Chapter 67: Further Discussions on Cooperation

The topic just now seemed a bit too heavy, especially for the Church of the Just Lord, an organization dedicated to building a perfect order and matching laws. Those who used the name of maintaining social order and law, as well as the excuse of fair punishment, were actually just providing an outlet for the dissatisfaction and fear of the poor, and serving the desires and evil deeds of certain people. This behavior could be said to be the natural enemy of justice.

In this world where gods stand like a forest, a single divine power cannot crush the king’s power. Behind those cruel people, there might also be corresponding deities and churches as their backing. In short, this feeling of wanting to crush them but being unable to move them, the people of Tianchao must understand it, right! The embarrassment suffered by Tianchao in the 1990s was probably that kind of feeling.

However, George still preferred this kind of balance of power among the gods, which prevented the high and mighty gods from having too much influence on the secular world like the monotheistic religions before he traveled through time. This allowed nobles like himself to live a bit more comfortably. From this point of view, George was a standard Lawful Neutral character, although he sometimes showed some signs of goodness, this did not affect his neutral nature.

This heavy topic caused the conversation in the room to fall silent again. One could imagine that the experienced High Priest Virginia had probably had some bad memories, and George was indeed stunned by this kind of barbaric behavior and its underlying reasons for a moment.

After a long while, High Priest Virginia finally raised his doubts in a serious and almost questioning tone: “Well, Lord Bolerum, since I have just introduced those cruel examples to you, how can you guarantee that the system of a jury will not become another kind of public trial in the future? Although I think my Lord would certainly appreciate the efforts and sacrifices you have made to protect the dignity of the law. But sometimes, imperfect systems, at the beginning, might seem quite beautiful because of the good intentions and control of the drafters, but as time goes by, they are more likely to rot and fall into corruption. The brief explanation in this outline cannot make me feel at ease.”

“Indeed, good systems can make bad people become good, and bad systems can make good people become bad. Although we cannot yet determine whether the systems are good or bad before they are implemented, it is indeed necessary to take some preventive measures in advance.” Hearing that High Priest Virginia actually used honorifics, George stroked his chin and pretended to think for a while. Then he spoke out the prepared reply: “First of all, in the court, the members of the jury only have the right to listen, not the right to ask questions. All questions will be raised by the plaintiff, the judge, or the prosecutor. At the same time, the accused has the right to explain or defend their own actions. Moreover, I think the use of similar cases and the importance of strengthening physical evidence can also play a certain guiding role. If there is anything I have not thought of now, we can improve it based on the problems that arise during the implementation process. Systems are always constantly improved during use. I am not afraid of making mistakes. As long as we correct them in time and add appropriate propaganda, this will not affect the dignity of the Lord. No matter what, we must make the so-called ‘public trial by the majority’ a thing of the past.”

High Priest Virginia immediately became interested: “Making the democracy of the majority a thing of the past, what an appropriate slogan. And although your plan is not comprehensive, it is indeed feasible. However, what you said about constantly modifying and perfecting it during use is also an effective method. Just like the code of laws in our Temple, it has also gone through years of constant revision to reach its current form. Your plan can be said to make me believe that it is basically feasible, which is the foundation of our cooperation.”

“Since that is the case, let us further discuss the details of our cooperation! In the future legal map of Bolerum Territory, there will be an important institution responsible for serving as the prosecutor. Its main duties are to initiate public prosecutions for certain vicious cases lacking a plaintiff, or to appear in court as a representative of our local government to support the prosecution. For example, stating the prosecution’s accusations, and through evidence presentation, cross-examination, and debate, enabling the collegial panel to confirm the prosecution’s accusations against the defendant, these are all within its scope of duties. The prosecutor also bears the important duty of supervising whether the court’s trial of the case violates legal regulations. I hope your Temple will dispatch a certain number of Clergy to participate in this department.” Feeling that the timing was just right, George took the opportunity to throw out the second bait.

This series of fresh terms made High Priest Virginia feel as confused as a monk who could not make sense of things. He had to ask in a tone full of doubt: “Prosecutor? But what about certain vicious cases lacking a plaintiff?”

‘It seems my words just now were a bit too advanced. Let me think about how to describe it properly.’ Realizing that his bait had instead confused the fish, George had to quickly organize his language to explain: “Well, let me give an example: In cases like the massacre of an entire family, if the victim has no other relatives, this belongs to the category of vicious cases without a plaintiff.”

