Imperial Senate

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Imperial Senate

TheImperial Senate, also referred to as theGalactic Senate or theImperial Congress, was the legislative assembly of theGalactic Empire that constituted one of the lastremnants of theOld Republic. However in reality, the Imperial Senate held a purelyconsultative role and was to ensure the passage of any laws and legislation required byEmperorSheev Palpatine.

At theend of theClone Wars,Supreme Chancellor Palpatinetransformed the Galactic Republic into the Galactic Empire, beginning anautocratic era. Palpatine asEmperor maintained the Galactic Senate as an illusion of constitutional legitimacy, however in truth it merely gave legal sanction to decisions already made by the Emperor. Many of the Imperial citizenry however believed that Palpatine was indeed restoring stability tothe galaxy, after he vowed to end corruption in the Senate. In truth, this ploy was part of the Emperor's need to preserve order and by extension, allowing the Imperial Senate to continue until theDeath Star was completed.

However, the Imperial Senate began to grow weaker as regionalgovernors assumed more responsibility over their territories, with most decrees becoming repeatedly ignored by theImperial Military. However, theAlliance to Restore the Republicagainst the Empire kept gaining support, with somesenators secretly supporting the rebel cause and did not hesitate to use their diplomatic immunity to help them, and some even becameleaders of the growing Rebel Alliance.

Following successfulDS-1 Orbital Battle Stationsuperlaser demonstrations onJedha andScarif, the Emperor dissolved the Imperial Senate entirely, transferring its remaining authority to regionalgovernors and Imperial military leaders. With the Death Star now operational, fear would serve as theprimary tool of control—replacing the need for the Old Republic’s bureaucratic systems. In the aftermath of theBattle of Endor, former senators reconvened theGalactic Senate during therestoration of the Galactic Republic as theNew Republic.

History[]

Establishment[]

Main article:Proclamation of the New Order

At the end of theClone Wars—which he had carefully masterminded—theSith Lord known asDarth Sidious continued to use his public persona of Sheev Palpatine, theSupreme Chancellor of the Galactic Republic. He ordered aspecial session of Congress and proclaimed himself Galactic Emperor, turning the old Republic into aNew Order in his image. The representatives overwhelmingly supported the announcement, except for a few delegates, includingPadmé Amidala andBail Organa.^[2]

In truth, Sidious intended to one day abolish the Senate, but he recognized his regime's institutions were not yet strong enough. Until the time was ready, Sidious would be forced to keep it in function, albeit only as an illusion of its former self; under Palpatine's rule, he was the only real man with any power, while the Senate's collection of voices held no real power.^[12] In the wake of the regime change, the Galactic Senate became the Imperial Senate, and the Senate Plaza theImperial Plaza.^[1] Additionally, architectural and design changes would remove any trace of the former Republic over time.^[13]

The first years[]

Making good on his vows to end corruption in the Senate, many citizenry believed that the Emperor was indeed restoring stability to the galaxy. Concurrently, many of Palpatine's political opponents suddenly began to vanish.^[15] During the first year of theImperial Era, individual senators were overly focused on helping their own worlds, which left the planetKashyyyk undefended amongst the body when it wasbesieged by the Empire.^[16]

Implied threats and a near-complete lack of trust would permeate among worlds, while the actual enactment of legislation would become an uncommon occurrence.^[17] Prior to themission to Ryloth,InstructorPell Baylo sought toassassinate Palpatine, having remained loyal to Republic ideals instead of those of the new Empire. Speaking with the Emperor, he denied the idea that the Senate's approval gave legitimacy to the Empire, feeling that the Senate had dissolved its pact with the people of the Republic by allowing Palpatine to take over.^[18] By14 BBY,^[9] a giant statue of the Emperor had been erected outside theSenate Rotunda as part of its Imperialization.^[13]

In9 BBY,^[9] Imperial SenatorDaho Sejan, representative of the planetUtapau in the Senate, was interested in gaining more power. Using his position in the Imperial Senate, Sejan arranged forJedi KnightCal Kestis to be brought to him by his forces. Kestis was a target of great interest to the Empire, and Sejan intended to hand him over to the Emperor. Sejan's intentions went beyond Kestis, as he intended for Kestis to tell him where other survivingJedi could be found. However, Sejan's plan completely failed, as Kestis faked capture in order to acquire Imperial military information that was in Sejan's possession. Theevents that followed Kestis' escape eventually led to the Senator's death.^[19]

Ultimately, the Emperor preserved the Senate in order to make Imperial worlds believe that they still had a part to play in the government. Secretly, the Emperor planned to disband the Senate since the formation of the Empire in theproclamation of the New Order, but needed its body to preserve order until theDeath Star was completed, from which he could rule absolute through sheer terror.^[20]

