Isra - Laws

Herein follows a highly generalized and unspecific overview of the laws of Isra. (Just some of them, not all of them.) All of these laws are directly applicable to The City of Isra, but member states may choose to implement their own laws in place of these. If a member state does not specify their own laws or does not create their own laws in certain areas, these laws apply by default, with minor alterations to account for differing government figures and geography. 

These laws are publicly available both at The Citadel and The Library of Isra, in the form of a few large tomes. 

Citizenship to Isra is a fairly relaxed process. There are almost no restrictions on what manner of individuals are permitted to obtain citizenship. However, all citizen aspirants must fill out a set of paperwork which asks after the details of the individual in question. Name, race, age, place of birth, all of this information and more.

After one’s paperwork is filled out, they must take it and themselves to The Citadel for a short interview with an immigration agent. The interview takes about ten minutes and asks a few questions with the intention of ensuring that the individual in question is who they say they are, understands what they’re doing, and is doing the process legally. 

Upon the successful completion of the interview, assuming all of the paperwork is in order and no complications arise, the individual is given their citizenship papers and a hearty handshake, as well as a congratulation on becoming an Isranian citizen. 

Marriage in Isra is about as relaxed and inclusive a process as citizenship. Any two Isranian citizens may be married regardless of all factors if both consent to it. This includes citizens of any member state, though it is up to the member state in question to legally recognize it or not on their end of things.

Two individuals wishing to be married must obtain a simple form. On this form, there is a short explanation of what legal marriage in Isra entails, and each of them must print each of their names, (both individuals print both names) and sign it. 

With this form in hand, they must seek out an individual that has legal authority to marry them in the eyes of the law. The High Lord or Lady is vested with the Isran Matrimonial Seal, which is both a physical object and the legal authority to marry individuals. In addition to being able to marry individuals themselves, they may vest this power in any individual of their choosing, making them a marriage officiant, with the understanding that the individual will follow all of the proper practices and protocols. 

These practices and protocols are somewhat simple. The officiant must do their best to ensure that the marriage is legal. For example, it is illegal to form marriages without the consent of both individuals, and while it is difficult to define a universal age of consent for matters such as these, if one party clearly has absolutely no idea what’s going on (for example, infants) the officiant must deny the marriage. There is a small handbook with the full extent of the practices and regulations that every officiant must follow, and it is given out in the process of creating an officiant along with a small replica of the primary Matrimonial Seal which serves as a token to identify the officiant. 

Officiants are not obligated to marry any individuals who ask to be and may choose to decline to, based on whatever criteria they want. Officiants are not permitted to charge for their services, but may request a portion of the cake (if there is one), and may be compensated monetarily if the individuals being wedded choose to do so, somewhat like a tip. 

Officiants are commonly and easily accessible at The Citadel, and if a pair decline to have a ceremony, they may simply go to The Citadel for a swift ceremony without any frills.

Any potential marriage that is incapable of following the above procedure (If one participant is incapable of writing, or three-way marriages, for example) is subject to further review by an officiant for case by case judgment and approval. 

Dissolution of marriage, divorce, only requires the consent of one of the wedded individuals, though both is preferable. They must go to The Citadel, to the office of Citizenship (Where the marriage is recorded on their citizenship file) and request a divorce. There’s a bit of paperwork, and the individual must speak to a citizenship agent, but the agents are not permitted to refuse divorce if the request is legitimate. 

Afterward, the divorce is recorded on both individuals’ citizenship records and official notices are mailed to both parties, informing them that the divorce has happened successfully. 

To maintain the government and the services it provides, taxes are levied on various things. 

The first of these things is income. Every citizen of Isra is required to pay a small portion of the money they make to the state. This includes wages from an employer, profit from selling goods, payment for services rendered, and essentially every form of income. The amount of tax varies from situation to situation but is not overly much.

Merchants are included in the above and their taxes include the profits made from selling goods abroad, and so serves as a trade tax for merchants who are citizens of Isra. For these individuals, some of them have the option to pay their taxes in the form of the good that they produce. This is, however, limited to the goods and materials that the state stockpiles or uses on a regular basis.

Additionally, foreign merchants wishing to peddle their wares or sell to an individual or business in Isra must pay a tax on all of the goods that they bring into the country. Again, this tax varies based on the good in question but is intended to be a small percentage of the market value of the good. It is the responsibility of the merchant to adjust their prices and compensate for this tax. 

