Funny you should ask this I wrote an article on the Imperial Govt. What do you think? Please feel free to use.
Essay on the Government and Constitution of the Third Imperium
Count Joachim Merguez
(Former Minister of State for Defense and Cleon V Professor of Politics at Sylea University)
A summary for the lay reader
The variety of governments within the Imperial Sphere is almost legendary; as the first Director of the Imperial Grand Survey, Dame Margaret Tsu-Hsi, once remarked “scarcely a day goes by that the IGS does not discover a new, and in many cases very strange, way by which the many are governed by the few”. However, in this paper I wish to turn that analytical eye upon the government of the Imperium itself, and examine the mechanism of government that encompasses all these others.
The Imperial government, henceforth referred to simply as the government, is on the surface an advanced form of feudalism, of the type sometimes referred to as a feudal technocracy; as our examination will reveal, however, it has as much in common with various forms of bureaucratic rule as it does with feudalism. If the “citizen with the middle passage on the liner from Reference”, if I may use Lord Advocate von Marienburg’s seminal definition of the average person, were to be asked how the Imperium was governed they would give some variant upon two possible answers. They would state either that the government rested in the hands of the Emperor or they would suggest some combination of the Moot and the Emperor. Both of these answers are, as one might expect, only partially correct.
The Emperor is, of course, the Head of State and ultimately the Head of Government as well, however no emperor could rule alone. The government consists of various committees and councils of various sizes, prestige, and power. In this paper, I shall examine the roles of these bodies, and attempt to demonstrate how they interrelate and provide stability for the Imperium.
The Structure of Government
The Moot is the best known of these bodies; however much that is commonly known about the Moot is wrong. In the first place the gathering of the Imperial nobility is only technically the Moot when it meets under the presidency of the Earl Marshal to adjudicate upon matters related to the succession; in its role as a legislative body it is, correctly, referred to as either the Imperial Grand Senate or, archaically, as the Lords Spiritual and Temporal. As a side note this body also possesses a limited judicial role; acting as it does as the ultimate court of appeal for the High Nobility. As we are discussing the politico-legislative role, we shall use the term Senate in this paper unless it is particularly important to draw a distinction.
Later we will discuss the details of the passage of a bill through the Senate and other Councils to become a decree. For now, I wish to discuss various officials that have a role within the Senate. There are three individuals who can preside over the Senate: the Chairman, the Earl Marshal, and the Lord Advocate. In the normal course of events the presiding officer is the Chairman of the Senate; this is usually a high-ranking noble of middle years who is elected by his peers from a list presented by the Emperor on Holiday following the resignation of the previous incumbent. The Chairman holds office at the pleasure of senate and may only be removed from office by impeachment. The Chairman is granted the courtesy title of Excellency and has precedence just above that of a sector Duke. The Earl Marshal presides, as has been mentioned above, over the Moot; his is a very ancient title dating to, at least, the Rule of Man. The title of Earl Marshal was once hereditary passing, by means of complex genealogical precedence, to the noble with the longest direct ancestral line; however during the time of the Barracks Emperors (604-622) as the agreement of the incumbent Earl Marshal was necessary for proper succession by Moot election there followed a spate of accident prone Earl Marshals. On her accession to the throne (629), the Empress Arbellatra created her Flag Captain, Commodore Marcus hault Pashtun Duke of Belerophon, Earl Marshal to replace Gustus’ cousin who had died at Zhimaway. On his death in 630, she appointed the retiring Lord President of the Privy Council, Countess Xenia Mortimer-Saxe, to the post and decreed that henceforth the title would remain in the gift of the emperor. The Earl Marshal is also granted the title of Excellency and has precedence over all peers save the Lord Great Chamberlain and the Lord High Constable if they are dukes and the Chairman of the Grand Council, the Lord President of the Privy Council and the Lord Privy Seal by right. In the relatively rare occasions that the Court of Arches is convened, the Lord Advocate presides over the house. Two groups may sit with the peers although they are not of the council; these are the Archdukes and the Council of Ministers. Speaking in the Senate is done by strict order of precedence controlled by a computer system. Archdukes and Ministers may speak in the Senate but may not vote.
The most powerful section of the government is the Grand Council. This is made up of the Council of Ministers and the junior ministers and senior civil servants of the ministries. The Grand Council has its origin in the, informal, Cabinet who with the chancellor served the early emperors. After the accession of Porfiria (245), on the advice of the surviving Cabinet members and the Privy Council, the Council of Ministers was established under the presidency of the Premier Minister. The Council of Ministers grew only slightly in power until the Civil War; in 613, the Premier took direct control of Capital and assumed the powers of Captain-General of the planet. The Premiers had a slightly high survival rate than the Earls Marshal and the support of Baroness Petra Stein helped to establish Grand Admiral Arbellatra as regent. In gratitude, Arbellatra granted extended powers and protections to the Council of Ministers including the right of the Premier to appoint civil servants. Margaret I in agreement with Premier Gustavason established the Grand Council; Duke Gustavason, on his appointment as Chairman of the newly created Council, established a series of Sub-Committees under his Chairmanship. These Sub-Committees, which include additional senior civil servants, speed up the Council of Ministers’ deliberations on bills, and, coincidentally, increase the power of the Chairman through his role as Minister of the Civil Service. Ministers are appointed by the Chairman and can be removed from office only by senatorial impeachment; the Chairman is appointed by the Emperor although he too can be removed by impeachment. Ministers take precedence over other peers of the same rank; the Chairman of the Grand Council ranks immediately below the Imperial family.
