Rogatio Aurelia de custodia et disciplina rei publicae (Nova Roma)

Rogatio concerning the guardianship and discipline of the state

Contents 1 Preamble 2 Pars Prima - Cohortes Praetoriae 2.1 Definition 2.2 Cohortes Praetoriae Minimae 2.3 Chain of Command and Management 3 Pars Secunda - Cohortes Forenses Rei Publicae 3.1 Definition 3.2 Cohortes Forenses Rei Publicae Officiales Minimae 3.3 Chain of Command and Management 4 Pars Tertia - Cohortes Vigilum 4.1 Definition 4.2 Cohortes Forenses Rei Publicae Officiales Minimae 4.3 Chain of Command and Management 5 Pars Quarta - Cohort Administration 5.1 Ranks and Service 5.2 Sacramentum 5.3 Census Points and Status

Preamble

I. In C. Cethego Q. Arrio (IV) cos. ‡ MMDCCLXXVI a.u.c., the consuls and aediles collectively worked together to release edicta on three new core Roman law enforcement institutions for Nova Roma. Since their introduction, these cohorts have integrated into Nova Roma and began performing their functions through all parts of our society. Having demonstrated their value, effectiveness and positive contribution, this lex seeks to now enshrine their ongoing permanent presence. The edictum aedilicium de vigilibus, and the edictum consulare de cohortibus praetoriis et de cohortibus rei publicae, are now considered superseded by this lex.

II. This lex defines the Cohortes Praetoriae, Cohortes Forenses Rei Publicae and Cohortes Vigilum of Nova Roma. These armed service and ceremonial military forces carry out the guardianship and law enforcement functions in Nova Roma. The guardians and officers of the enforcement of Nova Roman law and order in our online forums were never clearly defined over the previous 25 years of Nova Roman history. Past moderators and administrators of our online forums and other community venues were usually appointed scribae serving various magistrates. Building upon the establishing edicts, these cohorts are now proscribed in law and their formal status, titles and duties in moderation and administration of the public forums and other public assets of Nova Roma are now elevated as a lex.

III. Upon enactment, this lex acknowledges the existing and extant appointments, as so published in the respective albums of each cohort, and it does not interfere or modify them in any way.

Pars Prima - Cohortes Praetoriae

Definition

IV. The Cohortes Praetoriae are tools of consular and praetorian oversight of internal security and law enforcement, as well as a tool for special magistrates with grants of imperium. The Cohortes Praetoriae are the presidential guards of the Nova Roman Republic, working directly for the implementation of the policies and visions of the consuls and praetores, the presidential magistrates of Nova Roma, and of all officers who have been granted equivalent imperium. Members of the Cohortes Praetoriae are termed praetoriani, and their primary function shall be to ensure consular and praetorian oversight, and control over general law enforcement in all aspects, assets, areas and forums of Nova Roma. The praetoriani shall be the personal guards of the imperium bearing officers and essentially a complementary force to their lictors, filling the same role in a large extent.

V. The praetoriani are divided into three functional groups based on the environment and functional role where they do their work in Nova Roma. The types of officers are:

A. Praetorianus officialis. The praetoriani officiales are the service personnel ensuring that the policies of the consuls, praetors or other imperium bearers are observed implemented and duly enforced. They represent the will and interests of the magistrate under whom they belong. They are the watching eyes of those imperium-bearing magistrates who appointed them, and can be sent to any provinces, entities or forums of Nova Roma in order to exert governmental control and ensure united action over all of Nova Roma. They are the administrative, office-work praetoriani who do only online administrative-style work. In case of an urgent need, they may be assigned to assist the vigiles and complement their numbers.

B. Praetorianus armatus. The praetoriani armati are either members of an officially recognized reenactment unit of Nova Roma, which represent the Roman praetoriani, or individual praetorianus reenactors administratively distributed into formal cohortes, created by imperium bearers. They serve Nova Roma at events and do not have any duty in the online or digital work of Nova Roma. These officers perform a ceremonial display function only and are generally considered to only undertake their roles in a physical environment, performing at live events and functions.

C. Praetorianus officialis armatus. The praetoriani officiales armati are praetoriani who are both field serving praetoriani and office workers in policy enforcement under consuls, praetors and other imperium bearers.

Cohortes Praetoriae Minimae

VI. The following are the cohortes praetoriae minimae officiales. It shall be possible to serve in more than one cohors, but it will be counted still as only one appointment. None of these cohortes have to be created unless they are needed and wanted by the aforementioned magistrates, except the two consular cohortes which shall have at least one-one praetorian in each permanently:

A. The Cohors Praetoria Officialis Consularis I shall consist of the praetoriani officiales enrolled by the consul prior.

B. The Cohors Praetoria Officialis Consularis II shall consist of the praetoriani officiales enrolled by the consul posterior.

C. The Cohors Praetoria Officialis Praetoris I shall consist of the praetoriani officiales enrolled by the praetor rei publicae (praetor primus).

