Term I - Judiciary

[Lord Civius]

Judicial Review 1 Ruling
Judge Advocate Lord Civius

I have come to a decision and I find the AADP constitutes a political party. However I do not believe it was the intent of the group to form a political party. They are in fact "a group of citizens organized under shared political ideals". It is the duty of the court to uphold the constitution and Article A of the Hibernia constitution forbids political parties. The constitution does not define a political party so I will not attempt to define one myself. I suggest a better definition of what constitutes a "political party" under Article A should be revised by the legislative body. For the Judiciary to start writing law would IMO overstep the powers given us by the citizenry. I thank all of the citizens that joined the discussion of JR1.

 

[donsig]

The question before the court in this judicial review:

Is the Association for the Advancment of Democratic Principles (AADP) a political party?

This question cannot be answered without first defining political party. I think it is also necessary to define citizens group as well:

A citizens group is an assembly of citizens who band together for a common cause.

A political party is an assembly of citizens who band together to elect candidate(s) to office(s).

Using these definitions it is possible to consider a political party a narrow and specialized form of citizen's group. The next step would be to determine where the line is drawn between a citizens group that is a political party and one that is not. What characteristics does each group share and not share? How can a non-political party citizens group participate in our electoral process without crossing the line and becoming a political party?

One of the most loved citizen groups was the Spice Traders Guild in the first democracy game. Its avowed purpose was the expansion of trade. On the surface this is a non-political topic for a citizens group. Yet, if the Spice Traders Guild were not allowed to encourage its members to run for office, endorse candidates or even to campaign for candidates then what is the purpose of the guild? What is the point of having a citizens group if you're not organizing it to push the group's agenda? Isn't the whole purpose of forming a citizens group to try to influence the formation of the nation into an image consistent with the group's philosophy? By putting up a legal wall between citizens groups and elections do we not deprive the citizens in the Spice Traders Guild of some of their most basic democratic rights? What good are the rights to free speech and free assembly if they cannot be exercised in elections, the very basis of our democracy? My answer to these questions leads me to give wide latitude to citizens groups regarding our electoral process. Yet, this must still be reconciled with our constitutional ban on political parties and to do this I must have a more specific definition of a political party.

In order to fine tune my definition of a political party I must turn to real life (RL). RL political parties fit my earlier definition of a citizens group with the express purpose of electing candidates to office. One striking characteristic of RL political parties is their restrictive membership. A citizen can be a member of only one political party at a time. In the US one cannot be both a Democrat and a Republican. Another feature of RL political parties is that they are institutional and formally recognized by the government. The party submits a slate of candidates to run for office and indeed this is part of the established order for conducting elections, at least in the U. S. But even here party members are not compelled to vote a certain way even after they are elected to office. This is possible (at least for general elections) by the secret ballot, another cornerstone of democracy.

This leads to a refined legal definition of political party for our purposes:

A political party is an exclusive citizen's group formed for the express purpose of electing candidates to office with membership restricted to those citizens who vote for the citizen group's / political party's slate of candidates.

Using this definition, is the AADP a political party? The self stated purpose of the AADP is to:

Welcome to the Association for the Advancement of Democratic Principles, otherwise known as the AADP. This is an organization for individuals who believe in always upholding our democratic ideas, no matter how big we get, no matter how many wars we are in, no matter how unhappy we are, and no matter what economic situation we are in.

There is no mention of exclusivity, no requirements for admittance. No talk in the AADP thread about elections or candidates or who or what to vote for. Therefore I find:

According to the definitions I have formulated, the AADP is not a political party.

governor donsig
pro tem CJ for JR1

 

[Nobody]

JR1 Public Defender Ruling

Does the Association for the Advancement of Democratic Principles fit the definition of a political party under our laws?

Really two questions, what is the definition of political party under our laws and is the AADP a political party.

The Constitution does not define what a political party is it merely prohibits them.

The Chief Justice Pro tem has given us these three questions to help define a political party:

1. Why does our constitution ban political parties?
2. What is the function of citizens groups?
3. What actions are considered proper and improper for citizen groups to engage in?


The Constitution bans political parties because in the past people worried that having them would divide the nation. Citizens would join factions and the demogame would turn into a bitter war between these factions.

The function of citizens groups are so the members can group together and discuss or promote their common interests. Citizens groups need to be able to carry out these functions without turning into political parties,

I think that as long as the citizens groups aren’t forcing their members to Vote a certain way then they are fine.

Therefore I define a Political Party as “a collection of people who organize votes for or against specific individuals or policies.” (Shack,dave 2009)

Now I have the definition does the AADP fall under it? Reading the groups thread I see no reason to believe that they organise members to vote in a certain manner.

I enter my ruling that the Association for the Advancement of Democratic Principles is not a Political party.

I also recommend that the Assembly create Laws better defining a Political Party, or amend the constitution to allow them.

 

[donsig]

I also recommend that the Assembly create Laws better defining a Political Party, or amend the constitution to allow them.

I second that recommendation!

 

[Lord Civius]

I second that recommendation!

Yes it will be much easier to determine a political party once we have a legal definition in our constitution.

 

[donsig]

Yes it will be much easier to determine a political party once we have a legal definition in our constitution.

Might be better and easier to have it in the Code of Laws.

 

[Lord Civius]

Might be better and easier to have it in the Code of Laws.

Good point. I'll open a discussion in the citizens forum.

 

[Cyc]

Before our first Term ends, will we see additions to the Judicial Log? I believe we have at least two Judicial Reviews and an Amendment to the CoL.

 

[Black_Hole]

Before our first Term ends, will we see additions to the Judicial Log? I believe we have at least two Judicial Reviews and an Amendment to the CoL.

You will, but am I missing a JR? I count 1 JR and 1 amendment review. I think I may have called the amendment review a JR in my docket, but I'll change that.

 

[Black_Hole]

Judicial Review 1 Opinion
By 2-1 vote, the court has found that the AADP is not a political party as defined by Article A of the constitution. The majority found that a political party was a citizen's group whose purpose was to organize votes for candidates in an election.

Pro Tem CJ Ruling (Majority)
JA Ruling (Dissent)
PD Ruling (Majority)

 

[Cyc]

Thank you, CJ Black_Hole. Excellent work.