Salvete Senatores et sodales omnes
Q. C. Locatus Barbatus wrote:I pass now these names of our members to the praetores:...
So I ask the aediles to remove every none-member from our forum who has posted his last message before 01/01/2003. As these people are no members, it's up to our aediles to deal with them.
As I have stated before, the censores have the authority to make such decisions on the membership, but we do need to consider setting precedents for what procedures are to be followed in such matters. We do not want to set a precedent that might allow censores to arbitrarily remove members without their first being given an opportunity to secure their rights. The censores may collegially issue a
nota from which there is no appeal except to the censores to reconsider. A
nota in itself however may not remove sodales from membership. Only if a praetor acts on the nota, of which it is his decision whether to do so or not, may a person be actually removed. Locatus says that he passes the names over to the praetores, which must mean that he authorizes the praetores to adjudicate the matter. This I find proper.
Locatus' request to the aediles, however, I do not consider to be proper procedure and Aedilis Draco should be commended for waiting for proper authorization. A censor may not issue an
edictum to order an aedilis to do anything, nor can he really request an aedilis to act improperly lest the censor expose himself to a charge of
inuria under the Considerations of Edictum Consularis de Institutionibus. Aedilis Draco requests that a regulation be made to carry out the censores' desire. I feel that a
finalized edictum of the praetores following an adjudication would constitute proper authorization for the aediles to act upon. By finalized I mean that the aediles will have to await a proper amount of time for a praetor to issue a proposed edictum, for his or her colleague to consider a veto of the proposed edictum, for the consules to secure the sodales their right of
provocatio and the outcome of any vote of the Comitia in such an instance. A regulation, or
decretum, to lay out the proper procedures can be drawn up by the praetores, discussed in the Senate for its advice, and presented to the Comitia. However, in the meantime, the praetores may proceed in their adjudications with any procedures they may wish to use, as they are so authorized under the Regula Fundamentalis, provided that they comply with the Regula and the Institutionibus as may apply.
As I have indicated before, I would consider it a breach of the rights of individual sodales if the praetores were to make a single adjudication encompassing everyone on the censores' list. I know it may seem an unnecessary complication to have the praetores conduct separate adjudications in each individual case, but bear in mind that removing sodales from membership is the most severe action our societas may make. The
finalized edictum of the praetores ordering the aediles to remove the names from the website may include a complete list of names. Where the consules come into play here is their responsibility to "advance the mission and purpose of the Societas" to include their responsibility to defend the Regula Fundamentalis. Last year it was decided to streamline our organization, which led to the elimination of the offices of tribuni who would normally have been responsible for upholding individual rights. The duties of the tribuni have thus fallen upon the consules, or the other way to put it, after ancient precedent, we now have
tribuni consulari potestate. Any
decretum of the Comitia Generale regarding adjudication procedures should be drawn up by the praetores since such procedures lie within their area of responsibility. Praetores can also issue
edicta on adjudication procedures they will follow. A problem arises here though because a praetor cannot issue an
edictum that would impinge on the duties of another magistrate, especially a higher magistrate such as a consul. We must therefore have a
decretum of the Comitia that would cover all the magistrates involved in these procedures, and since such a regulation would involve the censores, consules, praetores, and aediles, it would be best to work out details in the Senate first, then refined in the Comitia as it is brought before the entire membership for consideration. Only by the Comitia issuing a
decretum can you limit the consules from interfering with the procedures of the praetores. This I think is necessary. Just as we do not want to set a precedent that allows magistrates an unlimited ability to arbitrarily remove sodales, I think we need to limit a magistrate's ability to interfere with justified actions. That is, I would like to see limited the powers of a consul to veto a praetorial adjudication to a very narrow range of prerogatives, and that these should be based in the consules' constitutional responsibilities. The consules should exercise their powers to defend individual sodales by taking appeals of
provocatio to the Comitia, but should not be allowed to interfere or prevent the praetores from performing their adjudicial responsibilities through an unlimited exercise of a consular veto by
intercessio. No
edicta by the praetores or consules can accomplish that goal, and so we will need to bring this before the Comitia.
Valete optime
Marcus Horatianus Piscinus
Consul iterum SVR
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is the coolest emoticon!