D. The Cohors Praetoria Officialis Praetoris II shall consist of the praetoriani officiales enrolled by the praetor peregrinus (praetor secundus).

E. The Cohortes Praetoriae Officiales Ducum shall consist of the praetoriani officiales enrolled by any imperium bearer and each shall have his own cohors, or multiple cohortes, as they deem necessary.

VII. Cohorts of praetoriae armatae reconstructivae shall be created if a sufficient number of praetorian reenactors are recruited for the purpose of forming reenactment units of praetorians. The number of necessary individuals to establish a new cohors shall be at the discretion of the imperium bearers entitled to form a cohors. The cohortes praetoriae armatae reconstructivae shall be composed only of field service praetorians (praetoriani armati) who wear the historical equipment of ancient Roman praetorians.

Chain of Command and Management

VIII. Praetoriani are obligated to follow the chain of command working within their own assigned cohortes and offices. Praetoriani delegated as supervisors to other offices have to follow the command structure of that office, while also reporting to their delegating authority. Praetoriani must acknowledge seniority and chain of command between each other, between fellow praetorians, but obeying the chain of command in relation to the hosting office. The chain of command is as follows:

A. Praefectus Praetorio. In full, the praefectus praetorio exercitus reconstructivi populi Novi Romani (prefect of the headquarters of the Nova Roman people's reenactment army), represents the commanders-in-chief of the Nova Roman legiones and all of the ceremonial army, the consuls and the praetors, and serves as their military and law enforcement chief of staff. The praefectus praetorio is the direct commander of the consular and praetorian Cohortes Praetoriae, and the overall representative commander of any and all Cohortes Praetoriae of other imperium bearers. The praefectus does not act on his own initiative and ideas; he ensures the implementation of decisions and policies of the consuls and praetors. The praefectus praetorio shall be appointed or replaced by the unanimous agreement of the consuls; they may not appoint any current consuls or praetors to this office, because that person would be subordinate to all of them and would lose the right to act on his own. Roles and responsibilities of the praefectus includes:

i. The praefectus praetorio shall be the general assistant and military reenactment chief of staff to the consuls and praetors and shall be responsible to coordinate the praetoriani between the various cohortes and offices, community platforms and assets of Nova Roma so that policies and directives of the consuls and praetors are observed and enforced equally in all of them. It is the job of the praefectus praetorio, as chief of staff of the overall Nova Roman exercitus, to coordinate between the all the legions and units of Nova Roma assisting the consuls and praetors in their role as commanders-in-chief. As an overall principle, the praefectus praetorio has as much influence and active commanding rights over the Cohortes Praetoriae as is given to him by the consuls and praetors. The consuls and praetors can choose to direct the Cohortes Praetoriae personally or they can leave everything to their appointed praefectus.

ii. The praefectus praetorio can be issued tasks, projects and missions by the consuls and praetors that must be carried out. The praefectus praetorio shall obey any order of the consuls in the first place and of the praetors in the second.

iii. The praefectus praetorio has the right to commission new praetoriani into any of the cohortes (both officiales and armatae), to decommission (exclude or retire) existing ones, and to make promotions and demotions up to the rank of tribunus. Each praetorianus officialis shall be registered and enrolled by the praefectus praetorio who shall be responsible for the maintenance of the album praetorianorum. In case of praetoriani officiales, the praefectus praetorio has the right to refuse enrollment to individuals he does not deem fit for service; in case of praetoriani armati, the praefectus must enroll any member without the right of refusal. Praetoriani officiales candidates for enrollment shall be submitted to the praefectus by the consuls, praetors or by any imperium bearer.

iv. The praefectus praetorio shall strictly and actively oversee and guard the work of the praetoriani in the cohortes praetoriae officiales of the consuls and praetors, and shall intervene to their work any time where intervention is deemed necessary. The praefectus praetorio does not have such direct responsibility over the cohortes praetoriae armatae and the cohortes praetoriae officiales ducum, but he is a ceremonial overall commander to those.

v. The praefectus praetorio is primarily responsible for recruitment of new praetoriani and for the maintenance of the Cohortes Praetoriae and for the satisfactory number and training of the praetoriani officiales.

vi. The praefectus praetorio has the right to give commands to, and override or overturn the actions and decisions of, the praetoriani. It is the primary duty of the praefectus praetorio in relation to the praetoriani to ensure they work according to the policies and directives of the consuls and praetors.

vii. The praefectus praetorio has the right directly to appoint (i.e. promote), and remove (i.e. demote) officers of the praetoriani to any of the ranks, but the consuls and praetors reserve the right to intervene and make their own promotions or demotions.

viii. If there is no praefectus praetorio in office, the consuls shall order one of the praetors or quaestors to be temporarily in change of the Cohortes Praetoriae (without the appointing them as praefectus).

ix. Secondary praefecti praetorio may also be appointed by any imperium bearer to manage the praetoriani of their own personal cohors, but only if they deem it a necessity: praetorian units without an immediate secondary praefectus placed over them shall be normal and acceptable. Such praefecti praetorio shall be marked by an additional titling label showing their department, for example: "praefectus praetorio legati pro praetore Provinciae Daciae". These fill similar functions to the overall praefectus praetorio just within the area and extent of imperium of their appointing officer.

