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Please select a specific reference for the term '''tribunal''':
{{DisambigTab
|tab1=Original Series
== In the [[Original Series]] ==
|subtab1_1=Law of the Twelve Colonies (TOS)
|tab2=Re-imagined Series
* Tribunals are court proceedings held within the [[The Fleet (TOS)|Fleet]] against those accused of a crime. For more information, see: [[Law of the Twelve Colonies (TOS)]].
|subtab2_1=Law of the Twelve Colonies (RDM)
|subtab2_2=The Circle
== In the [[Re-imagined Series]] ==
}}
* Tribunals are legal proceedings held within the [[The Fleet (RDM)|Fleet]]. One such tribunal was convened after sabotage to ''[[Galactica (RDM)|Galactica]]''<nowiki>'s</nowiki> water tanks. For more information, see: [[Law of the Twelve Colonies (RDM)]].
* [[The Circle]] is a tribunal convened by President [[Tom Zarek]] to sentence and execute those who collaborated with the [[Cylons (RDM)|Cylons]] on [[New Caprica]].
{{disambig}}
Latest revision as of 05:31, 8 September 2025
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This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists other pages that might otherwise share the same title. If an article link referred you here, you might want to go back and fix it to point directly to the intended page. Also, if you wanted to search for the term "Tribunal", click here.
The law of the Twelve Colonies of Man is unique.
Even in the Fleet after the Cylon attack, the laws of the Colonies and their mechanisms have remained intact.
The highest sentence that can be meted out by the Colonial system is life imprisonment. No death penalty exists.
People on ships in the Fleet under assumed names (like Elias, Chella and Karibdis), having avoided being logged in the Fleet computer, may receive minor punishments.
The result of a self-defense plea, when it involves the termination (death) of an individual, results in a suspended sentence. To those in the Colonial Fleet who are charged with this, they are dismissed from the service.
There are different roles in the Colonial justice system, namely:
Opposer, which acts as the prosecution
Protector, which acts as the defense for the accused.
The role of "Chief Opposer" is apparently obtained by any respected, seasoned Opposer, such as SireSolon.
Both Opposers and Protectors have the unique ability to investigate crimes without the need of a separate investigator. Their activities include the collection of evidence for their case and the ability to question witnesses and related parties.
Chief Opposers can also receive and enter in the plea of the accused, regardless of whether or not they are guilty. It is unknown if this ability is shared with lower-level Opposers. Furthermore, they can offer alternatives to the accused to mitigate their sentences, such as pleas of self-defense when faced with termination charges.
In addition, Opposers and Protectors can be interviewed by Inter-Fleet Broadcasting and other press junkets to talk about the merits of the case before the tribunal is convened (TOS: "Murder on the Rising Star").
Colonial judicial proceedings are called tribunals. They are held 10 centars after a plea from the accused is formally entered. Postponements cannot be granted under the circumstances of premeditated human termination charges.
When faced with charges of premeditated termination, the suspect or accused party is held in detention until the tribunal.
The tribunal is convened to hear out the case. The tribunal, which judges the case, consists of three people that hear out the arguments of both sides (TOS: "Murder on the Rising Star").
According to Encyclopedia Galactica (a non-canonical piece of merchandise published in 1979):
A fundamental Human liberty recognized in the Books of the Lords of Kobol themselves is the right of the criminally accused to a fair trial before an impartial tribunal. The exact nature of tribunals has varied from Colony to Colony over time, but certain basic elements are essential to a valid conviction. The judge must be a highly-trained state official with no prior knowledge of the defendant and no other interest in the case than that the law be faithfully executed. A trial must follow procedures set out carefully in advance, and if the accused is once acquitted, he or she may never again be tried for the same crime. In some Colonies, the ultimate questions of fact—for example, is the accused the one who committed the crime—are determined by a jury of citizens untrained in law and unfamiliar with the facts of the case. This peculiar system seems guaranteed to produce less accurate results than, for example, the Scorpian system in which a panel of professional investigators aided by physiological truth detectors and probability-calculating computers determine the facts of each case.
