Law of the Oan Isles

The law of the Oan Isles encompasses the Home Islands and the Kohatu Isles. However, the law of the Kohatu Isles is not always applicable in the Home Islands. The primary sources of law are The Constitution, statute, Royal Decree, delegated legislation, case law and traditional custom. The judiciary consists of the Supreme Court, High Court, Magistrate Courts, Traditional Courts and Military Courts. The Commission for Judicial Appointments oversees the selection of judges. Litigation happens per the adversarial system. Numerous rights such as protection from double jeopardy and from self-incrimination, ensure people have a fair and balanced trial. The Auroran law is binding on the Oan Isles.

Sources of law

The Constitution of the Oan Isles is the highest law in the land. All other laws are required to abide by the Constitution. The Constitution gives the National Assembly and the Emperor of Polynesia the power to pass statutory or primary legislation. The National Assembly and Emperor can delegate the power to male laws to other government bodies such as by-laws in the case of local government and regulations in the case of executive bodies. The Crown itself wields royal prerogatives which is exercises in the form of royal decrees. Because the Crown is required to abide by the advice of the Council of Ministers, the executive branch also has the power to issue royal decrees with respect to powers enumerated as royal prerogatives. Judges in turn interpret and apply the law. The decisions that arise from these cases become part of Oan jurisprudence via case law. Traditional customs of the Oan people which have been observed for century wield the force of law insofar as they do not conflict with other laws and are enforceable by the state. Nevertheless, disputes over what constitutes custom are resolved by case law (unless written into law via royal Decree or statute).

Judiciary

Superior courts

The Supreme Court of the Oan Isles is the final court of appeal of the country. All courts must abide by the interpretation of the Supreme Court and only a future bench of the Supreme Court may overturn a previous decision. It has the power to strike down laws which violate the Constitution.

The High Courts are courts of appeal and general jurisdiction on each major island or island group of the Oan Isles. Cases involving murder, rape, bankruptcy, mental capacity and so on, may only be heard by the High Court. In addition, all cases tried in lower courts can be presented to the High Court for appeal. The interpretation of the High Court is binding on all similar cases within the province of its jurisdiction insofar as that interpretation conforms to the Supreme Court. Thus, any interpretation by a High Court can be overturned by the Supreme Court. Nevertheless, most cases must be heard by a High Court before being heard by the High Court.

Lower courts

The Magistrate Courts handle the bulk of the workload in that they hear and adjudicated all trials not reserved for the high courts. These courts are ranked from most to least powerful as follows: regional, district and local. Each court can impose different punishments and listen to cases of a certain magnitude.

The Traditional Courts adjudicate matters which arise from traditional custom. Cases can be retried in the Magistrate Courts. Whereas, other courts consists of professional judges and magistrates, Traditional Courts consist of tribal Chiefs and local elders. Their jurisdiction includes rural land and fishing rights, bridal price, culturally significant sites and so on. Because most of the population live in the cities, the power of the Traditional Courts has waned significantly and their relevance in modern law has declined.

Military Courts enforce military discipline. This means that most cases involving a service member of the Military of the Oan Isles is subject to the military discipline system. The adjudicators are military officials such as commanding officers.

Appointment

Judges are appointed by the Emperor of Polynesia on the advice of the Prime Minister from recommendations by the Commission on Judicial Appointments. The Commission consists of teachers of law, lawyers, serving and retired judges and magistrates. It opens and advertises judicial vacancies, receives applications, conducts interviews, develops training materials, appointment criteria and educational guidelines. Magistrates are appointed by the Department of Justice on professional merit in line with the guidelines set by the CJA. Chiefs are hereditary nobles and elders are people in good standing with a tribe who have some legal experience or training. The head of the judiciary is the Chief Justice. He presides over and orchestrates the selection process for Supreme and High Court judges.

Complaints against the competency and fairness of a judge can be brought to the CJA. In which case a trial process is initiated as would happen with a normal case. Safeguards exists to prevent judges from being bogged down in cases to prevent them from exercising their duties.

Procedure

Litigants

Trials in the Oan Isles are conducted according to the adversarial system. This means one person accused another of violating their rights. That person has the responsibility of providing evidence and arguments that their rights were violated. The judge will look at the evidence and arguments presented to determine both whether the violation occurred and what the correct remedy is.

The one bringing the case in a civil trial is a complaint while the one against whom the case is brought is the respondent. In criminal matters, this is the plaintiff and the defendant respectively. In criminal cases, the Crown is charged with upholding the rights of its people, thus Crown prosecutors will represent the plaintiff. Some plaintiffs can elect to have their own prosecutor, but the Crown prosecutor is kept abreast of the case.

Stages

In most cases, a pretrial is held to determine whether a case should be heard by the court. The purpose of this exercise is to determine that a material violation of rights has occurred. Then a trial follows. There are two types of trials: a civil application is the presentation of written facts and arguments while an oral trial involves the cross examination of witnesses in front of a judge and oral presentation of arguments and facts. In an appeal, most of the adjudication happens by civil application. Nevertheless, oral presentations can be requested by the judge or judges hearing the case. There is no arguing between sides in an appeal. An appeal's main function is to display that the decisions of a lower court were procedurally or substantially inerrant. The aim is not to retry the case.

Rights

Litigants have the rights:

• To a fair trial before an impartial and qualified judge
• To present their case in public
• Not to be tried for the same matter twice
• Not to be tried for something which was legal when it was carried out but would be illegal of carried out under a new law.
• To competent representation
• To state representation when they cannot afford it (criminal cases),
• To a speedy and efficient trial
• To fair and just compensation
• To protection from degrading or humiliating punishment
• To confirm that a person is being held by the police.

There are many others but these few forms the basis of the legal system.

Legal profession

There are two recognised legal professionals: attorneys and advocates. These are called lawyers in common lexicon. All legal professionals require a minimum of a Bachelor of Laws degree from an Oan university or equivalent qualification at a recognised institution.

• Attorneys: To become an attorney, one needs to intern under an admitted attorney and write the Board Exams. All attorneys must be members of the Oan Law Society. Attorneys advise their clients on legal issues. Attorneys work in a law firm. Attorneys may not present cases before the Supreme Court or High Courts.
• Advocates: To become an advocate, one needs to intern under an advocate and write the Bar Exams. All advocates must be members of the Oan Bar Association. Advocates do not work with the public directly. They are employed by the state or by attorneys to present oral arguments to the courts. Only advocates may speak before the Supreme Court and the High Courts. Advocates work as individuals, but they can form chambers which are essentially affiliations of advocates operating as a law firm. Usually, only advocates can become Supreme or High Court justices.

International Influence

The Oan Isles is a member of the United Nations of the Auroran Continent, thus it is subject to the jurisdiction of the Auroran Court of Justice. This court has the power to determine whether the Oan Isles has violated the rights of another nation or whether the rights of the Oan Isles have been violated by another nation. The decisions of the ACJ are binding on all courts of the Oan Isles. The Auroran Court Justice has the power to interpret human rights legislation at a continental level. Thus, Oan courts are obligated to enforce decisions made by the ACJ. An Oan judge, currently Pounamu Waitangi, serves on the bench of the present ACJ.

The statutes of the UNAC Parliament are binding on the Oan Isles insofar as that statute is passed in areas over which the Oan Isles has ceded legislative authority to the UNAC. Special provisions in the Oan Isles' membership give it more latitude than mainland nations because of its unique geographical position and economic and social considerations. Thus, not all law that applies on mainland Aurora is automatically applicable to the Oan Isles. Similar provisions apply to insular members of the UNAC such as Dragonia.