Waning influence[]

By its fourteenthyear of existence, the Imperial Senate started growing even weaker as the Emperor'sregional governors assumed more responsibility over their territories.^[22] Indeed, Palpatine actively worked to undermine the power of the Senate and strip away its remaining authority.^[23] In5 BBY,^[9] SenatorMon Mothma appeared before the Senate showing her support for a proposal made by SenatorDhow and tried to bring attention to the suffering of the people ofGhorman however the senate chamber had very few individuals present and most were looking at theirdatapads about the news of arebel attack onAldhani.^[24]

Following the attack on on Aldahani, the Emperor proposed theImperial Emergency Act to the Senate, which was eventually passed. The new act increased the authority of theImperial Army,Imperial Navy and theImperial Security Bureau with the ISB officers being allowed to request personnel and material from the army and navy and, with an increased focus in Supervisor responsibilities, were allowed to access data from sectors other than their their own. The act also saw the immediate revocation of local festivals and customs suspected of harbouring rebel activity as therebels on Aldhani had used theEye of Aldhani festival celebrations as a cover for their heist. Palpatine also proposed thePublic Order Resentencing Directive to the Senate^[25] which saw the sentences of Imperial prisoners doubled and extended the sentences of future convictions.^[26] Both measures generated strong criticism from dissident senators such asMon Mothma, who described the Directive as "the next step into an all too predictable march towards complete unchallenged authority."  Mothma's protests generated a certain amount of debate in the Senate, but both acts were eventually passed nonetheless.^[23]

By3 BBY,^[9] only forty planets bothered sending representatives to theApprentice Legislature program—which began under the Galactic Republic and continued in the Imperial Senate though. Its decline in activity was parallel to the Senate's decline in actual power thoughApprentice LegislatorPrincessLeia Organa ofAlderaan viewed it as one of the few checkpoints on the Emperor's power.^[21] At one point, a piece of legislation that would tighten up labor rights for refugees was presented in the Senate, with Leia arguing in its favor. The bill ultimately cost thechief operating officer of a major manufacturing hub on Coruscant billions, which resulted in that COO putting out a bounty on both Leia and Mon Mothma.^[27]

The first debate of the Apprentice Legislature that year had them closing a location for a newImperial Academy for aeronautical engineering and design. It chose the planetArreyel, however this was a trap set by the Empire who wanted an excuse to drill into Arreyel so that they could gain control of the radiation source under its crust. The Apprentice Legislature received a special commendation for recommending the planet and the people of Arreyel were given six weeks to leave, with no compensation, as the Empire had begun planning to build planet wide factories there. Shortly after, the senator ofChristophsis wasarrested and sent to a Imperial work camps, as the Empire discovered that they were amongst those backing therebels on the planet.Grand MoffWilhuff Tarkin announced the arrests to the Imperial Senate and though many were angered by the actions, they clapped in order to protect their home worlds.^[21]

Erosion of power[]

Several senators, including Mon Mothma and Bail Organa, began attending strategy meetings, which were disguised as dinner parties, at theRoyal Palace of Alderaan where they discussed ways to limit the Empire's power. While the Senate now only held a limited amount of influence, Organa hoped that it would be remembered for the alliances formed within it which would help to return freedom back to the galaxy and encouraged his daughter to form similar alliances within the Apprentice Legislature, which she attempted to do starting withHarp Allor of Chandrila, who she was in apathfinding class with.^[21]

Both Leia and her fellow Apprentice Legislator,Amilyn Holdo ofGatalenta helped the growing rebel Allianceevacuate from theirbase onPaucris Major after Leia had realised that the Empire knew of the base and was coming for her father and the other rebels stationed there. Leia and Holdo joined the rebellion shortly after.^[21]

Some representatives, however, did not realize the extent of the Senate's powerlessness.Nadea Tural, senator ofThrad, was still under the impression that she made a difference by voting on important issues. Like many other senators, she assumed that, once the Senate's job was done, the result of a vote was passed into law. Little did Tural know that the Emperor did not actually implement the voted changes, leaving the senators to bask in their fruitless pride.^[28]

Worst of all, as the Emperor was planning to shut down the Senate, the Imperial Military would not obey the laws of warfare they had put in place either. After thefall of the planetLasan, the Senate banned the use of theT-7 ion disruptor rifle. However, the military ignored the Senate's decree and planned for the disruptors to be produced onLothal,^[29] and violated surrender protocols by destroying damagedtransports^[30] and unarmed civilian craft.^[31] The Senate was also informed about thedestruction ofJedha City by the Empire, and was told that it was caused by a mining disaster.^[32] However, the Rebellion against the Empire kept gaining a growing support in that council. Certain senators, including Princess Leia Organa of Alderaan, did not hesitate to use their diplomatic immunity to help the Alliance.^[1]

