Criminal justice system of Urcea: Difference between revisions

The tiered court system is the method by which judges are appointed in [[Urcea]] in a method created in [[1989]] in an attempt to remove partisan influence from the courts. Judges typically serve staggered ten year terms, with the exception of the Archjustice of the Archducal Court of Urceopolis, who serves at the pleasure of the [[Concilium Daoni]]. At the diocesan level, the provincial court is responsible for identifying and nominating potential candidates, with the national standard requiring that nominees are members of their respective provincial bar, are at least 30 years old, and are a baptized [[Levantine Catholic Church|Catholic]]. Once a pool of candidates, typically ten, are identified, the Governor is responsible for choosing the final selection for judge. The provincial appointment process is largely similar, although a third of all judicial appointments for each provincial court are reserved for the [[Apostolic King of Urcea]]. Contrary to popular opinion, these appointments - called "Royal Judges" - are not necessarily made according to {{wp|constitutional advice}}, although most judges are appointed at the recommendation of the sitting [[Procurator]] and [[Chancellor and Temporary President]] with significant input from the King. Unlike other judges, the King does not have to select from an unlimited pool, and also unlike other judges, his nominations must receive final approval from the respective provincial legislature. The remaining, non-Royal Judges, are choosen by the Governor from an eligible pool of candidates chosen by judges from the conrudimental court. The conrudimental courts have a different system of appointment from the other courts, but still serve ten year terms and have the same eligibility requirements. Provincial courts have the ability to suggest a pool of candidates, but unlike the other processes these suggestions are non-binding. Appointments are chosen by the [[Procurator]] from any eligible individual living within the conrudiment and must be approved by a three-fourths vote of the [[Concilium Daoni]], with the vote threshold established to protect against partisan nominees. If the Procurator and Daoni fail to agree on a nominee within three months of the opening, the [[Apostolic King of Urcea]] is allowed to appoint a judge on his own authority, and said judge serves a two year term, only after which point the Procurator may attempt to make another nomination.  

Unlike many other [[Occidental]] democracies, [[Urcea]] does not have a specially constituted {{wp|supreme court}}. In practice, the court of final appeal is the Archducal Court of Urceopolis. While the Archducal Court, ''de jure'', is equal in legal stature and scope to other provincial and subdivisional courts, it serves as the national appellate court. The legal mechanism giving the court national jurisdiction comes from the theoretical ability of the [[Apostolic King of Urcea]] to refer any case to any court for any reason or to directly decide cases himself; in practice, this power is used as a constitutional mechanism for appellate of conrudiment-level decisions, which occurs on the {{wp|constitutional advice}} of the Archjustice.