Vale is generally a place where fair trials and honest governance are common, and overt injustice of the state is uncommon. This is largely due to its unusual system of government - control by several competing guilds, each with their own responsibilities. Laws that would be unjust for one group of people typically are protected by the interests of at least one guild, and therefore those sorts of laws are rare.
For example, slavery in Vale has been illegal since its founding more than 1000 years ago. The Free Traders of the day ran almost entirely on the backs of slaves, including those of former members of the other guilds. As such, the other guilds forced emancipation to be written into law. Today, the punishment for slave trading anywhere in Taelmoor is either exile or execution, depending on the severity of the crime. Because of this, the city and continent are often bustling with refugees fleeing the slave-nations on Rodash. Despite the laws' best efforts, many are secretly caught and shipped back from where they came, or live on the streets just as destitute as when they left.
However, Vale's legal system is not perfect. The current day is one of major imbalance - with the Melokai destroyed by the Desolation 50 years ago, the Stoutsmen have been able to wield an unprecedented amount of power. As such, sorcery and magic have been outlawed. Those who weren't killed by the Desolation were systematically hunted down and slaughtered in the name of the law. Today, the Inquisition is in full effect - use of magic is punished with immediate execution via a public burning at the stake. Many a sorcerer, and many more innocents, have been burned in this way. It is a scary time - superstition and state-sanctioned murder are common.
