THE UNITED FEDERATED PLANETS GOVERNMENT

THE UFP GOVERNMENT

The UFP shall be composed of two main sectors which are overseen by a level of higher governmental organization. The UFP President shall oversee the operational and administrative areas of the United Federated Planets.

The UFP government shall be the council and Assembly form of government with the UFP President as the head of the UFP council, as prescribed by the Articles of the United Federated Planets.

The UFP Council shall consist of the duly elected UFP President and 10 Ambassadors and the UFP Assembly shall consist of 2 members from each member Star Trek or Sci Fi race represented within the UFP membership. The UFP Council shall implement the laws governing the UFP by a process of ratifying the new and amended Constitutional articles and laws which are formulated by the UFP Assembly. Each Council and Assembly member having one vote on each item brought before the UFP Council and Assembly to be voted on, as prescribed by the Articles of the United Federated Planets.

THE UFP PRESIDENT AND THE CABINET

The UFP President and his/her Cabinet is responsible for insuring that all of the rules, regulations, laws and Constitutional Articles are observed by and adhered to by the UFP sectors in all operational, administrative and managerial areas and areas of dispute.

The UFP President serves as head of the UFP Council and is responsible for obtaining votes from the UFP Council to ratify new or amended UFP Constitutional Articles or laws formulated and presented by the UFP Assembly. The UFP President is also responsible for maintaining communications with the members of the UFP Council and UFP Assembly.

The UFP President and his/her Cabinet is responsible for reviewing, processing and developing ideas and suggestions submitted by the UFP general membership for new or amendments in current rules, regulations, laws and UFP Constitutional Articles. The UFP President then presents the new or amended proposal to the UFP Assembly for deliberation and further development. The UFP President and his/her Cabinet present the new or revised proposal to the UFP Council for ratification. The UFP President then presents the new or revised Constitutional amendment or law to the chapter presidents, after ratification by the UFP Council.

The UFP President shall serve a term of four (4) years at which time a call for nominations for the Office Of The President Of The United Federated Planets shall be made to the general membership to determine if the election process needs to be activated or if the current UFP President shall retain the office for another four (4) year period. The election process is discussed in detail in Article 7. There is no limitation to the number of terms a UFP President may serve.

The Cabinet of the UFP President shall consist of the UFP Vice President and any other advisory and administrative Cabinet members the UFP President may require to assist him/her in the day to day operations of the UFP.

The Cabinet members are appointed by the UFP President during his/her term of office and may leave the Cabinet when a new UFP President is elected unless the new UFP President decides to retain said Cabinet members in whole or part.

THE UFP COUNCIL

The UFP Council is composed of one representative from each of the five founding members and six planetary representatives elected by the Assembly. The Council members are elected by their Star Trek or Sci Fi race group for a term of five years.

The purpose of the Council is to ratify legislation proposed by the Assembly, are the final arbiters of what policies the UFP will adopt, is directly responsible for the conduct of Starfleet Command in protecting and enforcing UFP interests and policy, nominates the various departmental Secretaries of the Secretariat and members of the UFP Tribunal, and in times of emergency is empowered to act with the full authority of both the Council and the Assembly.

The UFP Council is presided over by the President of the Council, otherwise known as the President of the UFP. The UFP Council is responsible for ratifying all new or amended UFP legislation presented by the Assembly and shall be called upon by the UFP President to cast votes for said legislation during either regularly scheduled or emergency UFP Council meetings. These meetings may be conducted by telecommunications due to distances between residences of the UFP Council members and the inability to gather together on a regular basis.

The UFP Council members may bring issues effecting their UFP Star Trek related race membership groups before the UFP Council for discussion and input from other UFP Council members when they feel it is required to assist in problem solving especially in the area of civilian sector development.

The UFP Ambassadors may elect to utilize Aides to assist them in the day to day performance of their duties. However, UFP Ambassadorial Aides have no vote in the UFP Council.

THE UFP ASSEMBLY

The UFP Assembly is composed of representatives from every member Star Trek or Sci Fi race of the UFP. Each full member status planetary government is allowed two delegates who serve a six year term while associate member planetary governments are allowed one delegate who serves a four year term.

The purpose of the Assembly is to formulate legislation reflecting the needs of all UFP members for ratification by the Council, ratifying Council nominations for both departmental Secretaries and the UFP Tribunal, and serve to head various committees that deal with special needs of the UFP.

THE UFP SECURITY COUNCIL

Providing for the common defense of every member planet in the UFP is a task beyond the capabilities of a single administrative body. During the Romulan War, the UFP government was hard-pressed to meet the demands of waging a full-scale interstellar war while handling it's day-to-day duties. After the Romulan War, a special provisional Assembly committee was established to examine the likelihood of renewed Romulan hostilities in the next decade. This provisional body assumed added importance when the UFP went to war with the Klingons, and eventually became the permanent organization known as the United Federated Planets Security Council (UFP Security Council, for short).

The executive head of the council, the High Commissioner, also manages the Federated Security Agency (FSA). The FSA is an intelligence-gathering agency that collects and correlates political, military and social information on foreign governments. Although these specialists typically act in an information-processing role, they have also been employed in counter-intelligence capacities.

THE UFP ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COUNCIL

Established under the provisions of the Articles of The United Federated Planets, the UFP Economic and Social Council (ESC) is considered one of the primary agencies in the UFP bureaucracy. Under the guidance of the Council Director, the ESC monitors the economic and social development of all UFP member worlds. At periodic intervals, it reports to the UFP Assembly on matters relating to economic and social progress. The ESC is also concerned with observing the individual rights of UFP citizens. Given clear evidence that such rights have been violated, the ESC may make specific recommendations to the UFP Council or any other agencies aimed at correcting such conditions. This council also coordinates social and economic improvements enacted by other UFP governmental organizations.

THE UFP TECHNICAL COUNCIL

The UFP maintains this special council, Technical Council (TC), to provide for the exchange and dissemination of technical data to all member races, providing equal technical accessibility for all. The Council also reviews new technical proposals and recommends avenues and directions for future UFP funded research.

THE TRUSTEESHIP COUNCIL

In cases where a given world or society is under the specifications of the Prime Directive or quarantined due to protectorate status, such worlds shall be administered by a special United Federated Planets council of trustees designated by the United Federated Planets Assembly. The trustees will oversee the development of such worlds over an extended period of time, periodically visit the planet in question and report on local conditions to the United Federated Planets Assembly at periodic intervals with recommendations as to the continuing disposition of such worlds. Whenever more than one planet is designated as a protectorate or is otherwise protected under the provisions of the Prime Directive, a separate trusteeship council shall be established to administer each world accordingly.