Malfi and Hashemi v Chancellor
Malfi and Hashemi v Chancellor is a court case before the Senate of the Lakes, adjudicator on all matters relating to the Order of the Holy Lakes (with supreme sovereignty being vested in the Electorate, i.e. the adult members of the Order). The case involved the question whether concubines and courtesans of members (who are inductees or descended by blood or adoption to an inductee) can derive membership in the Order due to their marriage-like unions with a member. The Senate ruled that concubines could derive membership in the Order from their husbands but courtesans could not.
Background
Luciana Malfi, courtesan of Lors Bakker-Kalirion, and Golsa Hashemi, concubine of Lors Bakker-Kalirion, have individually petitioned the Commander of the Order of the Holy Lakes, Ichirō, for registration as Ladies of the Holy Lakes, due to their legal union of marriage-like relationship with Lors Bakker-Kalirion. Ichirō denied the application, citing that under the precedence of the Order, only marriage-like unions of legal character where the parties are equal have so far allowed the other party (who is not an inductee or not descended by blood to an inductee). Mmes Malfi and Hashemi appealed the decision to the Chancellor of the Order of the Holy Lakes, Li Naomiai Avon-El, citing that the unequal nature of their relationship with Mr Bakker-Kalirion is in name only; otherwise they perform the same tasks as required by a spouse and are given equal respect inside the household as the two wives of Mr Bakker-Kalirion. The Chancellor denied the request, with the view that there is nothing substantial in the application, and that the application seemed to imply a request for social tourism for the two women seeking to move to Hurmu with their children.
Senate proceedings
Mmes Malfi and Hashemi then appealed to the full sitting of the Senate of the Lakes, through Senator Kristofer u-Malik. Kristofer u-Malik agreed to bring the matter before the Senate as Advocate for the pair. Li Naomiai was to represent herself in her position, and would have to recuse herself from presiding over the proceedings. Similarly, Ichirō, her deputy, had to recuse himself from presiding. The next person in line would be Patrik Djupvik. As such, Djupvik, was tasked with presiding over the case. All Senators would still have the right to vote on the final judgement.
Day 1
On the first day of the sitting (20.XI.1716), Djupvik summarized the case as follows:
- Membership in the Order of the Holy Lakes extends to persons inducted into the Order of the Holy Lakes, persons descended by blood or adoption from such inducted persons, and to any legal spouses thereof for the duration of the matrimonial union (for widows unless remarried outside the Order).
- Petitioner Malfi is a courtesan of Lors Bakker-Kalirion. She alleges that this is a legal union, albeit unequal in name (citing Shirerithian law on the matter), but that the legal union in itself confers upon her the right of membership in the Order.
- Petitioner Hashemi is a concubine of Lors Bakker-Kalirion. She alleges that this is a legal union, albeit unequal in name (citing Shirerithian law on the matter), but that the legal union in itself confers upon her the right of membership in the Order.
- If the Senate finds that Malfi's and/or Hashemi's unions with Bakker-Kalirion are legal, then
- Does membership of the Order of the Holy Lakes extend to concubines of a member of the Order of the Holy Lakes who is an inductee or is descended from an inductee?
- Does membership of the Order of the Holy Lakes extend to courtesans of a member of the Order of the Holy Lakes who is an inductee or is descended from an inductee?
Day 2
On the second day, Patrik Djupvik sought to answer whether the case was admissible, i.e. were the relationships that petitioners had with Bakker-Kalirion of legal nature.
Advocate u-Malik stated, in sumamry: Concubinage and courtesanship were taken from Shirerithian law. He called upon Cassian Caspar Chrysostom Wythe, Viscount of Solaris, expert in administrative law in Shireroth, to testify before the Senate.
