Lex Salvia poenalis (Nova Roma)

PARS PRIMA: PRINCIPIA GENERALIA

1. Temporal Applicability:

1. A crime is committed in the moment when the reus acted or, in the case of a crime by omission, failed to act.
2. All crimes and their associated penalties shall be defined by the laws that are in force at the time of the commission of the crime.
3. Should those laws change during the application of a punishment, the law that is most favourable to the reus shall prevail.
4. A crime is actionable from the moment of its discovery; if no actor shall have filed an action alleging that the reus has committed the crime within five (5) years of the crime's discovery, at the conclusion of that five-year period the praetores shall accept no further action alleging that instant crime.

2. Application in Space and Duality of Legislation:

1. A crime is committed in the physical or virtual place where the reus acted or, in the case of a crime by omission, failed to act.
2. This law shall be applied in the land of the Republic of Nova Roma, within all the physical buildings owned by the Republic of Nova Roma, and in all the communication venues owned or used by the Republic of Nova Roma.
3. Due to the very nature of Nova Roma's sovereignty, and following the duality principle defined in the Constitution of Nova Roma, many crimes shall not be treated directly by Novoroman laws. In those cases, the appropriate macronational laws shall be considered applicable as well as this law. The praetores shall be held responsible for denouncing those crimes to the appropriate macronational authorities, and all the magistratus of Nova Roma shall give their assistance in the performance of that duty.

3. Rights of Citizenship:

1. For the purposes of this lex the following rights of citizenship, including those which may be impaired temporarily or abrogated permanently by conviction, are defined:
   1. Suffragium, to include:
      1. The right to vote in any or all comitia to which the citizen may legally have access. This right shall not be construed as permitting patricians to vote in the Comitia Plebis Tributa nor persons who have not been legally adlected to vote in the Comitia Curiata.
      2. The right to participate in contio; this right shall not be construed as permitting patricians to participate in contio in the Comitia Plebis Tributa nor persons who have not been legally adlected to participate in contio in the Comitia Curiata.
      3. The rights to bring actions under leges poenales and to give evidence therein. The right to bring actions under leges poenales may not be impaired or abrogated by conviction except by exactio for life.
      4. The right to fair trial by law for offence; this right may not be impaired or abrogated by conviction except by exactio for life.
      5. The right to possess or accumulate century points.
      6. Provocatio, the right of appeal to the Comitia.
      7. The right to the protections afforded by law; this right may not be impaired or abrogated by conviction except by exactio for life.
   2. Honores, the right to seek or hold public office, elective or appointive.
   3. Commercium, to include:
      1. Vindicatio, the rights to be party to civil actions under the law and to give evidence therein; the right to be party to civil actions under the law may not be impaired or abrogated by conviction except by exactio for life.
      2. In iure cessio, the right to make contracts.
      3. Mancipatio, the right to buy and sell property or services, including the use of any venue under the legal authority of Nova Roma to do so;
      4. Testamenti factio, the right to make testamentary instruments.
2. The rights enumerated in this lex poenalis are not exhaustive, nor shall they be construed as limiting in any way rights granted under the Constitution of Nova Roma or other rights established by law.
3. Action may be brought by any citizen for violation of any right enumerated in this lex, the Constitution of Nova Roma, or the laws of Nova Roma, except as a result of conviction for offence under law.
4. Nothing in this lex shall be construed as constraining Nova Roman citizens from seeking macronational redress for actions which constitute offences under macronational law.

4. Penalty Determination and Principles of Reparation and Deterrence:

1. Reparation and deterrence are hereby defined as the principles that guide the determination of penalties.
2. The primary goal of all penalties shall be to secure for the affected party and, if the crime be against society, for the state fair reparation from the offender, proportionate to the harm done or intended and taking into account the circumstances of the offence and of the offender, in the form of apologies, services, compensation or other benefits. The form of the reparation should, if possible, be such as to directly put right the wrong done to the affected party and to society. Due weight shall also be placed on the need of society to deter the commission of offences.
3. When writing the formula according to the Lex Salicia Iudiciaria, the praetores shall choose a penalty that falls within the limits established by the laws of Nova Roma.

