Gristle
Tinea Lupus est Homini
The government of the Protectorate is composed of three organizational bodies which deal with its executive, legislative, and judicial powers.
The Synod
The highest power of the Protectorate and the source of its executive power is the Synod. The Synod issues commands and directions to lesser organizations at its pleasure and is responsible for the operation of the Protectorate.
The Synod may give small commands and instructions to organizations as part of its daily operations, but large shifts in direction or directives are given as either Laws or as Edicts.
As an executive branch, Synod does not write its laws; instead, it is responsible for confirming them so they can be implemented into Protectorate policy. As such, Laws are created by the legislature and passed up to be affirmed.
Conversely, Edicts are created and declared exclusively by the Synod. Edicts supersede any law currently in place but exist in a more precarious position. An Edict can only be given if ¾ voting seats of the Synod agree to it, and it only lasts as long as this ¾ majority continues to exist.
The Synod is made up of representatives of the Founders of the Protectorate. These include the Neti, Draelvasier, Myka, and Novatar.
Each Founder is entitled to two chairs on the Synod:
The Prime Chair is the one who has the authority to vote on Edicts and has the greater responsibility and privilege.
The Sub-Prime Chair deals with more day-to-day matters and succeeds the Prime in the event of their death or dismissal. The Sub-Prime may not vote on Edicts but has the authority to confirm Laws from the legislature.
Typically, the Prime Chair is responsible for selecting who sits in the Sub-Prime seat. In the event of a total absence, the Founder is responsible for determining their own process to select a Prime Chair to represent them in the Synod.
The Low Council
The primary legislative body of the Protectorate is the Low Council. While the membership of the Synod is limited to 8, the number of Low Councillors is scaled based on the population of each member race of the Protectorate.
Low Councillors are elected to their position. There is one Low Councillor per every million sapient persons living on a world or a permanent spaceborne habitat. This means that a world of 2 million people would be entitled to two Low Councillors, but a world with only 1.5 million would only be entitled to a single Low Councillor.
Elections are held every 5 years from the day of the world’s entry into the Protectorate.
The Low Council meets regularly to discuss legislation of new laws and policies that will benefit the Protectorate and the people that they represent. At each meeting, a Speaker is randomly selected from the Councillors present and determines the agenda of the meeting. After this, speeches, declarations, and voting may commence.
While the Low Council may vote on bills and pass them with only a simple majority, they are not written into law until they have received the assent of at least two members of the Synod from two different Founder races.
Judicators and Sentinels
The judicial branch of the Protectorate falls under the purview of the Judicators and their watchful Sentinels.
Judicators serve as appointed judges and are typically placed into their positions by local governments. Most Judicators serve for life, though this is not required if they wish to retire from the position.
It is common for there to be a hierarchy of Judicators from the city to the regional to the planetary, and finally culminating in the Grand Judiciary which deals with the highest matters of law and whose 5 members are set directly by the Synod.
Sentinels are hired to provide law enforcement and to maintain the peace and order of Protectorate society. They are legally obligated to enforce the law and failure to do so leads to their termination from the position and subsequent criminal charges.
When dealing with citizen offenders, the Sentinels are required to arrest and present these offenders to the Judicator responsible for the region where the crime was committed or suspected to have been committed.
When dealing with non-citizen offenders, the Sentinel is allowed to punish the offender as they see fit to reacclimate them to society or to guarantee that they will not be a threat to the interests of the Protectorate. Abuse of this power which leads to greater harm to the Protectorate is heavily punished.
A uniform code of punishments is recommended for both Judicators and Sentinels, but their actual application and enforcement is subject to the whims of the enforcer themselves.
The Synod
The highest power of the Protectorate and the source of its executive power is the Synod. The Synod issues commands and directions to lesser organizations at its pleasure and is responsible for the operation of the Protectorate.
The Synod may give small commands and instructions to organizations as part of its daily operations, but large shifts in direction or directives are given as either Laws or as Edicts.
As an executive branch, Synod does not write its laws; instead, it is responsible for confirming them so they can be implemented into Protectorate policy. As such, Laws are created by the legislature and passed up to be affirmed.
Conversely, Edicts are created and declared exclusively by the Synod. Edicts supersede any law currently in place but exist in a more precarious position. An Edict can only be given if ¾ voting seats of the Synod agree to it, and it only lasts as long as this ¾ majority continues to exist.
The Synod is made up of representatives of the Founders of the Protectorate. These include the Neti, Draelvasier, Myka, and Novatar.
Each Founder is entitled to two chairs on the Synod:
The Prime Chair is the one who has the authority to vote on Edicts and has the greater responsibility and privilege.
The Sub-Prime Chair deals with more day-to-day matters and succeeds the Prime in the event of their death or dismissal. The Sub-Prime may not vote on Edicts but has the authority to confirm Laws from the legislature.
Typically, the Prime Chair is responsible for selecting who sits in the Sub-Prime seat. In the event of a total absence, the Founder is responsible for determining their own process to select a Prime Chair to represent them in the Synod.
The Low Council
The primary legislative body of the Protectorate is the Low Council. While the membership of the Synod is limited to 8, the number of Low Councillors is scaled based on the population of each member race of the Protectorate.
Low Councillors are elected to their position. There is one Low Councillor per every million sapient persons living on a world or a permanent spaceborne habitat. This means that a world of 2 million people would be entitled to two Low Councillors, but a world with only 1.5 million would only be entitled to a single Low Councillor.
Elections are held every 5 years from the day of the world’s entry into the Protectorate.
The Low Council meets regularly to discuss legislation of new laws and policies that will benefit the Protectorate and the people that they represent. At each meeting, a Speaker is randomly selected from the Councillors present and determines the agenda of the meeting. After this, speeches, declarations, and voting may commence.
While the Low Council may vote on bills and pass them with only a simple majority, they are not written into law until they have received the assent of at least two members of the Synod from two different Founder races.
Judicators and Sentinels
The judicial branch of the Protectorate falls under the purview of the Judicators and their watchful Sentinels.
Judicators serve as appointed judges and are typically placed into their positions by local governments. Most Judicators serve for life, though this is not required if they wish to retire from the position.
It is common for there to be a hierarchy of Judicators from the city to the regional to the planetary, and finally culminating in the Grand Judiciary which deals with the highest matters of law and whose 5 members are set directly by the Synod.
Sentinels are hired to provide law enforcement and to maintain the peace and order of Protectorate society. They are legally obligated to enforce the law and failure to do so leads to their termination from the position and subsequent criminal charges.
When dealing with citizen offenders, the Sentinels are required to arrest and present these offenders to the Judicator responsible for the region where the crime was committed or suspected to have been committed.
When dealing with non-citizen offenders, the Sentinel is allowed to punish the offender as they see fit to reacclimate them to society or to guarantee that they will not be a threat to the interests of the Protectorate. Abuse of this power which leads to greater harm to the Protectorate is heavily punished.
A uniform code of punishments is recommended for both Judicators and Sentinels, but their actual application and enforcement is subject to the whims of the enforcer themselves.