The decision to relieve someone (or something) from ritual uncleanness falls on the highest instance of the Roma social structures. This instance, a “Roma Tribunal” is called among Vlach Roma Kris or Krisi (feminine). In Bulgaria, among Kalderaša, one uses mešerjava, and among Russian and Polish Roma, romano sendo. This is in effect an arbitration court. The members of this court, (called by Vlach Roma krisatora or krisinatora) are chosen among the most highly regarded, honest and intelligent Roma in the community. Each Rom who has a problem with another one is free to call the Kris Vazdel i Kris. The arbitrators meet and weight the evidence and the torts done to the plaintiff.

What falls under the competence of the Kris? Money problems (loans etc.), sometimes also family issues (for example, if a husband does not give his wife money to support her children), diffamation and swearing at another Rom, fights etc. The highest penalty handed out by the kris is the banishment from the community, either for a given period or totally.  The banished Rom will then be excluded even from other clans. This is a high penalty for a Rom cannot exist without the Roma social structures. This penalty is feared more than death. But one has to say that no Kris ever handed a death penalty. A Kris does not have the right to take a Rom’s life. The Kris also hands out other penalties for example fines (sometimes rather high), to be paid by the guilty party.

This tradition is still totally alive, even in Western European countries, where Roma generally still continue to resolve internal disputes within the community. One should definitively note that a Kris never judges violent crimes. These are exclusively the realm of the Gadže justice, i.e. the regular judicial system.