Lex Aurelia de legionibus (Nova Roma)

Preamble

Whereas in the Declaration of Nova Roma, the New Roman People renounced, “eternally and without exception”, the use of force in the pursuit of the restoration of the Roman republic, in order to exist “as a lawful, peaceful and benign nation, in accord with the principles acknowledged and shared by the world community”, the Army of the New Roman People (Exercitus Populi Novi Romani) may only exist as a ceremonial honor guard and martial arts corps promoting the history of the Roman army and spreading Romanitas and the idea of Nova Roma in the modern world through educational activity, experimental archaeology and historical reenactment. For 20 years, the status of the military reenactment groups of Nova Roma wasn’t regulated by permanent legislation, however, as the expansion of our republic necessitates this, in the 20th Anniversary Year of Nova Roma, the Sacred Year of Concordia, as a tribute to our founding principles, the Nova Roman People enacts the following law:

I.

The entirety of all the military units of Nova Roma is the Exercitus (Reconstructivus/Ritualis) Populi Novi Romani Quiritium (the Reenactment Armed Forces of the New Roman People of the Quirites), and, as a consequence of their imperium, its ceremonial supreme commanders and commanders-in-chief are the consules of the year, its vice-supreme commanders are the praetores, the territorial commanders-in-chief are governors of the provinces, but other, specially appointed commanders may exist, as well.

II.:

The Exercitus Populi Novi Romani Quiritium is composed of independent, autonomous, self-governing reenactment units which all have their own rules of operation, determined by themselves. Their independence can be of varying degree according to their own decision about how much control they want to retain for themselves, but in the list of priority in the access to privileges within Nova Roma the principle must be observed that the more involved is the central management of Nova Roma in the management of the unit, the more support shall be given to the reenactment unit from the organization.

III.

The highest units of the Reenactment Armed Forces of Nova Roma are the autonomous, self-governing military units, three types of which can exist: the Autonomous Reenactment Legio, the Autonomous Reenactment Cohors, and the Autonomous Reenactment Exercitus, which is an independent and self-governing reenactment organization composed of more than one Legiones. Each Autonomous Reenactment Unit in Nova Roma is completely self-governing and operates according to their own rules and practices. The difference between the Autonomous Reenactment Legio and Cohors is in name only, and it is determined only by the reenactors’ intention of what type of ancient Roman unit they want to represent, therefore these all can be colloquially referred to in a simplified form as “legion (Legio, Cohors) or joint legions (Exercitus) of Nova Roma”, but in order to avoid confusion, all three categories will be referred to as “Automonous Reenactment Unit of Nova Roma” henceforward if all of them are indicated at the same time.

IV.

An Autonomous Reenactment Unit of Nova Roma can be established only by an official act of levy of a magistrate or governor with imperium. If a Roman military reenactment group wishes to be part of Nova Roma, or if a Nova Roman citizen or group of citizens wish to create a new reenactment group as part of Nova Roma, they shall obtain the consent of the provincial governor with imperium or any magistrate with imperium, who then shall issue an edict on the levy of the reenactment unit in question, specifying the unit as a Nova Roman military reenactment unit. A reenactment group can be declared as a Nova Roman unit only if it requires by rule that all of its soldiers (not including tirones) have to be Nova Roman citizens. The Chief Commanding Officer (CO, simply “commander” hereafter) of the Nova Roman reenactment unit shall be ceremonially appointed by a magistrate or governor with imperium, but the actual method of selecting the commander shall be done according to the internal rules of the unit. The appointment by the Nova Roman authorities is purely a formal and ceremonial action, and the magistrate or governor with imperium must appoint any citizen as commander whom the leadership of the unit requests.

V.

The internal structure of these autonomous units, whether they are composed of more divisions, regiments, battalions, companies or squads (legiones, cohortes, manipuli, centuriae, contubernia), is left to the internal decision of that reenactment unit. Nova Roma will keep direct contact only with the autonomous top unit (which encompasses all subdivisions and represents the totality of the reenactment organization), and the responsible contact person and representative for Nova Roma will be the Chief Commanding Officer of the Autonomous Reenactment Unit.

VI.