There are nine ministries that comprise the Council of Ministers; there once were many more but part of the reforms of Margaret I was to merge these minor ministries into the new super departments. The ministries are the Civil Service, the Treasury, the Interior, the Foreign Ministry, Defence, Technology, Justice, the Armed Forces, and the Security Council. The Ministry of the Civil Service is the responsibility of the Chairman of the Grand Council; this ministry has responsibility for the appointment and promotion of all government civil servants, it also coordinates the Imperial Records Office. His Majesty’s Stationary Office, and the Office of Decrees and Treaties. The Treasury has oversight over the macroeconomics of the Imperium; this department controls the Statebank and the Imperial Mint. The Interior Ministry controls the Imperial Police forces, the Central Information Bureau, the Imperial News Service, the Prison Service, the Bureau of Public Morals and the Immigration and Naturalization Service; it holds joint responsibility for the regulation of interplanetary trade and the Customs and Excise Service with the Foreign Ministry. The Foreign Ministry deals with all official extra imperial relations; the Marshal of the Diplomatic Corp appoints what is known as the foreign civil service, and the Ministry retains expert departments on all major and many minor neighbours. The Ministry of Defence works in close liaison with the Armed Forces Ministry and the Security Council; the Defence Ministry is responsible for broad military policy within the Imperium and has responsibility for upholding the Rules of War and monitoring the activities of mercenary units. The Armed Forces Ministry is responsible for overseeing the administration of the military services; the Armed Forces Ministry is in actual fact something of a fifth wheel as many of its duties could be assumed by either the Ministry of Defence or the Security Council. Margaret I was reluctant to deprive the armed forces of this additional voice in government and no later administration has cared to attempt to do so.
The Ministry for Technology coordinates research and provides funding for state sponsored technological development; it is rumoured that the Ministry is also guilty of suppressing new technology that is felt to be inappropriate or dangerous. As one might imagine the Office of the Chief Scientist works closely with both the Universities and the armed forces. The Ministry of Justice, also sometimes referred to as the Lord Advocate’s Department, advises the Emperor on the appointment of Imperial judges, appoints Imperial Councils, coordinates the Judge Advocate-General’s department and controls the Imperial Prosecutors Department. Finally, there is the Security Council; this is not in fact a Ministry although the President of the Council ranks as a minister. The Security Council consists of the Lord High Admiral, the Marshal-General, the Marshal of the IISS, the Commandant-General, the Chief of all Imperial Police, the First Lord of the Admiralty and the Chief of the Imperial General Staff. For many years, the post of president was a military one usually held by either the Marshal-General or the Lord High Admiral, but following the accession of Cleon IV (475) a civilian was appointed to the post. During the civil war many of the “emperors” either held this position themselves or granted it to their military deputy; however a custom developed after the interregnum (613-615) that retired senior military figures held the post. This custom was followed by Arbellatra who appointed Marcus hault Pashtun as President in 625; the custom of a civilian President was codified in the Treaty of Kroprow (629) which also established the right of the President to membership in the Order of the Sword of Vland to which only the Lord High Admiral, Marshal-General, Marshal of the IISS and the Commandant-General had previously been entitled.
The Grand Council has offices in the Moot Spire and the Imperial Palace and meets every third Twosday or when necessary. The Sub-Committees meet at the various ministries or at the Chairman’s office in the Imperial Palace. The Ministerial Offices that make up much of the Capitoline region of Capital are of course only the tip of the bureaucratic iceberg which spreads over much of the Home Worlds connected by the X-Boats and fast ministerial couriers.
The oldest of the councils of state is the Privy Council; this body, whose members are appointed by the Emperor and hold office at his pleasure, is headed by the Lord President and consists of the Great Officers of state and other members of the household. The Great Officers are the Lord President, the Lord Privy Seal, the Lord High Treasurer, the Lord Great Chamberlain, and the Lord High Constable. The other members of the council are the Lord Steward, Lord Chamberlain, the Master of Horse, the Lords Commissioner of the Great Seal, and various Lords in Waiting. All members of the Privy Council automatically resign on the death of the Emperor who appointed them; as a result, the council fell into abeyance during the Civil War. Only Nicolai (610-612), Cleon V (615-618) and Gustus (621-622) appointed Privy Counsellors. Gustus’ Council was reappointed en bloc by Arbellatra on her appointment as Regent. Despite their archaic titles, many of the Privy Councillors do possess both power and responsibility; the Great Officers command large budgets and have great authority.
