Law and justice

 

Trials

In Westeros, the Highborn cannot be denied a trial under the law. Trials for nobility often begin with a prayer from the Septon beseeching the Father Above to guide them toward justice, and a Septon will swear a man to honesty before he gives testimony at trial.  

Trials of the Crown

Trials, at least among the nobility, often begin with a prayer from a septon beseeching the Father Above to guide them towards justice. The accused and witnesses are sworn to honesty before he gives testimony at a trial. The accused is allowed to be present as witnesses give their testimony, in front of one or multiple judges.  

Trials of the Faith

Of old, the Faith of the Seven tried and judged those found guilty of a crime themselves. This practice was banned recently by King Baelon after an uprising by the Faith Militant. In Essos and the Free Cities, it is still common for Septons to stand in judgement of members of their community.  

Trial by combat

Any knight accused of a wrongdoing is allowed by law to demand a trial by combat. The right to a trial by combat also extends to nobles who are not knighted. The accused and accusers are allowed to have champions fight in their place. When a person is killed in a trial by combat, by law it is not considered murder.   A more ancient custom, though seldom used, is a trial of seven, in which seven men fight on the side of the accusing party, and seven on the side of the accused party. It is commonly accepted that if the accused cannot find 6 men to stand beside them, or they are slain before the rest of their champions the gods have shown their guilt. Conversely if the 7 standing againt them are slain or yield, their innocence is shown.   When the person who stands accused is royalty, their champion has to be a knight of the Kingsguard. When the accuser is royalty, however, they are within their rights to select a champion who is not a sworn member of the Kingsguard.  

Trial by Ordeal

While the trial of Faith is not uncommon in the Free Cities because of scattered worship of the Faith of the Seven, due to the variety of gods common to the many different peoples who inhabit the free cities, trial by ordeal is the standard outside of Westeros, and in petty matters is used quite commonly in Westeros as well. In both Westeros and the Free cities, where lesser crimes are concerned a trial by ordeal is only performed by "untrustworthy men" and "trustworthly men", those of Nobility or wealth, would avoid the Ordeal by offering an oath of innocence alone either for themselves, or their vassels, thralls or slaves. Sometimes an exchange of property or coin to make right a crime would be accepted in lieu of an Ordeal as well.   Many religious figures of all faiths over time have spoken out against trials by ordeal, claiming that they may sort the guilty from the innocent as an innocent person would be more motivated to prove their innocence and the guilty would confess to avoid the torture of an ordeal, the ordeals are frequently rigged by those administering them in favor of those who seem innocent and thus are no true showing of divine judgement but rather community concensues of guilt or innocence or worse, a reflection of the charisma of the accused.  

• Trial by fire In the Free cities, the trial by Fire is well known because of the worship of R'hllor, in a trail by fire the accused is expected to walk a certain distance, ten paces for example, or endure for a certain amount of time. Sometimes the trial is a walk across hot stones, or through flames which is common in areas that predominantly worship R'hllor. In others the accused must grasp a stone or hot iron without releasing it. Though they could be ruled innocent if the standard of distance or time is met, it was not uncommon to wait for days or up to a week to see if a wound from the trial festered, if so the gods showed the guilt of the accused despite their strength and the offender would be exiled or put to death.
 
• Trial by water Coastal cities commonly practice trials by water, which are famous in Braavos and the Iron Islands of Westeros where they are almost exclusively used except by specific request to an accused's own gods. A trial by water can be exercised through endurance of heated or boiling water to pull a wooden or stone object from the water depending on the severity of a crime, with endurance or later inspection of the injury used similarly to a trial by fire. More commonly however trials by water are performed by throwing the accused into a body of water to retrieve an object, often hanging at the end of a rope from a dock or ship. If the accused drowns, or sinks, they are obviously guilty. In the old North of Westeros, and the cold waters of Ib, trials of water are known to be simple matters of swimming and waiting to see if the offender is taken by a chill.
 
• Trial by contest When it is the word of one man against another, and either could be innocent or guilty of one crime or another a trial by contest can be held. These vary considerably and can range from holding an object before them until their arms fall, or tasking each party to a search, or a race with the first to fail or succeed in the specified task being the guilty or innocent party, all the way to placing both offenders in a crows cage and waiting to see who perishes from the elements first.
 
• Trial of bitter water A less common trial practices by the people of Mother Rhoyne and those of the Drowned God where a Priest blesses water and the accused must consume the blessed water. If they choke during consumption, or fall ill from the waters they have been found guilty by the Gods.

