Chapter 8.2.

👉The table of contents so far is here.

Chapter 8: Overview of Legal Profession Law

8.2. Independence of the legal profession

Communist social governance structures move away from the classic separation of powers, consolidating all power in the Commons' Convention, the people's representative body. Therefore, judicial power cannot be separated from the the Commons' Convention, and classical concepts such as "judicial independence" are invalid.

However, it is a universal rule of the judiciary that judicial power must not be subject to external interference or be biased in favor of the interests of any particular individual, organization, or social group, and must maintain a high degree of neutrality. To realize this rule, the communist judicial system guarantees the independence of the legal profession.

"Legal independence" refers to the ability of the two types of legal profession we looked at last time, certified lawyer and notary public, to make independent decisions in the performance of their duties without external interference. Certified lawyers also serve as a source of human resources for various judicial positions, and their independence is guaranteed not only while they hold judicial positions, but also while they are engaged in private legal practice in the private sector.

For example, even a certified lawyer working in a corporation's legal department is not subject to interference from other internal organizations or departments in the performance of his or her duties. This guaranteed independence prevents corporate-wide fraud, such as in-house legal advisors attempting to legally cover up wrongdoing at the direction of management.

Furthermore, certified lawyers are not permitted to serve exclusively as legal advisors to specific individuals, companies, or other organizations. This is because such exclusive legal work would require a continuous, reciprocal relationship with the client, making it impossible to maintain the independence of the legal profession. Individuals, companies, and other organizations will have to consult and request legal advice whenever they need it.

On the other hand, law offices privately run by certified lawyers and notary public offices staffed by notaries are guaranteed the right to be free from casual searches and seizures by investigative agencies and other law enforcement agencies. Searches and seizures at such locations for investigative purposes require a special authorization warrant issued by the Tribune for Habeas Corpus.

Furthermore, legal professionals enjoy special treatment in terms of job security. While in various judicial positions, dismissal and other disciplinary action must be based on a ruling by the Commons' Convention Impeachment Court is. Even while in the private sector, disciplinary action against certified lawyers and notaries public can only be taken by their professional association.

Professional associations of the legal profession are guaranteed a high degree of autonomy by law, and their internal operations are not subject to external supervision or interference, including from the Commons' Convention. However, as quasi-public organizations, they may be subject to audits by the General Tribune of the Commons' Convention.

👉The papers published on this blog are meant to expand upon my On Communism.

Chapter 8.1.

👉The table of contents so far is here.

Chapter 8: Overview of Legal Profession Law

8.1. Certified Lawyer and Notary Public

The administration of justice, which applies the law and resolves various disputes, requires the existence of legal professionals who specialize in legal affairs and judicial duties. As discussed later, the use of artificial intelligence in the judicial field is being promoted, but it is none other than human legal professionals who operate this technology.

While there is no unified law defining the qualifications and authority of legal professionals, this chapter will provide an overview of the various laws that provide for the legal profession, collectively referred to as "legal profession law."

With the exception of the area of ​​impeachment justice, the nature of the legal profession under a communist judicial system that does not rely on the traditional court system is significantly different from that under capitalist societies. Since there is basically no court system, the position of judge naturally does not exist, nor does the position of prosecutor, who represents the state in court, primarily in criminal cases.

Meanwhile, while lawyer specializing in legal affairs is indispensable in the private sector, its main duties will no longer be courtroom arguments, and so it will be reclassified as a new professional occupation known as certified lawyer rather than attorney.

In addition, the equity commissioner, truth commissioner, tribune, and other judicial positions we have seen so far will be appointed from among certified lawyers through prescribed procedures. In that sense, certified lawyers will become a unified source of human resources for all judicial positions.

On the other hand, the absence of a court system will make the duties of notary public, who specialize in official certification, important. Notary public has a long history of preparing notarized deeds attesting to contracts and other legal relationships, and because it play a crucial role in preventing legal disputes before they occur, it will be given a clear new position as a second legal profession alongside certified lawyer.

Training for certified lawyer and notary public is only available through the law school, which is one of the academies for highly skilled professionals. This means that only after graduating from law school and passing the certified lawyer or notary public qualification exam can one legally practice as a legal professional.

However, to ultimately become a certified lawyer, one must first pass the initial stage of the two-stage examination. The duties of an assistant certified lawyer are limited to supporting roles within the public legal sector, as well as within the private legal sector such as legal departments of corporations and other organizations, which will be discussed later. Those assistant certified lawyers cannot independently perform duties as a legal practitioner.