The Chief Commanding Officer of an autonomous reenactment unit of Nova Roma must hold the military rank of Tribunus, or the title of Praefectus Cohortis or Praefectus Legionis, which are not military ranks proper, but political military offices. If the commander’s military rank is not Tribunus, he can hold any other military rank (Tesserarius, Optio, Centurio etc…), but he must immediately be promoted to, and must concurrently hold, the political army rank of Praefectus as well. The rank of Praefectus is automatically granted by Nova Roma to a commander of any autonomous Nova Roman reenactment unit, but formally they shall receive their appointment from the governor of the province where the group resides or from the consuls or from other magistrates with imperium, and the appointing governor or magistrate shall be the immediate ceremonial superior of the appointed commander. This appointment is a requirement to the establishment or recognition of a new Nova Roman unit, and each autonomous unit leader is entitled to it. The duty of the autonomous unit commander is to serve as the representative of Nova Roma within the unit and for the public, and as liaison and coordinator between the leadership of Nova Roma and his unit.

VII.

A commander of an autonomous Legio, or a commander of an autonomous Exercitus, composed of more than one legions, shall wear the political rank of Legatus or Legatus Legionis. This rank is not granted automatically, however, but it is granted at the discretion of the Senate or of a governor or magistrate with imperium. The rank of Legatus is not permanent, it is not a military rank proper, but a political office within the military, and it expires after the term of office is over. In case it has expired, the commander can ask for a renewal of his appointment. If he doesn’t get immediately re-appointed, he can still continue as the actual commander of his reenactment group (but now as Praefectus or Tribunus) without any interruption.

VIII.

Besides fully Nova Roman reenactment units, Nova Roma accepts allied military reenactment units as its partner groups. If a Roman or any ancient Roman-era military reenactment group (Germanic, Gallic etc.) wishes to be an allied unit of Nova Roma, they shall obtain the consent of the provincial governor with imperium or any magistrate with imperium, who then shall issue an edict on the acceptance of the reenactment unit in question, specifying the unit as a military reenactment unit allied to Nova Roma. A reenactment group can be declared as an allied unit of Nova Roma only if it has at least one Nova Roman citizen among its soldiers who shall be the representative of Nova Roma within the unit and for the public, and as liaison and coordinator between the leadership of Nova Roma and his unit. There are no other requirements regarding the internal structure of an Allied Autonomous Reenactment Unit.

IX.

A Roman-era military reenactment organization representing any ancient Roman-era culture or ethnicity can apply for the status of recommended or sponsored military unit of Nova Roma with the title “friend of Nova Roma” (amicus populi Novi Romani). If a Roman or any ancient Roman-era military reenactment group (Germanic, Gallic etc.) wishes to be a friend of Nova Roma, they shall obtain the consent of the provincial governor with imperium or any magistrate with imperium, who then shall issue an edict on the acceptance of the reenactment unit in question, specifying the unit as a friend of Nova Roma. A reenactment group can be declared as a friend of Nova Roma only if it makes a reference to its friendship with Nova Roma on its main internet location (website or social media page). There are no other requirements regarding the internal structure of an Allied Autonomous Reenactment Unit. A unit that is a friend of Nova Roma shall have the right to have its own page on the Nova Roma website where it can introduce and promote itself, and shall have a limited number of promotional opportunities on the fora or social media pages and groups of Nova Roma.

X.

An Autonomous Reenactment Unit shall have the following privileges granted by Nova Roma:

X.A.

A Nova Roman military reenactment unit shall have unlimited use of the website and online communication channels of Nova Roma for advertisement, recruitment and announcements of any kind, restricted only by reasonable forum moderation in case of disruptive or uncooperative behavior.

X.B.

A Nova Roman military reenactment unit shall have unlimited priority access to expert counsel and assistance regarding research and questions about Roman culture, religion, history, archaeology, military, Latin language or any questions requiring professional assistance for a Roman legionary reenactment unit.

X.C.

A Nova Roman military reenactment unit shall have priority entitlement to financial or other type of support depending on the state of the treasury.

X.D.

A Nova Roman military reenactment unit shall have unlimited right to cooperation and networking with all other Nova Roman legions, allied units and groups that are friends of Nova Roma, with priority granted regarding invitations to public appearances and business opportunities offered by other Nova Roman units or by the central or provincial administrations of Nova Roma.

X.E.

All these privileges are granted for free to an Autonomous Reenactment Unit of Nova Roma: there is no membership fee, there is no requirement regarding activity and it is not mandatory to appear at Nova Roma events or to do certain things; the unit can operate entirely according to its internal organization. The only requirement regarding activity remains that the unit must recognize its programs, events as events of Nova Roma.