Known Laws of Westeros

 

The Kings Peace

The first law King Aegon I Targaryen enacted was the "King's Peace". The law requires petty lords and landed knights to take their disputes to their liege lord, and abide by his judgement, while disputes between great houses were adjudicated by the Crown. Any who raise an army against another without leave of their liege shall be found to be in defiance of the King's Peace and will be named rebel and enemy of the Iron Throne.  

These Seven Kingdoms have one single king. It is time they had a single law as well. The first law of the land shall be the King's Peace, and any lord who goes to war without my leave shall be considered a rebel and an enemy of the Iron Throne. - King Aegon I

 

Rule of Six

The "rule of six" was established by Queen Rhaenys Targaryen during the first decade of Targaryen rule over the Seven Kingdoms. While holding court, she was presented with a man who had beaten his wife to death. The brothers of the deceased women wished for her husband to be punished for his crime, but the husband insisted that he had been within his rights. He had caught his wife abed with another man, and in accordance with the law was thus allowed to strike her with a rod no thicker than a thumb (the "rule of thumb"). However, the woman’s brothers claimed that the husband had struck his wife a hundred times. Queen Rhaenys and her maesters agreed that only six blows were lawful; One for each of the Seven gods, except the Stranger, as the woman had given offense to the gods with her adultery. The other ninety-four blows, on the other hand, were counted as unlawful. From that day onwards, the "rule of six" was counted as part of the common law.   The rule of six is often used even outside of marital disputes and is enforced in many keeps and towns across Westeros where fights are concerned, where a man who dispenses six strikes without receiving a return can be judged for unlawful abuse upon or intention to murder another.  

Rule of Thumb

The "rule of thumb" restricts the size of the rod used by husbands to punish their adulterous wives. By law, the rod should not be thicker than a thumb. The origins of this common law are unknown but it is widely accepted across all cultures of Westeros.  

King Baelon's Laws

Published in 43 AC by Erryn Mertyns, the Master of Law, King Baelon decreed that any man who is sworn to the service of the faith, or carries a holy symbol that cannot be covered by the palm of a hand (henceforth referred to as 'Holy men') will be forbidden from carrying arms larger than a common dagger. This includes armor and shields.   Any who raise arms in defense of Holy Men, or the Faith, or act against house Targaryens regulation of them by voice or action will be stripped and attainted, branded outlaw and tried for treason against the Crown.   In addition, the Crown and Lords sworn to the Iron Throne acting in service to the King alone may dispense the King's Justice. Those who serve the gods are forbidden to hold trials, make judgement or enact penalty upon a criminal in any capacity except by instruction of the Crown itself.  

Laws of inheritance

The laws of inheritance in the Seven Kingdoms are not clear cut. Male-preference primogeniture is customary, but not binding, for most nobles. A man's eldest son is his heir, followed by his second son, then his third son, and so on. In theory, the youngest son is followed in the line of succession by the eldest daughter, after whom come her sisters in birth order. A man’s daughter inherits before her father’s brother but it is not unusual for a man's Brother or a male cousin to usurp a female inheritor with the support of the household. A lord also has the option of naming one of his younger sons heir, passing over his elder children, or to name the child of another as his heir. When there is no clear heir, claims can be presented to the Liege Lord, but the choice is ultimately in the hands of the King and a Great Lord or Paramount is well served to consult them.   The only exception is Dorne, where no distinction is made between sons and daughters. Instead, children inherit in order of birth regardless of gender, as per Rhoynish custom. When a ruling lord dies and leaves no clear heir, his widow might lay claim upon his lands and rule until her own death, and in such a case, might name an heir herself.   The role of legitimised bastards throughout the Seven Kingdoms is also unclear i.e., whether they follow trueborn children, or join the line of succession in order of birth as if they had been trueborn all along. Legitimisation, once made, is irreversible. While unlegitimised bastards have no legal claim, they may still threaten legitimate descendants' inheritance. The Sept, Citadel and Nights Watch are all seen as an honorable orders for an acknowledged bastard to join and resolve all issues regarding threats to trueborn childrens inheritance.   The right of succession may be renounced. Right of succession is also lost when someone becomes a member of the Night's Watch, a septon, a maester, or joins the Kingsguard. Traitors may be attainted, in which case even his descendants would lose their right to succeed.  

Taxes

In the Seven Kingdoms, taxes are collected locally. Lords pay taxes to the crown. The Great Houses gather the taxes from their region. The Great Houses subsequently pay their taxes to the Crown. An exception are taxes owed to the Night’s Watch by the villages and holdfasts located in the Gift, which are paid in kind, not in gold.   In the Free Cities and Essos, taxes are collected by Horse lords, Warlords, Archons, Magisters or others directly from territory or districts cities they hold power over, and taxes are commonly paid in kind, not in gold. Braavos, Pentos and Lorath are exceptions for their more structured governments. Braavos and Lys as the seats of powerful Banks deal more in coin than kind but neither are bound as firmly to currency as Westeros.  

