Database: The United Federation of Planets

Government

The United Federation of Planets is a constitutional representative republic consisting of three branches; the Executive, the Legislative, and the Judicial. Member planets pool together resources macroeconomically, agreeing to be part of the greater interstellor government and adhereing to that governments laws and regulations. Federation Member Planets maintain local sovereignty over local affairs and Member worlds were left to manage their own governance in accordance with their own traditions and local laws, so long as the general requirements of membership were met. However, Federation law did grant the government emergency authority to override local governance and declare martial law on a member's territory

The Executive Branch



The executive branch was responsible for the day-to-day management of the Federation. The democratically-elected Federation President was the head of this branch. The Federation President serves as both the Head of State and Head of Government; as Chief Executive Officer of the government, the President determines most of the Federation's foreign policy, manages budgetary concerns, and served as Commander-in-Chief of the Federation's military forces. The President's office was located in the Earth city of Paris on the European continent. He is advised by a Cabinet which is was a special executive committee consisting of the Secretary of State, Secretary of the Interior, Secretary of Defense, and the Attorney General. The Secretarys corrdinate information from the various executive Agencies, and are appointed by the President and confirmed but the Federation Council. These agencies assist the Executive Branch in the administration of its affairs.

Executive Agencies

Secretary of the Interior works with the infrastucture and internal concerns the Federation. The agencies include but are not limited to the Archaeological Council, Terraform Command, the Federation News Service, the Federation Science Bureau, the Bureau of Agricultural Affairs, and the Bureau of Industrialization.

The Secretary of State works with the diplomatic concerns of the Federation, externally and internally. This includes the Bureau of Planetary Treaties, the Astronomical Committee, and Department of Cartography. The Secretary of State serves as the representative of the President of the United Federation of Planets in most of the day to day affairs concerning the Federation Council.

The Secretary of Defense advises the President of the United Federation of Planets on the military affairs of Starfleet. He serves as Chairperson of the Security Council, where he does not have a vote, but mediates Security concerns and reports them to the President. Agencies in this department also include the Central Bureau of Penology, the Department of Temporal Investigations, Federation Naval Patrol, and Starfleet

The Legislature

The Federation Council was the unicameral legislative body of the Federation. Composed of representatives from the various member worlds, the Federation Council held the power to create, amend, and ratify Federation law. The Federation Council, through its Security Council, also hold a great deal of influence over the operations of Starfleet. The Security Council sometimes serves as the judging body of specially-convened courts-martials, and on routinely issues operational orders to Starfleet. The Federation Council also hold influence over the making of Federation foreign policy, having the sole power to ratify treaties. The Council's meeting chamber is in the Earth city of San Francisco, on the west coast of the North American continent.

The Judiciary

The judiciary was the branch of government responsible for resolving legal disputes. It consisted of a hierarchy of courts, with the Federation Supreme Court at its apex. Federation courts sometimes relied on panels of citizens known as juries. The Federation Grand Jury heard testimony as part of criminal investigations, while the Federation Special Jury tried war criminals. Alongside the civilian courts, Starfleet had its own system of courts martial which can be appealed to the Fedreation Supreme Court.

The fundamental political principles and laws of the Federation derived from two important documents: The Federation Charter and the Federation Consitituion. The Federation Charter was the document ratified by the original members of the United Federation of Planets at the organization's founding in 2161. Caste-based discrimination was prohibited under the Charter. The Federation Constitution incorporated a series of enumerated rights to which all sentient beings were regarded as being entitled, collectively referred to as the Guarantees. The Seventh Guarantee of the Federation Constitution protected individuals from self-incrimination, while the Twelfth Guarantee protected the rights of artists.The relationship between the UFP Constitution and theFederation Charter is a symbiotic one. The Charter describes the requirements for entry of a planet into the Federation, while the Constitution describes the principles, governing structure, and citizen rights once becoming a member (for example, rights against self-incrimination). While most torts are handled by individual laws and customs of Member Planets, other rights and responsibilities for citizens are derived from the Federation Uniform Judicial Code, which provided guidelines and regulations related to legal issues in the Federation and trump local law in areas where they differ.

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