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| All the Emperor’s Men Appendix A: Imperial Law |
In the Imperial Sourcebook, Second Edition rebel historian Arhul Hextrophon states that all sapient inhabitants of the Galactic Empire
(except ’droids) are considered “full citizens,” with “certain rights under Imperial law, namely, the right to follow the precepts of the New
Order fully and without question,” to which are added “other rights [which] include certain freedoms that in no way interfere with Imperial
doctrines and goals.” Therefore, citizens of Alderaan or Chandrila (for example), being sapient beings within the territorial jurisdiction of the
Galactic Empire (albeit not of the Imperial State), are Imperial citizens as well. Given the semi-sovereign character of the member states, the
double citizenship is a clear indication of the federal structure of the Galactic Empire.
The Imperial Charter is mentioned by the Princess Leia of Alderaan in passing in Splinter of the Mind’s Eye, when she indignantly describes
“using energy weapons on primitive sentients” as a “gross violation of the original Imperial charter.” This indicates that, at least in its
original form (implying that the Charter has been or can be amended), the Imperial Charter restricts the actions of the Imperial State in some
respects. In the Star Wars Encyclopedia, the scholars define the Imperial Charter as “a document that contained rules and agreements set
forth by the Empire” that “governed the rights and responsibilities of all Imperial worlds and star systems.” It specifically states that “the
charter, granted to member systems, included details on the use of resources, rights of passage, military protection, tribute, and
colonization”; the description of the Charter as being “granted” suggests that rather than being a basic law constituting the Galactic Empire,
that perhaps it is something like a treaty between the Imperial State on the one hand and the member states on the other.
The Will cited the Senatorial Amendments to Constitutions of New Order (Decree 77-92465-001) in Children of the Jedi as establishing that
“all military offensives shall be considered under law as states of emergency, and subject to the emergency military powers act of the
Senate”; this citation is interesting in that it provides two separate pieces of information about Imperial law: (1.) there is a part of the
Imperial legal code called the Constitutions of New Order, which the Senate is capable of amending; and (2.) by act of the Senate, the
Imperial Armed Forces are not subject to ordinary civil law, and a state of martial law exists ipso facto in the event of military or naval
operations. Along related lines is the Will’s citation of Section II of the Preface to the Capital Powers Act, which states that “without
necessary capital powers it is considered impossible to maintain the stability of the New Order and the security of the greatest number of
civilizations in the galaxy.”
In his final speech as Supreme Chancellor of the Galactic Republic on 16:5:23 (simultaneously his first Speech from the Throne as Galactic
Emperor), quoted in Revenge of the Sith, Palpatine of Naboo declared that the Galactic Empire would be “an Empire ruled by the majority”
and “ruled by a new Constitution,” an Empire “of laws, not of politicians,” being “devoted to the preservation of a just society.” It is
unknown whether his reference to “a new Constitution” refers to the Imperial Charter, the Constitutions of New Order, or a third,
previously unknown document; alternatively, it is entirely possible that this particular aspect of his Wahlkapitulation was simply never
put into effect. “The Full Text of Palpatine’s Glorious Speech,” evidently an official version of the Speech as published by Republic
HoloNet News (it differs somewhat from his dialogue in Revenge of the Sith, a subtle form of revisionism) includes this as claim but notably
prints it as “an Empire ruled by the majority, ruled by a new constitution” (note the minuscule; “Constitution” is printed with a majuscule
first letter in Revenge of the Sith).
The Imperial Sourcebook, Second Edition states that all Imperial citizens are subject to Imperial law (in addition, presumably, to local law),
but adds that the laws are not entirely uniform, the most uniform segment being the Imperial Revenue Codes, which require citizens to
provide satisfactory proof of having met “fiscal obligations” to the Imperial State and provide for penalties ranging from “confiscation of
goods” to “increasingly common sentence to labor camps”; at least as far as the Revenue Codes are concerned, fairly to satisfy the burden of
proof on the part of the citizen being audited is treated as an admission of guilt. Because of the disorganized nature of the codex juris
inherited from the Galactic Republic, COMPNOR created the Department of Justice in the Coalition for Progress to normalize it into a
uniform legal code for the entire Galactic Empire; even Imperial Intelligence (a rival organization) admits that “the legal system improved
greatly with the fervent efforts of the members of Justice.”
The Star Wars Holiday Special indicates that the Imperial Penal Code contains seventeen volumes. Presumably this is the same thing as the
Imperial Penal References mentioned by Cynabar’s Fantastic Technology: Droids as containing the so-called “Droid Statutes,” which
concern criminal acts perpetrated by ‘droids and automata (under Imperial law, criminal acts by ‘droids are treated as criminal acts by
sapient beings, and both the ‘droid and its owner receive punishment equivalent to that of a sapient malefactor convicted of the same crime).
There is also a document entitled the Dark Book of Imperial Justice, whose specific relationship to the Penal Code is unclear, but is seen in
Queen of the Empire to include details relevant to marriage. It is implied both in Star Wars: From the Adventures of Luke Skywalker and in
The Star Wars Holiday Special that Imperial citizens are required by law to carry some form of personal identification, but it isn’t clear
what part of Imperial law requires this.
