Post by Brad Holmes on Feb 2, 2014 20:56:30 GMT -6
The Magistrate’s Court of the Kingdom of Talossa
……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
In the matter of
Viteu Marcianüs
against
The Rt. Hon. Alexandreu Davinescu
The Ministry of Stuff
His Majesty’s Government
Petition for Judicial Intervention
Background of the Case
Viteu Marcianüs, a citizen of Talossa and Resident of Vuode, renounced his citizenship on December 30, 2013 via a public statement on Wittenburg. This statement was acknowledged by the Acting Secretary of State in January 2014 and took effect at that time.
On Wednesday January 8, 2014, S:reu Marcianüs contacted the Rt. Hon. Alexandreu Davinescu via e-mail and requested removal of certain information related to S:reu Marcianüs from the Talossa “Wiki.”
S:reu Marcianüs requested that the following sections be removed forthwith:
Introduction to the Kingdom of Talossa
National Politics
Politics of Vuode
Other Activities in Talossa
Life Outside of Talossa
Photo of Viteu Marcianüs
S:reu Marcianüs further advised that the following sections could remain for the purpose of preserving historical record:
Offices
Departure
Further, S:reu Marcianüs stated that he in no way intended to remove historical references to himself citing specifically “lists of immigration ministers” and “lists of senators” as examples which were acceptable to include his name.
On January 8, the Rt. Honorable Davinescu responded via e-mail advising that information he deemed irrelevant to the historical record of Talossa had been removed. He further advised that S:reu Marcianüs’s request would not be fully honored. He cited as authority the manual of style for the website, in particular the following passage:
The article that is about you is not your article - information must be true and fair. You could not, for example, describe yourself as "the best Talossan." Your opinion of its contents will be given due deference, of course, but the place for your "personal profile" is at ÁrTal, where you have complete control over the contents.
Further, Ministreu Davinescu cites the wiki privacy policy:
All contributions to TalossaWiki are public, and there should be no expectations of privacy for any edits or discussions that take place on the wiki.
Copies of the e-mail are attached hereto and referenced as necessary.
Analysis and Application of Law
The Talossa Wiki is presented as an official government web project beginning with the announcement of its launch on Witt (issued under government seal) to its management by the Minister of Stuff. S:reu Davinescu rightly states that Talossan Privacy Laws do not allow citizens or former citizens the right to amend public records which relate to them. However, we contend that the Talossa Wiki is not a public record.
The Talossan Wiki was not created by statute. As such, the Ministry of Stuff acted with the apparent authority to collect, maintain and present this information. Ministreu Davinescu alleges, for example, that S:reu Marcianüs is not entitled to the removal of his photo as he agreed to an image use license upon uploading it. Though, the particular aspects of this license are not conspicuously posted.
Ministreu Davinescu cites the manual of style as evidence that S:reu Marcianüs is not entitled to the removal of information. However, a close look at the disputed content reveals that it is hardly of historical significance:
Other Activities in Talossa
On March 13, 2012, Viteu changed his Talossan name from Viteu Toctviac'hteir to Viteu Marcianüs. Viteu also hosted the Talossa News Project (TNP). The show consisted of Viteu interviewing different Talossans about day to day issues facing the kingdom.
Viteu contributed to a coloring book for dandelions published in 2008.
Ministreu Davinescu cites, for example, that S:reu Marcianüs cannot change the fact tht he hosted the TNP. However, the TNP is a dead link which brings into question its historical significance.
Further, we can look to the other entries:
Return to the RUMP
After a tumultuous election season, Marcianüs went through a period of inactivity. When he returned, he decided to enter the Senatorial race in Vuode for the seat vacated by Sir Trotxâ Betiñéir. He ran as the RUMP candidate and was largely considered the underdog, as opposition parties had dominated Vuodean politics for some time. Marcianüs won a surprise victory and served the RUMP faithfully until his resignation. On 23 July 2012, Viteu became the Minister of Culture.
The captioned narrative was written by the petitioner. And, in fact, contains numerous editorial statements such as “served the RUMP faithfully.” These subjective comments cannot be verified as true and contain no citation (it is, afterall, a matter of opinion as to whether a person serves faithfully, whether a candidate is considered an underdog or if an election season is tumultuous).
The core information contained within these disputed narratives are the party affiliations, offices held and ministerial portfolios of S:reu Marcianüs. All of this information being such that S:reu Marcianüs consents to remain in its most basic form.