After gaining a required number of years of experience as an assistant certified lawyer and passing the final exam, one becomes a full-fledged certified lawyer. This reflects the fact that in communist societies, professionals are generally trained through an apprenticeship-like process, rather than being granted lifetime status through a single exam.

👉The papers published on this blog are meant to expand upon my On Communism.

Chapter 7.8.

👉The table of contents so far is here.

Chapter 7: The System of Litigation Law

7.8. Jurisprudence justice

The jurisprudence justice is a judicial branch that conducts legal review to resolve legal interpretation disputes that arise when each branch of the judiciary applies laws and regulations. Under the Commons' Convention system, interpretation of laws and regulations is exercised by the Commons' Convention itself, which enacts the laws and regulations, thereby ensuring thorough democracy.

Within the jurisprudence justice, a distinction is made between constitutional review, which concerns the interpretation of the Commons' Convention Charter (hereinafter simply referred to as the Charter), which serves as the highest law, and general legal review, which concerns the interpretation of general laws and regulations other than the Charter. Constitutional review is carried out by the Charter Committee established in each Zonal Commons' Convention, while general legal review is carried out by the Jurisprudence Committee established also in each Zonal Commons' Convention.

Both committees have the dual role of serving as standing committees of the Commons' Convention while also exercising judicial power of legal principles. Therefore, in addition to the general delegates who are involved in proposing amendments to the Charter itself, the Charter Committee also includes special delegates (judge committee members) appointed from among lawyers who are solely responsible for constitutional review, and the Jurisprudence Committee is made up entirely of special delegates (judge committee members) who are lawyers (see my article for details on the status of special delegates).

As we saw in the previous articles judicial bodies in each judicial field may be forced to interpret laws and regulations, including the Charter, when handling the cases they are responsible for. In such cases, they have the initial authority to issue their own legal interpretation. A party dissatisfied with a decision based on that legal interpretation can request a legal appeal from one of the committees mentioned above.

The committee that receives the request reviews the validity of the initial legal interpretation and decides whether to approve it. If not, it issues a decision on its own interpretation and remands the case. The judicial body that receives the remand must then proceed with the case again, based on the committee's interpretation.

Incidentally, because the Charter regards the World Commonwealth Charter as the ultimate unified source of law, if there is a suspicion that the interpretation of the Commons' Convention Charter Committee regarding a Zonal Charter violates the World Commonwealth Charter, the dissatisfied party can file an international appeal with the World Commonwealth Charter Council.

The Council is the final and sole judicial authority regarding the interpretation of the World Commonwealth Charter. The ruling will be a universal precedent that will equally bind all Zones that make up the World Commonwealth, and the jurisprudence justice of each Zone will be obliged to conduct their decisions based on this premise.

👉The papers published on this blog are meant to expand upon my On Communism.

Chapter 7.7.

👉The table of contents so far is here.

Chapter 7: The System of Litigation Law

 

7.7. Impeachment justice system

The impeachment justice is a special judicial branch that tries corruption, abuse of power, and other misconduct in the course of official duties by public officials and quasi-public officials. It is the only exceptional judicial branch that employs a court format within the communist judicial system, which is essentially devoid of a court system.

The judicial branches that fall under the category of impeachment justice include the  Commons' Convention Impeachment Court, which tries misconduct by sitting delegates to the Commons' Convention and public officials directly appointed by the Commons' Convention ; the Special Human Rights Court, a special impeachment court that tries cases of human rights violations committed in the course of official duties by public officials and quasi-public officials; and the Corruption Tribunal for Public Officials, which tries cases of corruption committed by public officials and quasi-public officials not directly appointed by the Commons' Convention.

Of these, the Commons' Convention Impeachment Court and the Special Human Rights Court are non-permanent judicial branches established on a case-by-case basis, while the Corruption Tribunal for Public Officials is a permanent judicial branch. Although it is a judicial body, it does not have a criminal punishment system, so the main sanction imposed on those found guilty is dismissal, and depending on the circumstances, they may also be subject to a fixed or indefinite suspension or permanent deprivation of their civil rights. If a person's civil rights are suspended or revoked, they will no longer be able to hold any public office.

