Imperial Decree 26-002
| Instrument | Imperial Decree 26-002 |
|---|---|
| Constitutional era | Tenth Imperium |
| Given | 7 August 2026 CE · 18 YI |
| Status | Current and Effective |
| Code placement | Title 1, Chapter 103 |
| Great Seal Registry | GS-2026-003 |
Preamble
WHEREAS the Constitution of the Tenth Imperium establishes the Imperial Crown as the supreme source of lawful sovereignty and authority within the Aksum Imperium;
WHEREAS the Constitution authorizes the Emperor and Grand Sovereign to issue Imperial instruments in the exercise of the inherent, reserved, and delegated authority of the Imperial Crown;
WHEREAS the Constitution requires orderly systems for the execution, authentication, numbering, citation, publication, registration, codification, preservation, correction, and determination of the legal status of Imperial instruments;
WHEREAS Imperial Decree 26-001 directs the establishment of systems governing the classification, issuance, citation, and numbering of Imperial instruments, the Imperial Code, the Official Registry, and the legal archives of the Imperium;
WHEREAS the Great Seal is the principal instrument of sovereign authentication and must be protected by a permanent record of each lawful use;
NOW, THEREFORE, by the supreme authority of the Imperial Crown, We do hereby decree and establish the following:
Article I — Purpose, Authority, and Application
Imperial Code § 103.101
1. This Decree establishes the general system governing: a. Imperial Crown instruments; b. the classification and function of such instruments; c. official numbering and citation; d. execution and authentication; e. promulgation and publication; f. the Official Legal Registry; g. the Great Seal Registry; h. codification in the Imperial Code; i. preservation in the Imperial Archives; and j. amendment, correction, suspension, repeal, supersession, expiration, and historical preservation.
2. This Decree implements the Constitution and Imperial Decree 26-001 and shall be construed consistently with both.
3. Nothing in this Decree shall: a. diminish the inherent or reserved authority of the Imperial Crown; b. limit the Emperor to the instruments specifically named herein where another lawful form is appropriate; c. permit a subordinate authority to exercise powers not lawfully granted; or d. permit any instrument to amend the Constitution except pursuant to Article XII thereof.
4. References in Imperial Decree 26-001 or another Tenth Imperium instrument to the Official Registry, when referring to the registration of Imperial law or instruments, shall mean the Official Legal Registry established by the Constitution and implemented by this Decree.
Article II — Imperial Crown Instruments
Imperial Code § 103.201
1. The recognized forms of Imperial Crown instruments include:
a. Imperial Decrees; b. Proclamations; c. Edicts; d. Dictates; e. Warrants; f. Patents and Letters Patent; g. Commissions; h. Charters; i. Grants; j. Appointments; k. Regulations; l. Directives; and m. such other lawful Imperial instruments as the authority exercised may require.
2. The title or form of an instrument shall assist in identifying its nature but shall not, standing alone, enlarge or diminish the lawful authority upon which the instrument depends.
3. Where an instrument exercises more than one function, the Emperor may: a. employ the form most appropriate to its principal purpose; b. combine related grants, commands, appointments, or provisions within a single instrument; or c. issue separate connected instruments.
Article III — Functions of Imperial Instruments
Imperial Code § 103.301
1. An Imperial Decree is the principal general instrument of the Imperial Crown for the exercise of sovereign authority, establishment or implementation of Imperial policy or law, organization of Imperial government, and direction of institutions beneath the Crown.
2. A Proclamation formally declares, announces, recognizes, commemorates, or makes public an Imperial act, condition, observance, status, event, or determination. A Proclamation shall create binding legal obligations only when its text and lawful authority expressly provide them.
3. An Edict establishes a binding sovereign rule, command, prohibition, requirement, or determination applicable to the persons, institutions, territories, or subject matter identified therein.
4. A Dictate is a direct sovereign command or instruction issued by the Emperor to a person, officer, council, institution, command, House, territory, or other authority. A Dictate may concern immediate, administrative, operational, governmental, or other matters within the authority of the Crown.