B. Cohors commander. The commander of a cohors shall be a tribunus selected to the role by the praefectus praetorio; or if there is no tribunus in the cohors, the commander shall be the highest ranking praetorianus. If there are more praetorian officers with equally rank as highest ranking, the cohors commander shall be selected by the praefectus praetorio. The cohors commander is the day-to-day operational commander and responsible officer for the specific cohors. The job title of the cohors commander who is not a tribunus shall be praepositus cohortis, plus the praetorian rank he is holding.

C. Lower commanders within the cohors. The chain of command within a cohors is according to rank: the higher ranking officers can command the lower ranking officers. Officers of equal rank can decide between themselves by majority decision. In case of a tie, a higher ranking officer must decide, or if no resolution is possible, the praefectus praetorio shall make the decision. Praetorians operating in other cohorts, for example among the vigiles, the same chain of command applies, accounting for the higher moderator rights which provides precedence in decision making.

Pars Secunda - Cohortes Forenses Rei Publicae

Definition

IX. The Cohortes Forenses Rei Publicae are the tools of the praefectus rei publicae administrandae to coordinate the harmonized and synchronized operation of the entire Nova Roman government and law enforcement, and to fulfill his duties as chief executive officer of the consular government. Members of the Cohortes Forenses Rei Publicae are state protective service officers, and their primary function shall be to serve the praefectus rei publicae administrandae in any tasks, but especially in coordinating the various forums and online venues of Nova Roma, or within the spheres of interest of Nova Roma, for example as delegated to participate among the vigiles, or as representatives sent to other organizations and communities. Like the vigiles, the milites forenses rei publicae shall also be divided into milites forenses rei publicae officiales (administrative, office-work milites forenses) who do only online administrative work, milites forenses armati (also called milites urbani) who do only physical reenactment armed service as a ceremonial guard of our events, and to a category of milites forenses officiales armati (also called milites urbani officiales) who work in both aspects of the Cohortes Forenses Rei Publicae.

X. The milites forenses rei publicae are divided into three functional groups based on the environment and functional role where they do their work in Nova Roma. The types of officers are:

A. Miles forensis rei publicae officialis. The milites forenses rei publicae officiales shall be service persons assisting the praefectus rei publicae in implementing his duties. The milites forenses rei publicae officiales can be identified with a shorter title, milites forenses. They represent the praefectus rei publicae, and through him, the consuls of Nova Roma. They have the duty to implement the directives of the praefectus rei publicae administrandae and to ensure a unified and harmonized government in the various subsections, departments and offices of Nova Roma. In case of urgent need, they may be assigned to assist the vigiles and complement their numbers.

B. Miles forensis rei publicae armatus. The milites forenses rei publicae armati, or with their short name, milites urbani, are either members of an officially recognized reenactment unit of Nova Roma which represent Roman cohortes urbanae, or individual miles urbanus reenactors administratively distributed into formal cohortes created by the praefectus rei publicae or the consuls. They serve Nova Roma at events and do not have any duty in the online work of the milites forenses rei publicae.

C. Miles forensis rei publicae officialis armatus. The milites forenses rei publicae officiales armati, or with their short name, milites urbani officiales, are milites forenses rei publicae who are both field serving milites forenses rei publicae and office workers in policy enforcement in serve of the praefectus rei publicae administrandae.

Cohortes Forenses Rei Publicae Officiales Minimae

XI. The following are the cohortes cohortes forenses rei publicae officiales. These two cohortes shall always exist and shall have at least one miles forensis in each:

A. The Cohors Forensis Rei Publicae Officialis I shall consist of the milites forenses rei publicae serving with the vigiles, aiding one of their cohors.

B. The Cohors Forensis Rei Publicae Officialis II shall consist of the milites forenses rei publicae serving in other functions.

XII. Cohortes forenses rei publicae armatae reconstructivae (cohortes urbanae) shall be created if a sufficient number of miles urbanus reenactors are recruited for the purpose of forming reenactment units of the ancient Roman Cohortes Urbanae, and their name in reenactment shall be cohortes urbanae. The number of necessary individuals to establish a new cohors shall be at the discretion of the praefectus rei publicae administrandae or the consuls. The cohortes urbanae shall be composed only of field service milites forenses rei publicae armati who wear the historical equipment of ancient Roman milites urbani. If a miles forensis rei publicae officialis is also a miles forensis rei publicae armatus (miles urbanus), their cohors allocation shall follow the solution applied for praetorians in similar situation.

