Criminal justice system of the Jingdaoese Empire
The Criminal justice system of the Jingdaoese Empire consists of several agencies, which work together to uncover criminal acts, correct those who have committed them and seeks to deter others from straying off the path of lawfulness. Many criminal acts are explicitly described by the Jingdaoese penal code, with fixed minimum penalties for them. Aside from these explicitly described crimes, Article 1 of the penal code offers a broad description of a crime which can be applied to many situations. "To act against the Will of the Emperor" is a crime which can be applied to any situation where the Will of the Heavenly Light is subverted, and by extension any acts which take place against the imperial decrees, the laws of the empire or society's hierarchy. The maximum penalty for any crime is the capital penalty, which is performed regularly in the empire.
Law enforcement
The law is upheld by the Jingdaoese police forces, which are organized on the provincial level. The Imperial Armed Forces frequently assist the provincial police departments and have their own military police departments to maintain discipline within the armed forces. The Tegong specializes in investigating any behavior that is considered subversive towards the absolute rule of the Heavenly Light. The Tianchao Chuandui (Imperial Fleet) has its own police force, the Hai Hegui, to maintain order and discipline at sea.
Big data
Besides draconian punishments, one of the ways the Jingdaoese state tries to tackle crime is through big data. As the state has no concept of privacy, data on anyone within the borders is hoarded. As a general rule, all data that is collected by companies or individuals, is shared with the state. This includes but is not limited bank details, phone location details and medical files. ANPR and Face recognition cameras are a common sight on the Jingdaoese streets and the data these systems collect is also kept indefinitely. The Weishujuchu (big data office), part of the Tegong is responsible for collecting the data, analyzing it, and providing it to the relevant authorities after reviewing it to make sure state secrets are not shared with officials with lower security clearances. These data can be used in all sorts of criminal cases, but are not usually made available to the defendant.
Courts
Under the Chidao Constitution, the judicial power is vested in the Seanad which is headed by the Heavenly Light. In practice, most criminal cases are presented to inferior courts in the district where the crime has taken place. Appeals to provincial courts are possible, but only very rarely accepted. A further appeal to the Seanad is also possible, but virtually always gets rejected without hearing. While criminal proceedings in these regular courts take place in public, the Tegong also has its own courts that deal with political crimes that take place behind closed doors. In cases of mild political infractions, suspects are ordered to visit a local Tegong chapter to answer any questions the court has. In the case of suspicion of rebellion, the suspect is not made aware of his trial.
Penitentiary system
The Jingdaoese criminal justice system is considered to be one of the harshest on Micras. The Jingdaoese courts make no distinction between a misdemeanor or a felony, any breach of the law is considered to be an affront towards the Heavenly Light as the law is considered to be a representation of his Will. In most cases, the convicted criminal is made a bound servant of the Imperial Palace for a limited time, from a week up to forty years. Where the criminal is considered to be without use, due to old age or a handicap, a combination of a hefty fine and incarceration is a possible. In cases where the crime has cost the life of a citizen or has created societal unrest, the death penalty is often applied. While any criminal court can sentence a criminal to death, permission from the Imperial Palace has to be granted in order to execute a citizen, as all citizens are considered to be the property of the emperor. Serious political crimes such as rebellion or agitation are almost always answered with the death penalty. Based on the perceived societal response the political criminal is publicly executed or his death will be presented as an accident. Unlike many other nations, corporal punishment is not usually performed in Jingdao. It is only used to make sentences harsher in cases where a criminal has performed multiple crimes for which the death penalty must be applied.
