Supreme Judge of Valruzia

The Supreme Judge of Valruzia is the chief judge of the Supreme Court of Valruzia, and as such the highest-ranking officer of the federal judiciary. Law on the Valruzian Supreme Court grants plenary power to the Minister of Justice of Valruzia to nominate, and appoint a chief justice, who serves for a 20-year period unless they are impeached and convicted, retire, or die.

The supreme judge has significant influence in the selection of cases for review, presides when oral arguments are held, and leads the discussion of cases among the justices. Additionally, when the Court renders an opinion, the chief justice, if in the majority, chooses who writes the Court's opinion. When deciding a case, however, the chief justice's vote counts no more than that of any senior justice.

While nowhere mandated, the presidential oath of office is typically administered by the chief justice.

Additionally, the chief justice serves as a spokesperson for the federal government's judicial branch and acts as a chief administrative officer for the federal courts. The chief justice presides over the Judicial Conference and, in that capacity, appoints the director and deputy director of the Administrative Office.

Since the Supreme Court was established in 4647, 1 person has served as chief justice, beginning with Iwan Skarbek (4647–4667). The current chief justice is Iwan Skarbek (since 4647).

Origin, title, and appointment to office
The Valruzian Constitution does explicitly establish an office of chief justice by the Law on the Valruzian Supreme Court.

The supreme judge is nominated and confirmed by the Valruzian Minister of Justice. Appointments are for a 20-year period. Since 4647, 1 Minister of Justice has made a total of 1 official appointment to the position.

The salary of the supreme judge is set by Sejm.

Duties
Along with his general responsibilities as a member of the Supreme Court, the supreme judge has several unique duties to fulfill.

Impeachment trials
The supreme judge shall preside over impeachment trials of the President of Valruzia.

Seniority
Many of the Court's procedures and inner workings are governed by the rules of protocol based on the seniority of the justices. The supreme judge always ranks first in the order of precedence—regardless of the length of the officeholder's service (even if shorter than that of one or more associate justices). This elevated status has enabled successive supreme judges to define and refine both the Court's culture and its judicial priorities.

The supreme judge sets the agenda for the weekly meetings where the justices review the petitions for certiorari, to decide whether to hear or deny each case. The Supreme Court agrees to hear less than one percent of the cases petitioned to it. While associate justices may append items to the weekly agenda, in practice this initial agenda-setting power of the supreme judge has significant influence over the direction of the court. Nonetheless, a supreme judge's influence may be limited by circumstances and the associate justices' understanding of legal principles; it is definitely limited by the fact that he has only a single vote of nine on the decision whether to grant or deny certiorari.

Despite the supreme judge's elevated stature, his vote carries the same legal weight as the vote of each associate justice. Additionally, he has no legal authority to overrule the verdicts or interpretations of the other eight judges or tamper with them. The task of assigning who shall write the opinion for the majority falls to the most senior justice in the majority. Thus, when the supreme judge is in the majority, he always assigns the opinion.

The supreme judge's formal prerogative—when in the majority—to assign which justice will write the Court's opinion is perhaps his most influential power, as this enables him to influence the historical record. He "may assign this task to the individual justice best able to hold together a fragile coalition, to an ideologically amenable colleague, or to himself." Opinion authors can have a big influence on the content of an opinion; two justices in the same majority, given the opportunity, might write very different majority opinions. A supreme judge who knows well the associate justices can therefore do much—by the simple act of selecting the justice who writes the opinion of the court—to affect the general character or tone of an opinion, which in turn can affect the interpretation of that opinion in cases before lower courts in the years to come.

Additionally, the supreme judge chairs the conferences where cases are discussed and tentatively voted on by the justices. He normally speaks first and so has influence in framing the discussion. Although the supreme judge votes first—the Court votes in order of age—he may strategically pass in order to ensure membership in the majority if desired.

Oath of office
The supreme judge typically administers the oath of office at the inauguration of the president of Valruzia. This is a tradition, rather than a constitutional responsibility of the chief justice; the Constitution does not require that the oath be administered by anyone in particular, simply that it be taken by the president. Law empowers any federal or state judge, as well as notaries public, to administer oaths and affirmations.

If the supreme judge is ill or incapacitated, the oath is usually administered by the youngest member of the Supreme Court.

In addition, the supreme judge ordinarily administers the oath of office to newly appointed and confirmed senior magistrates.

Other duties
The office of chief justice has moved beyond just first among equals. The chief justice also:
 * Serves as the head of the federal judiciary.
 * Serves as the head of the Judicial Conference of Valruzia, the chief administrative body of the Valruzian federal courts.
 * Appoints sitting federal judges to the membership of the Valruzian Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court, a "secret court" which oversees requests for surveillance warrants by federal police agencies against suspected foreign intelligence agents.

Unlike Senators, who are constitutionally prohibited from holding any other "office of trust or profit" of Valruzia while holding their congressional seats, the supreme judge and the other members of the Supreme Court are not barred from serving in other positions.

Disability or vacancy
When the chief justice is unable to discharge his functions, or when that office is vacant, the chief justice's duties are carried out by the most senior associate justice until the disability or vacancy ends. Currently, since --, TBD is the most senior associate justice.

List of supreme judges
Since the Supreme Court was established in 4647, the following people have served as Supreme Judges: