Anwalt

Anwalt
Duty	Prepare cases, provide legal counsel
Homeworld	Hiera
System	0605 - Ellis

An Anwalt (Hieran, meaning Lawyer) of House Crux deals with noble and non-noble level legal disputes, serving the Empire at large as the best defenders and prosecutors available. Anwalts assemble cases with scrupulous detail, frequently working directly with Inquisitors, Scharfrichters and general law enforcement to ensure factual authenticity. Often times an Anwalt will be assigned to an Inquisitor as soon as an investigation begins, allowing the Anwalt to prepare cases from the ground up before they may even be needed.

If a case goes to trial, debate is held between defending and prosecuting Anwalts under the presiding eye of a Richter or panel of Richters, who consider and delivers the final judgement.

Outside of House Crux, the Anwalts often serve as legal advisors and lawyers-on-retainer for nobles or wealthy freepeople of all Houses and entities, ensuring that contracts and deals made are favourable and legally cohesive, and that clients have proper representation in a court of law should they ever need it.

Unlike Richters, lawyers are not exclusive to House Crux, though non-Crucian lawyers may not always have the same degree of training and professionalism of an Anwalt. Non-Crucian lawyers may train at the Imperial School of Law, as Anwalts do, but their tuition is more expensive and exempt from any aid of the Hieran government. More often, non-Crucian lawyers train at satellite facilities of the ISL or other, lesser institutions altogether.

Training

Anwalts are trained at the Imperial School of Law (ISL) in Ven City, Hiera. Here, they rub shoulders with their Richter cousins, sharing many of the same modules and classes. They must study every law known to Acheron Rho, from the sweeping Empire-wide laws to the intricacies of Local Law, including House Laws, Planetary Law, and more. During their training, Anwalts may choose to focus on certain areas of the Law or methods of practice they find interesting or important to them, possibly acquiring one or more Sub-Titles (see below) as a signifier.

During their later years at the ISL, and sometimes following their time there, new Anwalts start their work in the Office of Public Defense, an Imperial initiative devoted to providing legal counsel and aid to those who cannot traditionally afford it. Anwalts are expected to spend a number of years and pass a number of reviews during their time in the Office of Public Defense before receiving their full legal license. After that, Anwalts may pursue contracts with Houses, Corporations, individual nobles or wealthy freepeople, establish their own firms, or join existing ones. 

Junior Anwalts, those studying at the ISL, can easily be identified by their plain white Martaba, bereft of any Shara. Upon graduation, the Anwalt is given their first Shara - an amethyst embedded in a gold band - to add to their Martaba, signifying their qualification to work as a fully-fledged Anwalt.

Martaba & Shara

The Martaba (Arabic for ‘rank’) are waist sashes used to denote rank and prestige among Anwalts. The general style is the same; a wide, white sash is worn around the waist, with numerous ornaments known as Shara (Arabic for ‘badge’) affixed to it. The type of ornament indicates rank or achievements attained by the Anwalt.

The Courtroom

Most cases are presided over by a single Richter, but it is not rare for a panel of Richters to preside over more significant cases.

Similarly, the prosecution and defense typically consist of a single Anwalt each, but others may join the teams in an advisory role. Inside the courtroom, all Anwalts must wear shoulder capes known as Alraas (Arabic for ‘cape’). Prosecutors wears black Alraas, while defenders wear purple Alraas.

Also in attendance are the Scharfrichters assigned by the Richter, who manage criminal assets and evidence during trial.

The Arch-Anwalt

The highest rank and honour an Anwalt may receive is the title of Arch-Anwalt. Arch-Anwalts represents the pinnacle of contemporary legal representatives, and are few and far between, often only one or a handful present on even Core worlds. The Shara representing the position comes in two vertical obsidian bands, which sit on either side of the initial Anwalt Shara. Politically, Arch-Anwalts also represent a portion of the leadership of the DoJ, along with Oberster-Richters, Oberster-Scharfrichters, and other high-ranking titles.

Sub-Titles

As with Richters, Anwalts may bear a number of sub-titles specific to the areas of law they are most well-versed in. While most Anwalts and Richters will simply use their primary title, Sub-Titles are often featured in the credentials and on the doors of the offices of Anwalts and Richters, similar to a listing of educational degrees. More than one Sub-Title may be held by a single Anwalt or Richter, but more than two or three areas of expertise are rare, given the depth and complexity of study required.

For Anwalts, each Sub-Title is also accompanied by additional Shara for their Martaba.

• Handels- A prefix referring to those who specialize in the law of corporates, freepeople, and serfs. Shara: Orange and yellow band with an amber stone.
• Edel- A prefix referring to those who specialize in the law of Nobles and Noble Houses. Shara: Purple and black band with an emerald stone.
• -Errant A sub-title following a title that refers to Anwalts and Richters who practice aboard Crucian cruisers and other mobile vessels that are not fixed to a single planet or location. Errant does not represent a particular field of study, but rather a commitment to provide legal counsel wherever the Anwalt or Richter is called. Shara: A dark green band lined with patterns in silver inlay.
• -Athonite A sub-title following a title that refers to those who specialize in how Imperial and Local Law interact with Imperial Faith and the High Church. Shara: White band with golden stripes and edged with silver.
• -Elysian A sub-title following a title that refers to those who specialize in cultural and regionally specific law, and the interactions between culture and the law. Shara: A mauve band with a multi-colored tourmaline stone.
• -Athenian A sub-title following a title to refer to those who specialize in military, war, combat, and weapons law. Shara: A tan band with black borders and a ruby stone.
• -Numisma A sub-title following a title to refer to those who specialize in contract, corporate, business, and other trade and monetary laws. Shara: A black and gold band with several small diamond stones.
• -Heimdallr A sub-title following a title to refer to those who specialize in navigation, transportation, and travel law. Shara: A deep blue band with stones of sapphire and/or turquoise.
• Zauber- A prefix referring to those who specialize in psychic and extra-normal laws, such as they exist. Shara: A pale green band with jade and onyx stones.
• Cyber- A prefix referring to those who specialize in technology, maltech, and digital law. Shara: A pale blue band lined with fiberoptic strands of light and aquamarine stones.
• Nacht- A prefix referring to those who specialize in spacecraft, space station, space, and system law, and other laws governing spaceships and the void. Shara: An entirely black band set with tiger's eye and dark spinel stones.
• Bundes- A prefix referring to those who specialize in Imperial Law in a broad sense. Shara: An entirely gold band set with pearls and moonstone.
• Xeno- A prefix referring to those who specialize in alien and other non-human laws. There are very few who bear this prefix, though it saw a resurgence with the advent of the Synthetics. Most who take up this prefix are scholars and researchers of older law, as what laws exist concerning aliens are few and more often deal with what aliens can’t do than can. Shara: A neon green band set with aquamarine stones.