Forwellian City Law

Political Law

Political Law is primarily concerned with how the administration works in Forwell. This would be stuff like how the Governor gets appointed, how the Distract Lords get appointed, how the people can communicate via the town elders, and how the town elders are chosen.

The Governor has in his/her power to dismiss a member of the Court of Judges at any time he/she desires for any reason he/she desires.

Justices may be appointed by the Court of Judges or by the Governor. If the Governor appoints a Justice, the Judges may vote to accept or reject the appointee. If the Court of Judges appoints a Judge, the Governor may veto that appointment if she/he wishes.

Categories

Noble Law

Noble Laws cover the rights of noblemen as they exist above and beyond the rights of common law. In a society such as this one, the laws are anything but equal. And it isn't just bribery and selective justice. It's actually written down and there for anyone who can understand it to read. These laws are often loopholes of existing laws for nobles to use in their own defense. Is it unfair? Absolutely! But in the medieval world, the nobles make the laws. (Isn't it ironic they call themselves "noble")? Whenever a noble is tried in court for a crime, they can evoke Noble Law in their defense, which often means they will win the outcome of a trial simply because the judge will rule on the law and the jury won't even have a say. Noble laws exist as a superset for Business and Trade Law, Inheritance Law, Inquisitional Law and Criminal Law.

Common Law

Common law is for everyone except the nobles, although much of it applies to them as well unless it isn't stated explicitly, and even then the noble laws possess bills and charters that allow the nobles to circumvent many of the common laws. Common laws exist as a superset for Business and Trade Law, Inheritance Law, Inquisitional Law and Criminal Law.

Military Law

Military Law is only applicable to members of the Forwell militia. It is a super-category because if you are not a member of the militia, you will never be tried under it. It does not apply to the City Guard - they fall under common law because those are also the laws they enforce.

Divine Law

All Divine Laws are declared by the Temples, and they may vary slightly from temple to temple. The Temple District itself uses divine law, and if you are caught committing a crime in the temple district, then you will be tried not by the Administration of Forwell, but by the temple that you committed the crime against. In essence, the Temple District operates as a separate administration when it comes to crime and punishment, and they have their own set of laws for this. The laws declaring Divine Law as being the laws of the Temple District are part of Common Law, and only apply to the Temple District. Every other district in Forwell uses the standard laws. Because of this, most lawyers who deal with Divine Law specialize in it and do not act as defense attorneys anywhere else in the city.

Note:
All of the following categories are sub-sets of noble law, common law, military law, or divine law. In other words if you pick up a tome on Criminal Law, it will contain a large section on common criminal law, and a sub-section on noble criminal law and the others. In most cases there will actually be several separate tomes: Noble Criminal Law, Common Criminal Law, Divine Criminal Law and Military Criminal Law.

Sub-Categories

Business and Trade Law

Probably the most commonly used set of laws, these deal with commerce in the city. They list tax information, debt information, how to conduct loans, how to buy and sell property, how to deal with most of the things you'd do in a good game of monopoly (except go to and get out of jail).

Inheritance Law

Obviously this deals with who gets the goods from the dead people. It defines wills and how they're created. It defines how a body is buried or burned or otherwise dealt with.

Inquisitional Law

This deals primarily with the identification and prosecution of those who pander with the forces of Hell or use magic in an unauthorized or prohibited manner (basically anyone not registered to use magic). Inquisitional law is mostly about proving a person is a mage or a follower of Hell. But it also covers the typical punishments and how they are to be enacted based on the various crimes.

Criminal Law

For any crime not specific to Inquisitional Law, there is criminal law. These laws state what evidence is needed to convict a criminal, and at this point in the past the eye witness is the most important piece. Therefore a lot of criminal crime deals with how to establish the credibility of a witness and what criteria are needed in order to ensure a witness is trustworthy. It also deals with the dispensation of justice and punishment.

The instructions given by the city guard  are considered to be the enforcement of laws set forth be the Governor. Therefore disobedience to a City Guard is considered to be disrespect to the Governor and is subject to a fine of five royals, or a day in the stocks, or a public whipping. The sentence to be determined by the Justice who hears the case, and to be commensurate with the level of disrespect shown to the City Guard.