Grand Tribunal

This article is about the in game tribunal for the entire Order of Hermes. For the real life convention for Ars Magica fans, see Grand Tribunal (convention).

The Grand Tribunal convenes every 33 years, forming a (representative) gathering of the entire Order of Hermes and its highest legal council. The session is conducted in Durenmar, with the Primus of House Bonisagus serving as the Praeco and the Primus of House Guernicus serving as the Presiding Quaesitor. All the primi of the Order have seats in the Tribunal, as do representatives from each of the Order's regional Tribunals. Other magi may attend, but cannot raise issues.

The Grand Tribunal is used to settle inter-Tribunal disputes, pass Order-wide resolutions and Peripheral Code, form new Tribunals or change Tribunal borders, and appeal regional-Tribunal decisions. Its rulings are inviolate, as there is no higher court in Hermetic society, and are binding to the entire Order. There is always a limited amount of time and a limited amount of issues that can be discussed, and the struggle over which issues to raise at the Grand Tribunal usually takes up most of the time of the regional Tribunal sessions just preceding it. Often the schedule of regional Tribunals is altered to make sure a session of the Tribunal is carried out a short time before the Grand Tribunal, so that the issues raised there will be the ones pressing the Tribunal and not ones that were of concern seven years ago.

See Also

• The Tribunal Feast, held before the Grand Tribunal, and the Symposium held before any Tribunal.
• Grand Tribunal, a board game published by Atlas Games.

Legacy Page

The history of this page before August 6, 2010 is archived at Legacy:grand_tribunal