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BACK UP - Opinion of the Tribunal | Case 001 | On Oaths of Office

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The Astorian Archangel Tribunal

Opinion of the Tribunal | Case 001 | On Oaths of Office

Case Overview
Background: Recently, Keeper of the Sanctum Catgirlboss approached the Tribunal to inquire about the Oaths of Office that were included in the Astorian Constitution. She pointed out Article VII, Section VII, which states "All government officials must take an oath before taking office." She continued on to ask the Tribunal to elaborate on the nature of the clause, and of the Oath, specifically asking for the duration of the oath and whether or not it must be renewed at the start of each term. Both of these questions we seek to answer today.
Submitted / Argued: January 14th, 2024
Decided: January 28th, 2024
Opinon Author: Astorian Ambis, Harbinger
Assenting Harbingers: Alkseariai, Supreme Harbinger, Astorian Ambis, Harbinger
Dissenting Harbinger(s): None

Ruling

The Tribunal has decided in a unanimous decision the following:

  1. The Oath of Office you take when you take office lasts for as long as the individual under oath remains in that position, without breaks.

    To clarify, I will use Supreme Harbinger AlkseriaI for example. If they are to take their oath as according to law following getting elected in the January election, this oath would last until they no longer were in office. However, if they were to resign, and then rejoin the Tribunal later, that would mean that they would have to retake the oath. The Tribunal would like to clarify that the oath still remains in effect should an officer take a temporary break, assuming they return to the position without losing it in an election or being dismissed.

  2. The Oath of Office does not have to be taken again at the start of each term, assuming it has been previously taken in their tenure.

    To clarify, this stipulation only takes effect should the officer in question be serving consecutive terms. To return to our example of Supreme Harbinger AlkseariaI, assuming they are elected in January and take their oath, if they are reelected in March, May, and July, they do not have to retake the oath each election. However, if they are to be elected in January, take their oath, fail to be reelected in March, but get reelected in May, they will have to retake their oath, as they did not occupy the office.

Reasoning

Our reasoning for this ruling is decently simple. If you observe Article VIII, Section IX of the Astorian Constitution, it states "during my tenure." This was the linchpin in our decision. While a term might refer to a single election to election, as is used in the client's filing, tenure implies something longer. The Tribunal read it as meaning the length of time that you hold office interupted. If we were to imagine, for example, beyond a mystical veil, a place where a president was elected every four years, you would refer to the four years as their term. However, you might refer to their entire time serving as president as their tenure as president. Therin lies the decision. How long does the oath last? So long as they hold office. Until their tenure ends, either by them resigning, failing to be reelected, or being removed, you hold office, and the Oath of Office holds.

NOTE: This is the updated version of this opinion to fit with the retheme. To see the original, go here

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The Celestial Order of Astoria

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The Astraean Angel of Unike

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