Special Commission on the Judiciary – (aka The Soothsayer Rules)
- Substantial concerns regarding the Judiciary Act and its implementation have been raised by a significant number of citizens, a number of proposals have been made to amend or repeal the Judiciary Act, and considerable discussion has taken place on the forums.
- The RA concludes that it is appropriate to seek public input regarding the Judiciary Act beyond that which occurs on the forums, and therefore appoints a Special Commission on the Judiciary, to be co-chaired by an RA member to be named by the leader of each faction. Any citizen may join as a member of the Commission by sending notification to the LRA by IM.
- The Special Commission shall take public testimony regarding the Judiciary Act, judicial qualifications, and the Code of Procedure in at least two hearings to be scheduled by the co-chairs between (a) _1_:00 pmSLT and _4_:00 SLT (Euro-friendly) and (b) 3:00 SLT and 10:00 pm SLT (US mainland friendly). Each citizen wishing to address the Commission shall be afforded the opportunity to speak uninterrupted for up to five minutes, following which testimony the hearing shall be open for dialogue. Public testimony may also be made by written submission to the forums.
- The Special Commission shall meet on December 13, 2006 to make written recommendations to the RA no later than 5:00 pm SLT on December 14, 2006 regarding what action, if any, the RA should take on the various proposals to amend or repeal the Judiciary Act, and the recommendations shall be posted on the forums. Any member or group of members of the Special Commission may submit dissenting opinions on the forums.
- The RA will consider the report of the Special Commission and any dissenting opinions during its regularly scheduled meeting on December 16, 2006.
- The Code of Procedure issued on December 5, 2006 is hereby replaced with the following:
- Rule 1 – Initiating notecard A case is be initiated by submitting a notecard containing (1) name of the Complainant, (2) name of the Respondent(s), and (3) a short and simple statement of the facts of the case. The notecard shall be dropped into the inventory of the Chair of the Judiciary Commission, who shall within 24 hours send the notecard and IM notice of the submission of the notecard to each defendant(s), and the Chair shall maintain a record of having done so.
- Rule 2 – Reply notecardA Respondent shall reply to the initiating notecard within ten days by submitting a reply notecard containing a short and simple statement of the facts of the case. The reply notecard shall be dropped into the inventory of the Chair of the Judiciary Commission, who shall within 24 hours send the notecard and IM notice of the submission of the notecard to the Complainant, and the Chair shall maintain a record of having done so.
- Rule 3 – Pretrial hearingWithin ten days of service of the Rule 2 notecard on the Complainant(s), the court shall convene a meeting of the parties (either at the same time in world, via IM, or via email) to discuss any procedures required for handling the case. The parties may agree on a pretrial order setting forth the procedures and timetable by which the case will be handled, including any trial procedures. In the event that no agreement is reached, the court may issue a pretrial order.
- Rule 4 – No costs, attorneys fees or other expensesThere shall be no court costs or attorneys fees assessed against any party, and all parties shall bear their own expenses, unless a contract between the parties or an Act passed by the RA provides otherwise.
- Rule 5 – JudgmentsThe court may enter judgment following trial, or upon motion by a party as long as all parties have been given an opportunity to be heard on the motion. The court may enter judgment by default if a party fails to participate at any stage, so long as the party is given notice via notecard providing for at least ten days to show cause why default judgment should not be entered.
passed as revised 10 December 2006