5. Commission by action or inaction:

1. Crimes may be committed either by actively causing an illegal event or state of affairs or by allowing an illegal event or state of affairs to occur through inaction.
2. A punishment due to inaction shall only be applied when the reus had a legal duty to act and, by omitting to perform that duty, caused a situation or created a risk to the detriment of others. An omission with intent to create such a situation or risk shall ordinarily receive a heavier penalty than one without such intent.
3. For purposes of this lex, legal duties to act may arise from:
   1. The imposition of a duty by the constitution, a lex, a senatus consultum, an edictum or a decretum;
   2. Forming a contract in which a duty is stated or is clearly implicit;
   3. Standing in a familial relationship with another which implies a duty of care;
   4. Explicitly accepting a duty of care toward another;
   5. Causing or being responsible for a situation or sequence of events which is likely to be harmful or detrimental to others and being aware of one's responsibility.

6. Exclusion of Offence, Presumption of Innocence, and Burden of Proof:

1. No act shall be punished when any of the following conditions apply:
   1. The reus acted in self-defence to repel an illicit violation of the legal rights of an innocent, including himself, through proportional and reasonable measures.
   2. The reus acted in exercise of his legal rights.
   3. The reus acted in compliance with a legal duty.
   4. The affected party (if different from the actor) explicitly approves the reus' action.
2. A reus shall be presumed innocent until guilt is determined by the iudices beyond a reasonable doubt. If proof of guilt beyond a reasonable doubt is not presented, the iudices must acquit the reus.
3. The burden of proof in any action is on the actor. No reus shall be compelled to testify against himself, nor shall a reus who willingly chooses to testify on his own behalf be exempt from cross-examination.
4. Acquittal shall preclude any further action against the reus for the alleged instant offence.

7. Sui Iuris Status Requirement:

1. Should a citizen who is not sui iuris under the laws of Nova Roma commit any infraction specified by this law, his pater/materfamilias or tutor shall be held accountable for inability to prevent commission of the infraction.
2. Should a peregrinus, a non-citizen, seek to file an action under the laws of Nova Roma, he must accept in writing the jurisdiction of Nova Roma and agree to abide by the decision of the court; without execution of such an agreement, the praetor shall accept no actions filed by a peregrinus. If an action is filed against a peregrinus, that peregrinus will be afforded the rights of citizenship pertaining to fair trial for offences and the giving of evidence in the proceeding, if and only if the peregrinus shall execute in writing an agreement to observe the procedures of the Lex Salicia Iudiciaria and to accept and comply with the decision of the court. If a peregrinus refuses to execute the aforesaid agreement, the Iudices must issue a default judgment against the peregrinus. A peregrinus against whom a default judgment has been issued shall be banned from application for citizenship and from access to the public fora of the Republic of Roma Nova until the said peregrinus has accepted and met the terms of his sentence.

8. Representative action:

1. Whoever perpetrates an infraction while willingly acting in the name of other(s) shall be held primarily accountable for the commission of the infraction; whoever instructs another to perpetrate an infraction shall not normally be held primarily accountable for the offence but may be charged with conspiracy.

9. Incitement, Conspiracy, and Attempted Offences:

1. It shall be an offence to incite a person to commit a criminal offence, to conspire with another person to commit a criminal offence, or to attempt to commit a criminal offence. The penalty for incitement, conspiracy or attempt to commit a given offence shall be proportional to the severity of the offence, but may be less at the discretion of the praetor than the penalty for the actual commission of the offence.

10. Court Composition:

1. Following the paragraph VIII.a of the Lex Salicia Iudiciaria, and expanding it, all the crimes defined by this law shall be judged by a tribunalis composed by ten (10) iudices.

11. Contumacy:

1. Whoever refuses to accept a penalty imposed by a legitimate Novoroman court shall be guilty of contumacy. If after thirty days the convicted reus has failed to perform the actions indicated in the sententia to the satisfaction of the praetores, the convicted reus may suffer EXACTIO for a maximum period of one year.

12. Legal Precedence:

1. A praetorian formula can be vetoed by all the magistrates constitutionally empowered to do so. Once a sententia has been issued by a legal Novoroman court, since this court represents the will of the Comitia, only a vote in the Comitia may rescind a sententia by the passage of a lex. If the sententia includes EXACTIO, only the Comitia Centuriata can rescind the poena.

PARS ALTERA: DE CRIMINIBVS POENISQVE

13. Definition of Poenae:

1. Article XVII of the Lex Salicia Iudiciaria is amended, to wit:

"XVII. In those cases where the laws of the Republic of Nova Roma deem it necessary, the praetor's formula shall include one or several of the following penalties to be inflicted upon a convicted reus:

A. MVLTA PECVNIARIA: restitution payable to a victim and/or a fine payable to the treasury of Nova Roma by a reus.

B. DECLARATIO PVBLICA: the convicted reus shall publicly recognize the actor's intentio, including an apology to the actor, the victim (if different from the actor), and the Republic of Nova Roma, in any public fora indicated in the formula. The convicted reus shall suffer inhabilitatio (see below) until the declaration has been made to the praetor's satisfaction.