Chain of Command and Management

XIII. Milites forenses rei publicae are obligated to follow the chain of command working within their own assigned cohortes and offices. Milites forenses rei publicae delegated as supervisors to other offices have to follow the command structure of that office, while also reporting to their delegating authority. Milites forenses rei publicae must acknowledge seniority and chain of command between each other, between fellow Milites forenses rei publicae, but obeying the chain of command in relation to the hosting office. The chain of command is as follows:

A. Praefectus rei publicae administrandae. The praefectus rei publicae administrandae, or the praefectus rei publicae, for its short and ceremonial version, represent the consuls,. Both these titles were originally two very similar but separate positions. These positions are currently merged, and future consuls may decide to appoint separate individuals to each position, both remaining the co-commanders of the Cohortes Forenses Rei Publicae. The praefectus rei publicae administrandae is the direct commander of the Cohortes Forenses Rei Publicae. The praefectus rei publicae also does not act on his own initiative and ideas. As chief executive officer of Nova Roma, he ensures the execution and implementation of government decisions and policies of the consuls. The consuls may not appoint any current consuls or praetors to this office, because that person would be subordinate and could not be a proper presidential magistrate and would lose the right to act on his own. Roles and responsibilities of the praefectus include:

i. The praefectus rei publicae administrandae shall be the responsible to command the milites forenses rei publicae to ensure that consular policies and directives are observed and enforced equally and in a harmonized, concerted manner between the various offices, magistracies, community platforms and assets of Nova Roma, so that the entire management of Nova Roma may work as one body, toward the same purposes, in a coordinated way. The praefectus rei publicae is in complete control of the Cohortes Forenses Rei Publicae, but he is subordinate to the consuls who shall retain the right to direct the Cohortes Forenses Rei Publicae personally on occasion.

ii. The praefectus rei publicae administrandae can be issued tasks, projects and missions by the consuls that he has to carry out. The praefectus rei publicae shall obey any order of the consuls.

iii. The praefectus rei publicae administrandae has the right to commission new milites forenses rei publicae into any of the cohortes, to decommission (exclude or retire) existing ones, and to make promotions and demotions up to the rank of tribunus. Each miles forensis rei publicae officialis shall be registered and enrolled by the praefectus rei publicae who shall be responsible for the maintenance of the album militum forensium rei publicae. In case of milites forenses officiales, the praefectus rei publicae has the right to refuse enrollment to individuals he does not deem fit for service. In the case of milites forenses armati, the praefectus must enroll any member without the right of refusal.

iv. The praefectus rei publicae administrandae shall strictly and actively oversee and guard the work of the milites forenses in the cohortes forenses rei publicae officiales, and shall intervene to their work any time he thinks intervention is necessary.

v. The praefectus rei publicae administrandae is primarily responsible for recruitment of new milites forenses and for the maintenance of the Cohortes Forenses Rei Publicae and for the satisfactory number and training of the milites forenses officiales.

vi. The praefectus rei publicae administrandae has the right to give commands to, and override or overturn the actions and decisions of, the milites forenses rei publicae officiales.

vii. The praefectus rei publicae administrandae has the right directly to appoint (i.e. promote), and remove (i.e. demote) officers of the milites forenses to any of the ranks, but the consuls reserve the right to intervene and make their own promotions or demotions.

viii. If there is no praefectus rei publicae administrandae in office, the consuls shall order one of the praetors or quaestors to be temporarily in change of the Cohortes Forenses Rei Publicae (without the appointing them as praefectus). In this case all constitutional duties of the praefectus rei publicae administrandae shall be temporarily carried out by that praetor or quaestor as acting chief executive officer of Nova Roma.

B. Cohors commander. The commander of a cohors shall be a tribunus selected to the role by the praefectus rei publicae administrandae; or if there is no tribunus in the cohors, the commander shall be the highest ranking miles forensis rei publicae officialis. If there are more milites forenses officiales officers with equally rank as highest ranking, the cohors commander shall be selected by the praefectus rei publicae administrandae. The cohors commander is the day-to-day operational commander and responsible officer for the specific cohors. The job title of the cohors commander who is not a tribunus shall be praepositus cohortis, plus the milites forenses officiales rank he is holding.

C. Lower commanders within the cohors. The chain of command within a cohors is according to rank: the higher ranking officers can command the lower ranking officers. Officers of equal rank can decide between themselves by majority decision. In case of a tie, a higher ranking officer must decide, or if no resolution is possible, the praefectus rei publicae administrandae shall make the decision. Milites forenses rei publicae operating in other cohorts, for example among the vigiles, the same chain of command applies, accounting for the higher moderator rights which provides precedence in decision making.

XIV. Milites forenses rei publicae in support of the vigiles. In order to assert the consular government policies, the praefectus rei publicae administrandae may delegate milites forenses rei publicae to be present in the cohortes vigilum and either observe, supervise or participate in their work. This may happen only for the duration of a nundinum at maximum, and after a nundinum has passed, milites forenses may only remain through an issuing of an edict by the praefectus rei publicae administrandae, or the consuls, describing the rationale and specifying the tasks of the delegated milites forenses. The milites forenses shall be the regular reinforcement force in any forums and community assets where there is a declared problem, turmoil or crisis, supplementing the vigiles, or taking over the problem if the vigiles are unable to manage the issue.

