an infamous crime.
The sentence for this crime are described in Article 2.1.2 and Article 2.1.3

Art. 2.2.3. : Slavery is defined as any attempt to hire someone with an indecent wage. The minimum decent wage is the minimum wage declared by the concerned Town Hall through decrees, otherwise the minimum wage of the Duchy, minimum wage of the duchy is 15 pounds. An exception can be made for helping another citizen, for a religious service act or for a redemption act. The Judge can recognize the a private contract that goes below the minimum wage on the condition that this arrangement was announced to the lieutenant of police of the town in public. Slavery is a light crime, thus the sentence will be a fine at the discretion of the Judge. A repeat offense of slavery will be a moderate crime.

Article 3 – Attack on markets and trade.

Art. 2.3.1. : Abusive fraud is defined as any action that has the goal to create an artificial shortage and to sell goods at a price that exceeds the tolerable social price. The existence of a municipal decree or Duchy decree that states a cap price is a good indication of the tolerable social price. This is a moderate crime, except in case of shortages or war when it becomes a serious crime.

Art. 2.3.2. : Speculation is defined as any action a citizen takes that consists of buying one or more goods and reselling it again at a higher price on the same market. This is a light crime and the sentence is set in Article 2.1.3.

Article 2.3.3. : Economy manipulation is defined as:
- hoarding goods; where an individual or organization attempts to temporarily control all available supplies of a given good in order to artificially increase the price.
- dumping goods on a market;

Dumping definition for this article is an action of importing good that are unwanted by the town and cause harm to the local economy. One goods is enough to be considering dumping. Good way to know if a goods import is considering dumping is to ask the local mayor what goods are needed or not. Other good indication is the natural production of the town.

This is a moderate crime and the sentence is set in Article 2.1.3.

Art. 2.3.4. : The owner of any tavern that collects payment from people for empty meal shall be charged with fraud. Exceptions can be made by decrees. This is a moderate crime and the sentence is set in Article 2.1.3.


Article 4 – Attack on the institution of the Duchy.

Art. 2.4.1. : An act of public disorder is defined as any action that perturb the public order and the peace of the Duchy. Any violation of municipal or Duchy decrees can cause prosecution under public disorder. Public disorder is a light to moderate crime. The sentence associated to this crime is set in Article 2.1.3.

Art. 2.4.2. : An act of rebellion is defined as any action to attack the Town hall or the County Castle or the takeover of these institutions. A rebellion is a serious crime. The sentence is set in Article 2.1.3.

Art. 2.4.3. : An act of treason is defined as any attempt made by a citizen of Somerset against the institution of the Duchy, or any divulgation of political, economical or military information, the goal of which is to weaken the Duchy of Somerset and its institutions as a result of loss of land, social stability, sovereignty, political or economical autonomy. Because of their rank, members of the Duchy council expose themselves to high treason for an act of treason. Treason is a serious crime and high treason is an infamous crime. The sentence associated with this crime is set in Article 2.1.3

Art. 2.4.4. : An act of falsification of proof is defined as the creation of false evidence or modification of actual material evidence for use in a trial and that can affect the result of the trial.
An act of false testimony is defined as the act of stating false information or the omission of information as testimony before the court during a trial.
The falsification of proof and false testimony are light crimes. If these acts are committed to make false accusation, the accuser exposes himself/herself to receive the same degree of sentencing that the accused would have received. The sentences associated with this crime are set in Article 2.1.3

Art. 2.4.5. : An act of abuse of public goods is defined as the use of a public position by a person to make himself/herself or an accomplice richer.
An act of economical nuisance is defined as any speculative act the goal of which is personal economical gain to the detriment of the public economy.
The act of abuse of public goods and act of economical nuisance are serious crimes, and the sentences associated with these crimes are set in Article 2.1.3.

Art. 2.4.6.: An act of abuse of power is defined as the use of public position beyond normal duties to gets political or personal gain for himself/herself or an accomplice. Good example of abuse of power is the use of Town hall message or mayor letters for political publicity.

Art: 2.4.7.: Contempt of Court
If any person present in the Court, be they the Public Prosecutor, the defendant or a witness, offends the Court in one of the ways listed below, the Judge may hold them in contempt. All people held in contempt are to be charged forthwith, and are punishable treason offence. Contempt of the court is a serious crime, and sentence associated with these crimes are set in Article 2.1.3.

Grounds for contempt are:
- speaking a language other than the King's English before the Court;
- insulting the Court;
- showing disrespect towards the Court and its proceedings.

Art: 2.4.8.: Obstruction of Justice
Whosoever shall deliberately hide, conceal or aid any person who has committed a crime under any Law or Decree in effect in the Duchy of Somerset, is punishable with one day's imprisonment. This does not apply to anyone acting in the capacity of the defendant's legal counsel.

Article 5 - Natural Resource
This law applies to merchants and their trading.

Art: 2.5.1.: The law
No visiting merchant may sell a town's natural resource in that town unless the merchant can provide proof that the natural resource that he or she put up on the market was obtained through his or her own personal labour in the same town's orchard, sea or forest, whichever is applicable. This is a moderate crime and the sentence is set in Article 2.1.3.

Art: 2.5.2.: Definition
Natural resource –
Wood, fish and fruit are natural resources. Each town has a specific natural resource depending on whether the town has a forest, sea/lake or orchard.

Visiting merchant -
Someone selling goods in a town that they are not a resident of

Art: 2.5.3.: Exceptions
In the rare case that a town has a shortage of their natural resource, the mayor can declare a temporary decree that states that this law does not apply for a certain period of time. The mayor will also inform the Trade Minister on the county council.