Lord Solaris's testimony is summarized as follows:
In Shirerithian law, marriage and other marriage-like unions are defined in Imperial Decree 1180. In short, the law states that a "... union is defined as a contract in which a durable interpersonal connection has been established between two parties, through which rights of mutual access and legitimacy of offspring may be granted". Moreover, a "... union is considered equal or unequal, dependent upon whether authority is vested equally or unequally upon its parties". The parties to a union must both consent to the union, and there are three types of unions: marriage, concubinage, or courtesanship, with marriage being an equal union and the other two unequal. Lord Solaris used Kaiser Ayreon IV as an example, having a husband (Emperor Nathan II), a concubine (Lady Isidora of Octavius-Teleni, the Imperial Mother), and a courtesan (catamite) (Jaap van Pijpervale). These were all legally valid contractual unions under Shirerithian law. Lord Solaris further supposed that the law, unless altered in the Benacian Union, would have continued there after Elwynn and the Unified Governorates "were released from their loyalty to the Kaiseress".
Kristofer u-Malik thus argued that the Senate must find that the unions between the petitioners and Mr Bakker-Kalirion indeed were of legal character.
Chancellor of the Order of the Holy Lakes agreed with the assessment that the unions indeed were of legal character, but declared that the unions under that law were unequal, and thus membership of the Order of the Holy Lakes could not be extended to an unequal party. At this point, Senator u-Malik objected, stating that the object of the day was to find whether or not the unions were of legal contractual matter, nothing else. President pro tempore Djupvik agreed. With there being no dispute as to the legality of the unions, the Senate would adjourn the session of the court until the following day to explore the question whether or not membership in the Order could extend to a subordinate party of an unequal union with a member by descent or induction of the Order.
Day 3
On the third day of the proceedings, Senators Ghawetkiin Enkhjargal and Isabella III Güntherdohtor Merrick provided information on Benacian Union households organized under "harmonious lines".
During the submissions and speeches by these senators, the Senate was paedagogically led to an understanding of Babkhan law, which is customary in the Benacian Union to apply on household organizations.
(1) The Master of the Household may be of either sex but shall be a Babkhan citizen of means and seniority without equal in the Household he or she establishes.(2) The Master of the Household may contract a marriage. Marriage is a formally contracted agreement with lawful intent consisting of the forming of a union with a partner of the opposite sex for the purpose of begetting lawful heirs to the Household and the social standing of the Master of the Household.
- a. The eligible marriage partner shall be a citizen or a Category A or B Subject but who shall not be of a greater social standing than the Master of the Household.
- b. The Master of the Household may contract any number of marriages according to his or her capacity and want and the offspring arising of these shall be entitled to the social standing of the partner but only the first born of the most senior, by social standing and then by precedence in marriage order sequence, shall be regarded as the heir to the Household and the social standing of the Master of the Household.
- c. In the event of pregnancy yielding twins or multiples the firstborn shall be the heir. If by caesarean section the first to be removed shall likewise inherit. If by error it can not be properly determined or recollected which was born the first a coin will be tossed to determine the result and the supervising doctor or midwife will be declared attainted of caste shame and put to death as a nonperson for the unwarranted complication arising thereof.
(3) The Master of the Household may contract relationships with other persons such as is to his or her liking regardless of sex or gender for the purpose of recreation and the enjoyment thereof.
- a. Partners and offspring derived thereof may be provided for adequately but shall be debarred from the inheritance of the household.
- b. Recreational partnerships shall not be contracted with citizens of equal standing as to do so will leave the consenting partner attainted of caste shame.
(4) Partners to Marriage and contractual relationships predicated on recreation must be of an age such as is sufficient for it to be given to confer informed consent by virtue of reason.
The Senate discussed the matter, and in the end, the Senate was exhausted with the various nuances of Babkhan law, that the presiding officer pro tempore, Patrik Djupvik, exasperated asked the senators in questions to summarize their submissions.
DJUPVIK: Then I must ask Senators Merrick and Ghawetkiin:In a household organized along harmonious lines,
(a) is a relationship with a courtesan contracted for the purpose of "begetting lawful heirs to the Household and the social standing of the Master of the Household" (1) or for the purpose of "recreation and the enjoyment thereof".
(b) is a relationship with a concubine contracted for the purpose of "begetting lawful heirs to the Household and the social standing of the Master of the Household" (1) or for the purpose of "recreation and the enjoyment thereof"
Senator Ghawetkiin Enkhjargal responded:
GHAWETKIIN: The phrasing of the question is impious so ought not to be answered in the manner presented. However, it should be understood that a concubine has been inducted into the household as a domestic companion of the master of the family. It would appear that Lors Simrani-Kalirion has been somewhat careless in casting about, considering that in addition to the instance with the courtesan, he has also sired children on domestic servants whilst once deployed to Eura.