Platt’s Smugglers Guide explains that the Imperial Penal References (“ImPeRe” in smuggler slang) are enforced by “local law enforcement
groups (including planetary militias), Imperial Customs officers and the Imperial Navy.” The Penal References classify infractions into five
classes, with Class One infractions being the most severe and often resulting in the posting of bounties (a Class One offender may be
designated an “Enemy of the Empire”), while Class Four and Class Five infractions being frequently ignored. Class Five infractions include
violation of local import/export laws and lack of proper emergency equipment aboard a vessel. Class Four infractions include the unlicensed
purchase or transport of narcotics or “F” rated goods requiring permit or proof of fee payment, purchase or use of any vessel without a
Ship’s Operating License and Captain’s Accredited License, and purchase or transport of unrestricted goods in bulk without proper
taxation. Class Three infractions include attempted bribery of an official of the Imperial State and the unlicensed transport of “R” rated
restricted goods. Class Two infractions (initially targeted at piracy and organized crime, but also used frequently against the rebel Alliance)
include the unlicensed installation or interstellar transport of high-energy weapons, and trafficking in “X” rated restricted or illegal goods or
in stolen goods. Class One infractions include conspiracy to overthrow the Imperial State or aggression against employees of the Imperial
State, possession of a cloaking device, and use of armed force against another vessel.
Penalties for violation of the Imperial Penal References include fines, incarceration, seizure of assets, revocation of business or flight
permits, and termination. Fines vary between the 100 - 5,000 credit range of Class Five and Class Four to the up to 10,000 credit fines of
Class Two. Periods of incarceration range from the one month maximum of Class Four to the 30 years maximum of Class One. Platt’s
Smugglers Guide adds that local jurisdictions have the authority to classify most offenses, and while some offenses like murder will always
be Class One or Class Two, there is considerable variation in the particular classification of some smuggling offenses. In Children of the Jedi,
the Will cites “the Imperial Military Code Section 12” as defining certain capital offenses, including “incitement to mutiny against duly
constituted authority,” “participation in mutiny,” “concealing known or suspected mutineers from central authority of the vessel,”
“concealing evidence of planned or executived acts of mutiny or sabotage from chain of command,” “physical plant, or automatic self-
checking devices on board any Fleet vessel.” It is not clear whether the Imperial Military Code is completely separate from the Imperial
Penal Code and the Imperial Penal References.
As already mentioned, law enforcement is handled at several different levels throughout the Galactic Empire. Ideological “thought police”
functions are performed by the quasi-official Imperial Security Bureau (ISB) in addition to its state security responsibilities, according to
the Imperial Sourcebook, Second Edition. Coordinated by the Imperial Office of Criminal Investigations (IOCI), the Sector Rangers and
Special Enforcement Officers are authorized to pursue criminal offenders throughout a Sector, irrespective of internal systemic boundaries,
according to the Dark Empire Sourcebook. According to Pirates & Privateers, the Imperial Customs Office regulates and polices interstellar
commerce, and shares with the Sector Rangers and the Imperial Navy the responsibility for combating piracy throughout the galaxy.
Additionally, the Imperial Armed Forces perform police functions like the apprehension and detention of smugglers and the seizure and
imposition of contraband materials (Han Solo specifically claimed that he outran “Imperial starships” on a routine basis in A New Hope),
and also the raiding of criminal hideouts, such as the Imperial Army’s attack on a Black Sun headquarters on Corellia in “Side Trip Part
Four.”
Imperial Remandation Order 421BX72 authorizes an officer “to take any and all measures necessary” for the apprehension of persons
“wanted for crimes against the Empire,” according “Seregar Turnabout,” whereas an Imperial law designated KR27 authorizes any
commissioned officer of the Armed Forces to place the members of a criminal organization under arrest, as seen in Mara Jade: By the
Emperor’s Hand. Those law enforcement matters which do not fall under the jurisdiction of the member states, the Sector Government, the
Regional Government, or the Imperial State are handled by the posting of bounties to the IOCI’s Imperial Enforcement DataCore, first
mentioned in Galaxy Guide 9: Fragments from the Rim.
According to Galaxy Guide 9: Fragments from the Rim, legal bounty hunting requires an Imperial Peace-Keeping Certificate (IPKC), the so-
called “Bounty Hunter’s License” issued by the IOCI at a cost of 500 credits per standard year; the IPKC is valid only within certain
jurisdictions (often far from the Core Worlds Region) and authorizes a bounty hunter to transport weapons and equipment legally, and to
pursue any quarry posted to the “Most Wanted” list. In order to actually secure and collect a bounty, the hunter must obtain additional
permits such as a Sector Permit or Oversector Permit (1,000 to10,000 credits per month), a System Permit (50 to 500 credits per month), a
Target Permit (10 to 1,000 credits per month, usually 100 credits), or a Capture Permit, issued after the quarry has already been captured
(25% of the posted bounty or 500 credits, whichever is greater). This proliferation of permits is evidently intended to enable the Imperial
State and various other levels of government to take some form of revenue from the bounty hunting trade; bounty hunters tend to regard the
System Permit as the most economical means of pursuing their trade (e.g., the bounty hunter valance was licensed in 29 individual star
systems, according to “Dark Encounter”). The posting of a bounty to the Enforcement DataCore without notification of the IOCI is a
criminal offense under Public Order Act 95.76, the Assault and Injuries Act (rev.96.82), and the Mandatory Notifications Ordnance #884.
