Register of Recusancy in the Benacian Union
Recusancy in the Benacian Union is the act of wilfully refusing to sign and abide by the terms of the Union Covenant which is a mandatory condition for the exercise of citizenship rights. A Recusant will be made subject to a significant financial penalty upon the occasion of their first refusal, with ten years Community Service being mandated for repeat offenders and for those unwilling or unable to pay the specified amount.
Since 1716 AN, custody of the Register of Recusancy has been with the Benacian Censorate, with enforcement actions against known recusants being overseen by the Magisters-Carnifex.
On the 13th day of the 13th month of every year the commandments contained within the Covenant are read in every Bailiwick, with citizens having until the 1st day of the 14th month in which to sign, after which the names of those who have failed to sign or resign the Covenant for the year is submitted by local authorities to the archons of the circuits. Writs of summons are then issued on the 1st day of the new year, with those subject to a summons having five days in which to either to pay the requisite fine or submit to the mercy of the archon's justice.
For a political, religious, or cultural organisation to be declared Recusant Movement, that is to say refusing to sign or adhere to the terms of the Covenant is tantamount to be being declared to be in a state of rebellion not only against the UGB but also against the core tenets of Benacian morality, society, and tradition. Being heretics as well as traitors, recusants, and the members of organisations deemed to be recusant, are considered to be outside of the Community of the Realm and thereby beyond the protection of its laws. As such any publicly named recusant who has not surrendered to the authorities ahead of the response date for their writ of summons may be lawfully killed by any citizen without consequence.
List of Recusant Movements
| Name | Status | Political affiliation | Positions | Year proscribed | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Liberazione | Active | Conservative (Right-Wing) | Tellian Nationalist, Separatist | 1690 AN | In an unusual state of quasi-toleration |
| Communist Party of Elwynn | Prohibited | Socialists, Revolutionary Socialists | Egalitarian, anti-capitalist, revolutionary vanguardist | 1699 AN | Dissident remnant of the Elwynnese revolutionary movement that sparked the Second Civil War |
| Elwynnese Workers' Party | Prohibited | Socialists, Revolutionary Socialists | Anti-authoritarian, pro-democracy, anti-capitalist | 1699 AN | Remnants of the Elwynnese revolutionary movement that sparked the Second Civil War |
| Elwynnese Constitutional Democrats | Prohibited | Liberals, Social democrats | Pro-democracy, constitutionalism, parliamentarianism | 1700 AN | Advocates for restoring the Elwynnese constitution and democratic governance |
| Democratic Worker's Council | Prohibited | Communists, Anarcho-syndicalists | Anti-authoritarian, workers' self-management, abolition of state | 1701 AN | Radical left-wing movement seeking to overthrow the Union authorities |
| League of Benacian Freethinkers | Prohibited | Secularists | Separation of church and state, freedom of/from religion | 1705 AN | Criticised the Union's enforcement of Holodomatic Cedrozurvanism |
| Movement for Benacian Ecology | Prohibited | Environmentalists, Eco-socialists | Environmental protection, sustainable development | 1709 AN | Opposed the Union's industrialisation policies and exploitation of resources |
| Concordat Society | Prohibited | Moderates, Reformists | Constitutional reforms, power-sharing, pluralism | 1715 AN | Advocated for a restructuring of the Union along more democratic lines |
| Chrysean Popular Front | Prohibited | Left-wing populists | Anti-establishment, anti-elitism, economic populism | 1720 AN | Criticised the Union's economic policies and their impact on the working class |
