Kasra Laws
These laws are a constant work in process and may be amended at any time. All changes will be posted upon the Kasra message board at http://www.chatarea.com/KasrasMessageWall.
Anyone who visits any of the areas of Kasra is expected to abide by the following laws.
Kasra's laws extend no further than its walls
"There is a saying on Gor that the laws of a city extend no further than its walls."
- Outlaw of Gor; Page 50
Entrance to Kasra
Kasra is under the constant patrol of the tarn and tharlarion infantry. The borders, walls and sun gates of Kasra thus are heavily protected. Non-citizens and/or strangers will be met by the infantry and guards and questioned with scrutiny. Anyone attempting forcible entry into the city of Kasra will be impaled.
High Council
Kasra’s Administrator works closely with the High Council of the city on making legal decisions.
Cylinder of Documents & Cylinder of Justice
Kasra's Legal and official documents are kept securely in the Cylinder of Documents.
Trials and punishments are conducted in Kasra's Cylinder of Justice.
Rite of Knives
This is a fight to the death using only daggers. If agreed by both parties - The Rite of Knives may be conducted in place of a trial.
Capital Punishment
Impalement is imposed upon both free men and women.
Slaves will be thrown to a sleen as meat.
Causes Inducing capital punishment include but are not limited to:
Forcibly entering Kasra.
Fourth theft offense.
Slaves wielding weapons, claiming caste, wearing the veils or garment of a free woman, failing to kneel in the presence of a free person.
A locksmith making an unauthorized copy of a key.
is illegal to take any maps of Kasra outside of the gates and it is illegal for a non-citizen to make their own map of Kasra.
Temples
Weapons and slaves are not permitted within a Temple.
Citizenship
The nonperformance of the citizenship ceremony, within one year of reaching intellectual majority which is 16 years of age in Kasra, is punishable by expulsion from the city.
In special circumstances (such as a Gorean wishing to move to Kasra from another city) it is required that at least two current Kasra citizens who are not related vouch for a prospective citizen. The prospective citizen will also be questioned and given the citizenship test by Kasra's High Council to determine worthiness and elegibility for Kasra. The citizenship test covers Kasra’s rules, laws, history and general knowledge.
Retaining one's citizenship within Kasra is contingent upon attending certain public ceremonies and assemblies.
"Citizenship, or its retention, on other than a nominal basis, in some cities, is contingent on such things as attending public ceremonies, such as an official semi-annual taking of auspices, and participating in numerous public assemblies, some of which are called on short notice."
- Dancer of Gor; Pages 302-303
Every citizen must journey, at least once, to the Sardar Mountains before they are twenty-five years old. A citizen's family will receive a gold tarn disk if one goes to the Sardar Mountains when asked by an Initiate.
Home Stones
The theft of a Home Stone is punishable by extreme torture followed by death in boiling oil.
A person might be slain for not standing when speaking of his own Home Stone.
"The sharing of a Home Stone is no light thing in a Gorean city."
- Slave Girl of Gor; Page 394
Castes
Anyone who refuses to practice their livelihood or strives to alter their caste without the consent of the Ubar, Administrator or High Council is an outlaw and subject to impalement.
"A man who refused to practice his livelihood or strove to alter status without the consent of the Council of High Castes was, by definition, an outlaw and subject to impalement."
-Tarnsman of Gor; Page 46
Caste may be legally changed. To change caste, the Ubar, Administrator or High Council of Kasra
must approve the change, based on the citizen's qualifications for the new caste and the willingness of the new caste to accept.
When charity is in order, it is arranged by the citzen's caste.
A free woman of High Caste deserves respect from Low Caste men.
Physicians
Women in the Physician's Caste cannot practice medicine until they have first bore two children. At age fifteen, free women will place two bracelets on their left wrist. One is removed for each child that is born.
Locksmiths
It is a capital offense for a locksmith to make an unauthorized copy of a key.
Merchants
Merchant Law is recognized and applied within the city of Kasra.
Kasra holds a Merchant's Foot and Stone in the Chamber of the Council and are available for Merchants to verify their own personal measuring devices. Any Merchant found to be using a deceptive Foot or Stone will be severely punished.
It is illegal to sell a slave that is not your own, without the owner's permission. The penalty varies according to the sex of the seller. For a man, it is exile, and for a woman, it is enslavement.
It is illegal to offer an unbranded slave in a public sale.
There are three standard marking places for brands, on the left thigh, right thigh, and lower left abdomen.
It is illegal to falsify information regarding slaves.
It is a felony to forge or falsify pedigree papers on any slave.
Money
Shaving or slicing off metal from any coin is considered to be theft and fraud.
Patents
Patents and copyrights are available within Kasra but their power extends only as far as Kasra's walls.
Forgery of a city seal on products is illegal.
Crests, Signs, Family Emblems, Slave Registrations, etc.,
Crests, signs, family emblems, slave and tarn registration numbers, and slave tags can be registered and their use legally restricted.
Outlaws
All outlaws are forbidden entrance into the city and subject to impalement. Panther girls and talunas are considered outlaws. The only exception to this rule is if one has been granted safe passage by the Administrator.
Thievery
First Offense: Ear notching
Second Offense: Males are punished by the loss of one hand. Females are punished by enslavement.
Third Offense loss of second hand.
Fourth Offense: impalement.
Immunity
Immunity automatically applies to Assassins bearing the mark of the black dagger on their forehead (the word 'CONTRACTED' in front page of ID), Heralds, Ambassadors, Players, Poets, Musicians and Singers (Players, poets, musicians and singers may not be enslaved within Kasra's walls).
