[Ruling Request] Status of the Council of Viziers After Removal of the Chief Vizier

[Cormac]

Your Honors,

Kowassati has been removed from the office of Chief Vizier in accordance with Article II, Section 1(5) of the Scroll of Ma'at. As a forum administrator responsible for implementing masking changes, I request a ruling on the status of the Council of Viziers appointed by former Chief Vizier Kowassati. Specifically, does the Council of Viziers appointed by the former Chief Vizier remain in office until a new Chief Vizier is elected, or is the Council of Viziers automatically removed from office along with the Chief Vizier?

To settle a related matter of law, when a new Chief Vizier has been elected either in the course of an ordinary election or under extraordinary circumstances, does the Council of Viziers appointed by the former Chief Vizier remain in office until a new Council of Viziers is appointed by the new Chief Vizier and approved by the Pharaoh, or is the Council of Viziers automatically removed from office upon the former Chief Vizier's expiration of term when a new Chief Vizier is elected?

May it please the Council of Priests, the Council may wish to consider two points in making this ruling:

(1) While this is the first time a Chief Vizier has been removed from office and thus there is no established custom directly related to these circumstances, it has been established custom that, following the election of a new Chief Vizier, the Council of Viziers appointed by the former Chief Vizier is automatically removed from office even before the new Chief Vizier has appointed a new Council of Viziers. This precedent has carried over across multiple governments.

(2) Article II, Section 1(4) of the Legal Code of the Osiris Fraternal Order establishes as a provision of ordinary election law that, should an electoral period for any reason be delayed, the incumbent official (i.e., the Chief Vizier) will continue to hold office until conclusion of the electoral period. While obviously this provision does not apply to these circumstances, as the Chief Vizier has been deliberately removed from office and is not merely facing expiration of term, this provision nonetheless suggests the intent of the Council of Scribes to provide for continuity of executive government under extraordinary circumstances. This suggested intent of the legislature may have some bearing on this Council's ruling in regard to the status of the Council of Viziers appointed by the former Chief Vizier.

I thank the Council of Priests for its time.

Related Law

Scroll of Ma'at
Legal Code of the Osiris Fraternal Order

[Anabelle]

Thank you for your request, Cormac.

Your request has been brought before the Council of Priests for deliberation. Once it's finished we will let you know our decision.