The Imperial Senate, also referred to as the Galactic Senate, was the legislative assembly of the Galactic Empire that constituted one of the last remnants of the Old Republic. However in reality, the Imperial Senate held a purely consultative role and was to ensure the passage of any laws and legislation required by Emperor Sheev Palpatine.

At the end of the Clone Wars, Supreme Chancellor Palpatine transformed the Galactic Republic into the Galactic Empire, beginning an autocratic era. Palpatine as Emperor 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 to the 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 the Death Star was completed.

However, the Imperial Senate began to grow weaker as regional governors assumed more responsibility over their territories, with most decrees becoming repeatedly ignored by the Imperial Military. However, the Alliance to Restore the Republic against the Empire kept gaining support, with some senators secretly supporting the rebel cause and did not hesitate to use their diplomatic immunity to help them, and some even became leaders of the growing Rebel Alliance.

After the Battle of Scarif and the capture of Senator Leia Organa of Alderaan, the Emperor used the incident to cast doubt unto the loyalty of the assembly over the princess's actions. As such, the Senate was dissolved, with its former prerogatives handed down to the governors and the military. In the aftermath of the Battle of Endor, former senators reconvened the Galactic Senate during the restoration of the Galactic Republic as the New Republic.

History[]

Establishment[]

Main article: Proclamation of the New Order

At the end of the Clone Wars—which he had carefully masterminded—the Sith Lord known as Darth Sidious continued to use his public persona of Sheev Palpatine, the Supreme Chancellor of the Galactic Republic. He ordered a special session of Congress and proclaimed himself Galactic Emperor, turning the old Republic into a New Order in his image. The representatives overwhelmingly supported the announcement, except for a few delegates, including Padmé Amidala and Bail 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.^[8] In the wake of the regime change, the Galactic Senate became the Imperial Senate, and the Senate Plaza the Imperial Plaza.^[1] Additionally, architectural and design changes would remove any trace of the former Republic, and a giant statue of the Emperor would be erected outside the Senate Rotunda.^[9]

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.^[11] During the first year of the Imperial Era, individual senators were overly focused on helping their own worlds, which left the planet Kashyyyk undefended amongst the body when it was besieged by the Empire.^[12]

Implied threats and a near-complete lack of trust would permeate among worlds, while the actual enactment of legislation would become an uncommon occurrence.^[13] Prior to the mission to Ryloth, Instructor Pell Baylo sought to assassinate 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.^[14]

In 9 BBY, Imperial Senator Daho Sejan, representative of the planet Utapau in the Senate, was interested in gaining more power. Using his position in the Imperial Senate, Sejan arranged for Jedi Knight Cal 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 surviving Jedi 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. The events that followed Kestis' escape eventually led to the Senator's death.^[15]

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 the proclamation of the New Order, but needed its body to preserve order until the Death Star was completed, from which he could rule absolute through sheer terror.^[16]

Waning influence[]

By its fourteenth year of existence, the Imperial Senate started growing even weaker as the Emperor's regional governors assumed more responsibility over their territories.^[18] Indeed, Palpatine actively worked to undermine the power of the Senate and strip away its remaining authority.^[19] In 5 BBY, Imperial Senator Mon Mothma appeared before the Senate showing her support for a proposal made by Senator Dhow and tried to bring attention to the suffering of the people of Ghorman however the senate chamber had very few individuals present and most were looking at their datapads about the news of a rebel attack on Aldhani.^[20]

Following the attack on on Aldahani, Palpatine proposed the Imperial Emergency Act to the Senate, which was eventually passed. The new act increased the authority of the Imperial Army, Imperial Navy and the Imperial 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 the rebels on Aldhani had used the Eye of Aldhani festival celebrations as a cover for their heist. Palpatine also proposed the Public Order Resentencing Directive to the Senate^[21] which saw the sentences of Imperial prisoners doubled and extended the sentences of future convictions.^[22] Both measures generated strong criticism from dissident senators such as Mon 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.^[19]

By 3 BBY, only forty planets bothered sending representatives to the Apprentice 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 though Apprentice Legislator Princess Leia Organa of Alderaan viewed it as one of the few checkpoints on the Emperor's power.^[17] 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 the chief 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.^[23]

The first debate of the Apprentice Legislature that year had them closing a location for a new Imperial Academy for aeronautical engineering and design. It chose the planet Arreyel, 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 of Christophsis was arrested and sent to a Imperial work camps, as the Empire discovered that they were amongst those backing the rebels on the planet. Grand Moff Wilhuff 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.^[17]

Erosion of power[]

