Horatio Eden appointed Abeldane Attorney-General
Former Abeldane Attorney-General Horatio Eden was restored to his post by Emperor Newton von Uberquie today after a constitutional amendment was ratified to allow him to take a seat in the legislature.
Former Abeldane Attorney-General Horatio Eden was restored to his post by Emperor Newton von Uberquie today after a constitutional amendment was ratified by the Abeldane legislature, the Reichsversammlung, known locally as the RVL, to allow him to take a seat in the legislature as the representative of the throne. Emperor von Uberquie remarked that this made Eden the “eyes and ears” of the imperial family in the federal legislature. This appointed seat in the RVL existed under the previous constitution, but was inadvertently removed following the enactment of the new Imperial Constitution written by Anthony Clark, later Supreme Justice.
Membership of the legislature is a requirement to serve as Attorney-General. This decision brings the total number of seats in the RVL to 10.
This appointment returns Eden to the post of the chief law enforcement officer in the nation. Following the Abeldane Supreme Court decision in Eden v Freayth, ministers exercise their powers on behalf of the Emperor, rather than the Vorsitzender, who serves as head of government – this judicial decision means Eden does not answer primarily to the Vorsitzender, and gives him, with the implementation of the new Abeldane code of laws, nearly autonomous prosecutorial authority as well as the power to intervene in cases dealing with the federal constitution.
Under the original formulation of his office, he had extensive investigatory powers as the head of the Ministry of Justice under the Ministry of Justice (Enumeration of Powers) Act which he spearheaded through the legislature under the administration of then-Vorsitzender Thomas Merrell, under which he launched a failed prosecution of Michael Brazeau for sockpuppetry. The new Code of Abelden (PDF), written by Supreme Justice Anthony Clark, considerably strips back the authority of the Attorney-General by comparison; Eden’s spokesperson says he intends to submit legislation at the next session of the RVL, not dissimilar to the Enumeration of Powers Act, that would expand the authority of the Attorney-General and the Ministry of Justice, such as it is, at large considerably if adopted. It is not clear how much traction this will get now that his sparring partner in previous legislatures, Michael Brazeau, is the Speaker of the chamber.
Eden has also begun advertising for two positions subordinate to the Attorney-General in the Ministry of Justice, a Deputy Attorney-General, to whom he can “delegate responsibility to prosecute cases”, and a Director of the Ministry of Justice, “who I can appoint to run the day to day of the Ministry”.
Eden resigned as Attorney-General – as well as leader of his new political coalition, the Abeldane National Liberal Alliance and Pragmatic Front, which he formed following Thomas Merrell’s resignation as Vorsitzender in 2017 – following his defeat in the Vorsitzender election to Alejandro Whyatt, who was later himself forced out by former Emperor Stephen Freayth of Die Rechte following the government’s collapse into inactivity. Eden is one of the few Abeldane citizens who has served in all the Great Offices of State – briefly as Vorsitzender before imperial dismissal, as Stellvertreter, and as Chancellor of the Treasury, a position he later advocated for the dissolution of. His return to the Abeldane political field was marked by his establishment of a new political party, the Liberty Union, to contest the legislative election, but after posturing extensively he declined to announce his candidacy for Vorsitzender in the September 2018 electoral cycle after polling made clear he would be defeated handily by Die Rechte candidate Stephen Freayth.