C. INHABILITATIO: impairment or abrogation of some or all rights of citizenship, as defined in paragraph II. of the Lex Salicia Poenalis, of the convicted reus for a period of time or until a certain condition is met; any condition or time period must be explicitly stated in the formula.

D. EXACTIO: the convicted reus shall lose his Novoroman citizenship and all the rights, privileges, and duties associated with it for a period of time, or until a certain condition is met; any condition or time period must be explicitly stated in the formula."

14. CALVMNIAE (Libel and Slander):

1. Whoever is proven to have made to a third party a false and defamatory statement about a person which has damaged the dignity or reputation of that person may be compelled to make a DECLARATIO PVBLICA: the convicted reus shall then present a public retraction and apology in order to restore the actor's dignity and reputation in one of Nova Roma's official venues within thirty days of the official announcement of the sentence.
2. The convicted reus may be placed under moderation on Nova Roma's official communications venues for a maximum period of six months. The messages of a citizen under moderation may be censored; in those cases, the praetores shall publicly announce the censoring of the message, and shall provide the original message upon request to those magistrates entitled to use intercessio against the praetores' decision within twenty-four (24) hours of their announcement.

15. SOLLICITVDO (Electronic Harassment)

1. The Lex Fabia on electronic harassment is hereby rescinded.
2. It shall be an offence for a person who has sent messages of a disturbing nature by e-mail or instant message to a citizen to refuse to cease sending such messages when so requested by the recipient. Messages of a disturbing nature are those messages which cause fear or revulsion in the recipient and include, but are not restricted to, messages that are of an unwanted sexual nature, derogatory, or hateful.
3. The praetor's formula may include any or all of the following poenae:
   1. DECLARATIO PVBLICA, including an apology to the actor, the victim (if different from the actor), and the Republic of Nova Roma, and, if deemed necessary by the praetor's formula,
   2. MVLTA PECVNIARIA, compelling the reus to pay an amount to the sum of up to the sum of fifty dollars ($50.00) to the Aerarium Publicum;
   3. The convicted reus may be placed under moderation on Nova Roma's official communications venues for a maximum period of six months. The messages of a citizen under moderation may be censored; in those cases, the praetores shall publicly announce the censoring of the message, and shall provide the original message upon request to those magistrates entitled to use intercessio against the praetores' decision within twenty-four (24) hours of their announcement; or
   4. On second conviction for the offence, EXACTIO for a period not to exceed one year.
4. Actions against official communications of the Republic of Nova Roma or its magistrates shall not be accepted by the praetor under this offence.

16. FALSVM (Fraud, Swindle, Perjury and Falsification):

1. It shall be an offence knowingly and intentionally to provide false or misleading information to other persons or bodies in such a way as to hinder them in the fulfillment of their legal duties, to induce them to part with any property or surrender any right which is theirs, or to incite them to perform an action detrimental to their interests. This includes (but is not limited to) intentional lies in front of a legal Novoroman tribunalis and knowingly providing false information to a Novoroman magistrate.
2. If any action detrimental to the interests of the state or its citizens follows from a falsum, that action shall be voided. Any damage created by the detrimental action shall be repaired, if possible, by the reus. The praetor may include in his formula instructions to other magistrates and provisions to repair that damage within the limits established by the laws of Nova Roma.
3. The praetor's formula may include any or all of the following poenae:
   1. DECLARATIO PVBLICA, including an apology to the actor, the victim (if different from the actor), and the Republic of Nova Roma.
   2. MVLTA PECVNIARIA, compelling the reus to pay an amount to the sum of the loss of the victim to that victim (even if different from the actor), and, if deemed necessary by the praetor, up to the sum of the loss of the victim to the Aerarium Publicum.
   3. INHABILITATIO from any of the following:
      1. The Ordo Equester for a period to be determined by the praetor's formula; and, if deemed necessary by the praetor's formula,
      2. Some or all rights of commercium for a period to be determined by the praetor's formula; and, if deemed necessary by the praetor's formula,
      3. Some or all rights of suffragium and honores, for a period not to exceed five years.

