Magistracy Proposal: Appointing Commanders

[Context: Armen Roth was Arelith's first defense lawyer. He aided in many appeals in Cordor and worked to ensure that the rule of law was fair and accesible to all. He was later appointed Magistrate of Cordor and then Councilor.]

The guard constitutes a central and indispensable component of the wider Cordorian state apparatus. Along with Council, City Works, Trade and the Magistracy, the Guard is tasked with maintaining order, safety, good government and prosperity in Cordor. Thus, it is of critical importance to the proper functioning of the city that the Guard is properly integrated into the broader mandate of the city. However, unlike the other branches of the state, the guard is also unique in that it requires a notable degree of independence and sovereignty in order to properly carry out its function.

Specifically, the guard cannot be beholden to Council. It is this tense dynamic that is the concern of this present proposal. Recent instances of obstruction have demonstrated the need for a thorough revision of the regulation governing the process by which Council appoints Guard Commanders. In proposing a new regulation, the Office of the Magistracy wishes to create legislation that integrates the Guard into the state's wider mandate while simultaneously respecting and entrenching the need for an independent and sovereign Guard. In doing so, this proposal will proceed in two parts. Firstly, the present law will be reviewed and it will be demonstrated that it is excessively restrictive, vague and undefined. Secondly, a new legal frame work for selecting guard commanders will be presented.

1. The Current Law:

As stated above, before proposing a new law for regulating the appointment of guard commanders, the present law should be examined and explicated. As of the writing of this proposal, the law governing how the Council of Cordor appoints Guard Commanders reads as follows:

'The rank of Commander of the City Guard can only be appointed or changed with a FULL (all three Councilors) Council vote and extenuating circumstances'

Upon a first reading of the law, one is immediately struck by the inadequacy of the wording in providing any meaningful frame work for Council decision making. The two primary issues that this proposal will address are, (1) The vague and undefined meaning of 'extenuating circumstances', and (2) the excessively restrictive requirement for all three Councillors to agree on a Commander.

1.1 Extenuating Circumstances? Defining and Limiting

The requirement that there must exist some 'extenuating circumstances' is problematic as the present law offers absolutely no guidance to what might reasonably constitute such circumstances. While this is clearly a noble, and proper, attempt to insulate the guard from Council interference, it would clearly benefit from further explication and proper definition. Specifically, under what agreed upon and reasonable circumstances might a Council majority move to change guard commanders?

Leaving this undefined is simultaneously harmful in two ways. Firstly, without any guiding principles or framework, Council decision making is actually slowed and the possibility for conflict emerges as various interpretations of what 'extenuating circumstances' are could emerge. Secondly, the vague wording of 'extenuating circumstances' does not properly restrict Council (whether all three or a simple majority) from unduly interfering with the Guard. Indeed, the wording leaves considerable room for specious and unreasonable interpretations that could lead to unjust Council strong-arming.

Thus, the requirement for the presence of 'extenuating circumstances' must be properly defined and explicated so as to provide a clear legal framework for Council, as well as protect the guard from undue interference.

1.2 Majority versus Unanimity: The corruption of two or the tyranny of one?

The second component of the law that this proposal wishes to challenge is the requirement for Council unanimity in appointing a new guard commander. Again, the rationale behind this is a noble, albeit crude, attempt to protect the sovereignty of the Cordor guard. However, it will be demonstrated that the present law's requirement of Council unanimity is both both excessively restrictive of the city administration's wider duty, as well as ineffective.

Before demonstrating the flaws with this requirement, it would be prudent to first understand it's rationale. Specifically, by requiring a unanimous decision by all three Councillors, the present law aims to prevent possibility of two Councillors colluding to appoint a preselected Commander through nepotism and corruption, rather than merit and experience. While this is an assuredly just motivation, its execution is not only misguided and unjust, but ineffective. While the guard most certainly must have its sovereignty and independence entrenched and protected by Cordor's laws, it is also undeniably important to remember the broader and more important function of the city administration.

The Guard, along with Council, Trade, City Works and the Magistracy may all have their individual mandates, but they all serve the 'citizens' of Cordor first and foremost. Therefore, it is important to acknowledge that the Councillors serving at any given moment are the representatives of Cordor's citizens. They become Councillors by the will of the city's citizens, and their actions, proposals, laws and goals are thus representative of the wishes of some section of the population. Having grasped this, it is important to then acknowledge that Cordor is a diverse, pluralistic city that contains various faiths, belief systems, cultures and ways of living.

In such an environment, disagreement and conflicting views are both inevitable and welcome. Thus, appointing a Guard Commander, or any city official, will often involve robust deliberation and disagreement. Given such a context, requiring unanimity in the appointment of a Guard Commander has the potential to grant an unjust degree of power and discretion to a single Councillor, who would effectively wield veto power over the decision. Thus, a single Councillor, potentially representing a fragment of the total Cordorian population could hold Council, and the will of the majority, hostage. In light of this, one might suggest that it is the place of elections to remedy corruption and ameliorate the injustices of Council by choosing to elect, or not elect, them.

Therefore, the reasonable observer should conclude that only majority vote, in appointing any official, is the right, just and proper framework. To require unanimity threatens to establish the tyranny of the lone Councillor.

Indeed, what is 'more' patently unjust than robbing the majority of our citizens of their political voice and representation? What is more corrupt and arbitrary than giving effective veto power to a 'single' Councillor, who could represent a minority of the population?

If the appointed Commander, at any time, is not representative of the needs, wishes, and aspirations of the majority of our citizens, then the citizenry should retain the right to change that commander through their elected representatives.

2. Draft Proposal:

Taking the above concerns into account, the Office of the Magistracy proposes that the law governing the appointment of Guard Commanders should be as follows:

The rank of Commander of the Cordor City Guard may only be appointed/changed by (1) a majority Council vote and (2) under at least one of the following circumstances: (a) When the acting commander retires (b) in the event that the acting commander has been demonstrably absent for at least a year (c) patently demonstrable incompetence on the part of the acting Commander (d) in the event that the acting Commander is found guilty of, at least, a felony level criminal offense.

This proposed law allows the Council to intervene on behalf of their constituents by allowing a majority to rule, as is the case for all other decisions. However, this law also respects and entrenches the sovereignty of the Guard by outlining and limiting the circumstances under which Council might legitimately act to appoint a new Commander.

*Signed in long, flowing script*

Armen Roth, Magistrate of Cordor.

=Gathered and published by the Church of Oghma in conjunction with the Cordor Library=