Imperial Decree 865

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Daniyal Sikander Dravot, Steward of the Imperial Republic of Shireroth, renders one thousand salaams in the name of:

NOOR AS-SALAAM, by the Kharenah of Zurvan, Qaisar Baanooye Sathratiye, who, by this Imperial Decree, gives unto her subjects and retainers, greetings, and unto the gods of Shireroth, undying and unthinking obsequience.

Know that We, Mibaradardam be Khorshid va Mah Minamaz dadanam Zurvan, have in the first place dedicated to Zurvan this Decree which by his Kharenah is confirmed for Us and our heirs forever.

IMPERIAL DECREE 865: Marriage, Civil Unions and Other Matters

I. Marriage

1. Marriage is a union, contracted under law, between a man (male) and a woman (female) of the same sentient species for the purpose of the procreation of offspring and the creation of a shared inheritance for any resulting progeny. The alternative definition of marriage, the Noble Marriage, is provided in Article III and only applies to persons of noble standing in the Table of Ranks and Nobility.
a. A marriage may end only with the death of one party or in divorce.
b. Man shall not marry man.
c. Woman shall not marry woman.
d. Marriage between sentient species is prohibited.
e. Those proven infertile or genetically defective by medical examination must not marry.
f. A man must not marry his mother, his daughter, his father's mother, his mother's mother, his son's daughter, his daughter's daughter, his sister, his father's sister, his mother's sister, his brother's daughter or his sister's daughter.
g. A woman must not marry her father, her son, her father's father, her mother's father, her son's son, her daughter's son, her brother, her father's brother, her mother's brother, her brother's son or her sister's son.
2. Any marriage contracted contrary to this must be declared void by a duly appointed court.
3. Marriages contrary to this decree may be recognised on application to a duly appointed court if specifically lawful in a recognised jurisdiction. A recognised jurisdiction is defined as being:
a. An Imperial State; or
b. Another country with whom the Imperial Republic has a treaty extending full faith and credence to official documents.
4. Failure to apply to recognition of an externally contracted marriage from a duly appointed court is an offence and carries the penalty of a forfeiture of rights in the Imperial Dominions of the Imperial Republic for a period of six years Anno Nortone.
5. No marriage contracted in Jingdao shall be recognised as lawful.
6. A marriage, to be lawful, requires only the consent of the participants, two independent witnesses and a formal notification to the competent authority of the Imperial Dominion in whose jurisdiction the marriage has been contracted.
7. Divorce may be granted, upon application to a duly appointed court, for the following reasons:
a. Lack of consummation, normally within twelve months of the contracting of the marriage.
b. Infertility or impotence, to be proven by medical inspection of both parties before the court.
c. Infidelity, to be proven by confessions and evidence set before the court.
d. Mutual consent.
8. Only property, wealth and chattels obtained jointly after the contracting of the marriage may be apportioned in a settlement at the discretion of the duly appointed court in which proceedings have been heard.


II. Civil Union

1. A Civil Union or partnership exists for extending formal recognition to those relationships upon which the recognition of marriage is denied.
a. A man must not form a partnership with his mother, his daughter, his father's mother, his mother's mother, his son's daughter, his daughter's daughter, his sister, his father's sister, his mother's sister, his brother's daughter or his sister's daughter, his father, his son, his father's father, his mother's father, his son's son, his daughter's son, his brother, his father's brother, his mother's brother, his brother's son or his sister's son.
b. A woman must not form a partnership with her father, her son, her father's father, her mother's father, her son's son, her daughter's son, her brother, her father's brother, her mother's brother, her brother's son or her sister's son, her mother, her daughter, her father's mother, her mother's mother, her son's daughter, her daughter's daughter, her sister, her father's sister, her mother's sister, her brother's daughter or her sister's daughter.
2. No benefits beyond recognition accrue, excepting the approbation of society.
3. A Civil Union may be ended by mutual consent or upon application to a duly appointed court of one party for a writ of separation citing infidelity.
4. Only property, wealth and chattels obtained jointly after the contracting of the Civil Union may be apportioned in a settlement at the discretion of the duly appointed court in which proceedings have been heard.


III. Other Matters

1. Because of the degeneracy of the aristocracy, Noble Marriage, may comprise of any form of union, for the purpose of forging alliances between houses, that strengthen a house with the blood strength of an outsider, or create a new house from members of two parent houses.
a. A Noble Marriage, as it may contain an offence under law at its heart, requires special dispensation from the Kaiser if it is to be contracted in an Imperial Dominion.
b. Failure to apply for recognition of an externally contracted Noble Marriage from a duly appointed court is an offence and carries the penalty of a forfeiture of rights in the Imperial Dominions of the Imperial Republic for a period of six years Anno Nortone.
2. A noble, to increase the quality and quantity of his dependants may obtain a licence from either the Kaiser, the Steward or the Prefect of the city, to copulate with commoners for the purpose of procreation.
3. Hermaphrodites and Hijras shall enjoy full tolerance and protection from mistreatment under the law.
4. Prostitutes and catamites may operate from licensed premises in Shirekeep upon application to the Prefect of the city. Those operating from unlicensed premises or without a licence may be scourged and expelled from the city.


IN WITNESS OF THE SUBLIME MAGNIFICENCE OF OUR LADY THE RADIANT SUN WHEREOF We have caused the Seal of the Steward to be affixed to this Decree which We have signed with Our Hand. Given at the Keep this Eleventh day of Vixaslaa in the year after the death of Norton one thousand six hundred and forty-six.

DRAVOT

Office of the Steward