GDC-2020-001
SUMMER TERM, 2020
GDC-2020-001
NOTE: Where it is feasible, a syllabus will be released, as is being done in connection with this case,
at the time the opinion of the Court is issued. This syllabus constitutes no part of the opinion
of the court but has been prepared by the Clerk of the Court for the convenience of the reader.
GRAND DUCAL COURT OF WESTARCTICA
Syllabus
REFERENCE RE: Kolios Throne
THE PRIME MINISTER TO THE COURT
GDC-2020-001: Submitted: September 14, 2020 -- Decided: September 15, 2020
On September 14, 2020, the Prime Minister, in reference to a matter pertaining to himself vis-a-vis his official position, posed a question to the Grand Ducal Court with respect to an entity called the Throne of Kolios. The Prime Minister's Reference sought the advice of the Court on whether or not the Prime Minister's possession of the aforesaid entity would violate the Constitution of Westarctica were it to come into his possession through inheritance.
In 1995, the Prime Minister co-founded and participated in a project called the Kingdom of Kolios, with which he ceased active affiliation in 1997. The Prime Minister was surprised to discover earlier this year that the said project had persisted and developed well beyond the time of his effective departure from it, enduring even to the present day. Through recent correspondence with the incumbent head of the project, the Prime Minister discovered that the Kolios project had become a constituent member of a broader project known by the name Empire of Agber, described by the Prime Minister in his question to the Court as "a vehicle to a Renaissance Fair and other anachronistic culture..." The Prime Minister also learned that the ceremonial dignity (in the form of a noble title) originally held by him in respect of the said project had remained intact and was still attached to his name. Finally and most crucially, the Prime Minister reported to the Court that he had been named heir to the aforesaid Throne of Kolios, and that his inheritance of that entity might be imminent.
Part IV, Chapter I, Article 7, Section 3 of the Constitution forbids a sitting prime minister from serving as "an appointed representative of the Government of any other nation".
Citing subsection (a) of Section 3 (concerning exceptions made for "honorary positions"), the Prime Minister queried whether these exceptions might not apply in his particular case, thereby removing any conflicts of interest or constitutional problems. The Prime Minister proposed, furthermore, a scenario which might, potentially (in his view), remove a constitutional impediment to his inheritance of the aforesaid Throne of Kolios. The scenario involved the extraction of the Kolios project from the Agber project, and the subsequent placing of the Kolios project under the umbrella of Westarctica, whether by free association or as a dependency of Westarctica.
The Court, therefore, was asked for its advice on two separate questions, namely, whether the Prime Minister's outright inheritance of the aforesaid Throne of Kolios would violate Article 7, Section 3 of the Constitution, and, if so, would the mitigating scenario which he proposed put a compelling enough gloss on the question so as to remove a constitutional impediment to his inheritance of the aforesaid Throne of Kolios.
The Prime Minister posed his reference personally and informally as a question addressed to the Chief Justice by electronic communication. The Prime Minister's office did not, vis-a-vis the Crown-in-Council, appoint counsel to file a brief with the Clerk of the Court on behalf of the Crown arguing in favor of one position or another, nor did the Prime Minister appoint counsel to file a brief on his behalf in any personal sense. No briefs were filed therefore, whether by the Crown, by the Prime Minister personally, by interveners, or by amici. Oral submissions formed no part of these proceedings.
The Prime Minister did, however, furnish the Court with a subsequent informal message in which he described the Kolios project as a "social construct", inviting the Court to consider whether or not the authentic definition of the project might have any bearing on the matter in hand.
The Court, therefore, deliberated on the questions as they were submitted and, following the unanimous vote of the Chief Justice and both associate justices, issued a unified response.
The Court, with respect to the first question, advised the Prime Minister that his possession of the aforesaid Throne of Kolios by inheritance would, in the Court's estimation, violate Article 7, Section 3 of the Constitution. The Court further recommended that the Prime Minister formally renounce all connection to the Kolios project.
On the second question, the Court offered its view that the proposed free association of the Kolios project with Westarctica, in a scenario wherein the Prime Minister was the possessor of the aforesaid Throne of Kolios, would be "legally problematic". The Court proposed, however, that the Kolios project might nevertheless be offered to the Crown as a colonial possession of Westarctica, provided that the Throne of Kolios were not assumed by the Prime Minister, but rather retained by the incumbent possessor of it (in right of the same, by virtue of the title associated with that entity). In doing so, the Court referenced Part VIII, Article 80 of the Constitution (on colonial or territorial possessions).
WOOD, CJ, delivered the unanimous advice and recommendation of the Court, KLEMPSMANN and CALLAHAN, JJ, joining.
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Cite as GDC-2020-001
The Opinion of the Court
NOTICE: This opinion is subject to formal revision. Readers are requested to notify the Clerk
of the Grand Ducal Court of any typographical or other formal errors,
in order that corrections may be made.
GRAND DUCAL COURT OF WESTARCTICA
September 15, 2020
REFERENCE RE: Kolios Throne
THE PRIME MINISTER TO THE COURT
Non pertinet.
The Decision of the Court:
I write to advise that The Grand Ducal Court met to discuss, in length, the above matter and it was decided by unanimous vote that should The Prime Minister of Westarctica ascend to the Throne of Kolios, regardless of the active or inactive function, that it would violate The Constitution of Westarctica, namely Article 7, subsection 3 (a).
It is the recommendation of The Court that a formal proclamation be issued renouncing all connection to Kolios, including any possession as heir.
The Court views that, due to the proposed free association of Kolios and subsequent stewardship being legally problematic that the Empress Arlene, in her capacity as Princess of Kolios, could take the decision to leave the Empire of Agber and make a formal offer to The Grand Duke to take Kolios as a colony of Westarctica. The Court refers to Article 80 in this instance.
It is so advised and recommended.
ATTACHMENT: The Vote of the Court on Reference Case GDC-2020-001
Clerk of the Grand Ducal Court
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