Articles of Colonization

Signed 52 years before the events that ultimately destroy almost all humanity, the Articles of Colonization 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 . Before the Articles, each colony appeared to behave more as a sovereign nation, and there was open fighting between the colonies.

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

Article 21

Chief Tyrol invokes the 21st Article of Colonization while being interrogated by Colonel 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 One, section nine, guaranteeing the writ of habeas corpus.
• The due process clauses of the 5th and 14th amendments.
• The various provisions of the 6th Amendment guaranteeing a speedy, public trial by jury.

Article 21 could conceivably provide protection to any number of these.

Article 23

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. It is legally permissible for a prosecutor to use an invocation of the 23rd Article as evidence of guilt (Litmus).

This is similar to the rights protected by the self-incrimination clause of the 5th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. In contrast with Article 23, it is prohibited to use a refusal to testify under the 5th Amendment to infer guilt.

Other Articles

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). The right to a jury trial is also claimed by Gaius Baltar (Taking a Break From All Your Worries). 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.

Baltar's shows other levels of jurisprudence. In Baltar's trial, a five-member tribunal is used as judge and jury. Numerous legal maneuvers are parallels to modern American practices (Crossroads, Part I & II).

See Also

• Law of the Twelve Colonies (RDM), for a more general articles about the Twelve Colonies' legal system.

Original Series definition: a Colonial court hearing (see: Law of the Twelve Colonies)