The Commons' Convention Impeachment Court is a special tribunal established for each Commons' Convention Impeachment Court in a Zone and in each level within a Zone. Its primary audience is Commons' Convention delegates, with a secondary audience consisting of various judicial positions directly appointed by the Commons' Convention for which status protection is strongly required to ensure neutrality. This is followed by other positions directly appointed by the Commons' Convention.

Because the Commons' Convention Impeachment Court takes the form of a trial, it begins with an indictment procedure similar to that of a criminal trial. A panel of prosecutors is appointed for this purpose, but before that, the Commons' Convention Impeachment Committee conducts a preliminary investigation and decides whether or not an impeachment trial is necessary.

Once the Impeachment Court is established, the appointed panel of prosecutors has the authority to conduct various compulsory investigations, if necessary, with a warrant from the Tribune for Habeas Corpus, but does not have the authority to detain suspects for long periods of time. Their authorities are limited to arresting suspects and questioning witnesses.

Once the panel of prosecutors has completed their investigation and decided to indict, a panel of judges is appointed. The panel of judges, consisting of a lawyer and two Commons' Convention delegates, hears and renders judgment on the charges. The defendant is guaranteed the right to submit counterarguments against the prosecutors' evidence, but appeals are not permitted against judgments and trials are finalized after one trial.

Corruption cases involving public officials and other individuals not covered by the Commons' Convention Impeachment Court are heard by the permanent Public Officials Corruption Impeachment Tribunal. As a permanent judicial body, the Tribunal's Prosecutor's Office can directly indict suspects without a preliminary investigation. Trials at the Public Officials Corruption Impeachment Tribunal are composed of a professional judge and two citizen jurors who hold Commons' Convention delegate licenses.

Special Human Rights Court, on the other hand, primarily concerns public officials and other individuals in a position to exercise coercive power over citizens. The establishment of such courts is decided by the Tribune for Habeas Corpus upon request from a citizen alleging human rights violations by a public official.

Apart from the fact that it is an emergency institution, the procedural flow of the trial is similar to that of impeachment trials for corruption of public officials. However, if the trial determines that the offender has strong antisocial tendencies and requires correctional treatment similar to that of ordinary offenders, the responsible person will be referred to the Correction and Probation Commission.

👉The papers published on this blog are meant to expand upon my On Communism.

Chapter 7.6.

👉The table of contents so far is here.

Chapter 7: The System of Litigation Law

7.6. Civil protection justice system

Civil protection justice is a judicial branch whose primary mission is to protect fundamental human rights and civil rights through a judicial position called the Tribune. However, it does not have a unified organization; instead, the General Tribunes and the specialized Tribunes appointed for each specialized field independently resolve cases under their respective jurisdictions.

Furthermore, each Tribune can exercise compulsory investigation powers and take corrective measures for problematic cases that he or she independently identify, without the request of the parties involved. This distinguishes civil protection justice as being proactive, going beyond passive dispute resolution.

Since Tribunes each perform judicial functions, they have judicial authority to summon and interview witnesses and issue orders to submit various types of evidence. Violators of these orders are subject to contempt of justice.

Furthermore, Tribunes can issue final judicial rulings or decisions. Tribunes' rulings are issued in the form of corrective orders, which can result in contempt of justice sanctions for noncompliance. However, the case may be terminated without a decision and with a non-binding recommendation for correction.

The General Tribunes are the Tribunes with the broadest authority. They are appointed by the  Commons' Convention in each Zone and are responsible for all legal authorities under the jurisdiction of their Commons' Convention, resolving complaints and disputes regarding the application of laws and regulations and law enforcement, as well as auditing compliance with laws and regulations.

The duties of the General Tribunes extend beyond protecting individual rights to the public interest of maintaining a fair society through supervision of legal authorities and other public organizations.

There will always be multiple General Tribunes appointed, but each exercises their authority independently and independently of the Commons' Convention.

Meanwhile, the most of the important specialized Tribunes is the Tribune for Habeas Corpus. This position is dedicated to habeas corpus, hence the name the Tribune for Habeas Corpus.

Its most important duties are in the field of offences justice, and involve issuing various types of compulsory investigation warrants such as arrest warrants, search and seizure warrants, and surveillance warrants for wiretapping and filming, as well as protecting the rights of suspects, and also convening the Truth Commission and requesting reconsideration, as we saw last time.