774.283 § B - E. “Payback: The Tale of Dengar” adds that § 2127 of the Imperial Code governs the conduct of legal assassinations, including
the requirement that the target be given opportunity to exercise the right to self-defense and three minutes to exercise the right to escape;
according to “Payback” Dengar, – he identifies himself as an “Imperial Assassin, Grade One” – he was hired “to conduct a legal
assassination in order to atone for crimes against humanity,” and upon completion of the contract, “the injured parties will file documents
with the Empire showing why they chose assassination as a recourse.”
Unsurprisingly, the Imperial State appears to take a restrictive attitude toward personal weapon ownership. The Dark Empire Sourcebook
mentions the presence of weapons detectors as a regular part of life on the Mussolinified worlds of most Imperial citizens, and an Imperial
citizen is obliged to carry an Imperial Sanction Card if he or she has legal possession of a personal weapon; these Sanction Cards are issued
at spaceports and are valid only for weapons declared upon debarkation, according to Game Chambers of Questal, which means that the
state will (in theory) be constantly updated on the movement of individuals and their possession of personal weapons (the Hero’s Guide
states that membership in the Bounty Hunters’ Guild serves as an Imperial personal weapons license). On industrial worlds like Metalorn,
the possession of a firearm is prohibited, and the Tagge Weapons Detection System is capable of detecting any arms or explosives brought
onto the planet, or tracking the movement of an individual rifle anywhere on the planet, as seen in “A Princess Alone!”; it is worth mention
that the system’s “pulse beat sensors indicate monitored weapon is no longer in authorized hands,” meaning that the system can
immediately recognize and report the unauthorized possession of a weapon.
Decree A-SL-4557.607.232 permits the procurement of slaves under certain conditions, according to Galaxy Guide 9: Fragments from the
Rim; this should not be interpreted as the complete legalization of slavery, as the Dark Empire Sourcebook describes the stopping of illegal
slave rings by the Imperial Sector Rangers, and the bounty hunter Valance collected a bounty on the late Marko Tyne, “wanted in nine
systems for unlicensed slaving,” in “Return of the Hunter.” As noted by the Han Solo and the Corporate Sector Sourcebook, Imperial law
apparently draws a distinction between slavery and domestication in that slavery is the condition of involuntary servitude as applied to a
sapient being; some species, like Wookiees and Mon Calamari, are defined as non-sapient under Imperial law. Cracken’s Rebel Operatives
adds that whenever traveling or working outside the owner’s property, an enslaved/domesticated being is required to be accompanied by its
owner, who is obliged to surrender a Slave/Owner Card to state officials or agents on demand.
In the event that a xenomorph should be found to represent a substantial danger to sapient species, the Dangerous Species Act evidently
requires the matter to be investigated, as in the case of the Barabels on Barab I; Galaxy Guide 4: Alien Races states that Sector Governor
Paro Lanto ordered a Star Destroyer to Barab I after hearing reports of the slaughter of hunting parties by Barabel “prey,” as per the
Dangerous Species Act. This same source mentions that Imperial law (possibly another part of the Dangerous Species Act) prohibits the
deliberate extermination of an intelligent species without “overwhelming evidence of its undesirability,” and that “official permission for
extermination can be extremely difficult to acquire.” In an attempt to make an end run around this legislation, a Sector Government classified
the Ranats as “semi-intelligent” (i.e., having no property rights, and justifiably killed in self-defense), but also made an effort to avoid
having this dubious measure examined too closely.
The Imperial State regulates interstellar commerce and travel. Platt’s Starport Guide indicates that the Imperial State required all spacers to
obtain a Core Worlds Travel Clearance in order to conduct spacefaring business in the Core Worlds Region, and The Official Star Wars
Adventure Journal No. 3 mentions the permits LQ-1010-DNG and IC-40X1-CRE, required for the transport of gladiator ‘droids for
distribution or sale and for the transport and sale of exotic xenomorphs, respectively. “Lumrunners” mentions the Imperial Bureau of
Regulation’s Spacers’ Information Manual (SIM), which described the various situations in which a starship may be boarded by customs
agents, as well as outlining the procedures for acquiring the mandatory Arms Load-Out Permit (ALP), Captain’s Accredited Licence (CAL),
Safety Inspection Certification (SIC), Sector Trade Permit (STP), Ship’s Operating License (SOL), and Vessel Cargo Manifest (VCM),
which collectively document a ship’s armament, spaceworthiness, authorization to transport goods or provide services across interstellar
space, and current cargo, as well as the ship’s master’s accreditation to operate a spacecraft and to conduct interstellar business. Note that
Platt’s Smugglers Guide attributes the SIM to the Imperial Space Ministry, not the Bureau of Regulations; possibly this could signify that
the Bureau of Regulations is a bureau of the Space Ministry.
