Articles of Colonization
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 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[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]
- ↑ 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.
- ↑ Source: Ron D. Moore's official blog, April 11, 2005.