Forgiveness Law

"Thoroughly useful thing the Forgiveness Law. After all, haven't we all done things in the heat of the moment that we would rather other people didn't think about too much? I know I have. Even things as uncouth as pillaging and torture have a time and a place. One must remember that anything done in support of The Alliance is done in support of all. There may be some back-planet traditionalists who disagree with that sentiment. Talking about war crimes and genocide and whatnot, but who has time to listen to them, really?"
— Extract from Travels Through My System: An Exploration of P'Ache Solar System
by Peacekeeper V'Kly

Background

In attempting to create a workable treaty with the Macrans on P'Ache Micro, the Primians from P'Ache Prime kept coming up against resistance. This resistance was first to the Societal Betterment Act which turned into The First Micro Rebellion. This was stamped out, but within a generation came The Second Micro Rebellion which caused uprisings on other planets as well.

The Second Micro Rebellion

Military Conflict | Dec 18, 2024

This second rebellion lasted 27 years and was filled with acts that neither side was particularly proud of. The Primians in particular resorted to some rather extreme behaviours, many of which could have been considered war crimes. Rather than deal with the unnecessary rigmarole of investigations and court cases which may cast them in a bad light, the Primians implemented a law which would ensure the slate was wiped clean.

Intergalactic Amnesty Of Necessary Behaviours Act

While this law is now most commonly referred to as the Forgiveness Law, its legal title is the Intergalactic Amnesty of Necessary Behaviours Act. This has been adjusted over the years and the change in titles is a good way of recognising the history of this law.

Date	Title	Reason
357 PT	Interstellar Amnesty of Behaviours During Wartime Act	This name came directly on the heels of the Second Micro Rebellion, and the behaviours that the Primians felt most in need of pardoning could (arguably) have been seen as done in an effort to win the war.
369 PT	Interstellar Amnesty of Necessary Behaviours During Wartime Act	Due to ongoing disagreements with the Macrans who felt the wording was too vague, the word "necessary" was added, although the definition of necessary was kept flexible.
486 PT	Interstellar Amnesty of Necessary Behaviours During Times of Upheaval Act	During discussions with the Majorans it was highlighted that there were things Primians had done outside of wartimes which was unacceptable, so the Act was expanded to "Time of Upheaval" which was usefully vague.
783 PT	Intergalactic Amnesty of Necessary Behaviours During Times of Upheaval Act	The wording was changed to Intergalactic after the discovery of the Primary Territories Command to allow for assimilation of Asor to be covered as it was beyond the P'Ache Star System.
1611 PT	Intergalactic Amnesty of Necessary Behaviours For the Betterment of the Universe Act	During the Primary Territories Uprising a lot of people found issues with the behaviours of the Peacekeepers outside of times which could be covered by "upheaval". It was changed to cover not the time but the purpose of those behaviours.
1834 PT	Intergalactic Amnesty Of Necessary Behaviours Act	After the discovery of The Aspiration System the wording was changed for a final time to allow the focus of the law to be on what the organisation deemed necessary, rather than being forced to argue something was for the betterment of the universe, which was hard to prove.

Purpose

The Forgiveness Law was crafted by the Primians initially to ensure that they could not be persecuted for any of their actions during the Second Micro Rebellion, some of which could at the time have been considered war crimes. In its current form, the purpose of the law is far broader and effectively gives Peacekeepers immunity from persecution and prosecution no matter the acts they commit as long as it can be argued to in some form have been "necessary".

Elements

The main elements of this act are:

Freeing of "Political" Prisoners

Anyone who is aligned with the Peacekeeper Alliance and imprisoned for "political" (pro-Alliance) actions must be freed.

Limit Coverage "Necessary" Acts

Anyone investigating or otherwise amplifying war crimes which could be considered "necessary" (pro-Alliance) will be prosecuted.

Impunity for "Necessary" Actors

Anyone who carried out a "necessary" (pro-Alliance) action in the last year may not be prosecuted for such crimes.

Punishments

Due to the variable nature of the ways in which this act could be broken, there is a range of potential punishments for those who attempt to do so. For an individual, these include:

Life imprisonment
Exile
Death

For a group of people to transgress, it may lead to war.

The Alliance vs The Clebveth

There have been several famous cases in which the Forgiveness Law has either featured or been changed as a result. The most famous in more recent centuries is the case of The Alliance vs The Clebveth in 3938 PT. The Clebveth claimed that the Peacekeepers, in giving them Neurotheris, had caused the death by addiction of 17.84% of their population, and wanted criminal charges for neglect against those who ignored their attempts to draw attention to the crisis. The Peacekeeper Alliance cited the Forgiveness law, arguing that the actions of their Peacekeepers both in providing the Neurotheris as a means of managing anxiety and dismissing concerns as theatrics based on their own experience were "necessary" in order to help the Clebveth climate to life within the Alliance. Despite their best efforts, the Clebveth's claim was overturned and resulted in them having to provide several resources to The Alliance at a discounted rate as amends for wasting their time.

Social Impact

While it has been argued by some that the presence of the Forgiveness Law allows people operating within The Alliance to behave with even less regard for others than they might otherwise, this has been dismissed. There have been no studies to back up this theory. The Alliance recognises that the law allows those working for it to act with more confidence, knowing that they have the best interests of the Alliance and the people who are part of it in mind in everything they say and do.

People	Peacekeeper, Pachian, Macran, Primian, Clebveth
Timelines	Peacekeeper Expansion
Locations	P'Ache Micro, P'Ache Solar System, P'Ache Prime, Space Station One, Peacekeeper Territories
Events	The Second Micro Rebellion, Imitator's Insurrection
Organisations	Peacekeeper Command, Peacekeeper Alliance
Other	Neurotheris Addiction, Neurotheris