Articles of Colonization: Difference between revisions

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==Article 21==
==Article 21==
Chief [[Galen Tyrol]] invokes the 21st Article of Colonization while being interrogated by Colonel [[Tigh|Saul Tigh]] after being rescued from [[Kobol]] ([[Resistance (episode)|Resistance]]).
Chief [[Galen Tyrol]] invokes the 21st Article of Colonization while being interrogated by Colonel [[Tigh|Saul Tigh]] after being rescued from [[Kobol (RDM)|Kobol]] ([[Resistance (episode)|Resistance]]).


:''Under the [[Wikipedia: U.S. Constitution|U.S. Constitution]], a number of Tyrol's constitutionally protected civil liberties were being violated, among them''
:''Under the [[Wikipedia: U.S. Constitution|U.S. Constitution]], a number of Tyrol's constitutionally protected civil liberties were being violated, among them''

Revision as of 21:24, 13 April 2007

Signed 52 years before the events that ultimately destroy almost all humanity, the Articles of Colonization[1] formed the united government of the Twelve Colonies of Kobol.

This event was apparently in response to the Cylon War to unite against a common enemy.[2] Before the Articles, each colony appeared to behave more as a sovereign nation, and fought between each other.

The anniversary of the signing of the Articles is the Colonial Day holiday (Colonial Day).

Article 21[edit]

Chief Galen Tyrol invokes the 21st Article of Colonization while being interrogated by Colonel Saul Tigh after being rescued from Kobol (Resistance).

Under the U.S. Constitution, a number of Tyrol's constitutionally protected civil liberties were being violated, among them
Article 21 could conceivably provide protection to any number of these.

Article 23[edit]

Chief Tyrol invokes the 23rd Article to avoid testifying against himself during the investigation into how Aaron Doral got aboard Galactica and accessed the munitions stores (Litmus).

This is similar to the rights protected by the self-incrimination clause of the 5th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.

Other Articles[edit]

Although the above details the only named articles mentioned in the Re-imagined Series, there are further hints as to protected rights included.

The right to a trial with representation before a jury seems to be guaranteed. When disapproving of the decision of then-President Tom Zarek to form the Circle, a form of war crimes tribunal. Laura Roslin states that everyone has the right to a trial before a jury of one's peers. In a separate statement Roslin refers to the right to representation at a trial (Collaborators). Whether these are two separate rights quoted from the Articles or just natural extensions of a more general right to a fair trial as in the sixth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution is unknown.

The trial of Gaius Baltar in the two-part episode "Crossroads" showed other levels of jurisprudence. In Baltar's trial, a five-member tribunal was used as judge and jury. Numerous legal maneuvers were displayed that paralleled American practices.

References[edit]

  1. The Articles of Colonization are the Colonial equivalent to the American Articles of Confederation (the predecessor to the US Constitution), U.N. Charter and Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
  2. Source: Ron D. Moore's officisl blog, April 11, 2005.