New Sarovia prides itself on its status as a member-run parliamentary democracy. Accordingly, if you are a Sarovian citizen, you possess a litany of legal and constitutional rights. The Constitution, first passed in AS 275, as well as the Mathiveas Code of Law, New Sarovia’s formal criminal law code first passed in AS 276, name the vast majority of these rights and discuss them in great detail. However, even then, other Acts of Parliament grant further rights to Sarovians. This can often be confusing for some people who may not know exactly what rights they do and don’t have. If you are one such person wondering exactly this, this page is for you.
Article 51 of the Constitution, known as the Charter of Rights, serves as a summation of the rights afforded to Sarovian citizens, as well as a foundation for additional laws to either add new rights or take certain rights away. This Charter states as follows:
- All Sarovians are considered equal under the law.
- All Sarovians are guaranteed the freedom of speech, belief and opinion, as well as the freedom of public expression in media or the press, except wherein the reasonable limits as dictated by Parliament.
- All Sarovians have the freedom to speak in the official language of High Sarovian, the official and national language of the Sarovian state.
- All Sarovians are guaranteed the right to peaceful assembly without intervention or hindrance from deputies of the Sovereign’s government, except wherein it has been authorised by the sanction of the Sovereign.
- All Sarovians are guaranteed the right to the freedom of movement within and outside the Sarovian state.
- All Sarovians are guaranteed the right to life, liberty and security of the person and their information, except in accordance with the fundamental principles of justice.
- All Sarovians are guaranteed equality before and under the law, and possess the right to their equal protection and benefit of the law without discrimination, including discrimination based on race, national or ethnic origin, colour, sex, age, or mental or physical disability.
- All Sarovians are eligible, except wherein reasonable limits are placed by Acts of Parliament, to serve within any chamber or legislative assembly mentioned in this Act of Constitution or proscribed by law thereafter, as well as the right to vote in any election they are qualified to participate in.
- All Sarovians are guaranteed the right to be tried by an independent and impartial court within reasonable time, except wherein situations where the accused shall repeatedly fail to respond to the orders of the judicature.
- All Sarovians are guaranteed the right to be presumed innocent until proven guilty according to law.
- All Sarovians are guaranteed the right to own property, and no person shall be ordered to cede his property except where required on the order of the Sovereign or on order from the courts.
- All Sarovians inherently possess these rights and may not be stripped of them except with the removal of their citizenship in the manner of law and custom, or the voluntary relinquishment of the protection of these rights from any Sarovian who swears an oath of investiture of any kind.