Interplanetary Governance Council

The Interplanetary Governance Council was founded in 224, as a way of overseeing the many factions that were working together to clear Earth's orbit of debris after the fall of the Liberatuers, and was officially ratified as the solar system's highest level of government in 239, by the newly reformed United Nations of Earth. The council's various member's and committees would deliberate at the UN's previous headquarters in New York, until the completion of Eous station in 242.

The council is made up of seven sub-committees, with each committee made up of up to but not more than 1/6 of the total membership. These committees are:

The Administrative Committee, in charge of electing civilian members of the Council, arranging the various venues and events for the Council, and deciding the function and form of various Council meetings, and providing accommodations for the Councilmembers.
The Economic Committee, tasked with setting mandatory taxes for the Solar systems' habitats, bases, and colonies, as well as presenting the Council's yearly budget to the general council.
The Advancement Committee, charged with preserving the unique environments of the Solar System, approving the various mega-projects that apply to the Council for funding, drafting and submitting exploration contracts to the Chairman, and approving designs for space habitats and various types of pressure vessels, as well as dispensing research grants as specified by the budget.
The Justice Committee, which functions as the highest court of the Solar System, called into use when a crime crosses political boundaries, or a criminal appeals to the Council.
The Defense Committee, in charge of clearing and maintaining the orbits of the various planets and moons, maintaining public-use infrastructure such as emergency vessels, hazard personnel pressure suits, and such. Also responsible for the safety of the Solar System's spaceports and shipping vessels, responding to piracy and smuggling.
The Trustee committee, responsible for the administration of various territories leased, occupied, or protected by The IGC, as well as the various embassies and outposts throughout the Solar System.
The Societal Committee, responsible for coordinating operations between various habitats/colonies/bases, determining the number of Councilmembers necessary, and the majority of non-emergency outreach missions, education programs, peace festivals, ect. Uniquely responsible for training & equipping its own civilian workers, and administering their pay.

The council was originally made up of 1710 Councilmen, who were divided into their various sub-committees by the Council Chairman. the committee's do not have specific size limits, but no committee may made 1/6 or more of the total Council. This meant that the largest committee, originally, was the economic committee, made of the maximum of 284 members.

The Chairman of the Council, officially called the Prolocutor, is responsible for assigning the various members of the Full Council to the seven committees, and also has veto right against any single committee's decision. For instance, the Prolocutor can veto the Economic Committee's budget plan, but may be overruled by a majority vote of the full council. the Full Council always has veto power over the Prolocutor, and may impeach the Prolocutor at any full council.

The Prolocutor is elected every 7 years by a vote of the full council each candidate for the position must be nominated by a majority vote from one of the seven committees, after which the seven candidates are voted on in Full Council. Each candidate must have previously been a councilmember, and it is possible to be nominated by more than one committee. The Prolocutor's main interest, then, is to keep the council as happy as possible by passing the small matters to avoid to many Full Council's, and vetoing controversial bills so they will be brought to the Full Council.

To bring a matter up in Full Council, it must first go through one of the seven minor Committees, and be approved by a majority vote there. It may then be brought up at the next Full Council, which are held as often as the Administrative Committee dictates, but no less often then once bi-monthly. Originally, there was one Council member elected by every habitat/base/colony that was between 10 and 20 million humans, 2 for such locations between 20 and 30 million, ect. Any "overflow" votes are contributed to the habitat/base/colonies larger region of space, as determined by the Administrative Committee, and from there to a larger region, up until the final less than 10 million votes are given a Council member of their own. This is the ONLY case where a council member is elected by less than 10 million voters. Council Elections are held every 5 years, with different regions staggering their elections. Preliminary elections are held the year before the majors. Preliminary elections are used to determine who will be running for a Council seat, and any person may enter their name into these elections, and any person achieving greater than 5% of the preliminary election vote will be given a specific budget to fund their future campaign on, and not allowed to use any other funds. There is 1 vote per person in all elections.

As of 2400, there are 3,515 Council Members, with a per-committee cap of 518. Each of these individuals represents 1 billion people, rather than the 10 million set by the original Council. Earth itself is divided into 15 voter precincts, while Mars has barely four and Venus almost five. Mercury has a small population of 11 precincts. There are 120 precincts making up the greater region known as the Asteroid Belt, and 12 on the Moon. Space between Earth and the moon is made up of 3 larger sectors, each with roughly 100 precincts. Jupiter contains just under 800 precincts, separated into five sectors, while the other gas giants have 300 all together, and make a sector each. the Kuiper belt and Oort cloud contain only ~10 precincts, and are generally considered 1 sector together. The other 1900 precincts are located largely in interplanetary space, made up of countless habitats or stations where the borders between sectors often blurs beyond comprehension.

Type

Government, Leadership

Capital

Eous Station

Alternative Names

The IGC

Government System

Democracy, Parliamentary

Power Structure

Transnational government

Economic System

Mixed economy