To any officer, authority, business owner, or member of the public:

Be it known that the Shield of Souls Assembly claims, asserts, and stands fundamentally upon the ancient and enduring jurisdiction of natural law—sometimes also termed the law of nature, or the law of conscience—as the true and highest source of authority, order, and justice among humanity. This jurisdiction is distinct from, and precedes, any system of statutory, legislative, or administrative law enacted by men, corporations, or governments.

1. The Source and Supremacy of Authority

The concept of natural law has been recognized through ages, from the philosophical traditions of antiquity, through the English common law and the American Declaration of Independence. It holds that every human being is born with inherent rights, responsibilities, and obligations, deriving not from any government, statute, or assembly of men, but from the source of creation itself—commonly named God, the Creator, or the Divine.

This supreme authority is not subject to repeal, amendment, or annulment by legislatures or courts. It is prior to and above any charter, constitution, or legislative code.

2. Distinction from Statutory Jurisdiction

Statutory law consists of ordinances, regulations, policies, and rules passed by governments, municipalities, agencies, or corporate bodies. These codes and regulations are binding solely within the jurisdictions and among the persons who are subject to them, by way of social contract, consent, or civil obligation. Statutory jurisdiction concerns itself with the rules of the state—as opposed to the rights and duties rooted in natural law.

Whereas statutory law is artificial, created for administration and governance, natural law is inherent and endures regardless of temporal statutes.

3. The Shield of Souls Assembly’s Standing

The Shield of Souls Assembly openly declares that the authority by which it is constituted is not of statutory origin, but flows directly from the rights and duties endowed by God upon all people. This Assembly operates under the maxim that all human-made law is valid only to the extent it conforms to the principles of justice, truth, freedom, and conscience established by natural law.

By consciously organizing ourselves as an Assembly of living men and women, standing under natural law, we place ourselves outside the ordinary jurisdiction and authority of statutes, codes, and corporate laws. We do not submit to the arbitrary jurisdiction or control of any political or administrative system except by our freely given and voluntary consent, and then only as to those matters external to our Assembly or necessary to secure peaceful relations.

4. Use of Statutory Law for Remedy

Notwithstanding the above, members of the Shield of Souls Assembly reserve every right to seek redress, remedy, or protection under statutory law where it serves the interests of justice, peace, or the restoration of rights. Our foundation in natural law does not preclude us from entering into or invoking statutory processes as a matter of pragmatic necessity or to hold others, including public authorities and agencies, accountable to their own rules and promises.

We retain full capacity to both question and utilize statutory frameworks:

• to protect ourselves from unlawful acts

• to expose, challenge, and correct abuses of power

• to compel public offices and agents to fulfill their lawful duties

• to claim compensation or restitution where injury or loss has arisen from statutory breach, maladministration, public nuisance, or any infringement upon natural rights

This is not a rejection of law, but an assertion that law must serve justice, not power, and must always remain subordinate to the source of rights beyond any institution—that is, to God and the order of nature.

5. Lawful Engagement and Deliberate Consent

The Assembly acknowledges that we exist within a society governed by statute, and that interactions with officers, agencies, and courts may be governed by statutory forms and expectations. We engage such systems out of prudence and the need for peaceful relations but do so always expressly reserving our standing under natural law. No act of compliance or procedural engagement shall be presumed to constitute a blanket submission to all statutory authority.

6. Invitation to Consider and Acknowledge

To every officer, official, business owner, or person addressed:
We invite you to reflect upon the origins of true authority and the rights you yourself hold by your birth, not by the grace of office or statute, but as part of your very being. The Shield of Souls Assembly acts always in the pursuit of justice, peace, and the flourishing of all, seeking remedies only as far as necessary to correct wrongs and restore order in accordance with conscience and the law that is written upon every heart.

7. Conclusion

It is by these principles, and by the authority derived from nature and nature’s God, that we operate independently but lawfully, restoring harmony where it has been breached and utilizing statutory processes for remedy when required.

This notice is given for the sake of transparency, lawful clarity, and mutual respect between persons, communities, and all bodies claiming authority on this land.

—
Respectfully advanced,
Shield of Souls Assembly
“Fear no darkness, for God is the light.”