5. A Warrant authorizes a specified act, process, action, expenditure, exercise of authority, or other defined undertaking and shall be limited by its terms.
6. A Patent or Letters Patent formally creates, grants, recognizes, confirms, or records a dignity, title, style, privilege, right, precedence, heraldic recognition, corporate status, or other enduring grant of the Crown.
7. A Commission appoints or authorizes a person to exercise an office, command, diplomatic capacity, territorial responsibility, public trust, special mission, or another defined Imperial function.
8. A Charter creates, recognizes, or establishes the constitutional or legal foundation, privileges, governance, purposes, or continuing existence of an institution, body, organization, municipality, academy, Order, or other chartered entity.
9. A Grant conveys or confirms a right, authority, jurisdiction, property interest, territorial responsibility, dignity, privilege, stewardship, or other interest within the lawful power of the Crown.
10. An Appointment places a person into an office, council seat, position, responsibility, or other Imperial capacity.
11. A Regulation establishes a generally applicable rule governing the administration or execution of Imperial law within the authority of the issuing Crown or subordinate authority.
12. A Directive gives administrative, operational, policy, or implementation instructions to the persons or institutions subject to the authority issuing it.
13. These descriptions establish ordinary functions and shall not be construed to restrict the Crown from selecting another lawful form where the nature of the act requires it.
Article IV — Required Elements of an Imperial Instrument
Imperial Code § 103.401
1. Every formal Imperial Crown instrument shall identify, as appropriate:
a. its instrument type; b. its official number or citation; c. its title or subject; d. the issuing authority; e. its constitutional, statutory, delegated, or other lawful basis; f. the act, command, appointment, grant, rule, or determination made; g. the persons, institutions, offices, Houses, territories, or matters affected; h. its date of execution; i. its effective date, if different; j. any duration, expiration, condition, limitation, or review requirement; k. the means of authentication required; and l. any registry, codification, publication, or archival requirements.
2. An instrument need not contain a provision irrelevant to its nature.
3. Failure to use ceremonial language shall not invalidate an otherwise lawful and properly authenticated instrument unless such language is expressly required by controlling law.
Article V — Official Numbering of Imperial Instruments
Imperial Code § 103.501
1. Imperial instruments issued during the Tenth Imperium shall be assigned permanent identifiers.
2. Imperial Decrees shall continue the system established by Imperial Decree 26-001:
YY-NNN
where:
YY is the final two digits of the Common Era year of issuance; and NNN is the sequential number of the Decree issued during that year, beginning with 001.
3. Accordingly:
Imperial Decree 26-001 is the first Imperial Decree of 2026; this instrument, if approved and executed, shall be Imperial Decree 26-002.
4. Other Imperial Crown instruments shall use a separate series identified by instrument type:
Proclamation — P-26-001 Edict — E-26-001 Dictate — D-26-001 Warrant — W-26-001 Patent / Letters Patent — LP-26-001 Commission — C-26-001 Charter — CH-26-001 Grant — G-26-001 Appointment — A-26-001 Regulation — R-26-001 Directive — DIR-26-001
5. Each instrument series shall begin with 001 for each Common Era calendar year.
6. An assigned instrument number shall never be reused, even if the instrument is later repealed, rescinded, voided, superseded, or withdrawn after execution.
7. An instrument prepared but never lawfully executed shall not ordinarily receive a final registry citation. If a number was reserved but the instrument was not issued, the Official Legal Registry may identify that number as reserved but not issued rather than reassign it.
8. The instrument citation is separate from: a. an Imperial Code citation; and b. a Great Seal Registry number.
Article VI — Execution, Authentication, and Effective Date
Imperial Code § 103.601
1. An Imperial Crown instrument becomes an executed instrument when completed by the Emperor in the manner appropriate to the instrument.