17. ABVSVS POTESTATIS (Magisterial Abuse):

1. Whenever it is proven that a magistrate of Nova Roma has used his magisterial powers to act against the lawful rights of a person as defined by the laws and Constitution of Nova Roma, or to gain illegal advantages for himself or for others, the illegal action shall be voided. Any damage created by this illegal action shall be repaired, if possible, by the reus. The praetor may include in his formula instructions to other magistrates and provisions to repair that damage within the limits established by the laws of Nova Roma.
2. The praetor's formula may include any or all of the following poenae:
   1. DECLARATIO PVBLICA, including an apology to the actor, the victim (if different from the actor), and the Republic of Nova Roma.
   2. MVLTA PECVNIARIA, compelling the reus to pay an amount to the sum of the loss of the victim to that victim (even if different from the actor), and, if deemed necessary by the praetor, up to the sum of the loss of the victim to the Aerarium Publicum.
   3. INHABILITATIO from some or all rights of suffragium and honores for life;
   4. EXACTIO for life.

18. CONTVMELIA PIETATE (Offences against Piety):

Whoever incites in another person hatred, despite or enmity towards a person or group on the basis of the religious beliefs or practices of that person or group, or who in any other way infringes the freedom of another person to hold religious beliefs or to engage in religious teaching, practice, worship or observance, shall make a DECLARATIO PVBLICA and may also be moderated as in paragraph XIV.B. above.

19. AMBITVS ET LARGITIO (Voting Irregularities):

Whoever intentionally falsifies the outcome of a comitial vote, violates the secrecy of a comitial ballot, bribes or corrupts a comitial voter, obstructs a comitial vote or in any other way illegally influences the outcome of a comitial vote may be condemned to any or all of the following poenae:

1. DECLARATIO PVBLICA, including an apology to the actor, the victim (if different from the actor), and the Republic of Nova Roma.
2. INHABILITATIO from some or all rights of suffragium and honores, for a period not to exceed five years;
3. EXACTIO for any period up to life.

20. PECVLATVS (Fund Embezzlement):

1. It shall be an offence to misappropriate or otherwise embezzle any part of the Aerarium Publicum or of the funds entrusted by the Senate.
2. The praetor's formula may include any or all of the following poenae:
   1. DECLARATIO PVBLICA, including an apology to the actor, the victim (if different from the actor), and the Republic of Nova Roma.
   2. MVLTA PECVNIARIA of not less than the amount misappropriated and not more than four times the amount misappropriated, to be determined by the praetor's formula.
   3. INHABILITATIO from some or all rights of suffragium and honores, for a period not to exceed five years.

21. LAESA PATRIAE (Treason Against the Republic):

1. The definition of laesa patriae includes, but is not limited to, any overt act by a citizen which a reasonable person would conclude to be damaging or defamatory to the republic, its religio, or its institutions, including acts which may expose the republic, its religio, or its institutions to macronational legal action, if such act is not legally authorised by the republic or its agents, and/or acts which endanger the ability of the republic, its religion, or its institutions to perform its legal functions;
2. The offense may be aggravated for purposes of penalty by any citizen who openly declares enmity to the republic, its religio, or its institutions in connection with an act described in (1); and that
3. The penalty for laesa patriae shall be not less than deprivation of citizenship for one year nor more than permanent deprivation of citizenship, according to the formula of the praetor. Whoever acts in such a manner as to seriously and explicitly endanger the continued existence of the Republic of Nova Roma, its properties, its institutions, its constitution, or the position of the Religio Romana as the state religion shall suffer EXACTIO for a period up to life. No one shall be prosecuted under this offence for any legislative proposal or peaceful attempt to reform the State by means of legislation.

22. INIVRIA (Injury):

1. It shall be an offence to intentionally strike a person or to damage or destroy his property contrary to law.
2. If any action detrimental to the interests of the state or its citizens follows from a iniuria, that action shall be voided. Any damage created by the detrimental action shall be repaired, if possible, by the reus. The praetor may include in his formula instructions to other magistrates and provisions to repair that damage within the limits established by the laws of Nova Roma.
3. The praetor's formula may include any or all of the following poenae:
   1. DECLARATIO PVBLICA, including an apology to the actor, the victim (if different from the actor), and the Republic of Nova Roma, as defined in paragraph XIII.A. above.
   2. MVLTA PECVNIARIA, compelling the reus to pay an amount to the sum of the loss of the victim to that victim (even if different from the actor), and, if deemed necessary by the praetor, up to the sum of the loss of the victim to the Aerarium Publicum.
   3. INHABILITATIO from some or all rights of suffragium and honores, for a period not to exceed five years;
   4. EXACTIO for any period up to life.