COVENANT LEGAL ARCHIVES
How these documents relate
Martial Law sets out the Covenant's specific laws, regulations and offences. It operates alongside the Constitution, whose provisions can also be enforced: conduct may breach the Constitution without violating an identically worded Martial Law provision.
Document record // Covenant legal archives
SECTION I
All members must treat fellow personnel, superior officers, allied personnel, and opposing factions with reasonable respect.
Harassment, bullying, discriminatory remarks, malicious personal attacks, and deliberate intimidation are prohibited.
Members must comply with lawful instructions issued by authorised superior officers.
Deliberate refusal to follow a reasonable and lawful command may constitute insubordination.
Members may question or report orders believed to violate Covenant law through appropriate channels.
Members must not deliberately disrupt official activities, meetings, training sessions, military operations, or community communications.
Impersonating an officer, Inquisitor, High Council member, or any other authorised official is prohibited.
Members must not falsely claim ranks, permissions, or authority they do not possess.
Spamming, maliciously disrupting voice channels, publishing inappropriate material, or intentionally interfering with official communications is prohibited.
SECTION II
All personnel must wear the appropriate authorised uniform when participating in official Covenant activities where uniforms are required.
Uniforms must correspond to the member's rank, division, or assigned role unless an authorised officer grants an exception.
Wearing unauthorised officer uniforms, divisional attire, rank insignia, or decorations to misrepresent one's status is prohibited.
Personnel must maintain discipline during military operations, including following instructions, respecting formations, and cooperating with their assigned team.
Members assigned to an official operation must not deliberately abandon their duties without reasonable justification or permission.
Unexpected disconnections, emergencies, and legitimate personal circumstances shall not automatically constitute misconduct.
Members may not organise or conduct military operations while falsely representing themselves as acting under official Covenant authority.
Officers must not issue unreasonable, malicious, or unlawful commands or use command privileges to harass or disadvantage subordinates.
Official military events must be hosted or authorised by personnel possessing the appropriate command authority.
Officers may independently host defensive training, raid training, and Combat Training sessions.
Commanders and superior officers may host raids, scrimmages, and standard military engagements.
Generals and superior officers may organise large-scale raids, including open-ratio events.
Field Marshals and superior command may coordinate simultaneous multi-front Invasions.
Supreme Commanders and superior command may oversee extended wars and military campaigns.
Lower-ranking personnel may perform higher-level event duties when explicitly authorised by an appropriate superior.
No member may assume command of an official military operation beyond their permitted authority without appropriate authorisation.
Personnel must not disregard an assigned operational commander merely because they hold a similar or greater rank in an unrelated division.
SECTION III
The use of exploits, scripts, unauthorised software, or other prohibited methods intended to gain an unfair advantage during combat is strictly forbidden.
Knowingly abusing unintended game mechanics, vulnerabilities, or glitches to obtain an unfair competitive advantage is prohibited.
Members must comply with the established rules of an engagement, including agreed weapon restrictions, team arrangements, and event-specific regulations.
Members must not deliberately sabotage an official Covenant operation, obstruct friendly personnel, or interfere with an authorised event.
Excessive harassment of opponents, malicious provocation, and deliberate attempts to create disputes during competitive engagements are prohibited.
Ordinary competitive communication that remains within event rules is permitted.
Members must not deliberately disclose confidential operational plans, sensitive internal information, or restricted tactical instructions to unauthorised individuals.
Members must comply with properly authorised anti-cheat requirements applicable to official Covenant events.
Where mandatory recording or verification has been imposed, the member must satisfy those requirements before participating.
A member or applicant whose anti-cheat history includes an adverse XTracker log or a failed Spider Eye background check shall be subject to mandatory event recording requirements pending review or formal clearance by the Inquisition.
Such a result is a screening flag and does not automatically constitute conclusive proof of cheating.
The Inquisition may review the circumstances, reliability, and relevance of the available evidence.
A member subject to mandatory recording requirements must record every official combat event in which they participate.
The recording must begin before the member joins the event.
The following sequence is mandatory:
Recordings must be continuous and must clearly show the required verification stages.
The use of a desktop recording application is permitted, provided the required content is captured.
Members should arrange their recording environment to minimise exposure of unrelated personal information.
Mandatory recordings must meet the following minimum technical requirements:
Recordings should preserve their original timestamps and should not be edited in a manner that obscures or removes relevant event footage.
Technical problems must be reported promptly to the event host or Inquisition.
Members subject to recording requirements must retain their recordings for at least seven calendar days after the event unless a longer retention period is reasonably required for a specific investigation.
The Inquisition may request relevant footage for review.
Recording submissions must use authorised channels and must not require members to disclose passwords, unrelated private files, or personal account credentials.
Authorised reviewers must handle recordings confidentially and use them only for legitimate verification or disciplinary purposes.
Where incidental personal information is visible, reasonable redaction may be permitted provided it does not conceal evidence relevant to the verification.
A member subject to mandatory recording requirements may be denied participation in an official event if they refuse to record or cannot satisfy the required verification procedure.
Intentional refusal to comply with a valid recording requirement may constitute a disciplinary offence.
Unintentional recording failures must be assessed according to their circumstances and shall not automatically establish cheating.
Knowingly altering, fabricating, selectively removing, or misrepresenting recording evidence for the purpose of concealing cheating or misleading an investigation is prohibited.
The Inquisition may treat deliberate evidence falsification as a separate serious offence.
SECTION IV
Knowingly assisting hostile parties in actions intended to sabotage, compromise, or seriously damage the Covenant is prohibited.
Unauthorised collection or disclosure of restricted Covenant information for the benefit of hostile parties is prohibited.
Deliberately damaging Covenant systems, disrupting operations, or interfering with official organisational resources is prohibited.
