Mintishiad v. Cord

Mintishiad v. Cord was a court case in the Golden Empire which was ultimately decided by the Sovereign's Tribunal. It established early precedent concerning the extent of a Tribune's check on Consular authority.

Background
In 129 ABY, Vias Mintishiad, Consul of Telacia, issued a pardon to a native Dronos convicted of fraud. Before the convict was released from prison, Cord, the planet's Tribune, appealed the decision to pardon to Queen Rin Sakaros. Mintishiad sued, arguing that a pardon was not a governmental action as defined by the laws governing Tribunes and their authority over Consular actions. Cord responded in court that any official action of the Consul was subject to review by the Tribune.

Rin herself considered clarifying the issue, but sought the advice of the Ministry of Justice. Her advisors persuaded her to allow the case to proceed through the courts, and thus lend weight to the Sovereign's Tribunal's role as a body with the duty of applying the law. Deciding she could always overrule the Tribunal if she disagreed with the final decision, the Queen elected to let the case proceed.

Case
The planetary court of Telacia ruled in favor of Cord, accepting the argument that a Tribune's authority to check the Consul extended to all actions. Mintishiad appealed to a sector-level court, which reversed the lower court's decision. The appellate court felt that the Queen intended (and the law permitted) the Tribune's appeal power to prevent abuses by a Consul against his people; the power to pardon could never restrict the rights of anyone, and consequently was not within the scope of the Tribune's appeal.

After a subsequent appeal by Cord, the Sovereign's Tribunal agreed to hear the case. By a vote of eight to five, the Tribunal upheld the verdict of the appellate court.