2. Execution may be evidenced by: a. signature; b. authenticated digital execution; c. another lawful mark of execution; or d. another method recognized by Imperial law.
3. Where the Great Seal is required, execution alone shall not complete authentication.
4. An instrument shall take effect: a. on the effective date stated in the instrument; b. upon completion of required execution and authentication; c. upon required publication; or d. on another date prescribed by controlling law.
5. An instrument may establish a future effective date.
6. No instrument imposing a material burden shall be intentionally concealed from persons entitled to notice merely to defeat the constitutional requirement of reasonable notice.
Article VII — The Great Seal
Imperial Code § 103.701
1. The official Great Seal is styled:
GREAT SEAL OF THE UNITED DOMINION OF THE AKSUM IMPERIUM
2. References in the Constitution, Imperial Decree 26-001, prior instruments, or official records to the Great Seal of the Aksum Imperium, Great Seal of the Imperium, or simply the Great Seal shall refer to the same sovereign Great Seal where the context so requires.
3. The Great Seal is the highest ordinary seal of authentication of the Imperial Crown.
4. Authentication under the Great Seal certifies that the instrument bearing it: a. has been issued under lawful Imperial authority; b. is represented as an authentic Imperial instrument; and c. has satisfied the authentication requirements applicable to that instrument.
5. The Great Seal shall be required for: a. the Constitution and constitutional amendments; b. Imperial Decrees; c. Letters Patent; d. Imperial Charters; e. grants or confirmations of sovereign dignity to a Sovereign Great House; f. grants of territorial regency or comparable sovereign territorial authority; g. treaties, compacts, or other instruments where the Great Seal is required by their terms or controlling law; and h. any other instrument for which the Emperor or Imperial law requires authentication under the Great Seal.
6. The Emperor may direct the Great Seal to be affixed to another lawful Imperial instrument when the dignity, permanence, importance, or subject of the act warrants such authentication.
7. Proclamations, Edicts, Dictates, Warrants, Commissions, Appointments, Regulations, and Directives shall not require the Great Seal merely by reason of their form unless: a. their subject matter independently requires it; b. Imperial law requires it; or c. the Emperor directs its use.
8. The Grand Keeper of Seals and Archives is the principal constitutional custodian of the Great Seal.
9. The Great Seal shall be affixed, reproduced, or applied for authentication only pursuant to lawful authority.
10. Reproduction of the Great Seal for historical, educational, archival, ceremonial, informational, or artistic purposes does not by itself authenticate the document upon which the reproduction appears.
Article VIII — Great Seal Registry
Imperial Code § 103.801
1. Every official use of the Great Seal for authentication shall be entered into the Great Seal Registry.
2. Great Seal Registry numbers shall follow the form:
GS-YYYY-NNN
where: a. GS identifies the Great Seal Registry; b. YYYY is the four-digit Common Era year of authentication; and c. NNN is the sequential authenticated use of the Great Seal during that year.
3. The following existing entries are confirmed:
a. GS-2026-001 — Imperial Decree 26-001; and b. GS-2026-002 — Constitution of the Tenth Imperium.
4. If this Decree is the next instrument authenticated under the Great Seal, it shall receive:
GS-2026-003
5. Each registry entry shall identify, as applicable: a. the Great Seal Registry number; b. instrument type and official citation; c. official title or description; d. issuing authority; e. authority for use of the Great Seal; f. date of execution; g. date of authentication; h. effective date; i. legal status; and j. location of the authenticated official record.
6. A Great Seal Registry number shall never be reassigned.
7. The invalidation, repeal, expiration, or supersession of an instrument shall not erase its historical Great Seal Registry entry. Its status shall instead be updated.