Further, as no law specifically governs the Wiki, we can look to the Organic Law’s Fourth Covenant:
Fourth Covenant. Under the principle that "A Man's Room is His Kingdom," the right of the people to privacy and security in their persons, homes, papers, correspondence, and property, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated. The privilege of the writ of habeas corpus shall not be suspended. No person may be arrested or detained without a warrant issued by a judge, except in cases of flagrante delicto. No warrants shall be issued except on probable cause, and must particularly describe the place to be searched and the person or things to be seized. The right to privacy for public figures must be balanced by the public's right to know, in matters affecting politics, elections, campaigns, and governing. The intentional withholding of political information which reasonable voters might find helpful, profitable, or informative, violates the public's right to know.
It is indisputable that S:reu Marcianüs is a public figure in Talossan life. The public indeed has a right to know which offices he held, during what period and his party affiliations. We contend that the public does not have the inherent right to autobiographical narratives penned by S:reu Marcianüs for the purposes of the Wiki.
Further, we maintain that the privacy policy of a project created without the force of law cannot supersede the letter of the Organic Law. We must also consider the intent of the authors of our law when creating the Fourth Covenant. Is it reasonable to expect that, at its creation, the authors imagined that the government would claim a citizen’s private photo as its own, refusing to remove it even in the event of that citizen’s renunciation and withdrawal from Talossan life?
While there exists no law requiring the Ministry of Stuff to remove the disputed content, we hold that the current law also does not support the Ministry of Stuff’s refusal to remove said content. It is further our contention that the contributions of S:reu Marcianüs to the Wiki were made with the intention of his continued participation in Talossan life and that refusing to remove the requested photo and sections infringes upon S:reu Marcianüs’s right to privacy, as well as his organically protected right to renounce his citizenship and sever ties with Talossa which he has chosen to exercise.
Relief Sought
Petitioner hereby requests that the Magistrate’s Court order the Ministry of Stuff, its staff, officers and agents, to remove the following sections from the article concerning Viteu Marcianüs:
Introduction to the Kingdom of Talossa
National Politics
Politics of Vuode
Other Activities in Talossa
Life Outside of Talossa
Photo of Viteu Marcianüs
We stipulate that, for the preservation of the public record, the article may contain name, dates of citizenship and renunciation, offices held and party affiliation.
Respectfully,
Dr. T.M. Asmourescu
Attorney for the Petitioner, Viteu Marcianüs
==============================================================================
Magistrate Prevuost, do you want this one?
- Clerk
……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
In the matter of
Viteu Marcianüs
against
The Rt. Hon. Alexandreu Davinescu
The Ministry of Stuff
His Majesty’s Government
Petition for Judicial Intervention
Background of the Case
Viteu Marcianüs, a citizen of Talossa and Resident of Vuode, renounced his citizenship on December 30, 2013 via a public statement on Wittenburg. This statement was acknowledged by the Acting Secretary of State in January 2014 and took effect at that time.
On Wednesday January 8, 2014, S:reu Marcianüs contacted the Rt. Hon. Alexandreu Davinescu via e-mail and requested removal of certain information related to S:reu Marcianüs from the Talossa “Wiki.”
S:reu Marcianüs requested that the following sections be removed forthwith:
Introduction to the Kingdom of Talossa
National Politics
Politics of Vuode
Other Activities in Talossa
Life Outside of Talossa
Photo of Viteu Marcianüs
S:reu Marcianüs further advised that the following sections could remain for the purpose of preserving historical record:
Offices
Departure
Further, S:reu Marcianüs stated that he in no way intended to remove historical references to himself citing specifically “lists of immigration ministers” and “lists of senators” as examples which were acceptable to include his name.
On January 8, the Rt. Honorable Davinescu responded via e-mail advising that information he deemed irrelevant to the historical record of Talossa had been removed. He further advised that S:reu Marcianüs’s request would not be fully honored. He cited as authority the manual of style for the website, in particular the following passage:
The article that is about you is not your article - information must be true and fair. You could not, for example, describe yourself as "the best Talossan." Your opinion of its contents will be given due deference, of course, but the place for your "personal profile" is at ÁrTal, where you have complete control over the contents.
Further, Ministreu Davinescu cites the wiki privacy policy:
All contributions to TalossaWiki are public, and there should be no expectations of privacy for any edits or discussions that take place on the wiki.
Copies of the e-mail are attached hereto and referenced as necessary.
Analysis and Application of Law
The Talossa Wiki is presented as an official government web project beginning with the announcement of its launch on Witt (issued under government seal) to its management by the Minister of Stuff. S:reu Davinescu rightly states that Talossan Privacy Laws do not allow citizens or former citizens the right to amend public records which relate to them. However, we contend that the Talossa Wiki is not a public record.
