The Galactic Union
The Galactic Union is an intergovernmental organization and forum for the nations of the galaxy to peacefully settle disputes, replacing the United Nations. It was established in 2439 following a conference of 84 nations on Horizon to create a new framework for nations to peacefully resolve their disputes. Its headquarters are on Horizon and satellite offices on Nuggia, with other functions on other planets like most major financial functions being on New Tidewater and judicial funcitons being on New Estonia.
The Galactic Union was founded as a response to the ineffectiveness of the United Nations for peacefully settling the numerous uprisings that happened during the late 24th and early 25th centuries. Critismism became particularly intense after the Plazoro Civil War, in which UN Peacekeeprs were notable far more harmful than they were helpful.
History
The idea of the Galactic Union first started emerging in the late 23rd century. The galaxy had seen a series of violent revolutions in almost every colony outside of the Orion Arm, almost all of which Earth tried to suppress with violent force. While many of the tensions had been brought up within the UN, but the UN was ineffective in solving these crises. This lead to calls both from Earth and from former colonies to either reform the UN or create a whole new body. On July 14th, 2432, an assembly of 257 nations was assembled to decide what to do with the UN. After 8 months of discussion, they eventually decided to create a new body and dissolve the UN. After 7 years, the Treaty of Paris (2432) was ratified by every member of the initial 257 Nations, and the Galactic Union was formed.Structure
The Galactic Parliament
The Galactic Parliament is the legislative body of the Galactic Union. They have the power to either pass non binding resolutions with 1/2 of the present members or pass binding resolutions related to international diplomacy and international conflict with the unanimous consent of all present members. 2/3rds of members must be present for policy to be pushed forward.The Executive Council
The Executive Council is the executive branch of the Galactic Union. Its members are elected every 3 years from the members of the Galactic Parliament, and comprises of 15 members. It helps to decide the agenda of the Galactic Parliament, but the Parliament has the final say in its own agenda. Six of the members of the executive council are also elected to head one of the six Departments of the Galactic Union, with the other nine members comprising the General Council. These deparments exist to help further the organization's goals of galactic peace, stability, and development. While the other nine members are not officially in control of the departments, they are highly encouraged to communicate with the departments and make suggestions in their running. The Departments of the Galactic Union are as follows:- The Galactic Development Fund
- Hyperspace Exploration, Management, and Communications Agency (HEMCA)
- Galactic Bank
- Commission on Human Rights
- Commission on Cultural Heritage of Mankind
- Galactic Peacekeepers
The International Court
The International Court is the judicial branch of the Galactic Union. It serves to adjudicate international disputes and prosecute war criminals and individuals commiting crimes against humanity. It is comprised of two principle organs, the prosecutors and the justices of the International Court. Prosectors research and argue cases against individuals and organizations deemed in breech of galactic law. Justices rule on cases, deciding the terms of a settlement or handing down criminal sentences.Critisms
Role of Major Powers
The Galactic Union has been critized for the outsized influence of some of the galaxy's major powers in decision making in the body. The prototypical example of this is the failure of the Galactic Union to respond to the The Imperialist Wars. The Nuggian Empire was able to use its economic power to influence other governments to elect it to the Galactic Peacekeepers. From there, it was able to block the use of Peacekeepers to end the war.Galactic Council Elections
The election process to the galactic council has been criticized, particularly the election of the department heads. The main contentions are that states are only allowed to run for one department at a time, and that the votes for a member to a department are also considered to be generic ballots for the General Council. Critics argue this means that the system misses the nuances between election to the seperate departments. They argue that, for example, an department like The Commission on Cultural Heritage has fewer responsibilities than the Galactic Peacekeeprs, and that The Commission on Cultural Heritage is therefore less important. Therefore, critics argue, just because a perticular state is not elected to a particular body does not mean that they are not wanted on the Galactic Council. And that because the votes to a department are also considered the same for the General Council, a state that could otherwise garner a seat on the General Council would not be elected because other states did not trust them with a particular department, and therefore gave them less votes.Effects:
The United Nations
As part of the ratification of the Treaty of Paris, the United Nations was dissolved. This also left Earth and the Old Worlds without a framework for internation cooperation. By the time of the dissolution of the UN, Earth had largely moved past the nation states of the path and began to work as a more unified bloc. With the dissolution of the United Nations, many of the nations of Earth and the Old Worlds began to discuss a larger political union. This eventually led to the discussion of a federal system to unify Earth and the Old Worlds under a singular government. The talks that resulted led to the drafting and signing of the Articles of Federation, creating the Orion Federation, a federal government covering Earth and most human settlements in the Orion Arm.International Peace
The effect of the Galactic Union on international peace has been debated. While the Galactic Unions have been able to halt civil strife and conflicts such as the Great Northern Rush. But, it does have notable failures such as failing to intervene in the The Imperialist Wars.Galactic Union
Headquarters
HorizonType
Intergovernmental OrganizationEstablishment
Treaty Finished: March 13th, 2432Treaty Ratified: August 19th, 2439
Comments