The Imperial State can and does charter corporations, including privately-owned, for-profit ventures such as Planetary Safaris, Inc., and the
Squib Merchandising Consortium mentioned in Galaxy Guide 4: Alien Races, the Imperial Mining Corp., mentioned in Pirates & Privateers,
or the Imperial Fruit Company, mentioned in the Dark Empire Sourcebook and Children of the Jedi; the Imperial State also chartered state-
owned corporations such as Imperial Munitions, whose holdings were assembled from the assets of other corporations seized by the
Imperial State, as stated by the Arms & Equipment Guide Extras!, or the Imperial Droid Corporation (IDC), formed out of the holdings of
Banche Tech, Cencil Corp., Reiber Manufacturing, and SFI Systems, four Mid-Rim automata manufacturers specializing in “combat,
assassin, and other military droids,” according to Pirates & Privateers. It is known that the Imperial State practiced a sort of punitive
nationalization (“Imperialization”) of corporations believed to be disloyal, such as Incom Corporation, as mentioned in The Star Wars
Sourcebook, Second Edition, Imperial Meats and Produce in Pirates & Privateers, and presumably also Galactic Electronics, whose assets
were impounded by Grand Admiral Demetrius Zaarin in TIE Fighter. Biggs Darklighter tells his friend Luke Skywalker that “they’re
starting to imperialize [sic] commerce in all the outlying systems” in Star Wars: From the Adventures of Luke Skywalker, although he
himself prefaces this with the telltale disclaimer “I’ve heard” and there is no actual evidence of such widespread collectivization.
Outside of Imperialization, Imperial law appears to be quite friendly toward corporate entities; as seen for the first time in “Return to
Tatooine!” the Tagge Company is regularly seconded the use of Imperial Marines, “agri-sector maximization” policies are said by the Dark
Empire Sourcebook to have turned many farmers into “virtual serfs for macro-farming giants like the Tagge Restaurant Association, Core
Foodstuffs and the Imperial Fruit Company,” and the head of a major defense contractor (like Kuat of Kuat, president of Kuat Drive Yards)
can expect to have multiple audiences with the Galactic Emperor throughout his career, as seen in Slave Ship. The Imperial State was
particularly munificent with those corporations which had already proven their loyalty, such as the members of the Galactic Corporate
Policy League (viz., the Tagge Company, Merr-Sonn Mil/Sci, Ayelixe/Krongbing Textiles, Millennium Entertainments, Bank of the Core,
Chiewab Amalgamated Pharmaceuticals Company, Kuat Drive Yards, Rendili StarDrive, Cybot Galactica, and the Karflo Corporation), and
has even gone so far as to establish corporativist client states like the Corporate Sector Authority and its Corporate Sector (Han Solo and
the Corporate Sector Sourcebook), anarcho-capitalist palatinates like the Wheel (Geonosis and the Outer Rim Worlds), and de jure
oligopolies like the Bacta Cartel (The Bacta War) and the Kessel Spice Corp. (Pirates & Privateers). The Imperial State has also been
known to actively promote the interests of plutocratic worlds like Metellos and Brentaal V (Coruscant and the Core Worlds) or Sestria
(Geonosis and the Outer Rim Worlds), and has been known to tread with uncharacteristic softness in its dealings with banking centers like
Aargau (Zug III) in “The Third Law” or Muunilinst III in Geonosis and the Outer Rim Worlds; indeed, the Imperial credit is backed by the
banking clans of Muunilinst. Imperial law, like Republican law before it, has no objection to corporations controlling entire planets or even
Sectors; the CSA owned some 20,000 star systems, while Chiewab owned 600 and the Bacta Cartel controlled 400.
Of course the one aspect of Imperial law that had one of the greatest effects on the political situation in the galaxy after the Battle of Endor
is the Imperial law of succession, or – more accurately – the total lack thereof. Although in his inaugural address, the Galactic Emperor had
claimed that the Empire would be “continue to be ruled by this august body [i.e., the Senate]” and would be “directed by a single sovereign,
chosen for life,” it is made excruciatingly clear by the Dark Empire Sourcebook there was no legal mechanism of any kind whatever to
designate a successor to the Galactic Emperor, be it inheritance or election or general acclamation. As a result, the Imperial State necessarily
fell into a series of power struggles over who should be heir to the Empire, and the resultant infighting (along with rampant rogue
warlordism) was one of the single greatest contributions to the Empire’s accelerated collapse after the debacle at Endor in 39 rS. The plots
to assassinate or depose the Galactic Emperor in “Betrayal” and TIE Fighter were part and parcel of coups d’état, and the question of
lawful succession is never raised. It is interesting in and of itself that no legislator or politician appears to have noticed the complete absence
of provision for orderly transfer of imperium in the event of the Galactic Emperor’s death.
