Fwurg

[Nehket Aeka]

Esteemed Minister of Justice,

I wish to file a formal complaint against the turn 17 subsidies that were paid out to the Hiocan Society.

In the turn report of turn 101 they file for a subsidy of 75 , citing article 2 of the Turn 17 Subsidies Law. However, not all conditions for assigning the subsidy have been met. Article 2.3 of the Turn 17 Subsidies Law clearly states the condition that "The price of the bought is less than the price of on the open market at the time of the exchange of goods."

Trading on the Open Market has been restricted through the Special Goods Regulation Act, articles 1 and 2. As such, the price of on the Open Market can no longer be decided, so it is impossible for the condition outlined in Article 2.3 of the Turn 17 Subsidies Law to be fulfilled. The Special Goods Regulation Act was enacted in 96, well before their application for subsidy.

I do not wish to accuse the Hiocan Society of an illegal subsidy request, but I politely request that the Ministry of Justice freezes any further payments on the subsidies flowing from Article 2 of the Turn 17 Subsidies Law both to the Hiocan Society, and to other Union members, until judgement on the validity of Article 2 of the Turn 17 Subsidies Law has been passed.

Yours sincerely,
Senator Nehket Aeka

[Senator Mathi-ey C'b'rton of the Divine Fiefdom of Highmons]

Senator,

Thank you for bringing this to my attention. We have made an official investigation into the issue. The following facts have been considdered.

• The Turn 17 Subsidies law provides Article 2 subsidies under three conditions.
  
• Of these conditions, condition III states "The price of the bought is less than the price of on the open market at the time of the exchange of goods."
  
• This appears to be in conflict with the Special Goods Regulation Act, article 2, which states "Regulated goods may not be bought or sold on the Open Market."
  
  
• The Special Goods Regulation Act forbids purchasing Mass Transit Cargo Freighters from the Open Market only. As such, the purchase of Mass Transit Cargo Freighthers from the Praetorian Empire is legal. This fact is not challenged by the Veolian Commonwealth.
  
• Additionally, the amount of 75 for 50 is correct according to the Turn 17 subsidies law. This fact is not challenged by the Veolian Commonwealth.
  
• What is questioned is the legality of receiving subsidies at all, not their amount nor the purchasing of the themselves.

Close inspection of the law and your message has brought us to the following conclusion:

Since it is illegal to buy or sell on the open market, there effectively exists no open market for Mass Transit Cargo Freighters. This means the price of on the open market is a legal impossibility. One might compare to a black market, if such existed for these goods, but this would merely validate a criminal act, and the criminal element would be involved in the price.

As there is no material to compare with, it is impossible to determine if Condition III of the Turn 17 Subsidies law was fulfilled or not.

In civilized society, a party is presumed to be innocent of breaching the law unless the contrary can be proven.

Since it cannot proven that the subsidy request by the Hiocan Society is in breach of the law, we have no choice but to accept it as valid.

This effectively means that condition III of the Turn 17 subsidies law is null and void while the Special Goods Regulation Act is in effect.

It is up to the Senate to change the law if this was not their intention.

Senator Mathi-ey C'b'rton of the Divine Fiefdom of Highmons
Minister of Justice

[Nehket Aeka]

Esteemed Minister of Justice,

You have my appreciation for the quickness of your reply.

We shall carefully weigh our options in the light of your ruling.

Yours sincerely,
Senator Nehket Aeka