He doesn't have flashy magic but he has been waiting patiently to present his law since the morning session started.
"Honored delegates. The Judiciary committee yesterday contemplated, and unanimously approved, a new law providing for the circumstances under which a person can be detained by the law. As we all know, in Asmodean Cheliax the government can detain anyone for any reason, unless they are important enough to have someone demand their release, without even the pretense they have done wrong. Our new government is Lawful and Good, and surely would not detain anyone without good cause, but mindful that even the Good can err we sought to provide for this in law. Here is the law:
An Act Establishing Lawful Forms of Arrest and Detention
Preamble
Desiring to curb Misuses and Abuses of the Power of Detention while Permitting its Necessary Use in the Enforcement of the Criminal Laws, we Enact this Law having the following Effects:
- granting to Law Enforcers the powers of Arrest on Suspicion of Crime and Arrest to Compel Testimony;
- limiting the Exercise of said two Powers to those Persons and those Spans of Time Necessary for Investigation and Trial;
- securing by the Right of Petition the Release of those held Overlong without Charge;
- and Abridging all other Powers of Detention.
Definitions
- A Law Enforcer
- is any Person Duly and Lawfully Charged with carrying out her Majesty's Justice, including the Investigation of Crimes and the Enforcement of Criminal Laws.
- An Investigation
- is the Due and Lawful Investigation of a Specific Crime, or multiple Specific Crimes.
- Suspicion
- is the belief of a Law Enforcer that a Person may be Guilty of a Specific Crime, or multiple Specific Crimes.
- A Reasonable Time
- is, for Detention during Investigation seven days; for Detention awaiting Trial until the date Fixed for Trial; for Detention during a Sentence of Imprisonment until the Expiration of the Sentence.
Statute
- A Law Enforcer has the power to Detain, for a Limited Time, any free Subject of her Majesty solely for the Purpose of Investigation upon Suspicion of Crime (the "Power of Arrest on Suspicion").
- Detention under the Power of Arrest on Suspicion may continue only during the related Investigation, unless the Detained be then Charged in which case it may continue until the date Fixed for Trial.
- If the Detained be Sentenced to Imprisonment the Detention may continue through the Term of the Sentence.
- If such Detention has continued past a Reasonable Time, the Crown or those carrying out her Majesty's Justice shall grant a Petition for Release.
- A Law Enforcer has the power to Detain, for a Limited Time, any free subject of her Majesty solely for the Purpose of Compelling Testimony in connection with an Investigation or Trial (the "Power of Arrest to Compel Testimony").
- The Power of Arrest to Compel Testimony is not the Primary Means by which Testimony is Compelled, but may be employed when a Law Enforcer suspects the Witness may fail to Appear when Duly Summoned.
- Detention under the Power of Arrest to Compel Testimony may continue only during the related Investigation, unless such result in Charges in which case it may continue until the date Fixed for Trial on said Charges.
- If such Detention has continued past a Reasonable Time, the Crown or those carrying out her Majesty's Justice shall grant a Petition for Release.
- Should any Detention under this Law entail the Transportation of a Subject over a Great Distance, particularly if Teleported, the Crown shall upon the End of Detention provide at its expense their Safe Return to the Location where they were Originally Detained.
- Except under the foregoing Provisions, the Crown and those Carrying Out her Majesty's Justice shall not Detain free subjects of her Majesty.
- For the Avoidance of Doubt, the Lawful Forms of Conscription and the Corvée as authorized by Royal Decree, originating from her Majesty or from the Constitutional Convention, are not forms of Detention under this Law.
Written, it is complex, but in effect it is quite simple. Any person engaged in law enforcement on behalf of Her Majesty's government may detain any person on suspicion of a crime, but they must say within seven days what crime they are being charged with. Or they can detain someone who is needed as a witness and not trusted not to flee, but only until they have testified as a witness. Then of course if they are sentenced to imprisonment it is acceptable to detain them. If you arrest someone with powerful Teleporters and then they are released, you must return them to where you picked them up or at least give them the means to return, you can't strand them helpless in an unfamiliar city. If someone's arrested and not charged with a crime, after seven days you can petition for their release.
And the last bit is just to say that obviously this isn't meant to bar the army from conscripting soldiers, or to bother places that do taxes by labor rather than by grain, or any other case like that by lawful decree of the Queen."