The State's case against the accused is presented by an Opposer, usually a law-trained State official. The accused has a right to speak in his own defense, and in most systems has the right to a Protector to conduct his defense. Early in Human history, the Protector was simply the head of the accused's clan, an Elder who represented his people in all matters. In some Colonies this role developed into a profession, with specially-trained lawyers hiring themselves out regardless of clan lines. The injustice of this system for those who could not afford to pay soon led to the requirement that the State provide legal counsel to those who cannot afford their own. [1]
There are many legal precedents and laws that bound the Twelve Colonies of Kobol together, as well as methods of trying people under said laws. This article highlights how the laws are treated by the Colonials before and after the Fall of the Twelve Colonies.
The President has the authority to grant amnesty and pardons, and may have a full range of options for extending executive clemency. Before the Cylon attack, President Richard Adar offers Tom Zarek a full pardon for his crimes if he will renounce violence; Zarek declines ("Bastille Day"). President Laura Roslin grants amnesty to humans in the Fleet who aided or cooperated with the Cylons on New Caprica, ("Collaborators"), and Acting President Lee "Apollo" Adama grants amnesty to the Final Four humanoid Cylons ("Revelations").
The express language of the U.S. Constitution confers upon the President the power to grant "reprieves and pardons". This language has been broadly construed to include "pardons, conditional pardons, commutations of sentence, conditional commutations of sentence, remissions of fines and forfeitures, respites and amnesties". Similar language in the Articles of Colonization may explain Laura Roslin's decision to use the language "general pardon" to describe the amnesty she granted in "Collaborators".
Citizens of the Colonies may ask for asylum from the military. Rya Kibby, a 17 year old Gemenese woman, sought and successfully gained asylum from the Colonial Fleet's highest ranking officer, Admiral Adama.
The result of asylum in Kibby's case was the successful abortion of her pregnancy, despite her parents' wishes (TRS: "The Captain's Hand").
Prior to the First Cylon War, the Colonies passed legislation regarding the legalization of recreational drugs, such as opium. This came as a result of decades of fierce debate amongst the Twelve Colonies, which effectively removed the profit motive from drug runners and their ilk (CAP: "Gravedancing"). Results of this legislation can be seen in the operation of opium dens on Caprica (CAP: "Reins of a Waterfall").
While the legislation regarding drug use is unspecified in the period following the Armistice and prior to the Fall of the Colonies, legal consequences of recreational drug use are not available ("Unfinished Business," "Razor").
The issue of abortion is left untouched by law until near the end of the first year of the exodus with the case of Rya Kibby and her unborn child.
Prior to its resurgence post-Fall, abortion is an issue heavily contested in the Colonies, despite its legalization. In particular, the Gemenese argue against the practice on religious grounds; Laura Roslin makes the claim that she has fought for women's reproductive rights for her entire political career, and would not concede to Representative Sarah Porter's demands regarding Kibby.
As a result of population projections provided by Gaius Baltar, which highlighted the necessity of repopulating the human species, Roslin overturned the abortion laws thus making it illegal for abortions to happen anywhere in the Fleet (TRS: "The Captain's Hand").
Each colony has their own laws as part of their autonomy from the federal government. For example, on Gemenon, children are legally owned by their parents until they are 18 years of age (TRS: "The Captain's Hand").
Moreover, prior to Gaius Baltar's trial for collaboration with the Cylons, there is debate among the Fleet's leadership and judicial experts under which colony's law he should be tried. This implies the absence of a federal criminal code. The lack of a comprehensive law library of all colonies, but Adama having some of his father's legal books, may have resulted in the use of Caprican law (TRS: "A Day in the Life").
Legally speaking, the Cylons (even in their humanoid form) are not considered people, and are therefore not afforded the typical treatment of enemy combatants.[1]
The Cylon faction that allied itself with the Colonial fleet after the Cylon Civil War broke out insisted upon being made citizens in exchange for augmenting the fleet with their technology (TRS: "A Disquiet Follows My Soul").
The allied Cylons were given a seat on the Quorum of Ships' Captains, filled by a Number Six named Sonja. They remained semi-autonomous, as evidenced by the fact that Sharon Valerii was released to them to be tried for treason against her own people (TRS: "Someone to Watch Over Me").
Colonial law knows jury trials as well as tribunals. The right to a trial before a jury of one's peers seems to be guaranteed by the Articles of Colonization (Collaborators, Taking a Break From All Your Worries). However, Gaius Baltar is tried by five judges, who are randomly selected from the Fleet's ships' captains (Crossroads, Part I & II). The confusion prior to Baltar's trial suggests that no serious civilian legal framework exists within the Fleet, at least on a federal level.
