GENERAL TRIAL PROCEDURES
Within this post, I’ll be listing the different parts of the trial. Forgive me if it’s a bit out of place: many different things occur at the same time during trial, and I wish to address all of them.
Filing Charges/Dispute
The person and/or other members of their party who are filing for trial shall be known as the “prosecution” in a criminal case, or the “plaintiff” in a civil case. The person who is being charged/disputed against shall be known as the “accused” in a criminal case, or the “defense” in a civil case (note that “defense” can also be used to refer to the accused in a criminal case.)
It is suggested to use the proper application form for the suit (which form you use depends on if the case is civil or criminal. If you are confused, ask the Viceroy). Whether it is mandated by the current Viceroy or not is another matter. If you have doubts, use the application. If you are currently banned from The East Pacific and are seeking appeal, contact an Arbiter through NationStates Telegram with your nation name, your motion to appeal, and the legal basis for your appeal.
Upon the motion, the Viceroy shall initiate a pre-trial. This action is required; if the Viceroy fails to set up a pre-trial thread within a week, talk to the Delegate and Provost as well as the Arbiters about it.
Pre-Trial
Pre-Trial is when the Conclave determines if the matter actually deserves a full trial. In other words, a) is the dispute or charge a matter for the court and b) in the case of the charge, is it possible that the accused is guilty?
The Viceroy will make a pre-trial thread. Here, you can ask questions about the trial, whether it be the charges or about the schedule, or anything else. You can, if you wish, try to debate whether your case is worth a full trial or not, but please keep it civil.
By this point in the process, you should be able to communicate with the Viceroy. The Viceroy should have also posted the trial schedule by this point!
During Pre-Trial, the Viceroy will begin to facilitate evidence between both parties. Evidence procedures will be explained later on.
Sometime before or on the pre-trial date, the Viceroy will post the pre-trial verdict. Should the case not be dismissed, it will go on to a full trial. If the case IS dismissed, it is a non-appeal action and the case is dropped.
Trial
Eventually, on the trial starting date the Presiding Arbiter, chosen in Closed Chambers, will post the trial thread. At this point, you should be notified of the trial. The PA is the person you contact from now on for trial matters, not the Viceroy (unless the Viceroy is the PA).
You will have a certain number of days to declare your presence. The Presiding Arbiter will tell you when you’re supposed to do so. If the defense/accused fails to declare their presence, it’s possible that the trial will end with only the prosecution’s argument being considered.
After that, each party will take turns, with each turn being a certain number of days as set by the Presiding Arbiter. If you cannot make it to post your statement during a turn, have someone represent you. At this point, it’s just a debate about the matter with evidence being used to support the argument. The PA will tell you when your turn starts and when it ends. Don’t post without the PA’s permission.
Eventually, the trial will be locked and the Presiding Arbiter will determine the verdict. This is at the Presiding Arbiter’s discretion.
Once the verdict is posted, the Viceroy will take the necessary steps in order to make sure the verdict is fulfilled. At that point, the trial will be moved to a seperate forum and the matter will be closed. If you wish to appeal the trial, look at the Standing Orders of the Conclave to see how to do so.