Edict of Settlement, 1796

[John Ivory 4546]

THE EDICT OF SETTLEMENT

 

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9th of Godfrey's Triumph, 1796

 

It is the desire of Their Imperial Majesties, acting on the basis of years of cooperation, collaboration and otherwise fraternity with the elves of the Empire, to reserve for them a stake of land of their personal domain with which to settle under the protection of the Crown. This reservation, defined as the Pale of Settlement or simply the Pale in shorthand, shall be established from the time of the proclamation of this decree, the terms of such settlement defined therein with this very resolution.

As such, We do resolve...

 

PROVISION I: On the Pale, sovereignty and nationality

 

I. That the Pale is comprised of a portion of the Gnarled Forest, due west of the city of Providence.

II. That the Pale be defined as a reservation for elvenkind under the personal protection of Their Imperial Majesties. 

III. That the Pale be established as the sovereign territory of the Holy Orenian Empire with the status of a reservation, with specific details of governance established in further provisions of this document.

IV. That the elves resident in the Pale be considered Imperial subjects, or in the shorthand Imperials, for all legal intents and purposes, and as such they are to be considered loyal countrymen of the Empire, who are hostile to all her enemies. 

 

PROVISION II: On jurisdiction, privileges and terms of settlement

 

I. That the Pale be outside of the normal jurisdiction of the Holy Orenian Empire for the purposes of courts of judicature, civil government and ecclesiastical parishes, as a personal reservation of property set aside by Their Imperial Majesties.

II. That the Pale’s elven residents be granted freedom of religion along with immunity from any blasphemy or religious laws that may otherwise be in effect within the Empire. 

III. That the Pale be permitted to legislate its own laws in respect to its devolved powers, so long as said laws are compatible with the Imperial Constitution and the terms of this decree, and that in the case of any contradictions between such legislation and this decree, this document shall take precedence.

IV. That the Pale’s jurisdiction over criminal and civil offenses extend only to those offenses committed within its territory. 

V. That the Pale’s elven residents, in the event that they were to commit criminal or civil offenses outside of the Pale, be subject to the normal jurisdiction of the Empire.

VI. That the Pale be permitted to maintain its own policing force as it deems fit, outside of the command of the Imperial State Army, insofar as any combatants of said policing force may be levied by the General Staff or Their Imperial Majesties personally, in defense of the Empire and for other uses against her enemies.

VII. That the Pale be free from the ordinary garrison or otherwise presence of a military force with the exception of instances of defense, clear travel through (defined as ‘through’ or ‘across’, for strategic purposes) or an emergency.

VIII. That the Pale be home only to elves with the exception of those non-elves granted explicit permission to be resident there by its government.

IX. That the Pale retain protections for the elvish language provided every effort is taken to ensure that translations to common are readily available.

 

PROVISION III: On the government of the Pale

 

I. That the Pale’s executive personage in question is entitled the Warden of the Pale, who shall serve as the territory’s head of government, judicial authority and the general representative of its elven residents, discharging his duties as a loyal subject of Their Imperial Majesties.

PROVISION IV: On devolved and reserved powers

 

I. That the Pale’s devolved powers, on which their government may enact legislation or otherwise act on within the bounds of their physical jurisdiction, consist of:

 

• Agriculture and construction. 
• Courts and judicature, including law enforcement.
• Education.
• Health.
• Religion.

 

II. That the Empire’s reserved powers, on which the Pale’s government may not enact legislation involving or contradictory to, consist of: 

 

• Capital offenses (espionage, treason and murder). 
• Foreign affairs as well as terrorism both domestic and external.
• Trade (exports, imports and tariffs). 

 

PROVISION V: On the interpretation of this document

 

I. That in the case of any provision of this document’s wording being ambiguous or otherwise requiring interpretation, in the case of a dispute, it shall be subject to a civil case heard fairly and impartially by the Imperial Supreme Court on which the ruling shall be precedential.