The Constitution of the Empire

[Tiberius Anar]

As all those embarking upon the study of governments both past and present will be aware, all nation-states have a constitution. Not all nations, however, have a Constitution per se, that is a document bearing that title in which the constituent parts of the nation, in particular its government, and how they operate are detailed. Instead they have a collection of documents (laws, authoritative statements, judge-made law, court rulings, codes, codicils and political tracts) that are considered to be the Constitution in all but name and to all intents and purposes are since it is to these documents that nations turn for guidence on how they ought to be run. Such nations exist. The Empire is one such.

Herein will be collected a number of key texts which detail the constitution of the Empire and the principles of the New Order.

Comments and questions to be posted here: http://www.swforums.net/forum/showthread.php?s=&threadid=39280 just to keep this thread clean.

[Tiberius Anar]

The first text is The Fundamental Law of the Galactic Empire, which was introduced into the Senate following a speech by Supreme Chancellor Palpatine in the wake of the attempted Jedi Rebellion. It was enthusiastically received and passed almost instantly with only minimal resistance.

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The Fundamental Law of the Empire

Preamble
We, the Senate of the Galactic Republic, having witnessed the rise of dissention and division within the Republic, having fought a painful and costly war against enemies from within, having been threatened by those in whom innumerable generations have placed their faith and convinced that all these ills and many others have resulted from the deficiencies in the Constitution do hereby resolve to establish a new order under which the people of the Galaxy can live safely with liberty and justice for all within a stable and prosperous society.

Article I
This new order, hereby established, shall be called the Galactic Empire.

Article II
The Galactic Empire shall be the one true government of this Galaxy and into its domain shall fall all worlds, colonies, nations and peoples that duly owe allegiance to the Republic at present.

Article III

Section 1: The Galactic Empire shall be one state, indivisible and united with Sovereignty vested in the People and not in the cumbersome Institutions of the State as has been the practice in the past.

Section 2: The People shall exercise their Sovereignty through the Institutions of the State herein detailed and by the methods herein elaborated.

Article IV

Section 1: The People, in exercising Sovereignty, are the State.

Section 2: The People owe their allegiance to each other and, through each other, to the State, which is the Galactic Empire.

Article V

Section 1: There shall be of the State, as there is of the body, but one head. That head shall be the most distinguished citizen of the Empire and shall be Head of the State leading and guiding it, governing it and saving it.

Section 2: In light of the lasting damage done to the Galaxy by the tendency to change its leader frequently and for no sound reason, the Head of the State shall serve for life or until such time as he feels, in his wisdom, that it is appropriate for him to step down in favour of another.
Section 3: The Head of the State, who shall, as the First Citizen of the Empire, be the voice of the Citizen Body, which is to say the People, will exercise Sovereignty in all cases not provided for in this law.

Section 4: In reason that Sovereignty is held by the People it shall be they that select for the office of the Head of the State, through whatever method is most appropriate, the citizen deemed most suited for the office.

Section 5: The Head of the State shall exercise his judgement in deciding the course best to be followed and in determining the best interests of the Empire and, thus, of the People.

Article VI

Section 1: The Head of the State shall, when necessary, take such steps as shall be expedient to secure the safety of the People.

Section 2: The Head of the State shall, when necessary, make such provision as shall be expedient and sound to provide for the well being of the People.

Section 3: The Head of the State shall guard freedom, liberty and justice from abuse and corruption and shall, from time to time, make such provisions as are necessary to ensure this.

Section 4: The Head of the State shall enforce the laws of the Empire with such measures and agencies as shall be most appropriate to their nature.

Article VII

Section 1: There shall be a Senate of the Galactic Empire to give counsel to the Head of the State and to his measures give consent and, when the law or he provides, to legislate in the best interests of the People and so of the Galactic Empire.

Section 2: The Senate shall be composed of one Senator for each and every Sector who shall be selected by the people of that Sector for the office of Senator by such method as is deemed most appropriate with the intention that they shall best represent their interests and exercise the best judgement in assessing matters pertaining to the affairs of that Sector and to the Galactic Empire as a whole.

Section 3: The Senate shall convene for a period set annually by law in the presence of the Head of the State or upon the command of the Head of the State should he deem it necessary. The same shall also be empowered to adjourn the Senate and when necessary to command the re-selection of the Senators by their respective Sectors.

Section 4: The Senate shall determine its own rules and procedures in so far as not provided for by law.

Article VIII

Section 1: The Authority of the State derives from the People who are Sovereign. It is for them to decide, ultimately, upon all matters as it is they who shall enjoy the benefits of good decisions and suffer the discomforts of bad decisions.

Section 2: Whenever it is practicable the People shall decide upon Matters of State.

Section 3: Whenever it is not practicable for the People to decide upon Matters of State, it shall be the duty of those offices for whom the People have selected the incumbent that are most appropriate to decide.

Article IX
This law shall override all others pertaining to the Form of the State and where provisions made elsewhere are found to be in conflict with it, the lesser law shall be struck down or amended (whichever shall be deemed most appropriate and expedient) to conform to the provisions herein made. It shall be the Fundamental Law of the Empire.

[Tiberius Anar]

The second text is a trascript of Emperor Palpatine's speech to the first draft of the Imperial Army at the basic training centre on Caridia. He spoke to them before they took the Oath of Service, in which the three thousand draftees swore to serve the state and its head in all possible ways. The speech is cited as the standard argument for the heavy militarisation of the Empire in the years following its creation.

His Majesty, Palpatine, to the Soldiers of the First Draft on Swearing Day at the Army Basic Training Centre, Caridia

Soldiers!

You are today called, as so many before you have been called, to serve the State. I stand before you to ask that you answer that call and render to the State the service that is required of you.

The office in which you are asked to serve is both the most common and the most important. It is common in that many millions are asked to serve in the same capacity every year and you are but a few of them. It is important in that the security of the State and, therefore, its capacity to function rests neither upon the knowledge of its generals nor upon the wisdom of its statesmen, but upon the strength of its arms and the skill of those who wield them.

The Army in which you are to serve is a bulwark against chaos. It shields the delicate machinery of the State from damage and permits it to continue in the service of the Citizenry. Without the protection of the Army, the State and the People would be at the mercy of its enemies and would perish and all that is good in this Galaxy with them.

Knowing this, therefore, take the oath and serve well and proudly. Soldiers, I salute you!