LEGAL STATE:UNRESOLVED
The Arbiter’s voice is precise, stripped of emphasis. “Let the record reflect that the subject before this Court is not hypothetical.”
She inclines her head toward the hologram.
“This is the human referenced in the sanctions proposal. Eve Eden. She was hired under a lawful service contract recognized by this Court. She entered galactic jurisdiction voluntarily. Her credentials were verified. Her employment was compliant. She was later apprehended and presented for adjudication under interspecies security law for acts of interference and material aid to an unregistered resistance network.”
The holo shifts, pulses once, then holds.
TRIAL STATUS: AMBIGUOUS
“At the time of her trial, this Court was unable to determine the correct juridical framework under which she should be judged. Was she to be tried as property, subject to forfeiture and reassignment? Or as a sentient person, subject to penal consequence.” The Arbiter’s eyes move across the chamber. “In the absence of a unified statute, the Court deferred. The subject was neither sentenced nor exonerated. Following the Court’s deferral, the subject was administratively reassigned under interim custodial authority.”
The hologram updates again.
CURRENT CONDITION:DOMESTICATED ASSET
HOUSEHOLD STATUS:PET
LEGAL JUSTIFICATION:ADMINISTRATIVE RESOLUTION
A faint ripple of unease moves through the delegates.
“The Court now finds itself confronted with the result of that deferral,” the Arbiter continues. “The subject exists in a legal contradiction. She is simultaneously acknowledged to having acted with intent and punished as if incapable of agency. But if Eve Eden is property, then her trial was improper. Property cannot commit crimes. It can only be misused. If Eve Eden is a person, then her current condition is not a sentence. It is an extrajudicial outcome.”
Silence.
“The sanctions before us would resolve this contradiction.”
The hologram shifts again, splitting into two parallel legal paths.
PATH A:PROPERTY CLASSIFICATION TRIAL NULLIFIED
ALL LIABILITY TRANSFERRED TO OWNER
