The Security Services of Fortunata are empowered by the parliament to protect the people.

There are few laws governing common issues as most of the laws are directed towards Immigration, Customs and Foreign Trade.

 

The police are rarely called in to look after domestic affairs as the crime rate is low and is of low impact. Still the police have the right of intervention when there are complaints and people can be brought to a tribunal at Portia if they have upset civil order.

 

While there are very few laws that govern the people, the most commonly broken law is the famous “Be Nice” law, which states a person has not got the right to be unfair or uncivil to another person.

 

Of course this law can be interpreted widely, so it is the task of the Tribunal to decide the fate of the accused. The rules of evidence that apply in most democracies have no meaning in Fortunata. The Tribunal has wide ranging powers.

 

There are no lawyers available to the people of Fortunata. Lawyers are considered to be valuable when working with foreign countries, because the laws can be so different, but when working with locals, the Tribunal is there to represent all of the people of Fortunata, including the accused.  The accused and even the convicted are seen as members of the society, not ‘outside’ society.

 

It is very common for the Tribunal to recommend a change in Fortunata policy and they would rather do that, than convict anyone.

 

The most common form of punishment against the “Be Nice” law is usually Loss of Electronic Privileges. The Tribunal simply switches off the user’s electronic addresses for a time – being offline is considered shameful.

As the country is small, offenders have really nowhere to go and as most valuable items are serialized and chipped, theft is really of no value and most potential offenders would feel great shame if they were caught acting out on their desires.

 

‘Strikes’ can be held against a person, but beyond that a person is entirely free once they have discharged the requirements of the Tribunal. The fear of loss of privileges by being sent to another island is great, so many people are willing to plead guilty if they can be given a Community Service Order.  Often, a few days on sanitation duty with all electronic privileges denied is enough to straighten out a young offender.

 

The police are not armed beyond a baton and handcuffs. Firearms are not allowed on any of the islands and possession of a firearm by any person for any reason is considered treason – a threat to the Republic.

 

Rumors of the police holding some confiscated weapons in case of a special need, are false as this practice could not be officially sanctioned.