See also:
References:
(except ’droids) are considered “full citizens,” with “certain rights under Imperial law, namely, the right to follow the precepts of the New
Order fully and without question,” to which are added “other rights [which] include certain freedoms that in no way interfere with Imperial
doctrines and goals.” Therefore, citizens of Alderaan or Chandrila (for example), being sapient beings within the territorial jurisdiction of the
Galactic Empire (albeit not of the Imperial State), are Imperial citizens as well. Given the semi-sovereign character of the member states, the
double citizenship is a clear indication of the federal structure of the Galactic Empire.
The Imperial Charter is mentioned by the Princess Leia of Alderaan in passing in Splinter of the Mind’s Eye, when she indignantly describes
“using energy weapons on primitive sentients” as a “gross violation of the original Imperial charter.” This indicates that, at least in its
original form (implying that the Charter has been or can be amended), the Imperial Charter restricts the actions of the Imperial State in some
respects. In the Star Wars Encyclopedia, the scholars define the Imperial Charter as “a document that contained rules and agreements set
forth by the Empire” that “governed the rights and responsibilities of all Imperial worlds and star systems.” It specifically states that “the
charter, granted to member systems, included details on the use of resources, rights of passage, military protection, tribute, and
colonization”; the description of the Charter as being “granted” suggests that rather than being a basic law constituting the Galactic Empire,
that perhaps it is something like a treaty between the Imperial State on the one hand and the member states on the other.
The Will cited the Senatorial Amendments to Constitutions of New Order (Decree 77-92465-001) in Children of the Jedi as establishing that
“all military offensives shall be considered under law as states of emergency, and subject to the emergency military powers act of the
Senate”; this citation is interesting in that it provides two separate pieces of information about Imperial law: (1.) there is a part of the
Imperial legal code called the Constitutions of New Order, which the Senate is capable of amending; and (2.) by act of the Senate, the
Imperial Armed Forces are not subject to ordinary civil law, and a state of martial law exists ipso facto in the event of military or naval
operations. Along related lines is the Will’s citation of Section II of the Preface to the Capital Powers Act, which states that “without
necessary capital powers it is considered impossible to maintain the stability of the New Order and the security of the greatest number of
civilizations in the galaxy.”
In his final speech as Supreme Chancellor of the Galactic Republic on 16:5:23 (simultaneously his first Speech from the Throne as Galactic
Emperor), quoted in Revenge of the Sith, Palpatine of Naboo declared that the Galactic Empire would be “an Empire ruled by the majority”
and “ruled by a new Constitution,” an Empire “of laws, not of politicians,” being “devoted to the preservation of a just society.” It is
unknown whether his reference to “a new Constitution” refers to the Imperial Charter, the Constitutions of New Order, or a third,
previously unknown document; alternatively, it is entirely possible that this particular aspect of his Wahlkapitulation was simply never
put into effect. “The Full Text of Palpatine’s Glorious Speech,” evidently an official version of the Speech as published by Republic
HoloNet News (it differs somewhat from his dialogue in Revenge of the Sith, a subtle form of revisionism) includes this as claim but notably
prints it as “an Empire ruled by the majority, ruled by a new constitution” (note the minuscule; “Constitution” is printed with a majuscule
first letter in Revenge of the Sith).
The Imperial Sourcebook, Second Edition states that all Imperial citizens are subject to Imperial law (in addition, presumably, to local law),
but adds that the laws are not entirely uniform, the most uniform segment being the Imperial Revenue Codes, which require citizens to
provide satisfactory proof of having met “fiscal obligations” to the Imperial State and provide for penalties ranging from “confiscation of
goods” to “increasingly common sentence to labor camps”; at least as far as the Revenue Codes are concerned, fairly to satisfy the burden of
proof on the part of the citizen being audited is treated as an admission of guilt. Because of the disorganized nature of the codex juris
inherited from the Galactic Republic, COMPNOR created the Department of Justice in the Coalition for Progress to normalize it into a
uniform legal code for the entire Galactic Empire; even Imperial Intelligence (a rival organization) admits that “the legal system improved
greatly with the fervent efforts of the members of Justice.”
The Star Wars Holiday Special indicates that the Imperial Penal Code contains seventeen volumes. Presumably this is the same thing as the
Imperial Penal References mentioned by Cynabar’s Fantastic Technology: Droids as containing the so-called “Droid Statutes,” which
concern criminal acts perpetrated by ‘droids and automata (under Imperial law, criminal acts by ‘droids are treated as criminal acts by
sapient beings, and both the ‘droid and its owner receive punishment equivalent to that of a sapient malefactor convicted of the same crime).
There is also a document entitled the Dark Book of Imperial Justice, whose specific relationship to the Penal Code is unclear, but is seen in
Queen of the Empire to include details relevant to marriage. It is implied both in Star Wars: From the Adventures of Luke Skywalker and in
The Star Wars Holiday Special that Imperial citizens are required by law to carry some form of personal identification, but it isn’t clear
what part of Imperial law requires this.