After hearing George’s explanation, High Priest Virginia immediately frowned: “Such situations are quite rare, aren’t they? Is it a waste of resources to set up such a department just for a few examples? Although this very well reflects the fairness of the law, practicality and the search for efficiency are also very important.”

‘It seems that if such emerging things are not explained comprehensively in one go, it is very easy to attract unnecessary misunderstandings.’ Realizing his mistake, George immediately began to make up for it: “Of course, besides that, this institution is also responsible for collecting and organizing evidence for general vicious cases, providing support for the subsequent court sessions. Also, the backup and organization of all case files after the completion of various cases is also its daily work. At the same time, for certain serious behaviors that infringe upon the interests of the Territory, it also acts as the representative of the Lord to initiate public prosecutions. I think these tasks should already be enough to keep it busy enough in its daily routine. So, how about calling this institution the Procuratorate?”

The name Procuratorate could be said to be George’s little vice, but there was one thing that was really troubling him: whether he should allow the profession of lawyers to appear in this era. After all, ordinary people still needed third-party legal support, and it also seemed that the defendant should be given an environment conducive to pleading. However, in the current market environment, relying solely on daily legal consultations and occasional lawsuits might not be enough to support such a group.

Moreover, this was an era where knowledge was extremely expensive. Even learning the commonly used vocabulary and grammar could make ordinary citizens tighten their belts for a long time. This was still under the premise that the learners were smart and hardworking enough. And the cost of learning a code of laws and other attached legal provisions was unimaginable. In order to recoup their costs, those who became lawyers would not hesitate to incite the common people to take matters that could be resolved through neighborhood negotiations to the court. This is how the legendary lawsuit mongers were made.

And if it developed into a situation like the Hope Kingdom later on, George himself would be a sinner for eternity. There is a saying that lawyers and dentists can be killed.

“Participating in serious acts that infringe upon the interests of the Territory? In this aspect, do we not seem too suitable to intervene?” High Priest Virginia’s reaction this time was even more intense, as if he had just received a freshly baked sweet potato.

Knowing the concerns in High Priest Virginia’s heart, George quickly gave him a reassuring pill: “It’s okay, we will not handle truly confidential events in the open court. Just as you said just now, no matter how much I want to handle things fairly through the law, I must also consider reality. Just like the same crime, the punishment for nobles and commoners cannot be the same, and the army has its own independent judicial institution. Moreover, some criminals who have already been convicted might, for some special reasons, need me, as the Lord, to sign a special pardon to exempt them from punishment.”

Although High Priest Virginia’s worries began to dissipate, he had new doubts: “Indeed, this is a practical performance. But if you really make nobles and commoners receive the same punishment, even our Temple would dare not cooperate with you. Your words just now showed that Lord Bolerum is not a complete idealist. People like that are often very likely to fail. After all, no one wants to challenge the rules of the game that have been passed down for thousands of years, and more importantly, to challenge the interests of a class. However, since some criminals are to be pardoned from punishment, why make them undergo a trial? I cannot see what benefit this brings to the fairness of the law.”

Perhaps it was because of the difference in the times and cognition, George’s ideas were not easy for people to understand: “No! No! No! This is of great importance. Unlike the previous pardons, here only the punishment is exempted, not the crime itself. That is to say, he is still a criminal, only exempted from punishment due to some special reasons.”

“Is that so? It sounds somewhat interesting.” High Priest Virginia seemed to be moved, but he changed the subject: “It seems that the time is already late. Although I am very sorry, can we end today’s conversation here? After all, I have many daily arrangements to attend to after this. However, I will set aside enough time for you tomorrow morning.”

George certainly understood that the other party, who had a position, was not as idle as he was when he came to Karada. However, if he returned to the Territory, there would definitely be a pile of documents waiting for him to handle. Feeling a sense of shared sorrow, he replied: “Of course, no problem. This matter of cooperation was never meant to be concluded in a single day.”

“Also, to be honest, can I keep this book recording the general plan? My Lord would be very interested in your plan.” High Priest Virginia seemed very interested in this.

George said as a matter of course: “This copy is originally given to the partner.”

“Then, see you tomorrow, Lord Bolerum.”

“See you tomorrow, High Priest Virginia.”