XI.

An Autonomous Reenactment Unit or any subdivision unit of an autonomous military reenactment organization of Nova Roma shall fulfill, and once fulfilled, it shall maintain, the following requirements before being conscripted as a Nova Roman legion or other unit type:

XI.A.

A Nova Roman military reenactment unit shall possess, use, respect and honor with salutation a flag of Nova Roma as its most sacred national flag publicly besides its own unit standards and flags.

XI.B.

A Nova Roman military reenactment unit shall respect and honor with salutation the magistrates and other state officers of Nova Roma, and shall recognize these magistrates as their own state magistrates, but this remains a ceremonial requirement and the magistrates of Nova Roma don’t have any right to give orders to an Autonomous Reenactment Unit unless it is agreed upon otherwise by the leadership of the unit.

XI.C.

A Nova Roman military reenactment unit shall recognize the rank of the officers of other Nova Roman legions as real and equal to its own ranks; this is a purely formal and ceremonial gesture, officers of another reenactment unit shall not have any actual commanding power within an autonomous reenactment unit unless with mutual agreement between the groups.

XI.D.

All programs and events of a Nova Roman reenactment unit shall count as programs and events of Nova Roma, Nova Roma shall have the right to use the events, programs, photos or promotional materials of the unit, and the unit can also advertise all other programs of Nova Roma as its own programs within the extended organization. A reenactment group of Nova Roma shall state this fact on its main internet location (website or social media page), and shall post a link to the Nova Roma website on its main internet location.

XI.E.

Reenactor soldiers of a military unit of Nova Roma shall swear an oath of loyalty to the Nova Roman Republic in which they pledge to promote Roman culture and traditions, Roman virtues and values through their educational activities as reenactors. Reenactor soldiers of Nova Roma must keep the safety of their members and the safety of their audience as their highest priority during their performances, must abstain from any form of real violence of harmful intention, must maintain a high ethical standard of civilized and polite behavior, benevolence and spirit of brotherhood toward all reenactors, must avoid uncivilized conflicts with other groups, or if a conflict emerges, they must not let such conflicts be noticeable to the public in any form.

XII.

An allied military reenactment unit of Nova Roma shall have the following privileges granted by Nova Roma:

XII.A.

An allied military reenactment unit of Nova Roma unit shall have the right to use of the website and the online communication channels of Nova Roma for advertisement, recruitment and announcements of any kind, restricted by the priority rights of the fully Nova Roman legions to these tools.

XII.B.

An allied military reenactment unit of Nova Roma shall have access to expert counsel and assistance regarding research and questions about Roman culture, religion, history, archaeology, military, Latin language or any questions requiring professional assistance for a Roman legionary reenactment unit. This right is restricted by the priority rights of the fully Nova Roman legions to these tools.

XII.C.

A Nova Roman military reenactment unit shall have right to cooperation and networking with all other Nova Roman legions, allied units and groups that are friends of Nova Roma.

XII.D.

All these privileges are granted for free to an allied unit of Nova Roma: there is no membership fee, there is no requirement regarding activity and it is not mandatory to appear at Nova Roma events or to do certain things; the unit can operate entirely according to its internal organization.

XIII.

An allied military reenactment unit of Nova Roma shall fulfill, and once fulfilled, it shall maintain, the following requirements before being recognized as an allied unit of Nova Roma:

XIII.A.

An allied military reenactment unit of Nova Roma shall respect and honor with salutation a flag of Nova Roma.

XIII.B.

An allied military reenactment unit of Nova Roma shall respect and honor with salutation the magistrates and other state officers of Nova Roma, but this remains a ceremonial requirement and the magistrates of Nova Roma don’t have any right to give orders to the allied unit unless it is agreed upon otherwise by the leadership of the unit.

XIII.C.

An allied military reenactment unit of Nova Roma shall recognize the rank of the officers of other Nova Roman legions as real and equal to its own ranks; this is a purely formal and ceremonial gesture, officers of another reenactment unit shall not have any actual commanding power within an allied autonomous reenactment unit unless with mutual agreement between the groups.

XIII.D.

An allied reenactment group of Nova Roma shall state the fact of alliance on its main internet location (website or social media page), and shall post a link to the Nova Roma website on its main internet location.