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| {{Infobox nation
| | [[File:Arms of the Grand Ducal Court.png|300px|thumb|Arms of the Grand Ducal Court: ''Paly Azure and Argent a laurel wreath in fess point a sword in pale inverted proper from each quillon hangs a scale Or]] |
| |name = Empire of Stomaria
| | The '''Grand Ducal Court''' is the judicial branch of the [[Government of Westarctica]], and the highest court in the nation. |
| |image1 = [[File:Flag of Stormaria.png|250px]]
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| |motto = "Loyalty - Honour - Courage"
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| |anthem =
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| |location = Fleet, Hampshire, United Kingdom
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| |capital =
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| |languages = English
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| |shortname = Stomaria
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| |demonym = Stomarian
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| |government = Federal absolute monarchy
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| |head of state = Emperor | |
| |head of government = | |
| |3rd_h =
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| |hos_name = Andrew Stott
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| |hog_name =
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| |3rd_h_name =
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| |legislature = Imperial Court
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| |type_a =
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| |type_b =
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| |seats_a =
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| |seats_b =
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| |election_a =
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| |election_b =
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| |established = 16 June 2019
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| |area =
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| |population = 13
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| |population_notes = ''(2022 estimate)''
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| |currency = Stomarian Stater
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| |time_zone =
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| |nat_sport =
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| |nat_animal =
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| |pat_saint =
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| |domain =
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| |calling_code =
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| |notes =
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| |web = [https://www.stomaria.com/ Official website]
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| }}
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| The '''Empire of Stomaria''' is a [[micronation]] based in the United Kingdom. It was created by Andrew Stott in 2019.
| | ==History== |
| | ::See also: [[Justices of the Grand Ducal Court of Westarctica]] |
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| While Stomaria was initially held in high esteem by the greater micronational community, its reputation suffered after Stott released a series of videos on YouTube criticising the attendees and organizers of [[MicroCon 2023]] and [[MicroCon]] in general. This has led some to ponder whether or not to label Stomaria a "joke" micronation intent on trolling other micronations through social media.
| | The Grand Ducal Court was discussed by members of the [[Constitutional Convention]] during their creation of the [[Constitution of Westarctica]] in early 2019, when it was determined that [[Westarctica]] would require a third branch of government in order to function as a legitimate constitutional monarchy. During this process, it was decided that the Justices of the Court would be appointed by the [[Grand Duke of Westarctica|Grand Duke]], on the advice of the [[Prime Minister of Westarctica|Prime Minister]]. |
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| ==Emperor Andrew Stott==
| | The Court was brought into existence on 17 September 2019 when [[Grand Duke Travis]] [[Westarctican Ordinance|signed an ordinance]] which outlined the composition and duties of the Grand Ducal Court. The first three justices of the Grand Ducal Court were appointed on 18 October 2019 by [[Grand Duke Travis]] in Royal Decree RD-2019-001 (Appointment of Justices to the Grand Ducal Court) on the advice of [[Duke of the Bear Peninsula|Prime Minister Farmer]]. The Prime Minister nominated five citizens of [[Westarctica]], with the recommendation that no less than three be appointed as Justices. |
| Stomaria is the brainchild of Mr. Andrew Stott, who proclaimed himself Emperor shortly after creating the country. He has cited desire for self-determination and building community as at least part of the reason for Stomaria's creation.
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| ===United People's Party=== | | ==Composition== |
| [[File:UPP Logo.png|300px|thumb|Logo of the United People's Party]]
| | The Grand Ducal Court may have no more than five Justices. They are appointed for life and may not hold any other position in the government during their tenure. If a Justice fails to pass an opinion on two consecutive matters, they are deemed to be absentee and are automatically retired from their post. In other cases of negligence or unbecoming conduct, the Grand Duke has the option to remove a Justice, but this may be blocked by the other Justices together with the Prime Minister. |
| In 2009, Andrew Stott founded the United People's Party (UPP), a short-lived political party in the United Kingdom. Stott's motivation for creating this party was, "a hatred of political extremism." | |
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| The UPP claimed to represent "a non-xenophobic form of nationalism." However, by 2012, no one in the UK, including the party members themselves, considered the UPP a serious contender in upcoming elections. It was self-described as "a fusion of left-wing and right-wing values and beliefs." Notably, the party bylaws stated: "All Party Officers are appointed by the Leader [Andrew Stott], who has absolute authority and responsibility within the Party, to ensure that the Party remains internally stable and active." | | The Justices are assisted in the administrative functions of the court by the Clerk of the Grand Ducal Court, a post held by [[Sir James Murphy]] from August 2020 - September 2021. On 29 November 2020, Sir James was appointed as the Fourth Justice of the Court, but he resigned from all Westarctican posts in September 2021 to assume the throne of Greater Hanover. |
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| From 2009 - 2012, three members of the UPP won seats on parish councils, but the party's lead candidate, Alan Valentine, quit the party without actually running for office.