In addition, it is also responsible for issuing writs of habeas corpus and directly releasing people who are being illegally or unjustly detained, whether privately or publicly, upon request of such persons, their relatives, or third parties. The Tribunes for Habeas Corpus are appointed to each region by the Commons' Convention of a Provincial Area (or a Zonelet in the case of a federal Zone), which is a broader autonomous body that determines its jurisdiction for each area, but the Tribunes for Habeas Corpus always exercise their authority alone and independently of the Commons' Convention.

Other examples of specialized Tribunes include:

〇 The Information Tribune

This is a civil rights Tribune for handling complaints and disputes regarding the handling of personal information in organizations that accumulate personal information, both public and private, and for investigating and resolving problematic cases.

〇 The Labor Tribune

This is a civil rights Tribune specializing in the protection of basic labor rights. It also handles various cases of harassment in the workplace. However, in the case of corporations, except for cases of harassment that can be immediately filed with the Tribune, a two-stage dispute resolution system is adopted, whereby the monitor intervenes upon request of the parties and resolves cases that could not be resolved by the company's internal labor arbitration committee .

〇 The Anti-Discrimination Tribune

This is a Tribune responsible for dealing with various cases of discrimination committed by individuals or groups, providing relief to discriminated parties and eliminating discrimination.

〇 The Children's Commissioner

This is a Tribune specializing in the protection of the rights of minors. It is responsible for resolving disputes regarding children's human rights in general, including bullying. The name "Commissioner" reflects the intention that they will represent children who are not yet mature enough to assert their rights.

Furthermore, while these specialized Tribunes are appointed by the Commons' Convention of each intermediate local autonomous authorities and large cities, they exercise its powers independently and independently of the Commons' Convention.

In addition to the listed above, new Tribunes Protection, excluding the Tribune for Habeas Corpus, can be established in individual fields depending on the circumstances, and such establishment, consolidation, and abolition are left to the policy of each Commons' Convention with appointing authority. 

👉The papers published on this blog are meant to expand upon my On Communism.

Chapter 7.5.

👉The table of contents so far is here.

Chapter 7: The System of Litigation Law

7.5. Offences justice system -part 2-

As mentioned last time, if, after the investigation is completed, the suspect expresses his or her intention to contest the alleged facts, the process of clarifying the facts will be entrusted to the Truth Commission, a judicial body that specializes solely in clarifying the facts.

The Truth Commission is a deliberative body of five people: two lawyers (one of whom is the chairperson), one expert specializing in a field other than law, and two ordinary citizen representatives who hold delegate licenses to the Commons' Convention. It is a non-permanent body that is convened whenever necessary based on a request for the Tribune for habeas corpus.

Before the Truth Commission begins its deliberations, a preliminary screening is conducted to organize the evidence. The preliminary investigators inspect the evidence sent by the investigative authorities, and organize only the competent evidence that has been confirmed to be legal, and submit it to the Truth Commission. At that time, the preliminary investigators can summon and interview the suspect, witnesses, and other related parties as necessary.

Since the Truth Commission is not a judicial system to try criminals, but a system purely for clarifying the truth of a case, there are no public prosecutors as prosecutorial professionals, and suspects do not become "defendants" who have filed charges, but remain "suspects" throughout the process.

Thus, the Truth Commission's deliberations do not become an exchange of claims and proofs between the parties as seen in criminal trials, but rather focus on reconstructing the facts based on the evidence submitted. In such cases, suspects are merely summoned and interviewed as witnesses as necessary for the Truth Commission's deliberations.

However, when summoned and interviewed by the Truth Commission, all witnesses, including suspects, may request the assistance of a legally qualified attorney to assist them in their testimony, but the attorney may not testify on their behalf.

The Truth Commission's deliberations are in principle open to the public, but in the case of juvenile cases, they are open only to the parties involved, including relatives, victims, and independent observers selected from third parties.

Once the Truth Commission has completed its deliberations, it will issue a decision setting out the facts that have been clarified. This is equivalent to a verdict in a criminal trial, but rather than being presented in the form of a "guilty" or "not guilty" verdict, it is presented descriptively in the form of a report detailing the truth of the case. Therefore, if it cannot be definitively proven that the suspect is the real perpetrator, he or she will not be found "not guilty" but will instead be described as an unknown perpetrator.

Any suspect who is dissatisfied with the Truth Commission's decision may request a new deliberation from the Tribune for Habeas Corpus. In this case, a second deliberation will be held by members entirely separate from the first Truth Commission, and regardless of the conclusion of that hearing, a third trial cannot be requested.