Platt’s Smugglers Guide explains that the Imperial Penal References (“ImPeRe” in smuggler slang) are enforced by “local law enforcement
groups (including planetary militias), Imperial Customs officers and the Imperial Navy.” The Penal References classify infractions into five
classes, with Class One infractions being the most severe and often resulting in the posting of bounties (a Class One offender may be
designated an “Enemy of the Empire”), while Class Four and Class Five infractions being frequently ignored. Class Five infractions include
violation of local import/export laws and lack of proper emergency equipment aboard a vessel. Class Four infractions include the unlicensed
purchase or transport of narcotics or “F” rated goods requiring permit or proof of fee payment, purchase or use of any vessel without a
Ship’s Operating License and Captain’s Accredited License, and purchase or transport of unrestricted goods in bulk without proper
taxation. Class Three infractions include attempted bribery of an official of the Imperial State and the unlicensed transport of “R” rated
restricted goods. Class Two infractions (initially targeted at piracy and organized crime, but also used frequently against the rebel Alliance)
include the unlicensed installation or interstellar transport of high-energy weapons, and trafficking in “X” rated restricted or illegal goods or
in stolen goods. Class One infractions include conspiracy to overthrow the Imperial State or aggression against employees of the Imperial
State, possession of a cloaking device, and use of armed force against another vessel.
Penalties for violation of the Imperial Penal References include fines, incarceration, seizure of assets, revocation of business or flight
permits, and termination. Fines vary between the 100 - 5,000 credit range of Class Five and Class Four to the up to 10,000 credit fines of
Class Two. Periods of incarceration range from the one month maximum of Class Four to the 30 years maximum of Class One. Platt’s
Smugglers Guide adds that local jurisdictions have the authority to classify most offenses, and while some offenses like murder will always
be Class One or Class Two, there is considerable variation in the particular classification of some smuggling offenses. In Children of the Jedi,
the Will cites “the Imperial Military Code Section 12” as defining certain capital offenses, including “incitement to mutiny against duly
constituted authority,” “participation in mutiny,” “concealing known or suspected mutineers from central authority of the vessel,”
“concealing evidence of planned or executived acts of mutiny or sabotage from chain of command,” “physical plant, or automatic self-
checking devices on board any Fleet vessel.” It is not clear whether the Imperial Military Code is completely separate from the Imperial
Penal Code and the Imperial Penal References.
As already mentioned, law enforcement is handled at several different levels throughout the Galactic Empire. Ideological “thought police”
functions are performed by the quasi-official Imperial Security Bureau (ISB) in addition to its state security responsibilities, according to
the Imperial Sourcebook, Second Edition. Coordinated by the Imperial Office of Criminal Investigations (IOCI), the Sector Rangers and
Special Enforcement Officers are authorized to pursue criminal offenders throughout a Sector, irrespective of internal systemic boundaries,
according to the Dark Empire Sourcebook. According to Pirates & Privateers, the Imperial Customs Office regulates and polices interstellar
commerce, and shares with the Sector Rangers and the Imperial Navy the responsibility for combating piracy throughout the galaxy.
Additionally, the Imperial Armed Forces perform police functions like the apprehension and detention of smugglers and the seizure and
imposition of contraband materials (Han Solo specifically claimed that he outran “Imperial starships” on a routine basis in A New Hope),
and also the raiding of criminal hideouts, such as the Imperial Army’s attack on a Black Sun headquarters on Corellia in “Side Trip Part
Four.”
Imperial Remandation Order 421BX72 authorizes an officer “to take any and all measures necessary” for the apprehension of persons
“wanted for crimes against the Empire,” according “Seregar Turnabout,” whereas an Imperial law designated KR27 authorizes any
commissioned officer of the Armed Forces to place the members of a criminal organization under arrest, as seen in Mara Jade: By the
Emperor’s Hand. Those law enforcement matters which do not fall under the jurisdiction of the member states, the Sector Government, the
Regional Government, or the Imperial State are handled by the posting of bounties to the IOCI’s Imperial Enforcement DataCore, first
mentioned in Galaxy Guide 9: Fragments from the Rim.
According to Galaxy Guide 9: Fragments from the Rim, legal bounty hunting requires an Imperial Peace-Keeping Certificate (IPKC), the so-
called “Bounty Hunter’s License” issued by the IOCI at a cost of 500 credits per standard year; the IPKC is valid only within certain
jurisdictions (often far from the Core Worlds Region) and authorizes a bounty hunter to transport weapons and equipment legally, and to
pursue any quarry posted to the “Most Wanted” list. In order to actually secure and collect a bounty, the hunter must obtain additional
permits such as a Sector Permit or Oversector Permit (1,000 to10,000 credits per month), a System Permit (50 to 500 credits per month), a
Target Permit (10 to 1,000 credits per month, usually 100 credits), or a Capture Permit, issued after the quarry has already been captured
(25% of the posted bounty or 500 credits, whichever is greater). This proliferation of permits is evidently intended to enable the Imperial
State and various other levels of government to take some form of revenue from the bounty hunting trade; bounty hunters tend to regard the
System Permit as the most economical means of pursuing their trade (e.g., the bounty hunter valance was licensed in 29 individual star
systems, according to “Dark Encounter”). The posting of a bounty to the Enforcement DataCore without notification of the IOCI is a
criminal offense under Public Order Act 95.76, the Assault and Injuries Act (rev.96.82), and the Mandatory Notifications Ordnance #884.