| | ==Chief Justice== |
| | The Chief Justice is the longest-tenured Justice on the Grand Ducal Court and is responsible for presiding over the Court. The Chief Justice serves on the [[Royal Council]] as a legal advisor to the Grand Duke, although they are still independent from the executive branch. |
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| ===Patriotic Socialist Party=== | | ==Current justices== |
| [[File:Emperor Andrew.jpg|300px|thumb|Picture of Andrew Stott with the Patriotic Socialist Party logo behind him]]
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| After the failure of the United People's Party, Andrew Stott founded the Patriotic Socialist Party (PSP) on 1 January 2014 as a successor body to the UPP. Two of the party's primary goals were the withdrawal of the UK from the European Union and the abolition of the British monarchy. The PSP was ridiculed by the British press for its seemingly contradictory statements and its bizarre constitution, which included the article: "A Party member who dies or, as far as the Party is concerned, ceases to exist, will no longer be recognised as a Party member."
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| The PSP participated in several elections in 2014, and was defeated in all but one of them (their candidate won a seat on the Wittering Parish Council). In the Newark Parliamentary by-election, the PSP candidate, Lee Woods, garnered only 18 votes (.05%) coming 11th out of 11 candidates. Most PSP candidates came in last in their elections.
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| [[File:PSP Logo.jpg|300px|thumb|The PSP party logo]]
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| Stott resolved to run for election himself in the 2015 Newbury General Election. He used the tagline: "You don't have to hate anyone in order to love your country." Despite telling a local reporter he was "feeling confident" about his chances of winning, Stott came in eighth out of eight candidates, garnering a meager 53 votes (less than 1%). He also lost his £500 election deposit due to his low polling numbers.
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| ==Creation of Stomaria== | | {| class="wikitable" |
| Andrew Stott eventually discovered the [[micronation|micronational]] community and decided to create his own country. Although the official date of Stomaria's foundation is 16 June 2019, Stott registered the domain name stomaria.com a few weeks prior on 24 May 2019.
| | !Justice Name |
| | ! Titles, Honors, and Accolades |
| | !Seniority |
| | !Date of Appointment |
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| | |[[Christine McPhee]] |
| | |Countess of [[Lepley Nunatak|Lepley]] |
| | |Chief Justice |
| | |18 October 2019 |
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| | |[[Viscount of Bursey|Christian Klempsmann]] |
| | |1st Viscount of [[Mount Bursey|Bursey]] |
| | |Second Justice |
| | |18 October 2019 |
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| | |[[David Chase Callahan|D Chase Callahan]] |
| | |Prince and 2nd [[Driscoll Island|Duke of Driscoll]] |
| | |Third Justice |
| | |18 October 2019 |
| | |- |
| | |Sophie Meis |
| | |Countess of [[Mount Mooney|Mooney]] |
| | |Fourth Justice |
| | |2 November 2021 |
| | |} |
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| Its flag uses the emblem of Stott's United People's Party, suggesting Stomaria is a spiritual successor to that organization.
| | ==External links== |
| | | [https://penumbralemanations.blogspot.com/ Clerk of the Grand Ducal Court] |
| ===National goals=== | |
| Stomaria's stated goals are achieving Sovereignty, and creating a community of like-minded projects. It also devotes significant space to fundraising in various forms, mostly through trade using its bullion (Silver Staters) and Stomaria-themed memorabilia.
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| ===Government===
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| After creating Stomaria, Stott declared himself Emperor Andrew. According to their national laws, the Emperor of Stomaria has complete power over Stomaria and is an absolute monarch. The Emperor is surrounded by his Imperial Court which advises him on national matters.
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| Stomaria consists of multiple states, protectorates, and provinces that make up the greater Empire.
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| ==Exodus of Nations==
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| On 24 December 2022, two of Stomaria's member states, Bran-Howl and Solacia, abruptly departed the empire and completely ceased their involvement with Stomaria. Emperor Andrew took the opportunity to paint the dispute as a "civil war," although the leaders of Bran-Howl and Solacia characterize their disagreements as merely differences of opinion and not an all-out conflict.
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| Queen Niamh of the Kingdom of Solacia found herself confused by the extreme nature of Emperor Andrew's reaction and mused on Reddit about his apparent state of mind:
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| <blockquote>
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| His Majesty has had his feelings hurt by being "jilted" by two member states on the same day. His actions were not logical, but emotional- illustrating a reason why modern civilizations have embraced systems of democracy to attempt to keep the tempers of heads of state in check...
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| </blockquote>
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| ==Conflict with the micronational community==
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| [[File:Stomaria Meme.jpg|350px|thumb|Meme created to ridicule Stomaria's situation]]
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| On 27 September 2022, Emperor Andrew posted a 23-minute video announcing that he had been invited to attend [[MicroCon 2023]], but he declined the invitation because attending such an event would not benefit Stomaria in any way. He then went on to disparage most of the micronations which have attended previous MicroCons, including the [[Republic of Molossia]], [[Westarctica]], and [[Republic of Slowjamastan|Slowjamastan]], among others. The overwhelming response to this video was outrage at his statements, tone, and attitude.