If the Truth Commission's decision finding the suspect to be the true perpetrator is finalized, the case will then be referred to the Correction and Probation Commission, which decides on the treatment of offenders.

This Commission is a permanent institution composed only of experts in correction and probation, and decides on the most appropriate treatment after scientifically examining the details of the perpetrator's offence, offence history, personality traits, and mental and physical medical history. In the case of juvenile cases, a special review is conducted by the Juvenile Subcommittee of the Correction and Probation Commission, which is composed of experts on juvenile issues.

The Correction and Probation Commission's deliberations are held in private, but the respondent offender may have a lawyer or other person with specialized knowledge of correction and probation assist them as an attendant.

A party who is dissatisfied with the decision of the Correction and Probation Commission may request an appeal review by the Central Board of the Correction and Probation commission, which is the appellate board for the Correction and Probation Commission, but regardless of the conclusion of the Central Board, they cannot request a third trial.

Even after the decision has been finalized, the Correction and Probation Commission will be tasked with following up on the offender from the start of treatment to its completion, and will have the authority to renew treatment terms as well as the authority to supervise and correct the status of treatment implementation. This includes the authority to take necessary supervisory and corrective measures in response to complaints from offenders while treatment is being carried out.

To that extent, the Correction and Probation Commission can be said to be a unique judicial institution with a mission spanning two judicial areas: offences justice and civil protection justice, which is responsible for protecting human rights during the treatment implementation process.

👉The papers published on this blog are meant to expand upon my On Communism.

Chapter 7.4.

👉The table of contents so far is here.

Chapter 7: The System of Litigation Law

7.4. Offences justice system -part 1-

Offences justice system  refers to the field of justice system that aims to clarify illegal acts and take action against those who commit them. It is equivalent to criminal justice in capitalist society, but it is not called "criminal" because communist law does not have a penal system.

Needless to say, the starting point for offences justice  is the clarification of the facts of the offence, but while in the criminal justice process, the clarification of the facts and punishment are usually carried out together in the form of a criminal trial, in offences justice the process of clarifying the facts and the treatment of the offender based on them are clearly distinguished and completely separate. This is because the two processes are essentially completely different.

The beginning of uncovering the facts of an offence is a formal investigation by an investigative agency. Communist investigations are carried out by a dedicated investigative agency, not the police. With the abolition of the monetary economy, there is no class difference between rich and poor, and public safety would be maintained at an extremely stable level in a communist society, so there is no need for a powerful security agency such as the police, and in fact it does not exist (see my article).

If necessary to pursue an investigation, investigative agencies can request the issuance of an arrest warrant or search and seizure warrant from the Tribune for Habeas Corpus, a type of judicial position tasked with protecting the personal safety of citizens, and conduct a compulsory investigation. On the other hand, the Civil Patrollers, who are quasi-public servants whose main task is offence prevention, can also make arrests in the act of committing an offence without a warrant.

A suspect who is taken into custody is immediately summoned to habeas corpus for a public hearing. If it is determined as a result that continued detention is no longer necessary, the Tribune for Habeas Corpus must order the release of the suspect.

Incidentally, if a body is discovered that has died from an unnatural cause other than obvious illness, an autopsy is carried out by the coroner, a public professional independent of the investigative agency. The autopsy results are finally confirmed after a public hearing by a inquest presided over by the Tribune for Habeas Corpus.

Once the investigation is completed, the evidence collected by the investigative agency is temporarily sent to the tribune for Habeas Corpus. The tribune for Habeas Corpus will summon the suspect for questioning again, and if the suspect fully admits to the alleged facts, the case will be sent to the Correction and Probation Commission, which decides how to treat the offender. If the suspect denies all or part of the alleged facts, it will decide to convene the Truth Commission to clarify the facts.

If we compare this with traditional criminal justice, the procedure of indictment by a public prosecutor, which has been standard in the criminal justice process since the Napoleonic Codes after the French Revolution, does not exist in communist criminal justice, and as mentioned above, it is a system in which the processes of investigation, fact-finding, and treatment are organically linked through the Tribune for Habeas Corpus.

Furthermore, minor offenses and juvenile delinquency that do not require any measure beyond a warning are dealt with by the Civil Patrollers issuing official written warnings as part of offence prevention activities, and formal investigations are omitted.

👉The papers published on this blog are meant to expand upon my On Communism.