774.283 § B - E. “Payback: The Tale of Dengar” adds that § 2127 of the Imperial Code governs the conduct of legal assassinations, including
the requirement that the target be given opportunity to exercise the right to self-defense and three minutes to exercise the right to escape;
according to “Payback” Dengar, – he identifies himself as an “Imperial Assassin, Grade One” – he was hired “to conduct a legal
assassination in order to atone for crimes against humanity,” and upon completion of the contract, “the injured parties will file documents
with the Empire showing why they chose assassination as a recourse.”
Unsurprisingly, the Imperial State appears to take a restrictive attitude toward personal weapon ownership. The Dark Empire Sourcebook
mentions the presence of weapons detectors as a regular part of life on the Mussolinified worlds of most Imperial citizens, and an Imperial
citizen is obliged to carry an Imperial Sanction Card if he or she has legal possession of a personal weapon; these Sanction Cards are issued
at spaceports and are valid only for weapons declared upon debarkation, according to Game Chambers of Questal, which means that the
state will (in theory) be constantly updated on the movement of individuals and their possession of personal weapons (the Hero’s Guide
states that membership in the Bounty Hunters’ Guild serves as an Imperial personal weapons license). On industrial worlds like Metalorn,
the possession of a firearm is prohibited, and the Tagge Weapons Detection System is capable of detecting any arms or explosives brought
onto the planet, or tracking the movement of an individual rifle anywhere on the planet, as seen in “A Princess Alone!”; it is worth mention
that the system’s “pulse beat sensors indicate monitored weapon is no longer in authorized hands,” meaning that the system can
immediately recognize and report the unauthorized possession of a weapon.
Decree A-SL-4557.607.232 permits the procurement of slaves under certain conditions, according to Galaxy Guide 9: Fragments from the
Rim; this should not be interpreted as the complete legalization of slavery, as the Dark Empire Sourcebook describes the stopping of illegal
slave rings by the Imperial Sector Rangers, and the bounty hunter Valance collected a bounty on the late Marko Tyne, “wanted in nine
systems for unlicensed slaving,” in “Return of the Hunter.” As noted by the Han Solo and the Corporate Sector Sourcebook, Imperial law
apparently draws a distinction between slavery and domestication in that slavery is the condition of involuntary servitude as applied to a
sapient being; some species, like Wookiees and Mon Calamari, are defined as non-sapient under Imperial law. Cracken’s Rebel Operatives
adds that whenever traveling or working outside the owner’s property, an enslaved/domesticated being is required to be accompanied by its
owner, who is obliged to surrender a Slave/Owner Card to state officials or agents on demand.
In the event that a xenomorph should be found to represent a substantial danger to sapient species, the Dangerous Species Act evidently
requires the matter to be investigated, as in the case of the Barabels on Barab I; Galaxy Guide 4: Alien Races states that Sector Governor
Paro Lanto ordered a Star Destroyer to Barab I after hearing reports of the slaughter of hunting parties by Barabel “prey,” as per the
Dangerous Species Act. This same source mentions that Imperial law (possibly another part of the Dangerous Species Act) prohibits the
deliberate extermination of an intelligent species without “overwhelming evidence of its undesirability,” and that “official permission for
extermination can be extremely difficult to acquire.” In an attempt to make an end run around this legislation, a Sector Government classified
the Ranats as “semi-intelligent” (i.e., having no property rights, and justifiably killed in self-defense), but also made an effort to avoid
having this dubious measure examined too closely.
The Imperial State regulates interstellar commerce and travel. Platt’s Starport Guide indicates that the Imperial State required all spacers to
obtain a Core Worlds Travel Clearance in order to conduct spacefaring business in the Core Worlds Region, and The Official Star Wars
Adventure Journal No. 3 mentions the permits LQ-1010-DNG and IC-40X1-CRE, required for the transport of gladiator ‘droids for
distribution or sale and for the transport and sale of exotic xenomorphs, respectively. “Lumrunners” mentions the Imperial Bureau of
Regulation’s Spacers’ Information Manual (SIM), which described the various situations in which a starship may be boarded by customs
agents, as well as outlining the procedures for acquiring the mandatory Arms Load-Out Permit (ALP), Captain’s Accredited Licence (CAL),
Safety Inspection Certification (SIC), Sector Trade Permit (STP), Ship’s Operating License (SOL), and Vessel Cargo Manifest (VCM),
which collectively document a ship’s armament, spaceworthiness, authorization to transport goods or provide services across interstellar
space, and current cargo, as well as the ship’s master’s accreditation to operate a spacecraft and to conduct interstellar business. Note that
Platt’s Smugglers Guide attributes the SIM to the Imperial Space Ministry, not the Bureau of Regulations; possibly this could signify that
the Bureau of Regulations is a bureau of the Space Ministry.