Captivity

Those accused of a crime can be arrested and kept in a dungeon. Many, if not most, castle have their own dungeons. In the Red Keep at King’s Landing are the black cells. The cells and dungeons at the Red Keep are located in a squat, half-round tower. The top floor holds cells for prisoners kept in a degree of comfort, such as knights or lordlings who might be ransomed, while the entrance to the dungeons sits on the ground floor. The dungeons, built by King Maegor I Targaryen, have four levels. The uppermost level has cells with high narrow windows where common criminals are confined together. The second level has smaller, personal cells without windows for highborn captives. Torches in the halls cast light through the bars. The third level cells, the black cells, are smaller still and have doors of wood so that no light enters them. The lowest level is used for torture. The Red Keep’s dungeons are the responsibility of the King's Justice.   The "dungeons" of the Arryns at the Eyrie are called the sky cells. These cells are located six hundred feet in the sky, and have only three walls and a stooping floor. The cells are known to drive men mad.   Cities (like Gulltown and White Harbor) and castles (including Winterfell, Riverrun, Harrenhal, Rosby, Dragonstone, the Nightfort at the Wall, the Twins) have their own dungeons. White Harbor, notably, has the Wolf's Den, an ancient castle turned Prison, and Dorne has Ghaston Gray, a prison island.  

Common law, crimes and punishments

Numerous different punishments can be given for different crimes.  

Thievery and pick-pocketing

It is customary for a thief to be punished by losing a finger or a hand, or have their nose slit or removed. Pickpockets can likewise be punished by cutting off a hand. Those who steal from a sept can be considered to have stolen from the gods, and thus receive a harsher punishment. Theft from a sept has been known to be punished by the removal of seven fingers.  

Poaching

Poaching is forbidden. Lord are generally not tolerant towards poachers, and punishments for poaching can include being forced to join the Night's Watch, losing a hand, or being forced to row ships. Some more charitable lords have been known to use indentured service as punishment, which in the end gives a man a place to rest, steady income and expectation of meals for him and any family he might have been poaching to support.  

Outlawry

Outlaws are generally sentenced to death by hanging.  

Rape

Rapists can be gelded, hanged, beheaded, or send to the Wall.  

Slavery

Slavery is illegal in the Seven Kingdoms. Both the old gods and the Faith of the Seven consider slavery to be an abomination, and as such, there have been no slaves in the Seven Kingdoms for thousands of years. The punishment for selling people in the Seven Kingdoms is execution. Thralls however are common among the Iron Islands, but a thrall can not be sold nor traded though they may be gifted the same as any other loot, or passed from parent to child upon death. Beyond "gifts and inheritance" they are captured, and they are released.  

Free folk crossing the Wall

Since before recorded history free folk who are captured south of the Wall, have their ears cut off, after which they are released north of the Wall. Should they be captured a second time, they are executed.  

Night's Watch

An alternative for most punishments is joining the Night's Watch. Debtors, poachers, rapers, thieves, and murderers are among those who might be forced to join the black brothers on the Wall, as are men caught abed with a knight's wife. Men of the Night's Watch are required to swear a vow, by which means their crimes are washed away and all debts are forgiven. Breaking the oath made to the Night's Watch is punishable by death. Refusing orders made by the Lord Commander of the Night's Watch can also be punishable by death.   Women are not allowed to join the Night's Watch.  

Execution

The most severe crimes are punishable by death. These crimes include deserting the Night's Watch and treason.   Before the reign of Aegon I, smugglers who were caught were put to death in many of the sovereign kingdoms.   Men can be put to death by beheading, either with an axe or a sword, hanging, or by placing the criminals in a so-called crow cages. These cages are so narrow that the prisoners are unable to sit or turn around. They are placed within these cages alive, and left exposed to the sun, wind, and rain, without food or water, until they die of exposure. Crimes that lead to a prisoner being placed in a crow cage might include stealing, raping, or murder, and at least in times of famine, stealing of bread or poaching.  

Miscellaneous

A baker who mixes sawdust in his flour, might be fined. If such a fine cannot be paid, he might be whipped instead.   A whore accused of giving men the pox, might have her private parts washed with lye before she is thrown in the dungeons.   For lying about a crime, a nail might be driven through the palm of a person's hand.   Slitting a man's nostrils may be deemed a suitable punishment for injuring an innocent person with ill intent.