Thereafter, President Djupvik attempted to summarize:
It seems to me that we are arriving at the conclusion that a concubine is party to a legitimate marital union, but a courtesan or catamite is not (it is more of a contract of employment or servitude)The decision of the legitimacy of concubines' unions with their spouses/heads of household would also touch on the rules of succession for Princes among the Lakes, in which succession is passed only through legitimate marital unions. So far, the Order has recognized the children of Kaiser Ayreon IV as legitimate, despite being fathered through a concubine, which should be some added precedence into the matter. As such, the recommendation so far is that we resolve the case with approving the petition of Ms Hashemi and rejecting the petition of Ms Malfi.
The Senate then adjourned for the day.
Day 4: Judgment
On the fourth day, Djupvik first reiterated the questions that the Senate had to answer:
- Does membership of the Order of the Holy Lakes extend to concubines of a member of the Order of the Holy Lakes (who is an inductee or is descended from an inductee)?
- Does membership of the Order of the Holy Lakes extend to courtesans of a member of the Order of the Holy Lakes (who is an inductee or is descended from an inductee)?
Question 1
Does membership of the Order of the Holy Lakes extend to concubines of a member of the Order of the Holy Lakes (who is an inductee or is descended from an inductee)?
This question referred to Ms Hashemi's standing.
| Senator | Faction | AYE | NAY |
|---|---|---|---|
| Patrik Djupvik | Presiding | – | – |
| Jaya Prabhu | C | 1 | |
| Karel des Vinandy | C | 1 | |
| Saurabh Farrah | C | 1 | |
| Fahime Jafarnejad | H | 1 | |
| Ghawetkiin Enkhjargal | H | 1 | |
| Isabella III Güntherdohtor Merrick | H | 1 | |
| Khoga Checheyigen | H | 1 | |
| Roya al-Osman | H | 1 | |
| Severna Enujohanenion | H | 1 | |
| Asmila Avon-El | U | 1 | |
| Ichirō | U | 1 | |
| Li Naomiai Avon-El | U | 1 | |
| Lyudmila Eduardovna | U | 1 | |
| Mondo Etzeterra | U | 1 | |
| Đorđe Babić | U | 1 | |
| Aliande | V | 1 | |
| Kristofer u-Malik | V | 1 | |
| Total number of votes | 11 | 6 |
The Senate thus approved the appeal of Ms Hashemi. Djupvik ordered the Chancellor to inscribe her into the rolls of membership of the Order of the Holy Lakes.
Question 2
Does membership of the Order of the Holy Lakes extend to courtesans of a member of the Order of the Holy Lakes (who is an inductee or is descended from an inductee)?
This question referred to the petition of Ms Malfi.
The Senate voted as follows:
| Senator | Faction | AYE | NAY |
|---|---|---|---|
| Patrik Djupvik | Presiding | – | – |
| Jaya Prabhu | C | 1 | |
| Karel des Vinandy | C | 1 | |
| Saurabh Farrah | C | 1 | |
| Fahime Jafarnejad | H | 1 | |
| Ghawetkiin Enkhjargal | H | 1 | |
| Isabella III Güntherdohtor Merrick | H | 1 | |
| Khoga Checheyigen | H | 1 | |
| Roya al-Osman | H | 1 | |
| Severna Enujohanenion | H | 1 | |
| Asmila Avon-El | U | 1 | |
| Ichirō | U | 1 | |
| Li Naomiai Avon-El | U | 1 | |
| Lyudmila Eduardovna | U | 1 | |
| Mondo Etzeterra | U | 1 | |
| Đorđe Babić | U | 1 | |
| Aliande | V | 1 | |
| Kristofer u-Malik | V | 1 | |
| Total number of votes | 2 | 15 |
The Senate thus rejected the appeal of Ms Malfi. She was thus not to be regarded as a member of the Order of the Holy Lakes.
Aftermath
Ms Malfi was subsequently summoned to the Benacian Union legation's main residency in Ghawlama, in order to assist a visiting officer from the Magisters-Carnifex in understanding the course of her actions that had led to this point.