The Imperial State can and does charter corporations, including privately-owned, for-profit ventures such as Planetary Safaris, Inc., and the
Squib Merchandising Consortium mentioned in Galaxy Guide 4: Alien Races, the Imperial Mining Corp., mentioned in Pirates & Privateers,
or the Imperial Fruit Company, mentioned in the Dark Empire Sourcebook and Children of the Jedi; the Imperial State also chartered state-
owned corporations such as Imperial Munitions, whose holdings were assembled from the assets of other corporations seized by the
Imperial State, as stated by the Arms & Equipment Guide Extras!, or the Imperial Droid Corporation (IDC), formed out of the holdings of
Banche Tech, Cencil Corp., Reiber Manufacturing, and SFI Systems, four Mid-Rim automata manufacturers specializing in “combat,
assassin, and other military droids,” according to Pirates & Privateers. It is known that the Imperial State practiced a sort of punitive
nationalization (“Imperialization”) of corporations believed to be disloyal, such as Incom Corporation, as mentioned in The Star Wars
Sourcebook, Second Edition, Imperial Meats and Produce in Pirates & Privateers, and presumably also Galactic Electronics, whose assets
were impounded by Grand Admiral Demetrius Zaarin in TIE Fighter. Biggs Darklighter tells his friend Luke Skywalker that “they’re
starting to imperialize [sic] commerce in all the outlying systems” in Star Wars: From the Adventures of Luke Skywalker, although he
himself prefaces this with the telltale disclaimer “I’ve heard” and there is no actual evidence of such widespread collectivization.
Outside of Imperialization, Imperial law appears to be quite friendly toward corporate entities; as seen for the first time in “Return to
Tatooine!” the Tagge Company is regularly seconded the use of Imperial Marines, “agri-sector maximization” policies are said by the Dark
Empire Sourcebook to have turned many farmers into “virtual serfs for macro-farming giants like the Tagge Restaurant Association, Core
Foodstuffs and the Imperial Fruit Company,” and the head of a major defense contractor (like Kuat of Kuat, president of Kuat Drive Yards)
can expect to have multiple audiences with the Galactic Emperor throughout his career, as seen in Slave Ship. The Imperial State was
particularly munificent with those corporations which had already proven their loyalty, such as the members of the Galactic Corporate
Policy League (viz., the Tagge Company, Merr-Sonn Mil/Sci, Ayelixe/Krongbing Textiles, Millennium Entertainments, Bank of the Core,
Chiewab Amalgamated Pharmaceuticals Company, Kuat Drive Yards, Rendili StarDrive, Cybot Galactica, and the Karflo Corporation), and
has even gone so far as to establish corporativist client states like the Corporate Sector Authority and its Corporate Sector (Han Solo and
the Corporate Sector Sourcebook), anarcho-capitalist palatinates like the Wheel (Geonosis and the Outer Rim Worlds), and de jure
oligopolies like the Bacta Cartel (The Bacta War) and the Kessel Spice Corp. (Pirates & Privateers). The Imperial State has also been
known to actively promote the interests of plutocratic worlds like Metellos and Brentaal V (Coruscant and the Core Worlds) or Sestria
(Geonosis and the Outer Rim Worlds), and has been known to tread with uncharacteristic softness in its dealings with banking centers like
Aargau (Zug III) in “The Third Law” or Muunilinst III in Geonosis and the Outer Rim Worlds; indeed, the Imperial credit is backed by the
banking clans of Muunilinst. Imperial law, like Republican law before it, has no objection to corporations controlling entire planets or even
Sectors; the CSA owned some 20,000 star systems, while Chiewab owned 600 and the Bacta Cartel controlled 400.
Of course the one aspect of Imperial law that had one of the greatest effects on the political situation in the galaxy after the Battle of Endor
is the Imperial law of succession, or – more accurately – the total lack thereof. Although in his inaugural address, the Galactic Emperor had
claimed that the Empire would be “continue to be ruled by this august body [i.e., the Senate]” and would be “directed by a single sovereign,
chosen for life,” it is made excruciatingly clear by the Dark Empire Sourcebook there was no legal mechanism of any kind whatever to
designate a successor to the Galactic Emperor, be it inheritance or election or general acclamation. As a result, the Imperial State necessarily
fell into a series of power struggles over who should be heir to the Empire, and the resultant infighting (along with rampant rogue
warlordism) was one of the single greatest contributions to the Empire’s accelerated collapse after the debacle at Endor in 39 rS. The plots
to assassinate or depose the Galactic Emperor in “Betrayal” and TIE Fighter were part and parcel of coups d’état, and the question of
lawful succession is never raised. It is interesting in and of itself that no legislator or politician appears to have noticed the complete absence
of provision for orderly transfer of imperium in the event of the Galactic Emperor’s death.
See also:
- All the Emperor’s Men: The Anatomy and Politics of the Galactic Empire
- Appendix B: Politics in the Imperial Armed Forces
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This appendix was originally added on 21 November 2004. It was republished on 31 January 2007.