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Legal Gazette
Goldene Bulle · Imperial Honours Ordinance
Imperial Honours Ordinance
Reichsehrenzeichenordnung (REO)
Goldene Bulle · Promulgated on 20 September 2026
Chapter I — General Provisions
Article 1 — Nature and Purpose of Imperial Honours
- Nature. Imperial honours constitute the national honours system established by law. The Kaiser shall exercise the powers to establish, confer and revoke honours in accordance with this Ordinance and the statutes governing each honour, in recognition of individuals and bodies that have made outstanding contributions to the administration, culture, arts, legal order or public welfare of the Reich.
- Eligible persons. Subjects and citizens of the Reich may receive honours. Subject to the applicable requirements, foreign heads of state, international friends, foreign nationals and stateless persons who have made substantial contributions to the Reich may likewise be decorated.
Article 2 — Classes and Legal Status of Honours
- Classes. The national honours system of the Reich comprises four classes:
- Orders of the Reich (orders of chivalry);
- Medals of the Reich (honour medals);
- honorary titles of the Reich; and
- special awards for meritorious service.
- Legal status. Imperial honours constitute the highest national distinction and are protected by the Golden Bull. Any person who, without authorisation from the Privy Council of the Reich, reproduces, forges, trades in or unlawfully wears an Imperial honour shall be subject to the applicable administrative and legal liability.
Chapter II — Procedure for the Conferment of Honours
Article 3 — Nominations and Recommendations
- Nominations shall be initiated by the workplace, competent administrative authority or community committee of the individual or body concerned.
- In the case of an independent contributor without a permanent institution, the competent Cultural Office, the Privy Council or the head of a local self-governing administration may submit a recommendation directly.
Article 4 — Imperial Honours Committee
- Before any submission for the consideration of His Majesty the Kaiser, all nomination documents shall be examined by the Imperial Honours Committee attached to the Privy Council.
- The Committee may resolve to support the nomination, recommend a change in the class or grade of honour, or advise that no honour be conferred.
- The Kaiser may initiate a conferment of honours in the exercise of His prerogative or, in special circumstances, dispense with the ordinary nomination procedure.
Article 5 — The Kaiser’s Prerogative to Confer Honours
- The final decision to confer an honour rests with His Majesty the Kaiser. On the recommendation of the Committee and pursuant to His constitutional authority, the Kaiser shall formally sign the relevant Imperial Letters Patent.
- The instrument of conferment shall take effect on the date of signature and shall be entered in the register by the Imperial Interior Office.
Chapter III — Statutes of Orders
Article 6 — Establishment of Orders
Each order of the Reich shall be established by the Kaiser by Imperial Letters Patent pursuant to this Ordinance. Such Letters Patent shall specify the purpose and historical origin of the order, its symbolism, grades, eligibility requirements, rules of wear and governing statute. The establishment, amendment and abolition of every order shall be published in the Imperial Gazette.
Article 7 — Grades, Design and Eligibility
- Where an order has grades, advancement shall proceed strictly from the lower to the higher grade, except where the Kaiser grants an exception for special diplomatic courtesies or extraordinary merit.
- The physical design of every order shall conform strictly to the Blazonry Description published by the Imperial Culture Office.
Chapter IV — Conferment and Administration
Article 8 — Instrument of Conferment
A recipient shall receive a certificate of conferment signed by the Kaiser and formally recorded in Latin or German.
Article 9 — Insignia Numbers and Register
- Every Imperial order, breast star and certificate of conferment formally issued shall bear a unique official serial number.
- The Imperial Interior Office shall maintain the Imperial Register of Honours, recording the name and titles of each recipient, the date and instrument of conferment, the serial number of the insignia and the certificate number. The register shall be deposited in the Imperial Archives for reference.
Article 10 — Wearing, Custody and Replacement
- Formal wear. At state ceremonies, official audiences or designated functions, recipients shall wear the prescribed sash, neck decoration, breast cross or miniature ribbon appropriate to the honour.
- Ordinary wear. At non-ceremonial occasions attended in uniform or a suit, the corresponding rectangular ribbon bar may be worn.
- Custody and replacement. Recipients shall keep their insignia in proper custody. Where an insignia is lost owing to a major natural disaster or force majeure in operational or wartime conditions, an application for a replacement or certificate of replacement may be made following verification by the Privy Council.
Chapter V — Revocation and Final Provisions
Article 11 — Revocation of a Conferment
Where a nomination is found to contain a materially false statement, or where a recipient has engaged in conduct seriously prejudicial to the reputation or constitutional order of the Holy Theodorican Reich, His Majesty the Kaiser may, by Imperial Letters Patent, revoke the conferment and cause the revocation to be entered in the register of merit.
Article 12 — Forfeiture of Honours
A recipient convicted, following judicial proceedings, of a serious crime under the law of the Reich shall automatically forfeit membership in any order of chivalry and the right to wear all Imperial honours.
Article 13 — Amendment and Commencement
- The power to interpret this Ordinance shall belong to the Privy Council and the Imperial Interior Office.
- This Ordinance shall enter into force upon its lawful adoption by both chambers of the Reichstag and its approval and signature by His Majesty the Kaiser.
— REO vom 20. September 2026, RGBl. GB S. 2 —