Dissolution[]

Main article:Dissolution of the Imperial Senate

The last straw for the Senate^[1] came in0 BBY,^[33] when Senator Leia Organa attempted to smuggle the stolenplans for theDeath Star, amoon-sized battle station that could destroy an entire planet. Organa'sblockade runner was subsequentlycaptured by Sith LordDarth Vader, the Emperor's apprentice and right-hand man. Fearful of generating more sympathy for the Rebellion in the Senate, Vader ordered his troops to send a false distress signal and then inform the senators that all aboard Organa's vessel had been killed. Shortly thereafter, the Emperor disbanded the Imperial Senate, passing direct control down to regional governors and the military.^[1]

At the time of the Senate's dissolution,GeneralCassio Tagge was concerned that the Rebellion would continue to garner support in the Imperial Senate, until Governor Tarkin reported the Emperor's decree to theJoint Chiefs. Tarkin assured them that the governors would fill the power vacuum, and that theDS-1 Death Star Mobile Battle Station would generate fear across the galaxy, thereby keeping thestar systems compliant to the Empire's authority.^[1] Nadea Tural and a dozen other Rebel sympathizers in the Senate were arrested for their views and imprisoned in theArrth-Eno Prison Complex on Coruscant. The Alliance made an attempt to both rescue those senators andassassinate the Emperor. Their plans, however, were thwarted, and all captive senators died.^[34]

Legacy[]

After the Empire was defeated at theBattle of Endor, the Rebel Alliance reorganized into theNew Republic and restored the Imperial Senate as theGalactic Senate based on the Old Republic Senate, on the planetChandrila.^[10] Led by the ideals of unity, accountability, and legality, the Senate strove to avoid repeating the mistakes of the past, and attempted to curb the powers of the Chancellor to avoid creating another Emperor. Nonetheless, following the retirement ofMon Mothma, the Senate would split into two factions, theCentrists and thePopulists, a political divide that would threaten to undermine the New Republic's egalitarian philosophy, all while an Imperialsuccessor regime grew on the fringes of the galaxy.^[17]

Rella Sol, a pilot in the Imperial Navy'sTitan Squadron and child of two former Imperial senators, was one of the few in the Empire who felt that the dissolution of the Senate was a foolhardy action by the Emperor, feeling that it would have been able to keep order in the wake of the Battle of Endor had it still existed.^[35]

Organization[]

Leadership & members[]

The Imperial Senate was led by theGalactic Emperor, self-appointed for a life term^[2] under his own power and jurisdiction.^[37] The Emperor had ultimate authority over the Senate as well as the Empire, and could state his support or objection over laws and legislation, although he technically lacked the power to enforce these against an overwhelming majority of objecting senators.^[3] He also had the authority to propose his own legislation as Palpatine did with the PORD and theImperial Emergency Act.^[25] Additionally, only he had the power to pass voted issues into law—which he usually did not.^[28]

The Senate was staffed with thousands ofImperial Senators, delegates^[3] andSenior Senators,^[8] who represented the myriad memberplanets of the Galactic Empire.^[3] Senators were assisted in their duties byaides and pages, who helped with the organization of a senators' lobbying.^[38] New Senators were sworn in during^[39] theSenate Investitureweek^[40] which culminated to theEmpire Day.^[41] During the week, the Senate hosted a series of ceremonies which saw the newly appointed senators swear and oath of allegiance to the Galactic Empire, celebrating their appoitnments with "Investiture banquets".^[39]

Procedure[]

Senate sessions were regulated by the Vice Chair, similarly to the position of the same name under the Galactic Senate; at the time of the earlyImperial Era the role was fulfilled byGrand VizierMas Amedda^[3] although by5 BBY^[9] he was missing from most sessions as the Senate gradually lost its power.^[24] The Vice Speaker had the authority to have any members of the Senate arrested at any time, even mid-session, could call for order,^[3] object to statements from speaking senators^[8] and expel disorderly Senators and would accompany the Emperor in his addresses.^[3] Per ancient tradition, the role of the Vice Speaker could also be fulfilled by theOathkeeper, who would bring sessions to order in lieu of the Grand Vizier.^[42]

Sessions were opened by the chair calling all Senators to "make their presence known"; they would then ask thestewards to count the quorum. Once quorum was declared, the chair formally opened the session "by the power conferred [to them] by the Galactic Emperor", recongizing the Senators inducted into the session's agenda and calling them to the floor one by one. Depending on the occasion, the chair could allow Senators not on the agenda to also take the floor, including for making a point of order^[8] or to address a specific point made by a previous speaker.^[3]

