United States of Antarctica Courts of Buddies' Redress

In the Antarctican judiciary, the United States of Antarctica Courts of Buddies' Redress (usually called the "buddy courts") are the courts and judges solely dedicated to matters concerning Buddy Lists. Instead of working through the usual court hiearchy, all items regarding buddy lists are sent here instead, without exception.

The buddy courts are small and overworked. None of them, though, are as burdened as the judges on the Superior Buddy Tribunal. These fifteen penguins are overworked and underpaid, often working exhaustive fourteen hour shifts to deal with the thousands of cases referred to them from the lower courts. Since they have to accept every case referred to them, their case load is brutal, to say the least.

Despite the workload and the sheer numbers, the five state buddy courts are also some of the fastest and most accessible courts in Antarctica. There are no arguments or lawyers. The two parties simply file out forms and write an essay defending themselves, and let the judges decide. Most cases filed towards a buddy court are solved in less than four weeks, and many times, within seven days. This is not so with the Superior Buddy Tribunal, which can take months if they are loaded with backlogs of cases to settle.

Background
Player cards have been around for centuries, but buddy lists are a fairly new phenomonon. The concept was hailed as a technological advancement, but its implementation opened a whole new can of worms when it came to laws, regulations, and privacy concerns. Since buddies know where each other are all the time, the use of a list can be dangerous if given to the wrong penguin.

Almost immediately after the invention was handed out en masse, thousands of court cases were been filed regarding buddy lists, buddy list regulation, privacy concerns, and other issues arising from buddy lists. The court system of Antarctica was suddenly overloaded with all sorts of cases it didn't have time to take on.

Seeing this problem, the South Pole Council crafted a bill, the "Buddy List Redress Act", passed in 2007, that authorized a series of courthouses given exclusive jurisdiction over any and all cases pertaining to buddy lists. There are five of these "buddy courts" in each State, each distributed geographically, that all appeal into one federal "Superior Buddy Tribunal" mandatorily (that is, the SBT has to accept all appeals).

Structure
In each state, there are five buddy courts, regardless of the state's size, population, or population density. These are given divided reigons were all buddy list lawsuits are sent to.

If the case is unfavorable, an appeal can be made. Unlike the general Antarctican judiciary, there is only one level above in buddy lists, and it has to hear everything it is given. The high court of buddy lists is called the Superior Buddy Tribunal.

Each court of first instance (the five courts per state) have five judges presiding. One judge is assinged to one case, so each case is technically heard by a solitary judge, as opposed to all five on a panel.

The Superior Buddy Tribunal has fifteen judges that work around the clock, either together or seperately, to answer everyone's grievances and lawsuits.

Filing a dispute
Unlike general lawsuits, Buddy List issues do not require creatures to stand trial, nor lawyers to represent them. Those wishing to file suit must fill out the appropriate buddy court paperwork. The form is called "Form BL-1". Plaintiffs must submit their Form BL to the buddy court in their jurisdiction. The judges will then notify the defendant of the case against him, and then it begins.

The judges will contact the plaintiff and defendant and ask each one to write an essay defending themselves and their arguments against each other. These essays are attached to forms (BL-2A for the plaintiff and BL-2B for the defendant) and sent off. When the judges receive it, they send each said letters back to the two parties. This time, the plaintiff get's the defendant's letter and vice-versa. The court allows the two to revise and improve their arguments one last time. They file the third and final form (Forms BL-3A and BL-3B) and send the essay off. Mailing the letters in again, the judges read the papers, research the background and context, and make their decision, ruling in favor of one or the other. This whole process is done in less than four weeks, and ofteen within one.

In the event that one party is unsatisfied, they can file "Form BLHC-0" to demand the Superior Buddy Tribunal hear their appeal. Form BLHC-O is the size of an index card and simply requires the appealer's signature. It reads "I HEREBY DEMAND THE SUPERIOR BUDDY TRIBUNAL TO HERE MY CASE, #(case number), AS SOON AS THEY CAN.". A manilla envelope is provided, where all of the data from the case (including all forms and essays), plus Form BHLC-0 are mailed to the SBT.

From here, the events repeat themselves. The parties are permitted to re-submit their original essay (using the same forms, except on yellow paper and reading BLHC instead of BL), or they can submit a new one with more and/or better arguments.

The BMT justices will review all of this data and eventually make a decision. The Superior Buddy Tribunal's ruling can take months if they are loaded with backlogs of cases to settle. This is stark contrast to the speedy workings of the inferior court. Due to the time it takes, most parties just let the low court settle their case and move on. Many penguins still appeal, though, so the work of the BMT is never done.

Trivia

 * There is no Chief Justice or leader of the buddy courts. They are all equal.
 * Buddy courts generally settle disputes and privacy invasion cases. Issuing new krytocric precedents or declaring regulatory standards are almost never required.
 * As such, the Buddy List is one of the most unregulated items in Antarctica.
 * The courts tend to shy away from meddling with the Buddy List itself. It costs a fortune to edit a buddy list (because any time a buddy list is changed, the buddy list of every penguin in Antarctica has to be taken in for the uprgade as well). Besides, there really isn't anything wrong with the buddy list as it is.


 * Of all the cases filed, about ninety percent of them are actually rejected. Generally speaking, most of these cases are dismissed because it was the fault of the user. If one doesn't want to be tracked by a fellow penguin, they shouldn't have added them to a buddy list. Taking it to court is rather stupid, since common sense should tell one to be more careful with something so intimate and private.