1. All power relating thereof to the creation of laws and statutes is the responsibility of the Monarch alone. Under his Royal prerogative, granted by God the Almighty, His(Her) Majesty may employ and establish any rules deemed useful to the correct and proper running to the Kingdom. Therefore it is established that the King, and him alone is the supreme fount of power, honour and justice in the Kingdom of Jerusalem, below only God himself.
2. The Monarch may appoint and revoke any titles of nobility, knighthood and any other marks of Royal Favour. However, any Lord of the Land may also appoint any man up to to the title of Knight and may recommend any man suited for a fief of his own. The King(Queen)'s word is final on such a matter, and while all vassals must swear oaths to their liege lords, they must also include words to protect the King's majesty and temporal body. All Lords may create titular titles for their children to highlight their positions with fiefs. A Lord may create Counties, Baronies and Knighthoods for his male children, Counts may create baronies and knighthoods for their male children and Barons may give knighthoods to their male children. These titles confer only dignity and no added income or men at arms, and can be revoked by either the father or the King at will.
3. The Church in Jerusalem is the sole responsibility of the Pope and his Bishops. No man may use the law of Jerusalem to intefere with its role and rules, and should any man or woman seek sanctuary in a Chapel, Church, Abbey, Convent or Cathedral, they may not be touched. However, should a criminal leave Church land, he may be immediately seized and prosecuted under the law of the land. Any man that disrespects the Church, and therefore also God, shall be subject to the strictest law possible and may face death.
4. The Administration of Justice is formally that of the King(Queen) alone, however due to the size of his realm, and the many subjects within it, the power of prosecution and punishment may be delegated, however his word is final. All men have the unalienable right to a trial by their peers, as laid down in earlier statutes. Every Baron, Count and Lord is also a Justice of the Peace and may pass punishment on any offence besides Adultery, Treason, High Treason, Extreme Arson and Murder. They may levy any fine or punishment including death, however only with a death warrant signed by the Monarch or his most trusted Chancellor. Higher offences must be tried by the King(Queen) or his most trusted Chancellor and in the cases of extreme offences, can result in death and banishment of any family.
5. Punishable offences, and their recommended punishments in Jerusalem are as follows:
- Breaches of the Peace, as determined by judges and to be punished with fines and the stocks
- Burglary and petty offences, to be punished with mutilation, the stocks and fines
- Robbery of assets of value, to be punished with branding, imprisonment and fines.
- Bribery, to be punished with imprisonment.
- Petty Arson and any offence against property, to be punished with Imprisonment and branding
- Adultery and any other crime of moral turpitude, to be punished with banishment
- Grave Arson and any major offences against property, to be punished with seizure of assets and imprisonment
- Murder, Treason and High Treason are to be punished with death.
6. To Flee the Monarch's justice is an additional crime and can be punished at the Judge's will. However should a criminal charged with anything bar Murder, Treason, High Treason or Extreme Arson be free from capture for two years and one day, then they shall go free and unhindered by magistrates. Should a man or woman know where an absconded criminal is, it is an offence not to report it to the authorities of Jerusalem, such sedition shall be punished with heavy fines and in grace circumstances, imprisonment.
7. The Gravest Crime of all is to gather resentment and rebellion against the Monarchy, and any such actions shall result in immediate execution and seizure of assets. This is also applicable to the Heirs of the King or Queen, and their Consort.
8. The False giving of measurements, weights and moneys is an offence against the Crown and the law and shall be punished at the will of the Haute Coure. It is also declared that the only acceptable unit of currency in official actions is the Crown. Any milling of a coin or debasement of it is punishable by mutilation.
9. Any man who is not an Esquire or senior to that, may not display a Coat of Arms, shield or banner which declares an assumption of arms. Any such act shall result in immediate fines and a time in the stocks. All men who have recently become Esquires, Knights or otherwise have become men of lay or church nobility may seek out the King(Queen) or his/her appointed Heralds for a Grant of Arms, at the cost of 25 Ducats.
10. Great Officers of State are men appointed by the Monarch to fulfill the key roles within the Kingdom. New offices may be established and old ones revoked at any time. The Haute Coure is to serve as the supreme legislative and judicial body of the Kingdom of Jerusalem under the Crown's authority and empowered by the reigning King/Queen of the Realm.
11. Should the King/Queen declare war against an enemy of Jerusalem, the Monarch may render whatever assistance he/her deems necessary from the Realm's vassals, should they not comply, the punishment is at His(Her) Majesty's discretion.
12. The Kingdom of Jerusalem practices the Succession Law of Agnatic-Cognatic Primogeniture. All female heirs have legal claims to the throne if a male heir, fathered by the reigning King or mothered by the reigning Queen, is not present within the royal family. This has been decreed by the power of His Majesty, Baudouin II the Year of Our Lord 1118. This law can only be changed solely by the right of the reigning Monarch at any time.
13. Any amendment or addition to these laws is solely the right of the King, and may be exercised at any time.
Given at our Court in Jerusalem in the Year of Our Lord 1118, and in the first year of Our Reign. Signed with our own Hand.
Laws of the Kingdom of Jerusalem
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