Article IX — Official Legal Registry
Imperial Code § 103.901
1. The Official Legal Registry is the authoritative registry of Imperial legal instruments required by the Constitution.
2. The Grand Keeper of Seals and Archives shall maintain or supervise the maintenance of the Official Legal Registry.
3. The Registry shall identify for each registered instrument: a. official title; b. instrument type and citation; c. issuing or enacting authority; d. date of execution; e. effective date; f. authentication method and seal, if any; g. Great Seal Registry number, where applicable; h. amendments and corrections; i. suspension, repeal, expiration, or supersession; j. current legal status; k. Imperial Code citation, where applicable; and l. location of the authenticated official record.
4. The first entries of the Tenth Imperium shall include: a. Imperial Decree 26-001; b. the Constitution of the Tenth Imperium; and c. this Decree upon its lawful execution.
5. Registration does not create legal authority that the underlying instrument did not otherwise possess.
6. Failure of a clerical officer to immediately update the Registry shall not by itself repeal an otherwise valid instrument, but the omission shall be corrected as soon as practicable.
Article X — Imperial Code and Codification
Imperial Code § 103.1001
1. The Imperial Code is the organized codification of permanent and generally applicable Imperial law.
2. An instrument and its codification are legally related but distinct records.
3. Codification shall not: a. alter the substance of the original instrument; b. create authority absent from the original instrument; c. conceal an amendment or repeal; d. revive expired or superseded law; or e. substitute editorial action for lawful enactment.
4. An Imperial instrument may: a. enact provisions directly into the Imperial Code; b. amend existing Code provisions where lawful; c. direct later codification; or d. remain uncodified where its nature does not require inclusion in the Code.
5. Appointments, individual warrants, commissions, ceremonial proclamations, particular grants, and similar instruments need not be codified merely because they are registered.
6. The Imperial Code shall indicate the legal status of provisions as appropriate, including:
Current and Effective; Amended; Suspended; Repealed; Superseded; Expired; Transitional; Historical; or Under Review.
Article XI — Official Publication and the Imperial Archives
Imperial Code § 103.1101
1. Imperial instruments requiring publication shall be published through an authorized Imperial publication or repository.
2. The Imperial Archives shall serve as the principal permanent public archival repository for Imperial laws and instruments designated for public access.
3. The Official Legal Registry shall maintain the authoritative registration record regardless of whether the full text of an instrument is public.
4. The Imperial Code shall publish codified law.
5. The Great Library or its lawful successor may reproduce and preserve official legal texts as an authorized repository.
6. An instrument may also be reproduced through other authorized Imperial websites, publications, systems, or repositories.
7. Where confidentiality is lawfully required: a. the authenticated instrument shall remain preserved in official custody; b. the Official Legal Registry may maintain a public entry sufficient to establish the existence, authority, date, and legal status of the instrument where lawful; and c. confidential information shall not be disclosed merely because the instrument has been registered.
8. The authenticated official record shall control over an unofficial reproduction where the two differ.
Article XII — Certified Copies and Authentication of Copies
Imperial Code § 103.1201
1. The Grand Keeper of Seals and Archives may certify a physical or digital copy of an authenticated Imperial instrument.
2. A certified copy shall identify: a. the instrument reproduced; b. its official citation; c. its registry information; and d. the authority by which the copy is certified.
3. Certification of a copy does not constitute a new execution, new issuance, or new Great Seal authentication of the underlying instrument unless the copy itself is separately sealed for that purpose.
4. Ordinary public reproductions need not bear a new Great Seal Registry number.
Article XIII — Correction, Amendment, Repeal, and Legal Status
Imperial Code § 103.1301
1. Nonsubstantive editorial corrections may repair: a. spelling; b. grammar not affecting legal meaning; c. numbering; d. citation; e. formatting; f. typographical errors; or g. obvious transcription errors.
2. Every material editorial correction to an authenticated instrument shall be recorded sufficiently to preserve the integrity and provenance of the official text.
3. No editorial correction may alter substantive legal meaning.
4. A substantive change shall require lawful amendment, replacement, repeal, supersession, or another instrument possessing authority to make the change.
5. No repealed, superseded, expired, or suspended instrument shall be deleted from Imperial history merely because it is no longer current law.