Finally, for this section we come to the smallest, obscurest and least powerful of the councils of state the Gerusia. This council of Archdukes was created by Artemsus in 120 after the establishment of the domains; its name was allegedly the result of a joke made by one of the first Archdukes. A contemporary described this as a “classical allusion” so historians believe it must be an obscure Vilani joke although the reference has remained obscure. The Council meets once a year on Holiday in the Chamber of the Stars in the Moot Spire; although Artemsus may have intended it to have power, it has now become the most exclusive club in the empire.
The Legislative Process
This is another area in which the average citizen is ill informed; although the Emperor can, if he so chooses, govern by decree this has not occurred since 625. A partial codification of this custom occurred during the reign of Margaret I; in the Declaration of Regina (690), the imperial decrees became subject to Council ratification within one year. The Ultimate Decree (980) passed by Styryx during the Third Frontier War established the post of Dictator; this position, which exists only in an emergency, was created to devolve absolute authority on an imperial agent. The Dictator can govern by decree and is protected against legal repercussions both during and after there term of office. However, in the normal course of events this is not how imperial law is made.
Bills, the technical term for a proposal before it receives the Imperial consent, can be generated either by the Senate, the Gerusia, the Grand Council or the Emperor; it is almost unheard of for the Gerusia to propose Bills and very rare for them to emanate from the Emperor. Most of the Bills begin in the Council of Ministers where they are debated and amendments proposed; the Bill with attached amendments is then passed to the Senate. The Senate then votes on the Bill as a whole; they then propose their own amendments and the Bill is passed on to the Office of Decrees and Treaties. The ODT phrase the Bill, encompassing the Council’s amendments, in legal terminology; the Bill with the Senate’s amendments attached is returned to the Grand Council; from the Council it is passed directly to the Sub-Committees who can veto the Senate’s amendments and propose their own. The Bill then goes to the Council of Ministers and they make the final decision upon it; if the Bill passes the final hurdle it then goes back to the ODT who compose the final text of the Bill, which is then passed to the Emperor for the consent. The Emperor may then impose his veto; otherwise, the Bill becomes a Decree and passes into law.
A Bill generated by the Senate follows a similar path; first, the Bill is submitted to the Senate. This submission must be accompanied by the approval of at least five other peers who are currently present at the session; time is allocated for debate in order of precedence of the most senior peer supporting or proposing the Bill. There is an initial vote on the Bill after a short period of debate; should the Bill be passed at this stage it is then submitted to the ODT who, in consultation with the proposing peer, couch it in legal language. Copies of the Bill are then provided to all interested peers and a provisional date is set for the debate. At this debate amendments can be proposed to the Bill; each amendment is voted on, a simple majority is required, and the whole bill must then receive the consent of the Senate.
The Bill is then passed to the Grand Council who can veto it; assuming the Bill is not vetoed it passes to the Sub-Committees who make amendments to the Bill prior to referring it to the Council of Ministers. The Council then vote on any of the amendments and pass the amended Bill to the ODT. The Bill is finally placed before the Emperor for the consent. The rare Bills proposed by the Gerusia follow a similar path; however, by custom the Senate and Grand Council may not amend these Bills and a two-thirds majority of the Senate is required to veto the Bill.
If the Emperor submits a decree for confirmation, it first goes before the Council of Ministers who, by a two-thirds vote, may veto it. If it receives the consent of the Council, it then passes to the Senate where a unanimous vote is required to prevent the confirmation of the decree.
At this point, I will digress to a related matter regarding the signification of consent by these councils. Historically, seals were used to signify the consent of the great lords to a decree; with today’s high technology, such wax seals are of course not only obsolete but also insecure. During the Rule of Man, a technique of bioelectrical tagging was developed to modernise the ancient custom of sealing documents. Each minister and senior officer of state is given a signet ring on his or her appointment to office; the crystalline lattice in this ring is keyed to the bio-signature of the minister should the ring be removed or the wearer die then the lattice is disrupted and the ring becomes useless. To signify consent or to validate a document the ring’s stone is placed in a reader attached to the computer and an electronic validation is attached to the document. The Privy Seal is used by the Emperor as his electronic identifier; this seal differs from the norm in as much as the crystalline lattice is not permanently disrupted by removal from the bioelectrical field it simply becomes invalid; the Privy Seal is kept by the Lord Privy Seal and it is his duty together with the Lords Commissioner of the Great Seal to attune the seal to each new monarch. It is interesting to note that this requirement of validation made Lords Privy Seal almost as vulnerable as Earls Marshal to unexplained accidents during the Civil War.
This paper has barely skimmed the surface of the complexity of the Imperial Governmental system, but hopefully it has provided some insight into the working of our own government. Interested readers may consider the following additional reading:
• Merguez, J “A History of the Imperial Government” 1102 Capital
• Merguez, J “An Analysis of the Treaty of Kroprow” IJPH 12-1099
• Pashtun, G hault “Lives of the Earl Marshals” 650 Capital
• Zimmerman, Q “The Privy Council” 1000 Regina