Re: The extent of legal jurisdiction (1283)

Alan Huscroft [email removed] writes:

> How far off a planet's surface does its legal jurisdiction extend?
> 100 diameters?  The whole system?  Does the Imperium have guidelines
> on this, or is it a question of what the world is capable of enforcing?

It has been stated that the starport (downport) is essentialy foreign soil,
and the local laws do not apply there. Therefore the highport would also
be under the same circumstances. And so (I would presume) be any ship at
the port or nearby.

The question arises, how many of the local laws are the port authorities
going to implement as "courtesies" to the locals. ie. They may pass
local regulations prohibiting gambling to appease the locals.

This is irrespective of tech level. If the planet is pre-stellar+, then
the local navy may have its own ideas about what is legal. I don't think
that the number of planetary diameters has anything to do with it. The
locals would claim their entire solar system, (and if you use WBH will
have colonies and spaceports (not starports) scattered all over the
system). Thus the navy may only see designated imperial property (ie.
starports) as being immune to local laws.

Another consideration is alienating merchants. Should said local navy
start harrassing merchants, boarding and checking for gambling, the
merchants may stop coming, and that could play havoc with their
economy.

In summary: It is a political situation and depending on the particular
law, the conviction of the locals, personalities (and orders) of the port
authorities, and the opinon of merchant lines, a local law may be limited
to the planet, or extend throughout the system.

Suprise your players, every world should be an unique experience, the
charts for the planet would describe all unusual legal conditions, if the
players bother to read the dozens of pages in detail. My players
rember worlds by their customs and laws, three nights in jail that a
player spent for GASP! not wearing a hat in public still sticks in their
mind.

Dan Corrin, System Manager, Mechanical Engineering, UWO, London, Ontario
TML FTP site coordinator:  [email removed]    ...!watmath!julian!engrg!dan