The Book of Judgment

[Azilia]

Convened under the joint mandate Herrenhausen Conference. The tribunal carried both the gravity of law and the weight of politics. Its mission was defined to identify, indict, and prosecute those who had ordered massacres, carried out systematic repression, and turned entire provinces into killing fields. The accused would be brought here in time generals with tarnished medals still clinking upon their chests, ministers who once spoke in thunderous proclamations now silent in chains. But today was not for trials. Today was for foundation, for laying down the architecture of justice.

Rafael Serrano had been appointed by the Caudillo to represent the interests of the Republic for the duration of these trials. Having been the senior judge on the Republics Supreme court, he had been relieved of his duties there to end his career here setting a precedent into the future. His reputation at home had been one of severity thru his entire career in the legal system. He was a man who did not bend to whims, but who also never permitted personal sentiment to intrude upon legal reasoning. At home he was feared for his sentences but praised for his incorruptibility.

To the outsiders he was viewed as Azilias hammer, to the Caudillo he was there to ensure that justice would prevail while the hunt for Carlos continued.

 

[Josepania]

Ex-Associate Justice Salvador León Alvarado of the Apostolic Imperial Supreme Court of Josepania was the lucky man who had been appointed by El Presidente Francisco Javier Castro, endorsed by El Emperador José David IV Constantino, and confirmed by the Apostolic Imperial Council of Secretaries to head the Josepaño delegation of judges and lawyers at the tribunal established by the Treaty of Herrenhausen, and he would be the one to sit in primary judgement next to others from Azilia, Sylvania, Eiffelland, and now Petits-Pays, the de facto (if questionably de jure) successor state to the United Hanseatic States. The knowledge of that last unusual geopolitical situation gave Justice Alvarado a mild sense of dread going into these proceedings. This was meant to be a time to lay down the foundation for how things would proceed, and though he was not as attuned to international politics as some of his peers, even he was aware of the reputation of the Azilians and their stubbornness when they were unhappy with a particular situation.

There was no love lost between the Hanseatics and the Azilians in the buildup to the Justosian War, he knew that much, and there was some concern on his end that the Azilians would refuse to recognize whomever was sent by Petits-Pays to judge alongside them these cases of war crimes by Caledonians and Justosians alike, something he considered to be a wholly unnecessary headache. Still, he also knew that, save for the Azilians, the governments of the four other nations, including his, had recognized Petits-Pays as the de jure successor to the Hanseatic States, so any resistance would probably be futile and, hopefully, not worth their time. Still, he was concerned.

He was known during his tenure in the Apostolic Imperial Supreme Court as a man who considered the spirit of the law as equally as the letter, and was cognizant of circumstances surrounding the cases presented to him and his fellow justices. He had a reputation of being affable and sympathy for those he deemed truly innocent, though with an underlying firmness that would not budge for those who were unquestionably guilty. His critics called him an "extremely liberal" judge when it came to legal interpretations, but they could not accuse him of being corrupt or lacking in his understanding of the law, hence when his retirement was announced a few years ago, the accolades far outweighed the denouncements.

He knew that Josepania was interested in settling justice as fairly as possible, though they were likely going to be harsher on Justosians than Caledonians. That'd never leave his mind, of course, but he was resolved to bring fairness to his deliberations regardless, and ensure that the crimes committed by the truly guilty were punished accordingly, and a new, postwar society could truly begin to heal from prior tragedy and trauma.​

 

[Eiffelland]

Eiffelland is a modern country in many ways, but still a medieval country in some ways. One way is the prominent role Nobility still has, not with much actual power but still with considerable influence behind the scenes. Most Noble families had left the stage of politics, but were active in banking, trade, industry, agriculture, as legal professionals or as physicians (mostly surgeons).

Lorenz Ritter von Dreibrück was one of such Nobles. He was a descendant of a family of knights who had become legal professionals. After having absolved his law study in Weissenfels, he first became a judge in the memberstate he originated from, and later on switched to the national court system. Already as a judge at memberstate level, he became known for being strict. His verdicts were hard in those days, but only if the evidence was enough to overrule doubt.
He took that attitude with him when he switched to the national courts, where he became involved in terrorism cases, large drugs cases and cases against organised crime. He was a leading judge of the Reichsrevisionsgericht when the tribunal for war crimes during the Caledonian Civil War and the Justosian War was set up. Being a prominent judge, he was asked to lead the Eiffellandian delegation of judges and lawyers the tribunal.

Lorenz Ritter von Dreibrück was also known for being the grandson of Rudolph Ritter von Dreibrück, a man with very conservative views on moral things who made a name with his public appearances during the second half of the 1960s and the 1970s, in which he sharply condemned the sexual revolution, which he considered moral decay. The views of Lorenz Ritter von Dreibrück on these topics were not publicly known. Privately known among the Alte Herren of the Weissenfelser fraternity Odysseus was, that Lorenz Ritter von Dreibrück had voted against Prince Ludwig and his boyfriend to become Alte Herren of Odysseus.

OOC: @Josepania , sorry for the delay.