Galactic Union

The Galactic Union, also known as the Union, the Third Galactic Republic. or the League of United Planets, was the galactic government after the fall of in 137 ABY. The Union, led by a Supreme Chancellor, had a democratic government with a Senate and a House of Representatives as it's legislative branch and the Galactic Court as it's judicial branch.

The Second Galactic Constitution, which had established the Union, restricted the powers of the government further than it's Old Republic predecessor, by establishing strict constitutional limits on the government, as well as creating a system of checks and balances to even out the power in the government.

Formation
"One day, democracy will return to the galaxy. The Sith oppression that has been present since the days of Palpatine will be crushed, and the Jedi will once more defend the government that breaks this oppression."

- The of Raian Keldabe to Mark Keldabe

The Galactic Union was formed in 138 ABY, after the fall of Darth Krayt's Empire in 137 BBY. The Union quickly claimed Coruscant as it's capital, and began constructing a new government in what was called the Coruscant Convention. There it was decided upon to create a federal constitutional government that severely limited the powers of Congress, the Courts, and the chancellor, in order to prevent a dictator such as Palpatine or from emerging once again. The final document resulting from this convention was the Second Galactic Constitution, which included a bill of fundamental rights, that officiated the Union's existance as the new galactic government.

The Jedi Order, at the same time, was reformed and re-established as the peace keepers in the new Union.

Government and politics
The purpose of the new Constitution was to diminish the powers of the central government, in hopes of preventing the rise of another dictator, such as Palpatine had been to the Old Republic, or the "tyranny of the majority", such as Darth Krayt's attempted to do during his reign.

Legislative branch
The Congress of the Union consisted of a Senate and House of Representatives. Congress collectively had the power to collect taxes, duties, imports and excises, to provide the common defense and general welfare of the Union.

Senate
Every six years, a Senator would be elected from each planet in the Union and sent to Coruscant to serve in the Second Galactic Senate. As required by the Union's Constitution, a person had to have attained the age of thirty to become a Senator candidate. The Viceroy alone held the power to break a tie in the Senate, but only if the votes in the Senate were equally split. The Senate had the power to try all impeachments, with the only rule being that no person would be convicted unless two-thirds of the current Senators voted to do so.

House of Representatives
It is unknown exactly how many representatives were allowed from each planet, but the numbers seem to vary from planet to planet. It is thought by historians that these numbers were chosen based on planet population. However, what is known is that every four years, representatives were elected on each planet and sent to Coruscant to serve in the Union's House of Representatives. Under the Union Constitution, a Representative had to be at least twenty-five years old.

Executive branch
The Galactic Union, during the Coruscant Convention, decided that it would reuse the position of Supreme Chancellor for it's head-of-state. Because their were simply too many citizens in the Union to have conventional citizen voting for this person, the members of the Senate would elect the Supreme Chancellor from amongst their ranks who, like in the days of the Old Republic, would serve as the Union's head of government (and, by default, head of state) and chief diplomat.

The Supreme Chancellor of the Union was the most powerful person in the Union's government. He had to be a natural born citizen of the Union or one of it's territories, have reached the age twenty-nine, have lived within Union territory for ten straight years, and be a member of the Second Galactic Senate. He was allotted term of two years, after which he could run for another two years before having to retire permanently from the Head-of-State position, as well as the Senate. He shared this term with the Viceroy of the Union. He was the Commander-in-Chief of the Union's army and navy, and had the power to pardon any crime against the Union, except in the case of impeachments. He could also appoint members to his advisory board to advise him on various situations.

Judicial branch
The Galactic Court was the highest court of law in the Galactic Union, and composed the judicial branch of the Union's government. The Court was headquartered in the Galactic Courts of Justice Building on Coruscant, where the Supreme Court of the Old Republic was once held.

The Court consisted of twelve justices; one of them was the Chief Justice who headed both the Court and the judicial branch. The Supreme Chancellor could nominate someone for the position of a justice. That person is then voted on by the a Senate sub-committee called the "Senate Judiciary Conformation Committee", which decides whether or not a person is accepted.

In addition to serving as a "court of last resort" and as a determiner of constitutional legality, the Supreme Court also tried cases involving the highest politicians and most noteworthy people in the Union. However, at least some cases (including the trial of senators for treason) were handled by the Senate.

Relationship with the Reformed Jedi Order
"The Jedi are a separate entity. They should have no part in the government. Instead, as long as they conform to the Constitution of our new Union, we should give them free reign. After all, it was the lack of trust in the Jedi during the later days of the First Republic that got a Sith elected to office."

- A founder of the Union speaking at the Coruscant Convention

In the Galactic Union, the Jedi were forbidden to participate in the government; the people feared that a single Jedi, gone rouge (meaning that they turned to the dark side), could become a dictator and bring in the dark times once more. Instead, they were given free reign to do as they pleased, as long as they followed the laws set forth by the Constitution, and later, the Courts. Not only did the Jedi serve as peace makers, but they also served as diplomats, bodyguards, and even generals for the new Union. Despite the Jedi being separated from the government, the Supreme Chancellor would often seek advice from the Reformed Jedi Council during times of trouble.

Military
The Galactic Union military were the overall unified military forces of the Galactic Union. It consists of two branches; the Army and the Navy, though the Jedi were considered a provisional branch at times. Since it's founding in 138 BBY, the Union had always stood by a strong civilian military, as well as voluntary military enlistment. The Supreme Chancellor was the Commander-in-chief, however, the Defense Department, also called the War Department, was the principle organization which controlled the day-to-day policies of the military. The Department was managed by the Second-in-command of the military, the Defense Secretary. The Chancellor and his Defense Secretary were advised by a five-man council, known as the War Council, as well as a member of the Jedi Order in order to combine diplomacy with war-time strategy. The War Council was headed by a high ranking officer from the military called the Chairman of the War Council.

The Union's military forces had a large number of personnel, drawing it's numbers from a large amount of patriots and volunteers: it never had to use conscription, though the option was on the table should military service drop below a certain level. It also possessed a very diverse amount of equipment and technology, largely due in part to an immense amount of military research for most of the Union's existance.

Astrography
The known parts of the Galactic Union encompassed all of the Core Worlds and Mid-Rim, and some of the Outer Rim systems. It had a more noticeable presence in the Outer Rim than the Old Republic.

Behind the Scenes
The government of the Galactic Union was heavily based on the United States' own government. The faction itself, was more based on the author's nation from the online game of NationStates, including re-edited versions of it's own biography from the NationStates wiki.