Free Companionships
A Free Companionship lasts for a single year.
Dissolvement can only occur for four reasons:
1. If it is not renewed at the end of one year;
2. The occurance of slavery of either party;
3. The death of either party;
4. By request to the Ubar, Administrator or High Council
Free Women
Robes of concealment and veils are required by law in all Kasra's public places.
Face stripping a free woman, forcefully removing her veils, is a serious crime and the offender will be severely punished most likely with enslavement - becoming property of the face-stripped woman.
Free women are permitted to escape from a captor as long as they have not yet been enslaved.
A free woman can sell herself into slavery. But, once completed, she cannot then revoke it.
If a free woman submits to be a slave to a specific man, and that man refuses the offer, she still shall become a slave, subject to capture by the first person to collar her.
Any free woman who couches with another's slave or even prepares to do so, becomes a slave herself and becomes the slave of the male slave's master.
If a father cannot pay his debts, his daughter becomes a slave of the state. She will be put up for sale at public auction. The proceeds of her sale will be used to equitably satisfy the creditors.
A free woman who cannot pay her debts will be enslaved. Under the redemption laws, a man can pay her debts and thus will now own her. If no one redeems her within a certain period, she will be sold to slavers.
Freed slaves require explicit papers of manumission or they may be enslaved again without repercussion. Slaves who have been branded or had theirs ears pierced and later freed should definitely keep their papers handy at all times.
The principle of "conduct indicating suitability for the collar" deals with conduct by a free woman sufficient to warrant her reduction to slavery. It is commonly applied to fraud, theft, indigency, vagrancy, prostitution, and indulgence in sensuous dance. Other behavior which might trigger the principles includes but is not limited to; Attempting to spy on masters and slaves, disguising oneself as a slave, garbing oneself as a slave even in the supposed secrecy of one's own compartment, baring too much flesh, lingering about slave shelves and markets, and even exhibiting an interest in or fascination with bondage. The principle deals with overt behavior and not thoughts. This also includes showing skin in public areas, not wearing veils or robes of concealment in public areas and sitting on another's lap. Judges must decide if such behavior is sufficient to warrant a reduction to slavery. It is illegal for someone on their own to collar a free woman for this conduct without seeking legal action.
A free woman that kneels before a man or addresses him as Master effects legal imbondment on herself.
A free woman may do a form of limited self-contracting where she legally becomes a slave for a specific time period, commonly ranging from one night to one year. She cannot end this contract earlier than the specified time period. Once the contract takes effect, she becomes a slave with no legal powers at all.
A free woman of High Caste deserves respect from Low Caste men. A very wealthy woman would be considered of high status and would also be due respect. All free persons will show respect to those of superior status, station or caste.
Bastinado (beating the soles of the feet with a stick or club) is a form of punishment used for the free women of Kasra.
Slaves
It is illegal for slaves to play Kaissa.
*In any legal proceedings, the testimony of slaves may be taken by torture. This is solely in the discretion of the courts.
The property of one who becomes a slave is transferred to the nearest male relative or the nearest relative if no male exists, or to the city, or a guardian. Even if the slave is later freed, the property cannot ever be recovered.
If a slave owner dies, his slaves pass to his heirs or if he has no heirs, to the state.
Capture rights pertain to all property, including slaves. Active possession of a slave is regarded as crucial by the law. A slave must fully serve anyone who possesses her, even a thief. If the slave runs away from the thief, she is considered to be a runaway.
If a lost, stolen or runaway slave is taken by another person, the original master has only one hand (five days) to regain his property before legal title passes to the new master. The slave remains the property of the original master only for that one week if he does not regain possession.
A free woman can sell herself into slavery. But, once completed, she cannot then revoke it.
Slaves are not permitted outside Kasra's gates unless accompanied by a free person. If a slave of Kasra is found outside the city's gates, the slave will then be considered a runaway and punished accordingly.
It is a capital offense for a slave to wield any weapon, claim caste, wear veils or the garment of a free woman, fail to kneel in the presence of a free person.
A child, born of a slave, becomes a slave and belongs to the mother's owner.
Slaves are not allowed in temples.
Any free person may discipline an insolent or errant slave, even one who is in the least bit displeasing. If the slave is killed or injured, the free person need only pay compensation to the master and only if the master requests such compensation.
If a slave strikes a free person, the penalty is commonly death by impalement, preceded by lengthy torture.
Freed slaves require explicit papers of manumission or they may be enslaved again without repercussion. Slaves who have been branded or had theirs ears pierced and later freed should definitely keep their papers handy at all times.
Female slaves must wear a visible token of their slavery within the city limits. Male slaves are exempt from this law.
When a person is enslaved they may not be held accountable for any crimes that occurred while they were free.
It is illegal to sell a slave that is not your own, without the owner's permission. The penalty varies according to the sex of the seller. For a man, it is exile, and for a woman, it is enslavement.
It is illegal to offer an unbranded slave in a public sale.
There are three standard marking places for brands, on the left thigh, right thigh, and lower left abdomen.
Slaves are not allowed to build anything.
It is illegal for slaves to touch or handle legal documents.
Slaves may not teach free people.
All slaves must address free persons as "Master" or "Mistress". They will only address their own Master as "my Master" or "my Mistress". Slaves are not permitted to address any free person by their name. A slave may tell others the name of her master for explanation purposes only, such as to identify her owner.
Slaves addressing a Ubar should refer to him as "Ubar". An Administrator or Regent would be addressed as such by a slave. Slaves addressing the Ubara should refer to her as "Ubara".
Slaves are never permitted to sit in chairs and will punished for such an act.
