The Law is broken down hierarchically starting with the eight Universal Laws - or the Principle Laws (Life Principles). They are: -
1: (The Law Primus) No citizen shall, by action or inaction, allow the human race* to come to harm.
2: No citizen shall, by action or inaction, harm another human being except where it conflicts with the first law.
3: No citizen shall, by action or inaction, prevent or deter another citizen from speaking their mind except where it conflicts with the prior laws.
4: No citizen shall, by action or inaction, prevent or deter another citizen from investigation except where it conflicts with the prior laws.
5: No citizen shall, by action or inaction, adversely affect the natural environment except where it conflicts with the prior laws.
6: No citizen shall, by action or inaction, restrict the free movement of another citizen except where it conflicts with the prior laws.
7: No citizen shall, by action or inaction, adversely affect another citizen's quality of life except where it conflicts with the prior laws.
8: No citizen shall, by action or inaction, harm material wealth except where it conflicts with the prior laws.
* Important Note: The 'human race' is defined as meaning the 'Naha', i.e. the citizens of E-Zero. It excludes 'samam' and the citizens of E-One (Earth). Thus N-Law does NOT apply to, or provide protection for, the people of Earth.
A 'nahum' to which a criminal belongs (their commune) may also be deemed to take joint and equal responsibility if there is evidence of collusion. A 'nahum' (everyone in a commune) may therefore be charged with a crime as well as an individual. Indeed a 'nahumar' to which the 'nahum' belongs, or even the Profession to which a person belongs, can be charged as a single entity under the Law. It is recognized that it is everyone's responsibility to ensure that all associated persons are jointly responsible for the actions of members.
The Law Primus prohibits the mass production of nuclear weapons, in fact it prevents the unlicensed mass production of any weapons of war and forces space agencies to undertake operations to protect their planet from asteroids.
The Second Law covers all forms of physical violence including murder, rape and in fact war (although their concept of war is not exactly the same as ours). It also means that any machine or instrument explicitly designed to harm another person is illegal - i.e. firearms are generally prohibited. The only exception to this is for the security forces, of which very few need to be armed as there are so few such weapons freely available to the public. The Second Law also covers acts of pollution where it directly or indirectly affects people.
The Third and Fourth Laws ensure free speech and a free press. It also outlaws libel.
The Fifth Law explicitly covers pollution and bad land-management.
The Sixth Law ensures the complete and free movement of persons around the world.
The Seventh Law ensures that education covers the subjects necessary to understanding how to live a full life, including basic psychology, relationship management, rational thinking, applied philosophy, basic health studies, maths, reading/writing, science, cultural/sexual freedoms. It also covers tax avoidance (for them that's 'fee avoidance'), fraud, dodgy advertising and even dodgy politics. The Seventh Law was also expanded to provide the protection and maintenance of large public parks for the benefit of the populace. The Seventh Law also encompasses slavery, forced labor and medical maltreatment.
The Eighth Law simply covers theft and mindless vandalism, but as this is often covered by the Seventh Law it is in fact the weakest of them and some say it should be dropped. Personal materialism is less of a concern in their society than in ours as they live in extended groups (large 'family' groups - or communes called Nahum) rather than the 'little square boxes' (housing) that we do.
In this society all Law is hierarchical. So if one was able to exploit a loophole in a trading law then that would not be a sufficient excuse. The perpetrator can still be arrested, tried and found guilty under either a higher Law - even if there's no explicit rule preventing one from doing so in the trading laws. Thus 'lower' level Laws always clarify the 'higher' Laws to specific situations. The further down the Law hierarchy one proceeds, the more that Laws become rules.
The responsibility for enacting Law comes from the Professions who must take advice from the Profession of Applied Philosophy. The latter ensure that the new Laws (as far as they understand them) conform to the Laws above them in the hierarchy. Even Laws which are passed, if they are seen to be at conflict with general principles, are then considered mistakes and are not enforceable.
This structure also means that any citizen, or 'nahum' can find it relatively easy to take any individual or other organisation to court if they can prove that their quality of life has been adversely affected under the Second, Third or Fourth Law. No specialist legal knowledge is required for one to make a case.
Note that ignorance of a specific Law is an excuse under N-Law, but not ignorance of The Principles. This requires that professionals have to train and be qualified in their chosen fields before they are allowed to practice - regardless of profession.
Cases Of Professional Incompetence and Misconduct
In the event a legal issue arising inside a Profession's purview (i.e. an alleged act of incompetence) then it usually isn't necessary to proceed to the Courts. The Legal Profession can escalate a case through the defendant's Profession's own quality insurance procedures (all Professions must have them) and they are usually the first to investigate, try, punish and recompense via their own internal judgmental apparatus. Thus a lot of less serious cases are not handled by the general courts but by the Professions themselves who (as it is in their own interest) need to ensure that a fair and just outcome is arrived at. All Profession sponsored investigations have to be public and open but may be referred to the Courts if need be.
Even so, a judgement can be raised with Profession of Professions and a trial may be instigated at this level. Thus there can be several levels (courts) through which a complainant can take a case.
Court costs are covered by fee subscription, equivalent to our general taxation.