The Talossan Wiki was not created by statute. As such, the Ministry of Stuff acted with the apparent authority to collect, maintain and present this information. Ministreu Davinescu alleges, for example, that S:reu Marcianüs is not entitled to the removal of his photo as he agreed to an image use license upon uploading it. Though, the particular aspects of this license are not conspicuously posted.
Ministreu Davinescu cites the manual of style as evidence that S:reu Marcianüs is not entitled to the removal of information. However, a close look at the disputed content reveals that it is hardly of historical significance:
Other Activities in Talossa
On March 13, 2012, Viteu changed his Talossan name from Viteu Toctviac'hteir to Viteu Marcianüs. Viteu also hosted the Talossa News Project (TNP). The show consisted of Viteu interviewing different Talossans about day to day issues facing the kingdom.
Viteu contributed to a coloring book for dandelions published in 2008.
Ministreu Davinescu cites, for example, that S:reu Marcianüs cannot change the fact tht he hosted the TNP. However, the TNP is a dead link which brings into question its historical significance.
Further, we can look to the other entries:
Return to the RUMP
After a tumultuous election season, Marcianüs went through a period of inactivity. When he returned, he decided to enter the Senatorial race in Vuode for the seat vacated by Sir Trotxâ Betiñéir. He ran as the RUMP candidate and was largely considered the underdog, as opposition parties had dominated Vuodean politics for some time. Marcianüs won a surprise victory and served the RUMP faithfully until his resignation. On 23 July 2012, Viteu became the Minister of Culture.
The captioned narrative was written by the petitioner. And, in fact, contains numerous editorial statements such as “served the RUMP faithfully.” These subjective comments cannot be verified as true and contain no citation (it is, afterall, a matter of opinion as to whether a person serves faithfully, whether a candidate is considered an underdog or if an election season is tumultuous).
The core information contained within these disputed narratives are the party affiliations, offices held and ministerial portfolios of S:reu Marcianüs. All of this information being such that S:reu Marcianüs consents to remain in its most basic form.
Further, as no law specifically governs the Wiki, we can look to the Organic Law’s Fourth Covenant:
Fourth Covenant. Under the principle that "A Man's Room is His Kingdom," the right of the people to privacy and security in their persons, homes, papers, correspondence, and property, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated. The privilege of the writ of habeas corpus shall not be suspended. No person may be arrested or detained without a warrant issued by a judge, except in cases of flagrante delicto. No warrants shall be issued except on probable cause, and must particularly describe the place to be searched and the person or things to be seized. The right to privacy for public figures must be balanced by the public's right to know, in matters affecting politics, elections, campaigns, and governing. The intentional withholding of political information which reasonable voters might find helpful, profitable, or informative, violates the public's right to know.
It is indisputable that S:reu Marcianüs is a public figure in Talossan life. The public indeed has a right to know which offices he held, during what period and his party affiliations. We contend that the public does not have the inherent right to autobiographical narratives penned by S:reu Marcianüs for the purposes of the Wiki.
Further, we maintain that the privacy policy of a project created without the force of law cannot supersede the letter of the Organic Law. We must also consider the intent of the authors of our law when creating the Fourth Covenant. Is it reasonable to expect that, at its creation, the authors imagined that the government would claim a citizen’s private photo as its own, refusing to remove it even in the event of that citizen’s renunciation and withdrawal from Talossan life?
While there exists no law requiring the Ministry of Stuff to remove the disputed content, we hold that the current law also does not support the Ministry of Stuff’s refusal to remove said content. It is further our contention that the contributions of S:reu Marcianüs to the Wiki were made with the intention of his continued participation in Talossan life and that refusing to remove the requested photo and sections infringes upon S:reu Marcianüs’s right to privacy, as well as his organically protected right to renounce his citizenship and sever ties with Talossa which he has chosen to exercise.
Relief Sought
Petitioner hereby requests that the Magistrate’s Court order the Ministry of Stuff, its staff, officers and agents, to remove the following sections from the article concerning Viteu Marcianüs:
Introduction to the Kingdom of Talossa
National Politics
Politics of Vuode
Other Activities in Talossa
Life Outside of Talossa
Photo of Viteu Marcianüs
We stipulate that, for the preservation of the public record, the article may contain name, dates of citizenship and renunciation, offices held and party affiliation.
Respectfully,
Dr. T.M. Asmourescu
Attorney for the Petitioner, Viteu Marcianüs
==============================================================================
Magistrate Prevuost, do you want this one?
- Clerk