Pars Tertia - Cohortes Vigilum

Definition

XV. The Cohortes Vigilum of Nova Roma take the place of the scribae and other apparitores that were previously employed for the management of public communication venues. They are the Public Enforcement Officers of Nova Roma and seek to emulate the original vigiles of ancient Rome. The role of Nova Roman vigiles can be described as paying homage to the work of the ancient vigiles through the English idiom, "putting out fires", generally meaning "to deal with many small problems that need to be solved quickly before they become bigger ones". Our vigils seek to observe for and resolve infractions through all our digital spaces and community to ensure larger social and civic problems don't arise. The vigiles are divided into three functional groups based on the environment and functional role where they do their work in Nova Roma. The types of officers are:

A. Vigil officialis. The vigiles officiales who serve in the forums of Nova Roma have the title vigil forensis. Those who do not serve in forums retain the title vigil officialis. Vigiles serving in the forums or the websites of Nova Roma shall be service persons guarding that the rules of behavior, the code of conduct, Nova Roman law and order is maintained, and the instructions or orders of the magistrates are enforced. They have the duty to seek and report any violations or transgressions regarding the above to the tresviri capitales, and to interact with the persons suspected or caught in violation. Additionally, they have the duty to help and assist individuals in the forums of Nova Roma who are in need of help regarding the use of the communication venue, or the understanding of the forum tools of Nova Roma. All types of vigiles officiales are generally entrusted to discover irregularities, incorrect behavior or violations of Nova Roman law and to report them to the tresviri capitales, like macronational police. The vigiles are the watching eyes of Nova Roman law, and the tresviri capitales are the constitutional powers that can initiate procedure, based on discoveries by the vigiles, to remedy those discovered incorrect actions.

B. Vigil armatus. The vigiles armati are either members of an officially recognized reenactment unit of Nova Roma which represent Roman vigiles, or individual vigil reenactors administratively distributed into formal cohortes created by the aediles. They serve Nova Roma at events and do not have any duty in the online work of the vigiles.

C. Vigil officialis armatus. The vigiles officiales armati are vigiles who are both vigil reenactors and office workers in Nova Roman public venues management. The name vigil forensis armatus is for those vigiles officiales armati who work in forum administration.

Cohortes Forenses Rei Publicae Officiales Minimae

XVI. The following are the cohortes vigilum officialium:

A. The Cohors Vigilum Officialium Fori Novi Romani shall consist of the moderators and other supervisors of the Forum Novum Romanum (Forum Cassium or Main Mailing List).

B. The Cohors Vigilum Officialium Fori Cornelii shall consist of the moderators and other supervisors of the Forum Cornelium (Nova Roma Facebook Group).

C. The Cohors Vigilum Officialium Fori Domitii shall consist of the moderators and other supervisors of the Forum Domitium (Nova Roma Discord Server).

D. The Cohors Vigilum Officialium Variorum shall consist of the moderators and other supervisors sent to discussion groups, forums and other community internet sites of various sodalitates, collegia and societies inside Nova Roma. This cohors also includes those guardians sent to provincial or other territorial-based official forums of Nova Roma and the guardians of the official websites (especially the Wiki) of Nova Roma.

XVII. The cohortes vigilum armatorum reconstructivae shall be created if a sufficient number of vigil reenactors are recruited for the purpose of forming reenactment units of vigiles. The number of necessary individuals to establish a new cohors shall be at the discretion of the aediles. The cohortes vigilum armatorum reconstructivae shall be composed only of field service vigiles (vigiles armati) who wear the historical equipment of ancient Roman vigiles. If a vigil officialis is also a vigil armatus (vigil officialis armatus), they shall be added to to a cohors armata vigilum if, and only if they can physically participate in the field activities of the cohors, and the leadership of the cohors is in agreement with the addition of said individual. In this case, the vigil officialis armatus shall be in two cohortes: in his cohors officialis and also in his cohors armata. If the vigil officialis armatus does not participate in a field operating (reenacting) cohors armata vigilum in any form, they shall remain in the cohors officialis alone.

Chain of Command and Management

XVIII. Vigiles are obligated to follow the chain of command working within their own assigned cohortes and offices. Vigiles delegated as supervisors to other offices have to follow the command structure of that office, while also reporting to their delegating authority. Vigiles must acknowledge seniority and chain of command between each other, between fellow vigiles, but obeying the chain of command in relation to the hosting office. The chain of command is as follows:

A. Aediles. The aediles are the ultimate constitutionally responsible party over the Cohortes Vigilum, but they shall not directly intervene in the work of the vigiles. Their role constitutes the following:

i. The aediles set the moderation policies and rules by which the Cohortes Vigilum work. Apart from this legislative aspect, the implementation of these aedilician policies is the responsibility of the tresviri capitales, aided by the praefectus vigilum and the Cohortes Vigilum.