6. The Official Legal Registry and Imperial Archives shall preserve its former legal status and the instrument responsible for the change.
7. A new instrument amending, suspending, repealing, or superseding an earlier instrument shall identify the affected instrument with reasonable specificity.
Article XIV — Subordinate Instruments
Imperial Code § 103.1401
1. An officer, council, command, ministry, institution, territorial government, or other subordinate Imperial authority may issue an order, regulation, directive, commission, administrative rule, or other instrument only within authority lawfully possessed or delegated.
2. No subordinate instrument may: a. represent itself as an act of the Emperor or Imperial Crown without authenticated authority; b. use the Imperial Decree numbering series; c. use the Great Seal without lawful authorization; d. contradict the Constitution or controlling Imperial law; or e. enlarge the issuing authority’s own jurisdiction.
3. Separate numbering systems for subordinate authorities may be established by Imperial law, charter, regulation, or authorized administrative standard.
4. A subordinate instrument of permanent legal significance may be entered into the Official Legal Registry where required by law or directed by competent Imperial authority.
Article XV — Preservation of Earlier Instruments
Imperial Code § 103.1501
1. Instruments of prior constitutional eras shall not be renumbered merely to make them appear to have originated during the Tenth Imperium.
2. Their original titles, numbers, dates, provenance, and historical character shall be preserved where known.
3. Reception of a prior instrument into current law shall be governed by the Constitution, Imperial Decree 26-001, and subsequent law governing legal continuity and reception.
4. A reconstructed, incomplete, or unauthenticated historical instrument shall be identified as such and shall not be falsely represented as an authenticated original.
5. Historical registration shall not by itself revive an instrument that lacks current legal effect.
Article XVI — Administration and Effective Date
Imperial Code § 103.1601
1. The Grand Keeper of Seals and Archives shall administer the Great Seal Registry and perform the archival and authentication responsibilities assigned by this Decree.
2. The Grand Imperial Court shall ensure the maintenance of the Official Legal Registry in accordance with the Constitution and this Decree.
3. The Grand Keeper may establish forms, templates, registry fields, certification procedures, archival standards, and other administrative practices necessary to carry out this Decree, provided that such practices do not alter substantive Imperial law.
4. Existing Tenth Imperium instruments shall be brought into conformity with the registry system without changing their original legal effect or execution dates.
5. Imperial Decree 26-001 shall retain its existing citation and shall be entered as the first Imperial Decree of 2026.
6. The Constitution of the Tenth Imperium shall retain its constitutional citation at Title 1, Chapter 102 of the Imperial Code.
7. This Decree shall take effect upon: a. execution by the Emperor and Grand Sovereign; b. authentication under the Great Seal; c. assignment of its Great Seal Registry number; d. entry into the Official Legal Registry; and e. official publication.
Declaration
By this Decree, the United Dominion of the Aksum Imperium establishes a permanent and orderly system by which the commands, grants, laws, appointments, acts, and instruments of the Imperial Crown may be identified, authenticated, preserved, cited, published, and known.
No lawful act of the Crown shall depend upon uncertainty of record where orderly record may preserve it, and no record shall be permitted to substitute form for lawful authority.
All This By My Hand
VI ET ANIMO — BY STRENGTH AND COURAGE
__________________________________
His Most Imperial Majesty Rasim Aeon Emperor and Grand Sovereign of the United Dominion of the Aksum Imperium Imperial Founder and Father of the Imperium
Given at the Imperial Court on the seventh day of August in the year two thousand twenty-six of the Common Era, being the Eighteenth Year of the Imperium.
Authenticated and sealed:
__________________________________
Grand Keeper of Seals and Archives Custodian of the Great Seal and Permanent Imperial Records
Instrument: Imperial Decree 26-002 Imperial Code Citation: Title 1, Chapter 103 Great Seal Registry: GS-2026-003 Official Legal Registry: Imperial Decree 26-002
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