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| The following day, the Sultan of Slowjamastan released a music video remixing Emperor Andrew's speech called "Friends Without Benefits." This video was met with widespread acclaim. On 3 October 2022, Emperor Andrew posted a lengthy reply video addressing the outrage and ridicule. During this speech, he further insulted many prominent members of the micronational community, calling out anyone he felt had criticized and mocked him, including at least two individuals who had not weighed in on the matter publicly. Emperor Andrew was further derided for his second video.
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| After researching Andrew Stott's background, [[Grand Duke Travis]] directed top Westarctican government officials to cease diplomatic contact with any states affiliated with Stomaria. Andrew himself was declared ''persona non grata'' shortly after.
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| As the events of [[MicroCon EU 2023]] were underway, Andrew launched a hate-laden YouTube tirade directed toward the attendees which lasted for a staggering 1 hour and 40 minutes.
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| ===Non-micronational declaration===
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| In December 2022, Stomaria's leader declared Stomaria to no longer be a [[micronation]] because it had risen above the rest of the micronational community. Such declarations have been common throughout the history of micronations are are generally regarded with disdain. As a result of this declaration, their alliance with the [[Isle of Lithua]] was dissolved.
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| ==Sources==
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| * [https://www.newburytoday.co.uk/news/election-interview-andrew-stott-9173566/ Interview with Andrew during his candidacy]
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| * [https://www.dewsburyreporter.co.uk/news/patriotic-socialists-have-candidate-2244985 News story on a defeated PSP candidate]
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| * [https://web.archive.org/web/20141121225843/http://www.patriotic-socialist.org.uk/officers/party-leader PSP website (archived)]
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| * [http://howiescorner.blogspot.com/2015/04/fringe-2015-patriotic-socialist-party.html Political commentary on the PSP]
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| * [https://electionresults.parliament.uk/election/2016-05-05/results/Location/Constituency/Newbury Newbury election results]
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| * [https://www.reddit.com/r/micronations/comments/zuw4hp/in_an_act_of_what_can_only_be_called_cowardice/ Reddit discussion about Bran-Howl and Solacia's departure]
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| ==External links==
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| * [https://www.facebook.com/slowjamastan/videos/490795526423179 Slowjamastan response "remix"]
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| * [https://www.stomaria.com/ Stomaria's Official Site]
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| * [https://twitter.com/psp_sw?lang=en The PSP Twitter Feed]
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| * [https://micronations.wiki/wiki/Empire_of_Stomaria MicroWiki Article]
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| [[Category:Micronations]] | | [[Category: Government of Westarctica]] |
| | [[Category: Law in Westarctica]] |
Arms of the Grand Ducal Court:
Paly Azure and Argent a laurel wreath in fess point a sword in pale inverted proper from each quillon hangs a scale OrThe Grand Ducal Court is the judicial branch of the Government of Westarctica, and the highest court in the nation.
History
- See also: Justices of the Grand Ducal Court of Westarctica
The Grand Ducal Court was discussed by members of the Constitutional Convention during their creation of the Constitution of Westarctica in early 2019, when it was determined that Westarctica would require a third branch of government in order to function as a legitimate constitutional monarchy. During this process, it was decided that the Justices of the Court would be appointed by the Grand Duke, on the advice of the Prime Minister.
The Court was brought into existence on 17 September 2019 when Grand Duke Travis signed an ordinance which outlined the composition and duties of the Grand Ducal Court. The first three justices of the Grand Ducal Court were appointed on 18 October 2019 by Grand Duke Travis in Royal Decree RD-2019-001 (Appointment of Justices to the Grand Ducal Court) on the advice of Prime Minister Farmer. The Prime Minister nominated five citizens of Westarctica, with the recommendation that no less than three be appointed as Justices.
Composition
The Grand Ducal Court may have no more than five Justices. They are appointed for life and may not hold any other position in the government during their tenure. If a Justice fails to pass an opinion on two consecutive matters, they are deemed to be absentee and are automatically retired from their post. In other cases of negligence or unbecoming conduct, the Grand Duke has the option to remove a Justice, but this may be blocked by the other Justices together with the Prime Minister.
The Justices are assisted in the administrative functions of the court by the Clerk of the Grand Ducal Court, a post held by Sir James Murphy from August 2020 - September 2021. On 29 November 2020, Sir James was appointed as the Fourth Justice of the Court, but he resigned from all Westarctican posts in September 2021 to assume the throne of Greater Hanover.
Chief Justice
The Chief Justice is the longest-tenured Justice on the Grand Ducal Court and is responsible for presiding over the Court. The Chief Justice serves on the Royal Council as a legal advisor to the Grand Duke, although they are still independent from the executive branch.
Current justices
External links
Clerk of the Grand Ducal Court
