Justice Centrum, The

The Justice Centrum is the bastion of all things legal in Sulatas, Sulamynen, and indeed the Luminous League!

Complex Legal Complex

It is the complex of interconnected buildings on the Western edge of Unity Square where The Illuminated Avenue from Sulatas Castle joins the central plaza. On the South of the avenue sits The Academy of Law and facing this to the North are The Apex Chambers. The Arkadian Arch links both buildings, spanning the roadway on the juncture with the Square.

I do have to say that the buildings rather reflect the... utility of the process for which they were built; impressive architecture in its own right of course, solid multi-level structures oozing, no, that's manifestly incorrect; repressing charm and personality, that's it! Facades of dignified respectability mirror one another across the Avenue, with a number of steps up to a covered colonnade screening the main entrances, all constructed of the same light brown marble with dark brown veins.

Of course this understated styling was a wise choice given the architectural competition adjacent to the Apex Chambers; the gleaming white marble of the significantly proportioned Amber Archives would put any neighbour to shame, and that includes the rather garish amethyst-hued crystal edifice of the Sodality Towers opposite.

Legal Life Cycle

The area dedicated to the legal system represents a sizeable footprint within the city, and houses all of the primary functions of the legal system for the nation of Sulamynen and the centre of excellence for the entire Luminous League.

From 'birth to death', the legal process is represented here:

• the embryonic phase; fresh-faced students from throughout the League study at the Academy of Law under tutors merely somewhat jaded by the ponderous behemoth that is Due Process of Law. The Bar Circle of each nation in the League sponsors an Inn of Court, save Greengrass which utilises the Sulatas Inn on the rare occasion a student hails from that small nation. These Inns provide lodging and support to the students as well as facilities for the practicing lawyers of that nation should they find themselves in Sulatas.
• the birth phase; those who survive the gestation period and do not find more meaningful direction to their lives graduate from the Academy as fresh fodder for the behemoth. These unfortunate souls will usually return to their home nations and become apprenticed to those who have practiced law for so long they have been reduced to dessicated husks of the people they once were.
• the adolescent phase; law enforcement, the lard that greases the wheels of civilisation. The Centrum houses the Sulatas Sheriff's office, the centre for the local militia and cells for holding those awaiting trial.
• the adult phase; The Apex Chambers, the highest court in the League. Lower courts convene in settlements of sufficient size to support the presence of a Magistrate, or the nomadic Magisters may pass judgement if necessary in less densely populated locations.  The Apex is responsible for hearing appeals and crimes of a 'Capital' nature, an appropriate appellation even if the Luminous League does not enforce Capital Punishment.
• the end of the path phase; Truthfinder prison, the end of the justice life-cycle. This is the destination for those convicted of any crimes, from petty larceny to murder, though I do believe the scale of the crime as adjudicated by the Judge determines the level of... discomfort one might expect to experience.

The Nature of the Beast

A clarification may be necessary; it may appear I do not favour the law. That is not the case at all, I am fully conversant in the realities of a lawless society. I have witnessed the evolution of legal entities on more than one occasion and the pattern is all too familiar.

Laws are born of a need to protect and unify a society, usually small in scale, idealistic in nature, neighbours to all. As the society expands so does the law, fed by the fragmentation of neighbourly relationships and trust, the founding ideals obscured by alternative and competing priorities. So it continues, the law expands, gains weight, bulk which bears down on those core ideals which are no longer visible; still the beating heart but under such intensifying pressure it is inexorably crushed to powder. That behemoth no longer has a heart; it merely exists for it's own sake. Inevitably it will stagnate and perish under the weight of its own inertia, as will the society it once served.

Even the grand experiment that is The Luminous League does not appear immune to the nature of this beast, though the implementation of travelling Magisters who have the ability and authority to pass judgements with relative alacrity may have tempered the decline.

Magisters and Tomes

The seat of their order, the Scales Eye, is also part of The Justice Centrum, located within the Apex Chambers building alongside the judges they represent and the Tomes of Legal Precedent; the history of laws and judgements with which they have a unique bond as granted by their third eye, the Oculitas.

Now that is an unsettling sight, when they open that eye in their forehead and expose the glowing red gem!

Let me tell you about that some time, for now I will conclude with some advice; keep a watchful eye on the law and how it is administered, it provides valuable insight into the state of a society.

Iaro Gaunt

The Justice Centrum

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Function

Location of legal entities for Sulamynen and Luminous League:

• Academy of Law
• Inns of Court, sponsored by Bar Circles of Calyopsis, Iolithica, Miyena, Taliavo, Sulamynen & Greengrass
• Apex Chambers
• Truthfinder Prison
• Seat of the Order of the Scales Eye for Sulamynen
• Office of the Sheriff & militia of Sulatas
• Tomes of Legal Precedence

Type

Government complex