Article 6 – strategic goods

Art: 2.6.1.: Definitions

1. Strategic goods are defined as iron ore ounces and/or steel ounces.
2. A blacksmith is defined as a person who owns a blacksmith's workshop in a town in Somerset.
3. An agent is defined as a person who acts under a grant from a County or Town Hall concerning the trade in any strategic good.

Art. 2.6.2.: Purchase and possession of strategic goods

Strategic goods may only be purchased and held by the County, Town Halls, blacksmiths and agents whose grant provides for trading the strategic good concerned. Agents involved in an export trade between a party within Somerset and a party outside of Somerset, also require the approval of the Duke as provided for in Article 2.6.3.

Art. 2.6.3.: Export of strategic goods

No strategic goods may be exported to Counties and Towns outside of Somerset except with the approval of the Count.

Art. 2.6.4.: Sale of strategic goods

No blacksmith may sell strategic goods, except directly to a Town Hall in Somerset.

Art. 2.6.5.: Punishments

1. Any individual, private or otherwise, violating any provision in this decree is punishable for the

1st offense: 10 pounds per strategic good + 1 day in a mine in Somerset per 5 ores/ounces (rounded up);
2nd offense: 15 pounds per strategic good + 1 day in a mine in Somerset per 4 ores/ounces (rounded up);
3rd and further offenses: 18 pounds per strategic good + 1 day in a mine in Somerset per 3 ores/ounces (rounded up).

2. Any Mayor violating any provision in this decree is also punishable with a 50 pounds fine.

3. Any Sheriff or Trade Minister violating any provision in this decree is also punishable with a 100 pounds fine. The Judge may also recommend that the convict be dismissed from their position.

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003 Book III – The Procedures

Article 1 – Constable procedure.

Art. 3.1.1.: The police force is in charge of investigating violations of the penal code, to collect proof and to identify the accused. If all the proof is already made public, they make their report to the judicial system (Public prosecutor and judge) which shall proceed with the case.

Art. 3.1.2. : The police force is responsible for verifying the quality and the truth of any proof they will present to the court.

Art. 3.1.3. :The police force:
i.The Constable;
ii. The Police officers called the Lieutenant.
iii. The Police sub-officers call the Corporal.

Art. 3.1.4. : The police force have duties to collect the testimony of the victims of crime and to transmit it, if the case is needed, to the police service or judicial service of the territory where the crime had been committed.

Art. 3.1.5. : The police officers have the duty to inform the public prosecutor of the crimes they know without delay. When the police investigation is finished, they must provide the report and every document related to the case to the public prosecutor. The report must have the name and rank of the police officer in charge of the investigation.

Art. 3.1.6. : The police officers can also listen to any person that can provide information about the case they investigate. They should make reports out of this information they collect.
The person, who might seem that there is no reason to press charges against, can only be restrained for the time of their interrogation.
The police officer can, for the necessity of investigation, put under preventive detention any person that they have reasonable doubt to have committed the crime, and inform the public prosecutor of the fact at the beginning of the detention.
The person under arrest cannot be detained more then necessary. But the detention can be longer if the public prosecutor authorizes it.
Under the instruction of the public prosecutor, after sufficient proof have been collected, the person in preventive detention can be put in trial or set free.*


Art. 3.1.7. : The police officers have the duty to inform the victims of their rights:
i. That they can make a complaint against a criminal and volunteer themselves as witness before the court.
ii. As a witness, they can be assisted by a lawyer; the judge can assign a lawyer if they don’t have any. The victim pays the fee for the lawyer if the lawyer requires a fee.
iii. That they can be helped by any group or guild to be a proper witness.
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* The preventive detention is only role-play, the one that refuse to play it will be consider guilty.



Article 2 – Ambassadors procedure.

Art. 3.2.1. : Any ambassador is an official agent of the Duchy council and must make an oath of allegiance to the Duke.

Art. 3.2.2. : Each ambassador may be assigned to one or more of all the Duchies and Counties in all kingdoms

Art. 3.2.3. : Ambassadors must make themselves known to their assigned Duchy after assignation, and make contact with their counterpart.

Art. 3.2.4. : Ambassadors must use diplomacy and avoid the use of any violent language against anoher Duchy, except under the order of the Somerset Duchy council.

Art. 3.2.5. : The ambassador has the duty to communicate any treaty requests to the duchy council of Somerset, and can also propose treaties after the Somerset council approve the idea.

Art. 3.2.6. : The ambassador as a duchy agent has diplomatic immunity. To arrest and/or put into detention a Somerset ambassador is recognized as an act of war by the duchy council.

Art. 3.2.7. : Any ambassador can be removes from their office by a simple order of the duke.

Art. 3.2.8. : Any ambassador that fail in their duty will be charged with treason against Somerset duchy.

Article 3 – Defence Counsel procedure.

Art. 3.3.1. : The Defence Counsel is a person that offer their service to defend someone or help a witness in the judicial process of the court. They can charge a fee for their service.

Art. 3.3.2. : The Defence Counsel must be recognized by the county council to be able to work in Somerset as an official lawyer for the county.

Art. 3.3.3. : The Defence Counsel must have not commit any crime except slavery in the past 6 months in any kingdom of the world, or should have received official forgiveness by the Regent of England or the Duke of Somerset.

Art. 3.3.4. : The Defence Counsel, when hired by someone, can ask to have access to all reports that the prosecutor have on this case, and the prosecutor must make all reports available to Defence Council. If the proof cannot be shown and is private due to security reason, then the Defence Counsel must keep it private and if he doesn’t, his right to practice in Somerset will be revoked and will be charged with treason against Somerset.

Art. 3.3.5. : At any time the duchy council can revoke the right to practice to a person who practices as Defence Counsel. All cases already in Court with that person as the Defence Counsel can continue with that person as Defence Counsel. No new cases can be taken up by the person.

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