ii. The aediles shall normally give instructions to the vigiles and the aforementioned officers in the form of edictum. The tresviri capitales shall then see that the edictum is enforced by the vigiles. When aedilician intervention is warranted, in minor cases or in more urgent situations, the aediles may give a direct order, as an exceptional alternative of edicts, to the vigiles individually or to the praefectus vigilum or the triumviri capitales. In such cases, individual vigiles, the praefectus vigilum or the tresviri capitales may refuse to implement the order if they feel it as excessive and against the normal aedilician policies set forth in edicts that they have been following. In such cases, the aediles shall have the right to compel them to obey the order in edict, and the edict shall include an explanation why intervention was deemed a necessity. According to this procedure, the aediles may exercise all rights and powers of the tresviri capitales and the praefectus vigilum in justified emergencies.

iii. The aediles may employ their lictors, and the quaestors or, in case of non-central public official forums, the quattuorviri rerum curandarum, delegated by themselves to this task, as additional moderators of any forum of Nova Roma. Such delegated officers shall be moderators and shall have moderation rights equivalent to a vigil optio.

iv. The aediles may appoint apparitores of the Officium Aedilicium, serving within the offices of the vigiles, as supervisors, observers, advisors, clerks, bureaucrats and negotiators in the forum moderation teams. These apparitores shall not have moderating rights normally unless they are also vigiles. In exceptional cases, an apparitor may be granted moderator rights in edict for a period not exceeding three (3) months (this restriction does not concern lictors).

B. Tresviri capitales. The tresviri capitales shall strictly and actively oversee and guard the operation of the moderation teams of the forum and shall intervene any time they think intervention is necessary. They represent popular oversight and constitutional authority over the forums and public venues of Nova Roma, in contrast to the praefectus vigilum who represents the professional command. In relatio nto the vigiles, the role of tresviri capitales constitutes the following:

i. The tresviri are primarily responsible for recruitment of new vigiles and for the maintenance of the Cohortes Vigilum and for the satisfactory number and training of the vigiles. They submit candidates for enrollment to the praefectus vigilum, and they help the recruitment and operation of the cohortes vigilum armatorum in Nova Roma.

ii. The tresviri have the right to give commands to, and override or overturn the actions and decisions of, the vigiles. The tresviri should use this power only when such intervention is warranted by the public interests of Nova Roma, and the people of Nova Roma. It is the primary duty of the triumviri capitales in relation to the vigiles to ensure they work according to the laws and in the interest of Nova Roma, protecting the good name and reputation of our organization.

iii. The tresviri receive the reports on infringements from the vigiles and make further decisions and steps about the reported cases, or about any infringements they noticed themselves, as described by law.

iv. According to the lex Lucilia de vigintiviris, the tresviri capitales have the right directly to appoint (i.e. promote), and remove (i.e. demote) officers of the vigiles to any of the ranks (as moderators or admins). They shall have this power extraordinarily, even ignoring any rank requirements. The aediles expect the tresviri capitales not to promote or demote officers excepting extraordinary situations where such events necessitates this intervention from the normal procedure.

v. The tresviri do not have the right to enroll new vigiles, to exclude vigiles from the corps, or to retire vigiles, as long as there is a praefectus vigilum in office. If there is no praefectus in office, or if he is unavailable, the tresviri have the right to do these in place of the praefectus.

C. Praefectus vigilum. The praefectus vigilum represents the tresviri capitales and the aediles to the personnel of the Cohortes Vigilum. The praefectus does not direct the forums based on his own initiative and ideas: he ensures the implementation of triumviral decisions and aedilician policies. The praefectus vigilum shall be appointed by the tresviri capitales by majority agreement. They shall be entitled to appoint one among themselves, as well. The citizen appointed to the position of praefectus vigilum shall be a vigil who has served at least 3 months as vigil prior to his appointment as praefectus. The duties and responsibilities of the praefectus vigilum are as follows:

i. The praefectus vigilum shall be the general assistant and chief of staff to the tresviri capitales and shall be responsible to coordinate the vigiles between the various forums, community platforms and assets of Nova Roma so that the code of conduct and policies of Nova Roma be observed and enforced equally in all of them. As an overall principle, the praefectus vigilum has as much influence and active commanding rights over the Cohortes Vigilum as is given to him by the tresviri capitales. The tresviri can choose to direct everything personally or they can leave everything to their appointed praefectus.

ii. The praefectus vigilum shall report also to the aediles, and has the fiduciary duty to check on the work of the tresviri capitales and all vigiles if they attend their duties satisfactorily and apply fair policies. The aediles have the right to intervene and change the person appointed as the praefectus if they deem intervention necessary.

iii. The praefectus vigilum can be issued tasks, projects and missions by the tresviri or by the aediles that the praefectus has to carry out. The praefectus vigilum shall obey any order of the triumviri capitales or the aediles.

iv. The praefectus vigilum has the right to commission new vigiles into any of the cohortes (both officiales and armatae), to decommission (exclude or retire) existing ones, and to make promotions and demotions up to the rank of tribunus. Each vigil officialis shall be registered and enrolled by the praefectus vigilum who shall be responsible for the maintenance of the album vigilum. In case of vigiles officiales, the praefectus vigilum has the right to refuse enrollment to individuals he does not deem fit for service; in case of vigiles armati, the praefectus must enroll any member without the right of refusal. Vigiles officiales candidates for enrollment shall be submitted to the praefectus by the tresviri capitales, the aediles or the cohors commanders.