The Emperor could take the board at any given time and give a speech before the Senate, to which all senators currently recognized by theVice Chair had to cede; the Emperor's arrival to the chamber would be announced by a loud horn and all officers present on the chamber would stand in attention.^[3]

Powers[]

In basic theory, the Imperial Senate held legislative powers. Although the senators regularly voted issues in the name of the people they represented, only the Emperor had the power to actually pass those votes into law.^[28] Although Palpatine rarely appeared at proceedings,^[13] very few senators dared to demand answers in the Senate chamber, lest they be reprimanded, or even silenced. While senators enjoyeddiplomatic immunity,^[43] they did not have the right to contest an execution order given by a military commander, especially in matters relating totreason.^[28] In practice, the Senate, with the exception of those few outspoken senators like Mon Mothma,^[24] did not advise the Emperor but instead applauded his every decree, effectively turning the Senate into a rubberstamping mechanism^[13] that existed to maintain the illusion that Palpatine followed the will of the people.^[17]

By5 BBY,^[9] the Senate's lack of power had become apparent: sessions were sparsely attended and even many senators who did attend the meetings were largely indifferent or hostile to the few representatives who still dared to question Imperial authority, like Mon Mothma or Bail Organa. Emperor Palpatine rarely appeared in front of the assembly and other imperial authorities such as Grand VizierMas Amedda or Chief of StaffSly Moore also did not usually bother to participate in the Senate's works.^[24] TheApprentice Legislator program had also fallen into near irrelevance, with only 40 star systems still sending representatives to it.^[21]

Despite its weakening, the Imperial Senate was considered to be one of the few checkpoints on the Emperor's power by Princess Leia Organa^[21] and was one of the few places where open criticism of Palpatine's policies was possible^[26]. Opposition senators such asMon Mothma,Bail Organa,Leia Organa andRiyo Chuchi were able to cause significant discussion and delay laws introduced by the Imperial government such as theImperial Defense Recruitment Bill, thePublic Order Resentencing Directive and theImperial Emergency Act, though all of them were eventually passed nonetheless.^[44][45]

Opposition from the Imperial Senate was a recurring source of concern for theImperial Army^[1][46][47], which led to inconvenient information often being hidden from the Assembly, such as thearrest of Princess Leia Organa being disguised as an accident or thedestruction of Jedha City being covered as a mining disaster.^[48][49]

With certain senators eager to uncover if theImperial Navy was engaging in war crimes,Imperial Naval Regulation 132.CAT.ch(22) maintained that, should agunnery captain order theirgunners to destroy anescape pod, they needed to fill outForm XTM-51-CT to explain to the Senate why the decision was made. The regulation had an in-built exception for any active battle with an intensity aboveCategory V, enablingofficers to order the destruction of escape pods without concern in such cases.^[50]

As theGalactic Civil War dragged on, opposition in the Imperial Senate grew increasingly more vocal, becoming a major concern for the Emperor,^[51] especially after theAlliance to Restore the Republic was able to steal the Death Star plans during theBattle of Scarif. With the plans to the Empire's great weapon in rebel hands, it was more than possible its existence would be leaked to the Senate and media, thereby triggering a governmental crisis and damaging Palpatine's public reputation as a benevolent ruler.^[52] This eventually prompted the Emperor to dissolve the Imperial Senate and turn the Empire in an absolute monarchy.^[53]

Senate-related documents[]

The following are documents passed by the Imperial Senate or relating to its functioning:

• Proclamation of the New Order^[2]
• Imperial Rebirth Act^[54]
• Imperial Defense Recruitment Bill^[55]
• Imperial Emergency Act^[25]
• Public Order Resentencing Directive^[25]
• Imperial Naval Regulation 132.CAT.ch(22)^[50]

Behind the scenes[]

The Imperial Senate was first mentioned inGeorge Lucas' originalStar Wars film in1977 and first appeared in Lucas'2005prequel trilogy filmStar Wars: Episode IIIRevenge of the Sith, as the successor to the Galactic Republic's Senate.

Dan Gilroy wrote theAndor Season 2 episode "Welcome to the Rebellion." He said that Mon Mothma's final speech to the Imperial Senate, delivered byGenevieve O'Reilly, was addressed to two audiences—her colleagues in the Senate and the citizens of the wider galaxy. The speech was meant as Mothma's last chance to alert people from the Senate of theever bigger lies under authoritarian regimes.^[56]

Appearances[]

Non-canon appearances[]

• "Attack over Tatooine" —LEGO Star Wars 1

Sources[]

Notes and references[]