United Federation of Planets

The legislature of the UFP government is the Council of the United Federation of Planets, more commonly known as the Federation Council. A unicameral body, the Council is comprised of one Federation Councillor from each member state, and meets in the Federation Council Chambers on Earth. Specifically, the Council Chambers are located on Floor One of the Palais de la Concorde, in the city of Paris.

In accordance with the Articles of the Federation, sessions of the full Council are presided over by the President (barring special circumstances, such as their being off-world). The President stands at a podium near the north wall, while the councillors sit in seats arranged in rising rows of twenty. The podium determines who may speak to the Council for the record, and recognized speakers may only address the Council from the speaker's floor, located in the centre of the room between two sets of councillors’ seats. Councillors have computer terminals at their work stations; they may use these to silently contact one another as well as send messages to people outside the chambers. Lights on each terminal are activated if the councillor in question desires to address the Council. No one may speak if they have not been recognized by the podium.

The Federation Council conducts its business in sessions that convene every six months, with three-week intervals between actual meetings. According to the Articles of the Federation, all councillors must be present at the beginning of a session in order to participate in future meetings of the Council; those that are not present must wait until the next session convenes, six months later. The Council conducts much of its business by dividing itself into numerous sub-councils with jurisdiction over specific areas of import; the Security Council, for instance, has jurisdiction over matters of Federation security. Some of the sub-councils, such as the Security and Judiciary Councils, are permanent, while others are created on an as-needed basis. The councillors from the five founding states are automatically appointed to the permanent sub-councils. Otherwise, membership in sub-councils is determined by the President, who nominates a councillor for a particular role; these choices are then confirmed by the full Council. During sub-council sessions, members may speak without having to be recognized by the chair; these sessions are usually presided over by a member of the council in question rather than the President. The President can choose to oversee proceedings as they desire, though. The President is generally expected to solicit the active participation of the appropriate sub-council in determining executive policies; as such, there is far less separation of powers between the Council and the Presidency than in many traditional Earth governments.

The exact means of elevation to the Council differs between member states. The Republic of Bajor, for instance, determines its Councillor by having a candidate nominated by the First Minister; they are then confirmed by the Chamber of Ministers. The Andorian Empire, meanwhile, selects its councillor from among the political party currently holding the majority of seats in the Parliament Andoria. The representative from Triex is appointed by the Triexian Curia, while the councillors for both Betazed and Gnala are popularly elected. Membership on the Council was of course a great honour, and as of 2266, only T'Pau of Vulcan had ever refused a seat.

The President, meanwhile, ascends to the position through popular election, serving an unlimited number of four-year terms. Presidential candidates are declared by the Federation Council, which reviews anonymously-submitted petitions for candidacy before declaring that a given individual qualifies for the office. When a president unexpectedly resigns, dies, or is otherwise unable to discharge the powers of the office, the Federation Council declares one of its members President Pro Tempore; the President Pro Tempore then serves for a month, while a special election takes place.

The president's office is on Floor Fifteen of the Palais de la Concorde. Fifteen also features a private study for the president, an office and waiting room for the president's secretary and guests, the Presidential Transporter Room, a large hallway, and two large meeting rooms named after former presidents: the Ra-ghoratreii Room and the Wescott Room. The fourteenth and thirteenth floors house the president's staff, the office for the Presidential Chief of Staff and those of cabinet members being located on the outer rim of Floor Fourteen. Presidential support staff, including the various deputy chiefs and speechwriters, are housed on Floor Thirteen and the innermost rim of offices on Fourteen. It is customary for each administration to redecorate the Presidential Office and the top three floors of the Palais as the president sees fit.

The official residence of the President is Château Thelian, located in the Vallée de la Loire in France and built to the specifications of other such famous châteaux in the valley. Château Thelian is as large as the Château de Saint Brisson, which itself served as the residence of former presidential Chief of Staff Koll Azernal. Built during the term of Thelianaresth th'Vorothishria in the early 24th Century to serve as his residence, Château Thelian now features a sitting room with the portraits of each president since Thelian himself. It also features a private transporter room, typically used for quick transit between the château and the Palais.

Until 2381, the president was protected at all times by members of Starfleet Security, which featured a special presidential protection division. The Security officers were typically dressed in standard Federation Starfleet duty uniforms; on formal occasions, they would sometimes wear Starfleet dress uniforms or the formal dress of their homeworld. In 2381, during the term of Nanietta Bacco, an independent agency took over protecting the President; these agents were not members of Starfleet and wore dark civilian uniforms. Starfleet Security does maintain a continuous physical presence within the Palais adjacent to the president, and also is responsible for general security there.

The duties of the President are numerous. As the Federation lacks the strict separation of powers found in many governments, the president not only serves as head of the executive branch, but also as head of the legislature. As such, the Articles of the Federation hold that the president is required to preside over all full sessions of the Federation Council "barring special circumstances." The president "has the option, but is not required, to preside over meetings of the various sub-councils"; if the president chooses not to preside over a sub-council, then the chair of said council serves as the presiding officer. The president is also required to nominate Federation councillors to the various sub-councils, with the full Council then being responsible for ratifying such nominations. While presiding over a Council or sub-council session, the president reserves the right to determine who may or may not speak to the council from the speaker's floor, and may also determine when voting on a bill or resolution is to take place. The president may not vote themselves, though.

The president is generally expected to solicit the participation of councillors from the appropriate sub-councils when dealing with issues pertaining to their jurisdiction, and a full sub-council is sometimes capable of exercising authority nearly equal to that of the president's. For instance, the Federation Security Council has the right to order Starfleet Operations to in turn issue orders to subordinate Starfleet agencies such as the Starfleet Corps of Engineers. An order from the president over-rides an order from a sub-council in executive issues, though. The president has the right to executive review of any legislation passed by the Council, and may veto a bill. From there, the bill may be sent back to the Council, which in turn might override the veto if a sufficiently large number of councillors vote as such. The president may also introduce bills and resolutions to the Council.