Legal Systems of the Galaxy

The various legal systems used by sovereign states and national subdivisions are generally based on one of four basic systems: civil law (also known as Olympian or Tylan law), common law (also known as Mechyrdian law), scientific law (also known as Fulkreyksk law), and various forms of religious law (such as Vargetan law or Aedonic law).

Comparison of legal systems

Secular forms	Civil law	Common law	Scientific law
Other names	Olympian, Varannian, Neo-Roman, Germanic, Gothic, judicial dominance	Mechyrdian, Anglic, judicial precedent	Thedish, Fulkreyksk, (pejorative) pseudoscientific law
Source of law	Legislation	Legislation and judicial precedent	Legislation
Status of lawyers	Lawyers defend their clients in trials that are dominated by judges	Judges preside over trials as nonpartisan referees, while lawyers present their case	Judges write the script that lawyers read from; this script invariably involves admission of guilt on behalf of the defendant, followed by the sentencing of the defendant
Status of judges	Judges have separate qualifications from lawyers, and are appointed by executive	Judges must be qualified as lawyers, and are then appointed by executive or elected by legislature or populace	Judges are selected from the bureaucracy
Status of juries	Sometimes advise the judge at various levels	Are the ultimate decision-makers in the final verdict, with the exception of Imperial Arbitration where they merely advise the Council	Do not exist
Power to make policy	Courts enforce policy, they do not make it	Courts may make policy as judicial precedent, which may be overridden by legislation	Courts enforce policy, they do not make it
Examples	Tylan Republic; Olympia, Varannia, Texandria, and Angrivar sectors of Mechyrdia; Ilkhan Republic, Niska Republic, Isarnareykk and other Fulkreyksk successor states	Empire of Mechyrdia, Chaebodes Star Empire	Fulkreyksk Authoritariat
Religious forms	Vargetan law	Canon law	Aedonic law
Other names	Old Tylan, Lihannic	New Catholic	Dark, Ruinous, Nefandous
Source of law	Divine revelation, degree of the Vargesra Eilag	Human interpretation of divine revelation	Dark revelation, decree of the shamans
Status of lawyers	Lawyers are replaced by psychic seers who divine the true innocence or guilt of the defendant	Lawyers play same role as in civil law, but must also receive theological education	Lawyers do not exist
Status of judges	Judges are replaced by the same psychic seers that replace lawyers	Judges play same role as in civil law, but must also receive theological education	Varies based on the locality: either judges are selected from among the shamans, or from the local khanate nobility
Status of juries	Juries are selected randomly from the populace, and are meant to keep the questionably-sane psychic seers grounded in reality.	Sometimes advise the judge at various levels	Juries serve as an audience to heckle the defendant
Power to make policy	Divine revelations in court sessions may affect policy	Courts enforce policy, they do not make it	Courts enforce policy, they do not make it
Examples	Tylan Theocracy	Mont Imperial, planet within the Olympia sector of Mechyrdia	Arkant Horde, Diadochus Masra Draetsen

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