Osiris Fraternal Order

Cormac Somerset has lodged this petition for judicial review and prays for the nullification of the Colonies and Territories Act

Petitioner submits the following which call into question the constitutionality of the said law:

in mandating that a colonial governor may appoint their own successor in Section 1.1 and in mandating that a colonial governor cannot be removed except by the Deshret or criminal conviction by the Pschent in Section 3.1, the Act circumvents the power of the Pharaoh to appoint and remove senior executive officials and/or of Scribes to appoint and remove junior executive officials, and contradicts the power of the Pharaoh to further organize the executive branch of government (State Code, Sections 2.3-4).

in granting colonial governors broad power to "manage the [colonial] region as they see fit," Section 2.2. of the Colonies and Territories Act contradicts the power of the Pharaoh to serve as the Commander-in-Chief of Osiran military forces (State Code, Section 2.5). The acquisition, maintenance, and defense of colonial territory are acts that have an inherently military component, and insofar as governance of colonial territory can significantly impact the maintenance and defense of that territory, with implications for military commitments and deployments, colonial governance falls under the power of the Pharaoh as Commander-in-Chief.

This topic has been opened in accordance with Section 3, Article III of the Rules of the Pschent. I invite the Petitioner, Cormac Somerset, to make any legal submissions or arguments here regarding these questions. The Scribe of Seshat and the author of the assailed law, Venico BrightAxe are likewise invited to make submissions in opposition to those made by the Petitioner. Others members of the Temple of Seshat are also invited to make legal submissions either in support of or opposition to the petition.

The Pschent shall consider the questions and all submissions made, and resolve the petition by Monday unless debate is ongoing here or among the Elders in which event the date will be pushed back.

I fail to see how this is in executive authority. Sure the Pharaoh has the authority to order a raid on a region and the subsequent griefing and refounding of it but once it is refounded it is no longer under the military as troops are no longer stationed there as an occupation force.

I just wanted to notify the Pschent that I will have a brief posted tomorrow; I simply didn't have time today. I appreciate the Pschent's patience. Thank you, Your Honor.

Your advisement is noted. Thank you.

We await the submissions of the other parties invited to the proceedings.

1. As noted in my initial petition, Section 1.1 of the Colonies and Territories Act grants the initial power to appoint colonial governors to the Pharaoh:

1) Governors shall be Deshret members, appointed by the Pharaoh or by the previous Governor of that territory, to lead colonies, maintain the founder nation, and ultimately manage the region.

This places colonial governors firmly under the executive branch of government. Indeed, there are only three branches of government established by the State Code of Osiris: the executive, comprised of the Pharaoh, who is responsible for appointing the Vizier, the Hedjet, and the Atef, also members of the executive; the legislative, the Deshret; and the judicial, the Pschent.

While it is true that the Pharaoh also appoints Elders of the Pschent, it is made quite clear by the State Code of Osiris that the Pschent is an entirely separate branch of government. The Colonies and Territories Act does not mandate that colonial governorship is a branch of government separate from the executive, and indeed, to create a separate branch of government that detracts from the enumerated and implied powers of the other branches, the Deshret would need to amend the State Code.

Despite colonial governorship being under the executive, the same Section 1.1 of the Colonies and Territories Act gives colonial governors the power to appoint their own successors. In establishing criteria by which colonial governors can be removed from their position, Section 3.1 is also quite clear that the Pharaoh cannot remove colonial governors from their positions for any reason other than loss of citizenship or inactivity of the colonial Founder nation:

1) Unless convicted of a crime, loss of citizenship, loss of Deshret status, or if the founder nation falls inactive, the role of Governor stays with the citizen who is appointed, or a successor named by the appointed.

Conviction of crime or loss of Deshret status would, of course, be removals that result from action by the Pschent or the Deshret, respectively.

Insofar as colonial governors are clearly executive officials, this method of appointing and removing colonial governors contradicts Section 2.3 and 2.4 of the State Code:

3. The Pharaoh will have the power to appoint or remove any citizen as a senior cabinet official, styled Scribes of the Hedjet. Appointment of Scribes must be approved by the Deshret. Junior cabinet officials may be appointed at the discretion of the relevant Scribe.

4. The Pharaoh will have the power to further organize the executive branch of government. The Pharaoh may delegate any of the powers and areas of oversight prescribed to them under this Section to officials in the executive branch of government. Such delegation does not affect the exercise by the Pharaoh of any such power or oversight.

Although it can be argued that Guardians of the Atef are executive officials and the Pharaoh does not have the power to remove them from office, the office of Guardian is explicitly established by the State Code as a constitutional office with clear constitutional mechanisms for appointment and removal. In the case of all other executive officials, the State Code is quite clear that the Pharaoh has the power to appoint and remove senior executive officials, that Scribes have the power to appoint and remove junior executive officials, and that the Pharaoh has the exclusive power to further organize the executive branch of government beyond what is mandated by the State Code.

Allowing colonial governors to appoint their successors, and restricting the Pharaoh from removing colonial governors for any reason, clearly undermines and contradicts executive powers of the Pharaoh that are explicitly enumerated by the State Code of Osiris.

2. Section 2.2 of the Colonies and Territories Act grants colonial governors an additional power:

2) The Governor is free to apply Osiris law, or manage the region as they see fit.

This contradicts Sections 2.1 and 2.5 of the State Code:

1. The Pharaoh will serve as the chief executive officer of Osiris, representing Osiris as Head of State and administering Osiris as Head of Government.

5. The Pharaoh will serve as commander-in-chief of the military forces of Osiris and will have the power to order and authorize deployments.

It is quite clear that colonies and territories are regional property of the Osiris Fraternal Order. As the Pharaoh is the Head of State and Head of Government of the Osiris Fraternal Order, it follows that the Pharaoh should remain the ultimate authority in the governance of territory that is property of the Osiris Fraternal Order. Permitting colonial governors the power to "manage the [colonial] region as they see fit" infringes upon the Pharaoh's constitutional authority over the state and government of the Osiris Fraternal Order.

It is also clear that the acquisition, maintenance, and defense of colonial territory involves a significant military component. In the case of colonial territory that is acquired by force, the Pharaoh must order or authorize deployment for such an operation. In the case of colonial territory in which the Founder nation falls inactive and ceases to exist, it will be the responsibility of the Pharaoh to order or authorize deployment of Osiran military forces to defend the colonial territory and guarantee its security as a territory of the Osiris Fraternal Order.

As colonial administration requires significant potential military commitments from the Osiris Fraternal Order, it is clear that, as Commander-in-Chief of Osiran military forces, the Pharaoh must have ultimate authority over the administration of colonies and territories, as it will be the Pharaoh who will have the ultimate responsibility for their acquisition, if acquired by force, and their defense in all cases, should the colonial Founder nation be mismanaged.

I thank Your Honor and the other esteemed Elders of the Pschent for your consideration.

I shall be abstaining from this discussion but appreciate my invitation. I believe the Elders have a much better understanding of the State Code than myself and shall thus hand this off to them.

A notice that the Pschent will be delivering its judgment shortly. We thank the parties for their patience.

Your Honor, the Colonies and Territories Act has been repealed by new legislation. I believe this new legislation has resolved the constitutional issues, and in any case the legislation this petition was filed for has been repealed, so I move to withdraw my petition for judicial review. I thank the Pschent for its time.

I also second what Cormac said and curse him for beating me to it. =P