The prosecution and defense of the accused is conducted by attorneys and sometimes legal aides. [2]
During the second term of President Laura Roslin, she institutes various emergency and secret provisions for the survivors. Some of these are minor and hardly of notice, while others are potentially consequential to the civil liberties within the Fleet.
Such provisions can be, and have been, challenged by the Quorum of Twelve at their choosing and include the following:
Emergency Provision 17
Prevents Gaius Baltar and his cult from assembling in groups larger than 12. This provision is enacted after a brutal attack on Baltar's Cult and its commune by the Sons of Ares. Roslin, treating Baltar as a "special case" for fear that Baltar would assume some modicum of political power and to prevent any violence he may allegedly agitate, enacts this provision without Quorum approval. It is overturned by an emergency session of the Quorum, championed by Caprican delegate Lee "Apollo" Adama(TRS: "Escape Velocity").
Unknown Provision
A provision authorized at the same time as Emergency Provision 17 deals with the repair of an elevator (TRS: "Escape Velocity").
↑Their methods and conducts largely mirrors modern American legal practices.
↑This trial differs significantly from real world practices in the United States. Cain holds a summary court-martial and sentences them to death by herself. In real life, a general court-martial is required for passing the death penalty, which then consists of five judges. Summary courts-martial have one judge, but only deal with relatively minor offenses and sentences. However, Cain's action might not have been legal under Colonial law, as she is also shown to have summarily executed her Executive Officer without trial for refusing to obey an order.
The Circle is a secret tribunal authorized by President Tom Zarek. The task of this tribunal is to decide the fate of people implicated as collaborators during the Cylon occupation of New Caprica.
The Circle discussing Felix Gaeta. In clockwise: Kara Thrace, Diana Seelix, Charlie Connor, Saul Tigh, Jean Barolay. Not shown is Galen Tyrol.
Convictions are for "crimes against humanity and treason". The tribunal's proceedings are apparently limited to the period between the escape from New Caprica and the transition of the presidency from Zarek to Laura Roslin.
The members differ drastically in their motivations and behaviour:
Anders and Tyrol are the most scrupulous members, insisting on proper procedure and clear evidence for convictions. Tyrol is often the last member to cast his vote. Anders drops out in protest against the majority's handling of the case of Felix Gaeta and Tyrol insists on the need to replace him before proceeding.
Colonel Tigh is less scrupulous and prone to assume guilt by association but - as in the case of Anders' replacement - insists on proper procedure according to presidential decree.
Seelix and Barolay mostly mirror Tigh's approach but take no stance in the procedural issues.
The most extreme member is Connor, who is simply out for revenge for his dead son and cares little for procedures. His proposal of summary conviction and execution is vocally (and physically) opposed by Colonel Tigh, who insists that the Circle is "not a death squad".
Short-term member Kara Thrace, after initial concerns about the legality of the tribunal, quickly votes in favour of Gaeta's execution. She joined the Circle mainly for emotional reasons, seeking retribution for her ordeal on New Caprica by hurting somebody. She assaults Gaeta before his iminent execution but in the process he reveals information that leads to Gaeta's acquittal.
Of the Circle's list of suspects, two cases are shown on screen:
The Circle convicts James "Jammer" Lyman, a reluctant member of the New Caprica Police, for having participated in killings during a raid and execute him by expulsion through one of Galactica's launch tubes.
Felix Gaeta, who had served as a presidential aide to Gaius Baltar on New Caprica, is also convicted by the Circle, though without proper evidence, leading to Anders' resignation. Gaeta, unwilling to defend himself, is assaulted by Kara Thrace, which leads to the revelation that Gaeta served as Tyrol's "inside source" during the occupation of New Caprica, passing top-secret information to the resistance. Tyrol convinces the other members of the Circle to acquit Gaeta.
Roslin and Adama are appalled that Zarek would authorize trials without granting the accused the legal representation they are entitled to. Zarek tries to justify this, by saying that the Fleet would be occupied for months or years with proper trials and that he wants to spare Roslin from signing death warrants for the entirety of her next term. The Circle disbands when newly reinstated President Laura Roslin grants a general pardon to all members of the fleet for crimes committed during the occupation. Fifty-six other suspected collaborators on the list are not tried (TRS: "Collaborators").
Ironically, three members of the circle - Tyrol, Anders and Tigh - are later revealed to be members of the final five Cylons, though they were not aware of it at the time.
