Fortressian Law

Fortressian law refers to the totality of the Pillow Fortress's legal documents, traditions, practices, and institutions. It is arguably a form of common law, having descended from the legal systems of the United States of America, which itself was a descendent of the English legal tradition. Fortressian Law is distinct though in that when compared to those older systems it is a "blank slate", which is to say that though it uses the system of precedent in the interpretation and application of law, it comes without the precedents established by prior common law systems, but rather must develop its own precedents. This isn't to say that Fortressian judges are prohibited from looking to other common law systems for guidance, but instead that whenever possible legal disputes within the Principality should be adjudicated within the context of the Principality. This also means that Fortressian judges, as they might look to other common law systems for guidance, may look to any other legal system for guidance, including but not limited to civil law and socialist law.

Laws

The Pillow Fortress has a tiered system of law, from highest to lowest:

• State Charter

The State Charter of the Principality of the Pillow Fortress is the supreme law. It establishes certain fundamental characteristics of the Principality which are not to be changed under any circumstances, such as the name, the monarchy, the protected classes, and the fundamental relationship between the state as embodied by the Princess and the citizens. The State Charter is a short document, consisting of only twelve articles. Most of what would otherwise be located in the supreme law of a country, such as the form and function of government, is left to the Constitution.

• Constitution

The Constitution of the Principality of the Pillow Fortress, also known as the Constitution of the Year I, or, simply, the Constitution, is the second highest of the Principality's laws. The Constitution establishes the government, and in so doing also establishes the means by which additional, subordinate laws may be enacted. In fact, much of the specifics of government operation are devolved to these lesser laws, allowing for greater experimentation in, say, the method of elections or the composition of the executive branch and its cabinet.

• Royal Decree

Royal Decrees are issued by the Princess at her discretion and carry the force of law unless overturned by the Directory. They are technically equal in authority to the laws of the Pillow Fortress Code, and must comply with all the restrictions for laws established within the Constitution. In the time when there are too few citizens to operate the Directory, most of the legislating in the Principality is done through Royal Decree. Ideally these decrees will be incorporated into the Pillow Fortress Code at a later date, and then be used relatively sparingly after that.

• Pillow Fortress Code

The Pillow Fortress Code is the digest of all laws passed by the Directory in accordance with procedure and limitations as set down in the Constitution. The bulk of Fortressian laws are to be found within the code, including entire specialized legal systems for governing the various Pillow Fortress institutions, including its government and its armed forces.

• Regulation

Regulations are the lowest form of Fortressian law. They are not set by the Directory, but rather set by those institutions and organizations within the Throne empowered to regulate. This is done so that regulations may be changed quickly and in response to their real world application and consequences, rather than every single one needing to go through the entire process of modification within the Directory, which may be prohibitively time consuming. The legal means by which regulations are enforced are laws within the Pillow Fortress Code which makes violating or flaunting proper regulations a crime. Regulations set by non-governmental organizations, such as the bylaws of the Libertine Party, might take inspiration from Fortressian law but they don't technically count as Fortressian law.

Institutions

Strictly speaking any organ of the government is a legal institution, especially those that have the power to regulate, however there are three main institutions which are wholly concerned with the law and its application: the Directory from which most laws originate, the Xeer which adjudicates the law, and the Department of Justice which enforces the law by a variety of means. Being independent of one another these organs work within their areas of responsibility in the manner they determine to be best, and its the interplay between the outcomes of these sometimes opposing perspectives and forces which forms the trialectical process of Fortressian law.

Enforcement

Despite sincere efforts to formulate the alternative, it is impossible to have a working system of law which does not also have some mechanism for compulsory enforcement. The Peacekeepers serve this function within the Principality, having many of the powers and responsibilities of traditional forms of police, but with many key differences to better operate within the Pillow Fortress's unique circumstances.