Seeing as how the value of goods change with supply and demand, these taxes are in near constant flux, changing no more than once per month at the beginning of the month. This process is conducted by the Tax Commission and attempts to fairly appraise the value of goods and tax accordingly. Unique or one-of-a-kind goods are appraised by an appraisal agent of the Tax Commission, and are taxed accordingly. 

Additionally, property is taxed. Throughout the year, appraisal agents make their rounds and assess the value of each holding of land. The taxation rate is determined by a system of classification, wherein a property is classified as residential, commercial, industrial, or vacant. 

Residential properties are taxed at 0.85% of their value. The values of commercial and industrial properties are primarily assessed on how much potential profit they may be able to produce, and rates vary depending on what sorts of goods they produce and other such factors. Vacant properties are taxed at 5% of their value. 

This payment can be paid either in the form of a large sum at any point throughout the year, or in monthly, bi-monthly, quarterly or whatever other sort of reasonable interval an individual might wish, as so long as it is all paid by the end of the year.

Additionally, there are a few measures in place to ensure fair and reasonable exchange of goods. 

Outright false advertising is illegal. One cannot advertise or sell an object as “a bag of twenty apples” when in reality the bag contains only ten apples. 

As an extension of the last law, a seller must make it very clear to the purchaser what they’re buying. If a product is a drug that has the ability to seriously harm one who ingests it, the purchaser must be made aware of such things. 

Selling items that harm the purchaser without the purchaser’s awareness upon completion of the sale is illegal. One cannot sell the equivalent of a lit bomb.

If an agreement is made and not canceled, both parties are obligated to an extent to follow through on their end of the deal. If an individual pays a builder to build a house, but the builder simply takes the money and does not even so much as attempt to build the house, the individual could file a complaint and take the builder to justice. This law is somewhat subjective and is somewhat reliant on the interpretation of the legal authorities responsible for handling the matter. 

Bearing in mind that there are some awfully terrible things in this world, Isran law has a few things to say on the subject of substances. 

Any substance or item which poses a threat to the city of Isra or its population is automatically disallowed. This includes forms of magic. This law was implemented following the fall of Aaedan and is open to the interpretation of the authorities.

Individuals may not force any other individual to ingest or otherwise apply any substance, regardless of its effects or lack thereof. Some exceptions are made in matters of medical attention, wherein individuals may be incapable of consenting to receive medicine. 

Otherwise, most substances are not disallowed, provided that all other laws are adhered to. 

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As Isra’s laws are highly libertarian, a fair number of its laws relate to not harming others. 

Violent offenses, murder, rape, thievery and destruction of property are all illegal to varying degrees.

Tax avoidance and evasion are both illegal. Creating or knowingly spending counterfeit currency is illegal. 

Acting against the government of Isra or its agents is illegal. This includes obstruction of justice, tampering with government property, harassing guards, intentionally printing false information on official forms, creating illegitimate forgeries of official documents, and other actions that interfere with the government doing its job. Also treason. Treason is very very illegal. 

Knowingly and willingly collaborating with a criminal is also illegal. (Inchoate crimes.)

Regardless of if a crime is actually committed, one may be punished for intending to or attempting to commit a crime, if it is a clear case and the crime is severe enough. 

The Judiciary Department is responsible for the discovery of crimes and apprehension of criminals. The Judiciary Department is lead by the Minister for the Judiciary, which can be read about on the The Isran Empire - Government
page. 

Punishment varies based on the severity of the crime committed. Possible punishments are not restricted by anything in particular, but common punishments in roughly ascending order of severity are as follows: 

Fining, community service, imprisonment, revocation of citizenship, and deportation/exile. In some extreme cases, when it is deemed that none of the above would prevent the criminal from acting again, and preventing them from acting again is an act congruous with saving lives (even indirectly), the death sentence may be issued, though it is not issued lightly or often.

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Citizens of Isra are permitted to carry weapons with them in public places. Business owners and other sorts of landowners may choose to not permit weapons on their premises, but that’s on them, and if they choose to, there must be a sign to that effect. 

Visitors to Isra (Which is here defined as anyone who isn’t a citizen) may be disallowed from carrying weapons into the city on a case by case basis. 

Everyone and anyone visiting The Citadel aside from the guards must always keep their weapons lowered or sheathed. If a weapon is raised within The Citadel, it will immediately be interpreted as a hostile, offensive action and will be dealt with without hesitation. Additionally, being allowed to carry a weapon into The Citadel is a privilege not given to all, and may be revoked.