D. Cohors commander. The commander of a cohors shall be a tribunus who actually possesses admin rights; or if there is no such tribunus in the cohors, the commander shall be the highest ranking vigil with the highest degree of admin rights. If there are more vigiles equally qualified to be the commander based in these rules, the cohors commander shall be selected by the praefectus vigilum. The cohors commander is the day-to-day operational commander and responsible officer for the forums and assets under the guardianship of the specific cohors. The job title of the cohors commander who is not a tribunus shall be praepositus cohortis, plus the vigil rank he is holding.

E. Lower commanders within the cohors. The chain of command within a cohors is according to rank: the higher ranking officers can command the lower ranking officers. Officers of equal rank can decide between themselves by majority decision. In case of a tie, a higher ranking officer must decide, or if no resolution is possible, the praefectus vigilum shall make the decision.

Pars Quarta - Cohort Administration

Ranks and Service

XIX. The ranks of the cohorts, both armati and officiales, follows the Roman military hierarchy as applied in Nova Roma, but with simplification. If needed, the armati and the officiales armati can be promoted to other ranks of the more elaborate system used in the Nova Roman legions, but this simplified scale is the recommended range of ranks for them. The functions at each rank among the armati of the cohorts shall be determined by the immediate commanders. The officiales may not be promoted to any other ranks than the ones listed below.

XX. The rank grades of the chortes (with modern approximations), and the functions and requirements of each rank shall be as described below. The official title includes their functional role based on their cohors officer type, followed by one of the ranks below:

A. Gregalis (OR-1). The gregales shall not have any platform moderator privileges. Their job is to monitor the content of a forum, remind forum users if they are violating, or close to a violation of posting rules and code of conduct, answer questions by users, or to connect inquirers with the officers who can answer and help, and in general provide guidance to forum users if they need assistance. The gregales, like all ranks, are generally entrusted to discover irregularities, incorrect behavior or violations of Nova Roman law and to report them appropriately according to chain of command.

B. Tesserarius (OR-3). The tesserarii shall be the lowest grade of moderators of public forums and other online infrastructure, with any decision making right. A cohort member may be promoted to this rank only after a minimum of three (3) months service as gregalis. A majority of moderators should be kept at this rank. The tesserarius shall be considered the default rank for moderators.

C. Vexillarius (OR-4). The vexillarii shall be an intermediate grade of moderators and minor decision makers. This grade should generally be considered a temporary position in the rank system and shall used for those who are identified to have potential to be later promoted to optio. Very long serving tessararii may be promoted to this rank as a recognition for their long and excellent service. This rank shall be filled only if by making this promotion there remain at least two tesserarii in the cohors. A vigil may be promoted to this rank only after a minimum of 1 year service as tesserarius.

D. Optio (OR-5). The optiones shall be the fullest and highest grade of moderators but not administrators: they still shall not possess all the tools and rights in the technical administration of the forum or a specific online asset. A vigil may be promoted to this rank only after a minimum of 2 year service as tesserarius, or a 18 month service as tesserarius and vexillarius combined. This rank should be considered the default rank for leading and experienced moderators.

E. Centurio Posterior (OF-1) (W-1/O-1). The centuriones posteriores shall be the first grade of administrators in forums or other websites. They shall possess tools with which they can manage not only forum members but the moderators, as well. In other areas of service, they shall be also responsible decision makers in their relevant office. They shall have the right for substantial decisions and changes in the system and editing the archives where it's possible. They have the right to promote or demote lower ranking members, up to the rank of optio. Only they (and higher ranks) may have the right to remove any forum members. A cohors member may be promoted to this rank only after a minimum of one (1) year service as optio. This rank should be considered the default rank for administators.

F. Centurio Prior (OF-2) (W-3/O-3). Centuriones priores shall be more experienced chief administrators and decision makers. If the technical system of the forum or other venue makes it possible, they should be given more admin rights than the centuriones posteriores, or even the entirety of admin rights (depending on the asset owner's decision). Very long serving centuriones posteriores may be promoted to this rank as a recognition for their long and excellent service. This rank shall be filled only if by making this promotion there remains at least one centurio posterior in the cohors. A vigil may be promoted to this rank only after a minimum of 1 year service as centurio posterior.

