None of both: see HoH:TL p.113. They were mentally taken over, but restored after the surrender of Tremere. Then the Quaesitores messed with Tremere's mind for good.
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I should reread the history before commenting. Oops.
At least my original point was right. Certamen was abused.
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Most of the rules on Wizard's War are customary, rather than code. The Code itself enshrines Wizard's War, so Peripheral Code restrictions on Wizard's War that offend even one mage too much may be carried to Magvillus or the Grand Tribunal.
A local Tribunal might require that Wizard's War only be justly declared if the point of dispute has been been reviewed and judged by a Wizard's Council, Tribunal, or Quaesitor's Hearing, or between opponents in at least three certamen, and the dispute remains, only then shall a Wizard's War be valid, only between two magi, and only when registered by quaesitor and delivered by a properly qualified Redcap. This might reduce Wizard's War, but it might be asking for trouble.
If Magus Incinidus considers this an infringement on the rights of magi, and also considers Magus Fetidus a pustule that must be cauterized due to his actions flouting the letter of the code (and his legendary body odor), then he can cope with both at once, as long as he's willing to stake his life on the matter.
Wizard A declares wizard war on wizard B. Wizard B challenges A to certamen with the required action being that A renounce the wizard war. Is that a legal challenge? What if it is wizard C who offers the challenge?
I don't think it works, to challenge A to Certamen to renounce an already declared Wizard's War.
AFAICS A's Wizard's War, once declared, is (see HoH:TL p.55 box The Legality of Certamen) "a Code protected issue" because of (ArM5 p.13 box The Hermetic Oath) "Wizard's War is an open conflict between two magi who may slay each other without breaking the oath (scilicet: of Hermes)", so A can refuse the Certamen without abstaining from the Wizard's War.
A clever maga could challenge A to Certamen about withdrawing into a monastery for a lunar month - and that month can well be the month of the Wizard's War. But for this the maga has to get hold of A first. And A may well appeal the lawfulness of the challenge later to the Tribunal (HoH:TL p.55 box again).
Whether a magus can withdraw a challenge to wizard war may depend on the Tribunal. Since that or death is the only way a wizard war ends in Hibernia it can certainly be withdrawn, and I'm certain Transylvania would rule such a withdrawal legitimate.
That is not the issue of your post above, though. The issue is, whether the declared Wizard's War is already "a Code protected issue" and thereby exempt from Certamen challenges. And as it is a legal state mentioned in the Oath of Hermes, it is very hard to argue, that it is not also protected by that Oath.
Except there is nothing in the rules of certamen about code protected activities- you cannot use certamen to force someone to do something prohibited by the code or to override a tribunal ruling, that doesn't say anything about not requiring them to exercise some of their rights embedded within the code or requiring them to not do so. What you describe as hard to argue seems to me a stretch to argue at all..
Read carefully the above quoted HoH:TL p.55 box The Legality of Certamen: "If a magus believed he had been challenged to certamen over a Code protected issue, he might refuse it. This would technically forfeit the dispute, but if the challenge was illegal it would be unenforceable. If the challenger believed the challenge was legal, he could publish a case for failing to respect a certamen result. If the Tribunal ruled the challenge legal, the Presiding Quaesitor would enforce the result, adding damages, fines and punishments as appropriate."
"A Code protected issue" - simply an issue protected by the Code - is more than "something prohibited by the code or to override a tribunal ruling".
and the legality of a challenge is defined directly above that part:
At the Grand Tribunal of 868 AD, after much consultation with House Guernicus, the certamen ruling was amended and reinstated. Certamen could not be used to defy a Tribunal judgment, make a magus break the Code or ignore a Code violation.
since a wizard war is none of those three it is not a "code protected issue"
Your quote does not represent the complete definition.
I believe it does, if it does not please direct me to where you believe the complete definition to be, since from my reading that is the direct intention of the text being presented in the order it is presented.
Now, to be fair, I can certainly see a magus making your argument at a tribunal, but to do so the must first refuse certamen and face potential censure for not dropping the wizard war as a result.
So you claim, that by Certamen a magus can require another "to exercise some of their rights embedded within the code", or require him "to not do so". I'll show you exceptions to that.
See (HoH:TL p.55 box again): "For example, if a magus’s ownership of a vis source is uncontestable by a Tribunal’s rules of ownership, an opponent cannot legally demand certamen to take ownership from him."
That magus still would be well within his rights to transfer that ownership to the challenger in Certamen, right? In the same way, magus A would be well within his right to abandon a Wizard's War.
But just as the uncontestable ownership of the Vis site is still protected from Certamen, so is magus A's right - enshrined in the Hermetic Oath - to proceed with his Wizard's War. OK?
and right below that " In deciding whether to issue or accept a challenge, a magus needs to consider if their Tribunal would judge it a criminal matter or not. "
so in short, it depends on the tribunal.
rules for vis ownership vary wildly, and could certainly be considered a matter of over riding a tribunal ruling that has given Magus A uncontested ownership of a vis source.
Right. Looking at this thread's title and OP, it is about introducing Tribunal decisions to restrict Wizard's Wars.
If such decisions then allow a Tribunal to "judge it a criminal matter" to wage certain Wizard's Wars, also Certamen can perhaps help to prevent these.
We've had several suggestions for such Tribunal rules in this thread already.
Looking up HoH:TL p.47f, so far there is just one - rather extreme - case, where legal immunity of a magus waging Wizard's War was successfully challenged: Hernis at the Rhine for "endangering the Order by excessive and unjustified use of Wizard's War". I imagine, that Hernis would have just declared another Wizard's War on anybody challenging him to Certamen about one.
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On the other hand there is the reference in the Translvanian tribunal that most wizard wars in the tribunal end in marches, which implies that some action is being taken at the tribunal level, and there is also a reference to mediation or certamen standing in instead.