Providing materially false information to obtain ranks, privileges, appointments, rewards, or disciplinary advantages is prohibited.
Members must not attempt to access restricted channels, documents, systems, or resources without permission.
Applicants may be subject to security and integrity screening by the Inquisition before admission to the Covenant.
Screening may examine relevant and credible records of cheating, exploitation, serious harassment, or other harmful misconduct affecting community safety.
The Inquisition may deny membership to applicants whose documented conduct presents a substantial risk to Covenant security or competitive integrity.
An applicant with a documented anti-cheat concern may be required to accept mandatory recording conditions before admission.
An applicant who refuses a properly communicated and reasonable verification condition may be denied entry.
Where credible evidence establishes repeated cheating or a serious security risk, the Inquisition may refuse membership outright.
Decisions must be recorded and supported by the evidence considered.
An applicant denied entry on security grounds may request reconsideration through the Inquisition or appropriate superior command.
An appeal may present additional evidence, corrections to inaccurate records, or relevant contextual information.
The Inquisition is not required to disclose confidential sources or private information belonging to third parties.
SECTION V
Officers may not use their authority to intimidate, retaliate against, or unfairly punish members.
Granting promotions, demotions, appointments, or privileges without the appropriate authority is prohibited.
Officers entrusted with official responsibilities must exercise reasonable care in fulfilling their duties.
Serious or repeated neglect that materially harms the division or Covenant may constitute misconduct.
Officers must not knowingly manipulate appointments, disciplinary outcomes, or official decisions for improper personal benefit.
Interfering with a lawful Inquisition investigation, concealing material evidence, or intentionally preventing appropriate disciplinary proceedings is prohibited.
Officers of all ranks remain subject to lawful investigation.
The Inquisition may investigate high-ranking officers without prior approval, but disciplinary punishment against such officers requires explicit authorisation from the Warmaster.
Commanders entrusted with military operations must exercise reasonable care in planning, organising, and directing their assigned forces.
Deliberate misuse of personnel, abandonment of command responsibilities without justification, or serious misconduct resulting in preventable operational disruption may constitute an offence.
An unsuccessful military operation alone shall not constitute misconduct.
SECTION VI
The Inquisition is authorised to investigate and enforce breaches of the Constitution, Martial Law, and other valid Covenant regulations within its jurisdiction.
The Inquisition may investigate all members and officers regardless of rank.
However, disciplinary penalties against high-ranking officers, as defined by the Constitution, require explicit approval from the Warmaster before enforcement.
Members must reasonably cooperate with lawful investigations.
No member may be compelled to provide access to private personal accounts, passwords, or unrelated personal information.
Knowingly fabricating evidence, submitting deliberately false allegations, or impersonating witnesses is prohibited.
Allegations made honestly and in good faith shall not be punished merely because they are unproven.
Intentionally obstructing authorised disciplinary proceedings or refusing to comply with a properly imposed sanction may constitute an additional offence.
Disciplinary punishments shall be determined on a case-by-case basis.
In deciding an appropriate sanction, the responsible authority must consider:
Punishments must be proportionate to the circumstances and must not be imposed arbitrarily.
Similar offences should ordinarily receive reasonably consistent treatment, although different circumstances may justify different outcomes.
Authorised disciplinary measures may include:
No offence shall automatically require a particular punishment unless an applicable law expressly establishes a mandatory sanction.
The responsible disciplinary authority shall select a proportionate measure according to Law 6.5.
Permanent exclusion, blacklisting, and removal from senior command require the approval specified by the Constitution.
All disciplinary punishment imposed upon high-ranking officers requires explicit approval from the Warmaster.
Members may appeal disciplinary decisions through recognised Inquisition or superior command procedures.
Appeals should consider whether the original decision was supported by evidence, properly authorised, procedurally fair, and proportionate.
A successful appeal may result in the original punishment being upheld, reduced, withdrawn, or referred for reconsideration.
SECTION VII
Members assigned to a division must comply with its properly authorised internal regulations, provided they do not conflict with the Constitution or Martial Law.
Authorised event hosts may establish reasonable event-specific requirements, including uniform standards, equipment restrictions, participation procedures, and conduct expectations.
These rules must not conflict with superior Covenant law.
A violation of an enforceable provision of the Covenant Constitution may constitute a disciplinary offence independently of Martial Law.
Such cases must be investigated and handled under established disciplinary procedures.
Members may report suspected misconduct, unlawful instructions, corruption, or abuse of authority without retaliation for making an honest report.
New laws and amendments must be officially published before ordinary enforcement, subject to the seven-day veto period established by the Constitution.
A valid emergency directive may impose temporary requirements where constitutionally authorised, but may not permanently circumvent the legislative process.
The Inquisition may apply and interpret Martial Law during investigations and enforcement proceedings.
Where a legal provision is unclear, the High Council may provide legislative clarification.
The Warmaster retains final constitutional interpretive authority, subject to the formal amendment procedures established by the Constitution.
SECTION VIII
Martial Law applies to all Covenant members while participating in official activities, representing the Covenant, or using official Covenant platforms.
Serious misconduct outside official activities may fall within its scope where it directly affects Covenant safety, security, or operations.
Where Martial Law conflicts with the Constitution, the Constitution shall prevail.
Martial Law may be enacted, amended, or repealed by the High Council through its ordinary legislative voting procedures.
Such legislation shall be subject to the Warmaster's constitutional veto power.
Amendments to Martial Law do not require prior approval from the Warmaster unless the Constitution expressly requires otherwise.
Changes to Martial Law may not override or circumvent the Constitution.
Martial Law shall enter into force following ratification and publication in accordance with the Constitution's legislative procedures.
