Galactic Republic
The Galactic Republic was a representative democracy, composed of various star systems, sectors, and member worlds throughout most of the known galaxy. Its central government consisted of three branches: legislative, executive, and judicial. The first was the Galactic Senate, a body of elected or appointed representatives. Its main duties included mediating disputes over issues ranging from planetary to galactic scale, regulating trade routes between star systems, and in theory, representing the interests of Republic citizens. The Office of the Supreme Chancellor was the Senate's executive counterpart. The Supreme Chancellor was elected from the ranks of the Senate by its members. As the leader of the Senate and the overall representative of the Republic, the Chancellor also held the titles of Head of State and President. The judicial branch consisted of the Supreme Court and the lower Regional Courts. The Supreme Court was composed of twelve justices, one of whom held the leadership position of Chief Justice.
Throughout most of its history as the dominant galactic power, the Republic did not style itself as a strong centralized government, but rather as a union of sovereign planets for the purposes of collective security and economic prosperity. It was said that its complete history could "fill a thousand libraries."
Office of the Supreme Chancellor
The Office of the Supreme Chancellor includes the role as well as the institution of the Supreme Chancellor which encompasses their aides, staff, and government organizations directly subordinate to the Chancellor. The members of the Galactic Senate elect the Supreme Chancellor from amongst their ranks who would serve as the Republic's head of government (and, by default, head of state) and chief diplomat.Galactic Senate
The legislative and executive brand of the Galactic Republic is located on Coruscant. Its primary duties are to mediate any disputes between star systems, worlds, and cultures, to regulate trade between systems, to protect and care for citizens in need, and to provide mutual defense in the face of threats to the Republic. Each member state (system governments) returned a representative (a senator) to a central legislative body (the Senate). Senators are the ambassadors of their homeworlds, and member worlds are able to maintain their government and society in accordance with local beliefs, customs, and traditions. There is a wide variety of different local governments along the political spectrum: from monarchies to republics to hive-like communes. In some systems, the senator is elected to that post; in others, the world government appointed the senator. Naboo's monarch appointed their senators, while the Alderaan Council of Elders elected their senators out of their own ranks (usually the heir to the Royal House Organa, was also the leader of the council).Judicial Department
The primary law enforcement agency for the Galactic Republic. Under the command of the Galactic Senate. It includes the Republic Office of Criminal Investigations (ROCI), the Sector Rangers (Officially under the ROCI), the Republic Security Force, and the Senate Guard. The Supreme Court was the highest court of law in the Old Republic and composed the judicial branch of the Republic's government. The Supreme Court was headquartered in the Galactic Courts of Justice Building on Coruscant. The Court consisted of twelve justices (each addressed as "Your Honor" one of them was the Chief Justice who headed both the Court and the judicial branch. The Supreme Chancellor apparently could influence appointments to the Court in some way, most likely through nominations. In addition to serving as a "court of last resort" and as a determiner of constitutional legality, the Supreme Court also tried cases involving the highest politicians and most noteworthy people in the Republic. However, at least some cases (including the trial of senators for treason) were handled by the Senate.Military
25,053 BBY - 19 BBY
Type
Geopolitical, Republic
Capital
Alternative Names
Grand Republic; Republic
Successor Organization
Ruling Organization
Leader Title
Head of State
Head of Government
Government System
Democracy, Representative
Legislative Body
Judicial Body
Judicial Department
Executive Body
Subsidiary Organizations
Location
Related Ranks & Titles
Controlled Territories
Neighboring Nations
Notable Members
Related Plots
Comments