G. Tribunus (OF-5). The tribunus shall be the highest ranking chief administrator and decision maker among the service personnel, but their access and rights to technical administration tools is not higher than that of the centuriones priores who have the highest rights and complete technical control already (depending on the asset owner's decision). They have the right to promote or demote personnel up to the rank of centurio prior. This rank shall be considered the top of a cohors career and to fill it shall be seen as an award to the best serving centurions. Personnel may be promoted to this rank only after a minimum of one (1) year service as centurio prior.

XXI. The date of start of service, end of service and promotions shall be registered in the respective album on the official website of Nova Roma. Demotion to a lower rank shall be a possible process as a reprimand for poor service, mismanagement, abuse of power, dereliction of duty or other types of errors in service.

XXII. The functions attributed to each rank may be changed, but only on an individual, case-by-case basis, and only in the form of a decrease of rights and authority, never as an increase. For example, a centurio (who would normally be an administrator) may be given the rights of just a moderator, or may be even deprived of all moderation rights and used for other types of work (e.g. such as greeting newcomers) if the work organization within the cohors requires this.

XXIII. Officers serving in multiple sub cohortes of a single type (i.e. vigiles) shall hold the same rank in all cohortes, but active moderation or administrator rights shall be given to them only if the sub cohors commanders think so. Although being possible to serve in more than one cohors, it will only be counted as one appointment and recognized as such. Convention is that a single member occupies only a single sub cohort, but they may be posted between sub cohorts of the single major institution (i.e. cohortes of the vigiles). Postings and changes of sub cohors shall be registered in the respective album on the official website of Nova Roma.

XXIV. Members of a cohort removed from active duty keep their ranks as retired veterans (veterani), and if they are appointed to duty again, they shall be in the same rank that they previously bore. Vigiles can be retired by an official decision of the praefectus vigilum. Vigiles veterani do not possess any rights or duties as vigil, but they remain members of the cohors where they belonged and they are entitled to their insignia and to participate in the parades or ceremonial field service of their cohors (if it has any). Remaining member in the cohors does not imply that they have to be privy to the cohors's office work and its discussion group. Vigiles who wish to quit completely and irreversibly from the corps, or vigiles who brought disrepute to corps and the commanders wish to cancel their title as vigiles, can be permanently excluded from the corps of the vigiles by an official decision of the praefectus vigilum.

Sacramentum

XV. All those registered or enrolled to the three cohorts must take an oath upon joining. The oaths required are as follows:

A. Sacramentum of the praetoriani. For a praetorianus officialis of Nova Roma enrolled in the corps, the following oath has to be taken and posted to the iusiurandum@groups.io address under the supervision of the quaestors:

I _Roman name_ (native name), as a praetorian of Nova Roma, do solemnly swear that I will serve, guard and protect the consuls, praetors and imperium bearing officers, and the res publica of Nova Roma, and that I will obey the orders of my superiors and enforce their policies; and that I will prevent all harm and any offences against the consuls, praetors and imperium bearing officers, and the res publica of Nova Roma; and I will discharge all of my duties faithfully, to the best of my abilities in the interest of Nova Roma. (Me Dius Fidius!)

B. Sacramentum of the milites forenses rei publicae. For a miles forensis rei publicae officialis of Nova Roma enrolled in the corps, the following oath has to be taken and posted to the iusiurandum@groups.io address under the supervision of the quaestors:

I _Roman name_ (native name), as a miles forensis rei publicae of Nova Roma, do solemnly swear that I will serve, guard and protect the res publica of Nova Roma and its consular government, and that I will obey the orders of my superiors and enforce their policies; and that I will prevent all harm and any offences against the res publica of Nova Roma, its laws and public order; and I will discharge all of my duties faithfully, to the best of my abilities in the interest of Nova Roma. (Me Dius Fidius!)

C. Sacramentum of the vigil officialis of Nova Roma enrolled in the corps, the following oath has to be taken and posted to the iusiurandum@groups.io address under the supervision of the quaestors:

I _Roman name_ (native name), as a vigil of Nova Roma, do solemnly swear that I will serve, guard and protect the res publica of Nova Roma and its laws and property, with fairness, diligence and impartiality, respecting the rights of all citizens and obeying the orders of my superiors; and that I will cause law and order, peace and dignity to be kept and preserved, and will prevent all offences against the citizens and government of Nova Roma, the res publica and its laws and property; and I will discharge all of my duties faithfully, to the best of my abilities in the interest of Nova Roma. (Me Dius Fidius!)

D. The sacramentum of praetoriani armati, milites forenses rei publicae armati, and vigiles armati shall be at the discretion of their unit commanders.

Census Points and Status

XXVI. The following census point allocations and status is applied:

A. Personnel assigned to any of the three cohorts shall be considered in the same category as military reenactors, and shall be awarded with CP accordingly.

B. Retired or excluded personnel of the cohorts do not receive CP for past service. This is in line with CP for military reenactors.

C. Any Reenactor's special discounts and privileges specified under law are to also apply to personnel of all three cohorts.

D. The praefectus praetorio and the praefectus vigilum are considered state commissioners, state ministers and shall be awarded with CP accordingly.