fter our special articles about the start of the political season we are back to the normal updates. Starting with the Court meetings held the 24th and 31st of the month. Special announcements on the 24th: The first announcement, as might have been expected from the previous week, was that Dame Bridget Halliday was appointed to the position of Deputy Secretary of War and Military Affairs. Since the Secretary of Justice, Lady-Justicar Nasias Darkstar was absent the week each secretary presented their office, she did it this week. Secretary of Justice, Lady-Justicar Nasias Darkstar: “(…) This semester, the Office of Justice strides to continue with the development of last semesters policies. Firstly; For a number of months now, work has been proceeding in order to bring realisation to the abstract idea of an operational framework that would not only assist in the cooperation of Stormwind's national forces, but would also be capable of instantiating a scoped and tiered management structure capable of supporting these cooperational efforts. Such a framework is the Joint National Operation Protocol. Now basically the only principles involved are that instead of each organisation responding to rising tide or large-scale national incidents as an independent unit, their response is supported by an overarching management and support directive where necessary. The original framework had a separation of concerns around three core national services in such a way that management concerns did not overlap, and that operational responsibilities are clearly defined. The latter consists simply of Law Enforcement Agencies, Security and Intelligence Services, and Emergency Life Support Services. The main focus was to support and normalise cross-agency communication and joint-working to provide an efficient team-working environment. The Joint National Operation Framework has now reached a high level of development and is currently being reviewed internally ahead of presentation to the Court. Moreover, following the previous focus group session some months ago to review the initial proposal and to implement feedback, the framework will be made available to the Court ahead of the next council. Secondly, the Royal Criminal Archives is our second focus and promises to focus on the management and implementation of criminal record archiving. We are looking to standardise the format for legal documents produced by law enforcement agencies in the execution of their duties, and to off-load the management, storage, and retrieval of applicable legal paperwork to a dedicated institution that will be dedicated for this purpose Lastly, we seek to bring about a policy for the interdiction and safeguarding against illicit explosives. Attacks against national institutions such as law enforcement agencies and government bodies saw a rise last year, through modes of attack that included illicit explosives found in regular packages sent through the post. We are looking at ways to both intercept these packages, and also ensure proper handling and disposal when they are found.” A good plan that covers indeed the critical parts of safety, coordinated work and regulations. We only hope that when looking for ways to intercept these packages they also keep in mind that citizens still have some right to privacy and look for the least invasive way to do it. As a suggestion, I wonder if there is a spell or technology to check if something is a bomb without opening a package, if not I think the mage or engineer that develops it might have a great business in hands. Secretary Reports on the 24th: The Secretary of Foreign Affairs and National Security, Magus Kelly Jendrock informed the Court of the different celebrations and activities taking place in Dalaran during the week, as a way to strengthen the bonds with the city. The Secretary of Internal Affairs, Earl Michael van Rook informed of the developments taking place in the Inter Affair meetings that since are open we will cover in more detail later in this article. But in summary: Baldemar Sweet-Stonebridge, along Captain Langedijk and Vimmy Cogilsprocket started a petition to develop a School for the Arts and Crafts, this was moved to Office of Magical Affairs and Education. Secondly, regarding the Queen Tiffin Ellerian Memorial Foundation, stability has been assured after the last Scourge attack and hence the mandate is nom completed, so no more petitions of help regarding that matter are accepted. Three candidates have now been found to be the next Chair, but the Earl made a call for anyone else interested. The Secretary of Magical Affairs and Education, Magus Cloudwhisper, presented the Magical Advisory Board, the public bi-weekly meetings to help citizens, although this is still in development. The Secretary commented that services will be free, but not to attend petitions more suited for a shop, like getting an item enchanted. Secretary Reports on the 31st: On the 31st we have the Vice Chancellor Lady Rebecca C. E. Wolsey in one of the shortest meetings on record with only two secretary reports: Secretary of Foreign Affairs, Magus Kelly Jendrock: “Thank you kindly, Lady Vice Chancellor. Good evening colleagues and honoured guests. Last night, Dame Bridget and myself attended the second Fenris Conclave, a northern gathering concerning all things northern. The evening went well, and I’m glad to say that there’s some sense of cooperation north of the Span, which historically has otherwise been riddled with feuds, infighting, greed and moves for power. Later next month, the Office of Foreign Affairs will depart north once more, for what will be my third Northern Delegation. Before then, we will be travelling to Kalimdor to attend the Lunar Pilgrimage, this Sunday. Before the Delegation, however, myself and Deputy Secretary Halliday would like to request a meeting with the Executive Office, to lay out detailed policies to guide our work in the North