Legal System

The Mount Vema Legal System 
The legal system of the Kingdom of Mount Vema - The Vema Seamount Territory is based on the Vema Seamount Declaration of Sovereignty, the Constitution of Mount Vema, and Common Law and it does not accept compulsory International Court of Justice (ICJ) jurisdiction.
THE LAW OF MOUNT VEMA
 
The Law of Mount Vema, is a set of rules that plays an important part in the maintenance of the Kingdom of Mount Vema social order, to be made by the decisions of the Judges.
 
Law and Morality
Morality in Mount Vema Law is the set of values and beliefs that governs the behavior of the Mount Vema Community and defines right and wrong.

Types of Mount Vema Laws
The Laws of the Kingdom of Mount Vema are classified as International or Domestic.
International Law
 
International Law – is divided into:
Public International Laws, which governs relationships between the Kingdom of Mount Vema and other nations including international trade.
-And-
Private International Law, which governs which nation’s law, should apply to individuals where there are links with other nations, such as inheritance on a person’s death or marriage.
 
Domestic Law - includes:
Police law, human rights law, evidence law, security law, immigration law, welfare law, employment law, sports law, IT and commerce, international trade, succession, trust & equity, medical law, environmental law, media or intellectual law.
 
It is divided into:
Community Law, which includes Constitutional Law, Administrative Law and Criminal Law;
-And-
Private Law, which includes contract, tort, family, company law and land law. 
 
Distinctions between Civil Law and Criminal Law
 
CIVIL LAW
 
  • Purpose: Enforcement of rights, dispute settlement and regulation of relationship between individuals.
  • Burden of Proof: Balance of probability
  • Outcomes of Cases: Liability decision - civil remedy award such as damages, injunction and declaration.
  • Terminology: Claimant/defendant – Making a claim (suing defendant) and finding liability.

CRIMINAL LAW
 
  • Purpose: Prevention of certain types of conduct, enforcement of behavior and punishment of offenders.
  • Burden of Proof: Beyond reasonable doubt
  • Outcomes of Cases: Guilt or innocent decision – sentence imposed such as imprisonment (which may involve unpaid work in a police-controlled compound), community order and fine.
  • Terminology: Prosecution/defendant – Charging defendant and finding of guilt.
 
JUDICIAL PRECEDENTS
 
Precedents
Precedent in the Legal System of Mount Vema requires that in certain circumstances a decision on a legal point made in an earlier case is followed and all courts are bound to follow decisions made by courts above them, and appellate courts are bound by their own past decisions.>>> (Full Document)