Advocate

Advocate was a government position in the Golden Empire, created in 151 ABY alongside the post of Procurator as part of the 65 Reforms.

When Queen Rin Sakaros announced her plan to subdivide the Empire into sectors, with each ruled by a Procurator on her behalf, many citizens feared that the move would neutralize the power of Tribunes. Previously, Tribunes had served as a check on Consular authority, able to appeal a Consul's action to the Sovereign. The new sector government was designed to act as an administrative buffer between individual worlds and the Sovereign; by 150 ABY, the Empire had over 1,300 worlds, and there were simply too many for Rin to attend to all their needs personally.

However, having learned the lesson of Vessyk and Ekshi which prompted the creation of Tribunes in the first place, Rin also proposed the creation of an elected Advocate as a sector-level Tribune. Advocates were always involved in disputes between Consuls and Tribunes which were escalated to the Procurator. While the Procurator had the authority to adjudicate actions of the Consuls which had been protested by their Tribunes, if the Advocate felt the Procurator had acted unjustly, he could further appeal the matter to the Sovereign. Advocates could also appeal actions which initiated with the Procurator, such as trade regulations for the entire sector. In both cases, the action was suspended until the Sovereign or her delegate gave a final ruling. Most Advocates solicited information from Tribunes apart from that sent to the Procurator, to ensure they could represent the common people fairly to the Procurators with whom they worked.

Advocates were elected by all the people of their sectors. After long consideration, Rin decided not to require Advocates to have previously served as Tribunes, although former Tribunes were eligible to run in Advocate elections. Like Tribunes, Advocates had term limits, but of three years rather than two. Tribunes could serve up to three two-year terms in a row; Advocates could serve up to two three-year terms consecutively.

Advocates, like Tribunes, Consuls, and Procurators, attended the annual Consular Assembly. They were paid from the Royal Treasury. At Rin's strong encouragement, every sector passed legislation making assaulting an Advocate punishable by a mandatory death sentence.