Several senators, including Mon Mothma and Bail Organa, began attending strategy meetings, which were disguised as dinner parties, at the Royal 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 with Harp Allor of Chandrila, who she was in a pathfinding class with.^[17]

Both Leia and her fellow Apprentice Legislator, Amilyn Holdo of Gatalenta helped the growing rebel Alliance evacuate from their base on Paucris 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.^[17]

Some representatives, however, did not realize the extent of the Senate's powerlessness. Nadea Tural, senator of Thrad, 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.^[25]

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 the fall of the planet Lasan, the Senate banned the use of the T-7 ion disruptor rifle. However, the military ignored the Senate's decree and planned for the disruptors to be produced on Lothal,^[26] and violated surrender protocols by destroying damaged transports^[27] and unarmed civilian craft.^[28] The Senate was also informed about the destruction of Jedha City by the Empire, and was told that it was caused by a mining disaster.^[29] 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 in 0 BBY,^[30] when Senator Leia Organa attempted to smuggle the stolen plans for the Death Star, a moon-sized battle station that could destroy an entire planet. Organa's blockade runner was subsequently captured by Sith Lord Darth 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, General Cassio Tagge was concerned that the Rebellion would continue to garner support in the Imperial Senate, until Governor Tarkin reported the Emperor's decree to the Joint Chiefs. Tarkin assured them that the governors would fill the power vacuum, and that the DS-1 Death Star Mobile Battle Station would generate fear across the galaxy, thereby keeping the star 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 the Arrth-Eno Prison Complex on Coruscant. The Alliance made an attempt to both rescue those senators and assassinate the Emperor. Their plans, however, were thwarted, and all captive senators died.^[31]

Legacy[]

After the Empire was defeated at the Battle of Endor, the Rebel Alliance reorganized into the New Republic and restored the Imperial Senate as the Galactic Senate based on the Old Republic Senate, on the planet Chandrila.^[6] 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 of Mon Mothma, the Senate would split into two factions, the Centrists and the Populists, a political divide that would threaten to undermine the New Republic's egalitarian philosophy, all while an Imperial successor regime grew on the fringes of the galaxy.^[13]

Rella Sol, a pilot in the Imperial Navy's Titan 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.^[32]

Organization[]

The Imperial Senate was led by the Galactic Emperor, self-appointed for a life term^[2] under his own power and jurisdiction.^[33] 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. He nevertheless could take the board at any given time and give a speech before the Senate, to which all senators currently recognized by the Vice Chair had to cede; the Emperor's arrival to the chamber would be announced by a loud horn.^[3] He also had the authority to propose his own legislation as Palpatine did with the PORD and the Imperial Emergency Act.^[21] Additionally, only he had the power to pass voted issues into law—which he usually did not.^[25]

The Vice Chair regulated all sessions and meetings similarly to the position of the same name under the Galactic Senate; at the time of the early Imperial Era the role was fulfilled by Grand Vizier Mas Amedda^[3] although by 5 BBY he was missing from most sessions as the Senate gradually lost its power.^[20] The Vizier had the authority to have any members of the Senate arrested at any time, even mid-session, could call for order, and expel disorderly Senators and would accompany the Emperor in his addresses.^[3] Per ancient tradition, each session of the senate was brought to order by either the Oathkeeper or the Speaker, also known as the Grand Vizier.^[34]

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.^[25] Although Palpatine rarely appeared at proceedings,^[9] very few senators dared to demand answers in the Senate chamber, lest they be reprimanded, or even silenced. While senators enjoyed diplomatic immunity,^[35] they did not have the right to contest an execution order given by a military commander, especially in matters relating to treason.^[25]

By 5 BBY 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 Vizier Mas Amedda or Chief of Staff Sly Moore also did not usually bother to participate in the Senate's works, knowing how powerless it had become.^[20] The Apprentice Legislator program had also fallen into near irrelevance, with only 40 star systems still sending representatives to it.^[17]

With certain senators eager to uncover if the Imperial Navy was engaging in war crimes, Imperial Naval Regulation 132.CAT.ch(22) maintained that, should a gunnery captain order their gunners to destroy an escape pod, they needed to fill out Form 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 above Category V, enabling officers to order the destruction of escape pods without concern in such cases.^[36]

Senate-related documents[]

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

• Proclamation of the New Order^[2]
• Imperial Defense Recruitment Bill^[37]
• Imperial Emergency Act^[21]
• Public Order Resentencing Directive^[21]

Appearances[]

Non-canon appearances[]

• "Attack over Tatooine" — LEGO Star Wars 1

Sources[]

Notes and references[]