moving forward." Secretary of Justice and Law Enforcement Affairs, Lady-Justicar Nasias Darkstar: “Thank you Lady Chair. As announced last week, and following internal review, the Joint National Operation Protocol document has now been made available to the Court and members of the public for their review. I invite interested parties to reach out with comments or feedback where applicable either here in Court or in the subsequent days up to Friday the 4th of February-- that's this week, where feedback will close and any submitted items will be reviewed and considered. It is my hope that in the Council next week where the policy is submitted, that members of the Council will vote in favour of its acceptance.” Petitions on the 24th: Sir Cailen Cadogan made a petition for Lady-Justicar Nasias Darkstar regarding regulations for the use and transport of Azerite that he had the thought were not clearly outlined. The Chair suggested to address this personally, to which Sir Cailen agreed. The editor of this very own paper, Hardhy Lester, made a petition to ask that guards shall, upon request of a citizen, identify themselves with name, rank and unit, as a way to prevent abuses of power we have seen many times, and to make sure guards uphold the integrity and behaviour expected from them. Sergeant Larony of the King’s Footmen explained his company already does, our editor expressed it is to make sure all units do it. After some comments, it was explained by Lady-Justicar that identification entering a situation, but also upon request is already mandatory, and in case the guard refuses to do so, disciplinary action is required and, in the worst cases it must be notified to commanders. So, citizens, now you know your rights. Finally, Lord James Griswold, Baron of Duskhaven, invited the members of the Court and those attending to the 5th Love Festival in Pandaria which will take place the 19th of February on the Tian Monastery, and even challenged the Court to represent the Kingdom of Stormwind during the Love Parade, we will see if the come up with a theme for it. There were no petitions on the 31st making it one of the shortest Courts on record, only 20 minutes long, something this reporter could get used to and probably others that regularly attend Court. Now we move to the meeting of Internal Affairs which happened on the 21st as there was none on the 28th. Internal Affairs meeting on the 21st: After a word of welcome (which I hope Earl van Rook forgives I must summarise) mentioning the proposal passed the last years, the priorities for the year and inviting everyone to speak their minds and ideas, the meeting addressed the first point, a petition by Baldemar Sweet-Stonebridge: “(…) My petition is to open a school of arts within the Kingdom of Stormwind. The arts as a whole are important to any culture be it paintings or plays or stories, theses will be the legacies we leave behind. Owing to war and many other events the arts as a whole have taken a side I understand of course why but I feel now would be a perfect time to move into the right direction. The school would focus on many different forms of art, but including painting, music, play writing and story writing, wood working, sculpting and many others and also like to focus of restoration of arts that may have been damaged owing to war.” Earl van Rook asked why, since this initiative is something Stormwind has lacked for a while, he thinks this is a good moment to do so, to which the Party Master answered there is a great influx of art taking place in the streets. After another question he explained the objective was to get both funding, later clarify that will be yearly, and approval. Cora’torel Sunthistle expressed her concern about if it may be a phase, to which Baldemar answered it is precisely why it should be done now. Regarding the funding Captain Langedijk a yearly fundraising could be held to get donations, so the Court will only have to cover the remaining part. He also commented the importance of the school that will not only cover arts, but crafts as well and hence could help many craftsman profession, which I turn will help society as as a whole. (Editors note: If only numbers existed somewhere which could back up the need for this, but alas, we would need something like... I don’t know, the data from a census maybe...) After a question from Lady-Justicar Nasias Darkstar it was explained the goal is to make the school self-sufficient with time, selling art pieces, work, organising concerts and other events. It was also put on the table the possibility of charging for tuition, but Captain Langedijk pointed out that that could leave out less fortunate citizens, who might still not afford it, and preferred to point to other ways of getting funding. Lord Griswold added the self-sufficient goal is risky as it a volatile situation. It was also added by Baldermar, after a question from Lady van Rook, that it could serve as a rehabilitation program from criminals. And so, the topic was moved to the Office of Education. On the second point, the candidates for the Queen Tiffin Ellerian Memorial Foundation, at the beginning of the meeting the only candidates were Lady Brienne Langedijk and Lord James Griswold. After some questions by Lady-Justicar regarding for how long and were it has been advertised that the position was open (and even if it was not mentioned in the meeting, we did also mention it in the paper), she suggested to promote it in more and different ways. Dame Aeraniel Silvermist presented herself as well for the position, but it was still voted to wait some more time to get more candidates. Reminder, there are no requirements for this position, however reading and writing is highly advised, if you are interested do let Earl van Rook know. The weekly meetings at the Royal Court continues tonight per usual. 8:30pm at the Stormwind Keep should you wish to attend one of these meetings yourself.